Ch.BONUSAfterword) Age doesn’t matter.

“Mmm, this is delicious. Where did you buy this?”

“…Well, someone who came back from vacation brought it for me.”

“That knight has good taste! What I’ve been drinking until now had a rather tiresome aroma.”

The White Mask, who had been sitting at the desk with her forehead resting on her hand for quite some time, seemed to have finished her thoughts and offered me some herbal tea.

Just hiding me is already a kindness.

“H-hmm.”

Well, anyway.

The White Mask’s attitude had been strange since earlier.

She kept opening and closing her mouth repeatedly as if she had something to say.

I did respond, but I wondered if she still had some lingering concerns.

Ah, or maybe.

“Master, how is the railway management going these days?”

“Kuh, um. The railway, you ask?”

What’s this?

Was that not it?

I naturally thought she was itching to talk about railways.

She seemed quite flustered, waving her arms around in a way that seemed unlike the usual White Mask.

“…These days, as the supply of goods becomes more active, the materials we can invest in railways are gradually improving. Until now, we’ve been making trains with pure steel, but with the discovery of new ores, we’ve been able to create new types of steel as well.”

…As expected of a railway enthusiast.

The way she smoothly talked about railways once the topic came up confirmed that this was indeed the White Mask I knew.

Hmm.

Then what was she trying to talk about?

As I nodded while listening to her, the White Mask suddenly blushed, closed her mouth, and lowered her head.

“…I’ve gone on too long about useless things.”

“What?!”

I couldn’t help but be surprised by the White Mask’s words.

What did she just say?

Did the White Mask just call railway talk useless?!

She still seemed to be fidgeting, apparently not noticing my gaze, but it took me quite a while to recover from the shock.

That’s like saying the vice-commander dislikes the commander—why would she say something like that?

“Well, anyway.”

As I was calming myself down while drinking tea, the White Mask finally spoke.

I found myself looking at her with a somewhat exaggerated attitude.

It’s only natural to want to hear quickly when someone keeps making you curious.

The White Mask sighed as if my gaze was ridiculous and said:

“…What did you mean by those words earlier?”

“Which words do you mean?”

“…About how you only have me left, and such.”

“I was merely telling you the truth.”

Does she think I still have cards up my sleeve because of all the antics I’ve pulled with my coward mode and the power of동의 오코?

Those were things I could only do when I had planned strategies in advance. In a desperate situation like this, even I don’t have any options.

“Can you handle what you just said?”

“…Handle in what way?”

“Saying you’ll stay with me in this situation will only make your position more complicated. No matter how urgent the situation is, such words…”

Handle?

What…

Ah, I see.

I could hear the White Mask rambling on, but I understood what she was trying to say.

Right, I hadn’t considered that.

The White Mask…

She’s afraid she won’t be able to protect me properly!

By “handle,” she means that no matter how hard she tries to hide me, if I make a mistake, I’ll be discovered—she’s asking if I can handle such a situation.

But that’s something I should be considering.

I almost shed tears at the White Mask’s kind heart, considering even this for me.

If she wasn’t so kind-hearted to begin with, forgiving Izmiya would have been impossible.

She had suffered because of that for a long time.

Overwhelmed with emotion, I unconsciously took both her hands and said:

“Master!”

“…Huh?!”

“I’m deeply touched that you’re worried about me… But let me tell you one thing.”

I recited one sentence to dispel the White Mask’s concerns.

“But what’s the problem! Such things don’t matter at all!”

“…!”

The White Mask also seemed to feel something intense rising within her, as she widened her eyes and faced me.

If the flow breaks here, she might send me away again, so I had to drive the point home!

“With you, Master, I fear nothing!”

“S-stop…!”

The White Mask shook off my hands and exhaled roughly with her head lowered.

Oops.

Did I push too hard?

I suppose if you pressure someone too much, even something that could work out won’t.

Damn it, mission failed.

At this point, I’ll have to take the risk and ask the commander to hide me.

“…I was indeed being a bit forceful. Thank you for at least listening to me. I’ll be going now.”

“…!”

After bowing politely to the White Mask, I headed toward the door.

But had she changed her mind?

Suddenly, the White Mask grabbed my collar.

“…Master?”

“Don’t go…”

Moreover, her usual formal way of speaking had disappeared.

“…I never said no.”

“That means…”

“Yes, that’s what I mean… but before that.”

When I looked at her face with joy, I felt somewhat puzzled.

Reddened cheeks.

A gaze looking somewhere else.

Twirling her hair with her fingertips.

With a somewhat awkward attitude, the White Mask opened her mouth.

“…First, change how you address me.”

#

Well, how should I put this.

Even though I hadn’t asked, the White Mask told me her name.

‘…Nancy Salle. You can call me Nancy.’

And she even told me to call her by her first name right away.

Hmm.

Well, I don’t mind.

It would be strange not to know the name of someone you’re close with.

Ah, I should ask for other people’s names later too.

So.

Why am I standing outside blankly?

She said she’d hide me, so why am I being exposed instead?!

And it’s taking quite a long time for “wait outside for a moment.”

What’s going on? Did I just get door-slammed?

Is that it?!

With an uneasy feeling crawling up my spine, I opened the door to persuade Nancy again.

As if she was about to open the door herself, I came face to face with Nancy, who looked up at me with a puzzled expression.

“…Sorry for making you wait.”

“Ah, n-no. I just thought for a moment I might have been kicked out without notice…”

“That wouldn’t happen. I just… took a little longer to choose.”

Choose what?

As I was thinking that, Nancy flung the door open and showed me her full appearance.

Uh, hmm.

What’s this?

Did she put on makeup?

She definitely looked different from before—she was already pretty, but now there was a beauty like looking at a sculpture.

It was hard to believe this was the appearance of someone in her early to mid-thirties.

“…W-what do you think?”

“Y-your clothes and face…”

“Ah, ah! I sometimes dress up like this when patrolling. You know, because important people might suddenly visit…”

Logically speaking, I wonder how many positions are actually higher than a station supervisor.

Since she said so herself, I had no reason to argue.

“…To answer your question… I’d say you’re so beautiful it hurts my eyes.”

“Hiss…”

I thought I heard the sound of a train losing steam.

Why am I saying things like this?

As I was twisting my lips, Nancy pointed forward with her finger.

“…Shall we go?”

“Yes.”

#

The chirping of birds sounds refreshing.

The warm sunshine and pleasant breeze naturally put me in a good mood.

The quiet sound of grass being stepped on made me feel quite cheerful, so I focused on the sound.

One step.

One step.

With each step forward, the awkwardness kept amplifying.

Of course it’s awkward when we’re walking alone together without saying anything.

What is this all of a sudden?

Just as I was about to speak first to break the atmosphere.

“You…!”

“Yes?”

“You… are you satisfied with this?”

I gave Nancy a puzzled look at her words.

I had been feeling that our conversation was oddly misaligned since earlier, but I couldn’t figure out how, so I had kept quiet.

I tried to answer, but Nancy checked my expression, looked surprised, and then made an unreadable face.

“…I see, so that’s your answer.”

No, what is it?

What is it about?

I really don’t understand.

As I was walking while scratching my head in embarrassment, I could tell we were getting closer to the railway tracks.

From a distance, I could hear the sound of steam boiling, as if a train was approaching.

I thought we might be too close to the tracks, but the path itself didn’t seem dangerous.

“…”

Hmm.

I take that back.

“Mast…”

“…”

“Um, Nancy? What is that path?”

Among the well-constructed path of stones and soil, there suddenly appeared a section that seemed to be roughly patched with wooden planks.

It really looked like it had been temporarily placed there.

“Ah, there. The ground was deeply eroded, probably because of snow, so we installed that temporarily.”

“Doesn’t that look a bit dangerous? The wood seems decayed.”

“It’s sturdier than it looks. See this.”

Nancy went ahead and stomped on the wood repeatedly.

Hmm.

That’s not right.

Each time she stepped on it, there was a creaking sound that made me uneasy…

Crack!

“Huh…?”

They say “never say never.”

Suddenly, the wooden plank Nancy was stepping on gave way, causing her to lose balance and tilt toward the tracks.

The biggest problem was…

The train that had sounded distant earlier was now right in front of Nancy.

“Master!”

….

….

Clack, clack, clack.

Is this the sound of the passing train, or my startled heart pounding?

I couldn’t tell.

However.

One thing was certain.

The warm and soft sensation in my arms.

Just from this.

I knew I hadn’t failed.

“…Haa, haa. Nancy, are you alright?”

Worried, I looked down at Nancy in my arms.

I saw Nancy looking up at me blankly.

“…Yes.”

Judging by her reluctant answer, she seemed to be fine.