Chapter 86 - Man to Man

[Translator - Peptobismol]

[Proofreader - Demon God]

Chapter 86 - Man to Man

“We'll take a short break here.”

Screeech, the carriage came to a halt.

Charlotte stretched, easing her stiff body.

Though it was a luxurious carriage, with plenty of space inside, and she could sit comfortably, almost lying down, staying seated for so long was still quite tiring.

“Julia! Come with me to get some fresh air!”

“Mm, no… I want to sleep more…”

“Don’t you feel restless? It must have been really stuffy.”

“Don’t think everyone finds the indoors as suffocating as you do…”

Julia lifted her eye mask slightly and answered in a sleepy voice.

Honestly, Charlotte seemed to think everyone in the world was as active as she was.

Julia loved spending the entire day holed up inside, reading books, studying, and just lazing around.

But Charlotte would go crazy, saying it was suffocating if she stayed indoors even for a moment.

“Knight sister! Let’s light a campfire together!”

“Campfire? We’re just stopping for a short while, so there's no need. Besides, if we light a fire, we might attract bandits, which would be troublesome.”

“Huh? Then what about food?”

“We'll have to eat the rations. Want jerky or bread?”

“Oh.”

No campfire?

No roasting wild boar on skewers?

No sitting around a campfire, playing musical instruments?

Then what about all those adventure stories from folk tales…?

It was the moment when Charlotte’s world came crashing down.

“Julia, are you really just going to sleep? Come on, let’s go for a walk and get some fresh air.”

“Ugh, seriously. It's dark as it is, why would I go for a walk?”

“Hmph. By the way, where did Mister go?”

Charlotte looked around, but Aslan was nowhere to be seen.

Where could he have gone?

Since the knight sister was unbothered, he probably hadn't gone far.

“Now that I think of it, Yuria’s gone too.”

“Huh? You're right!”

“Are they fighting or something? He was really angry earlier, insisting that he take off his mask. Ugh, maybe they don’t get along…”

“Hm? I don't think so.”

Charlotte tilted her head, and Julia’s face twisted into disbelief.

No way. It was clear as day how hostile they were, so how could she not pick up on that?

“Didn’t you feel the killing intent? Aslan gives off a lot of it when he’s mad.”

“But it didn’t feel like he was that angry, more like he was frustrated.”

Huh? Really?

Now that she thought about it, it did seem like that.

Julia grew uncertain.

“Remember when we stole bread from the market that time? Mister got so angry.”

“He was really scary then…”

“Even then, it felt like he was angry for us. It felt the same this time!”

“Ah!”

Come to think of it, Aslan had never gotten angry for his own sake.

It was always on someone else’s behalf that he’d get angry, that he’d be enraged.

At first, she hadn’t thought much about it, but after hearing Charlotte’s words, it all made sense.

It wasn’t that he was bothered and wanted to take off the mask…

It seemed more like he was trying to take it off for Yuria’s sake.

Once she thought of it that way, the vibe between them seemed quite subtle.

“What’s really going on between those two…?”

“Maybe it's just a cherished employee or something like that?”

“It could be something more, Julia! You need to be on your guard!”

“What do you mean?”

“They might be flirting, Julia!”

“Huh? Flirting? But Yuria’s a boy.”

“Whaaat!? How does she look anything like a boy?”

The two were clearly in disagreement, and their voices gradually grew louder.

It’s obvious to anyone she’s a girl!

No way, definitely a boy!

Charlotte and Julia were seriously starting to doubt each other’s eyesight.

“Why do you think she’s a boy? She’s just a skinny girl.”

“Look at his body, he’s totally a guy. No curves at all.”

“I don’t have any curves either.”

“Oh, right.”

“Hmph! See? I’m right, right…?”

Julia lost her words at such a successful retort.

Charlotte, ready to boast in triumph, suddenly felt a little down.

Why did it feel like she’d won, but also lost?

“Anyway, it’s dangerous!”

“Dangerous how?”

“The Countess' position may get taken away from us…!”

“...!”

Julia’s eyes widened.

She hadn’t given it much thought since the mask had been on all this time.

She hadn’t even imagined that kind of scenario.

“The maids said so. They said Mister has this shady hobby of adopting innocent commoner kids and showering them with favors so that they can’t refuse a proposal once they grow up! He could be doing the same thing with Yuria as he’s doing with us!”

“Huh? Hah!? If that’s true, that's kind of troubling… Ugh? Why am I even bothered by this? Who cares if Aslan seduces some other girl! Jeez!”

Julia, cheeks flushed red, fanned herself aggressively, puffing out her breath.

How ridiculous.

Why should she even care whether Aslan was seducing someone else or not?

An inexplicable sense of annoyance was bubbling up.

Seeing Julia like that, Charlotte shook her head.

“Well, whether Aslan is interested in Yuria or not, it doesn’t matter to me. But we should still go find them. Yuria might hate it if Aslan starts acting all affectionate…”

“You’re just jealous, trying to make excuses.”

“Charlotte…!”

What on earth are they doing?

I can’t stand this frustration anymore.

With that shared sentiment, Charlotte and Julia decided to go look for the two of them.

.

.

.

“...No one’s here, right?”

Step, step.

Yuri walked into the quiet woods, looking around.

Now that he was here, it seemed there really was no one else around.

Feeling reassured, Yuri snapped his fingers. Searᴄh the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

At that, mana residue floated in the air and began to glow.

It was one of the simple spells that Instructor Sylvia had taught him.

Originally, he was supposed to chant “Spark!” aloud, but…

The idea of actually saying it out loud was so embarrassing that he taught himself how to cast the spell without the chant.

“A letter from the Dark Mister. I thought I’d be gone before receiving a reply, but he sure wrote back quickly. Hehe.”

Chuckling, Yuri sat down on a fallen tree and opened the letter.

Smiling ear to ear.

Already, his gloomy mood seemed to be lifting.

– To my dear Yuri,

– It’s been a while since I’ve written. I was worried when I didn’t get a letter for a week, given that you used to send one every three days.

I was busy with exams.

Geez, Mister.

At first, he seemed to think the letters were a bother, but now he seemed to like them even more than I did.

–I heard about the exam results, and once again, you didn't lose your position at the top. I'm increasingly glad that I decided to support you. Well done.

“Ehehe.”

Right? I did well, didn’t I?

I hadn’t really intended to study seriously when I first started attending the academy.

But I found it fun over time, and I started to really put in the effort.

And getting praised like this made me want to work even harder.

–Congratulations on being selected for the mission... but having to hide your identity behind a mask in front of your precious friends must be hard. I understand your worries. The rumors going around and the image of Vermont must make it hard not to be afraid. But let me tell you one thing: the Count of Vermont may not be as wicked as you think. Why not try revealing your relationship with the kids to him? If things don’t go well, I’ll take responsibility for the consequences. So take courage.

“Wh-what!?”

Yuri gasped in surprise, almost toppling backward behind the tree.

He had expected the gentle and noble mister to calm him down gently.

But not only was he encouraging him to reveal it, he was also willing to take responsibility if it didn’t go well…?

‘Then the Dark Mister must be at least a Count, or maybe a Duke…? No, could it be... a Grand Duke!?’

Yuri’s imagination started to run wild.

To be able to stand toe-to-toe with a Count meant he was at least on the same level or higher.

He knew Mister was amazing ever since he’d freely arranged his admission into the Imperial Magic Academy, but...

This was beyond what Yuri had imagined.

How many people were higher than a Count in the Empire?

The list of candidates suddenly shrunk to less than twenty people.

Oh. Including the Royal Family, there would be far more.

Failed to narrow it down.

‘If even the Dark Mister says so, maybe it’s okay…’

Twisting his hair around his finger, Yuri hesitated.

Maybe I…

Maybe I wanted someone to push me like this.

I was just scared.

Terrified.

Scared of losing everything I had now, I had hastily labeled Aslan Vermont an irredeemable villain out of prejudice.

Thanks to this, I had gained some courage.

Maybe I could try telling him.

…The moment I thought that—

“There you are.”

“C-Count!?”

Rustle.

At the chilling voice accompanied by the sound of grass rustling, Yuri hurriedly stuffed the letter into his pocket.

Ugh. I wanted to keep it in pristine condition…

Because of Aslan Vermont, the Dark Mister’s letter got all crumpled.

His fading resentment slightly refueled.

“Don't wander off too far. Charlotte and Julia are part of your protection assignment too. If something happens to the carriage, you’ll have a hard time handling it.”

“Ah, yes. I’ll head back to the carriage.”

“Before that, let’s have a talk. Man to man.”

“Yes, Count. As you say... Wait, what?”

Aslan put an arm around Yuri’s shoulders and sat down beside him.

Yuri’s eyes grew fierce.

This man. What did he just say?

[Translator - Peptobismol]

[Proofreader - Demon God]