Chapter 25: She Walks Toward Her
“M-me?”
Peiya pointed at herself. The wind was quite strong right now, and some words were hard to hear clearly.
“Yes. I want to hear your thoughts.”
“As for me, I’ll probably study the materials Guild Leader Maya gave me. To be honest… I used to be a support and…”
Peiya’s lips twitched slightly, and she forced a small smile. “And a scholar, I guess. So I really like this kind of academic stuff.”
“So you’re also a scholar? At first, I thought you were just a support-type blessing caster.”
“Well, that’s not wrong. Support roles can be divided into many types depending on their abilities. I do know quite a bit about blessing-type skills. I can handle some basic team buffs.”
Since she had previously discovered that her abilities were directional, Peiya had specially studied blessing magic. She clearly understood what her talent meant.
It could completely change how support roles worked.
While others relied on luck to apply buffs, she could directly control it. If people found out, it would definitely bring trouble.
Trying to join powerful groups wasn’t realistic either. Someone with no background going straight into the center of power. Either no one would care, or worse, someone would try to use her, or destroy her if they couldn’t control her.
On top of her weak health and other reasons, Peiya simply claimed that her ability was just a higher-probability group buff.
But in reality, she manually gave buffs to each teammate one by one. Because she was fast, no one noticed the details.
To make it look more believable, she even made small “mistakes” once or twice on purpose.
But in the end, she had worried too much. Anna didn’t even seem to know what a normal support looked like, and would often get angry at Peiya for those “mistakes.”
Now, in Peiya’s eyes, Anna treated adventuring more like a game to satisfy her pride.
She didn’t think about the fact that people could die during adventures.
This wasn’t a fairy tale.
There were many things to consider in an adventure. Some people say the process is the most important, learning about the boss, planning strategies, and overcoming challenges gives a strong sense of achievement.
If you defeat the boss too quickly, you lose the fun of exploration.
Others enjoy the moment of getting treasure.
Both ways are valid. Peiya didn’t think one was right or wrong.
The meaning of adventure is something each adventurer gives to it themselves.
You should never forget why you started in the first place.
As long as you keep moving forward, you will find your own meaning.
Looking at Peiya, who seemed in a good mood, Elise’s tone also became lighter.
“Then let me ask you another way. Are you interested in that Ice Bear King?”
“A little. But I’m not in a hurry to go hunt it. I don’t like fighting without preparation. And Guild Leader Maya said it too, the one guarding the mine right now is just a bear guard. To put it simply, it’s just a minor enemy. But a bunch of adventurers are already busy fighting it…”
“...If we go and defeat it now, what happens when they realize and rush ahead to the boss room? At that point, they won’t thank us. They’ll just think we’re fools. Instead of doing all the work for others, it’s better to keep the opportunity in our own hands from the start. Why should we share the prey we’ve chosen with others? So I’m thinking… is there a way to go directly to the boss’s location while reducing losses as much as possible?”
Listening to Peiya’s clear and step-by-step reasoning, Elise couldn’t help but sigh in admiration.
“You’re really different from other supports. They don’t have your way of thinking. Now I understand more why you were able to heal my injury back then. And I also understand… maybe in this world, only you can heal me, in more ways than one.”
Peiya’s gaze wavered for a moment as she looked at Elise’s left hand.
“How are you feeling today? Does it still feel cold?”
“It’s much better now. But what troubles me more is you.”
Elise looked at Peiya seriously. She felt she needed to speak more clearly.
“Why me?”
“Miss Peiya, haven’t you noticed? I owe you more and more. From healing me, helping me solve my problems, even teaching me how to bake cookies… These are things I’ve never experienced before. I don’t understand what you’re really thinking, so I want to hear your thoughts.”
“Didn’t I already answer that before? Because you helped me in the past. Helping each other, that’s what friends do, right?”
Elise shook her head, her tone now calmer and more steady.
“It’s not something that should happen. Even though I don’t have much social experience, I know not everyone in this world is as kind as you. The people who approached me before did it only because of my reputation… or out of fear…”
As Elise said this, she clearly felt something in her heart move.
It was a strange kind of feeling, something unfamiliar. She became curious and wanted to understand Peiya more.
But at the same time, she was afraid it would be like before. Once she got close, people would start to avoid her.
They would say polite words that sounded perfect, forcing her to accept them.
And after accepting them… what then?
In the end, her world would still become empty again, with only herself left.
So what difference did acceptance really make?
She couldn’t understand.
It was like buying something new. You want to hold it every day, but you also worry it might get scratched.
And if you suddenly notice even a small crack, it feels like your whole world falls apart.
Only those who have experienced that feeling would understand.
Elise knew that her presence brought a kind of “distance” to the people around her, almost like a curse.
But in Peiya, she saw something called “hope.”
So she chose to try making friends with her.
Just like when she first learned swordsmanship, starting from the beginning, carefully practicing conversations with a doll.
Little by little, she trained herself, trying to feel the warmth of something called a heart.
Peiya slightly raised her head and looked at the nervous Elise, speaking softly to comfort her.
“You don’t need to care so much about what others think. What’s the point of living under other people’s shadows? If you care too much, the one who gets hurt in the end will only be yourself. I help you simply because I want to. There’s no special reason. If I really have to say one… it’s probably because I think you’re worth it.”
Peiya casually read the documents in her hand as she spoke in her usual calm tone. Seeing Elise still confused, she explained further.
“The meaning of things is something you think about later. Like fighting a boss, you prepare before the battle. But once you’re actually there, all I want is for everyone to come back safely. Because nothing is more important than that…”
“...Compared to some distant, unclear future, I prefer living in the present and valuing the people around me. Seeing everyone smiling together at the end of a mission, that’s the greatest reward for a support. Because it means she brought everyone back safely…”
“...Ah, I got off topic. Reading this made me hungry. Let’s go get something to eat.”
Elise’s expression softened slightly.
Had she been overthinking things?
Compared to Peiya, maybe she was the more immature one who still needed to grow.
There was still so much for her to learn.
Then she would start now, start learning how to get along with Peiya.
From today. From this moment.
Let go of some old thoughts, and maybe when she opens her eyes again, it will be a brand-new day.
Elise smiled in relief, stepped forward, and held Peiya’s hand.
Peiya looked confused.
“Y-you… why are you suddenly holding my hand? I just picked up these documents, they’re dirty. Let go.”
Peiya struggled with her left hand, trying to pull free.
How could she just grab her hand like that? There were so many people on the street. And… did they really need to stand this close?
It was even stopping her from reading. A scholar cannot lose her documents.
Elise gently held Peiya’s hand. She suddenly found that she liked quietly watching Peiya’s different reactions.
She decided to give a small “punishment”, just a very light one.
It wouldn’t hurt.
“No.” Elise shook her head. “You just said that I don’t need to care about what others think when I want to do something.”
She repeated Peiya’s words exactly.
Peiya’s face turned red.
Wait…?
I told you that so you could let go of the past, not so you could use it on me!
Is this even fair?
Did she just become part of this situation too?
No… actually, both of them were part of it.
Peiya bit her lip and fought back.
“But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t care about me, right?”
Seriously, holding hands in the middle of the street like this was too strange.
Elise let out a soft breath and looked seriously at Peiya’s slightly unhappy face.
Her tone was gentle. Her words were almost carried away by the wind, yet they felt heavy and firm.
“So… does that mean you want me to care about you?”