The Celebration and the Beginning of the Wind (9)
Fuck. This is so goddamn exhausting.
After dealing with the endless stream of people, I slipped away into the garden and muttered those words. Click. My pocket watch showed it was already half past eight. The celebration was supposed to end at ten, which meant I had wasted sixty or seventy percent of the party time entertaining those old fossils.
Even while doing that, I had paired Franc with Larilura to make sure she ate and escaped to the terrace to avoid the geezers. But damn it, those bastards seemed to interpret me stepping onto the terrace as @@@Arranging a one-on-one meeting@@@ and lined up outside waiting. In those cliché fantasy novels, people usually left you alone on a terrace, but novels were just novels after all.
That was why, the moment I spotted Edlyn standing right in the middle of the line, I got the hell out of there. Matching up against a forty-year-old virgin-hunting auntie in that narrow terrace? Had they lost their minds?
“Ughhh.”
Shit, I was starving. I had eaten lunch at eleven and nothing since. Groaning at the futility of existence, I headed toward the rear of the garden. That was when I heard it.
“Are you really okay with that?”
What the…?
It sounded like someone talking at the exact spot I had marked. Thanks to my wolf-like hearing, I caught the sound from a distance and pricked up my ears. A terrorist attacking a noble’s party! Wasn’t that a classic fantasy novel trope? If I got lucky, I might earn ten gold instead of one.
“It’s not a question of whether it’s okay or not. My family is alive and no one is chasing me. That’s enough for me.”
Without my illusion mask, I kept maximum distance and focused solely on stealth. I frowned. …Why does that voice sound familiar?
The speech pattern felt extremely out of place. It was the kind of refined tone a pure-blooded noble lady would use. Is that… Tirsi?
Yet the voice itself was familiar. Of the two women, one was Tirsi—the one I hadn’t seen in the party hall all evening.
“…Is someone who can choose their own future truly happy?”
“Fufufu. Who can say? There is also happiness to be found living like me—going with the flow and picking up what comes.”
“…Tir. Don’t say ‘picked up.’ Whether by chance or fate, if it came into your hands, it is your happiness. I——Hah! Who’s there!!”
The person speaking to Tirsi suddenly shouted. Oh shit, I’d been caught! I spent 0.02 seconds debating whether to bolt, then raised both hands.
“Sorry!! I didn’t mean to eavesdrop!!”
─Flash!
─Freeze!
The one who formed a water whip at her fingertips and charged was none other than the daughter of Lord Henessis. A genuine, blue-blooded young lady!
“You are——”
Of course the young lady who had watched me receive praise from her father at close range recognized me immediately.
─Swish!
She withdrew her hand, flicking it like a blade. A noble lady using a hand blade? She was surprisingly tough.
“You’re the adventurer invited today. What brings you here?”
“I grew tired of dealing with the crowd and came to catch my breath.”
It was half true, so the lie didn’t sting my conscience. The young lady with brown hair styled in a noble roll looked me up and down with suspicion.
“…How much did you hear?”
“No, well. It wasn’t in Britannian, so…”
“Ah, that’s right. Thank goodness.”
This part was one hundred percent bullshit, but Lady Henessis seemed convinced after glancing at my skin tone. Then she fixed me with a piercing gaze.
“If you had heard everything from the beginning——I would have had a great deal to discuss with you.”
“W-well, I guess I was unlucky. To miss the chance to listen to your jewel-like voice a little longer.”
“My, how witty.”
“Yessir.”
“Good. Farewell. Tirsi? You as well.”
Having said only what she needed, Lady Henessis departed.
Whew. That was way too close.
“Fufufu. Eavesdropping is a bad hobby, Nord. So is lying.”
Tirsi spoke while watching me adjust my collar. Her sky-blue dress showed almost no skin, but its short skirt and black stockings gave it the air of a fantasy-world cheongsam.
“It wasn’t a lie. I really couldn’t hear it properly.”
I sighed and offered a graceful bow.
“Still, I’m glad we met like this, Tirsi. Your dress is beautiful. It’s a wonderful outfit that really brings out your charm.”
“Thank you. Honestly… I thought the black robe suited you better. Sorry for saying that after your compliment.”
“Hehe. Not at all. I think so too.”
This tailcoat couldn’t compare to Franc’s design sense. In terms of sheer style, Batman’s costume won by a landslide.
Tirsi laughed, then glanced at me cautiously. The corners of her mouth had tightened slightly.
“So… how much did you actually hear?”
“Only the final part of the conversation. But could you allow me to pretend I heard nothing at all? Everyone has secrets they don’t want to share, and I have no interest in digging them up.”
I offered a compromise. The elegant Romanian phrasing compared to Britannian, the casual tone she had used with the noble Lady Henessis, the fact that Romania’s noble houses had largely collapsed in a war ten years ago—none of that mattered right now.
“I spoke with the others. No one objects to Tirsi joining the party. So I’ll ask in their place.”
I spoke plainly. Changing the subject? Hardly. This was simply a continuation of the previous topic.
“Tirsi. Is your past completely behind you?”
I had heard the fall of Romania’s nobles had not been caused by civil war. If there was no fear of retaliation, there was no reason she couldn’t form a party. And when it came to hiding an astonishing backstory, good luck finding anyone on the planet who could top mine.
Tirsi’s eyes widened, then she nodded.
“Y-yes. I can swear that it will never negatively affect any of you.”
“Then that’s enough. The Tirsi I know is Tirsi Armasunas, the alchemist of the Mage Guild.”
A fallen noble was such a common tale it had become cliché. In Romania the repercussions were still a social issue even a decade later.
Like a string of IMF-level crises.
They say even a rich man’s fall lasts three years, but after ten, mountains and rivers themselves change. No matter one’s origins or past, a person could only live in the present.
Even if that present included enduring sexual harassment from one’s thesis advisor.
“…Thank you, Nord. For your consideration.”
Tirsi’s voice grew thick, as if emotion had risen in her throat. Honestly, I wasn’t sure which part of the conversation had opened the floodgates. Women’s emotional currents sometimes defied understanding.
─Sniff.
Tirsi dabbed at her nose and smiled awkwardly.
“As I said before, I’ll visit the inn where you’re staying. Ah, is tomorrow convenient?”
“Yes. I’m actually taking a short break right now, so come whenever you like.”
Until I resumed adventuring, I planned to laze around. The mithril weapon hadn’t even entered the forging stage yet.
“Really? All right. I’ll come see you tomorrow.”
Tirsi turned to leave but paused. I had shown no sign of departing the area.
“Ah. Go on ahead. I still have something to do here.”
I waved her off and scratched my cheek sheepishly.
“I’m waiting for someone.”
Ten minutes after sending Tirsi away.
“──Nord? Why are you in a place like this?”
I had been nervously running the simulation I had practiced over and over when Franc’s long-awaited appearance made my heart pound violently.
“Larilura told me to come here. Did you call for me?”
Franc looked around for Larilura, who had accompanied her at my request, but the perceptive girl had already withdrawn. No one was there.
In that moment I quickly licked my dry lips. The tongue that was about to go to work could never have enough oil.
“I called you. I asked Larilura before the party even started.”
“Really? Why in a place like——Ah.”
Franc’s face suddenly flushed crimson. Had she figured it out? As my heart nearly stopped in panic, she spoke shyly.
“Um… Nord? I don’t think we should do naughty things inside a noble’s mansion.”
“No no, that’s not it at all? Not even close?”
Damn it. The downside of outdoor play. I wasn’t insane enough to fool around with my girlfriend in the lord’s garden. Feeling the reassuring weight in my breast pocket, I took a deep Lamaze breath.
“Actually… I wanted to do this at a more dramatic moment. Like after discovering an incredible ruin, or defeating a dragon-class monster.”
“Huh?”
“Even though we were invited to the lord’s party, the real reason was because we stuck our necks out against that warlock, right? I thought it might lack a certain… emotional climax.”
Normally this required careful preparation, but I had learned magic precisely so I could fake that preparation. So I could seize the perfect moment anytime.
The reason I had wandered alone for the past seven days after hearing about the celebration—making every excuse imaginable—was for this. I didn’t even want to remember how much my heart had raced wondering if they would suspect I was cheating.
I looked up at the sky. Unfortunately, it was a crescent moon tonight.
“But the future is the future. If I keep waiting for a better chance, I might lose the one right in front of me. That’s why I called you.”
“Sorry, Nord. I don’t understand. What are you talking about?”
“──This kind of story.”
Franc tilted her head. I raised my hand to my chest and chanted.
"Summon Cloud."
"Friar's Lantern."
⟨ Combined Magic ⟩
─Shwaaaaaaaaah.
─Saaaaaaaah.
The two spells merged. Magic was combination. Just as a mathematical formula organized and summed the four basic operations, I added Friar’s Lantern to Summon Cloud.
Friar’s Lantern was a low-tier spell bards loved for theatrical effects. It ignored brightness and mana efficiency, focusing solely on creating gorgeous, beautiful light. Blue. A deeper blue. I shifted the magical light to the exact shade of Franc’s eyes.
The clouds blended with the glow. Sparkling blue clouds like jewels! At a glance they resembled a nebula in the night sky.
─Float.
Both Summon Cloud and Friar’s Lantern allowed shape manipulation. So I recreated the full-moon night sky Franc and I had once gazed at together.
“…Beautiful.”
Franc murmured. It seemed my guess that she loved watching the stars had been spot on.
I reached toward the blue flowers. They resembled roses. On Earth, the language of blue roses was “something originally unattainable, impossible.” But once technology and effort made that blue possible, it changed to “miracle, a love that never gives up.”
─Swirl.
The blue nebula slowly spiraled, following the motion of my hand. I drew a blue rose from my breast pocket. With refined movements I pinned the light-adorned rose to Franc’s chest. Then I knelt—though not fully, to avoid dirtying my clothes. I poured every etiquette lesson I had suffered through from the head butler into this moment.
I tensed my stomach and wore the most serious expression I could manage. If I failed here, I was ready to abandon every dream and bite my tongue. From my inner pocket I withdrew the ring case.
──What I had asked Clara to make was not a spear. The spear design existed only on paper. If I had only wanted a spear, I would never have studied metalworking. Nor would any mithril ingot have remained to bring back.
I had prepared everything from beginning to end for this moment.
─Click.
The divine silver ring caught the magical light and shone. It bore no gemstones, yet the masterfully detailed work of a great blacksmith made it dazzlingly beautiful.
And Franc—my beloved woman—could say nothing. She simply stared at me. In this world, the meaning of a matching pair of rings was exactly the same as on Earth.
It was the greatest “wind” this pathetic man named Nord was permitted.
“─────.”
Franc’s gaze slowly caressed the glowing clouds, the ring, and my face in turn. Then she answered.
“──Yes. With all my heart.”
I slipped the mithril ring onto Franc’s finger, then onto my own.
“I love you, Franc.”
“I love you too, Nord.”
We embraced and shared a quiet kiss. Not a deep one with tangled tongues, but a fresh, tender, heartfelt kiss.