Somehow, I managed to safely make up with Diana-chan.
So, just as I was thinking about telling her various stories from the trip――
「By the way, were the souvenirs only bread?」
「Eh……?」
Diana-chan suddenly said something that sounded exactly like Nana-san.
Was Diana-chan also the type who greedily demanded souvenirs……?
「What about the pennants?」
「……Huh?」
「The pennants」
「Wait, how do you know about the pennants…… Nana-san?」
Was it Nana-san again?
Had Nana-san revealed the pennants to Diana-chan too?
「There was one hanging on the wall in her room. When I asked, she said it was a souvenir Alec gave her」
「Ah, so Nana-san actually put up the pennant……」
Even though she kept insisting she didn’t want it, apparently she still displayed it on her wall in the end.
What incredible tsundere behavior, Nana-san. It honestly warmed my heart a little.
「Don’t you have any more?」
「Ah, no. I only made one full set……」
「Ehh. So there aren’t any」
「Sorry, Diana-chan……」
I was happy Nana-san displayed the pennant in her room, but other people discovering it was not exactly an ideal situation.
As expected, this ended up making everyone jealous.
Apparently, pennants were a surprisingly well-received souvenir after all.
「Then next time I go on a journey, I’ll make one for you too, Diana-chan. Sorry, I didn’t realize you’d want one that badly」
「Want one?」
「Hm?」
「Hmm. If Alec was giving one to only a single person, then sure, I guess I’d feel jealous. But if you ask whether I actually want a pennant itself, probably not really」
「I see……」
What a complicated maiden’s heart……
So in the end, the pennant itself wasn’t really what Diana-chan cared about after all.
「More importantly, your next trip is supposed to be pretty far off, right?」
「Ah, yeah. It sounds like that’s probably how it’ll be. Did Nana-san tell you that too?」
「I heard various things from Nana and Ralina」
「Huh? From Ralina-chan too?」
「I stopped by Ralina’s house before coming here」
「Really?」
As always, those two really did have a strange relationship where they seemed to get along despite constantly acting like they didn’t.
By the way, I had actually met Ralina-chan on the very day I returned from the journey.
I had no idea how she found out so quickly, but almost immediately after I got home, Ralina-chan came to see me herself.
This time, I had spent two whole months traveling, and there had never been a time before where Ralina-chan and I had been separated for that long.
……Because of that, when we reunited after so long, Ralina-chan had been in an incredibly excited state. She was unbelievably worked up and wildly emotional.
「I also heard a bunch of things from Ralina about what happened while you were traveling, Alec」
「Oh? What kind of things did Ralina-chan say?」
「Something about a bitch」
「…………」
I casually asked, and an absolutely outrageous response came back.
A bitch…… seriously?
TN: just to be clear. The bitch here means female dog
「Alec really does pick up a new woman immediately」
「……Eh? No, wait. Hold on a second. That’s wrong. Something about this is seriously off」
No, that’s not right. That’s completely wrong.
Most likely, the person Ralina-chan and Diana-chan were talking about was Kate-san.
They were calling Kate-san, the gatekeeper from Raft Town, a bitch and my new woman.
「No, but it’s not like we had any kind of deep relationship, okay? If anything, our relationship was basically just her refusing to let us into town and kicking us out」
「Hmm? Really?」
「Really. It’s not like Kate-san and I had that kind of……」
「……I see」
「Y-Yeah……」
What exactly did she mean by 『I see』……?
That felt like a very loaded 『I see』……
More importantly, why did Ralina-chan think that in the first place?
And for some reason, she never even brought it up directly at the time……
I don’t understand.
I truly do not understand a maiden’s heart……
◇
「Here you go, Diana-chan」
「Thanks, Alec」
Once our conversation about the journey finally settled down a little, I prepared some herbal tea for Diana-chan.
It was Miriam Special 755.
Version 755 of the Miriam Special.
Recently, a thought suddenly crossed my mind.
『The upgrade pace seems pretty consistent…… If I calculate the intervals properly, maybe I could estimate Mother’s age』
That said, it’s not like I’m actually that desperate to know mother’s age, and honestly, it feels like I’d get yelled at if I tried, so I’m not doing the math.
It kind of feels like the versions update about twice a year, but I’ve decided not to notice that.
「By the way, Diana-chan」
「Hmm?」
Pulling myself together, I spoke to Diana-chan while she blew on her Mirispe to cool it down.
「Actually――I got a new title」
「Eh? Ohh, really? A title? That’s impressive. Congrats」
「Thanks, Diana-chan」
「But is that something you’re allowed to talk about?」
「Hmm. Yeah, I guess」
There was actually something I wanted to ask Diana-chan too, so it was probably fine.
「What’s the title?」
「Yeah. It’s Elf……」
「Elf?」
「Umm, Elf……」
……This was actually pretty embarrassing.
Saying it myself felt incredibly awkward.
Declaring myself to be 『Elf Treasure』 with my own mouth came with an absurd amount of embarrassment.
「What’s wrong with you?」
「Ah, yeah…… U-Umm, the title is called Elf Treasure……」
「Ah」
After gathering my courage and finally saying it, the response I got was simply 『Ah』
Apparently that was all the reaction it deserved.
「Wait, have you heard it before too, Diana-chan?」
「Yeah. I heard that’s what you call yourself」
「I never called myself that!?」
Not me!
I wasn’t the one who started it!
I didn’t know anything about it!
「Really? Well, maybe it was more like people called you that or something. I remember hearing about it before」
「I see…… Though seriously, I never called myself that……」
So Diana-chan knew about it too after all.
……In that case, she could’ve told me sooner.
「Since when did you know about it, Diana-chan?」
「Ehh? I dunno. I think it was before I met you. I feel like my mom told me about it」
「Seriously? Before we even met……」
「Then when I met you for the first time, I remember thinking, 『Ohhh, so this is the treasure』」
「I see……」
「And I think I went around telling a bunch of people, 『I met the treasure』」
「…………」
Word of mouth.
So this was how my nickname gradually spread everywhere……
「That’s apparently what happened…… Little by little, the name spread around elven society and became fairly well known, and eventually it turned into an actual title」
「Huh」
That was what Laudette-san predicted.
Apparently, the existence of the Alec Brush might have also contributed to spreading the nickname……
「What am I even supposed to do now?」
「Hm? About what?」
「I mean, it kind of feels like I’ve officially been recognized as some kind of elf treasure now, right? I’m wondering if I should start being more careful about how I act and stuff……」
After all, it was a treasure.
The treasure of the elves.
Didn’t that mean I now had to carefully watch my behavior so I wouldn’t disgrace the elven race as the Elf Treasure?
「I don’t think you need to worry about it that much」
「Really?」
「In the end, you only got a name like that because your face looks good, right? Doesn’t your behavior have nothing to do with it?」
「…………」
That really made it sound like it was all just because I was handsome……
Couldn’t she have phrased that a little differently, Diana-chan……?
「There’s no point stressing over it. No matter what kind of title you get, Alec is still Alec」
「I’m still me……?」
「Alec is Alec. Don’t force yourself to act weird. Just live the way that feels like you」
「Ah, yeah…… You’re right. Thanks, Diana-chan」
「Mhm」
It felt like Diana-chan had just said something genuinely wonderful.
Warm words.
Comforting words.
That was exactly the kind of thing I needed to hear.
「By the way, doesn’t it come with some kind of ability or something?」
「Ah, you mean the title’s effect? No idea so far」
The effects of titles were often hard to figure out.
Even with 『Son of the Sword Saint and Sage』, I had made various guesses, but I still didn’t have any real proof.
「Maybe your face gets even better looking now?」
「Even more……?」
A title earned for being handsome.
If that was the case, maybe my good looks would get boosted even further……?
「You might end up needing a mask even in elf villages now」
「Ehhh……」
That would seriously be a problem……
At that point it would basically be a curse.
A cursed title……
「If that happens, would I have to spend my whole life wearing a mask……?」
「Well, that’d still be very Alec-like」
「…………」
Even that would apparently be 『Alec-like』……
I don’t understand anymore.
What exactly does 『being Alec-like』 even mean……?
next chapter: Left Hamstring Tear, Recovery Time Eight Weeks
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