0. Cover
0. Insert
0. Title Page
0. Copyright
0. Map
0. Prologue
0. Chapter One. Aster ~ A Brief Repose ~
0. Chapter Two. Leadwort ~ Playful Heart ~
0. Epilogue
0. Another Chapter. Japanese Iris ~ Tidings ~
0. Afterword
0. Yen Newsletter

“Just get out there and interact with people, Setsuna.”

Those words signaled a beginning, like the skies at dawn, and served as shackles, since I yearned for twilight.

That promise, which could never be broken, was both the meaning of my life and my atonement for surviving.

Because I was here in place of my friend.

I would never, ever forget that.

“Don’t…leave…me…”

Alto’s whispered plea still lingered in my ears. I couldn’t trample over the courage and emotion he’d put into those words.

Which is how I gained another purpose in life.

“I want to see my family.” That modest wish was now one I vowed to realize.

Another smoldering coal to add to the fire. And another, and another. I kept coming across reasons to keep on living.

He was like the flame in a lamp: he didn’t radiate bright light all around him, but instead gave off a warm, gentle glow.

We had finally begun our lives in this world.

We hadn’t been blessed with anything one could call normal.

We waded our way across the land like plants without roots.

And the person who had taught us how to live such a peaceful life was a hero who walked in twilight…

Part Two: Alto

I tried to sleep, but I couldn’t. I was just having fun with Master and Gramps, but now I was all alone in my bed. This was the first time I’d slept apart from Master since becoming his apprentice, and it felt strange. Sleeping alone made me feel really lonely, even though I’d always slept alone before I met Master.

I couldn’t sleep, so I got out of bed with Jackie and went to Master’s room.

I wonder if he’s still awake.

I thought he might be asleep already, so I hesitated in front of his door. Just then, the door began to open slowly in front of me.

I looked up in surprise and saw Master standing there staring at me.

“What’s the matter, Alto?” he asked in his usual kind voice. It filled me with relief. Then I remembered this afternoon, and how I’d told him I wanted to sleep in his bed with him, but he’d said no, and all I could do was look down.

Master saw me frozen there and let out a troubled sigh. I braced myself for him to tell me to go back to my room while I squeezed Jackie tight and waited for him to speak. I knew I should apologize and go back to my room on my own, but I couldn’t even get the words out.

“Alto.”

I hesitantly looked up at his face. He was smiling. Maybe his sigh wasn’t a bad sigh after all…

“Come on, Alto,” he said, letting me into his room. He got into bed and patted the spot next to him like he always did. That was the sign that it was okay for me to sleep next to him! Jackie and I happily jumped into bed with him.

“Sorry, but could you have Jackie sleep on the chair over there? This bed is small,” Master said with a smile. I lay down and he gently pulled the blankets up over me.

“I’m sorry, Master.” I was finally able to say the words I’d been wanting to for a while now.

“Why are you apologizing?”

“Because I couldn’t sleep by myself.”

“…Yeah.”

His response stung a little. I lowered my gaze, but then I heard him chuckling softly. He patted my chest over the blankets. The feeling was really gentle, and it made me feel relieved.

“You can sleep with me tonight, but I want you to try sleeping by yourself tomorrow. Then you can sleep with me again the day after.”

I didn’t understand what he meant by that, so I just stared at him.

“You can tough it out for a day, right? So if you try your hardest for one day, you can take the next day off. You can get used to it slowly like that.”

I can be tough for one day.

“Think you can do it?”

“Yes, I think so.”

“You don’t have to rush. It’s all right to take it slow learning new things.”

I nodded and Master patted my head.

“But, Alto, I don’t want you to ever think something’s impossible from the start. Try it once, and if it doesn’t work out, try to think of how you can succeed. If you fail, all that means is that you can challenge yourself.”

Oh, I see. That’s why he told me no this afternoon.

Master’s hand was so gentle and warm that I began to feel drowsy as I remembered our conversation from this afternoon.

“Mas…ter…?”

“Yes?”

“I’ll…be tough…tomorrow…”

I was so sleepy that I couldn’t keep my eyes open anymore, but I wanted to make sure I told him that.

I’ll try hard tomorrow…

I heard Master chuckling from above my head.

“Okay. Good night, Alto.”

I was too sleepy to speak anymore. I wanted to answer him, but all I could do was form the words in my head.

Good night, Master…

Part Three: Ragi

As the sun started to peek over the horizon, I heard the sound of the door opening and quiet footsteps. I had a feeling the person they belonged to was trying not to wake me. The footfalls got even quieter when they passed in front of my room.

But unfortunately, their consideration was wasted on me, because I’d woken up even earlier than them. I hadn’t tried to—this is just something that happens when you get as old as me. In fact, the older I got, the earlier I woke up.

Setsuna got out of bed a little later than me, very skillfully cloaked his presence, and went out into the garden. Even though I had been a mercenary for many years, I’d never seen someone with his level of training. He’d introduced himself as a scholar, but it was evident that the title wasn’t enough to summarize his abilities, and that hunch was confirmed as I watched him out the window. Who was he, really?

I’d lived a long time, but my life was almost at an end. When first I’d sensed this several months ago, I’d thought about departing for the Waterside on my own. But those feelings wavered after a few days, and I decided to post the quest at the guild.

Since then, several adventurers had shown up on my doorstep, but they’d all been good-for-nothings asking for my life savings as their reward. Of course, I had no use for money after I was dead, so I could’ve given it to them, but their attitude toward me had been careless, as if it didn’t matter what they did because I was just going to die anyway. So I’d felt like things wouldn’t work out with them and asked them to leave. I didn’t really want to talk about money.

Perhaps that was indulgent of me. One could even say it was a mistake. After all, the nature of quests is doing tasks in exchange for money. Although their demands were excessive, it was work, so it was only natural that the matter of payment should be settled.

Of course, I knew that logically. Even if it was an excessive demand, adventurers worked by negotiating until both sides agreed to the terms. I also knew they had to make a living and earn money when they could—otherwise, they might be out on the street.

I knew it was quite common for them to start negotiating at the highest price, but I just couldn’t get myself to a place where I could even begin to discuss it. My heart rejected the very idea. I wanted to live out the rest of my days with someone I could laugh with.

But life didn’t always work out that way, and I never thought about taking down the posting, even once. One could even say it was expected, since humans feel uncomfortable around beastfolk. Things had just turned out this way, and my house here would become my final resting place, but deep down, I wanted to go home to Sagana. I wanted to die there. But I didn’t belong there anymore.

I can’t possibly go back to my friends and family now.

As I kept turning down adventurers, rumors must’ve spread about me, and adventurers stopped showing up at my house after a while. I began to wallow in my loneliness and spent more time reflecting on my past. Even looking back on it now, I’d led a turbulent life.

Back then, the war between beastfolk and humans was raging fiercely. Although I was young, I desperately threw myself into battle, but no matter how hard we tried, the situation didn’t improve. The number of beastfolk dwindled, and our oppression at the hands of humans persisted.

That largely came down to the fact that the different tribes of beastfolk had fought separately, without a country to call their own, while the humans had united and fought in organized groups among their countries to overwhelm us. Even the superior physical abilities of beastfolk were powerless in the face of their sheer numbers.

To counter this, Sagana, the country of beastfolk, was founded about three hundred and fifty years ago. In lieu of a king, it was decided that representatives of each tribe would come together to rule Sagana, and that every ten years the representatives would meet to decide who would become their top representative. With this system in place, they were able to convince tribes of beastfolk who didn’t like to be subservient to others to join, and built a sense of unity.

In the midst of this battle between beastfolk and humans, one human actually helped found Sagana, leading some beastfolk to believe that the relationship between us and humans would someday improve. Personally, however, I never thought the day would come when beastfolk and humans could come together hand in hand.

My proof for this was that even after Sagana was founded, the war didn’t end; in fact, the fighting only stopped several decades ago. Although I didn’t participate in the final battle, I heard it was a tragic one. If someone were to ask me if I could forgive what humans have done to beastfolk, my answer would immediately be no, and I think most beastfolk feel the same. That was how deep the divide between humans and beastfolk ran.

Which is why I prepared for the worst. I might end up dying alone. If that happens, there’s nothing else I can do about it.

That was when Setsuna and Alto showed up to ask about the quest. I listened to what Alto had to say, watched his reactions, and ultimately grew very fond of the beastfolk boy. It felt quite nice to hear him call me “Gramps.”

But the human sitting next to him, who he called master, was a problem. I didn’t understand his intentions. Based on Alto’s interactions with the man, I was sure that he hadn’t been enslaved, but…

Would a human really make a beastfolk child his apprentice?

And if Alto was his apprentice, what did the human intend on doing while the boy was here with me? I asked him, and he used magic to put Alto to sleep. Honestly, I thought, Not again! I figured he’d heard the rumors and thought I’d turn down another human, so he used a beastfolk child to get to me. But I couldn’t be sure. The blood of a warrior boiled inside me, but I suppressed it and decided to hear him out.

Once I’d heard what he had to say, I became painfully aware that I was only thinking about myself. I realized my preconceptions about humans had interfered with my ability to see Setsuna’s true nature. I had put myself up on a pedestal and blamed him when he only had Alto’s best interests at heart the entire time.

The young man bowed to me, a beastfolk, for the sake of Alto’s future.

…No, that’s not quite right.

I had a feeling he respected me from the beginning. I was the only one here who’d gotten caught up in the differences between beastfolk and humans. What had led the man to turn out like this?

He trembled because he cared so much about Alto’s feelings and my own. I realized that my attitude and words had hurt him deeply, yet he’d put his own feelings last and was purely concerned about his apprentice. And before I knew it, I’d opened up to the young man who would do anything for the sake of this beastfolk child.

“Master! Take that!”

Alto’s voice interrupted my reverie. I glanced out the window and saw that Alto had joined Setsuna’s training session. He had a serious look on his face as he frantically sparred with his master.

Even if he wasn’t born in Sagana, I’m surprised that a beastfolk child would open his heart so much to a human. Though I suppose I can’t really talk.

Thinking that, a melancholic smile touched my lips. It was a mystery to me as well, but before I knew it, I was asking Setsuna to live here.

“Ah, you got me again! That’s not fair, Master!”

I heard Alto complaining to Setsuna. If I strained my ears a little, I could hear their whole conversation. Beastfolk have very good hearing.

“Why? What’s unfair about it?”

“That one was mine!”

“What? It’s your fault for being too slow, Alto.”

Setsuna had used Wind magic to make floating targets, and they were competing to see who could break the most.

“But you tripped me!”

“Of course I did. I told you we were training with obstacles, remember?”

“But I can’t do obstacles!”

“I don’t know what to say to that.”

I had to laugh when I listened to their conversation. Suddenly, I realized I’d been laughing a lot ever since they’d shown up the day before.

I’m glad Setsuna’s living here, too.

If he weren’t here, I was sure I wouldn’t see Alto smile very much at all.

He’d thought about my offer for a while but had ultimately accepted. I thought back to that moment and ended up remembering something else in the process.

I had decided to tease him a little bit and said, “By the way, Setsuna, you’re free to call me whatever you want, even if it’s ‘you old goat!’” and was surprised when the person who responded was Alto instead.

“Old goat!”

Even just thinking about it was hilarious.

Alto was just too earnest, which put Setsuna in quite the predicament. It was almost like watching someone look after their troublesome younger brother.

I thought Setsuna a very kind young man, but when he was trying to teach Alto a lesson, he concealed that kindness. That might invite misunderstanding to someone who didn’t know their situation. He must have known some people would see it that way, yet he still imposed this training upon Alto. Setsuna himself seemed to feel the most conflicted and guilty about this situation, which was sad yet unavoidable.

Something Setsuna had said echoed in my ears: “Maybe I wouldn’t be so hard on him if he was just an ordinary beastfolk boy.” That’s right; no matter how misunderstood he was, or how guilty he felt, Setsuna would grit his teeth and steel his heart to train Alto to survive. That way, his Bluewolf apprentice wouldn’t end up as a sacrifice to Endia.

Even though it must be difficult for a human and beastfolk to travel together, Setsuna took on Alto as his apprentice, protected him, and trained him. The boy wasn’t his own child or even of his own race, but when he rescued Alto from the slave trader, Alto had asked to stay with him. For that reason alone, they were together. Honestly, I couldn’t wrap my head around it.

Still, the way he was…

“Stop taking my targets!”

“If you don’t want me to take them, you’ll have to break them faster than me.”

Outside the house, Alto and Setsuna continued to train—and to argue. I quietly opened the window and gazed out at their vigorous practice session.

“Gyaaaah!”

Alto had become quite annoyed when Setsuna broke another one of the targets he’d been after. Although he yelled about it, he didn’t give up. It seemed like he had a very competitive personality. The next thing I knew, I had another smile on my face, and my interest in them had grown even stronger.

I have a feeling things are going to get fun around here…

I also thought I would be able to have the kind of end I’d been wishing for.

……

That selfish thought made my heart ache. My wish would only hurt Setsuna. I silently apologized to him and Alto as I gazed out the window. Just then, Alto noticed me. I wondered if the window had made a sound when I’d opened it. Once he saw me, he was about to run over, but Setsuna stopped him.

“Alto. What do we say?”

Alto’s ears lay back apologetically and his tail wagged. “Thank you, Master!”

“Yes, good work today. Make sure you wipe yourself down before you get cold.”

He nodded cheerfully and ran over to me. I wasn’t sure how many times I’d smiled so far at that sight, but I did it again. This must be what it felt like to have a grandchild.

“Good morning, Gramps!”

“Morning, Alto.”

Setsuna slowly walked over and greeted me as well. “Good morning, Ragi. I’ll go ahead and make breakfast now.”

“Morning, Setsuna. There’s really no rush.”

He nodded, then went to go make breakfast. I watched him leave before turning my gaze to Alto.

“Is Setsuna strong?” I asked to satisfy my own curiosity. Alto’s eyes glittered in response.

“Master’s the strongest!”

My eyes widened. I hadn’t expected him to reply that way.

“The strongest?”

“Yeah, the strongest!”

“Why do you think that?”

“Because I’ve never seen him lose.”

“I see…”

I wonder what he’s fought?

When I watched Setsuna train, I could feel the warrior blood within me sing. My desire to fight against strong people hadn’t waned, even after all these years.

“If I fought against Setsuna, who do you think would win?”

I’d asked him that as a joke, but Alto looked back at me seriously. It was almost as if he were searching for something, or sizing me up, and that surprised me.

He might be young, but he’s definitely a Bluewolf.

The wolf beastfolk tribe was divided into Bluewolves, Silverwolves, and all other wolves. Bluewolves and Silverwolves were rarer than the rest, and they had magical abilities the others lacked. On top of that, Bluewolves were among the strongest of any beastfolk tribe. It seemed like a glimpse of that was manifesting in Alto already.

However, something was missing—the love of fighting alone. My Bluewolf friends had always spoken about how they wanted to test their strength to the very limit. Although I had similar urges, they weren’t nearly as strong as Bluewolves’.

That quality of theirs contributed to Ellana’s obsession with hunting Bluewolves, who were exceedingly rare, even back when I’d lived in Sagana.

I don’t want Alto to be like that. I want him to grow strong enough to stand on his own two feet, yet never have to be alone.

That’s what I thought as I looked into Alto’s eyes, and why I was struck by the urge to tell him everything. Because I wanted to give him the power to protect himself.

“Gramps! I think if you fought Master, he would be stronger than you,” Alto told me in a serious voice.

“What makes you think that?”

Although it made sense, a small part of me thought that I wouldn’t know unless we fought, which is why I’d asked.

“Just ’cause?” Alto tipped his head to the side with a puzzled look on his face. I couldn’t help but burst out laughing. He looked so innocent that it was hard to believe he had been so serious just a few moments ago.

“Oh yeah? Just because, huh?”

Alto didn’t seem to know how to take my chuckling, which only made me laugh harder. As the two of us spent a peaceful moment together, I heard Setsuna calling us for breakfast.

I thought about how bland food had been when I’d eaten alone. Eating dinner with Alto and Setsuna last night had reminded me of the joy of sharing a meal with others. I was grateful for that, and thanked the sun god Saadia for bringing them into my life.

Part Two: Alto

Since Master had two days off, Gramps also gave me a day off. We were going to take a quest together, but when I looked at the bulletin board in the Adventurers Guild, I didn’t see anything that really jumped out at me.

The only quests that had been posted to the Yellow bulletin board were ones Master had told me about before, like picking herbs. Because this was our first quest together, I wanted to do something he hadn’t done before, instead of these sorts of basic ones.

That was when I came up with asking for a fishing quest. When Master and I went fishing, he looked like he was having so much fun and said it was his first time, so I knew he’d never taken a fishing quest before. Unfortunately, there were no yellow-rank fishing quests, and I wasn’t sure if fishing even counted as a quest. I couldn’t ask Master right now, so maybe I’d sneak over to the guildmaster and ask him.

Master was behind me reading a book at the desk. I wanted to surprise him, so I hoped he wouldn’t see me.

I thought now would be a good time, so I looked for the guildmaster and saw him straightening up something at the counter. If I went all the way over there to talk to him, Master would probably notice and be able to listen in. Just when I was about to give up on it, I had a completely different idea.

Master could do anything, and I thought he knew everything, but recently he’d said there was something he didn’t understand, which surprised me a bit. It all suddenly came rushing back to me. Even if there weren’t any fishing quests, I knew for a fact that there were quests involving that thing he didn’t know. I was sure he’d be happy to do that sort of a quest.

I already knew there wasn’t a quest like that on the Yellow board, so I went to check the Green board. It was the same when I found Gramps’s quest, but I’d gotten much better at reading. There were still a lot of words I didn’t understand, though. I’d recognized more words on the Yellow board, so I wished there had been a good quest there.

I wanted to ask Master what the words infiltration, expulsion, and cultivation meant, but I managed to stop myself. Dahlia had told me there was a book called a dictionary where you could look up words you didn’t know, so maybe I would save up some money and buy one. Well, I hadn’t finished my quest and received a reward yet, so I’d just have to work hard on that first.

Even if I was with Master, I wondered whether I’d be better off choosing a quest that would earn me a reward. If they scaled the reward to my rank, then the amount Master earned would decrease, but I knew he wouldn’t care about that and tell me to choose a quest I wanted to do.

“Alto, you still haven’t decided? At this rate we won’t have any time left to do a quest.”

“I can’t find anything good yet.”

I was thinking so much I didn’t know what quest to pick. I thought and thought but couldn’t decide what to do. And just then, a quest fell right into my lap.

Part Three: Setsuna

We were the only adventurers in the guild and it was all quiet, perhaps because we came early in the morning. Drum sat silently at the counter, sorting through requests. He did that every morning, just as Nestor in Gardir had done as well.

After he was finished with that, Drum held the stack of quests and went over to the bulletin board to begin posting them. Alto’s eyes began to sparkle, and then he tore one off the board and brought it over. He handed it happily to me and I took a look at it, and felt my chest tighten.

“Alto, are you sure you want to do this quest?”

He nodded emphatically, and I could tell he’d already made up his mind, which caused that tightness in my chest to constrict even further. The first line read: Quest Name: Preservation of Ruins.

Alto knows I’m interested in ruins.

It was sad that we couldn’t accept the quest, since Alto had been so kind picking it out for me.

“Can we take this quest, Master?” He looked up at me anxiously.

“Alto. It takes half a day on horseback to get to these ruins.”

“I’ve never ridden a horse before. Can’t we do it? Couldn’t we walk?”

He seemed disappointed when I mentioned the horse.

“That’s not the point, Alto. It would take a day to get to the ruins and back, and surveying them would take another half day.”

The quest involved checking how weathered the ruins were and replacing barriers for preservation. There were also other things involved, and based on that I calculated it would take half a day to complete the work.

“……”

Alto looked like he didn’t understand what I was talking about. I wanted him to come to the realization by himself, but gave up and sternly asked him, “Alto. What is your job right now?”

“My job…is to take care of Gramps.”

Suddenly his face contorted in anguish. It seemed like he’d figured out the problem, but I continued my questioning.

“And how many days off did he give you?”

“Just today…”

“That’s right. You don’t know where these ruins are located, and you didn’t know the details of the quest, so I can’t blame you for picking it. And I know you chose this quest with me in mind, which is very kind of you.”

I stopped there. Alto’s head drooped, and I knew I didn’t have to say anything else.

“I should’ve realized we couldn’t do it when you said it would take half a day by horse. I got distracted by the horse and messed up. I’m sorry.”

He apologized by bowing low, so I could see how bad he felt about his mistake. It was just like him to be so remorseful.

“You realized your mistake and apologized, so it’s fine.”

I stroked his hair and smiled at him.

“Now, what should we—”

Suddenly Drum interrupted me mid-sentence by calling my name. He saw me lecturing Alto and came over to me.

“Don’t you think you’re being too hard on the boy?”

“I’m sorry if we were being too loud. We should’ve gone somewhere else. But this is a problem between me and my apprentice, so I would appreciate it if you stayed out of it.”

“That’s not the problem. As you can see, you’re the only ones in here right now, so it makes sense why you lectured him here. But since this involves a quest, and I’m the guildmaster, I think I have the right to offer my opinion, don’t you think?”

I couldn’t argue with that, so I nodded and said, “Yes.”

“The reason why the guild allows adventurers of different ranks to form temporary parties is so that lower-ranked adventurers can gain experiences in a variety of different quests. They need to know what they’re in for when they get to the higher ranks, both for their sake and for the sake of the guild.”

As Drum spoke, Alto tried to return the quest form, saying, “It was my fault,” but the guildmaster just poked him in the forehead. I laughed and said I wasn’t in the mood to argue about it either, and Alto looked at us both with relief.

“To be honest, I feel sorry for him. But there’s more to it. Since you’re a scholar and a sorcerer, I was hoping you would accept this quest, and thought it would be good training for a novice. So, from the guild’s point of view, we can kill two birds with one stone.”

“But Alto’s in the middle of another quest.”

“Hm? So why don’t you ask for just one more day off? It’s a master’s duty to fight for his apprentice, right? I’m not saying you should disrespect your client, but it’s normal to schedule your days off. Lots of adventurers take time off here and there, even with live-in quests, so old man Ragi shouldn’t mind if Alto asks for a couple days off.”

“Ragi already agreed to one day off, though, so I feel like it’d be rude to ask him to extend that to suit us.”

“Well, that is true, but…” The guildmaster sat down in the seat next to me. “This is a good opportunity, so I want to talk to you about something.”

With a strained smile on his face, Alto said that this was his fault one more time before being seated. I wondered what Drum might want to talk about, but he told me, “Don’t worry, it won’t take long.”

“What is it?”

“I think it goes without saying that one of the duties of a guildmaster is to verify the true nature of new adventurers who arrive under their jurisdiction, to ensure they’re not criminals or anything like that. So, I was checking your quest history and was surprised to find out that, apart from one temporary party you joined, you’ve done all your quests solo.”

How did the conversation shift from Alto’s quest to me?

I glanced at Drum with a puzzled expression, and he continued.

“Which brings me to my main point. Normally this isn’t something I’d come right out and say; adventurers are expected to figure it out for themselves, but I thought I’d mention it to you out of concern since you’ve had limited opportunities to learn such things working solo.”

I nodded.

“You’re right to prioritize the client’s quest, but there are other things that matter, too. You need to start looking at things from the perspective of creating a conducive environment for an adventurer to work in. That’s one of the duties of someone in a leadership position. Even if people in lower positions scream at the top of their lungs, their working environments often end up unchanged, which is why those in positions of power, whose opinions are more easily heard, need to be the ones to step up and improve the environment for everyone else.”

The duty of someone in a leadership position…

Memories from months ago when I joined the temporary party with Agito flashed through my mind. I remembered Agito and Beet had persuaded Nestor to offer me the reward, and although I didn’t care much about the reward, they’d insisted that adventurers should receive fair compensation because they risked their lives for quests.

Taking that into consideration, Alto’s days off were the equivalent of a reward, so it was only right for him to receive them.

“You’re an incredibly talented individual who can handle anything without much trouble—something you should be more aware of. But since you’ve mostly worked solo, you lack the common sense that most adventurers have. That’s why you don’t attach much importance to rewards.”

“I understand.”

“Let me be clear: Your performance as an adventurer is not only satisfactory, but commendable. The guildmaster of Gardir has reported to the main guild headquarters with each completed quest that your work is meticulous and flawless. With your skills, you should aim to move up as quickly as possible.”

I found myself feeling happy that Nestor had evaluated my work so highly.

“That’s why it’s a shame. As a rule, the guild doesn’t promote people who seem incapable of fulfilling leadership roles, so understanding your role is very important. I mentioned earlier that this is something you should’ve realized on your own rather than having to be told, but it seems like you never had the opportunity before, which is why I’m giving you this advice.”

I expressed my gratitude and noticed Alto looking at me happily.

“Thank you very much. Now then, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go home and ask permission for Alto.”

“Sure, good luck.”

With Drum’s warm words of encouragement, we hurried back to Ragi’s house.

Part Four: Ragi

We reached our destination with time to spare before evening fell.

“We got here faster than I thought we would.”

We crossed the stone walkway and stood in front of a cabin nestled halfway up a cliff. Both the cabin and the rock beneath our feet protruded unnaturally from the cliff like shelves. It had an artificial feel, and had probably been created by Earth magic.

“Nice work. I was surprised when you said you wanted to come with us, Ragi. But it seems my worries were unfounded,” Setsuna said with a smile, the last to arrive.

But his eyes weren’t smiling. He knew that I didn’t have much time left to live, so he was probably worried I’d strain myself and shorten it even more…

“You should really stop treating me like an old man,” I joked lightly to ease his concerns, while subtly signaling to him with my eyes that the most important thing right now was to praise Alto, who looked dejected. Setsuna nodded and gently patted Alto’s head.

“Good job, Alto.”

“I couldn’t ride properly. I’m just a burden. I’m sorry.”

Alto had never ridden a horse before and had been feeling down ever since Setsuna had rented a horse and two-person saddle from the Adventurers Guild. According to Setsuna, Alto had been saying that he wanted to practice ever since he became an adventurer, but Setsuna had purposely not taught Alto because he thought it was too early for him to ride a horse for quests.

“There’s no need to apologize. I never taught you, so how could you know?” Setsuna tried to reassure him, but Alto wouldn’t hear it. “What matters is that you hung in there for such a long time on horseback. You did great! Really.”

After Setsuna praised him, Alto seemed to cheer up and his tail wagged happily. As I watched their heartwarming exchange, I thought that I’d made the right decision to come along, despite my reservations.

When Setsuna and Alto returned from the guild and asked for Alto to have another day off, I was going to say it was fine right away. However, Alto had a solemn look on his face that piqued my curiosity, so I asked what happened, a mischievous glint in my eye.

Setsuna grew serious and told me, “We need two days for a ruins preservation quest, because this will be a good experience for Alto for the future.”

Looking at his expression, I found myself overcome with the feeling of wanting to do something for this master and apprentice. In that same moment, I remembered their morning training and thought that this quest might prove useful to Alto someday, so I agreed to give him an extra day off on the condition that I accompany them to the ruins.

That wasn’t the only reason, though; I’d felt a profound sense of loneliness at the thought of being away from this pair, whom I adored, for two days. So, with the guildmaster’s approval, we ended up coming here together.

I’d lost myself in thought for a moment thinking about this morning’s events, but Setsuna’s voice brought me back to myself.

“According to the quest form, we’re supposed to enter the ruins from this cabin.”

That made sense, considering the cabin was built into the side of the cliff. Setsuna used the key he’d brought to open the door and went inside. Alto followed, and I brought up the rear.

The first thing that caught my eye was the artificial cavern built into the rock wall, which stood out in the room. I was briefly surprised and, as I glanced around, saw that the interior was very spacious. There was a fireplace, a desk and chairs, and four simple beds. It was very nice for accommodations built for people coming to help preserve the ruins.

“We’re supposed to attach a lifeline to those stakes, then enter through that opening.”

There were four stakes driven into the ground in front of the curious cavern entrance—the beginning of the ruins. The passage beyond was a steep slope, and I could see how one might easily tumble down if not being extra careful. I was glad I had come along after all.

I thought back to when Setsuna had tried to persuade me not to come because it was too dangerous. A long time ago, the mountain had shifted. Half of it had disappeared, while the other half had turned into a cliff face. The ruins inside had also moved, leaving no way to walk on them, so there was a considerable risk of falling. I couldn’t believe my ears when I heard this story for the first time, but after seeing the ruins for myself, there was nothing else I could do but take it as fact.

There must have been ruins near the entrance on the side that had disappeared, because I could see exposed, broken pathways with no door. The cabin had been built around the entrance instead to prevent the interior of the ruins from being exposed to the elements and deteriorating.

“What shall we do? We were planning on just returning tomorrow, but I’d like to take a break before the survey. Ragi, if you’re feeling tired, should we rest up and start tomorrow instead?”

“But won’t that make you late for work the day after tomorrow?”

“If it comes to that, I can use Wind magic to teleport along the way, so please don’t let that worry you.” Setsuna said this casually, but it was quite an extraordinary statement. Although he wasn’t suggesting to teleport the entire distance we’d traveled on horseback, teleportation magic consumed different amounts of mana depending on the weight you carried and the distance. Pushing himself that far just to make it back in time for his job the day after next seemed unreasonable.

“Didn’t I tell you not to treat me like an old man? I’m not so old that half a day on horseback tires me out.” I found that strangely amusing coming from me, but I honestly wasn’t tired at all.

“Well, let’s take a short break before entering the ruins. Alto seems to want some sweets.”

Alto had looked a bit tired, but now his ears perked up, and he eagerly began rummaging through his bag for snacks.

“Gramps, which one would you like?”

I was grateful for the time Setsuna had given us, and took one of the snacks Alto offered.

After resting for a while, we began preparing to survey the ruins. Setsuna tied a rope to one of the stakes and wound it around Alto, explaining how it worked and its importance as he did so. Although Alto looked a bit confused, he listened attentively and watched what Setsuna did with his hands.

Once Setsuna was finished explaining, he handed a rope to Alto to put his training into action and set up Setsuna’s lifeline. I watched on, impressed at how clever Alto was, as he did his best to set up the lifeline, turning over what he had been taught in his head the whole time.

That wasn’t to say things went smoothly, but of course it’s rare for things to go right the first time you do something. Setsuna seemed to understand this too, smiling and saying, “This bit’s a little tricky, isn’t it?” as he continued to patiently guide Alto through the process.

Finally, when their lifelines were set up, Setsuna noticed I hadn’t prepared mine and called out to me. “Ragi, do you not know how to set up a lifeline either?”

I gave him a knowing smile and took off my shoes. “When you’re as skilled as I am, you can climb cliffs just by focusing on your footing! I can climb down a slope like this with my eyes closed.”

I wasn’t joking; it was something that was possible for an adult beastfolk if they honed their strength and sense of balance. Human and beastfolk bodies were fundamentally different, after all. That was why I had come along, because I wanted to impress this upon Alto.

Finally…

I felt my excitement rising, but reminded myself not to overdo it and balled my hands into fists to restrain myself. I didn’t want to show off too much and have Alto try to copy me. I had emphasized my own capacity to do this, rather than that of beastfolk in general, to avoid drawing too much attention to the fact that Alto might be able to do it, too.

This was too dangerous for a child whose body hadn’t fully developed, and Alto still had a lot of growing to do, so it would be too risky for him to attempt trying to imitate me just yet. Instead, I was doing this so he would have it to look back on when he was fully grown, so I hoped it would leave an impression on him.

Learning how to tie knots the right way was also crucial. I was sure it would come in handy when Alto eventually took on quests alongside humans, so right now, that was the more important skill for him to master. I just hoped that what I did today would someday be useful to him.

“All right. Just don’t push yourself too hard.”

Although I hadn’t told Setsuna what I was thinking, he seemed to understand and didn’t say anything further. Instead, he said to Alto, “What Ragi’s about to do is dangerous for children, so don’t try to copy him.”

Alto didn’t seem to get it at first, so Setsuna rephrased what he’d said, explaining that he was allowed to try it when he grew up, which Alto seemed to understand. I admired the power of Setsuna’s keen insight, as usual.

“Don’t worry. One of the basics of being an adventurer is to avoid dangerous things, so I won’t try to copy him.”

“Good job, Alto. Now, here’s another question. What’s the last thing you need to prepare before entering ruins or caves?”

I didn’t know whether it was because the question was so easy or because it had left a strong impression on Alto, but he answered immediately. “A light source!”

“Correct.”

And with that, Setsuna took out a square piece of paper from his bag and handed it to Alto. It was a single-use Fire magical tool. Alto gleefully tore the paper and a fire ignited from the tear, quickly burning into a fist-sized ball of fire that floated overhead.

The magic fireball couldn’t burn things, but would light the way for about ten hours. It was a standard magical tool for exploring dark places like caves, and Alto seemed to be very fond of it. His eyes sparkled with a light other than that of the fire reflected in them.

I watched Alto for a while, then he looked at me and said with quiet reluctance, “Shall we go?” I understood how he felt and nodded.

The slope of the ruins wasn’t as steep as the face of a cliff, but it was slanted enough that if you put a stone on it, it wouldn’t roll, but skip and fall. Setsuna faced backward and rappelled down, holding onto the rope as he descended slowly. Next to him, Alto followed his master’s example and moved his feet down the slope.

I felt sorry for Alto that his first experience using a lifeline was to rappel. If they were ascending, he could have watched Setsuna climb upward from beside him, but here he had to keep looking down.

The side wall of the passageway, which was illuminated by the fireball above Alto’s head, was about seventy-five mers, give or take. That might not seem like much distance for a hallway in a building, but when it was in height, it made a big difference.

However, contrary to my expectations, Alto didn’t seem frightened. His feet were planted firmly, and he wasn’t trembling even though we were so high up. It seemed like my concerns had been unfounded.

“How can you walk like that? You’re amazing, Gramps.” Alto noticed me watching and called out.

“It’s not anything special. You’ll understand when you grow up, Alto.” As I spoke, I slowly descended the slope keeping an eye on Alto’s face. Supporting my body by gripping onto the floor with my feet, I had to be careful not to break it, which was a bit tricky.

If I were in the mountains, I’d dig my toes into the ground as much as I could, but I had to be more careful since these were precious ruins. If I did something like that, I’m sure I’d get a scolding from Setsuna. He was already inspecting the walls for any cracks or fissures.

“Hey, Alto. Don’t just focus on Ragi. Do what I’m doing and check if the ruins are deteriorating. Things can degrade a lot when they’re left unattended for a year.”

“Yes, Master.”

Alto began to stare at the walls with the same serious expression Setsuna had.

They’re so much alike.

I suppressed the urge to burst out laughing and watched the two of them work. When Setsuna had mentioned the ruins being empty for a year, he’d been referring to the fact that the university in Lypaed sent quests to the Adventurers Guild once a year to check that the ruins were being preserved. Setsuna had told us about that when he explained the quest to us.

“Take a look at this, Alto.”

Halfway down the passage, Setsuna pointed to a wall that was badly cracked.

“Wow!” Alto said.

“The previous report said that all the damage to the ruins had been repaired, so this must’ve happened in the past year. Let’s try to find out the cause.”

Setsuna took something shaped like a spoon from his bag.

“What’s that, Setsuna?”

I’d never seen that kind of tool before, so I was curious.

“The client gave it to me. It’s an Earth magical tool. If you tap on a spot, it’ll resonate to give you feedback on the surrounding geology.”

As he spoke, he lightly tapped the wall with the magical tool, and it echoed with a deep, low sound.

“I thought there might be something causing stress on this wall, but that doesn’t seem to be the problem. If there were issues, it would emit a warning sound, but it’s not doing that right now.”

“I see. What other sounds does it make?” I asked, my interest growing. Alto looked excited, too, as he stared at Setsuna.

“I’ve only read the manual, so I don’t know the actual noises it makes, but if you tap on an area and it’s hollow, it makes a sort of dried-out sound. If you tap it and it makes a dripping sound, that means there’s water.”

“I really hope we get to hear that.”

Setsuna smiled at my response and took out something that looked like a feather duster, about the size of a calligraphy brush.

“And that?”

“This is also an Earth magical tool, for repairs. It’ll be faster to show it to you than to explain.”

With that, he swept the feathered part of the tool over the cracks, which disappeared without a trace.

“The manual warned not to use it on paintings or patterns, because if you use it by mistake you can’t undo the effects,” Setsuna said, seeming just as surprised as we were at the results, staring intently at the magical tool.

“Can I do it next time?” Alto pleaded.

“Yes, when we find another spot to repair,” Setsuna promised.

The survey proceeded smoothly in this fashion. We checked every room on both sides of the passage and then finally reached the bottom.

“We made it to the bottom!” Alto exclaimed triumphantly, but Setsuna shook his head and pointed to a door. He opened it, revealing a spiral staircase, indicating that our survey wasn’t over just yet. Alto slumped, and Setsuna chuckled as he removed the rope from Alto’s waist. He’d changed the rope several times during their descent, and it seemed like this one had also served its purpose.

“We won’t need a lifeline for this staircase,” Setsuna said.

Just like everything else, the spiral staircase leading to the floor below was at an angle, and since it was essentially on its side, the center of the spiral was like a ceiling. The landing looked to be less than a mer in length, with the diameter of the cavern in the center one mer, so all told it looked to be under three mers in height. Of course, we couldn’t use it as a staircase, but thanks to the central cavern we could move forward by stepping over the landing of the staircase that blocked the path.

“Shall we?” Setsuna asked, jumping lightly over onto the side with the staircase.

Alto was behind him, and the light must not have been reaching Setsuna because he took out another magical tool and ripped it, causing a fireball to float above his head as well.

“That’ll make it easier to see things,” he murmured, and began looking all around him.

Alto followed behind him and placed his hand on the floor—which was about as tall as he was—and used it to gracefully leap over to the staircase side.

I guess I won’t have my moment to shine after all.

I was a bit disappointed as I followed suit. After about seven mers, we finally reached the end of the staircase, and came to another door.

“This should be the last floor…”

Setsuna bent down and looked at the stake in front of the door.

“Are there more long passages and rooms up ahead?” I asked Setsuna, feeling weary at the thought of encountering the same sorts of sights we’d already seen. So far, the ruins had been nothing but stone passages and empty chambers. Anything of value had already been taken out of the ruins, so I was starting to feel a bit fed up.

“This passage only has one room at the very end, but it seems longer than anything we’ve seen so far,” Setsuna replied.

I assumed it wouldn’t take too much more time, so I waited for the two of them to finish preparing before opening the door.

“Master, how deep is this place?!” Alto exclaimed in surprise, peeking around from behind us.

It must have been deeper than I first thought. I estimated it to be about 220 mers deep, but Setsuna didn’t say anything in reply. Instead, he took out a small object that looked like a pebble from his bag.

“Go ahead and measure it to see for sure,” Setsuna said.

“What is this, Master?”

“Another single-use magical tool. Rub it thirty times with both hands.”

The Earth magical tool that Setsuna gave Alto was commonly used in investigating ruins like these. Alto rubbed it in his hands, and as soon as he’d done it thirty times, it began to emit a faint blue glow. He followed Setsuna’s instructions and threw it down the passage, where it rolled away.

“180… 200… 220… 232 mers. Master, it stopped moving 232 mers in that direction!”

The distance and direction the magical tool had moved was represented by numbers and arrows in Alto’s mind. I remembered how surprised and amazed I’d been at the sudden appearance of numbers and arrows in my mind when I’d first used that magical tool centuries ago. I’d probably had the same expression on my face that Alto did now.

“It’s generally used to measure holes where you can’t see the bottom, but I thought this might be a good chance to use it anyway. Remember to take one with you when you go on surveys in the future, Alto.”

“Okay, Master!”

I couldn’t help but chuckle hearing them talk. If he hadn’t had the chance to use it yet, Setsuna could have just waited for the next opportunity and taught Alto then. But Setsuna loved teaching Alto new things, so he’d decided to use it anyway.

“Is something the matter?” Setsuna asked, noticing my reaction.

“No, I was just thinking you’re a very hard worker.”

“Gramps, why is Master a hard worker?”

It was Alto who’d responded immediately. His gaze was so earnest I couldn’t contain myself and burst out laughing. A troubled expression flickered across Setsuna’s face, and he looked at me.

Perhaps he realized he’d gone a bit overboard. It was quite challenging to find the right balance when teaching, after all, especially for someone as young as Setsuna, who was still feeling his way through life.

“I was just thinking that you must love watching Alto learn, which is why you’re trying your best to teach him all sorts of things.”

“I’ll try harder!” Alto happily burst out.

Setsuna nodded, looking slightly embarrassed. “Well, when we get back, we’ll review what we learned today,” he said, smiling as he ruffled Alto’s hair. Watching master and apprentice together, I found myself liking the two of them even more.

A little later, we arrived at the door of the final room at the far end of the passageway. There was a door at our feet, and here, too, stakes had been driven into the floor of the passageway in front of it.

“The next room isn’t very large, but it’s where the important artifacts in these ruins are stored. It says here we should change our lifelines and examine the chamber thoroughly.”

Hearing this, I couldn’t help but let my excitement get the better of me at the thought that not all of the artifacts had been removed from the ruins, and I waited for the two of them to finish getting ready. After Alto and Setsuna had tied ropes around one another’s waists and made sure they were secure, we finally opened the door.

Before us lay a room exactly like the ones we’d seen before. The only difference was that this one had a raised dais-like object made of bluesilver attached to the floor.

“Setsuna, what’s that?”

“It’s a secret. Let’s examine the chamber first.”

Although Alto and I both raised our voices in opposition against Setsuna’s teasing, he started examining the room with a serious look on his face. We reluctantly followed behind and worked hard to complete the survey quickly. Maybe that was why it felt like we finished in no time.

“Master, we’re done examining the room, so please tell us!” Alto urged Setsuna, and I secretly agreed.

“It’s a bit hard to live up to such high expectations.”

With a little hop, he jumped up onto the dais, which was about two mers high, and stood there at an angle with one foot on the floor. Alto climbed onto the floor to imitate him and tried to keep himself from falling, but he ended up slowly sliding back down.

“Maybe it’s still too difficult for you, Alto, so I’ll make an exception this time.” Setsuna chanted some sort of incantation and Alto’s body began to float in the air.

“Windmasters can use this kind of magic, too, but it’s usually reserved for emergencies, like when someone falls off a cliff. So even if you team up with a Windmaster, you shouldn’t expect them to use it lightly,” Setsuna explained.

Alto nodded in response, but apparently that wasn’t what had interested him, because he had a different follow-up question.

“Master, can you use magic to fly?”

I didn’t understand why he was asking such a thing, but Setsuna seemed to have an idea almost immediately, because he gave a pained smile.

“Yes, but when I’m in a hurry or panicked, I might forget to think about using magic I don’t use too often. I need to learn from your example and train more,” Setsuna said with chagrin, but Alto shook his head.

“I think you’re doing great, Master!”

Although I wasn’t sure what they were talking about exactly, it seemed like they’d once fallen off a cliff, and that Setsuna could have avoided it entirely if he’d used magic back then.

“Did you get injured when you fell off the cliff?” I asked Setsuna as I climbed up onto the floor.

“At the time, I saw Alto falling and panicked. I caught up with him using teleportation magic and used a barrier to soften the impact, so we didn’t get injured, but I realized I needed to be more versatile with my magic,” Setsuna said.

“I got knocked unconscious, but Master told me later on why I didn’t get hurt. But if I could fly, I would’ve gone to the top of that mountain to see the scenery!” Alto chimed in.

I felt sorry for Setsuna, who seemed to feel quite guilty about this story, where he had behaved quite unlike his usual meticulous self. But after Alto suddenly dispelled the tension in the room, I burst out laughing instead.

“Alto, it’s one thing when you’re with me, but you can’t just ask that sort of thing from other sorcerers,” Setsuna warned.

“Sorry, Master,” Alto apologized and looked down humbly. He nodded, and then with a serious expression on his face, said, “I’ll only ask you.” It was a stern, yet sweet moment, which was typical of the two of them.

“As long as you understand. Anyway, how about I reveal the identity of this magical tool you’ve all been waiting for?”

I had been momentarily distracted by their discussion, but quickly shifted my gaze to the dais.

Once Setsuna saw that I was watching, he inserted his fingers into the five holes on the right side. Light shone from the top of the platform, projecting some kind of symbols onto Setsuna’s face.

“I can’t read those symbols, Master. Can you teach me?” Alto asked.

“This is the ancient script. It says, ‘Incorrect destination for teleportation,’” Setsuna explained.

“Oh! So this is one of those magic teleportation circles I’ve heard about!” I blurted out, unable to contain my excitement. Startled by my sudden exclamation, Alto gave me a surprised look.

“Sorry about that,” I apologized. “It’s just, this is my first time seeing a teleportation circle, so I couldn’t help myself.”

“You’ve never seen one before, Gramps?” Alto asked, realizing how rare they must be. His eyes began to sparkle with excitement. Although teleportation circles have been found in every country, they’re so valuable that they’re usually strictly regulated, making it extremely rare for them to be seen by the general public except under special circumstances like this.

“It would be amazing to see a teleportation circle even once a year,” I said honestly, and Setsuna looked apologetic.

“It’s broken, so we can’t use it, which is why adventurers like us were hired for this job. If it was functional, the job would go to higher-ranked adventurers, white or black ranks, or be handled by the kingdom’s own sorcerers,” Setsuna explained.

“I see.” I understood now that the reason lower-ranked adventurers like Setsuna and Alto had the chance to take on a job like this was because the device was broken and not as valuable. Still, I was glad to be able to see a teleportation circle with my very own eyes. Everyone knew that they existed, but few had ever actually seen one, making this an incredible experience for me.

“Can’t you fix it, Master?” Alto asked.

“I’m afraid not,” Setsuna replied. He moved his right hand slightly in the device, causing the ancient characters to change. “It might be broken, but even the magic that causes these characters to float in the air is valuable. If we could understand this technology, then we would be able to incorporate this sort of a function into the magical tools that are created now. Although that would be very expensive,” he explained as he continued to operate the device.

“What are you doing, Setsuna?” I asked.

I was curious as to why the characters were still changing despite the teleportation circle being broken.

“Although the circle can’t be used for teleportation anymore, it still shows you all the functions it can perform. Checking that was also part of the quest,” Setsuna said.

“I see. So that’s why they requested a scholar,” I surmised.

“Right. Or, more accurately, being able to read the ancient script was a requirement for accepting the quest.”

After a while, he let out a small sigh and said, “Thanks for waiting. I’m finished with the inspection.”

“Nice work. By the way, what do the ancient characters there say?” I asked as he was about to take his fingers out of the device. I found myself not wanting the magical tool to stop.

“It says, ‘Please reset the destination for teleportation,’ and it prompts you to input how many mers you want to travel in each cardinal direction.”

“Oh? So if you entered that information, wouldn’t it solve the problem we had earlier?” I asked.

“Sadly, the input function is broken, so we can’t set any values. Normally there’d be a display here for putting in the numbers…,” Setsuna explained, pointing to an empty space in the air with his left hand. “But as you can see, there isn’t, so we can’t fix the destination for teleportation.”

“I see. That’s a shame,” I replied.

Naturally, if it were something that could be easily fixed, they would’ve done so already, so despite the fact I’d expressed my regret, I honestly wasn’t all that disappointed.

In the middle of my conversation with Setsuna, Alto suddenly cried out, “I remember now! That’s been bothering me for a while!”

“What’s the matter, Alto?” Setsuna inquired. “Why’d you yell out all of a sudden?” We both looked at Alto, surprised.

“I asked Master about magic teleportation circles. At the time, I thought it was strange but couldn’t figure out why. Now I understand!”

“You did? What was it you found strange?” Setsuna asked kindly.

“Master said all the teleportation circles on the north continent face toward the Demonlands.”

“Yes, they do.”

“But you said the Demonlands are dangerous, and once you go there, you can’t come back.”

“Is there a problem with that?” Setsuna retorted, smiling.

“There is. How do we know all the teleportation circles end in the Demonlands if, once you go there, you can never come back? If the people who went there never returned, we wouldn’t know where they wound up, right?”

As I listened to this exchange, I was both surprised that they were talking about all that and impressed by Alto’s perceptiveness. If I were Alto, I might not have questioned it and simply accepted the matter. Unfortunately, I didn’t know the answer, either. I’d never even had any doubts until today. I wondered how Setsuna would answer, and he surprised us by chuckling and smiling at Alto.

“It’s amazing you noticed that, Alto. I had a feeling you would.”

The apprentice nodded, clearly pleased with his master’s compliment.

“But Alto, you already know the answer,” Setsuna said, causing Alto to grow confused. “Try to think about what happened today.”

As Alto racked his brain trying to remember, I thought with him, and something clicked in my mind.

I see. You knew Alto would think about that. You’re quite the strategist, Setsuna.

Just as I was amazed by Alto’s insight, I was surprised by Setsuna’s shrewd teaching style. This master and apprentice were truly fascinating to watch. As I pondered this, Alto seemed to come to the same conclusion as me and began to answer Setsuna.

“I know! It was the Earth magical tool I threw!” Alto said.

“Correct,” Setsuna confirmed, prompting a broad smile from Alto. “Of course, they teleport a more powerful magical tool than that one, but the principle is the same. Regardless of the destination, whenever they try to locate it based on the distance and direction, the magical tool always ends up pointing to the Demonlands, which is how they knew.”

“Ohhh!”

“Well, in reality, they’re not going all the way into the Demonlands to find the magical tools, so it could be pointing to an unknown land beyond there that we don’t know about yet. But we know that they point to the deeper parts of the Demonlands, so that’s where we say the teleportation circles go.”

“That solves it, Master! Thank you so much!” Alto seemed thrilled to have unraveled the mystery, and Setsuna seemed just as pleased. Seeing master and apprentice get along so well warmed my heart. Perhaps because I was being so quiet, the two of them turned toward me at the same time looking concerned. I smiled at them, and they both smiled back.

Seeing the ease of that gesture, I felt hot tears well up in my eyes. It made me feel like I wasn’t alone. They acted like it was only natural that I was here with them, and the days I’d spent back in my homeland, smiling with my family under the trees, came rushing back to me. Whenever Alto would yell “Gramps!” at me, or Setsuna would call out “Ragi!” their voices would be filled with nothing but fondness for me.

By opening their hearts to me, the two of them had allowed me to believe that we’d become a true family. Even if it was just a temporary situation, deep down, I wished that time could stop, because right in this moment I was truly happy.

Who could have imagined I’d know such peace at the end of my life? Certainly not me. Nobody else would ever know just how much color these two had brought back into my life.

Part Five: Setsuna

The ruins survey quest that Alto chose for me ended without incident. I was surprised when Ragi told us that he wanted to accompany us, but I had a feeling he wanted to come to show Alto how to use beastfolk powers.

I learned from our overnight stay at the ruins that Ragi was a very active and curious person who had experienced a lot in his life, and as he’d confessed already, that he liked pranks. He looked just like Alto whenever something interesting caught his eye, and the way their eyes sparkled looking at things like magical tools made them seem like a real grandfather and grandson.

Thanks to this quest, Alto’s rank rose one level to yellow 2—the second of three levels for yellow. He must’ve been happy that the color of the emblem on the back of his hand had changed a little, because he kept showing it to Ragi and me.

I’d been thinking about everything that had happened up until yesterday as I walked, but now that I had reached my destination, I stopped reminiscing about those pleasant memories and came back to reality. A sigh escaped my lips, and I entered the prestigious-looking building in front of me.

I took the envelope Margaret had given me from my breast pocket and handed it to the shopkeeper, who took the envelope, eyed me from head to toe, then showed me to a room. As I walked down the hallway, I couldn’t hear anyone, and saw no one else around.

The shopkeeper asked me to wait in a neatly decorated room, so I sat down on the sofa. He brewed a cup of tea using the supplies from the cart in the room, placed it in front of me, and quietly left the room. I could sense someone in the room next door, but pretended not to notice.

In the meantime, I reached out to take the tea, but stopped partway. My eyes had been drawn to the teacup itself.

“Aren’t you going to drink?”

A door opened, different from the one I’d used to enter. I rose from the sofa at the sound of the familiar voice.

“Oh, please. No need to be so formal.”

“Very well.”

“Still too formal!” the queen replied with a lighthearted grin and sat down on the sofa across from me. Margaret made tea for the queen, and another woman stood behind her. I didn’t know her name, but I remembered seeing her at the castle. She must be one of the knights protecting the queen.

“It’s nice to see you again, Sena. I had heard you wouldn’t look the same as the last time I saw you, but you really do look completely different! If I didn’t know better, I wouldn’t recognize you if I saw you in town.”

Honestly, I thought the same about the queen. She didn’t have on much makeup and was wearing commoner’s clothes, so she looked like an entirely different person from the woman I’d seen at the castle.

“Why aren’t you drinking your tea?” The queen looked at me with bemusement.

“The teacup was so beautiful I was mesmerized,” I replied.

“Oh, Sena! I see you understand the value of this cup.” The queen smiled and took a sip of her tea. I followed suit.

“It’s delicious,” I told her honestly, and took another sip.

“Isn’t it just? I thought you’d like it, so I asked the shopkeeper to make it for you. He’s the only person I know whose tea-making skills rival Margaret’s.”

Hearing the queen’s comment, Margaret’s face softened into a smile.

“How did you know I like tea?”

“Cyrus told me. He told me Alice likes to eat, and that you, Sena, like alcohol and tea. Since we’re talking about a quest, I thought alcohol wasn’t appropriate, so I decided on tea.”

Part Six: Cyrus

I felt a little guilty taking a day off for the first time in a while and let out a little sigh. Right about now, Eugene and Keith were probably busy at the palace with meetings about the military budget, writing reports, and preparing for the surveys they’d be going on soon.

It would be harvest season in less than two months. Every year, in the lead-up to harvest season, I would go on an expedition surveying each territory, but last year I couldn’t move freely due to Guilonde’s interference, which was incredibly frustrating. We’d been able to eradicate their influence this year, though, so I had a feeling the inspection would go smoothly.

Georges and Fred looked like they wanted to kill me when I said I was going fishing…

As I walked with my fishing rod in one hand, I spotted the two people who had gotten caught up in my personal business and ended up coming to Lypaed with me. One waved, and the other smiled and looked at me.

“Hi, Cyrus!”

“Hey, Alto. You seem like you’re doing well.”

“Why do you look so tired?”

“Because I came back from an expedition yesterday.”

Alto looked confused and said, “Expedition?” So Setsuna explained it in simple terms for him.

“If you’re tired, do you want to put off fishing for another day?” Setsuna asked with concern, and I saw Alto’s ears droop slightly. I remembered how he’d never tired of searching for fish in the underground cave, so I figured he must really like fishing and had been looking forward to today.

“I’m not that tired. It’ll be fine,” I said as I looked at Alto. Setsuna gave me a half-smile and lightly nodded. “All right, should we go? The fishing spot I mentioned before is fine, right? It’s upstream of the river that flows through town, so we’ll have to walk a ways to get there.”

“Sure!”

The place we were heading to was a hidden gem among gems, and although they weren’t too strong, there were some monsters there. I knew Setsuna and Alto could handle them, which is why I was taking them with me. I’d only been there once because a senior knight had taken me, and I explained that to Setsuna and Alto as we made our way to our destination.

On the way there, Alto asked me, “What’re you good at cooking, Cyrus?” I told him I didn’t really have anything I was good at making. For some reason, he looked sad at my answer. I was going to ask him why, but his attention flitted to something else, and by that time we’d reached the fishing spot, so I never got the chance.

“Oooh, pretty!”

The two of them smiled as they looked around at the scenery. The water that flowed through the river was clean and clear.

“The fish are jumping! Are those fish edible?”

“I’m not sure. But if we do catch some that are edible, shall we bring them home to Ragi?”

“Yeah! I’ll try my best!”

“Is Ragi the landlord you’re renting a room from?”

“Yeah. Sorry I went ahead and agreed to stay with him without telling you first, since you were trying to find me a place.”

“Eh, don’t worry about it. He’s treating you two well, right?” I asked, and Alto told me all about this Ragi. I could tell from the way he talked that their landlord spoiled Alto a fair bit. Alto is extremely shy around strangers, so I wondered if the reason he’d warmed to Ragi so quickly was because they were both wolf-type beastfolk. Well, as long as they were getting along, that’s all that mattered.

“By the way, where do you live, Cyrus? The castle?” Alto asked.

I wasn’t sure how to answer, but since there wasn’t any reason to hide it, I just went ahead and told him. “Yeah, I live in a room in the castle. While I was in exile, the people who were my family confiscated all my money and even sold off my house, so when I came back, I didn’t have a home anymore.”

“……”

“……”

“I was on a secret mission, right? So neither Eugene nor anybody else could say anything about it. They apologized to me a lot afterward.”

“Your family sold your house?”

“They did.”

Alto had an uncomfortable look on his face that made me chuckle.

“I’ve always had a bad relationship with my family, which is why I cut ties with them. Even if I went back home, they’d probably just try to use me for the Protection of the Dragons I received.”

“Does that make you sad?”

“Not anymore.”

“Oh… I guess that makes sense. Just like Master and I have Gramps, you have Eugene and everyone else.”

Hearing those words made the faint resentment I still held in my heart fade away.

“Yeah, you’re right.”

I reached out and roughly tousled Alto’s hair, but he just frowned and glared at me. I thought he would start complaining, but Setsuna spoke before he had the chance.

“If we don’t start fishing soon, we’ll run out of time.”

Alto looked at Setsuna wide-eyed, then started staring all around him until he focused on one particular spot, which he quietly crept toward.

“I’m gonna fish there!”

“Make sure to watch out for monsters.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll put up a barrier stone.”

I was surprised he would use such an expensive magical tool for fishing, but since Alto was still a child, it was probably necessary for him to fish safely, though I knew he could easily defeat any monsters in the area.

“Hey, why was Alto creeping away like that?”

“So the fish won’t swim away.”

“Oh… You go to that much trouble just to fish?”

“It’s good practice for training his stealth skills.”

“……”

You sneak training in even when you’re having fun? I thought with exasperation, but I had to admit he had a good point.

“So if you approach Alto while he’s fishing and you make a noise, he’ll get mad at you. And he’ll glare at you if you’re being loud nearby, so watch out,” Setsuna warned me with a grin. Well, if Alto really took fishing that seriously, I wasn’t planning on bothering him.

Keeping Alto in our sights, Setsuna and I cast our own lines and chatted about recent events. I told him about going around with Eugene to hunt monsters in the different territories, and that I’d been much more comfortable traveling with him and Alto than when I accompanied the prince.

“Alto’s still a child, so I have to make sure we get enough to eat and plenty of sleep.”

“I figured as much. I’d never had such delicious food out camping before and had never been able to sleep like a rock in forests filled with ferocious monsters…”

Honestly, I had nothing but complaints about the food we’d had while touring the territories. But if I kept talking about it, all I’d do was complain.

“What about you? Have you gotten used to life in Lypaed?”

“Yeah, every day feels really fulfilling.”

He told me about how his landlord, Ragi, showed him around town, and even told me about shops I didn’t know existed. I made sure not to forget to recommend to him some good restaurants in the area.

“By the way, have you accepted any quests?”

“Just the long-term quest Alto took and a ruins preservation quest we did together.”

I remembered he’d told me that he was a scholar, so I asked him what a “ruins preservation” quest entailed. Something like that sounded impossible for me—I don’t like that sort of detail-oriented work.

“And the long-term quest?”

“Master, I’m hungry!”

I was going to ask him more about Alto’s quest when the boy ran over clutching his stomach, interrupting us. We moved over to a clearing where we could relax and eat lunch. I laid out a thin blanket, and Setsuna started crowding it with all the food he’d brought. There was a wide assortment of dishes that included things he’d made himself and things he’d bought from food stalls.

I’d thought this back when we were traveling together, but there were a lot of dishes that Setsuna cooked that I’d never eaten before. He used a generous amount of herbs and spices, and his cooking skills made everything taste even more delicious. Setsuna’s cooking was probably why Alto was obsessed with food.

Whenever I see something delicious, my stomach immediately starts growling. I ate alongside Alto almost as though we were competing with each other; I could feel his gaze of disbelief on me the whole time but pretended not to notice. After we polished off most of the food, Alto went straight back to what he’d been doing before lunch. He really did love fishing.

As for me, since I was already exhausted and now had a full stomach, I was suddenly hit by a wave of drowsiness.

“I’ve set up a barrier and I’ll keep watch, so you can go ahead and rest for a bit.”

“I’ll be fine,” I said. Still, the warm sunlight, gentle breeze, and sound of the rippling water wasn’t helping me stay awake. I sipped the herbal tea Setsuna had made, feeling nostalgic, when he brought up a new topic of conversation.

“I heard the Founding Festival will be held in the fourth month. Nobody will tell me much about it, though.”

Hearing the reason why nobody would tell him anything, I couldn’t help but chuckle.

There was no way I was going to tell him, either. The people he’d asked must have been trying not to spoil things so he could enjoy finding out for himself.

“How are you going to spend the festival, Cyrus?”

“The Founding Festival…? Honestly, I haven’t even had time to think about it.” An involuntary frown creased my brow when I thought about recent events. “Everyone in the castle is busy. It’s not my place to meddle in how they run things, but ever since I received Lord Revale’s protection, I’ve had to escort the king a lot, which is new for me.”

“I see.”

“The king’s not the only one who’s busy; the civil and military officials are, too. There’s just so much work to do.”

“You’re exhausting yourself running around all the time like this. It wouldn’t hurt to take a few hours’ rest during the Founding Festival.”

Images of the documents piled up on Eugene’s and Keith’s desks flashed through my mind. They were definitely overworking themselves.

“Rest, huh?”

“It only happens once a year, so why not enjoy it with your friends?”

“You sound just like the queen.” Setsuna’s comment reminded me of what the queen had been saying lately, which stirred up some bitter feelings.

“The queen?”

“Yeah. Lately, she’s been saying the same thing to the king and Eugene, and every time it interrupts their work, so she’s been causing them a fair bit of trouble.”

“Does the queen have something special in mind she wants to do that day?”

“Something special? No, not at all. She just wants to have fun with everyone. The queen likes to enjoy herself, whether it’s eating meals with people, chatting, or making them wear these clothes.” I let out a deep sigh. “It’s just frustrating how she wants to play around and drag others into it when we’re so busy.”

“Is that what the queen said she wanted to do? ‘Play around’?”

“Why do I need her to spell it out for me?”

“Well, you won’t know until you ask, right? If she wants to spend time together, maybe you should listen to her feelings and see what she really wants.”

“We don’t have time for that…”

Eugene and the others were so busy that they barely even had time for meals. I’d started to feel uncomfortable sitting up, so I lay back. The blue sky filled my vision.

“Maybe if you took some time to talk things out, you could all enjoy yourselves more.”

“So you’re taking the queen’s side, huh? I told you, we don’t have any time for that.”

Lying down had made me feel properly sleepy.

“Isn’t the Founding Festival an important day?” Setsuna’s unusually quiet voice reached my ears.

“Sure, it’s a once-in-a-year celebration. But there’s always next year, right? So whoever wants to enjoy it can enjoy it for all of us.”

“Cyrus, the Founding Festival is very important to the people of Lypaed.”

“Yeah, I guess so. It’s a day…where you can eat delicious food…and it’s a lot of fun…”

I remembered hearing the excited voices of the people outside the castle last year. We were too busy for that right now, working hard to protect the smiles of those people.

“The queen…should just have her own fun…without bothering Eugene and the king…,” I muttered, closing my eyes.

“The queen doesn’t think the Founding Festival is all fun and games, Cyrus.”

I could hear Setsuna in my hazy consciousness, but his voice sounded very far away.

“For the people of Lypaed, the Founding Festival is…”

But I fell asleep before I heard the rest of his sentence.

I woke up to find myself covered by a blanket. I hadn’t even noticed Setsuna move, but after traveling together I was well aware of how strong he was. I looked for them and saw Alto a short distance away, still fishing. Setsuna was downstream from Alto, working away at scaling a fish.

“Alto,” I called out softly, trying not to be too loud.

“Oh, Cyrus. Good morning.”

“Morning. Catch anything?”

“Yeah. I got something to bring back to Gramps.” He wagged his tail happily and glanced over toward Setsuna.

Setsuna sensed his gaze and said sternly, “It’s time to pack up, Alto.”

“Okay,” Alto obediently replied and started putting his things away, but his eyes, ears, and tail betrayed his emotions. I couldn’t help but speak up when I saw him looking so dejected.

“We can always come back, you know.”

“But aren’t you busy, Cyrus?”

“Sure, but I’ll work hard to make time to fish with you, Alto.”

“Yay!” Alto’s happy expression tugged at my heart. I tried to think of what was bothering me but couldn’t figure it out, so I let it go.

We went back to town, and since Alto was insistent on delivering the fish to Ragi right away, we said good-bye without having dinner together. I apologized for mostly sleeping during our fishing trip, but they both laughed it off, saying they were both tired, too.

After I waved good-bye to Alto and we made plans to meet again, Setsuna handed me a single gerulito flower.

“A friend gave this to me, so now I’m passing it on to you.”

“Wow, I’m getting flowers from guys now? Well, thanks.”

Gerulito flowers symbolize gratitude, so I accepted it gladly, thinking it was a token of thanks for the fishing trip that day. I tucked the flower into my chest pocket, then went back to my room in the castle. I asked a maid to get me a vase, and put the gerulito flower in it. As I gazed at the flower blooming serenely in the vase, I felt once again like there was something I needed to remember, but I just couldn’t put my finger on it.

Part Seven: Setsuna

Fishing with Cyrus turned out to be a bittersweet experience for me. Before I met with the queen, I’d been looking forward to having fun on this trip, but now I had to put her task first. It had been quite challenging to keep her secret and not give away that I was speaking on her behalf. Yet, despite my efforts…

“……”

A small sigh escaped my lips as I prepared breakfast. I wondered if Cyrus would understand the meaning behind the gerulito I’d given him. Would he speak with Eugene on the queen’s behalf? It seemed unlikely, judging by our conversation yesterday.

Refusing something from the start was turning a blind eye to what was in front of you. I understood he was busy, but Cyrus had still promised Alto to go fishing. So why couldn’t he spare just a little bit of that time for the queen?

I understood both the queen’s and Cyrus’s perspectives. I hoped they would be able to compromise with the queen instead of just telling her they were busy and dismissing her feelings, and try to understand why she was so insistent upon spending time together.

The image of the queen’s sad smile came to mind. There was still time until our next meeting. I silently hoped that her feelings would get through to Eugene and the others.

Despite everything that I was feeling, I still went to work every day, and right now, I found myself in the middle of a scene of pandemonium. The cause of this chaos was the bouquet displayed near the window, which had been neatly wrapped by Norris. It was beautiful, eye-catching, and had a blackboard below it that read, Now offering bouquet wrapping services!

We thought that only one in every few people would be interested due to the increased price from the paper and ribbons, but shortly after Norris went to get more flowers and I took over the shop, customers started pouring in.

I was well aware we were short-staffed, and that there was a crowd outside. Some of the people might have been here just to see what all the commotion was about, but since I was alone in the shop, I couldn’t even go out to explain.

I thought about going out to disperse everyone except paying customers, when suddenly I heard a voice say, “What’s all this commotion?” followed by immediate silence.

“Is the shop owner here?” I heard, and just then a knight entered the shop.

“I’m sorry, but the owner is currently out.”

“…Lord Setsuna?” the knight asked, looking slightly surprised. It was Sir Georges, Eugene’s second knight, whom I had been introduced to when I last visited the castle. “What are you doing here? Well, that can wait—first I need to hear what all this commotion is about.”

It sounded like Sir Georges had come across the crowd during his patrol and was concerned something had happened. I explained the reason to him as simply as I could.

“We started selling wrapped bouquets today, and it seems to have attracted more interest from customers than we expected.”

“Wrapped bouquets?” Sir Georges cocked his head curiously, so I pointed toward the bouquet displayed in the window. “It’s beautiful. So you’re selling bouquets that look like that?”

“Yes. We can make a bouquet with the flowers of your choice, but the wrapping paper and ribbon is a separate charge.”

“I see,” he answered, eyes glued to the bouquet. He noticed my gaze and shook his head. “Ah, it’s nothing. I’ll go and tell the crowd outside to disperse.”

“Oh, I can do that.”

“It’s better for you to attend to your customers.”

“Thank you.”

Sir Georges nodded and went outside. It seemed like whatever he said had worked, because soon after, only people who intended to make a purchase remained. I thanked him and attended to the customers. After a while, Norris returned to the shop looking quite flustered, and I told him that one of the patrolling knights had dealt with the situation outside, which helped us make it through the chaos.

“Phew. Good job, Setsuna,” he said in a tired voice, carrying one of the empty flower buckets that had been outside.

“It was a bit hectic, but I had fun.”

“Do you really find being so busy enjoyable?”

“Well, isn’t it kind of exhilarating when ideas you come up with go well? Like you just want to laugh out loud?” I joked, and Norris burst into laughter.

The two of us chatted while we started to close up shop, but just then I heard someone approaching. I lifted my head to look and saw Sir Georges coming toward us, slightly out of breath. His complexion looked worse than when I last saw him.

“Excuse me, but I’d like to buy some flowers.”

“I’m sorry, but we’re already closed for the day,” Norris responded anxiously.

Sir Georges slumped, looking even more upset. Norris must’ve felt bad for him, because he said, “Well, why don’t you come in anyway?”

I ushered Sir Georges inside and quickly closed the door behind him to prevent any other customers from coming in. Once I’d done that, Norris smiled and spoke to him.

“What kind of flowers would you like?”

“My engagement ceremony starts today, and I’ve been looking for a gift. I saw the bouquet on display this afternoon and thought it was perfect. I don’t know a lot about flowers, though, so I’d appreciate your help choosing some for me. Ideally, I’d like flowers that will continue to bloom without withering for twelve days.”

Unfamiliar with what an engagement ceremony was, I searched Kyle’s database and found that it was a custom among Lypaed nobility. After a man proposes to a woman and she says yes, he visits the woman’s residence for twelve days, presenting gifts each day to confirm his commitment to their engagement. On the final day, they invite their parents, relatives, and friends, and he proposes once again in front of everyone, pledging his eternal love.

During this event, the gifts he gave her over the past twelve days are displayed, and the man may be ridiculed for any gift that is judged inadequate. I know that I certainly couldn’t bear the thought of being laughed at for a once-in-a-lifetime celebration.

“I’m sorry, but we’re sold out of cut flowers for bouquets today. And my shop doesn’t grow any flowers that can last for twelve days.”

“I see… I really thought she’d be happy with that… That’s a shame.”

“Why don’t you come back in seven days? I can have flowers suitable for an engagement ceremony ready for you then.”

“Thanks, I’ll do that.” Sir Georges thanked Norris, then let out a sigh. “Well, at least one gift is sorted, but now I need to figure out what to give her for today.”

Norris stared at Sir Georges intently. “Wait a minute… Are you telling me you haven’t decided on any other gifts?”

Sir Georges nodded and shrugged with obvious discomfort. Norris couldn’t help but hold his head in his hands. Knowing how kind Norris was, he must have been empathizing with Sir Georges’ fiancée.

“I’ve had a ton on my plate lately and completely forgot about the engagement ceremony.”

Sir Georges was one of Eugene’s knights, just like Cyrus, so he’d probably been so busy that he hadn’t had time for himself lately.

“Her name is Sophia. It’s not that I don’t care for her, although you might not believe me… I don’t mind if I’m the only one who gets laughed at during the ceremony—it’s my own fault for forgetting. But I can’t bear the thought of Sophia being ridiculed for doing nothing wrong.” His brow furrowed, as if picturing the scene in his mind, and I truly felt sorry for him.

“Well, in any case, I’ll be going now. I’ll try looking for something else,” he said, and went to leave the shop.

“Most shops around here will have closed by now; only restaurants will still be open, so you probably won’t find anywhere that sells gifts at this hour.”

Walking outside at night was risky, and shops often closed before sunset so that people could get home before dark. As Norris had said, even if the knight went around to the shops now, he wouldn’t find anything suitable for a gift.

“…Still, I have to look. I don’t want to upset her; I want to make her smile. I know I have no right to say that at this point, though…” Sir Georges sighed deeply, and I wondered if there was something I could do to help him. He wanted his fiancée to smile just like I always wanted to see Tuuli smile.

“If it’s all right with you, would you wait here for a bit? I can go pick flowers for your bouquet now.”

Norris must have been thinking the same thing as me.

“Since it needs to last twelve days, I only have one type that will work, and they’re still just buds. They’ll start blooming tomorrow morning, so I was going to sell them tomorrow, but there’s nothing else I can think of. You can give them to your fiancée and tell her it’s a special surprise for tomorrow morning. That will cover today’s gift, right?”

“…Are you sure you don’t mind?” Sir Georges responded.

This conversation, particularly the words “twelve days” and “flowers,” reminded me of something, and I immediately got an idea. It seemed like a miraculous solution to this situation.

But in order to make it happen, I would need to use Time magic. My logical brain warned me not to say anything about it, so I decided to keep the truth to myself.

“What type of flower are they?”

“They’re a new variety of rose.”

“The Laglut and Cindy roses are about to bloom?”

I couldn’t help but interrupt, and Norris nodded happily.

Those roses are really going to bloom? That would be such a special memory. I wish I could give them to Tuuli.

That feeling welled up within me and made my heart race, even though I’d been on the verge of giving up.

“I’m sorry, what are the Laglut and Cindy roses?” Sir Georges asked.

Norris began to explain happily, and as I listened, not only did my idea from earlier resurface, but learning that the flowers in question were those special roses only heightened my expectations.

“When exactly will the roses bloom tomorrow morning?”

“I’m sorry, but I can only say it will be before sunrise.”

“I see… If I tell her that, she’ll stay up all night just to admire them.”

Norris and I both nodded in understanding.

“Make sure to remind her to get a good night’s rest when you give them to her. Although I can understand why she’d want to stay up to watch.”

If only there was something else I could use besides Time magic…

But of course, such a convenient method didn’t exist. In order to make my idea come to life, it was absolutely necessary that the roses remain as buds for a long time after they were taken out of the bucket, and the only way to control that seemed to be through Time magic.

I could create a magical tool to control what time they bloom… No, that’s no good. I was surprised when Norris showed me he could control when they opened, so if I revealed that I had a magical tool that did the same thing all along, he’d get suspicious.

I closed my eyes for a moment, pondering what to do. Revealing my ability to use Time magic could make the scene I envisioned a reality, and Sophia wouldn’t have to stay up all night. Plus, I could then deliver budding roses to Tuuli…

“In that case, would you please prepare the roses for me?”

“Sure. I’ll get you the Cindy roses. They’re a deep crimson color and symbolize love, so I think they’ll be perfect. Though I’m sorry you didn’t get to choose them for yourself from the display flowers.”

“It’s all right. Like I said before, I trust your judgment.”

Their conversation was just wrapping up, and I couldn’t stand still any longer.

“Sir Georges,” I called, and he turned toward me.

“Yes, Lord Setsuna?”

I got the idea for what I was about to do from a tradition from my previous world, where a person would give their lover a dozen roses, with a different meaning behind each one. I couldn’t remember all twelve of the meanings, though, so I couldn’t reproduce the tradition exactly.

“I’ve developed a spell to make multiple flowers bloom simultaneously whenever you want them to. Would you like to try it? However, since it’s my original magic, you’ll have to keep it a secret.”

“I had no idea such magic existed. I’d really appreciate it, and of course I promise not to tell anyone.”

“I promise not to tell anyone either.”

“Thank you. I’d like to try it out once before using it on your flowers, though, so could you pick some more flowers still as buds, Norris?”

“Sure. How about instead of going all the way to the field, we use some of the flowers I put aside for Elly?”

“If that’s okay with you, then I’d appreciate it.”

Norris smiled and stood up to get the flowers from the cart in the stable. However, he stopped in his tracks as if remembering something.

“This is completely off-topic, but do you two know each other?”

He must’ve found it strange that we knew each other’s names, so I was about to explain the situation, but Sir Georges beat me to it.

“I met Lord Setsuna when a friend introduced us.”

“I see. I was just curious why Setsuna knew a knight’s name is all.”

“Ah. It was a coincidence that I ran into Lord Setsuna at this shop, and it seems like he’ll be helping me again. It must be fate that brought us together.”

Sir Georges’ words confused me; I didn’t remember having helped him before.

“That’s just my way of looking at it, though, so please don’t let it worry you.”

Before I could ask what he meant, he looked at me and lightly shook his head, putting any further questions to rest.

“Anyway, since we’ll be relying on each other for now, there’s no need to be so formal. And you don’t need to call me by my title.”

“All right, I’ll call you Georges then. And you can call me Norris.”

Although I was still somewhat confused, I followed Norris’s lead and asked Georges just to call me Setsuna, and he nodded in agreement.

However, when Norris left the shop, Georges addressed me as if our previous conversation hadn’t happened.

“Lord Setsuna, I’ve been wanting to express my gratitude to you.” He slowly and respectfully performed a knight’s salute. It was a truly beautiful gesture that conveyed his feelings. “I’m deeply grateful to you for escorting Cyrus back to Lypaed.”

He looked around cautiously as if checking for eavesdroppers, but I had already cast a barrier to ensure our conversation remained private.

“I wasn’t able to thank you earlier with Norris present.”

That made sense; he couldn’t talk about that in front of others.

“I witnessed the moment Cyrus was stripped of his knight’s emblem firsthand.”

Georges clenched his fists. “Even though I knew it was wrong, as a knight, I had to obey my orders. But that didn’t mean my heart wasn’t crying out. Cyrus’s voice has been echoing in my ears ever since that day, and I can still feel the tremors of despair that racked his body in these hands of mine. I will never forget what it looked like to see him stripped of everything he held dear.”

Ah, I see. Georges was the knight who had been tasked with restraining Cyrus so he didn’t cause a scene. He was another one of the people hurt by that incident.

“As a comrade and a friend, I couldn’t do anything for Cyrus except pray for his safety every day. I wanted him to live.”

“……”

“After the king told me the reason for Cyrus’s exile, I prepared myself to lose a friend…” Georges lowered his gaze, his expression going blank.

“Cyrus has been different since he returned to the castle. His smile, his eating habits, his dedication to training, and his style of fighting have all changed.”

“……”

“He changed so drastically in such a short amount of time. I can’t even imagine what caused those changes.” He sighed lightly before continuing.

“Despite what he went through, he’s never expressed a word of resentment. I’d prepared myself for the worst, thinking, ‘I can’t blame him if he hates me or doesn’t think of me as a friend anymore,’ but he still treats us the same as always.”

It felt like there was some minor misunderstanding going on here, almost like Georges wanted Cyrus to hold a grudge against him. But Cyrus didn’t seem to resent anyone, or hate anyone either for that matter. This was just a guess based on what I’d seen of Cyrus, though, since I didn’t know how he felt deep inside.

“Cyrus always wanted to be a knight of Lypaed.”

Georges and I quietly locked eyes.

“Even though his knight’s emblem was stripped from him and he was exiled, Cyrus always remained a knight of the kingdom at heart. His loyalty never wavered, and he dedicated himself to his country.”

He stared at me without blinking, then gritted his teeth and looked down. “I see. So that’s how it is. Both Cyrus and I are knights of Lypaed. We must obey our lord’s commands. There is no room in our job for hatred or resentment—all that matters is that we live our lives as knights.”

As he said that, he placed a hand on his arm, and I was certain his knight’s emblem was engraved there, just like Cyrus. After a short period of silence, Georges lifted his head and a gentle smile appeared on his face.

“Thank you.”

I could sense his heartfelt feelings in that gesture, and I accepted them with a nod.

Norris returned after a while, and came into the back room where Georges and I were waiting. He was out of breath, so I made him some warm tea.

“Welcome back. I’m sorry for making you go to all this trouble.”

“Please don’t worry about it, Setsuna.” Norris gulped down his tea, still standing, then handed me a flower bucket. “What kind of magic are you going to cast now, Setsuna?”

Without answering him, I touched the lisianthus in the bucket and used Time magic. A faint light enveloped the flowers, gradually dissolved into them, and disappeared.

The two of them watched my hands as I gently removed the flowers from the container.

“Huh…?”

“……”

Normally, flowers would bloom as soon as they were removed from the bucket, but the lisianthus remained closed.

“The magic seems to have worked, so I think we’re good to try it out for real.”

I was confident that the magic had worked just as I’d imagined, and I enjoyed the looks of surprise on their faces. Georges’ eyes widened, while Norris’s gaze remained fixed on the flower.

“What kind of magic is this? I thought you were a Windmaster, Setsuna.”

“I used Time magic. I stopped time for these flowers, preventing the buds from blooming.”

“……”

“Time magic?” Georges looked astonished, and Norris, puzzled.

“Isn’t that type of magic incredibly rare, Setsuna?”

That was when I realized my mistake—the way the two of them had reacted made me notice.

Their response to seeing my Time magic was just how other people would react toward the scene I wanted to create. Word of the magic would spread, sparking interest in the spell, as well as the person who’d used it.

I had considered how this would affect me, of course, which is why I only used the magic after making them promise not to tell anyone, thinking that there wouldn’t be any repercussions if they kept quiet. That in and of itself wasn’t wrong.

The problem lay in how I had obscured the fact that I was going to use Time magic from Norris and Georges. It came from my desire to surprise them, but it was a significant mistake.

They hadn’t taken something like this into account when they agreed not to tell anyone. Would they still have agreed to keep it a secret if they knew how much trouble that promise may cause them? In the end, didn’t I still deceive them? My carelessness was unforgivable.

“I’m sorry, I should’ve explained the magic I was going to use before asking you to promise to keep it a secret. I didn’t realize the burden it would place on both of you.”

“……”

“Please, forget you ever made me that promise. Of course, I’ll continue to help you, Georges, and if you’re asked about the Time magic, you can mention my name without hesitation.”

I bowed deeply to them both.

“Setsuna, please lift your head. I won’t tell anyone. When I made you that promise, I did so prepared to keep silent no matter how much trouble it might be. And if it will cause problems for you, Setsuna, to whom I owe so much, then I won’t tell a soul.”

“I feel the same as Norris. After all, I’m the one who insisted on finding a present for Georges.”

“…Thank you.” I raised my head, grateful for their kindness.

“So, Setsuna. How are you going to make that lisianthus bloom?” Norris asked with a slightly cheerful note to his voice, as if to dispel the subtle tension in the room, and pointed to the flower I held.

“Shall I show you, then?” I said, handing the lisianthus to him.

“It’s not really going to bloom, is it?” Norris held the flower up to inspect it, spinning it around gently, and I snapped my fingers.

Before his very eyes, the lisianthus gently uncurled its petals.

“Wow…”

“……”

Norris’s eyes widened and he exclaimed in surprise, and Georges stared at the lisianthus in wonder.

“Setsuna, this… This is amazing!”

I smiled at his comment and nodded.

“I can give a signal or set it for a certain amount of time, after which the Time magic will dispel.”

“Are you going to do this with the Cindy rose?!” Norris’s voice trembled slightly, probably because he was imagining the same scene I had earlier.

I waited for Norris to calm down, then explained my idea of using twelve roses for the performance. The more detail I went into, the more Norris’s eyes sparkled, while Georges flushed red and froze.

“I’m going to have to do that…?”

“I think it’s a great idea! Think of how memorable it will be!” Norris encouraged him.

“But…” His eyes wavered. Even his ears were red.

Georges leaned his elbows on the desk and rested his head in his hands as he pondered. So far, he hadn’t uttered a single negative word. Wondering what he was so worried about, I thought that maybe he was just purely embarrassed that he’d have to go along with the performance I’d come up with.

After thinking it over for a while, he must have gotten over it, because when he raised his head he had a look of resolve on his face. His ears were still red, though.

“Let’s do it.”

“Sure.”

“Okay.”

With Georges on board, Norris and I teleported to the field to pick the Cindy roses.

Once we arrived at the field, Norris looked around the rose garden and carefully selected a bud of average size from the group of Cindy roses and cut it off with shears. He placed it in the flower bucket, and we teleported back to the flower shop.

Georges wasn’t surprised by our sudden appearance, but he did gasp slightly when he saw the rose. “It’s even more beautiful than I expected! Thank you, Norris.”

“Not at all,” Norris replied, a hint of pride in his voice.

Georges thanked me as well, but I told him I didn’t really do all that much, and he took a seat.

Once we were all sitting down, we discussed how to proceed with the engagement ceremony, including how he should handle the gifts over the course of the following twelve days. After we were finished hammering out the details, Georges chuckled and said, “You must be the first sorcerer to use Time magic for something like this, Setsuna.”

He was right. I couldn’t think of anyone else who would use magic for such a frivolous purpose, so I just nodded in agreement.

“I’m not serving any country and I’m not affiliated with a team, so I can use magic in whatever way interests me,” I explained.

Since I had both Kyle and Hanai’s combined mana, my magical power would never run out. While it came easily to me, it wasn’t something that was normally that simple. A sorcerer’s life and death is determined by their mana, so using it for fun wasn’t an option. That was especially true if you served your country or were a part of a team, because you never knew when you’d be called on for battle, which was why it was a sorcerer’s duty to conserve their mana.

“Is the reason why you don’t have any affiliation because you want to be free to use your magic?”

“Yes. I don’t know what the future holds, but right now I want to prioritize what I want to do.”

“I see. I suppose that’s one way to live.” Georges nodded without saying anything else.

Georges frowned as he carefully examined the delicately embroidered white ribbon in front of him.

Elly had embroidered it in her spare time and given it to Norris, telling him to use it for something special. Apparently, Norris had planned on selling it with the slogan “A special ribbon for a special day.” The embroidery was very lovely, and I decided I’d buy some of it when I sent Tuuli her bouquet.

I watched Georges out of the corner of my eye as he wrote on the ribbon, searching his feelings for what to write, and I called out to Norris.

“Norris, how about we hold off on selling the Cindy roses and Laglut roses until Georges’ engagement ceremony is over?”

If this performance with the dozen roses gathered a lot of attention, it would definitely boost our sales, so it would be a shame to sell the new roses now. That was my thinking behind this suggestion, and Norris started to nod, but then stopped and shook his head instead.

“I’d like to do that, but if we wait too long the flowers will bloom,” he explained.

“I see… Then what if I cast Time magic just on the rose plots? That way the flowers won’t bloom even if they grow, and I can make the magic dispel once you take the flowers out of the buckets as usual, so it shouldn’t be an issue.”

“But Time magic is incredibly rare, isn’t it? I can’t ask you to do something like that!”

“Georges has been able to get his gift, and I got to see the scene I imagined in my mind unfold in reality. You’re the only one who hasn’t gotten anything out of this yet, so I want you to accept this in return. Especially seeing as your shop is about to get a whole lot busier,” I said.

“All right. If it’ll put your mind at ease, then go ahead. But please don’t keep worrying about me. I owe you a debt I can never repay, so it’s no problem for me to keep your secret,” Norris assured me.

“All right.” He seemed to understand my sentiments, so I accepted his words with an embarrassed smile.

I noticed Georges observing our interaction, a hint of a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. But when I turned to look at him, he tried to look away, and gave me an awkward chuckle.

“Georges, you have to come up with what to write on your own. I can’t help you with that,” I told him before he had the chance to ask for help, and Norris nodded his agreement. Georges gave us a bitter look and sighed, straightened up in his seat, then tightened his grip on his pen.

After Georges finally finished putting his feelings into the ribbon, he handed it to Norris, who tied the white ribbon very gently around the stem of the deep crimson rose. He might have felt like a father sending his child off into the world for the first time, as he was finally parting with the roses that he and Elly had so carefully nurtured up until now.

“It’s tied, Setsuna.”

“Good. I’ll cast the spell now, so could you hold onto it just like that?”

“Okay.”

I gently touched the rose Norris held.

The two of them watched over me looking slightly nervous as I softly chanted the spell. The rose seemed to be slowly growing under the magic’s effect…or at least, that’s what I assumed. There were no visual changes, and I wouldn’t be able to see the miraculous moment just before the bud bloomed.

“Now, Setsuna.”

On Norris’s cue, I stopped the spell that sped up time for the rose, and switched to one that froze time. Norris took a breath and smiled.

“I’ve seen this magic twice now, but it’s truly amazing, Setsuna. The moment the magic is dispelled, the flower will bloom.”

Honestly, I didn’t think I deserved such praise—Norris was the amazing one here. I secretly wished, May the two of them always be happy, and cast a spell on the ribbon as well.

The two of them sighed with relief, and I couldn’t help but smile. All that was left was to continue this process for twelve days, and then perform the final task at the engagement ceremony on the final day.

“Here, Georges.” Norris politely held out the Cindy rose to Georges, who accepted it with a smile.

“I appreciate it. Thank you, Norris and Setsuna. I’ll be counting on both of you for these twelve days.” Georges gave a knight’s salute with the rose in one hand.

“Here’s to a successful proposal!”

“Good luck!”

Georges laughed shyly, bowed again, and then left the shop. He walked away, his back straight and his gaze fixed ahead.

“I hope everything goes well.” Norris had a solemn expression on his face, almost as if he were the one undergoing the ceremony.

“I’m sure it will.” I nodded, recalling the sight of Georges and Sophia when I’d seen them that day at the castle.

Part Eight: Georges

I rushed to my fiancée, Sophia, holding the crimson Cindy rose enchanted with Time magic. The sun had fully set, so I was sure she must have been worried about me, and I thought back on the day’s events, feeling ashamed of my incompetence.

I recently proposed to a woman much younger than me: the little sister of Fred, my close friend. Fred and I are the same age and have known each other a long time. He’s always watched over Sophia, his sister, and I’d come to see her as a younger sister, too.

Fred adores Sophia, and despite our age gap the three of us like to spend time together. Due to my friendship with Fred, Sophia always felt like family to me, and because of how close we were, I’d never seen her in a romantic light. But as her affection toward me grew, I began to develop feelings for her, and in a twist of fate, I ended up engaged to her.

This morning, after roll call was over, Fred reminded me of something.

“Georges, you remember today is the engagement ceremony, right? I’ll never forgive you if you do something to embarrass my sister.” He smiled at me, and I just stood there, wide-eyed. Instantly, a cold sweat broke out across my back. I stared at his face without replying, and saw his expression cloud over.

“…Georges. You didn’t seriously forget, did you? Please tell me you’ve already decided on your gift.”

“……”

He kept asking me rapid-fire questions, but I couldn’t speak. My mind was completely blank. The color must’ve drained from my face, because he put his hand on his face and sighed.

“I was worried you might’ve forgotten, which is why I asked. You did forget, didn’t you…? You’re always like this; I’m sure you never would’ve proposed without my sister pressuring you. Well, I know you’ve been busy lately, so that must be why.”

Ever since Cyrus had returned to the castle, things had been extremely busy around here. That commotion was an extension of what he’d risked his life for. If he hadn’t returned, we might be in all-out war with Guilonde right now, so I should be happy that we were this busy. Still, I’d forgotten something incredibly important while attending to my duties.

I knew that was just an excuse. It was my fault that I’d forgotten all about it until Fred reminded me.

“…I’m sorry. Truly. It’s my own fault.” I finally managed to utter an apology, to which Fred gave a wry smile.

“No need to apologize; I should’ve reminded you sooner. Anyway, you lucked out, because at least it’s not too late.”

He comforted me by patting me on the back, and I slumped.

“And it’s only day one, so you can make sure you get everything ready for the next eleven days, right? Sophia’s really looking forward to seeing what you get her!”

I didn’t know what else to say. Each word from Fred felt like another blow, and all I could do was stand there motionless.

Usually during our morning break, I’d chat with my colleagues, but no one approached me today, probably because they noticed the frown on my face. They probably thought I was in a bad mood, but I was just feeling troubled. My mind was preoccupied with only one thing.

I knew everyone around me was concerned with my well-being, but I didn’t have the luxury to pay attention to that right now.

I was consumed by a single thought.

…What should I give her?

If I could just figure that out, my worries would disappear, but it seemed like an impossible task. How could I have forgotten something so important?

I was supposed to give her a gift she would like, but that in and of itself wasn’t the issue. The problem was that I had to show off all the gifts on the twelfth day. They couldn’t be too expensive or too cheap, and they needed to be tasteful, but what did that even mean?! What could I get her that fit all those criteria?

I wish I could throttle whoever came up with this idea!

The moment that thought crossed my mind, the murmurs around me quieted down. It seemed like I’d inadvertently put out a hostile aura.

I tried to regain my composure and started thinking about what Sophia might like. She was a kind girl, so I knew she’d appreciate anything I gave her. Even if she didn’t like it, she’d still appreciate it because it was from me. But that wasn’t good enough. I wanted to give her something that she genuinely enjoyed.

The age gap between us was frustrating. It shouldn’t matter so much in the big picture, but she had only just come of age, so I felt like there was a significant difference in our values at this point in our lives.

When our engagement was announced, not even Cyrus offered his congratulations, but instead spat out a curse.

“Georges, you know that’s a crime, right?”

“……”

There are lots of married couples with a greater age gap than ours, but here in Lypaed, very few people get engaged to a woman who’s just reached adulthood. There are some countries where engagements are arranged before adulthood, or where you can only marry the person your parents decide for you. Although political marriages exist here too, they’re not as strict as in other countries.

“She’s just entered high society, and you already want to keep her all to yourself?”

When he teased me like that with a smirk on his face, I seriously considered strangling him. Maybe I should’ve.

I was supposed to be thinking about gift ideas, but instead found myself reliving unpleasant memories, which only made me more annoyed. Just then, the source of my irritation coincidentally showed up.

“Hey, Georges. What’s got you so angry?”

“…Shut up.”

Cyrus and I were Eugene’s knights; he was first knight, and I was second. When Cyrus had been falsely accused and stripped of his knighthood, I had been the one that had to restrain my friend. I could still vividly remember everything from that moment. I wondered how many times I’d thought how glad I was that he’d returned to Lypaed.

“Are you all right?”

Even though I’d expected him to hold a grudge against me, he was still my friend just like before. There seemed to be some kind of tension between him, Prince Eugene, and Keith, but things were gradually returning to normal.

“Hey, are you sure you’re okay? It starts today, right? Have you decided what to give her?”

Not him, too… Do I really seem that clueless? Well, I guess I am, and that’s why I’m in this situation to begin with.

“……”

“Come on…,” Cyrus said, half-teasing, but noticing my silence, he sat down next to me with a serious look on his face. I shifted my gaze away from him and sighed, not knowing how many times I’d done so that day. Seeing the state I was in, Cyrus called out to one of the soldiers in the waiting room.

“Hey, who’s on today’s patrol squad for Main Street?”

“The seventh squad, sir!” the soldier replied with a hint of nervousness, indicating his own squad. Ever since Cyrus had received the Protection of the Dragons, the number of soldiers who admired him had increased. The air in the room had changed drastically ever since he walked in.

“Georges will be supervising today, so keep that in mind on patrol.”

I lifted my head to look at him, surprised by that suggestion.

“Well, there’s no point in sitting here worrying about it, right? Look around Main Street while you patrol and you might find something good.”

“I’m supposed to guard Prince Eugene this afternoon…”

“Let me take care of that. I’ll explain it to him. He’ll probably find it amusing.”

With a mischievous chuckle, Cyrus left the room after patting me on the back. I felt a mixture of irritation and gratitude toward him as I watched him go, and began to prepare for patrol. Honestly, I really appreciated his suggestion.

I didn’t want to waste this opportunity Cyrus had given me, so I set out on patrol. Everything was going smoothly. As I walked, I looked at a number of different shops along the way out of the corner of my eye. I was planning on making a list of potential candidates in my mind and then visiting the shops after work.

That was when I encountered Setsuna again. For some reason, he was working at a flower shop, and it proved to be a lucky encounter for me.

The voices of the people in the bustling restaurants snapped me back to reality. Someone called out, “You dropped something!” which triggered a sudden wave of anxiety in me, but when I looked down, I saw the stem of the rose. The ribbon was still tightly tied around it, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

I was grateful I hadn’t absentmindedly damaged the rose or lost the ribbon. I had only been able to obtain it with the help of Norris and Setsuna, and it was important I give it to Sophia.

“Convey your feelings… I’m glad I remembered that before giving it to her.”

Something Setsuna said earlier when we were discussing the details of the ceremony came back to me.

“Along with the rose, you’ll also be conveying to her your feelings.”

It wasn’t just about giving an object, but about showing her how I felt. I’d completely forgotten about that. Even if I were to give her something she liked, it would just be an object with no feelings attached, so I had to make sure I expressed my feelings to Sophia, since she would become my wife.

And so, I had written down how I truly felt on the delicately embroidered ribbon.

“I hope she’ll like it.”

Looking at the pure white ribbon tied around the rose, I began to feel shy. I prayed that my feelings would reach Sophia when I offered her my twelve emotions.

Part Nine: Georges—Day 1 of 12

The guards at the gate opened the doors for me, and I stepped into the room. Although they were all familiar faces, hearing them cheer me on saying “Good luck!” was pretty embarrassing.

I took a deep breath in front of the door to the mansion and mustered up the courage to knock. Normally, the butler would’ve answered, but instead the door opened to reveal Sophia, with her waist-length, soft, golden hair, and eyes that always reminded me of a calm blue sky. Her face visibly relaxed when she saw me, and she gave me a slightly bashful smile. It seemed like maybe she’d been worried after all.

“Good evening, Sophia. I’m sorry I’m so late.”

“Good evening, Sir Georges. I know you’re busy, so thank you for coming.” Her voice trembled slightly, and I wondered if she was just as nervous as I was. If it were Cyrus, who was more accustomed to dealing with women, he might’ve been able to say something witty, but I wasn’t good at such things.

“…I’m looking forward to these next twelve days.”

It was kind of a clichéd line, and I wasn’t completely satisfied with it, but sometimes you just had to make do with what you had.

“S-so am I. Thank you,” she replied with a hint of shyness, lightly clutching her skirt, which was the same blue as her eyes. Her demeanor reminded me of how she’d been when I first met her as a child. Back then, she’d hidden behind Fred’s back and said hello to me, and now she was looking up at me with the same shy expression.

Although there were still moments when I wondered if I was truly worthy of marrying Sophia, I’d sworn to make her happy, so I knew I had to push aside my doubts after today.

“Sophia.”

“Yes?” Her nervous voice brought a smile to my lips, and I gently cleared my throat.

“Will you accept this from me?”

I gazed into her sky-blue eyes and offered her the crimson Cindy rose, expressing my feelings through it. Her eyes were glued to the flower, and she carefully reached out to take it, making sure not to touch my fingers.

“Even though it’s just a bud, it’s very beautiful.”

She looked completely enchanted by the rose. “But why is it still a bud?” she asked quietly, and I figured I should explain at least that much.

“This rose will bloom during the day, so you won’t stay up all night.”

“……” She looked up at me sheepishly, and I couldn’t help but chuckle. I could tell she intended on staying awake.

“Sophia, your answer?”

My words seemed to snap her back to reality, and she hastily recited the customary response. There were certain things we had to be mindful of during this courtship ritual, such as not touching the other person, not entering their home, and that the woman must give one of two responses. If she said, “I’ll be waiting for you tomorrow,” it meant that she hadn’t changed her mind, while “Would you like some tea?” meant that she wanted to call off the engagement.

I had a feeling I’d asked a superior once why those rules existed, but I couldn’t remember the answer.

“Thank you, Sir Georges. I’ll be waiting for you tomorrow.”

She blushed and gazed at me kindly. I tried to hide the relief I’d felt the moment I heard the words “I’ll be waiting…” I knew it was silly of me to feel this way, and I didn’t want to embarrass myself too much in front of her.

As I walked back home, alone on the darkened path, I wondered if Sophia had noticed the word written on the ribbon. It was the same word symbolized by the gerulito flowers that were embroidered on it: Gratitude.

“Each of the twelve roses has its own meaning, and you can convey those same feelings to your partner with each rose. It’s like making twelve different vows to the person you’re going to spend your life with.”

In all honesty, when Setsuna told me that, I’d felt embarrassed. That sort of thing’s not really my style. And since I’m bad with words, I haven’t had many chances to express my feelings to Sophia.

Which is why, in the end, I’d changed my mind and decided that if I was able to convey how I felt, even a little, by writing on the ribbon, it was worth it. She had always been up front about her unwavering feelings, so I thought it was important to tell her what I needed to say as her future husband.

I went back home, sat down on my bed, and sighed. The first day had ended smoothly, and thanks to Norris and Setsuna, I had plans for the remaining days. I felt a little bad that I was causing them so much trouble, but was glad they seemed to be enjoying themselves at least. I had eleven days left, so I was going to do everything I could to express my feelings to Sophia.

Gratitude: I’m grateful to you and your family for being engaged to you. —Georges

Part Ten: Georges—Day 2 of 12

The next day, as I entered a sitting room in the castle, somebody called out to me as if they’d been waiting for my arrival.

“Good morning, Georges. My sister’s been staring at that rosebud since yesterday. She really liked the embroidered ribbon, too, but her favorite thing about your gift was the message you wrote.”

It was Fred, my closest friend.

“Oh yeah…?”

“That was a wonderful rose you managed to find.”

“Perhaps it’s because I’m such a stand-up guy,” I joked lightly, and Fred looked at me with surprise.

“Did something happen?”

“What do you mean?”

Fred’s gaze shifted toward the chair in the corner of the room.

“Sophia was really delighted.”

“By the rose…?”

“No. She was looking forward to your gift and was restless the whole night. Then, after you left, she kept staring happily at the rosebud and ribbon right up until she went to bed.”

Fred looked serious as he described Sophia’s behavior.

“She hasn’t had much of an appetite lately, and she hasn’t been sleeping well. She’s always rubbing her eyes sleepily, and the reason she was uncharacteristically bold the other day when she asked to watch us train was because she was worried about you.”

“She was worried about me?”

“You hadn’t been able to eat properly until he returned, right? And you weren’t getting much sleep, either.”

“Fred…”

“I know this isn’t for me to say. I was only watching from the sidelines, and even I thought that what happened was unbearable. It felt like I had a knot full of lead in my stomach.”

He paused, staring into the distance.

“But when he returned to the castle, everyone who was close to him before he left cheered up again, except for you.”

“……”

“I understood why, so I didn’t say anything. But Sophia sensed something was amiss. I wouldn’t say anything, so she didn’t ask. She just worried about us both in silence.”

“She did?”

“Georges. Last night, she said you seemed more cheerful. I thought maybe she was just saying that to make me feel better, but now I’ve seen you for myself, I realize she’s right. What could’ve happened to you in just half a day?”

Fred’s question prompted me to tell him about my encounter with Setsuna the previous afternoon. I talked about thanking him and how he’d ended up listening to my problems.

“I see, so that’s what happened. I was worried about you yesterday, but it looks like everything worked out.”

Fred stood up from his chair and smiled brightly, as if to close out the conversation. Now that I thought about it, I realized I hadn’t seen him smile like that in a long time. He told me he was relieved, and once he’d left, I headed back to my post.

As I walked to Norris’s shop after work, I recalled my conversation with Fred about how worried Sophia had been over me. She had always been generous with her kindness. Sometimes, I had to perform missions that required me to suppress my emotions, like that incident with Cyrus, but I realized now that, even in the midst of a situation like that, Sophia and Fred had been by my side worrying the whole time.

At Norris’s shop, I carefully wrote my feelings onto another ribbon. Setsuna and Norris were surprised that I arrived earlier than yesterday, but I’d already decided what I was going to write before I even reached the shop.

It seemed like Sophia had lost some of her nervous energy on the second day, because her smile looked more natural than the night before. She was a bit surprised to see a second rose, but accepted it with a happy smile.

“I’ll be waiting for you tomorrow…”

She looked down shyly, then glanced up at me. I couldn’t help thinking how pretty she was.

There were so many things I wanted to tell her, but the words failed to come out, as usual. The second day ended with me just saying good-bye. For the remaining ten days, I resolved to not only express my feelings through the ribbons, but to try to say them out loud to her.

Respect: I deeply admire your kindness. —Georges

Part Eleven: Sophia—Day 3 of 12

Three crimson roses were arranged in front of me, special gifts from someone I’d loved for years. Each rosebud was tied with a pure white ribbon, embroidered with flowers. Yesterday’s embroidery was a sealal, which symbolized respect, while today’s was a bellflower, symbolizing sincerity.

The flower embroidered on each ribbon shared the same meaning as the message written on it. I wondered how Sir Georges had managed to find the ribbons, as well as roses that stayed in bud form.

The messages were brief but uniquely him and ended with his name. It really felt like he’d filled the rosebuds with his emotions, and every time I saw the flowers and elaborately embroidered ribbons with his feelings written on them in that neat handwriting of his, I felt so happy I could cry.

I wish the flowers would hurry up and bloom…

Every day, I looked forward to seeing his feelings come into flower, and I whispered as I gently poked the rosebuds:

“When are you going to bloom? Please make sure you do it when I’m watching.”

Even though they might not be able to understand me, I couldn’t help but wish for it anyway. After all, these flowers symbolized how he felt about me. I couldn’t afford to miss the moment when those feelings blossomed, and I moved my fingertips from the bud to the ribbon, lightly tracing the letters with my finger. Memories of Sir Georges’ serene face and the way he called my name in his deep, gentle voice made my heart skip a beat.

“I’m glad Sir Georges is feeling better.”

I spoke this to the empty room. He’d been feeling unwell for a while, and even though I had sensed something was wrong, considering his missions as a knight were usually confidential, I’d refrained from asking.

Even before, Sir Georges and my brother would sometimes look downhearted, and their expressions would often go blank, as if they had a lot weighing on their minds. At times like that, I tried to stay quietly by their side so I didn’t add to their burdens. I know how people tend to think about bad things even more when they’re alone.

They’re so much more mature than me, so most of the time they seem to go back to normal within a few days. They must know how to process difficult and painful things by themselves.

But this time was different. Both of them withdrew and began speaking less. They lost their appetites. Knights were usually mindful of taking care of themselves, but their eyes had darkened as if even eating had become painful. I became anxious, wondering what kind of mission could have caused them such distress.

After a while, my brother’s complexion improved, and when I asked him, “Are you all right?” he smiled and told me he was better now. I thought maybe the difficult mission was over, and if so, then Sir Georges should recover soon as well. But he still looked down.

My brother told me, “Just being by his side like always is enough.” So I did that, even though it was difficult being by their side sometimes because they were so busy, which made me worry more about their health.

On the first day of the engagement ceremony, Sir Georges didn’t come to my house until quite late at night. I started to worry that something happened to him, so I asked my brother, but he only gave me a vague answer. I was so anxious waiting. But I wasn’t worried that he might not come, because Sir Georges was a sincere person and I knew he wouldn’t break a promise.

And then, the moment arrived. I was very nervous, but the moment I saw his face, I was filled with relief. As I stared into his beautiful blue eyes, I knew everything would be all right.

I’m not sure what happened exactly. All I knew was that Sir Georges recovered three days ago. And I didn’t have to know; even if we couldn’t share certain things with each other, I was certain it wouldn’t damage our relationship.

“What sort of message will he bring me tomorrow?” I wondered, as I toyed with a ribbon. There were nine days until the engagement ceremony, and with each additional rosebud, my love for Sir Georges only grew stronger.

Sincerity: I promise to always be faithful to you. —Georges

Part Twelve: Setsuna—Day 4 of 12

Georges stared at the ribbon that was embroidered with crimson clovers without blinking. He’d written down his feelings for the past few days easily, but today seemed to be a struggle.

With the exception of the first day, Elly had done the embroidery especially for Georges and Sophia. When Norris mentioned that the Cindy roses would be used for an engagement ceremony, she’d said she wanted to do something special too, and wouldn’t take no for an answer.

They discussed various ideas and decided to embroider flowers on the ribbons based on their meanings. Norris chuckled as he told me that Georges had agreed after he’d consulted with him. It seemed that Sophia had been very pleased with the embroidered ribbons, which made Norris exhale with relief.

I heard another small sigh, and couldn’t help but look over. Norris did as well.

“I’m sorry…”

Georges seemed worried that he was keeping us waiting.

“I know it’s your day off…”

Under normal circumstances, the shop would’ve been closed yesterday and today, but since Georges had to give gifts over twelve consecutive days, Norris had made an exception. He prepared the rosebuds and ribbons, I enchanted them with Time magic, and we met up at the shop with Georges once he was finished with work.

We would leave once he was finished writing down his feelings onto the ribbon. The longer he took, the longer we would be there, but since we only had to go home afterward, it wasn’t a big deal. Norris felt the same way and spoke kindly to Georges.

“Don’t worry about us. Just focus on finding the right words,” he said.

“I’m enjoying myself each day, too, so don’t worry about me either,” I added.

I hoped that would help set his heart at ease, and Georges nodded meekly to Norris, but furrowed his brow at my response.

“What do you mean you’re enjoying yourself?”

“I’m imagining the roses blooming in eight days.”

Georges gave me a dubious look and sighed once more before returning his gaze to the ribbon, still unable to find the right words.

“Virtue is difficult,” he muttered softly with a troubled expression on his face. I agreed that it seemed quite challenging.

In front of me, Norris also closed his eyes and muttered, “Virtue, virtue…” in an effort to help. I tried to imagine what I would write if I were to give this ribbon to Tuuli, but I couldn’t narrow it down and find the right words, so I suggested we start by coming up with words associated with virtue, and told the others my idea.

“Other words that come to mind when you think of ‘virtue’?”

“Yes. Like honest, kindhearted, something you don’t want to lose?”

“Hmm…”

Norris and Georges pondered this. After a while, Georges called us over to have a look over his message and see if it sounded strange. I could see the joy at having come up with something, and anxiety about what to do if we thought it was odd, both written on his face.

We read it, and really hoped that all of Georges’ efforts would pay off. It would be truly wonderful if we could celebrate that moment together. Just eight more days until then.

Virtue: I will stand by the goodness of your virtue and protect it. —Georges

Part Thirteen: Sophia—Day 5 of 12

I had heard from my brother that, three days ago, Prince Eugene and his knights had set out for a survey of the domain. Originally, Sir Georges was scheduled to go along, but he was excused due to our engagement ceremony.

Despite not going along on the survey, Sir Georges still seemed to be overwhelmed with work to be done, and he’d been going to the castle much earlier than usual. My brother was also leaving home early every morning and would only return after the sun had set.

I couldn’t help but worry when I saw him come home exhausted every day and sleep like the dead, but when he woke up in the morning, his expression was always bright. It was as if he was enjoying the brief time he had right then, which left me feeling quite conflicted.

Unlike my brother, Sir Georges rarely showed his emotions with me. Still, it was easy for me to guess from his behavior that he was tired because we’d been together for so long. When we first met, I’d hidden behind my brother’s back, but before I knew it, I felt myself always looking for Sir Georges.

I now had five rosebuds. Each rose came with a word, and beside it, a message from him. Sentiments I never would’ve thought him capable of expressing were written onto the embroidered ribbons. I absently gazed at the cute yellow dagenia flowers, which bloomed at the beginning of Salkis.

I wondered how he felt when he chose these words. What expression did he have on his face when he wrote on the ribbons? Each time he gave me another rose, my feelings for him grew. I lightly picked up the ribbon tied to yesterday’s rose and read the words.

“He still remembers…”

No matter how many times I read it, a smile crossed my face, because the memory of that time remained vivid in my mind. I remembered his eyes softly gazing at me through the troubled expression on his face.

It was something that had happened when I was a child. There was a significant age gap between Sir Georges and me, so our values differed in many ways as well. He was composed, and I, a restless girl. At the time, I loved to challenge myself with new things, but he didn’t seem to have the same interests. He just wanted to watch my brother and me have fun.

When I was younger, both my brother and Sir Georges indulged my every whim. But unlike my brother, Sir Georges didn’t try new things with me very often, which used to upset me. I would burst into tears, wondering why he wouldn’t play with me, and he would desperately try to comfort me with a troubled look on his face.

I was too young to realize that everyone had their own strengths and weaknesses. As I reread the words written on the ribbons, I felt a slight pang in my chest and wondered if he still felt bad about that. At the same time, though, it made me happy that he remembered such little things, and I smiled as I read the words perhaps and occasionally.

I spent a pleasant afternoon revisiting old memories, and had an unexpected visit from a friend. When she saw the roses I’d received from Sir Georges, she frowned.

“He’s giving you the same flowers every day? Sophia, are you sure about him? The roses are beautiful, but don’t you think just tying ribbons to them is a bit too simple? It’s not too late, you know? You could still ask him if he ‘wants some tea’ tonight.”

I knew she was just concerned for my well-being. But I never once considered it.

“I’m happy with his gifts.”

That didn’t seem to satisfy her. It was challenging to explain this to someone with different values, but I knew that I couldn’t convey even half of what I wanted to. And that’s just how it was—we valued different things.

Of course, getting expensive items or different gifts each day might be nice. But a gift like this was filled with his emotions, and couldn’t be replicated.

Sir Georges had carefully written his feelings on the ribbons, letter by letter. Words weren’t his specialty, but he was making a conscious effort to try to convey his feelings to me. And that effort itself was the greatest gift I could think of.

Once my friend left, I sighed softly to myself in the now quiet room. Only seven more days until the engagement ceremony. I silently wished deep in my heart that day twelve would come without any issue.

Effort: Perhaps I should try new things with you occasionally… —Georges

Part Fourteen: Elly—Day 6 of 12

Thanks to Setsuna’s medicine, my fever had gone down and the wound on my back was getting better. Before Norris brought him here, I was in constant pain whether I was sitting up or lying down. I didn’t like to worry Norris, so I kept telling him I was fine, but honestly, the pain had been unbearable.

Maybe he knew I was just pretending to be strong. Just like I knew that he’d been trying to protect everything on his own.

But now, sitting on the sofa and embroidering a pure white ribbon, I no longer felt any pain. I still couldn’t stand up for long periods of time, but at least I could move my hands.

There were two beastfolk in the room to watch over me.

One was a little boy named Alto, who had cute wolf ears. He stared intently at my hands as I embroidered. A little farther away, an elderly beastfolk man named Ragi sat in a chair and quietly read a book.

They were kind people who’d offered to help us out of concern. Norris was too busy with the shop, and I couldn’t move much due to my injury, so they would bring me lunch every day except on Norris’s days off.

“What flower are you embroidering?”

“It’s a cactus flower. It means ‘passion.’”

“Oh…”

Maybe it was because he thought it was odd for drawings to be made with thread, but Alto had been watching me embroider all the time. At first, he’d been wary, and hadn’t spoken to me other than to say hello, but he gradually warmed up to me after I started to give him sweets as a thank-you for bringing me lunch. Ragi quietly complimented me, saying, “Nice strategy,” which made me happy. Now we were close enough to eat lunch together.

“Shall we leave soon, Alto?”

“Okay!”

At Ragi’s prompting, Alto got up from his chair. They hadn’t spent much time with me, but it was enough to eat lunch together and for me to embroider a flower onto the ribbon.

“Take care, Elly. Be sure not to push yourself too hard.”

“I won’t. Thanks again for today.”

“See you tomorrow, Elly.”

“See you tomorrow, Alto!”

It was always lonely when they left, even though I enjoyed hearing Ragi’s caring words and Alto telling me he’d see me tomorrow. Now that I was alone in the empty room, I continued my embroidery. The next day’s ribbon was already finished, but I was embroidering the same design onto other ribbons.

Twelve roses, twelve words, and twelve ribbons, each one embroidered with a flower that symbolized the word. I was sure this would become popular. I only wished I wasn’t injured so I could help more, but I was grateful to be able to lend a hand at all.

“…I might as well enjoy it,” I paused mid-stitch to whisper to myself.

Norris and I both knew that being able to smile like this was close to a miracle. Which is why I’d decided that when I was completely healed, I wanted to repay Setsuna and the others as much as possible. I would make Alto a bunch of delicious food. I knew he’d be pleased, and more importantly, that that was what Setsuna wanted most.

I wanted to do something for Ragi as well, but I wasn’t sure what to do yet. If I made him some clothes, would he wear them? I needed to thank the guildmaster, too.

Just when I was thinking it was about time for the shop to close, I heard the front door open and a flurry of footsteps. Moments later, the door to my room burst open.

“Elly!”

“What’s wrong, Norris? I didn’t hear your carriage. Did you run here?” I wanted to ask him, but he opened his mouth before I had the chance.

“The ink smeared on the ribbon! Can you fix it?”

He handed me the ribbon. There were some words neatly written on it. I was afraid it might be rude to read too much, but it was a short message, so I couldn’t help it.

“I think it would be better to rewrite it on a new ribbon.” I handed the ribbon back to Norris, then took a box from the nightstand. I opened it up and took out a ribbon embroidered with blue asters.

“Thanks! Sorry, but I have to hurry back.”

“Okay. Good luck. But did you run here?”

“No, I asked Setsuna to teleport me because there wouldn’t be enough time otherwise to redo the ribbon. He’s waiting outside, so I have to go.”

Wow, I’m so jealous. I want to try teleporting with magic, too. Norris left before I could even tell him to be careful, and after I heard the sound of the key in the lock, the room went silent again.

“Only six more days until the engagement ceremony. I wish I could go, too.”

I felt a little disappointed as I looked down at the ribbon in my hands. Although I’d never met Georges before, Norris seemed like he was having fun and was working hard on his behalf, so I was sure he was a good man.

I remembered the words he’d written on the ribbon, and felt my heart warm. I returned to my task of embroidering the ribbons for tomorrow as I thought about the meaning of the blue aster flowers.

Trust: I’ll try to be the person you trust most in your life. —Georges

Part Fifteen: Cyrus—Day 7 of 12

That morning, I arrived back home after having surveyed the territories and finished reporting to the general that I’d returned to the castle. Lunchtime passed as I was adjusting my schedule, and I was about to return to my room, hoping to recover from my exhaustion, when I ran into Keith.

He asked if there had been anything of concern during the survey, and I briefly mentioned the monsters we encountered. He nodded and asked me for a detailed report later. In return, I asked what had been going on in the castle while Eugene and I were gone, and he told me that Georges’ engagement ceremony was the talk of the town. Even I had heard rumors about it since returning to the castle. I couldn’t imagine what kind of roses could be so popular, and I found myself intrigued.

It seemed that the king was also interested in the roses, and once Eugene heard about it from Keith, he decided to attend the engagement ceremony.

“Apparently, the roses are still buds, and they won’t bloom.”

“……”

Keith quietly told me why the king was so interested in the roses, and from that explanation alone it was clear why Eugene and Keith wanted to attend the engagement ceremony. If there was a sorcerer capable of such magic in Lypaed, it was their duty to establish connections and perhaps persuade them to join us. Well, that might be the second reason.

“Aren’t you going to ask Georges about it?”

“I don’t think it would be very tactful to put a damper upon the engagement ceremony.”

“That’s true. Anyway, as friends of Georges, I’m hoping we get an invite.”

Keith chuckled and lightly patted my arm before leaving. After that, I ran into several more acquaintances, and at that point it was too much trouble to go back to my own room, so I went to the break room set aside for knights and lay down on one of the beds. I don’t remember anything after that.

The next thing I knew, it was time for dinner, and I decided to go out. Before I left the castle, I put on the ring that Setsuna had given me, which was essential if I wanted to relax walking around town.

I used the warm lights glowing from the houses to lead my way and headed toward the restaurant I had in mind. Most of the shops were already closed and there weren’t many people around. But among the few people who were out and about, I noticed someone walking as if trying to avoid attention. Since he wore knight’s armor, I followed him out of curiosity, only to find out that it was Georges.

“Hey, Georges.”

“What are you doing here?”

“I should be the one saying that. If people see a knight sneaking around, it’s bound to draw attention.”

“That’s true.” Georges nodded in agreement and our gazes met. I looked into his eyes and felt a sense of relief spreading throughout my heart.

It looks like he’s come to terms with it.

Georges seemed to have harbored guilt about my situation for a long time, but there was nothing he could’ve done about it: He was a knight, and it was his job to obey orders. I wanted to tell him not to worry, but I refrained from saying anything because I knew it would do little to comfort him.

It had taken me a while to come to terms with my own feelings as well. I’d decided not to say anything untoward and continue with the same attitude I’d always had. To some extent, you had to work this out on your own.

“So, where are you going?”

He held a surprisingly beautiful rosebud in his left hand; I couldn’t help but feel captivated by it. And despite it being so eye-catching, I’d only noticed it just now.

“Are you on your way to go meet Sophia? You’re right to try to avoid attracting too much attention.”

There were all sorts of questions I wanted to ask him, but I pushed them aside. Georges seemed to want to keep certain things hidden, so I decided not to pry. But I wanted to let him know about what I’d discussed with Keith to make sure he wouldn’t be inconvenienced.

“Oh, that reminds me, Georges. Eugene and Keith will be attending the engagement ceremony. I’ll be there, too, of course.”

“What? Why? Why would they do that?!”

That alone was enough to convey to him our true intentions.

“Because everyone is curious about those roses you’re giving your fiancée, obviously.”

Apparently, Georges hadn’t told anyone where he was buying the roses.

“Why didn’t you try to stop them?” He stared at me with a sour look on his face.

“Why should I stop them?” I responded lightly to his earnest question.

Georges frowned even more, but it didn’t matter to me. Eugene and the others were already well aware of this situation, and they had still decided to attend the ceremony. It wasn’t only because they were curious about the roses: They also genuinely cared about him. So why would I stop them from celebrating Georges and Sophia?

Besides, Georges was a good friend of mine. I was surrounded by people who were jealous or tried to get on my good side because of my relationship with Eugene, but Georges had always treated me the same ever since we first met.

Even after I’d received the Protection of the Dragons, his attitude toward me hadn’t changed, despite the fact that other people had definitely begun treating me differently.

When I heard that he was engaged to a woman who’d just come of age, I knew that it wasn’t Georges who had made advances toward her, but that the woman wanted Georges all to herself. It was easy to imagine that scenario.

I felt like praising Fred’s sister, to be honest. She may have been quiet and outwardly subdued, but I knew that she was fiercely passionate, and that her feelings were unshakeable.

“I’ll watch him from behind and you watch him from the front, Cyrus. We’ll split the task and protect Prince Eugene together so that no one will harm him.”

He always said things like that. He worked quietly and without distractions. That was why Eugene and Keith also trusted Georges. We wouldn’t miss the chance to celebrate his special day.

“I can’t wait to see what words you’ll dedicate to Sophia.”

I was going to enjoy this to the fullest, because I didn’t get a chance like this every day. I laughed at Georges but he socked me in the abdomen. My body was enhanced, so it didn’t hurt much, but being punched suddenly always caught a person off guard.

“Dammit! I should’ve strangled you when I had the chance!”

It was so rare to see Georges have an outburst that I doubled over laughing.

Just five more days until the engagement ceremony.

I said good-bye to Georges and cheerfully headed to the restaurant. On my way, I recalled the words written on the ribbon and a smile formed upon my lips. He truly was a knight among knights—at least, that’s what I believed.

Passion: You will always have my support, so live the life you want. —Georges

Part Sixteen: Fred—Day 8 of 12

Our family guards called out to me from the doorway of the house. I listened to what they had to say and then peeked toward the mansion. I saw Sophia and Georges talking by the front door.

“It would be in bad taste to interrupt now,” I said with a smile, and the guards nodded in agreement. I decided to wait here with them to allow the couple to share their precious moment together. As I observed them from a distance, I couldn’t help but sigh as I noticed something.

It seemed like Georges was still doing it without realizing. Although he’d made some progress, it was about time he stopped thinking of Sophia as a little sister.

I knew that Georges loved my sister, but since they’d known each other for so long, he still didn’t quite treat her as a woman as much as he should. I understood where he was coming from: After thinking of her as a sister for so long, it probably wasn’t easy to suddenly see her as a romantic partner. It might be fine for them to just be celebrating his realization of Sophia’s feelings and his proposal.

But that wasn’t enough. Sophia wouldn’t be happy like this. As I was lost in thought about what to do, I suddenly heard the voice of a man who should have been at the entrance come from right beside me.

“What are you doing here?”

The two of them had finished their meeting. The guards’ bashful smiles suggested they had been trying to get my attention for a while now.

“What do you think? I was waiting here so I didn’t disturb your time together.”

Georges seemed unsatisfied with my response and let out a light sigh.

“I’m going home,” he said before walking away. I told the guards I was leaving and followed after him.

“Let’s go for a drink. Come with me,” I suggested.

“……”

Georges wasn’t a big drinker, so I thought he’d turn me down, but I was surprised when he agreed. I hid my shock and managed to stay calm as we entered a quiet place where we could talk.

The drinks arrived in front of us, and we sipped them quietly without talking much. I assumed Georges must have something to say to me since he accepted my invitation, but he seemed hesitant to start the conversation. I realized this would go nowhere unless I took charge, so I led the way.

“There’s something you want to ask me, isn’t there?”

I broached the topic and Georges set his glass down on the table, his gaze unusually serious.

“Are you sure you’re okay with me marrying Sophia?”

“Huh?”

I couldn’t believe my ears. And once I realized he was serious, I was just astonished. “Now? Georges, are you seriously asking me that now?”

It made me want to laugh. Seriously? Now? What was he thinking? I laughed aloud and saw Georges’ eyes darken.

“Under normal circumstances, it wouldn’t be something so easily accepted, you know?” His voice and expression were so serious that I had to respond in kind.

“That might be true. But I’ve always felt like I could entrust my sister to you. I know you, Georges, and besides…”

Sophia was the one who’d fallen for him first. My little sister, who always followed me around calling me “Big Brother!” in her little baby voice. Since she was so much younger than me, I’d always adored her almost like my own child.

Honestly, the idea of her getting married someday never crossed my mind. I do remember when she was little and would say, “When I grow up, I’m gonna marry Big Brother!” It always put a smile on my face. Maybe I even cherished her more than our parents did. And my feelings toward her haven’t changed. They haven’t, but…

When did she stop wanting to marry her Big Brother and start wanting to marry Georges? I think Sophia was around seven years old when I first met Georges and became close friends with this taciturn and awkward man.

Georges indulged my sister’s whims just like I did and never complained. Sophia felt like a sister to him.

Given his personality, he wasn’t usually fond of children, but I was surprised to see how good he was with her. And perhaps because he was a close friend of mine, Sophia quickly grew fond of him.

Come to think of it, the first time Sophia mentioned becoming Georges’ bride was when she was ten years old. At the time, Georges and I just thought it was amusing. Like it was just another childhood phase, or an extension of how close she felt to him.

So when had that changed? It must’ve been around Sophia’s twelfth birthday, during Silkis. Before then, she’d always just called him Georges, but she started using his title. We were surprised at how suddenly this change had taken place, but we chalked it up to her just being around that age and shared a sad, wistful smile with each other.

Looking back on it, though, Sophia must have secretly loved Georges ever since then. She kept her feelings to herself without sharing them with anyone. Maybe that was a sign of her maturity at such a young age. Though whether it was because she was mostly surrounded by adults, or because she spent a lot of time with me, I wasn’t sure.

I’d thought of my sister as a child for so long, but now she was becoming an adult. I felt that intensely when I discovered her quietly crying alone one day. Up until then, she used to cry openly in front of the family, but at some point, she’d begun to hide her tears and quietly let them out when she was by herself. It was then that I realized she’d grown too big for me to keep holding on to.

Even when I asked why she was crying, she wouldn’t answer. She just said it was nothing, and that she was fine. This happened several times before it hit me—Sophia always cried the day after she met with Georges.

Well, usually it was me inviting him and Sophia tagging along. I thought that maybe he’d said something to Sophia behind my back, so I asked her about it. Although he was my close friend, I’d never forgive anyone who made my beloved sister cry.

“If you won’t tell me the reason, I’ll just ask him myself,” I told her, half-threatening, and she reluctantly began to speak.

“Brother…I have feelings for Sir Georges.”

I was shocked at this unexpected confession. I’d figured that she only ever thought of him as a brother, just as he thought of her as a sister.

“But he only sees me as a little sister,” she said, weeping. “No matter how hard I try, I’m only a child in his eyes.”

“Is that why you started calling him Sir Georges?”

“I wanted him to see that I was a woman…even if just a little bit.”

I hid my inner turmoil as I heard her speak softly, looking at the floor the whole time.

“What’s the rush, Sophia? You’re only fourteen. You’ll grow up to be so much more beautiful than you even are now!”

But she just shook her head and kept crying. She didn’t even seem like the little sister I’d known my whole life.

“I want to grow up as fast as I can. Because, if I don’t grow up fast enough, the next time I see Sir Georges, there might be another woman by his side.”

I couldn’t argue with that. My sister looked at me, her eyes full of tears.

“I’m always so anxious about that, Brother…”

Listening to her words, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was talking to a different woman. When had she started having these sorts of adult thoughts? I wiped her tears away, but inside I was a whirlwind of emotions.

Sophia had become even more beautiful than she was back then. There were so many indescribable emotions surging inside of me. I felt the same way Father must have been feeling; his disappointment over the past few days was so evident that it was almost funny. I couldn’t blame him, though.

I sighed as I thought about my future brother-in-law and his wife, then poured another drink. I never could’ve accepted it so easily if it weren’t Georges, I thought as I watched him drink.

“Besides what?”

I got so lost in my memories I wasn’t paying attention. I paused for a moment and then decided not to say anything.

“I’ll keep that to myself. It’s probably better for you that way anyway.”

Georges furrowed his brow, but didn’t press further. Some sort of sixth sense had probably told him to keep quiet.

I looked at him and a bit of guilt welled up inside of me. The truth was buried inside my heart: I had sabotaged any relationship he might’ve had with a woman he’d been interested in because I was on my sister’s side.

“Will you be my little brother, Georges?”

It was time to face it. I kept speaking, hoping he’d understand. “You’re not going to just be another one of her guardians anymore. You’re going to be her husband.”

He froze at my words and gave me a genuinely displeased look.

“I’ll be counting on you from now on…Little Brother.”

I wanted Georges to cherish Sophia not as a sister, but as a woman. I was confident he was the only one who could make my beloved sister happy.

“……”

Pretending I hadn’t heard his reply, I laughed out loud, and our time together passed. We said good-bye in front of the bar, and when I returned home, I found Sophia waiting for me with a pout on her face.

“It’s not fair to go out with Georges alone for drinks!”

She was mad at me for not inviting her. Was the fact that she still held the rose a sign of protest against me?

The ribbon tied to the rose swayed gently. White anemone flowers were embroidered at the ends of the ribbon, and the words written on it were typical of Georges—straightforward and sincere. Only four days left until the engagement ceremony…

Honesty: I want us to live acknowledging each other’s truths. —Georges

Part Seventeen: Georges—Day 9 of 12

As I headed toward Setsuna and Norris’s shop, I tried to keep as much of a low profile as possible. Due to the fact that I was Eugene’s second knight and my engagement was coming up soon, news about the ceremony had spread far and wide. Honestly, I hadn’t expected people to talk about it so much, but it seemed like many were trying to figure out the secret of the roses that wouldn’t bloom.

Thanks to Eugene saying that he was looking forward to the ceremony, and that he hoped people would watch over our engagement quietly, hardly anyone bothered me anymore. Sometimes I did feel like I was being followed, though, so I made sure no one was tailing me before I headed to the shop. I knew how much trouble it would cause Norris and Setsuna if someone was tailing me.

I wanted to avoid causing them any more needless trouble, which, honestly, might be impossible. I felt like I was already burdening Setsuna, not to mention Norris.

Cyrus mentioned that Eugene and Keith were going to attend the ceremony. If that was the case, we couldn’t avoid Keith seeing the rose, and if a sorcerer like him saw it, I was sure he’d figure out that it had been made using Time magic. And once he realized that, it would be inevitable that Keith, or worst-case scenario, the king, would ask who had cast the spell.

Setsuna had said that he wasn’t affiliated with anyone because he wanted to be free to use his magic, and I’d promised to keep his secret. However, if the king ordered me to tell him, I would be forced to break my promise.

Just as Setsuna showed his sense of honor by saying he’d help with the ceremony even if it meant revealing his true abilities, if worse comes to worse, I have to protect him even if it means stopping the ceremony.

Now that I had made my decision, I went to the store and talked to Setsuna, but he told me, “I don’t mind talking to the king. He already knows my thoughts on the matter, so I don’t think he’ll force me.” I breathed a sigh of relief and then went to Sophia’s house.

Once again, Sophia was dressed beautifully tonight. I handed her the ninth rose. She looked down at the ribbon embroidered with pink tulips and happily accepted her gift.

Even if it was just for a moment, I spoke to her every day. Most of the time I was only listening to Sophia talk, but it eased the rough edges of my heart. Ah, I see. It’s times like these people are referring to when they talk about happiness.

“Sir Georges?”

“What is it?”

“I know it’s impolite to ask such things, but…” She looked up at me with a slightly uneasy expression on her face and I almost felt like bursting out laughing. That part of her hadn’t changed since she was a little girl.

“Don’t worry about it. Just go ahead and ask.”

“After the engagement ceremony, would you tell me where you bought these ribbons?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Um, I…” She stumbled over her words and her face began to grow red. I gave her a confused look.

“I want a ribbon for my hair that has the same embroidery as this one.”

Norris and Elly ran a flower shop, not a general store or clothing store. I didn’t know if they’d be willing to do that. But I could at least ask.

“I see. The embroidery on this ribbon is done specifically for me and you, Sophia. It’s not their main profession, though, so I can’t guarantee if I can make it happen or not. Is that all right?”

Her eyes widened at my response. Then, with a delighted smile, she happily nodded and said, “Yes. It’s okay even if they say no.”

Our conversation settled down and she told me, with a happy look on her face, “I’ll be waiting for you tomorrow.” Even though it was the ninth day, she’d still looked shy while saying it, which I thought was adorable. I found happiness in our time together and reluctantly began to walk away, but halfway to the gate, I stopped and glanced back. Sophia hadn’t gone inside yet; instead, she was clutching the rose to her chest and gazing at me with a sad expression on her face.

Her expression hit me like a bolt of lightning. Was that how she looked every day when I said good-bye? That made me feel even more reluctant to leave.

“……”

When our eyes met, she quickly put on a gentle smile and waved at me. For the first time, I saw a glimpse of the woman within her, in the way that she smiled and hid her feelings. Dissatisfaction, loneliness, sadness, joy, happiness. The childlike Sophia who was always open and honest with her emotions in front of Fred and me was no longer there.

The things Fred said yesterday lingered in my heart. He’d called me his little brother. That meant he recognized me as Sophia’s husband. Not as her guardian, but as her spouse.

I’d been so foolish. Even the conversation we just had about the ribbon was no different. She wanted to wear the same item that I had given her. I hadn’t realized until it was too late.

From this day forward, my perception of her would change. She would go from being the adorable little girl I needed to protect, to the woman who would become my beloved wife. She was no longer just a girl. I was angry at myself for not understanding that sooner.

I waved back at Sophia, then started walking. There were three days left until the engagement ceremony. I was fortunate to realize all this now. I truly believed that. If I had kept up this misunderstanding, I’m sure that I would have deeply hurt her.

Happiness: My happiness is seeing you smile. —Georges

Part Eighteen: Sophia—Day 10 of 12

After I received the tenth rose from Sir Georges, we chatted for a while and then I bid him farewell, saying, “I’ll be waiting for you tomorrow.” I had no doubt I’d be able to smile and say good-bye to him like usual. Why couldn’t I? We would see each other the next day, right? It wasn’t like we’d be apart for a long time or never see each other again.

Yet here I was, crying in front of him. I was happy, so I didn’t know why I was crying; there was nothing to be sad about. All I knew was that I felt an inexplicable dread being away from Sir Georges. My tears just kept flowing uncontrollably, and I couldn’t calm my nerves.

I had the feeling he wanted to wipe away my tears, but he never brought his hand to my face. Instead, he clenched it tightly into a fist and let it drop before reaching out to me, then let out a deep sigh as if he had given up on something.

When I heard that sigh, my entire body tensed up. Was I causing trouble for him? Since I was an adult now, did he think my tears were shameful? As I began to entertain those thoughts, I couldn’t bring myself to look at his face. Yet the tears wouldn’t stop. I just didn’t want to be a burden on him.

“Sophia.”

He said my name in a deep, low voice. I was so scared to hear what he was about to say that I flinched.

“Sophia, please don’t cry.”

“……”

“When you cry like that, I can’t help but want to hug you.”

“Huh…?”

I wasn’t expecting him to say that, and I instinctively looked up at him. But instead of a cold, exasperated gaze, he turned to me with a slightly strained smile on his face.

“I can’t touch you for these twelve days, so I can’t wipe away your tears right now. And I can’t comfort you when you feel lonely.”

His words struck a chord inside my heart.

“I feel sad when I’m away from you, too, even though I know I’ll see you again tomorrow.”

Oh, so it was loneliness I was feeling. I loved him so much that I didn’t want to leave him. And even though I was surrounded by the rosebuds filled with his feelings each day, I was still lonely without him by my side.

That realization just made me cry all over again. Even though I knew the reason now, the tears wouldn’t stop. He chuckled when he saw how frantically I was trying to stop weeping. His smile, along with the memory of our earlier conversation, made me happy he felt the same way.

“I’m okay now. Forgive me, Sir Georges.”

He stayed by my side until I stopped crying, pretending to look at the flowers in the garden to avoid seeing my tearstained face.

“You don’t have to apologize. I want you to rely on me more. It hurts me to see you enduring everything by yourself. But you’ll have to wait until the thirteenth day, because there’s nothing I can do right now.”

After he said that, he smiled at me kindly and said good-bye.

“Good night, Sophia. See you tomorrow.”

“Good night, Sir Georges. Until tomorrow…”

Then he walked away without even looking back once. As I watched him recede into the distance, my tears wouldn’t stop flowing.

I went back to my room and my brother worried when he saw me, but I told him I just felt lonely saying good-bye. He sighed and told me to put a cold cloth on my eyes before bed, so I lay down with the cloth while I gazed at the rose I’d received today.

“I wonder if Sir Georges knows that the meaning of a rose changes depending on the number of them…”

I suddenly thought about it. I had ten rosebuds now, which represented…

“Someone cute…”

I wondered whether he really felt that way about me and grew embarrassed, burying my face in my pillow. After a little while like that, I remembered that Sir Georges didn’t know that much about flower symbolism, so he probably wasn’t aware. After all, he didn’t know the meaning behind the flowers I gave him every season.

“I wish he knew, though…,” I inadvertently said out loud, my voice echoing in the empty room. I wanted him to think that way about me. I wanted him to love me. I felt that way from the bottom of my heart. Sir Georges was a man of few words, and it was only recently that he’d begun to tell me how he felt.

I’d heard from my brother that Sir Georges had been criticized by the other knights for choosing me. I felt bad about it, but at the same time, I couldn’t contain my joy. The fact that rumors were spreading about our relationship meant that everyone knew I wanted him for myself.

I turned my face toward the rose and reached out for the ribbon. A snowdrop was embroidered on it today. It was a flower that bloomed when the snow melted, to herald the coming of Silkis. It symbolized hope.

I let my hand drop, not caring that it was hanging off the bed.

“I’ve always wanted to become Sir Georges’ wife.”

Always… Ever since I was a child. And that wish was about to come true.

“It’s been so long…”

I truly felt that way. He’d only seen me as a younger sister, and changing that perception had been very difficult. It was only because of our age difference that he saw us like that, though: that he was the adult, and I, the child. I longed for the day when I’d become a grown woman. I couldn’t tell you how many times I’d cried from not knowing whether he would show up one day and announce that he was engaged to another woman.

“Ever since that day, I’ve loved you. But now you love me back. Don’t you, Sir Georges?”

My eyelids felt heavy, so I closed my eyes. After a while, I heard a soft knock at the door, but I was too tired to respond.

“Sophia?”

I could hear my mother calling to me from far away. I felt her tucking my arm under the blanket; she must’ve come to check on me. I heard her whisper, “Good night,” and turn off my light. Then she gently stroked my hair and spoke softly to herself.

“Only two more days until the engagement ceremony. Time really does fly…”

“……”

“When you said you wanted to become more ladylike for Sir Georges, I was truly surprised.”

I was going to be his wife. I’d decided that when I was twelve years old, during Silkis. I kept it a secret from my brother and father, but told Mother everything.

“To be honest, I wish you would stay my little girl a bit longer…” My mother’s kind, yet sad voice brought tears to my eyes. “I’m so happy that your dreams came true. I’m glad you didn’t give up.”

Thank you, Mother. Even though I couldn’t move, I told her so in my heart.

“Oh, and you should take advantage of your father a bit more. He’s been feeling lonely.”

“……”

And with that, she chuckled softly and left the room. I heard the door closing and then drifted off into the depths of sleep.

Hope: Even in adversity, I will never let go of you, for you are my hope. —Georges

Part Nineteen: Georges—Day 11 of 12

“……”

“……”

A deep quiet enveloped us. It wasn’t a heavy, oppressive silence, but simply that of our feelings resonating with each other.

Today marked the eleventh day of the engagement ceremony. I handed Sophia a Cindy rose, the ribbon around it embroidered with crimson roses. I’d already received her answer. But she kept staring at me.

I knew I should go soon, but my feet were frozen, and I was bound by her anxious gaze. Tomorrow would be the twelfth day, where I would hand her the final rose in front of everyone. We wouldn’t have time for a private conversation tomorrow.

“…Are you sure you are happy to be marrying me?” I knew I was only asking this because of my own weakness. I wished she would stay by my side, but I couldn’t help but worry that a different path might lie in store for her instead.

This is the last time I’ll ask her this question, so I hope she forgives me.

“It’s not too late to break off the engagement.”

If she said that was what she wanted, it would take me a while to recover. But since I’d known Sophia since she was a child, I also wished for her to live the life she desired.

“No…”

She looked up immediately, replacing the troubled look on her face with a gorgeous smile. I was mesmerized beyond words. When had she become so beautiful? I couldn’t take my eyes off her radiant face.

“Okay.”

That was all I could say. I felt like there was still something I wanted to convey, or something I wanted to ask, but I couldn’t put any of it into words.

I suggested she go back inside today without seeing me off, saying that I wanted to be the one to watch her leave today. She pouted slightly, but reluctantly went inside.

I was planning on stopping by Norris’s shop on the way home today to prepare for the following day’s rose, and on the way there, I thought back on everything that had happened up to today.

Every day, I had written my feelings on the ribbons. And with each passing day, my feelings for Sophia had deepened. Every rose I gave her only increased my love for her.

My desire to make her happy.

My determination to protect her from anything.

My resolve for us to live together.

With each passing day, my feelings grew clearer.

Norris’s shop was already closed by the time I arrived, so I entered through the back door and the two of them greeted me warmly. Today would be the last time we gathered here together like this. Just as I was thinking about how reluctant I was to leave, Setsuna placed a cup of tea in front of me.

“Tomorrow’s the big day. Let’s not let our guard down right at the end,” he said, reminding me that it wasn’t over yet.

“That’s right, Georges. Here’s the ribbon for tomorrow,” Norris said, handing me the last ribbon. It was embroidered with a pure white rose. Without hesitation, I began to write down my feelings. Norris carefully tied it to the rose and Setsuna enchanted it with magic. After we went over the final details, all our preparations for the next day were complete.

“Setsuna.”

“Yes?”

“There’s one thing I’d like to ask of you tomorrow.”

There was something I’d held back ever since I’d begun to think of Sophia as a woman. And in order to fulfill that wish, I needed Setsuna’s help to ensure no one would interfere. He blinked for a moment, then smiled happily and said, “Leave it to me.” I thought I saw a mischievous glint in his eye, but I chalked it up to my imagination and left the shop.

As I walked back home, I gazed up at the two streams of shimmering stars flowing across the night sky. They reminded me of Sophia’s eyes.

“I wonder if Sophia knows the meaning of eleven roses…”

Norris had been teaching me more about the symbolism of flowers each day, including the ones I’d received from Sophia in the past. I wondered if she’d imbued them with her emotions just as I was doing now and sighed at the thought.

“Sophia really loves you, Georges,” Norris had told me. I would never forget those words. I wished I could go back in time and throttle myself for being so blind.

“Someone beloved…” I murmured the meaning of the eleven roses, and Sophia’s happy face when I handed her today’s rose flashed through my mind. She had blushed and cast her gaze downward, and I realized that might have been the first time in those past eleven days that I’d directly expressed my love to her. I wondered if that was why she’d been so happy. It wasn’t something I could easily say in front of her.

But the next day, I was determined to honestly express my emotions. And that was why I’d asked for Setsuna’s help.

“Just one more day until the engagement ceremony…”

Love: I love you with all my heart. —Georges

Part Twenty: Sophia—Day 12 of 12

The words written on the rose I received today, the eleventh day, made me the happiest of all, because Sir Georges told me he loved me. I was so overwhelmed with happiness that I lost myself in thought while I stared at the roses and the ribbons. Just then, my brother said, “Do you really want Georges to propose to you when you have dark circles under your eyes?” So I hastily got into bed.

It was too hard to fall asleep, though. My mind was swirling with thoughts of everything that had happened before, the events of today, and what would happen the following day, and I thought that I might never get to sleep. But the next moment, I awoke to the chirping of birds and realized it was morning. I was surprised that I’d slept so deeply and had woken up feeling refreshed. I got out of bed and reached for the rose, holding the ribbon between my fingers. Not a single flower had bloomed. At this point, I understood that some kind of special magic had been cast upon the roses to prevent them from opening.

“I can’t untie the ribbon… How mysterious…”

I read the words inscribed on the ribbon I received the day before, which had become a daily routine for me. I felt a smile on my lips as I looked down at the ribbon.

“Huh? Why are the words disappearing?”

For some reason, a part of the message written on the ribbon had vanished. And, when I looked closer, I saw that some of the text from the other ribbons was also missing. The only words now remaining were the eleven that showed the flowers’ meanings, each tied to a single rose.

“Gratitude, respect, sincerity, virtue, effort, trust, passion, honesty, happiness, hope, love…”

“……”

I wanted to know why the words had disappeared. Knowing I would never again be able to read the feelings Sir Georges had written down made sadness and loneliness swirl inside my heart.

“But…maybe it’s for the best.”

Yes. Perhaps it was better that they disappeared, because those words were a gift from Sir Georges to me, and me alone. I didn’t want anyone else to see them.

Maybe he thought the same?

It would be nice if he did, I thought, letting happiness embrace me as my day began.

It was day twelve, the final day of the engagement ceremony, and the main event was underway. My heart pounded in my chest, accompanied by a vague sense of unease. Even though it had only just begun, I hoped the ceremony would go smoothly, because among the guests were Cyrus, a first knight, Keith, the prime minister, and Eugene, the first prince.

Father, Mother, and Brother had all known they were coming, so why hadn’t any of them told me? I couldn’t believe it! Didn’t they know I had to mentally prepare myself? I didn’t want to commit a faux pas against the royal family on my engagement day. I prayed silently for this day to pass safely as I waited for Sir Georges.

The first half of the ceremony would take place in the garden, because Sir Georges couldn’t touch me or enter my home until he gave me the final gift. After the proposal, he and I would go around together to greet all the guests.

For that reason, everything had been readied in the garden. Both Georges’ and my parents had made sure there was no shortage of food, drinks, and places to rest. I imagined it must’ve been difficult to prepare the property for the prince and others, but it made me happy to know that Sir Georges was trusted by the royal family so much.

The guests were free to enjoy themselves as they pleased. Some people genuinely admired the rosebuds Georges had given me, while others wondered why he’d given me eleven of the same gift. Who invited them anyway? I had to be careful not to scowl. But what I couldn’t forgive was my brother laughing beside me, telling me how funny he thought it was that my expression constantly kept changing. Absolutely unforgivable.

Countless thoughts swirled through my head as I eagerly awaited his arrival. My parents and brother tried to calm me down, but all I could think of was Sir Georges.

Then, the moment finally arrived.

A murmur went through the crowd as it parted. Sir Georges was here. My body instantly filled with tension. I desperately tried to stop trembling. My brother gently stroked my back, which helped me feel a little better. I held onto Sir Georges’ feelings along with the eleven rosebuds he’d given me as my brother slowly escorted us to a location that had been specially prepared for us.

Mother suggested leaving them in the vase, but I wanted to hold his feelings over these past twelve days close to my heart. Each of the large rosebuds was quite heavy, but their weight represented his emotions, so I vowed not to drop them.

My heartbeat thundered in my ears. I couldn’t see Sir Georges yet, but judging by the crowd, I could tell he was approaching. Just as I thought it must be time, Sir Georges appeared, and my body temperature instantly rose.

He was dressed in the white formal regalia of the knights with a navy blue cloak draped over his shoulders, his beloved sword at his waist. He looked incredibly dignified, quite different from his usual self. He was always handsome, of course, but seeing him in his formal knightly attire for the first time made him look indescribably gorgeous.

My heart pounded faster with each step he took. His eyes were fixed solely on me, unwavering, but his gaze was so fierce that I couldn’t help but shift my focus. Looking behind him, I saw two figures wearing white hooded robes, each carrying a large basket in their arms. Just then, a breeze blew, and I thought I made eye contact with the violet eyes of one of the men, peeking through the gap in the hood.

The two figures stopped partway so Sir Georges could approach me alone, and my brother also quietly moved away from me. Sir Georges stopped three paces in front of me and performed a knight’s salute. I couldn’t lift my dress because of the roses in my arms, but I tried to curtsey in return as gracefully as I could.

We both stood up straight and locked eyes with each other. I noticed a different light in them that I’d never seen before. He was gazing at me so tenderly.

That was enough to make me blush. I was probably bright red by now, yet I couldn’t tear my gaze away from his eyes, almost as if I was bound to them.

“Being able to welcome this moment with you tonight makes me truly happy,” he said quietly. No one else uttered a word. “On this twelfth day, will you accept my final gift?” He took a step forward and gently offered me a pure white rose.

The serene white seemed to soothe the passionate red of the others. If I were to compare myself to a crimson rose, then he was this pure white rose watching over me. The white rose was also still a bud, but it was truly magnificent.

I accepted the other rose from him and noticed that there were two ribbons tied to it—one red and one white.

“Thank you, Sir Georges. I’m happy we get to welcome this moment together, too.” My voice trembled with nerves, but he smiled kindly at me, which helped me get through my sentence. After I’d finished speaking, he nodded and stepped back.

He stood up even straighter, puffed out his chest, and took a deep breath before looking into my eyes. I was captivated by his intense gaze. It was the first time I’d ever seen him look at me like this—not as his friend’s sister, not as someone he had to look after, but as a woman.

I fought the urge to cry tears of joy. It wasn’t over yet. The best was still to come, I reminded myself.

“Sophia, will you marry me? If your answer is yes, return the pure white ribbon to me. If your answer is no, return the crimson one.” His proposal was straightforward. There were no fancy words—it was just straight to the heart. I looked at the rose I’d received and saw the white and red ribbons.

The crimson ribbon had only the word eternity written on it.

The white ribbon had the words eternal farewell.

I stared at the two ribbons, pondering for a moment. I thought he might’ve made a mistake. As I hesitated, I heard a murmur go through the crowd.

…Isn’t it strange to answer a marriage proposal with eternal farewell?

He seemed to read my thoughts when he looked at my troubled expression and smiled gently, as if to assure me that everything was all right.

As the guests watched us with nervous anticipation, I untied the pure white ribbon and returned it to him.

“You returned the ribbon to me that says ‘eternal farewell.’” His words caused another stir among the crowd. That wasn’t surprising—even I thought it was a mistake.

“I shall erase this ribbon before you,” he said, and in that moment, the pure white ribbon burst into flames and disappeared. I stared at the scene wide-eyed, understanding the meaning behind his actions.

The reason why he’d erased eternal farewell was because he had no intention of ever parting with me. Tears welled up in my eyes, but I fought them back. I couldn’t cry. His proposal wasn’t over yet.

This was his gift for me, so I knew I’d regret it if I didn’t accept it in its entirety.

He continued as I pressed my lips together tightly.

“I vow the eleven words from the past eleven days on today’s rose. Please accept my feelings.” His deep voice echoed in my ears as I recalled the words embroidered on the other ribbons.

“Gratitude, respect, sincerity, virtue, effort, trust, passion, honesty, happiness, hope, love…”

And the word embroidered on the rose’s ribbon today.

“Eternity.”

“……”

I murmured softly. “For eternity…?”

“For eternity.”

An eternal vow.

His unwavering gaze was directed at me, and the tears that had been welling up in my eyes streamed down my face. The rosebuds were damp with my tears.

Now the meaning of the words he’d sent with the roses became clear. Every day he had gifted me roses to convey to me his feelings. I hugged the roses tightly against my chest. Each of his emotions was precious, filling me with happiness and overflowing emotions of my own.

“I love you, Sophia.”

Suddenly, the twelve roses in my arms began to glow. The light was so beautiful that it was surreal, and I was left breathless staring at it.

The buds blossomed into large, elegant roses.

These roses…

They had bloomed in unison as I held them!

The sight I’d been eagerly waiting for had unfolded right in front of me, in my arms.

I wasn’t the only one completely captivated by the scene.

“……”

Everyone who had been watching felt the same. We were all still, enveloped in silence, as if time had stopped for a moment.

I wonder who it was that snapped out of it first… The sound of a clap echoed through the space, as if its owner had been overcome by emotion, and the entire crowd broke out into applause. It grew louder, with exclamations of wonder and congratulations mixing in. Our guests’ blessings overflowed around us.

Now the roses cradled in my arms had transformed into a magnificent bouquet. It was a wondrous, miraculous type of magic. Sir Georges had given me a feeling I would cherish for the rest of my life.

I’ve never received such a marvelous gift before…

I looked up at Sir Georges tenderly, and he returned my gaze with an incredibly sweet expression on his face. As he stepped closer, a soft breeze blew around us, and colorful petals fluttered from the baskets held by the figures behind him, dancing around us in celebration. The guests laughed and chatted with excitement, enchanted by the swirling petals.

After a while, as the petals continued to flutter around us, they ascended into the sky all at once. Strangely, neither Sir Georges nor I was affected by the breeze; our clothes had remained undisturbed.

Part Twenty-one: Norris

After Setsuna and I watched the end of the first half of the engagement ceremony, we quietly slipped away together. I was grateful that we were able to leave Sophia’s manor without anyone noticing. I told Georges that we would wait for the best timing to slip away and return home as soon as possible. Since the shop was closed for the day, I had no other commitments scheduled.

“What will you do now, Norris?”

“I’m going to stop by the shop before heading home.”

“Maybe I’ll go home, too, then,” Setsuna said as he took off his robe and stretched out his arms overhead.

“Uh, Setsuna?” I was trying to remove my expensive-looking robe as well, but the hood had gotten caught so it was taking a bit longer than expected. I had a feeling my hair was all messed up, but I didn’t care about that right now. There was something I really needed to ask for his help with.

“Yes?”

“If you don’t mind, would you like to come over to my house for tea?”

Setsuna packed his folded robe into his bag. “Ragi told me that Elly hasn’t fully recovered yet, right? I don’t want to disturb her by coming over.”

“It’s fine. In fact, she already knows you might be coming back with me.”

“Really?”

“Yes. She’s been wanting to hear all the details about the engagement ceremony.”

“I’d love to, then. Shall we buy her something from the food stalls? It’s a good time for tea, so we can get something light that won’t spoil our appetite for dinner.”

“That sounds good.”

Setsuna and I walked back to the shop, chatting about trivial things along the way. We picked up some food from the stalls that would go well with tea. Setsuna did some shopping as well, but the amount he was buying seemed a little odd. I wondered who would be eating all that, and he told me he was getting food to take home for Alto. It still seemed like a lot, but I guessed he would just eat it over several days.

After we stopped by the shop, we headed home in the carriage. I talked to Setsuna about my request on the way there, and he readily agreed. I felt relieved, but then suddenly became worried about Elly. She must have been eagerly anticipating our return. I hoped she wasn’t pushing herself too hard.

“Norris, welcome home! Hello, Setsuna!” Elly heard the carriage and came out of the house to greet us. She could walk slowly now, but I wished she would stay inside a bit longer if possible.

“Thanks for having me,” Setsuna said, and looked Elly over carefully. She must’ve noticed the reason why he was examining her, because she happily told him, “My fever’s gone down!”

Elly cheerfully urged us to come in and we went inside, prepared tea together, and told her about today’s events. I told her all about the crowd, the fancy clothing the nobles wore, how Cenius from the money exchange store had been there, and that the prince, prime minister, and Sir Cyrus, the prince’s first knight, had all been invited.

“Wow, really?”

“Really! I was so nervous I thought I was going to die!”

I’d never even considered the possibility of royalty attending, so I really was nervous. Even though we’d been walking behind Georges, so we were quite a fair way away, it was still surreal to be in the same garden as them. I had felt so out of place.

“I guess it’s a good thing I didn’t get to go after all.” Elly’s sighed with relief. “What about the roses? How were the Cindy and Laglut roses?”

Elly knew all about how they had been enchanted.

“They were beautiful. So beautiful. The roses we grew blossomed all at once in front of so many people. Lady Sophia looked overjoyed as she gazed at them.”

“I’m sure she was.”

“The nobles and even the prince were amazed by Setsuna’s magic, but they were also astounded at how beautiful the roses were. They were all saying how wonderful and gorgeous they looked, and the garden was filled with cheers and applause. I don’t think I’ll ever forget that sight for the rest of my life.”

“That’s lovely. It’s so nice to be recognized by so many people.”

Elly must’ve been imagining it. She seemed overwhelmed by her emotions and tears rolled down her cheeks.

“I’m so glad we grew them.”

“Me too.”

“And I’m so glad we didn’t give up.”

“Yeah.”

We’d failed countless times, felt frustrated and discouraged, and even thought about giving up. But we hadn’t been able to in the end. And because we didn’t, here we were today—people praising the roses we grew. That moment filled me with true happiness. I sincerely wished Elly could have been there to experience it firsthand.

As I gently wiped away her tears, I realized something… Setsuna had been sitting in front of me, but he wasn’t there anymore. I looked around the room to see where he had gone and found him staring intently at some flowers in a vase.

“S-Setsuna, I’m sorry!”

“I apologize, Setsuna…”

Both Elly and I blushed profusely. Setsuna said nothing and remained standing there silently.

“What else happened?” Elly asked.

Setsuna recounted Georges’ words verbatim, detailing how the roses were handed to Sophia and the arrangement of the ribbons. Elly listened eagerly, her eyes twinkling.

“Still, Norris’s skills are truly exceptional. Not only did he match the sizes of the roses without seeing them lined up together beforehand, but he even matched up the Laglut rose, which was from an entirely different field, perfectly to form the bouquet.”

“I thought that having equal-sized roses in the bouquet would look more beautiful. I didn’t want any one of the twelve meanings to outweigh another, so I chose roses that looked like they would be the same size when they bloomed rather than the largest ones.”

“It was a wonderful bouquet.”

Setsuna openly praised me, and I suddenly felt very bashful. Having Elly stare proudly at me made it even worse. I felt overwhelmed and changed the subject.

“Are you sure it was okay for you to do that?”

We told Elly about how Setsuna had buried Sir Cyrus in flower petals, and she looked at him with concern.

“It’ll be fine. Georges will smooth things over, and Sir Cyrus won’t take it personally. Probably.”

“…‘Probably’?”

“Probably…”

Both Elly and I gave Setsuna a wry smile at the way he said that. Honestly, I couldn’t help but worry whether it was all right to do something like that to Sir Cyrus, but since Georges, the prince, the prime minister, and even Sir Cyrus himself had laughed about it, I hoped there wouldn’t be any repercussions. Surely Georges would smooth things over if need be…

We spent a peaceful time together, and Elly’s questions eventually died down. I noticed Setsuna glancing at the clock on the wall, so I sat up straight and spoke to him.

“Setsuna.”

“Yes.” He nodded, understanding my signal.

I turned to Elly and said, “Elly, let’s have Setsuna heal your wound.”

“Norris!” She gripped my arm tightly and shook her head.

“It’s okay, Elly. We’ve more than surpassed our sales goals this month.”

“…Really?”

“Yes, really. I can repay our debts at the hospital for this month and next month without any issues.”

“But how…?”

“We didn’t expect our flower wrapping to be this popular, which was the biggest factor behind why our sales increased so much, far above our initial predictions.”

“……”

“And starting next month, the Cindy and Laglut roses will also be able to contribute to our sales. Since they’ll stay as buds for as long as we need, none will go to waste.”

I felt like we should pay Setsuna for the Time magic he used, but he seemed to consider it his way of repaying me for burdening me with his secret, so I had decided not to mention it anymore.

“So don’t worry about a thing. Let’s get your back healed!”

“Shouldn’t we prioritize giving Setsuna his bonus reward money first, for helping out our shop so much?”

“You’ve already paid me enough. Please don’t worry about it,” Setsuna said, helping my case.

“What? Really? You’re not lying to me?”

The adjustment to Setsuna’s fee was the first thing I did with the extra money.

“I receive payment through the guild, so if you’re worried, you can ask Drum about it.”

“I’ll show you the ledger later, Elly.”

“Okay.”

She still seemed uneasy and wouldn’t agree.

“Plus, it’s not good to tie him down to our quest. He’s purple rank, so we’re not the kind of people who can afford to pay him what his real fees are.”

“Purple…” Elly’s eyes widened as she stared at Setsuna.

“Setsuna’s goal was to earn funds to travel. The longer we keep him, the further he gets from his goal.”

“You’re right. We can’t do that. Are you sure it’s okay to have him treat me?”

“Yes. Trust me.”

“Okay.” Elly nodded as she met my gaze.

“Setsuna, please take care of Elly’s treatment.”

“Please heal my wound, Setsuna.”

We both stood and bowed our heads to him.

“Leave it to me. I’m going to do everything I can to heal you.” Setsuna smiled gently as always and accepted the task.

Elly lay face down on the bed with her back exposed, just like the first day Setsuna had examined her. The wound was still swollen and looked painful. It was no longer bleeding, but the angry scar from her shoulder to her waist was distressing to see.

Setsuna examined her wound with a serious expression, then gently placed his hands on her back and began chanting an incantation. As his chant ended, small magic circles appeared over the wound and floated up. I watched breathlessly as the magic circles spun, gradually healing her wounds.

“……”

I wanted to say something to Setsuna, but no words came out. I’d been holding my breath this whole time.

“Norris?” Realizing I’d gone quiet, Elly called out to me sounding worried, but I couldn’t respond.

“Norris, are you okay?” she asked, her voice laced with concern. But why was she worried about me? As I wondered this, I looked at her face and noticed her frowning. “What’s wrong? Why are you crying?”

“Oh…”

I only just now realized that tears were falling from my eyes. I wiped them away with my sleeve and tried to smile, but failed.

“The wounds on your back… They’re gone…,” I said to Elly, and the magic circles over her body dissipated.

I’m so happy.

Now Elly wouldn’t have to suffer and see that scar anymore.

“Huh?”

“I believe you’re completely healed now. You won’t need to take the medicine anymore. I’ll excuse myself for the time being, but if there’s anything you’re concerned about after checking your back, please let me know.”

Setsuna let out a light breath and left the room. Elly stared at her back in the mirror, eyes wide and unblinking. When she finally did blink, the corner of her mouth began to tremble, and tears streamed down her face.

“It’s completely healed… I never thought the scar would completely disappear…”

The two of us held each other and cried, sharing our joy. I vowed to one day repay Setsuna’s kindness. I knew that I would never forget how he had helped us.

After we finally calmed down, I fixed Elly’s blouse for her and called for Setsuna. He came back into the room, asked her some questions about how she felt, all of which Elly nodded to, and told us that she was completely healed.

When Setsuna finished speaking, Elly happily went to the kitchen to make tea. I figured she probably wanted to see how she was feeling. Smiling, Setsuna and I left the bedroom and sat on the sofa in the living room.

“Now that Elly’s injury has healed, I think she can work in the shop starting tomorrow.”

“Thank you so much.”

“You’re welcome. In which case, you won’t need me anymore. I don’t want you to waste any more money, so if you want to end the quest today, that would be fine.”

“Huh? But I wanted to work with you, too!” Elly placed the tea in front of us, a sad look on her face. Then her expression darkened, as if she’d suddenly realized something.

“Elly? What’s wrong?”

“Starting tomorrow, I won’t be able to see Alto and Ragi anymore… That makes me sad,” she said, her eyes on the floor.

“Setsuna, if you don’t mind, could I ask you to continue the quest until tomorrow? Please work with us for one more day, to monitor Elly’s condition.”

Elly was feeling down, but I was also worried about having her suddenly start working again. Of course, I didn’t doubt that he had healed her completely.

“Sure, that’s fine with me.” Setsuna must’ve sensed my feelings, because he gave us a warm smile and agreed.

“Elly.”

“Yes?”

“I promised to thank Ragi by helping him redo the wallpaper in his house.”

“Really? I didn’t know that!”

I hadn’t told Elly because even if her injury hadn’t healed, she would’ve insisted on coming along.

“So you should ask Ragi if you can help too. The more the merrier.”

“I’ll do that! Oh, I forgot the snacks! Let me go get some.” Elly smiled cheerfully and headed to the kitchen, leaving Setsuna and me chuckling to one another.

After Setsuna left, Elly and I lay in bed side by side, discussing all sorts of things. We talked about the events of today, everything that had happened until now, Setsuna, Alto, Ragi, Georges… My situation and environment had changed so much over the past month, as had Elly’s.

“Elly, I was thinking about something. Someday, I want to be the protector, and not the protected.”

“The protector?”

“Yes. I might not have as many talents as Setsuna, but just like he and Ragi reached out to us, I want to be able to look out for other people.”

“So you want to protect others by helping them?”

“Yeah. There are some things that only Setsuna can do, but there are things only I can do, too. Right now, I still have a lot to learn, but I want to work hard to grow.”

“Okay. I’ll try my best, too.”

“I was thinking it’d be nice to be able to repay Setsuna someday.”

“Definitely. But what do you think would make him happy?”

“Maybe we could create a new flower and name it after him?”

“Hm… I’m not sure if he would like that.”

Elly giggled softly, perhaps imagining his reaction. Her expression was so peaceful, and she seemed genuinely happy. Seeing Elly like that made me feel happy, too.

I owe Setsuna, Ragi, and Alto my heartfelt gratitude…

With that thought in mind, my long day came to an end.