Volume 3 Chapter 8 Appearance
"Uh, um...?"
The two men who were trying to approach Fran stared at him with wide eyes.
With his slender, delicate build, flawless white skin, and hair that flowed like silk in a light brown hue, he looked like a young, innocent girl.
His long, dark brown eyelashes framed eyes that were round and inviting, evoking a protective instinct.
Every time he moved, a sweet scent seemed to tickle the nose.
No matter how you looked at him, he appeared to be a young, charming girl.
The slightly baggy work clothes he wore, along with a soot-stained apron, were his only attempts to assert any masculinity.
However, the men gazing at Fran were still filled with doubt.
"You're just lying to get rid of us, right...?"
"N-No, it's not a lie! I often get mistaken for a girl, but I'm really... a guy!"
Fran looked back at the men with teary eyes.
The mix of embarrassment and frustration on his face only made him look even more like an adorable girl.
As Fran pleaded with them, the men hesitated, then broke into awkward smiles.
They still looked incredulous, but eventually, they seemed to resign themselves and turned their gaze toward Rose.
"Well, how about just the red-haired girl, then?"
"Huh?"
"Let's go grab a drink together. If you can't handle alcohol, I know a great place for food. We'll treat you to whatever you want. And more than that..."
The man pointed at me with his thumb, a mocking grin on his face.
"Being with such a 'loser' would be super boring, right?"
In that instant, the atmosphere turned as cold as an icy wasteland.
A chilling sensation ran down my spine, as if a sharp knife was pressed against my neck.
Overwhelmed by the intense aura and murderous intent, we found ourselves unable to move.
I had felt this sensation once before.
Fearfully, I shifted my gaze to the side… Rose's long crimson hair swayed like a raging fire, expressing her fury.
"Who are you calling a loser?"
"──!?"
The man froze in place, struck by Rose's piercing aura.
He chattered his teeth as if caught in extreme cold, tears welling up at the corners of his eyes.
The moment Rose took a step forward, he let out a small scream and jumped back.
"Hey, let's get out of here!"
He forcibly pulled one of his friends, and they fled the scene.
Immediately, the heavy atmosphere began to lighten, and the breath we had been holding gradually escaped.
Honestly, we were feeling pretty exhausted too.
Looking over, I noticed Fran was swaying, likely affected by Rose's intense presence, and Cosmos was also sweating slightly.
If we, who had already experienced this pressure, were feeling this way, it was no doubt that they had suffered a deep psychological blow from being directly confronted by it.
They might never be able to casually flirt with girls again.
As I watched them hurriedly escape, I suddenly heard Cosmos's empty voice from beside me.
"...By the way, why do you think I couldn't say anything?"
"...I-I don't know?"
Maybe it was just a coincidence that I didn't speak up.
Or perhaps I was too small to be noticed.
I held back from saying anything further, as I didn't want to make Cosmos upset again.
"Honestly, they were quite rude. Inviting us to dinner without even knowing us properly, and even badmouthing Mr. Roezé. I was about to get genuinely angry."
"...That wasn't even their real anger?"
I shuddered at the thought of what would have happened if they had truly expressed their anger.
I was genuinely happy that they were angry on my behalf, though.
Suddenly, Rose's expression softened back to its usual gentle demeanor, and she turned to Fran with a surprised look.
"B-By the way, Fran! Are you really a guy?!"
"...Y-Yes."
"But you're so delicate, with such smooth skin and bright eyes...?"
Rose leaned in closely, staring intently at Fran, who looked away shyly.
It was true that Fran was small and didn't have the build of a typical guy, but he was undeniably male.
It made sense that Rose was so curious, as it wasn't obvious at first glance.
By the way, I'm sure the other blacksmiths in the industrial area were aware of this too.
When Rose called Fran "a weak woman," Brue had a completely bewildered look on his face.
Cosmos, just like Rose, leaned in to look at Fran's face and then eventually turned a suspicious gaze toward me.
"You didn't seem that surprised, but did you know?"
"Uh, yeah. Well..."
I scratched my cheek and gave a wry smile.
"From the first time I saw him, I felt something was off. So, when I used my 'Divine Eye' skill to get a Divine Revelation, I also found out he was a guy. I mean, I thought he was a girl at first too, so I can't really say anything."
I felt bad not only for misunderstanding but also for peeking at the Divine Revelation without permission.
Just as I was about to apologize again, Fran tilted his head in confusion.
"'Divine Eye'? So that's how you figured out I'm a guy?"
"Yeah. It's a skill that lets me see various information from what I observe. So, when I looked at you, I could tell you were a guy right away..."
As I tried to explain, suddenly Fran's face turned bright red, as if he had overheated in a hot bath.
Immediately after, he shrank back as if trying to hide his whole body.
I wondered what was wrong when he started squirming and whispered in a soft voice.
"W-wait, when you say you can see various things… does that mean you… 'saw' something?"
"Huh...?"
I was about to ask, "What do you mean?" but stopped just in time.
I noticed Fran was holding his hand over his lower abdomen, and I realized everything.
My face also flushed with heat.
"N-no, that's not it! I didn't mean it like that! The Divine Eye skill just lets me see 'information'—it's not like I have some kind of x-ray ability!"
I only figured out he was a guy based on the information, not because I saw anything specific.
I broke out in a cold sweat from the huge misunderstanding.
When I looked over, Rose seemed confused, tilting her head, while Cosmos was giving me a piercing stare.
...This is a misunderstanding.
There's no way I have such a shameless ability.
Even if I did, I wouldn't use it to check someone's gender.
As I quietly sighed, Rose turned to Fran with a serious expression.
"Anyway, I understand now that Fran is male. I'm really sorry for the misunderstanding."
"N-no, it's a common mistake."
"However, regardless of gender, it's clear that you have a cute face. Please be careful with pick-up lines like earlier. I've heard rumors that there's a notorious womanizer in the guild who's been preying on female adventurers, so let's be cautious."
"Y-yes..."
Hearing that advice, Fran nodded, and I decided to share something that had been on my mind.
"By the way, since all three of us are 18 and the same age, you don't have to use honorifics with me. It feels a bit off."
"Y-you can tell that? Oh, then you can call me by my name without any honorifics."
"Sure. Nice to meet you, Fran."
It felt strange being spoken to with honorifics when we were the same age, so I was glad to finally say something.
Then Fran turned to Rose and said,.
"R-Rose, you can call me by my name too."
"Uh, well, it's not that I'm the same age as you..."
"...?"
Fran's gaze slowly shifted to Cosmos beside him.
He froze for a moment, as if time had stopped, before finally understanding the situation.
"W-wait, you mean this kid!?"
"Why are you so surprised? It's way harder to believe that you're a guy!"
Well, that's true.
Cosmos has a look that doesn't match his personality, but Fran's gender and appearance are even more mismatched.
Anyway, it took a while, but I was glad that Fran was recognized as male, so I reiterated my point.
"Well, that being said, Fran is definitely a guy, so it's no problem for him to stay at my house. Nothing like what Rose is worried about is going to happen, so it's fine if he doesn't stay with us."
"…"
When I conveyed this again, Rose still looked complicated, as if she wanted to say something.
She glanced back and forth between Fran and me, and then, as if she had made up her mind, she blurted out.
"Um, um, I really want to stay over too!"
"Huh?"
"Just for tonight, if that's okay…! That way, I can be sure it's 'safe.' So, Ms. Cosmos, could you please come along too?"
"...How much of a worrywart are you?"
Well, I guess it can't be helped, I thought, as I watched Cosmos continue.
I stood there in shock.
They were discussing things like bringing a change of clothes, but I felt like I was being left out of the conversation.
It's not that I mind them staying over, but...
do they really not trust me that much? Or maybe it's just because Fran is a bit too feminine?
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