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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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Flirting.
What is the meaning of this short and simple word?
First of all, there is no dictionary definition.
As far as I know, the phrase “flirting” is not officially registered in the dictionary.
However, if I slowly recall the commonly used meaning, in simple terms, it means to act like a fox.
And Lassiel just said that to me.
Isn’t that right?
That means my actions are seen by others as acting like a fox.
“…Fuck?”
What?
Are you saying I’m wagging my tail like a fox everywhere?
This was a misunderstanding that I absolutely could not accept.
No matter how much of a gender-reversed world it is, the magic sentence of a man acting like a fox causes a physiological repulsion in me.
My gosh.
A curse unconsciously came out of my mouth as if it was a reflex, and my body shuddered with repulsion as if it was engulfing my entire being.
No matter how much of a gender-reversed world it was, the fact was that my overall values were focused on my previous life, not this life.
But to think that I was engaging in pointless vigilance like the men of this life, not the men of my previous life, and intentionally speaking indirectly when I could just speak directly and refreshingly.
Thinking like that, it was natural to shudder.
Even if five women were eyeing me with fiery eyes.
At least if all five of them were from my previous life, not this life, they would be so pretty that it would be hard to even look at them, and honestly, if it weren’t for the special event of regression that only I know about in this life, they would have had little contact with me.
Yes, that must have been the case.
“…Rudrick, was it that shocking to you?”
The moment Lassiel heard the curse that came out of my mouth as if it was a reflex, her expression became very serious.
“No, rather than shock…”
“Well, as far as I remember, you only cursed when you were really mentally shocked…?”
Hmm…
It seemed that regression didn’t only have positive functions.
I hadn’t spent that much time with Lassiel.
Honestly, we were still a bit distant.
But to have my psychology read so clearly like this felt quite strange.
Well, I still wondered what happened before the regression.
But that was an issue where I had to rely entirely on the oral accounts of those five people, so it couldn’t be helped.
Although it made me a bit angry when they hid what kind of episode there was as if they were guarding a sacred treasure and didn’t tell me, while casually talking about things only they knew.
“…Well, I did speak a bit bluntly.”
“I can’t accept it.”
“Huh?”
“Let’s think about it for a moment, Lassiel.”
I spoke with a rather serious expression.
“Saying I flirted means that I acted like a fox, whether I intended to or not.”
“…Well, that’s basically it.”
“I can’t accept it!”
Bang!
I slammed the table hard.
Flirting?
You’re saying I’m flirting?
That was the one thing I couldn’t tolerate.
Including the fact that my actions, whether intentional or not, were seen that way by others.
In other words, it meant that my original self would become faint, and I would become no different from the men of this world, influenced by the actions of those around me.
If that happens, what awaits me?
There’s no need to even look further; it’s the househusband ending.
In other words, it meant that the average male ending of this world, being a full-time househusband, awaits me.
And that was something I absolutely refused.
“Why did I come to the Imperial Palace in the first place? Why am I learning magic under my mentor?”
“…Huh?”
“Because if I keep staying at home, it’s obvious that my dad and mom will nag me about when I’m going to get married! They even mentioned looking for a marriage partner soon!”
“Uh, yeah… But…?”
“It doesn’t make sense in the first place to say that I’m ripe for marriage at the age of twenty. My future is so bright, but I have to get married and quietly play the role of a housewife.”
“Um… Usually, people do get married at the age of twenty, right?”
Lassiel answered glumly with a face that seemed to say, “Why is this kid suddenly acting like this?” but I had no intention of backing down, not even the slightest bit.
Rapid acceleration.
Perhaps it could be called the pent-up resentment that had accumulated until now.
It was natural to feel stressed if a person living in a modern society was suddenly thrown into the middle of a wild savanna or grassland somewhere and had to play a survival game barehanded.
It was the same for me.
I was living well in the 21st century, but when I died and woke up, it was a strange world where the roles of men and women were reversed.
Moreover, the era was almost like a medieval fantasy that people commonly imagined.
It was already miserable to be deprived of the conveniences of modern civilization, but in this world, the age of twenty was still young, but it was the age when you had to start thinking about marriage.
And it was obvious that life after marriage would be really boring.
“You don’t know because you haven’t experienced it.”
I let out a sigh that welled up from deep within my heart.
Mr. Rudrick, Mr. Rudrick!
You can just pick anyone out of the five and date and marry them!
You’re full of yourself!
Some might say that, but my answer would be one.
Fuck off.
What was it that someone said?
It’s a tragedy when you look closely. But from a distance, it’s a comedy.
Was it Shakespeare or Chaplin?
It wasn’t really important now.
Lassiel, who had been trying hard to understand me as I was ranting like a madman, cautiously asked when she thought I had calmed down to some extent.
“Rudrick, so you don’t like the idea of marriage itself…?”
“Of course I don’t like it. Why would I?”
Marriage is the tomb of life.
I was not an anti-marriage person, but rather than disliking marriage itself, I hated the future that awaited after marriage in this world.
When the thought of meeting a good person and getting married someday, which was just a vague thought, becomes a reality, it can’t be helped.
…I don’t even know why the conversation has come this far in the first place.
Ah, it was about me flirting around.
That too was the gaslighting that this society had been doing to me for twenty long years.
The fact that my actions are seen that way by others means that I’m perceived as a typical man of this world.
Thinking about it again like this, it was really fucking annoying.
Because it meant that no matter how much I ranted, I was slowly assimilating.
“…I see.”
Hearing my serious reaction, Lassiel pondered with a gloomy expression in the midst of it all.
No, why are you…?
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There was a commotion.
There were really many commotions throughout the day.
Lassiel, lying on the bed, thought so.
Well, the date she had been looking forward to for days, even losing sleep over, had come to a smooth end with this.
“After sleeping and waking up, I’ll feed him in the morning… Then I’ll go straight back to the capital, and who’s next? Sylphia, right? Anyway, I’ll do the handover…”
Since she wouldn’t be able to sleep anyway, Lassiel muttered while lying down and eventually closed her eyes tightly.
There was a variable in the plan.
She didn’t know that Rudrick would dislike the idea of marriage to that extent.
Even if Rudrick was twenty years old, Lassiel was already twenty-four at this point right after the regression.
In this era where early marriage was prevalent, she had already long passed the marriageable age.
So if she could win Rudrick’s heart, she was thinking of proceeding with the marriage in a rush, like roasting beans on lightning.
“Does he dislike it that much?”
In fact, from Lassiel’s point of view, it was difficult to understand.
Moreover, even if she heard the reason from Rudrick frankly, she still probably wouldn’t understand.
I don’t know.
Lassiel, who had closed her eyes, turned to her side and tried to sleep.
It was already late.
Rudrick, who would be in the guest room, must have already gone to dreamland long ago.
But perhaps because the room she had returned to after a long time felt somewhat unfamiliar, sleep didn’t come easily.
Eventually, Lassiel, who had no choice but to get up, turned on the magic stone lamp next to the bed, sat at the desk, and opened the drawer.
Inside the locked drawer was a small notebook.
It was a notebook in which she had written down the contents of the future using all her memories from before the regression, right after she had returned to the past.
“…Found it.”
And what she had particularly focused on writing down were methods that could improve or fix Rudrick’s constitution.
Lassiel, who had been staring intently at them while flipping through the pages, frowned.
Before the regression, it had already reached a point where it was too late to do anything, so all remedies were ineffective, but now, before Rudrick’s internal mana circuits were fully damaged, there might be methods that could work.
Although there were still more than eight years left until the symptoms manifested, it was a matter of Rudrick’s life.
“Rudrick himself still seems to be taking it easy…”
Lassiel trailed off as she stared intently.
Rudrick thought that way because he hadn’t experienced it, but Lassiel, who had directly experienced it, had a slightly different train of thought.
It would be best to start taking action as soon as the Empress’ Birthday Festival ended.
Because the opinions of the other four would likely align on this matter as well.
Lassiel muttered and soon closed the notebook, pondering.
“After the birthday festival ends… I should start right away.”
Now, in the early stages when the symptoms hadn’t manifested yet.
There were countless methods that could be used.
And if none of the methods worked… There was no other way.
At that point, she would have to put in all her effort to win Rudrick’s heart.
The cause of Rudrick’s constitution was the excessive, saturated density of mana in his body.
Then, if she directly received that mana from Rudrick and reduced the mana density, it could be resolved to some extent.
And coincidentally, the most definite way to give and receive mana was through physical contact.
Specifically, contact between mucous membranes and exchange of bodily fluids.
“…Ahem.”
It was an embarrassing thing to even imagine, but it would be a bit different if they were husband and wife.
Lassiel reaffirmed her determination.
Although she didn’t know Rudrick would dislike the idea of marriage that much, her will was not shaken even by the appearance of such an unexpected obstacle.
Whether that was good or bad was still unknown.
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