Chapter 52
While I was talking with Captain Maurice, Gatt, who had been lying down, got up and walked over to me.
"Um, Romelia-sama. If you have time, could you teach me to read and write?"
Gatt bowed, his face pale.
"I don't mind, but... wouldn't it be better to study after we arrive at Merka Island? Reading will only make your seasickness worse."
"No, please. I can't let myself lose to Ray."
Gatt looked at Ray anxiously. Ray, meanwhile, seemed confused about why he had been singled out.
"...I see. All right."
I nodded. I understood Gatt's worry that Ray might take Paula-san from him. I still had work left to do, but I could spare a little time.
"Thank you."
Gatt thanked me, his face still pale.
In the Lazybones' dining hall, three rectangular tables had been lined up, with benches of equal length on either side of each one. I sat on a bench with Gatt across from me. A small blackboard for practice had been placed on the table, and Gatt wrote on it with a piece of white chalk.
"That's right. Be careful there; it's easy to get wrong."
I pointed to the blackboard as I taught Gatt how to write.
Despite suffering from seasickness, Gatt moved his chalk across the board. His face was filled with determination.
Studying with such intense concentration made rapid progress possible. Gatt was making fewer mistakes when writing and reading characters, and his skills had improved dramatically.
The only question was how many words he could memorize, and there was no way to do that except by taking the time to learn them.
When I saw that Gatt had written the word correctly, I nodded and clapped my hands.
"Let's call it a day."
"Ah, thank you."
Gatt bowed despite his pale face. Then he wrote the words I had just taught him on the blackboard once more.
"I'll practice a little longer so I won't forget them."
"...Make sure you get some rest."
I said that and stood up, then opened the dining hall door and stepped outside. A woman with blond hair and wearing persimmon-colored clothes was waiting outside, as though she had been lying in wait. She was Paula-san, Borel's younger sister.
"Romelia-sama. Thank you for teaching Gatt to read and write."
After bowing to me, Paula-san looked toward the dining hall door. It had not quite closed all the way, and through the gap, I could see Gatt facing the blackboard.
There was concern and compassion in Paula-san's eyes as she watched Gatt.
"Paula-san, may I ask you something? How do you feel about Gatt?"
I asked her directly.
It was obvious that Gatt had feelings for Paula-san. Yet she deliberately ignored his affection. If she felt nothing for Gatt, that would be one thing, but I could clearly see how much she cared for him.
It was perhaps too personal a question to ask, but Gatt was working hard for Paula-san's sake. Since I had helped him study, I wanted to know how Paula-san truly felt about him.
"Of course I like him. I have ever since we were in the village."
Paula-san answered with a faint smile. Her gentle smile was filled with affection for another person, making it clear that she was neither joking nor teasing.
"Then why do you tease him like that? I think Gatt is working hard."
I let a slight reproach creep into my tone. Gatt and all the other members of the Romelia Squad were risking their lives in their work. Even if Paula-san was close to Gatt, I did not want her to make light of them.
"If I upset you, I'm sorry, Romelia-sama. I know that Gatt is working hard. But I don't want him to stop here."
Paula-san looked toward Gatt, who was studying inside the dining hall.
"It's not that I want him to get promoted. No, to tell the truth, I never wanted him to become a soldier. I wanted him to stay beside me in the village forever... But Gatt said he would become a full-fledged man and left the village."
Paula-san lowered her eyes, her face filled with sadness. Gatt must have wanted to become a man worthy of Paula-san. But that had never been what Paula-san wished for.
"I worried about him every day. I couldn't settle down at all. Then one day, I heard that Gatt and the others had fought soldiers from the Demon King's army. I couldn't sit still, wondering whether Gatt had died or been injured."
Paula-san's voice trembled as she spoke. We had indeed fought a reconnaissance unit from the Demon King's army shortly before. There had been only five enemies, but we had come close to being wiped out. Paula-san's fears had not been groundless; they had been entirely possible.
"When I learned that my brother and Gatt were staying in the city of Milet, I ran out of the house and headed there."
I nodded as I listened to Paula-san's story. After fighting the Demon King's reconnaissance unit, we had indeed stayed in Milet to recover from our injuries. However, I had never heard that Borel had met with his family there.
"While I was searching for Gatt and my brother in Milet, I happened to find them walking through the city with their companions. ...I was surprised when I saw them. Both Gatt and my brother had changed. They had become far more manly than they themselves realized... even though it hadn't been half a year since they left the village."
There was sorrow in Paula-san's voice as the words spilled out. I understood how she felt.
"Men change, you know. Astonishingly so."
I lowered my eyes. I was remembering the time when I had set out on my journey to defeat Demon King Zergis.
When we first set out, Prince Henri and I were still children, and we stumbled at every turn. But after we had experienced failure, Prince Henri changed beyond recognition one morning. He shone like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon, filled with strength.
In just one day, in just one battle, a man can undergo an astonishing transformation. It brings both joy and envy, while also leaving you with the lonely feeling of being left behind.
"When I saw how Gatt and my brother had grown, I couldn't bring myself to speak to them. I didn't want to do anything that would hold them back. I fled back to the village, studied desperately, and pleaded until I was allowed to work at the village office."
I nodded at Paula-san's words. She, too, had been working hard to change.
"Gatt has changed and become more manly. For an ordinary young man from a village, you could even call it a rise in the world. Gatt may think he has done enough and be satisfied. But I don't want him to stop here—for Gatt's sake."
There was deep concern for Gatt in Paula-san's eyes.
Al, Ray, and the other members of the Romelia Squad were all still growing. They had tremendous room to develop, and even I could not predict how far they might rise. If Gatt became satisfied with his current situation and stopped moving forward, the others would leave him behind. That would surely become a lifelong regret for him.
Paula-san had been ignoring Gatt's affection precisely because she was thinking about his future.
"Romelia-sama. Please take care of Gatt."
At Paula-san's words, I slowly nodded.