Chapter 77

EP.77 Adult-4

"...Do you know that it's too much if it's a joke?"

Aria, who didn't want to take the proposal to run away seriously, forced a smile and asked in return.

"Even if it's a joke, it's too much, but I'm serious."

Leonardo firmly planted the stake of his sincerity in the proposal that was dismissed as a joke.

His sincerity was always what stirred her heart.

"...You'll be chased until you die."

If she helped her escape, not only the Reinhardt family but also the temple would pursue her on a large scale. And if she were caught...

"If we're caught, the family will sentence us to death for the crime of eloping with a noble lady, and the temple will sentence us to death for bewitching a hero."

If we're unlucky, we'll barely survive and endure endless torture. But it's a fitting crime.

"...I guess I'll have to run hard enough for that. Don't you think?"

But being threatened with death and being pursued until death were familiar to her. The number of knights she had knocked down and bounty hunters she had killed could form an army.

"...If Dad or Grandpa heard, they would have had to resign from their knighthood right away."

Now, Aria scolded him with a sarcastic tone.

"I tried it once, but doing it twice isn't that hard."

However, Leonardo was familiar with sarcasm and much more skilled at it.

"...Why?"

Ariasphil had to ask the reason for his answer, which had no hesitation or redundancy. She didn't know what to do, but the boy answered calmly.

"Why are you going to such lengths?"

Where does that determination come from?

"Because I want to."

It was an extremely one-dimensional statement, a logically obvious statement.

"...No, not that."

"Then why did you grab me?"

"...That's..."

A counterattack-like question, to which Aria couldn't answer properly, perhaps because she was flustered. If she had to answer, she might have to confess her feelings completely.

At her choked answer, Leonardo chuckled.

"...I just wanted to."

A simple expression of a causal factor.

A straightforward interpretation of a desire that would be acted upon.

"It's really nothing, but sometimes it has more power than something with a specific meaning or reason."

Leonardo, who had experienced that power both positively and negatively, gave advice.

"If you don't want to be a hero, I think it's better not to be one. It's not a problem that can be solved by forcing it."

Leonardo had experienced the conclusion of that duty and responsibility as an eternal process.

"But if you do that... and the world becomes dangerous...?"

"We'll think about it when that happens."

An irresponsible answer.

The reason he could give such an answer was that he had seen the future, even if only a little.

The regressive quietly muttered to himself.

"To be honest, if the world would collapse with the disappearance of one person, I think it might be better for the world to collapse."

The regressive genuinely harbored such thoughts.

At those words, and everything he had said so far, Ariasphil felt an indescribable emotion.

It was a feeling that couldn't be expressed in a single word.

She genuinely felt grateful for the words the boy gave her, and it was annoying how calmly he relieved her worries, and she even felt a sense of admiration for his decisive choice.

"...Then why are you running away with me...?"

"Because I wanted to."

And with that short answer, Ariasphil realized what this emotion was called.

"I want to be by your side. I think it will make me worry less and feel less lonely."

She loved this Leonardo.

She fell in love because she wanted to love him.

"...Besides, if I stay in the family, I'll be beheaded for aiding and abetting, right? I have to live too."

Hehe

"...What, that's it?"

Apart from the scolding, the clouds on her face disappeared. Laughter burst out at the silly joke, and the chains of her worries loosened, which she deeply felt inside.

"...Then if..."

As her worries eased, she had the leisure to think of other possibilities. Aria left room for another possibility.

"What if I say I want to be a hero?"

"Then I'll become the knight who serves the world's greatest hero."

Laughter burst out of her again. Even though she had expected such an answer, hearing it directly was comforting.

But the lingering anxiety in Aria's heart began to shake her.

"...Can I do it? I...?"

"Thinking about whether you can do it is good, but in your case, I think the more meaningful question is whether you want to do it."

That was advice only the second-in-command, who had been closest to Ariasphil, could give.

"...Is that right? Common sense would say the opposite."

"It's a strange observation coming from you, who has broken all the common sense I know."

The second-in-command's position is the best seat to observe the strongest.

"You are the most special person I've ever known."

"..."

Special, a word that means different from the norm. In the context of the conversation and their relationship, it was clearly used in a positive sense, not a negative one.

Love, which is also a feeling of regarding someone as special, is connected to the same emotion, isn't it...!

"...You... really mean it?"

Aria, whose face turned bright red, hid it by bowing her head and asked coldly.

"Of course, in the best way, the most special person."

This was certain. It could be considered a signal from Leonardo's side. It was clear that Leonardo had feelings for her.

'...But I can't let my guard down.'

Leonardo always took a step back or redirected the conversation to friendship or loyalty in such situations.

So.

"Then promise me."

Subtly, but firmly, she had to drive the nail in.

"Don't have anyone more special than me."

"Yes, I understand."

As soon as she gave the order, Leonardo answered.

"...Really?"

The immediate answer made Aria flustered. Did it seem like such a light question that he could answer so quickly?

"It's not that difficult, is it? I've been doing it so far."

Thinking about it, Leonardo hadn't succumbed to the Tempeius family's persuasion or Eileen's seduction.

And even in life-threatening situations, Leonardo had thought of Aria's safety before his own.

So Aria's words were practically already fulfilled for two years.

"..."

A subtle harmony of a happy laugh and a shy moan.

"Are you okay? Is the straw tickling you?"

This time, Leonardo's insensitivity was a blessing. If her expression had been revealed, she would have to sleep with the covers over her head for the rest of her life while at the temple.

"Then let's go."

"Where to?"

"To apologize. And to properly become a hero."

Aria brushed off her clothes and extended her hand to Leonardo. Perhaps because the sun was at its last peak as dusk turned to night, her hair seemed to be tinged with gold.

"...Then let's tidy up properly. Can you sit for a moment?"

"…Huh? Oh, okay."

Ariasphil knelt and sat in a formal position on the spot Leonardo had cleaned. Leonardo expressed his support for Aria's resolve in his own way.

"...Huh? Why my hair all of a sudden...!"

"It's better to tidy it up neatly than to leave it messy, right?"

Saying this, Leonardo brushed Aria's hair. He used a black stone comb to brush it, and when the texture was even, he untied the leather cord from his wrist.

"Where...?"

"I used to tie my mother's hair with this leather cord a lot. Now I wear it as a bracelet."

The leather cord he had always kept as a charm, before the regression, had narrowly saved him when his wrist was almost cut.

"...Can you give me something so important?"

"Excuse me? I'm giving it to you because it's important. I'm embarrassed that I can't give you a beautiful hair accessory because I don't have money. If you don't like it, you don't have to use it..."

"No! It's beautiful! I'll keep it like this forever!!"

For Aria, who couldn't even tidy her own hair, it was a dream come true. But Leonardo genuinely felt honored and grateful for her enthusiasm.

"...Then, by any chance..."

"Yes?"

"...Can you do a braid? Braid my hair..."

At Aria's cautious request, Leonardo thought for a moment and then answered.

"But we don't have much time, so it's hard to braid the whole head like wheat. I can only do the ends..."

"That's fine. Can you do it?"

"Of course. Miss."

Perhaps enjoying the rare experience of styling hair, Leonardo, contrary to her worries, skillfully and quickly braided her hair.

"How is it?"

Ariasphil's left hair was neatly braided like a white tail. Her naturally lustrous hair, when styled, seemed to glow with a halo.

"I like it. Very much..."

Aria said this and slightly drew her holy sword.

Swish

What was cut was the braided hair.

Seeing the hair she had carefully braided suddenly cut, Leonardo was a bit shocked.

"...Why did you cut your hair..."

"Keep it for me."

Ariasphil extended the braided hair.

"I probably won't see it for a few years, but I hope we meet again."

Touching the hair, Leonardo had a complex expression. He seemed both happy and moved.

"...I don't know if I can keep it. Something like this..."

"Because you're important to me. I wish I could give you something better."

Saying this, she stretched and walked towards the stable outside, where the sunlight was shining. Perhaps because of the sunlight, her hair seemed to glow like gold.

[The side dish has increased...]

<Shut up.>

Such sentiment was thrown into the gutter by the sage. While Aria was on her mission, Leonardo's top priority became finding a way to remove or exclude the sage from the magic tower.

***

"...Then I'll be going."

Before Ariasphil left the family, all the servants, knights, and family members of Reinhardt came out to see her off.

"I'll definitely come back!"

In response to her words, each of them gave her their blessings and encouragement, expressing their determination to wait until they met again.

[Go well, and if you get the chance, never meet again.]

{Conscientiously, it's not something you should say, leaving us like this. Ah, you don't have a conscience. What a pity.}

[Shut up and go to heaven.]

{Yes, you go to purgatory.}

Despite the presence of some people (or something), the farewell moment was a promise of a reunion.

Time passed, and the years moved forward.

Four years had passed.

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