Congratulations on Your Debut, Yune!
Congratulations on Your Debut, Yune!
Chloe had escorted me all the way to my room.
"Then, young master, please rest comfortably...."
-Whoosh. Thud.
"...?"
Chloe had been about to withdraw, but a sudden gust of wind slammed the door shut, forcing her to stop in her tracks.
'The window's open? Why?'
Chloe's face stiffened, perhaps from the chill breeze.
And then... there I was, left alone in the room with Chloe.
'Well... this works out. Should I ask her for that before I fall asleep?'
Since I'd planned to ask for 'that' if I ever got her alone, I took the door closing as my cue and stretched my face out toward her.
-Streeetch.
"Chloe. Please."
"...!?"
Seeing me shove my face toward her, Chloe sucked in a breath, flustered for a moment.
But as I lifted my chin higher, jutting it out, she reached both hands toward me, as if she'd figured out exactly what I wanted.
Two hands approaching my face.
And then...
-Press, scratch scratch.
With one hand cradling the back of my head, Chloe began vigorously scratching my neck with the other, just like she'd secretly done for me back in the capital.
A wave of sheer bliss spread through my entire body.
"Hee, heehee... thaaat's it...."
"I am glad you find it pleasant."
A neck scratch felt more directly affectionate than a head pat, and I loved it.
It had felt amazing when my mother did it too, but Chloe was on another level entirely when it came to this particular caress.
And unlike the quick, sneaky scratches she'd given me before, this time she was deliberately using both hands.
On top of that, the affection in her touch felt even stronger now than it had back then.
I surrendered my face to Chloe's hands and soaked in pure happiness.
"Hee, heehee... s'good... do it harder...."
"...If anyone overheard, they would misunderstand."
"Don't caaare... hurry, hurry...."
Overwhelmed by the bliss of her touch, I couldn't help myself.
Even as I squirmed and crossed my thighs, I pressed my face even closer to Chloe.
'More. Pet me more. Shower me with more affection.'
"Do it mooore...."
"...."
By then, my tongue had gone slack, and I was slurring out pleas for more.
But Chloe's hands actually slowed down at my words, as if she were wrestling with some dilemma.
After mulling it over for a long moment...
-Sliiide.
"...I believe I should not continue any further. Let us stop here."
She pulled her hands away, declaring she was done.
"Huhhh...?"
"Goodness. You've been drooling like this. It seems you truly are helpless without me, young master."
Chloe pulled a handkerchief from her bosom and wiped around my mouth.
Seeing the clear drool soaking into the cloth, I finally realized I'd been slack-jawed and drooling the whole time she'd been petting me.
I had wondered why my words had sounded a bit mushy. So it was because my mouth had been filling with saliva.
I swallowed and managed to speak.
-Gulp.
"...That's a little disappointing. Thanks, anyway. That felt really good."
"Do you truly enjoy it that much? I know Her Grace and the young ladies pet you often."
"Yeah. I get pets all the time normally, but when it comes to neck scratches like this, yours feel the best. I've had Mom do it too, but you're just a little better. You're the best, Chloe."
"...Pfft. To think I outrank Her Grace in your eyes. Very well, if it cannot be helped. I shall do it for you often from now on."
At my praise for her excellent scratching skills, Chloe let out a smile she couldn't suppress, the corners of her mouth twitching.
Leaving her to that, I picked up the outfit I'd worn—no, the maid outfit—and cast a spell on it.
"Clear."
-Fwaaash.
The garment instantly looked brand-new.
As Chloe stared at it, fascinated, I added an explanation: the outfit was an artifact, so it had to be laundered with magic like this.
"But the outfit feels a little damp. Did you spill something on the way here, Chloe?"
"...Would that not be your drool, young master? Were you not nodding off while clinging to me?"
"I don't think so... Anyway, thank you. Is the window open for that reason too? To dry the outfit."
"......Yes."
"You're so capable, Chloe! Thanks!"
I praised her again.
But oddly, Chloe looked vaguely guilty as she left the room.
"...It was nothing. I wish you a pleasant night."
"Yeah. Sleep well, Chloe."
'She's practically sprinting away, like me sneaking cookies out of the kitchen....'
Was it just my imagination, or did her oddly flustered retreat look exactly like a criminal fleeing the scene of a crime?
'Honestly. That Chloe.'
* * * * * *
After Chloe had left.
Alone now, I threw the window wide open, partly to air out the odd, lingering scent in the room.
Leaning against the window frame, I gazed up at the northern sky.
Countless stars glittered in the night.
'So much has happened....'
Staring up at the sky, my mind drifted to the events of the past two and a half years, ever since Ryu Si-u's memories had settled into me, into Yune's body.
More precisely, I thought about the people I'd grown close to over those years, the people I loved.
One by one, I began matching the stars above to each of them.
'The brightest star right there is Mom. That little one twinkling off in the corner is Kir. And those two stars shining side-by-side are Mar and Albert. That one's Nibuer... and that one over there, which oddly resembles Mom's star, is exactly like Charl. Ah. That's Chloe. That red one is totally Flare.'
Each star scattered across the vast sky held a different shape, making it easy to assign them.
And with every name I attached to a star, a puff of associated memories bubbled up. Every single one was a happy memory.
'It was frustrating in a lot of ways... but they were good times.'
-Knock knock. Creeeak.
"...Yune? I'm coming in."
I'd been so absorbed in savoring those memories that I hadn't even noticed someone approaching from behind.
"Yune? Yune. Did you fall asleep?"
-Tap tap.
"Eep!?"
Only when the person tapped me on the shoulder did I flinch and whip my head around in surprise.
"Goodness. What were you so absorbed in that you couldn't hear me calling?"
"You startled me... Mom?"
It was my mother who had approached. She had already changed into an indoor dress.
"Just thinking. I was looking up at the night sky."
"A rather boyish thing to be doing. Come, what star were you looking at?"
She strode right up to me as I stood before the window, knelt, and drew my shoulders into an embrace.
She pressed her cheek firmly to my left one, her hair brushing softly against my neck...
And just like that, we looked up at the sky together.
"Over there. You see it? The brightest star. It's just like you, Mom."
"Sirius? What made you think it resembled me?"
"Because it's the brightest! It's the prettiest star!"
"...That is very kind of you."
Watching the sky together, I started explaining each star I had named to my mother.
And as I was doing that.
-Knock knock.
"Yune... Eep. Head of the House?"
"Charlotte. Margarete. Albert."
Soon enough, my three sisters came to my room as well. It was already bedtime—what business did they all have here?
Still, I didn't mind that my quiet room had suddenly turned lively again, so I greeted them with a bright smile.
"You guys come look too. The stars are super pretty."
"...Okay."
"I didn't know Mother had already gotten here first."
"Hmm. I didn't know you liked stars, Yune. I took a bit of astrology as an elective once. I can explain them to you if you want."
"Really? Whoa! Just what I'd expect from Albert!"
My sisters had looked a little awkward when they spotted our mother, but they soon came closer.
The five of us huddled together by the window, looking up at the night sky.
"You see? Those two stars stuck together. Don't they look like Albert and Mar?"
"Heh heh. You thought so too? See, those stars there are...."
Albert placed a hand on my head and started explaining the star I was pointing at.
And Mar, just like our mother, pressed her cheek to my right side and quietly listened to Albert's explanation.
Charl, oddly, didn't cling to me and just stood behind us with her hands clasped behind her back... Well, my sides and back were all taken. There was probably just no room for her to squeeze in.
After talking about the stars for a while, a smile had spread wide across my face before I even realized it.
"Heehee. Now that I think about it, I don't think the whole family has ever crammed together like this before."
"Haven't we? Hmm... I suppose you're right."
Here I was, stargazing with my entire beloved family.
It was exactly the sort of scene the sickly Yune, wasting away in his sickbed, would have dreamed of while looking up at the night sky alone. And it was exactly what Ryu Si-u would have dreamed of while staring at a dark sky smothered by smog.
This small, precious blessing hit me all over again, and I suddenly blurted out my thanks.
"...Thank you."
"What's this all of a sudden, Yune?"
"Just because. I got through the debutante ball safely thanks to all the help you and my sisters gave me during practice."
"Honestly, though, we never dreamed you'd actually dance the waltz. Mar and I were completely floored."
"But thanks to that, you got to waltz at the venue. That was a pretty romantic experience, wasn't it?"
"Mar. You're getting ideas like that from dancing with your little brother, really? You're worse than Charl."
"Th-That's not what I meant!!"
"...And why am I being dragged into this while standing here quietly, Albert?"
...I'd meant that from the bottom of my heart, but with five people gathered, the conversation never seemed to go in the direction I'd intended.
But Charl alone seemed to pick up on my meaning. She brushed Albert's hand off my head and began mussing my hair affectionately.
-Pat pat.
"You shone brighter than anyone today in that hall. Even brighter than the stars above. And that was the result of your own hard work. So don't go saying it was thanks to us or anything of the sort."
"...Okay. Thank you."
Such an embarrassing thing for Charl to say.
Feeling bashful over being told I'd shone brighter than the stars, I cleared my throat awkwardly. My sister then gently swept my hair back and continued.
"So, you see... Yune. We have a gift for you. It's from Albert, Mar, and myself. The three of us prepared it together."
"Huh? A gift?"
At those words, I quickly pulled my face away from between my mother's and sisters' cheeks and turned around.
And then, what Charl, who'd had her hands behind her back the whole time, held out to me was...
"W-Whoa!? What's this?"
"We pooled our money and bought it to give to you if you successfully finished the debutante ball. Well? Isn't it lovely?"
"Pfft. Yune, what's with your jaw hanging open like that? You're a boy. It's unseemly."
"...So it has come to this. Congratulations on successfully completing your high society debut, Yune. You are now a full-fledged member of the Empire's nobility."
It was a staff adorned with a large purple jewel at its tip. Trimmed with gold, it was the kind of staff that looked expensive and high-quality at a single glance.
"I-Isn't this super expensive? It's way too luxurious!"
"A good chunk of my salary as Deputy Knight Commander went into it. So, are you touched?"
"A fair bit of what I drew as Chief of Staff of the Northern Army went into it too, you know?"
"...I gathered the materials to be used for the staff. I provided the gemstones I had acquired from beyond the mountain range as well."
"Whoa! I love you! You're the best sisters ever!"
A staff that my three sisters had specially commissioned just for me.
Holding it instantly lifted my spirits. Good heavens. I'd never seen such a luxurious staff in my life.
I was so overjoyed I bounced around the room clutching the staff...
But unlike my three sisters, who were watching me with fond smiles, my mother's expression had stiffened slightly, a bit unsettled.
"Why is your expression like that, Mother?"
"...In truth, I had also prepared a staff to give Yune."
"Huh? You did too, Mom?"
At her words, looks of surprise washed over the four of us.
My mother then produced a subspace pouch before our eyes.
-Sliiide.
"I had originally planned to leave this by your bedside while you slept, but my daughters have stolen a march on me. So I shall give it to you now."
"W-Whoa...."
What my mother took out of the pouch was also a staff. Unlike the one that was overtly flashy, this staff carried an air of antique elegance.
My eyes went round as I took in the staff, whose tip flickered with a flame.
"This is... Ifrit's Scepter?"
"What's this? You knew about it?"
"Yes. Isn't it incredibly rare?"
Ifrit's Scepter. An ultimate-class weapon for fire-attribute mages, something even Ryu Si-u only knew from lore.
I hadn't even dared to ask Nibuer to acquire one because I had no idea how to get my hands on it. So how was it in my mother's hands...?
"That wand you presented to Her Majesty the Empress. You originally acquired it intending to use it yourself, did you not?"
"Ah, yes... I did, didn't I?"
'That's because I couldn't stomach the idea of going on adventures carrying a magical girl wand, so I just stashed it in the warehouse.'
"I was so proud that you offered it without hesitation for Her Majesty's sake. I resolved to gift you a replacement, no matter what."
Blinded by its dazzling beauty, I accepted it with trembling hands.
As I stared at it, utterly transfixed, my mother began explaining the staff's history.
"That staff is a spoil of war, claimed by our ancestor long ago in a battle against the Demon King. It had been kept in a secret vault accessible only to the Head of the House... but I think it's better for you to use it than to let it rot away in there."
"A-Are you really sure I can have something this precious...?"
Hearing it was a trophy from our ancestor's battle against the Demon King, I looked at my mother as if asking if I truly deserved such a treasure.
"Of course. Congratulations on your debut, Yune."
"W-Whoooooa!!"
She said it was fine, that she was celebrating the successful completion of my first debutante ball.
Overjoyed, I clutched the staff tightly.
My mother's staff in my left hand, my sisters' staff in my right.
"Th-Thank you so much! I love you! My sisters and Mom, you're the best! Marry me!!"
"Pfft. What are you talking about, Yune?"
"Mom, you're the best!"
-Smooch.
"...!?"
Not knowing what to do with my joy, I'd been jumping around when I threw myself at my mother and planted a kiss on her cheek.
Then I dashed over to my sisters, who were staring at me in bewilderment, and gave each of them a kiss on the cheek as well.
"Hehe. You're all the best! I love you!"
My family was flustered for a moment by the barrage of kisses.
"G-Good night!"
Charl blurted that out and then bolted from the room.
With her leading the charge, the rest of my family left my room one by one.
"Uh... Er... You must have really liked it, huh? G-Good night, little brother. I should get going to bed now too."
"H-Hey, sis! Wait for me...!"
"A-Ahem. Yune. I'd like to tell you a man shouldn't do that, but it's late, so I'll hold my tongue. Sleep well, Yune."
"Good night to you too, Mom! You too, sisters! Dream about me!"
"...Even if you hadn't said so, I suspect you'll appear in my dreams tonight."
After my family, all of them blushing for whatever reason, had left the room...
I lay down in bed and tried to fall asleep, hugging the two staffs—brimming with my family's love—tightly to my chest.
'Hehe. A staff. A staff. I should use these later, when I become an adventurer. The two staffs of Archmage Yune... Pffheheh. Maybe I'll even make it into the history books?'