CH 168

Complex

About 10 minutes after that, Kisei was sitting crestfallen alone in the resort lounge. In his mind were questions that he can’t just find the right answer to. Frankly, he himself has no qualm marrying them. Having spent the night with Schleer and Diaroze has made him a little more confident. With Diaroze’s help, he probably wouldn’t lose his life in intercourse with Vulds.

“But to quit being a mercenary is another thing entirely right…….”

Kisei groaned. He doesn’t want to quit and he doesn’t want to leave the battlefield. With his arms crossed, he continued to ponder on his choices but he still couldn’t make a decision.

“Oya, My Lord? Good Morning.”

Then, a person called out to him. It’s Tersis. She’s carrying a wooden sword and he can see the sweat on her body. She probably has just returned from outdoor training.

“Ah, Unn……good morning.”

Hearing his dull reply, Tersis raised her eyebrows. Leaving the hallway, Tersis entered the lounge and sits down next to Kisei.

“What are you doing in a place like this?”

When she asked so, the smell of her sweat drifted to his nose. Normally, you would regard such a smell as unpleasant but perhaps the other party is a beautiful woman, the smell felt strangely sexy. Kisei immediately shook his head to vanquish the dirty thoughts. It seems that he’s still a little strange due to the repeated temptation from yesterday.

“Well.”

Kisei reflexively tried to avoid the topic but he immediately changed his mind and chose to consult Tersis instead.

“I need to consult you about something. Will you listen to my story?”

“Yes, of course.”

Perhaps she intended to do so from the beginning, Tersis agreed with a smile. She may be a battle maniac but she’s not crazy. She’s actually quite a considerate person.

“Actually, umm….I was proposed to. By multiple people.”

“Then perhaps congratulations are in order?”

If this was Valentina she probably would have made a scene already but Tersis only replied calmly. A man being proposed to by multiple women is pretty much a norm in Vuld society so she doesn’t think there was anything wrong about it at all. After all, just like normal Terran marriage, it would smoothly proceed as long as the involved party gave their consent.

“Yes, I’m happy with the proposal. Since I’m a pretty weird guy………I’m actually glad that they have that kind of feeling for me. But, they also said that if I were to accept, I would have to give up being a mercenary too.”

“Oh my………”

Tersis was surprised. She’s also a combat enthusiast like Kisei so she can understand his feelings.

“Why would they demand such a thing?”

“They said they don’t want me to do anything dangerous.”

“I see. I certainly can try my best to protect My Lord on the battlefield but nothing is certain in battle……..it’s true that something might happen to you.”

Tersis replied with a difficult expression.

“But My Lord, you do not want to leave the battlefield correct?”

“Yeah.”

“Fumu…….”

Tersis crossed her arms and pondered. For her, fighting alongside Kisei on the battlefield is her joy. However, that was simply her selfish desire. Even if Kisei leaves the battlefield behind him, she would follow him anywhere as his knight.

“……One question if I may, My Lord. For what reason do you pilot a striker?”

“Nn?…….Nnn, because it’s fun, I think?”

“Then, why is it fun for you to pilot a striker?”

“………”

To Tersis’s follow-up question, Kisei turned silent.

“Personally, I stepped into the battlefield to improve my ability. I wish to fight stronger foes and test myself. It is so much fun for me that I can’t have enough. But that’s only me. What is it you get from the battlefield, My Lord?”

“……I.”

Kisei looked straight into Tersis’s eyes with his determination.

“I am nothing If I can’t ride a striker. I’m clumsy, my head is bad, and I’m physically weak, but if I have a striker then……”

“You would be stronger than anyone, right.”

With a grin, Tersis replied so.

“…..the reason why anyone ever said that they need me was because they saw how I am on a striker.”

Kisei thinks that his only selling point is his ability as a pilot. He is confident in his pilot skills but nothing else. He is a pilot, nothing more nothing less. Giving up riding a striker would be like abandoning his reason for being. That’s the complex he has.

“That’s why I…….”

“2 points, My Lord. You have misunderstood 2 points.”

Tersis said in a gentle voice.

“First, you are still needed by someone even if you are not on a striker. After all, they did propose to you. They wouldn’t do that if they do not wish to spend the rest of their life with you. And that is regardless of your ability as a pilot.”

“………”

“Second. Even if you leave the battlefield, you can still ride a striker. There are still many roles you can play such as a test pilot or a combat instructor. It’s not like you can not get serious unless you fight a real battle, no?”

Hearing Tersis’s words, Kisei’s expression turned to a surprised one. He had never thought of using his skills that way before.

“……I see, that’s true.”

When she put it like that for him, everything became simple. After making his decision, Kisei stands up.

“Thank you very much. I managed to clear the doubts out of my mind now.”

“Then?”

“Yes, it seems it’s about time I throw in the towel.”

Tersis smiled at his old and familiar proverb. She then clapped her hands as though she remembered something.

“Ahh, come to think of it…….if My Lord is going to get married then may I be allowed to request one thing?”

“What is it?”

Feeling refreshed, Kisei asked back with a smile.

“I do not mind if it’s after things settle down with the others, but I wish to bear your offspring as well.”

“……Ha?”

His face stiffened and Kisei himself was taken aback. However, Tersis did not shy away and simply continued to state her request.

“After all, I am also an aristocrat. I need a successor as well. That’s why I’d like to ask My Lord’s help in that regard.”

“I mean, why me?”

Kisei believed in Tersis because she had never sexually harassed or tried to seduce him before. That’s why he was so shocked by her request that could completely undermine his trust in her.

“I do not know what kind of feeling love is, however, I can say that this is not a request I would ask just anyone of. If I am going to bear a child then I feel that I want it to be yours. A child of someone who has completely defeated me.”

“……..”

Kisei looked back at Tersis with an extremely awkward gaze. Her words sound almost like a proposal but there was not a trace of any bashfulness in her.

“Of course, I do not wish to interfere with My Lord’s marriage life. You do not have to include me in the marriage register.”

“You are fine with being a single mother?”

Kisei asked in resignation.

“Mmm…..but, I still need my own successor. If I allow the child of either my elder or younger sister to be my successor then it would not be fair to the vassals who have supported me.”

In the end, Tersis is an aristocrat through and through. She has to take into account the matter of her own house as well. As it doesn’t seem like she’s going to yield in this, Kisei let out a long sigh.

“Then please come with me. Nothing will change even if I add another bride to the list after all…….”

“Ohh, you have my gratitude!”

Seeing the delighted Tersis, Kisei heaved another sigh. However, it is still unbeknownst to him that the list of his brides will simply grow from now on.