Elfride's Question and a Late-Night Stroll
I was completely stunned by Elfride's question. No, honestly, how could I not be? Asking out of the blue if I'd slept with Estelle and Celine.
“...Excuse me?”
“...I just happened to wonder. You see, I’ve never been with a man before.”
Elfride said that while taking another sip of her drink.
...This woman, she looks properly drunk. I glanced sideways at Elena. She was the only one among us who hadn’t touched alcohol at all.
But Elena dashed my expectations.
“Oho, so my sister finally—”
Finally what? Finally what? You’re supposed to be keeping an eye on her, you dummy!
“...If you’d rather not answer, that’s fine.”
“Um, well...”
There was nothing to hide... but honestly, the alcohol had made me a bit irrational. If I’d been sober, I probably wouldn’t have answered. I answered clumsily anyway.
“...Yeah, we did. We’re dating, after all.”
“I see...”
Elfride took another sip, then set her glass down. Celine was still clinging to me like a lovesick puppy, whispering “Hero-nii~” the whole time, but I focused on Elfride. Celine wasn’t in her right mind right now...
“So then... do you love both Saintess Estelle and Saintess Celine equally?”
“Yeah.”
I could answer that without hesitation. Even if I still fell short with the two of them.
“How is that even possible? Isn’t it hard enough to love just one person?”
“Um... it might be. But I think I love both of them equally. I’ve been trying to make it work that way.”
“How?”
“...”
...That was a bit hard to say. I could only give a vague answer.
“There’s something like that.”
“...I see.”
Elfride must have realized the question was tricky, because she didn’t press further. But someone else answered for me like an idiot.
“Hero-nii just shares his love so nicely~ I got laid down in bed with Saintess Estelle...”
“WAAAAAH!? CELINE!!!”
“Nngh...”
I quickly clapped my hand over Celine’s mouth. I glanced at Elfride. She was blinking, confused.
“...Huh?”
The expression on her face, like she couldn’t believe what she’d just heard, made me rub my forehead.
...My reputation was toast.
“!!!”
Elfride looked shocked, as if she’d finally understood something. I hurriedly tried to explain.
“It wasn’t like that at all! Elfride, don’t misunderstand.”
“Oh, misunderstand? Is what I think correct right now, or is the rumor that you’re a pervert true!?”
“I-I’m not a pervert!!!”
Celine’s explosive statement had turned everything into chaos. I barely managed to calm Elfride down. While all that was happening, Elena was muttering to herself on the side.
“A 3P, huh... Hero-nii really is a bit of a maniac. You can’t let your guard down...”
...What the hell was she talking about?
After we’d finally calmed down and shared a few more drinks, Elfride suddenly asked me a question.
“...Abel, has there been a time when you thought you didn’t understand your own heart?”
“Yeah, I have.”
“Surprising. With your personality, I would’ve thought you’d done exactly what your heart wanted.”
...What did that even mean? Acting without thinking isn’t the same as not knowing your heart, is it?
I’d had plenty of times like that. Especially before I was isekai’d into this world.
I’d thought, “Am I even doing the right thing?” I’d had plenty of worries about whether I should stay in this academy or pursue something I wanted to do.
I remembered a time when the line “I don’t understand my own heart” actually hit home. Thinking back now, it was a little unfair.
Shit, if I’d known I was getting isekai’d, I would’ve just ditched my homework and partied like everyone else.
“So what did you do when that happened?”
“Um... instead of listening to my heart, I guess I just accepted reality.”
“...As I thought.”
“But if I were given a chance to choose again right now...”
...Of course I’d choose.
“I think I’d be honest with my own heart.”
“...I see?”
Elfride seemed to like my answer. She tilted her glass with a faint, gentle smile. Was there something she was worrying about?
“What’s worrying you? Tell me. I already told you friends share everything like this.”
“It’s not that I forgot the promise, Abel. It’s just that telling you right now is a bit difficult.”
“Eh?”
It’s difficult to tell me? What does she mean...?
“I’ll tell you later. When the time comes.”
“...Okay.”
That kind of talk didn’t belong at a party like this. I nodded, and Elena spoke up from beside us.
“Sister is so shy, you know.”
“...?”
#
The banquet came to a grand end. Surprisingly, Revius never showed up until the very end. When I asked Elfride about it, she answered:
“I didn’t really want to invite him. The story goes that he’s a bit weird, but honestly, even if I weighed that, I didn’t want to call him.”
...Looks like Revius has been cut loose now. You really should have handled that better?
“I’m going to take Celine to her room first. Elfride, you should go rest too, right?”
“Um, I was thinking...”
“Sister, go have another drink with Hero-nii!”
“...Huh? Why do I have to...?”
“You’ve been complaining that I’m not enough all this time.”
“I’m not... your...?”
Elena pushed Elfride toward me with a strangely stubborn attitude. I gave her a look that said “What the hell are you doing?” but she just grinned cheerfully and said:
“Sister, use him well and give him back to me~!”
“...Use what?”
“You know exactly what.”
“What!?”
...Like I’d lose it. I know what I’m doing. A commoner like me getting handsy with a noble—especially the top noble, Elfride?
She wasn’t even clinging to me happily or anything...
But regardless of my feelings, Elena dumped Elfride on me and dashed off. Now only the two of us—both smelling strongly of alcohol—remained beside me.
Of course I smelled like alcohol too, so in the end there were three tipsy people: me, Elfride, and Celine.
“...You really want another drink?”
“...I’ve had enough alcohol, but... I kind of want to talk a bit more. Want to go somewhere just to chat?”
“Um...”
I sneaked a look at Celine. She was still giggling happily and clinging to me.
“It’ll be a bit tough. I left Celine alone.”
“...I-I see.”
Elfride looked genuinely disappointed. Then she muttered to herself.
“As expected... he’s the kind of man who values friends more than women.”
“...Excuse me?”
“...No, I was just talking to myself.”
Elfride, when you say something like that out of nowhere, what am I supposed to be?!
“I just wanted to talk more with my friend... but it was disappointing it didn’t work out. You know, I don’t have many people I can call friends...”
...She’s going to make me feel bad.
“...Okay, fine. I’ll put Celine to bed and come back.”
“...Then I’ll come with you. After all, we’re going together anyway.”
“Sure, let’s do that.”
I returned to my room with Elfride. Celine, still giggling and clinging to me, was in tow.
“Celine, it’s the room.”
“U-uh... really... it’s a room...”
Celine staggered, then face-planted onto the bed. A moment later, soft, rhythmic snores filled the room.
“...She fell asleep fast.”
“She must be really tired.”
It seemed she’d completely forgotten the promise we’d made. She really couldn’t handle her alcohol.
“Hehe... Ab-el... don’t do it there...”
...What kind of dream is she having?
I shook my head and told Elfride:
“Elfride, let’s go.”
“Eh?... Y-yeah.”
Elfride’s face looked a little red. She must have heard Celine’s mumbled words.
“Elfride, are you okay?”
“Y-yeah! I’m fine. Let’s hurry. Bonaparte City has plenty of good bars.”
“I see.”
After all, it was just going to be one more drink. Elfride probably had something she wanted to talk about. I could listen and head back.
I approached the sleeping Celine and straightened her pillow. I tucked her in under the blanket.
“I’ll be right back.”
I gently stroked Celine’s hair once, then followed Elfride out.
Elfride led me to the bustling shopping district of Bonaparte City. The place we’d visited before to pick out her gift was lively even at night.
“There are so many people.”
“It’s a festival for my birthday. That’s why.”
“Ahaha.”
When a lady of the nobility celebrates her birthday, she throws a festival... Impressive.
Elfride still felt like someone from another world.
“The place we’re going is a bit quieter. My favorite bar is usually like that.”
“The one we went to last time was too, right?”
“You remembered. You were right.”
Tonight’s night air was especially cool. Yeah, even in summer, nights like this made you feel alive.
“Elfride.”
“Hm?”
“If you just wanted to chat, why don’t we walk around the streets? The weather’s nice, and walking would be better than going inside somewhere.”
“...Um.”
Elfride looked up at the night sky for a moment, then nodded.
“Sure, let’s do that.”
“Alright. I want to see the festival streets too.”
In the end, Elfride and I decided to stroll the streets. The night breeze was pleasantly cool, and the streets were still packed with energy. Walking at night like this felt wonderful.
“Bonaparte City is so lively.”
“...It’s one of my father’s proudest achievements. For the rest, I don’t know, but he poured a lot into running this city.”
“...Honestly, thinking about Elena, I can’t really praise that.”
“I feel the same way. But the city is still a nice place to live, so probably the people here think of him as a good lord.”
“...Hmm.”
Not a good father, but a good lord? How do I even judge that...?
We walked and talked as we strolled. We reached the main boulevard of the shopping district, which was even more crowded than the street we’d come from.
The streets were teeming with people. Each one had their own unique expression as they enjoyed the night air.
Musicians played their own melodies on the street, while dancers painted the night with their graceful movements to the rhythm of the music.
We stopped and watched the scene. I didn’t know about anywhere else, but at least on these streets, all I saw was joy and happiness on everyone’s faces.
...Looks like he really is a good lord to the people here.
I asked her, still watching quietly:
“So what was the story you wanted to tell?”
“...The one you told me earlier, Abel. About wanting to be honest with your own heart...”
“Ah, yes. That’s right.”
“...Actually, I still feel like I don’t fully understand my own heart. It’s hard to put into words.”
Was there really something like that? It felt like the right choice to listen to her.
“...But I’ve become sure of one thing. Thinking about how Luna, Cynthia, and Elena all gave me similar advice... it’s probably true.”
“What is it?”
Elfride gazed at the graceful dancers. Their elegant forms expressed beautiful melodies.
When the music stopped and the dancers finished their performance, she spoke softly, her face slightly flushed under the red glow of the street lamps.
“I see you as special.”