After finishing gathering the necessary ingredients in the infirmary, I used the tools in the equipment room to grind the medicine into powder and measure the weight of the ingredients.
While I was gathering my own blood with a frown on my face after cutting my fingertip, Kimberly, who stood beside me, was vigorously scratching her hair.
It was truly a surreal scene.
“Kimberly, give me a bit more of your dandruff. I still need 1 ronbu’s worth.”
“It’s not dandruff, it’s fairy dust!” Kimberly retorted.
Kimberly’s good point was that despite her grumbling, she graciously shook her honey-colored hair, allowing the particles to scatter around.
With utmost care, I placed the gathered fairy dust onto the scale until the plate reached a balanced position, signifying that all the ingredients were ready.
“Let’s mix it quickly!”
Kimberly urged me with an impatient expression, unable to contain her excitement.
I, too, couldn’t contain my anticipation.
Using a bowl and a spoon, I carefully mixed all the ingredients together all in order to create that special ink.
“Well, it looks like ordinary ink…” Kimberly muttered with a bored expression.
Although her remark was underwhelming, I couldn’t blame her.
I had hoped for a more enchanting and magical reaction, something that would shimmer and shine. However, the result was just a brownish tinted, ordinary black ink.
“The important thing is whether we can make a magic scroll or not,” I replied.
“Yeah, but you know, I’m not really good at enjoying the process,”
“Well, we don’t have a choice. We’re doing this to create a magic scroll,” I explained.
“Seriously? That’s like a couple in a political marriage who only have sex for conceiving,”
It was a common story among nobles, where once an heir was conceived, the couple would never share a bed again.
Both parties did it out of obligation, without any enjoyment in the process.
“Why do you, a fairy, know about such things?” I asked.
“Oh? It’s because your old man left me in his bed and decided to get busy. He thought it would turn him on to be watched by me. Surprisingly, he managed to finish… quite rare for him,” she replied.
Well, my father and stepmother weren’t exactly on good terms…
But I didn’t want to hear about my father’s escapades.
“What I’m trying to say is that you should enjoy life more. Being a human is tough, you know? We have to work in a place like this just to make a living. Oh, but if we sell these magic scrolls, we can say goodbye to this prison anytime,” she continued.
Her perspective wasn’t entirely wrong.
Even basic healing magic would be more effective than the medicine prescribed by physicians, so I’m sure the wealthy would line up to buy them.
However, there was something that bothered me.
“What is it? Once you make some money, you’re going to quit this job, right?” Kimberly asked.
“Well, yeah…”
Hearing my reply, Kimberly looked at me with a puzzled expression. But then, as if something had just occurred to her, she suddenly grinned and flashed her teeth.
“I see. Barton, you’re concerned about Fuyu, aren’t you?” she exclaimed.
It was indeed one of the reasons, so I didn’t make any excuses. Trying to cover it up would only expose my vulnerability, and I didn’t want to lie, so I silently walked towards my room.
No… to be honest, I was caught off guard and didn’t know how to respond, which left me feeling unsettled.
Meanwhile, Kimberly continued to talk beside me.
“That’s great! That’s what I expect from my friend, Barton Wolf! Leaving this place behind while Fuyu remains captive—that’s not what a man should do. I may not have a gender, but Barton is a boy who has his priorities straight. For the sake of the woman he loves, he could conquer one or two prisons…”
The way she spoke, as if I had a romantic interest in the hero, irked me a little.
“Don’t say whatever you want. Unlike fairies, humans have various obligations and constraints. It’s not easy for me to just quit like that,”
I knew for myself that it was love at first sight with the hero.
Yes, what Kimberly said wasn’t wrong.
However, if I were to admit that, all that would await me in the future is despair.
Between her and me, there stood the imposing walls of a peculiar prison, with the whereabouts of the key unknown.
Besides, who knows if the hero would even reciprocate my feelings?
“Stop talking nonsense and let’s go back to our room,” I said.
“Tch, what’s your problem? If you’re a real man, then set Fuyu free from this prison!”
Just saying it is easy.
But how do we even do it?
“Take a moment and calm down. We don’t even know why the hero is imprisoned here. There might be some circumstances we’re unaware of, or perhaps there’s a possibility that the hero chose to be there willingly,” I explained.
“Hmm…”
Kimberly pondered deeply and refrained from making any more thoughtless remarks.
*************
TN: Even though Kimberly said she is genderless, I’m going to continue using she and her to make the reading easy.
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