This Man Isn't Yours Alone
Caesius, who had woken late to the commotion outside, found herself thoroughly puzzled by the strange atmosphere hanging over the room. Clara was tightly holding Albrecht’s hand—gripping it almost as if she meant to show him off.
Erinn and Letisia, who had arrived at some point without anyone noticing, stared at the pair in open-mouthed shock. Caesius had no idea how things had come to this, but…
…Interesting.
It looked like she was in for an entertaining show first thing in the morning.
Just as Caesius expected, Erinn and Letisia reacted the moment they saw what Clara was doing.
“Th-that hand….”
“…Do you really need to hold his hand like that~?”
Clara answered their questions with a light smile.
“I don’t need to, no.”
“Then why….”
“…Are you asking me why, Erinn?”
Erinn lost her words at the look Clara gave her—as if to say, Do you really not get it? She couldn’t help it. What Clara did next was nothing short of a blatant provocation.
Clara gently tugged the hand she was holding and pressed a soft kiss to the back of Albrecht’s hand. Albrecht himself looked flustered, but Erinn and Letisia were even more stunned.
Of course, for all her confident display, Clara’s face had gone shyly red.
“…Albrecht and I are dating, so I can do this much, right?”
“…Ugh.”
“Th-that’s true, but we came to talk, so there’s no need to go that far….”
Letisia spoke while looking at Clara with a mixture of jealousy and envy. Clara glanced at Albrecht, then broke into a bashful little smile.
“Albrecht’s choice and mine are exactly what I told you yesterday. He found the courage ‘for my sake.’ There’s no way he’d change his mind now.”
The words for my sake made Erinn flinch.
…No.
It hadn’t been only for Clara. Albrecht had done it for Clara, yes—but he had also clearly said he would fight for Erinn’s sake as well.
That much was a fact he had spoken with his own mouth, so it wouldn’t change. Which meant Clara’s claim that it was all for her was wrong.
But… Erinn couldn’t openly deny it either. If she did, she might rebuild the walls around Albrecht’s heart that she had only just begun to lower—the same walls he still kept up with Letisia.
Unable to deny it and unwilling to admit it, Erinn looked at Clara with a faintly resentful gaze.
Whether she noticed Erinn’s mood or not, Clara continued.
“We’re going together. The only thing left is the choice you make, Erinn.”
Erinn’s expression hardened for a moment, then she let out a soft sigh.
So… that’s how it is.
Clara’s actions were a clear warning. After seeing Erinn go off alone with Albrecht yesterday, she was drawing a firm line and putting Erinn on notice.
This man is mine. So back off.
But Clara was mistaken about one thing.
…That man did not belong to Clara alone.
Erinn smiled faintly and looked at Albrecht.
“The fact that you came to talk about this already tells us roughly how this is going to go~?”
“…Yeah.”
“Right. We’ve decided to join the fight too~. We talked it over with Karna, and we’re leaving tonight.”
“Tonight? That’s soon.”
“Better to leave early~. We never know when the Oblivion Legion will start moving in earnest~.”
“True enough.”
Still smiling, Erinn offered Albrecht her thanks.
“Thanks for finding the courage. Because of you, I found a little courage of my own.”
“Nah… of course I’d help.”
“Which is why, once everything’s over safely, I want to give you a little something in return.”
“Huh?”
Erinn giggled.
“What, I still haven’t paid up for that bet we made last time either~♡”
“…What?”
“Pfft, why so surprised? I just never got around to it~.”
When Albrecht looked startled at the memory, Erinn grinned mischievously.
“There’s that, and now this. So this time I really want to pay you back properly~♡”
“Ah… you got me.”
“…A bet?”
Of course Clara knew nothing about it. It had been a private wager between Erinn and Albrecht alone—and the entire conversation had happened while Clara was asleep.
Clara found herself deeply bothered by this secret between the two of them. But neither Erinn nor Albrecht seemed inclined to explain what it was about.
Albrecht cleared his throat lightly and steered the conversation away from the bet.
“…Ahem. But I’m not doing this because I want a reward.”
“Doesn’t matter if you want one or not~. I’m giving it because I want to. Otherwise it feels like I owe a scrub something, and I hate that~♡”
“…I’m not a scrub.”
“Ah, right~♡ Then….”
Erinn smiled brightly.
“I hate owing Oppa Albrecht anything~♡”
“…!?”
“O-Oppa…!?”
At that shocking, terrifying form of address, Clara and Letisia both looked as if they had taken a direct hit.
The sight of Erinn calling me Oppa left Clara and Letisia completely frozen.
As for me, the one actually being called that, I didn’t feel much of anything. I already knew it was just Erinn messing around.
I wondered if she really had to pull this kind of stunt right in front of those two, but I also knew Erinn had always been a mischievous little gremlin, so I let it slide.
“Would you stop with the whole Oppa thing already.”
“Pffthaha, but it’s fun~♡ Anyway, think about what you want. I’ll do anything.”
Anything?
“Anything? For real?”
“Would I lie about something like that~?”
If she was really offering anything, that opened up some interesting possibilities. I wasn’t planning anything weird. I could always take Erinn along as hired muscle when I went looking for the hidden pieces I still needed to collect.
I was originally going to get stronger first and go with Clara, but…
If Erinn helped, we might even be able to head out the moment this current mess was over.
That was when Clara cut in, her voice a little urgent.
“A-Albrecht. Oppa…?”
“Huh? Ah… I was originally twenty-three.”
“…You were?”
“…So you were older than us?”
It was the first either Clara or Letisia had heard of it.
“…Why didn’t you tell us?”
Huh? Because I never felt the need to. I explained why I hadn’t brought it up.
“Well. We were already talking casually with each other, and there was no point making things awkward by bringing up age….”
“…You still should have told us.”
Clara said.
“I didn’t know.”
She seemed hurt that Erinn had known while she hadn’t. Looking back, that was fair. It just hadn’t been the kind of thing you casually drop into conversation, and the right moment had never come up, so it simply never crossed my mind.
“…You’re right. Sorry, Clara.”
“…Sorry?”
Why was she asking that? Was she checking whether I was actually sorry?
If so, I needed to say yes immediately. This was one of the top ten things you never say to your girlfriend. I nodded quickly and confirmed it.
“Yeah. Really.”
“If you’re sorry….”
For a second I was terrified the next words would be “then what?” But what Clara did next was something neither I nor the two standing beside us saw coming.
Clara raised her index finger and tapped her own cheek.
“…A kiss.”
“…Huh?”
Silence fell. Clara’s face was faintly pink as she glanced at me, as if to say, Well? Are you going to or not? The cuteness of it made my head dip on its own.
The people next to us, however, were not about to let that happen.
“W-what are you saying!? There are people right here!”
“Save that for when you’re alone~ We’re not just wallpaper, you know~?”
…They had a point.
“…Ahem.”
I cleared my throat, came back to my senses, and lifted my head. Clara looked at me with a faintly sulky pout, then turned away. I leaned in close to her ear and whispered.
“I’ll do it later… when we’re alone.”
“…!”
Clara whipped her head around to look at me. Then she beamed and nodded.
Meanwhile Erinn spoke up in a strangely grumpy tone.
“…Anyway, go tell the Magic Tower ahead of time. We’re leaving tonight, so the moment you get back we’re going to see Karna.”
“Ah, right.”
I did need to let Agresia know in advance. I nodded.
“Then once I’m done at the Magic Tower, I’ll head over to your place.”
“Okay~.”
“Then I should get ready, so….”
I gave them a look that said it was time for them to leave. The two of them glanced at each other, then spoke.
“No need. Just go get ready~. Don’t mind us.”
“What?”
“We’ve got things to talk about with Clara too~. Right, Letisia?”
When Erinn asked, Letisia looked a little flustered but quickly nodded.
“Ah, yes. We still have things to discuss….”
“What things?”
“Girl talk. Why would you need to know~?”
“…Ah. Fair enough.”
I glanced at Clara. At this rate there was no way I was going to be able to give her what she wanted. Clara gave a short nod.
“It’s fine. Go. I… think I have a few things to say too.”
“…Yeah?”
What could they be talking about? Honestly I was a little curious, but it didn’t feel like something I should dig into further.
No…
…More accurately, it felt like something I shouldn’t dig into.
After Albrecht finished preparing and left for the Magic Tower, four people remained in the house.
Clara, Erinn, and Letisia.
And finally Caesius, who had only meant to watch for free entertainment and had somehow been dragged over and made to sit down.
“….”
The expressions on the three women’s faces—excluding Caesius—were extremely serious and grave. Caesius found the whole thing fascinating, but she also had the distinct feeling that showing it would get her killed, so she was busy keeping her face under control.
In the middle of that silence, Clara was the first to speak.
“Erinn… lately, it feels like you’re getting way too close to Albrecht.”