Ch.159Chapter 159: Homecoming (2)

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The ride in the eight-seater carriage was quite comfortable.

The skilled coachman handled the Ice Bringer breed horse—clearly a partner of many years—with impressive speed.

Despite the estimated arrival time being just over three hours,

At this steady pace, we would certainly reach North Kessler Town in less than three hours.

It wasn’t just the speed that was remarkable.

Despite moving so quickly, the carriage interior remained perfectly quiet, with no wind noise or road sounds disturbing the pleasant ride.

Though brief, this carriage journey had all the necessary conditions for comfortable long-distance travel,

But there was just one disappointing aspect.

The scenery visible through the carriage window was monotonous to the point of desolation.

At least since we were passing through the southern part of Night Haven where land purification had been somewhat successful,

The occasional coniferous trees and other cold-climate vegetation growing between the carriage paths added some variety to the otherwise monotonous view.

Yet this barren backdrop, not completely dispelled, was a slight blemish on an otherwise perfect carriage journey.

Of course, despite my complaints, I understood this was unavoidable.

This desolate landscape was the result of land still being purified after contamination by the twisted divinity of the Demon God who invaded these lands a thousand years ago.

The contaminated area was so vast that even mobilizing the full administrative power of the Empire might not be enough to completely resolve it.

The land purification project had begun in earnest with the northern development initiative, and barring any major obstacles, it would eventually be completed despite taking time, creating a foundation for new life to take root.

So I should probably set aside my disappointment at this point.

I should just enjoy the carriage journey,

But there was a good reason why I felt this disappointment looking at the scenery.

Why hide it?

‘Before I died in my previous life, the land purification was nearly complete, and this place had transformed into quite a vibrant area.’

After my regression, when the fierce battle recorded as the Second Great Holy War tilted toward humanity’s victory as I ascended to the position of the Demon God’s agent,

Thanks to the Holy Sword Wielder properly unleashing the power of the Holy Sword and removing the Demon God’s malice that had long permeated this land,

I still remembered the moment when life finally took root in this land that had been trapped in an eternal winter where no life could sprout.

If you heard me mention the Holy Sword Wielder,

You’d know that Shizu, who was now leaning her face against my shoulder and floundering in dreams,

Was the protagonist who brought about such a miracle in the timeline before I regressed.

This was all the result of my rage against the Demon God for forcing an unwanted position on me,

And the successful execution of my plan to die as a human, which maximized humanity’s strength against the demonic realm.

Though I hadn’t done much right in my life before regressing,

The things I did while bearing the unimaginable burden of being the Demon God’s agent

Were perhaps the most valuable actions throughout my entire life,

Making me smile bitterly at the irony of it all.

Anyway, as I realized that everything I had accomplished before being reduced to ashes and disappearing during the miracle of traveling back in time had been undone,

I almost let those complaints escape my lips.

Feeling that if I kept bottling it up, I might end up voicing these thoughts aloud,

“Sigh…”

I let out a deep breath to calm the heat of disappointment rising in my chest.

“…Why the sudden sigh?”

My sister expressed her puzzlement at my sigh, which seemed out of place in the situation.

“It’s just a bit hot in the carriage.”

Thanks to a hastily crafted but convincing excuse that came naturally,

“Of course it is, with someone heating you up right next to you.”

My sister showed an indifferent attitude with a subtle expression.

Whether it was envy or embarrassment, it was hard to tell, which is why I could only describe it as subtle,

But I knew that this subtlety was far from negative,

“I suppose so.”

I answered briefly and maintained silence.

I should probably stop dwelling on these disappointing thoughts and

Think of something more productive.

A good topic had just come to mind.

The long history of this northern region where the wheels of our carriage were currently rolling.

Though I call it a long history,

The northern history taught in the basic education curriculum that all imperial citizens receive regardless of social status amounts to only a few lines even if you thoroughly examine the standard textbooks.

Although one could never imagine it from the desolate view before us,

From the ancient kingdom whose name has been lost,

It’s widely known that this northern region was once the most glorious area in the entire central continent,

But the nameless ancient kingdom, which was the core and center of northern history,

Due to a certain ancient dragon that occasionally echoes in my mind and speaks to me,

Was ruined so thoroughly that even the expression “collapsed overnight” seems insufficient, and all related records disappeared,

Which is why the history of the northern territory conveyed to imperial citizens is so sparse,

But I am different.

During my stay at the dark obsidian palace as the Demon God’s agent,

Thanks to diligently reading the books kept in the library there,

I know several secrets of this land that even the renowned northern history authorities at the Imperial History Academy are unaware of.

The history of this land, which hardly anyone but me knows, seems like the perfect topic to pass the three or so hours in this comfortable carriage.

If I am to make a modest pledge to someday revive the greenery of this land—which Shizu had restored through her tearful efforts before I regressed—in a way that doesn’t burden her alone,

There’s no better method than to ruminate on the history of this land.

Despite the time that had passed since boarding the carriage,

My mind was vigorously fighting off fatigue as it filled with what felt like an ardent wish.

#

As I spent time organizing my thoughts and slowly recalling what I might someday do in this land,

“Let’s wake up. We’ve arrived.”

My sister’s soft voice awakened my mind, which had settled into deep concentration.

In the process, I worried that Shizu, who had been leaning her head on my shoulder, might have awakened due to my unconscious stirring,

Fortunately, that slight movement wasn’t enough to wake Shizu from her sleep on my shoulder.

“…Mmm.”

She was still making contented sounds and her expression remained relaxed, making it easy to tell she was in a deep, sweet sleep.

Seeing her like this, I could feel my own expression softening without realizing it.

Normally, I would have carefully woken Shizu to head to the platform where the transcontinental train would be,

But knowing that waking her from such peaceful sleep would surely crack that comfortable expression,

The urge to carry this wingless angel who had fallen asleep leaning on my shoulder all the way to the station began to rise within me,

So I carefully held both her shoulders as I stood up,

And carefully turned my back, trying to lift her sleeping body onto my back,

“…If you show that kind of scene to the journalists who are gathered here in droves to interview returning Cradle students after the subjugation mission, it’ll be front-page news in the institutional papers.”

Thanks to my sister’s concerned voice that reached my ears from the moment I turned my back,

My clouded judgment returned to normal.

Hmm, I almost threw good bait to those predators hungry for a scoop.

I should abandon the plan to carry Shizu to the platform and instead carefully wake her up.

Though my mind had coldly revised the plan,

Throughout the revision, there was also embarrassment among the emotions swirling in my head.

“My brother indeed, but I really don’t know who you take after with such recklessness.”

As my sister teased me with a light laugh, having immediately understood what I was trying to do, my embarrassment naturally doubled.

Though I knew it wouldn’t work at all,

I felt I needed to make some excuse to manage this embarrassment,

“No, I was just holding Shizu’s shoulders to wake her up.”

Even as I spoke, I tried to put on a brave face while making an excuse I knew wouldn’t be believed,

“You didn’t just turn your body, you also slightly bent your knees.”

My sister’s words, which seemed to have been waiting for this moment, instantly shattered the brave face I was trying to put on,

And my hands, which had been holding Shizu’s shoulders, unconsciously switched to covering my face, which was burning with embarrassment.

It was at that moment that Shizu’s head, which had been supported by my shoulder and arms, lost its balance and sank into the plush carriage seat.

“Ah.”

This was my exclamation that escaped as soon as I realized my mistake,

“Eh…?”

And this was the sound that came from Shizu’s lips as soon as her head touched the carriage seat.

Though it sounded like mumbling, the clear articulation indicated that Shizu had finally awakened from her sleep.

“Well done waking her up.”

My sister offered a calm compliment to me after confirming that Shizu had awakened.

…Is that really a compliment?

While I was caught in strange emotions, unsure whether my sister was praising or teasing me,

“Mmm…where are we?”

Right now, the priority was to help Shizu, who had just awakened and was still in a half-asleep state, regain her senses,

So I carefully lowered my hands from my face and approached Shizu,

“We’ve arrived at North Kessler Town where the train is. Let’s gather our luggage and head to the platform.”

As I spoke to her in a soft voice,

She turned her head with a slightly dazed expression to meet my gaze,

“…Ah.”

A deep exclamation that was hard to define escaped her lips,

And simultaneously, a clear light shone in her blue eyes, which were as clear as a blue sky.

It was a signal that her half-asleep mind had instantly returned to full awareness.

Still, while it’s fortunate that she regained her senses, why did such a sudden exclamation escape her lips?

There was nothing in her field of vision that would elicit such a response.

The unresolved doubt was trying to take root in my mind,

“Hehe, I must have done a lot of good deeds lately. Being able to see Karl’s face as soon as I open my eyes.”

The answer to her exclamation was in Shizu’s words as she smiled brightly.

Something I’ve been keenly feeling lately is that

This precious fiancée, who makes me happy just by being near me, seems to have a talent for bringing me unexpected happiness.

I tried to move my hands back to my face to cool it down, which was now burning much more intensely than before,

“Ahem.”

But my sister’s cough from behind me stopped all my movements.

It was a cough that was hard to put into words, precariously balanced between discomfort and envy.

When I turned my head slightly to observe the person who had coughed,

“How nice…”

She was speaking in a voice that seemed to be barely holding back from clicking her tongue at me.

With a faint blush on her face that would be hard to notice unless one looked carefully.

Thus, my sister was expressing her impression of the scene between Shizu and me with a fan wave that was out of season.

We hadn’t even boarded the transcontinental train heading to Ranos Territory yet,

But seeing such a happening already occurring,

This journey home seemed like it would be full of many events.

Mostly in a pleasant and good direction.

#

And so, after about three hours, our carriage journey ended,

And as Excel, the last to wake up, exited the carriage,

“It was an honor to transport the Deputy Commander!”

With the coachman’s spirited voice paying respects to my sister behind us,

The four of us headed toward the platform where the transcontinental train bound for Ranos Territory via the Imperial capital would depart in about 20 minutes.

It didn’t take long to gather our luggage and exit the carriage.

Unlike Shizu, who woke up after some complications(?),

Excel woke up immediately after a simple operation performed by my sister, so there wasn’t much time wasted in the carriage after reaching our destination.

What was this simple operation my sister used to wake Excel?

Whoosh-!!

My sister’s hand blade, making a sound as it cut through the air,

Smack-!!

Struck Excel’s crown with no mercy.

“Urgh!!”

A much more dynamic sound effect than what Shizu had made when her head touched the carriage seat came out of his mouth,

“Who is it…? Who’s the bastard who deserves to be splashed with sewage for waking me up when I was having a good time with my sister.”

Excel, who regained his senses while grumbling and rubbing his crown, expressed his anger at the person who disturbed his deep sleep using harsh vocabulary unbecoming of a noble family’s son,

“I’m sorry for disturbing you.”

As soon as he heard my sister’s voice, which was slightly higher in tone than usual,

“Ah.”

He immediately relaxed his frowning expression,

“Ah, Sister, to see you first thing after waking up—I must be truly blessed.”

He spoke in a voice that conveyed both slickness and affection.

It was a quick-witted action born from Excel’s situational judgment, as he knew well from long experience that my sister’s voice rising in tone was one of the precursors indicating her displeasure.

The change in attitude happened so quickly that even my sister could only blink several times without showing any particular reaction to his behavior.

No, rather, judging by the slight twitching of her brow and the subtle relaxation of her expression,

It seemed that his sincere greeting was improving her mood,

But that was only momentary.

Smack-!!

My sister raised her right hand blade and mercilessly bombarded Excel’s crown once more.

“Gack!!”

From the mouth of the boy who suffered this unexpected attack came a scream filled with much more diverse emotions than before, and as my sister lightly dusted off her hands,

“I’ll let it go with this.”

A calm voice flowed from her lips,

“Ugh…Sister.”

A faint groan escaped from Excel’s lips after experiencing this.

Though it wasn’t a strike with much force behind it despite the loud noise,

Excel was intentionally pretending to be in pain while rubbing his crown, clearly trying to touch on the thin sense of guilt in my sister’s heart,

“I know you were already awake at some point but still kept your head leaning on my shoulder.”

My sister, who silenced Excel with a single sentence, was truly a warrior of reversal(?).

As I mentioned earlier,

The train journey with the four of us together promised to be quite enjoyable.