Chapter 78
Chapter 78
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 78
Chapter Title: A Braided Promise and Farewell
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"...You know that's too much if it's just a joke, right?"
Ariasfil forced a smile, not wanting to take the elopement proposal too seriously, and asked back.
"Even as sincere, it's too much—and it is sincere."
Leonardo drove a stake of sincerity into the proposal that had been brushed off as a joke.
And it was always Leo's sincerity that pierced her heart.
"...They'll chase us to the ends of the earth."
If he helped her escape, not only House Reinhardt but the temple itself would pursue them relentlessly. And if they were caught...
"If caught, the family would execute me for eloping with the lady, and the temple for seducing the hero."
If unlucky, they'd keep him barely alive for endless torture. A fitting crime, though.
"That's the level of threat that makes you run for real. Don't you think?"
But threats to life and pursuits until death were familiar to him. Just the knights he'd felled and bounty hunters he'd slain could form an army.
"...If Dad or Grandpa heard, you'd have to surrender your knighthood on the spot."
Ariasfil now chided him in a fully sarcastic tone.
"I tried once already—twice isn't that hard."
But Leonardo was far more adept at biting sarcasm.
"...Why?"
Ariasfil had no choice but to ask the reason for that hesitation-free, straightforward answer. She didn't even know what to do now, yet this boy responded so calmly.
So she asked.
"Why go that far?"
Where did that resolve come from?
"Because I want to."
A utterly simplistic answer, causally obvious.
"...No, not that."
"Then why did you hold onto me, Miss?"
"...That's..."
A counterattack of a question—she faltered, unable to answer properly. Answering might force her to confess her feelings completely.
Leonardo smirked at her choked response.
"...I just wanted to."
The expression of a purely simple causal factor.
The interpretation of a desire so basic it translated straight to action.
"It's nothing special, really. But sometimes, that holds more power than any meaning or reason."
Advice from Leonardo, who had felt that power—for better or worse.
"If you don't want to be the hero, I think it's best not to. Forcing it won't solve anything."
He had experienced the end of such duty and obligation as an eternal process.
"But what if... the world gets dangerous?"
"We'll think about it then."
An irresponsible answer.
The reason such a response was possible was because he had glimpsed the future, even if just a little.
The regressor monologued quietly.
The regressor truly harbored such thoughts.
At those words—and everything he'd said so far—Ariasfil felt emotions beyond description.
A feeling impossible to capture in a single word.
She felt genuine gratitude for his words, annoyance at how casually he lifted her burdens, and even respect for his unhesitating choices.
"...Then why run away with me...?"
"Because I wanted to."
And in that short reply, Ariasfil learned what to call this emotion.
"I want to stay by your side, Miss. Then the worries and loneliness might ease a bit."
She loved this Leonardo.
She had fallen in love with him because she wanted to love Leo.
"...Above all, if I stay with the family, I'll get beheaded for aiding and abetting. I've gotta survive too."
Pfft.
"...What was that."
Separate from the chiding, the clouds cleared from her face. A laugh burst at the silly joke, and deep within, she felt the chains of her agony loosen.
"...Then what if..."
As her agony faded, she had room to imagine other futures. Ariasfil left open another possibility.
"If I said I'd be the hero?"
"Then I'd become the knight serving the world's greatest hero."
Laughter erupted from her again. She'd expected that answer, but hearing it directly brought a comforting feeling.
But amid it, the lingering anxiety wormed into her heart and began to shake it.
"...Can I do it? Me...?"
"It's good to wonder if you can, but for you, Miss, 'Do I want to?' is the more meaningful question."
Advice only her closest confidant could offer.
"...Is that right? Common sense says the opposite."
"It's amusing hearing that from the Miss who shattered every bit of common sense I knew."
The seat of the second strongest was the best view of the absolute strongest.
"You're the most special person I've ever seen, Miss."
"..."
Special—it denoted being different from the ordinary. In context and their relationship, it was surely used in a positive sense, not negative.
Love, too, was cherishing someone as special. Wasn't this connected to the same emotion...!
"...R-Really?"
Her face flushing crimson, she bowed her head to hide it and asked coldly on purpose.
"Of course—the most special in the good way."
This was definite. She could take it as Leo sending a signal. Clearly, he harbored feelings for her too.
'...But I can't let my guard down.'
In such flows, Leonardo always stepped back or steered the conversation toward friendship or loyalty.
So.
"Promise me then."
Subtly, but she had to drive the nail in.
"Don't let anyone more special than me exist."
"Yes, understood."
He answered the instant she commanded it.
"...Really?"
The immediate reply made Ariasfil panic instead. Was it such a casual question that he'd answer so fast?
"Not a hard thing at all? It's been that way so far."
Thinking back, Leonardo hadn't fallen for the Temperius family's overtures or Eirin's temptations.
And even in life-threatening situations, he'd prioritized her safety over his own.
So her words were essentially already fulfilled over the past two years.
"...H...Uh..."
A mix of happy laughter and shy moans created a subtle harmony.
"You okay? Straw itching?"
This time, his obliviousness felt like a blessing. If he saw this expression, she'd kick blankets in regret for life during her temple stay.
"Then let's go."
"Where to?"
"To apologize. And to properly become the hero."
Ariasfil brushed off her clothes and extended a hand to Leonardo. Was it the sun at its final peak before twilight turned to night? Her hair seemed dyed golden.
"...Then let's tidy up properly first. Care to sit for a moment?"
"...Huh? Oh, sure."
Ariasfil knelt in seiza on the spot Leo had cleaned neatly. To support her resolve, Leonardo expressed his feelings in his own way.
"...Huh? Why the hair all of a sudden...!"
"Better tidy and neat than disheveled, right?"
Saying so, Leo brushed back her hair. Using a black stone comb in place of one, he evened the strands, then untied the leather cord from his wrist.
"Here..."
He gathered her hair in one hand, then tied it neatly with the leather cord.
"...This is..."
"I used to do it a lot for villagers and Mom back then. I can handle simple hairstyles."
Ariasfil couldn't contain her pounding heart at her new ponytail.
If not for the situation, she'd dash to a mirror to check, then boast to all her family and servants.
"Where'd the cord come from?"
"It's the leather cord I often tied for Mom. I wear it as a bracelet now."
The cord he'd kept as a talisman—even pre-regression, it had barely survived when his wrist nearly got severed, only the cord cut.
"...Is it okay to give something so... important to me?"
"Huh? It's important, so I'm giving it. Actually embarrassing I can't afford a fancy hairpin instead. If you dislike it, no need to..."
"No way! It's super pretty! I'll keep it like this forever!!"
For Ariasfil, who couldn't even manage her own hair alone, it was an ambitious dream. But Leo felt truly honored and grateful at her enthusiasm.
"...But then, maybe..."
"Yes?"
"...A braid? Like, plait the hair..."
At her tentative request, Leo pondered briefly before answering.
"But we're short on time, so a full rice-stalk braid is tough. At best, just the end..."
"That's fine. Can you do it?"
"Of course, Miss."
Perhaps enjoying hair-styling after so long, Leo—contrary to worries—nimbly and swiftly braided the end into a neat knot.
"How's it?"
Ariasfil's left side now sported a clean knot like a white tail. Her naturally glossy hair gleamed with a halo-like shine after grooming.
"Good. Very..."
Ariasfil said, slightly drawing her holy sword.
Sching.
What was severed: the braided lock.
Seeing his hard work cut suddenly, Leonardo was shocked and flustered.
"...Why the hair..."
"Hold onto it for me."
Ariasfil offered the knotted braid.
"Might not see each other for years, but... a meaning of hoping we meet again."
Touching the lock, Leonardo wore a complex expression—joyful, yet touched.
"...Not sure I deserve something like this from you..."
"Giving it because you're important. I wanted to give something even better."
With that, she stretched and walked toward the stable exit bathed in sunlight. In the light, her hair blazed so brightly it looked blonde.
The Sage, hurling such sentiment into the gutter. While she trained at the temple, Leonardo's top priority became devising a way at the mage tower to eliminate or sideline the Sage.
"...Then I'll be off."
Before Ariasfil departed the house, every servant, knight, and family member affiliated with House Reinhardt had gathered to see her off.
"I'll definitely come back!"
They offered blessings and cheers, vowing to wait until they met again.
Not everyone(?) was like that, but the farewell still promised reunion.
And so time flowed onward.
Four years passed.