Chapter Eighty-two: Market Date 2
“Over here, Karen.”
“The sign says they’re closed today, though…”
“Yeah, that’s because I’ve rented the entire place for today.”
Karen tensed up at Julius’s statement that he had reserved the entire jewelry store, which was visibly an established, high-end shop located on a street corner.
“What exactly for…?”
“Actually, there’s a magic stone I want, but I’m having trouble deciding. I thought you could help me choose, Karen.”
“A magic stone? Is there perhaps something I can help with?”
“Yes. There’s something only you can help me with, Karen.”
Karen, who had mistakenly assumed she might receive some sort of present, was busy alternating between feeling relieved and writhing in embarrassment. Still, she had no objections to being of help to Julius.
“Is there something I can do for you as an alchemist?”
“What I need is less your power as an alchemist and more your presence, Karen.”
Saying this, Julius entered the store. Karen followed him, tilting her head in confusion.
“Welcome, Master Julius. Everything is prepared.”
“Thank you, owner.”
“So, is it this lady’s eyes?”
“Yes.”
The elderly shopkeeper with graying hair approached Karen and stared at her intently.
“Hmm, I see, I see.”
After scrutinizing Karen for a while, the shopkeeper opened the lid of a huge jewelry box on the desk. Looking at the contents of the box, Karen tilted her head.
“All light-blue gemstones…?”
“This shade resembles your companion’s eyes the most, Master Julius. Less like the sea, and more like the beautiful, clear sky of early morning.”
“You think so too, owner? Every time I see her eyes, I’m reminded of the sky.”
Indeed, the blue stone that the shopkeeper carefully picked up from the velvet box with his gloved hand closely resembled the color of Karen’s eyes.
“Master Julius?”
To the confused Karen, Julius narrowed his eyes and smiled.
“Thank you for your help, Karen. I really wanted a gemstone that matched your eye color. I thought I remembered your eye color clearly, but I couldn’t trust my memory alone and absolutely needed your help.”
“Shall I process this one then, Master Julius? We can craft it into an earring—the wearer will be—”
“Me.”
“Of course. Understood.”
Nodding at Julius’s order, the shopkeeper respectfully placed the transparent blue stone into another small jewelry box.
“Master Julius, if I misheard, please laugh at me, but did you say you’re going to wear an earring with a stone the color of my eyes?”
“Yes, I did, Karen.”
“Doesn’t that make it seem like you have a one-sided crush on me?”
Wearing something with the eye color of the person you have a crush on. It was mainly an approach that girls used. Though she had seen men do it too, it was quite a romantic custom.
“Isn’t that actually the case?”
Seeing Julius’s dazzling smile, Karen remembered that this was how things had been established. Since being rejected by Karen at Sieg’s recovery celebration, Julius had been pretending to have a one-sided crush on her. Everyone knew it was just an act. They knew, but they pretended not to know.
Because many people acknowledged the value of winning Karen over and bringing her to their side. In a way, it was proof that people acknowledged Karen’s work, and she should have felt proud, but instead, she felt an odd sense of frustration.
Julius took the jewelry box containing the blue magic stone selected by the shopkeeper and held it up to his ear.
“What do you think, Karen? Does your color suit me?”
“—”
Gold with sky blue.
Karen stared intently at Julius, who was wearing her color.
“…If you’re asking if it suits you, then yes. But I don’t think there’s any color that wouldn’t suit you, Master Julius.”
“Then I’ll become the man to whom this color suits more than any other.”
At Julius’s smile, Karen swallowed hard.
Her heart pounded like a drum, yet it wasn’t the usual heat in her cheeks, the daze in her mind, or the sense of brain melting. While the core of her mind was hot, her thoughts were rather cold and clear.
She wanted this man to continue wearing this blue stone forever. What Karen felt in that moment was pure, undiluted desire. To fulfill this desire, Karen’s thoughts raced furiously about what she should do.
To the silent Karen, Julius, still smiling, held out another box.
“Karen, congratulations on your promotion to E-rank. This is a gift from me.”
Karen silently accepted the long box. Inside was a necklace with a stone the color of Julius’s eyes. It seemed Karen’s embarrassing prediction that they had come to this jewelry store for him to give her a gift wasn’t entirely wrong.
“…A necklace, not earrings.”
“If they were earrings, wouldn’t we be matching? I thought giving matching jewelry when we’re neither dating nor engaged might be a burden for you. I want you to wear this every day.”
“Every day?”
Indeed, it was a tiny, tiny stone that wouldn’t be a burden to wear daily. Small enough that it could even be made into an earring—
“When this stone is infused with magical power, the other one is heated up. This is that kind of magical tool. If you’re ever in danger, pour your magical power into it. I’ll come.”
Karen stared intently at the necklace in her hand. A magical tool like this was far more expensive than any ordinary necklace.
“Since this necklace is a magical tool, is the magic contained in the stone part? Or in the metal setting?”
“In the stone part. That’s why I’m having magical processing done on the stone I’ll be wearing. So, for now, even if you infuse it with magical power, it won’t function as a magical tool, so please don’t get into any danger for a while.”
Karen looked down at the necklace she had received. An overwhelming, dizzying desire began to take hold of her.
“Won’t you let me protect you, Karen?”
Karen’s heart pounded loudly in her chest at Julius’s pleading words.
“While claiming it’s a promotion gift, I keep making demands of you.”
As Julius furrowed his brow apologetically, Karen swallowed hard. She wanted Julius to wear her color stone every day, and she wanted to do the same. Karen found herself wanting to wear matching earrings, not a necklace.
“Karen, I was very happy when you drew that picture of me and when you stood up to Earl Brahm. That’s true, but I also found myself not wanting you to be in danger.”
“Huh?”
Karen caught her breath and came back to her senses at Julius’s unexpected words.
“Are you saying it was actually an inconvenience?”
“Of course not. Your actions were extremely valuable support for the Ehlertt Earldom. They helped Brother Helfried. They gained the support of local adventurers and will likely have a positive influence on Sieg’s future reign. Nothing could be more appreciated. But… I found myself wanting you not to do it again.”
“If it benefited the family, then isn’t that a good thing…? Or do you mean it wasn’t good for you, Master Julius?”
“That’s right, it didn’t benefit me.”
Looking down at the confused Karen, Julius smiled bitterly.
“I was worried about you.”
Karen tilted her head, wondering if this was some kind of metaphor, but in the end, she couldn’t understand what Julius was trying to say.
“But I don’t want to get in your way. I want to be someone who helps you walk the path you’ve chosen with your own strength… yet sometimes I find myself wanting to stop you.”
Julius almost touched Karen’s cheek, then seemingly thought better of it and withdrew his hand.
“I should simply accept the danger you took on for the Ehlertt family with gratitude, praise you, and be glad. But foolish as I am, unable to do so, I want you to give me a means to help you when you’re in trouble.”
Julius gave Karen a magical tool to call for his help.
Yet Julius spoke as if it were all for his own sake.
It was too sincere to be merely gentlemanly phrasing—Karen looked down at the gift in her hands, her heart full of complex feelings.
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