When Safi stepped outside, the spring wind rushed over her like a rushing tide. She looked up at the world from her small stature, stretching wide—wide for a Dwerg, at least. Sunlight wrapped around her, and the breeze played through her green hair.
“What a good weather!”
The underground had its charm, but the outdoors… especially in spring, was unmatched. And it was thanks to that horn-playing boy that she could feel this again.
—I have to be useful to him.
Rion was sitting alone on a bench. Safi approached and spoke.
“Rion.”
Every time she talked to him, she ended up saying things she didn’t need to. Just being near him made her head feel hot, flushed. Perhaps it was the nature of a Dwerg—when wielding a hammer she could maintain a calm, even if just a little. That was why most of their conversations had taken place while working at the forge.
This time, too, she relied on “work” to steady herself.
Safi’s gaze swept over him from head to toe. Armor, gauntlets, boots—everything looked intact. No broken plates, no loose studs. Only one thing betrayed the recent battle, a fresh scrape on his cheek.
“…I saw you out there… you took quite a beating.”
Safi pursed her lips at the thought of Thor’s merciless training.
Rion touched the scraped spot, giving her a sheepish little smile.
“Even so, I was still able to fight. Gods are incredible, really.”
Safi chuckled softly. This boy—always marveling at others. He called everyone amazing, yet here he was, a mere mortal, daring to fight alongside gods.
You know could afford to hold your head a little higher…. She thought.
“So… your weapons and armor are all right?”
Rion drew the Blue Crystal short sword from its sheath.
“Yeah. Thanks… without your sword, Safi, I’d have taken even more damage. Ever since you re-etched the magical runes, I feel like my movements are faster.”
“That’s natural. The runes I carve? Even for a black Dwerg, they’re top-notch.”
Safi shook her green hair, a proud smile tugging at her lips.
It was probably the reason their conversation slipped immediately back into the roles of blacksmith and adventurer—she hadn’t dared to say anything else.
After the practical talk ended, silence settled.
Rion turned his blue eyes to her.
“…What’s wrong?”
Her heart skipped. There was no more work to be done—as a blacksmith, she had nothing left to say.
“Ah, um—”
Her mouth opened and closed uselessly. Words circled in her mind, unsure of which to speak or hold back.
Rion tilted his water flask with a concerned look.
—Say it.
Perhaps because of what a companion had said to her earlier, a question slipped from her lips before she could stop it.
“Do you… have someone you like?”
Rion froze completely.
“…Safi?”
The boy’s back trembled. Then, spectacularly, he choked, a sip of water going the wrong way.
“S-sorry… I didn’t expect you to ask something like that…”
“Ah, me neither…”
The words were out. They couldn’t be taken back. They floated between them, untouchable, suspended like clouds in the conversation.
Both their eyes darted around. Rion was bright red. Safi was bright red.
What am I supposed to do?
“W-what’s wrong? All of a sudden…”
“Eh, um…”
Safi mentally repeated the phrase, “Am I an idiot?”, in her head a hundred times.
Rion honestly folded his arms, thinking.
“I-I… I guess… I don’t know.”
Of course—Rion always answered sincerely. Not a lie, not a dodge. That was genuinely how he felt.
“…I see.”
“Yeah…”
But now that Rion had answered, Safi had no choice but to respond. She had boxed herself in, and just at this moment, her resolve wavered.
And then, her mouth moved on its own.
“You… you said ‘I don’t know’?”
Rion nodded firmly.
“…Yeah. I don’t know.”
The spring wind blew past them.
The boy had said he didn’t know. And because he was so honest, if there wasn’t anyone, he would have said, there isn’t anyone.
Rion’s profile was still flushed red. His gaze didn’t clearly fix on anything—neither looking down nor up—but if anything, it seemed as if he were tracing the sunlight streaming from above.
Spring… maybe I don’t really like it after all.
Even now, the scent of flowers lingered in the air. For some reason, Safi found herself smiling.
“Hmph. I like you, Rion.”
Rion turned to her, eyes wide with surprise. Safi grinned mischievously.
“…Eh? Eh!?”
“But it’s okay.”
She gave a firm pat to Rion’s back.
“It’s okay. I’d already noticed, more or less… just take care of the goddess, okay?”
Safi strode off, leaving the training grounds. As she passed, the thunderous figure of Thor gave her a puzzled look.
Near the cathedral, golden light descended from the sky.
“Hm? Safi, is that you?”
Wrapped in sunlight, Solana appeared, radiating divine presence.
She, too, probably noticed that Safi was acting differently than usual—her eyes slightly glistening, cheeks still flushed.
Safi fumbled for an excuse.
“What’s wrong? Not by Rion’s side?”
“Hm… the sun caught my attention a little. I stayed away for a moment.”
Solana looked up at the sky, then bent slightly, concern etching her expression.
“Are you in any pain?”
Her large eyes and the straight line of her nose—She really was a goddess, Safi thought.
“I can heal minor things with my blessing.”
Solana added.
Safi shook her head. The shadows of the cathedral hid them from anyone else. Here, it was just Solana and herself.
With her dark eyes fixed on the goddess, Safi asked boldly,
“…Goddess, do you like Rion?”
Now it was Solana’s turn to be stunned.
What Safi had said before—well, perhaps it was more of a venting than retaliation—was now thrown straight at the goddess herself.
Solana froze for a moment. Her golden eyes flickered, her cheeks flushed. She touched her face repeatedly, as if confused by the strange sensation spreading through her chest.
“Uh… uhm… what is this… it’s hot… and my chest feels… fuzzy…”
The radiance around her shimmered, waxing and waning.
Safi couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
The Rion who had saved her back then had been unmistakably a hero. And she herself… had probably fallen for a hero. And a hero—well, perhaps only the gods could truly notice such a person.
“I said it, you know.”
“Huh? Eh…?”
“It feels a bit clearer now. Well, it’s not perfect happiness, but… not bad at all.”
Safi waved goodbye to Solana.
“God should hurry too. The end is near.”
With those words, Safi turned the corner. She started running. So that regret, doubt, and all those other things wouldn’t catch up to her.
She ran and ran and ran. She bumped into someone.
“Huh? Safi?”
It was Mia.
Tears came belatedly, and Safi clung to Mia, crying for a while.
◆◆◆
I must have frozen for a while after Safi left. Hearing the words “I like you” directly from her mouth hit me like a hammer—no, like someone had pounded my chest instead of my head. My heart throbbed violently.
“Huh… what… does this mean…?”
Safi had walked away laughing, but she had seemed… a little pained. Thinking that way made my chest ache all the more. At the same time, even with my muddled thoughts, I knew one thing—I shouldn’t chase after her. It felt like it would be dishonest otherwise.
Then the edge of my vision brightened. Solana descended beside me, floating lightly.
I noticed something unusual about her too. Normally, she would look straight at me—but now, she kept her gaze lowered. Her cheeks were strangely flushed.
“Hm. Rion.”
“…What’s wrong?”
I felt… odd. My words wouldn’t come out right.
The goddess spoke.
“Nothing.”
—Solana sometimes answered like that. It had become a habitual phrase, repeated over and over, and somehow, it had become my escape route in conversation.
But now, I clenched both hands on my knees.
It was time. Time to face her properly.
“…It’s not that there’s nothing wrong… there must be something.”
Solana’s eyes snapped up at me.
In terms of a battle, it felt like a frozen front line suddenly taking a cautious step forward.
We were both bright red, trying to hold each other’s gaze—but even that lasted only a few seconds before we both looked away. There was no way it could be “nothing.”
This… this had never happened before.
“…Yeah.”
The goddess lowered her chin, and the smile she gave me was faint, almost strained—a subtle contrast to her usual radiant, confident smile. My cheeks flushed even hotter.
“I… I’ll face this properly too. How to handle this kind of moment… actually, I heard about it from your sister.”
“Lu told you?”
“Mm.”
Then, with a raised finger, the goddess made a suggestion that left me completely stunned.
Lu… thinking about something like this…?
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com
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