Chapter 11 _ The Mask of the Sage, or a Self-Made Lonely Incident
After becoming friends with Frey,
there were a few things that had begun to bother me.
First—why was she feared so deeply by the people of the city?
And second—why did some who accepted requests involving her
never return?
Our bond had only just begun.
Even I knew it was too early to ask the first question.
So I chose the second.
Because no matter how I thought about it,
I couldn’t imagine Frey deliberately harming the people she protected.
“Hey, Frey. Can I ask you something?”
“What is it?”
“When I took the request, the man at the black market said
there were people who angered you and never came back.”
“I just… can’t picture you hurting the townsfolk.
What happened to them?”
“I did nothing more than what I did with you.”
“…Huh?”
“When those people tried to open the gate to my shrine,
I simply opened it for them.”
She continued calmly.
“Then, overwhelmed by fear, they fled.”
“In their panic, they crossed beyond the barrier.”
“By the time I went after them,
they had already been attacked by monsters.”
“…So they panicked, left the barrier, and died?”
“Regrettably so.
And they even abandoned my precious bamboo dragonfly.”
“T-then what about that bamboo dragonfly?”
“Hm?
I secretly returned it to the black market guild.”
“…WHAT?”
I stared at her in disbelief.
“Wait—so you did receive it?”
“…Indirectly, yes.”
“Why!?
If you’d just accepted it, everything would’ve been fine, right?”
She hesitated.
Then—
“…Because I was lonely.”
Her cheeks flushed red as she fiddled with her fingers,
her voice fading to almost nothing.
“If there is a request,
someone will come to see me, will they not?”
(Y-you emotionally needy gremlin goddess…!)
“I heard that thought!” she snapped.
“I know exactly what you’re thinking!”
“…Your ‘need for attention’ got people killed!”
“It’s the town’s fault for leaving a girl all alone!” she shouted.
“I did nothing wrong! Absolutely nothing! Hmph!”
…She’s a child.
An actual ten-year-old on the inside.
“Then why did you look sad when I delivered it?”
“Hm? Oh.
I thought… no one would come see me anymore.”
“…It wasn’t about your first love?”
“Juzo? He married a ‘nice-bodied’ older woman ages ago.”
She pouted.
“He said he’d wait forever.
Men are liars.
You’ll leave me too someday, Mario!”
This was bad.
I needed to handle her like a child.
“Frey-chan. I’m sorry.
But you’re the cutest in the world today too.”
“…Oh?
You do understand, don’t you?” she said smugly.
“I’ll stay with you.
So let’s try to keep the clinginess under control, okay?”
“Fine!
Then you must praise me every day!”
And just like that,
my days of casually calling a legendary sage “-chan” had begun.
…Tomorrow, I should look for a book titled
How to Compliment Women.
If such a miraculous thing exists in this world.
