Ch.300300. Overlaid Truth (7)

‘Of all times to arrive.’

Those guys had brought an enormous aftermath with them.

“…”

“…”

Silence pervaded the cave.

Renias has been curling up for several minutes, unable to even make eye contact with me, let alone look in my direction.

‘Sigh… What should I say?’

Renias is already so shy by nature.

‘And of all people, Senia had to fan the flames… Haah.’

Having never given any thought to romance in my entire life, being caught in the middle of a kiss was embarrassingly beyond imagination.

It was bad enough that I could somewhat understand how Renias felt with her face burning up.

I needed to speak first, somehow.

“Ahem… Um, Renias?”

“…”

“Renias? Uh… well…”

“…”

Realizing this wasn’t working, I cleared my throat and tried to start a conversation, but the shy rabbit still had ears flushed red.

When the kids burst in earlier, Renias had let out something close to a scream before fleeing behind me. I imagine she needed somewhere to hide, wanting to conceal her face and body completely.

That’s why she seems a bit calmer now. Before I went outside the cave to ask Senia for some time, she was practically steaming like a pressure cooker.

The fact that she’s still in this state after all this time means she must be extremely embarrassed.

I understand. Of course she’d be embarrassed after others witnessed a kiss between a man and woman. I’m not completely immune to such feelings either. We were both caught in the act.

Of course, from my perspective, she’s just an adorable little rabbit.

A silver rabbit so cute that I want to rush over and pat her head.

‘Well, we can’t stay like this forever.’

Comforting my embarrassed girlfriend… that’s a boyfriend’s role, right?

With that mindset, Junon approaches Renias and gently moves away the hands covering her face.

“Eep!”

She flinches as if frightened. Her face still radiates unabated heat.

“Why do you keep trying to hide? We didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Uuugh… not now. G-give me some time right now. Okay?”

“…”

I can feel just how embarrassed she is through her fingertips.

But I don’t want to keep tiptoeing around without being able to talk properly.

“I have something I need to say.”

“B-but still…”

“We can’t help that they caught us anyway.”

“But it’s embarrassing… Aren’t you embarrassed, oppa?”

“I understand it’s embarrassing. But if you keep being embarrassed, I won’t get to say what I need to say.”

“Eh?”

Maybe I went too far…?

I’ve ended up in a situation where I need to say these awkward things first.

…But I have to do it!

“I need to make it clear that I like you, don’t I?”

I didn’t particularly want to keep our relationship secret, unable to properly tell others that I like the person I like.

At first, Renias let out a cloud of steam, but after a moment, she fidgeted with her fingers and asked:

“Then what… are we?”

I know what she means by that question. But I ask once more.

“What do you mean, what are we?”

So that Renias can say it herself.

“U-us! You and me… what are we?”

Yes. That’s how you should ask. Without being shy.

“We’re in a relationship where I like you very, very much?”

“…”

“I-is that not it? Then…”

“I-I like you even more!”

With that, the shy silver rabbit quickly covered her mouth with her hand.

Right. There’s no reason to be shy. Let’s speak boldly. Clearly.

“We’re in a relationship where I can introduce you as my girlfriend.”

“…!”

Hearing those words, steam rose from Renias’s face again, but encouraged by my straightforward statement, she found the courage to answer.

“You’re my, my boyfriend…”

The already shy silver rabbit finally answered honestly and burrowed into my arms.

Though her face is still flushed with heat, now we can say it clearly.

We’re in a relationship where we like each other. We’re dating.

Of course.

“I like you several times more than you like me!”

It seems I had to concede this point to Renias, who didn’t want to lose in this regard.

My heart beat faster than usual at the silver rabbit’s sudden passionate attack, as much as the warmth transmitted from her face to my chest.

***

“Mmm… hehehe.”

Renias’s sleep-talking comes from right in front of me.

Using my thigh as a pillow, she holds one of my hands tightly, rubbing it against her face, and giggles happily as if thoroughly enjoying it.

That was Renias’s sleep-talking.

“She must be very tired.”

Renias must have been exhausted after rushing all the way here to find me.

I want to pat her head vigorously as she sleep-talks and smiles drowsily, but now is not the time.

The Imperial forces are once again in a situation where they must face two named magical beasts simultaneously.

-‘You need time… I understand.’

When I asked for time, Senia nodded without saying anything. Even though she must have had something important to tell me.

Her attitude suggested she would accept whatever I said, beyond just respecting my choice.

As if they would handle everything themselves.

I tentatively asked Senia what she had wanted to tell me, but she remained silent.

That’s when I had the intuition.

That Senia truly intended to resolve things without me.

I declare, that must not happen.

“Mmm? Oppa?”

“Sorry for waking you when you were sleeping so well, Renias. But there’s something I’d like you to hear.”

I’m the only one who knows the past tactics used during the evacuation to Sirah.

How the troops were distributed, how food and supplies were allocated, what formations were used—these are strategies that I know, not ones that Tembris knows completely.

In other words, these are operations that cannot possibly be carried out unless someone directly accesses my mind.

“Could you explain what’s happening in the Empire right now?”

I asked for some time, but I’m not sure where to begin.

Even though I can predict how the Empire’s situation might unfold, I have terribly little information compared to back then.

Right now, I need information.

.

.

.

Renias slowly explained the current state of the Empire.

I heard everything from what happened after I collapsed, how the situation in Levrant changed, and what movements Ashpern and the magical beasts were making.

‘…It’s really no different at all.’

Peltibourgos, which was supposedly sealed, had somehow awakened again and was designated as a named magical beast, solidifying its name with the same power of erosion as before.

Ashpern, whom even Goden and I couldn’t defeat, was still leading magical beasts in attacks on Levrant, and in the process, the two professors who calculated that the defensive battle couldn’t continue performed the sealing of Peltibourgos, buying some time.

And now, the Imperial forces were in a situation where they had to face two named magical beasts simultaneously in Levrant, just like in the past.

At first glance, one might say there’s hardly any difference from back then, but…

‘It’s different.’

It was clearly different. Different enough that the number of tactics available had increased.

“But oppa. That’s not why you’re asking this… is it?”

While I was carefully checking what differences there were, Renias suddenly asked me with anxious eyes.

When I didn’t say anything, Renias vaguely guessed, “Don’t tell me…”

“Oppa, if you’re planning to take everything on yourself again like before, I’ll definitely stop you.”

“Renias.”

“Can’t you just pass on the strategy instead? You can leave it to those people! You don’t have to, don’t have to do it yourself!”

This was the reaction I had expected.

“If that’s not enough… then tell me instead. I’ll, I’ll fight!”

You’re saying that because you’re afraid of losing me if something goes wrong. Because you don’t want to see me suffering.

But I know why you shouldn’t fight, Renias.

“I have to keep the promise I made to Ronelion just before he fell.”

“Ron… elion?”

“The promise that I must never let you meet Ashpern. I have to keep this one.”

“Such a promise at a time like this…!”

“It’s a meaningful promise. Because, Renias, you have the worst compatibility with it.”

“…What?”

“Based on my experience from fighting Ashpern twice, I can tell you that it’s a magical beast that cannot be dealt with using magic.”

When magic is humanity’s greatest weapon, why can’t it be faced with magic?

Such a question must be circling in Renias’s mind.

But Ronelion sensed this after just one battle and told me.

“Ronelion is the type who fights by borrowing the power of spirits and harmonizing it with elegant sword techniques that utilize pure magical energy. So he leans more toward sword techniques than magic. Yet Ronelion was defeated. What do you think this means?”

“That magic alone… can’t subdue it?”

That’s correct.

“In fact, Ashpern has the power to nullify all magic. And not just any magic—fire magic against fire magic, water magic against water magic. It responds appropriately to each elemental magic and nullifies human magic. The reason Ronelion was able to hold out much longer than others… I think that might be why.”

In other words, even if Renias went all out, the compatibility would be terrible.

That’s why Ronelion asked me to prevent his younger sister from meeting Ashpern.

Therefore, I want to make one suggestion to Renias… no, to ask for her permission.

“I need to inform the Imperial forces of this fact and formulate a proper plan. You know what this means, right?”

“…”

Renias squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head as if refusing.

“Don’t worry. It won’t be like last time.”

“How can you be sure of that?”

“Because this time, I have you.”

“…?”

I don’t have to worry alone anymore.

I don’t have to shoulder everything by myself anymore.

“I’m asking you to help me, Renias.”

Because she’s by my side.

We can worry together and shoulder burdens together.

For her, who has brought the greatest change to my life, I will stand up once more.