Chapter 5 – The Genius Perfumer of the Fallen Cult
Rojien wiped Prim’s wet feet with a cloth and fanned them dry with his hand.
Then, following Prim’s gaze toward the bouquet, he suddenly shouted.
“Hey! Prim! Look at your hands too.”
“Ah, this is fine.”
“It’s not fine at all!”
Rojien stared with his mouth wide open at Prim’s hands, scratched all over from rose thorns. He glanced once at the bouquet, then swallowed whatever he had been about to say and changed the subject.
“…Did you do this because you wanted to make this?”
“Yeah.”
“I see… Still, next time just wait a little. If you call me, I’ll come right away.”
“It’s okay. They’ll heal by night anyway.”
Her curse did not allow calluses to form.
“That’s not the point.”
Grumbling like that, Rojien checked that all the blood had been washed from Prim’s feet and then turned his back to her.
Prim looked at that back—one she had been familiar with for such a long time—and noticed how much smaller it seemed now. She rubbed her eyes. They quickly turned red.
“Prim?”
“Mhm.”
She stretched out her arms and leaned against his back. Rojien hoisted her up and stood up in one swift motion.
Rojien was sturdier than most kids his age, and Prim was smaller than others her age, so he always said carrying her on his back wasn’t difficult.
“Should we take the bouquet you made too?”
“No, I’ll leave this here.”
Leaving the bouquet on the altar, Rojien adjusted Prim on his back and briskly walked out of the old temple.
“Prim, guess what I did today?”
“What did you do?”
“Want me to show you?”
“Yeah.”
Prim already knew what Rojien had done, but she didn’t say so. His steps grew quicker.
The orphanage of the Barin Temple was one of the poorest places even within the impoverished territory of Saint Bertal. Still, it had one of the few advantages it could boast—a beautiful view from the low hill behind the orphanage.
When Rojien, carrying Prim on his back, turned and climbed the hill, the first thing that caught their eyes was a large tree.
And hanging from that tree was something that hadn’t been there until recently.
“Do you see it?”
“…Yeah, I see it.”
It was a swing.
There was no way the orphanage, with its empty finances, could normally obtain such sturdy long ropes and a smooth wooden plank.
Ever since Rojien had come to this orphanage, he had spent an entire year helping with all sorts of tasks just to barely obtain that rope and plank. And hanging it that high must not have been easy either.
“It’s called a swing. Even if it moves a little, it’s not scary. It’s really fun.”
“……”
After saying that, Rojien carefully set Prim down on the swing. It was high enough that her feet didn’t touch the ground.
Prim’s feet didn’t touch the ground…
“Prim, hold the ropes tight. I’ll push you.”
Rojien quickly ran behind her and gently pushed the swing. It slowly swayed back and forth. The scenery moved away and then drew near again.
In the rippling air, the scent of wild grass, the fragrance of wildflowers, and the refreshing smell from leaves touched by the wind blended together.
“How is it? It’s fun, right?”
“……”
“From now on, if you want to ride the swing, just tell me right away. Okay?”
Perhaps worried she might be scared, Rojien pushed the swing gently as he spoke.
Yet he didn’t mention at all how long he had struggled to obtain the sturdy rope and plank needed to make this swing.
Prim thought it felt like she was slowly rocking in a cradle.
Of course, someone like her—an orphan who didn’t even know who her parents were—had no way of knowing what a cradle’s rocking felt like. Still…
In her previous life, even after receiving this gift, she hadn’t been able to feel happy. All she could think about was her own situation, unable to walk.
Even though she thought that way, she couldn’t get angry at Rojien. Because she believed she couldn’t go anywhere without him.
So instead, she carried out a gloomy sort of revenge by never once saying she wanted to ride the swing.
As if understanding her heart, Rojien simply kept smiling the entire time the swing he had worked so hard to make was left abandoned forever.
But he must have known.
Now she finally understood.
Just as he had countless thoughts after seeing her walk on her own, he must have been reflecting on the fact that she never once mentioned the swing…
Now Prim decided she would no longer let Rojien interpret her silence however he wished.
“Rojien.”
“Yeah? What is it?”
As the swing came back toward him, Rojien tilted his head and replied. Feeling the motion of the swing, Prim spoke slowly.
“I’m going to become a perfumer.”
At those words, Rojien abruptly stopped the swing, ran in front of her, and jumped excitedly.
“Really? Yeah, you’ve got talent! Let’s ask the priest to teach you! You can take the perfumer qualification exam next year! Don’t you need a recommendation letter from the temple to apply? Well, maybe the priest will give you one!”
“Being an orphan worked out well, right?”
It wasn’t particularly funny, but Rojien burst out laughing.
Seeing him laugh, Prim gave a faint smile too before slowly drawing in a breath.
Her decision to become a perfumer wasn’t anything remarkable. She was simply repeating what she had already done in her previous life.
The real reason she had returned was something else.
Hoping her tension wouldn’t show, Prim carefully chose her words.
“Rojien, you know…”
“Hm? Should we try to get a perfume manual or something? When the merchants come next time. Our temple doesn’t have many left. Until then—”
“I’ll become a perfumer, and you’ll become a knight.”
“Practice— huh?”
Rojien’s eyes widened.
Then he pointed at himself.
“Me? I… a knight?”
“Yeah.”
Prim nodded.
Rojien’s eyes darted around.
“Um… I don’t think that’s possible since I’m an orphan.”
In truth, becoming a knight was something usually only possible for the children of fairly wealthy noble families. Training a single knight required an enormous amount of money.
Knights earned their shining honor and authority by fighting magical beasts, but the price of the weapons, armor, and warhorses that kept them alive was unimaginably high.
Learning swordsmanship and various martial arts was also difficult. Such great techniques were not taught to just anyone, and the cost paid to a master was considerable.
But even knowing all that, Prim spoke firmly.
“No. You can do it.”
“Oh… really? I can? Me?”
“Yeah.”
“Hmm… how exactly would that even work…?”
Rojien muttered awkwardly.
When Prim said she wanted to become a perfumer, he had plenty to say. But suddenly being handed the dream of becoming a knight left him speechless.
Instead, Prim spoke rapidly.
“You have talent. You’re athletic, strong, and tall. You can enter as a knight’s squire you pass by, learn swordsmanship by watching from the side, build your achievements, and receive a knightly title. It’s definitely possible.”
Despite having endured such a poor and harsh childhood, the grown Rojien would become tall and well-built, able to use strength that several men together would struggle to produce.
Even though he had never formally learned the sword, he had once defeated a knight just by copying what he had seen.
The conflicts caused by his red hair—something people compared to that of magical beasts—didn’t last long either.
The holy knights under the Radiant Archduke, a man of the clergy, had tried to recruit him as a holy knight. The knights under the Earth Archduke, a noble lord, had tried to bring him into their order.
If not for her, he would have become a knight long ago.
He could have shone in the sunlight, yet he refused all those opportunities for glory.
Just to place her in the dazzling world above and put the things she wanted into her hands as quickly as possible, he never hesitated to plunge his own hands into filth.
But now she wouldn’t let things go that way.
After hearing Prim’s confident plan, Rojien simply blinked his eyes repeatedly, scratching his head with his mouth hanging open.
‘As if that would work!’
