Proof (3)

Proof (3)

A flash of blue light.

As I watched countless bolts of lightning strike, I slowly opened my mouth.

“Is this proof enough?”

There’s no way this isn’t enough proof.

Not only did I completely overwhelm all the magicians and knights of the family,

I even demonstrated spatial expansion magic, so they’ll have to acknowledge me whether they want to or not.

‘And come to think of it.’

It really hits me now how much stronger my magical abilities have become.

‘I had a vague sense of it while dealing with the Heaven God Cult, but.’

As I realize that the level is far higher than I had perceived, I clench and unclench my fist.

The head of the Per family, unable to hide his bewilderment and shock, speaks to me.

“… Is this even possible?”

I’m not sure which part surprised him, but judging by his reaction, I seem to have more than passed his test.

I approach him and slowly open my mouth.

“Is this sufficient?”

At my words, he quickly composes his expression and slowly nods his head.

I couldn’t accurately gauge my own level.

But seeing the head of a high-ranking family’s astonishment, I could sense that I had already reached a considerable level.

‘It would be better to check later.’

I started to return things around me, feeling somewhat curious.

‘Then, let’s clean up.’

Thinking it would be good to continue the remaining conversation with the family head, I was quickly organizing the situation.

Suddenly, the head of the Per family asked me a question with a serious expression.

“Are you perhaps a hero?”

… A hero?

I looked at him quizzically, not understanding why he suddenly asked such a question.

He listed quite reasonable reasons.

“Not only do you try to handle demons alone when there’s no need to, but you also possess power beyond common sense… No matter how I look at it, you seem to be a hero. Are you a hero?”

Thinking it would be better to clarify this in advance, I shook my head.

“No, I’m not.”

“… You’re not?”

Since I didn’t know when or where a minion of the Heaven God Cult might be watching, I decided to stop the information transfer here and kept my mouth shut.

He looked at me with a strange expression, then soon let out a light sigh and continued speaking.

“I understand for now. Your abilities have been proven, so I think it would be better if we decide on the terms of the deal on our side and then talk again.”

Thinking it was fortunate that things seemed to be moving in a positive direction, I was about to take a break.

But before that, Sien spoke with a somewhat excited voice.

“Then, as everything seems to be over, I’ll borrow Lord Deren for a moment.”

It seems the reason Sien had been sticking close to me all this time was to take me away.

I nodded in agreement, as I had promised to go on a date with Sien after everything was finished anyway.

Sien quickly grabbed my hand and started pulling me out of the training ground.

I swiftly passed by the healers who were coming in and followed Sien’s lead outside.

*

After finishing the duel and coming outside, the first thing that greeted us was the dark night sky.

I was looking around at the chilly wind that was blowing, cold enough to make me shiver, while matching Sien’s pace.

Sien tightly held my hand and clung to me even more than usual, making an excuse.

“When, when it’s cold, it’s good to stick close together.”

It was an obvious excuse, but.

There was no need to push her away, so I accepted Sien’s closeness, and as we were sharing each other’s warmth.

Sien, who was clinging to me as if embracing, slowly began to speak.

“… Lord Deren, if it’s an impolite question, please feel free to ignore it.”

As if it was difficult to bring up, Sien spoke haltingly, then took a deep breath and asked me a question.

“By any chance, have you forgiven my past self?”

Sien’s past self.

Come to think of it, I didn’t know why Deren had pushed Sien away to the point of seeming excessive.

I decided to probe into this, thinking that I might be able to find out the reason for it this time, and looked at Sien.

“What past are you talking about?”

“……”

At those words, Sien tightly closed her mouth, avoided my gaze, and began to struggle internally.

She struggled to speak for a while, as if it was difficult to even start, but eventually closed her eyes tightly and said to me.

“It’s about how Lady Deren’s mother… passed away because of me.”

Sien caused Deren’s mother’s death?

I was momentarily speechless at this unexpected revelation.

As I stood still, unable to grasp the situation, fortunately, Sien added an explanation.

“When I was under assassination attack in the past… I still vividly remember Lady Deren’s mother protecting me.”

The moment I heard those words, I felt like a tangled thread was unraveling, and I could understand the general context.

‘Deren’s mother died trying to save Sien, and Deren saw this and thought Sien killed his mother?’

Looking at this alone, not only was Sien not at fault, but it would be right to see her as the victim of the situation.

It seems Deren had no one to direct his anger towards, so he took it out on Sien instead.

‘Since it was during childhood, it must have been impossible to make a rational judgment.’

Moreover, his personality wasn’t particularly good either.

Perhaps this judgment was natural, if anything.

I fell into contemplation for a moment, looking at Sien fidgeting in front of me.

‘What would be the best choice to make?’

To be honest, I didn’t even know what Deren’s mother looked like, let alone her name.

So I had no affection or information about the situation.

‘Additionally, I don’t think that incident was Sien’s fault.’

While I felt it was right to forgive her for this,

I was momentarily at a loss for words, unsure if it was appropriate for me to be the one to forgive her.

So while I was pondering for a moment, a thought suddenly crossed my mind.

‘Do I need to care about someone like Deren?’

Is there really a need to care about Deren, who is nothing more than a villain, or rather, trash itself?

‘Of course not. I don’t need to worry about someone who I don’t even know where they’ve disappeared to.’

I inwardly chuckled, thinking that I must have developed Deren’s sensibilities without realizing it, having been in his body for too long.

‘Besides, I decided to make choices more like myself now.’

It would be right to make a choice without worrying about such things.

So, I was about to tell Sien that it was okay, but then I shook my head inwardly and said to her.

“Sien, as I said before. I am not the Deren you knew.”

“… Lord Deren.”

“Can you still accept me despite that?”

“I don’t quite understand what you mean. Lord Deren is… Lord Deren, no matter how much you change.”

It was too complicated to explain dimensional travel and possession here.

So I decided to convince Sien with an analogy and slowly began to speak.

“Then let me put it differently. If I were to become someone other than Deren, could you still accept me?”

“… Someone else, you say?”

“Yes. Someone who has some memories with you, but whose appearance, thoughts, and actions are completely different. A person entirely different from the previous Deren.”

“……”

Sien seemed to have trouble understanding and silently met my eyes before slowly opening her mouth.

“These memories… from when to when exactly?”

“It would be correct to say from the time you and Rumi first met at the Academy until now.”

“… Since that point when Lord Dern’s personality changed.”

Certainly, even when we first met then, Sien told me that I had ‘become kind.’

As I gave a hollow laugh and nodded.

Sien slowly touched my cheek and smiled.

“… Lord Dern. You harbor strange worries and doubts.”

“Sien?”

“Even if, by some chance, Lord Dern had become a different person since then. I think I would continue to love Lord Dern.”

At this calm confession, I was momentarily speechless and stared at Sien.

Sien tells me, seemingly embarrassed.

“Ho, honestly speaking, until then, rather than liking Lord Dern romantically, I thought of you more as a younger sibling I needed to take care of. Because Lord Dern’s mother had asked me to continually protect Lord Dern.”

Even though Dern pushed Sien away excessively.

While I was nodding, thinking I somewhat understood why Sien kept clinging on.

Sien looked at me like that and continued speaking with a small smile.

“But after that, it was a little different. Of course, it’s not that there were no romantic feelings before… but after that day, rather than protection, the romantic attraction grew stronger.”

“Is that so.”

“… Yes.”

Probably, if I had to guess.

I think it might have started when I accepted Sien, who was embarrassed about having an unfeminine body due to calluses and muscles.

As I remained silent for a moment, having nothing more to say to Sien’s words.

Sien spoke while carefully pushing me over onto a nearby chair.

“So even if Lord Deren truly changed into a different person, I am confident that I would continue to love him.”

With those words, Sien slowly pressed her lips against mine and began to smile brightly.