Time flowed on like a river. The war moved toward victory.
People bustled everywhere. Goods were laid out on stalls, and cheerful laughter spread through the air.
Though it was a dark night, the lights glowed softly, lending the place a warm, cozy atmosphere.
We leaned against a wall for a moment and watched the crowd.
It had been a long time since I’d been somewhere this crowded outside a battlefield. I touched the empty space at my waist and spoke to Violet. I hadn’t brought my sword.
"It’s called Thanksgiving. It’s a day to give thanks to God for the year’s harvest."
Violet looked at me.
I went on explaining.
"This place was under Garadric rule for three years, but it was finally liberated. That’s thanks to you."
"......"
"On Mehvacha Thanksgiving, there’s a tradition of giving gifts to people you’re grateful to."
Violet stared blankly up at me.
I straightened from the wall and looked down at the girl.
"Violet, is there anything you want?"
"Something I want?"
"Yes. Tell me anything you’d like."
There had been things I’d bought for her before.
But there had never been anything Violet wanted. Because I had chosen them for her.
"Understood. If that is the Major’s order."
Violet said it stiffly. That damned word again—order. I frowned.
"It’s not an order."
"If it is not an order, then what is it?"
"I want to show my gratitude to you."
Because of Violet’s efforts, my unit had earned many distinguished victories.
Since there was a thanksgiving festival, I intended to buy her whatever she wanted. Her clothes had grown too small, so I’d need to get her new ones too.
Money was something I had in abundance.
"Gratitude toward me."
"Yes. Because of you."
As I looked down at Violet, the scar at her collarbone caught my eye.
I felt guilty. But as an officer, I couldn’t focus only on Violet in the middle of battle.
I crouched and took out some ointment, then gently applied it to her wound.
Violet’s nose twitched. It wasn’t that she couldn’t feel pain. She simply didn’t know how to show it.
After I had applied enough, I put the ointment away. I stroked her fluffy platinum hair and pushed myself up with a hand on my knee.
"Let’s walk around a bit."
We strolled through the thanksgiving streets.
Men and women, young and old alike, were blooming with smiles. Even though it was night, the candles and lanterns created a cozy, gentle atmosphere.
Delicious food and all kinds of goods were laid out everywhere.
I bought two plain chicken skewers.
"Try this."
"Is that an order?"
"What if it isn’t?"
"There is a risk of poison, so I will not consume it."
I took a bite of the chicken skewer myself. The sweet-spicy seasoning and tender texture spread across my tongue.
I handed the skewer, now missing one bite, to Violet.
"There’s no poison. And for the record, that wasn’t an order."
Violet had refused because of poison. But there was no poison. Even if it wasn’t an order, she had no reason to refuse now.
"...Understood."
With no other choice, Violet took the chicken skewer.
The girl studied it carefully, then took a bite.
"...!"
Violet’s eyes widened.
It must have been her first time tasting the smoky heat of all those spices.
Violet finished the chicken skewer in no time at all.
Smiling, I bought another one and gave her the steaming skewer fresh off the grill.
It was the first time I’d ever seen her look so happy. For some reason, I felt sorry.
Our unit had traveled all over the world, so we’d never had room for this kind of leisure.
"I’m sorry I haven’t been able to buy you tasty things until now."
Even though the field rations had improved, they were still just as tasteless.
"It is delicious. I saw it in a book."
"Yes, it’s delicious. You want more chicken skewers, don’t you? That feeling is what delicious means."
"The feeling of wanting more..."
"That’s right. Here, have more. You want more, don’t you?"
"I see. I want to eat more of this food. But it is a dangerous flavor for me."
I asked back.
"Dangerous how?"
"I will keep thinking about how delicious it is. If that happens, it will interfere with combat."
"People aren’t tools, Violet. Sometimes it’s fine to indulge a little like this."
"I am the Major’s tool."
"Sigh... I’m telling you, you’re a person."
"I am a tool."
"Then finish this chicken skewer. That’s an order."
"Understood."
Violet took the skewer and devoured it in an instant.
Dangerous flavor or not, she ate well enough.
After finishing the chicken skewers, we kept walking.
"Major. What am I supposed to want?"
"There are all kinds of things. Dresses, accessories, and so on."
"Understood. I want dresses and accessories."
At that absurd answer, I let out a laugh.
How long had we walked after that? By the time three dresses Violet could wear were draped over my arm, I noticed something.
When I turned around because I no longer felt her presence, Violet wasn’t following me. She was standing in front of a stall.
"Did you find something you want?"
"The Major’s eyes..."
Violet turned her head and looked at my eyes.
"They are the same as the Major’s eyes."
It was a black brooch, elegant in its shape. It had been made from obsidian.
My heart dropped.
Violet placed a hand over her chest and said, almost entranced, "What do you call the feeling of looking at this? This feeling..."
*
Buying the brooch had been impulsive.
"Well? Isn’t it a beautiful brooch?"
The merchant smiled as he spoke.
"Beautiful?"
"Yes."
"I’ve seen the word ‘beautiful’ in books. Is it similar to the word ‘pretty’?"
"You could say so."
After buying the brooch, Violet seemed bright and cheerful.
We walked along the riverside. The streetlamps cast a soft glow.
"Why didn’t you choose one the color of your eyes?"
There had been blue brooches too.
The black one looked a little dull by comparison.
The blue brooch was more beautiful.
"No. This is the most beautiful."
"...."
"I didn’t know how to use that word, so I haven’t been able to say it until now."
Violet looked away from the brooch and at me. More precisely, at my eyes.
"But ever since we first met, the Major’s eyes have been beautiful."
I pressed my lips together.
Beautiful...
Come to think of it, I had never once told Violet she was beautiful.
Not to Violet, who could be called the very model of beauty.
Maybe it was because it had seemed too obvious.
Like how people don’t consciously think about breathing. Violet’s beauty had been so natural to me that I had never said it aloud.
What a fool. I had never once given her a compliment anyone could have offered.
And yet she was saying that to me now.
That meant...
What Violet had just said was a line that decisively confirmed Gilbert’s love.
Violet loves the Major.
She buys a brooch the same color as the Major’s eyes and confirms that love.
And now that object had been changed to me.
In other words, Violet loves me.
No, it might not be love. I could be misunderstanding...
It wasn’t as though this world was exactly the same as the original story. It was reality, after all, and there were all kinds of variables.
Admiration, for instance...
But the possibility was slim. Anyone could see that Violet’s eyes belonged to a girl who had fallen in love.
If Violet loved me, how was I supposed to treat her?
Let me think more directly.
"What do I think of Violet?"
Only then did I face the feeling I had been deeply avoiding.
I didn’t know when it had started.
As time passed, the way I felt about the girl changed.
At first, I only pitied her. As time went on, affection took root. And now...
I...
My hand clenched over my chest. For some reason, my throat felt blocked.
It was as if a boulder were pressing down on my lungs. I couldn’t breathe properly.
"Major?"
Violet asked again.
I looked down at her.
She was still beautiful. Her blue eyes shone with intelligence, and her lips were a soft pink.
"...Give me the brooch."
I knelt and fastened it onto her.
Violet’s mouth parted slightly.
Then she said, "Thank you."
I couldn’t say anything. What was I supposed to do now?
"Thank you."
One thing was certain: from this moment on, I could no longer look at Violet with the same eyes as before.
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