Chapter 28
…Cookies? Oh. Right.
She’d been baking cookies every day as offerings to grow her divine power, but today, even that felt like too much.
Maybe she’d bake apple jam cookies.
She’d call them Cookies of Eternal Winter.
“Linne, is something wrong? You don’t look well.”
As she got lost in these silly thoughts, Paris asked gently.
Unlike usual, she wasn’t startled or running away from him. She was just sitting there blankly. Paris must’ve thought something was wrong.
“I’ve just got a lot on my mind.”
“What are you thinking about?”
“Not like you can fix it even if I told you.”
“…I might be able to!”
“I don’t believe you will.”
How exactly are you going to solve a world-ending curse cast by the Titans?
Elinne swallowed the words rising to her lips and gave a shrug.
Paris, clearly not expecting much, stuck out his bottom lip.
Then he pointed beyond the palace.
“Well, I can fix your mood. Let’s go for a walk!”
He beamed and spun in a circle around her.
“Walking makes you feel better! It clears your head!”
“It’s dangerous outside the walls. You saw the Frost Giants attack yesterday.”
“I know a secret path. It’s thick with forest, so Titans can’t even get in. It’ll be safe!”
Hmm… Elinne eyed him dubiously.
He was wagging his tail in spirit, sparkling eyes pleading like a puppy desperate for a walk.
Eventually, she nodded.
* * *
Just like Paris had said, the path outside the wall was narrower and rougher than she’d expected.
But judging by the thick tangle of vines alone, even Frost Giants would have a hard time getting through. If they didn’t trip and fall first, that is.
“I really didn’t think you’d come out with me!!”
Paris was practically bouncing with joy.
“You like it that much?”
“Yes!”
Elinne glanced up at his grinning face, then asked, curious.
“Why? You’re not a full soldier, and you’re free to go out for walks whenever you want.”
“Because this is with you! You haven’t come out with me even once since that day. I mean, since I asked you to call me Paris…”
He had been speaking so casually, but trailed off, flinching as he glanced at her expression.
“I-if that bothered you, you can call me Alexandros again! I don’t mind! Just, please don’t avoid me!”
“It’s fine. I’ll call you Paris.”
Elinne replied without looking at him.
She was too busy untangling yet another vine that had wrapped around her legs.
“R-really?!”
He gasped behind her, genuinely shocked.
“You’ll really call me Paris again?”
“Yeah. It’s not that hard.”
She felt strangely detached.
Maybe it was because she’d suddenly learned a massive secret about the world she never saw coming.
Compared to that, her own “minor” personal curse didn’t seem like a big deal.
Of course, she might go back to panicking in a few days with her usual I’ll figure it out somehow mindset. But for now, for today’s mood, she felt oddly calm.
She was deep in thought again when she realized they’d walked farther than expected.
“See that? That’s the main palace. You see it, Linne?”
Paris pointed ahead, and sure enough, Nerva’s palace towered in the distance.
True to a Goddess of War, it had been built like a fortress atop high ground, closer to a stronghold than a palace.
‘Just how enormous must the Titans be to be seen beyond those towering palace walls?’
Elinne found herself remembering that day again without meaning to.
“They’re huge… Makes us mortals feel like nothing.”
“…Hey, Linne.”
She sighed as she spoke, and Paris cautiously responded.
“You seem different today. Did something happen?”
“How do I seem?”
“Well… how do I put it? You’re calmer than usual. Maybe even kind of… transcendent?”
Paris fumbled for the right word, then suddenly clapped his hands.
“Like a god!”
Elinne stared at him, expression flat.
“…Are you sure there isn’t a word omitted somewhere?”
“N-no!!”
Muttering to himself for a second, Paris suddenly jumped.
“I’d never think of you like that, Elinne! That’s not what I meant!”
He frantically waved his hands, looking like he might burst into tears.
Watching him, Elinne giggled out loud. He really was fun to tease.
“You were right. That walk helped. I feel a little better now. Thanks.”
At her gentle words, Paris’s eyes widened.
Then he smiled broadly.
“If Elinne’s happy, then I’m happy!”
“…But why are you always so nice to me? It’s more than what childhood friends usually do.”
She asked it casually, watching his face. She’d hoped to hear some memory from a past she couldn’t remember.
“You take care of me like I’m you or something.”
“Huh? Uh, th-that’s, um…!”
But Paris looked visibly flustered.
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