A Heart That Couldn’t Bring Itself To🐶
“It was the Magic Saintess again this time, right?”
“Probably. They say she even broke the clock tower in the square.”
“Someone said they saw that judge running to the Capital Guard a few days ago.”
“I heard he was complaining of mental anguish.”
“Saying some bandit-looking man was following him around.”
“But the Magic Saintess wouldn’t be a bandit.”
“…Wouldn’t she?”
Has anyone actually seen the Magic Saintess? Hazel asked with a serious expression.
No!
I’m not a bandit! I screamed inwardly.
“A person who, despite being a bandit, runs across rooftops in a short skirt while calling herself a ‘saintess’….”
“…….”
“Disgusting….”
I said I’m not!
“B-but!”
Ellie, a follower of the Magic Saintess, cut in.
“If you look at the photo taken of her from behind last time, I think she really is a woman!”
Good job, Ellie!
“Could be a small man.”
“Huh?”
“A man so tiny you’d mistake him for a woman.”
“Uh….”
“A tiny man wearing a short skirt and running across rooftops while referring to himself as a ‘saintess’….”
“…….”
“Disgusting….”
No…….
“I’m very grateful that he helped Ellie, but….”
“…….”
“Disgusting….”
I said no…….
I was one step away from becoming someone disgusting no matter what I did.
“No, ladies.”
The boy standing in line in front of us turned around and joined the conversation.
“I saw her at Everlan Amusement Park last time, and the Magic Saintess really is a woman!”
“Oh, really?”
“Yes. She was a young lady with bright, shining blond hair, just like Sir Arden, who was running with her.”
“Ooh.”
“They both had sparkling blond hair, so they looked so good together!”
They chase and get chased, shoot at each other, and then fall in love! the boy said with a dreamy expression, clasping his hands together.
“…….”
For no reason, I touched my black hair, which I’d roughly tied back into one.
Blond and blond look good together?
What a boy who doesn’t even understand color combinations.
Wasn’t black hair originally what went best with blond hair…….
Not that I mean Arden and I look good together. I’m just saying.
It’s just……. That’s what I think…………………………….
If not, then there’s nothing I can do………………………….
“Maybe I should dye my hair blond too!”
The boy tugged at his green hair in dissatisfaction, then faced forward again.
“…….”
Without answering, I tapped the toe of my shoe against the ground once.
Seeing me like that, Ellie and Hazel’s voices suddenly grew louder.
“N-now that we know she’s a woman, I’m even more curious! What on earth did the Magic Saintess do to that judge to make him change his attitude?”
“I know, right! Hahaha!”
“If the Magic Saintess were in front of me, I’d want to ask her!”
“Hahaha!”
“The Magic Saintess’s blond hair may be pretty, but honestly, what does it matter whether her hair is brown or gray? What matters is Sir Arden’s heart!”
“That’s right! Isn’t that right, Sister Seraphina?”
Ellie poked me in the side.
“Sir Arden’s heart is what matters!”
“Mm-hmm.”
It wasn’t like I’d gotten gloomy just because I heard that blondes looked good together.
But the two of them seemed to be watching my mood because they misunderstood there to be something between Arden and me.
I let go of the hand that had been fiddling with my hair and burst out laughing. Ha ha ha!
“Exactly! Arden hates the Magic Saintess!”
“That’s right!”
“Last time, I saw him call her a pervert!”
“That’s right!”
The problem is that’s me!
“Anyway, isn’t it really satisfying? Seriously, judges who hand down those trash rulings should all have to experience it themselves!”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying!”
“I heard a lot of noblewomen have turned to the Magic Saintess’s side because of this incident.”
My dad isn’t even a noble, but he empathizes with nobles. Normally, he tells me not to even bring up the Magic Saintess, but it seems like this incident changed his mind, Hazel said.
“He said it doesn’t feel like someone else’s problem when he has a daughter.”
“My dad too.”
‘If they think of it that way, then that’s a relief.’
Honestly, no matter what, I had felt uneasy because it seemed like I, someone who wasn’t a judge, had interfered with the trial outcome.
But then, in the third trial that was held after the defendant in that case appealed the ruling, the court unanimously tacked on another five years in prison.
I guess the judges must have felt something when they saw that day’s verdict too.
Judges, I hereby retract your ranking as Seraphina’s pick for most unlikable profession.
“But the line for this shop is really long.”
I craned my neck to peek toward the front of the line that wound all the way around the alley.
“We’ve been waiting for over an hour, but I still can’t even see the entrance.”
The three of us had finally coordinated our day off and come out to eat together, but at this rate, the whole day would pass while we waited.
“I know, right? They must be raking in money hand over fist.”
“I’m jealous.”
Ellie and Hazel, agreeing with me, craned their necks forward too.
What are we doing right now, you ask?
We’re standing in line at a famous gelato shop across from the square with the clock tower (that I broke).
It’s the very shop where Judge Cameron bought melon-flavored gelato last time.
It was a popular shop back then too, but not to this extent. Did something happen in the meantime?
“I thought there wouldn’t be many people because it’s winter.”
“Sister, they say eating ice cream in summer is for amateurs. Eating it in winter is what true masters do.”
“Still.”
It’s too much that we’ve waited an hour and a half and still haven’t even seen the shop entrance.
“At this rate, it’ll easily take four hours just to get inside.”
“Maybe that’s why? I heard there are people who come the day before and line up just to eat gelato here.”
“Wow.”
Impressive.
“This won’t do. I’ll go buy crepes from the shop next door. Let’s share them while we wait.”
“You can’t do that, Seraphina.”
“Why not?”
“No outside food allowed here.”
“Even for people in line?”
“Yeah….”
“And if even one person leaves the waiting line, you have to start over from the beginning.”
“…….”
“…….”
“…….”
“Want to share my scarf?”
“The three of us?”
“Sounds good!”
And so, the three of us wrapped ourselves in Hazel’s one long scarf and waited for ages before finally emerging onto the street where the shop entrance was visible.
But then.
“Hey! What do you think you’re doing?!”
“Oh dear, I’m sorry. I was looking away for a moment.”
“You think sorry is enough?”
How are you going to compensate me for this?! the furious young man shouted.
At his feet lay a gelato that looked as though he’d just taken one bite.
From the look of it, an old man passing by had been talking to his companion and bumped into the young man without seeing him.
“Oh dear, young man. I’m sorry. My husband is a bit slow on his feet.”
The old woman beside the old man wore an apologetic expression as she took the young man by the elbow.
“I’ll pay you back, so buy yourself another ice cream with this, all right?”
“Who do you think you’re talking down to!”
Let go!
Thwack! The man violently shook off the old woman’s arm.
“Oh dear!”
The old woman staggered for a moment and fell backward.
“Do you know how many hours I waited to eat this?!”
You’ll give me money so I can buy another one? Even several times that amount wouldn’t buy this!
As the young man lost his temper, spittle flying, a flash of madness passed through his eyes.
“Ugh!”
After hurling all sorts of curses at the fallen old woman, the man disappeared into the alley.
“Honey! Are you all right?!”
“O-old man….”
The old man tried to help the old woman, who had collapsed to the ground, back up, but he didn’t have the strength, and it wasn’t going well.
The old woman, struggling to get up, suddenly placed a hand over her chest.
Perhaps she’d been terribly startled, because she couldn’t breathe properly and was wheezing.
“What do I do, s-someone, please….”
Holding onto the old woman, the old man looked around at the people lined up in front of the shop.
“S-someone, please help….”
But no one stepped forward.
They only stared at the wheezing old woman and the old man asking for help as if they were strange, whispering among themselves, or ignored them entirely as if they couldn’t see them.
The green-haired boy standing in front of us whispered with his group.
“They should’ve watched where they were going.”
“Why did she talk down to him?”
“They looked down on him because he was young, and then they met the wrong person.”
“If they did that to me, I’d smear that gelato on their heads.”
“They were in the wrong first.”
“Just ignore them. It’s not our business.”
“…….”
Every single person’s eyes looked deranged.
“Grandfather!”
While I was standing there stunned, Ellie shot forward.
Only then did Hazel and I come to our senses and run over to the old woman and old man.
“Are you all right? Can you stand?”
“Do you think you need to go to the hospital?”
We helped the old woman up and looked around for someone to help.
“Excuse me.”
The green-haired boy called to us.
“Are you sure you’re okay with this? If you leave the line now, you’ll have to start over.”
Haven’t you waited over three hours? the boy asked.
“…….”
“…….”
“…….”
The three of us looked at one another for a moment.
“Yes.”
“Yes.”
“Yes.”
And we left, supporting the old woman.
As we left the square, the people remained standing in line as if nothing had happened.
The shop owner didn’t come out either.
Ding… ding… dink.
Only the sound of Loire’s Heart, which I had broken (I’m sorry), kept turning with a creak.
Magic Saintess Seraphina