The gaze that looked upon him held warmth, and the voice was steeped in concern. Damon swore he had never seen such eyes in his life. Not from anyone but his master, Doyle…
“Well, now. Wonders never cease.”
Shaking his head, Damon slowly got to his feet. Having wracked his brain for so long, fatigue came rushing over him. He began dragging his steps toward his quarters, utterly drained. His own lavishly decorated quarters, that was. For the moment, all he wanted was to get some sleep.
The next day. Waking early in the morning, Damon lingered beneath the blankets for quite some time. He desperately wanted to immerse himself in training, but because of the one thought filling his mind, he could not concentrate at all.
“What should I do? Should I go see her? No. If I do, I’ll only end up making another disgraceful spectacle of myself like yesterday…”
Yesterday’s experience had been truly pathetic to him. He, a great leader of the unorthodox faction who would not even blink after cutting off a man’s head, had been reduced to fumbling helplessly before a mere slip of a girl…
He could not understand himself at all. With another shout, he buried his head in the pillow.
“That wench is a bewitching creature! A bewitching creature! A bewitching creature.”
He repeatedly vowed that he would not go. He did not want to suffer the same humiliation twice. Was he not someone who would not readily be cowed even before the King of Hell, let alone a dragon? He was confident he would not let out a single groan even if his limbs were severed and a sword pierced his heart. And yet that same man had been unable to open his mouth properly before one young girl, his chest tightening all the while…
“I won’t go. I’m soon to head for the battlefield. I have no reason to set my heart on some woman.”
With his eyes closed, Damon continued muttering to himself.
Just then, a maid entered to tidy the bed and stared at him in bewilderment. But it was not her place to meddle in her master’s affairs, so she quietly turned away. Afraid that he might take an interest in her, the maid was behaving with extreme caution.
But her movements could never escape Damon’s senses. Sensing her presence from beneath the blanket, Damon shook his head as if to drive away distracting thoughts.
“Women are all the same, no matter who they are. Strip them bare and there’s no difference at all. In other words, she’s no different from that maid wench.”
But it was all in vain. The more he tried to forget, the more Daphne’s bright eyes and innocent smile kept flickering before him. And that friendly way she treated him. To Damon, who had always been used to cold treatment and jealousy, it was certainly an entirely new experience. Unable to endure it any longer, Damon slapped himself hard across the cheek.
Smack.
With a crisp sound, his cheek swelled red. Perhaps the pain brought him somewhat to his senses, for Damon opened his eyes wide and sprang to his feet.
“Training! No matter what, I must become a necromancer. To avenge my master and return to the Central Plains, I must think only of magic. Get a hold of yourself, Damon!”
Plopping down right where he was and crossing his legs, Damon began gathering mana with all his might.
A look of delight crossed the face of the girl crouching as she gazed at the flowers.
“You came, mister.”
Before her stood Damon, wearing a somewhat awkward expression. Despite all his firm resolutions, he had ultimately failed to resist the temptation. Daphne greeted him with a radiant face.
“Look at this. The flowers have come back to life, all fresh and green.”
“Y-yes. They have.”
Damon barely managed to speak, twisting the corner of his mouth faintly. He had steeled his heart so firmly, but it had been of no use. The moment he saw Daphne, his heart had been shaken without mercy. As if that were not enough, when Daphne smiled brightly, Damon once again felt his chest flutter. Even though he tried not to, he simply could not control the pounding of his heart. In the end, Damon had to squeeze his eyes shut and shake his head over and over.
“This won’t do. Focus your mind! Focus your mind!”
Just then, something exceedingly soft suddenly burrowed into his arms. Damon opened his eyes, and in that instant, it felt as if a 9th-circle Lightning Bolt had pierced his entire body. The shock was like being struck by lightning. Daphne, wearing an infinitely beautiful smile, had nestled into his embrace. Damon’s body froze exactly as it was.
“Thank you so much, mister. Thanks to you, the flowers came back to life.”
“Uh… uh…”
Poor Damon could not even speak properly. Looking up at Damon’s face, Daphne smiled softly. It was that unique smile of hers that made a person’s mind grow hazy.
“Mister, I think you’re a truly good person. You worked so hard for the flowers…”
“L-let go of me first and then we’ll talk. Please.”
After flailing about, Damon barely managed to detach her from himself. It felt as if every hair on his body were standing on end. Of course, the feeling was by no means unpleasant. Only after Daphne stepped back with a bright smile could Damon come to his senses. He simply could not understand Daphne’s reaction toward him.
“Sorry to ask this, but… are you perhaps not afraid of me?”
“Afraid? Why would I be? You seem like such a good person…”
“Doesn’t my face look fierce or give you chills?”
Daphne stared at Damon’s face for a moment, then tilted her head.
“I’m not sure. You are a little different from other people, but you look better to me. Since you seem to have a kinder heart than others.”
“Mm! This is driving me mad.”
Damon was now seriously contemplating his own existence. The way Daphne saw him conflicted too greatly with everything he had ever experienced in the eyes of others…
Damon had never once received such an evaluation in his life. No, it would be more accurate to say it was an evaluation he had never even imagined. Damon stared at Daphne with his eyes wide.
“Are you perhaps blind?”
“Pardon?”
“As in, you can’t see… or you can’t properly distinguish the shapes of things… or perhaps there’s something wrong with your mind.”
“I don’t think that’s the case. My eyesight is very good. And I’m not crazy.”
After finishing her words, Daphne smiled once more. Unable to bear it any longer, Damon squeezed his eyes shut.
‘This is driving me insane. If that behavior were an act, at least my heart would be at ease, but I can’t see even the slightest sign of that…’
Indeed, there was not the slightest trace of falsehood in Daphne’s eyes. If there was any pretense hidden behind such pure eyes, then she was undoubtedly a god. Unless she were a god, she could not deceive his eyes and ears so perfectly. With his eyes tightly shut, Damon approached a nearby rock and sat down heavily.
“Sit beside me for now. When I see your smile, I can’t get a word out.”
“All right.”
Without the slightest hesitation, Daphne sat close beside Damon. A fresh fragrance seeped into his nose without restraint. Once again, Damon felt dizzy. But it was a fragrance infinitely far removed from anything that stirred lust… Without realizing it, Damon let out an exclamation.
“You smell truly wonderful…”
Depending on the circumstances, those words could have led to a serious misunderstanding, but Daphne answered as if nothing were amiss. Due to his lack of experience, Damon was still hopelessly clumsy in matters of this sort.
“Do I really?”
“Mm. You do.”
Damon nodded with a stiff expression. He had never imagined in his wildest dreams that he would say such a thing to a woman. As if to wipe away the awkwardness, Damon asked about Daphne’s position.
“But what do you do here?”
“Here?”
“That’s right. Judging by your clothes, you don’t seem to be a noble… Are you perhaps a maid attached to the imperial palace?”
“I’m not sure. I don’t really know that either.”
Had anyone else given such an answer, Damon would certainly have roared at them. But even Damon himself truly could not understand why he became so weak only in front of Daphne. His honest feeling was that he wanted to avoid, under any circumstances, doing anything that might hurt her feelings. Even at her uncertain reply, Damon merely nodded halfheartedly.
“I-is that so?”
“Then what do you do, mister?”
“Hm? Me? I-I’m a mage. You could say I’m a war mage who goes out to the battlefield and fights bravely. Right now, I’m waiting here temporarily to carry out a mission.”
“Then you must be good at using magic.”
“Well, a l-little…”
Stammering his answer, Damon stole a glance at Daphne’s profile. The downy part of her earlobe was so adorably dainty that he almost wanted to bite it. By coincidence, at that moment Daphne turned her head and looked at Damon. Her gaze was filled with anticipation.
“Could you show me some magic?”
“Hm? M-magic?”
“I heard that mages can do things ordinary people can’t even imagine. Like making objects float in the air or turning them invisible, or creating flames. I saw it once before, and it was very fascinating.”
“U-um.”
Damon kept breaking out in cold sweat. In truth, all he knew how to do was subdue monsters with Magic Missile. The things Daphne mentioned were actually beginner-level magic. They were closer to magic tricks than true magic.
They were things that any 1st- or 2nd-circle mage could cast well enough. But because Damon had cultivated only magic thoroughly geared toward actual combat, he had never trained in such things. No matter how high one’s circle was, magic one had not learned could not be unfolded. Still, since he did not want to disappoint Daphne, Damon slowly got to his feet.
“I don’t know whether you’ll like it or not, but watch.”
After speaking, Damon gathered his mana. Once a certain amount of mana had gathered, Damon immediately cast Haste.