abcnovels
Chapter 29: The Whereabouts of Love
Chapter 29: The Whereabouts of Love
Chapter 29: The Whereabouts of Love
While I was minding the store, Lilica came in for the first time in a while.
“Yo. It’s been a while. How as the Hunting Festival?”
“Thanks to you, I was able to become the Champion.”
“That’s a relief. Congratulations. Ah-. I heard that you came to give your thanks, but I didn’t hear about the result so I was interested about what had happened.”
“I. I see… . S.So you’re interested…”
Lilica averted her eyes as she played with her hair.
She probably came to complain about Kululu-san are ask for advice again.
It doesn’t seem like Paula’s coming today, so I offered her the chair that Paula had brought without permission.
“Th,thanks, uu…”
So-mehow she seems awkward…
Is she in poor health?
Sitting on the opposite side of the counter, Lilica keeps taking side glances of me.
“Mina-san … isn’t in, right?”
… right?
“Aah. She went shopping with Noela.”
Mina can leave the house as long as she carries the brooche, so recently she’s often been finishing up the housework and going on a walk or going shopping.
Being able to go outside is fun, I suppose.
“That’s right … she’s not here, I made sure of it before coming into the shop, so…”
Lilica is muttering quietly.
Was there something about Mina?
Like, did they get in a fight and I didn’t know about it?
Although since Mina is the other party, it doesn’t feel like that would be the case.
“Hey, Lilica. What did you come for today?”
“… I want to know… about Mina-san…”
Lilica said, as if she was embarrassed.
“Know about Mina? Why? … … Ah.”
I figured it out.
… So that’s how it is.
Just like her brother, did she awaken to that kind of thing?
It’s difficult to ask Mina herself, so her aim is to ask me, who’s close to her?
“If that’s the case, then bring it on. What do you want to know about Mina?”
Paula also said Mina was cute (although she didn’t mean it sexually), and that ossan adventurer from a while back was also taken by her; Mina’s quite popular.
With things like this, Lilica can’t say anything about Kululu-san anymore.
An adorable Mina and a lovely Lilica…
It can’t be helped that I have all sorts of delusions.
“I, I’m not really good with housework but … what about Mina-san…?”
“Ah-. Mina is amazing, you know? She can do all types of housework, and her cooking is delicious.”
“Her cooking is …. delicious…”
For some reason, Lilica is depressed.
Was she thinking about giving her homemade sweets to raise their intimacy…?
If you know you’re bad and the other is good, then this kind of appeak might actually have the opposite effect, after all-.
“But it’s fine, Lilica. If you make it with your heart, then it doesn’t matter if it’s good or bad!”
“I,I wonder.”
Lilica’s face lightened a little.
Alright, I successfully cheered her up a little.
“I want to ask something important, but … what … kind of relationship … does Reiji have with Mina-san?”
Lilica snuck a peek at me.
That’s certainly something you need to confirm right away.
With a knowing look, I gave her a thumbs up.
“Lilica, be at ease. We have no such relationship.”
“- Is that so!”
Lilica’s expression lightened a little more.
“I,I thought that you two didn’t have that kind of relationship from what I could see, after all. J,just to let you know, I just happened to see it from a distance… I – it was just a coincidence? It’s not like I was watching to check it out!”
Yup, that’s certainly the the tsundere method of following up on things.
“Confirming it is important after all; it’s scary if you mistake it.”
“What, why are you grinning…”
Hmph; Lilica’s face went red.
“Is there anything else you want to know?”
“It’s fine for today. It was enough for me to confirm it. But…”
Stopping mid sentence, Lilica hung her head.
“Aside from that, I don’t want to lose-”
If she’s aiming for Mina, she’s going to have a lot of rivals after all.
I wonder what Mina will if it’s this girl.
I wonder if she’ll readily give an okay?
But that’s Mina’s problem, and it’s not something I should be concerned about.
Just like before, with the Hunting Festival, Lilica is trying her hardest, so I feel like cheering her on.
She doesn’t want to lose, huh…?
“Alright, leave it to me. I’ll make Lilica the most beautiful elf!”
“Really!? Thank you, Reiji! …. Huh? Why do I feel like something’s wrong…? I,is this going to be alright, like this…?”
Lilica is beautiful enough as she is, but the person herself said she wants to be more, so I’ll give her that support.
“Rather than making up for shortcomings, I think we should go with emphasizing your strong points.”
“Ah, I see … then, I think that’s fine.”
The perfect gel that I gave to Madame Flam is something that makes skin prettier, bet whether or not Lilica needs that is … …
I approached her and stared at Lilica seriously.
“Lilica’s skin … is white and clear, huh…”
“Wha!? No. What, what are you doing so suddenly?”
Startled, Lilica separated our faces like she was leaping backwards.
I moved closer to her in an instant.
“Your eyelashes are also long, and your eyes are large with a dual fold … and your eyebrows are thin…“
“You’re too close, Reiji, you’re too close.”
There’s the perfume I gave Elaine and the perfume Noela gave Elaine.
Even though both types have different scents, I don’t think they’d suit Lilica.
And making her perfume of something she doesn’t like the smell of is kinda …
“Lilica, what kind of scents do you like?”
“Huh…? Um….”
Glancing at me, she averted her eyes.
“Th,the smell of medicine…”
“Heeh, how weird.”
“Uu… Not really, rather than the scent, what I like is…”
The end of that was so mumbled that I couldn’t hear it at all.
What she actually likes is … I wonder what the rest was.
Then does that mean she doesn’t like it all that much…?
Aside from that … That’s right, when speaking about women, it’s the hair.
Lilica’s hair is quite long.
Haircare should be quite troublesome when it’s that long.
It’s beautiful as it is, but with this amount it should take quite some time, right?
“You do stuff to your hair as you wash it and such, right? How long does that take?”
“Why are you asking about that… two hours.”
“That long-!?”
“It’s not just mel I think it’s the same for others?”
Ah, I see.
Shampoo-like washing agent does technically exist in this world, and I also use it.
For me, who thinks anything’s fine as long as it cleans it, I don’t have much interest in things regarding hair.
Everyone thinks it’s the norm, so no one has any complaints about it.
“Alright, I’m going to make a medicine. Let’s try raising Lilica’s femininity y one or two, or even more ranks!”
“Aah, yeah…”
Leaving Lilica, who responded with a vaguely sloppy answer, I holed up in the medicine room.
Thinking back on it, there are a lot of this kind of medicines that I just wasn’t interested in.
Extracting the fruit essence and the plants’ oils, my work progressed nicely.
[Shampoo: Has the effect of washing filth from hair.]
[Hair Mask: Penetrates hair to repair it. Has the effect of strengthening and moisturizing hair.]
[Conditioner: Gives hair silkiness and has the effect of retaining moisture all the way to the tip of the hair.
Alright, I’ve made a set.
Carrying the bottles, I returned to where Lilica is.
When I gave her a simple lecture on how to use it,
“With this, I wonder if I won’t lose to Mina-san…”
I wonder why she doesn’t want to lose to Mina?
But Mina likes touching other girls’ hair.
“Noela-san’s hair is so smooth and smells so good… (sni~ff~)”
“Sniffing hair, no good. Pervert. Dislike.”
“Aw, Noela-san, please wait~.”
I’ve seen that scene of Noela running away many times.
Is Lilica using that kind of approach?
Or she could use hair as a conversation starter…
“Well, at the very least, it should reduce the time you take for your hair.”
“Hmm. …. Y,you went to such great trouble, so I’ll use it for you.”
“Yeah. After you use it, can you tell me your impressions? I might be able to improve it, and I might be able to make a product out of it.”
Lilica twirled her hair around her finger.
She really won’t meet my eyes.
“H,hey…? Hey, Reiji is … I, if I become prettier, will Reiji be happy…?”
Well yeah, I made the medicine, so I think I’ll be happy if she becomes prettier.
Seeing happy faces is why it’s worth running a pharmacy.
“Of course.”
“-. …. I see.”
“Yup, I’m cheering you on.”
Lilica’s face went bright red.
“Geez—-! Wh,wh,what do you mean by thaat—!!”
Clutching the new product’s three-part set to her chest, woosh, she shot out of the store.
?Side Lilica?
Leaving town, Lilica ran to the forest.
“What do you mean, cheering me on? What what what what? Geez. Geezgeezgeezgeez. Geez, were my feelings found, found out!? S,s,s,s,s,so that’s why he’s cheering me on? Eh, eh, eh? Butbutbut, if he knows and is cheering me own, then, then then. Could it be Reiji also, about me… …. ? *deep breaths* … … Waaaaaaaaaaah! What did he meeeeeaan—-!?”
Returning to her house while screaming, she immediately tried out the three liquids she had gotten from Reijia.
“…. Ah. Amazing … this is amazing! It’s so silky and smooth!”
Lilica had already experienced the effects the first day, but it was still too embarrassing to face him, so her feet avoided the drugstore for some time.
?Side Reiji?
Lilica came over after 10 days.
“… H,hello.”
“If you’re worried about Mina, she’s not here. She went shopping.”
“I, I know that. I,I aimed for that time, after all…”
Without entering the store, she held her arms and glanced at me.
What is it?
If she has something to say than she should….
Hm? Ooh?
Her originally beautiful hair has become further improved.
Her hair is smooo-th, lush, and soft.
It’s so silky that, with just the slightest breeze, you could see each strand fluttering.
A sweet smell drifted on that breeze.
As the one who put the scent into the hair mask, I knew it would give off this sort of smell, but coupled with her beautiful looks, it became unbelievably stunning.
The destructive effect is amazing…
“That’s… my hair care has now takes under half the time … just like you said … and the final effect has also become amazingly better…”
“I’m happy for that. It was worth making.”
“…”
“…?”
What is it?
Lilica slightly brushed her hair, tucking it behind her ear.
“H,how … is it…?”
“Ah, your hair? I think it’s become amazingly beautiful, so it’s good, right?”
Like this, Mina won’t be able to ignore it.
It should be hair that you’d want to give a big sniff.
“H,hmmm … I see … hmm….”
Saying only that, Lilica kept staring at her toes.
Just standing around talking is a bit… so I offered her a chair, but
“I,it’s fine…. here.”
“Eh? Really?”
Not chatting about anything in particular, Lilica simply stood in front of the store.
Actually, I’m concerned.
As I was feeling troubled, Mina came running back.
“Ah. Lilica-san. Hello-”
“H….he….hello… Th,then, I’m leaving, so”
As expected, was she too embarrassed to talk to her directly? Lilica quickly took her leave.
Once she looked over her shoulder at Lilica, Mina’s breathing became a little rough.
“Mina, what’s wrong?”
“I forgot my wallet…”
Once again, Mina looked at the place where Mina had just been.
“What business did Lilica-san have here?”
Ah. There’s a reaction…?
“Impressions on a new product … and also … some stuff.”
“Reiji-san is being suspicious … what are you hiding?”
Mina stared at me.
While trying to cover it up in a panic, I fled inside.
I picked up Mina’s wallet and handed it to her.
”Ah. Thank you.”
Bowing her head lightlly, Mina left the store once again.
Lilica, I hope things go well for you.
I watched Mina’s departing back, nodding with my approval.