(POV – Viola)
...
I remember that we only met not long ago.
At first, I thought our meeting was nothing more than a coincidence.
But—after getting to know him, I began to think that perhaps our meeting was something that had been destined.
I don't know since when it started, but before I realized it, my gaze was always drawn toward him.
Even now, I find myself looking at him as he walks right in front of me.
For some reason, I always feel strange whenever I'm near him.
When I'm with him, it feels like I'm someone desperately trying to get his attention.
I always want to look good in his eyes.
Maybe it's because I want him to notice me.
And often, my heart starts beating faster.
All of these feelings make me feel strange.
But at the same time, I want to understand what this feeling really is.
If there is a name that fits this feeling…
I wonder…
What could it be?
...
It didn't take long for us to reach the guild. When we entered the building, I noticed that it was still rather empty.
Perhaps it was because I rarely took quests early in the morning.
I glanced at him and thought that he really was diligent compared to me.
-
We walked toward the quest board.
There were many quests posted there, but since his rank was still E, we couldn't take anything too difficult.
After all, he had only started learning how to fight a few weeks ago.
"Umm, Clement."
He turned toward me.
"Yes? What is it?"
"I was wondering which quest you want to take. From the way you said it earlier, you should have already decided, right?"
For some reason, he suddenly looked away.
Then he said,
"W-well, you know…"
I stared at him blankly.
"You haven't decided, have you?"
"Yeah… something like that."
What do you mean something like that?
I let out a small sigh.
"In that case, how about I choose the quest?"
I suggested. It would probably be better if I picked one anyway.
He nodded.
"Yeah, sure."
He still seemed a little awkward around me.
That was what I thought while watching his behavior.
I stepped closer to the board filled with easier quests.
Most of them were herb-gathering requests.
But that wasn't what I wanted to do.
After all, this was a rare opportunity.
After looking through them for a while, I finally found a quest ranked C.
It was the same rank as mine, so it should be fine.
"Alright Clement, I've chosen the quest."
"Oh? So what kind of quest are we doing?"
He asked while smiling.
"It's a C-rank quest. We're going to hunt a Giant Bear. What do you think? Sounds like a good quest, right?"
"Huh? Isn't that a bit too much for me? I mean, I'm still E-rank."
"Don't worry. I'll be there with you. Besides, Giant Bears don't move in packs like Dire Wolves. It should be easier than the quest we did before."
He looked somewhat resigned before answering.
"Alright."
-
After that, we headed to the reception desk.
Flora was sitting there as usual.
When she saw us, she greeted us first.
"Hello, Viola."
Then she shifted her gaze to Clement.
"And Clement-san."
She even gave him a thumbs-up.
I looked back and forth between the two of them, wondering what exactly had happened.
"Did something happen?" I asked Flora.
"Hm? No, nothing really."
She answered as if it wasn't important.
That only made me more suspicious.
"So you two decided to take a quest together?" she asked, a strange smile forming on her face.
I nodded.
"Yes."
Then I handed her the quest sheet.
"Well, since Viola is with you, it should be fine."
She stamped the paper and returned it to us.
"Alright then. Be careful."
Then she turned to me.
"And Viola, take care of him."
"Alright."
-
After that, we left the guild and headed toward the gate.
Along the way, we didn't talk much.
Mostly because I felt awkward trying to start a conversation.
It didn't take long before we reached the gate.
For some reason, the guard let us pass immediately.
That was rather strange. Normally I would have to show my adventurer card.
But I decided to ignore it, and we continued walking toward the Jura Forest.
...
While crossing the grasslands, he suddenly stopped walking.
I asked him,
"Is something wrong?"
He shook his head.
"No. I just like this place."
He said that while smiling.
"Really?"
"Yeah."
Then he looked up at the sky and said,
"Looks like today will be a sunny day."
I followed his gaze and looked up as well.
The sky was filled with clouds.
The sun was barely visible.
"How can you tell it will be sunny?"
He chuckled lightly and answered,
"Well, it's just a guess. Whether you believe it or not is up to you."
I couldn't believe he would say something like that.
I thought he was being serious.
Still… I had to admit.
It was kind of fun.
-
After that, we continued walking.
Not long after, we finally reached the forest.
We entered the forest and began searching for the monster.
From my experience, Giant Bears usually appear near rivers.
So we decided to head toward the river.
It was quite far from where we were now.
Hopefully there wouldn't be other monsters there.
-
When we arrived, we immediately found the bear.
It was standing in the shallow river, seemingly catching fish.
We hid in the bushes near the river.
"So, what should we do?" he asked.
"Obviously defeat it."
I answered confidently.
But for some reason, he looked at me as if I had just said something stupid.
"What's with that look?"
Honestly, I felt a little annoyed.
"No, it's nothing."
He avoided the question.
Then suddenly, he stood up and drew his dagger.
"Alright, let's do this."
He said before rushing straight toward the bear.
"Hey—"
I tried to stop him, but it was too late.
I quickly stood up and chased after him.
Even so, I was still quite far behind.
When he got close to the bear, he suddenly jumped toward it while aiming his dagger.
I was honestly surprised the bear didn't notice him.
The next thing I saw was him landing the first attack.
His dagger stabbed into the bear's back.
Clement hung onto the bear's back, gripping the dagger tightly.
Then he pulled the dagger out and stepped back several paces.
The bear turned around and glared at him before roaring.
"ROAAARR!"
Clement simply stood there in front of it.
For a moment, I wondered if he had frozen in fear.
But it turned out I was wrong.
When the bear attacked with its claws, Clement dodged every single strike.
Attack after attack from the bear failed to hit him.
Still, he would eventually tire out if he kept dodging like that.
So I rushed forward and joined the fight.
-
A few minutes later, the bear was clearly exhausted.
Its movements had become sloppy, and its attacks were much slower.
Normally, when I fought a bear like this, it wouldn't get tired this quickly.
I looked at Clement standing not far from me.
It must be him.
That was what I thought.
I decided to finish the bear quickly and attacked once more.
It only took a single slash to knock the bear down.
But it didn't seem to be dead yet.
Then I saw him climb onto the fallen bear's body and drive his dagger down.
And just like that, the bear finally died.
Watching him fight earlier, I never expected someone who had only trained for a few weeks to be this capable.
Although I had to admit, his movements were rather rough.
And he seemed to rely on methods that could be considered dishonorable in combat.
Still…
As someone who had taught him how to use a sword—
even though he ended up using daggers—
I felt proud of him.
...
Several minutes passed after we defeated the bear.
We were sitting by the riverside while Clement grilled the fish he had just caught.
It had been a while since I last tasted his cooking.
Though it would probably be bland since he didn't use any seasoning.
Suddenly, a question formed in my mind.
"Hey, Clement."
I called out to him.
"What is it?"
He turned toward me.
"I was wondering… was that a skill earlier?"
I had suspected it from the beginning.
Without hesitation, he answered.
"Yes, it was a skill. But I won't tell you the details, because you wouldn't understand it anyway."
He even had the nerve to mock me.
"Who said I wanted to know?"
I said, feeling annoyed.
"Haha."
He suddenly laughed.
"What? Is something funny?"
For some reason, I felt like hitting him right then and there.
He smiled while looking at me.
"No… it's just that I feel really happy right now. So… thanks for keeping me company."
That smile didn't feel forced like his usual ones.
"Ah… it's nothing. I'm happy to be with you too."
I muttered quietly.
"Hm? Did you say something?"
"N-no, it's nothing."
It seemed our relationship had returned to normal again.
I had to admit, he had changed a little since the day I met him.
If I had to describe it…
He had become a better person.
I truly wish things could stay like this forever.
...
-
_
In this chapter I did an experiment, although I don't know whether it's good or not, I don't really care, after all this is my first time trying to change the point of view. Well basically I was motivated to write it after finishing the game "Final fantasy 1".
also if you think this story will be a "romance" then you are expecting too much, because i don't like that kind of story myself.
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