episode_0083

* * *

“I’m here, Yuuri.”

“Anima!”

Anima Ingram has returned to the Aishous Army.

Yuuri, who was sitting on the throne, got up from his seat and approached Anima to greet her as if he was happy to see her.

For some reason, I couldn’t shake the feeling that rather than feeling like a lord welcoming a subject, I felt more like a puppy greeting its owner-

In this Aceu group, it seemed convenient to assume that the five founding contributors, including Yuuri, felt something like that.

In fact, Jinor, who was standing next to Yuuri, didn’t seem that surprised.

“Welcome, Anima. Have you been in good health? Because I couldn’t meet you last time I went… … .”

“How have you been? I’m sorry about that time. Because I didn’t want to be disturbed by anyone.”

“No, it’s okay. Of course I understand. Because everyone has moments like that.”

Looking at the conversation between the two, it could not help but be unconventional for a military-lord relationship in this era.

The belief that each other would never betray each other was not a bad thing in itself… … .

‘no.’

I wanted to think about something more, but after listening to Anima, I figured it out.

The unique sense of solidarity that emerges from their personal circumstances and the special relationships that operate therein are not something that an outsider can attempt to change.

No matter how much he may have held a government position in the empire, how could I change something that even someone with a reputation like Jinor could not?

Their unique sense of solidarity may be a strength of the Aishous military that does not exist in other countries.

In the end, what if that sense of solidarity gets caught up and the cause is ruined?

I had to return to Luna someday. I just hope that nothing special happens while I’m there.

Yuuri, who had been saying goodbye to Anima for a while, soon realized my presence and approached me to say hello.

“Swen. Thank you for bringing Anima safely. Thank you so much for your hard work.”

“No. I am glad that I was able to fulfill my name.”

“Yes. It’s okay to take a good rest without thinking about work today.”

“Thank you for your concern.”

After saying that, I slowly left the castle.

Yuuri said it was okay to rest, but… … I have so much time left.

However, it is difficult to get to the Knighthart family mansion.

‘hmm… … .’

Irene is probably still away due to a mission.

As the wind blew slightly, I felt that the weather had become quite chilly.

If so, today might be just the right time.

Something came to mind, and I immediately walked towards the shopping district of Balharat Castle.

* * *

The royal castle where Swen left.

Anima was asking Yuuri a question.

“I heard that you will be given a position as the lord of Lacline Castle.”

“Yes! Anima, I don’t think there is anyone else who can take on this important position except you-”

“Yuuri. You don’t have to lift me up like that. Because I don’t think you’re ignoring me.”

“Ah, that… … That’s it.”

Yuuri immediately spoke like a cowering rabbit.

“I’m sorry… … That, that… … By changing the national policy, I thought they would be paying attention to that… … .”

Anima smiled slightly as she looked at Yuuri.

“It’s okay now, Yuuri. Because it’s true that I acted a little emotionally.”

“Uh, yes… … .”

“More than that, I’m talking about the man who made me come pick him up.”

“Swen?”

“Yes. What kind of person are you?”

Yuuri briefly summarized Swen, Airen, and what had happened so far and explained it to Anima.

This includes what happened at the northern fortress and what Irene must have experienced.

Anima heard those words and was lost in thought.

‘Lyn Brans betrayed himself because he didn’t seem capable of becoming a unified monarch, huh…? … .’

I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something different about it.

Even though we only met face-to-face for a very short time – that man gave me a special feeling.

I became even more confident after hearing Yuuri’s story that a miracle had occurred in the northern fortress.

His ambition may be greater than we think.

As long as he becomes the vanguard of our Aicious flag, he will be a very reliable ally.

If there is a possibility that they may become our enemies someday… …

‘… … no.’

Anima shook her head.

Isn’t now the time to doubt your allies?

As the lord of Lacline Castle in the future, there will be countless things I can do for the Aishous Army –

Even thinking about him wasn’t enough.

‘Nothing has changed. It’s just the same as back then.’

Ever since I lost one of my arms and decided to live for the name Acious-

It was as if Anima had only one goal.

* * *

“Then, let’s end today’s training here. Thank you all for your hard work.”

“”Four! Thank you for your hard work!!””

Irene, who heard the soldiers’ loud cries, nodded with a cool expression and went into a private room prepared inside the training center to change clothes.

After taking off the heavy armor, I found myself standing there covered in sweat.

‘… … ‘Smell of sweat.’

I need to take a bath as soon as I get home.

With that in mind, I looked back on my day.

‘I don’t know if it’s too much of a stretch.’

With the mindset of doing my best for a given task, I continued training to improve my physical strength from early morning to evening with minimal rest time.

Fortunately, the soldiers tended to follow along.

Compared to other generals who only provide training but do not provide much know-how, Irene would check each soldier’s form and correct their posture.

In the end, the soldiers had to double their efforts, but-

She really liked this life these days.

My lord needs me, and I live the life of a knight living in response to that need.

For her, whose default life was to not pay any attention no matter how much she proved herself to do, there has never been a more fulfilling time than now.

In general, generals, especially those with a reputation for martial arts, tended to be reluctant to take on the task of training soldiers.

In times of turmoil, people wanted to wield their swords on the battlefield, but few people paid attention to the soldiers following them behind their backs.

Of course, not all generals were that type of person, but it was also true that the stronger a person was, the more prominent that tendency was.

Even generals like Emma and Hernandov of the Aicious Army were not the type to care about their soldiers.

However, Irene had felt it instinctively since the time she first held the sword in her hand and went to the battlefield.

No matter who you are, as long as you are human, you only have one life.

On the battlefield, when I fight for my life, the soldiers behind me are the soldiers.

When I was in the Brans Army, there was a time when I heard sarcasm like, ‘If you’re going to do that, why don’t you join as a soldier instead of a commander?’ – but even now, that thought has not changed.

When I thought about it that way, the thought that I was wondering if it was too much to do quickly disappeared like smoke.

‘As war is ultimately fought by soldiers, all of this experience will soon become the national strength of the country.’

Even though he will have to leave this country someday, he trains Yuuri, who accepted him as he escaped from the Brans army, to become an excellent soldier.

That was her way of returning the favor.

Of course, in the process of surrendering, the soldiers were all taken over at once, and it was not like the Aishus army was giving it unilaterally, as they had made a contribution in the last defense battle, but I still felt comfortable leaving it this way.

So, after leaving the barracks, I was on my way back home.

As Irene passed through the downtown area, a stand selling dessert snacks came into view.

‘… … Come to think of it, Swen brought me a cake too.’

These days, whenever she sees something eating, she always thinks of Swen’s face.

It wasn’t just about eating. His face naturally came to mind whenever I saw a scenery I wanted to capture, or children smiling happily.

I wanted to share good things with others. I wanted to encourage him to try the delicious food first, and I imagined him smiling happily when he saw happy people.

‘Shall I buy some?’

Just like that, the moment I arrived home after buying snacks.

“Oh, are you here?”

“Swen… … ?”

There were various decorations hanging in the room.

There were some very fancy dishes laid out on the desk.

There was a small flower pot in the center of the table where the dishes were placed, and a star-shaped decoration was attached to the top of the tree.

Whatever the decoration, it was something Irene had never seen before.

“What is all this… … ?”

“I finished work a little early today. While I had some time left, I wanted to repay you for my past work.”

“It happened in the past?”

“Yes. Don’t you remember? When we had just met, you grilled meat as a welcome for me, who had not yet gotten used to it.”

“… … Ah.”

As I heard those words, the time at Annel Castle flashed through my mind.

The first time a male general came to stay at his house – and the fact that it was the lord’s order was in itself difficult in many ways.

The most troublesome thing is, of course, this guy who just got caught up in Rin’s battle of wits with me.

With that in mind, I bought some meat to make something delicious… …

“You didn’t forget that?”

“How could I forget that? ruler! Sit down.”

“Well, I need to take a bath… … .”

“It’s okay to eat and drink.”

“Still, the intensity of today’s training was a little high, so… … That’s it.”

Swen looked at Irene, who was blushing as if she were embarrassed, and nodded as if realizing what she was going to say, then smiled and said.

“It’s okay. It’s proof that you worked hard, right? I like Irene like that too.”

“What… … !!”

Irene blushed and blushed even to her ears without saying anything, but then lowered her head and spoke in a quiet voice.

“… … Swen… … You really… … Even if you say that well… … I’m taking it out.”

“Thank you for the compliment. Oh, are those in your hand snacks?”

“Huh? You mean this?”

Irene put it on the table.

“I bought it because I wanted to eat it together. These days, I’ve been getting various things from you… … Looks like I got it today too.”

“Most of them were bought with money that Irene earned, so what do you think? I can eat snacks with rice and tea.”

“Um.”

After answering that question and sitting down at the table, I had a strange feeling.

The back of Swen carrying the dishes, and the table set up in front of me.

Just by looking at that scenery, deep inside her heart-

When I was in Brans County, I felt a warmth filling the empty space that could never be filled no matter what I did.

“Now! Anyway, since you worked hard today, let’s eat meat. There are a lot of them.”

“Yes.”

This warmth I got for the first time in my life.

This was what she wanted to protect at all costs.

“By the way, Swen. I have a question.”

“Which one?”

“This flower pot… … What is the star-shaped decoration on top?”

“Ah. that’s right. I had to tell you this.”

Swen nodded and then spoke.

“In my hometown, around this time of year when the weather gets cold, there was a custom of eating delicious food with people close to you and decorating the tree. Of course, the exact date is not today… … But anyway, the weather was cold and I wouldn’t have time if it wasn’t today, so I tried to get in the mood in advance.”

“Really? What a strange custom. Come to think of it, Swen, this is my first time hearing about your hometown.”

“Well, it’s just a boring story.”

“Is that so?”

Iren didn’t bother to ask.

No matter what the story was, as long as Swen listened to as much as she wanted to, that was enough.

Still, I felt good that I learned a little bit about him.

If it was a custom in his hometown… … Irene also wanted to respect that custom.

“Anyway, on that day, everyone had a good time with their precious people… … Everyone we met shared a specific greeting with each other.”

“A specific greeting?”

“Yes. ‘Merry Christmas.’”

Swen said, looking clearly into Irene’s purple eyes.

“In that sense, Merry Christmas. Irene.”

Iren looked at Swen like that.

With a slight blush on his face, he answered with a sincere smile that he had never shown to anyone.

“… … huh. Merry Christmas.”

Although the date was not ‘Christmas’ in his hometown-

There was no change in the fact that dinner on this day was a very sacred time for the two of them.