Chapter 756

756: Amanda"s Confession

「Shhh!」

「Mmm!」

「Nice move!」

「Hehe.」

Fran and Amanda were engaged in a mock battle that was supposedly a light exchange, but from the outside it looked like they were trying to kill each other.

「Whip Art, Lycoris!」

「Kuh!」

「Arf!」

The location was a hill a short distance away from Alessa. Trees grew spa.r.s.ely on the wide gra.s.sland.

There were no rare plants or animals, and few magical beasts. Adventurers did not come here often, making it a rather secluded area.

It was a good place for a mock battle without worrying about other people"s prying eyes.

「Rah!」

「Woof!」

「Kuh! Your combination attacks with Urus.h.i.+ are better than before……!」

They"ve already been at it for about two hours.

Satisfied, Fran and Amanda took a break and went to sit down on a few rocks.

「Nom nom!」

「Om om!」

「This is delicious! The curry was one thing, but Master is certainly full of surprises!」

『Hahaha, they do call me the Curry Master, but my desserts ain"t half bad either.』

The three were eating various flavors of fruit jelly. After sweating so much, something refres.h.i.+ng like this is best.

These are made from fruits from this world, so they are all very special in their own right.

For example, cooking an exploding fruit is no simple task.

The drink is a lemonade of my own invention.

The main ingredient was a fruit with a citrus-like flavor. However, the color of the fruit was bright red, which made it look more like tomato juice than lemonade. I"m pretty sure the taste should be correct though.

「Whew………」

Amanda exhaled lightly as she drank the lemonade. There seemed to be a subtle hint of melancholy on her face.

『Is it not to your liking?』

「Eh? No, it"s delicious. In fact, I love it.」

『Good to hear.』

「……I"ve always loved this taste.」

Amanda"s gaze turned to Fran as she mumbled.

「?」

「Is it good?」

「Nn!」

「I see…… That"s great.」

What"s going on? She started acting a little strange in the middle of the mock battle. I think it happened when Fran offhandedly mentioned she was going to Gordicia……

Is she worried because it"s such a dangerous place? No, it feels a little different than that.

「Hey, Fran-chan… you"re going to the continent of Gordicia next, right?」

「Nn! I"ve got a request from Belioth.」

「Are you sure you want to go?」

「Nn. There"s a rank S adventurer with a divine sword. Besides, I have to go to Gordicia to meet Trismegistus for the sake of Master.」

「For Master?」

『Yeah, Trismegistus is said to have an intelligence weapon. Since I"m one as well, I"d like to meet them and have a talk.』

I don"t need to worry Amanda unnecessarily by telling her about how I might eventually go insane.

Actually, she wouldn"t be worrying about me, but about Fran after losing me.

「I see…… Oh.」

「What"s wrong Amanda?」

「……Fran-chan, do you remember your mom and dad?」

「…? Of course I remember. I can"t forget.」

「Okay…… Hey, can you listen to my story for a bit?」

「Nn.」

Fran nodded seriously at Amanda"s unusual words.

「I have been building orphanages and taking in orphans throughout Kranzel for a long time now. Some of them lost their parents in the dungeons, others I rescued from illegal slavers……」

「Nn.」

「Of course, there were orphans of many different races. Humans, elves, dwarves, and beastmen…… black cats included.」

「Black cats?」

「Yes…… A boy and a girl, who were very close to each other. They were naughty and reckless and always said they were going to be adventurers.」

Black cats adventurers, huh? That would have been quite a struggle, just like Fran"s parents. They must have been trying to evolve.

「In the end, they ran away from the orphanage because I forbade them from becoming adventurers.」

That was truly reckless. But looking at Fran, I can"t help but feel the story was true. She would do the same thing in their position.

「But one day they came back and visited me for a few days… to show me their newborn child.」

Amanda said that while smiling happily. She must be remembering back to that time.

But soon the smile faded and sadness casted a shadow on her face.

「I wonder if I should have stopped them at that moment. I still regret not doing so.」

「You mean……」

「It was eight years later that I heard they were killed. I immediately went to the village where they lived, tracking it down based on the letters I had received. But there was nothing left. Their bodies were already gone, and their child was nowhere to be found.」

Maybe this was why Amanda was always so concerned about Fran.

Not only does she love children in general, but she may be comparing Fran to those black cats she had lost.

「I can still remember their smiles and hear their voices. Those sweet children I couldn"t protect… their names were――」

Amanda paused her story there. Then, as if she had made up her mind, she spit out the remaining words.

「Their names were Kinan and Framea, and the child"s name was Fran.」

「!」

『Eh? Ehhh!?』