* * *
“Elijah, does it hurt today too?”
A small body burrowed into Elijah’s arms.
Though the warm spring breeze had long since blown even into the shabby cabin deep in the forest, Elijah still lay wrapped tightly in blankets as if alone in severe cold.
“Rose, go away… I’m cold.”
Even while uttering a single word, Elijah trembled all over enough to chatter his teeth. Soon small hands with coldness seeping from them covered Elijah’s forehead.
“You have a fever.”
Elijah’s body was a fireball. His complexion, which hadn’t looked very healthy originally, had turned pale with all color completely drained. Rose burrowed into Elijah’s arms.
When the already low body temperature body touched him with only a thin shirt in between, Elijah flinched.
“Cold… Rose. Too cold.”
“Yeah, I’ll warm you up.”
No, no… That makes it colder… Elijah only complained inwardly as he wrapped the blanket that had become disheveled from Rose burrowing in even tighter.
Rose was too cold, far too cold. He even absorbed the other’s body temperature well, so just by having skin contact with Elijah for a bit, he would quickly steal his warmth.
“Elijah, does it hurt a lot?”
“…”
Elijah had been suffering from severe body aches since returning from the settlement. For him, who had stamina as fragile as rice paper along with mental strength like thin ice just before melting away, this outing had been far too harsh a challenge.
Embracing the small ice-like body with both arms, Elijah trembled once more. That giant-like man’s fierce face, savage voice, menacing eyes… Even now when he thought about that time, his whole body trembled and it felt like his heart would burst.
Too scary. The people of the world were wicked, too scary and utterly vicious.
“Elijah, still cold? Should I give you my clothes?”
As if constantly checking his temperature, Rose rubbed his cheek against the area around his neck. Thin, soft hair tickled the tip of Elijah’s chin.
Elijah buried his nose in his crown and sniffed, finding peace of mind for a moment. Though he didn’t use any particular perfume and washed in the same river water as himself, Rose always smelled good.
“It’s okay. Don’t move, let’s just stay like this.”
Though he himself barely wore more than one thin shirt, Elijah hugged tighter the body squirming in his arms saying it would give him its clothes. Since he kept holding him, it actually seemed a bit cool… gradually he felt better.
“Elijah… don’t be sick.”
“Yeah…”
“You’re being punished for leaving me alone and going somewhere.”
“…”
“Where did you go?”
It was a question repeated several times already. Elijah hadn’t answered his question until now. If he answered where he’d gone, he’d have to recall that incident again, and then his heart would pound so much he absolutely couldn’t speak.
Meeting the scary scammer was one thing, but what happened after that was also scary.
‘Just where did that man disappear to?’
Elijah recalled the frog that had been croaking and inflating its throat at his feet. He couldn’t be certain whether that was his own ability, or perhaps the trick of another mage who happened to be nearby.
He had merely raised his hands reflexively to defend against the man’s violence, but when he opened his eyes, hadn’t the man disappeared and only a frog remained?
If that incident was another mage’s trick, it would be somewhat unfair and that would be all, but if it was something brought about by his own ability… It was far too frightening.
Since Master died, he hadn’t used magic even once. The magic theories he’d studied so diligently, the formulas—none of them remained in his head anymore.
Of course, at one time in the distant past, Elijah had been a capable mage. And he well knew that the magic power within him was infinite and powerful enough to exceed human limits.
However, no matter how skilled at something one is, if one doesn’t do it for over 200 years, one forgets it all.
To use an analogy, he was like someone with infinite ingredients but who didn’t know how to cook at all. If you put in ingredients haphazardly without knowing the recipe at all and boil them, a strange and bizarre dish is bound to be completed.
If you substitute magic for cooking, it meant it could lead to very dangerous results. Elijah absolutely never uses magic normally because he’s scared of that.
But just how on earth…
How could I have done such a thing?
There must have been another mage. Perhaps they secretly intervened saying they’d help me…
“Where did you go? Answer me.”
The persistent question flying again from within his arms cut off his thoughts. Elijah answered blankly as if escaping from a frightening nightmare.
“…To buy your clothes.”
“My clothes?”
That’s right. The cause of all this trouble was Rose. But he’d struggled all that struggle, and Rose was still wearing only one of Elijah’s old shirts. It truly couldn’t be more futile.
“I have clothes.”
“Not those… Clothes that fit your body.”
“I like wearing Elijah’s clothes.”
“Besides clothes… you need a lot of things, Rose.”
Elijah muttered gloomily.
“To keep your feet from getting hurt, you need to wear fitting shoes, and you need books to read, and when I’m not here, you need a doll to substitute for me…”
“I just need Elijah.”
A small hand that moved restlessly from within his arms grasped Elijah’s long hair. Burying his nose between that hair, Rose said:
“I don’t need anything else as long as I have Elijah.”
At those quite lovely words, Elijah laughed weakly.
“Still, you can’t go naked forever. The clothes are too big and uncomfortable.”
Rose, with the body of a mere four or five-year-old child, sometimes said adult-like things. This time too, a quite insightful answer came back.
“I’ll grow quickly. Anyway, after just a little while, these will fit perfectly too.”
“…”
It wasn’t that Elijah hadn’t thought that way. The child would grow quickly anyway, so did he really need clothes now? But whenever he saw Rose fluttering sleeves twice the length of his arms, he felt sorry.
Each time he grew, he wanted to give Rose everything he needed, even if it meant going down to the settlement again and again. Elijah buried his lips deep between the silver-white hair, recalling anew the bitter memory of failure.
That red cloak… If Rose wore it now, it would really suit him well. If he waited too long, he might grow and not be able to wear it.
He wanted to dress him in it. How cute would he be? He’d be just like a moving doll…
“Elijah.”
Rose, who had been silently nestled in his chest, raised his head. Looking at the innocently sparkling eyes, Elijah stroked his cheek.
“Yeah.”
“Should I make you laugh?”
Only then did Elijah realize he’d been making a death face the whole time. Even to Rose’s eyes, he must have looked quite depressed.
Actually, making Elijah laugh was very easy. Because when Rose laughed, he naturally laughed along. However, Elijah was curious what cute thing Rose would do, so he deliberately pretended not to know and asked:
“How will you make me laugh?”
Smooch, smooch. The white face rapidly approached and moved away repeatedly. Once on the left corner of his mouth, once on the right. Soft lips briefly collided.
“…”
Elijah didn’t understand how this was supposed to make him laugh, so he stared blankly at Rose for a moment.
Rose, undaunted by the other’s reaction, continued to smooch, smooch, kissing. At the soft, ticklish sensation alternately hitting both corners of his mouth, Elijah finally let out an absurd laugh.
“What? That’s not funny at all.”
“Then why are you smiling?”
Smooch, smooch. Even while speaking, Rose continued kissing by surprise. The kisses that had been lightly pecking the corners of his mouth gradually grew longer, and in between, a soft tongue would stick out and lick.
Finally Elijah burst into audible laughter.
“Stop it. It tickles.”
“Pretty… Elijah.”
Rose hugged his neck and rubbed his cheek. Soft, plump flesh pressed snugly against Elijah’s cheek.
“When Elijah smiles, I feel good too.”
At the utterly cute affection, Elijah’s body trembling gradually subsided too. Rose was a child full of love. Whenever he clung to him doing all sorts of pretty things, Elijah felt more sorry than happy.
“Don’t do anything… Elijah. You don’t have to do anything. Just stay by my side… Okay?”
Though he himself hadn’t properly done anything for Rose, Rose gave so much to him. Really to an excessive degree.
Elijah, who let out a sigh, turned over to lie looking at the ceiling, and naturally Rose sprawled on top of him. Patting the back of Rose who quietly listened to his heartbeat with an ear pressed to his chest, Elijah steeled his resolve once more.
To raise such a pretty child like a proper person, he’d have to go down to the settlement again someday anyway. Buy what’s needed, earn money if money needs to be earned. Only with at least that much effort would he be qualified to raise a child.
As the trembling subsided, drowsiness washed over him. Though breathing was a bit uncomfortable because of Rose’s weight placed on his body, still, Elijah felt comfort in that weight. Embracing the body that had become warm with his body temperature transferred to it, Elijah fell into a deep sleep.
Elijah, I’m hungry… He seemed to have heard Rose whisper from within his arms. A stinging pain arose around his neck. But all of that was now such a familiar daily routine for Elijah that it wasn’t enough to disturb his deep sleep.
