Once, Ketron had seen a street theater show.
He remembered it being in a country near the desert. Arthur had complained that the gritty sand blown by the wind made it difficult to walk because it piled up on the ground.
In that show, which they happened to see while passing by, everyone, men and women alike, wore flamboyant costumes and heavy makeup.
As beautiful men and women performed amazing feats, passersby stopped and watched in awe. Ketron and his companions likewise paused their steps.
Arthur, more interested in their appearances than the show itself, led the group with sparkling eyes. Since they didn’t have anything urgent to do, the other three followed Arthur and ended up watching the show from quite close to the front.
“Mmm, I like that blonde one. Augustine, what about you?”
When Arthur pointed to a blonde performer, calling them the prettiest, Augustine, who had been quietly watching the show, narrowed his eyes and picked someone as his type, just like Arthur.
“Hmm… if I had to choose, that redhead.”
“…That’s a man.”
“So it is.”
Augustine was the type who didn’t care whether someone was male or female as long as their appearance suited his taste, and everyone in the group knew this. Perhaps that’s why he seemed to get along well with Arthur yet sometimes missed each other’s point.
This time, Arthur turned to Boram and asked,
“Boram, what about you?”
Boram’s response also failed to satisfy Arthur’s expectations.
“They all look simple, but every one of them is manipulating mana. I’m amazed they can use mana like that.”
“…”
With a blank expression at everyone giving answers that weren’t what he wanted, Arthur now grabbed Ketron.
“Hey, Ketron. You…”
But after seeing Ketron watching the dazzling show with truly indifferent eyes, Arthur didn’t even finish his question and shook his head.
“Sigh, who am I even asking?”
“Why? Ketron could have preferences too. He’s turning twenty soon, isn’t he?”
“You think Ketron will suddenly become interested in romance just because he’s turning twenty? Isn’t that too far-fetched?”
“Hmm…”
After looking at Ketron with a curious gaze for a moment, Augustine snickered.
“I can’t deny that.”
“I don’t think Ketron would be interested in romance even when he turns thirty.”
“Ketron, are you asexual?”
The topic of conversation wasn’t particularly pleasant, especially since Augustine knew full well that he was simply uninterested in others. Annoyed at his snickering companions, Ketron stood up from his seat in the middle of watching the show.
“What? Where are you going?”
To Augustine’s question, Ketron left without responding. Since their only meeting place was the inn where they had paid in advance, Augustine didn’t try to stop Ketron further, thinking he would return anyway.
What did it matter if others were pretty or ugly? He had no interest anyway.
Following wherever his feet took him, Ketron entered an alley alone. He had no particular purpose; it was just that there were fewer people that way.
It happened to be a market street, with merchants setting up stalls and calling out to customers. It would normally have been crowded, but unfortunately, due to the troupe’s show, all the customers had flocked there, leaving this area deserted.
The vendors brightened upon seeing a potential new customer, but upon noticing Ketron—with his dark appearance, intense intimidating aura, and a massive sword on his back—they shrank back without even attempting to call out to him.
As Ketron peacefully walked down a path where anyone else would have been stopped at least ten times, he spotted someone arguing with a vegetable vendor.
Though he could only see the back, the man’s silver hair was strikingly shiny.
“Mister, if you give me just a small discount, I’ll bring you some extra milk next time!”
The cheerful voice was full of confidence, as if certain the other person wouldn’t refuse.
True to that confidence, the vegetable vendor responded in a defeated tone, as if raising both hands and feet in surrender.
“Ah, I give up! Fine, take it at that price!”
Having apparently secured the vegetables at his desired price, the man laughed with a “Haha.”
Though it would have been right to just pass by without concern, Ketron felt his steps involuntarily halting at that clear laughter.
The man, placing vegetables in his basket, turned around with a smiling face.
Beautiful violet eyes met Ketron’s gaze.
In that moment, Ketron felt his heart sink.
…What is this?
Soft-looking silver-blonde hair fluttered in the wind, and those sparkling purple eyes would be described as jewel-like by anyone. With cleanly defined eye corners and lips well-suited for smiling, his harmonious features made “handsome” a more fitting description than “pretty.”
Yet in that moment, looking at the man’s face, Ketron thought he was pretty.
…He would have to revise his earlier thoughts. For some reason, he found himself interested in this man’s face.
When their eyes met, the man opened his eyes wide and approached with a somehow welcoming smile.
Although Ketron, who had unintentionally gained fame, didn’t usually like people approaching him, he couldn’t move an inch as the man came right up to him.
Or perhaps he chose not to move.
As confusion took over his mind, the man reached out to Ketron. The naturally raised hand gently stroked Ketron’s hair.
Though he had certainly never experienced such a thing from anyone before, the strangely familiar feeling kept Ketron perfectly still. An odd thought crossed his mind that if he moved, that touch might disappear.
“Ket.”
With that nickname, the man’s hand moved naturally downward from stroking Ketron’s hair and caressed his cheek. As the gently extended thumb brushed under Ketron’s eye,
“It’s time to wake up now.”
With those words, Ketron woke from his dream.
It was the day he was supposed to go to the market with Eddie. He needed to get up early, but his body simply wouldn’t move.
For a long while, he just stared blankly at the ceiling, listening to the peaceful birdsong from outside.
「What are you doing?」
“…”
The holy sword asked curiously, as Ketron, unlike his usual self, didn’t get up even though his eyes were open. But Ketron couldn’t move an inch.
It was because he belatedly realized something felt strange down below.
Ketron’s gaze slowly moved downward. He noticed a bulge clearly visible above the blanket.
A bulge down there was supposedly a natural phenomenon that happened every morning, but…
“…?”
What was this feeling? Somehow it felt different from usual. With that thought, Ketron raised his upper body but froze with a start at the sensation he felt below.
For some reason, it felt wet down there.
…Wet?
Even as he thought it himself, Ketron’s expression turned aghast with foreboding as he pulled back the blanket.
* * *
“Why the sudden cabbage?”
The vegetable vendor asked Eddie, who had by now become a regular customer at his shop.
Eddie, who was placing the few cabbages and lettuces from the store into his basket, looked up at the question.
The vendor was probably asking what he intended to use them for, since cabbage was among the less popular vegetables in the Reneva Empire.
“Hmm, let’s say it’s for an interview.”
“Interview? Ah, you mean for the new staff you’re recruiting at the inn?”
“Yes.”
Eddie answered with a smiling face. The vegetable vendor gave him a look that clearly wondered “why on earth would you need cabbage for an interview?” but Eddie decided not to mention it—explaining in advance would ruin the fun.
After all, even in the capital’s large market, it was essentially like a neighborhood business, and small incidents that occurred nearby tended to spread as rumors. After the interview at Eddie’s inn was over, rumors about its content would circulate as well.
Rumors about a strange interview.
Eddie slung the basket over his shoulder. But it was immediately taken away by Ketron standing beside him.
Thanks to Ketron, who now volunteered as Eddie’s personal porter as if he were his dedicated attendant, Eddie never had to carry his own luggage when they went to the market together.
Looking at him with satisfaction, Eddie suddenly said as if he’d just remembered,
“Oh right, Ket, you’ll be an interviewer too. You need to give scores!”
“…Why me?”
“Well, you’re a senior staff member, aren’t you?”
Since when had Ketron become an employee at Eddie’s inn? Ketron blinked at being somehow transformed into an inn employee, but strangely, he didn’t find it that unpleasant.
He didn’t understand why he had to be an interviewer, or why cabbage was needed for the interview, but Eddie often did incomprehensible things anyway, so he just went along with it.
While counting the silver coins to give to the vegetable vendor, Eddie asked casually,
“By the way, Ket.”
“Yes.”
“Why were you late this morning?”
“…”
Even though there was no accusatory tone in the question, Ketron clamped his mouth shut.
They had arranged to go to the market early this morning, but unusually, he had been late.
After opening and closing his mouth a few times, unable to find the right words and hesitating, Ketron quietly said,
“I was… doing laundry.”
Lol 😂😆