Evan D. Sherden's People (3)
There were people in the world who had too much given to them from birth. Given a chance to do anything they wanted, the world became a boring place. Arisha von Pellati, who had been born with intelligence, a dazzling appearance, solid wealth, and enormous power, was no exception to this rule.
"Not fun." It wasn't easy to become interested in something you could learn and handle in no time at all. The appearance of other humans being dazzled by what they saw on the outside just became funny. But, most of all, the annoying thing was that factors determined from the moment she was born influenced her life. It was all determined beforehand, even her innate power and talent. It wasn't fun at all.
"Have you heard? It was said that Lady Arisha was initiated into magic."
"The wind attribute has blossomed. Isn't it the first time someone started dealing with elemental magic at the age of eight?"
"A genius, a genius. In addition to that, she's so beautiful. It's clear that heaven has bestowed all blessings on her alone…" Everyone was envious of Arisha, but it was hard for her to convince herself that she was able to hold all of it in her hand just because she had been born with luck. No, she felt annoyed by the world moving around her and everyone moving in their assigned roles.
"Arisha, your magic has improved again."
"You can already make two wind blades?"
"Magic is fun, but I hate how tedious it is to learn." If there was something she was interested in, it was magic. It wasn't something that could be fully explored in just a day or two, and at the same time, it had the ability to widen a human's limits. She was happy to have something she couldn't understand fully. Although she had to admit, it wasn't fun to repeat the tedious training needed to learn it. She was able to bear it so long as it meant learning something new.
"Arisha, you shouldn't neglect training your body. A member of the Pellati family should aim to achieve a strong body that harmonizes with their strong magic."
"…That's no fun." Sure, training the body and wielding a sword wasn't fun. However…
'As a member of the Pellati family…I have to make it my goal.' But if there was something she had to do in return for being born in this so-called blessed environment, she had no choice but to comply. Even though Arisha was bored with the world and the environment around her, the fact she was an actor on the stage playing a role didn't change.
"Arisha is amazing."
"I'm very excited about what will happen when this child grows up."
"…I'll try harder." In short, she had no courage. She couldn't face the unknowns in the world, so she remained still. Fortunately, she had never reached the realm of self-loathing, instead just giving up early on in her life. Whatever she did, she came to think it was only a play in the end and that everything in this world would flow according to the script set from the start. Was there any meaning to such a life?
"…Hello, I am Arisha."
"I am Evan D. Sherden." To her, the first meeting with the boy named Evan was truly amazing. Even though she knew how foolish it was to be swayed by appearance, she was attracted to the boy's brilliant beauty.
'Pretty…' She felt like she wanted to touch his fluttering black hair and look into his dazzlingly purple eyes. She alternated between that and the impulse to remain quiet.
'Everyone feels this way.' It was only after meeting Evan that she was able to understand, just a little bit, the people who had been swayed by her. At that moment, she felt sympathy for the boy. No doubt, he was bound by a lot more rules and roles than she was.
'…By the way.' Arisha felt that the boy somehow feared and avoided her. She was sure. It was a clear rejection, unlike she had ever encountered. But why? They had just met and exchanged greetings. Maybe he was also surprised by her appearance, but then why would he be afraid?
'Wow.' she thought about it, but there was no answer. Ultimately, it wasn't a big deal; he was just a weird handsome kid. But, for some reason, she didn't want to pass over it. She wanted to meet him again and ask why he had rejected her. That marked Arisha's first interest in another person.
"You want to meet Evan? Huh, what a rare thing for you to make a request."
"We have to be sure to let the kids take this opportunity."
"Of course, we should do it if Arisha wants it!"
"…" So, at Evan D. Sherden's twelfth birthday party, her parents took her to him. She had decided to meet him again and find out why he had looked at her like that.
"I will create the dungeon knights." But soon, none of it mattered.
"I will become the knight commander and live my life protecting this city from the dungeon, Father." Amid countless nobles, including the king of the Silk Line, the boy had made a clear declaration. Even though he was only twelve years old, he didn't hesitate once. It was an attitude that showed he had chosen the path of his own will. If he was an actor, he was once capable of fooling even himself. Even Arisha's mind went white as she saw him standing proudly.
"I will prove it myself and reassure you. I will make everyone look forward to the next six years." The appearance of Evan engraved itself into Arisha's eyes.
"…Fun." From the start, she had only been drawn to Evan. She was moved by his beauty, yet he seemed to reject her, so her pride had been hurt.
'I want to know.' If there was a protagonist in this world, she thought it must be Evan. She wondered what he might think of himself, what he would think of this world.
'Like that…is this how everyone feels?' Arisha learned, for the first time, that emotions could come from outside of herself. It was also when she felt sorry for the people she had laughed at before.
'What I thought was natural I had been taking for granted. It was all just my delusions…' The illusion that had captured Arisha's mind shattered to reveal an unfamiliar yet brilliant sight.
"Arisha, do you want to be engaged to Evan?"
"If he is fine with it, yes. I think it will be fun." It wouldn't just be fun; Arisha had her pride as a girl. Her parents noticed the beating heart behind her words but kindly pretended not to. Although Evan and the Marquis's desperate resistance had caused that plan to fall through, Evan was unaware that he had just lit Arisha's motivation.
***
Evan was talking about a theory that no one knew of as if it were only natural.
"Natural artefacts are, of course, very difficult to create. But if you adjust the environment a little bit, it is possible to relax those conditions. One of them is to pre-determine the owner of the artefact and infuse that person's mana into it continuously. It's like a kind of alchemy."
"By injecting the mana of the person who will become the master, it leads to the artefact awakening… it's really interesting. That's why you brought the person who will be its owner."
"Exactly."
"…Hi." Arisha nodded and greeted the elderly man standing next to Evan. The older man appeared to be a natural blacksmith, and, like many others that had met Evan, he seemed to have a deep trust in the young boy.
"Arisha, you can use your mana here. The wind mana will do." What lay before them was a pale yellowish-green metal. When entering the dungeon, Evan had alloyed together some of the magic metals they had obtained as a reward. Evan had approached it casually, unaware that it was the first moment he had put Arisha before Shine or Belois.
"Because it's a magic sword, you can record your mana pattern in it."
"…Huh." Arisha nodded gently at Evan's words as she expressed her mana and reached it out to the magic metal. At the same time, Evan released Mana to begin the work of alchemy to assist her. The blacksmith nodded, thrilled at the sight before him.
"Is this really an artefact?"
"It may not be possible right away." Evan shrugged.
"But it will be someday. I will do it until we succeed."
"Until…okay." The metal took in her mana and began to sparkle a sea blue like her eyes.
"It would be great if our engagement ceremony was completed."
"Well, we're not engaged. This is a gift for a precious knight, okay?"
"Hmm." Evan was quick to shake his head at her words, but he didn't shudder in disgust as he had before. A small smile appeared on Arisha's lips as she watched him. It was enjoyable for her to work like a fool for new results in hopes she could change the relationship between them. It was a pleasure she hadn't known before. One day, she would know why Evan had first rejected her. She wouldn't give up until she found out.
"Evan is also fun."
"I'm not…" Arisha laughed as he refuted her.
Hopefully, someday soon, she would let him know what she meant by that.