One afternoon when I was walking through the streets of Pindos to pass the time, I noticed a strange air in the air.

　There were a lot of men, and they were stopping, glancing in the same direction, swooning or blushing, and it was strangely uncanny.

　I stopped and looked out of the men's line of sight to see a familiar face there.

　A beautiful woman is sitting on the terrace of a small coffee shop on a street corner, and she's having tea with a classy maneuver.

　Hestia Mercouri.
　A former prostitute, I knew her as an acquaintance who had moved into the vicinity of Pindos after she quit.

　The Hestia, for some reason, has an air of ennui about her.
　It's tea time, but she's not even biting her cup, she's distantly gazing into the twilight.

　It's a bit of a bother, so I approached her and tried to talk to her.
　Then.

'I don't know what to do,'
What?
"How to deal with people who don't come to see you--heh, Lady Hermes!
Yo.

　There was an empty seat across from Hestia's, so I sat there.
　A young waiter came over to take my order, so I ordered the same one Hestia had.

'Unusual to see you here,'
Yeah, yeah.
It's been a long time since we met in the first place. The country--it's been a while since the King.
Of course.

　Funny, the conversation is awkward for some reason.
　Hestia is cagey and subtly averts her gaze.

'Are you meeting up with someone, perhaps?　I'll go away if you get in my way.
No, no!

　Hestia was biting and hollered.

'I'm alone. For a while now.'
Really?
'Are you the one who is selling oil here, Mr. Hermes, is it safe to do so?　I've heard that you've become His Majesty's swordsmanship instructor.
You know your stuff. But I'm not surprised.

　I was usually convinced.

　One of Hestia's guests is the former king of Aegina.
　I've actually witnessed that the current king is "his father's counterpart" and is not in his head.
　Moreover, many of her customers are noblemen.

　So it's not surprising that she would get information about my appointment as a swordsmanship instructor, which is not well known to the general public.

　That Hestia, in contrast to earlier, smiled with a calm smile.

''It's a famous story in some quarters.
Is that so?
'Yes. A master that the famous swordsman, the king, used to become even stronger. People say he's an expert swordsman.
Wow ... that's what's going to happen.
Chuckle. You don't seem too happy about it.
I don't want to stand out, you know?
'Difficult man. There are plenty of people in the stars who would slobber over the position of Lady Hermes, and yet this is my nature.

　As Hestia and I were getting into a bit of small talk, I suddenly became aware of the eyes around me.

　The men who led me to find Hestia were still focusing their gazes on us, but for some reason, it began to be filled with sticky emotions.


That's cheap, dothampin'.
"I want to kill people with my hatred, I want to kill people with my hatred, I want to kill people with my hatred, I want to kill people with my hatred--

　They're obviously staring at me, partly because they're lightly cursed.
　Did I do something?
　I'm just talking to Hestia...........................what the hell.

'Master Hermes?'
'What?　Oh, sorry, I didn't hear you.
No, I didn't say anything. What is wrong with you, Master Hermes?
No, it's just... come to think of it, your language is totally normal.

　I didn't know what the men were looking at me for, but that didn't mean I had anything to say to Hestia, so I decided to divert the conversation appropriately.

'Yes, because I'm not a whore anymore. That was just business language, so to speak.''
I see. Well, that's a little disappointing.
What?
I was rather fond of that language, you know?
Is that so?
Yeah.
....

　Hestia looked down a little and looked me up and down.
　I could see the long ears poking out of her golden hair, which were clearly red.

'So, then,'
Hmm?
I talk like this when I'm with you.
Oops.

　It felt familiar.
　I hadn't heard Hestia use that language in a long time.
　Yeah, I still like it a lot.

I'm quite glad you did.
I'm glad you're happy, sir.
I see. So it's not a burden, then.
It's not a burden at all.　What did you say?
You're the most colorful man in the world, sir.

　Hestia said with a smile.
　A beautiful woman's smile is a very destructive force.

　I think I understand a little more why dozens and dozens of kings and nobles throughout history have been addicted to women and destroyed their countries and homes.
　That's what I did.

'Hestia-sama ... ah ... you're beautiful.
d*mn it, why not that guy?
"Go to hell, go to hell, go to hell, go to hell, go to hell--

　I shuddered.
　A chill came over me, even more than before.

　I looked around, the men gathered around me glaring at me more and more.
　Did I do something again?

　I'm not sure what he did, but we'll leave it at that--

-Oh!

　This time it wasn't a chill, but something distinctly different coming at us.

　It was flying towards the table we were at.
　And the trajectory of the flight, the trajectory of the Hestia.
　I grabbed my teacup and blocked it from flying.

"You?　This is ... the tea is a poisonous color, sir.
It's a curse.
The curse...?
Yeah, well, it's not much of a curse, is it?

　He lowered the teacup onto the table and popped the rim of the cup with his middle finger like a deco pin, putting his magic energy into it.
　The cursed energy was popped out of the teacup.
　A flash of black negative energy was released into the air as he pulled out his sword and released it.

　He annihilated it with a special slash of the type that would slash a spirit monster.

''It's all good now.''
You're really good-looking, sir.
Thank you.

　As expected of a former popular prostitute, the way she says her praise sounds a lot more comfortable than a normal human being.
　I might as well do something more for this.

''--Ha!

　I looked around in a panic.
　After "I don't know what it was but I did it" twice already today.

　Then unexpectedly, I used my body change to catch the curse because it flew at me, and I even released a slash to slash the spirit body.
　From my past experience, this is also an "I did it" action.
　So I panicked and looked around.

''I knew it........you have to be a man of this caliber.......''
I lost ... completely.
"Splinter and explode for ever, splinter and explode for ever, splinter and explode for ever, splinter and explode for ever...

　I don't know what it was, but I was disappointed and convinced.

'Well...'

　I wasn't sure.
　I don't know if this is the first time I've ever had a reaction to an accidental display of power.

　What the hell did I do to deserve this?