Youngest 064
by Cristae64
Thick foliage and trees made it seem as though the place had been hidden away by fairies themselves. There, I laughed as I kicked my legs in the water.
“Hehehehehe.”
Pale steam rippled as the water splashed.
“That laugh is weird.”
From behind a tree, Khalid grumbled in annoyance.
“Do I really have to stand watch for you?”
“Please do.”
After checking the depth, I slipped into the water, still wrapped in a thin cloth just in case.
“Wow… So this is what it means to just melt away…”
I almost missed out on something this wonderful!
‘Thank you, Duchess.’
Thanks to you, I’m getting to enjoy paradise.
“Khal! This is incredible! My face is cool, but my body’s so warm. You should just come in with me!”
“…Please stop saying things like that.”
Leaves rustled as Khalid, probably covering his face again, dropped his head.
“I’m still fully clothed… Besides, we used to wash together in the brook ages ago.”
“That’s not at all the same as— Ah, never mind.”
In the end, Khalid couldn’t bear it anymore and stood up abruptly.
“I’ll be nearby. Call me when you’re done.”
I puckered my lips as I listened to his footsteps recede—he was going to patrol the area.
It was a shame to lose my conversation partner, but I was already so in tune with the milky hot spring water that I had no will to stop him.
“So warm… so relaxed…”
Leaning my head softly against a rock, I felt every muscle in my body unwind.
The steaming mist felt like I was wandering through a distant dream.
The trees shifting and whispering, the scent of steam at the tip of my nose, the sound of droplets falling from my short hair…
‘The best thing about short hair is that it dries in no time.’
My drifting, hazy consciousness tumbled about aimlessly.
Of course, I could always dry it instantly with magic…
Long hair, too—I could dry it with magic.
Right, there were times like that, weren’t there…
And those times…
My eyes drifted shut, heavy and languid.
“So long and trailing.”
I stuffed the long silver hair dangling from my chest into the hood as best I could.
With my small, underdeveloped fingers, this was the best I could manage for tying hair.
In sticky, sweltering summer, with the kingdom’s priestly robes trailing all the way under my eyes, I felt even more burdened by the weight of myself.
‘I want to wash so, so, so badly!’
After a moment’s hesitation, I slipped out of the barracks unnoticed.
Moonlight guided my way as I ran into the woods nearby.
“Ugh, so tiring.”
I panted for a bit, then drew on my mana to cast a protective barrier in the area. The abundant, swirling magical energy lent me strength.
That’s when I heard the sound of footsteps, quick and snapping dry leaves, drawing rapidly nearer.
The instant I turned my body toward the sound—
“I’m here.”
“Yikes!”
A familiar surge of mana enveloped me as my vision darkened.
With a thud, I pressed my head against Khalid’s shoulder.
“You’re so dull, every time we meet…”
“You always show up out of nowhere!”
One day I’ll get my revenge!
I shouted, but Khalid only grinned. In the light of the full moon, his face shone bright.
Relieved, I dropped my hood and loosened the collar of my priest’s robe; the long hair drifted around me in the breeze.
“No matter when I see it, it really looks like silver thread…”
Suddenly, Khalid’s face grew tense.
“What’s this?”
He reached out from beneath his cloak and pointed to the edge of my cheek.
“Oh, I got scratched. I was wandering a cave with traces of a dark mage today.”
“…”
I stared into those grey-blue eyes that, though they appeared calm, seethed quietly.
A quietly angry Khalid was far more dangerous than the one who yelled. No telling what he might do.
Knowing this, I hurriedly clung to the boy’s arm.
“Hey, Khal. Don’t worry, I put some ointment on it. Mage Kingdom’s ‘wounds be gone’ miracle salve.”
Khalid pressed his lips together, calming himself with effort. I quickly changed the subject.
“But honestly, I feel gross! I still haven’t washed… this heavy hair, this sticky feeling… You know what that together means? Utter misery!”
With a low sigh, the boy finally gave in and led me away.
“Come on.”
As we hurried along, animals bounded before us, clearing a path through the brush.
“Whoa! There’s a lake here?!”
A small lakeshore, bathed in shimmering moonlight.
Only the gentle chirp of summer insects filled the silence.
Excited, I dipped my feet and then—stripping off my heavy outer robe—dived straight in.
“Pwah! So refreshing!”
“Don’t go out too deep.”
“You underestimate a mage who can control gravity. Besides, it’s not deep at all here!”
I scrubbed away all the dust and sticky fluid from my body and hair.
Khalid, dry and immaculate, sat watch on a broad rock nearby. With dark beasts lurking everywhere, he kept his back turned yet wouldn’t leave my side.
“Ah, that was perfect!”
Drying off entirely with magic, I perched on a rock. The boy, deep in silent thought all the while, turned to me.
“…I wonder.”
“Hm?”
“…Couldn’t I just stay with you? Always?”
His gaze fell softly on the scratch near my cheek.
“I don’t care if anyone finds out you’re a mage. Even if I have to go to the kingdom with you, I’d rather—”
“Don’t.”
I smiled faintly and shook my head.
“…”
“That’s not why I freed you.”
I knew Khalid had his own path to follow.
‘If I hadn’t realized all this was a novel, I probably couldn’t have said these words.’
Having broken Khalid’s seal, having him pledge an Oath Sigil to me in gratitude—these were never in the original story.
It was a huge source of strength for me to be able to draw on his mana, but… honestly, it troubled me to have upended the roots of Khalid, the male lead of part two.
I wanted Khalid to live his own life.
Sooner or later, this war would end anyway.
‘So, if only … could more easily find the traces of the dark mage, I…’
Just then, a low sigh beside me snapped me from my thoughts.
“I have no idea what you’re thinking.”
“Eh.”
With a look of defeat, Khalid plunged into the lake. Glittering droplets danced across his face.
“Hey! Why are you having fun all on your own!”
Quickly, I jumped in after him.
“Race you, Khalid!”
“You can’t swim.”
“Mages can— Hey, no fair starting before me!”
Slicing through the clear water, we both laughed and shouted. Beneath the dazzling full moon that turned night to day, the short summer night flew by.
‘Now that I think of it, who was it?’
Who was I hoping would find the traces of the dark mage?
Because I hoped someone would become a hero…
Ah, yes.
Of course, that was…
“…Dad.”
Smack smack. Smacking my lips, I slowly opened my eyes.
A cold raindrop landed on my cheek with a plop, and I startled awake.
“Eep! That scared me!”
Milky springwater cascaded down over my body as my senses snapped back into focus.
‘Wow, I really fell asleep!’
And to dream of the past as well?
I wiped the moisture from my cheek and glanced up at the sky.
The sun was barely moving, hidden behind clouds.
I must have only dozed off for a moment.
‘Ugh, this is all Khalid’s fault for leaving me alone.’
Left with nothing to do, I played around in my dreams out of boredom…
“But…”
What’s with the weather?
I looked up at the sky again.
The looming dark clouds rolling in did not bode well.
It had been drizzling for a while, and now it looked like the rain would soon pour down.
“Aw, what a shame.”
I stretched out a little farther, sinking into the soft water.
Of all days, why today?
An open-air bath—of course today, of all days.
‘Even so, this hot spring… it’s just too nice… So cozy, it even guarantees a good nap… I’d love to stay even longer, but I really should get up soon…’
Rustle.
“Hm?”
I’d just begun wringing out the towel atop my head when I turned toward the sound. The nearby thicket was shaking violently.
“Khal?”
What’s this? Has he come back?
Rustle, rustle, rustle.
“…?!”
Instinctively, I gripped the cloth covering my body.
There was only one entrance to this place. Khalid was supposed to be guarding it, and he wouldn’t have let anyone through.
‘Maybe an animal?’
Before my thoughts could stretch any further, something burst out from the thick undergrowth.
A plump, round, blue lump.
No, not a lump—
“A… butt…?”