I, Viretta, Am Going to Hunt a Dragon

"Uh?"

The mention of "a great emotion" hit Viretta hard.

To speak of emotions while keeping a nonchalant face... The very thought of it made her face flush with heat.

"A... great emotion, you say? You’ll probably say it’s a feeling of gratitude, right? But I’m not fooled anymore."

"It could be gratitude, but I’d say I’m more inclined to describe it as being attracted to you or finding you beautiful."

"Ugh!"

Caught off guard by the unexpected attack, Viretta bit her tongue. Iola looked at her, who was now rolling on the ground after biting her tongue, with a slightly melancholic expression.

"You seem to be in pain. I apologize, but there’s also a subtle excitement in the air."

"Ugh!"

Viretta, curled up like a bug, coughed from the continued barrage. She was writhing on the ground as if she had been wounded, biting her tongue. She slammed her fist against the ground and slowly rose to her feet.

"Can you please control your expression, Iola?"

"I’m sorry. I tried to remain composed, but I suppose it showed that I had ulterior motives?"

"No, it didn’t! Please, just show a real expression if you're not trying to assassinate me!"

The problem wasn’t that it didn’t show. Judging by her face, there was no way to guess what was on her mind.

Had her emotions been revealed on her face, her response might have been different.

Unconsciously, she missed the opportunity.

Was there anyone else so difficult to handle?

Viretta tried to calm her rattled body, holding her wet clothes against her. The clothes were already drying as she held them near the fire. The camisole she wore had dried to the point of feeling soft and dry.

At this rate, even if she wore clothes that weren’t entirely dry, she wouldn’t catch a cold. They would be a little damp, but if she wore them and dried them by the fire, it would be fine.

Although it was a bit early, Viretta decided to put the clothes on.

Wearing half-dried clothes wasn’t easy since they kept sticking to her body.

It felt strange to put on damp clothes with her now dry body, but still, Viretta forced herself to put them on.

"They’re probably not dry yet."

"Yes, but I think it’s better to wear them."

"In what sense?"

"In terms of my mental health."

She could no longer expose her skin in front of Iola.

When her limbs were exposed, it was just embarrassing, but after hearing Iola’s words about having feelings, her stomach churned subtly.

Even she couldn’t understand the logical reason for her actions.

It wasn’t wrong for any man to feel a special emotion when seeing her like this.

But for a man like Iola, her fiancé, it would be a little better to welcome those feelings, right?

In fact, it felt unjust and frustrating that she couldn’t feel anything herself, but as soon as she received his gaze, she felt a tickling sensation that made her want to escape.

"To show myself like this... I truly... I have no face as Medlit’s flagship and jewel."

She knew she had done something cowardly.

How could she say that she felt shy about showing herself because she liked him?

But honestly, it was something she couldn’t admit.

Viretta habitually covered for herself, stood up, and began drying her wet clothes.

The hem of her skirt, still damp, sank heavily. Viretta held the long skirt with her hands and dried the fabric by the fire.

"...I see."

Iola, hearing Viretta’s words, swallowed a bitter laugh. He lowered his face, one that usually didn’t suit mockery, with a serious expression.

"I’m sorry."

A genuine apology came from Iola.

When he had spoken earlier with a calm face, saying she was beautiful and attractive, now he bowed his head with an apologetic expression, making Viretta feel deeply uncomfortable.

It was an awkward situation where both their faces were red, but she didn’t think it was something that required a serious apology.

However, Iola didn’t lose his composure and bowed deeply.

Though he wasn’t dressed properly, it was an apology one might expect from a knight’s training. Even though he wasn’t wearing his clothes.

"You must have someone you’re in love with, and I’ve shown you discomfort and said things that made you uncomfortable."

But the moment Iola said that...

When Viretta realized the misunderstanding between them, it felt like she had been struck by lightning.

If she had known, she would have asked Moslin to strike her with lightning just once, as her body shuddered.

To think that simply putting on clothes had led to such a misunderstanding!

Hearing those unexpected words, Viretta’s hands and mouth froze, and her attitude only fueled Iola’s misunderstanding.

"Well, I... I’ve been hiding it, and without realizing it, I spoke honestly and caused you concern."

Iola, frowning, stammered his apology.

He sat cross-legged and lowered his head, looking slightly troubled.

The man, who had never faltered in the face of a dragon or falling into a dragon’s nest, now seemed to rattle like a broken cart.

It was quite a sight.

The man who had never been afraid even when flying in the sky while fighting a dragon was now bowing his head.

When he looked at her with a face filled with sincere regret, trying to gauge her mood, something inside Viretta snapped.

This was the critical moment.

If she answered incorrectly now, they wouldn’t be able to turn back.

Boasting in front of someone like Iola, who believed in everything, was difficult to fix.

Viretta moved around the campfire, grabbed Iola’s shoulder, and held on. Unfortunately, there was nothing to grab since he wasn’t wearing clothes.

"Iola! I have something to say about that."

"My fault, my greed. If you allow me to meet the person you love, I will explain myself properly."

"That opportunity doesn’t exist. I can’t meet the person I love and have you explain yourself to them, nor is it necessary."

"..."

Iola’s expression grew darker. Viretta didn’t miss the faint smile that touched his shadowed face.

This was dangerous.

If she didn’t explain herself clearly, it would lead to a self-destructive smile that could drag him down a path of resignation.

She knew all too well how such a self-deprecating smile looked after spending the last few days with Saffron.

It was a type of smile that, if left unchecked, would lead to falling into despair.

She was certain that Iola’s mind was running wild, making assumptions.

Viretta had learned how absurd and confident his predictions could be over the last few days.

Now that she understood that, she wasn’t going to let it slip away. Viretta forced Iola’s head up and immediately intervened.

"There’s no one like that in the world yet!"

"Eh? ...Ah, you mean they passed away..."

"No! Not yet! They’re not here yet. I’m saying that I will work hard to meet someone I will love, someone who will appear one day."

That answer was awkward. And more than anything, it sounded strange.

Because...

"...You mean you decided to hunt dragons without having someone you love?"

As Iola pointed out, that was the truth.

Such a person... There was nothing but a madman.

Now that she had seen the dragon firsthand, she could be even more certain of it.

Without having anyone they loved, to say they would wait for that person to appear... It was either the act of a madman or a legend waiting to be born.

She, however, was the latter, but there was no help for being misunderstood as the former by ordinary people.

"Yes."

"I thought you were pining for someone of high rank or someone with a family, holding onto a tragic love, but I guess that wasn’t the case?"

"Yes."

"Was that why you’ve never had a man?"

"Yes."

Of course, someone who would go hunting dragons just to write a paper wasn’t exactly normal either, but apparently, such people existed more often than one might think in academia.

Thanks to that, Iola was now seeing her as a strange one for going dragon hunting.

"...Really? You made that decision? Like that?"

"Yes. Is there something strange about it? There’s someone like Ranken who follows me because he wants to protect me."

The sentence "although Ranken opposes everything" was omitted, a half-truth. Iola, fully aware of this, didn’t point it out.

Instead, he raised an eyebrow and asked another question.

"Do you know that we almost died just now?"

"Yes."

"Even so, do you still stand by your original decision?"

Another fork in the road appeared before Viretta.

Having faced the full force of the dragon, they now had two paths before them.

1. Prepare for the hunt again.
2. Acknowledge reality and give up.

The dragon they encountered in the Root Mountain Range was too large and powerful for Iola to understand.

After Moslin’s lightning magic, prepared as a trump card, had failed miserably, the team was in a dire situation.

It was clear that neither Viretta nor Iola could summon a more powerful mage than Moslin.

The enemy was tougher than expected, and they had been threatened with their lives while their options were all sealed off.

At that moment, they had to decide whether to challenge the dragon again or give up.

But no matter how complicated the question, the answer was simple.

"Of course."

There was someone who wanted her to do that. So Viretta decided without hesitation to walk that path.

Iola, whose face had been stiff from not accepting the situation, relaxed.

He covered his face with both hands and sighed. It wasn’t a sigh full of despair, but a clean one, full of clarity.