「Frea-senpai～」
「Hm?」
On Noie’s first day back after her break, Frea had been quietly thinking about how to schedule their upcoming days off when that familiar voice made her look up.
It was really unusual, Lutte, who almost never interrupts during work hours, was poking her head out from the log cabin with one eye squeezed shut.
「Something wrong?」
「Yeah… just a little.」
「If it’s another spider crawling on my back, please stop right there. Mische’s off today, you know.」
「It’s not that～」
Frea still remembered the last time all too clearly, she had complained that a spider tickling her back was unbearable, and when Frea tried to help… Mische, who happened to be nearby, swatted it away and accidentally turned it into a whole different kind of disaster.
With a small sigh, Frea stood up from the simple log bench she’d been using as a chair and headed toward the cabin.
「What is it?」
「Um… maybe inside would be better?」
「Hmm?」
Sensing it was something the other party didn’t want others to hear, Frea quickly followed her junior back into the little cabin.
Inside, it was the usual scene, Lutte’s workspace, complete with a chair, a desk, and an impressive mountain of snacks.
Lutte, topless and glistening with sweat all over her body, slowly opened the eye she’d been keeping closed.
That pitch-black, sunken eye told Frea everything, her blessing was active right now.
「So? What’s up?」
「Mmm… something feels off with the Captain’s movements today.」
「The Captain’s?」
「Yes… she moves a little, then stops to rest? Like that.」
「……」
In all of Frea’s memory, that kind of behavior was impossible.
After Noie’s day off yesterday, spent entirely with her husband, the dragon that had been driven away for just one day had come back today in even greater numbers.
If this were fishing, it would be a total “fish on every cast” situation.
More than anything… after resting yesterday and being together with Arg-sama all day, how could Noie possibly be in such bad shape…?
「Don’t tell me… a lovers’ quarrel?」
「Stop that. If something like that ever happened, this country would probably be destroyed with pretty high probability.」
No matter what shape she tries to imagine, the only future she can see is the country falling into ruin.
She desperately rummages through my memories for any possible countermeasures, but even when her monthly cycle came, she was still tearing dragons apart like it was nothing.
There’s no matching memory that fits this at all.
Frea gave up with a small shake of her head and reached for one of the snacks piled on the desk.
Lutte, already munching away ahead of her, has no choice, without constant nutrition she’d collapse.
It’s common sense for anyone who carries a blessing, but completely unknown to those who don’t.
That’s why you’ll never see an overweight person with a blessing.
The sheer amount of stamina it devours just to activate leaves no room for excess calories to stick around.
From the perspective of a mage like Frea, it’s honestly enviable.
No matter how much magic power she burns to the limit, her stomach never growls.
The worst she gets is overwhelming exhaustion that knocks her out cold.
Overeating sweets isn’t good, of course… but Lutte pours almost her entire salary into confectioneries.
People say there isn’t a single sweets shop in the castle town she hasn’t visited at least once.
「Let’s ask her when she comes back for the midday break.」
「Yes.」
「More importantly, Lutte?」
「Yes?」
「……Haven’t they gotten bigger again?」
「Please don’t say it…」
Lutte quickly covered her chest with both hands, cheeks instantly blooming bright crimson.
-0-
When Noie finally returned, she stopped by the riverside and simply stared up at the sky.
It was obvious she was starving, but an aura of “I don’t want to move from this spot anymore” hung heavily around her.
This really wasn’t like her at all.
Normally she would have come back long before reaching this point.
「Captain. Here.」
「Yes.」
Noie accepted the bone-in meat with both hands and began to nibble at it steadily.
For a while, Frea simply kept handing her more food like that.
Watching her now somehow brought back memories of the very first time they met.
The girl introduced by Halfren had been all pale and white, like a little ghost.
She was undeniably cute, yet her face stayed completely blank, and she never spoke a single word.
Conversation was impossible.
Worse than that, she could barely even take care of herself back then.
Life at the detached annex in the royal castle was taken care of by the maids, but this forward outpost was different.
No one could station maids here.
Even though their opponent was a dragon, this place was the front line.
There was no right to refuse.
So the duty of looking after Noie fell to Frea, who had once been Halfren’s marriage candidate, and Mische, the leftover horse-loving girl dragged along because of Frea’s connection to horses through her hobby.
It had really been tough back then.
Taking care of a girl who could do nothing but slay dragons had been an extreme challenge.
And yet now, little by little, she had learned to live like a normal person.
More than anything, she had safely made it all the way to marriage.
Sometimes Frea even felt like a mother who had finally married off her daughter…even though Noie was only four years younger than her.
(I want to get married soon too…)
The thought crossed her mind, and an indescribable expression drifted across Frea’s face, soft, wistful, a little lonely.
From a short distance away, Lutte watched Noie silently continuing to eat and Frea’s quiet profile.
Today feels peaceful too, she thought with a small, warm smile.
-0-
「Something’s off?」
「Yes. The Captain’s movements are strange today.」
With Frea back to work, Lutte stepped in to confirm it herself.
Ever since the other day, though, she kept one arm pressed tightly over her chest, still self-conscious.
Noie, still nibbling steadily on the bone-in meat, tilted her ahoge ever so slightly.
「She keeps stopping sometimes and touching her stomach… Did something happen?」
「……」
The moment Lutte said it, Noie seemed to remember.
「Baby.」
「Huh?」
「Because I did it with Arg-sama.」
「……」
「I wonder if there’s a baby.」
Noie gently stroked her own stomach with soft fingertips, speaking in her usual blank tone, yet there was the tiniest, hopeful little glow in her reddish-black eyes.
Lutte’s cheeks exploded into bright scarlet in an instant.
「Uwaaaah!! That’s completely outside my area of expertise!! Frea-senpai, it’s your turn!!」
「……Do your best. Everything is a chance to learn.」
「This lesson is way too advanced for me right now!!」
「Did a baby happen?」
「I don’t know!! I haven’t even had that kind of experience yet!!」
Faced with her superior’s sudden wild sprint into adult territory, poor Lutte, the youngest of them, could only clutch her head in both hands, face burning hotter than a summer bonfire.
Fortunately…
Mische was off today.
For that small mercy alone, Lutte silently thanked whatever gentle presence always seemed to watch over her.
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