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“Ha, Hanamana…”

Hanamana carefully opens her mouth.

What kind of man does Hanamana like that makes someone like me not her type?

“I prefer someone more masculine and dignified.”

Dignified style, huh? No way…

“I’d like him to be tall, always sporting a gruff expression but is deep understanding, serious, and exudes a mature aura. Someone who can take good care of Hanamana and is good at magic, too, would be great!”

Wait a minute, am I hearing this correctly?

“Zion. The image that just popped into my head is… how should I put it… more like an experienced middle-aged mage? Did I understand that right?”

“I feel a similar vibe, too. I never thought Hanamana’s type would be someone like that!”

If Zion feels the same way as I do, then it seems we’re not misunderstanding.

But would someone like that really match with Hanamana?

Even if she’s an elf over 200 years old, she’s barely at the level of a fourteen or fifteen-year-old human, with a petite figure.

Imagining the cute, childlike Hanamana standing next to her ideal man…

‘That’s just plain wrong!’

Of course, Hanamana is a proper adult, so it’s not like that in reality, but the visual is quite severe.

How did she develop such a taste…?

“That’s strange, isn’t it?”

“No, not at all! The middle-aged preference is quite mainstream and fits well with Hanamana. It makes sense that she’d want someone understanding and calm, given that she often makes mistakes and panics. It shouldn’t be strange!”

“You’re quite considerate and understanding too, Senpai. Just enough for Zion to like you, apparently. Hanamana appreciates that kind of thing, but…”

Hanamana’s expression darkens a bit.

I don’t think I misspoke, yet she’s reacting like that. Is there something else going on?

“For elves, having a taste like Hanamana’s is like a curse. No, it’s not exactly that, but it’s a serious issue for her. Hanamana might not be able to have a lover for her whole life.”

Seems like something must have happened after all.

But to speak like that, what exactly happened?

“Is there a reason you think that way?”

“Well…”

After a bit of thought, Hanamana drops down to kneel on the ground.

“Let’s talk while we rest.”

Seems like this might be a long story?

As Hanamana instructed, Zion and I sat in a circle facing her, waiting for her to start.

“Elves don’t typically feel attracted to their own kind, but they are a race capable of love. Since we live such long lives, the chances of meeting one’s fated partner are high. And in the end, that partner is… almost always of the same race, indeed. We live the same length of time and share the same body. But for Hanamana, she’ll never love her own kind. Elves live youthful and beautiful until the end, becoming old only right before they die.”

I see. I’ve never seen a middle-aged elf anywhere in fantasy, so this makes a lot of sense.

There might be some out there that I haven’t seen, but at least in this world, it seems unlikely.

If the elves themselves say there aren’t any, then it must mean there’s no elf that matches Hanamana’s taste.

“And humans. The truth is, Hanamana has liked a human before. I don’t want to talk about age, but I’ve lived for 200 years. Naturally, there were humans who liked Hanamana during that time. However…”

As expected. If elves and humans love each other, the tragedy is bound to happen because of human lifespan…

“All those people were perverts and sexual deviants! All the humans who liked Hanamana…!”

“…….”

“…….”

Hanamana grits her teeth and shows a devastated expression as she suppresses her anger.

Zion and I are struggling to hide our shock.

Um, how should I put it… it’s a tragedy, but it’s a totally unexpected tragedy.

I see. A middle-aged man liking someone who looks like Hanamana ultimately means…

“It’s not that they liked Hanamana! They only liked young humans! Nobles and renowned mages all hid their ugly desires. As soon as they learned Hanamana’s age, they all ran away! Because of how I look…! My body won’t grow anymore, so there’s nothing I can do. Indeed, Hanamana will be alone forever… sob….”

Hanamana chokes back tears as she speaks.

Could the reason she hated talking about her age be related to this story?

Caught in shock from the unexpected story, I found that Zion had swiftly moved to sit next to Hanamana, wrapping his arms around her shoulder to comfort her.

“It’s okay, Hanamana. Even someone as strange as Teacher Hop has a proper lover. So surely one day, you’ll meet your destined person.”

“Eh? What kind of taste does Senpai have, exactly?”

In the blink of an eye, Hanamana’s tears stopped, and her eyes widened in surprise.

It’s nice to comfort her, but why bring up such a story…?

“Hehe, I’ll tell you later in detail.”

Seeing Zion smirk, Hanamana looked bewildered, but at least she didn’t seem to be crying anymore.

Is this something to be thankful for…?

Anyway, since I was able to calm Hanamana after such a sad tale, we could urge the expedition to move forward again.

******

The monsters that appeared here weren’t too strong, so even Zion, who had just completed rehabilitation and was close to the specifications of a rookie adventurer, could handle the monsters without difficulty.

As we fought through various monsters appearing in the plains, the sun began to set.

We set up a campsite, started a fire, and gathered around for dinner while chatting.

“Seems there are people out there with such tastes.”

As we chatted a bit, the subject naturally shifted to my unique taste that Zion had mentioned earlier.

Hanamana showed surprise at first upon hearing that I only liked broken things.

However, after thinking about it for a moment, she began to display a hostile attitude toward me.

“You like Zion for that reason? Are humans really just people with strange sexual desires?”

“Sexual desire is a bit…”

“Isn’t it?”

“No, it’s not! While I do feel a peculiar excitement when I see something broken, it’s not like I get erect or anything.”

“What a pervert! You’ve got no limits!”

“Hanamana said you’re not a child anymore. Men are honest; if they feel desire, they react! You should know that much being an adult, Hanamana.”

“I-I don’t know such things! Anyway, no sexual stuff!”

Hanamana, clutching her twin tails, pressed them against her cheeks and turned red with embarrassment.

Seems she’s surprisingly naive about boys? She talked so freely about her taste in men that I thought she wouldn’t mind, but even though she looks like this, she’s 200 years old.

“You don’t have to think too deeply, Hanamana. Teacher Hop says he likes me no matter my appearance.”

Zion snuggled closer to me, leaning against me as I rested my hand on his waist to draw him in.

“Really? If that’s the case, then I’m relieved, but…”

“And it’s me you’re talking about. So you don’t have to worry.”

“If Zion is saying that, then…”

Hearing Zion’s words eased Hanamana’s previously hostile attitude toward me.

By now, we had finished our meal and cleaned up the dishes, finishing our camping preparations.

“Since the atmosphere is nice, how about you take the watch tonight, Hanamana? You and Senpai can have a good time in the tent…”

“No need for that, Hanamana. The purpose of this expedition is to get some real combat experience. We can’t miss this opportunity.”

Zion pulled out his sword as he surveyed the area.

Real combat, suddenly? Now that I think about it, I did say I wouldn’t get to sleep tonight.

“I’ll skip this time, too. Until there’s an emergency.”

As Hanamana retreated towards the tent, wolves from the plains appeared all around us.

The wolves, hiding low in the grass, had quietly surrounded us without making a sound.

“Ha!!”

The battle commenced immediately.

Since we were surrounded in the plains, it seems Zion chose to break through before the encirclement closed in.

Zion burst forward gallantly, slashing the monsters and clearing a path.

“This is bad!”

– Wham!

A wolf charged toward me and Hanamana, but she swung her staff, cleanly smashing the wolf’s head.

“One’s coming this way too! Be careful, Senpai.”

The wolves that saw their comrade turn to mush still glared at us but seemed somewhat cowed and hesitated to charge.

With Hanamana here, it looks like I only need to keep an eye on Zion.

“Ugh!!”

The number of wolves was overwhelming, and they became drastically stronger when they worked in unison rather than alone.

As Zion swung his sword fiercely, he eventually got scratched by wolf claws, resulting in an injury.

“Zion~ should I heal you~?”

“Not now!!”

Since Zion got hurt, is she worried about him?

I was also concerned that if Zion got hurt, it might revive some of his past pain, causing his condition to become strange, but thankfully, he doesn’t seem weak enough to have his trauma resurface during battle.

Moreover, Zion seems to still have enough composure to refuse Hanamana’s healing…

“Ah!!”

“Senpai?!”

One wolf, taking advantage of Hanamana’s moment of distraction, dashed toward me, scratching my back before fleeing.

“Ugh, it hurts…”

It’s not a fatal wound, but my back turned hot, and blood started to flow instantly.

Hanamana hurriedly placed her hand on the wound, focusing her mind.

“I’ll heal you in no time. A wound like this is…”

The sensation of healing magic flowed through me, and I could feel my wound slowly mending.

What I felt from the healing, my first experience in this world, was far from the convenient and pleasant feelings of healing magic found in typical fantasy.

It wasn’t that the pain faded, or the wound healed over; the pain persisted while flesh grew back, and the remnants of pain remained, adding a strange feeling as my body adapted to the newly grown nerves.

It’s clear that the realistic depiction in the original novel impacts even the sensation of healing magic.

If people encountered this regularly, it’s definitely no surprise they’d all end up broken.

Speaking of which, how’s Zion doing? Is he holding up well?

“Hop… Teacher?”

‘Zion?’

What happened? Zion, who had seemed to be fighting well, is now walking toward me, gripping his sword tightly, trembling as he looks directly at me.

– Slash!

Wolves continued to rush at Zion, leaving him to suffer injuries.

Yet he disregarded the injuries, paying no mind to his bleeding body, instead just staring at me.

“I’ll never lose a comrade again. Never. Absolutely never…”

He doesn’t look normal. Could it be… because I got hurt?

“You dared to injure my comrade!!!!!”

– Blood!

What’s happening?

I hadn’t taken my eyes off Zion, but he disappeared in an instant from view.

“Hanamana! Zion!!”

“Huh? Zion?”

With a surprised Hanamana, we both glanced around but saw no trace of Zion.

However,

– Teeeying!!

– Kehhhh!!

From somewhere, the sound of bones cracking and a wolf’s howl echoed.

Hastily looking back, I saw a wolf’s corpse, sliced in half, oozing blood.

Then came the sound of bones cracking from everywhere.

Wolves were being butchered, their cries accompanied by death sounds all around us.

Could Zion be running amok, using his powers?

As soon as every wolf fell, Zion finally revealed himself before me.

“Where, haah, where are you!!! How dare you… how dare you!!!!”

With his back to me, Zion gripped his sword and shouted as he scanned the area.

Could he still be thinking there might be hidden enemies?

This is dangerous. If he goes berserk in a panic state, he might lose his grip on reality.

“Hanamana, finished healing, right?”

“I finished a while ago.”

“Zion!!”

I quickly got up and rushed to Zion.

He was still trembling and filled with tension, as if there was some kind of pressure building within him.

Before Zion does something else, I need to somehow snap him out of this…!

 

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