Chapter 23 Time Spent In Hometown
"Laura, are you okay?"
Lukas peered into my face with a worried expression.
――After that, Lukas returned to the hut where a heavy atmosphere lingered, carrying a basket full of herbs.
His eyes sparkled upon seeing me, expressing joy at our reunion. I wanted to respond in kind, but thoughts of the conversation with my mentor from just a while ago kept swirling in my head — unable to dispel the heavy atmosphere, Lukas and I left my mentor's hut behind.
I'm glad you're okay.
Everyone was worried about you.
As Lukas muttered those words softly, I vaguely nodded in response, when suddenly he threw out those words.
"Uh, no, sorry, I'm just a bit tired."
It was an excuse to deceive him, but it wasn't a lie.
Being jostled in a carriage for over a day was tough both physically and mentally. On top of that, thinking about Elvira made me feel down.
Lukas kindly smiled at me and said, "I see," without asking further. Then he changed the subject himself.
"When I heard about a large group of monsters appearing near the capital... I was surprised."
He was surprised, huh...
From his hesitant tone, it seemed like he couldn't express his feelings properly. While it's true he was surprised, I felt frustrated thinking there must be better words to accurately convey this emotion. I wore that expression.
But then, Lukas's concerned look temporarily pushed my thoughts of Elvira to the back of my mind. I need to apologize properly for causing worry to my kind childhood friend.
"I'm sorry for causing you worry."
"You don't need to apologize, Laura."
Lukas immediately shook his head in response.
He's a kind kid. I really think so.
Despite feeling apologetic, his eyebrows drooped, but I could tell his mouth also lifted upon experiencing the kindness of his childhood friend.
"You gave me a letter, but... seeing your face today directly, I felt really relieved."
With a soft smile, Lukas relaxed his cheeks.
Suddenly, he held my left hand. Lukas then repositioned his grip a few times as if checking my body temperature.
At that moment, I noticed. Lukas' palm was covered in countless calluses.
"I started learning swordsmanship from the weapons shop owner a while ago. Since Laura is working hard, I thought I should also work hard at what I can do."
Saying that, Lukas showed a considerably gallant smile. It was different from his soft and cute smiles before, now showing a faint sense of confidence in a boy's smile.
Even though I try to act tough, as someone who sees Lukas as a younger brother, I can't help but worry. I know it's unnecessary for the "future Hero-sama," but my childhood friend standing in front of me still has little experience fighting monsters.
"Don't push yourself too hard."
"Same goes for you, Laura."
That's what he replied without any hesitation.
I had a feeling about it before, and even though I'm not aware of it, Lukas seems to think of me as someone who doesn't realize when they're pushing themselves too hard due to being too focused. Certainly, when we were in Emme Village, I was studying alchemy diligently every day, but it's not like I was overdoing it. However, if that's how it looks from the eyes of my childhood friend, it would be wise to pay attention to it even if I'm not aware of it.
I nodded slightly dissatisfied and squeezed Lukas's right hand back. Feeling the calluses in his palm, I felt reassurance, worry, and anxiety.
* * *
When Lukas dropped me off at home, Petra and the others were waiting for me. It seemed like they still had more to talk about.
As soon as Lukas saw their faces, he hesitated and said "Have fun" before leaving the scene. Lukas wasn't particularly close to Petra and the others - I'm not sure about their friendship since I went to the capital city - but he must have been considerate of the fact that they were all girls.
I invited Petra and the others into my room and we had a girls' talk.
We talked about recent events in the village, their new hobbies, complaints about the men in the village, and they even asked me to tell them about the capital city.
The topics were flowing one after another, but there was a momentary pause. It was then that I started thinking about finding a new topic - and then I remembered. Emme Village was recently attacked by monsters.
From Lukas, I heard about that fact. However, he didn't try to tell me the details. Maybe it was out of consideration not to cause unnecessary worry or trouble. But...
"Um, I heard that the village was attacked the other day... Is it true?"
When I brought it up, Petra, Radmila, and Julia exchanged subtle looks.
Julia was the one who answered.
"Yes. But no one was injured."
"Oh, that's a relief... Did monsters come into the village?"
I felt relieved again upon hearing that no one was injured.
But what I really wanted to know was the more detailed parts. I asked more questions and delved deeper into the topic.
"The man from the tool shop, he has a field at the edge of the village, right? It seems a monster appeared there."
"It was big, so the man hurried back to the village... Even though they didn't attack, for some reason, the monster chased after the man and into the village."
"It was so big, like, way bigger than usual. It was like, almost twice as big as normal, you know?"
Julia's words were passed on by Petra, and Radmila added the final touch.
Imagining the scene back then from their words. The sight was terrifying, even though it was common.
There were no Knight Orders. No magicians either. While there were adults accustomed to fighting monsters, the creature they faced this time was of a size they had never seen before.
The villagers must have been terrified of such monsters. Surely Lukas was among them.
"When we saw it easily surpass the magic that should have been set at the village entrance, it honestly didn't feel like we were alive."
Petra weakly smiled. It was probably because no one was injured that she could say those words, but a chilling feeling spread in my chest.
"So, what about Lukas?"
"Yeah! His left eye sparkled brightly, it was beautiful."
"The uncles were fighting with all their might, but in the end, it was Lukas' mysterious power that defeated the enemy."
Radmila, with her usual carefree attitude, had sparkling eyes, while Julia seemed hesitant in her words. Even though Lukas' power protected them, they seemed puzzled by it.
What is Lukas' Hero power? I don't really know. It's said that in this world, when the demon king awakens, a young person with the power of light to counter it is born. ――I heard about this legend in my past life, but I don't recall hearing a similar one in this life.
Lukas is the young man with the power of light. In a way, he might be a messenger sent by the heavens.
"I see... It's really good that everyone is safe."
With those words of mine, the topic was closed. The conversation shifted back to light-hearted chatting.
――The conversation was lively. Before I knew it, it was starting to get dark outside, losing track of time.
Feeling reluctant to part ways, Petra and the others headed back home before it got too dark. As they said their goodbyes, promising to come back again, I nodded in agreement.
That night, the three of us, my parents and I, enjoyed a peaceful dinner together.
My mother and father listened to my stories with gentle smiles. Sometimes we laughed out loud together. However, there was one moment when their smiles faltered. It was when――
"Laura, don't push yourself too hard."
"That's right, you can always come back home whenever you want."
The eyes of my parents as they said this were not filled with laughter.
As parents, they must be worried. They must be conflicted about whether it's okay to let their daughter live in the capital city like this.
Their eyes seemed to plead for me to come back, to stay with them. But,
"Yeah, thank you."
Pretending not to notice that, I just smiled.
I had things I had to do. It seemed impossible to achieve by just staying in this village. In fact, I might have to travel all around the world.
In my heart, I apologize to my parents. I thought about saying it out loud, but if I did, my parents, especially my mother, might start crying. Her eyes were that teary.
I'm sorry, but I have a new goal now.
While enjoying conversations with my parents, Elvira's presence was always in the back of my mind.
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