CH 89

Chapter 89 – Glasses boy compares

“I’m not sure I get what happened here, but I think the boy is in the wrong.” The tanned woman, who was holding Lisse, turned me into the villain even if she said she didn’t understand it.

That’s what woman do! They always assume that the man has done something wrong! Women just like my sister!

… My sister has nothing to do with this!

“She’s cute, isn’t she? If someone says you’re the lover of a cute girl, you should just be happy.” The fair-skinned woman said.

Lisse eagerly agreed with those words, then said, “Yeah…! Y-you should have been d-delighted! Because I’m c-c-cute… I…”

Putting aside the success or failure of her self-defense, she shouldn’t say anything if she is this embarrassed.

But in any case, I stared at the tanned woman, the fair-skinned woman, then at Lisse and said, “I think the more beautiful something is, the more poisonous and the more thorns they have.”

I stared at the tanned woman, “You’re like Maze Ivy.”

They are thin brown ivies that spread all over tress and rocks, and spawn black flowers.

Although they spread around freely without any regularity, its intertwining pattern often creates something artistically beautiful.

There is no planning involved in its growth, yet the random patterns, especially when hit by the sunlight that is passing by the tree branches, will often give out a mysterious and aweing feeling.

However, this ivy has hard thorns. You’ll definitely get hurt if you try touching it with your bare hands.

And as it’s thin and withered brown, it’s hard to see its thorns, so someone that doesn’t know about them may easily get hurt when getting close.

“It’s similar to you, isn’t it? A work of art born from a miraculous balance between mysterious charm and dangerous thorns. The mazy ivy.” I told the tanned woman.

Her tall, slender body must have surely gone through plenty of training to reach her current figure.

She has tanned brown skin, long bright hair and dignified, sharp indigo eyes, though it’s hard to see her eyes in the dark.

She may not catch one’s eye at first glance, but looking at her closely definitely makes her feel like a work of art. All the different elements create a unique angle of beauty that isn’t easily found.

Mazy Ivy is just ivy when viewed alone. But the way it spreads, the things it entwines with, that’s what creates a truly beautiful natural work of art. That’s what my master told me.

He also told me that some noble houses grow maze ivy in their gardens for this exact reason.

At the same time, Maze Ivy isn’t too hard to find. It’s common even near my village, you just need to go a bit deep in the forest to find it.

If you’re an adventurer with plenty of experience, you must have surely seen it a least once.

The tanned woman was silent, but she seemed to understand the comparison. She must have seen it at some point and surely thought it was beautiful, just like me, my master, and many others.

Next, the fair-skinned woman, I guess? “You’re like a Phantom Lamp.” I told her.

It’s a white flower that blooms at night, and it has a unique characteristic of emitting faint light.

The sight of them growing in clumps and spreading out under the moonlight is fantastic, breathtakingly beautiful.

“Quite similar to you, isn’t it? Alluring, but terrifying dangerous.” I told her.

The light it emits is the problem, for the luminescent material is actually pollen.

And this pollen has a powerful hallucinogenic effect. Just getting close to it should be enough to make you stop thinking properly, and eventually faint.

Since it only blooms at night, you should be able to wake up by the morning, but staying unconscious for a whole night, while outside, is nothing short of dangerous.

So, I was taught by my master to never approach shining flowers.

I’ve only seen it once, but it was truly beautiful… And well, it’s fine to look at it, you just can’t get close.

The fair-skinned woman is truly worth of being called a Phantom Lamp, she might even be more beautiful than that.

Like the tanned woman, she is tall and slender, probably because she spends many hours training.

Her radiant blond hair is cut short, her eyes are sky blue, and her features are truly well-formed.

And that’s why they’re dangerous. Why I don’t want to get close to them.

“Oh, well…” The fair-skinned woman muttered.

She seemed to be happy, though also comfortable with receiving this kind of compliment. She must be tired of hearing this kind of praise over and over again.

Well, she has the looks to deserve it.

… And then there is Lisse.

… I stayed silent. She was silent too.

Our gazes crossed. There was some visible anticipation on the eyes of the red-haired girl. They were sparkling as she waited for my words.

… More silence.

Yeah, well… “You’re okay, aren’t you?” I told her.

“What!? No! Say it like you did to them! Compare me to beautiful flowers and plants!” She exclaimed.

Well, let’s see… I don’t know?

This isn’t something that is forced. It just came naturally to me when looking at the other party.

“But you hit me just now, you know? At an unavoidable speed even. It wasn’t like your hand slipped or anything, it was a very conscious and planned punch.” I told her.

“Even if you started it, you still complain!? Fine, whatever! I’ll apologize, so say it!” Lisse replied.

… It can’t be helped.

“You’re like the edible flowers growing over there.” I pointed to some nearby flowers.

“Why are you talking about practical things!? What about the looks!? You were going about how beautiful plants have poison and thorns, right!? Then compare me to something beautiful!” Lisse exclaimed.

“I don’t understand what you’re getting at.” I replied.

“You totally do! You definitely understand!” Lisse shouted.

I mean, what’s up with this unproductive waste of time? My anger has already subsided, so I want to go home now.

“Then you’re like grass that the cats eat and vomit later.” I told her.

“That’s also a practical thing! And it’s less beautiful than flowers too! Come on! How am I grass that cats eat and vomit!?” She exclaimed.

I made two comparisons for her. It’s good enough.

So, I turned to the two older women and said, “And that’s how it is. Even if you’re cute or beautiful, I don’t want to get close to you, for you have poison and thorns within you.”

Putting aside puke Lisse, I am quite wary of these Maze Ivy and Phantom Lamp.

“Such a pity.” The tanned woman said, releasing Lisse, who was still in a fighting stance, “though it seems like this girl was wrong about the problem.”

“Huh!?” Lisse said.

“Yes, he is definitely right.” The fair-skinned woman agreed.

“W-what the…!?” Now that she lost her allies, Lisse seemed to be in disbelief, “Just because you got some compliments… You’re so easy…!”

The two women gave a gentle smile to the stunned Lisse.

No, that’s not quite right. Those were the smiles of ‘the ones who have won as women’.

“It doesn’t matter if I’m being praised for being a work of art, I don’t think the boy’s view on women is wrong.” The tanned woman said.

“Yes, definitely not just because I was compared to a Phantom Lamp, but as a woman, I think his judgement is correct.” The fair-skinned one said.

Lisse went silent.

What a splendid way of throwing away your previous ally.

That’s why women can’t be trusted. A good-looking woman can never be trusted. They always have poison or thorns.

******

The mood became indescribable, so we naturally split up after that.

Well, in the first place, those two older women are almost complete strangers to me, so there was no reason to continue talking to them… Well, they did invite me and Lisse to dinner, but we politely declined, as they have poison and thorns.

On the way home, Lisse opened her mouth, “Hey, Eil.”

“I have no more comparisons.” I told her.

“Enough of that.” Lisse replied.

Her fist was closed though, so I stayed one step away from her, so as to not get hit by an unavoidable fast attack.

Though well, if she wanted to kill me, I’d probably be dead already.

“More importantly than that, It’s about those two we met earlier.” Lisse then started saying her thoughts about them.

To put it simply, she said that they were likely knights from the neighboring country.

Lisse couldn’t say it for sure, but judging from their presence, the way they moved, and from piecing together the information that she collected, it was highly likely that those women were knights.

“I just met them on the bath perchance, and I immediately noticed something unusual about them.

“I know all the renowned adventurers in this city, yet I had never met those two. That’s why I called out to them and asked a bunch of things.” Lisse told me.

I see… “So those two are knights, then?” I asked.

“Most likely. Probably knights from the neighboring country, because they said things about how they came here on horseback, arrived at noon, and slept until just now.

“But then, after I asked them quite a few questions, they asked one to me too. They asked if there was a good restaurant in this city.”

Oh, so that’s where that question came from.

“If they rushed here on horses, then they surely came here for some business, right? And with that big game in the mountain…

“The timing is too coincidental. What do you think, Eil?” Lisse asked me.

She’s most likely right, “It’s possible that they might accompany us on tomorrow’s hunt.” I concluded.

Well, I don’t think it matters much. As long as they’re skilled, we should be good, and Roda did say that he was gathering people who were strong enough for this hunt.

“Is something bothering you, Lisse?” I decided to ask her.

“A knight from a neighboring country came for this… It’s strange.

“It wouldn’t be unusual for a knight of our kingdom to come, but instead, the ones that came were from outside.

“If they came all the way here after crossing the border, then it was probably because they want to take credit for the kill. Or perhaps they want the materials of the Obsidian Wolf.

“But why would our own knights not be moving? It feels like there is some political reason behind it… Though well, the people of our kingdom are moving, even if our knights aren’t.” Lisse replied.

I see…

“Well, if there’s a reason behind it, then either Roda or Zant probably know about it. I don’t think it’s something we need to worry too much about.” I told her.

“… I guess you’re right. It’s useless to worry about this.” Lisse sighed.

… Knights from the neighboring country, huh?

I wonder if there is something more to this hunt…