A Sudden Gust of Wind
"...."
"Fuck. I wanted to die."
I never thought I'd wear something so lewd in my life.
"Pretty."
"... Thank you for the compliment..."
I gritted my teeth and answered Kyle's praise.
But it was truly embarrassing...
How did the clothes sold in the north end up exposing the cleavage?
No, it's not just the cleavage—it's a dress that basically bares the breasts.
It shows the thighs and hips too...
"...."
"Um, let's buy this one."
"Master?!"
Why buy something like this?
Really, why?!
There were so many pretty clothes besides this one...
"Hehe... Kyle? Can't you buy me some other pretty clothes besides this one?"
"This one is the prettiest right now..."
"This one is the strangest right now!?"
This is too lewd.
Truly lewd.
So lewd that the person wearing it feels embarrassed.
If I'd seen a woman in such clothes in my previous life, maybe, but wearing it myself is definitely not something I would have done...!
"First... I'll change."
"Yes. Change into something nice."
So I changed back into normal clothes.
Wearing a skirt felt a bit uncomfortable at first, but thanks to that, I felt incredibly comfortable.
Yeah, what's the point of having slits?
At least it's a proper skirt?
Not some lewd dress that prostitutes would wear, but a completely plain one.
I should thank Louise and Elin who bought me normal clothes.
They were grateful for telling me the advantages of the skirt as a women's item.
"...."
"Well, if we've bought clothes to this extent, we should go eat."
"Yes..."
My strength had drained a bit.
Since I hadn't worn such clothes since growing my hair, it was inevitable.
It might have been better to just wear underwear.
Anyway, after leaving the shop, Kyle took me to a restaurant.
It was definitely a more upscale place than the ones we usually ate at when coming down.
It wasn't noisy, and the music was moderately pleasant, welcoming us.
"Oh..."
Yeah, if it's a date, we should come to a place like this.
Instead of dressing me in lewd clothes like before, we should enjoy happy conversations in a nice restaurant.
"A nice restaurant."
"Is that so? I was worried you wouldn't like it, but I'm glad."
"I can eat anything Kyle buys for me."
"Is that right?"
"Yes."
After all, Kyle wouldn't feed me weird food.
Why would he have bad feelings towards me and feed me weird food.
Rather, he would have fed me to Louise.
Ah, I shouldn't have such thoughts about Louise who bought me the nice clothes.
Because then she wouldn't recommend clothes next time.
--Screech--
Kyle was cutting the steak strongly.
Actually, Kyle didn't have that much strength, but it was enough for the steak.
Thanks to that, the cut surface of the steak was a bit ugly.
I don't know why, since he's big, he's making mistakes in such places.
"Kyle, swap my steak with yours. Since you cut it well, you'd better eat this one."
It was better to eat the pretty one than the ugly one.
Only a prince would cut steak like this, Kyle.
Nobles usually like to show off fancy things, though.
"Thank you."
We enjoyed the meal while talking normally.
Because the chef was different, the meal at the mansion felt different.
The atmosphere was different too.
As expected, the atmosphere makes everything better, right?
Thanks to the atmosphere, the meal felt more special.
"Sophia, try this too."
"?"
Kyle cut a piece of steak and handed it to me.
I didn't expect this little guy to serve me food first.
Usually, at such places, I would give food to Kyle.
"Thank you."
I put the piece of steak Kyle handed me with a fork in my mouth.
Since it was the same type of steak as mine, it didn't taste particularly special.
But since it was the first food Kyle gave me, it wasn't bad.
After that, we enjoyed meals with Kyle.
There was a reason why women in my previous life liked dates at Western restaurants.
The atmosphere was really good.
The food style also had a somewhat static feel that matched the atmosphere.
If you eat something spicy like hot pot in a static atmosphere... it wouldn't match, right?
"Sophia, do you dislike walking?"
"No. I'm fine with it."
I like walking.
The weather in Eristirol is too cold, so I don't enjoy it much, but I do like it.
Recently, I've been walking around the castle in the remaining time wearing the coat Kyle gave me.
"If Kyle says to go somewhere, it's fine anywhere, so you don't have to ask."
"... Yes."
I don't know where we're going to walk, but I'm looking forward to it.
I'm curious about which good place we'll go to.
"Then let's get up from our seats. We've already finished eating."
"Yes."
As Kyle said, the meal was already over.
We were just sitting there drinking drinks after eating the steak and soup.
So, after getting up from our seats, we left the area where the buildings were and moved to a somewhat quiet place.
The weather today wasn't that cold.
It hadn't been long since summer ended.
So, wearing a cape made it feel warm enough.
"Kyle, where are we going?"
I asked Kyle where we were going, since we were going somewhere but I didn't know where.
There were no buildings, and we were entering the forest.
Fortunately, it wasn't a completely dense mountain.
Since we were walking on the trail right now.
"Just walking. If you walk like this and look around, the scenery is really nice."
Hearing Kyle's words, I looked around as he said.
The scenery was really pretty, as Kyle said.
Looking to the side, I saw the fiefdom below the mountain, and above, the sky without a single cloud, typical of Eristirol.
As always, it was a really white sky.
When it snowed, it was even prettier, but today it didn't snow.
After all, if it snowed, it would be a bit cold, so I didn't like it.
The scenery was pretty, but the cold was unavoidable.
"Pretty."
It really was.
It was the first thought that came to mind.
"I didn't know there were such places in Eristirol."
Kyle had taken me to good places occasionally, but this was the first time it was this good.
It was really a nice atmosphere.
"If I come here with my real lover later, it would be good."
"Would it?"
"Yes."
Well, for now, since we're busy preparing for the coming-of-age ceremony, it won't happen.
But after the coming-of-age ceremony, Kyle probably won't have many chances to meet women.
Although Eristirol is cold, since it's a duke's family, popularity will be high.
After all, the character Kyle himself is hugely popular within the empire.
He only showed his face at the debutante ball once, but he appeared in the empire's newspapers, so that's enough.
Blonde hair + heterochromia + tall + good body + studied sword + studied magic + eldest son and heir of the duke family.
It's really amazing specs.
If I were an ordinary woman, wouldn't I think this man is my ideal type?
"Master said you had someone you liked before, right?"
"Yes."
"I hope it works out well. Always... no, but I always cheer for Master."
This was really true.
My student and younger brother, how could I not cheer for him.
I'm not that cold person.
I'm a warm person.
Probably.
"Um... I believe you'll do well at the coming-of-age ceremony too."
"Thank you, Sophia."
Actually, the thought of a date had already disappeared.
Since the other person was Kyle, I didn't feel that way.
I didn't feel that fluttering feeling.
After all, I had never felt that feeling before... but I could think about it once in a while.
I became a woman, after all.
"By the way, Louise hasn't been gambling much lately. Do you know anything about it?"
It naturally transitioned to everyday talk.
I was surprised that Louise was really reducing her gambling lately.
After all, she started reducing something she couldn't reduce for years.
Since I'm not a very bad person, I sometimes lent money to Louise as pocket money.
But she was really saving that money normally!
At first, I thought she was saving for gambling funds, but she was just saving money, which surprised me.
"Ah... Louise-sensei seems to have started taking interest in a new place lately."
"A new place...?"
"Yes, I don't know what it is, but she said she heard something fun."
"I see."
So that's it.
I didn't know there was such a situation when we were playing together.
The gambling addict is doing something new.
She's changing too.
It was surprising.
I feel like nothing changes, but the people around are changing.
The passive little guy Kyle had become a wonderful adult.
The crazy woman who liked gambling was becoming less crazy by reducing gambling.
Elin... still just a normal knight.
A bit immature, but the feeling of being a knight was strong.
"... What kind of person do you want to become, Master?"
It wasn't a question thinking about becoming a duke.
I asked because I was curious what kind of adult Kyle wanted to become, and after becoming an adult, how he would live if I disappeared or something.
"I want to become a person who can protect the person I love."
"Is that so..."
A good answer.
Compared to boring answers like wanting to become a duke, become rich, make a harem, it was a very good answer.
Even if I could only do that in life, it would be enough.
"A good answer..."
I tried to answer.
But suddenly, a strong wind blew.
When I thought about it, the place we were standing was midway up the mountain.
Even if it was a walking trail, there was a downhill path below.
And it's a northern mountain.
Even if it doesn't snow every day, it's a place where wind blows every day.
"Sophia!!"
Suddenly, I felt my body being pushed sideways instantly.
However, on the opposite side where Kyle was, there was nothing.
Thanks to that, I couldn't stop being pushed by the strong wind.
My body swayed and started falling from the walking trail.
Just before falling, I thought.
This is going to hurt like hell.