episode_0536

I could feel it, even if only for a moment.

No, it was stranger that I didn’t feel anything strange in the first place. It was a moment when a gust of wind suddenly appeared before my eyes in a room without a fan and then disappeared.

… Crucially, the moment Eris’s body rose slightly, my magical power slightly decreased.

‘Say… .’

I thought you had completely disappeared from my sight, but you were still by my side.

It is possible that he happened to pass by and caught Eris when she was about to fall, then disappeared again, but Eris’s reaction was too strange for that to be the case.

“Mom… ?”

Rather than feeling strange about the sensation of her body suddenly rising and falling, she reacted as if it were a natural thing.

As if he had known for a long time that Sei would be by his side.

‘Maybe that’s why Eris started walking earlier than other children, and why she started learning to talk earlier…’

This can be explained if we say that the disappeared Sei was actually by Iris’ side 24 hours a day.

When learning to walk, Sei would take care of Eris’s body every time she was about to fall, or Sei would constantly talk to Eris and have conversations with her.

“Yes, Eris~.”

‘For the time being, it’s probably better to just pretend not to know.’

Sei and I haven’t officially reconciled yet. If I notice her by Eris’ side and try to approach her, she might leave me again.

Reconciliation with Seiwa is definitely something you should try after obtaining the ‘Windbird’s Feather’.

After this graduation ceremony, I should talk to Ethan about visiting Lilia’s hometown.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

“It seems like a wind spirit has joined Eris?”

“Keep your voice down, Ethan. You don’t want Sei to catch you doing something wrong.”

“… Is it possible to avoid being caught just by lowering your voice?”

In fact, if Sei had decided to hide herself, it wouldn’t be impossible for her to eavesdrop on my conversation with Ethan, but she seemed to be sticking close to Eris lately, so it’ll be okay.

“To be exact, it’s my old spirit. The child who suddenly disappeared when I ran away.”

“… That’s right. I also heard last time that after that, you couldn’t control spirits anymore.”

“Sally, the fire spirit, still comes when called, but it’s been quite some time since I last saw Say. And I just found out that the child was stuck to Eris’ side.”

“It’s not like it’s a particularly bad spirit, right? Then, it’s okay to leave it as is, right?”

“Actually, rather than doing anything bad, he’s actually closer to helping Eris… .”

As Ethan said, that wasn’t the problem. Strictly speaking, the problem was on my side, not Eris’s.

“Anyway, I have another problem right now.”

“Another problem?”

“Actually, the last time I broke up with Sei, it didn’t go so well. I need to apologize and repair our relationship before it’s too late.”

“Is that apology that hard? Can’t you just apologize sincerely?”

“To restore your relationship with the Wind Spirit, you need something called a ‘Wind Bird Feather’. And the Wind Bird is a natural phenomenon where the wind gathers into the shape of a bird, so you can’t capture it or store its feathers. So you have to collect it from the place where the Wind Bird appears and use it right away.”

“… Sure, it’s tricky.”

“Yes. That’s why I’m telling you. After the graduation ceremony, I’d like to ask you to go with me to get the feathers of the wind bird.”

“Do you know where the wind chimes come from?”

“According to what Liria said, they often appear in the northeastern plains during fall and winter… .”

“… It’s the exact opposite direction from Blackwood Manor.”

“… … Yes.”

It was a request in name only, but it was in reality a huge nuisance. It meant that he was going to take away nearly two weeks of Ethan’s time, who would soon become the Duke of Blackwood.

Even if I were to go back to the mansion right away, hold a wedding, and inherit the Blackwood family, I’ve already taken a year of Ethan’s time, and now he’s talking about taking another fortnight, so even I can’t help but feel guilty.

It was even more difficult to ask for this favor because it was all my fault, not to mention the waste of a year, that I had to reconcile with Sei.

“Actually, after this graduation ceremony, I was thinking about going to the northeastern plains by myself… .”

“… Do you think I would allow that, Lilith?”

“Of course I was going to tell Ethan! I, I would never run away like that. It doesn’t make sense to leave Eris behind and go somewhere now.”

“… Right.”

“But now that I know that Sei is by Eris’ side, if I want to reconcile with Sei, I have to take Eris to the Northeastern Plains. But Ethan would never allow me to leave Ethan behind and take Eris with me, right?”

“Of course. If you did something like that, no matter how much you release it… .”

“… … .”

“Oh, no. Anyway, I told you in advance, so it’s okay.”

It seemed like it wasn’t a story worth hearing, so I didn’t bother to ask any further.

When I ran away once and was caught and brought back, I experienced being locked up in an iron cage, so I had a feeling that I might experience something worse there.

“Does reconciliation with the spirit have to happen so quickly? At least after Eris has grown up a bit, it should be okay… .”

“According to the professor’s class, it would be best to release it within 3 years… .”

“When did Release break up with Sei?”

“… It was mid-March last year, so it’s been about a year and nine months now.”

“… I don’t have enough time to put it off any longer.”

Because if I go back to Blackwood Manor, it’s so obvious that I’ll be stuck there for years.

If that happened, I would have lost the chance to reconcile with Sei forever, and if that happened, as I said before, there was a possibility that I would not be able to properly talk to her until I died.

Of course, I didn’t want that to happen, so I had to somehow create a place where we could reconcile when the opportunity arose.

“… If my father finds out, he might really get angry this time.”

“Oh, I’ll ask you to do the same for your father. Don’t worry too much, Ethan.”

“… Yeah, if Lilith asks you to do it too, I don’t think he’ll be mad. ”

Harold has been openly taking care of my convenience lately, so I guess he’ll somehow do something for his daughter-in-law.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

“Oh! Really, Senior Release!”

“… Yes. So this winter vacation… Oh, no. After graduation, I plan to visit Lilia’s hometown for a graduation trip.”

“Good idea, Senior Release! I also wanted to introduce my hometown to you!”

“I hope you don’t hold and shake it too much… .”

As soon as she heard that I was planning to visit her hometown, Lilia excitedly shook my shoulder.

Looking at the way Lilia usually treats me, I expected this kind of reaction.

“If you’re a sky owl, you know where I come from. I’ll treat you perfectly to all the specialties of our Barbaracus tribe, including the Red Canyon and the Cold Desert!”

“I’m satisfied if I can just see the nightingale… .”

“Don’t feel pressured! It would be a great honor for me to have the opportunity to serve Senior Release!”

… If you say you really don’t care and don’t want to see it, I think you’ll be genuinely sad.

There was no need to needlessly stimulate Lilia’s emotions as she passionately tried to introduce her hometown to me.

That doesn’t mean I’m going to see all of the famous Barbarakus full courses that Lilia talks about. If I find the Sky Oriole… the Wind Bird, I’ll just make up excuses and decline the rest.

“Oh, come to think of it, I wonder if I’m wasting time with my husband for no reason. Prince Karaham must be excited to meet Miss Liria this winter vacation, but what if my asking for this favor causes problems in our relationship?”

“Ah, we’re not a couple yet… . Ah, anyway, Senior Release, you don’t have to worry about that! ”

“Yes?”

“My husband has been a member of our tribe since this summer! You are already an honorary Barbaracus, officially recognized by your father and uncles!”

“Yes… … ?”

… No, what the hell is this?