Chapter Fifty Three: Melancholy Days

People all have things they must protect. Those things vary depending on the individual. But that is not what is important. What is important is the ability to protect what it is you want to protect. Certain weaknesses arise every now and then. Do weaknesses corrupt an individual, making him lose himself in frailty? They can render a person completely useless.
The ability to protect doesn’t come only from the individual himself. Sometimes help is required from other people who share the same goal as that individual. That is a given, considering all people have weaknesses.
Yet why do I feel so alone……?
“Nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn……………………….”
“Stop sulking already. It won’t do you any good to sulk over something that wasn’t yours to begin with. I always thought it was strange how you became able to use my magic. Who would have thought you stole it from me? Now that my magic is back, I’ll be extra careful around you. You seem to have an ability that allows you to take away a person’s magic when you kissed them…….”
“I don’t think that’s true, Meila……. I mean…… he………. he and I kissed while you were passed out a week ago. My magic still remained after that.”
“If you say so……. but I’ll still keep my guard around him.”
Taht then walked to where I was sulking at the edge of the living room.“Come now, you don’t have to feel so down. You are plenty strong without her magic, right? I’m sure you don’t need it that much………….”
“That’s not it…….. that magic is wasted on Meila. I should be the one who uses it. Why did it have to go back to her? Was it the kiss? But I kissed you too, right? Then why didn’t I take your magic then?”
“That’s……..”
“Aah………. it’s all over now. Without that deception ability, there is no way I can complete my mission…….. since it’s come to this, I have no choice but to drag her with me when I fight.”
“NO way!! I’m not going into the sacred land!!”
“The sacred land? Fight? What are you guys talking about?” Taht asked.
The normal me would have felt it was foolish to let Taht know of our plans in the sacred land, but I was so depressed I didn’t care what happened anymore.
Meila suddenly rushed over and grabbed my hand. “Let’s go already, Duddul is waiting for us outside!”
“It’s time for you guys to leave, huh?” Taht’s expression changed. She looked sad again.
That’s right. Today is the day we return to the capital.
After finding out that my deception ability was gone yesterday, I wasn’t able to sleep at all through the night. I felt as though my whole life had come to an end.
The whole plan to find out where Leila is hinged on the deception ability. I was going to enter the sacred land, deceive any opponent I met, and make them tell me where the lord’s manor is. But alas, I’m powerless once again. Without the deception ability, I can’t even use my weakest attacks on people.
To make matters worse, Meila woke up and found her magic returned to her. She said something about how she had the best night of her life when she realized her magic was back and completely flipped on me.
She shouted in joy and mocked me.
“I knew something was wrong from the start. I wake up after the monsters attacked me only to find my magic gone. To think you took it away from me while I was out. Was it a kiss? Did you know that my magic would be gone if you kissed me? I bet you knew all along and pretended to be dumb. Even though I was drunk yesterday, I clearly remember when you forced a kiss on me. That’s how I knew what is going on.”
She accused me of forcing a kiss on her. She literally begged me to do it, and now she accuses me. I never would have kissed her if I had known the ability was going to be returned to her.
It hasn’t even been proven that the kiss was responsible, but now I’m really confident that it was the cause.
“U-umm………. I have a favor to ask you…….” Taht bashfully said to me as Meila was dragging me out of the house. She had already said her goodbyes to Taht.
“Can you please give us a moment, Meila?” Still embarrassed by her request she continued after Meila left.
Burte was also outside of the house. Only Taht and I remained in the living room.
“I was really happy when you guys decided to live with us for a while. I haven’t been this happy since my parents died. For some reason, I feel really sad right now. I don’t want you guys to leave. I feel like we’ve become family these past days. But I know you have to continue living your lives so it can’t be helped………”
Her eyes got teary as she spoke. The tears rolled slowly down her cheeks.
“Sorry about this…….. I guess I really don’t want you guys to leave. Come again soon, okay?”
“Sure…… We will come back……………. I also enjoyed my stay here. The truth is, no one has ever welcomed me in their home before. You are the first person to let me stay in their house and I’m very grateful for that. I wish that we could stay longer, but we have very important things to do in the capital.”
“I see………. I’ll pray for you….”
“Thanks……… we’ll see you soon.”
Staying there any minute longer would only make her sadder. I turned around to leave when she stopped me in a low voice……..
“Wait……… the favor I asked………..”
Oh right. I thought we were done, but I guess she still hadn’t asked for anything.
“Please accept this. It’s a token of our friendship.”
In her hand was a blue pendant just the size of a small stone.
“This is called the ‘Guide pendant’. The capital is a dangerous place. You’ll need to know where to avoid. You’ll see it blink nonstop when you approach a dangerous area. It can also help you find things you are looking for. Please take it as a gift. Sorry I don’t have much to give you……”
I cut her off before she said any more than she had to. “Thank you so much! I really needed something like this!”
She looked happy and replied, “You didn’t have to say that just to make me feel better.”
“No, I’m serious………….. I have a question though; can this be used to find a person?” It would be great if that were the case.
“Well of course. That is why it was made. I only said to stay away from danger because I figured you have a tendency to attract trouble.”
“That kinda hurts………. but still. I can’t thank you enough. If I had known that there was a necklace like this, then I would have spent all my money on it.”
“I’m glad you liked it. It’s a memento my late father left for me.”
What? A memento…………..?
“I can’t take this! How can you give me something like this!?” I returned it to her by pushing the pendant back into her hands.
“Don’t worry about it. This is nothing compared to what you did for us. I should be the one thanking you.”
“But still………..”
“I asked for a favor didn't I? Just take it.”
I had no choice but to accept after that. It was something so important to her. I wouldn’t have shown how excited I was to have it if I had known how dearly she valued it.
“I will treasure it! I promise!”
Full of determination, I turned around to face the door. Goodbye…….. Taht!
“Wait…..”
Huh? She had more to say?
I stopped in my tracks and turned to face her.
“This is a little embarrassing to say, but think of it as a second favor………..”
“What is it? I’ll do anything you want.” I said, even if it meant staying longer.
“Th-then………. W-will……… you kiss me?”
“Come again!?” Did I hear her wrong?
“I said please kiss me!!” she fidgeted with her eyes closed.
“Kiss you? But why? I mean……….. aren’t you scared that I’ll take your powers away?”
“I…….. I’m not……… when you kissed me a while back. I was so happy. To tell you the truth, I was really depressed before you guys came here. My days were filled with nothing but melancholy. Burte was the only person who was there for me. He prevented me from losing myself. But after you kissed me…. that feeling never came back to me again. It completely disappeared. I felt like a load was taken off of me. Even though I wanted to know about your healing abilities, I became more interested in how you took my worries away from me. That’s why, before you leave…… I want you to vaccinate me against such worries.”
She bared her heart to me.
“I’ve already told Burte not to worry if he sees me sleeping deeply. So please do this for me~?”
She was dead serious about it. I couldn’t say no to her. I didn’t have any reason to refuse. It felt more like she was doing me a favor.
“Okay………….”
I agreed. Her face lit up with a bright smile.
She was a lot older than me, but her height was the same as mine when I moved close to her. She had her eyes closed and stood there stiff.
Shouldn’t we sit on the sofa or something?
“Hurry~? it’s embarrassing.”
I forgot about the proper way to do it when she said that.
Her lips were pursed out perfectly. Her plump, juicy lips welcomed me with all their might. They looked so pink and delicious.
My heart raced at the sight of that. Even though it was just a favor, I couldn’t help but get too excited.
I managed to control my breathing when I moved closer to her head. A nice scent enveloped me when my lips were just centimeters from hers.
That was when my barrier glowed darker. It was about to get dangerous. The barrier would shield the surroundings from her scream. Otherwise the whole town would be in chaos.
“Gulp!” I gulped down as I also closed my eyes.
Bad-ump! Bad-ump!
My heart didn’t beat nearly as much when I kissed Meila the night before.
My head almost became stiff because of nervousness. The last time I kissed her was on impulse so I didn’t think much of it. But now…….
“Smooch!” Our lips touched.
Her lips opened slightly as soon as they touched. A wet sensation met my lips and I couldn’t help but open mine as well. But it ended sooner than I thought when she screamed really loud. It was several times louder than the last time.
“KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!”
The whole house vibrated as she screamed.
I quickly hugged her body and lifted her legs from the floor. She was bound to make the floor collapse otherwise.
Her vibrations intensified while in my arms. My barrier glowed really dark. It was much darker than the time I fought the freezer. It was almost on the same level as when I held Meila in the hole after the floor collapsed.
As she vibrated, I felt my legs leaving the ground. It was a subconscious attempt by my body to prevent any damage to the house that might be caused by the tremors.
It took two whole minutes before she stopped vibrating and calmed down. She had fainted a long time ago.
I knew something like this was going to happen, but I didn’t think it would be on this scale.
The barrier disappeared and the room brightened all of a sudden.
Some of the things on the tables and shelves had fallen down.
With Taht in my arms, I carried her princess-style and placed her on the cushion. Needless to say, my hands were wet from the liquid she released.
I then washed my hands in the toilet before coming back to the living room.
Goodbye, Taht. I just hope your magic doesn’t get taken away by that.
I left the house immediately after that. The wings I brought back from the forest had all been wrapped and taken out of the house earlier.
It was time to say goodbye.
“What happened in there? The house was trembling,” Meila curiously asked when I got out.
“It’s nothing…………. Burte, you should go and stay with your sister.”
“Okay……… and goodbye………” He left in a hurry back to the house.
“A red dragon!” “A red dragon!” Children his age played around Duddul.
That’s right. Now that I’ve lost my deception ability, Duddul has become red in their eyes.
“She told me not to come in no matter what happened……… I didn’t think she was seriously planning something.”
So she warned Meila beforehand? Good thing she did…….. I wouldn’t want her to drop in on us like that.
“But now it’s really goodbye. It was really fun staying in this town. It was all thanks to this family.”
“Yeah you are right……” Meila agreed with me. We got on Duddul and made our way out of the town.
The kids followed after Duddul shouting “Red dragon!” until we left the buildings.
The wings and stones were held in Meila’s hands. She hugged them to her chest because of how space-consuming they would be. I plan on selling them to my friend Wrok.
I never thought I would have such a pleasant experience in a town like this. I guess there are always a few good people everywhere you go. People like Taht and Etis………… and Wrok too.
So far my good encounters have mostly been with girls. I want to have a male friend that I’ll go on adventures with for a change.
What does the capital have in store for me, I wonder?