After adding Marel-san to our group, we returned to Liliana and the others. Both Liliana and Amilia were staring with incredibly narrow eyes.
「Um… what’s wrong?」
「Nothing. I was just thinking that Yuuki-sama works really fast～!」
「Even though we’re right here, you immediately bring back another woman…」
「As expected of Master…」
「Huh? What do you mean?」
Confused by what the three of them were saying, I asked. They both pointed at Marel-san.
「Who is that woman?」
「Eh… you mean Marel-san?」
「Heh～ So her name is Marel-san.」
Amilia spoke while a vein throbbed on her forehead.
「You can see Marel-san? Wait, you can see her!?」
Of course they could see her. She had been visible as a ball of light before… wait, huh?
「Yeah, obviously we can see her!」
To our surprise, Marel-san’s form had changed into that of an adventurer girl.
The three of them looked at our shocked faces with question marks floating above their heads.
『Pfft… you two are way too late for that reaction～』
Marel-san burst out laughing. Her constantly shifting expressions made her look like a young girl.
『Let me introduce myself properly. I’m Marel. A long time ago, I left the Carbuncle village, married a human man, and became this. I only share two things in common with Selene-chan: our race and our love for human husbands.』
Marel-san laughed cheerfully while we stood there with our mouths wide open.
「I-I see…」
「So you’re a ghost?」
「Probably? She’s floating after all.」
『Hmm… to be precise, I’m more like a spirit or something similar, but ghost works just fine. That said, I can’t touch physical objects and can only use magic!』
「But why are you with Selene and the others?」
Liliana tilted her head.
『That’s because I heard my descendants in the village are working hard. Plus, I really want to punch the person who made things bad between humans and demons!』
Marel-san said it with a really warm smile. So that was it. She hated how the relationship between humans and demons, meaning her own marriage, was being denied…
「So that’s what it was.」
「Indeed. I understand completely, since I love Yuuki-sama so much.」
「Marel-san…」
「By the way, Marel-san, what do you think of Master?」
「Hey!? We were having a nice moment!!」
Because of Shia’s sudden question, suspicious eyes turned toward me again.
『Eh? Him? Nah, not really… My husband was way more wonderful.』
Marel-san answered cheerfully, then pulled out a locket pendant from around her neck.
『Look, this is a portrait of my husband～ See? See!? Isn’t he handsome～!!』
Inside was an extremely dandy-looking older gentleman.
「I feel relieved.」
「Yes, I agree.」
「He’s the complete opposite of Master.」
「So cool…」
「「「「Eh!?」」」」
We all let out strange voices at Selene’s unexpected comment.
「Th-that’s not what I meant!? I just thought Yuuki-san would look cool if he became like that someday!!」
「I-I see…」
Selene spoke in a panic. I didn’t doubt her words, but it still made me a little sad.
『Ahaha! Yuuki-kun, you don’t have to worry! It’s just how our Carbuncle nature works. Our kind tends to prefer men who are a bit older.』
「Is that so?」
『Yeah. Think back. Most of the married couples in the village were a little older, right?』
Now that she mentioned it… it was true. Almost all the husbands in the village looked somewhat older, while the wives appeared youthful.
「You’re right. Marrying a young man was basically unheard of unless it was an arranged engagement from the start.」
Selene nodded in agreement. So that was how it worked.
『Exactly. The only exception is the 【Rainbow Child】, who has to take on the role of village chief early, so they sometimes marry young out of tradition.』
「That makes sense. Selene was told to find a marriage partner right away.」
「But I didn’t care about anyone except Yuuki-san.」
Selene laughed with an “ahaha” and scratched her cheek.
『Well, just as this girl said, it’s fine. Besides, Carbuncles never cheat.』
「Is that true?」
『Yes. Because of our preferences, the husband always passes away first. That’s why we Carbuncles love our husbands forever. Even after death…』
Marel-san gently stroked the locket pendant with deep affection. Looking at her now, it was clear she meant every word.
『So don’t hold back. Go ahead and get all lovey-dovey.』
「M-Marel-san!?」
Selene’s face instantly turned bright red like a boiling kettle.
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆
After that we continued marching, and today we decided to rest at a point halfway between the Carbuncle village and the front line.
「Then Amilia and I will go handle the march schedule and other arrangements.」
「I’ll come too. It concerns the whole army.」
「It’s fine. We’re only confirming a few things.」
After setting up the tent and removing their equipment, Liliana and Amilia said they were heading to the war council. When I offered to join them, they stopped me.
「Instead, Master should…」
「Go talk with Selene.」
「Yes. That is far more important than the war council.」
With those words, the three of them left the tent.
『I’ll go explore a little too～』
Marel-san floated smoothly out of the tent.
That left only me and Selene. Ever since that conversation, I had been feeling awkward and guilty.
「「U-Um!」」
「Selene, you first.」「Yuuki-san, you first.」
「Then… Selene, I’m sorry…」
「No! It was my fault for saying something confusing!」
After that, we fell into an endless loop of “I should” and “No, I should”.
「In that case, Yuuki-san. There is one thing I’d like to ask of you.」
Selene lifted her face as she spoke.
「Y-Yeah… if it’s something I can do…」
Selene took out the small dagger I had given her from her spatial storage (item box).
「Please use this to cut the gem on my forehead.」
「Huh?」
「I said, please cut the gem on my forehead!」
「W-Why?」
I was completely confused by the sudden request.
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