Aether was the city where Lumea Academy was located.
Given the circumstances, every academy cadet who went out on leave flocked here, and thanks to that, the city boasted a splendor that rivaled even the Empire’s capital.
What was more, its infrastructure—everything from magical-engineering facilities to luxurious shopping districts—did not lag behind the capital in the slightest.
There was a reason it was called the second capital.
It was also famously a historic tourist destination, so naturally the streets were teeming with people.
The night was dark, but streetlamps and signs glowing with magitech filled the city with light.
The streets were so splendid that they might as well have been one enormous ballroom.
Dolnesia and I began walking side by side through those streets.
Just the two of us.
Perhaps because of that, it was not difficult to feel people’s gazes converging on us.
A muscular man with a fierce-looking face, and a beauty so stunning that even calling her capable of toppling kingdoms would not do her justice.
It was only natural for people to stare curiously at such an odd pairing, so utterly ill-suited to each other, walking down the street together.
Still, I had long since gotten used to this sort of attention, so it did not particularly bother me.
The same appeared to be true for Dolnesia, who was being escorted.
"Ian, look. They’re selling grilled skewers over there."
As though she could not care less about the stares around us, she simply let her eyes sparkle at the scent of skewers browning over a street stall’s brazier.
The cool, aloof mask she wore at the academy was nowhere to be found, cast aside as Dolnesia revealed her pure, unguarded self.
It had been a while.
Since I had walked side by side with her like this.
Perhaps that was why.
Instead of the soft silver hair she had now, I recalled brown hair that had been greasy and matted, yet had never lost its vitality.
Instead of her bright blue eyes now, I recalled a scruffy brown-haired little girl with brown eyes that shone purely even though everything around them was murky.
The first time I had met her in Dreamland.
The innocent, unvarnished 모습 I had seen then naturally overlapped with the Dolnesia before me now.
Back then, it had not been a glittering street like this, but a gloomy cave deep inside a dungeon.
Thinking over those little memories, I bought a nicely grilled skewer from the vendor and handed it to her.
"Ah, thank you."
Taking the skewer, Dolnesia began pulling off small pieces of meat and eating them.
With one hand, she gently swept her silver hair aside so it would not touch the skewer, then placed a piece of meat in her mouth.
It was the complete opposite of when I had handed her jerky and she had torn into it with sauce smeared all around her mouth.
It was a little disappointing.
I remembered Dolnesia from her days as Dorothy.
Of course, Dolnesia would remember herself as Dorothy from those days as well.
But only I remembered the Don Quixote who had saved her in her moment of crisis.
Though she had seen my face, we had been in a pitch-black cave, and I had not even told her my name.
What was more, I had been forced to return to my original time without keeping my promise that I would not leave.
Even if she remembered Don Quixote as her benefactor, it would be difficult not to feel bittersweet about it.
Perhaps it had not been a particularly pleasant memory. We had spent very little time together, and five years had passed—she might have forgotten it entirely.
But one thing was certain: when we first reunited after five years, not as Dorothy but as Dolnesia de Logres, she showed no sign of recognizing me at all…
"W-What is it?"
Had I watched her eating the skewer for too long?
Dolnesia stopped moving and looked at me with puzzled eyes.
"Nothing. It’s nothing."
"That’s a lie. Your eyes did not look like it was nothing at all."
"I was just seeing whether you could eat neatly without getting sauce all over yourself this time."
At my words, Dolnesia’s cheeks puffed out slightly.
"…What am I, a child?"
"You’re a little kid, aren’t you?"
"…Tch."
As I watched Dolnesia click her tongue and turn her attention back to the skewer, I looked down at the one in my own hand.
Still, this was better.
Though it was a shame, I thought it was better for things to continue like this.
After suffering through all manner of hardships for five long years, she had finally found her rightful place as Dolnesia rather than Dorothy.
I had no desire to bring up that muddy past again and dampen her spirits.
Of course, perhaps I was simply running away because I was afraid of facing the resentment in her eyes as she asked why I had abandoned her.
Even so, I thought it would be better for both of us to bury those memories in our hearts, like nothing more than a dream.
With that thought, I took a large bite of the meat on my skewer.
Maybe I bit down too hard, because the sauce burst out and splattered everywhere, smearing around my mouth.
"Good grief…"
Dolnesia, standing in front of me, let out a deep sigh and pulled a handkerchief from her bosom before offering it to me.
"How can a grown man get himself so messy while eating?"
Dolnesia looked at me as though she were watching someone hopelessly careless.
I gave a hollow laugh at how our roles seemed to have been reversed.
"I never thought I’d hear that from you."
"What did you say?"
#
The place Dolnesia stopped at was none other than an extravagant jewelry shop.
This was probably the real reason she had come out today.
Jingle—.
As we opened the door and stepped inside, a clear bell rang out. The jewelry carefully arranged in display cases throughout the shop greeted Dolnesia and me, each piece radiating its own brilliant gleam.
After giving the interior a quick glance, Dolnesia rested a hand beneath her chin and leisurely examined the jewelry in the cases as she walked along.
I silently watched her profile as she studied each ornament with close attention, as if she were choosing a gift for someone.
Just who was she planning to give a gift to?
After doing the math in my head, I narrowed down the men she might be involved with after entering the Department of Magic to four: Ars, Professor Silves, Professor Luke, and Dante.
But her only connection to Professor Luke was that he was the adviser to her club… and I could not imagine her intending to buy that man a gift.
Ars was one of the Iris Fan Club Trio, so those two were out.
Then, since she had recently become Professor Silves’s assistant, was it Silves after all?
Or… Dante?
They knew each other’s faces well, and before we went out today, they had arrived first and been waiting together in front of the main gate.
Besides, Dante was not here right now.
What if Dante had not been dragged off by Angelica, but Dolnesia had deliberately asked Angelica to do so in order to give Dante a surprise gift?
There was… a possibility!
Still, seeing as Dante had joined the same club as Iris, he seemed to like Iris more than Dolnesia.
Even so, Dolnesia had not lost all chance yet.
Besides, the Fan Club Trio was always around Iris.
"Ian?"
Dolnesia, who had been intently examining a piece of jewelry in the display case, suddenly asked me a question.
"If you were to receive a gift… what do you think you would like best?"
Her clear eyes slowly turned toward me.
Was she asking what a man might prefer?
"Well…"
I approached her side and looked over the jewelry in the display case with her.
[Insight Eye activates.]
I activated Insight Eye to find the better items.
Ding! Ding!
With the cheerful notification sound, translucent status windows containing information on the jewelry in the display case began floating up all around us.
Quickly scanning the countless windows that had appeared, I began eliminating, one by one, the items that did not meet the criteria.
Amid the scrolling windows gradually fading away, only two remained in my view at last.
[Ring of Asteria]
[Selene’s Tears]
Of those two, the Ring of Asteria was a ring crafted with a gemstone in the shape of Asteria, a flower that bloomed throughout the Empire.
Asteria was the name given to a flower whose tiny violet blossoms bloomed in clusters, their pollen sparkling like stardust as it scattered on the wind.
Its flower language was a miraculous encounter and an unfinished promise, if I remembered right.
And as I recalled, Asteria was Dante’s favorite flower.
That was probably why gifts related to this flower raised his affection more than other presents did.
I only learned the true reason he liked it not in the main story, but in the DLC set in a ruined world where Dante was the protagonist.
In any event, while it was just an ordinary item, there was nothing better for earning points with Dante because he liked it so much.
The other one was Selene’s Tears.
Like the Ring of Asteria, it was an ornament made by crafting gemstones into the shape of a certain flower, but it was a necklace rather than a ring.
I had chosen it not because it could quickly build someone’s affection, but because it was closer to a hidden piece.
[Selene’s Tears]
A necklace crafted in the shape of Selene’s Tears, a flower that blooms only at night.
The care of a master craftsman and the magic of moonlight have seeped mana into the small gemstone.
◈ Rank: Rare
◈ All stats increase by 20% under moonlight.
◈ Resource consumption is reduced by 30% when using skills under moonlight.
Amid all the ordinary pieces of jewelry, it alone softly shone with the rank of Rare.
It did come with the condition of being under moonlight, but all stats increased by 20%, and resource consumption was reduced by as much as 30%.
It had nothing to do with affection, but it would be more than enough for strengthening one’s combat power.
I pointed to the two pieces of jewelry chosen by Insight Eye and spoke.
"I think those two would be good."
"Those two are… the Ring of Asteria and Selene’s Tears, aren’t they?"
As she looked at the two pieces, Dolnesia, who had come closer at some point, narrowed her eyes.
"Even when you get to choose, you choose those."
Dolnesia murmured quietly.
But I did not quite catch what she said.
"What did you say?"
"Never mind."
When I asked her to repeat herself, Dolnesia snapped back and turned her head away.
What was that? Did she not like their designs?
"Of those two, I’d recommend that one."
I spoke as I pointed to the Ring of Asteria.
"Why?"
"Why? Because it suits him, I guess?"
Her response to my answer was distinctly lukewarm, but I thought I was right.
It was a flower he liked, and the image of violet blossoms suited Dante well too.
And considering that Asteria bloomed on the title screen of the DLC where Dante suffered as the protagonist, it went beyond simple preference—it was a flower that symbolized Dante’s character itself.
What was more, in that grim story, it had been the support that kept him from breaking down until the very end.
Unlike the Ring of Asteria, which had no effect, Selene’s Tears possessed excellent performance worthy of a Rare item. But if the purpose was to give a gift to Dante, Asteria was still the right choice.
Selene’s Tears, well, I would use that myself.
But contrary to my thoughts, Dolnesia swept her gaze over the display case and objected.
"Asteria would certainly suit you, but I think Selene’s Tears would suit you better."
…Huh?
"Asteria should be the obvious choice, though?"
"That would suit you too, but I think Selene’s Tears would suit you even better."
Was that so?
If she was giving it to Dante, Asteria would definitely be better…
Did Dolnesia not know that Asteria was Dante’s favorite flower?
No, wait.
What if that was not it?
Could it be… she had not intended to give Dante a gift from the start?
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