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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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The gaze of Lassiel, who had muttered, turned towards the horizon.
From this high altitude location, the sea that came into view could be seen at a glance.
At the port, there were peaceful and idyllic scenes of fishermen riding small boats and fishing, and on one side of the large port, there were also many huge warships lined up.
An exotic cityscape and the sea.
It was certainly a scenery that couldn’t be encountered normally, and a view of the sea that Rudrick had never seen even once in this life so far.
Along with the scent of the sea reaching his nose, Lassiel, who had been gazing at the sea while being somewhat immersed in emotions, opened her mouth.
“Just because.”
“…Well, that can happen.”
It was an unexpected side of her.
Although I hadn’t met Lassiel enough to know her well, the image that had been imprinted on me from those few encounters felt a bit different.
Her usual clumsy and lighthearted behavior was certainly closer to dislike than like if asked whether it was likable or not.
Lassiel, who had been lost in appreciation for a moment, soon spotted someone and grinned, putting her arm around my shoulder.
“…?”
“An adjutant is coming for a moment. Will you play along?”
Shh.
With a playfully raised corner of her mouth, Lassiel showed me her usual mischievous smile and waved her other arm, speaking.
“Hey, my loyal adjutant. Over here, over here.”
“I thought you went up to the capital to rest for once.”
A sharp-looking beauty sighed while holding her forehead as soon as she saw Lassiel.
Their relationship as an adjutant and superior seemed too informal, but Lassiel giggled and said,
“Oh, adjutant. Say hello. This is Rudrick, you know, the court mage? He’s that person’s disciple. And this is my adjutant.”
“I was trying to rest while doing some easy work, but is it okay to use your adjutant for such personal matters? Huh?”
Her eyes were clearly exhausted, and her impression was fierce.
Meanwhile, Lassiel was grinning smugly as if boasting.
The problem was that in the process of putting her arm around my shoulder and pretending to be close, she was leaning in too much, pressing my poor arm against something large.
I tried my best not to be conscious of it and greeted her.
“…Hello, I’m Rudrick Weiss.”
“Crow.”
A short answer.
And the adjutant, who introduced herself as Crow, sighed and looked at me… then suddenly stiffened.
“…?”
“Huh?”
The person stiffened as if she would crumble if lightly touched.
I never thought I would actually see such a cartoonish portrayal in real life.
I really couldn’t describe it in more detail than that.
I said my name because it was time for introductions, but suddenly after seeing my face, the person stiffened as if I was Medusa.
How would I know the reason?
“Th-th-th-that is…”
Oh my.
Crow, who couldn’t properly continue her words and was flustered, stopped moving again.
Then she let out a small laugh.
With a deliberately calm demeanor, pretending to be natural in a way that anyone could see was awkward.
“Aha! My teaching has paid off? Unexpectedly, your skills are quite good.”
She poked Lassiel’s side and laughed awkwardly.
From the perspective of a third party like me, it was an awkward and ridiculous scene like a slapstick comedy, but Lassiel didn’t seem to notice anything unusual and responded with a proud smile, going overboard.
“I’m somewhat like that, right? I’m capable.”
“There’s nothing more to teach now.”
“…”
This is like Pat and Mat.
I couldn’t help but sigh at the sight of the idiotic duo showing fantastic chemistry in front of me.
No wonder she was the adjutant and that was her superior.
Anyway, Crow, who couldn’t hide her trembling eyes that shook as if there was an earthquake in her pupils every time she looked at me, gave a thumbs up and said,
“Anyway, I’ve made the preparations, so go and do whatever you want.”
“That was nice advice, adjutant.”
Anyway, guided by Crow, who was in charge of the “O” in the idiotic duo, there was a small sailboat already prepared at the port we went down to. And Lassiel, who was in charge of the “Du,” exclaimed in her unique sloppy tone.
“Oh, but the preparations are quite neat compared to what I expected.”
“If you’re grateful, stop making me do such useless things from now on.”
“I’ll try.”
“What are mermaids? You’re not taking away this human.”
“Of course, I mean a handsome male mermaid, right?”
“No, I’m talking about an ugly-looking female mermaid.”
“Kek.”
…It seems like they’ve been through a lot of eventful things.
But after many twists and turns, ending with the skit of the idiotic duo, we were able to board the boat and set sail.
I still couldn’t understand through what process I was dragged from the capital to this southernmost part of the empire and suddenly found myself on a boat like someone sold to a deep-sea fishing vessel.
It was literally a sailboat.
Lassiel roughly unloaded the luggage and opened her mouth.
“Well, it’s a boat that can only sail along the coast anyway. Even if we want to go out to the open sea, we can’t. It would be a suicidal act to go out with a boat like this.”
“Even though you’re the admiral of the naval fleet?”
“Boy, if you scratch my pride like that, I’ll have no choice but to go out to the open sea and show you my skills.”
“Of course I’m joking. Life is precious.”
“You can escape with flight magic anyway. Ah, but saving me is a separate matter, right?”
“I’ll decide whether to cast magic on you or not after seeing how you do.”
“Ah, I’m good at swimming, so it’s fine. Even if I fall in, I have a way to survive somehow.”
Lassiel adjusted the rudder a few times, then found a lunchbox from the pile of luggage Crow had packed and handed it to me.
Come to think of it, I hadn’t been able to properly eat breakfast because I had to hurry out for checkout.
The menu of the lunchbox prepared by Crow was a sandwich that was easy to eat as a simple breakfast.
To be honest, although I didn’t want to admit it, floating on the emerald-colored sea while munching on a sandwich, as if I had come to a beach in the South Pacific, wasn’t too bad.
I didn’t know if it was because it was a unique experience that I couldn’t normally have, but even though I really didn’t want to acknowledge it, I had no choice but to admit it.
In terms of preparation, she might even be better than Eileen.
“So, aren’t you curious about why I brought you all the way here, Rudrick?”
“Didn’t you just want to go on a boat date?”
“Pffft! Co-cough cough!”
“Want some water?”
Lassiel, who had put on a grandiose act as if she was about to reveal a great secret, started coughing profusely as soon as I finished speaking, as if she had choked on something.
In fact, since we were both experienced, what was there to hide anyway?
When I handed her a water bottle, she drank the water and barely calmed down.
Whether it was because she choked or for another reason, she took a few deep breaths with a very red face and answered.
“…Well, to be honest, if we put aside all pretenses, that’s kind of true.”
“Originally, no one was fooled and we were just deceiving each other. Let’s be honest with each other.”
Well, to be honest, I still don’t really know what’s what.
The things that happened in the past before the regression.
I was able to roughly find out why I had died, but… honestly, I had no way of knowing what other things had happened.
I won’t know the little episodes unless you tell me.
How would I know?
“Being honest, huh, those are good words. But what if I lie to you?”
“Are you trying to lie to me?”
“…No, I didn’t really intend to.”
It had only been about a month so far.
Even after being reincarnated, I thought, ‘What, there’s not much,’ but it had only been a month since my daily life, which I thought wouldn’t change much, had been completely transformed.
And I could confidently say that in this one month, I had experienced much more than all the things I had experienced in the twenty years since I was reborn.
The parts that I had simply thought, ‘Aha! The world I was reborn into this time is a bit crazy!’ and easily accepted and moved on.
The story that I thought had nothing to do with me had somehow become my story.
Honestly, it was beyond my control, right?
There was nothing I could do about it.
Caw caw.
Perhaps because it was by the sea, seagulls were flying around and crying.
A luxurious boat date, leisurely enjoying on a small boat floating on the emerald-colored sea.
I didn’t know if this was the picture Lassiel wanted, but from what I’d seen so far, I wanted to give her a passing grade.
It was funny that I was now evaluating the women courting me like a man from this world, just because of the changes I’d experienced in that short month.
‘I’m not particularly drawn to the househusband ending.’
Let’s say I somehow find a way to resolve my terminal constitution, or somehow resolve it with Arwen’s final method that she’s been saving.
Then what’s next?
Purpose.
No matter how much I think about it, simply meeting a good woman, living a comfortable and carefree life didn’t seem to be my purpose.
“…Rudrick.”
“Yes.”
It was literally a situation swept away by the mood.
Going on a date with Eileen yesterday, and doing this with Lassiel today.
In a way, all of it happened without much regard for my opinion, as if I was swept away.
“Well, don’t think about it too deeply.”
“What do you mean?”
“The Rudrick I remember wasn’t the type to make that expression and worry.”
Perhaps my worries were clearly showing on my face.
Although it didn’t look like that because of my impression, Lassiel, who jokingly smiled softly, gestured for me to come closer.
Then, she tied the back of my hair with a string she took out from somewhere and added,
“Actually, as I said earlier, the reason I brought you here is simple.”
“You just wanted to show me this scenery?”
“Yes. It’s a scenery I always see, so I just wanted to show it to you at least once.”
A musing that somehow felt bitter.
Rustle.
Lassiel, who seemed to have unexpectedly delicate handiwork, easily and neatly tied my hair and quietly added,
“And, if possible, to continue in the future as well.”
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