「……」
Licorice stood on the terrace of the Stuart estate, staring absentmindedly at the night sky.
Tonight was relatively warm, but even so, Snowlake was a frigid region.
The night wind was icy enough to chill to the bone, and her breath came out white.
Still, Licorice kept gazing at the sky.
Someone gently draped a coat over her shoulders.
It was the fairy-sized winter coat they had bought before setting out on their journey.
“…Ah.”
“What are you doing here, all by yourself?”
When she turned around, Sofia was there.
It seemed she was also the one who had brought the coat.
“Mm… no reason. I just felt like it, I guess.”
“Were you thinking about your friend?”
“…Yeah, pretty much.”
Licorice, unusually quiet, began to speak slowly.
“I thought I’d already come to terms with my feelings about Nonoka… but, you know, I really didn’t expect to hear about her like this.”
“I understand. I’m always surprised too, when I hear about someone I know in an unexpected place.”
“I really thought I was the one who understood Nonoka the best, you know? We’d been together for so long. Except for when she went on adventures, we were always together. Like, I thought nobody knew her better than me.”
“That makes sense.”
“But…”
Licorice lowered her gaze slightly.
From Sofia’s side, she couldn’t see Licorice’s expression.
But Sofia could imagine what kind of face she was making.
Even so, she didn’t comment on it.
She just stayed by her side… as if nothing was out of the ordinary.
“…Nonoka really pushed herself, didn’t she…”
“It seems so.”
“That whole thing with the Purgatory Dragon or whatever… fighting something that insane, even I was shocked.”
“That’s pretty wild indeed.”
“Right? She’d always come back all battered and bruised… but still smiling like nothing happened.”
Licorice lowered her head even further.
“…Even when we were attacked by adventurers, she worried more about me than herself.”
“I see…”
“Isn’t that backwards? She should’ve been worried about herself. She didn’t have time to be protecting me. Geez… just like Fate, she’s way too kindhearted.”
Something fell softly to the ground.
A very small droplet.
Licorice’s tear.
“Don’t… spring it on me like this… don’t make me remember all of a sudden… not like this…”
Once the first tear fell, she couldn’t hold back anymore.
The drops just kept falling one after another.
「……」
Sofia silently reached out and put her arm around Licorice.
She pulled her close, resting Licorice’s cheek on her shoulder.
“When you’re lonely, or sad… it’s okay to cry.”
“…”
“Crying when you remember someone precious to you isn’t a bad thing. It doesn’t mean you’re worrying them, either.”
“…You…”
“So… don’t hold back. Cry as much as you need.”
“…ah… ah…”
Licorice’s face crumpled…
And the sound of a fairy’s sobs echoed into the night sky.
――――――――――
“…Forget about what I was just like, okay? Sniff…”
Before long, Licorice had stopped crying and was back to her usual self.
Her eyes were red.
Her nose was still a little runny, but her expression was refreshed.
“When you say ‘what you were just like,’ do you mean the Licorice who clung to me and cried her heart out?”
“Wh—!? That’s why I said to forget about it!”
“Yes, you’re right. I’d like to do that too… but it was the first time I’ve seen you like that, Licorice, and the impression it left was rather strong… I’m not sure I can forget so easily.”
“Grrrrr…”
“I suppose I’ll have to consult Fate and Aisha then. I’ll tell them: ‘This happened — what can I do to forget it?’”
“Whaaa—!!! If you do that, I’ll go on a rampage! I really will, you hear!?”
“Aren’t you already rampaging?”
Licorice smacked Sofia with little poka-poka-poka blows.
But after all, she was just a fairy — her strength wasn’t enough to faze a swordmaster, and she looked more like a child throwing a tantrum than anything else.
“Licorice.”
“What!?”
“Right now… we’re together, okay?”
“…Hmph!”
Licorice turned away.
But the tips of her ears were red.
What kind of face was she making?
Only she herself knew the answer to that.
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