Luke sighed as if in disbelief.
“Hey, do I really have to choose a swimsuit right now?”
In response to Luke’s question, Sorbi looked at him as if to say, “What are you talking about, we’ve come all this way.”
“Of course! Are you really planning to go to the beach just to watch a solar eclipse?”
“I was actually going to do just that from the beginning…”
The goal was to observe the solar eclipse from the start.
Since swimming was not the main purpose, it could be skipped if necessary.
So, there wasn’t really any need to buy clothes just for swimming, but attempts to convince him were thwarted when Yerna shook her head.
“Sorbi is right. Since we’re going to have fun, we should enjoy it to the fullest.”
Yerna felt that even though Luke was saying this now, he would end up having more fun than anyone else once they reached the beach.
He didn’t want to go to school at first, but gradually made close friends and started enjoying himself.
Just because the children didn’t like it, it wouldn’t be good parenting to just ignore it.
“Moreover, I want to make as many good memories as possible with you, Luke.”
“Hm…”
Hearing Yerna’s words, Luke couldn’t stubbornly resist anymore.
That statement felt oddly nostalgic.
Could it be because it reminded him of someone’s words from the past?
‘Since we’ve come this far, it would be a waste not to enjoy ourselves. It’s better to have as many happy memories as possible when the adventure is over.’
‘Yernie is right. We always lack time for things like this!’
In the harbor city they visited to hunt the Kraken, while he was bracing himself for the long journey over the sea, the two were constantly nagging him, insisting that living such a boring life would only lead to becoming a boring person as well.
Sometimes, he persuaded himself that it was necessary to indulge in such actions to gain knowledge, and eventually succumbed to their insistence.
Looking back now, he realized he had gained quite a bit of experience and knowledge thanks to that, so in the end, could it be said that Yernie was right?
Through that event, Luke understood that being a mage didn’t mean he always had to be stubborn and obstinate.
Sometimes, there were issues that could only be resolved by viewing things from someone else’s perspective.
Just like how he could find the commonality between the black flames and the solar eclipse with Py’s help.
As Luke nodded, Sorbi asked eagerly, “So, Luke, what do you like?”
“Well…”
When asked what he liked, he found it hard to answer.
After all, he wore clothes based on practicality rather than preference.
Stockings were originally worn by men as a way to reduce friction with their skin when wearing armor or riding horses, and skirts were the common attire of the time.
So, he wore clothes according to the situation without really choosing them out of personal preference.
The outfit he often wore was merely a calculated choice based on his familiarity and consideration for others’ gazes, but he couldn’t choose underwear in the same way.
He had never observed enough examples of others’ underwear to notice specific preferences or patterns, and he had no complaints about the underwear that Yerna had bought.
Well, if there was never a reason to show it to others, it didn’t matter what his underwear was like.
Thus, Luke lacked enough information to determine his preferences for underwear.
After pondering for a moment, Luke finally spoke.
“I’ll just buy the most common one.”
After all, if the outfit is ordinary, it covers half the requirements.
There’s no need to wear something that stands out, but he also didn’t want to wear anything that would draw negative attention.
So choosing common clothing wouldn’t pose any problems.
Sorbi raised her hand to call a staff member and shouted, “Excuse me, do you have any children’s swimsuits with a tail hole?”
“Oh, how old is the child?” the approaching staff asked, and when Luke remained silent, Yerna immediately answered.
“He’s 10 years old.”
Luke always felt embarrassed to reveal his age of 10.
He probably didn’t want to directly say he was young, like how little children try to imitate adults.
But considering that Luke was actually a fairly mature child, it might have been even more embarrassing.
“Really? I thought he was 12. I suppose it’s because he’s a Hyun, they must grow up quickly.”
Perhaps because he had grown a bit since the incident in the Rienne forest, first-time observers probably didn’t see Luke as a 10-year-old.
Since Luke was generally quite pleased with his growth, he scratched his head awkwardly at the staff’s comment about looking 12, which made him look quite cute. They lightly patted his head and said, “Haha, really? That’s nice, Luke! They thought you were 2 years older!”
“Please stop teasing me.”
“I’m not teasing you!”
“……”
Well, regardless of whether Luke was embarrassed and avoiding eye contact, the staff watched him with a warm smile and soon returned with several swimsuits.
“How about this? It’s the most popular character swimsuit among kids these days.”
Luke finally looked up at the swimsuits the staff member was holding.
And he recognized it.
It was the swimsuit of the Spirit Girl Meruru.
“I don’t like Meruru. Not at all.”
Originally, Luke wore elaborate and decorative outfits, so he had no negative feelings about character clothing, but he absolutely detested Spirit Girl costumes.
It was simply because he couldn’t handle the thought of what Diana might say about him wearing that outfit.
He didn’t mind that it wasn’t a revealing outfit, but that was about it.
As Luke was expressing his dislike, Sorbi turned to the staff and said, “That’s right. Luke doesn’t like childish clothes. He prefers more adult-like ones! Right?”
With Sorbi’s sparkling eyes and words, Luke reluctantly nodded and said, “Well… generally, I do prefer something more mature than a childish appearance.”
“Then how about this, Luke? Look, it seems to fit well with what you’re wearing now. Also, see, it can cover the tail like this?”
“Oh, coincidentally, the swimsuit you picked is quite popular. You have good taste!”
At the staff member’s words, Luke turned to look at the swimsuit Sorbi was holding.
The swimsuit that Sorbi was holding had frills that wrapped around the chest and waist, resembling the outfit he was currently wearing.
However, it was designed to be a bit more revealing, making it feel slightly more like underwear.
As Luke hesitated at the sight, Yerna smiled and nodded.
“That would look great on you. It seems cute… No, I bet it will look beautiful! Let’s go with that!”
“……Hmm.”
Didn’t she just hurriedly change the adjective?
When Luke slightly glared at Yerna, she simply awkwardly smiled and avoided his gaze.
“Hmm, not to your liking? Should we look for a little more?”
Honestly, he wasn’t keen on it, but now he had grown quite tired, so the desire to just return to their lodging was stronger.
He felt he had already exhausted enough energy in the clothing store.
Since it was also something popular, and Yerna seemed to really like it, what more could he possibly worry about?
“……No, let’s just go with that.”
He wanted to stop shopping now.
———–
Shirud lay on his bed, staring at a wilted brooch.
Whenever he saw this brooch, it reminded him of the various faces of Luke he had seen in the greenhouse, stirring complex feelings within him.
The face that smiled faintly when he first received it as if he was overjoyed, and the confused face he made when he tried to explain that it hadn’t been given with that intention, and…
The face he wore when he lay in the hospital, seemingly in a death-like sleep.
“……”
Luke hadn’t even shown up for the school’s graduation ceremony.
He heard from his mother that he was injured somewhere, and that was why he wasn’t coming to school.
Just how badly was he hurt?
Could it be that another Circle rampage occurred?
Surely he hadn’t been seriously injured, right?
But why wasn’t he responding to any messages?
With what had happened in the previous Beriton, Shirud couldn’t help but feel concerned.
And then there was Helena, who would always come to bother him under the pretext of checking on Luke…
Shirud opened the door and stepped into the living room, where he spotted an elder Elf waving and smiling at him.
Solide Trifind, his grandfather.
“Grandpa, when did you arrive?”
“Ah, Serena mentioned that you’ve been lacking energy lately?”
“Umm, yeah…”
It was indeed a lackluster response.
Solide quietly stood up and ruffled Shirud’s hair, saying, “Shirud, how about we go watch the solar eclipse together? Why not gain some energy while watching it?”
“……The solar eclipse?”
Now that he mentioned it, his grandfather did often visit the beach on the day of the solar eclipse.
After his father passed away, their family faced some hardships, which led them to sell most of their holiday homes, but they didn’t sell the one by the beach.
And the beach house, as he had heard, was used by his grandfather for his yearly visits to view the solar eclipse.
He had never let a solar eclipse go by without seeing it.
Recalling this, Shirud looked at Solide and asked, “Grandpa, why do you go to the beach every solar eclipse?”
“Hm, curious, are you?”
“Yes.”
Then Solide tousled Shirud’s hair playfully and replied, “I’ll let you know when it’s time to go watch it together. What will you do? Will you go or not?”
