◆ Chapter 15: Nady’s Feelings
I’M currently visiting a section of the capital that’s considered the outskirts of the city. I tell Lex to wait for me just outside a poorly lit alleyway. I discover a Lucor girl—Nady—sitting on a wood box right around the first corner.
What is she doing in such a place? The answer’s self-explanatory: her gentle gaze is trained on a lone holy flower.
“I didn’t know one was growing here, too.”
Nady jumps when she hears my voice. She nervously looks at me and blinks. “Mizuha? Why are you—”
“Theos told me you were here. He said, ‘That girl loves flowers, so you can probably find her where she recently discovered another holy flower.’”
This spot is close to where Grantz Kingdom has provided temporary housing for the Lucors until it’s safe for them to go home. However, the alleyways form a complex maze that’s out of sight from the main roads. I don’t think Theos accidentally stumbled across Nady’s hiding place here but secretly trailed her out of concern for her whereabouts.
“Did my father tell you something...unnecessary?” Nady asks, uncomfortably averting her eyes.
“…Yeah, he told me a bit about your mom.”
Nady’s mom died during childbirth. So, Theos ended up raising Nady as a single dad.
“I see...”
“I’m sorry I heard about your past from someone else.”
“It’s okay. Father told you because he wanted to. I planned on telling you someday soon anyway,” she says, squeezing together the hands she had resting on her knees.
She looks like she’s struggling to say more. I quietly wait for her to open up, and she eventually starts to talk about it, albeit slowly.
“I’m grateful to my father, really. He raised me despite ending up alone after Mother passed away—all while fulfilling his duties as the Lucor Chieftain. But you know what? That made it that much harder on me. It was miserable being raised as the Chieftain’s daughter…!”
These must be the feelings she has kept pent up for years. Once she starts talking about it, she can’t stop.
Lips trembling, she vents even more. “I tried my hardest, too! I thought I had to become strong because I’m the Chieftain’s daughter. But no matter how hard I tried, I could never shoot a living creature…!”
Anyone can see that Nady excels at archery, even over the other Lucors. I’ve been curious why everyone says she has never successfully hunted before—being incapable of shooting animals is a valid explanation.
From the standards of my world, I think it’s perfectly fine that she doesn’t want to hurt animals. However, the Lucors are a hunting tribe. Her resistance to hunting is considered so crippling by her people, outsiders can’t even begin to understand it. It’s easy to see how important it is by watching the contempt the other Lucors show Nady.
“At some point along the way, I just...gave up. I had enough. I’m sure Father talked to you because he’s disappointed in me...”
“I don’t think that’s true. Theos seems to be plagued by regret. He told me, ‘I’ve forced that child into a corner.’”
The anguish on his face proves he’s not disappointed in her.
“I have no idea how much suffering you have lived through, Nady. But I can tell you have worked really hard. Giving up isn’t necessarily a bad thing. And if you are hesitant to give up, then take some time to yourself to figure out what you really want to do.”
“…You know, I think I have always been waiting for someone to tell me what you just did, Mizuha. But…but…!” Nady squeezes her fisted hands even tighter. As her trembling spreads throughout her body, she cries out the feelings buried deep inside. “I was so frustrated! I was upset with myself for being unable to shoot at the dragon! I can’t believe I couldn’t even shoot to save the first friend I’ve ever made!”
Just when I thought that we had made up after our last fight, she had pulled away from me again. I couldn’t understand why at the time, but now I think I finally get what’s eating away at her.
“...I’m sorry for making you see me like this.”
“Don’t be. I’m happy you’re letting me in.”
“Mizuha…”
We can finally make up for real and hang out again. With that in mind, I step forward to close the distance between us, when Nady suddenly looks away as if she’s rejecting me.
“Please…give me some more time alone. I’m sorry...”
The rejection was too much for me to come up with anything more to say to her.