First Gift

The hospital in Brimton City had servants and some soldiers hospitalized.

Patients who had no injuries or abnormal conditions, but were simply unconscious.

However, without any warning signs, they woke up and started going berserk.

“GRAAAAH!!”

“KYAAAAH!!”

The patients, making beast-like howls, charged at hospital staff, breaking things, and rampaging.

Among them, some escaped from the hospital and caused disturbances in the city streets.

Fortunately, most cases ended with the rioters being subdued by knights patrolling the streets, but the original number of patients was quite large.

The situation was better for hospitals that were small in size or had fewer empty beds and thus couldn’t admit many patients.

“GRRRAAAAAH!!”

“Damn it! Just stay still! Quickly call the guards… no, the knights!”

Hospitals are counted among the most important facilities, and as such, most hospitals employ their own security guards.

Therefore, facilities with fewer admitted patients were quickly subdued by their hands.

But large hospitals with many patients-turned-rioters were currently in great chaos.

“Just stay still, will you!!”

“Damn it! There are too many of them!”

When dozens of rioters, ranging from a dozen to several dozen, began to rampage, the security guards, who at most numbered about ten, were overwhelmed.

Moreover, the rampaging individuals were not concerned about their own bodies and exerted full force, to the extent that bones could break on both the hitting and receiving ends.

In particular, Brimton Central Hospital, the largest hospital in Brimton City, which accommodated all the servants, was in utter chaos.

The fortunate thing was that, thanks to the security guards who quickly recognized the situation, the staff like doctors and nurses, and other patients, were rapidly evacuated.

But the hospital building was being broken and shattered all over, and even smoke was rising as the rioters had somehow started a fire.

“Quickly… we need to call for reinforcements quickly!”

“Jackson has already gone to the Duke’s mansion to request help! Just hold on a bit longer!”

The security guards, who were relatively well-staffed as befitting the largest hospital, were somehow managing to stop the rioters from leaving the hospital, but they were struggling to suppress the situation.

And shortly after, this situation was reported to the Duke’s mansion.

“Everyone has assembled!”

All members of the knight order and magic corps, except those on patrol or inspection duties, assembled in front of the Duke’s mansion.

Even though more than half were outside, the sight of the members lined up under Commander Gareth’s command was truly spectacular.

“Your Highness, I suggest dividing the troops into two: one to be sent to Brimton City with the units currently patrolling the city, and the other to be sent to Lerzo City.”

“…Yes, there was that issue as well.”

Lerzo City is the name of another city in the Duke’s territory where there is a hospital to which some patients were sent and admitted because all of them could not be accommodated in the hospitals in Brimton City.

If this situation is not just a problem in Brimton City, then the issue becomes even more serious.

“…There were many patients with military backgrounds among those sent to Lerzo City. If something goes wrong, the situation could become even more serious.”

Even ordinary patients-turned-rioters were causing significant damage with their rampage, but what about trained soldiers causing disturbances?

If there was a problem, greater damage could occur in Lerzo City.

In the end, Princess Aine entrusted two-thirds of the members to Commander Gareth and dispatched them to Lerzo City, while she herself led the rest and marched into Brimton City.

“…Will they be okay?”

Riel came to me as I was resting in the guest room of the Duke’s mansion.

I let the anxious-looking Riel into the room, and while drinking the tea Phyllis had served, Riel watched with an expression full of anxiety and said so.

Almost all the knight order members who had been in the mansion had left to suppress the city.

Those remaining were the still-ill Duchess and three knights.

And only I, Riel, Phyllis, Luca, and the Elf named Lilu remained.

Lord Andrew, as the legitimate son of the Duke’s family, accompanied the situation suppression, and Priestess Alicia followed him.

The Duke’s mansion, from which many people had suddenly left, looked quiet and desolate.

“It’ll be fine.”

“Yeah… it should be fine, right? Since both my brother and Her Highness are very strong…”

Even while saying that, Riel’s expression darkened with anxiety.

I firmly held Riel’s hand with both of my hands.

Riel, who seemed slightly surprised, reddened her face that had been full of anxiety and smiled.

“Hehe…”

“…Ahem.”

Meeting her smiling face, I cleared my throat to hide the feeling of shyness.

I tried to let go of Riel’s hand, but instead, Riel held onto my hand.

…She seems to have not only brightened up these days but also become really proactive.

Come to think of it, several months have passed since we first met, and I think she’s changed a lot.

If you look closely, her hair has grown longer too… and her development… ahem…

“What’s wrong?”

“N-nothing.”

Oops, I must have been staring too much.

I quickly turned my head away from Riel’s gaze, which was looking at me with a strange expression.

And so we ended up sitting silently, just holding hands.

How should I handle this awkward atmosphere?

Isn’t there something else?

Some material to somehow change this situation…

“Young master.”

“…Huh?”

Because my mind was so complicated, I was startled by Phyllis’s voice and quickly turned to her.

Phyllis gestured somewhere with her eyes.

…My bag?

“Ah.”

That’s it, that was there.

With all the various events since coming to the Duke’s territory, I had completely forgotten about it.

When I slightly pulled my hand from Riel’s grasp, Riel turned to look at me.

I smiled at her and briefly asked for her understanding, then went toward my bag.

“…It should definitely be here… here it is.”

I found it.

The item I had always carried with me since receiving it.

As I took out a bundle wrapped in clean cloth, Riel looked at it with curious eyes.

“What’s that?”

“Oh… yeah. Why don’t you unwrap it?”

Riel, who received the bundle from me, carefully untied the knot.

When she opened the wooden box revealed after removing the cloth, Riel’s eyes slightly widened.

“A hair tie…?”

“Yes. I’m giving it to you.”

What Riel lifted from the box was a dark navy blue leather hair tie.

It’s a simple hair tie without any special pattern, but that was a very meaningful item for me.

In our Wentos family, there is a custom of gifting accessories made from materials of the first animal or magical beast hunted to the woman with whom you’ve promised a future.

In fact, the necklace my mother wears is a necklace made from the jewel of Carbuncle, the first magical beast my father hunted.

So that leather hair tie was also similarly made by processing the leather of Frozen Wolf, the first magical beast I hunted.

When I conveyed that fact, Riel blushed and was extremely pleased.

“Hehe…”

“I’m glad you’re happy.”

“Yes… it’s the first gift I’ve received from Kyo, and it’s a meaningful item.”

…I’m really glad.

Honestly, I was a bit anxious.

“Can you tie this in my hair?”

“Me?”

“Yes. I’d like you to tie it for me first.”

…Hmm, I’ve never tied a girl’s hair before.

As I was awkwardly wondering how to do it, Phyllis approached and gave me tips.

It was a bit awkward, but with Phyllis’s help, I managed to somehow tie the two strands of hair ties on both sides.

“How is it? Does it suit me?”

“…Um… yes. It suits you incredibly well.”

I’m relieved. It suits her surprisingly well.

It was barely completed when I recently returned home, but actually, this was originally made to give to Liliana, who had been my fiancée.

An item that had become purposeless as soon as it was completed because I had parted with Liliana before it was finished.

The fact that it’s a blue color is a remnant of that.

I did hastily modify it and re-dye it to be almost black, but there’s still some blue left.

So I was a bit anxious, but surprisingly, it matched well with Riel’s red hair without any sense of incongruity, and I secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

“Hehe… hehehe…”

Riel looked at the hair ties binding her hair in the mirror hanging on one side of the room, clearly delighted.

I’m relieved. The atmosphere that had been full of anxiety and awkwardness seems to have somehow dissipated.

The gift I had been carrying, intending to give it after a successful confession, proved helpful at such a time.

“Well done, young master.”

“Thank you too, Phyllis.”

I slightly raised my thumb to Phyllis, who whispered quietly in my ear.

About an hour passed, and there was no sign of the knight order and Princess Aine returning.

A few minutes ago, the Elf Lilu came looking for hot chocolate, causing Phyllis to step out briefly, but other than that, not much had changed.

By the way, the cup she had in the reception room earlier, it was hot chocolate.

Riel was sitting quietly, looking out the window, but visibly humming a tune as if to advertise her good mood.

Impressive, the gift offensive.

Should I prepare something nice to gift next time too?

I was thinking that when it happened.

The door swung open and someone entered.

“Excuse me for a moment.”

Blonde hair, blue eyes, and long ears.

Elf Lilu entered the room.

“Miss Lilu, what’s the matter? Do you need more hot chocolate perhaps?”

“Hmm. That would be nice too, but there’s a much more urgent matter.”

A strangely serious face, different from the leisurely expression of the Elf who had come earlier to request hot chocolate.

Elf Lilu looked around at the three of us, then opened her mouth.

“It seems intruders have entered around the mansion. We should be on guard just in case.”

Her long ears seemed to twitch.