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Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? (Light Novel) - Volume 8, Chapter 2: The High School Life of the Blue Knight
Volume 8, Chapter 2: The High School Life of the Blue Knight
This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml
Part 1
Monday, February 1
During the third term of the first year in Kitsushouharukaze high school, there was a school trip. It was a major event that rivaled the third years’ school excursion.
This year's destination was a ski resort. With winter sports popularity dying down, it was quite easy to book as a group. It was scheduled to take place for two days, between February 3 and February 5. Since today was February 1, the departure date was right around the corner.
“Theiamillis-san, can you ski?”
“No. This is a first for me and Ruth.”
“In our country, skiing isn't very popular.”
“What about you, Kurano-san?”
“I've done it as a child. That's right, maybe I should teach you, Theiamillis-san?”
“Skiing huh... Mackenzie-kun you look like you'd be good at it.”
“I can ski.”
“I knew it... it's a skill needed to attract girls after all.”
“Kasagi-san, that's a baseless accusation!”
“But, Satomi-san said that the reason you're good at sports is so that you can attract girls.”
“Kou!! What are you telling everyone behind my back!?”
With the departure two days from now, class 1A was in a festive mood. They were in the middle of holding a homeroom discussing the school trip, but most of the class wasn't listening to the teacher.
“Koutarou, Koutarou, Glasses-kun is calling for you.”
Sanae whispered into Koutarou's ear while clinging onto his back.
“...”
However there was no answer from Koutarou. He had his elbow on his desk and silently gazed out the window.
“Hey Koutarou.”
“Hm?”
After her third callout, Koutarou finally noticed Sanae calling out to him.
“What's up, Sanae?”
“Don't give me that, Glasses-kun is calling for you!”
“Oh.”
Koutarou turned his head around towards Kenji. However, Kenji's gaze was no longer on Koutarou; he was instead gesturing to a nearby classmate. Seeing that, Koutarou turned his gaze back towards outside the window.
“What's wrong, Koutarou, spacing out like that.”
“Just thinking.”
Koutarou stared out the window without saying a word again. He was thinking about his conversation with Clan a few days ago.
Part 2
January 24.
Right after the play, Koutarou had called Clan out to the empty school roof.
There was something he wanted to talk to her about.
“So, what did you want to talk about?”
With the setting evening sun, Clan's long hair shone. The bright orange contrasted with Koutarou's blue armor.
“There are two things I want to ask you.”
Koutarou started out seriously.
“Ask me?”
Clan had shown a faint smile, but seeing Koutarou's appearance, her expression turned more serious.
“Yeah. Of course I'm not asking you for free. I'll do anything I can for you in return.”
“You're being awfully reserved, Bertorion.”
“Really? We were enemies just an hour ago you know.”
“That's true.”
Koutarou and Clan smiled at each other. Just an hour ago in earth time, the two of them had been trying to defeat one another. But for some reason, they were now talking to each other in a friendly tone.
“Tell me. Based on the content I might hold off on killing you.”
Still smiling, some dangerous words left Clan's mouth, but Koutarou knew that she was joking.
“Okay. For my first request... I want you to keep everything that happened in the past a secret.”
“By the past, which do you mean? 2,000 years ago? 20 years ago? 10 years ago?”
“All of it.”
With a serious look on his face, Koutarou stared into Clan's eyes. This was a request he absolutely wanted Clan to listen to.
“Why's that?”
“The reason is... well, there’re two main reasons.”
After thinking for a while, Koutarou began explaining to Clan.
“The first reason is that I don't want to ruin Theia's dream. You know how much she loves the Blue Knight, right?”
“Yes, I am well aware.”
“The Blue Knight is her support. If she knew that we disturbed that legend.... she would definitely be sad, and I want to avoid that.”
With the legend of the Blue Knight as her support, Theia tried to follow its example to remain a splendid noble. And she was trying to help her mother who was in a difficult position.
Despite that, Koutarou and Clan had disturbed that legend. So Koutarou wanted to keep that a secret from Theia. He wanted to keep the legend the way Theia knew it. If she knew of the truth, her support would crumble.
---I wonder about that...
Clan retorted in her mind.
She then directed her eyes towards Koutarou's waist. There she saw two swords hanging down. The royal families’ greatest treasure, Signaltin. And the sword that Theia had given Koutarou, the treasured sword Saguratin.
---I think she would actually be rejoiced...
Clan gazed at Saguratin shining golden from the evening sun. Clan believed that just the fact that Saguratin was there revealed how Theia really felt. That said, keeping it a secret would lower the risk, so Clan wasn't against Koutarou's request.
Unaware of how Clan felt, Koutarou continued his explanation.
“And the other reason is the same as the Blue Knight's.”
Koutarou removed Signaltin and its sheath from his waist.
“My existence and this sword will make Forthorthe's political situation unstable. The same reason as the legendary Blue Knight. Keeping it a secret would be better.... It's also for your sake.”
It was said that the Blue Knight had vanished because the existence of the hero who had saved the country destroyed the political balance of Forthorthe.
In that case, if Koutarou, who had gotten involved in the legend, and the very symbol of the Blue Knight's legend, Signaltin, were to appear in public, it could cause similar problems in the present. So Koutarou wanted to avoid that.
“My, are you worried about me?”
“...It's a strange sensation, really.”
Koutarou smiled wryly. Clan felt the same, and the two smiled at each other again.
“The reasons are similar for the events 10 and 20 years ago. So I want to keep it all a secret.”
“I understand the reasons. I want to keep them a secret too.”
Clan listened to Koutarou's request, as she also wanted to keep events that could shake the royalty a secret as a princess of Forthorthe.
“Thanks, Clan.”
“I don't want to put myself in danger either. So, what's your other request?”
“Ah, the second request is related to this.”
As Koutarou said that, he knocked on the armor he was wearing.
“I want you to erase the records in this. If you don't, Theia and the others will find out.”
“That's true. I'll erase it right away.”
Clan stepped up to Koutarou and touched her bracelet to bring up the armor's systems. She was planning on erasing the contents of the database, but as she was about to confirm the erase command her hand stopped.
---Should I really just erase it... maybe I should make a backup, just in case...
Clan linked her bracelet with the systems on Koutarou's armor and she gradually erased the data while copying it over to her bracelet.
“...Hey, Bertorion.”
It took a little bit of time to copy and erase. Having finished inputting commands into her bracelet, Clan called out to Koutarou.
“Could you stop it with the Bertorion? The secret will leak if you keep calling me that, even though we went through the trouble of erasing the data.”
“That's true. Can I call you Koutarou?”
“Yeah, I don't mind.”
Koutarou nodded, leaned his back towards the handrail on the rooftop and faced Clan.
“Koutarou, there's something I want you to ask you.”
“Sure. You listened to my request, so I'll answer anything.”
“Then I'll ask you...”
As Clan said that, she slightly tilted her head and smiled.
“Did you love her? Alaia-san...”
That was the gentlest smile Koutarou had ever seen from Clan. Seeing that smile, Koutarou felt like being surprisingly honest.
“I'm not sure... It's true that I wanted to help her more than anyone.”
Obeying his feelings, Koutarou honestly replied to Clan. He didn't feel like hiding anything from Clan.
“You could have just stayed then.”
“The one who loved her majesty Alaia wasn't me, but the Blue Knight.”
Koutarou smiled wryly while pushing his back towards the handrail.
Koutarou still believed that he had gotten in the way of the real Blue Knight. So even if Alaia fell in love with Koutarou, he believed that she hadn't fallen for him, but the real Blue Knight.
“...I'm not so sure about that...”
But Clan was different. Because she didn't have any real evidence, she hadn't told Koutarou, but Clan figured that Koutarou was the Blue Knight himself. There were plenty of things that didn't make sense if that wasn't the case, and she didn't believe that the legendary princess could be fooled by an act. So Clan believed that the feelings Alaia had for Koutarou were all real.
“Even if it's as you say... if she was truly in love with me... both I and her have things to do. So the result would have been the same.”
Leaning towards the handrail, Koutarou stared up towards the sky.
He remembered his time in Forthorthe 2,000 years ago and their farewell. They were memories he could never forget.
“To think you'd throw away your status and honor for a simple high school life...”
“There're still plenty of things I have to do.”
Clan had an amazed tone of voice, but she had a smile on her face.
“Besides, I have my oath.”
“...If you made an oath, you had no choice but to return, right?”
Clan leaned her back towards the handrail as well and looked up into the sky.
“That's what the Blue Knight is all about, right?”
“That's true... you're absolutely right...”
Clan finally showed an amazed expression for the first time.
---Despite practically being the embodiment of the Blue Knight, he's still not conscious of it... I can't believe this man...
Shortly after that Clan began to laugh.
“Fufufu, Ahahahaha!”
“What are you laughing for all of a sudden?”
“No, it's nothing. I just found it so funny. Kuku, Ahahahaha!”
“...Clan?”
“Ahahahaha! Ahh, it's so funny!”
Koutarou had made fun of Clan, calling her sly and vengeful, but he couldn't feel anything like that from Clan now as she showed a bright smile.
After Clan's laughter had died down, the copy and erasure of the data had finished. After confirming that with her bracelet, Clan nodded.
“It's all done.”
“Thank you, Clan.”
With that, Koutarou's business with Clan was concluded. With this, Koutarou could return to his normal life. His normal life, before he had travelled back in time with Clan.
---I'm finally back...
Koutarou finally felt like he had returned home.
“You're welcome.”
Clan lowered the right arm that her bracelet was on and looked at Koutarou.
“By the way, Koutarou. Rather than another request, I have a suggestion.”
Clan withdrew her smile and stared seriously at Koutarou.
“What is it?”
“Won't you serve me?”
“W-What!?”
Koutarou's eyes opened wide in surprise. Clan's words shocked Koutarou, just a while ago they had been enemies.
“Y-You... are you serious!?”
“I'm serious.”
Koutarou couldn't believe those words were true, but Clan had a serious expression. Without a change in expression she nodded.
“Don't be stupid!! If I do that, Theia won't be able to complete her trial!”
Koutarou had no intention of serving Clan. It wasn't because she had been his enemy; it was simply because Theia wouldn't be able to complete her trial. He simply couldn't accept that.
“Please calm down. I don't mind if you serve me after Theiamillis-san's trial is complete.”
“Eh!?”
Clan followed up with even more words that didn't make sense to Koutarou.
Clan had come to Earth just to get in the way of Theia's trial. That's why she had fought with Koutarou in the first place. Despite that, she had said something that sounded like she wanted Theia to complete her trial.
Koutarou couldn't understand the meaning behind that.
“If you serve by my side, I won't mind giving up my right to the throne. By doing that, Theiamillis-san will have a higher chance of becoming empress.”
“J-Just wait a minute, Clan!! Do you realize what you're saying!?”
Clan even mentioned relinquishing her claim to the throne. And so Koutarou's confusion reached its peak.
“You're the one who doesn't understand, Koutarou.”
With a small sigh, Clan gently touched the sword in Koutarou's hand.
“It's almost as if you don't understand the value of this sword.”
“This sword's value?”
Koutarou lifted the sword and sheath in front of himself. The holy sword, Signaltin. The sword given to him by Alaia.
“The greatest treasure of the royal families, a relic of history, the sword of sovereignty, Signaltin. Do you know how much it means for the royal families, for there to be someone who could freely use it?”
With those words, Koutarou understood what Clan wanted to say.
By making Koutarou her vassal, Clan was planning on returning Signaltin to the Forthorthe royal families.
“Of course, it holds meaning for me too.”
As she said that, Clan put her hand on her chest.
“...In other words, you want to put this sword in reach of the royal families. And Clan, you want to study me and this sword. Correct?”
“That's about right. For that, the rights to the throne is a cheap price.”
With her hand still on her chest, Clan smiled.
“Do you understand?”
“Yeah.”
Koutarou understood the meaning of what Clan said.
On top of obviously wanting to reclaim the sword, Clan, as a scientist, wanted to study it. Because of that, Clan requested that Koutarou became her vassal.
Koutarou understood that as well, it was a very logical request.
“From your position, I think it's only natural for you to want to keep this sword close.”
“Since you understand my circumstances, I hope you can give me a serious reply.”
---Of course, those are not the only reasons...
Those were not the only reasons that Clan wanted to make Koutarou her vassal. She actually had one more ulterior motive.
---There are countless royalties who have become emperor; however, there is only one who has made the Blue Knight her vassal. And he was only her vassal for a few months. If I can make Koutarou my vassal, I will be the true sole ruler of the Blue Knight! For that, I'd gladly give the throne to Theiamillis-san!
Clan desired Koutarou so she could earn the ultimate status of being the Blue Knight's master. The royal families’ ultimate dream was to have the Blue Knight truly become their vassal, that was something not even the Silver Princess could do. The only one who had a chance right now was Clan who shared the secret with Koutarou.
“I'll hear your answer another time. Please think hard and long about it until then.”
“...Yeah.”
However, Clan hadn't noticed.
Employing the services of the Blue Knight, whose existence she couldn't make public, was only for self-satisfaction. Despite that, she felt like she didn't mind. Clan still hadn't noticed the meaning behind those feelings.
Part 3
“Are girls really everything to you, Mackenzie-kun?”
“Girls aren't the only reason for me to live.”
“But, Satomi-san said so.”
“He's just having fun as he looks at me being troubled!”
Time passed, Koutarou stopped looking out the window and the class was still in a festive mood. Because of that, the homeroom had barely made any progress.
---That Clan... she gave me some troublesome homework...
Looking at the bracelet on his right arm, Koutarou let out a small sigh. He had been given that bracelet by Clan.
Koutarou had left Signaltin to Clan. Since that sword was the most valued artifact in all of Forthorthe's history, he couldn't just leave it lying around. However, leaving it to Theia would be problematic. So Koutarou decided to leave it to Clan, since she was aware of the circumstances.
In return, he got this bracelet. Normally, Clan would be studying the sword, but in times of emergency, he could use the bracelet to call for the sword. It was a minor consideration not common to Clan.
---It's more calculated and easier to respond to than Ruth-san's though...
This wasn't the first time Koutarou had been asked to become a vassal.
Theia had demanded it from the start, and lately Ruth wanted him to serve Theia, regardless of the trial. There were quite large differences between their reasons, but this was the third time Koutarou had been asked to become a vassal.
---I don't have a problem with sticking with Theia until she completes her trial. The problem is after that. Do I remain on Earth, or do I serve Theia or Clan?
As Koutarou was about to enter into deep thought again-
“Koutarou.”
Sanae's face appeared in front of him.
“Woah!?”
Surprised, Koutarou slightly flinched back and stopped his train of thought.
“W-What?”
“You've been strange lately. You have this deep wrinkle on your forehead whenever you're not doing anything.”
Sanae created a wrinkle with her hands as she said that.
“What's wrong? Are you turning into a hardboiled high schooler?”
“No, that's not it.”
That was when Koutarou noticed that he was making Sanae worry.
---Sanae's particularly sensitive to this kind of thing...
Sanae was always by Koutarou's side, and she could somewhat read his emotions through his spiritual energy. So Koutarou being in deep thought was making her worry. That wasn't something that he wanted.
---I don't have to decide right away, so I'll just focus on having fun skiing with everyone...
There was no conclusion in sight and no reason to make a decision. He couldn't let Theia complete her trial until Kiriha's problem was solved. And since he just got back to Earth, it couldn't be too bad for him to enjoy his normal life.
Having decided that, Koutarou changed gears and smiled at Sanae.
“It's just that I was thinking that going skiing would cost a lot of money.”
“What... is that all? I feel like I wasted my time worrying.”
Sanae quickly returned to a smile as well and clung onto Koutarou's back as always.
“You could just borrow money from Kiriha.”
“If I borrow from Kiriha-san, I'm scared of what comes later.”
“You'll be fine. Kiriha loves Koutarou too.”
“Really?”
“Not as much as me though.”
“Hey, Sanae, I can't see anything.”
“I'm looking, so you'll be fine!”
The normal mood between Koutarou and Sanae returned. It was a small matter, but to Koutarou it was one of the things he wanted to enjoy.
“Kou, because of you I've been going through hell!”
“You've been going through hell because of your own behavior, Mackenzie.”
“Satomi-kun, tell me the truth!”
“Landlord-san, Mackenzie is just awful.”
“Don't just come up with random crap!! It's all your doing!!”
Just like that, Koutarou jumped back into his normal life.
Part 4
With the start of February, the winter season was finally kicking into full gear. The club building positioned in the shadow of the school building was particularly cold and troubled all the clubs. And since the knitting society's club room was in the corner of the building, once Koutarou and Harumi entered the room after school, they could see their own breaths.
“Brrr, it's freezing.”
Entering the club room, Koutarou approached the heater. It was a heater that had been used in this club room for generations. That was their last fort of resistance against this temperature.
After pressing the ignition button a couple of times, a fire lit up. But even with the heater on, the room wasn't quite heating up. A few more minutes were required before Koutarou could feel warm.
“...It's finally getting warmer.”
Confirming that the heater was working, Koutarou sat down on his normal chair. Koutarou and Harumi would always sit down by the heater to knit. Since it was just the two of them in the society, it was easier to knit by the heater rather than waiting for the entire room to heat up.
At that moment, the second member of the society opened the door and entered the room.
“I'm sorry I'm a bit late, Satomi-kun.”
That would be Sakuraba Harumi, a girl with pure-white skin and long black hair.
“No worries, the heater's just started to heat the room up.”
“Thank you, Satomi-kun.”
Harumi smiled and thanked Koutarou, before sitting down on a chair next to him. Trying to sit in front of the heater like this, they would naturally end up shoulder to shoulder. It was a situation that made her somewhat happy.
“By the way, Sakuraba-senpai, did something happen today?”
While preparing his knitting tools, Koutarou called out to Harumi. He wasn't angry that she had shown up later than usual, instead he was interested in why she had been late since she normally kept the time.
“Uh.”
Harumi's expression suddenly froze and her face gradually turned red. It was obvious to Koutarou that the reason for that wasn't the heater.
“Hahaha, from the looks of it, it seems like it's something interesting.”
“Geez, Satomi-kun!”
Harumi puffed up her cheeks. That was an expression she'd only show Koutarou. As Harumi always had a calm atmosphere to her, Koutarou felt that her making an expression like that made her look cuter than usual.
“It's rude of you to laugh when the other party is serious.”
“Then what happened?”
“Uhh...”
Air slowly left Harumi's cheeks. At the same time her shoulders dropped, she turned down her face.
“A-Actually...”
Harumi shoved her hand into her bag and pulled out an envelope.
Sakuraba Harumi-sama was neatly written on it.
“Actually, I was given a love letter...”
Harumi presented the envelope to Koutarou and turned her face away as if to escape from Koutarou's glance.
“A love letter, huh. That's quite antique nowadays.”
The envelope was of high quality Japanese paper. The writer had used a pen; though the characters weren't well written, one could tell that the writer had been very thorough and thoughtful. From that, it seemed pretty clear that it was a serious love letter.
---I see, so that's why senpai said it was rude of me to laugh.
Koutarou took the envelope from Harumi and carefully took out the letter within. If it was as Harumi had said, that it was a serious love letter, he should treat it with care.
“Let's see here...”
Koutarou unfolded the letter and passed his eyes through its content. The earnest and politely written characters expressed the straight and honest feelings of the writer.
“I see.”
After reading part ways through, Koutarou folded the letter back up. This letter was directed at Harumi. So Koutarou hesitated doing anything else after confirming its contents.
“Certainly, I can't really laugh at these serious feelings.”
Koutarou returned the letter to the envelope and gave it back to Harumi.
“Yes... That's why I was somewhat troubled.”
After receiving the envelope, Harumi blushed and looked up at Koutarou. She was overwhelmed by embarrassment, but she was interested in Koutarou's reaction.
“Troubled? Why?”
“Having received such a serious letter, I realized I can't think of any way to decline without hurting the writer's feelings...”
Harumi stared at Koutarou as if asking for help. She wanted him to tell her what she should do. And if possible, she wanted him to be a little jealous. All kinds of feelings were mixed in to Harumi's glance.
“So you're really declining?”
Koutarou put his hand on top of his mouth and showed a small smile.
This wasn't actually the first time this had happened. After getting up on the stage, Harumi would often receive confessions from boys.
“That's because... I don't really know the person... and it was so sudden.”
However, Harumi would always decline the confessions. Even though she had gotten more courageous after having the opportunity to get up on stage, she was still bad at dealing with people, so sudden confessions scared her.
“But, this time I've gotten such a polite letter... and I've understood that person's feelings, so I'm not sure if I can decline without giving a reason like always...”
Being an avid reader, Harumi had an easier time understanding a person's feelings through a letter, rather than being told to her face. Because of that, she wasn't sure how she would decline this confessor.
“In that case... it might be a bit plain, but what if you say you already have someone you like?”
That was the first thing that popped into Koutarou's head. He believed that anything but this odd lie would hurt the writer.
“Even you must have one or two you've liked, right? So this wouldn't be a complete lie, and the other party wouldn't be hurt.”
“T-That's true, but...”
Koutarou thought it was a brilliant idea, but hearing that, Harumi's face turned redder than before. That's because the person Harumi liked was Koutarou.
“But, what if... what if they ask who that person is?”
“Then you could just tell them.”
Just tell them. That was Koutarou's simple idea that would put an end to this.
“I-I can't!”
Harumi shook her hands and head.
“If that caused that person trouble I would feel bad!”
“It's okay. This is the person that Sakuraba-senpai has fallen for. That person wouldn't get angry over something like that.”
Koutarou smiled.
To him. it only looked like Harumi was overthinking things.
“I-Is that really so?”
“It would be one thing if that person didn't know you, but any person that knew you wouldn't get mad.”
A person that knew her would probably be okay with it. If anything, if that person got mad because of that, they probably wouldn't get along as lovers. So either way, there was no need for Harumi to worry. That was how Koutarou thought of it.
“Besides, this is a chance.”
Koutarou stressed this as being more important.
“Chance?”
Harumi's eyes opened wide in surprise.
“It's your chance to tell the person you like how you feel.”
“T-That's still, still too fast! Far too fast!!”
As Koutarou explained what he meant by chance, Harumi shook her head even faster than before.
“I think it's a good chance though.”
Koutarou desperately suppressed his urge to laugh, as Harumi's overly shaken appearance looked adorable to him.
“If it doesn't work I'll be troubled! I don't want to face that reality right now! And I'm still not mentally prepared!”
“Ku, Kukuku, T-That is troubling, Ku, Kukuku.”
Eventually laughter leaked from Koutarou's mouth. Seeing Harumi panic like a little chicken, Koutarou couldn't hold his laughter in.
“Geez, Satomi-kun! Please don't laugh, I'm serious!”
Harumi clenched her hands and hit Koutarou with her soft and harmless fists.
“S-Sorry, b-but it was, just so funny, Ku, Kukuku *cough*”
“You didn't have to laugh so hard that you’d choke! Geez~!”
“*cough* *cough*”
Koutarou coughed repeatedly and finally managed to hold his laughter in. But if he let his guard down even a little he felt like he would burst out laughing again, so he looked away from Harumi who was glaring at him.
“...E-Excuse me.”
“Geez... stupid Satomi-kun.”
Harumi let out some disgruntled words to the back of Koutarou's head.
---If Satomi-kun knew he was the one I like, what kind of face would he make?
With her cheeks puffed, Harumi's mind was being filled with those feelings. And those feelings led her to doubt.
---Doesn't Satomi-kun want to know who I like...?
Despite being this close to Harumi's problem, Koutarou didn't show any signs of being interested in her love interest. She began worrying if Koutarou even sees her as a woman.
---Maybe... I should try asking...?
There, Harumi decided to ask Koutarou. After taking a deep breath, and straightening out her feelings, she called out to Koutarou in a low voice.
“Uhm, Satomi-kun...”
“Yes?”
Koutarou turned his eyes back towards Harumi. At this time he was no longer laughing. With the short passage of time, Harumi's voice and expression had turned serious.
“Just a hypothetical question... if Satomi-kun fell in love with a girl... and that girl didn't love Satomi-kun, but a different boy, what would you do?”
Harumi didn't have the courage to directly ask Koutarou if he was interested in her. Because of that, she changed the way she asked her question. Even though it seemed like Koutarou had no interest in Harumi, she wanted to confirm if he liked her or not.
---That's the situation you're in, right, Sakuraba-senpai...
Someone liked Harumi and gave her a love letter. But Harumi liked another boy. So how would the person who gave her the love letter feel? Koutarou interpreted Harumi's question like so.
“Hmm, if it was me...”
Koutarou began imagining himself in that situation. As he did, Harumi's and Alaia's appearances overlapped.
---Your majesty...
At that moment, Koutarou realized what he would do in that situation.
“If it was me, I would probably cheer for her. I would cheer for her, so that her love would come through.”
“Really? Would you be fine with that?”
Harumi's eyes opened wide in surprise once more. That was an unexpected answer to her. She imagined that he would answer that he would give up or steal her.
“This is the person you're really in love with.”
“Yes. So I'd really want her to get together with the person she truly loved.”
Koutarou answered without hesitation.
The reason he felt that way was because he knew Alaia. Despite loving the Blue Knight, she devoted herself to the well-being of her citizens. He felt that way after seeing her up close, and after having gotten in the way of her meeting with the real Blue Knight.
He wanted the person he loved to get together with the person she loved.
“Of course, if that girl’s love goes unrequited, I'll take my chance and confess.”
He being the person she loved would be ideal, but that kind of coincidence would rarely happen. So he would confess after the love of the person he loved had ended. That was how he felt.
“I see...”
Hearing Koutarou's answer, Harumi felt a sense of relief.
---Good... I have a chance too... but based on what he just said, while I ask him for advice like this, he will just cheer for me...
“Thank you, Satomi-kun.”
“I don't know if my answer will be of any help though.”
Koutarou realized that his answer was a special case. There shouldn't be that many cases of meeting a real princess, seeing how she lived her life and getting in the way of her love.
“No, it's very helpful.”
However, that was enough for Harumi. She wanted to know how Koutarou felt.
---I should properly decline the writer of this letter. And I'll make sure to resolve anything like this on my own from now on. I'll show Satomi-kun that he's the only one for me. I'll confess after he's understood that...
Having found her path from now on, Harumi began smiling like always. And she then began moving her knitting needles.
“By the way, the school trip is right around the corner, isn't it?”
“Yes. It's been a long time since I last went skiing.”
Koutarou followed suit and the two of them moved their knitting needles side by side.
“Are you good at skiing? You look like you would be.”
“I don't have a lot of experience skiing, so I'm just average. How about you, Sakuraba-senpai? Can you ski?”
“Fufu, actually, I have confidence in my skiing.”
They continued with their normal club activities. The two of them spent their time leisurely and cheerfully talking to one another.
“That's surprising.”
“I hate that mean part of you. As a punishment, you'll have to bring me a souvenir.”
“As you wish, my princess.”
With the winter in full swing, the temperature had dropped and the club room was cold. However, it was being warmed by a cheerful, warm atmosphere on top of the power of the antique heater.
