CH 119

One day to go until the marriage ceremony. Apparently, they don’t know that we’ve retrieved the holy armor. Well, we did it without knocking out the guards, without making a single sound, and without being seen by anyone. Unless the guards came to the top of the tower to check on us, no one would know. And the moment I climbed up, I was “cursed”.

Then, this morning. I went to give Mika her lunch in the pouring rain and found her sleeping on the floor with a snot bubble coming from her nose.

“Poyon~n♪”

Hey, hey, don’t touch the bubbles because they are dirty. However, seeing that Aidles were nowhere to be seen, it seemed that they had been successfully defeated. I guess the holy armor makes a big difference. Since it should have protected her from the Aidles’ attacks, it would have been a relatively easy victory.

“Hey, Mika~If you’re finished, we’re going home!”

“Nn~~~…the earth is spinning…”

Does that mean a whole day? Also, we’re in Alvana, not Earth, so you can’t expect other people to understand that, you know?

“Well, let’s just take her back home with us.”

“Okay, let me handle it.”

Quad’s fairy magic levitates Mika, and we returned to La Veil Rad as usual. I’m going to be up all night today, I have to work hard.

Aidle gathered all the alter egos and their recordings. Then, she applied “fairy magic” to the “recording crystals” which she received, and fused all of them together. After that, she kept using “fairy magic” to do something with the crystal, sticking her hand into the crystal in the form of a fairy and working on it.

As Arena watched curiously from the side, Aidle began to explain what she was doing.

“This is all the footage we’ve taken so far, and I’m connecting and editing it altogether. We’re going to use this tomorrow to show the truth to the people. Well, look forward to it. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.”

“It might be my imagination, but I have a feeling you will make something outrageous.”

“Don’t worry, I’m just going with the flow, so you won’t end up with anything bad.”

Well, it’s a week’s worth of work, so it won’t be that easy to finish, but I just have to use spatial magic and fairy magic to speed up my perception. If I use them for too long, I’ll get a headache, and then I’ll immediately go bonkers.

“So, please take care of me, Arena.”

“Nnfui~♪”

Hug~!

The secret technique, “Hug and whisper words of love” was completed. I really don’t know why, but when Arena was petting my head or hugging me, my headache would vanish, so this is how I plan to spend the rest of the day.

I could hear Arena’s “Ganbare, ganbare, ganbare” close to my ear, so my tension and my spirit were rising.

Watching the scene, Mika uttered a heartfelt thought.

“…I wonder if Aidle is really a fairy?”

“I don’t know. Well, you should get some sleep today, Mika because you will need your strength up tomorrow. You must still be feeling a little tired.”

“Well, yes. I’ll do that then. Good night.”

As La Veil pondered what to do, a teacup filled with tea came out from beside her.

“Would you like a cup of tea, La Veil?”

“Oh Quad. Good timing…mmmm, it’s delicious. Well, I guess we can play a game of Go today, huh?”

“Yes, I’ll be your partner.”

And so, the two sipped tea, gathered around the board, made a bow, and their elegant afternoon started.

—-

“Miko-san, you are not with him today, are you?”

“Yes, I am having a quiet day. You look… tired.”

Goutani finally stopped showing up at Cielo’s doorstep, even though the marriage ceremony is tomorrow. He was terrified of Cielo, who showed no sign of breaking even after he hit her in an attempt to discipline her, before fleeing the scene. In the past, he never would have been able to do such an act of violence against the woman he loved, and now he was tortured by the guilt.

Finally, Hinomoto appeared, having finished composing the Bible. Cielo sat her down in a chair and began preparing tea.

“Well. I guess I’ve been the most tired since you came back. Anyway, now that that’s over, I can sleep for a bit after the marriage ceremony tomorrow.”

“…I have one question, if you don’t mind…”

“Yes, what is it?”

Cielo asked while making tea for two.

“…What would you do if there was someone nearby who could take that off you?”

“…Hmmmm”

“wh!!?”

For the first time, Hinomoto unleashed a sense of intimidation toward Cielo. The room began to creak, and a crack appeared on a teacup. Cielo felt cold sweat running down her back at the change in the atmosphere.

“Does that mean I can assume you can do it? If so, what’s the point of asking that?”

“…One of my people. One of my associates is the one who can unlock it for you. She will act tomorrow, although it is a definite matter. At that time, I believe she will not hesitate to remove your restraints since that stands in her way. If she does, won’t you be able to be free?”

Hinomoto stood up from her chair and looked down at Cielo, a sad smile on her face.

“Thank you, your words gave me peace of mind, even if only for a moment. But there’s a misunderstanding, so I’m going to correct it. This thing of mine is indeed a ‘binding’, but it also serves as a restraint at the same time.”

“…restraint.”

“I can’t say anymore. But if you could stay in touch with them, I might suggest you stop now. If you remove it, La Veil Rad will be instantly destroyed…Well, the tea was delicious. Good night.”

“Wait, wait! What does that mean?”

Hinomoto’s smile remained plastered on her face as she disappeared from Cielo.

“…You haven’t even taken a sip, have you?”

As soon as the door closed, the teacup broke in half…

“N~fu~fufu~”

Hinomoto hummed down the hallway, thinking back to her words earlier.

(What if I can take it off…well, for now, I want to go somewhere where there’s no one and live quietly. A beautiful flower garden and a lake would be even better. I would like to build a cabin there and sit in a chair under a tree while reading a book. I would have no complaints if I could spend the rest of my life there.)

That idea was already like a retirement plan, but she knew better than anyone that it was hopelessly impossible. The words she had just said were not a threat, but because he was genuinely convinced that it would be. That was why she sincerely hoped that, if possible, she would not meet that person.

“If it had only been a ‘binding’… I could have broken it off myself”

—-

“Damn…damn…why won’t it work…”

At the time, Goutani was holed up in his room crying as thunder rumbled in the background. No matter what he did, he could not make Cielo do what he wanted, and no matter what he said, he was denied. Rather than denial, he was repeatedly told where he needed to fix things, and where he was not good enough.

He was unable to take it any longer and ran away, but he had to see Cielo tomorrow for the wedding ceremony. Goutani finally realized that he had walked into a crossroad, and he regretted it. He was ashamed that he had lived his life with only one thing in mind, to love a beautiful woman, and that idea was full of holes about everything else.

But that didn’t stop him. He had never even been a member of society before, and he could not endure the days of work. That was why he was so happy when he was transferred to another world.

But in reality, everything was not easy. Overall, no matter where he went or what he did, it was the same for him.

He certainly didn’t want to do this. But still, the reason that he didn’t break completely was because Cielo was still there.

“It’s okay… it’s still okay, still okay…”

The silver hair that shines in the sunlight, the beautiful voice that seems to enchant people just by listening to it, the good looks that people cannot take their eyes off once they see it… these things were all within his reach. Once he saw her, he couldn’t take his eyes off her.

But her personality was not included in his desires.

—

“It’s done!”

“Shhh!”

“Oops, excuse me. Uh… what time is it?”

“Midnight!”

Arena must be tired from being in that position for so long. Thank you.

But now the preparations are done, and after a week of wasted time, tomorrow should finally be the end of our work here in this country. I would like to go back to Ladaria and check on the others.

Or rather, I want to do nothing but play for a while, since I remembered my month in Haval.

“Besides, I’m really going to lose my mind soon from all the ‘fairy magic’ I’m using.”

“Good night, okay?”

“Yeah, thanks. Good night~~~…”

“Oyasumi~~…zzz…”

Good work today, Arena…zzz

And so, the longest day of the Holy Imperial Kingdom of La Veil Rad was about to begin.

____________________________________________

A game of La Veil vs. Quad

“…Quad. How many more times do I have to wait?

“As many times as it takes.” (smiles)

“Fugu~~~ji no jaa~~~”

It was an elegant afternoon.