End of the Founding Festival (2)

While dancing the waltz with my family, I sorted through my thoughts about Kir's confession.

'...It can't be helped. It's a waste, but I have no choice but to use it.'

Sometime later, I approached Chloe and retrieved the 'thing' I had entrusted to her.

The gazes of my three older sisters settled on me—and then on the pouch in my hand.

"Yune, what's that?"

"A pouch?"

"Ah... since it's come to this, I might as well hand them out now. You'll each get one, sisters. You too, Chloe."

"Young Master, this is..."

"Yes. It's exactly what I asked you to get. Just give me a second. I'll do like this..."

* * * * * *

A moment later.

I left the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠table where my three sisters and Chloe were seated and headed back toward Mother.

I'd heard Kir had briefly stepped away to the restroom, so I decided to give it to Mother as well, then sit at the table and rest for a while.

"Hwaaah... dancing nothing but waltzes is exhausting."

"It's perfectly natural to be weary. You danced five consecutive waltzes. I expect you are the first—and will be the last—to dance five consecutive waltzes at a debutante ball."

"Hehe. I'm a manly man, after all..."

The moment the adrenaline drained from my brain, fatigue crashed over me.

Like a golem whose magic stone had run dry, I pressed my cheek against the table and slumped forward.

"Yune. That is unseemly. However tired you are, sit up properly."

"Just a little longer..."

"Hmph. Very well."

The table's center section was slightly cracked for whatever reason.

As I rested my cheek away from the fissures, a sudden wave of drowsiness overtook me, despite my body being clammy and sticky with sweat.

'Well, it's true. Today has been packed with one thing after another.'

Just how many things had I done today?

I had an audience with the Empress, then shuttled between Mother and the North to present the artifact.

I was already sick to my stomach over presenting the Magical Girl Wand, and then my eyes nearly popped out of my head watching the Empress walk into the hall with it jammed between her breasts.

Just when I'd barely managed to tear my gaze away from that childhood-shattering sight, some thug attacked Kir. We all scrambled in every direction to sort it out.

And after I rescued her, Kir suddenly sprang a marriage proposal on me out of nowhere.

My mind was worn past endurance by this chain of events. The five waltzes had worn my body out, too.

Complete, utter exhaustion—something I hadn't felt in a long time as Ryu Si-u, and was experiencing for the very first time as Yune.

Maybe that was why.

'Uh-oh. I really shouldn't... fall asleep...'

I sank helplessly into slumber.

—Grand Duchess Erengard.

—Your Highness, the Crown Princess. To what do I owe the occasion?

—I came because I had a word for young Master Yune, but... hmm. He's sleeping like the dead.

—My apologies. I shall wake him at once.

—Ah, no, don't. How could I disturb the sleep of a young lord slumbering so soundly? Simply relay to him afterward that I, Isabella, found his dancing profoundly impressive, and that I praised it as a magnificent performance.

—Understood. I will be sure to tell him.

"Mnyaa... assemble, cookie friends..."

I had fallen so deeply asleep that I hadn't even noticed when the Crown Princess herself had come to speak to me.

* * * * * *

Perhaps because Kir took an awfully long time to return, I got to enjoy a good stretch of sweet sleep.

So when Mother woke me, saying the banquet was about to end, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my mental fatigue had largely faded. Instead, my legs ached even worse.

The moment Kir saw me cradled drowsily in Mother's arms, she let out a shrill scream.

'Now that I think about it, I meant to give this to Kir. Somehow it ended up going to the family first.'

"Kir, here. Take this."

"This is...?"

"A gift. I bought it the day we arrived in the Imperial Capital."

Still cradled in Mother's arms, I rummaged through the pouch and pulled out the few remaining pieces of 'that thing.'

"A bead...?"

"It looks like a bead, but it's actually candy."

At my words, Kir's expression shifted oddly as she accepted the candy.

I could see why. At the moment, the candy was roughly the size of a small new potato. Its surface was smooth and hard, so no matter how you looked at it, it wouldn't register as candy.

"Looks like an orb, though?"

"Yeah. It does right now. Wait just a moment."

But this was a special item—it couldn't be eaten until it was properly processed.

I climbed down from Mother's arms and wrapped both my hands firmly around Kir's hand, which was holding the candy.

"...!"

"Hang on just a moment. It'll be done fast."

Then I summoned a faint wisp of mana into my hands. The barest whisper.

—Flaaash.

A moment later, the candy in our hands had shrunk to the size of a pinky nail.

"Y-you suddenly grabbed my hand—you startled me..."

"What's the big deal about holding hands?"

"Even so... Ah, ack?!"

Kir's face had gone red while she was looking at me, and then suddenly she turned pale as a sheet and stared at Mother.

Mother gave a slight nod toward Kir, as though she knew what this was about.

Only then did color return to Kir's face. She carefully withdrew her hand from my grasp.

"What was that all of a sudden? Anyway. That candy, see—when you eat it, you can tell what the person who gave it to you feels in their heart. As a bonus, it'll boost your luck a little."

"Luck? And... their feelings?"

I started explaining the candy.

Originally, it was an alchemical ingredient—a bead crystallized from all kinds of people's emotions. But it had a special effect.

If you infused it with mana while concentrating deeply on a particular person, the emotions inside the bead would resonate with them. All the other emotions would vaporize, leaving only the feelings the giver held toward that person.

When the recipient consumed the refined candy, they could sense exactly what emotions the giver felt for them. That was the item's true effect.

A limited-edition, one-time consumable—available for purchase exactly once at the Everything General Store. A candy that spent mana to raise a target's affection and give a slight boost to the luck stat.

I'd bought it originally to give to family and acquaintances at New Year's, as a surprise to convey my gratitude for all they'd done.

But when it came to answering Kir's confession, conveying feelings directly like this would carry more weight than a hundred words of explanation.

I wrapped up the explanation as concisely as I could and urged Kir to go ahead and eat it.

"This is how you feel about me...?"

"Yeah. Go on, eat it. Then you'll know how I feel."

Even as I pressed the candy on Kir, I couldn't completely ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hide my regret.

I had seven candies in the pouch. Four for Mother and my three sisters. One for Chloe. I was also planning to give one to Nibuer later, which left me with only one to spare.

That one precious spare was going to Kir, someone I'd met only two days ago. I'd made up my mind while dancing, true, but I couldn't help feeling it was a waste.

'The original plan was to save one and give it to Flare when I saw her again, but... it can't be helped. Let my reluctance about marriage get through...! And please, let her give up on the engagement!!'

* * * * * *

Kir popped the candy Yune had given her into her mouth.

Maybe because Yune's hands had touched it, the candy felt oddly stickier than it should.

The moment it met her tongue, it dissolved gently and spread through her body.

Mana brushed over her tongue and slid down her throat.

When that warmth reached the region of her heart, Kir at last tasted the emotion Yune had meant to convey to her.

By Yune's own intention, the candy should have conveyed only his reluctance about marriage.

But his unconscious had harbored slightly different thoughts, and so Kir tasted emotions markedly different from what he intended.

'This is... gladness to see me?'

The first thing she sensed was gladness. The emotion carrying a citrusy fragrance spread sweet-tart across her mouth.

Kir was his only peer, the only person of the same age with whom he could speak comfortably. Yune's first impression of her came to her like a taste of honeyed lemons.

That flavor, as though he were innocently grinning and saying, 'I was just that glad to meet you!', brought a faint blush to her face.

And then, what rushed into her was affection.

'I-it's sweet.'

They hadn't known each other long, but Yune already considered her a friend with whom he'd danced—an irreplaceable companion.

Despite her sudden confession, that feeling hadn't changed at all. It tickled her heart, nutty and sweet like a cookie.

Of course, it was only friendship, not romantic love, but...

'...Yune, you truly hold me in this much regard.'

The weight of that regard was scarcely less than Kir's love for Yune. Heavy enough that he'd come running the moment he saw she was about to be attacked by a black mage possessing a noble's body.

And even if its direction differed slightly from hers, the fact that he treasured her too filled her with such gratitude.

After savoring those pure emotions, Kir turned eyes glistening with emotion toward Yune.

"You've been thinking about me like this, Yune?"

"Yeah. You felt it, right? See, I don't want to get married. I'm grateful for your feelings, but..."

But Yune was saying the exact opposite of what she had tasted. Unable to suppress the laughter that bubbled up, she let out a soft giggle.

"Pff. I didn't taste anything like that at all."

"...Huh? Wait, what? I shouted 'absolutely no to marriage!' a hundred times while I infused the mana!"

"I'm telling you, I didn't taste any of that. If anything, it was all flavors like 'it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was fun playing together,' 'I want to hang out and dance together again.' Very you, in every respect."

"Uh, uhh...?"

When she confessed what she'd tasted, Yune's face fell into dismay. The reaction was nothing like what he'd expected.

Kir laughed merrily at his downcast expression.

"Pff-hah. Don't look so disheartened. ...Fine. Since you see me as a friend, I'll start as a friend too."

"...?"

"This much is acceptable, is it not, Your Grace?"

She immediately looked toward Erengard.

The implication in her words was: 'If I'm not yet trustworthy as Yune's fiancée, then I'll begin not as his fiancée but as a friend, and grow closer to him gradually. This much is acceptable, is it not?'

Erengard gave a small shrug.

"...However the two of you grow closer, I shall not interfere, so long as you haven't forgotten my warning."

"Thank you, Your Grace."

Having secured the Grand Duchess's permission, Kir smiled at Yune and spoke.

"And you didn't say you dislike me as a friend, either, did you?"

"Uh, yeah. That's... true?"

"Then there's no problem at all with us being friends, right?"

"Is that... how it works...?"

The situation was unwinding in a direction completely at odds with his plan. Yune looked flustered.

Kir smiled brightly.

"Then that settles it. Let's be close from now on, Yune."

"Uh, y-yeah, okay...?"

"Yes. And I can come visit your estate from now on, can't I? We're friends, after all."

"I'm fine with it, but... will it be okay? The teleport magic circle costs a fair bit each time, you know."

"It'll be fine. My allowance should be plenty."

Kir declared she'd be dropping by often to see Yune from now on.

Yune thought to himself:

'I mean, it's a relief she's not saying let's get married right this instant... but doesn't it feel like I've ended up even more tied down? Is this the candy's effect?'

But he chalked it all up to the candy's affection-boosting side effect and dismissed it as nothing serious.

Besides, it really was true that Yune liked Kir as a friend.

So he answered without much concern.

"Then come visit whenever you feel like it! I'll teach you to dance!"

"Sure. I'll look forward to it, Yune."