Chapter 307: Sienna Merdein (3)

Flutter.

The hem of the cloak wrapped around her shoulders tickled Sienna's calves. While enduring his embarrassment, Eugene adjusted the fit of the cloak for her.

The cloak was feather-lined. It didn't have any sort of accessories attached, but Eugene thought it might look quite pretty if she pinned on a brooch as well.

Should he have bought a brooch separately? For a moment, such a thought ran through Eugene's head, but even if he regretted it now, it wasn't like he could just magically make a brooch appear, could he?

But truthfully, it wasn't like he didn't have any on him right now.

Even though it had been transformed into the shape of a coat, the Cloak of Darkness could still faithfully perform its usual functions. There was a multitude of things stored inside Eugene's coat, and among these, there were also various accessories. They were intended to be used as goods that could be exchanged for actual currency in remote areas where the Lionheart clan's black card wasn't able to work.

Among his accessories, there were also several ornate brooches worthy of being attached to the collar of this cloak. However, Eugene felt that personally attaching a brooch to Sienna's collar with his own hands would be too much embarrassment for him to bear.

Apart from a brooch, wasn't there anything else he could give her to wear? The moment that he thought of this question, something came to mind. In other words, Eugene had already thought of the answer to that question.

The Lionheart badge.

A family sigil that could be worn on a formal dress or cloak.

'Are you insane?' Eugene reprimanded himself.

Even though Eugene already knew the answer to the question of what he wanted to pin to her collar, he couldn't do so because of his last remaining strand of rationality. Attaching the Lionheart badge to the collar of Sienna's cloak was an act that could cause a truly immense amount of misunderstandings.

'She could at least say something,' Eugene thought desperately as he erased all thoughts of brooches and badges from his head.

Eugene lifted Sienna's collar slightly while glancing up into her face. Even though the raised collar was now touching her cheeks, Sienna still didn't say anything. She was staring right at Eugene with wide eyes, but not a single sound was escaping her half-opened lips.

The distance between them was very close. He could smell the fresh scent wafting off of her lightly fluttering purple hair. Eugene didn't think that this was the first time he had seen Sienna's face from such a short distance, but perhaps because it had been so long ago, or perhaps because of a change in perspective... there were a lot of things that he felt like he was finding out all over again.

Like how Sienna had long eyelashes or how her pupils looked so bright. Like the subtle heat of her body temperature emanating from her and the not-too-dark shade of her pink lips.

"...Ahem," Eugene coughed as he shook his head to clear a momentary dizziness.

Then, while trying not to reveal the feelings that had just come over him, Eugene gave Sienna a light pat on the shoulders.

It was only after this slight shaking of her body that Sienna came to her senses. She took a deep breath and skipped a few steps backward. Then she snapped her fingers and cast a spell.

Creating a magical mirror that floated right next to her, Sienna looked at herself in the mirror and commented, "I don't know who picked it out for you, but it looks good on me."

She moved her body this way and that and even spun around on the spot. The hem of her cloak swayed in sync with each of Sienna's movements.

Perhaps because it had been purchased in the capital city of Aroth, which was called the Magic Kingdom, even a cloak like this had been enchanted. Though there weren't any impressive applications of magic by Sienna's standards.

The hem of the cloak had been enchanted to move on its own so as to not interfere with its wearer's movements, and magic had also been applied to keep it clean, preserve its shape, and retain its wearer's body temperature. There weren't any enchantments that would provide a defense against physical attacks, resistance to magical attacks, or any type of aid in casting spells.

In other words, these enchantments meant that this cloak was neither a weapon nor armor. The spells to keep it clean, preserve its form, and help maintain body temperature weren't exceptional examples of such enchantments either. They were only on the level of making it slightly cooler in the summer and slightly warmer in the winter. It was just a piece of clothing whose designers had attempted to provide a certain level of convenience.

But it was precisely because of that, that Sienna felt so overwhelmed with emotions upon receiving this cloak. The reason why a guy like Hamel had given her this cloak that couldn't be used as either a weapon or a piece of armor....

"It's pretty," Sienna muttered as she looked at her reflection in the magic mirror.

She didn't feel any shame or embarrassment from saying these words. Sienna was already so full of those emotions that they were causing her face to be about as red as a well-ripened apple. And thanks to her head being so overheated and her heart racing so fast, she had found it difficult to say anything.

However, now that she had finally said something, she felt like she wouldn't stutter or stop the next flow of words either.

With a bright smile, Sienna looked at her reflection in the mirror once more. This was the cloak that Hamel, no, Eugene, had specifically picked out as a gift for her. Sienna spun around to look at Eugene.

"How is it? Does it look good on me?" Sienna asked.

"It really looks good on you," Eugene complimented.

Sienna asked suspiciously, "I'm asking this just in case, but this cloak, did you really pick it out yourself? Or did someone else pick it out for you? Someone such as Mer or Anise."

Eugene grumbled, "I chose it myself. What about it?"

Sienna giggled smugly, "Hehehe, to think you would actually show some fashion sense. I don't believe you had such good instincts for it in your previous life, did you?"

"What do you know?" Eugene scoffed. "The only type of clothes that we ever wore in our previous lives were our armor, cloaks, and robes."

Sienna corrected him, "We wore a lot of clothes apart from those. There were several times when we followed Vermouth to a party he had been invited to, and we also wore formal attire whenever we had an audience with a prominent high-ranking aristocrat or king."

"It's not like I, or really any of us were allowed to pick what clothes we would wear at those times. In any case, even in my previous life, my fashion sense when it came to picking clothes was pretty amazing. So... um... I made sure to pick this cloak out for you... ahem," Eugene's words trailed off with an awkward cough.

Sienna giggled as she got rid of the magic mirror and turned to look out the window.

"Like you said, it really does look cold outside," Sienna assessed. "Although I don't think this cloak is actually meant to be worn in winter."

Eugene huffed in exasperation, "Hah, in that case, just take it off then."

"Don't want to. I'm definitely never taking it off," Sienna refused as she walked past Eugene with a mischievous smile. "Since I'm wearing some new clothes, shall we take a walk outside? Ah, let me tell you this in advance, Eugene, I may have lived in Aroth for quite a long time, but that was two hundred years ago, alright? This country has changed so much from when I last lived in it. So I'm not really familiar with this country, much less this city."

"I'm not too familiar with it either," Eugene warned her. "I might have lived here for about two years in the past, but back then, most of my time was spent confined to the Towers of Magic or Akron."

"Even so, you should know a lot more than I do at the moment, right?" Sienna pointed out. "I have to say, this is a really strange feeling. It's like I've traveled through time... though it's not like I need to tell you how that feels."

Eugene changed the subject, "Shall we get something to eat?"

"Are there any stores that you would recommend?" Sienna asked.

"There's one that sells crab," Eugene said as he recalled the restaurant he had visited with Lovellian a few years ago.

They had gone to that restaurant because Eugene had happened to casually mention the dish, but the ice crabs, which were a specialty of Ruhr, that he had eaten there were quite delicious.

Sienna looked doubtful, "Crab? You're talking about that crab? The thing that looks like an insect of the sea with claws and a hard shell?"

Eugene sighed, "Don't you think you're being a bit too harsh on crabs?"

"There's really no difference between them. Prawns and crabs are exactly like the insects of the sea. Eugene, do you find insects delicious?" Sienna asked mockingly.

"No, like I said, they aren't insects," Eugene tried to argue.

"In any case, I don't want to eat them," Sienna said as she glanced over to check Eugene's expression.

In fact, Sienna was the type to dislike seafood in general, not just things like crabs and shrimp in particular.

This was because Sienna had lived in the center of the Rainforest, which was far away from the sea, from her childhood to adulthood. It was also because of her memories from when she fell into the sea while having to deal with an attack by sea monsters and black wizards — back when they were crossing the sea to Helmuth after Hamel had first joined the party.

It was Hamel who had saved Sienna when she was about to be sucked into a whirlpool. Hamel had barely managed to keep hold of Sienna, who had lost consciousness, and the two had drifted along with the ocean currents that had been churned into a frenzy by a spell.

This was back when they were both strangers to each other. The two of them eventually landed on a small island far from their ship. Sienna came to her senses shortly after they reached the shore, but because of the injuries from her mana reflux, she wasn't able to use any of her magic right away.

"Ahaha," Eugene smiled and made a noise of realization as he recalled back to that time.

The island that they had arrived at those three hundred years ago hadn't been a deserted island. Black wizards who served the Demon King had been hiding in the interior of the island. These black wizards sent demonic beasts to kill the intruders who had washed up on their shores — ugly and blood-stained, crab-shaped demonic beasts with huge claws and shrimp-shaped demonic beasts with horns as sharp as awls, whose bodies writhed in the air as they galloped.

This might be stating the obvious, but Hamel and Sienna were able to survive on that island without any problems. Hamel was able to eradicate the demonic beasts while protecting Sienna, who was temporarily unable to use any magic, and he even managed to slaughter the black wizards who were gathered at the center of the island. Then a few hours later, they rode on a rescue boat that had arrived at the island and returned to their ship.

"So you're acting like this because you remembered what happened in the past, back when you had to hide behind me while trembling in fear, right?" Eugene said with a smirk.

"That's not it at all, though?" Sienna denied it with feigned nonchalance.

"What do you mean it's not," Eugene snorted. "Back then, you said that you couldn't fully trust me, so you almost got killed by the demonic beasts while trying to explore the island on your own."

To tell the truth, it wasn't really because Sienna hadn't trusted Hamel but because of a complex mix of several different sources of embarrassment.

So you can't even fly in the sky, huh? While teasing Hamel with those words, Sienna had streaked through the skies over the sea while shooting out her spells, only to shamefully be hit by a counterattack and crash into the sea.

She was extremely grateful that Hamel had leaped into the sea to save her, but Sienna was also ashamed of the embarrassing sight that she couldn't help but pose due to her soaking wet clothes. She had just intended to take a moment to quickly dry her clothes before moving on, but she ended up being even more ashamed when she was forced to cry out 'Kyaaah!' at the sight of the invading demonic beasts....

"I said that it's not," Sienna insisted sulkily.

Setting everything else aside, Eugene was correct that this was where Sienna's dislike of shrimps and crabs came from.

Stuck in a situation where she wasn't able to use her magic, Sienna had faced those demonic beasts, those creepily giant crabs and shrimps with their rolling eyes and red froth at their mouth that looked like bubbles of blood, and she could still clearly recall the helplessness and terror that she had felt back then.

"In any case, I don't want us to go and get some crabs," Sienna insisted.

Come to think of it, it was starting from that island that Sienna began to pay close attention to Hamel.

'Because you helped me. Because you leaped into the sea to save me and protected me when I was unable to use my magic,' Sienna thought fondly.

—Hey, you can stop shaking now. You're fine, aren't you? Your magic? You're saying that you can't use your magic right now? Really now, it just never ends, does it? No, like I said, you're still fine, aren't you? So what if you can't use your magic right away. It's not like you're on your own. With me here, there won't be any problems, okay?

—What? You say that you can't trust me? Haaah, you really are ridiculous. Hey, don't do anything stupid and just stick close behind me, got it? Again, don't do anything strange, and instead of screaming your lungs out if you get scared, just pinch my side.

—We're going to be okay. There's nothing to worry about.

—I promise I'll protect you.

"You're still a dense, stupid asshole," Sienna reluctantly muttered.

"Why are you insulting me all of a sudden?" Eugene asked in confusion.

"Hey!" Sienna chided. "Just think about it carefully. How exactly do you go about eating crabs? Huh? You tear off their legs, suck out the meat, and chew on the shell, right? Do you really think I want to show such a sloppy appearance in front of you?"

Eugene sighed, "Really now? I was wondering what you were trying to say. When we were in the Devildom, whether it was crabs or what, we ate all kinds of things, from bugs to demonic beasts. You had no problems eating with your bare hands back then."

"That was the Devildom, and this is this!" Sienna retorted.

"Also, since this current era has gotten a lot more convenient, you don't even need to use your hands when eating crab," Eugene informed her. "The meat is sucked out nicely for you with magic."

"If I say that I don't want to eat it, you should just accept that I don't want to eat it," Sienna huffed.

Eugene smiled, "I know you're just being stubborn because you're embarrassed for no reason."

"I said that I don't want to eat it! Let's just head out and walk around a bit. Do you have a beggar in your stomach[1]? Are you really that hungry? In fact, I'm not hungry at all. I just want to walk around with you and take a look at—" Sienna's voice, which had been spitting out words in a fit of pique, came to an abrupt stop.

Sienna's lips flapped soundlessly for a few moments before she abruptly sprinted past Eugene and raced down the stairs. Was she crazy? What did she say just now?

'Well, if it's now, I think it should be alright to say those kinds of words to him...,' Sienna may have thought this to herself, but it didn't work out so well when she tried to put it into practice.

As expected, Sienna Merdein's personality was the same as it had always been. Eugene clicked his tone in disappointment as he watched Sienna's back burst through the doors of the mansion as if she was running away from something.

"She's still just as troublesome as ever," Eugene muttered.

But that was exactly why he had missed her so much, wanted to see her, and was happy now that she was here. Eugene grinned as he followed Sienna out of the mansion.

"It's not like either of us is so busy that we don't even have the time to get something to eat," Eugene said as he approached Sienna, who was standing with her back turned to him.

"That's not the issue." Sienna hesitated, "It's just that I, with you... since we were able to survive like this and meet once again after so long...."

"So you're just feeling impatient?" Eugene asked bluntly.

"I'll kill you," Sienna hissed.

"Whether it's going on a walk with you, taking a look around, or sightseeing... from now on, we'll be able to do all of that forever...," Eugene promised her before turning away slightly and letting out an embarrassed cough.

At these words, Sienna flinched and turned to look at Eugene in surprise.

"Did I say anything strange? Why are you looking at me with such a surprised look?" Eugene asked defensively.

"Hmmm...," Sienna hummed thoughtfully.

"Or else what? Should we stop meeting each other from today onwards? Now that everyone has been able to return safely and we've shown our faces to each other, we should go our own ways from now on. Is that what you want?" Eugene asked sarcastically.

"How could I!" Sienna shouted while shaking her head violently. Then, in a softer tone, "There's no way that's the case. We can't do that, and I don't want us to do that. It's just... it's been three hundred years, Eugene. It's been so long, and so much time has passed. Both for you and for me."

Sienna's face was still heated from earlier. Even though she had been just fine when she first came to Aroth.

Sienna hesitantly continued, "You... were reincarnated, and I've managed to recover after almost dying. During those long three hundred years, a lot of things have changed. One of those things is your new name, Eugene Lionheart. Honestly speaking, I still feel awkward saying your current name. I feel like I'll just keep calling you Hamel without even realizing it."

"It doesn't matter what you call me. No matter what my name is now or how much the world has changed, I'm still the same me that you've always known," Eugene reassured her.

"Mhm, that's true," Sienna agreed before insisting, "But even so, I want to call you by your current name. If I had to say why, it's because it's your name in the present day. The fact that you are the same you that I've always known just makes it even more important for me to confirm that you're still here in the present as yourself."

After stopping and starting a few times, Sienna finally managed to complete her explanation.

From the moment she had met Eugene until now, Sienna's face had been flushed red. The emotions that Sienna admitted to but was unable to confess were exactly the same now as they had been three hundred years ago, even though so much time had passed. Even though Eugene's scarred visage had changed and he had become a completely different person, Sienna's feelings for him hadn't changed at all.

Sienna rested a hand on her chest as she tried to calm her breath. There was no need for her to try and deny her feelings.

'But I still can't help but feel embarrassed,' Sienna thought.

She was still just as excited and embarrassed as she ever was by everything that this man in front of her said and did.

"Eugene," Sienna poured all her emotions into her voice as she called out his name. "Eugene Lionheart."

This name would be dropping from Sienna's lips over and over again from now on.

Sometimes with the feelings left over from hundreds of years ago and sometimes with the feelings created at that very moment.

With all of her annoyance, her anger, her joy, her amusement, and her love.

She might be smiling, she might be crying, or she might even be hugging him when she said it.

This name would become more special to Sienna than any other word while also coming more frequently to her lips than any other word.

Sienna firmly stated, "Today absolutely cannot be allowed to be the last time we meet. We... since we weren't able to meet for the past hundreds of years, then, no matter what, we need to be together for hundreds of years more."

As Sienna said this, her voice was still embarrassed as ever, but even more than that, it was earnest and sincere.

"Today is the first day of the rest of our lives," Sienna whispered in a quiet yet clear voice.

Then Sienna spun around and started walking away. The emotions that Sienna had just managed to calm down were about to begin rampaging once more. The words that she had spoken just now kept running through her head.

'Good work, me,' Sienna thought happily, giving herself a mental pat.

Sienna felt proud of herself for finally managing to put her feelings into words. Since she had said so much, even that stupid, dense idiot shouldn't be able to doubt Sienna's feelings for him.

And naturally, that was precisely the case. In the first place, Eugene had managed to vaguely sense Sienna's feelings for him, even during his previous life. But with the era and their situation being what they were, he just couldn't do anything about them. If all of the Demon Kings had been slain and the world had become peaceful — Eugene would also have been able to properly respond to Sienna's feelings.

"Even though I wasn't able to save the country in my previous life[2]," Eugene muttered to himself with a smile as he started following behind Sienna.

Though since he had taken part in killing three of the Demon Kings, if you really thought about it, Hamel could be said to have saved several countries.

"Why are you going off by yourself even though you said we should stay together?" Eugene asked once he had caught up with Sienna.

"Wait a few moments before following me," Sienna ordered.

"Why?" Eugene insisted on asking.

What did he mean why? It's because my face is so hot.

Sienna swallowed the words just as they were about to rise up her throat, and instead, she patted her cheeks with her hands.

1. This is a Korean idiom for being very hungry. A similar idiom in English might be 'as hungry as a bear.' ☜

2. In Korea and other Asian countries, those who have excellent luck are often said to have saved the country in their previous lives. So when he says this, Eugene is marveling at his luck in romance even though he wasn't able to save his home country of Turas as it was conquered by Nahama in the years since. ☜