CH 132

I’m Sorry

With her disguise set and her brown pigtails inconspicuous, Sheila made her way to the town.

She was surprised to see the town bustling with activity as usual, but she also noticed that, unlike usual, there were fewer children out and about. Certainly, few parents would allow their children to play outside if they were in a situation where they couldn’t judge when another emergency might occur.

Even the seemingly normal streets seemed dull without the sound of cheerful voices and the sight of children running around on their feet.

Following the familiar route, Sheila entered a back alley with a desolate atmosphere.

Surprisingly, the ivy-covered Amy’s Pharmacy was fairly crowded.

There might have been some confusion during the evacuation, and some people might have been injured.

Sheila had come to the store with the intention of checking on her acquaintance’s safety, but when she saw Amy working busily, she couldn’t sit still.

She stepped inside the narrowly opened door to peek in. Sheila was a little nervous because she hadn’t seen Amy since the herbal tea meeting.

The store was quiet for a moment, and then smiles burst out.

“Sheila-chan!”

Amy called out with a smile, and soon, a crowd of people gathered around her. The first to speak was Thomas, a regular customer.

“Oh, it’s really Sheila-chan. It’s been a long time, hasn’t it? I was worried when you were nowhere to be seen during the evacuation. I’m glad to see you’re all right.”

She inwardly broke out in a cold sweat as the old man patted her on the shoulder as if to confirm that she was safe.

Since Sheila was on the front lines, there was no way he would see her face at the evacuation site, and even if she did, it would be impossible to find her not in disguise.

“Well, I happened to be back at my parents’ house. When I came back, there was this commotion, so I rushed to the store. Anyway, Thomas-san, it’s been a while. Is there something wrong with you today?”

“I just came to see how things are going. But it seems we are all thinking the same way.”

Judging from how they looked around, Sheila and Thomas weren’t the only ones worried and visited the place.

The next person to step forward was another quiet regular, Norman.

“Hey, Norman-san. It’s been a while.”

“I-It’s been a while.”

He seemed to have trouble holding a conversation, and his habit of speaking with a slight stutter hadn’t changed. He appeared to be uninjured, though, so Sheila slumped her shoulders in relief.

Then, he turned his face away vigorously, so Sheila returned her gaze to Thomas.

“By the way, do you know if Roy is doing well? I was worried because I couldn’t see the kids.”

Sheila asked what was on her mind, and the old man gave Norman an exasperated look but answered her question.

“I’m sure the boy is fine. Children in the downtown area are resilient to adversity. I’m sure that they’re now pestering their parents because they can’t sit still at home.”

Sheila stroked her chest in relief as Thomas smiled cheerfully while tweaking his beard.

After being distracted by the reunion greetings for a while, Sheila saw that Amy was still busy, so she hurried to the counter.

“Excuse me, Amy-san. Let me help you.”

“Sheila-chan, you’ve come at the right time. I’ll give you a holiday allowance.”

Sheila immediately immersed herself in the work.

She would question the patients and Amy would make the medicines. It had been a while since she had worked with her, but she gradually got used to it.

As the line of patients settled down, Sheila’s shoulders slumped at the number of injured people.

“As I thought, there were a few injured people…”

It was disappointing because she thought they had protected the royal capital, if not perfectly. Zechs and Cody would have done their best.

After finishing the checkout, Amy shrugged, blinking her eyes.

“Oh, dear. Even so, the Patrol Corps did a great job, you know. If we had evacuated all the residents of the royal capital, there could have been robberies in the grocery stores, or looters who were taking advantage of the situation.”

“I see….”

Sheila didn’t tell Amy that she had joined the fight.

Even so, Sheila was moved by the way she understood the efforts of the Patrol Corps to protect them.

Not everyone would understand, but there were certainly people who do.

“And the patients who came to the store today weren’t all injured. Some people were sick from the cold, right?”

The winter season tended to be an off-season for pharmacies, but it was also the time of year when the number of sick people increased.

It was the norm in the capital to rest and pass the time at home until early spring, but the number of people who came to the store seeking medicine on this occasion seemed to have increased. It was probably important to have a space where events could be shared and told.

“Speaking of which. Zechs is working hard to mass-produce the herbal teas.”

Although the prospect wasn’t yet in place, he vowed to do something about it by next summer. He hoped to popularize the tea by winter and reduced the number of people falling sick, even if only a little.

“The idea of regularly dispatching vendors also seems to be quite popular among the young people of Denan Village. The village head told me that we could decide what we wanted to sell, based on everyone’s opinions.”

“Even the village head is very open-minded. As expected of the village where Sheila grew up.”

“What do you mean by that?”

While Sheila was asking Amy sullenly, the next patient came in.

“Thank God you’re okay, Sheila. You’re all right, aren’t you?”

“Jeremy-san?”

For some reason, Jeremy, one of the regulars, sent her a wandering glance. He was a mysterious customer who seemed to have nothing wrong with him, yet he suffered from heart palpitations, shortness of breath, and dizziness.

“I couldn’t stand still because I was afraid you were hurt. I was so scared that my heart ached.”

“You even developed chest pain? I’m sorry to hear that.”

He gently squeezed her hand, and Sheila incidentally took his pulse.

She felt nothing out of the ordinary, but it would need to be examined more closely.

“Then….”

Just as Sheila was about to move away from the counter, Jeremy’s hand was knocked away by a third party.

“It’s been a long time, Sheila-san.”

“Isaac-sama….”

Short-cropped blond hair, sky-blue eyes, and a body of steel that was hard to resist.

Seeing Isaac’s presence up close for the first time in a long time was almost intimidating. A frightened Jeremy quickly walked away, his face scrunched up.

Rather than worry about his condition, Sheila almost immediately hid under the counter.

Even though she desperately avoided encountering Isaac, who knew what she looked like in real life and in her disguise, she was completely off guard.

As Sheila let her gaze wander around unnaturally, he let out a sighing chuckle.

“I knew it, you were avoiding me.”

His sad smile made her heart ache.

“Isaac-sama likes you.”

Amy’s words echoed in her head.

She was avoiding him to keep her secret, but she ended up hurting him as a result. Because she was hiding the fact that the two “Sheila” was the same person.

It was an awful guilty feeling.

She didn’t know if Isaac really had feelings for Sheila. But if he did, wasn’t this too dishonest of her?

“…. Y-You’re wrong!”

Sheila shook her head frantically, but his expression remained unchanged.

She realized that simply denying it wasn’t enough to reach him. That was the cost of continually running away from the easy way out.

She had to face it head-on.

Just when Sheila had made up her mind, Amy interrupted her as if she had seen it coming.

“Sheila-chan, the shop has calmed down for the time being, so why don’t you go outside and have a nice talk?”

Sheila nodded her head in return for the grateful offer. She looked up at Isaac.

“Isaac-sama, may I have a moment of your time?”

“――Yes.”

With Sheila leading the way, the two started walking.

They walked further into the dimly lit back alley, looking for a place to talk.It was, oddly enough, the place where she first met Isaac in this disguise.

At that time, he had been wounded in a fight with a suspicious person and was crouching alone.

Sheila, who happened to spot him from the storefront, rushed over to treat him.

Even the heat of summer caressing her skin vividly reminded her of it, and Sheila stopped involuntarily. Perhaps he was also thinking about those days, and he naturally stopped, too.

Isaac’s voice sounded very calm.

“I’m a fool, so I don’t know how to be subtle. I don’t know any witty words. But let me tell you one thing. ――I like you.”

The words he said to her, so clearly and so gracefully, hit her hard.

Sheila hadn’t thought about it until Amy told her. Maybe it was partly because she was a slow learner, but in truth, she had been running away from him.

Because she didn’t want to take him seriously.

Tears welled up unexpectedly. But she thought she shouldn’t cry. Sheila just accepted his feelings straight away and looked back into his sky-blue eyes.

Then, she bowed deeply.

“I’m very happy. Isaac-sama is too good for me. But… I’m sorry.”

“――I see.”

Perhaps anticipating the reply, Isaac didn’t slump his shoulders too badly. He looked up at the narrow sky above him and let out a long, faint sigh.

The next time he looked down at Shayla, he had a somewhat fragile smile on his face. It was as if the sky was the same color as his eyes.

“I know I’m being a bit pushy, but can I ask you something? Is there someone else you like?”

Sheila nodded her head.

“But I’m not turning you down because I like someone else. It’s because I have someone I like that I understand. I have to face it properly. ――Because I have something to aim for.”

Sheila removed her black-rimmed glasses and took off her wig without hesitation.

Isaac’s eyes widened in amazement at the bright rose color that appeared from behind her black hair wig.

“I’m going to be a knight. That’s no longer just a final destination. I want to become a knight and save a lot of people.”

And Sheila wanted to see the same thing as Clauschezade.

Now that she realized how high that summit was, she had to work even harder than she did now.

“Sheila, huh…?”

“Yes… It’s not something that can be forgiven by apologizing, but I’m sorry I kept quiet for so long.”

He still seemed to be in a state of surprise. She wondered how he would respond once he calmed down.

Falsifying one’s gender to be admitted to the academy was almost a crime. There was even a possibility of being reported to the country.

Isaac was kind. He wasn’t the kind of person who would take revenge for being rejected.

However, he was still a noble who pledged allegiance to the Kingdom and a member of the Corps. She knew that was his pride.

She had no idea how he would react, being faithful to his duties. And Sheila had no right to stop him.

She waited patiently for him to speak.

Eventually, Isaac smiled slowly. His eyes were calm.

He patted her head. His slightly rough touch was no different from the time when they were training.

“You really go beyond my imagination, don’t you?”

His tone of voice still sounded like he was scolding a problematic junior.

Sheila could see that he was doing it on purpose out of concern for her.

Guilt, gratitude, and suffering. The sadness of not being able to accept this gentle person’s hand.

A jumble of emotions swept over her, and Sheila was on the verge of crying again.

“Let me support you in your dream. As a friend.”

“…. Yes! Thank you so much. ――Isaac-san.”

Gritting her teeth, Sheila held back her tears and laughed.

Isaac’s smile was gentle until the end when he waved his hand and parted.