Volume 1 Chapter 60 Underwear, Illusions, And Mushroom Dishes
Mr. Lucian's floating device slowly landed in a somewhat open area of the vast forest.
Mr. Lucian got off first and helped me down. After setting me down, he also took off the basket filled with mushrooms. The mushrooms in the basket looked fine and tasty, with no signs of spoilage.
I had been crying a lot, but seeing the mushrooms calmed me down a bit.
The black dragon-shaped device made of cold metal had large wind magic stones embedded in its chest and belly.
Once it reached the ground, it changed shape, and big wheels popped out from its body, turning into a 2-wheeled vehicle.
The magic stone vehicle is faster than a carriage or horseback, but it's mainly for one person, and refilling the magic stones is quite difficult. Plus, the vehicle itself is a luxury item, so it's not very common.
Also, it's hard to control, so you rarely see it.
This was the first time I saw Mr. Lucian riding one.
"...Mr. Lucian, thank you for helping me."
I stepped away from Mr. Lucian and bowed slightly.
Even though I was scared, I had clung to Mr. Lucian and cried.
I could almost understand how the women he saved felt.
It was a dangerous situation.
"Are you hurt, Lydia? You don't need to thank me."
"I'm fine. My clothes got dirty, and it felt gross being licked all over, and I feel a bit slimy, but I'm not hurt."
"Let's check just in case. The slime from the man-eater shouldn't have any poison, but..."
"Wh-What are you doing...!?"
Mr. Lucian came closer to me and casually lifted my skirt.
My legs were exposed up to my thighs, and I shivered, pulling down the hem of my skirt that was in Mr. Lucian's hand.
"Ah, I was going to say thank you, but no, you pervert...!"
"No, I just wanted to check if you were hurt...!"
"Looking under my skirt is perverted... ugh, that's terrible..."
"I think it's more perverted to ask someone to lift their own skirt... But it seems like there's no problem. Nothing is torn. No bruises either. That's good. Does it hurt anywhere?"
"I'm fine... Mr. Lucian, this is awful, I can't get married now..."
I hid my face with both hands and cried softly.
When I thought about it, when I was hung up by the man-eater, my skirt was already flipped up, exposing my stomach.
"I was seen in my underwear by Mr. Lucian..."
"I didn't see anything. I saw nothing, Lydia."
"It was a cute pink lace one..."
"Wasn't it strawberry patterned?"
"You totally saw it...! Mr. Lucian, you're popular, but you have no delicacy...!"
"That's why I'm not popular. ...Lydia, don't worry. If you can't get married, I'll take you as my wife."
"No, thank you..."
I rubbed my eyes and glared at Mr. Lucian.
Somehow, he was so casual that I almost got tricked.
I hadn't asked him anything important.
The monster that attacked me and the man in the robe who looked like a friend called out Mr. Lucian's name.
It feels like we're talking like usual, but Mr. Lucian seems different today.
"Lydia. This is my floating device, Fafnir. It can run on the ground and fly in the air. Usually, it's a necklace."
"I've never seen it before."
"It's for one person. I rarely use it on expeditions with the knights. Plus, it's dangerous to use in town, so if I do, it'll be after we leave. ...It's for one person, but you're light, Lydia. If you ride Fafnir, you can come back to town. ...Have you calmed down a bit, Lydia? Shall we go home?"
I suddenly grabbed Mr. Lucian's hand tightly.
No.
Something deep inside me feels like it's saying no.
If I go home like this, I feel like I'll never see Mr. Lucian again.
Mr. Lucian won't come to eat with me anymore.
He won't eat anything.
Just like those with White Moon disease.
I don't want that. I think Mr. Lucian is my friend too.
"Mr. Lucian, um, if it's okay... could you stay here a little longer? I'm scared, and my body is still shaking. I still feel scared about flying..."
"I see. That makes sense... I'm sorry. After what happened, it's understandable. Come here, Lydia. This way."
As Mr. Lucian tries to pull me closer, I grab his hands and look up at his face.
"Mr. Lucian... mushrooms, mushrooms, let's cook and eat them...!"
"Now?"
"Y-yes... I thought eating mushrooms might make us feel better... Also, um, Mr. Lucian, that monster we saw earlier had poisonous mushrooms growing around it, right? I didn't eat any, but... if spores flew around and we saw hallucinations or felt good, that would be a problem..."
"...Lydia, is something wrong with your body?"
"N-no, that's not it... but if you were flying in Fafnir and saw hallucinations, you might crash, and that would be scary..."
"I'm fine for now. Besides, wouldn't it be more dangerous for you to be alone with me in that case?"
"Why? If I see hallucinations and mistake you for a monster, I might attack you."
"That's a possibility. But I feel like the meaning of 'attack' is a bit different here."
"S-see? That would be a problem, right...? Mr. Lucian, you said my cooking has a mysterious power."
I think hard to find a way to keep Mr. Lucian here.
Even if I manage to keep him, all I can do is make him eat mushrooms.
But still, I feel like it's better than doing nothing.
It's much better than not being able to see Mr. Lucian anymore.
"I think my cooking has the power to heal. So, if you eat the mushrooms, maybe we can avoid seeing hallucinations..."
"...That's true. But if we don't go back, won't we miss the mushroom hunting competition?"
"It's fine, I don't care about that anymore... What's more important is that Mr. Lucian eats my food..."
"Lydia. ...Thank you. ...Should I start a fire? The water in this river is clean. The spring water is drinkable too. Should we move a little further?"
"Yes...!"
Mr. Lucian turned Fafnir back into a necklace.
It looked like a large wind magic stone. It had a chain, and when Mr. Lucian hung it around his neck, he shouldered the basket filled with mushrooms.
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