The Abandoned White Magician’s Tea Life - Chapter 15 :  Reunion

Translator: Sunnyshies

Editor: Ryuubii

Chapter 15 :  Reunion

On the way back from the general store, she suddenly noticed that Yugo had stopped and was staring at the forest outside the fence surrounding the village.

‘…oh, did he just find prey?’

She stopped and stared at Yugo.

Yugo, who has the nature of a dragon, sometimes wanders off. He occasionally goes out to find prey, and when he comes back, he is usually full. He seems to be able to tell when good prey is nearby, which is why he often stopped to stare at the forest during their walks.

“…Yugo, are you going?”

She quietly inquired, and Yugo nodded as he stared into the forest.

“…yeah. It smells so good. It’s probably a pretty big one, so don’t prepare any food for me for a while.”

“Okay, okay. Well, have a safe trip.”

“I’m strong. I’ll be fine. I’m off.”

Yugo squeezed Amalia’s hand and quickly walked away without making a sound.

‘I’m more worried that someone will find you than you getting hurt…’

Although he was in the form of a human child, he could twist and crush at least one beast with one hand. Furthermore, even if he were to be defeated in terms of strength and size, he could control magic of all attributes. Amalia was more concerned that someone might see the young boy happily hunting his prey than that he would be injured by a beast or other demons.

Amalia decided to take her shopping basket and wander around Polk. She greeted others as she passed by, stopped by at the inn for the first time in a while, and admired the scenery from the small hill.

‘…speaking of which, it will soon be ten years since that day.’

Sitting down on the grass, Amalia rested her chin in her arms and narrowed her eyes.

At the general store a few minutes ago, she saw the calendar. It was then that she realized that it would soon be ten years since the day Amalia met Yugo.

Amalia herself hadn’t spent those ten years in this world, so she didn’t really feel it when she looked at the dates on the calendar. Even now, it’s hard to believe that the ten minutes or so she experienced while she was protected in the Demon World were actually ten years in the real world.

It was nice to begin her life with Yugo, but she was still feeling nostalgic. She wished Alphonse and the others would just go away and die, but she still wanted to see everyone at the monastery who took care of her since birth, the director of the orphanage and the children who adored Amalia, and tell them that she was safe.

‘…I’m not blaming Yugo for the last decade. I don’t, but―’

Although she lived with Yugo, as long as she was alone, she couldn’t help but have negative thoughts. She was not so young anymore, but perhaps she was not as mature as she thought.

“――”

The autumn wind was whispering in her ear.

It felt as if someone had been calling her name, and Amalia sighed, looking at the scenery out of the corner of her eye.

“―lia-sama”

The wind called out Amalia’s name.

Amalia turned around, slowly.

On the gentle hillside, a little lower than where Amalia was currently sitting, there was a figure. That person, clad in a gray cloak, stood there, with the hem of his cloak fluttering in the wind.

‘…who?’

At least, he wasn’t from Polk. No one in the village would be wandering around looking like that.

Amalia was alarmed and stood up with her basket in her hand that she had placed beside her. The man in the cloak put his hand on the hood that was completely covering his head and quickly removed it.

―The man’s light golden hair was swept lightly by the breeze.

His eyes, peeking through his bangs, were a gentle gray, and his thin lips were slightly open, as if expressing his surprise.

A young man with blond hair and gray eyes.

It’s someone she doesn’t know―

‘…uh-uh, no―!’

Shock struck Amalia’s chest.

Her mind raced, but for some reason her body would not move.

The young man instead came up the hill at a faster pace. As he got closer, his face became clearer.

A young man Amalia does not know.

No, a grown man, much like the “him” that Amalia knew.

“… Amalia, -sama…?”

The voice that she heard was much lower than the voice of “him” that Amalia knew. At that time, “his” voice had not developed.

The young man stopped right in front of Amalia as she stood motionless on the grass. His eyes, looking down at Amalia, had not changed at all from the “old days”. However, there was a startling difference in height, and even though she had once been looking down at “him,” his gray eyes were now in a position where Amalia had to look up at him.

He stretched out his arm. Amalia shivered slightly, and her hand retracted slightly, as if she was scared, but it quickly extended again, and the hand holding the basket was gently wrapped around it.

Large hands.

She could feel the hardness and warmth through his gloves.

“…ah, I knew it was you―! You’re alive―!”

Amalia dropped the basket as the muffled voice complained and squeezed her hand.

‘Lie…’

There was nothing she could do, and Amalia was hugged tightly in his arms. She could feel the hardness of the leather armor under his cloak against her cheek, which was pressed against his chest.

She knew.

Amalia knew a boy who looked and sounded a lot like this man.

[“Amalia-sama”]

He smiled innocently and followed behind Amalia as closely as he could.

With a bright red face, he handed her a homemade charm.

He who made that “promise.”

“…Leo-nardo―?”

“Amalia-sama..!”

As soon as Amalia called his name, the man embraced her so tightly that it hurt.

Leonardo.

The boy she took care of at the orphanage.

The boy who was twelve years old when they parted at the orphanage eleven years ago has now appeared in front of Amalia as a young man of twenty-three.

‘…I thought I’d never see you again.’

She had given up on meeting him and other people related to the monastery and the orphanage, not only for physical reasons, but also for psychological reasons: “I can’t meet him looking like this.” Even now, while keeping the charm he gave her in her breast pocket, she thought that she would never be able to fulfill the “promise” she made to him when they parted.

But then Leonardo showed up.

He has transformed into a magnificent adult man who is now hugging Amalia tightly― but if you listen carefully, you can hear the faint sound of sobbing.

‘Are you crying…?’

☼☼☼