"Hnn..."
She didn't like this. She didn't like this at all.
It was all the same...
But she wanted to talk to someone.
Realy, really badly.
Sitting and seeing everyone else talking with each other was painful.
She wanted to join in, but couldn't.
What if they make fun of her? What if they finally snap and start calling her a monster because of how different she was?
'They won't say it, they are good people.'
But they think that on the inside. Those eyes of theirs don't lie, they truly do consider her different, every single one of them.
And they can't hide their eyes from her.
'If only Faun was here...'
Even though he was boring, even though he barely supported the conversations... it was still fun.
If only she could talk to him again...
***
Nothing to do, no one to talk to.
Faun wasn't coming back, he would never be here.
She would never talk to Faun again.
Once that realization struck her, she couldn't help but get anxious.
'Nonono. He'll be back, right? For sure, he'll definitely come back, and then we'll talk like normal.'
She just had to be alone for a little bit more.
Just a little bit more...
***
It has been two months. He is most definitely not coming back.
But what was she supposed to do then?
She tried talking with others, but every time she did, those eyes were pointed in her direction and she couldn't help but freeze in place. She couldn't talk, couldn't even nod. All she could do was flee when those eyes had their attention on her.
Those gazes of being different.
'No... I can't be different... I'm not different... don't let me be different...'
She was just like everyone else, just a normal girl.
That was who she was supposed to be, that was who she was.
There was nothing special about her. Nothing.
Faun was proof of that. Yes, Faun was proof.
There was nothing different about her, since Faun had that gaze towards everybody, that means she was just the same as everybody.
'So don't look at me with those eyes.'
But no matter how much she tried and how much time passed, those eyes never changed.
She could speak while being frozen. She could stop herself from stuttering even under those gazes.
But those eyes never changed. They were always like that, thinking of her as different.
Those eyes might not have changed... but there was sudden change of thought.
***
'Why am I different and everybody else isn't?'
―That was the question that started the snowball of thoughts.
Yes, she was different because of her hair and eye color, but there were people who were way more weird in this village than her even considering that.
The boy who refused help in anything. The master magician who didn't seem to know the concept of personal space. The woman that had things for young boys. The old kind sweet old man who was a masochist deep down.
Why was she the only one who had those eyes directed at her among all those weird people?
'Ah... I'm not.'
When she looked at others, when they talked about others, when they saw someone, she didn't see the eyes that were directed at her.
...But they were still eyes that clearly pointed at something different.
That was when she realized.
Those gazes she was seeing. Those eyes she was afraid of.
It was not because she was different.
It was because her hair and eye color were different.
It might seem like such a minute thing, such a small difference.
But that's all she needed.
She wasn't the only one different.
Everybody was different.
It's just that people were different in different things.
Once she broadened her horizons like that, those eyes didn't seem so scary anymore.
They were just completely normal eyes that were looking at something.
Yes, those eyes were looking at something different... but everything is different from yourself.
Just three days after that realization, the magician who didn't know personal space came to her.
"Faun left this letter for you."
***
She was confused. Faun left a letter for her, but it was only given to her now? Why?
She tried to ask Jagon that, but he just said to read the letter.
So she decided to do just that and opened it on the spot.
――――
It's been a while, Anelle.
Hopefully, this letter gets to you at the right time. Considering it's Jagon though, it will probably go fine.
Now, in this letter, I wanted to congratulate you.
Congratulations on getting friends and congratulations on widening your view.
As a present for this achievement, I will tell you something interesting.
You probably have a rare condition called Albinism.
It is a condition which makes you have white hair, white eyes and even white skin.
So don't worry, you aren't the only person like this.
But on a more important note, people with Albinism will get sick upon being under the sun for too long.
That is probably the reason you couldn't play with kids your age. I suggest you carry an umbrella around for your protection, or just wear clothes that cover a lot of skin.
That's pretty much all I had to say.
Goodbye, Anelle.
――――
...Huh.
Surprisingly, there wasn't much of a reaction to this letter. Even though ever since Faun left she has been wishing to see and talk to him again, at some point that feeling went away.
She couldn't remember when, probably because it didn't go away in a single day.
At most, she was feeling a bit of gratitude.
To express that small gratitude there was a simple way.
"Thank you, Faun."
She thanked the air, knowing that that gratitude will definitely, somehow reach him.
*********
Knock knock.
"What is it?"
"Um, Sir, there's a letter for you."
"Since you are interrupting me in the middle of work, it's not just a normal letter, right?"
"Y-yes. It is a letter from... Jagon."
I couldn't help but be surprised. What reason did that annoying guy have to write me a letter?
"Come in and give it to me."
Once I had the letter in my hands, I opened it and started reading through it.
――――
Hi there, old pal.
I have written you to tell you about somebody.
I'm sure there is a new adventurer over there named Faun, right?
If you think of him as just a normal, but a bit smart little kid, that means he has successfully fooled you.
I bet he didn't even gave you the letter of recommendation I gave him.
The reason I'm telling you all this is because...
Maybe give him a bit of preferential treatment?
――――
I crumpled the letter and threw it in the trash bin.
'This fucker. He doesn't give any signals of life for almost a year and then he asks for preferential treatment?!'
I glare at that crumpled paper in the trash for a bit.
"...Haaa, I'm so pathetic."
I rub my temples.