“Alright. Shall we go?”
When you think of a lighter, you think of cigarettes. And when you think of cigarettes, isn’t it Ellie?
It’s a one-dimensional thought, but there’s definitely some effectiveness to it. With that assurance, I kicked the door open and stepped out.
It wasn’t hard to find Ellie and Lydia having a conversation in the corner of the first floor.
But the problem was that both of them were radiating a serious vibe with their gloomy faces, making it difficult to jump into the conversation.
Especially Ellie, with so many butts piled up in the ashtray and the surrounding area filled with thick smoke, it was clear she had been smoking a lot.
No matter how much Mana Herb cigarettes are non-addictive and don’t harm the body like regular cigarettes… smoking so many definitely signals something’s wrong.
After all, the Mana Herb cigarette that Ellie smokes is due to the phantom pain in her lost right arm, used as a substitute for painkillers.
Hiding my rising worries with a cheerful smile, I dashed over.
“Ellie!”
“…Jonah? Didn’t you say you were going to sleep?”
“I thought so, but I forgot something.”
Ellie’s dark complexion seemed to suggest something was amiss. Perhaps it wasn’t enough to smoke that much, considering a new cigarette was already in her mouth.
She was about to light it, holding a magical device lighter, so I snatched it away.
Pickpocketing… ON!
“Hey!”
“Wait, what’s that just now?! It just disappeared all of a sudden?!”
“Is that really important right now? Just stay still.”
Was it the first time she’d seen my pickpocketing skill? I calmed the flustered Ellie down and stood in front of her.
Normally, Ellie would be pretending to look elsewhere while sneaking peeks at me, but for some reason, she couldn’t meet my gaze now.
In that brief moment, could it be…?
She seemed determined to hide it, but as a genius (not really) who blasphemes even the gods (it’s true), I understood everything.
With a generous smile, I patted her ash-gray head. It was possible because Ellie was sitting down. Every time my hand brushed her wolf ears, they perked up, which was amusing.
“It’s okay, it’s okay. I don’t mind. It happens.”
“Jonah, you know everything…?”
“Of course.”
Nodding, I brought my lips close to Ellie’s ear.
“…You came here to use my belly as a side dish, right? And then you got caught by Lydia and are getting scolded.”
“……Huh?”
Ellie feigned confusion, possibly to hide her embarrassment. It was cute.
“Come on, I understand everything! It’s true that I’m charming, but I’m still young. Surely the noble Lydia couldn’t forgive Ellie for having naughty thoughts about a child.”
“No! What do you see me as, you little brat?!”
“Always thinking dirty thoughts all day, but when the opportunity arises, you freeze up and can’t do anything, right?”
“Stop with the facts! It hurts, so please stop….”
“Oh come on. I just got away with it, and now my junior is seriously scolding me? If the person who became the dish comes over, it’s natural to feel awkward while also apologetic, but still, I’d be a little hurt if you pretend not to know.”
“Just listen to me…!”
Ellie protested, clutching her chest in an aggrieved manner. Meanwhile, Lydia was clapping her hands with a blank expression.
Clap clap!
“Jonah is amazing. You know Ellie-senpai well.”
“Well, I’m just that good.”
“You too, Lydia?!”
“Ellie-senpai should be thankful she wasn’t dragged off by the guards.”
“…Honestly, I wish everything would just end.”
With a sigh, Ellie hung her head. Still, a half-lit cigarette was stuck in her mouth.
Somehow, she didn’t drop it. Smiling, I grabbed her cheek to make her look at me.
“Ellie.”
“…….”
“Look at me, Ellie.”
“…Why?”
She seemed thoroughly upset, avoiding my gaze with a grumpy tone.
In front of her, I raised a finger and whispered softly.
“Weak flame.”
Flick.
A flame flickered to life at my fingertip, making Ellie’s yellow eyes widen in surprise.
“Is that… magic?”
“After visiting the labyrinth, I think I’ve gained a bit of mana. This is the best magic I can manage though.”
As I shrugged, Lydia narrowed her eyes and asked.
“Just because you have mana doesn’t mean everyone can use magic. Did you know that from the start?”
“Pretty much. I’ve mentioned it, right? I was originally aiming to be an adventurer, so I did a bit of studying in advance.”
“…….”
She didn’t look convinced at all, but Lydia nodded her head anyway. Sorry, but my gacha abilities are a secret, so I can’t help it.
Well, given my antics in the labyrinth so far, she should probably let it slide. If anything, she might just mistakenly think I’m a genius, so it’s fine.
But more importantly, I had to hurry. Even now, the amount of mana I had was being consumed rapidly.
“Focus on this flame, Ellie.”
“……?”
In front of Ellie, I wiggled my finger left and right. The flame wobbled along with it.
“You are starting to like the boy before you more and more….”
“Jonah, are you hypnotizing me right now?”
“I feel like I want to jump you tonight….”
“That’s not happening!”
“And if I take responsibility, we’ll get married….”
“Isn’t that usually when you confess?”
“But my guilt never goes away, and I can’t refuse what the boy says, so I end up transferring all my assets to the boy’s name….”
“Was that your goal?!”
Ellie’s face paled in shock, trembling as I took a moment to admire her. Then, I sneakily poked my finger at her.
“Gotcha.”
“Uh, uh?!”
In an instant, the cigarette she was holding lit up, making her panic and lean her head back. Smoke began to rise from her bewildered face.
As my mana was starting to run low, I flicked my wrist and dispelled the magic before it could deplete completely.
“So, what do you think? I wanted to show this to Ellie first, so I kept it a secret from Lydia. Did you like it?”
“…….”
Ellie froze, looking as if she were stuck in place, her yellow eyes rolling back and forth between me and the cigarette.
I grinned, pinching her cheek.
“I don’t know what worries you have, but I’m on your side, Ellie.”
“Jonah….”
“You’ve given me so much, haven’t you? Even putting me under Lydia’s tutoring. Just be honest. You’re anxious because I got kidnapped this time, right?”
Ellie had always been good to me, but she wasn’t the type to pay Lydia a fortune just to make me her mentee.
She often advised me to live an ordinary life, helping her with her own tasks rather than engaging in dangerous adventurer work.
But now, was she making plans for me to become a proper adventurer? I thought about it for a moment, but the reason seemed pretty clear.
She realized that being an adventurer was tough and expected me to come to her for help, yet here I was nearly kidnapped instead.
Instead of holding me back, she probably wanted to support me so I could grow strong enough to protect myself.
“Really, Ellie, you’re such a fool. My getting kidnapped isn’t your fault.”
“I… well….”
Ellie faltered, unable to finish her sentence. I pulled her into a warm embrace and patted her back.
“Don’t blame yourself. Just quietly watch. I promise I won’t betray your trust.”
“……!”
Ellie flinched as if struck by lightning. I may have said it in a cool way, but I meant it sincerely.
Labyrinth City is vast, and people are abundant. How many can you truly trust in this complicated world?
Didn’t I search for my characters? No matter how hard I looked, I could only find Ellie.
And I was relieved it was none other than her.
Though I don’t know everything about Ellie since I only roughly sketched her setting, it’s definitely true she’s one of the few perfect positive characters among my cast.
As a creator, a human, and as a guy standing before an ideal type I’d only seen in novels, I decided to flaunt a bit.
“I’ll pay back everything you’ve given me twofold someday, so look forward to it… and until then, stay by my side.”
“Oh, uh… I wasn’t expecting anything like that….”
“And!”
I cut off Ellie’s hesitant comment and whispered in a voice low enough Lydia wouldn’t hear.
“Since I often do things with Ellie too, let’s just treat today like it never happened, okay?”
“……?!”
I gave Ellie’s back another comforting pat as she gasped for breath and then ran over to Lydia.
I had planned for a light hug, but…
“That’s troublesome. Ellie-senpai’s become a nuisance.”
She looked genuinely annoyed, so I decided to just tap her shoulder armor instead.
“Thank you, Lydia! I’m really going now, so you both sleep well~”
“Um, uh…”
“Yeah. Rest tomorrow, and we’ll meet again the day after.”
With Ellie, who seemed unable to speak, and Lydia, who waved with a blank expression, I remembered I’d planned to review our experiences in the labyrinth tomorrow and then head back in two days.
“Okay. See you in two days.”
After waving back at Lydia, I finally headed back up to my room on the second floor.
KUNG!
As soon as I closed the door, I unfolded my tightly clenched hand. There lay a silverly shining magical device lighter.
Its luxurious decoration and finish stood out brilliantly.
“If I sell it, it’ll easily go for over 1 silver.”
I don’t need a lighter since I have Ellie, right?
With this, I can complete a world where no one gets hurt.
