Ending Maker Chapter 125
Ending Maker Chapter 125
Chapter 47 — Engagement Ceremony #2
Marriage.
It was something she had never seriously considered, not since being reborn as Cordelia, and not even back in her previous life as Yellow Storm.
That was only natural, since both of them had been far too young to seriously think about marriage.
'I-I've never even properly dated anyone, so of course not!'
She'd gone to an all-girls middle school and then an all-girls high school!
Of course, there had been classmates who dated regardless of all that.
'A-Anyway!'
Marriage, of all things.
Holding hands, pulling each other into hugs, k-kissing. No, actual kissing!
'A-And then...'
Cordelia's face flushed bright red. It was because she remembered what Adelia had brought up before, going on about "that kind of relationship."
Things she had never, ever seriously thought about even once.
Like some distant fantasy...
And now it was becoming reality?
And with Yuder, of all people?
'L-Let's try imagining it.'
Cordelia squeezed her eyes shut and took a deep breath.
It wasn't exactly something one should do on horseback, but she did it anyway.
'Okay, I've cleared my mind.'
Cordelia first brought Adelia and Gale to mind.
The scene she had just witnessed.
The two of them sharing a sharp kiss while all the ravens stared.
'Okay, I've got it. Now if I...'
Swap Gale for Yuder, and swap Adelia for Cordelia herself...
'Aaaaaaaaaah!'
Cordelia let out a silent scream.
Her mind went blank again, and she nearly fell off her horse.
But she was still Cordelia.
As someone who prided herself on not losing to even Yuder—who had the Heavenly Martial Body—when it came to physical control, she hastily regained her balance and at least prevented herself from being thrown.
But she couldn't stop her mind from becoming a boiling stew of confusion, terror, and assorted other things.
'No way, no way.'
But contrary to her own will, the imaginings in her head continued.
That thing Adelia had talked about before.
That sort of thing.
She substituted Yuder and Cordelia herself into it, and Cordelia once again let out a silent scream.
'Aaaah!'
What do I do, what do I do.
Her originally pale face was now completely flushed bright red.
You could say she looked like she'd burst if someone so much as poked her.
'No way, no way. Right, it's impossible!'
It was a delusion.
An excessive delusion.
And that was only natural, because the other person was Yuder.
Outboxer009!
The bastard who teased only her, every single day!
The bastard who had mocked her from the very beginning for being fucking terrible at games!
"Hoo, hoo."
It worked.
Cordelia slowly took deep breaths and somehow calmed her pounding, thumping heart.
'Right, yeah. It's impossible. Mm-hmm, impossible for sure.'
Me and Yuder, married? Pfft, no way~ Mm-hmm, so there's no need to worry about this~
'Fuck.'
A positive mindset wasn't easy, after all.
But Cordelia steadied herself with a single curse and thought again.
'Anyway, marriage is something two people do, right?'
There was also talk of it being a union between families.
But anyway, it was something the two people involved did.
'So it's fine.'
Because it was Yuder and Cordelia herself.
And going forward, Pleiades was scheduled to become even more of a mess.
Once the Seven Calamities began, a complete disaster would unfold not just in the Saelun Kingdom but across the entire world.
So there was a chance the engagement would somehow be smoothed over.
'Of course, the goal is to prevent that disaster in the first place.'
Anyway, marriage was still a distant matter.
It wasn't something to rack her brains over already.
'Right! I'm young!'
She was still a minor.
Of course, that was only legally speaking—in Pleiades, marriage between underage men and women was extremely common.
'Good, good. And come to think of it, this isn't something to agonize over alone. If it's Yuder, he'll definitely find some way.'
If it's our Yuder!
'Ah, how reassuring.'
He really was dependable when he was on your side.
Having regained her peace of mind, Cordelia lifted her head and looked at Yuder's profile again.
She thought it without meaning to. No, she ended up thinking it.
'But wait.'
Haven't we held hands an awful lot?
So often that she didn't even register the fact of holding hands anymore...
Now that she thought about it, that really was the case.
Just today alone, they'd probably held hands more than ten times.
'And hugged... too?'
When they'd been wandering the Wild Lands, they'd slept wrapped in each other's arms almost every day.
Being held, being carried on his back, being held again.
Such a natural daily routine.
'Wh-What. What is this.'
She felt embarrassed all over again.
Her face flushed red once more.
'N-No. It's fine. It's fine.'
Because they hadn't done it consciously. It was because of the environment. Comrades, companions. Mm-hmm, that kind of thing.
Having forcibly rationalized it again, Cordelia caught her breath with quick huffs and looked at Yuder—then had no choice but to turn her head away again.
'Geez! Why am I like this?'
Why could she only see Yuder's lips?
'Ugh... Adelia. Adelia poisoned my mind!'
Why did she have to kiss in public with everyone watching!
Cordelia spent a moment resenting Adelia, and thanks to that, she was able to regain some measure of composure.
'Hoo, okay. Anyway, logically speaking, there's no rule that I absolutely have to marry Yuder. Mm-hmm, that's right.'
Because no one knows the future.
'But what about Yuder?'
It was a question that suddenly occurred to her.
It was a little irritating, but there was no way Yuder hadn't thought of what Cordelia herself had thought of.
Had Yuder imagined a situation where he married Cordelia herself?
If he had, what did he think about it?
'Wait.'
In an instant, Cordelia's eyes narrowed.
And Cordelia began replaying, one by one, the things that had happened with Yuder in the Wild Lands.
Yuder, who had become so kind at some point.
Yuder, who always treated her gently.
Yuder, who would carry her on his back at the slightest hint that she was tired.
'And he cooks me delicious food every day.'
Hmmm.
Hmmm.
Hmmmmmm.
Cordelia's eyes narrowed more and more.
And for the first time in a while, she activated not her beast's intuition, but her woman's intuition.
'Could it be... he likes me?'
Yuder, liking Cordelia herself.
'Hahaha! That's ridiculous! Ridiculous! Mm-hmm, no way. Hahaha. It's ridiculous, but still, maybe...?'
Being nice to someone doesn't mean you like them.
Thinking "he's nice to me, so maybe he likes me?" was far too one-dimensional.
'Should I just ask?'
Hey, do you like me?
Like that?
'N-No. Fuck. That's not it.'
Cordelia, who had let a curse slip naturally for the first time in a while, steadied her breathing again.
No matter how she thought about it, asking directly was far too risky.
'Right, what if he says no?'
If she asked, "You like me, don't you?" and the answer came back, "No?"
If she got treated like some delusional narcissist.
'No, I can't take it. I can't endure it. He'd definitely tease me about it forever.'
So a direct question was out. She had to find another way.
'Okay, then let's find out by observing.'
They were always together, so she had all the time in the world to observe.
'Mm-hmm, good. I'll find out!'
Cordelia had veered wildly off track, but this had all been delusion and worry she'd kept going to resolve her panic in the first place.
Now that she'd reached some kind of conclusion, she intended to focus on that for a while.
And right beside her.
Yuder was completely oblivious to Cordelia's dynamic changes—her face flushing and paling so repeatedly it was worrying for her blood pressure.
Because he was intently staring at something other than Cordelia's face.
'What a shame.'
The cat ears, and the tail that swayed with every step.
They really suited her.
They were incredibly cute.
But there was no way she could walk around like that in the Saelun Kingdom.
'What a pity.'
Still, he should keep them safe.
He'd never actually told Cordelia, but Yuder had also carefully kept the rabbit headband and tail.
'Good! I'll find out!'
'I'll have to ask her to wear them again when I get the chance.'
Cordelia and Yuder each harbored different thoughts, and Gale and Adelia, who had been watching the two of them from afar, turned to each other and exchanged warm smiles.
'They really suit each other, don't they?'
'Of course. You're truly beautiful, Adelia.'
As expected, the two of them were still clumsy at conversing with their eyes.
And the ravens, who had been watching not only Gale and Adelia but also Yuder and Cordelia, all scrunched up their faces as if they'd made a pact.
What a filthy world.
What exactly are we fighting for in the north?
The march continued amid deep contemplation, and time flowed on relentlessly.
And so, two days.
The fortress city that boasted the north's greatest strength—Thunderdoom—came into view for Yuder and Cordelia.
* * *
"Glory to the ravens' victory!"
"Glory!"
It wasn't only ravens who dwelled in Thunderdoom Fortress.
As befitted a fortress city, there were also plenty of ordinary citizens, and the tens of thousands of them went wild over the news of victory the ravens had brought home.
"Long live Count Hraesvelgr!"
"Long live!"
"Long live the ravens!"
"Long live!"
The entire fortress was swept up in a festive mood.
The ravens, who had always only guarded the border, had crossed it themselves and marched into those savage lands to seize victory—this was the first time such a thing had happened, so it was only natural for the reaction to be so fervent.
'And there aren't many festivals to begin with.'
It was a fortress city on guard against barbarian tribes that could attack at any moment.
In a place with so little entertainment, there was no way they'd miss a rare chance to celebrate.
"So our count, he said—!"
"Ha, you should've seen it. Our ravens' valiant lance charge!"
"Those demon worshipper bastards just—!"
Everywhere, ravens recounted tales of valor, and the ravens who had stayed behind to guard the fortress writhed in regret at having missed the expedition.
Drink, music, and delicious food.
The deepening night.
Cordelia, wearing a white, flowing dress for the first time in a long while, rolled her eyes left and right.
'They're gone.'
Gale and Adelia.
At some point, they had vanished as suddenly as if they'd become ghosts.
'Ugh...'
What had they gone off to do?
Cordelia calmed her reddening face and cast a sharp gaze toward her target.
Yuder Bayel.
Cordelia's own fiancé, sharing a glass of juice—not wine—with Lucas.
'Let's feel him out.'
Not seduce... exactly, but anyway, let's find out whether he likes Cordelia herself or not!
Having steeled her resolve, Cordelia clutched her pounding heart and made her way toward Yuder.
But as she got closer, the atmosphere between Yuder and Lucas seemed unusual.
"May I ask this of you?"
"Right now... you mean?"
"Yes, I know it's a rude request, but... I can't hold back any longer. I can think of nothing but Lord Yuder."
'What?!'
The last part was Cordelia, and fortunately, she only shouted it inside her head.
'What? What is it? Lucas can only think about Yuder?'
Why? Why would he?
D-Don't tell me?
Cordelia was just about to activate her delusion circuits.
Yuder rose from his seat and called out to Cordelia.
"Cordelia."
"Huh? Yeah! Uh!"
Cordelia answered hastily and scurried over to Yuder, and Yuder spoke with a slightly awkward smile.
"Lord Lucas asked me for a spar... so we're heading to the training grounds now."
"A spar? Oh! A spar! Aha, so that's what it was?"
What a relief.
Yuder tilted his head as Cordelia let out a sigh of relief, but soon returned to the main point.
"Anyway, I'm going to the training grounds. Want to come along?"
At Yuder's offer, Cordelia immediately nodded.
"Yeah, I'll go. It's all right if I come too, isn't it, Lord Lucas?"
"Of course."
Lucas answered with a somewhat stiff expression.
It wasn't because he was displeased that Cordelia was coming along, but because he was nervous about the fact that he would be sparring with Yuder.
"Then let's be on our way."
Yuder smiled brightly as he spoke, then took Cordelia's hand and began escorting her with perfect naturalness. Cordelia, who normally would have stepped forward without a second thought, narrowed her eyes for a moment.
And Lucas followed behind the two of them.
'I'm planning to go easy on him.'
'Go easy on holding hands?'
'Holding what? Is Lucas a mob?'
'Huh? Oh, Lucas. Yeah. Go easy, go easy.'
How much time passed as they walked out, conversing with their eyes?
The three of them arrived at the training grounds located beneath Thunderdoom Fortress.
There were outdoor training grounds as well, but they didn't want to be seen by others.
'That's better for Lucas, too.'
He'd said he'd go easy, but either way, Lucas was a genius.
If he faced him sloppily and half-heartedly, Lucas would definitely notice.
So he would go easy, but he wouldn't hide his strength.
And if he did that...
'Lucas will get wrecked.'
And quite thoroughly, at that.
So they couldn't let others see it.
The spar had to take place somewhere quiet.
'May it serve as a chance to break his shell.'
Because Red Wind had been like that too.
She had cried and despaired at the gap in strength, but she had soon risen again and striven even harder.
Magic orbs lit up the darkness.
Lucas stood upon the stone floor of the training grounds and took a deep breath.
'I'll be back.'
'Good luck. You've got this!'
Cordelia, who had reflexively cheered in response to Yuder's gaze, took a spot in the corner, and Yuder walked toward Lucas.
But it was the moment the two of them faced each other.
A presence.
It hadn't been felt until now, but at some point, it suddenly radiated a powerful presence.
Yuder and Lucas reflexively turned around, and they could see Count Hraesvelgr standing at one side of the training grounds.
One of the Ten Great Swordsmen of the Saelun Kingdom.
Lucas's father, and the current wielder of the Holy King Cross Sword.
"Pay me no mind. Begin."
He spoke in a low voice and went to stand beside Cordelia, and Cordelia, who had flinched without realizing it, looked at Yuder.
And Yuder smiled bitterly.
This place was Thunderdoom Fortress. It was the cradle of the ravens, so doing anything behind Count Hraesvelgr's back had been impossible from the start.
'Count Hraesvelgr.'
One of the Four Northern Powerhouses.
An elite swordmaster reputed to be on equal footing with Count Bayel.
Did he want to compare Lucas with Yuder himself, or did he want to gauge Count Bayel's strength through Yuder?
'Maybe it's just pure curiosity.'
Yuder shook off the complicated thoughts filling his head.
Both Lucas and Count Hraesvelgr were allies.
Lucas, especially, was a child of pure innocence itself.
So all he had to do was face him with equal sincerity.
"Shall we begin?"
Lucas flinched at Yuder's question. He'd already been nervous, and with Count Hraesvelgr appearing, he seemed to have completely frozen up.
But he was still Lucas.
As someone whose talent with the sword was among the best even among the Playable Characters, his entire demeanor changed the moment he gripped his sword.
He shook off his tension with a single breath.
"Let's begin."
Lucas spoke, and after a moment of deliberation, Yuder clenched both fists. He wrapped his arms in the energy of the black dragon and faced Lucas.
A spar with Lucas.
And what would probably follow after this—
'Count Hraesvelgr.'
Yuder cut off his thoughts. He raised his fist toward Lucas, who came charging in with a roar.