“Ed, as a swordsman, what do you think is the most important thing?”
In his memory, that white-haired old man had once stood on the family training ground with his hands behind his back and asked this.
“Is it how refined your swordsmanship is?”
At that time, Ed, who was barely over ten years old, gripped a wooden sword, thought for a simple moment, and answered this way.
“No.”
But the old man merely shook his head.
“The power of swordsmanship is indeed important, but it is far from the most crucial.”
The golden-haired boy scratched his head.
“Then what should it be?”
The old man fixed Ed with his slightly turbid eyes.
He pressed a hand to his chest.
“It is your heart.”
The boy copied the old man’s posture, placing his palm over his chest and feeling the delightful throbbing coming from within his ribcage.
“Heart?” he murmured.
“That’s right. Ed, my son, you must always remember this.”
The solemnity and gravity on the old man’s face back then remained crystal clear in Ed’s memory even now, seven or eight years later.
“A swordsman’s sword will only ever point toward evil and never toward any good.”
“Otherwise, your sword will gradually grow dull, grow heavy, grow rusted, until in the end, it can no longer swing even the most ordinary strike.”
“This is the creed of a swordsman, and it is also the creed our Grieves family has upheld to this day.”
Ed had remembered his father’s words all this time.
Whether it was sparing Bailis, choosing to bring her along to Mitia in the name of “supervision,” or breaking out of the cave with her to see daylight once more, he believed he had followed the swordsman’s creed well.
Ed’s brows lowered as he gazed at the soft, warm girl in his embrace.
At first, Ed had only regarded Bailis as a somewhat pitiable girl misunderstood by the world.
Later, after learning some of the truth about witches from the bishop of Hilos, a trace of sympathy had joined his slight concern.
Perhaps it was this sympathy that made Ed unconsciously want to care for her more throughout their journey.
He even somewhat treated her as his own little sister.
But he had never imagined that the girl he saw as a sister would propose “becoming lovers” to him on a night like this.
This was too absurd and too difficult to accept.
“Ed, please~”
The silver-haired girl shook his arm, acting coquettish.
“Wait a moment.”
Ed placed his hands on the girl’s shoulders and gently pushed her a little farther away.
But Bailis stubbornly leaned closer again.
“Does Ed not want to?”
Being stared at by her moist, gem-like eyes, Ed suddenly felt a wave of inexplicable guilt, as if refusing her now would be doing her wrong.
No, what was he feeling guilty for anyway?
Ed shook his head to clear his mind.
“Listen, Bailis, it’s impossible for us to become lovers.”
“Why?” Mist seemed to gather in the girl’s eyes. “Because I’m a witch?”
“No, it’s not because of that.”
Ed firmly pressed the girl down to sit on the edge of the bed and let out a soft sigh.
“After all, do you truly understand what becoming lovers means?”
The girl sat on the bed, hands braced against the mattress.
Her silver waterfall of hair cascaded smoothly over her shoulders, pooling into two small, sparkling lakes on her lap.
She tilted her head, and the silver cascade flowed gently.
“Lovers… means a relationship closer than companions?”
Ed was momentarily stumped by this answer.
“That description is too one-sided and vague—who taught you that?”
The girl puffed out her modest chest.
“I figured it out myself.”
She even sounded proud.
Ed helplessly rubbed his forehead, then spoke with renewed seriousness.
“Becoming lovers isn’t as simple as you imagine.”
“It first means we must like each other, even admire or love each other…”
“But I feel like I really like Ed.”
When the girl said this in a tone both earnest and casual, Ed felt the serious atmosphere he had painstakingly built collapse completely.
“No, no, you might… you might just be mistaking dependence for liking…”
“I know the difference very clearly.”
But Bailis spoke up suddenly.
“The feeling Ed gives me is completely different from the feeling my mom and dad gave me.”
Her eyes were distant and tranquil, as if recalling memories so old they had grown hazy.
“Mom and Dad were similar to Ed in some ways—they would remind me to put on more clothes when it was cold, just like Ed does.”
“They would ask if I had slept well and worry if I was hurt… Ed, did you know?”
“When I was little, I was terrified that one day Mom and Dad would leave me.”
“And now, I often worry that one day I might not be able to see Ed anymore.”
“But you’re different from them after all.”
“Not only am I anxious about losing you, I also want…”
The girl stared at the youth.
A stream of sorrow flowed slowly from her crimson eyes.
“To have you all to myself.” She said softly. “I’ve thought it through. This is absolutely not dependence. This is my proof that I like you.”
“Bailis…” Ed froze, murmuring.
“Mom and Dad have already left.”
She slowly pushed herself up from the bed and continued in a low voice.
“Ed, if one day you leave me too, I really don’t know what I would do.”
Bailis drew close to the youth once more.
The petite, pitiful girl tilted her face up toward him.
“Ed, you said earlier that you want the people in your territory to stop hating me, this witch, right?”
Ed’s mind was already struggling to keep up.
He wanted to comfort the girl who radiated sorrow from head to toe, but in the end he could only nod blankly.
“…Yes.” The youth replied in a hoarse voice.
“Ed really is a kind person.”
The girl suddenly pulled back her sadness.
Her eyes curved into adorable crescents, beautiful as the moment in early spring when birdsong filled the air.
“But actually, I don’t really care that much about how others see me.” She smiled faintly. “As long as Ed doesn’t hate me, as long as Ed can accept me—”
She hugged him again.
“As long as Ed can like me.”
“That would be enough.”
“So, even if this is a selfish request on my part.”
Noticing that the youth was no longer resisting as much, she hugged him even tighter without thinking, burying her face deep into his chest.
As the familiar, comforting scent filled her nose, the smile on the girl’s face grew increasingly open and unabashed.
“Ed, please become my lover.”
The girl’s feelings were laid bare before Ed for the first time, so frankly that it was almost naked.
Does he like her?
The question emerged in the youth’s mind and completely dominated his thoughts.
Like her?
Or not?
Even when facing the black mass of flying demons over Hilos, Ed had never found thinking to be such a painful and difficult thing.
The straightforward sharpness of a swordsman proved utterly useless at this moment.
After what seemed like several seconds—or perhaps several minutes—of silence, Ed’s sluggish mind finally began to move again.
No matter how you looked at it, he and Bailis had only known each other for less than a month.
Becoming lovers like this was far too soon for either of them.
Besides, she was still too young.
Matters of lovers could completely wait until later.
Yes, that’s right.
He would answer her that way.
The youth took a deep breath and made his decision, almost as if fleeing from the situation.
“Bailis, you’re still too young.”
He heard himself say.
Then he watched as the smile on the girl’s face stiffened and turned hollow.