/
“Ugh…”
The man, who was looking at the woman priest cry, suddenly let out a moan of pain.
The female priest hurriedly got up.
“Oh, come on in! You need to start taking painkillers!”
“…”
She took the man into the cabin.
Again the forest was enveloped in silence.
“Just move on,” Oscar whispered in a low voice.
Lelia, who was staring blankly at the hut, hesitated, and Oscar responded it was a place she could come back to anytime.
Since it is impossible to stay like this on a tree forever, Lelia nodded that she understood.
***
After a while, they arrived at a nearby city.
As Oscar indicated, this was the city right next to the temple, and it was a much busier and bigger place.
When she woke up, she had already arrived at a hotel room.
Lelia went to the sofa at a weary pace and sat down.
And when she realized that Oscar was sitting next to her, as if it were only natural, she was dazed.
“Why are you…”
Just as she was about to ask why he wasn’t going outside, Oscar opened her mouth first.
“If I’m going to lock you up, I need to at least stay close and watch.”
“…”
“What? Didn’t you complain that it wasn’t fair?”
Lelia had nothing to say. Because what he said was right.
However, Oscar, who was now doing this as his emotions intensified, was annoying.
Lelia closed her mouth as if protesting and turned her gaze away.
She heard laughter, then a question flew in.
“What did you mean earlier?”
“…What do you mean?”
“You asked if I was laughing as I talked with the woman at the inn. What were you going to say after that?”
“…I never said that.”
Lelia lied to him without realizing it. She wanted to cover her ears. She didn’t want to talk to Oscar.
She wanted to run away, so she jumped up and headed for what appeared to be the bathroom.
The sound of footsteps as Oscar followed her could be heard, so she turned and stood in front of the bathroom door.
“I’m going to wash, so don’t follow me.”
“Are you going to run away?”
At Oscar’s question, Lelia frowned and looked up at him.
Her heart pounded as their eyes met, but Lelia continued to glare at him with force in her eyes.
“I found someone who looks like my mother, so how am I supposed to run away?”
Perhaps Lelia’s words were convincing, as Oscar took a step back.
Not missing the moment, Lelia slammed the bathroom door.
As she leaned back against the closed door, she felt her beating heart slowly calming down.
She struggled to clear her mind as she shook her head.
Throughout her bath, she thought of the priest who resembled her mother.
[How likely is it that my mother is alive and not dead?]
She was told her death was due to a fire.
However, she was also told that her mother was gifted in magic, and she was interested in alchemy.
Using her powers, she may have escaped from the fire.
However…
Why did she hide her identity for so many years and stay in the temple?
How did she get here from the distant Aurarian capital to the Neutral Sector in the first place?
She thought maybe the priest wasn’t her mother. Let’s not be too disappointed, Lelia comforted herself.
However, what was certain was that this could only be resolved by looking at the person’s face again.
Lelia washed herself with a clean cloth and changed her clothes.
It was clear to her that she probably wouldn’t be able to sleep today.
She thought it would be more comfortable to visit the woman again as soon as dawn came.
“Did you wash well?”
But as soon as she came out, she faced Oscar, who was sitting cross-legged on the sofa.
It felt like all of the problems she had with her mother had been erased as she was washing up.
As he has always done, she thought Oscar would have disappeared.
But it seemed that Oscar was really planning on staying by Lelia’s side in the future.
Lelia stared blankly at him, speechless.
Oscar rose from his seat in a leisurely manner and he brushed past Lelia.
“I’ll wash up too.”
“……”
It was not a big deal, yet in an instant, the nape of her neck became warm.
It’s a nonsensical idea, but it felt like a conversation that a couple would have, so it felt strange.
[Let’s not think about it.]
Lelia struggled to shake her head and climbed onto the bed.
She’d rather let Oscar go out as usual, so she could be more comfortable while alone.
Let’s think differently.
[Alchemy.]
[?]
[I ran into a person who looks exactly like my mother. Is there any way to check if that person is my mother?]
[I don’t know…]. ((꜆꜄•௰•)꜆꜄꜆)]
*(I wish I could do it in moderation.)*
At Alchemy’s cold reaction, Lelia thought for a long time, biting her fingertips.
Then, in an instant, a thought crossed her mind.
[Then, how do you regain forgotten memories?]
Oh! Where did you put the remote control? ㅠㅠ Where did my pair of socks go? Did you forget it again? If so, please use the ‘memory restorer’ recipe!٩(*•̀ᴗ•́*)و
If ‘memory restorer’ is not enough, try ‘memory restorer 2’! (｡•̀ᴗ-)✧₊˚ However, you should be careful as all the memories you wanted to forget may come to mind, and memories from a very, very long time may also come back!= ͟͟͞͞(•̀ω•́ ‧̣̥̇) Sometimes not knowing can be medicine!
*(Not to be confused with Alzheimer’s disease treatment. o_o)*
If the woman was her mother, there was only one reason why she stayed in the temple until now and never returned to Auraria.
[That day, the impact of the accident must have caused memory problems.]
Among the drugs that Alchemy said, the first one seemed to have a weak effect, and the second seemed to be very strong.
[The former seems to be used for finding lost items… Perhaps it is better to use the latter.]
Lelia went into her production list, and she created ‘Memory Recovery 2’, which Alchemy told her about.
Fortunately, there were enough ingredients to make just one.
[By the way… When I go there tomorrow, how can I get her to take this medicine?]
It was a time of deep thought for her.
“Oh.”
She remembered something she had forgotten.
She recalled the ‘super detoxifying pill – Antidote’ that she had produced but not used.
As she entered her inventory, she saw that the medicine she had made was still there.
Lelia hurriedly took out the vial, opened the lid, and poured it into her mouth.
The medicine, which looked like clear water, was neither bitter nor sweet.
Now that she had it all, all the remaining medicinal effects of the ‘love potion’ would disappear.
So now she can treat Oscar as comfortably as before… It would be easy to convince him to return to the Superion.
[What kind of trouble is this because of Griffith…?]
Ah…
Come to think of it, the fact that she couldn’t contact the capital came to mind right after.
“Sigh…”
Lelia then made a painful groan and grabbed her head.
At that moment, she heard the sound of Oscar coming out with a click of the door.
She lifted her head in anticipation that she would be calmer than before, since she had taken her medicine.
But at that moment, she felt that something was wrong.
Oscar’s wet, wet, silver hair was a little darker than Lelia’s, but as it became more saturated, it looked even darker.
She was fortunate that he hadn’t removed the clothes from his upper body. Even so, the appearance of Oscar coming out of the shower felt strangely engrossing.
[I can’t.]
[Has my brain turned weird?]
He wasn’t even naked, so she had no idea why he felt so seductive.
Perhaps it’s because Oscar himself is an attractive man, apart from being friends.
Yes, he was objectively good-looking enough to make her eyes widen.
Like the woman at the inn earlier, he was naturally attracting attention.
A neat and beautiful face like a statue, a hard and masculine physique, and tall enough to look up at.
Just by looking at his appearance, he was so elegant and dignified that one could feel that he was a member of the royal family. Besides, his real status is also a Crown Prince… No, he will be the emperor now.
Lelia thought that since she was an ordinary woman, this response was natura. If not, it was because of the medicinal effect.
That’s when she turned her head away, convincing herself to do so.
He came over to her bed and climbed up next to her, as if he had taken it for granted.
Her body stiffened at the sudden action.
“Y- you. What are you doing?”
“What?”
“Why are you coming up to the bed? Just leave as usual.”
“I thought about it while washing up.”
An unexpected response as she asked him to leave. Lelia frowned as she waited for Oscar’s next words.
“What you did earlier, I thought I needed an explanation.”
“What are you talking about? What did I do?
Lelia answered with a sharp tone. She had such a sharp reaction that she was puzzled even thinking about it herself.
Is it because there’s something poking me? Lelia raised her eyes sensitively.
“What you asked me to do.”
“…”
“Whenever you want something, are you going to get it sneakily like that?”
A heavy voice asked.
Lelia felt angry without realizing it. Was she sneaky?
“…I…”
“You don’t like me, are you good at those kinds of things?”
However, at Oscar’s question, the rising anger suddenly subsided.
What?
Lelia met Oscar’s eyes and blinked her eyes.
“…Why do I hate you? I told you.”
“If not, why can’t you look me in the eye?”
“…”
Lelia pressed her lips together and looked at him.
Perhaps it was because of the medication, but she seemed more comfortable making eye contact with him than before.
“Come on, look at me.”
“…”
Saying that, Oscar gently lowered his eyes.
Lelia felt suffocated. Suddenly, the surrounding air felt strangely stuffy and hot.
Is it more comfortable?
[It’s more comfortable to make eye contact than before… I don’t know what I did. I can run into you…]
Thump thump
Her heart was beating like crazy.
[Then maybe…]
Isn’t it because of the medicinal effect?
At that moment, a heavy question tickled her ear.
“Then, do you really hate me?”