episode_0223

The time of apology and kissing passed, and Alisa walked silently for a while.

I followed behind her and gently asked, “Are you embarrassed?”

“No, I’m not!”

The answer came back immediately.

This was practically proof. Alisa was embarrassed by the fact that she had kissed me in front of everyone.

It was something everyone did, and people didn’t seem to mind, but she was quite sensitive.

I shrugged my shoulders and moved closer to her. “So, what should we do now? We’ve looked around the botanical garden. It’s lunchtime, shall we move?”

Before I knew it, the clock was pointing exactly to the hour.

We hadn’t spent much time exploring the botanical garden, but since we had set our meeting time a little late, it had already turned out this way.

Alisa pointed outside. “Let’s go to the bustling street. We can just grab some street food there.”

“Street food? Is that alright?”

“Do you think I’m some young lady who only grew up eating fancy food? An illegitimate child doesn’t get such things, you know? Let’s go quickly!”

I didn’t resist the hand pushing my back and willingly let myself be pushed.

A moment later, upon arriving at the bustling street, I found myself momentarily lost in thought.

‘This was it, wasn’t it?’

The place where I first met Alisa.

When I first saw Alisa, I never imagined we would end up in this kind of relationship. I had only wanted to quickly learn about possession…

As I stared blankly at the bustling street, Alisa tugged at my collar. “What are you doing? Spacing out.”

“Ah, just thinking for a moment.”

“Thinking? Surely not about Deborah, right?”

Her sharp eyes were filled with jealousy. At her glare, which seemed to ask if I was thinking of that woman even when with her, I let out a chuckle.

“It’s not like that.”

“Then what is it?!”

“…I was thinking about when I first met you. This is it. This is where I first found you and chased after you.”

“Ah…”

As if Alisa also realized what I meant belatedly, she let out a small sigh and looked around the bustling street.

The crowd, so dense there was no room to step, just like back then, vividly brought back the memory of that time.

I gently moved even closer to Alisa. “I’m glad I chased you then.”

“Huh?”

“Otherwise, I would have regretted it. I’m glad you were the first person I came to meet.”

If I hadn’t been there, what would have become of Alisa?

No matter how hard I tried to imagine a good outcome, my thoughts simply wouldn’t go in a positive direction.

I pulled Alisa tightly into my embrace.

As if her imagination had reached the same conclusion, she leaned deeply into my arms.

And so, we used each other’s warmth as comfort and shook off our bad thoughts.

How much time passed like that?

As people slowly began to focus their attention on us, Alisa flinched and then pushed me away.

“L-let’s stop that and move, okay? We’re blocking the way, people are getting uncomfortable!”

“Since when have you cared about such things?”

“I do care! And I’m hungry, so hurry up!”

Perhaps feeling embarrassed again, Alisa dismissed my retort, but nevertheless, she held my hand tightly as she started walking.

I could strongly feel her will not to be separated from that dependent figure.

‘She’s just so dishonest.’

But this was Alisa’s charm.

Now, if I didn’t hear that sassy voice for even a day, I’d break out in hives.

After that, I was led by Alisa’s hand, wandering around the bustling street and beginning to explore various street foods.

*

Meanwhile, at that very hour, a silent meal continued in the Maryland family mansion, the granary of the west.

It had always been like this, as not only Count Ainz Maryland, the head of the family, but even Skadia wasn’t the talkative type to begin with.

But today, there were special circumstances.

Count Ainz wiped his mouth with a napkin and spoke. “Skadia. There’s something I want to tell you.”

“Something to tell me?”

“More accurately, something to give you. Take this.”

Count Ainz pulled a necklace from his pocket.

The empty space in the center where a jewel should have been made it seem hollow, yet its overall design was antique and extraordinary.

Skadia’s eyes widened. “Father. That’s…”

“Yes. It’s the necklace left by the first family head. I intend to give it to you.”

“But you said you would give it to me after I graduated from the academy, at least.”

The First Family Head’s Necklace.

There were quite a few stories passed down related to this.

For example, that the moment you unravel the necklace’s secret, you can inherit all the progress of the first family head?

The first family head of the Maryland family was a Grand Archmage who had even stepped into the realm of transcendence.

The moment one fully assimilates that power, they would be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Tower Lords.

However, not all traditions were good.

Especially with a strong warning, it was said that even if one realized the secret, they must absolutely never unravel it unless they could use No-Chant.

If such a thing were to happen, they would lose their life, and the necklace would disappear forever.

Yet, Count Ainz was now saying he would hand such a thing over to her.

“That’s right. But looking at you now, that felt like useless stubbornness. I believed that you, as you are now, would judge wisely.”

“Father…”

“Take it. Or surely you’re not planning to truly receive it after graduation?”

At the movement to subtly retrieve the necklace, as if to say ‘take it or leave it,’ Skadia quickly reached out.

“No. I’ll take it now.”

“You’ve made a good decision. Remember this. For now, simply place meaning in having it. You must never unravel the secret until you achieve No-Chant. Do you understand?”

“Of course. Don’t worry.”

“Good. You’ve understood enough, then.”

Count Ainz, who had repeatedly emphasized the danger, finally seemed relieved and smiled with satisfaction.

He smoothly changed the subject. “By the way, where do you plan to go for winter vacation? Have you decided on a place?”

“Well, I’m still thinking. But I won’t be going north.”

“Hmm… Really? That’s your choice, so I can’t help it.”

Count Ainz offered a bitter smile.

He knew very well that the reason Skadia avoided the north lay with her former fiancé.

He hadn’t even expected otherwise.

“Then how about the southern island country? They say it’s summer all year round there. How about it, to warm up your body?”

“A southern island country? Hmm… I’ll think about it.”

She said she would think about it, but her face didn’t particularly show signs of deep thought.

Her primary interest at the moment was only one thing.

She was probably thinking about the necklace and vacation wasn’t on her mind at all.

Ainz understood his daughter.

‘I was like that too.’

On the day he first acquired the necklace, even knowing it was dangerous, he couldn’t suppress his curiosity and struggled to unravel its secret.

He ultimately failed like many others, but it was still a rather good memory.

Even if his daughter had flawlessly pioneered realms with her genius talent, she would eventually hit a huge wall and be frustrated.

All he had to do was quietly watch and then offer comfort.

“Alright. Tell me when you decide.”

Ainz thus acquiesced to Skadia’s actions and resumed his meal.

*

‘I feel like I’m going to die.’

I was in a state where all the energy from my entire body felt drained, as if I would collapse at any moment.

Why was that, you ask?

That alone could be explained by the fact that I was in a department store.

“Ruan. How about this?”

“It’s pretty.”

“Don’t answer so vaguely! How does it compare to the one before?”

Alisa, as if she never got tired of it, held almost identical designs of clothes against her body and asked for my opinion.

This was already the hundredth time.

Honestly, when I first heard about department store shopping, I thought it would be fine since my stamina had improved incomparably to Earth, but I was wrong.

I had overlooked the fact that I wasn’t the only one with good stamina.

Alisa, though not as strong as me, had plenty of stamina and, receiving a home-ground buff from the department store, exerted tireless energy.

Now, I was in a ‘whatever happens, happens’ mindset.

‘I want to get out of here quickly.’

Is the longing for freedom truly this intense?

I half-understood the feelings of slaves as I waited for this time to end.

And finally, the moment arrived.

“Oh? Has it gotten this late already?”

I looked at the clock, and the hour hand was already pointing to 6. It was dinnertime.

I stared at Alisa with desperation.

As if feeling my resolve on her skin, she flinched and snapped. “Alright! Don’t look at me like that. I was actually just about to go, as I had a restaurant reservation. Follow me!”

“Yes!”

I followed Alisa with a light heart.

After that, the moment I left the department store, I fully recovered my original energy.

There was no problem with the luggage, as I had put it all in my subspace from the start, and all of it had just been mental fatigue.

We immediately took a carriage to the capital’s most famous seven-star hotel.

Standing in front of the hotel, I asked, “Alisa. By the way, when did you make the restaurant reservation? Isn’t this place expensive?”

“It is expensive! But I couldn’t help it. My father booked this place when I told him I was going on a date.”

Even if she had regained half her freedom through our engagement, it seemed difficult to shake off the Count’s influence.

But it wasn’t bad.

It was more convenient to think that we could have a more luxurious date.

“Oh? Well, I’m fine with that. Let’s go in.”

“Okay.”

Arm in arm, we amicably entered the hotel.

And when I gave our name, a manager rushed over and guided us to a room with a good view.

“Wow, the view is great!”

“Indeed. It’s worth the price.”

We sat facing each other, looking out the window, and exclaimed in admiration. From the tall building standing tall in the middle of the capital, the surrounding scenery came into view at a glance.

After observing for a moment, the dishes were set up quickly, as if they had been cooking beforehand.

We immediately began our meal.

“Wow, Deborah. This is really delicious, isn’t it?”

“What?”

“Huh? …Ah! My mistake!”

“Do you want to die? You bring up that woman’s name during our date? Are you crazy?!”

“I’m sorry! My bad!”

Having provoked irreversible anger with a momentary slip of the tongue, I clasped my hands together and begged for forgiveness.

Fortunately, Alisa seemed hungry and didn’t say much, letting it pass.

After that slight commotion, our meal came to an end.

It was when we had finished paying and were waiting for the elevator.

“Um…”

Alisa stammered and opened her mouth.

For some reason, she couldn’t easily meet my eyes and her face was flushed red.

“What’s wrong? Is there something you want to say?”

“Well, it’s just…”

Alisa kept mumbling, as if something was really bothering her.

Just before my patience ran out.

“S-should we stay the night?”

Only then did she finally spit out her request.

The moment I understood her words, the blood that was about to rush to my head suddenly drifted to my groin.

“What? Stay the night?”

“That… Ah, Father said he booked a room together with the restaurant reservation. It would be a waste to just leave. And, besides, we’re engaged, aren’t we? It’s not a problem, is it?”

Her sneaking glances were cute.

‘Making excuses.’

At her flimsy excuse, I chuckled but played along. “That’s true. Then I guess we have no choice. Shall we stay the night?”

“Y-yes! But we’re really just sleeping, okay? If you do anything weird, you’re dead! Got it?”

“Of course. I won’t even twitch a finger.”

Though something else might twitch a lot instead of my fingers.

When I answered confidently, Alisa momentarily looked disappointed, then quickly composed herself and proudly gestured with her chin. “Then let’s go. She said it was the top floor.”

“Oh, really? I’m looking forward to it.”

Ding!

We took the elevator that had just arrived and ascended to the top floor.