By Zephyria 
Today, I was planning to relax and laze around all day, maybe even take a leisurely bath with Aska. We’d been dashing around since we left the mountains, and I couldn’t even remember the last time I’d truly relaxed.
I also wanted to ask him more about mermaids and dreams, but my plans were falling apart. It was nice to return to the inn early in the morning and take a bath. But Aska, in such a hurry, didn’t even soak in the tub. He washed in five minutes and said,
“I’ll be outside first, so take your time washing and come out.”
“…….”
Doesn’t he feel anything looking at the flower petals floating on the water? I was speechless with disbelief. Aska didn’t even wait for my reply and left without a second glance.
Left alone, I stared at the drinks and snacks the Servant had prepared. I had wanted to go to a hot spring for a while, so I tried to make it as similar as possible, but he didn’t even glance at it.
Is it because it’s not outdoors? Well, it was a makeshift arrangement, so it couldn’t be helped. There was nothing to do sitting alone in a petal-filled tub without Aska.
Eventually, I called the Servant to help me bathe, and I left the bathroom as well. I wondered why he had left in such a hurry, but Aska wasn’t in the room.
Did he go to get something to eat because he was hungry? I came out of the room and didn’t see Aska on the first floor either. Surely he didn’t go outside without a word? I didn’t think he would, but for some reason, I was getting more and more anxious.
As I was heading outside, I faintly heard Abyss’s voice in my ear.
“Y-You mustn’t do this…….”
He sounded troubled, but I had urgent matters to attend to. Just as I was about to move without hesitation, I heard another voice in my ear.
“Stay still.”
I was so surprised that I had to stop. It was Aska’s voice. It was quiet, and there was a lot of noise around, but there was no way I could mistake his voice.
The sound came from the stairs leading to the basement. Because of the structure, it was a deep place that couldn’t be seen from the outside unless you turned around the corner.
“I said stay still.”
I quietly approached like a thief, and then I heard Aska’s voice again. Following that, Abyss whispered almost crying.
“I-It’s touching me……!”
“It’s not touching you.”
“It is! Really, please…….”
Even though I knew that couldn’t be true, I turned the corner with an unpleasant feeling.
“Theodore!”
As soon as he saw me, Abyss cried out my name as if begging for help. Aska didn’t even glance at me and didn’t stop gathering Abyss’s hair and tying it with a rubber band.
“What are you doing?”
“I clearly told him that he mustn’t do this, but if you keep moving, I’ll touch it with my bare hands…….”
As I listened to his tearful words, I frowned more and more. Come to think of it, Aska was wearing black gloves. That was a relief, but it was far from enough to understand the situation.
“All done.”
Then Aska, who had been seriously moving his hands, took a step back. Abyss couldn’t even touch the hair that Aska had tied and just wiggled his fingers in the air, looking at me.
“…….”
He looked like he had been robbed and was being accused of being the thief. He looked incredibly wronged. I had no idea what was going on, so I asked Aska, who had a proud look on his face.
“Why are you bothering Abyss?”
“I’m not bothering him, I’m tying his hair.”
“I mean, why?”
“It gets in the way when we’re training.”
I couldn’t help but be surprised by the unexpected words.
Abyss’s bangs were tied up in one bunch, and I could see that his scalp was pulled tight. If it was tied this tightly, it wouldn’t come loose even if he did a thousand jumping jacks, let alone training.
Could it be that he did this because I said I would tie Abyss’s hair?
“I went out for a bit, and suddenly he grabbed me and stopped me, and then……like this…….”
“…….”
He must have felt like he had been struck by lightning out of the blue. His scalp looked so painful that I reached out to casually untie it, but Aska grabbed my wrist.
“I tied it.”
“You tied it too tight.”
“Then I’ll tie it loosely again.”
“I’ll just do it.”
“I said I’ll do it?”
At that moment, Abyss, who had been enduring it so much that his shoulders were trembling, opened his mouth.
“Could I just tie it myself? I have hands too…….”
He looked like he was about to cry if you touched him. Then, as if he had been waiting for those words, Aska suggested to me.
“Then let’s have him tie his own hair from now on. Let’s not tie it for him.”
“That would be good. That’s a great idea.”
Abyss urged, wanting to get out of this situation as soon as possible. I had no choice but to nod, and Abyss was finally able to untie the rubber band that was tightening his hair so much.
Abyss, who was like a shrimp caught between whales, left as if running away. I took Aska’s hand and took off his gloves.
“Did you go out so quickly to tie his hair?”
His intentions were so obvious that I was suspicious. I knew he didn’t want me to tie Abyss’s hair, but it was strange that he was dealing with it in such a childish and naive way.
Yesterday, he pretended to be indifferent, but he rushed out without even washing properly……. Ah, my heart hurts so much.
And the fact that he even wore gloves in case he accidentally touched bare skin was excessively lovely.
“Are you done washing?”
Aska, who seemed to be having trouble answering, touched my hair and asked. Even that was so cute that I was shocked again.
“Then let’s go eat something. There’s something I wanted to feed you.”
I just wanted to have a simple meal and be alone with him in the room. Because I can’t do that outside, I want to touch him and talk to him while eating, and touch every part of him.
But I was still recovering from the shock, so I couldn’t do anything.
“Well, there’s nothing I can do about it.”
Aska asked with a puzzled voice as he put on his hood.
“About what?”
“About liking you moderately…….”
“What are you talking about?”
While Aska was tidying my clothes and putting my hood on, I kept muttering.
“I really tried. I did as much as I could.”
“They have fish fillets made into dumplings. Let’s go eat that today.”
I frowned at those words.
“I don’t like fish.”
“Just try it once. It doesn’t smell fishy.”
“I said I don’t like it.”
“Just try it once, and if it’s not good, don’t eat it.”
I felt like I was being a picky eater, so I just shut my mouth and followed him quietly.
¸.•¨•¸.•¨•¸.•¨•¸
For several days, Aska and I wandered around every alley in the neighborhood, eating all kinds of food. Most of it didn’t suit my taste, including the fish dumplings, but eating together was enjoyable in itself.
Later, even Abyss would return to the inn on his own, and the food hell never ended. Eventually, I couldn’t stand it and had to say something.
“It’s too bad to eat.”
“It’s bad? What is?”
“It’s too salty. This is sweet, and this is sour.”
There was even something as bitter as the tea Aska had given me at first. When I cringed, Aska tried all the food once and then said.
“It’s not strongly seasoned. Isn’t it just that it feels stronger because it’s been too long? You’ll get used to it if you eat it?”
“This isn’t salty?”
“Yeah. It’s just right.”
Come to think of it, the fruit I used to enjoy before losing my sense of taste was strangely too sweet. Like Aska said, it felt like everything was too stimulating because it had been too long since I had tasted anything.
“Try this.”
“…….”
No, isn’t this too much?
After living like a pig for a few more days, the day Mahir finally arrived was approaching.
For the Emperor of Actan to cross the sea for a reason other than war was something that had happened only a few times in the history of all emperors. And since the reason was not something else but friendship, it was truly a major event.
Moreover, since Calderia was under the influence of Actan, the capital was completely in a festive mood.
When the Emperor’s procession began on the main street leading to the royal castle, a huge crowd gathered. However, it was controlled so that people could not get closer than a certain distance, so it was not dangerous. Aska and I watched Mahir waving his hand while riding a white horse from the corner at the very back.
“Shall I call him once?”
The sound of pollen scattering everywhere and cheering was so loud that it was hard to hear even if you were right next to someone. I shook my head and took off my hood.
Mahir, whom I hadn’t seen in a long time, hadn’t changed much. Except that he looked a little older…….
Then, as if by a lie, Mahir turned his head towards me. The distance was too far to know if he was looking directly at me, but his gaze lingered near me for a long time before turning away.
“…….”
Just like when he found me looking down from the Gaulaprum castle walls when I was young, I felt chills down my spine. Perhaps that’s why I had a similar thought to that time.
……I’m not going to get scolded, am I?