Etude of the Melancholy Sunflower | Chapter 7

[healingbonds]

Chapter 6 << | index | >> Chapter 8


At Shino’s words, Faust closes his eyes — resolving himself — and opens them again.
His gaze no longer betrays a hint of dismal mourning or irritation.
Instead, it harbors a powerful light that shines with kindness and rigor.
I recall Lennox’s words.
"I think the current Sir Faust would be better off with a role of some kind."
At times, we can be crushed by the weight of our duties.
But perhaps there are people who become their true selves only by taking on a role.
Watching the Faust before my eyes makes me think that.

Villager: Why should we trust what a wizard has to say! Bianca was a witch, too!

Villager: Burn the sunflower fields to the ground! We’re going to exterminate the curse of the man-eating witch!

Faust: Burning a curse into cinders will not solve anything.
It will simply disappear from your view. But the distortion, resentment, and corrosion will only continue. True horror lies in what is not visible to the eye.
Don’t you want to protect this village? Or are you simply trying to flee from the terror that lies before your eyes?

Villager: N-no.... We really want to protect this village......

Faust: Then believe in yourselves. Believe that you can overcome this terror. We are here to help you accomplish that.

Villager: H... How are we supposed to overcome this fear?

A different villager asks timidly.

Faust: Please offer her a prayer. A tragic incident gave birth to her curse. She is the one who most wants to rest in peace.
If you do not want her to return from the dead, then pray for her.

Villager: .....Pray for the man-eating witch!? We’d incur divine punishment!
We’ll wait till tomorrow morning in deference to Sir Heathcliff of Blanchett!
But if you fail to resolve this situation by then, we will take this matter into our own hands and burn the sunflower fields to the ground!

Faust: All right.

Faust nods, his expression unchanging.
The noose that was swaying back and forth above the sunflower fields has disappeared like a ghost.

✦✧☾✧✦

We spend the night in an empty cabin that the Lord prepared for us.
It looks like the Southern brothers are in shock at how distrustful the villagers were of wizards.
Maybe Nero took note of that, and tried to cheer them up by being friendlier than usual while preparing dinner for us all.



Nero: Hey, thanks for helping out. Sorry for the trouble; the Lord offered to prepare us dinner, but I refused, saying we’d make it ourselves.

Rutile: Mister Nero, your cooking is always delicious, so I’m happy I get to eat it outside of the magic headquarters too. Can I put this onto the plates?

Nero: Hold up one sec. Sprinkle these first.....

Rutile: Roasted sunflower seeds — I bet they’d be delicious in a salad!

Nero: The Lord’s servants prepared them for us. Here, Mitile, try some.

Mitile: Ah..... Thank you.
They’re yummy..... I feel like these seeds are bigger than the sunflower seeds from Southern Country.

Nero: Eastern Country has rich soil, after all. Even if you plant the same seeds, the flowers will take on different forms to match to the traits of the land.
Just like us.

Mitile: You’re right......

Rutile: You can get oil and dye from sunflowers. I bet these are local specialties. They offered us something really special.
Doesn’t that kindness make you happy, Mitile?

Mitile: It does. Mister Nero, can I have more of these? The shells are crunchy, and the oil is sweet and delicious.

Nero: Yeah, eat up. You too, Mister Sage. Hold out your hands.

Akira: Ah... Thank you.



Nero drops a handful of still-warm sunflower seeds into my hands.
I carry my palm to my face and stuff my cheeks with the seeds. Nero laughs teasingly at the crisp sounds I make as I bite away.

Nero: Ahaha. You’re like a squirrel.

The Eastern wizards and the Southern wizards begin eating together — save for the two teachers. It looks like they’re holding a meeting to prepare for tomorrow.
We all seem to relax a bit more once our stomachs are full. It looks like Mitile is keeping an eye on Shino.

Shino: What?

Mitile: .....Ah, no, it’s nothing......

Shino: Hmph. This is mine. You can’t have it.

Nero: He’s not gonna take your food.

Rutile: Mitile, are you hungry? Do you want some of mine?

Lennox: You can have mine too......

Akira: And mine.......

Mitile: Th-that’s not it! Um.... .....Mister Shino, since when did you start working as the forest guardian?

Shino: Who knows. I forgot.

Heathcliff: Hey, answer his question......
Mitile, Shino has been working at Blanchett ever since he was a child. He tended to the gardens before he became the forest guardian.

Mitile: Ever since you were a child.... Didn’t the grown-ups get mad?

Shino: Why would they get mad?

Mitile: Wouldn’t they say things like, "Kids shouldn’t copy adults," or, "Wait until you’re grown up"....?

Shino: Do grown-ups say that kinda thing? Heath, has anyone ever said that to you?

Heathcliff: No, not really..... I wasn’t a very outgoing child, after all......

Shino: Nobody ever said that to me. How are you supposed to earn your keep like that?

Lennox: Mitile. Shino has no parents. He had to work to support himself all on his own.

Mitile: ....I don’t have my parents either. We’ve struggled more than the other families around us, and we.....

Shino: Are we bragging about misfortunes now? You should keep those to yourself — it’ll just make things awkward for Heath.

Heathcliff: I’m very privileged, after all......

Shino: Heh.

Rutile: Everyone has their own fortunes and misfortunes. Don’t you agree, Mister Nero?

Nero: Well, yeah....

Shino: That’s a safe answer.

Nero: Shut up. I’ve lived a safe life.

Lennox: I have too.

Nero: You don’t look it, though.

Lennox: Haha.... I feel the same way about you.

Mitile: ...........

Chapter 6 << | index | >> Chapter 8