Chapter 213: Fire Drips, Pantile is Drenched by the Drops 7
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Shara Lansra, a former Sister of the Healer Faction whom the Church had carelessly certified as a Saint, was trembling in fear.
Ever since she’d been made bait for a horde of Monsters, developments had been dizzyingly tumbling in unexpected directions, enough to make her head spin.
…No, that was business as usual.
Shara recalled everything since she’d met the Longdagger Couple and gave up on that thought in an instant.
No, no, that’s not it, that’s not it at all.
Shara berated her own mind for trying to escape reality.
If she looked away from the problem, she would die; Shara could assert this with near certainty.
The woman calling herself Shin’s friend, Jenniferlin Pantile, was listening with great amusement to Erica’s tales of Shin in Hecate.
Meanwhile, Erica’s face as she spoke of Shin was like that of someone about to engage in a duel.
It was unbelievable that she could wear such an expression while haltingly spewing words of affection.
And while she was at it, she also couldn’t understand the one who was happily chiming in agreement with those affectionate words.
“This is that jewel.”
As Erica proudly held up her left hand, Jenniferlin nodded with exaggerated delight.
“Ah, how envious I am. I wish I could have been there too, Lady Erica. You must have seen a truly amusing Shin.”
It wasn’t amusing at all, you know?
Shara retorted inwardly to Jenniferlin’s words.
“By the way,”
Erica swirled the tea in her mug.
It was an uncharacteristic gesture for her, as if filling the silence while searching for words, making Shara tilt her head.
“Jen-sama, what is your relationship with Shin? No, I have heard that you are friends, but…”
Could it be…? Shara shuddered at her own thought.
Is Erica jealous of Jenniferlin-san… too long, Jen-san is fine, right? Right? Is she jealous of Jen-san?
You’ve got to be kidding me!?
Shara retorted to herself.
Just a moment ago, right before your eyes, your husband agreed to his wife’s unreasonable demand without a second thought and flew off, didn’t he?
Shara was astonished by Erica’s deep jealousy.
The shock was immense, especially since Erica had shown no such signs even when Shara, a woman herself, spoke with Shin-san.
No, wait. Could it be that Erica doesn’t even consider me a woman? Shara harbored a serious doubt.
“That’s right, we’re friends.”
At Jenniferlin’s words, Shara looked up from her doubt about not being considered a woman. One could also say she followed her sense of crisis that told her not to think too deeply about it.
“If I may say so without shame, we’re best friends.”
Jenniferlin’s face as she answered Erica held a certain pride.
“You of all people should understand, but I am merely Shin’s friend. That is something I’m very proud of, being ‘just’ a friend.”
Proud of being a friend?
Shara almost tilted her head again.
Is she okay? She’s Shin-san’s friend, you know?
Shara thought for a moment, imagining herself being called Shin’s friend.
…Nope, I’d want to pack my bags and run away immediately. Keeping about ten paces away from Longdagger is just right.
Believe it or not, I still have aspirations for marriage.
I don’t want to end up like a certain Guild receptionist.
I wonder if that person will ever get married?
“Yes, I understand.”
She understands!?
Shara was surprised by Erica’s words. She’d been constantly surprised for a while now.
What could it be? Is there some kind of aristocratic reason?
Shara thought this because Erica’s face looked pleased.
That’s the face of someone who’s happy that Shin-san had (or seemed to have) a friend.
Nobles sure have it tough.
To make Erica wear such an expression just because her husband had a friend, what a rotten world the world of nobles is.
Shara sipped her tea, thinking this as she watched the two, who until a moment ago had an “I’ll stab you in the crown of your head” kind of atmosphere, now smiling softly.
“But well,”
Jenniferlin shrugged amidst that atmosphere.
“He’s a blockhead who doesn’t realize his best friend’s feelings, though.”
Jenniferlin, with a wry smile, looked at Erica’s face and her smile deepened.
“Well, I suppose that wasn’t something to say to you.”
What is going on!
The heartwarming atmosphere dissipated in a second, and Shara nearly trembled in fear again.
“Yes, indeed. Thanks to him, I’m made aware of my own Greed every day.”
What does Erica want to become, declaring her husband is all hers with such a scary face? Also, the tea tastes sweet, even though there’s no sugar in it.
Receiving Erica’s provocative declaration that Shin was hers, the one it was thrown at looked momentarily stunned, then burst out laughing.
Shara didn’t understand and became scared.
“I see, that explains everything. So that’s how it is.”
Jenniferlin, uttering such words, looked like a monster or something to Shara.
“No, this is good, truly good, Lady Erica. You two are remarkably similar.”
Jenniferlin laughed, tears welling up in her eyes.
“Pantile loves Greed above all. Ah, it’s truly regrettable. Not becoming good friends with you when we were at the academy was an un-Pantile-like failure.”
Just what is this person?
How can she calmly say she wants to be friends with you after having that face directed at her?
If it were me, I’d be crying. I’m confident I’d definitely be crying.
As expected of Shin-san’s friend, Shara trembled in awe of Jenniferlin.
It was surprising enough that Shin had a friend other than the Prince (pervert), but for that friend to be a woman was earth-shattering.
But with this personality, it made perfect sense.
To be able to laugh after Erica made that face at her was heroic in itself.
While wishing for Shin-san to return quickly, Shara was also grateful that Shin was not present in this situation.
＊＊＊＊＊Afterword＊＊＊＊＊
Shara: “You’ve got to be kidding me… She’s laughing so calmly.”
Thank you always for your comments, likes, follows, stars, etc.
There’s nothing more gratifying for a novelist than receiving responses.
I deeply apologize that my replies to comments have stopped.
The author themself is also disappointed about not being able to reply to comments.
I’m participating in the Dragon Novels Light Novel Contest, so I’d be happy if you could forgive me for writing instead of replying to comments.
Naturally, I read all the comments I receive.
When I get writer’s block, I usually escape by rereading comments.
Regarding comments about typos and omissions, my policy is to always reply, so I hope you understand.
(I also want to fix the terrible writing in the previous chapter…)
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