CH 10

*Bang!*　Mana, the saint, appeared at the door with great vigour, and while staring at us, she was spilling large drops of tears.

The sudden visit of the saint and her unexplained weeping made me and Yuno freeze.

I'm glad she came out, but…what's going on?

“HA…ru…?”

She called me the name of my previous life! She was impatient, but Mana tilted her head as if she was confused.

“Eh…huh? W-Why…?”

“”??””

She rubbed her painful eyelids, which were swollen and red, and opened her eyes with a snap, staring at us and trying to confirm something.

Me and Yuno are frozen, mysteriously waiting for confirmation.

“Why!!!!?”

Us, who had been quietly watching Mana, were startled by the sudden outcry.

“I could have sworn I just saw him! He was there so why!? So who is this blondy!?”

I'm assuming she was talking about me, since she said blondy…But, what?

“The one who gave me the letter? You're the brother of that fake nobleman and sexual harrasser muscle head, aren't you?”

“Ugh.”

“...........”

Don’t associate me with that name!

And Yuno, when did you learn such an advanced skill of laughing with a poker face?

Also don't you sneak up on me and whisper, “Wouldn't Edward-sama take half and have some muscle too?”!

Yeah, sure, I want some muscles, but don't let me tell you how sad it was to see that I’m flabby…!

“...Hmm?”

As I was flopping around with Yuno behind the scenes, Mana was acting strange again.

She was facing down while clutching her hands tightly to keep them from shaking.

“How awful…”

Mana muttered softly and sat down on the floor as if her strings had been broken.

“Goddess you liar! I will do nothing…I will do nothing at all!”

"Uwaaaaah!" Mana cried out as she broke down, and at that moment, there was a flash of light.

The light that broke the sky with a crunching sound falls to the ground and becomes an earth-shaking sound.

At the same time, a pounding rain begins to fall.

Thunderstorms again…?

“Uwaaaah…!”

She was really crying and that made Yuno and I panic.

What if she caused another disaster again!?

“Saint-sama, please calm down! If the weather is unstable, the people will become anxious!"

“I don't care what you say! Uwaaah…!”

…Oh, damn, we're in trouble…

Sitting down and watching her cry like a child with her mouth opened made my heart ache, even though I should no longer be interested in Mana.

Her hair, which used to be straight and silky, has lost its luster, and what should have been healthy white skin now looks pale and gaunt.

She was certainly still a beautiful girl, but the Mana I remember had lost none of her radiance.

Please don't cry.

Mana should be smiling.

I sat down on one knee in front of Mana and put my hands behind her back and hugged her.

“Please stop crying. It hurts me to see you crying.”

If you're crying over me in my previous life, you can forget about it now.

“.........”

Mana stopped crying, and then—

“...Haru…?”

“!”

Ah, This was bad.

I had moved unconsciously, but what the hell am I doing!

I just felt something from my previous life and moved.

As I released her body and touched her shoulders, I flattered her as if to deceive her.

“L-Look, your eyes have swollen up too, it’s ruining your beauty!”

Mana dazedly looked at my face.

C-Cute…!

But…I fooled her for now.

As I was stupidly messing around, Mana's face got stern and stern.

This was not good.

I don't know what's wrong, but it was definitely not a good situation.

Ah, that was right!

“Please wipe your tears with this.”

I quickly held out a fine handkerchief.

I knew she was going to cry all the time, so I made sure I had it ready.

How was that? I’m so smart, weren’t I!?

I'm different from the man I was in my previous life, after all!

“I don't want it.”

She turned me down with a serious look on her face.

I also put on a poker face.

'Why!!'

Of course, I was normally hurt because of that.

“...I knew this wasn't right. But I didn't hate being hugged…I don't know why…even though I definitely don't like anyone but Haru…”

I turned my gaze away from Mana, who was mumbling something, and regained my composure.

Everything was all right, I reincarnated and I’m not a kid anymore.

My gentlemanly kindness was dented as if being swatted down a fly swatter, but let's be adults here.

After all, I am a cool, mature guy.

I told her to throw it away if she didn't want it, and when I held the handkerchief in Mana's hand, I spoke to her at eye level.

“I don't mean to force you to stop crying. But I thought it was cold to cry in such a place, so why don't we move to the sofa?”

When I spoke to her so as not to provoke her, Mana nodded timidly.

She was cute every single time.

I'm in trouble…The destructive power of Mana in the flesh is amazing.

I have to be careful not to repeat what happened to me in my previous life.

“Yuno, bring me a blanket and a warm drink.”

“Yes, sir.”

I led Mana to the sofa while giving instructions to Yuno to make her relax.

I received a lap blanket from Yuno and handed it to Mana.

Today was really cold.

It stopped now, but it was Mana who made it snow.

I set the hot drink that yuno prepared in front of Mana.

“Here you go.”

I suggested and Mana took the cup.

“This is…milk tea?”

‘On a cold day hot milk or milk tea is a must!’ That was what Mana said in my previous life.

“You look like him, but you're not him…I'd like to see him even more now…” 

“What is it? Would you like something else to drink?”

“No, I like this one. Thank you.”

Then before I knew it, the sound of rain had disappeared.

“That’s…”

Mana's gaze was on the cat face cookies that we were eating earlier.

“They're the same ones you gave me, aren't they? Did you make those cookies here in the temple?”

“I rented the temple kitchen and I made them myself.”

“Eh, you did? You’re a prince, aren't you? Do the other princes make pastries as well?”

“No, I'm the only one who does this. Unlike my brothers, I have a lot of free time on my hands.”

I sneered and laughed, but Mana looked straight at me.

“I think it's lovely.”

She had that thrilled look in her eyes, that I knew it wasn't flattery.

I'm in trouble.

This kind of thing was pretty annoying.

“Thank you very much.”

I thanked her without any unnecessary words and thought about the next topic.

Well, what should we talk about?

I couldn't think of anything at all.

Maybe I'm more upset than I thought.

“Hey, can you make me some dog-shaped cookies sometime?”

Mana spoke to me while I kept being silent.

I was saved but…

“Dog, is it?”

Why?

Mana likes cats, right?

I wrinkled my brow.

“Un, I like dogs better than cats.”

……Ha……?

HAAAAAAAAA!!!???

Hey, hey, I am not cool with that.

Then, why did I collect all of those cat stuff!!!???

“Even so, I thought you liked cats better!?”

Please tell me you do!

“No, it's dogs. I guess the one I like best is the lovable and adorable Shiba Inu!”

S-Seriously!!!!!????

But still, I bit down.

“But, Saint-sama is also adorable, just like a cat, isn't she?”

“!”

As soon as I said that, Mana's eyes widened.

Huh?

Did I say something strange?

I feel like I've said this before in a previous life, but was it weird?

Suddenly I feel embarrassed.

Mana, don't shut up and say something too!

I then drank the tea on the table to hide my embarrassment.

“I knew some people who said that, But I love dogs. I love…them very, very much.”

Mana, who didn't seem to notice my agitation, spoke calmly.

…Apparently it was true that she likes dogs.

I know it was sad, but then who was the Mana that I was looking at?

I guess this was the reality.

I should stop clinging to the past so miserably.

I am Edward Astraea now.

I'm the prince of this country, and I'm going to do it right.

I tightened the screw that was about to loosen.

“Saint-sama, did you meet the goddess when you were summoned to this country?”

“I met her, or rather, I heard her voice. She said that the blessings that she gives to this country are disappearing and she wants to do something about it.”

“I-Is that true?”

Wasn't that a big deal!?

If the blessing disappears, there would be a lot of people who try to mess with this country.

This was a matter to be reported to the queen.

“Then…Will Saint-sama save us from this crisis?”

“No.”

“Come again?”

“I won't do anything.”

“Eh…?”

What do you mean you won’t do anything!? Weren’t you already nineteen years old!?

So why were you acting like a little girl!?

“Why is that—”

“.........”

I was about to ask her a question, but tears started to slowly pool in her eyes again.

'Ahh~ It's going to rain again…!'

I wanted to ask her for more details, but I couldn't make her cry!

While I was in a hurry to find out what was going on, I heard heavy footsteps coming from the hallway.

It was coming closer and closer to us, gradually increasing its speed.

I have a bad feeling about this!

As soon as the footsteps came to the front of this room, the door opened with a force that seemed to break.

“I hear the saint has come out! For the first time ever, the useless have been useful!”

Here comes the sexual harassing muscle head…