CH 5

“I love you, Mana-chan! When we grow up, please be my wife!”

As a child in preschool, I showed my childlike energy, which I did not know how to use, and I asked Mana to marry me day in and day out. (jeez preschool? When I was that age, I was eating dirt or something…)

Mana lightly passed it over and did not take me seriously, but even after graduating from preschool and becoming an elementary school student, my foolishness continued as I confessed my feelings to her without fear of being seen and heard by other people.

I didn't realise it at the time, but I think Mana was embarrassed in junior high school by the persistence of an elementary school student.

But Mana was not disgusted and accepted it with a smile.

The change came when I entered middle school and Mana entered high school.

I finally acquired a sense of shame.

Because of that I learned to think about “Not bothering Mana,” and I stopped courting her everywhere.

But if I didn't say it, stress would build up.

When I saw Mana, I refrained from going to see her because I reflexively wanted to say, “I love you!” to her.

Then, for some reason, Mana began to appear in front of the school gate of my junior high school when it was time to leave school.

The appearance of this beautiful young lady caused a commotion among the adolescent junior high school boys.

A handsome guy who had appeared in a magazine and was said to be the prince of the junior high school was also eager to seduce Mana, and a festive atmosphere ensued, complete with jealousy on the part of the girls.

I knew Mana had come to see me, but I felt bad for making a beautiful girl wait for me, who was like the mob of mobs, so I sneaked out the back and left.

Mana's ambush continued for a while, but when I kept running away, she now started showing up in front of my house.

I'm not going to say anything else!　I bit my lower lip and went in front of Mana.

When Mana saw me, she smiled as if relieved.

But her smile also looked as if she was worried.

“...Are you busy lately…?

“No…”

I would confess as soon as I opened my mouth.

I'm finally getting to be able to weigh myself.

I'm not going to let all the effort I've put into this go to waste, so I kept my mouth shut.

But Mana started to fidget when I kept doing so.

“Are you feeling sick…?”

“I'm in excellent health.”

I answered while looking in the direction of the day after tomorrow, but it was very hard because of Mana’s cute voice.

“...did I do something to offend you…?”

“?”

I didn't do anything, in fact, I was the one doing something that made her angry.

Tears began to pool in Mana's eyes as she only tilted her head.

“Then why don't you come see me anymore…?"

“??”

Huh? Eh?

H-Handkerchief!

AAH! I didn't have anything that was elegant!

All I had was a sweaty towel!

What should I do!?

How did this weird situation happen!?

I almost panicked, but then I suddenly realized that there was no one around.

No one was around…which means that I won't be bothered if I throw out my thoughts to Mana here!

The moment I thought that, my mouth moved.

“I love you. I will always love you!”

Mana was pouting, but after a moment her face soon turned red.

“Eh…?”

I had never seen this kind of reaction before, and because of that, it made me pause too.

I was unable to say anything, but Mana glanced at me with a red face and opened her mouth.

“Ka…”

“Ka?”

“Is it all right for me…to be your girlfriend…?”

She was pouting again, but the moment I saw Mana's reddened face and understood the meaning of when she said, “Girlfriend.”

“YES PLEASE!!!”

He spoke louder than ever before and bowed my head deeply.

That's how me and Mana became “Boyfriend” and “Girlfriend”.

We were incredibly happy, but…

After that, we would suffer through three years of unfulfilled love.

“It’s raining…”

“It’s raining all right.”

“It won't stop….”

“It doesn't seem to be letting up soon.”

“I guess good looks are useless in an emergency.”

“Good looks and tools are only as good as the people who use them.”

I looked out the window with Yuno and blurted out.

Today too, Alvin left for the temple early in the morning.

It was still raining when they arrived at the temple.

I don't think it will take more than a day or two to build trust, but I don't want it to rain all the time.

“The maids have been complaining that they can't hang their laundry outside.”

“Yeah, that's a problem for sure. I'd like to go to the orphanage and see the fields too…”

"Alvin-sama is proud of being the most beautiful boy in Astrea, so what is he doing to one little girl, even if she is a saint? I would like her to fall for him as soon as possible."

Yuno, your language was very disrespectful to both Elder Brother Alvin and the saint, you know?

Well, he didn't say it in a place where other people are listening, so I didn't pay attention to it.

I also support his words one hundred percent.

“Maybe you should go,you know? being the most beautiful boy in Astraea?

“I've never been one of those things.”

“That's what you think.”

“............”

You're looking at me like I'm looking at trash, but that was just embarrassment, wasn't it?

Yuno was only fourteen years old, but he was taller, slender, and more mature than a Japanese junior high school student.

But he still retains the childish characteristic of a young boy, which will appeal to those who like younger people.

If Mana were the saint, I thought she would definitely like Yuno more than my older siblings.

His eyes were green, but his hair was brown, a common color in Japan, so he should be easy to relate to.

“Hey, if things don't go well for my Elder Brothers and it's my turn, can yo—”

“I’m not going.”

He said no, before I could finish my sentence . I thought it was a great idea, you know?

“...Ah…”

A ray of light came into the darkened room.

I looked out the window and saw a crack in the black clouds that had been covering the sky.

“The rain weakened?”

“Is Alvin-sama’s persuasion successful?”

“I hope.”

I naturally sighed.

So Mana was this easy, huh?

…Wait, why am I disappointed?

I’m definitely not disappointed.

Definitely not!

I am happy that I am now out of the picture.

Right, I'm just really glad.

“Hmm?”

As I was shouting excuses in my mind that I didn't know to whom I was addressing, I noticed that the vase by the window was making a rattling sound.

Why was it shaking…?

“Uwaa!?”

The room began to shake violently the moment I noticed it.

The furniture moved, and objects that were high up fell to the floor.

Sounds of something breaking and screams could be heard from the hallway as well.

It was a big earthquake.

“Yuno, stay under that desk!”

“But Master Edward…!

“I don't care, just do what I say! It's okay! And Stay where you are! That's an order!”

After giving instructions to Yuno, who tried to follow me, I went out into the hallway where I heard the screams and saw the maids crouched near the window.

“Hey! Get away from the window! If the glass breaks, you're in danger! Don't even go right under the ceiling light or near anything that might fall over!”

“W-We understand!”

I looked out the window and saw the gardeners nearby.

“Get away from the building and keep your distance! The walls could collapse and the glass on the upper floors could break and come down!”

“Y-Yes!”

Remembering the disaster prevention lesson I had taken in his previous life, I warned those who were close to me.

While doing so, the shaking lessened…

“It stopped…?”

I went back and looked around the room and saw that the objects that had fallen were scattered about, but they were not shaking.

I was relieved and helped Yuno, who had come out from under the desk and was trying to stand up.

“Edward-sama, the shaking we just felt…”

“Looks like an earthquake.”

“An earthquake, sir?”

I have experienced earthquakes in my previous life, but this was the first time in this life.

Earthquakes were rare in this world.

Astraea doesn't have earthquakes, so Yuno had never even heard of the word earthquake.

“It's a natural disaster that shakes the earth.”

“Could it be related to the saint?”

“Very likely, also we have to make sure there won't be a tsunami.”

“Tsunami…?”

“Yeah, the earthquake will cause high waves to come in. I'll contact the coastal areas as soon as possible to warn them.”

“I understand, I'll make the arrangements.”

I don't think a tsunami of this magnitude would be strong enough to engulf people, but it would be dangerous to approach the sea recklessly.

I'm probably the only one who had a sense of urgency about tsunamis, so I'll deal with this as best I can.

However, if this earthquake was also related to the saint, it was not a good situation.

“I think it would be better to have my brother Ethan go there tomorrow.”

“...I have a feeling that it would be better for Edward-sama to go.”

“Really?　I don't think it would end well if I went.”

“I think you underestimate yourself, Edwards-sama. Just a few moments ago I was reminded how lucky I am to have you as my master.”

“Being dere won’t do you any good, you know?”

“Dere…?”

“Anyway, I'm going to check on the earthquake damage and the orphanage, before going to Mother.”

We will have to have another discussion about the saint today.

Should I go to the saint as Yuno said?

Brother Ethan was very forceful, so I don't think he would be very compatible with someone in a delicate state.

But if I told him I was going, he would probably lose his temper.

Scratching my head, I let out the biggest sigh of the day.

—

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