PMEVBO 43

Especially for men, long hair is said to be hard to pull off, yet Iser managed it effortlessly. For starters, his hair itself was beautiful. Despite spending five years in confinement, starved, sleep-deprived, and barely seeing sunlight, his hair wasn’t dry or brittle, it was soft and silky, with a healthy bounce. His waist-length, pale pink, straight hair always looked healthy.

But honestly, it was all about his face. His jawline and nose bridge were sharp, yet his overall face shape was smooth, with defined cheekbones and lip lines. Perhaps because of that, the long, straight pink hair suited Iser so well that he looked like a fairy.

Well, with that face, he’d probably look pretty even with a buzz cut.

So it wasn’t simply that it was a shame cutting Iser’s hair. If Iser was changing his hairstyle for his own satisfaction, then whatever he did wouldn’t feel wasteful.

But right now, Iser was trying to cut his hair just to show me his sparkling ends.

That would be a waste, and that’s why I thought I should stop him.

Iser, who had been staring at me, asked in a low voice.

“……Do you like it better with long hair?”

The question was odd. He probably just wanted a third party’s opinion for reference. Yet, for some reason, it also felt like he was asking about my personal taste. Well, probably just my imagination.

“If you’re asking my opinion… I think that hair suits you quite well right now. But—”

It’s your hair anyway, so do whatever you want.

But Iser beat me to saying it.

“Then I won’t cut it.”

That decisiveness felt unfamiliar, and once again, I couldn’t say anything.

***

The next day.

I left my room immediately after finishing breakfast.

I had promised to meet Seriha in front of the third-floor kitchen at 9 AM today. Under the plausible excuse of returning the holy book borrowed from me.

Needless to say, I was the one who made this appointment.

To finish the praise quest, I had no choice but to spend more time with Seriha. So I subtly steered things towards making an appointment.

And then, that kind-hearted Seriha nodded obediently. Unaware of my devious scheme.

Seriha was already at the meeting place. Standing against the wall, holy book clutched to his chest, he spotted me and waved his hand as he approached. Then, smiling shyly, he politely held out the holy book.

“Thank you for borrowing it for me, Lucariel. Thanks to you, I was able to attend the banquet safely.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

It was just as I took the holy book with a slight smile.

(10/15)

Wow, someone actually gets this happy when returning something they borrowed…?

…Just how conscientious can a person be?

But why is the praise achievement rate ‘10’ instead of ‘9’?

Honestly, I didn’t know either. When I lent him the holy book yesterday, the rate was 8, but about an hour later, it suddenly jumped to 9. And just now, it hit 10 because I accepted the holy book back.

What kind of quest completion rate just naturally multiplies on its own without doing anything?

It was a bit absurd, but the praise completion rate rising by itself wasn’t a bad thing. No, it was actually good. So good I almost wanted to set up a breeding farm for them to multiply on their own.

“And yesterday, I was so flustered I didn’t get a chance to thank you. …Thank you for the toast.”

Seriha clasped his hands together and smiled shyly.

“When did you eat that? Didn’t you eat it when it was cold and tasteless?”

“Actually, I had something to do… I ate it about an hour after parting with Lucariel. But it was incredibly delicious.”

An hour later, it would’ve been cold. But I’m glad he enjoyed it.

Wait, but you said you ate it an hour later…?

Ah, what the hell. So that 9 was thanks to the toast.

At that moment, a thunderous sound echoed.

Grrrrr―!

Accompanied by the sound of his stomach growling, Seriha’s skin began to flush red.

“Are you hungry?”

“No, it’s just… Yes. I’m sorry…”

His face as red as rice baked with red yeast, Seriha bowed his head.

Tirovis Merchant Guild, this won’t do. You’re supposed to feed people before putting them to work.

I couldn’t just stand by after hearing he was hungry.

“Follow me.”

I’ll feed you until your belly bursts.

***

The third-floor kitchen was a place I used alone. I’d discovered this empty kitchen by chance and moved my base of operations here quite some time ago.

My daily routine was to collect my assigned ingredients from the main kitchen on the first floor of the annex every morning and move them to the third-floor kitchen.

Anyway, thanks to that, I could bring the hungry Seriha into the kitchen without worrying about anyone noticing. I led Seriha to a table tucked away in one corner of the kitchen.

He looks really hungry, so I should make something quick.

…Then, omurice?

I happened to have quite a few prepped ingredients left over. After all, omurice was the breakfast menu for Iser and me.

I quickly heated up a frying pan and melted butter. I stir-fried rice and finely chopped vegetables, seasoning them with ketchup I’d made earlier. I fried an egg and wrapped it around the fried rice, the omurice was finished in no time. Thanks to the perfectly fried egg, it looked much more presentable than the one I’d made that morning.

With the steaming omelet rice in front of him, Seriha looked flustered and glanced at me. I motioned for him to eat quickly.

Unable to withstand the silent pressure, he cautiously lifted his spoon. After tasting a bite of the omurice, Seriha’s eyes widened like a puppy tasting sweet potato for the first time.

“Wow, this is really delicious…!”

His double thumbs-up reminded me of my brother. It had been ages since I’d seen a reaction like this. Iser had never once reacted this way. Not even “delicious,” but “not bad” was the extent of praise that kid ever gave.

No. …I have heard other compliments.

While eating breakfast and lunch yesterday, Iser gave a compliment different from before.

‘You made it, right? And since I’m eating it with you… I like everything.’

But that wasn’t saying he liked the food I made…

It was just saying he liked me.

“……”

Iser really had been acting strange since yesterday. His tone, his gaze, his behavior. It was all different from before.

Was the shock of being kidnapped really that intense…?

If that’s why he opened up to me more, it would make sense.

…But did he open up too much?

I snapped out of my thoughts after Seriha had polished off the omurice. He’d been shoveling it in at lightning speed, spoon pressed to his plate, but now he looked at me with a dazed expression.

“What should I do? I ate it all myself. It was so good I just… Sorry.”

“Sorry? It was made for you to eat, so whatever.”

His dejected look was funny, and I couldn’t help but chuckle. That’s when the status window changed.

(11/15)

I guess the food I made was absolutely delicious. First toast, now omurice… food-related income is turning out to be pretty sweet?

This time, maybe I can clear the quest with food?

If I just keep feeding him until he’s full for the rest of the time, the quest should be a breeze to clear.

While I was hatching my dirty, devious plan, Seriha, who had been looking around the kitchen with a face full of curiosity, asked.

“Lucariel is the cook in the annex, right? “

I gave him food every time we meet, and now I’ve naturally taken over the kitchen, so it’s understandable to misunderstand. Though my conscience pricked at deceiving such a kind person, I shamelessly lied.

“Well, sort of.”

At least when it comes to Iser, I really am the cook.

After cooking for Seriha and watching him eat, it was already lunchtime. At the clock’s noon chime, Seriha hurriedly left the kitchen, saying he had work to do. I’d planned to feed him lunch too, so it was disappointing.

When I returned to my room with lunch and the holy book, Iser stood at the door, arms crossed. His usual indifferent expression was there, yet somehow he looked strangely prim.

“……You said you’d be right back. Why are you only coming now?”

Iser’s gaze fell on the holy book I was holding. In that instant, the slant of his eyes sharpened even more.

Why on earth did seeing the holy book upset him?

“I’m sorry. Things just ended up like this.”

Iser narrowed his eyes and glared at me once, then abruptly turned and walked over to a chair to sit down. The sight was so cute I almost laughed, barely managing to hold it back.

After finishing our meal, while brewing peppermint tea, Iser suddenly asked.

“…Lucariel, can I read this?”

In Iser’s hand was the holy book I’d gotten back from Seriha.

So earlier, he was just looking at it because he wanted to read it?

I pushed a cup of peppermint tea toward Iser and nodded coolly.

“Uh, yes. If you want to read it, go ahead.”

Come to think of it, even when we were in the hideout, Iser read books whenever he got the chance. There were mountains of books piled up there…

…I guess I need to get him some more books.

But even with my permission to borrow it, Iser hardly ever opened the holy book. He just glared at the cover like he was enemies with books. Watching him like that, I remembered I had a book I needed to read too.

‘If you don’t want to read it, I can’t force you… but I’d still like you to read it, Lucariel.’

…I have to keep my promise to read the experiment log.

The experiment log was in the desk drawer. Right after we returned from the Babet Plains, Iser said he’d put it there while I was unconscious. Hearing that, I hadn’t opened that drawer even once until now.

At that moment, Iser’s low murmur echoed in the quiet room.

“…To Lucariel. Abel.”