“Umm….”
As always, I wake up at dawn.
Morning time in the forest is important. I need to meditate before it gets late.
I greet Py, who I see as soon as I open my eyes.
“Py, you look particularly energetic today.”
-…!
‘It feels nice today because it’s cool!’
… or at least that’s what it seems like, so Luke unconsciously raises his head to look at the sky outside the window.
The weather today is a bit cloudy, but looking at the sky, it seems like it won’t rain.
Rather, the cloudy weather is blocking the sunlight, making it a bit cooler.
That is certainly the case. It feels nice because it’s cool.
Well, if Py is in a good mood.
‘Then I don’t have to worry about laundry.’
While staying at the lodging, helping with laundry during spare time is important because if it rains, the person nearest to the lodging has to gather it, so checking the weather is quite crucial.
Usually, it’s Luke who is closest since he’s in the lodging.
“Yawn…”
I awaken my mind with a yawn.
As I sit for a moment and try to start meditating with my eyes closed, I suddenly feel an unusual sensation around my neck.
A strangely bothersome feeling, Luke loosens his concentration and approaches the mirror.
“Hmm, what is this…?”
Luke brushes aside the hair covering his neck and sees his reflection in the mirror, realizing what the bothersome sensation is.
“It seems like something has come up.”
Could it be an acne or a pimple? Lately, there shouldn’t have been anything bothering or uncomfortable.
And it’s not common for such things to suddenly appear on my neck.
“Is it a mosquito?”
Luke sighed, wondering if that time of year had already come.
He hadn’t been bitten by insects in a long time, so he had let his guard down.
How long had it been since he last got bitten by an insect?
In his past as a great mage, he had always had a mana barrier around him, so insects could never touch his skin.
‘How can mosquitoes still exist in this era?’
Luke felt a strange feeling that nothing has changed in that regard.
At that moment, a rustling sound was heard as someone got up.
“Did you sleep well, Yerna?”
“Oh, you woke up early.”
Scratch, scratch.
Yerna, noticing Luke scratching his neck, asked.
“Luke, did you get bitten by a mosquito? Why are you scratching your neck like that?”
Luke slightly nodded and replied.
“It seems like that.”
Was it because his skin was younger and more sensitive? It was harder to resist the itch than he thought.
Even though he knew he shouldn’t scratch, he reflexively did it.
Could this be instinct?
Luke frowned slightly.
When his body moves on its own like that, it always brings discomfort.
Yerna looked at him with concern, wondering if he was feeling so itchy.
“Come to think of it, you’ve been going into the forest often lately, right? You must have gotten bitten. It’s better not to go into the forest too often from now on.”
“Hm.”
Indeed, if he had gotten bitten, it would have been only when he went deeper into the forest to play music, as there was a special magic circle enchanted to repel insects at this lodging.
Luke was slightly contemplating whether he should stop playing music in the forest as Yerna suggested.
Yerna then said to Luke.
“Can you show me?”
“Sure.”
Luke casually exposed his neck.
A bulging red dot on one side of his pretty ivory neck was slightly swollen, likely because Luke had scratched it quite a bit.
Had it really been that itchy?
“Hmm… this….”
It might not be a mosquito bite after all.
It didn’t look like the mark of an insect bite.
Yerna said, hoping that what was on Luke’s neck wasn’t a boil.
“Let’s put some medicine on it for now. If it keeps itching, let me know, alright?”
“Sure, I’ll do that.”
‘If Luke really feels itchy, I should take him to the dermatologist later.’
——–
Fortunately, it didn’t seem to be a major issue, and after applying the medicine and covering it with a bandage, the itchiness subsided considerably.
The effectiveness of the medicine seems quite good.
It’s been a whopping 5000 years. Therefore, one would have to think that the development of alchemy has continued over those 5000 years.
Perhaps because of that, medicines from this era generally had good efficacy.
While not as good as the ‘elixir’ imbued with divine power, in terms of potions, they showed nearly top quality.
Still, it would be wise to hold off on entering the forest for a while. It wouldn’t be too late to come up with measures against insects before going in.
There are plenty of things to do just by staying near the lodging.
I can meditate, play music, and read books.
Luke thought that and turned his head briefly.
And was slightly taken aback.
“Ki, Kirke? What are you doing now? Is your face painted or something?”
Kirke was lying down with a headband holding her hair up and her face covered in a dark substance.
She looked like a soldier who had painted their face black for a night infiltration.
“Huh? Oh, it’s you, Luke.”
She slightly opened her closed eyes upon hearing Luke’s call and looked at the owner of the voice.
“This is a pack. I’m taking care of my skin whenever I get the chance.”
Kirke spoke as if explaining.
Seeing her doing this, Yerna doesn’t do it, making one feel that “natural forest mana is good for elves” is a modern magically verified fact.
Modern magic concluded that it was mere superstition… but still.
However, Yerna would also care about skin care in places not visible, but this time Luke has shattered that assumption face-to-face.
The fact that the Luke who lives with her has never seen a pack means that Yerna has never used one.
Kirke felt a bit disheartened.
Although she heard that having better skin than others is a trait of elves… this isn’t fair.
In reality, elves would still have acne from time to time; how could Yerna be…
While thinking that, Luke lightly clenched his fist, touching his finger to his mouth, making a sound like “hmm, hmm,” as if trying to suppress laughter.
“….”
Kirke pinched her own cheeks with a hint of jealousy, as if she had the skin of a 10-year-old girl with baby skin.
“Ugh, why are you doing this suddenly?”
“Because I feel it’s unfair. I didn’t think you were the type to have such good skin…?”
Kirke couldn’t finish her sentence and stopped slightly.
When it was quite strange, Luke asked suddenly why she was acting like that, and Kirke picked up her other hand and stretched and rubbed Luke’s cheeks.
“Why, why are you doing this? Sorry, I didn’t mean to tease you!”
Luke shouted in a panicked voice and shook off Kirke’s touch.
But since she didn’t apply too much force, he easily escaped her grasp.
However, even though Kirke was no longer holding him, she seemed to be deep in thought and then said to Luke.
“The feeling of your cheeks has changed.”
“What do you mean?”
“Doesn’t your skin feel a bit rough?”
Kirke recalled the experience of touching Luke’s cheeks in the past and brought back the memory of that sensation.
It still felt soft, but it seemed to have become a little coarse.
“Come to think of it…”
Today, it did feel a bit like that.
Luke doesn’t usually care much about his skin unless there’s a skin disease.
He had never created any recipes for skin care potions. He just wasn’t interested in that.
If he had wanted to, he could have created useful potions.
But Luke, who had already had enough money and fame, didn’t want to waste time doing unnecessary research.
Nonetheless, the feeling that his skin was slightly rough was indeed a fact.
“Right?”
Kirke nodded, agreeing with that conclusion.
There’s no way Luke could maintain such soft and firm cheeks for a lifetime.
That’s only natural.
But isn’t it a pity that it’s already like this?
Kirke approached Luke.
“Wait a minute, what are you doing…”
“It’s good for your skin. Just stay still. If you’re already like this, it’ll only get worse later!”
“Mmm…”
——–
Luke looked at his now darkened face in a hand mirror, feeling self-deprecating.
“Why am I like this…?”
Kirke said confidently.
“It’s not bad, right? And doesn’t it feel nice?”
“Well, that’s true, but…”
Still, to look like this? It resembled playing with mud.
What’s more uncomfortable is the reaction from this blue spirit.
-Luke, you’re such a fool!
Giggling, it bounced around with a sound like ding-dong, ding-dong, without mercy.
If it were Py, it would make sense, as he himself thought it was silly, but what about that spirit that is full of laughter?
To put it bluntly, Py could even be happy just by seeing a leaf rolling on the street.
‘There’s no one to blame here.’
If anyone should be blamed, it would be himself.
It’s his fault for letting his skin become rough.
Luke sighed, as if resigned, and said.
“Is it really effective?”
“Of course, this is actually quite expensive. It costs 6000 gilda for one pack.”
“What, what? Why is this one so expensive?”
6000 gilda is enough for 12 bus rides or 3-4 cans of food.
“This one has a magic enchantment, so it’s incredibly expensive.”
Luke used his magic sight in response to Kirke’s words. Indeed, it was faintly imbued with magical energy, and analyzing the mana arrangement showed that it had some degree of effects for skin improvement and recovery.
“……I can’t help it then.”
Wasting resources is not right.
So I guess I’ll just have to endure it for now, even if it’s a bit silly.
Thus, lying down unexpectedly with Kirke, looking at the cloudy sky and enjoying the breeze, Luke suddenly wondered and asked Kirke.
“By the way, what do you gain from me having better skin that you used a 6000 gilda expensive cosmetic on me?”
“That’s….”
So that I can feel your softer cheeks, of course.
…But knowing that Luke would be wary of that, Kirke didn’t say it.
