Published at 17th of August 2019 8:27 am

Volume 13, Chapter 7: As You Wish

This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml

Part 1

May 22, Saturday

Several days had passed since the battle, and Koutarou and the girls had returned to their everyday lives. Theia and Elfaria who had escaped the country were now staying on Earth. The situation on Forthorthe progressed exactly like Elexis had predicted, and there was now a temporary lull in the coup d'état. Theia and Elfaria remained in contact with the Elfaria faction left behind on Forthorthe and were now in the progress of gathering information and making preparations to retake the country. As a result, they couldn't make any moves at the moment either.

As the commotion began settling down, Koutarou called Theia up to the Harukaze high school's rooftop. The purpose was to reveal what he had been hiding from Theia up until now.

Even though the battle had ended, Theia hadn't asked Koutarou anything. She patiently waited for Koutarou to tell her. He couldn't find it in him to betray her trust. On top of that, Theia had staked her life to protect him. He felt a need to repay her for that. With that in his mind, Koutarou had decided to reveal everything to Theia.

“The weather is great today...”

The summer season was ever approaching and the sky had a vivid blue color. The clouds floating where dense and had clearly defined shapes. Koutarou leaned against the handrail on the roof and blankly stared up at the sky. He could hear the sounds of birds and cars driving off in the distance. It was a calm summer afternoon, and Koutarou began losing his perception of time.

“Haa, Haa, Haa...”

Koutarou could hear the sound of someone's ragged breath. It seemed as if they had run up there to the point where the tone of the breath became lower than normal. That's right, Koutarou could tell who that breathing belonged to just by hearing it. It was someone he had a very deep relationship with.

“Phew...”

After that person had caught their breath, they stood next to Koutarou, and just like Koutarou they leaned onto the handrail and looked up into the sky. Since that person was short, their hair, which only reached up to about Koutarou's shoulder, fluttered in the wind. The hair shone in a beautiful golden color, as if it contained the very light of the sun.

“...”

“...”

The two wordlessly stood there as the wind blew. Since it was summer time, the wind felt cool and comfortable. The fluttering golden hair fell into disorder and shone brilliantly from the reflected sunshine. As the person contained their disordered hair, it looked like a scene from a movie, and Koutarou stared at the person until the wind slowly died down.

“...Hey, Theia.”

The beautiful golden hair belonged to Theiamillis Gre Forthorthe. The girl that Koutarou had called up to the roof so he could talk to her. She had answered his call and turned her head to look at him. With her facial features, clear blue eyes and golden hair she looked like an angel that had descended to the surface.

“Can you believe everything that I am about to tell you?”

“Why would you ask something like that?”

“Because I'm about to tell you something nobody would normally believe.”

“Is our relationship normal?”

“I'd say it's not.”

“Then you can tell me without worrying. If you were serious and told me that the sun would rise from the west tomorrow, I would believe you.”

“Thank you, Theia...”

When Koutarou thanked Theia he stopped leaning on the handrail and turned towards her. Theia responded by doing the same. Like that, the two faced each other at a distance so close they could reach out to one another.

“Now then, where should I start...”

“Start from the beginning. There's no need to rush.”

“I see. You're right.”

There was so much Koutarou wanted to talk about. So the best way to tell Theia without causing confusion was to start from the beginning. Koutarou thought back of what caused complex situation he was now in. That was an event about half a year ago.

“Theia, do you remember when I and Clan went missing?”

“Yes. There's no way I'd forget. That was when I realized that I love you.”

Theia blushed slightly and narrowed her eyes. Looking at her cute expression, Koutarou almost forgot what he was talking about. However, now was the time for explanation, so he held back his beating heart and continued.

“The problem was our destination at the time.”

“You said you went to a different world.”

“Yeah. It was a somewhat troublesome destination, but I left it at that.”

“Then where did you go?”

That was when Theia's expression turned cloudy. Koutarou's sword, his strange back and forth with Elfaria, the various programs built into the Blue Knight beforehand. With those things in her mind, Theia felt a vague anxiety.

“...To Forthorthe, 2,000 years in the past. And there... I met the Silver Princess.”

“H-How could...”

Theia's eyes opened as wide as they possibly could.

What Koutarou had said far exceeded her imagination. Theia had simply suspected that Koutarou might have travelled to the past. However, 2,000 years ago, and having met the Silver Princess was far outside of her realm of assumed possibilities.

Hearing that, Theia reached a certain guess. However, that was something she had wished for in the past, and she would be troubled if Koutarou spoke of it now.

“I got in the way of the Silver Princess's and the Blue Knight's meeting. That's why I had to take the place of the Blue Knight.”

Koutarou's explanation confirmed Theia's guess.

“Koutarou, wait!!”

Theia interrupted Koutarou with a pale face. She then pressed onto Koutarou at a pace so rapid she might bite her own tongue. To Theia, something that must never happen was about to occur.

“If what you're saying is true then, the legend of the Blue Knight in Forthorthe is all about you?!”

“That's right. We couldn't find the real Blue Knight even in the very end, so I had to see it through to the end. If I didn't, history would change and we wouldn't be able to come back here.”

“Do you know what that means?!”

With her eyes full of tears, Theia grabbed onto the cloth of Koutarou's chest. The white shirt was squeezed between Theia's fingers. That was just how deep Theia's sadness was.

“That means that you are the real Blue Knight!!”

“I'm just a substitute.”

“No! You don't understand a thing!”

Theia shed tears as she shook her head. Her tears scattered and her long hair was disheveled. Both were lit up by the sun and sparkled.

“How could just a substitute get so close to that Silver Princess?! Why would she entrust a substitute with Signaltin, a sword that controlled the fate of the country?! There was no other Blue Knight from the very beginning!”

Koutarou had called himself a substitute, but Theia who was more knowledgeable of the legend than Koutarou knew that there was no one else from the start. The Blue Knight's mysterious appearance. The reason why he had to leave. His magical armor and weapons. And so many other things. It all made sense if one assumed that the Blue Knight had come from a different age.

“Think back to it!! Did you save the Silver Princess because you were just a substitute?! That wasn't it, was it?! Since she knew that, she loved you!! She isn't naive enough to be fooled by your acting!!”

And the best evidence of all was the Silver Princess's, Alaia's, feelings for him. There was no way that legendary princess would fall in love with an act. Alaia had fallen in love with the Blue Knight, with Koutarou, because he had desperately protected Alaia and the others until the end.

“She is the same as me! She fell in love with you because of who you are! That was why she entrusted you with Signaltin! You are without a doubt the Blue Knight!!”

Theia loved Koutarou as well. She had also entrusted him with a sword. She was painfully aware of how Alaia must have felt. There was no substitute for Koutarou anywhere in this universe.

“I am... the real...?”

“That's right! You are! You are the Blue... the Blue Knight...”

Theia's words began turning into sobs. Unable to continue her answer, she sunk down on the spot and placed her hands on the floor of the rooftop, and let out a cry.

“Uuaaaaaahhh, waaaah, aaaaaahhhh!!”

Her cry was filled with a deep sadness.

“Theia... why are you crying?”

Theia's reaction came as a surprise to Koutarou. He had believed she would get disappointed or angry. He hadn't expected her to cry out like this.

“Because... because, you are the Blue Knight!”

Theia began clenching her hands, scratching the concrete floor. Her tears fell down from her cheeks. Theia's voice had such deep sadness to it.

“The Blue Knight is the Silver Princess's knight! Someone like me doesn't stand a chance against her! You wouldn't love me! You only became my vassal because of your loyalty to the Silver Princess, right?!”

To Theia, Koutarou was no longer just a normal knight that could be found anywhere. Theia wanted her bond with Koutarou to be simple, with just a simple meeting, and to slowly strengthen their bond with one another.

Yet now she understood that Koutarou was the Blue Knight. The Blue Knight had complete loyalty towards the Silver Princess, and protected the royal families even now. That meant what was between Theia and Koutarou was the same thing as what was between the Silver Princess and the Blue Knight.

Theia didn't believe she herself was a princess that surpassed the Silver Princess. That's why she believed that Koutarou was protecting her out of his loyalty for the Silver Princess, rather than his loyalty for her. That's why admitting that Koutarou was the Blue Knight was the same as admitting that Koutarou was someone out of Theia's reach.

“Theia...”

“Why, why are you the Blue Knight?! I could never be a match for the Silver Princess! Not a selfish and immature woman as myself... Uuaaaaaaaahh!!”

Theia broke down crying, and her already small body shrunk. Her cries rang out, her tears fell on the concrete floor and an intense sob shook her body.

“Theia.”

Koutarou squatted down next to Theia and gently touched her shoulder.

“I don't need any sympathy! I... I loved you! Not the Blue Knight, but you! Yet... yet...”

Theia shook Koutarou's hand off and continued to cry. In the past, she had desired to obtain the Blue Knight, but now, he had appeared when she least wanted him to. What Theia wanted now wasn't the Blue Knight. She wanted Koutarou, who she had always been with. To Theia, this was a horrible twist of fate.

“Theia, listen. You misunderstand.”

Having understood what Theia is grieving about, Koutarou called out to her in an attempt to clear up her misunderstanding. This misunderstanding had to be cleared up no matter what.

“I don't want to listen! I don't need you to comfort me! No matter how much you try to gloss it over, you are the Blue Knight!”

However, Theia didn't want to listen. Her rival was the Silver Princess. Once she learned that, she was taken back by an unmeasurably large shock and her heart closed. But that troubled Koutarou, that's why desperately spoke of how he really felt.

“Think about it, Theia. I came back. To this age where you are. If everything was like you said it was, why would I be here? Wouldn't I stay by her majesty Alaia's side?”

The moment she heard those words, Theia's body froze and at the same time her crying stopped. It was just like Koutarou said. If he truly loved Alaia, there would be no reason for him to come back to Earth. He could have just hid where he came from and stayed there. Yet, Koutarou had returned.

“Her majesty did ask me to stay on Forthorthe, and serve the royal family of Forthorthe. But I declined her offer.”

Theia pushed her hands on the floor and raised her body. She then slowly looked up and stared at Koutarou. Her face was a mess, wet by tears.

“...Why? Why did you come back?”

Theia asked Koutarou. A faint hope and anxiety rested within her eyes. Koutarou reached out with his hand to wipe off the tears from her face and smiled.

“Because I made a promise with you guys.”

“Promise... what are you talking about?”

Theia tried to recall what promise Koutarou was talking about and blinked repeatedly. As she did, the tears that should have been wiped off started streaming down her cheeks again.

“It was at Christmas. We all made a promise back then, right?”

Koutarou showed an embarrassed smile as he spoke the contents of the promise.

“We all promised to make the play a success.”

“That promise... You so earnestly protected a promise like that...”

The promise exchanged at Christmas, and the bonds cultivated up until then was what made Koutarou return to Earth. The Silver Princess had indeed been a wonderful person. She was someone Koutarou wanted to be of help to, someone he wouldn't mind serving. However, even then, Koutarou hadn't forgotten about the promise and bonds back on Earth. That's why he declined the Silver Princess's offer and returned.

That might have been the first case of Koutarou, who kept others at a distance, actually desiring others.

“Oh and also, you said that I was her majesty Alaia's knight, but you're wrong.”

“How could that be!! You're the Blue Knight, right?!”

“I was acting like a knight despite not having a title. That's why I was never formally her knight.”

“Then...”

“That's right. There is only one person in this world who has made me her knight.”

Koutarou stared directly at Theia and spoke the name of his lord.

“Theia, you are my only princess.”

“K-Koutarou...”

The tears that had stopped began overflowing again. However, those weren't tears of sadness, but tears of joy.

“Don't cry.”

“I'm not crying! I'm laughing! At your stupidity that is!”

“Stupidity?”

“That’s right, stupidity!! She was the Silver Princess, you know?! The legendary princess and empress!! You declined her offer and came back here!! How could you be considered anything but stupid?!”

Still crying, Theia began pounding on Koutarou's chest. The force behind her fists was weak, but the emotions were powerful. Koutarou felt Theia's earnest and warm emotions pouring into him for each time she hit him.

“Don't call me stupid all the time. I might start believing I really am.”

“You are stupid!! You chose us over that legendary person!! On top of it all, you chose to swear loyalty to such a flat chested and selfish woman!!”

Koutarou had chosen his own life over the life of the Blue Knight. That's why he returned and swore loyalty to Theia. Theia herself was unbelievably happy by that, as if her very existence had been affirmed.

“A traditional knight of Forthorthe protects his oath and promise. Isn't that a perfect match for a retroactive princess like you?”

“Stupid, idiot, you big idiot!!”

Unable to contain her emotions, Theia embraced Koutarou and began crying even harder. She hung her arms around Koutarou's neck and pressed her cheek against his chest.

Theia needs me this much...

Koutarou gently hugged Theia back. He wanted to let her know that he needed her too.

“You might call it stupid, but I'm glad I came back.”

Theia's small body fit perfectly in Koutarou's arm, which he was happy about.

“Because I can protect you with my own hands... It's best to keep those precious to you close, and protect them yourself.”

As he hugged her, he felt like he was protecting Theia. That he was protecting someone who had put her life on the line to protect him. That sensation gave Koutarou joy.

“Then protect me... Take responsibility and do so until the very end...”

Theia muttered and closed her eyes. She had found someone she could entrust not just her body to, but her mind as well. Theia was in bliss having been able to emotionally connect with him.

“And... only once you have seen us all live a happy life to its fullest, may you die...”

Being hugged by Koutarou, Theia could clearly feel that the place she belonged was here. Just like Theia and the others needed Koutarou, Koutarou needed them. Those feelings and bonds were surely stronger than fate itself.

“...As you wish, my princess.”

“Mm... very good...”

That's why Theia could believe, that even if further hardships awaited her in the future, Koutarou and the girls of room 106 would have happy lives.

Part 2

For a teenager like Shizuka, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that maintaining her beauty was her top priority. Thanks to her doing martial arts, her figure was not a problem. However, she was aware that she had let her guard down and ate a little too much since the battle a few days ago. The reason she felt that way was because when she would walk on the floor in her room, it would often creak. That's why she began worrying that she might be getting fatter in parts of her body unrelated to her figure.

So immediately after getting out of the shower, Shizuka pulled out a scale from her wardrobe. The only chance she had to weigh herself was when her roommate, Maki, was taking her shower.

“...Alright.”

After making up her mind, Shizuka timidly put a foot on the scale.

The scale that she had been using for over ten years was an analogue scale, a rare sight these days. Shizuka's best weight was 46 kilos. Compared to her classmates around her height, that was slightly heavy, but that was because she had more muscles than normal because of her martial arts. Now that she had eaten too much, Shizuka was prepared to see a figure of around 48 kilos.

“Huh?”

But as Shizuka put both of her feet on the scale, the needle took off, accompanied by a dull sound. The scale went up to 200 kilos, but the needle pointed past that.

“Oh, it's broken... I'll have to get a new one... Ahh~, another extra expense...”

Shizuka figured that the scale must be broken and dropped her shoulders. Over 200 kilos was impossible after all.

However, Shizuka didn't know.

Inside of her lived a dragon over 25 meters in height, and that her weight was nowhere even near 200 kilos.

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