Vol 1 Chapter 23 – Ugh… My Head…!

“……”

Rasha’s face had gone completely blank, like a Noh mask.

She liked Alvarado.

Whether that feeling was romantic or simply admiration for another human being—

—to be honest, even Rasha herself wasn’t sure.

At the very least, she felt goodwill toward the man named Alvarado.

He had saved her life and even helped rebuild their village.

And he had done it for total strangers he’d never met before.

Liking Alvarado wasn’t strange in the slightest.

Rasha was a very kind person—

so kind she could put others before herself without a second thought.

Yet there were moments when she simply couldn’t grasp other people’s emotions.

That was because she rarely experienced negative feelings herself.

Joy and excitement she could manage, but anger or sadness were hard to empathize with.

“Hmm…”

Right now, however, Rasha was unmistakably angry—

and her anger was directed at her dear friend Hannah.

The reason, of course, involved Alvarado.

A pleasant breeze rustled by as Rasha and Hannah faced each other.

Normally the two would be all smiles, but the air between them was icy cold.

To be precise, the chill was radiating from Rasha alone; Hannah only hung her head in deep discomfort.

“Hey, Hannah.”

“Y-y-yeah?”

“Jolt”

Hannah flinched as she answered.

She had never felt this scared talking to Rasha before.

Feeling genuinely depressed, Hannah waited for her friend to speak.

“Why is it that Alvarado-san keeps looking only at you?”

“Eh!? Well, uh… hmm…”

Hannah’s face went pale.

How should I know? It’s not like I asked him to stare!

She wanted to shout that, but the words would never reach Rasha, whose wide eyes were practically bulging.

Yes, every day Alvarado’s gaze was hot enough to burn holes in her.

But Hannah, the target herself, knew better than anyone it wasn’t a sweet, romantic look.

It was the eyes of a predator studying its prey.

And “prey” in this case clearly meant “to be killed.”

“I-I don’t get it either!”

“Hmm…”

Her desperate denial bounced right off.

Rasha’s gaze on her was chilling.

“If that’s true, why do I feel like you’re the one closing the distance with Alvarado-san?”

(Like I wanna be anywhere near him!) Hannah cursed inwardly.

Because her unwanted epithet had leaked to Alvarado, he could guess the crimes behind it.

He hadn’t caught her red-handed and had no hard proof, so for now she’d been spared—

but every so often murderous intent came at her through his eyes.

Taking that 24/7 would drive anyone insane.

So she had done the opposite: gotten closer. Very close.

At that range, his stare didn’t pierce as badly as when she stood a little away.

She couldn’t bare her soul and explain that to Rasha, her dearest friend, so from the outside it looked like she approached him willingly.

Hannah’s complexion swung from blue to red as she searched for words, while Rasha offered a sweet smile.

Adorable—and terrifying.

“Hannah, you’re always clinging to me, aren’t you?”

“W-well, ’cause you’re a precious friend.”

“Exactly. I treasure you too, Hannah.”

“R-really? That makes me happy.”

Any other day she would’ve been bouncing with joy—”Ecstatic”—thrilled that Rasha’s affection was returned.

But right now she only trembled, waiting for what might follow.

“So, Hannah… are you planning to steal the person I’m a little interested in?”

Rasha’s eyes narrowed to slits.

Hannah’s heart shrank to a painful knot.

Scary.

“T-that ain’t it! It’s not like what you’re thinkin’!”

“Hmm…”

Zero trust.

Hannah could see it in Rasha’s eyes—

the look you give a liar.

“But it’s strange, isn’t it? Not being able to trust a close friend. I’ll believe you, Hannah.”

Rasha exhaled softly, calming herself, and gave a troubled smile.

The gentle Rasha was back—completely different from seconds ago.

She believes me. We really are best friends!

“Thank you, Rasha!”

“Ow, Hannah… that hurts.”

Hannah hugged Rasha tight—”Rub-Rub”—rubbing her head against her in delight, and Rasha laughed in embarrassment.

Even so, Hannah couldn’t let her joy show completely.

She’ll stay away from Alvarado.

Sure, she appreciates that he saved her, but her feelings are much cooler than Rasha’s.

Hannah coolly analyzed her own heart.

If she honestly liked him, Rasha’s resentment might be unavoidable, but chilling their friendship over a misunderstanding she had no feelings for was the last thing she wanted.

“I’ll be fine without clinging to him.”

She told herself that and resolved to restrain her actions.

“…Is that a criminal over there?”

“――――――!?”

The moment a man’s—Alvarado’s—voice rang out, Hannah became the wind.

Run, run, run!

She sprinted with single-minded focus.

Despite being an alchemist who rarely exercised, her form was elegant.

Then, using that momentum, she dove straight at Alvarado!

A full-speed human hurled herself into him, yet he didn’t budge an inch—

not so much as a twitch.

“……Hmm?”

Rasha watched the scene with lifeless eyes, her head tilted ninety degrees.

“That ain’t it! I told you it ain’t like that! Believe me already!”

“Why are you clinging?”

“If I step back, you’ll pound me to death!”

“Downcast” Hannah mumbled, her expression falling.

No arrest warrants, no decisive evidence.

Yet Alvarado was ruthless toward evil, willing to toss aside ethics and common sense to obliterate it.

Proof: even while Hannah latched onto him, he was reaching into sub-space for his holy sword.

If she let go, rubble-smash awaited!

“Hannah? What happened to what you just said? Did you lie to me?”

“N-no, Rasha! It’s not that! I’m not hugging him for any pink-colored reason—honest!”

Everything was spiraling against Hannah.

If she kept clinging, Rasha only got scarier.

Actually, Hannah had never seen her like this.

“What’re you doing to me, Alvarado?”

But if she let go, she’d be clubbed to death by flying holy-sword debris.

She’d watched his battles a few times.

Each time had left her going, “Ugh”, trembling.

Imagining that threat aimed at her—

she pressed her body even harder against Alvarado in terror.

Rasha’s eyes grew colder still.

“Why are you pressing that ugly lump of flesh on Alvarado-san?”

“I ain’t pressing—it’s called pinning!”

“……”

“Quit lookin’ at me with those dead eyes!!”

Even while she yelled, Hannah never let go.

“Ugh… My head…!”

“Throb”

A sharp pain shot through Rasha’s skull.

For some reason her pulse raced, her breathing turned rough, and her cheeks burned red.

“Then… why is my heart pounding like this…?”

“Thump-Thump”

Rasha discovered the thrill of having her brain broken.