V2C1 Part4

Translated by Mlzkzr Edited by Mlzkzr

“What the!? What are you doing bastaaaaaaaaaaaard!!”

The thugs threatened him. So, it seems that he was not their companion.

However, he didn’t feel any sign of him until he was standing in front of his eyes.

—— This isn’t just an ordinary guy.

Her appearance is, in a word, flashy.

He wears a long cloak in an elaborate and splendid suit.

And on his face, was a mask and a big hat.

He looked as if he had just stepped out of a masquerade ball.

“Put down your swords quietly. Don’t be rude to our foreign guests.”

From his clothes, he looks like a man, but he is short and has a gorgeous body. His voice also sounded as if he was deliberately trying to make a low voice.

“Ah! What a fucking bastard! Blaze is not a guest!!”

“Don’t mind it! Kill this guy too!”

The thug group, having regained their composure, attacked again.

However,

“『Frost』!”

The mysterious mask man unleashes ice magic, exposing the attacking people to an intense cold air.

“ Guah !? Wha,what is this guy! You can use magic!?”

“We,we’re going to freeze to death!”

“Damn it! I’ll at least kill that Blaze kid!!”

Hart hurries his sword at the opponent who will attack himself.

——But,

“!?”

The mysterious mask man drew his sword and blocked Haruto’s sword.

The next moment that he thought he was an enemy——,

“Hah!”

He turned over, and struck the slashing thug in an instant.

The other guys, who were intimidated by his skill, were also quickly cut down.

——However, it was all with the flat part of his sword.

In other words, everyone just fainted.

“You’ve got no idea what you’re doing. I don’t need any help, you know? These guys——”

When the mysterious mask, remove his mask that was hiding his face,

“I know. But, But whatever the reason, if a Blaze student beats the crap out of the Absolute people, it can be troublesome. I don’t know what kind of fate you’ll have since I think that my father will use that as an excuse.”

What emerged from under the mask, was the face I had been dying to see.

“Iris!?”

It was Iris who smiled awkwardly, a little embarrassed.

“Uhhm, I …… really wanted to talk to Haruto-kun directly——”

A sound of a whistle in the distance was heard.

“No, this isn’t the time! The guards are coming”

When Iris grabbed Haruto’s hand, she started running.

“Come this way!”

“O……oy!?”

Haruto ran through the Imperial City at night, while being pulled by Iris.

〇〇〇

“I,if we’ve come this far, then it’ll be alright”

“Wait…… where are, we?”

Looking down from the window, he could see the alleyway where he got entwined with the thugs.

“This place, is a passage dedicated to the royal family.”

The entrance looked just like a door of a private house. However, when they went up the stairs, there was a surprisingly long corridor.

“From the outside, it looks just like a row of separate houses, but in fact, its inside is connected and is a passageway. It’s a secret passage used by the royal family to secretly move around the city. In this way, we can also observe how people live.”

Iris dyed her cheeks a little and laughed.

“I was on my way to the hotel where the Blaze was staying, but since I just saw Haruto-kun getting involved from here …… But, it was good that I saw you here.”

Looking at her smile, the anguish he had felt earlier seemed to disappear.

“Iris…… is that your outfit for …… going out?”

He hadn’t verified anything he wanted to hear yet. But, perhaps because he was relieved for some reason, he started asking a rather unimportant question.

But Iris became unexpectedly flustered.

“Tha,that is! Uhmm…… I was in a hurry”

When he followed Iris who started walking, he came to a room where costumes were lined up.

“When I saw that Haruto-kun was being attacked, I thoiught I had to go help him right away…… I needed to hide my face, so I put on this which was first one I saw.”

“This place is…… dressing room?”

“Yes, it is. I sometimes go to stores and attend parties in secret, so there’s also something like this for emergencies. I’ll change my clothes, so please wait a moment.”

After telling him this, Iris went into the wardrobe and closed the door.

Haruto, having nothing to do, looked at the corridor.

There were pictures hanging on the walls, as well as vases and sculptures. It was like a private museum.

Haruto had no idea about what they were worth, but they were probably quite expensive. It seemed wasteful to have it on display where no one would ever see it.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

The door opens, and Iris in a dress comes out.

“Oh, ahh……”

“……”

Both of them fell silent.

Even after all this time, an awkward air comes over them.

There was a mountain of questions he wanted to ask her, but it suddenly disappeared. Perhaps he was scared to ask, and his brain refused to function.

“Uhmm…… Iris. That’s……”

When Haruto stammered, Iris smiled lightly and said,

“Would you like to take a walk? I’ll show you around the Imperial Capital.”

“……Ah”

As he followed Iris, he felt like he was taking a walk over the Imperial City.

On the glittering street, Iris stopped in her tracks.

“This is Lanzer Avenue. This is the most gorgeous place in Absolute. Beyond that is the Roviane Square. It was created 200 years ago in honor of General Rovani, who repelled the large-scale invasion of the Northern Demon (Tempest).”

There is a stone tower like a monument, and a bronze statue in there. There is a lot of greenery, and it seems that it’s used as a park. A row of lighted stalls, and a little amusement park-like playground equipment can be seen. There is a merry-go-round with lots of lights, and a swing-like ride. The people who were dressed up, are walking around, laughing happily.

The buildings that surround the square are beautiful, and have the atmosphere of a really high-class apartment. These are probably the noblemen’s residence.

“It’s a lot different than that deserted back alley where we were before.”

“Indeed…… Absolute is not a paradise. It has good things and also bad things.”

Iris’ expression clouded slightly.

“I guess there’s a disparity between nobles and commoners after all.”

“That’s…… I can’t deny it. Some people complain about it. But …… although there is a difference in status, we are not restricting their freedom.”

He followed Iris as she started walking again.

“Some commoners, are wealthy and have been successful in commerce. Even the people you mentioned earlier should be able to live a decent life, if they work properly without drinking alcohol and running wild.”

Haruto floated a bitter smile.

“Because there are no good guys everywhere.”

“But isn’t everyone equal in Blaze?”

“There is no social division, though. However, the gap between the rich and poor is wide, and there are those who were born blessed and those who were born underprivileged. And also, those who voluntarily ruined themselves.”

“Is that so…… I would like to go on a school trip to the Republic of Blaze at some point.”

Then Haruto made a difficult face.

“Not that it has anything interesting to look at, though.”

“But it’s the country where Haruto-kun was born and raised, so …… I’d like to go there.”

A little embarrassed, Iris smiled.

Haruto then took a deep breath once.

“Iris, I have a question.”

“I have something to talk about, too.”

The both of them looked at each other.

Looking into Iris’ eyes, he became afraid to ask.

Shit, was I such a coward!?

He’s not afraid of any strong enemy. In a battle between sword and magic, he would never want to escape. However, he was afraid to ask Iris how she felt.

“Iris…… the emperor said that you have a fiancé. Is that really true?”

Iris’ body shook with a jerk.

“Uhhm…… If you want to know whether it is true or not…… it, sort of like”

At that moment, Haruto’s heart almost stopped beating in shock, but,

“……Sort of?”

He asked back, with an unsettling face.

“N,no, I’m saying there is, but …… all royal marriages are basically political marriages, so …… I don’t any romantic feeling for the guy, it’s kind of like an agreement. I also …… honestly, don’t remember much about him.”

“You don’t remember …… your fiancé?”

“We got engaged, certainly …… it was five or six years ago …… I’ve only met the other person twice, and I’ve never even touched him.”

In Haruto’s perception, an engagement was a promise of marriage, so he didn’t think it was something that’s done in that sense.

“Therefore, it’s not uncommon for people to break their engagements or get re-engaged with another person. Because, if the power of the other party’s house weakens, there would be no point in forming a relationship with them.”

“……Somehow, it’s amazing”

He felt as if his values for life were totally different.

“I was wondering if that was the norm. Until I entered the academy and met Haruto-kun.”

“Iris?”

“Marry the person you love and spend the rest of your life with them…… What, a romantic and wonderful thing that was …… I finally realized its meaning and value.”

Iris said dreamily.

——Is that so.

It was then that Haruto understood.

I, felt that it would be bad faith to get engaged to someone you didn’t like. That’s why, I couldn’t believe Iris would do such a thing.

But, Iris didn’t have the freedom to be with the person she fell in love with.

“…… Forgive me, Iris”

“Eh, for what?”

“I was pissed off when I found out you had a fiancé. And for you to send out your left glove, I thought you would challenge me for a duel.”

“Eh……?”

Iris paused for a beat, then realized, Ah .

“There is no one who is doing such an old-fashioned manner here, you know.”

“……Is that so?”

“Yes. I’ve only seen it in novels and plays.”

Claudeeeeeee!!

“But you did read the message on my glove, right”

“What’s that?”

“……? It’s the message I wrote on the inside of my glove, but……”

He hadn’t noticed it at all.

“Is that right …… I’m sorry. Everyone found about it, so I burned it.”

Iris flapped her hands in the air.

“The,there’s no need. I was able to meet you after all. I’m rather glad that no evidence was left behind. More importantly, uhmm ……”

“Hmm?”

“You got angry when you found out I had a fiancé ……”

“……pardon me”

Haruto scratched his head in self-loathing.

Looking back on it, it means that I didn’t trust Iris. I’m, surprisingly narrow ……

“That is……”

Iris looked at Haruto with her eyes moist.

“Ah, it’s my bad. I was——”

“You mean you were jealous…… or something like that, is it?”

The mouth of the person who asked so, loosened up in a happy way.

“……”

When she said it like that, it was embarrassing.

Iris’ cheeks were dyed red, and she was shaking her hips; for whatever reason, she was happy.

“You want to monopolize me …… That’s what you mean, right? Haruto-kun.”

“Wha……”

His face became hot.

“Ah, Haruto-kun, you’re turning red♪”

Somehow, Iris looks very happy. What is it that makes Iris so happy, after all the times I doubted and resented her?

“Really…… Haruto-kun, Ufu. Ehe …… Ehehe”

“O,oy, Iris?”

“Fufufu …… Haruto-kun!”

She opened her arms and jumped at him.

“Whoa!?”

Haruto avoided her as quickly as he could.

Iris’ arms flailed and hugged the air.

“Wha!? Why are you avoiding me!? We were so close to doing it!!”

“Calm down! This is the Imperial Capital of Absolute, remember? If we hug each other in such a place, the Northern Demons (Tempest) will come and make a big mess!”

“Ah”

Iris dropped her shoulders.

“That’s right …… I was just so happy …… I’m sorry.”

The other day, when I defeated Sazaku, the flame of the 『 Soul of the Demon King (Romeo) 』 * was extinguished. Because of this, I was able to hold hands with Iris. But it was no more than that. (TN: Romeo was actually attached in the soul of the demon king(It was read so). I actually missed it; sorry about that)

The flame that Sazaku was carrying, was probably just a small part of the 『 Soul of the Demon King (Romeo) 』 .

If we can completely erase its soul, we could be freed from the curse of the Demon King.

At that time, I proved that my feelings for Iris are also genuine.

To tell the truth, I want to hug Iris, too.

But right now, it’s still not good.

——Prospero.

A secret society in between, aiming for the revival of the Demon King. I’ll grab their tails and uncover their identity.

That’s my first step.

However, Iris, who was disappointed because she couldn’t hug him, was somewhat disappointed.

“……For the meantime, why don’t we go down? We could at least walk hand in hand.”

“But, my face is known, and walking around the capital wearing a mask, is a bit ……”

“That is also true……”

“Ah”

Iris looked out the window, and shouted.

“What’s wrong?”

Iris pointed to a large mansion facing the square. A large garden spread out from its gate, where many men and women dressed up and wearing masks were gathered.

“Perhaps, I and Haruto-kun, might be able to participate with that.”

“The hell, what’s that?”

“It’s a masquerade ball.”

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