Chapter 62
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 62
Chapter Title: One Week (1)
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Inside the Frontier Academy Chairman's office,
Looking at Aden sleeping with a peaceful expression...
While drinking the tea the Chairman had prepared before leaving, killing some time...
"Uhmm..."
Aden made a small sound
and began to open his eyes.
"Isabel?"
"Yeah."
"You didn't go back... Good..."
And...
The moment he opened his eyes and saw me,
Aden immediately looked relieved and sat up.
Seeing that,
I voiced the faint doubt swirling in my head.
"Why...?"
"What?"
"Why... did you stop me from going back to the estate?"
Then...
Hearing my question, Aden seemed to ponder his answer for a moment before...
"Well... It seemed like you didn't want to go back... And more than anything, I was bored."
Fully sitting up...
He spoke in his usual subtly playful tone.
And—
"Without you and Libia around... I had nothing to do at the academy..."
Lightly...
Offering the absurd excuse that he was bored...
He continued with a faint smile.
"Instead of staying here, hang out with me for at least a day during the rest of Founding Week."
Asking me to spend time with him, even if just for a day.
After that,
Aden extended his hand toward me, as if beckoning me to grab it.
"Pfft..."
That sight was,
so ridiculously funny...
The tension from moments ago vanished,
and laughter I couldn't hold back slipped out.
The reason he'd kept me from returning to the estate during Founding Week...
Was easy to guess.
'Because he's a regressor...'
As the Chairman said...
He was a regressor.
He just didn't want me going back to the Helm Marquisate anymore...
So—
Grabbing the hand he reached out to me,
I gave him my answer.
"I have pretty high standards for fun, you know?"
"Don't worry, I'll make it the best week ever."
And so,
What should have been the worst possible time...
The week of Founding Week spent at the academy had begun.
After Aden's promise to make it the best week,
'Even so, he's worn out today, so let's run a quick check-up and rest.'
A lot had happened today...
So after a health scan to make sure everything was fine, we headed back to our dorms
and turned in for the night to greet tomorrow.
And the next morning,
True to the promise I'd made with Aden to spend the day together,
I got out of bed,
washed up lightly, changed clothes,
and finished preparing to head out.
'Crowded places... would be nice to avoid...'
Today, our time together was all...
According to Aden's schedule.
But if possible, for this whole week,
I hoped the places we went wouldn't be packed with people.
'Still... way better than the capital...'
However,
Even if Aden had planned for us to hit crowded spots...
Compared to the capital,
Compared to spending Founding Week at the Helm Marquisate...
It would definitely be much, incomparably more comfortable...
So with every intention of tagging along wherever Aden wanted today,
I wrapped up my preparations and stepped out of the dorm.
There at the dorm entrance, our meeting spot with Aden...
"Oh? Isabel, you're here? Good morning."
Aden had arrived first,
and upon spotting me approaching, he waved
and greeted me with a casual morning hello.
"Yeah, good morning, Aden."
Seeing that,
I waved back with a light morning greeting of my own, then...
"Where are we headed today?"
As I approached Aden and asked about today's key destination...
"Hmm... You'll find out if you follow me."
With that enigmatic reply,
Aden turned and started walking out of the academy.
Seeing that,
I began following him out as well.
"You really won't tell me where we're going?"
"Nope, it's a secret."
The destination Aden was heading toward involved the spatial teleporter.
Needing spatial movement suggested it was pretty far...
But he still wouldn't spill the destination,
Just repeating "secret" no matter how much I asked...
'I did agree to follow him...'
But since I'd promised to go wherever Aden wanted during Founding Week...
I simply followed quietly in his footsteps.
After that,
We used the spatial teleporter...
And set off for Aden's chosen spot.
And,
As the view shifted rapidly around us,
We finally arrived at Aden's destination,
My dizzying vision locking into place.
"Where is this...?"
What came into view next was
a village scene that felt like my first time there, yet...
Somehow familiar.
Shaped like a rural countryside,
With no rides to beat boredom,
No sights worth gawking at.
"Hmm... On the way to a place I figured you'd like."
Despite the familiar vibe...
I asked Aden what this place was,
But after that brief "on the way to a place you'd like,"
Aden started walking again...
'Whatever...'
Nothing here looked dangerous...
So watching Aden stride ahead,
I lightly fell in step behind him once more.
'Actually, this seems nicer...'
Truth be told, I wasn't the type to enjoy outings,
Nor the type to fawn over man-made trinkets...
I preferred spots like this rural village, sparse on people...
Relaxing idly in the breeze.
So after trailing Aden with a light heart for some time...
'Huh...?'
Something,
Paths growing ever more familiar...
Began appearing before my eyes.
"About time we arrive..."
And,
After trekking along that path a while longer...
A vast flower meadow at its heart... with a massive tree rising in the center...
Came into view.
'Wow, it's a picnic! Hurry! Let's go, Mom!'
'Ah...'
That beautiful, mystical vista so familiar...
As I gazed at it,
Long-forgotten memories...
Began resurfacing...
'This place...'
This place...
'Wow! Mom, it's a giant tree!'
'It is, a really huge tree.'
When I was little...
The place I'd come with my mother...
"Like the World Tree... isn't it beautiful?"
'It's so huge and beautiful! Could it be the World Tree?'
"No, but even so... that doesn't change its beauty..."
'Not the World Tree, but that doesn't diminish its beauty at all, right?'
"Right."
'Yeah! Exactly!'
A colossal tree at the meadow's center,
Beautiful enough to evoke the World Tree.
And...
Sunlight piercing through the canopy blotting the sky, bathing the meadow,
Casting a mystical glow.
"How did you know...?"
"I heard about it... And I've seen you lost in memories here plenty of times."
After so long...
So long it'd faded from memory...
Yet it was such a radiant, joyful place...
So I asked Aden.
How he knew this place I'd even forgotten...
Why he'd brought me here...
Then,
Aden wore a wistful, reminiscing look...
And soon, as if speaking of a distant memory,
His voice lingered with nostalgia as he continued.
That he'd come here with me...
That he'd seen me countless times lost in memories here...
Feeling pure joy...
In Aden's words,
There lingered an ache of longing for that irrecoverable past.
"Anyway, I brought a lunchbox, so let's eat."
And just like that,
As if shaking off the sentiment, Aden headed under the great tree
and pulled a container from thin air, calling it lunch.
The lid popped open,
Revealing foods that hit my tastes perfectly,
Filled with all my favorites...
Seeing them,
I let out a soft gasp of admiration.
"Wow... looks delicious. Did you make it yourself?"
"Yeah... My skills aren't great, but I gave it a shot..."
"Pfft..."
To my question about whether he'd made it,
He averted his eyes with a lack of confidence and confirmed it...
That look today felt so...
So refreshingly
funny and cute...
A faint smile crossed my face,
And I began sampling the food he'd brought.
"Mmm! Delicious!"
'This is so good! Mom's cooking is the best!'
Then,
A genuine exclamation burst forth naturally.
Aden's handmade spread was so good, admiration just spilled out.
Of course, it didn't quite match noble house fare or banquet dishes...
But that slight...
Very slight shortfall in flavor...
Matched perfectly the taste of my mother's cooking,
Who'd always dive into the kitchen for picnics,
Preparing it all herself...
So achingly nostalgic...
The flavor that summoned old memories...
"Try some too, Aden! It's seriously good!"
'Mom, eat it quick! It's so yummy!'
It all fulfilled everything I'd longed for...
It all felt like slipping back to those happy days with Mom...
It all seemed to whisper that I could still be happy now...
For the first time in ages...
I felt like this week could be truly blissful.