We live at the foothills of Dragon Peak.
A Man’s Love Advice.
“Excuse me, Elnea-kun, what do you mean?”
The day after I returned from an errand, I went to school as usual. But then, Keyri cornered me with a furious look on her face.
“W-What are you talking about!?”
I couldn’t grasp the situation at all. Why was Keyri angry at me first thing in the morning?
By the way, Keyri’s eyes are droopy, so she doesn’t look intimidating even when she’s angry. It’s a secret from her, though.
“It’s not ‘what am I talking about.’ Yesterday, Inea and I were waiting for you both at the East Triumphal Arch. So, why did you come back from the direction of the South Dragon Forest?”
“Ah, so that’s what it’s about.”
“It’s not ‘so that’s what it’s about!'”
Inea also chimed in, scolding me.
Yeah, Inea is small and cute, so she’s not scary even when she’s angry.
“There’s a bit of a story behind that.”
“What kind of story is it?”
As I stammered and averted my gaze, I saw Ruiseine giving a wry smile.
I’m sure Ruiseine also got a good scolding from the two of them yesterday.
It must have been tough after just returning from a long journey.
“Heh, trying to invite the Miko into the Dragon Forest, Elnea, you’re quite something, aren’t you?”
Slaton showed me a mischievous grin.
His hair was still unstyled and sticking out in all directions.
“What’s going on? I heard you were going on an errand together, but are you two that close?”
Listea also chimed in.
“Waaah, why is everyone picking on me?”
Even though it was my first day back at school in a while, I was being toyed with by everyone and was in a frenzy from the morning.
Keyri and Inea, the Miko, were blaming me, while Slaton and Listea were egging me on with amusement. The other girls were whispering amongst themselves, pointing at me from a distance, and for some reason, the boys were giving me envious glances.
How did it come to this?
The errand was more troublesome than I expected, so I was hoping for a return to my usual daily life starting today.
I found myself getting more attention than when I defeated the magic sword user in the ruins, and my morning was spent in a state of unease.
“Why is everyone teasing me like this?”
After the first lecture class ended, I complained to Listea before the martial arts class.
“Well, it’s because you went on an errand with Ruiseine.”
“Mmm. Why is a mere errand causing such a fuss? Besides, wasn’t the errand supposed to be a secret?”
Ruiseine was supposed to go on the errand with a skilled female adventurer. So why had it been revealed that I went with her? And if all the students knew about it, wouldn’t the temple also be aware? Was Ruiseine going to be alright?
“What are you talking about? You, Ruiseine, and a female adventurer went, right? Why would that be a secret?”
“Ah, so that’s how it is.”
So, the story had somehow become that I was accompanying them. That’s why everyone knew.
“Well, that’s what the world thinks, so don’t worry about it,” Listea said, putting an arm around my shoulder.
“So, what really happened?”
Listea brought her mouth close to my ear and whispered.
“Ugh…”
It seems Listea knew that there wasn’t actually a female adventurer. She must have heard the inside story from Keyri and Inea. But she couldn’t possibly know about Mistral or Priscilla-chan. And Ruiseine must have kept the details of the journey a secret. It’s not something you can easily tell, or should tell, about the Dragon Race, the Mimicho Race, or the legend of the Dragon in the Dragon Forest, even to a childhood friend. That’s why I can’t reveal the details either. Not even to my best friend, the hero Listea.
I wonder if the day will come when I can tell Listea this secret. I feel guilty about keeping secrets, and I’d like to reveal them right now if I could. But there’s nothing I can do about it on my own, so I guess I’ll have to accept it.
“Oh ho, so you did something in the forest that you can’t even tell me about?”
Mistaking my silence for something else, Listea nodded approvingly, seemingly coming to her own conclusion.
“What are you misinterpreting?”
“It’s fine. There are things a man can’t say. So, Elnea, you’ve become a man, huh?”
“Hey!”
“You got involved with the Miko, so you better take responsibility.”
“That’s what I mean, it’s a misunderstanding.”
Slaton, who had joined the conversation, put his arm around my shoulder from the opposite side of Listea.
“So, how was it? Your first time?”
“My first time for what? You two are mistaking things, and it’s unfair to Ruiseine.”
My face turned red as I tried desperately to clear up their misunderstanding. However, Listea and Slaton weren’t listening to me.
“Ruiseine’s family is apparently strict, so you should think of a proper greeting,” Listea said with a grin.
“I always thought you were just a child, but to think you’d get involved with the prim and proper Miko,” Slaton said, closing his eyes and nodding thoughtfully.
*Groan*, these two are being unusually clingy today.
As I was wondering how to escape their teasing, I remembered something I needed to ask Listea.
“Ah, that’s right, Listea. There was something I wanted to ask you.”
“Hmm? What is it all of a sudden?”
Seeing my sudden serious tone, Listea narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
“Uh, about women…”
“Oh ho, already having trouble with women? Alright, I’ll listen.”
“I’m not asking Slaton!”
“Come on, come with me.”
Slaton forcibly dragged me behind the school building. Listea followed with a smile.
“Now, tell me anything. Your senior in life will teach you all sorts of things.”
On the lawn behind the school building, I was seated between the two of them.
Slaton, you’re just a hindrance. You only tease me and don’t offer any constructive advice.
“What? Don’t look at me like I’m a hindrance.”
“You are a hindrance.”
“Tch, to think you’d say that, Elnea, of all people.”
“Ouch, ouch, ouch!”
Slaton put me in a headlock, and I let out a scream.
“Now, now, Slaton. Don’t bully Elnea too much. So, what is it you wanted to ask?”
Listea is truly a good person. She always redirects the conversation properly.
“Well, actually…”
I decided to consult Listea about a problem that had arisen during my journey.
The problem is.
Yes, how can I make a woman fall in love with me!
This is a very perplexing and serious issue for me. What makes a woman fall in love with a man? How can I earn her affection? As someone with no romantic experience, it’s a world I don’t understand at all.
I’ve had feelings for someone before, of course. I might think, “That girl is cute,” or “That person is wonderful.” But those were just one-sided feelings, and I didn’t think about wanting to have a romance. So, I never deeply considered why I had those feelings, nor did I consider why someone else might develop feelings for me.
Is it because I’m still a child?
But it’s different now.
There’s someone I like. Someone I want to marry. But to marry her, I have to make her fall in love with me.
How can I make women like me? How can I make them fall in love with me?
I pondered and seriously consulted them. However, Slaton just whistled and kept teasing me, and Listea just gave a helpless wry smile.
“Elnea, you’re worrying about such a basic thing.”
“Is this basic?”
“It’s the most basic thing. I don’t know how you managed to win over Ruiseine with such a simple approach.”
“That’s why I’m consulting you, because I *haven’t* won her over.”
“I see.”
Listea and Slaton both sighed in exasperation.
“Listen, Elnea. Forget about such worries. It’s a waste of time to think about them.”
“What do you mean?”
“I agree with Slaton’s opinion.”
“Even you, Listea?”
“Frankly, as long as you’re trying to make someone fall in love with you, they’ll never fall for it.”
“Women can see through a man’s fake act in an instant. Well, some can’t, but they’re not worth your time.”
“To put it bluntly, Slaton is right. Women are more sensitive than men realize. And besides,” Listea paused before continuing.
“Even if you force someone to fall in love with you, it won’t last. You’ll keep trying to show them your good side and end up exhausted and self-destructing.”
“Being natural is the best. Show them your true self.”
“What if that doesn’t work? If they’re not interested in me in the first place, they won’t even look my way?”
“Hahaha, Elnea, you’re misunderstanding.”
“Mmmph.”
“Being natural and trying to make someone fall in love with you are different things. If you really want to make them fall in love, you need to make efforts like actively engaging in conversation or inviting them out. But even then, you can’t show them a different, forced version of yourself. Effort is a prerequisite.”
“Ah, so *that’s* what you mean.”
So, effort comes first. Was what I said wrong? No one ignores someone who actively tries to connect with them.
“Then what should I do if my efforts seem unlikely to bear fruit?”
“You mean when someone just won’t like you, no matter what?”
“Yeah.”
“Elnea, if the person you’re envisioning doesn’t come to like you, will you give up?”
“No, I absolutely won’t give up!”
Even if Mistral and Ruiseine don’t like me, I absolutely can’t give up.
“Then you have no choice but to keep trying until they turn their attention to you.”
“Won’t they end up hating me if I’m too persistent?”
“Not getting hated is also part of the effort. Even if they do end up hating you, will you give up?”
“No, absolutely not.”
“Then, it all comes down to effort, doesn’t it?”
“Mmm, I guess so.”
“There are cases where it works out even if they hate you. Like Slaton.”
“What do you mean?”
“Me? They hated me at first. I confessed 200 times. I really put in the effort.”
“200 times…”
“Well, you know. Sometimes being forceful is necessary. Women won’t turn their attention to you just because you’re overly kind trying to be liked. That’s my advice.”
I was impressed by Slaton’s effort. I never thought he’d go from being hated by Creccio to achieving mutual love.
I wanted to ask Listea, with her extensive romantic experience, more things, but martial arts class was about to begin, so the first romance consultation ended here.
I don’t know how helpful their advice will be this time, but I’ll consider it a success just knowing that effort, naturalness, and sometimes forcefulness are necessary.
We quickly headed to the adjacent training grounds.
