Ch.325Chapter 325. Again, A Brief Peace (2)

“Irene… ma’am…?”

I was surprised.

Without realizing it, I let my words trail off.

Her usual attire was that of a female knight—very restrained with light armor reinforcing the chest area.

Even the comfortable clothes she wore at the mansion weren’t particularly provocative. Well, Irene’s figure was stimulating enough that her femininity overflowed regardless of what she wore, but…

“…Does it look strange?”

There was indeed a difference like heaven and earth between her usual attire and this one that so boldly proclaimed her femininity.

It was an extremely proper dress that a high-ranking noble might wear for an outing.

Of course, “proper” was just the initial impression of its overall appearance. The décolletage in the middle strongly declared that this dress was designed to intensely highlight a woman’s charms.

The biggest issue was—Irene’s chest was enormous beyond what words could describe.

A chest that would stand out in any clothing was now in an outfit deliberately designed to emphasize it, so naturally the impact was tremendous.

“Swen?”

“Ah, yes. Yes, Irene ma’am.”

I had been staring blankly, forgetting to respond, when Irene asked with a flushed face, looking flustered.

“I asked if it looks strange… Is it really that strange?”

“What?? No, no. Not at all. It’s good. Very good. Where did you get such an outfit?”

“Well, when I mentioned I’d be spending time with you today, Reika dragged me off and…”

After leaving Einhart Castle, I naturally ended up staying in different quarters from Reika and Irene.

While traveling, we’d sleep on the streets, or when we reached a castle, we’d stay in temporary lodgings that strictly separated genders.

I thought we’d become quite close by now… but had they become close enough to recommend clothes to each other?

“By the way, how are you two getting along?”

“Lady Reika has no special duties, and I’ve been granted leave by my lord.”

Unlike Irene and me with our regular duties, Reika had no particular responsibilities except when she was deployed in battle as a mage.

The most she did was serve as a librarian at the Einhart Grand Library, and even that was only when she was stationed inside the castle.

Even so, she was paid regularly. It was essentially compensation for her ability to use magic.

“When I suggested the three of us come together, she insisted that ‘you two must meet alone here’… Swen, do you have any idea why Reika would say such a thing?”

“…I’m not sure.”

I had a good idea, but feeling suddenly embarrassed, I shook my head as I answered.

I couldn’t hide my awkwardness. This kind of consideration wasn’t necessary… well, honestly, I was grateful for it…

“Anyway, Swen. I’m glad you invited me today. But what’s the occasion?”

“Oh, nothing special… This is Valhalart Castle, right?”

I gestured lightly around us as I spoke.

“Do you remember this place?”

“Isn’t this the plaza I always passed through on my way to work at the royal castle?”

“Yes. It’s one of our places of memories. Since we’re here after so long, I wanted to casually visit the places we used to frequent together.”

“I see.”

Irene and I, who had escaped from Anel Castle together, had lived in the same house thanks to Yurie’s unsolicited favor.

Come to think of it, our living together by our own choice only happened after we came to Serpina’s forces.

At first, it was because of Lynn’s harassment toward Irene, and the second time was due to Yurie’s meddling.

For me, it was a fortunate thing. Thanks to that, I got to know Irene and became closer to her than anyone else.

If there ever came a moment when I had to entrust my back to just one person, I would choose Irene without hesitation.

“Shall we go then?”

“Yes.”

After hesitating very briefly, thinking this much should be fine—

I extended my hand to her.

“…!”

She looked so cute as she flushed with surprise that I almost let out an exclamation, but making a fuss here wouldn’t be very cool.

After a moment of not knowing what to do—Irene silently reached out and placed her hand on mine.

Rough.

Her hand is rough. As someone who wields weapons, it’s natural that she would have calluses here and there.

For some reason, I felt a pang in my heart, so I gripped her hand firmly as we began walking.

* * *

The time spent with her was extremely enjoyable.

Although Valhalart Castle had changed considerably since the time we lived there, the places filled with memories—like the shop where Irene frequently bought tea leaves—remained intact, allowing us to spend a fulfilling time together.

If there were other places that remained unchanged—

“Oh my, isn’t it Lord Swen? It’s been so long!”

“Hello. Have you been well?”

The Nighthart family mansion was, surprisingly, still in the same place.

During my time under Yurie, I had visited here even more frequently than the royal castle.

It suddenly occurred to me that Yurie had never once utilized me properly as a knight. If it hadn’t been for Ginor, I would never have had the opportunity to make even a small contribution under her.

“Is Ginor not here?”

“No.”

From what I heard, he had put the mansion up for sale at a low price, but when even that didn’t sell, he ended up transferring the entire property, including the mansion, to the servants as payment for years of wages and services rendered.

I wonder if that counts as retirement benefits in this era.

“And Lady Reika…? Is she doing well?”

“Of course. I’ll tell her to visit sometime.”

After finishing the conversation appropriately and coming out, Irene finally asked me a question.

“Perhaps it would have been better to bring Reika along after all.”

“No, we have plenty of time, so we can make time to visit later.”

“You must have spent most of your time there?”

“Yes. I taught Reika about magic. Well, in truth, I didn’t really teach her anything.”

“I see.”

Irene hesitated as if wanting to say something, then carefully parted her lips as if she had made up her mind.

“The marriage talk… came up during that time too, didn’t it?”

“…?”

I glanced at Irene’s face.

So she was concerned about that after all.

Right now, rather than complicating her feelings with unnecessary words, I wanted to reassure her.

“You don’t need to worry too much. As I told you, I want to proceed step by step, slowly.”

Irene didn’t respond to those words at first—

Then, with a bright smile, she slowly nodded.

“Yes. Swen. I trust you.”

I gently stroked her head.

She accepted my touch like a cat, without resistance.

“Oh right. I wonder if it’s still there. You remember? That bakery where I used to buy bread.”

“Of course I remember. You mean the place that sold cookies that went well with black tea?”

“Let’s go there.”

“…Yes!”

And so, Irene and I spent time until sunset touring places of memory in Valhalart Castle.

For me, it was a healing time, free from battles, efficient methods, and all those concerns.

* * *

After nightfall, Irene and I were walking down a street that was very familiar to both of us.

“This road, it’s been so long. This is the way home, isn’t it?”

“That’s right. After finishing work at the barracks, I always used this road.”

If we turn right here, pass through the small alley, and go that way…

“We’re here.”

Our former shelter, granted to us by Yurie, came into view.

“It seems… quite old now.”

“It was a new house when we moved in.”

It seemed no one had been maintaining it, as ivy-like vines could be seen growing up the walls.

There was no light leaking through the windows either, giving it a somewhat eerie feeling—perhaps no one was living here now?

I grabbed the doorknob without thinking.

Creak—

“…Huh?”

“It’s opening?”

“Seems so?”

Feeling somewhat awkward for some reason, I paused for a moment before carefully opening the door and entering.

Relying on the intense moonlight pouring in through the windows, I lit a torch—

“Wow… nothing has changed at all?”

I could see that the table Irene and I used, as well as the furniture, were all still in place.

It seemed that no one had come to live here in the meantime.

“Even all the tea leaves are still here.”

“Are you going to take them?”

“Of course. There are some that can only be found in this region, not at Einhart Castle.”

Unlike our departure from Anel Castle, where we had been well-prepared, we had essentially been driven out of Valhalart Castle, leaving no time to gather our belongings.

It didn’t matter much to me since I wasn’t the type to hoard things, but Irene seemed to have regretted leaving some things behind.

“It’s strange. Everything is exactly as it was. It’s like time stopped only in this place.”

I dusted off the table top, which sparkled as it caught the moonlight.

Yes, that’s right. The training dummy next to it, the bed where we slept—everything was exactly as it had been before, almost making me feel as if I were still serving Yurie.

“Irene ma’am. Look at this. Even the bed is the same.”

“…”

For some reason, there was no response from Irene, so I turned my head to look at her.

“Irene ma’am?”

‘…Huh?’

“…”

Irene, who had been casually gathering tea leaves just a moment ago—

Now had her head bowed deeply with a flushed face, and only upon noticing my gaze did she begin to stammer like Reika.

“Uh, huh? Ah, ah… yes. It, it’s the same. As, as if time has stopped… yes, that’s quite remarkable indeed.”

And only after seeing her like this did I finally realize.

That Irene and I—were alone in a sealed room under the dark night sky, just the two of us.