episode_0183

*

A few days later.

Irene was getting ready to go on a long outing.

‘Now that I think about it, it was decided to divide the occupation forces and dispatch them to various parts of the continent.’

Deputy Commander Irene was no exception, and as soon as the training was roughly completed, she began preparing to leave in earnest.

Will I not be able to see your face for a while?

Irene was the first to say hello to the head maid, whose face she was now quite familiar with.

“Then, I’ll be back. Please take care of the mansion.”

“Don’t worry, master.”

“Miss Reika. I would be grateful if you could live comfortably without me.”

“Please come back… … !! I’ll be waiting. When you come back, I’ll have something delicious… … I’ll make a lot for you… … !”

“And… … .”

Seeing her strangely hesitant appearance, I naturally realized that it was my turn and approached her.

Irene’s eyes were shaking strangely as she looked up at me.

“Swen. I’ll come back safely… … You must be in good health.”

“… … .”

A subtle sense felt in the tone of her voice.

I hope I’m not doing something stupid, I thought to myself –

I get closer to her.

“… … !!!!”

I opened my arms wide and hugged her.

Perhaps quite surprised, Irene flinched slightly… … Soon, without rejecting my embrace, he leaned his head against my chest.

“Have a nice trip, Irene. I will miss you a lot, but I will still be waiting.”

“Yes… … Swen, I’ll do well. me too… … I’ll miss you too… … .”

“Take care of yourself. You can never push yourself too hard. If you think it’s even the slightest bit dangerous, you should retreat. Did you know?”

“Don’t overdo it. If Swen tells me not to do it, I won’t do it… … .”

I was just going out on patrol anyway, so I thought I might be overdoing it… …

Even when she was in Aishus County, she was a serious woman who risked her life for me.

It was clear that if I didn’t say these words, I would be so anxious that I wouldn’t be able to breathe.

I slowly ran my hand through her red hair.

He always showed a strong side, and was actually a very strong-willed person, but… … In times like these, Irene was not always a person as strong as steel.

After seeing Iren off like that.

“… … ?”

“Ah, uh, that… … !!!”

I lowered my expression and spoke to Reika, who was blushing and sweating while looking at me.

“Do you have anything to do today?”

“Yes? No, that… … No… … Uh… … .”

I found it strangely cute to see her not knowing what to do while clicking her fingers.

“Then, shall we meditate together for the first time in a while?”

“Yes… … ?”

“You don’t like it?”

“Ah, no, that, that… … It’s not that I don’t like it… … great! great… … !!”

I didn’t think it would be a bad idea to go to the library and read a book together, but the time he seemed to enjoy the most while being with me was when he was meditating.

It wouldn’t be a bad idea to spend some time with her today.

Just like that, Reika and I immediately walked out of the mansion.

* * *

Excited, Excited.

Even though she came out to meditate with Swen, Reika’s mind was unable to calm down.

‘It was really amazing… … .’

Irene says she will come back, and Swen gives her a big hug.

The sight of a man and woman who looked so good together as if they were drawn from a painting made me feel an itch deep inside my heart.

Even at first glance, the relationship between the two seemed very solid –

What was surprising was that the two still had no particular relationship.

And Reika felt a strange sense of relief from the fact that there was ‘no connection’ between them.

‘Someday, when I have to go far away… … I wonder if Swen would hug me like that too… … ?’

Irene and I both had similar starting points.

Moreover, considering the fact that they went back and forth on marriage talks, it was an issue that he might actually be ahead of the curve.

So, that moment when I thought there was no need to be discouraged.

‘… … uh?’

A realization flashes through Reika’s head like lightning.

wait for a sec.

Me now… … ‘I’m ahead’, that’s what I thought to myself… … ?

‘… … what?’

If you’re ahead, what?

In self-talk?

If you’re ahead in self-talk, what does it mean? What are you getting ahead of?

The thoughts flow one after another, finally reaching a single conclusion.

So, maybe I… …

‘You like Swen…? … ????’

‘Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute.’

Waves of thoughts began to rush through Reika’s head, her eyes wide and her face red.

‘Actually, I didn’t really want to get married… … Still, becoming Swen’s wife… … I thought it was okay. I didn’t hate it at first either. I did it because my father wanted it, but that’s what women’s marriages were originally like… … . But, at some point… … Something, something something… … !’

It would be a lie to say that I wasn’t excited when Swen introduced herself as ‘my wife’ in the library.

‘however… … Swen said that if I don’t want to get married or want to be free, I can choose that. I was very grateful, but… … There’s a subtle sense of distance felt there… … It seems like it continued to exist?’

“Mr. Reika?”

‘I didn’t really know what that sense of distance was, but now that I think about it… … Maybe I wanted to hear something else… … ??’

“Hey? Mr. Reika?”

‘It would be better if Master Swann had not given me a choice, but had firmly asked me to be my wife… … !!!’

“Mr. Reika!”

“Kyaaaa… … !”

Reika, who was startled, then turned her head and looked at Swen.

“S, Swen… … ?”

“What’s going on?”

“No, that, that, that… … Um, nothing’s going on… … !!”

“It looked like something really happened.”

Reika was taken aback by Swen’s words and asked back.

“Why… … What?”

“You’ve been moving your face back and forth ever since, and you haven’t been able to control yourself? Usually, when I meditate, I close my eyes and feel very peaceful. But that’s not the case… … .”

“… … I am… … Did you do that?”

“Yes. Like this.”

Watching Swen lightly imitating herself, Reika lowered her head in despair.

“Sorry… … I don’t think I need to buy any more. I will end this life… … .”

“No, no! Why so… … That’s too extreme!”

“But, he showed such an ugly side… … .”

“It’s okay. More than that, do you have any concerns?”

“Concern… … .”

Reika looked into Swen’s gray eyes.

When I first met him, those sharp gray eyes had a big influence on the impression that I had, ‘This guy is very handsome, but he seems somewhat cold.’

But for some reason, those eyes seemed so warm now.

It felt as if the unique warmth felt from caring, kind people enveloped her heart.

‘I’m worried… … .’

Me, maybe I should marry Swen.

I’m worried that getting married and living together with Irene and the three of them might be better than living freely without being tied down. That’s what I’m worried about.

– The courage to say that, unfortunately, did not exist for her at the moment.

“It’s nothing… … .”

Swen was silent for a moment in response to Reika’s words, then nodded and responded.

“Really? all right. I won’t bother to ask. However, if there is something you want to talk about, you can always say it. Did you know?”

“Yes, four… … !”

I felt warm again when I heard that it was okay to talk to me at any time.

――The reason my heart was shaken was probably because Swen is a kind person.

I thought that it was very lucky for Reika herself that the person she was talking about was Swen, who came from an unexpected place.

“Then shall we continue?”

“Yes… … !”

Only then did Reika shake off the distracting thoughts in her head and felt the mana flowing in the air.

This place was quite rich in mana.

It wasn’t ‘overflowing’ like a mountain full of trees, but at least I could feel that a much larger amount of mana was floating in the air than in the central continent.

‘With this amount of mana… … A new technique that failed last time may succeed… … !’

Reika recalled the dying rabbit she accidentally found in the garden of the mansion back when she was staying at Balharat Castle.

At the time, I failed due to a lack of mana in the air, but I thought I might succeed now.

This was how she learned new magic.

An image comes to mind, formalizes it, and implements it.

Even though no one specifically taught her, it was as simple as breathing for Reika.

In particular, the growth over the past few days was noticeable to me, so handling mana was a lot of fun.

From Reika’s point of view, the extremely complex problem of composing a technique felt like a problem that could be solved with just a little time, and it was.

Reika had no idea that it was simply because she was a natural genius… …

‘After meeting Swen… … Now I can understand it better… … ! Someday, I must repay the kindness you showed me… … !’

He firmly believed that it was thanks to Swen who taught him various training methods, and his admiration for him grew even more.

So that day, I spent time meditating with Swen.

For Reika, this time was more precious than anything else.

* * *

A few days have passed since Iren left.

When I heard that the maid was urgently looking for me, I quickly got dressed in the morning and headed to where she was waiting.

As soon as she saw me, she lowered her head and spoke politely.

“Ah, Swen. Are you here? It would be right to say good morning… … .”

“It’s okay. What’s going on?”

“Someone came from the capital. Serpina wants Swen to come here immediately… … .”

“Have you heard what happened?”

Although I asked that question, I actually had some expectations.

The maid’s expression makes you feel deeper than usual.

A message saying that they are urgently looking for me.

And, to this situation where there is only one thing that could happen… … .

“That… … I don’t know the details, but it seems like rebel forces have raised an army on the continent.”

also.

Is this news from the rebels as expected?

But that doesn’t mean… …

‘It seems that Serpina’s prediction was correct.’

There will be a revolt. The basis for this is just this ‘advice’ from me.

How on earth could she have declared that a rebellion would occur?

Well, no matter what, wouldn’t it be a problem that could be solved if you met your lord and talked about it?

“I’ll leave right away.”

“Yes. Please be careful… … .”

After saying hello to the maid, I quickly put on my uniform and walked straight to the royal castle.