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While occupying one of the tables at the tavern in Elf’s Restful Pavilion.

Juddock the Shade, who had become Tatsumi’s mabeast-hunting partner—albeit temporarily.

But upon witnessing Juddock’s personality—which far eclipsed his rugged appearance—Tatsumi found himself staring at him intently without meaning to.

‘

“Oh dear? Is there something on my face?”

Juddock asked with a beaming smile, addressing Tatsumi, who had been staring intently at his face.

But in the next instant, his smile transformed into the expression of a child who’d just thought of a mischievous prank.

“…………Or did you fall for me at first sight? Oh, come on, I suppose you can’t help it. Really, I’m just S, I, N, F, U, L.”

With a distinct snap, Juddock closed one of his four eyes.

Although Shade has four eyes, two of them are arranged side by side like a human’s, while the other two are positioned vertically on his forehead. Because of this, although Tatsumi was surprised at first, he no longer finds it particularly odd.

Or rather, it would be more accurate to say that any sense of strangeness was completely blown away by the sheer impact of Juddock’s appearance.

“No, that’s impossible. I’m not into that sort of thing.”

In response to Juddock’s remark, Tatsumi calmly called him out. At his composed retort, Juddock gave him a look that seemed to say, “Oh, really?”

“Anyway, Juddock-san…”
“Oh please, just call me Juddock. I’ll call you Tatsumi-pie, though. And there’s no need to be so formal, mkay?”

Juddock blew a kiss toward Tatsumi.

Tatsumi, who imagined a heart-shaped object flying toward him, furrowed his brow ever so slightly.

But that was the only visible change in his expression. Faced with that fact, Juddock, on the other hand, raised his eyebrows dramatically.

“So, Juddock. Eru told us to team up—even if it’s just for now. Could you tell me about your fighting style and what you’re good at?”
“Fufu. My weapons are these.”

Saying that, he held them up for Tatsumi to see: a massive two-handed battle axe and two one-handed war clubs.

The battle axe was nearly two meters long and must have been quite heavy. In the hands of the tall Juddock, it was sure to unleash terrifying power.

Furthermore, even though the battle clubs were one-handed, they were still vicious weapons of considerable weight.

“A battle axe and two battle clubs… that’s quite a destructive force.”
“Naturally. No matter what kind of enemy it is, I’ll crush it.”

Juddock’s physique was slender yet clearly well-trained.

After all, the Shade race is a lineage of warriors. When it comes to combat skills, he’s undoubtedly someone you can rely on.

Juddock’s upper body was covered in leather armor that had been boiled and hardened, much like Tatsumi’s.

If he were also wearing full-body metal armor on top of this, he’d practically be a human tank.

“Well then, is it my turn to ask the question now?”
“Yeah, my weapons are a one-handed sword and a shield. Also, though my skills are pretty limited, I can use magic.”
“Oh, so Tatsumi-pie is a mage?Wait, that’s not what I wanted to ask.”

Juddock zoomed in.

Four eyes, glowing with sincerity, pierced Tatsumi right in the center of his face.

“Since we’re on the subject, I’m going to ask you straight out without beating around the bush. Say, Tatsumi-pie. Don’t you think I’m gross?”

.

He’d realized since childhood that he was different from those around him.

But even though he knew it, no matter how hard he tried, he could never change it.

His body grew more and more masculine, but his heart didn’t follow suit.

Back in his hometown, he’d never lost a weapon sparring match to anyone. Yet, even so, those around him wouldn’t acknowledge him.

Creepy.
He’s probably possessed by a specter.
You good for nothing.

In such a small settlement, no matter how much he tried to ignore it, the whispers behind his back inevitably reached his ears.

Even so, he continued to hone his combat skills with single-minded determination.

For Shades, strength is a matter of pride. It could even be said that as long as one is strong, Shades are willing to turn a blind eye to minor flaws.

Even among the Shades, he was not accepted.

That ambiguity—a man’s body but a woman’s heart.

So, he left the settlement.

According to what he’d heard, there were people in the human cities known as “mabeast hunters.”

It was said that if you could hunt down a massive, powerful mabeast, that alone would earn you respect.

If that’s the case, perhaps that’s where he belongs.

With that in mind, he—or should I say she?—ran away from his hometown.

.

“Until I reached this town… even in human society, people looked at me with curiosity. Some even mocked me right to my face. Mind you, I did force those guys to join my crew, though.”

“I smashed their—you-know-what,” Juddock said with a ferocious grin.

“…But you’re somehow different from them, Tatsumi-pie. Could it be that you know someone else like me, besides me?”

It was true that when he was first spoken to, Tatsumi did look surprised.

But even though he was surprised, Juddock didn’t see the same kind of disgust he’d seen in the others he’d met so far.

“Hmm… I don’t know them personally, but… I’ve seen people like you quite a bit in my wor… I mean, in my hometown.”

The “people like Juddock” Tatsumi was referring to were the flamboyant gay men who appeared on TV variety shows and the like.

These days, flamboyant gay entertainers have established a solid presence, and if you turn on the TV, there’s a good chance you’ll see one of those guys (guys?).

Among these flamboyant gay men, there are some who go to such extremes to get a laugh that they really seem like mabeasts.

Compared to them, Tatsumi didn’t feel any aversion toward the well-groomed Juddock.

“Well, I was definitely surprised at first, but I don’t think you’re disgusting. Besides, if you ask me, I think you have what’s now called gender identity disorder, Juddock.”
“……Gender identity disorder……? What’s that?”
“Hmm… How should I put this?”

In modern-day Japan, understanding of gender identity disorder is growing, but in the world Tatsumi currently finds himself in, such a concept probably doesn’t even exist.

“Um… Basically? I think it’s just a little blunder on God’s part.”
“God’s… blunder…?”
“That’s right. Normally, a man’s body is meant to house a man’s soul, but due to some kind of blunder, a woman’s soul ended up in a man’s body. So it’s God who made the mistake—not you.”
“W-wait a minute, Tatsumi-pie…!! Are you allowed to say God is at fault!? If some priest were to hear that, wouldn’t it cause a huge problem!?”
“Ah, don’t worry about that. Believe it or not, I’m actually a priest of the God of Savaiv myself.”

Juddock stared blankly at Tatsumi as he held up the sacred emblem he’d been keeping hidden under his clothes.

.

“T-Tatsumi-pie… Who… exactly are you…?”
“Well, even if you ask me who I am… all I can say is that I’m a priest of the God of Savaiv and a rookie mabeast hunter.”

Well, my status as a priest is more of a favor than anything else, Tatsumi adds to himself.

Juddock stared at Tatsumi with a blank expression. But gradually, a smile began to spread across his face.

And it was a bright, cheerful smile, as if a weight had been lifted from him.

However, Tatsumi—who was meeting Juddock for the first time today—didn’t quite notice that.

Just then, Eru arrived.

“Here you go, Tatsumi-san. Thank you for your hard work gathering medicinal herbs today. Here’s your payment for today’s job.”

Eru handed Tatsumi several dozen silver coins.

“Since the medicinal herbs you gathered were both plentiful and fresh, I’ve thrown in a little extra.”
“Thank you.”

Tatsumi thanked Eru while gazing at the silver coins in his hand with a mix of emotions.

In a sense, this was Tatsumi’s first income in this world.

It wasn’t income as a priest granted by Giuseppe’s generosity, but income he had earned entirely on his own.

Although it was only a small number of silver coins, to Tatsumi, they were worth more than several thousand.

“This is your first income as a mabeast hunter, Tatsumi-san. Why don’t you buy something to commemorate the occasion?”

He couldn’t buy anything spectacular with just a few dozen silver coins, but he could still afford practical items for mabeast hunting, like a knife.

“Actually, I’ve already decided how to use this money.”

Tatsumi replied to Eru as he carefully stowed the silver coins in the pouch at his waist.

Eru responded to Tatsumi’s words with a smile, then glanced sideways at Juddock, who was sitting across from Tatsumi.

Just a moment ago, Juddock had been radiating a prickly, rough-edged aura. Yet in the brief time he’d spoken with Tatsumi, that aura had transformed into something remarkably gentle.

*(It seems things went exactly as planned—Tatsumi-san must have worked his magic.)*

Given the discrepancy between his appearance and his personality, Juddock had likely endured a great deal of hardship up to this point.

However, Eru, who had lived in Japan, felt little aversion toward him, just like Tatsumi.

That was precisely why Eru had decided to pair Tatsumi and Juddock together.

She was certain that Tatsumi—having been exposed to various cultures in Japan just as she had—would accept Juddock for who he truly was, without viewing him through a distorted lens.

And indeed, Juddock now seems to have a spring in his step.

I don’t know exactly what happened, but it seems Tatsumi did more than I had expected.

*(Perhaps it’s Tatsumi-san’s destiny to become a great priest.)*

Watching Tatsumi dispel Juddock’s gloom in the blink of an eye, that’s what Eru found herself thinking.

.

After leaving the Elf’s Restful Pavilion, Tatsumi was walking down the main street of Levantis.

Juddock had taken a room at the Elf’s Restful Pavilion and said he would rest there for the rest of the day.

He had been traveling nonstop ever since leaving his hometown. Now that he had successfully secured a plan to hunt the mabeasts—his immediate goal—he surely needed to rest his body.

After browsing a few of the street stalls lining the main street, Tatsumi finally found something that satisfied him.

He spent most of the reward he’d earned that day on it, and with a contented smile on his face, he headed home to where Calcedonia was waiting.

“I’m home!”

Tatsumi unlocked the front door, which was secured with a magical lock, using the password, and stepped inside.

A warm, glowing fire was now burning brightly in the fireplace, thoroughly warming the house.

“Welcome home, darling. How did it go?”
“Mm, perfectly”

Tatsumi stuck out his right thumb.

“I see. As expected of you, darling.”

Calcedonia took Tatsumi’s hand and led him to the warm fireplace.

She sat him down on the fur rug spread out in front of the fireplace and tried to wrap her arms around his back—but for some reason, Tatsumi stopped her.

“Uh, um… darling?”

Tatsumi gently stroked Calcedonia’s hair as she wore an expression that clearly said, “I’m not happy about this.”

“?”

Calcedonia felt a slight odd sensation where Tatsumi’s palm had brushed past, so she placed her own hand there.

And there, she felt a hard texture against her palm.

Slowly, as carefully as if handling a treasure, Calcedonia brought the object she’d touched to her eyes.

What was now in her hand?

It was a hair ornament.

Made of wood. A cheap hair ornament with simple carvings on its surface—one that you could tell at a glance wasn’t expensive.

“D-darling… is this…”
“Yeah, I bought it with the reward I received today. That said, the reward wasn’t much, so I couldn’t afford anything expensive. Still, I looked around for something that would suit you within my budget.”

Tatsumi smiled shyly, while Calcedonia gazed intently at him, her crimson eyes glistening with tears.

“Thank you for everything up until today, Calcie. You really take care of me every single day. That’s why… ever since I earned my first reward as a mabeast hunter, I’ve been thinking about how I could thank you for everything you’ve done for me.”
“Darling…”

Forgetting to wipe away the tears streaming down her face, Calcedonia blushed and gazed intently at Tatsumi.

“I know this cheap trinket is nowhere near enough to make up for everything you’ve done for me, Calcie… but would you please accept it?”
“Yes… this hairpin from you… I’ll treasure it for the rest of my life…!!”

Chalcedonia gently clasped the hairpin in both hands, then pulled it close to her chest as if to cradle it.

It was true that the hairpin was cheap. It was nothing more than something even a child could buy with a little effort.

But to Calcedonia, this hairpin had become more precious and dear to her than any gold, silver, or treasure.

Having finally wiped away her tears, Calcedonia once again leaned her body against Tatsumi’s chest.

“I’m sorry… Could you please… put this hairpin in my hair one more time?”

Pressing her cheek against Tatsumi’s chest, Calcedonia looked up at him from below.

When she had summoned Tatsumi, the difference in their heights had been so slight that Tatsumi was only marginally taller.

But now, Tatsumi had grown taller, and the difference had become about a head’s length.

Tatsumi took the hair ornament from Calcedonia and gently placed it in her hair once more.

.

Some time later, a rumor began to circulate that the “Holy Maiden” of the Temple of Savaiv was wearing a strangely cheap-looking hair ornament.

An archpriest who was acquainted with the “Holy Maiden” saw her actually wearing the cheap-looking hair ornament and asked her why she was wearing such a cheap one.

“It may indeed be a cheap item. But to me, this hair ornament is a treasure that surpasses anything else,”

she reportedly replied proudly.