Our Honest Feelings
I chased after Iana, matching her pace. Seeing that, she freaked out and sped up even more. Desperate not to fall behind, I ran faster to catch up.
Before we knew it, the two swordsmen hailed as the strongest in the territory were sprinting at full speed.
How long had we been running like that? Finally, after we'd exhausted ourselves completely,
"Haaah! Heuk!"
Iana came to a stop. Our breaths came up to our throats, sweat pouring down. How much of this vast territory had we circled? It had been ages since either of us had hit our physical limits, both of us panting heavily.
As we caught our breath for a moment, Iana suddenly barked,
"Why—why are you chasing me!"
"Hoo... Because you ran away."
"Normal people don't chase someone who's running away, do they?"
"Still thinking of me as a normal guy? Looks like you need more training."
"Tch! Always with the talk."
"How could I just let someone I was getting along fine with suddenly bolt like that? I figured something was up."
"..."
Iana tapped her foot primly, then opened her mouth with a strange expression.
"...So what is it."
"What?"
"There has to be a reason you chased me this far. Something you wanna say... or an excuse or whatever."
"Not really."
"What?"
Iana shot me a look of utter disbelief.
"You chased me to death with nothing to say?"
"We don't need a reason to hang out anymore, do we?"
"...What're you saying. Acting all buddy-buddy out of nowhere."
Iana pouted, turning away and kicking at the ground idly. Her attitude screamed she didn't want to talk to me.
In the lord's office like that... during work hours too... I could hear the words echoing in my head, but I had no idea what she meant.
I thought we'd gotten pretty close, but was that just wishful thinking?
A few female juniors in my past life had acted like that. I'd chalked it up to "that time of the month," but seeing it repeat, maybe it was my problem after all.
I heard I was clueless plenty back then too.
Whatever it was, if Iana kept avoiding me, that was a problem. She needed to keep growing to be the core of my hunter system.
"I get that you're pissed at me. But let's sit and talk first. You're beat too, right?"
"Hng~"
Sure enough, we'd both run a marathon at full tilt and were drenched in sweat. I sat on the bench first, and Iana sidled up next to me.
"...What do you wanna talk about?"
Iana brushed her hair back behind her ear with a swish, glancing at me before crossing her legs. That was a move Tavi pulled often—was it something women picked up naturally with age?
"Luna was worried about you."
"Huh? Luna?"
"She said you've been acting weird lately. Zoning out a lot, staring at the sky with this dreamy look."
"H-huh?"
"What else did she say? Oh, right—rolling around under the covers alone at night..."
"Kyaaaaah!"
Iana smacked my shoulder with her palm. ...If I weren't me, I might not have been able to use that arm tomorrow.
"Y-you pervert...! Creep! Trash! Enemy of women!"
"Hey, why's that perverted?"
"Invading a woman's privacy like that! Unbelievable! You really are a lech!"
"I'm not... that bad?"
I had been living pretty wildly lately, sure. But that was unavoidable force majeure. How many men could resist a beauty like Tavi grinding her breasts and hips against them? Those overflowing tits and that plump ass had the power to short-circuit any man's reason. After enjoying that killer body a few times, my desires as a man in his prime were only ramping up.
Still, I had zero intention of crossing lines or using my power on any woman who wasn't into it.
"I have no interest in digging into your private life, so relax."
"...So you're saying you're not interested in my private life at all?"
"I'm not that rude."
"...Hmmm."
Iana gave me a weird look. She seemed dissatisfied somehow, then let out a deep sigh.
"Hoo! Don't worry. It's nothing serious—no problems or anything. My sword training's going fine."
"Then why's Luna worried enough to mention it?"
"Just... I realized my feelings too late, that's all. I was dumb enough to think this could go on forever, that it'd stay the same. But turns out everything changes, and now it feels like regret hits after it's all gone."
"Oh ho."
"But I don't even know if that's really what I want. My heart's all over the place. And then there's this thing right in front of me nagging at me, so I can't figure out what I even want to do."
"..."
Gazing at the starlight in the night sky, I thought,
...Shit. This is more serious than I thought.
I'd figured it was just a slump or gate trauma. Never expected some life-piercing dilemma.
Was it the changing environment, growing as a swordswoman, making her think more?
...No way she's lost interest in the sword?
The Iana I knew would never. She'd devoted her life to it like the protagonist she was.
But the story had diverged completely from the original novel now. Scratch that—with a few exceptions, the original was basically gone.
A person's values are shaped by their life and experiences. It wasn't impossible for Iana to have these thoughts suddenly.
"Ahem! Ahem! Iana, I think you're amazing."
What I could do right now? Pump her up with confidence, reignite her drive. In other words, shower her with mindless praise.
"Your swordsmanship is top-notch, your character is great, and your looks are probably the best in our territory."
"...You really think that?"
"Of course. Honestly, where else am I gonna find a woman like you? Skilled, great personality, stunning looks. If you weren't an adventurer, nobles would've been throwing money at you to scout you already. I'd have been one of them."
"...What's with the sudden praise?"
"It's not sudden—I've thought it all along. Just never had the chance to say it."
"Hng~ Keep going."
Iana hugged her knees, looking at me. That odd expression meant she was into it.
"When I first saw you, I thought, Is there really someone this purely hardworking?"
"...I'm not that pure."
"Doesn't matter what you think. It's your attitude toward life."
Adults get cynical about effort over time. They learn everything boils down to innate talent and luck. Effort rarely pays off. Skill's hard to prove. They say grit your teeth and train if you wanna survive, but deep down, they know. Effort just nudges the odds a tiny bit. Reality's even harsher.
That's why girls like Iana shine so bright.
No matter her status or situation. The courage and spirit to draw her sword if she believed it right. To a rotten adult like me, it was dazzling.
Yeah, yeah, it's a romance fantasy novel, so maybe. But who cares? I was the lord in that romance fantasy now.
"I genuinely thought you were cool. Among all the women I've seen, you're definitely the coolest. I respect that about you."
"...What. Saying it so straight-faced like it's no big deal makes it feel real."
"Because it is."
It wasn't made-up or a lie. I'd thought that since she was the romance fantasy heroine.
I didn't choose her just because she was the protagonist. Her talent, her work ethic. Above all, I believed in that upright heart of hers.
...Though I might've overbelieved, planning to leave everything to her and bounce once it was done.
But now I knew things were too dire for that. Still, she remained one of my staunchest allies.
"I really trust you, Iana. I'd be in trouble without you."
"...Then why in the office are you so..."
"Hm? What?"
"N-nothing! Forget it."
I swear she mentioned the office or something. Was she sulking because I wasn't watching her train and just did work?
...Yeah, from her side, she might feel pushed aside as the territory grows.
Our meetings had been sparse lately with how busy things got. I'd believed she could get stronger on her own.
But maybe she'd felt increasingly sidelined.
"How about sword training together starting tomorrow? I could use a sparring partner myself."
"...Saying that now makes it sound like I'm dying to spar with you."
"Oh, you don't want to?"
"......I do."
Her blushing agreement made me chuckle. The laugh embarrassed her more, cheeks turning redder.
In the novel, she was stronger, more knightly. This side was undeniably cute.
"Oh, so what was the worry about?"
"...Dunno. Not telling."
Iana whipped her head away. Her ears were bright red. Was this another woman thing?
I was debating whether to drop it or press when—
Shwaaaaa!
Suddenly, hidden weapons rained down on us from above.
"What the hell?"
"No idea."
As swordsmen, we carried our blades 24/7. The two swords drawn at once scattered the projectiles with wind pressure alone.
In that gap, a swarm of masked assassins surrounded us.
"Iana, you live a life full of sins or what?"
"What're you saying! Anyone can see they're after you, the lord!"
Hm, I even knew who they were.
The Crow Banquet guys, huh.
Main villains from original chapter 2. They'd failed last time, but targeting me and Iana together? They must've been desperate.