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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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And, if possible, to continue in the future as well.
What did Lassiel mean by those words?
Even as I quietly pondered, the boat aimlessly drifted on the sea near the port.
Looking around, there were people who were as carefree as us, simply floating their boats and enjoying a boat ride, so it wouldn’t have been a particularly eye-catching sight.
And for a long time, Lassiel and I didn’t speak, as if we had made a promise.
Perhaps Lassiel was content with simply being with me, or maybe she just wanted to show me this scenery.
I didn’t know which it was, but occasionally adjusting the rudder to prevent the boat from drifting too far into the sea with the wind was all she did, and she gazed blankly at the sea.
As for me…
Well, I needed some time to sort out my thoughts.
After all, putting aside everything else and looking at the facts as they were, the situation where five women were bickering over me remained unchanged.
Not a love triangle, but a love hexagon.
Even in my previous life, if it had been a love hexagon, I wouldn’t have known where to begin to untangle that complicated relationship.
Moreover, although I still didn’t know what the reason was, in this world with reversed gender roles that I’ve become accustomed to because it’s easier to accept than to try to understand…
‘Wow… How can it be this tangled even if it gets tangled? Is this why it’s fiction?’
It wasn’t unreasonable for me to unconsciously have such thoughts.
Of course, it couldn’t be helped.
I dare say, it would be easier to reason with the mischievous Shin-chan than to resolve this intertwined relationship.
“I told you not to think too deeply.”
“What?”
And whether she knew what was on my mind or not, Lassiel, who had been quietly keeping her mouth shut and enjoying the sea view until now, had somehow come closer and giggled.
“It suits you better to just do what your heart tells you rather than thinking too deeply.”
“It’s easy for you to say that because it’s not your problem. We’re strangers.”
“Well, we are still strangers for now.”
“Even if you say it like how Uncle William talks to Candy, it’s no use.”
“I was aiming for that line, so it’s a bit disappointing. The adjutant taught me that.”
“The adjutant is also a pushover, so who’s helping whom?”
I grumbled briefly, but thanks to the playful back-and-forth just now, the heavy atmosphere had somehow been refreshed.
If she was aiming for it, I should say her intuition is quite sharp.
Anyway, thanks to that, the somehow unpleasant situation was resolved, and now there was one truly important thing left.
“So, what are we going to do now?”
In the end, it all came down to what we were going to do now.
We had already finished the sandwiches we brought for breakfast, and we even had time to contemplate as if we were trapped in a room of mind and time for a long while.
Contemplation on a small boat instead of a yacht, floating on a sea reminiscent of the South Pacific.
It was a romantic and leisurely scene that any modern person tired of a demanding life in the 21st century would desire at least once, but unfortunately, although my shell was that of a modern person, I had already been living a leisurely and secluded countryside life for twenty years.
It was a fresh experience, but it was a difficult one to call fun even as a superficial remark.
“Well…”
But Lassiel, who received my question, seemed to ponder for a moment, then asked me back with a puzzled expression.
“I was dragged here, so what am I supposed to say when you ask me?”
“Hmm, Rudrick. In this situation, it seems we have no choice but to put our heads together and try to come up with the best conclusion.”
“Our combined IQ would definitely exceed 200, so let’s find the answer with that?”
“That’s right.”
“Just get lost.”
“Shall I?”
So be it.
Considering Lassiel’s usual lighthearted and bumbling behavior, it seemed that what Lassiel had initially planned was only up to this point.
And if there’s one characteristic of such people, it’s that they don’t have a Plan B to deal with when their Plan A gets twisted or ends.
If you ask how I know that so well, of course it’s because I’m one of them.
It’s not that I polish Plan A to the extreme, making Plan B unnecessary, but rather that I roughly set up A and completely exclude B.
“As expected, the Admiral is the same type as me.”
“Ahaha, it’s a bit embarrassing to hear that.”
“Don’t worry, I didn’t mean it as a compliment.”
“Eh…”
Then it’s the sweet Rudrick Weiss’ turn again.
Normally, in this world, a lady who asks a gentleman out on a date without even planning the date would deserve to be pointed at and have nothing to say, but I’m too open-minded to say anything about just that.
“Lassiel, you said this is your home port. I think you mentioned that this is where your fleet is stationed.”
“That’s right.”
“Then don’t you have a villa or something here?”
“I do have a house here besides my main residence… Ah, are you suggesting we go there?”
“If there’s nothing to do, let’s just have a nice home date.”
I answered, shaking my head.
They say since long ago, send horses to Jeju and people to Seoul, and home dates are the best.
It’s even recorded in the records of Subakdo of Goguryeo in the mid-4th century, so it’s an irrefutable fact.
In fact, home dates are the easiest, right?
When you go out, everything costs money and time.
It’s better to spend that time staying at home and lazing around comfortably. And if you’re together in that process, that’s a date.
“…Well, it’s a bit messy because I haven’t cleaned it properly.”
“You haven’t hired servants and maids at home? Even though you work for the country and get paid. And you’re a noble, Lassiel.”
“No, I… I did hire them, but I strictly ordered them not to touch my room.”
“We’re definitely going. Now that I heard that, I really want to see Lassiel’s room.”
I slyly started feeling playful.
Should I think of it as the feeling of bringing a girl I’m seeing to my studio in the original world?
In my opinion, this was guaranteed to be 100% fun if we went.
Moreover, I was not even in the position of being humiliated, but in the position of spectating?
“I can’t resist this.”
“No, Rudrick. I really wish you could resist this…”
“Why should I resist when it seems fun?”
“Because my dignity is at stake?”
“Hey, it’s okay to have a messy room. I won’t be disappointed even if your room is a junkyard with no space to set foot in.”
“It’s not that bad!”
In the end, Lassiel’s voice grew louder, unable to resist.
Hmm, I won.
Anyway, from my perspective as a natural-born homebody, this unique date wasn’t bad, but since I had wandered around busily yesterday, taking a break and having a home date today wasn’t a bad idea.
The effect of the romantic boat date on the sea ends here.
It seemed that I was an inevitable homebody by nature.
I was starting to miss a fluffy bed and light clothing.
“My room is really off-limits…”
Lassiel muttered with a gloomy expression, but the general trend had already been decided long ago.
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Trudge trudge.
Lassiel’s footsteps were heavy as she headed to the mansion where she hadn’t been able to visit for a while due to her stay in the capital.
Although she needed some mental preparation to invite Rudrick to her house, now it was happening in a rush, without even time to make that mental preparation.
‘…I can’t remember well, but did I properly clean my room?’
Lassiel Reppert.
Certainly, as an admiral commanding such a huge fleet, Lassiel was perfect.
She diligently dispatched reconnaissance ships to gather information on the enemy, exercised detailed yet efficient command, and even gained the affection of her subordinates, making her a perfect commander.
But that was only limited to her public persona.
The lighthearted demeanor she usually showed was genuine without any pretense.
Unlike the public Lassiel who pursued perfection, the private Lassiel simply liked to live as things happened.
And that was evident in her tendency to clean her room about once a month, in a concentrated manner.
The last image of her own room that Lassiel vaguely remembered was one where clothes she had worn were roughly strewn about, miscellaneous items were scattered here and there, and trash was roughly rolling on the floor.
‘Even if I say that, he’ll be disappointed…?’
Lassiel glanced sideways at Rudrick, who was walking hand in hand with her.
Originally, the opposite sexes tended to have fantasies about each other.
Just as Lassiel had some fantasies about Rudrick, and in fact, although Rudrick liked to laze around at home, he was the type to clean up on time if he made a mess.
“Rudrick, I did warn you…?”
“Did you hide dirty books in your room or something?”
“I’m not some adolescent girl, why would I hide something like that!”
“Why are you overreacting when it’s not even that? Or is it really filled with trash to the point where there’s no room to set foot? If that’s the case, it seems right to just have the servants clean it up without worrying about privacy…”
“Even so, it’s not that bad…!”
Normally, Lassiel would have teased him smugly, and Rudrick would have snapped back at her, creating the proper dynamic.
In fact, that was the ‘ideal dynamic’ that Lassiel had in mind.
However, now, with just the unexpected declaration that he would come to Lassiel’s mansion, specifically to Lassiel’s room, that dynamic had been completely reversed.
After fidgeting for a long time, Lassiel passed a familiar street and stopped in front of a grand mansion.
“…Is this your house?”
“That’s right, it’s my house.”
A huge three-story mansion with a garden.
It was the most luxurious and magnificent mansion built in the area at a glance.
And Rudrick’s first impression upon seeing that mansion was,
“Wow, rich.”
Although it wasn’t something he should think as someone from a country of Eastern etiquette, as it felt like committing a sin against his parents.
Compared to the Weiss County’s mansion, the difference was like that between a doghouse and an apartment.
In the first place, since the Imperial Palace was where the Emperor of the Empire resided, he had thought it was natural, but he had never imagined that Lassiel would be living in such a nice mansion.
“Is this really a mansion…? Then what was the place I lived in for twenty years…?”
In contrast to Lassiel, whose head was spinning in many ways, Rudrick was also slightly confused.
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I guess being the hero of a reverse gender world has its own advantages