A Harmonious Outing (1)
The war situation report has arrived. The suppression force successfully joined the front lines and immediately launched an attack on Fort 4…
A letter had flown in from the Holy Knights. I hadn’t specifically ordered daily reports, but it was certainly helpful. Relying on the media would inevitably mean being a step behind. Moreover, if the news was unfavorable to the suppression force, there was a high chance it wouldn’t even make the papers.
“They’re advancing, huh…”
The very first day’s assault had resulted in the capture of Fort 4. The rebels had abandoned their defense in terror, fleeing the fortress… Well, it was good news. Having seized one stronghold would alleviate their chronic supply problems to some degree. If left alone from here, victory would eventually come.
“Tsk.”
Whether to go or not. The dilemma weighed heavily on me. If I went, there was a high probability I could end the civil war early. I could also build up Schlus’s reputation. But the problem was time. If I were to go, it had to be now—during this break period after midterms, with less than two weeks until classes resumed. The question was how much chaos I could stir up and still return within that short window.
It would be ideal to cut off Duke Lorraine’s head and come back. But without confidence that I could do so, I hesitated.
I’ll put it on hold for now.
Delaying a decision in such a time-sensitive situation seemed like a foolish choice. Still, if I moved, it was better to move when success was certain. For example, if the suppression force suddenly collapsed and a savior was desperately needed… But I had no way of predicting when that moment would come. Ever since I arrived, the timeline had diverged significantly from the original story…
“You’re not going?”
“…?”
Two arms suddenly wrapped around my neck from behind. When I turned, Emilia was leaning over the back of the sofa, embracing me.
“The battlefield.”
“I have no plans to go yet.”
“Yet…?”
“That’s right. Now, could you let go?”
“No.”
“…”
What the hell. Something was off. She seemed completely transformed, like an entirely different person. Where had the faithful maid who always obeyed my every word gone? Suddenly she was acting like a freeloading little sister who occasionally helped with housework. It felt incredibly unfamiliar.
“As your employer, I command you. Get off right—”
“What kind of employer only pays two thousand tyrions a month? If you want to interfere in my private life, at least pay me thirty thousand tyrions monthly.”
“How is this private life?”
“I’m saying I want to hold the person I like. Preventing me from doing that would be invading my privacy.”
“…”
I was at a loss for how to respond. I couldn’t even tell if she was serious or joking. Her voice sounded one hundred percent sincere, nearly fooling me. I mustn’t forget—Emilia was an excellent actress.
“Are you angry?”
“Angry? No. Not at all. Why would I be angry?”
“I see. As expected…”
“Of course I’m not angry. What reason would I have to be upset just because I saw my brother lying with his head on some girl’s lap?”
“…”
She was clearly furious. Or rather, she was playing the part of someone furious. I figured I should play along.
“They were taking care of me after I suffered from mana exhaustion. Nothing strange was going on.”
“Nothing strange?”
“…”
“I didn’t say anything. So what exactly do you mean by ‘nothing strange’? Hm? Hmmm?”
Ah. This was more exhausting than I thought. I couldn’t take it anymore. I broke free from Emilia’s restraining grip and stood up forcefully.
“Let’s go out. I need to mail a letter anyway.”
“A letter? What letter?”
“One for Her Highness the Crown Princess. Apparently a scandal broke out without my knowledge.”
I had learned about it from Erika and Iris. After my visit to the imperial palace, both Aria and I had begun wearing rings on our left ring fingers, leading many to mistakenly believe we were engaged… It wasn’t just many people—among the nobility, it was treated as a confirmed marriage between the Crown Princess and me.
I needed to meet the Crown Princess to clear up this misunderstanding. Come to think of it, with a rumor like this circulating, the imperial family should have noticed and quashed it immediately. Why hadn’t there been any reaction yet? The palace officials were utterly incompetent.
“Scandal? Ha. What are you even saying, brother?”
“Um…?”
“How can someone be this oblivious? That was a confession. You really didn’t realize?”
“Her Highness the Crown Princess? To me? That’s ridiculous.”
“You’re the one being ridiculous! Ugh, this is so frustrating I could die. Even if you don’t think so, everyone else has already decided it’s settled. So if you go to the palace now, they’ll only see it as you going to reaffirm the engagement. No matter what you actually say.”
I hadn’t considered that far. With the scandal already spreading, any active explanation might look like a deception tactic. People might even ask why I hadn’t clarified it sooner. Claiming ignorance wouldn’t fly.
“Th-then what should I do?”
“It’s simple. Take off the ring. Starting now. Then people will naturally assume either the nobles were mistaken or the engagement was broken off. Isn’t that what you want?”
“Well, yes, but…”
I rubbed the ring while looking down at it. The Miracle Ring was currently the most valuable item I possessed. Even if I locked it in a safe, someone could just take the whole thing. That’s why I made a point of keeping the Miracle Ring on my person at all times. It was the safest option. Leaving it in a pocket risked losing it, which would be even more dangerous than leaving it in the safe. In the end, wearing it was the only choice.
“No. I’ll have to keep wearing it for the time being.”
“Then Her Highness the Crown Princess will continue to misunderstand. That you accepted her confession.”
“It couldn’t have been a confession. And even if it was, doing it so indirectly means she should have been prepared to be rejected.”
If the ring had to come off, it should be Aria who removed hers. Where on earth had she found a ring identical to the Miracle Ring… Surely there weren’t two of them? No, that didn’t make sense. At any rate, I needed to meet her to ask what that ring was.
I returned to my room and changed into my school uniform. Come to think of it, it was fortunate I hadn’t worn it when I went to rescue Emilia. Otherwise, it would have been torn to shreds and soaked in blood by now.
When I came out after changing, Emilia was already waiting in casual clothes. She changed incredibly fast.
“W-will I need to go to the police station?”
“Ah. A police officer came to the academy yesterday to take my statement. I probably won’t have to go in person.”
Once you became somewhat famous, this was one of the conveniences. No matter how much it was self-defense, the fact remained that I had killed people, yet I wasn’t summoned to the station. Instead, an officer came directly, politely asked questions according to my schedule, and left.
I had only counterattacked after being struck first, and I hadn’t chased down any fleeing opponents to kill them, so the probability of a guilty verdict was virtually zero.
“Um… Did your midterms go well…?”
“Why the sudden formal speech?”
“I just thought I should speak this way outside… sir.”
Emilia’s voice, which had been shouting at me so boldly at home, had suddenly grown small. How cute.
“It went well. It looks like I’ll take first place in both majors.”
“Wow, really? That’s a relief. Then you won’t have to drop out.”
“Exactly.”
When I added up the scores, taking first place was practically guaranteed. That meant I had halfway completed the quest that had appeared at the start of the semester. All that remained now was the final exam.
“That’s true, but… the real problem starts now.”
I had somehow scraped through midterms in first place. The issue was that it wasn’t because I had studied hard. It was all thanks to exploiting my knowledge of the original story. Fortunately the midterm questions had followed the original exactly, but from the second semester onward, there was a high chance things would diverge significantly. From then on, competing with Erika and Trie would become considerably difficult.
“To the imperial palace. Yes.”
After mailing the letter to Aria, we took a stroll through the market. To see the sights we had missed yesterday. Come to think of it, this was the first time I had gone shopping with Emilia. I had always left it entirely to her.
“They have green onions here. If we buy from this stall…”
“No. Those are expensive. If we go further inside, there are fresher ones that are cheaper.”
“…”
I tried offering a few suggestions, but she quickly shut me down. As expected of thrifty Emilia. I thought she might spend someone else’s money recklessly, but she didn’t.
“Today feels really fun. Shopping alone was always so boring.”
“Is that so? We should come out together sometimes.”
“Hehe. I’d like that.”
“Emilia.”
“Yes?”
“Thank you for all your hard work.”
“…”
On the way out of the market, I placed my hand on Emilia’s head. Then I gently, slowly stroked her hair. I realized I had never told her she was doing a good job. Despite quietly doing her duties, she had already faced death twice. I felt she deserved a proper reward.
“Let’s stop by somewhere. I need to buy a few things.”
“Huh? Buy things? You don’t have to buy me anything…”
“I’m going to buy a new scabbard and belt.”
“…”
I decided the real reward could come later. But Emilia’s expression seemed to stiffen slightly. What was wrong with her now?