As I waited here in the carriage, Damien Shore approached.
“Doctor Hale.”
“Ah, Shore.”
“It’s an honor to be remembered.”
“Is your back sore from sitting in the carriage for so long?”
Knowing I was part of the Chantal list, which was posted on the main building’s bulletin board, I wondered why Demian Shore hadn’t approached me.
At my question, he shook his head and showed his red, swollen wrist.
I quickly pulled him towards my carriage.
“You couldn’t have been training inside the carriage, so how did this happen? You shouldn’t strain yourself before the competition.”
“It’s nothing, just a game to pass the time. There was a penalty of wrist slapping.”
Judging by my involuntarily stern expression, Damien Shore looked briefly flustered and quickly added an explanation.
“It wasn’t exactly a game, more like a reflex training. The penalty was just a part of it.”
“I’ve heard you’re the best at Amort. If you’re like this, do other students have no arms left?”
Damien Shore laughed heartily while I sprinkled the herb. “Oh, I see what you did there, Professor. By the way, it seems like another disease has appeared now.”
I shot him a look that said if he made another strange comment, I would shut his mouth with the new suture tool I just bought.
“It’s really troubling. My heart races and I feel short of breath when I see certain people. It’s frustrating, my heart beats rapidly, and I feel extremely flustered. What disease could this be, Doctor?”
I narrowed my eyes, scanning Damien Shore’s eyes, then spoke. “It’s either angina or hysteria. If it’s the latter, it’s really serious. It’s beyond my ability to handle.”
Damien Shore blinked quietly as if he didn’t understand what I said, then suddenly realized and burst into laughter.
“Hysteria! Hehe, that’s hilarious!”
Clutching his stomach and laughing, he left me no choice but to scold him for his inappropriate behavior with my injured hand.
“Oh, I’m sorry, Doctor. I was actually quite confident.”
“Confident in what? Playing tricks?”
“Haha, well, if that’s how you felt, then yes, that’s it. Exactly.”
Now I looked at Damien Shore, who was starting to show signs of stopping the jokes. If he had come to me with trivial matters just because he was genuinely interested in me, then I felt sorry for him.
Still, I was half convinced that I had nothing to apologize to Damien Shore for.
“It’s true that you find me charming and interesting, Doctor. Of course, you are beautiful, but I’m more interested in… actually.”
Damien Shore scratched his cheek and said, “Doctor, what perfume do you use?”
I was taken aback by the unexpected question. My heart seemed to skip a beat. Perfume? Was he talking about my mana scent? Mana, which I couldn’t even use, was as much of a weakness for me. This scent had been haunting me for a long time. I regained my composure as much as possible and replied.
“Why do you ask?”
“Because it smells so good. It’s a scent that seems addictive. In fact, I came to see you now because I couldn’t stand the smell of the town hall anymore.”
When I got off the carriage, I thought people were subtly gathering around me. It seemed that it wasn’t just my imagination.
“Who are you giving a gift to? I’m sorry, but this is my signature perfume, so I can’t tell you. It’s a perfume for me.”
A few years ago, the trend of signature perfumes among the nobility had spread, so I was relieved. I often used this excuse whenever I encountered such situations.
“Really? That’s a shame. I was really curious because I liked the scent so much. I was thinking of just having it for myself, using it like an aroma candle before going to bed.”
Damien Shore chuckled and said, “Well, then, there’s nothing I can do about it,” and left the carriage.
As the door closed, I sighed deeply and looked out the window, almost screaming.
“Who is he?”
“You were surprised, weren’t you?”
Raiden looked at the closed door with a strange look in his eyes as Damien Shore left.
“His wrist was swollen. And he came here to get treated?”
“Really? How did such a talented student end up like this to be selected for Chantal? But he had a really familiar face. Blue hair, that’s not common.”
“That’s sky blue.”
“Isn’t that the same thing? I can’t really tell the difference between coral pink and pink coral lipstick yet.”
Fortunately, it seemed that I had changed the conversation well.
Either because he was surprised by the mention of perfume or because he didn’t want to talk about it, Raiden didn’t bring up the subject.
Raiden leaned against the window frame and talked about tomorrow’s schedule and future plans.
It was an expected route to continue moving west after crossing the forest today, stopping briefly in Beckett to replenish groceries, and then spending the day before continuing towards west again.
Raiden worried that if there were no changes in the schedule, he would have to spend three more nights outdoors. I also began to worry slightly.
“What should we do?”
“What? Are you feeling unwell?”
“Especially my stomach. I want deer.”
Fifteen minutes later, Raiden brought back a deer. He was indeed an excellent hunter. If only everything else was as easy
