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“…Why are you following me?”

Under the blue sky of a town bustling with reconstruction efforts, my voice, tinged with anger, echoed, a stark contrast to the surrounding noise. If I were to look in a mirror right now, I’m sure my gaze would be incredibly cold.

“Well… I’m worried about what might happen if you’re out there all by yourself.”
“…But I’m actually more worried when I’m with you, Rage-san.”
“Guh!?”

It was so awkward being with him that I’d rushed out into town without any particular destination in mind, yet for some reason, Rage-san was right on my heels. With legs like mine, no matter how fast I run, I can’t even pull slightly ahead of him. And since our strides are so different to begin with, the fact that Rage is walking at a leisurely pace at best makes me even more annoyed and inexplicably irritated.

“I’ve said it over and over, but I do, um, feel bad about it. I never imagined it would turn out like that…”
“Even so, you were, and I was…!”

Just thinking about what happened back then makes my face flush, and tears well up in my eyes from embarrassment. Rage looks startled and flustered at the sight, but I can’t stop the wave of raw emotion surging through me.

“Seriously! It was so, so embarrassing!! That, that…!! I kept telling you to stop, and yet the two of you, altogether, even forcefully made me… the shameful thing!!”
“Whoa, whoa, s-stop it! Watch your words, people will get the wrong idea!”

I shouted at the top of my lungs, my anger boiling over. I simply couldn’t control my emotions. Every time I looked at Rage-san, I was reminded of that moment, and the embarrassment of having him hear my indecent moans, along with the unbearable shame of having exposed myself like that, made me act aggressively without even realizing it.

……Deep down, I actually know Rage-san isn’t at fault.

It was me who asked him to check the pattern that was supposedly on my back, and he surely never imagined that just touching my back would make me… um, react like that.
But I’m fully aware that I can’t shake off the fact that I made such a fool of myself right in front of him, and that’s why I’ve ended up acting so unkindly. I also feel self-loathing for taking advantage of Rage-san’s forgiveness…

But for some reason, I just can’t… I’m too embarrassed about what happened to look him in the eye, and I haven’t been able to just let it go and apologize honestly, so a whole day has passed like this. I have absolutely no idea what’s gotten into me, no matter how much I think about it.

……Sol-niisama? Who cares about him? He should just get over it on his own and reflect on it a little, for heaven’s sake!!

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“Come to think of it, I heard a traveling merchant came through.”
“Ah, so that’s why the kids ran off.”

Feeling dejected because I’d once again snapped at him without meaning to, I was wandering aimlessly when those words caught my ear from a casual conversation among the townspeople.

“…A traveling merchant, huh. It might not be a bad idea to talk to him to figure out where to go next, right?”

It seems Rage-san overheard it too. He seems interested as well… This might be my chance to make up with him.

“……Um, Rage-san”

Ah, I’m probably looking like a sulking child right now. It really gets on my nerves.

“Hm? What’s up?”
“……Well, I’d like to see what kind of things that merchant sells, but……”

Even as I managed to squeeze those words out, my throat trembled pointlessly as I just opened and closed my mouth, unable to get the rest out. For some reason, I just can’t be honest—I keep looking away… but if I miss this chance, who knows when the next one will come? I shut my eyes tight, took a few deep breaths, and, summoning all my courage, declared in a trembling voice:

“…If you go out with me, I’ll let this whole thing slide!!”
“…Heeeh!? Wh-wha-whaa!?”

…Huh? I felt like I said something wrong. Seeing Rage-san flustered right in front of me, I tilted my head in confusion.

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“Ah, well, I figured as much. I knew it, I knew it.”

Rage-san was muttering something dismissively over there, but I was completely absorbed in the trinkets in front of me. Among the various goods spread out by peddlers in the town square—so densely packed they barely left any room to move—were handcrafted trinkets, each one slightly different from the next, the kind I rarely saw in my original world anymore. They were a feast for the eyes, and there were even a few made from materials I’d never seen before.

……I was never interested in trinkets like these, but now, for some reason, I found myself having fun just looking at them like this. Come to think of it, I feel like my taste buds have changed, too. I find myself craving sweets more often than before… On the flip side, I’m starting to dislike spicy and bitter foods. Feeling a little anxious, I secretly gave my waist a light pinch… Yeah, it hasn’t gotten squishy… I hope not, anyway.

And then, just as I picked up one of the items, it happened. I casually picked up a dark blue, flower-shaped brooch with a faint iridescent sheen. It looked very beautiful, but even more than that, I felt a strange sense of unease the moment I picked it up without thinking.

“…H…uh?”

My field of vision tilted sharply, and the scenery began to blur… No, I’m the one who’s…?

“Whoops!?”

The very next moment, after feeling a sudden, slight jolt, someone caught me in their arms. I blinked in surprise at the sudden expanse of blue sky right before my eyes and Rage-san’s worried face looking down at me… What just happened?

“What’s wrong? Are you feeling sick? Why did you suddenly collapse?”

Hearing his worried, caring voice, I finally realized what was happening. That’s right—

“…Did… I collapse?”

I was curled up, shrinking into myself, held in Rage-san’s arms.
His sturdy chest and arms supported my entire weight without so much as a flinch, and even through his clothes, I could feel that strength enveloping my whole body as he held me protectively.

“……!”

Huh… my heart seemed to be pounding a little… That’s strange?

“Yeah, all of a sudden. What’s wrong? You feeling off?”

Rage-san looked at me with concern, but it seemed he hadn’t noticed my racing heart, which made me breathe a sigh of relief. …Why was I feeling relieved?

“No, nothing in particular… ah.”
“What’s wrong!?”
“My legs… won’t move. It seems the enhancement magic… has worn off.”

To be precise, it’s not that they wouldn’t move at all, but the sudden drop in strength caused by the magic wearing off made it feel that way. With my leg strength plummeting so rapidly, I couldn’t support my body weight, and that’s why I collapsed like this…

“…I see. Well, in that case, I guess you’ll be fine. It’s rare for you to misjudge the duration of an effect.”

That couldn’t be right. I’d cast it specifically for daily use, focusing the effect to maximize its duration—it was supposed to last three hours. There’s no way it would wear off after just a few dozen minutes of running out of my room.

“I’m pretty sure I just cast it a moment ago when I left the room, though… No, I’ll recast it right now. ‘Physical Enhance.’”

After finishing the short, familiar incantation typical of a beginner’s spell, my body was supposed to be enveloped for an instant in a faint, bright magical light…… yet none of that happened.

—Eh? It’s as if…there’s no response at all…?

“H-huh? ‘Physical Enhance’… ‘Physical Enhance’!!”

Gradually, a note of panic crept into my voice. No matter how many times I tried, nothing happened. How could this be? I’d been living a normal life in this world all this time thanks to this spell—if things kept going like this, I’d never be able to travel… The blood drained from my face, and a sense of panic slowly began to eat away at my chest.

As I frantically cast the spell over and over, an apologetic voice called out from behind me.

“Ah, miss… I think the reason you can’t cast magic is probably because of that brooch…”
“Huh? O-, oh, you mean this?”

Come to think of it, I’d been holding it while looking at the merchandise. Just to be sure, I returned it to the shopkeeper and tried again. This time, it worked without a hitch, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

“I’m sorry… I made you worry..”
“No, no, I’m just glad you weren’t hurt. I’m sorry for the delay in explaining. I know I should always warn people who use magic and magical items in their daily lives about my wares, but I never expected to see one in a place so far from the city…”

“Magic-Canceling Stone.” That, apparently, was the name of the material this brooch was made of. It’s a stone that neutralizes surrounding magic to a certain extent; it was discovered relatively recently, and they’ve apparently started mining it near a village along the road leading to the city, not far from here. Especially on this Northern Continent, home to many powerful magical nations, there’s a risk it could be used for criminal purposes, so it seems a government-issued license is required to handle quantities exceeding a certain threshold. So that’s why the merchant looked so apologetic. Apparently, there’s also an obligation to provide an explanation when handling it. This Magic-Canceling Stone is mainly used as a protective charm against magic. However, recently, research has been progressing on how to process it for use as a material in magical artifacts, and in areas where it can be mined, there’s apparently a boom in demand. Since it’s brittle, it doesn’t seem suitable as a raw material for restraints or the like, so in that regard, I can breathe a sigh of relief for now, but this…

“Uh, Rage-san, this wasn’t in the game… was it?”
“No, though maybe Miriam or someone in her circle might know about it… but at least, I’ve never heard of it.”

We whispered to each other. A recently discovered material—one that didn’t exist in the game—had appeared right before our eyes in a way that seemed far too convenient.

“…I have a bad feeling about this.”

It seems to be used in everyday items without any particular questions being raised right now… I can’t say exactly what it is or how, but I couldn’t help but feel something was fishy about it.

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“Ah, also, sir and miss, I understand you love each other, but… this is starting to be a bit too much for a bachelor like myself. Could you please continue this somewhere else…?”
“What?”
“Huh?”

When I heard that unexpected remark and looked around… wait, I was suddenly the center of attention. Some people were whispering to each other while looking at us with amused expressions, and there were women squealing… oh.

“S-s-sorry, Rage-san!?”
“N-no, I’m the one who’s sorry!”

I was still being held in his arms. I quickly hopped down from Rage-san’s arms and stood on my own two feet, while Rage-san hastily pulled away. All I could do was pinch the edge of my hood and pull it down, as if to block out the stares of those around me from my flushed face.

“……?”

My heart skipped a beat. …Maybe I really was struck with some sort of sickness…
I just hoped it wasn’t something serious. ¹