“Well, putting that aside, what did Kent want to ask her?”
“Oops, I almost forgot the main point.”
At Gordon’s question, Kent remembered the main topic.
“Why were you surrounded and questioned like that at school?”
Kent wanted to know the reason why he was surrounded and interrogated like that. He had seen her in front of the shop a few times, so she didn’t seem like a stranger, and he thought he would help if he could. First, he decided to ask Sophie if she had any idea.
“I…I…it’s because…I…I can’t communicate well with people…I…I think they thought I was…igoring them…”
Sophie replied haltingly in a weak voice.
“Hmm, I see. I understand that feeling.”
When Gordon was in prince mode, he had a dignified demeanor befitting royalty, but he was usually poor at talking to people, especially with women he wasn’t close to. Perhaps sensing the same air, Gordon seemed to understand Sophie’s words.
“Did you tell those people that you can’t hear?”
Kent asked if the other party knew about the reason why communication was difficult.
“N…no. Even if I wanted to talk, my voice is quiet, and even if I told them, they couldn’t hear me.”
Sophie replied weakly. Currently, communication was possible by using writing in addition to speaking, but in this world, paper was expensive, and portable writing tools did not exist, making it difficult to do this daily. Moreover, her voice was too quiet, making it difficult to hear in such a quiet place.
“And there’s one more thing I want to ask.”
Kent said this and began to write what he wanted to convey in his notebook.
“I heard you go to the sanctuary, why is that?”
Kent directly asked what he was curious about. He started to pay attention to her when he happened to pass by while she was cleaning in front of the shop.
“W…well, because I heard that if you pray to the god at the sanctuary, your wishes will come true.”
“I see, praying to the gods, huh.”
It is said that prayers at the sanctuary sometimes come true. This is a recent rumor in the town where Kent and his companions live. Although it is a religion that has only recently been revived, there are various stories, true or false, about wishes being granted. Some are as small as finding lost items, while others are as significant as acquiring a large sum of money. Hearing these stories, many people are now visiting the sanctuary. Sophie seems to be one of them.
“Since I might be able to help, if you could tell me, I’d like to know.”
“Wow, Kent, you say some amazing things. Well, it’s true that I was saved by Kent too, so maybe her wish might come true. Alright.”
Gordon said after reading Kent’s writing, and then wrote something below it.
“I too was saved by Kent. I think you should open up to him.”
“…Alright. Actually, I was asking the god to make me able to hear words.”
“Hmm? You only want to hear words, not sounds?”
Kent felt a doubt about Sophie’s way of speaking.
“…Actu…actually, I can hear sounds. Bu…but for some reason, only people’s words don’t enter my head.”
“Things like that happen.”
Recalling, Sophie had heard the preliminary bell ring when they were talking in the hallway. However, Kent thought it was strange that she could hear the same sounds but not words.
(If it was a specific frequency she couldn’t hear, I’d understand, but if it’s only words, maybe there’s another factor besides her ears.)
Kent was not an expert, so he didn’t know the details.
“If you can hear even a little, I was thinking of using a hearing aid, but if you can’t hear words, it might not be effective.”
Before meeting Sophie, Kent had ordered a portable hearing aid from the terminal. Ideally, a hearing aid would be better, but it was considered a medical device and could not be ordered from the terminal. While a hearing aid can be adjusted to amplify only the weak parts of hearing, a hearing amplifier is limited to the function of amplifying sound overall.
“Could you try this for a little bit?”
Since he had prepared it, he decided to try it just in case and placed an ear-hook type hearing amplifier, which he had put into working condition, on the table.
“Kent, what is this?”
Gordon seemed interested in the unfamiliar object.
“This is a hearing amplifier, a machine that can make sounds louder so you can hear them.”
“Oh. So there are such things.”
Although this item did not actually exist in this world, Gordon did not seem particularly concerned and looked at it while holding and spinning it around in his hand.
“…Um, what should I do with this?”
“Yeah. It’s no wonder you don’t understand just by looking at it.”
What Sophie said was reasonable. She seemed troubled about what to do with this strangely shaped object.
“This is a tool you wear on your ear. I’ll put it on for you, so please expose your ear.”
“…Alright.”
Sophie pushed her black hair aside to expose her ear. Her gesture felt very alluring, but Kent was focused on attaching the hearing amplifier.
“Can you hear me?”
“Can you hear me?”
Kent pointed to the letters written in his notebook and spoke into her ear.
*Shake, shake.*
Sophie shook her head, indicating that she couldn’t hear.
(I see, I should try turning up the volume a bit.)
“Can you hear me?”
*Shake, shake.*
After repeating this exchange a few times, Kent gradually increased the volume of the hearing amplifier.
“Can you hear me?”
*Nod, nod.*
After a few more exchanges, Sophie suddenly nodded.
“Can you hear me? Can you hear my voice?”
*Nod, nod.*
Seeing Sophie nod, Gordon spoke to her to confirm for himself.
“…I…I can hear you. I…I can understand both of your voices.”
“You did it, Kent!”
“Ah, that’s great.”
The three of them rejoiced on the spot.
“Thank you for waiting. Here is your cake set.”
At that moment, the cake set they had ordered was delivered. Three cups of tea and something resembling flat pancakes were placed on the table.
“Please enjoy it by pouring the honey from the small bottle.”
“…Ah, thank you.”
“Well then, please enjoy.”
The male clerk, dressed in black, bowed and left.
“…I…I was able to respond.”
Sophie had a very happy expression on her face knowing that she had understood and responded to the male clerk’s words.
“That’s great.”
“…Yes.”
Seeing Sophie’s happy face, Kent felt good that he had been able to help.
“We should start talking while the tea is still warm, or it will get cold.”
While sipping his tea, Kent began to explain how to use the hearing amplifier to Sophie. She listened intently, concentrating on every word of Kent’s explanation, making sure not to miss a single detail.
