Chapter 9
A Transaction of Life
Part 4
Upon arriving at the suite room in the Gran Kokuma Imperial Hotel, I tossed my luggage carelessly into a corner to soothe my fatigue and then jumped onto the bed. A low-resilience mattress that felt high-end even after just lying down for a moment, and a fluffy duvet – I let out an involuntary sigh, “Ahhh…” as if all the air was leaving my lungs.
Dia calmly organized the luggage I had thrown aside and then began looking around the room.
“They have instant coffee, tea, and even plum kelp tea. Akatsuki, would you like something to drink?”
“Hmm, then I’ll have tea.”
“The kettle has hot water in it already. It’ll be ready soon.”
The clattering sound of dishes being handled came from the back of the room.
Since she had come all the way to make it, I got up from the bed and sat in a luxurious chair. As expected of a suite, the room was very spacious and the furniture was high-end. The chair cushion was also wonderfully soft.
Within minutes, Dia came over with a tray carrying two cups.
Dia placed a cup of tea and one stick of sugar in front of me.
It was a very aromatic tea; just taking a sip and smelling the fragrance helped calm my frayed nerves.
“But well, we got saddled with an errand by Haru-san. ‘Mana Elixir,’ was it? I’ve never heard of such a medicine.”
“The Mana Elixir is a medicine made from a rare plant called Mana Leaf. Mana Leaf grew wild in the demon world 1000 years ago, but it seems to be extinct now,” Dia said, taking a sip of her coffee.
I see, so it’s a plant from the demon world, that’s why I haven’t heard of it.
“Wait, if it’s extinct, how are we supposed to get it?”
“…It’s probably gone from the demon world, but I have an idea of a demon who might still have Mana Leaf. I think the reason Lucifer asked us is that I’m one of the few who knows the exact location of where that demon is.”
It seems Dia, who didn’t want to involve that demon, would have flatly refused if asked normally. Precisely because he knew it would be useless to plead with Dia directly, Haru-san deliberately put me in danger to force compliance.
It seems Haru-san wants the elixir made from that Mana Leaf badly enough to go that far.
“So the demon you have in mind is Iblis-san, right?”
“Yes, if anyone has it, it would probably be him. Lucifer can travel between the human world, heaven, and the demon world, and investigate all sorts of things, but Iblis has been holed up in a world he created with his own magic. It seems he can’t go to worlds whose location he doesn’t know.”
“Well, you were planning to go see Iblis-san someday anyway, right? He’s your friend, wasn’t he?”
“Yes, my one and only friend.”
I’ve heard the name Iblis from Dia many times before.
He’s an immortal demon who has been around since before I met Dia. Apparently, he doesn’t cause trouble for humans, but just stays secluded in the world he created, living while amusing himself with plants and animals.
Just hearing that, he sounds less like a demon and more like an ancient witch from a fairy tale, and the fact that he handles extinct plants makes him seem even more like a witch.
While we were talking, I finished my tea, placed the teacup on the saucer, and stretched.
“Haa… Anyway, for today, a luxurious dinner and a fluffy bed are waiting, so let’s think about it tomorrow…”
“I agree.”
Somehow, the feeling of being used is irritating, but in the end, all we have to do is go to Dia’s friend’s place. I’ve been wanting to meet Dia’s friend anyway, so I’ll consider it a good opportunity.
―――――――――
Around nightfall, we went to meet Ruki-san, who was waiting outside the country.
We had told him beforehand that we might stay overnight in the country, but well, from a sightseeing perspective, it’s probably unnecessary now, and we’ve returned partly to report.
Haru-san had asked us not to tell him about the incident in the square or my true identity. He said he doesn’t want to ruin the current comfortable relationship…
Honestly, after this whole affair in this country, my trust in Haru-san has plummeted, but Ruki-san isn’t to blame, so I decided to keep quiet for his sake.
When we returned to where the carriage was parked, Haru-san was there for some reason. According to Ruki-san, he had just arrived a short while ago and was waiting, saying that the two of us would probably be here soon.
What, is he keeping an eye on us? This angel is subtly scary…
I told them about how we’d done some sightseeing, that the town was quite well-developed, the infrastructure was in place making it seem comfortable to live in, and that the townspeople generally seemed happy. Ruki-san looked surprised, but listened seriously and happily to my story.
I had no intention of mentioning the square incident from the start, but now I felt even more unable to say anything.
“I see! I was worried, but it sounds like a nice town!”
“Y… yeah.”
Seeing Ruki-san’s straightforward, happy eyes filled me with a sense of guilt, and my voice weakened. Fortunately, he didn’t seem to notice, and he turned to Haru-san.
“Haru, did you like it? If you liked this country, then I…”
“Not really. I’m still happier being with Ruki-kun.”
“I see… I hope we find a good place next time.”
Ruki-san sounded a little disappointed, but Haru-san didn’t seem to mind at all.
Now that I think about it, when I first met them, Ruki-san said the purpose of their journey was to ‘find people or places that interest Haru before I reach the end of my lifespan and die first.’ I, an outsider, don’t know the details of why he thinks that way or what happened between these two.
The only thing that was clear to me was that ‘Haru-san has no intention of leaving Ruki-san…’
Even I, who haven’t been involved with them for long, can see that, but Ruki-san shows no sign of noticing.
Or perhaps he’s the type who just can’t notice. Maybe I’m overthinking it.
“Ah, that’s right. I got suite room accommodation tickets for the Gran Kokuma Imperial Hotel today. Ruki-kun, you should come too.”
“Suite room tickets? That’s amazing! …But I’m fine.”
“I have two tickets, each for two people, so it’s no problem. Haru-san can cast a spell on you so you can enter, and it’s more comfortable to sleep in than the carriage.”
“Thank you for your concern. But I’m really okay. I’m more used to sleeping on the floor than a bed, and Haru probably dislikes having to cast a spell on me every time.”
No, if Ruki-san said he wanted to stay in the suite together, Haru-san would gladly cast the spell, wouldn’t he?
But I had a feeling he would refuse.
I’d sensed Ruki-san’s reluctance to enter the ‘Gran Kokuma Empire’ even before we arrived, so I didn’t press further.
Instead, I had brought some of the all-you-can-eat bread from dinner.
I only took as much as I could sneak out, and I personally selected two kinds that I found delicious. They’re cold and a little hard now, but they should still be tasty enough.
Then, Haru-san also took out three freshly baked, soft, warm bread rolls from somewhere and handed them to Ruki-san.
Wait, what’s going on? This angel really is scary…
“Thank you, but this is too much…”
“Ah… um, it’s too late for me to take these back and eat them, so please have the ones I brought for breakfast. Those ones, well, please have them while they’re still warm…”
“Uh, sorry. Thank you, I’ll have them.”
Saying that, Ruki-san hesitantly began eating the bread Haru-san had brought, which for some reason was still warm.
He kept his eyes downcast, chewing slowly, as if savoring both the bread and the fillings thoroughly. Now that I think about it, Ruki-san was like that before too, when we ate at the human fan club. Between that and the earlier conversation, I felt I’d glimpsed a darkness that Ruki-san carries, but I decided not to touch on it.
“Well, sorry, but we’ll be heading back to the hotel now.”
“Ah, no, thank you so much not only for fulfilling my unreasonable request but also for the delicious bread!! Haru, it’s getting late, you should head back to the hotel too.”
As I stood up, Ruki-san also stopped eating, stood up, and bowed deeply.
Then he turned to Haru-san and urged him to go to the hotel.
“I’ll be lonely alone in a separate room. Is it okay if I talk with you a little more?”
“Huh? Well, sure, but make sure you’re back before the hotel entrance closes.”
It seems Haru-san is going to stay here a bit longer.
Hoping that the visible yet hidden obsession and possessiveness wouldn’t turn against us, we entrusted them with the carriage once more and left.
As we proceeded through the forest and the two were out of sight, I let out a deep sigh as if a taut string of tension had snapped. As I exhaled a long “Haaah…”, Dia placed a hand on my shoulder with a light pat and said, “You’ve worked hard.”
