「You’re still looking up at the sky?」


  「……yes」


  When I looked outside from my bedroom window, Sariya curiously asked me.

  This is my favorite place where even someone with a leg disability like me can enjoy the outside world.

  When I open the window, I can hear the sounds of life from people and their lively conversation, along with the refreshing wind entering the room.

  I can not see their appearance from there, however, if I gather magic power in my eyes to strengthen my vision, I can see people's faces as they walk on the main street.

  But, once, once in a while, men are doing manual labor………they, it troubles me since they are making me embarrassed somehow when I see them walking on the streets as they expose their upper body.

  Even though there are so many people around, why are they dressed like that…… I wonder if everyone is not embarrassed by that?　If it were me, then I would simply be unable to look them in the eye.

  Just looking at them like this makes my face feel hot.

  It’s also disconcerting to look at them often.

  This is how I interact with the outside world since I can not walk around freely because of my social standing and constitution.

  In truth, I know that it’s impossible, but I can help but think that I wanted to freely walk the streets just like the people of the royal capital.

  What’s happening in the world outside of this large royal castle?

  The sea, where its seawater spreads out to the horizon. Mountains that were larger than this Misfrit castle where I lived. The wide plains, spreading out just like a green carpet. There are a lot of things in this world such as deserts, villages, monsters, and animals that I do not know.

  I want to look at them with these eyes, feeling it with my skin, enjoy it with my ears, and taste it with my tongue.

  I want to know them more and more.

  It’s been a few years since I’m aware of this feeling. I have been living with that kind of feeling desperately locked up inside me, however, these days I feel that they have become stronger.

  The scene from three weeks ago, I will not be able to forget them.

  Two boys walking freely, and excitedly in the wide-open sky.

  I can not tear my eyes off of them, seeing those two boys living freely and enjoying their lives fully.

  Compared to those two, do I enjoy my current life? Am I satisfied with my life?

  There are not a few days when I think about such things.

  「Can you see those two boys?」


  「……no, I can not see them.」


  Even today, the royal capital sky is clear, there are no clouds to be seen, but those two boys are not there.

  It’s as if they are saying that my eyes had deceived me.

  「Don’t you think that maybe you’re mistaken?」


  「No, it’s not. I saw them with these two eyes!」


  I resolutely answered Sariya, who laughed and said that as if making fun of me.

  Even though it’s not, Sariya said that I was mistaken.

  After that day, I looked up at the sky, but still, I have not seen those two boys again.

  But, it’s not a mistake. Definitely, that’s all I can say.

  「Then, what kind of boys are they?」


  「One of those boys has brown hair with a stern look in his eyes, while the other one………if I’m not mistaken, I think it’s a boy with sleepy-looking eyes and brown hair. 」


  「Seems like you’re not confident about the other boy………」


  I wonder what is it?

  We strengthened our eyes with magic power as our eyes met, and we also waved our hands to each other.

  And yet, the boy who is supposed to be the magician doesn’t leave that much of an impression.

  Ummm………should I say that he has this lackluster face, or should I say that he doesn’t stand out? I think that his unremarkable features would likely be buried if there were a lot of people around him.

  「And here I thought that you would insist that it was a blond-haired, blue-eyed handsome boy just like the one that appeared in stories………」


  「I’m not that kind of person.」


  I turned away as if sulking from Sariya, who laughed like a bully from someplace.

  Certainly, I have a physical disability and I tend to stay inside the castle, and I also read a lot of books, but I will not confuse them with reality………probably.

  「That’s right, isn’t it. Layla would rather prefer a brown-haired handsome boy, isn’t she? There is a princess of a kingdom in the『On A Night of Full Moon』, who met a commoner one day and fell in love with him, and because of their difference in social status, they eloped on a night of full moon ――」


  「Kyaaaaaaaaaa! Why does Sariya have that!　Even though I use The History of Misfrit Kingdom as its book cover and place it in an inconspicuous place!?」


  I turn my wheelchair to take the romance story in Sarya’s hand back.

  Then I rolled the tires to approach Sariya and reach out with my hands, but I could not reach them.

  「Although Layla likes to read stories, don't you think that you have badly misused the history book?　Of course, I will notice them immediately.」


  Sariya laughed in amusement.

  Kuh! If I could stand up, then it would be easy to take it back! 　I truly hate these unmoving legs!

  「Please return it! Sariya!」


  「I will return it after I finished reading it, okay」


  Today Sariya looks like a demon with that tender smile on her face.

  「……but, Layla yearns for this kind of thing, huh. Ufufu, though I think I understand how it feels……」


  Sariya said that while flipping through the pages *parapara*.

  It’s so embarrassing!　She knows about my wish from being unable to go out from the castle.

  I can’t take it anymore, I want to jump off from here!

  I hung my head in shame and my face turned red, and to that, Sariya whispered close to my ear, as if to give me an additional blow.

  「I hope someday that a cool guy would appear and take me out of here.」


  「Geez!　Sariya!」


  「You look cute when your face turned red like thatー」


  「I want to drink tea, so please prepare it!　Come on, please, quickly close the book!」


  「Okay okay」


  Author Note :

  Even though I wanted to create a more peaceful atmosphere…


  I might occasionally insert a short chapter about Layla from now on.