The Great Sword is not the Main Body!

“As planned, we’ve arrived at the summit of Karahan…”

“Ugh…”

“Things are going to get busy from now on…”

“Cough- cough…”

“… I don’t know when we’ll be able to return.”

“Ugh... ughhh...”

“... As quickly as possible-”

“Waaah!”

Hephaestus, who had been shedding tears little by little while reading the letter, finally broke down.

And then, once again, she started hugging me and crying…

I barely managed to wipe her nose… Ugh!

“I-I’ll get back as soon as possible… Just eat well and live well, Hephaestus.”

“Waaaahhh!”

“Ugh, ugh-!”

“Huuuuu...! No-Noah Unni... huhu... hck... Haa... sniff-!”

“He-Hephaestus...! Your snot… it’s dripping all over my clothes…”

Clear snot from Hephaestus’s nose trickled down onto my clothes.

Ugh... gross! But... I can’t just push away a crying kid…

“Um... Hephaestus? What part of the letter... made you so sad?”

“Cough- ugh... Master Yuria... never... sent me a letter... not once...”

“Well... maybe on that day, she just wanted to send a letter?”

“No... and... and... sniff- she... never called me... by my name... not once... ughh-! Waaaahhhhhh!”

Rubia tapped her forehead.

“Hmm, that could be the case. But maybe she was just feeling good, or maybe she thought it was really going to be a long wait…”

“No... I... ugh- I know... Hah... hngh-”

Hephaestus wiped the snot from her hand... and hugged me again.

I’m done... I’ve given up...

I stopped patting her and turned my head toward the window.

Both Rubia and Hephaestus. Why do they always rub their snot on me when they cry?

“Master wouldn’t... do that. I’m sure.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“I... I know Master... Master Yuria-”

After hugging me and sobbing for a while, Hephaestus hid her face behind my back... and said.

In an extremely, extremely, extremely girlish tone...

And in a moist voice...

“... Because I love her.”

“Ah…”

“Gasp...!”

Rubia’s mouth dropped open.

My mouth also went creak.

I thought her name was Yuria, so I assumed she was a woman... but she’s a man?

“B-because I love her, I know... something happened to Master...”

“Um... well... that could be true.”

Rubia’s head slowly nodded.

Hephaestus hugged me even tighter.

“He-Hephaestus... I can’t breathe…”

“Ah, sorry... Unni.”

“Ugh, yikes…”

Why is she apologizing but hugging me even tighter…!?@@novelbin@@

“If you love someone, you can feel these things too...?”

“Yeah... if you’ve ever loved someone, Rubia Unni... you’d understand what it feels like...”

Rubia’s face turned red with embarrassment.

“Uh, ah... um... yes, right. Haha. Hephaestus? I get it, but could you tell me about Master’s appearance or some of her traits? It might make things easier. Of course, Hephaestus already knows, but we need to know too so we can be of more help. So please, hurry and tell us. And Noah, why are you making that face? It’s not what you think. Don’t misunderstand. I just want to hear the story quickly.”

“F-face...? Ugh... yes.”

Rubia’s speech sped up incredibly.

And there’s no tone or pitch to it...

Rubia’s broken!

“Uh, um... Yes. First... Master’s hair is light green.”

Light green?

“Hephaestus’s too, but Master’s hair is a rare color.”

“Right…”

Huh?

What color is Hephaestus’s?

“Ugh... sorry to interrupt, but... He-Hephaestus, what color is yours?”

“Oh, my hair’s pink.”

Pink...?

“Wow... pink...?”

“Yeah. But... it’s so eye-catching... I don’t really like it.”

I’m curious!

Natural pink!

“Ha, can I touch it...?”

“Yeah... my hair isn’t that great, but feel free to touch it.”

I slowly raised my hand and brushed through Hephaestus’s short hair.

As she said, her hair wasn’t the softest.

Is it because she works in front of the fire?

As for the color...

Is it pale pink or deep pink?

If it’s this frizzy, it probably doesn’t have much shine.

Does that mean her eyebrows are also pink?

No matter how much I touched it, I couldn’t feel the color.

I wanted to imagine it a little more clearly in my head. I let go of my greatsword and started tousling her hair with both hands.

Hmm... It’s a shame that I can’t see the color...

“I wonder what color it is…”

“Noah…”

I heard a voice full of regret.

“Ugh... Unni…”

This time, her voice was soaked with snot...

“Hmm...?”

I took my hand off Hephaestus’s hair and grabbed the hilt of my sword.

Rubia’s figure was right in front of me.

“Wah...?”

And then she hugged me tightly.

“Ru-Rubia...?”

“Unnii... sniff…”

Hephaestus, who was on my right, also hugged me.

What’s going on with them?

“Uh, um... why, why are you...?”

“Noah... um, pink is…”

Rubia, still hugging me, began to whisper in my ear.

“Pink is... a lovely color.”

“Uh... yes?”

“When Noah touches, hears, or feels something and thinks it’s lovely... that’s pink.”

Did the breakdown earlier still affect her...?

What is she saying all of a sudden...?

“I... I know that too…”

“And... my hair is silver. Silver is... um... like the cool air of dawn.”

“So... I know that too—”

Rubia cut off my words.

She slowly ran her hand through my hair and continued talking.

“Noah’s hair is... black. Black is... the feeling you get when you’re scared.”

And then she hugged me again.

“If you’re curious, feel free to ask anytime. I’m not great at explaining... but I’ll do my best to help you understand.”

“I-I know the colors... um... pink... pink...”

Huh...?

How should I explain this...?

Well... Rubia’s explanation seems the closest... She explains better than I expected, huh?

“Ah, so... it’s the emotion you feel when you’re embarrassed…”

Tears from Rubia fell on the top of my head.

Snot from Hephaestus... got on my sleeve.

Stop the snot...!

“C-Can everyone calm down, and... how about we finish talking about Hephaestus’s Master... first...?”

“Phew... yes... okay.”

Rubia made an expression full of regret as she pulled back.

“Unni...! If something’s hard, just tell me. I’ll help you as much as I can.”

Hephaestus also walked away with a look of deep sympathy.

You’re struggling too, don’t pretend you’ll help me...

And when did you start speaking informally to me?

I’m still older than you... huh?!

I’m... seven years older in Earth years! And even two years older here!

Use formal speech!

“Ugh... um, but Hephaestus... informal speech…”

“Isn’t it nice, Unni? It feels like we’ve gotten closer this way.”

Hephaestus, who had been crying and making a fuss, smiled brightly.

Getting closer...? More...?

Hmm... well, since it’s better now, I’ll leave it alone. It would be a headache if she cried again. With snot all over me.

I’ll understand. She’s just a kid.

I’m a magnanimous adult.

“Ugh... okay.”

“Ahem, the conversation has gone off track, so... shall we hear more from Hephaestus?”

“Ah, yes... Master’s traits... um, her hair is light green... and her eyes are the same light green. And her eyes are... dirty.”

If you are reading this translation anywhere other than Novelight.net or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.

Hephaestus, who had calmed down much more than before, continued her explanation.

This is all thanks to my broad-mindedness. You can thank me, Rubia.

“She also has a dirty personality. Her speech is thick, and... ah, she has a tear mole under her right eye. She’s tall...”

Listening to Hephaestus’s continuing explanation, I slowly began to picture it in my mind.

“Her traits are clear, so... if I saw her, I’d recognize her right away.”

“Yeah. Ah, and... she has big scars on her back and lower abdomen.”

Huh...?

Lower abdomen...?

“Uh...? Lower abdomen?”

“Yeah. I saw it when we were washing together. There was a scar that ran from her belly button... though you can’t see it on the outside... well, maybe... just in case…”

“You washed together? With Master?”

“Yeah. We’ve been washing together every day since ten years ago.”

Huh...

Huh...?

“Why...?”

“When I was little... I didn’t know how to wash myself, so she helped me. After that, she would just come in even when I was washing alone. She said it was wasteful to let water go to waste...”

Whoa...

“Hephaestus, you said... you’re 18 now, right?”

“Yeah.”

“So... Master’s age…”

“Master’s probably... almost 30.”

Rubia’s expression hardened after hearing Hephaestus’s words.

“Uh, Hephaestus. So, how did you meet that Master...?”

“Ah... well... my real mother sold me as a slave... but... Master bought me and took me in...”

“Hephaestus. No.”

“Huh... slave…”

Rubia’s urgent voice interrupted Hephaestus’s words.

“Huh?”

“That Master... you should cut ties with her. It’s better to live separately. I’ll help you as much as I can... Let’s be independent.”

“Y-yeah... Hephaestus... How about... you just live with us?”

Your master’s out of his mind!

He’s a perverted freak!

“...Why?”

“‘Why’... no. Well, that’s possible... since you were little... but... no... You should get away from that crazy man as soon as possible. I’ll help you get out somehow-”

Hephaestus tilted her head.

“A man?”

“...Yeah.”

“Who?”

Rubia tilted her head too.

“Master Hephaestus’s...”

“Yeah?”

“He-Hephaestus’s Master. The crazy Master Yuria...”

Hephaestus’s expression became strange.

“My Master... is a woman.”

Rubia’s expression.

Became even stranger.

“A woman...?”

“Yeah. Ah... I didn’t tell you. My Master is a woman.”

After a long while of just staring, I spoke instead of Rubia.

“He-Hephaestus... you clearly... said you loved your Master...?”

“Yeah. I love her a lot.”

Ah.

“Aha... Hephaestus is a guy, huh…”

He could be a feminine man. Yeah. There are plenty of characters like that.

That... could be possible...

“Pfft... no, Unni. I’m a woman... though, I know. I’m a little strange.”

“Eh...”

Hephaestus sighed deeply before continuing.

“But... how should I say this... it might sound like an excuse... but... I just love her, as she is.”

Hephaestus spoke with a shy voice.

Her expression, just like Rubia had described.

Full of pink.

“I love everything about her, to the point of going crazy...”

It seemed like the inside of the carriage was full of pink.

“I love her...”

That’s the kind of expression she had.