Volume 3 Chapter 34 Worries
The next morning.
I headed to the meeting place with Suisen as promised.
Last night, after that, I returned home without any particular incidents, and I was able to safely deliver Cosmos to the inn without any issues.
I still didn't understand the purpose of the people in black, but I had a rough idea.
Plus, if I asked Suisen, who was in the middle of it all, I was sure I would find out most of it today.
Since there were no request forms in the Nurturer's inquiry box, I left early in the morning to head to Suisen.
"Good morning, Roezé. It's nice weather today, isn't it? It's like the clear blue sky resembles my refreshing self."
"..."
Suisen had arrived at the meeting place before me again.
I hadn't slept well and ended up arriving 30 minutes early, but it seemed Suisen was quite the early riser too.
"Hmm, is something wrong? Why are you staring at my face like that? If you're captivated, feel free to look as much as you want."
Since I was looking at Suisen in a meaningful way, he tilted his head, sensing my presence.
It was understandable since he didn't know anything about last night.
I'm not good at beating around the bush, so I took Suisen to a side path and got straight to the point.
"Last night, I was attacked by a 'fan of Sianna Navis'."
"Eh..."
"They said, 'Step away from Suisen Pride'."
The woman who seemed to be the leader of the group in black was the 'Color Magician.' She was one of the female adventurers who had been talking to Sianna Navis in front of the guild the other day.
"Of course, it's only natural to face consequences for messing with Lady Sianna Navis. It seems there are many other female adventurers who have a history with her, so it's clear they were always like that."
Suisen had confessed to and been rejected by the female adventurer, Sianna Navis.
I had happened to peek at the job class of that female fan with the Divine Eye skill yesterday.
If I'm not mistaken, she had the job class of 'Color Magician.' The culprit is definitely her.
"Well, there's no evidence left, so I can't catch them."
"..."
Suisen, knowing that I was attacked, has left behind his usual calm expression.
Sweat is beading on his forehead, and his beautiful blue eyes are swimming with agitation.
Moments later, unbelievably, that Suisen bowed his head.
"...I-I'm sorry."
"Ah, no, I didn't say that to make you apologize. I just want to know why they're going to such lengths to 'get in the way of Suisen'..."
"R-Reason?"
"I've already heard that you're hated by her fans for dumping Sianna, but it's clearly unnatural for them to threaten me just to get in your way, right? If you know any special reason, I'd like you to tell me..."
If they have some big objective, I want to know it now.
I thought Suisen might know as a party involved.
However, Suisen answered somewhat hesitantly.
"I don't really know why Roezé is being targeted. But, probably, Ms. Sianna Navis's fans want me to be 'isolated'."
"Isolated?"
"You already know that my bad reputation is being spread in the guild, right? Especially the fans seem to be trying to spread rumors to the party I was in and the adventurers I interacted with."
Suddenly, Suisen looked up at the sky, murmuring with a lonely expression.
"I think they want to isolate me in this town and feel better seeing that. So, I believe they didn't like that I was getting help from Nurturer Roezé."
"...So, they want me to 'withdraw from Suisen Pride.' It seems like you've made some deep enemies."
I knew from the talk about the bad reputation that there was a lot of hatred involved.
For now, it seems to be roughly as I expected.
They couldn't hold back their hatred for Suisen and even came after me.
"A little while ago, Ms. Sianna Navis reached out to me and apologized for the fans' excessive behavior. She also said she would try to convince them to stop..."
"But instead of the rumors dying down, they seem determined to interfere with Suisen."
It seems the fans have gone so far out of control that even Sianna can't calm them down.
They're extreme, and quite selfish too.
Still, is it really normal to hate someone this much just because the person you idolize got rejected?
To go as far as attacking me to mess with Suisen seems a bit too much.
Suisen also seems surprised, still tense and shocked.
"But I never thought they would start going after Roezé. They never did anything like that to others before. I'm really sorry."
"It's fine. No one got hurt, and thanks to Cosmos, nothing serious happened yesterday."
Honestly, it's a relief that it was us who got attacked.
If they had started going after Suisen directly, it would have been a disaster.
...I mean, it's strange that Suisen himself hasn't been attacked yet.
If they just wanted to settle their grudge, that would be a quicker and more certain way to do it.
It's a bit concerning.
"...Well, since it's come to this, I can't have Roezé help me."
"What? Why not?"
"If they see me with you, who knows what they'll do next? It seems like you got lucky this time, but I don't think you can fend them off again."
Well, it's true that Cosmos was there yesterday, so I managed to get through it somehow.
If I had been attacked by that many people while I was alone, I don't know what would have happened.
Suisen seemed to have let his anxiety build up to the limit, forgetting his usual calm expression and wearing a troubled face.
"That's why it might be better to hold off on confessing to Ms. Alium."
"..."
"If it's just me getting harassed, that's one thing. But thinking about how Roezé and the others were attacked, it's not surprising that they might go after Ms. Alium too."
If their goal is to isolate Suisen, there's a chance they could reach out to Ms. Alium in some way.
If the confession were to succeed, it would be infuriating that things would go just as Suisen wanted, and they might do something unexpected.
Worst case, Ms. Alium could get hurt...
So Suisen is saying to hold off on the confession.
However, Suisen is gritting his teeth and quietly clenching his fists.
From his expression, the feeling of 'not being able to give up' is seeping out, and I asked Suisen.
"Are you really okay with that?"
"...It can't be helped. I can't cause any more trouble for others. I can't repay the fact that my actions might lead to more people getting attacked."
It seems that what happened to me has really affected him.
Because of me, someone might get hurt.
Next, the person he loves could be targeted.
Suisen, who usually acts all high and mighty and shows off his confidence, seems to be a kind person at heart.
He feels guilty about causing trouble for others and seems unable to step forward.
"I'm sorry, but let's just forget about this request..."
As Suisen was about to say that regretfully, I suddenly interrupted him.
"Then, why not just get stronger instead?"
"Eh?"
"Get strong enough to drive away Sianna's fans. Get strong enough to protect Ms. Alium. It would be such a waste to bottle up my feelings because of outside interference."
Suisen opened his blue eyes wide and looked at me with a surprised expression.
"I do think it's a big problem that you might cause trouble for Ms. Alium. So, I think it would be better for Suisen to confess his feelings after he becomes strong enough to protect Ms. Alium."
"Strong enough to protect...?"
"Well, it would be great if Suisen became so strong that those guys wouldn't even think about bothering you again. If that happens, I think they would get scared and give up."
Just like yesterday with Cosmos, if he could drive them away with overwhelming strength, there wouldn't be a problem.
Then he wouldn't have to bottle up his feelings.
"Y-yeah, that might be true, but..."
Suisen hesitated, sounding confused.
He probably couldn't imagine becoming that strong.
The idea of being strong enough to protect Ms. Alium, let alone surpass her, might feel unrealistic for Suisen.
"Of course, it's up to Suisen to decide, so I won't force you. If you want to give up on Ms. Alium, I'll pretend I never heard about the request. But I promise that if Suisen wants to become stronger, I'll do everything I can to help."
"W-why are you going this far to help me, Roezé?"
Suisen completely lost his usual demeanor, showing a serious expression as if he were a "different person".
"I don't have a job class and I don't know how to get stronger. I've caused trouble, and I might put you in danger again. So why are you helping someone like me?"
I secretly thought that this was a question I had just heard recently.
Not having a job class and not knowing how to get stronger.
It's true that there's a chance I could be attacked by dangerous people again.
But still, I...
"It's because I'm a Nurturer. You asked me to make you 'stronger,' so I'm just responding to that."
"..."
I think it's understandable that Suisen feels responsible.
I don't want to trouble anyone anymore, so it's a reasonable opinion that we should just forget about the request.
But I think it's a waste for Suisen's straightforward feelings to be trapped just because of some outsiders getting in the way.
As a Nurturer, I definitely want to fulfill the request I took on, but even more than that, I want to make Suisen's pure feelings come true.
"So, tell me about your 'worries.' You were hiding something from us yesterday, right? Maybe that's the key to awakening Suisen's job class."
"..."
If the job class awakens, he will definitely become stronger than now.
There's even a chance that a 'powerful job class' could awaken that would allow him to protect Ms. Alium.
However, Suisen looked away with a complicated expression.
I understand it must be hard to say.
It's a worry he's carried since birth, after all.
On top of that, it seems like such a huge worry that it makes his humanity uncertain, preventing the gods from determining his job class.
To speak about it again would require a lot of determination and courage.
I thought he might open up since I found a reason to become stronger beyond just surpassing Ms. Alium, but...
Suisen remained silent, still looking away, and I quietly sighed.
"I-I'm..."
But right after that, Suisen opened his mouth.
His voice trembled as if he was mustering all his courage...
To be with the person he loves, Ms. Alium,
To be able to chase away the obstacles with his own hands...
He chose to become strong.
"I... I lack confidence in myself."
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