Senior and Junior
Surprisingly, there were many things to talk about with Lepia. Honestly, I had expected meeting her to be incredibly awkward, but instead, because we ran into each other unexpectedly in the south, there were so many topics we could discuss between us.
“I was worried you might not be able to settle in well at the academy, but seeing you traveling like this, my concerns seem to have been unfounded, Lepia junior.”
“Ah, this is… I joined the club, and it just so happened that everyone was heading to a southern resort for a trip.”
“If the junior didn’t like it, we could have left her behind without a second thought.”
At first glance she seemed terribly shy, yet she possessed an undercurrent of sociability that was impossible to ignore. Even though she had openly declared her neutrality, it was no surprise that movements in Lasquer had been afoot to elevate her to the next king.
*What should I even say? It was simply that feeling from the very beginning, wasn’t it?*
In any case, I found it oddly easy to speak with the junior Lepia.
“Lasquer said places like this are almost impossible to find, right?”
“Yes. Even in summer the sea isn’t this warm, and with strong winds and rain beginning to fall… entering the water would be strange.”
They truly lived in a harsh place. That was why they clung so fiercely to the path of knighthood.
The harsher the environment, the more one needed something to be proud of. Pride was necessary to live with a firm grip on one’s heart. I understood that perfectly.
Yet our father had smashed it flat without mercy, the way children destroy sandcastles.
By the way, a short while ago Lasquer had sent him something as a gift. I wasn’t sure whether it was truly a gift or a bribe meant to say *Please don’t come near our border.*
“You truly have no intention of returning to the kingdom?”
“I’ll try not to as much as possible. It would only stir up domestic trouble for nothing.”
“Still, the last time I saw you, it seemed the Lasquer king was looking after his younger brother.”
“That is precisely why I must not go. Since His Majesty is looking after me, I believe it is only right that I do not create anything that would make him worry.”
It was a truly sad situation. One side was trying to protect the younger brother, the other the older sister. With a precedent already set, they had no choice but to restrain each other.
This was power. The force that made even parents and children forget their own names, and which could easily split half-sisters in two. Perhaps it was better not to get entangled before it reached.
It was pitiful. The more I learned about the junior Lepia, the more my heart ached.
People were genuinely kind. They could never become a figure worthy of harming anyone. In the end, because of that bloodline, they fled to the Empire or were exiled and could never return to their homeland.
The one saving grace was, as I had mentioned earlier, that the junior Lepia possessed a strangely magnetic power. It was not seduction, but rather the ability to make people feel comfortable.
Right now, because of that damned war, I did not treat people lightly, yet from the very first moment I saw the junior Lepia there had been no such difficulty.
“So, assuming you truly do not return to Lasquer, have you considered where you will live after graduating from the academy?”
“Ah. That… um… won’t the Empire help?”
She had renounced her royal status as a princess, yet she remained the blood of the Lasquer royal family. The Empire knew that, so they would surely offer at least a little support.
In reality, our Empire would never mistreat the junior Lepia. If anything, they would take care of her.
No matter the reason, a foreign royal settling in the Empire was beneficial both in terms of prestige and externally to the Empire; there was nothing harmful in it.
“I hope so. I hope the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will take good care of her.”
“Um… actually, there is someone who is looking out for me the most.”
Huh? What?
“What did you just say?”
“Ah, no! Nothing! Nothing at all! If you didn’t know, then!”
There was someone looking out for her? Had the Ministry of Foreign Affairs already taken measures? That would be good news. If it came out that a foreign royal was being neglected, it would be rather awkward.
I turned my head to gaze at the beach. Still, why enter the water? Yet no matter how one looked at it, the scenery was lovely. The wind blew gently, and the sun was just the right warmth.
I had expected it to be scorching, but it was not. It seemed there was truth to the saying that the beach was cool in summer and warm in winter.
“Senior Karl.”
“Speak. Junior.”
“Until when… are you going to keep using honorifics?”
Until when would I use them? Ah, this.
“After all, you are from another country?”
“If I say that, Lady Eloise is also from another country. You treat her comfortably.”
“That… um.”
Where should I explain this from? Probably from that day. Now it had been over a year since the train kidnapping and terrorism attempt incident.
“…Oh my.”
After hearing my entire story, Lepia reacted with a startled “What?!” The train being completely stolen by Gganf ruffians, I had stopped it single-handedly. She kept saying how amazing it was and covered her mouth repeatedly.
“W-well, as expected, you really are the daughter of Baba Yaga. That is why you received another Medal of Honor.”
“Honestly, I wonder if I even needed to receive the Medal of Honor for that.”
“Of course you did! Not only did you save the train and its passengers, but you also prevented another war from breaking out again, Senior?! I think you absolutely have to receive it!”
What? Why such a dramatic reaction. Calm down.
“Calm down, calm down. Anyway. That time I met Eloise. Since then it has strangely continued to entangle here and there. A person from another country. No, an elf from another country? Anyway. But to use honorifics… it is a bit… I saw too much.”
Then the junior Lepia nodded as if she understood. Of course, she only nodded, but words completely different came out between her lips.
“But I saw a lot too…”
“Huh?”
“Senior. Not only with Eloise, but actually with me as well, you have spoken to me many times…”
“…”
No, you wanted me to drop the honorifics? I had already been careful treating you as Lady.
I did not understand your feelings! This senior is disappointed in the junior a little!
“If that is the case… from now on, let us speak casually. No, I will speak casually. Lepia junior.”
“Thank you, Senior. Honestly, receiving honorifics from Senior is too awkward.”
“Awkward? It was not a problem at all.”
“There is. Senior is a Medal of Honor recipient twice, holds the sword of the twelfth knight of Lasquer, and is now called a distinguished guest at the church. Receiving honorifics from me is a bit…”
Thinking about it, that was correct. By making me casual, it seemed to be making Lepia uncomfortable.
Thinking about how uncomfortable she must have felt, it was much better to treat her casually for the sake of her adaptation to life in the Empire later.
“Selena and Eloise. How about Labran? Have you become closer? Last time it seemed like the three of you were getting along well.”
“We are getting along. Honestly, to be honest, it is not just that we are getting along, but they are watching over me.”
“Watching over?”
“Senior, you have a lot of popularity with women, right?”
“…Me?”
Strange. Popularity? The people who gave me work somehow, or those who said “Distinguished Guest!” were mostly that, or our doomed four.
“That goes without saying. As the junior said, with the Medal of Honor and all that stuff.”
“I don’t think it is just because of that.”
It did not seem like it was just that. I was about to ask the junior Lepia more details about that part when some people suddenly passed by and made me close my mouth for a moment.
“Ice cream. In Lasquer we did not buy and eat that.”
“It is hot here. Honestly, after playing in the sea and then eating something cool, there is no better vacation.”
A few children ran over from afar and paid for ice cream.
It was not thirty-one flavors like in my previous life, but at least chocolate and strawberry. Vanilla alone would have been successful.
That friend was strawberry, that friend was chocolate. Then the friend next to him should be vanilla to maintain balance—
“Yo! Mint chocolate ice cream! Here it is!”
“Thank you!”
“…”
No way. Why did the four’s mischief keep popping out when I forgot?
You bastards! Is this the future of the Empire you really wanted?! You damned bastards!
I involuntarily flinched and my body shook, and Lepia beside me trembled slightly with a soft “Ugh.”
“Senior Karl, what do you think about mint chocolate?”
“Me? I… um. I respect personal preference, but I do not recommend it to me.”
As I kept saying, mint has its own taste, chocolate has its own. It is like not making chicken rice just because chicken and rice are good. It is the same thing!
“Perhaps the junior is positively inclined toward mint chocolate.”
“I do not like it either. There is a way to enjoy them separately. Why combine them?”
I and Lepia looked at each other. First, both of us confirmed the position of “stop” regarding mint. Then, suddenly, laughter burst out.