Chapter 60: Sponsor, and – 2 (Part 1 End)

Chapter 60: Sponsor, and – 2 (Part 1 End)

…I had a gut feeling that I’d made a mistake in what I’d made a condition, but anyway, Christie and I decided to go to the festival.

In the novel, it only briefly mentioned that there were occasional festivals in the Empire before the war and that the fireworks were pretty, so I was quite curious.

……More than anything, I liked the fact that I was doing something with Christie.

“So, when’s the festival?”

“Today. Oh, by the way, it’s about 6 PM right now.”

“Huh? No, then shouldn’t we be leaving now?”

Come to think of it, Christie’s outfit was subtly plain yet pretty, perfectly suited for blending in with commoners and enjoying the festival.

As if she was about to leave immediately.

“So, we should leave now, shouldn’t we?”

“…Is this how guests of the Duke’s family are treated?”

“The formal treatment will come later, after we officially announce that you’re a sponsored individual of the Duke’s family, so how about you get out of bed quickly?”

Christie’s expression as she said that held an innocence I hadn’t seen before.

…Indeed, if I think about it, Christie was no different from me, perhaps even more desperate for a ‘friend’.

No, but even so, I’m not even ready to go out yet?

Even if I don’t pay much attention to clothes… it’s a festival, shouldn’t I dress up?

……As I thought that and got out of bed, I realized that the clothes I was wearing had changed.

That was natural, actually, since I was cut so deeply by a sword, my clothes would have been torn and stained with blood.

A clean black skirt, a white shirt, and a mint-colored ribbon that someone had attached, I don’t know who.

……Oh. Why am I already fully dressed?

“I tried to find clothes as similar as possible to what Lucia was wearing. Do you like them?”

“…Except for the fact that the quality of the clothes seems to have greatly improved, making me feel a bit burdened?”

“Hehe. If that much is burdensome, what will you do when you receive sponsorship from the Duke’s family in the future?”

She wasn’t joking; the quality of the clothes themselves felt fundamentally different from the clothes I had bought before coming to the Duke’s family.

More than anything, this mint-colored ribbon, tied by who knows whom… just by touching it, it felt like it was advertising, ‘I’m expensive.’

While I was astonished by the clothes that clearly looked more expensive than my worth, Christie impatiently tapped the watch on her wrist.

“Ahem… but the timing is a bit awkward. If we walk normally, we might be a little late.”

“Then? Surely… no?”

“Well, what can we do? We have to run.”

At those words, I quickly checked the condition of my body.

…I felt my whole body screaming for more rest.

Normally, Christie’s words wouldn’t have been so scary.

Honestly, this body’s specs were amazing, and I wouldn’t have gotten tired or struggled with just running.

However… not when I’ve just regained consciousness after losing it.

‘…Come to think of it, Christie had a setting where she couldn’t take good care of injured people because she had never been seriously sick or hurt herself…?’

Even in the original work, the protagonist, after being severely injured in battle, would wake up and immediately be told to go train.

…Of course, it changes a bit later, but that’s not going to happen right now.

No, even so, for a seemingly delicate girl like me, who has just recovered from an injury and regained consciousness,

To be told to run at the pace of the Defense Commander, someone strong enough to defeat several high-ranking Knights alone, in that situation?

Isn’t this just a new method of assassination……?

Of course, there was no such consideration in Christie’s gaze towards me.

***

“Alright, we’re almost there!”

“It’s a village festival… you said…! Why… are we running… up a mountain!!”

The place we sprinted to at full speed from the Duke’s mansion with Christie was surprisingly not the village.

She said there was a better place than the village, so I wondered where it was… unfortunately, it was on top of a mountain.

And a damn high one at that, a mountain that served as the capital’s natural defense barrier.

So, even running on flat ground was difficult due to my injuries, and now I was forced to hike a mountain.

“…But Lucia, are you okay?”

“Do I… look okay?!”

……Still, thanks to this cheating body, it only ended with me being terribly exhausted.

No, honestly, we were running at a speed and route that would make even a normal adult man collapse, so it’s natural that I wasn’t okay, but I was still conscious.

At first, Christie would glance back and ask if I wanted a piggyback ride if I was tired, but by the middle, she was only asking if I was okay.

…Now, she was looking at me with a very surprised expression.

“You have better stamina than you look, Lucia.”

“…If my stamina was bad, I wouldn’t have been able to stop the attacker so well, would I?”

“Well, Lucia’s potions are so overpowered. I just thought you managed well with those.”

“……No matter how I think about it, magic seems more overpowered. You can use it freely as long as you have mana, right?”

Still, being tired was being tired, so my speed was gradually slowing down, and Christie matched my pace.

Thanks to that, we could even have a conversation like this, albeit a short one.

…She’s not saying it, but she’s being considerate… right?

No, if I think about it, wouldn’t not making me go through this hellish ordeal from the beginning be more considerate?

“But it’s a good thing I have good stamina, otherwise what would you have done, Unnie?”

“I was just going to carry you and run? You’re light anyway, so it wouldn’t be a strain at all.”

“…I’m still a person, you know?”

“I carry and run with heavier loads than Lucia during Defense Force training, so what.”

…For a moment, I imagined Christie’s appearance within the Defense Force.

She would work them to death during training, but she would push herself the hardest, so her subordinates couldn’t say anything.

Indeed, Christie, who wanted to be recognized by the Duke, truly did everything for her goal.

…Even hiding her true self in childhood.

“……Unnie, you’ve lived a tough life too.”

“Well, something like that. But… Lucia, thanks to you, it’s gotten much better.”

“…Thanks to me?”

“Father said so. He said he’d acknowledge me to some extent because there’s someone who likes my true self and cherishes me.”

…Christie’s expression as she said that looked quite refreshed.

As if she had found a clue to a problem she had been agonizing over for a long time.

Well, that was probably the actual situation.

What I was more curious about was……

“…The Duke really said that?”

“He seemed to have somewhat seen you and Mother overlapping. That’s why he was so interested.”

“Ah, if I think about it that way, it makes some sense… but aren’t there still some parts that don’t make sense?”

“How can a person’s heart be understood so easily? And is it even understandable to treat a daughter like that in the first place?

……Now that I think about it, I’m a little angry? No, if he didn’t want me to get hurt, he should have treated me well, so why did he treat me like that?”

Saying that, Christie began to grumble about herself, albeit briefly.

…It was strangely funny, so a laugh escaped me.

No, honestly, it would be strange if I didn’t laugh, seeing someone who usually acts so serious, strict, solemn, and earnest in the Defense Force acting like this.

“Well, thanks to Father, I became the Defense Force Commander, and thanks to that, I met Lucia.”

“……Don’t come at me so suddenly like that, Unnie.”

“What, are you shy? You’re cute, you know.

…But, considering your usual words and actions, at least you, when you say ‘don’t come at me suddenly’… hmm, never mind. If you’re cute, that’s all that matters.”

“What?! Are you trying to bother me……”

However, before I could finish my sentence, something exploded in the sky.

…And at the same time, colorful fireworks adorned the sky.

“Fortunately, we made it just in time, didn’t we? Come on, we’re really here.”

“…If we’re not really here this time, you’ve said that exact phrase 12 times.”

“Unfortunately, this time we really are here.”

With those words… we emerged from the trees that had been blocking our view, and the wide-open sky and the cityscape appeared.

At the same time, the Defense Force outpost located nearby.

It was a beautiful sight, with the capital, including the Imperial Palace, visible at a glance.

“How is it? Pretty, isn’t it?”

“……It was worth running all this way like hell.”

The stars embedded in the sky, and the gently glowing moon.

The fireworks bursting forth and illuminating the sky between them.

The village where faint laughter could be heard, and

the Imperial Palace where brilliant lights were bursting forth.

It was the most beautiful and memorable sight I had seen since coming to this world.

“Come on, climb up. The good thing about this place is that there’s an observatory too.”

“……Since when was the Defense Force outpost an observatory?”

“If the Defense Force Commander says so, then it is so. And besides, this outpost is famous for dates during the festival.”

“That makes sense. The scenery here is so beautiful.”

Saying that, as I climbed onto the outpost, the scenery I had seen earlier became even clearer.

The twinkling lights of the capital, and the fireworks periodically bursting forth and illuminating the sky.

……And, more than anything, Christie, who was watching it with me by my side.

Suddenly, the things I had done since coming to this world came to mind.

Suddenly falling into another world, my body changing, making something called potions……

Hunting to get ingredients, meeting the mastermind I absolutely didn’t want to get involved with,

Sometimes being attacked, or doing dangerous things like hunting monsters with Melini.

And… although it started as a connection with a main character I should avoid at first…

At some point, she became a precious person I had to protect, and now, Christie, whose fate had changed because of me.

Although the time I’ve spent in this world is short, I now want to live with only the memories of this world, instead of the memories of my original world.

Not as a patient who longed for life in pain and eventually gave up, but as a happy alchemist who changes someone’s fate for the better and is happy with them.

I have done so until now, and I want to continue doing so.

……There are still many things I want to do, and can do, with potions.

“…Thank you, Christie. For showing me… this sight.”

“It’s nothing. It’s a natural reciprocation and action, Lucia. And it will continue to be so.”

But… for now, let’s reminisce about the achievements I’ve made so far,

And enjoy these fireworks with the most precious person in this world.

For today, at least… let’s leave tomorrow’s worries for tomorrow.

“…It looks like the highlight is starting!”

“Yes, that’s the real deal. Open your eyes wide and watch, okay?”

Watching those fireworks decorating and brightening the sky,

Let’s forget everything else in this moment,

And enjoy the happiness of this moment.

“How is it, good, right? I told you there was a reason I tried so hard to get here.”

“Indeed. Thank you, Unnie. Thanks to you… I’m so happy.”

A sincere smile, and words spoken comfortably with sincerity.

I don’t know how long it’s been since I smiled so genuinely and widely.

“……This is a bit harmful to my heart.”

Christie, who said that, also sent a smile back…

And we watched the fireworks filling the sky together.

Hoping for such happiness to continue in the future.

……Although I caught a cold the next day and was bedridden for half a day.