Bonus Story:
The Ideal Lover
“Ugh , I just want a man!”
“Pfbbbtt!!!”
At Mile’s sudden declaration, the other three members of the Crimson Vow did a spit take of the tea they had been drinking.
“Wha…? Wh-wh-wh…?”
“Where’s this coming from?”
“To say something like that so casually…”
Shock appeared upon the faces of the trio as they wiped down the now-damp table and chairs.
“I mean, I’m already the ripe old age of thirteen, aren’t I? Shouldn’t it be okay for me to have a boyfriend or two?! Even Rika and Jenny had boyfriends…”
“Who are they?” asked the other three.
“Anyway, I’ve never even had a single male friend! Please try to understand!!”
“Ah…”
Reina had hardly ever had any extended interaction with a man, outside of her father, their customers, and the members of the Crimson Lightning.
Pauline had rarely spoken to any men who were not her father or her brother Alan.
Beyond her father and three brothers, the same was true for Mavis.
And yet, the three assumed the position of Mile’s seniors on this road, not voicing these facts.
“What kind of men do you like, Mile?” Reina asked.
Mile thought hard and replied frankly. “Umm, well, he needs to be trim, not too muscular, intelligent and kind, mild and well mannered, vastly chivalrous—someone who would risk his own life to save me in a pinch… And I think anywhere from my age to ten years older would be just fine.”
“No man like that even exists! They only live in the delusions of little girls with their heads in the clouds! If such a man exists, then I want him!” Pauline practically spat.
Perhaps there had been some great sorrow in her past…
The other three said nothing.
“A-anyway, besides that…” Mavis chimed in after a brief silence, perhaps hoping to disperse the tense atmosphere.
“Ah, yes, besides that, he should be able to know everything about me and accept it all with a smile, not try to cash in on the fact that I’m a noble or want to earn heaps of money using my storage magic. That should go without saying. And he should be able to work as a hunter alongside all of us!”
“There’s no such man.”
“None at all.”
“He doesn’t exist.”
Everyone swiftly denied her. Such a man was pure fantasy.
“Wha…?”
Mile’s face fell. This was a heavy blow.
However, Pauline and Reina’s faces suddenly lit up, as though a thought had occurred to them.
“Actually, maybe he does exist…”
“It’s true!”
“What?! P-please, introduce him to me! I’m begging you!!!”
Then, the pair of them silently pointed…to a certain fellow party member, whose confusion was clear on her face.
“You literally just described Mavis.”
“Ah…”
Mile and Mavis were awestruck.
Sure enough, there was exactly one person who met all the guidelines that Mile had been laying out. The sort of person who normally should not exist but who fit every last requirement to a T.
“I-I’m a bit of a dunce, but if you’ll have me…”
“W-wait! Wait a second! Mile, what the heck are you…”
“Hey, wait ! I said that I wanted a ‘man’! A man ! ”
“I mean, close enough, right?”
“Hang on, Reina! What is that supposed to mean?”
And so, the second great spat of the month was underway…
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