Public Proposal
Public Proposal
Late evening.
In the royal capital, a festival celebrating our party's return and the newfound peace had just begun.
The sounds of the people celebrating, freely drinking and eating meat, were so full of singing that they reached even the palace terrace far away here.
Staring blankly at the Milky Way spread across the sky, I too smiled.
'It's nice.'
I cover my left eye.
It feels strange that the eye I couldn't see out of for several years can see again.
Since it's an eye Ria regenerated using her own lifespan as the price, I intend to fill this left eye with beautiful things.
Turning my body, I look inside the palace.
The nobles are each smiling brightly, exchanging greetings, dancing, and raising wine glasses.
I know there must be countless hidden power struggles in there.
Still, I don't particularly mind because whenever the nobles deal with me, they all equally respect me without exception.
They are all just fighting to maintain their positions.
If there are any evil nobles, it's enough to just wield the hammer of justice.
'I haven't seen that many truly evil nobles so far.'
The nobles are fundamentally filled with a sense of duty.
When the Demon King's army invaded, it was the nobles who mobilized the knight orders first.
It was also the noble lords who led from the very front and swung swords alongside me.
Of course, there were nobles whose specialty wasn't combat.
But those nobles spared no expense, using capital and the taxes the people had paid until now, doing their utmost to protect the farmers.
So the nobles before my eyes were also people sufficiently qualified to maintain their positions.
Just as I was smiling faintly with that thought...
"Leon."
"...Ruan."
A familiar face approached me.
The Crown Prince of the Harencia Kingdom, with sky-blue hair resembling the King's and golden eyes, the symbol of the royal family.
Simultaneously, he was also my close friend.
"Congratulations."
"Are you telling me to speak casually because this is an informal setting?"
"Why are you so persistently using formal speech? It doesn't suit you."
Ruan approached me, giggling.
I too let out a soft chuckle and approached Ruan, clinking my glass with his.
"Thank you."
"For what? We are the ones who should be more grateful. I can't believe my friend is the Hero."
Ruan said that while leaning against the terrace.
Since it was a goal that could never have been achieved without the royal family's help, I wanted to tell Ruan he was also a hero, but...
"The royal family was just a supporting role."
"......."
"I know what you want to say, but you don't have to."
Ruan just gave a soft smile.
Then Ruan poured wine directly into his mouth, without any formality.
It was always like this.
Seeing the Crown Prince, who loses all formality only in front of his friend, I too poured wine into my mouth.
"...How did the confession go?"
"That's the first thing you ask...?"
"So what? Tell me."
Ruan giggled and asked me to tell him quickly.
Feeling a bit awkward, I spoke blankly.
"Well... I confessed after defeating the Demon King, told her I like her."
"Oooh... I'm jealous."
Ruan, how should I put it, likes romance-filled love.
It seems his goal is to date and go all the way to marriage.
"Really jealous."
"......."
Given Ruan's position, that was impossible.
In the end, he would have to marry a princess from another country with aligned interests or marry a noble.
"You'll be happy if a pretty bride comes, right?"
"...But there's no romance."
"Romance is something you do if your feelings match."
"......."
Ruan glared at me.
Ahem. I cleared my throat and told him to look around the ball.
"There might be someone suitable."
"...Well, it's not that urgent yet anyway."
"You can't romance when it's urgent."
"Is that so."
Just as Ruan was humming and stroking his chin...
"Hero-nim...!"
From behind the curtain, a remarkably refreshing voice called out.
It felt like someone was happily running over to find me.
At this, Ruan straightened up from leaning against the terrace.
"I'll go."
"Okay."
"Have a good time."
Wink.
He winked, said "Adios," and disappeared.
Ria, who encountered such a Ruan, froze with a slightly flustered expression.
It seemed she thought Ruan heard her affectionate voice.
'He definitely heard.'
Her voice was so loud that I smiled awkwardly.
"A-hem, ahem."
"Ria's here?"
"Y-yes."
Nodding, her face flushed, Ria quickly approached me.
With a soft smile, I tightly grasped Ria's hand.
"The stars are really beautiful."
"...Yeah."
Ria captures the Milky Way in her blue eyes.
After staring at such Ria for a long time, Ria, who met my gaze, swept her hair behind her ear and smiled brightly.
"Thank you, Hero-nim."
"Why...?"
"Because you're looking at this scenery with me."
"......."
"Thank you for liking me."
Saying that, Ria tightly hugged me.
With a soft chuckle, I too tightly hugged Ria with my left arm.
The reason I hugged her with only my left arm wasn't because I disliked hugging Ria.
'Is now the time...?'
It was to hide the ring I was going to give Ria.
Just as I was fumbling with the ring box, testing the waters...
"Isn't the sky really pretty?"
"It is."
Ria, who had already stepped back from me, pointed at the stars in the sky with a bright smile.
At this, I, who had been still...
'Now is the time.'
Nodded and knelt on one knee.
The other side of the curtain, where the ball was in full swing, was invisible to Ria and Leon.
Well, that's because Ruan, who had heard in advance that Leon bought a ring, had firmly drawn the curtain.
So that no one would disturb the two's time.
A world for only the two of them.
The music from the ball was a bit far away, so it sounded slightly muffled.
Meanwhile, Leon felt like he might lose his mind due to his heart pounding madly.
Leon's heart felt like it was shouting the loudest in the world.
It was incredibly nerve-wracking because this was an official proposal.
And the one trembling madly wasn't Leon alone.
'Huh? A ring? Wait?'
Ria's mind was also swirling quite chaotically.
A single ring with a beautiful gem embedded in it.
Holding it out, Leon spoke with a tense face.
"Already... I said it once, but I want to say it again, Ria."
"Her, Hero-nim."
It was a confession she had already received once.
Why was she getting so flustered like this?
Ria let out a soft chuckle.
Simultaneously, at that moment when tears slowly began to well up...
"Ria... Continuously, continuously, I've held you in my heart."
Leon began the proposal with his head deeply bowed.
Always, he had held Ria in his heart.
From the moment they first met until the adventure ended.
From the clumsy rookie Hero days until the point he became a seasoned fighter.
Ria was always at the center of Leon's life.
"I've wanted to keep saying this."
He wanted to keep telling her.
"I love you...!!"
That he loves her.
Saying it a bit loudly, Leon raised his head at that moment.
What filled Leon's eyes was the vast Milky Way and...
"Ah......."
Tear drops, sparkling no less than that Milky Way, falling plop plop to the ground.
Tears shining as beautifully as dewdrops falling from a blue sapphire.
One could tell they weren't tears shed from sadness.
At this, Leon smiled softly, held the ring forward, and spoke.
"I love you, Ria."
"I, I too... I too."
Saying that, Ria covered her mouth with both hands, unable to continue speaking.
Thinking she truly was an emotional Saintess, Leon continued his unfinished words.
"I'll make you happy for a lifetime."
"Uuuhk... I too, will make... you happy."
Perhaps having sorted her emotions a bit, Ria sniffled and held out one hand.
Knowing it meant she wanted the ring put on, Leon slowly slid the ring onto her ring finger.
"...Now, I've really become Hero-nim's."
"...!!!"
Ria smiled, giggling.
At this, Leon's face flushed bright red.
Be that as it may.
While continuously wiping her damp face, Ria looked at the ring on her finger.
"It's preettty......."
Ria thought she would have said those words no matter what ring it was.
Because it was something her own Hero-nim chose for her with sincerity and devotion.
"I'll treasure it carefully for a lifetime."
"...Yeah, please do."
"Now Hero-nim is mine too, so don't even think about running away anywhere."
Ria said that with a beaming smile.
Leon silently pulled such a Ria into a tight hug.
For a long time, the two stayed overlapped like that, gazing at the Milky Way.
Leon's passionate proposal.
It was really wonderful.
It was really wonderful, but there was a fact the two had overlooked.
"Oh, oh my, oh my."
"Goodness gracious......."
"Hohoho......."
"The two of them look wonderful."
"Sniffle... Hero-nim......."
That this place was a ballroom in the middle of a ball.
And that the boundary dividing that ballroom and the terrace was nothing but one thin, thin curtain.
Thanks to that, Leon's voice leaked out.
And the nobles, without even realizing it, held their breath and ended up hearing the entire conversation between the two.
The hall instantly became noisy with buzzing whispers.
Until now, the hot love line between the Hero and the Saintess had only been the subject of rampant rumors, but...
"No...!!!"
"My, my own Hero-nim!"
"Gasp."
"...Saintess-nim is... impossible to beat."
"Kyaaah."
"...I want to go home."
"Getting all dressed up for nothing......."
It was the moment countless noble young ladies' dreams came crashing down.