Ending Maker Chapter 124
Ending Maker Chapter 124
Chapter 47 — The Engagement Ceremony
The reason they hurried to return as soon as the battle was effectively over was simple.
The ravens felt uneasy about remaining in the Wild Lands, which was enemy territory.
'Well, it's only natural.'
They had spent years as enemies, after all.
In fact, the very act of crossing the border to aid the Wild Lands like this was nothing short of miraculous.
'Strictly speaking, it's more accurate to say they came to put out the fire before it spread this far, rather than to help.'
The tragedy of the Paragon Kingdom had been a great event that shook the entire continent.
And since it had occurred a mere ten years ago, there was not a single raven who did not know of the Paragon Kingdom's tragedy.
Thanks to that, this operation had been possible.
After all, no one could guarantee what would happen if a Hell Gate were left unattended in the Wild Lands.
'Father is Father, but...... Count Hraesvelgr made the decisive call.'
He had likely marched north using wartime operational authority without even submitting a proper report to the royal capital.
If Count Hraesvelgr's decision had been delayed by half a day—no, even a single hour—
'It would have been hard to come out unscathed.'
At least for Yuder himself.
He had confidence that he could protect Cordelia no matter what, but honestly, given the situation at the time, it was questionable whether he could have saved his own life as well.
'Thank you.'
Yuder, who had expressed his gratitude anew, if only in his heart, turned his gaze to the side.
He could see Lena and Cordelia riding side by side on horseback not too far away.
Two angels advancing while laughing merrily.
'Lena's next move is important.'
As one of the Five Heroes, she had originally been fated to die in the Wild Lands.
But she had survived, and now she was heading to the Saelun Kingdom to meet two other members of the Five Heroes, Landius and Kamael.
What effect would her survival have on the fate of Pleiades?
'Wouldn't it also help with Landius's survival?'
In fact, the greatest mystery for Yuder at present was Landius's death.
Why on earth, and in what manner, had he met his death?
'Since I don't know the cause, I don't know how to prevent it either.'
When he had first seen Landius, and now.
Yuder's perception had changed.
Because his very perception of strength had changed.
'Now that I've become stronger, I understand.'
The gap between viewing a game character's strength as mere numbers, and actually cultivating and using power in reality.
Landius's strength was truly on an incredible level.
He could not even imagine how strong Landius would be when he opened the Seventh Gate of the Nine Heavens Nine Gates, which could be called Landius's current limit.
'There's something. Something.'
Landius had said he would come find him when the time was right.
If Lena told him that Yuder had opened the Fourth Gate, there was a high chance he would make contact in some way.
'Perhaps just that action alone could help him avoid death.'
Having had a positive thought, Yuder looked at Lena and Cordelia again.
Cordelia, looking up at Lena and chattering like a baby bird, was like a painting.
'Hm.'
Just as he was about to enter appreciation mode—
"Lord Yuder."
"Lord Lucas."
Yuder, who had turned to look at Lucas as he urged his horse over with a clatter of hooves, smiled first.
Because Yuder did have a conscience.
Yuder had many feelings of guilt toward Lucas for one reason or another.
"I'm sorry. For leaving the way I did......."
"No, you had your circumstances. I never imagined the two of you had received secret orders from the Guardians of the Holy Cross....... Rather, our Count Hraesvelgr Household nearly ruined things."
Lucas's misunderstanding had deepened considerably, having heard distorted information from somewhere.
He seemed to think that leaving the Count Hraesvelgr Household and heading to Frost Anvil had been a mission for the Guardians of the Holy Cross from the very beginning.
'What should I do about this?'
Yuder had diligently exploited the Guardians of the Holy Cross and the Fairy Queen so far, but this case was a bit different.
In cases that could be verified, or where problems might arise when the truth came out later, it was better not to use false information.
'And Lucas is someone I'll keep seeing.'
Red Wind had firmly promised to come to the Saelun Kingdom to help Yuder and Cordelia after building up her skills in the Wild Lands.
Lucas also had to be raised well (?) and utilized as a force for the Playable Character alliance they would form in the future.
'Hmm...... Well, I'll resolve it later.'
Not now, but once the situation was a bit more stable.
They still had not even returned to Thunderdoom Fortress.
"By the way, Lord Yuder."
"Yes, Lord Lucas."
When Yuder answered gently, Lucas suddenly turned red in the face.
Yuder flinched for a moment at that shy reaction but maintained his composure, and Lucas, fidgeting in a way that did not suit his large frame, spoke.
"Um...... I have a favor to ask."
"Yes, go ahead."
"A spar...... may I ask you for one?"
His face was still red, but his eyes alone were serious.
Come to think of it, Lucas had approached Yuder in the first place and asked to be friends for no other reason than "I need a rival!"
'Ah, so that's why his face is red.'
He had stepped forward saying he needed a rival and had no equal among his peers, but Yuder and Cordelia had surged far ahead of him.
'Hm.'
Yuder faced Lucas, who was looking at him with a faint smile on his face.
Seeing those shining eyes, he was newly struck by the fact that Lucas was a sixteen-year-old boy.
'I can give him a spar.'
The question was to what extent he should match him.
In truth, the gap between Yuder and Lucas now was no exaggeration to call the difference between heaven and earth.
Lucas had been far stronger than Yuder just a couple of months ago, but those couple of months were the problem.
Yuder had undergone a truly dramatic transformation.
'Even in pure physical ability alone, Cordelia would be above him.'
Lucas had surely trained hard in his own way, but even so, his limits were clear.
He was probably around level 20 by now.
Cordelia, on the other hand, was level 71 alone.
Levels were bullies, and with a gap this large, no matter the class difference between a swordsman and a mage, Cordelia was bound to be far stronger.
Even in physical ability alone, not overall combat power.
And yet Yuder had overwhelmed that Cordelia with physical ability.
'If I really match him, he might actually despair, right?'
Even Red Wind, who followed Cordelia everywhere calling her name over and over, had once burst into tears in despair over the gap in their abilities.
Lucas, who took pride in his own talent, might completely break down.
'Let's go easy.'
Easy, at a level that could nurture Lucas's competitive spirit.
"Lord Yuder......?"
While Yuder was lost in thought alone, Lucas, who had been fidgeting with his fingers with an anxious face, spoke again, and Yuder nodded.
"Understood. Once we arrive at Thunderdoom Fortress, let's have a spar. My heart is pounding at the thought of sparring with you, Lord Lucas."
"Mine too! As they say, well......."
When Lucas, who had been answering excitedly, suddenly trailed off, Yuder smiled again.
For the secretly adorable Lucas, he said it for him.
"Because sparring with a rival is the best way to improve your skills."
"Haha...... That's right."
A line from The Heroic Legend of Biltbain.
Either way, Lucas had recognized the fact that Yuder had become stronger than him, so he had been embarrassed to use the word "rival," but when Yuder called him a rival first, he was utterly delighted.
His face grew even redder, too.
'Cute.'
Just as Yuder was suppressing a laugh with effort, Lucas let out a pointless cough and turned toward Cordelia as he spoke.
"Lady Cordelia, you've become even more beautiful."
"Yes, because she's truly an angel now."
She had succeeded in Ancestral Regression and become an angel.
In the original story, that was something that only progressed around the time they faced the Seven Calamities, so it was an enormous leap forward.
When Yuder spoke with a pleased face, Lucas blinked, then wore a subtle expression.
"Lord Lucas?"
"Yes? Ah...... Yes. That's...... right. She's your angel, Lord Yuder. Lady Cordelia is."
Lucas laughed awkwardly, and Yuder simply laughed along without bothering to correct him.
"Then I'll see you again later."
"Yes, see you later."
Lucas, who had paid his respects with a silent bow, gathered his reins again and went to Count Hraesvelgr's side, and Yuder quietly traced over their schedule.
'First we'll go to Thunderdoom Fortress...... then we'll pass through Vedrfolnir to Langesthei...... so obtaining the Blessing of Autumn in the valley will be the key.'
The valley on the mountainside, which was the rendezvous point with the Fall Fairies.
Since Cordelia only had to bathe and call Little Star, meeting them itself was not difficult, but deliberately stopping by there was a slight obstacle.
'Well, it'll work out somehow.'
If worst came to worst, they could briefly elope for love.
Yuder, who thought Adelia would immediately raise her voice if she heard that, looked forward again. Because Cordelia was approaching.
"Yuder, Yuder."
"Hm?"
"Hey, hey."
Cordelia, who had drawn right up beside Yuder, glanced around and then spoke in a very small voice.
"My sister and your brother... I think something's going on."
Something's going on.
Yuder turned to look at Adelia and Gale, and wore a lukewarm expression.
The two of them were stuck close together, looking at each other and chatting, and it was positively overflowing with pink.
"Right? Something's going on, right?"
It was the moment Cordelia spoke.
Gale and Adelia, who had been subtly checking their surroundings, brought their faces close and exchanged a very brief kiss.
Truly an instant.
The two of them pulled apart immediately after briefly touching.
Gale laughed awkwardly, and Adelia, her face flushed bright red, did not know what to do with herself.
And the ravens who happened to witness that scene all wore identical rotten expressions, while Cordelia's eyes went wide.
"Yu, Yuder?"
Th, they just kissed! Kissed!
At the vivid look in her eyes, Yuder narrowed his brow once more.
It seemed that during the few days of leaving the Wild Lands and heading to Thunderdoom Fortress, some event had occurred that rapidly advanced things between the two of them.
'What, what. What happened. Did something happen between them? Huh? In just a few days?'
It was when the thoroughly excited Cordelia was frantically sending looks his way.
"Cordelia."
"Huh? You think you know something? Do you know something?"
"No, your sister is coming."
Cordelia, who nearly fell off her horse at Yuder's words, somehow regained her balance and quickly turned her head.
Just as Yuder said, Adelia was approaching this way.
"Cordelia."
"Uh, Sis."
The reasons were different, but both sisters' faces were red.
Adelia glanced once at Yuder, then spoke to Cordelia again.
"I have something to tell you. Come here."
"Okay. I'm coming."
Cordelia, who had glanced back at Yuder, went over to Adelia, and the two of them soon began moving forward with their horses side by side.
'What is she going to say? No, more than that, I want to ask.'
What had happened.
Cordelia waited while suppressing her pounding heart, and Adelia, who had drawn out the pause for a long while, spoke.
"Cordelia."
"Yeah."
"When we get back, we're going to have an engagement ceremony."
"Huh?"
An engagement ceremony?
Who?
At the look in her eyes that was far too clear in meaning, Adelia cleared her throat again and then spoke somewhat shamelessly.
"Me. Me and Lord Gale."
They were going to have an engagement ceremony.
Because a wedding was too soon.
Because both sides had matters to take care of.
At Adelia's bombshell declaration, Cordelia's eyes went round, and she opened and closed her mouth like a goldfish.
"Wha, wha, wha!"
"Why, why, why."
"No, isn't that a bit much? How many days have you two even seen each other?"
It's not some Di—ney cartoon where you fall in love the moment you meet and promise to marry in a day!
At Cordelia's strong protest, Adelia snorted and answered.
"We've seen each other for over a month."
It wasn't just a few days. It had been over a month—dozens of days.
But Cordelia still wore an expression of disbelief, and Adelia pursed her lips before speaking.
"Noble marriages are all like that anyway. Cases where people end up together because they lo...... lo...... love each other like this are rare. If you have a chance like this, you have to seize it somehow. And you two had a prenatal betrothal. One that was arranged without you ever even meeting."
Adelia had stumbled over her words several times at first, but by the end, perhaps because she had gained momentum, her speech was remarkably smooth.
When Cordelia could not answer right away at the sudden counterattack, Adelia landed a follow-up blow.
"But still, right now you two like each other so much you can't live without each other. Right?"
"Ah, no, that's......."
It wasn't really that they couldn't live without each other.......
When Cordelia hemmed and hawed, Adelia, thinking she was embarrassed, chuckled and said.
"Anyway, just know that. Got it?"
"Okay."
"What's with that face? You don't like it?"
"No, I'm really happy for you. Congratulations, Sis."
"Right, and I'll...... bless you too. The two of you."
Either way, they really were a well-matched pair.
Adelia, who had smiled and stroked Cordelia's hair, urged her horse forward again to Gale's side, and Yuder filled Adelia's empty spot.
"They're getting engaged?"
"Huh? Yeah. How did you know?"
"Sometimes I can't tell whether your instincts are good or terrible. Did they only develop for combat, like a wild beast?"
"Wanna die?"
Cordelia, who had reflexively spat out a curse, pouted her lips a few times and then turned to look at Adelia.
The sight of her chatting with Gale as they moved forward was truly pretty and lovely.
'Goodness.'
Her sister was getting engaged.
And to Gale, her future brother-in-law, no less.
'Engagement.'
The stage before marriage.
The stage where you declare to the world that you will marry.
'Wow.......'
Goodness. We really have changed the original story a lot.
Her sister—her sister—was getting engaged. Getting married.
Cordelia marveled several times with a dazed face, and then suddenly realized one fact.
Engagement.
Marriage.
'Wait.'
Wait, wait, wait.
One fact.
A fact that had effectively fizzled out in the original story, that she had been too full of thoughts of changing the future to notice, and so had forgotten at some point.
The future had changed.
Cordelia had not been kidnapped by the Devil's Hand in Langesthei, and naturally had not gone missing.
Yuder had not gone north in search of his fiancée, and the invasion of the northern barbarians had not occurred.
The Count Bayel Household was intact, and the Count Chase Household was intact.
The changes resulting from that.
The engagement between Yuder and Cordelia, which in the original story had been inevitably dissolved.
But not now.
Rather, the situation had become far more solid.
Cordelia hurriedly turned to look at Yuder, and stared intently at Yuder's handsome profile. When Yuder, feeling her gaze, turned to look at her, she quickly turned her head away and avoided his eyes.
One fact.
It was laughable that she had only just remembered it, but regardless, it was far too important.
'If things stay like this, am I going to marry Yuder?'
Yuder.
Outboxer009.
Cordelia blinked. Her mind went blank, and she could not think of anything at all.