Chapter 493: Silent Night, Holy Night (5)
Chapter 493: Silent Night, Holy Night (5)
Her dainty lips parted and closed repeatedly.
She swallowed hard, wetting her parched tongue with saliva.
Senior Elsie’s hesitation stretched on for a long while. Instead of pressing for an answer, I took the time to look around the workshop.
It was a place where the traces of blood, sweat, and tears were visible everywhere.
Books filled with countless notes, drawing papers covered in geometric shapes, and theses written in indecipherable characters caught my eye one by one. Each time I saw them, I couldn't help but suppress a bitter smile.
It meant she hadn't neglected her studies, research, or training.
Senior Elsie hadn't simply fallen into despair. Rather, she was struggling to crawl out from the very bottom of it—so that she could stand up once more.
I felt deeply sorry for her, yet equally grateful.
It was then that Senior Elsie squeezed out a small voice.
"……I couldn't do anything."
My gaze slowly shifted following her sudden confession. At the end of my sight stood a girl with her pointed hat pulled down low.
She was clutching the brim of her hat so tightly that it covered half her face. It was hard to read her expression, but I could guess her feelings from the way she gritted her teeth.
Was she frustrated?
As if to prove it, the girl’s lips trembled faintly.
"It’s true, isn't it? In the last battle, I wasn't of any help… If anything, I was just dead weight."
"Senior Elsie……."
A sigh-laden call escaped my lips involuntarily.
I wanted to make excuses for her, to tell her she was mistaken.
A secret room was not an advantageous environment for a mage. Unless one employed a unique combat style like Sir Reynold, the firepower a mage could project in a confined space was limited.
Furthermore, if it was easy to be surrounded and there was no room to maintain distance…
No matter how you looked at it, there was little room for Senior Elsie to shine in that last battle. In other words, there was no need for her to push herself this hard with self-reproach.
However, Senior Elsie’s mind seemed made up.
"I was too complacent."
It was an assertion that left no room for even the smallest gap.
Sometimes, a firmly set resolve refuses even a shred of persuasion. I tried to offer a rebuttal but eventually kept my mouth shut.
Senior Elsie’s hands, gripping the brim of her hat, were shaking uncontrollably.
"Do you know how much I shuddered… watching you get stabbed by a traitor’s blade, watching you bound and suffering? If my uncle hadn't come, I would have lost you."
"Senior……."
"And in the end, I lost my uncle."
By now, her voice was thick with moisture.
At this point, I gave up on further persuasion. I simply took a step forward, closing the distance between me and Senior Elsie.
"Again, never again…. Sob, I don't want to lose anyone……."
Soon, the sobbing girl collapsed into my arms.
I tightened my hold on Senior Elsie and silently patted her back. As I knelt due to our height difference, it looked as though I was slightly supporting her body.
A strange sense of fulfillment filled my chest. It was a sensation that only Senior Elsie could provide.
"At least you, hic… I won't let anything happen to you, ever……."
"I’m not going anywhere."
As I soothed Senior Elsie, who was clinging to me like a child, I spoke with strong conviction.
"I made a promise to your uncle. With a fiancée who cries this much, where could I possibly go?"
Hearing my comfort, Senior Elsie burst into even more sorrowful tears.
She must have wanted to cry many times until now.
Shutting herself away in the workshop, she must have wiped away tears alone countless times.
So, I decided to silently accept the torrent of emotions she was releasing. Hoping that Senior Elsie would no longer be lonely, and further, that I could be even a small source of strength for her.
Senior Elsie didn't stop crying for a long time after that.
I wondered how long I had been holding the girl like that.
"……I’m going to get strong."
A declaration followed, heavy and damp with emotion. My hand silently stroked Senior Elsie’s back.
"So that I never, ever let you be taken away again… So, just for a little while, I’m going to step back."
It was a polite refusal.
I never expected to be turned down by Senior Elsie, so I had to swallow a small, hollow laugh. But I had already heard her resolve.
I had no choice but to readily support her.
Having made my decision, my hand fumbled inside my coat. Before long, I found the item I needed to return to her.
The Jet-Black Rod.
It was Reynold Lainella’s legacy. It had helped me at the Mountain Court, but now it was time for it to return to its rightful owner.
I handed over the rod and expressed my gratitude.
"Thank you, Senior Elsie."
"……?"
Senior Elsie looked at me with a questioning gaze. Seeing those blue eyes for the first time in a while, I let out a soft chuckle.
"You believed in me. I gained a lot of courage thanks to that rod. And it helped when I looked 'Beyond the Boundary' as well."
Even looking back, it was a wondrous experience.
Beyond the Boundary.
The flip side of the world resided there. A wave of meaning that swept everything away; within it, the self was reduced to something less than a speck of dust.
The Jet-Black Rod had helped then.
I didn't know the principle behind it. I only remembered that the Jet-Black Rod had been crying endlessly. Instinctively, I knew that I had received help from this rod.
Therefore, the Jet-Black Rod had to return to Senior Elsie all the more.
To become an 'Archmage,' she would have to face that 'Truth.'
"Let’s keep in touch often from now on. Don't suffer all by yourself… We are fiancés, after all."
With those final words, I slowly stood up.
Senior Elsie looked disappointed for a moment, but she soon regained her composure and gave me a bright smile.
Her tear-streaked face was quite charming.
"……Okay!"
And so, my brief reunion with Senior Elsie came to an end.
I wasn't sad. I had no doubt that Senior Elsie would show results before long.
The girl would pick herself up and stand on her own again.
Just as she always had.
"Um, Lord Ian? So, which person are you thinking of partnering with……?"
A clear voice rang out amidst the bright sunlight.
In the upper floors of the Newspaper Club, a strange owner sat in the chair reserved only for the department head.
It was me.
Originally, this office belonged to Senior Neris, but she wasn't the type to leave me alone when I visited after so long.
Using the excuse that she couldn't sit in a higher position than me, she had insisted on seating me here.
Of course, it was comfortable once I sat down. As expected of the Imperial Intelligence Agency, which was practically drowning in money, they seemed to use high-end furniture.
In the end, I found myself feeling drowsy, leaning back into the plush chair. It was almost funny to think of how I used to stubbornly refuse the seat of honor in the past.
My lukewarm gaze drifted toward Senior Neris.
She was a beauty with brown hair and striking deep green eyes. The stylish hairpin in her bangs was particularly eye-catching.
In the past, she had a much colder and pricklier atmosphere.
Now, she was just a cute senior who kept glancing at me to gauge my mood. Though, thanks to us becoming closer, she didn't seem as terrified of me as before.
At this point, I let out a "Hmm," and slightly averted my gaze.
It was a signal that I didn't have a proper answer.
"Well, I’m not really sure yet."
"Th-that is, if I may be so bold……."
Senior Neris spoke up cautiously at my indifferent attitude.
I heard the sound of her swallowing hard. The cold sweat beginning to form on her forehead vividly revealed her state of mind.
Even if we had become closer, a superior was still a superior. It was only natural that she couldn't treat me with complete ease.
"Just like in battle, a partner to match your movements with is important in dance. Especially since there is a strong perception that the man must lead the woman at the ball……."
"Then what about you, Senior Neris?"
At my playful counter-question, Senior Neris’s eyes widened.
She looked like she didn't understand what I meant. So, I had to add a further explanation.
"You haven't decided on a partner for the Holy Night Festival yet, have you? Then how about me?"
"Ah, th-th-th……!"
Only then did Senior Neris understand my meaning, and her face flushed bright red.
She stammered, unable to meet my eyes, and even flailed her arms.
It was the most flustered I had ever seen her.
Was I being too mischievous?
Eventually, I couldn't help but let out a light laugh and shake my head.
"It’s a joke, a joke! But isn't this a bit much? You don't have to hate the idea that much……."
"I-I don't hate it!"
Her voice rose reflexively.
Now it was my turn to look puzzled. As my golden eyes moved blankly, Senior Neris poured out a stammering voice in a panic.
"I absolutely, absolutely don't hate it! Rather, it’s a little……!"
It was then.
From far away, a sound echoed like a lingering resonance.
Both Senior Neris and I froze at the same time. It was because that sound, which briefly brushed our ears, was far too familiar.
A scream?
"……Did you hear that?"
At my quiet question, Senior Neris’s face turned pale.
An answer wasn't necessary.
The frequency of the screams was becoming shorter. Furthermore, the source of the noise was rapidly approaching the office.
It was a clear enemy assault. And this meant a 'failure of security.'
Senior Neris’s expression crumbled miserably. To show such incompetence right in front of her direct superior—it wouldn't be strange if she wanted to die of shame.
However, my interest lay elsewhere.
Who on earth is it?
Judging by the sounds, there was only one opponent.
To break through the Newspaper Club alone required considerable skill. I knew this well, having experienced it myself.
At least an Expert.
And a fairly skilled one at that. I stared at the door with intrigued eyes.
Just then, the Newspaper Club member standing guard outside tried to stop the intruder.
"I’m sorry, but this area is off-limits… Gaaah!"
One exchange.
No, a clash hadn't even occurred. It meant they had been taken down in an instant.
Finally unable to bear it, Senior Neris let out a roar.
"How dare you! Do you have any idea where this is……!"
Boom!
As if in answer to her question, the office door exploded inward. Bloodstains were visible among the shattered wooden splinters.
It was then.
Senior Neris, who looked ready to pounce, suddenly hesitated. Regardless, the opponent simply took light, silent steps forward.
Blue eyes blazed like a wildfire through the cloud of dust.
When her gray hair was finally revealed, I was left with a dumbfounded expression.
Seria Yurdina.
The junior who should have been in the North had suddenly appeared here.
And with a few drops of blood on her cheek, no less.
She had a strangely bewitching aura. Her cold and sharp momentum was much more impressive than when I had last seen her.
My eyes met the girl’s frosty gaze in mid-air.
For a brief moment.
Flash! The girl’s form blurred. Senior Neris tried to react, but the girl was faster, diving straight into my arms.
I was already buried deep in the backrest of the chair.
There was no way I could do anything about a girl flying at me over the desk. I had to watch as my junior, who had knocked me over along with the chair, buried her face in my chest and rubbed her cheek against me.
"Senior! I, I missed you… Sob, sob… That, that bitch bullied me so much……!"
And so, Seria burst into sorrowful tears, burying her nose in my clothes and beginning to take deep breaths.
My gaze met Senior Neris’s in the empty air.
Her deep green eyes were demanding an explanation. But the only answer I could give was one.
'I don't know either.'
I could only mouth those words in response.
It was a truly sudden reunion.