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“Sniff… sniff… I’m never going to get married anyway…”
Ney was sprawled limply across the table. The large mug in her right hand was already empty.
At the same table sat an exasperated Liz and Levia, who was enjoying a glass of sparkling wine. Around them were other customers looking increasingly annoyed.
The inn they had found was fairly upscale, so there was a restaurant in the same building. Unlike the adventurers’ tavern they had visited before, the place had a mature atmosphere, complete with live piano music. It was absolutely not the sort of establishment where one was supposed to get embarrassingly drunk.
“Handsome men and beautiful women are more likely to be taken than single. Even a monkey could figure that out. Why would you conveniently assume he was available?”
“But… he was a prince. Princes are usually single, aren’t they?”
“Usually single? Unless there’s something seriously wrong with him, a royal would at least have a fiancée.”
At Levia’s retort, Ney burst into another “Waaah!” Apparently the alcohol had left her unable to distinguish fiction from reality. Gawain had admittedly looked like someone straight out of fiction, and for Ney, who was currently obsessed with that sort of thing, he had probably been the worst possible man to encounter.
“Well, he didn’t look like royalty to me anyway. He seemed refined enough, so I imagine he comes from a noble family.”
Levia slowly swirled her glass, enjoying the bubbles rising through it. Sparkling wine was produced in only a few regions and was quite expensive. It was not something served in taverns frequented by commoners and adventurers. As far as Levia was concerned, that was much more important than Ney crying beside her.
“Huh, Levia. You don’t seem very interested. He’s probably a noble, right? Wouldn’t that mean he has money?”
Liz asked while sipping sweet grape juice. Perhaps it was a reaction to growing up somewhere where sweets barely existed, but she preferred sugary drinks to alcohol with its peculiar taste. Not that she was allowed to drink alcohol anyway, since drinking under sixteen was illegal.
Levia looked down at her glass as she answered.
“I don’t know how to put it. I just can’t stand that type on a gut level.”
“What? Why? He was handsome, and he seemed serious and nice too.”
“That’s exactly the problem. Somehow… he doesn’t feel very human.”
Liz looked thoroughly confused. Money, looks, and a good personality were normally enough to make almost anyone interested in a man. The woman crying beside her had apparently reached that conclusion within seconds of meeting him. Liz could not quite understand Levia’s thinking.
“Besides, I couldn’t care less what a man’s face looks like. As long as he has eyes, a nose, and a mouth.”
Levia drained her wine and asked for another. A rather handsome young waiter came to serve her, but true to her words, she showed no particular reaction to him. The waiter, on the other hand, seemed delighted by her curt little “Thank you.”
A question suddenly occurred to Liz.
Levia openly admitted that money was what she cared about, but did she really have no other preferences? Most girls her age had something. Even Liz, who was not especially interested in romance, occasionally saw a man in town and thought, Oh, he’s nice.
“Come to think of it, you really don’t care about looks at all, do you? Unlike Ney. Don’t you have any preferences?”
“None.”
“None? Really? Even if it’s not his face, what about his build or the kind of impression he gives?”
“I could not possibly care less.”
Apparently she genuinely had none. Being interested in money and nothing else was almost admirable in its simplicity. She added, “I suppose being excessively filthy would be unacceptable,” but that went without saying for anyone.
“I am particular about women’s faces, though. I generally like pretty ones.”
“Pretty faces? Huh?”
Liz was confused by what Levia said next. Was that really how one used that expression? Usually it referred to attraction toward the opposite sex.
“Oh, you pass, Liz. Feel free to be proud.”
“Huh?”
“I don’t particularly care about breasts. A good face and personality are enough. Rich parents or landowning parents would be nice too, of course, but those are merely optional extras.”
“Huh? Huh?”
A rather unsettling possibility came to Liz’s mind. But in the two years they had known each other, Levia had never shown any sign of that sort of interest. Then again, perhaps she had been waiting for Liz to grow up…
“H-hey. Sorry if I’m wrong, but… are you gay?”
“Hah? Who are you calling gay? Of course I’m not.”
“R-right. Good.”
“Honestly, how rude. If I had to call myself anything, I suppose I’d be asexual. I don’t know whether it’s instinctive or what, but ever since I got this body, I can think someone looks nice without ever actually feeling lust.”
“What?”
Asexual? Ever since I got this body? More strange remarks.
They had known each other for quite a while, but they had hardly ever talked about subjects like this. Perhaps it had started after Ney joined them. That was when conversations about men and romance became more common. Lately Liz had been learning all sorts of new things about Levia.
Asexual… ever since she got this body… She can’t be with men because something happened to her body?! Levia, don’t tell me she has some kind of trauma from the past!
The words victim of sexual assault came to Liz’s mind.
Wait. Could that be what she meant when she mentioned having a daughter? She got pregnant against her will, gave birth, lived happily with her two children, and then the powerful family of the man responsible took her daughter away…
Once she thought of it that way, everything seemed to fit. Perhaps Levia’s twisted personality was the result of being battered around by the cruelty of the world. Thinking of all the hardships her friend must have suffered, Liz’s expression gradually became sorrowful. Needless to say, nothing remotely that serious had ever happened in either Levia’s or Shinnosuke’s life.
“Huh? Why do you look like you’re about to cry?”
“Sniff… It’s nothing. Nothing at all. You had it so hard, didn’t you? You did your best…”
“??”
Levia looked as though she had absolutely no idea what Liz was talking about. After thinking for a moment, however, she suddenly seemed to realize something and clapped one hand into the other.
“Aha, I understand. Liz, you’ve fallen in love with me.”
“Sniff… Huh?”
“Beauty truly is a sin. To think I would captivate even another woman. Of course you’d be upset after hearing that you were outside my preferences. I’m sorry, Liz.”
Apparently Levia had misunderstood her in an entirely different direction. Liz did like Levia, but as a friend, not romantically.
Levia was selfish in all sorts of ways and occasionally came dangerously close to doing something genuinely unforgivable, but she also cared about her companions more than she let on. Liz had lost count of how many times Levia had helped her since they first met. Whatever else could be said about her everyday behavior, that was probably why Liz could never bring herself to truly dislike her.
Wait, maybe she realized I figured it out. So she’s trying to cover it up by pretending…
Having reached that conclusion, Liz burst into tears. Levia patted her back and tried to console her with, “I really am sorry. But I have no desire to put myself in a position where people look down on me for being gay. They’d probably say I only turned to women because men wouldn’t have me.” She casually delivered some prejudice against LGBT people while doing so. Of course, in her current state she was a genuine “T” herself, so she was already part of the acronym.
Two out of the three women at the table were now crying. The other customers had begun turning into spectators when the bell over the restaurant entrance rang.
“Ah. So this is where you were. I finally found you.”
“S-Sir Gawain!”
The room immediately stirred with murmurs of “Lord Gawain” and “It’s Lord Gawain.”
Even the half-dead Ney shot upright at the words, shouting, “Lord Gawain?!” Liz, still crying, also looked toward the entrance. Standing there was the blond knight they had seen earlier that day.
After saying something to the waiter at the entrance, Gawain walked over to their table. Levia watched him with slight caution, Ney’s eyes sparkled, and Liz’s tears still had not stopped. Faced with those three very different reactions, Gawain looked puzzled before speaking apologetically.
“Excuse me. There was something I wished to tell you, but perhaps I should come back later. I will wait in the entrance hall, so please join me once things have settled down.”
“N-no, no! If Lord Gawain has business with us, then our little matter is trivial. Please, speak now.”
Ney stood, placed a hand over her chest, and gave a knightly salute while deciding for everyone. Gawain still seemed concerned about Liz, who was sniffling beside them, and asked, “Are you certain?” Ney once again decided for everyone with an immediate, “Of course.”
“Then, if you will excuse me. My name is Gawain Galadin, a knight in service to Lord Arthur. May I ask your names?”
“Yes! I’m Ney Shariq! The pink one is Levia, and the little one is Lieselotte!”
Once again, Ney introduced everyone without asking. Gawain looked impressed when he heard their names.
“I have heard of you. You are the adventuring party called Poppy Anemone, are you not?”
“What! You know of us? I’m honored! But how…?”
“There are not many A-rank adventurers. If you were in another country it might be different, but since we live in the same kingdom, naturally word of your exploits reaches us. I hear you have accomplished some remarkable things.”
He offered the praise freely, accompanied by a refreshing smile.
Faced with the full force of his handsome aura, Ney’s face went slack with delight. She quickly pulled herself together, however, and replied, “Thank you!”
“So what did you need?” Levia asked with little interest while making sure Liz, who had finally stopped crying, drank some water. “If this is about earlier, I’m grateful enough to buy you dinner. Here, drink.”
“Nothing of the sort. As I said earlier, I merely fulfilled my duty as a knight.”
“Exactly, Levia. Show Lord Gawain some respect.”
Levia gave Ney an exasperated look. “Whose side are you on, exactly?” She had already been told there was a good chance he had a girlfriend, and this was still how she behaved. Levia’s reaction was understandable.
“Well, as for why I came… I actually have a request for Lady Levia.”
“For me? What might that be?”
Levia asked without showing much interest. Perhaps because of that attitude, Gawain suddenly seemed to find the words difficult to say. It lasted only a few moments before he gathered his resolve and spoke.
“A-actually—
I would very much like you to marry me, Lady Levia!”