—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
—————————————————————–
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
As always, there were times when I became very depressed.
I think when I was with Adriana was such a period for me.
Should I say I was carried away by the mood, even though I shouldn’t have said it?
Sometimes I did want to tell someone everything about my regression, but maybe it was because such times overlapped… I thought my heart had weakened.
After sleeping for a night, those depressed feelings had all disappeared.
I also knew well that it wasn’t good to be caught up in such emotions, and if I thought about it a little more…
It was indeed thanks to Adriana.
Miragen, Adele, and Adriana.
The women I reconnected with in this life always gave me mental stability.
The problem would be that all three were women.
If someone saw us, they might misunderstand the relationship between me and them.
…Well, it wouldn’t be right to say I had no feelings at all.
Smack, I tapped my cheek once and got up from the bed.
Seeing that I was having such stray thoughts, it seemed my physical condition had improved quite a bit.
Until yesterday, I felt like I would die several times, so if Adriana hadn’t hugged me, I wouldn’t have been able to endure it.
If I were to pick the best choice in this life, it would indeed be meeting Adriana.
It was the same for coming to the south.
If it weren’t for Adriana, I wouldn’t have been able to come so easily.
Thinking about it, I seemed to be strangely drawn to her, but anyway, it meant she was no longer an ordinary existence to me.
Thump thump.
Laughing softly at the sound of footsteps coming from the other side, I boiled tea for the guest who would probably come soon.
Today, I felt quite refreshed.
I was always in this state after escaping from a bout of depression.
It was better to enjoy this current feeling.
Because after this sun that was up now set, I would probably face terrible sights.
“Robert, are you there?”
Knock knock=
As I grasped the doorknob at the voice knocking on the door in a bit of a hurry, with a creaking sound, Adriana’s body came forward.
Since it was clear with what intention she had come to see me, I just quietly looked at Adriana while holding a teacup.
What should I say first?
After pondering for a moment, I opened my mouth like that.
“Good morning?”
“…How brazen of you to say that after what you said yesterday. Do you know how worried I was? You said not to hate you even if you disappear. Don’t say such things even as a joke.”
“I understand. By the way, you seem quite angry.”
“I’m not angry. Just. Just… I was just a little worried.”
It was quite different from the feeling I had when I saw Adele.
If I were to call this cute, that would be the right expression in its own way.
Without realizing it, I tried to stroke her head, but I abruptly stopped and handed her a teacup.
Adriana, who received the teacup from me, sighed deeply like that.
It seemed she had thought a lot during the night.
I felt sorry that it was because of me, but I had said it without much thought.
“But you look like you’re in a good mood today?”
“There’s nothing bad. I let out all the bad feelings, thanks to you.”
“Then that’s a relief.”
The depression I occasionally experienced didn’t come after informing me when it would come.
It just came without warning and stained my thoughts.
Even so, once I let it out like this, wouldn’t I be fine for a while?
This time, the difficulty was probably because I saw Theresa.
It might be a little harder after I kill Theresa, but that was for later.
Right now, I want to enjoy my current leisure.
This moment of facing each other with just a table between us was the time I could say was the happiest for me.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“You have a bit of leeway today.”
Clang clang-
Verod, who lightly deflected my sword, said.
I agreed with the statement that I had leeway.
Actually, it wasn’t very easy for me to show my skills as I had been mentally struggling for the past few days.
Now that mental burden was gone, it was probably the right state to bring out my maximum potential.
Regaining a realm I had once reached was not a difficult task.
Since it was a path I had already taken, it wasn’t for nothing that I set the deadline for my full recovery at 2 years.
At this rate, I would soon reach a useful level.
Of course, a useful level meant a level where I could sufficiently endure even against Verod.
“Having leeway doesn’t mean you can win.”
“You’re too greedy. Do you know there’s no paladin who can rival me?”
“I know. However, the goal I envision is a bit higher.”
“You sound like you want to become a Sword Saint.”
Sword Saint, it wasn’t a name that interested me much.
Why would I be interested in something I had already reached?
I was aiming for a stage above what was called a Sword Saint.
What should I call that?
Maybe it wouldn’t be limited to the sword.
Come to think of it, what I was wielding now was a spear, wasn’t it?
Verod clicked his tongue briefly at the sight of me discarding the sword and holding a spear.
It was a natural story, but a spear was always a tricky weapon in close combat.
It was a much longer weapon that could cut or pierce like a sword.
Some paladins even gave disgusted looks at the sight of me handling a spear as proficiently as a sword.
“Is it talent?”
“It’s effort.”
“That’s what geniuses often say.”
I wonder what he would say if he knew it took me 100 years to reach this level.
Anyway, to them, I would look like a young master who hadn’t developed any calluses on his hands.
I would just seem to do everything well with talent.
I didn’t mind this perception.
In the future, even if I did something, wouldn’t people say, “If it’s Robert, it’s possible”?
But in the end, as time passed, I was the one getting tired, so I barely dodged the heavily striking hammer and raised my hand.
A direct confrontation with Verod was still too much.
However, raising my condition to this level was a good achievement.
If about three Temuzins from last time came, I could kill them without difficulty.
This was quite an encouraging achievement, so I gently stroked the newly acquired sword and slowly caught my breath.
Since I had to move at dawn today, there was no need to overdo it in this state.
Like that, as I sat down to rest for a moment, Verod’s voice soon reached my ears.
“Is the saint alone?”
“She’s probably with the priests. She usually does that when I’m with the paladins.”
“…Even though you’re usually stuck together, you pretend not to care at times like this.”
Was he paying attention to that?
As I laughed once, Verod’s brow furrowed.
I already knew well that he was particularly concerned about Adriana.
To the extent that he really treated her like his own daughter.
What he was probably worried about was that the relationship between me and Adriana was getting too close.
“You don’t have to worry too much. We’re just friends, aren’t we?”
“I don’t know what you mean, but the saint isn’t someone with low standards.”
“You seem to think quite badly of me.”
Objectively speaking, honestly, there wouldn’t be many people as good as me.
Even if it was the result of repeating countless regressions, wouldn’t I be someone who had achieved quite a lot at a young age in others’ eyes?
Supported by the Grand Duchess, supported by the princess.
Even a friend of the saint and a match for Paladin Verod.
Yet, I was only twenty-one years old.
If I were from a mediocre noble family, everyone would have passionately proposed marriage to me, but the problem was that I was a Taylor.
Since I was a young master who had gained a bad reputation from the Taylors, even if the rumors improved later, not much would change significantly.
“It’s not that I think badly of you, but you’ll have to be careful.”
“In what sense?”
“The saint isn’t someone who can accept all your emotions.”
I nodded at those words.
I knew that too.
The fact that it was not good to vent one’s own emotions to someone.
It was something I already knew well.
I didn’t know how he guessed, but I think he could probably tell just by looking at Adriana’s expression.
I said something unnecessary, and Adriana took those words to heart.
So how could it be the same as usual?
It was natural for him, who had been by her side for the longest time, to say that.
Quietly nodding my head, I opened my mouth.
“I’m reflecting on that point.”
“I don’t like you saying unnecessary things either. You know how worried the saint was.”
“She came to see me first thing in the morning. I think I comforted her well.”
“…In the morning?”
As if hearing it for the first time, his eyes widened, and I gave an awkward laugh.
He didn’t know about that, so I wondered if I shouldn’t have mentioned that.
At least the name Adriana was like a taboo to Verod.
As I carefully got up from my seat, a hand roughly grabbed my shoulder.
As if telling me to stop, I smiled bitterly at the grip that had put all its strength, and Verod’s eyes narrowed.
“What do you think I think about you getting too close?”
“You would probably oppose. Quite fiercely.”
“I’m curious about your thoughts. Do you really think you can remain just friends with the saint without any feelings?”
It was a valid concern.
There had been quite a few men who had approached the saint before, and for him, who had driven them all away in advance, it was natural to have such worries.
However, it wasn’t that I lived without any thoughts about this relationship.
I was also worried about the relationship with Adriana progressing beyond friendship to a higher level.
Then I added with a small laugh.
“You don’t have to worry about that.”
If there was a possibility of such a relationship, I would rather avoid it from my side.
Verod, who had been staring at me for a moment, swallowed and let go of his hand.
I tapped my sore shoulder and walked again.
One step, two steps.
Verod didn’t stop me anymore.
He just stared at me as I walked away, and he disappeared without a word.
Before I knew it, the moon hung in the darkened sky.
A bluish shadow enveloped the surroundings, and in the gradually approaching silence, my breathing also slowly found stability.
In my hand was a sword, what I saw was darkness.
The ticking sound from an invisible clock slowly filled my ears.
Like that, my steps didn’t stop and moved straight ahead.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“Are you really going to go?”
“I told you. I’m going to the south.”
At Adele’s words, Lothos frowned heavily.
He understood that she had nothing to do.
And he also understood that she was desperate to go because Robert was in the south.
But what if she suddenly left like this?
Although she had already set a schedule, if the Grand Duchess left overnight, it would cause confusion here and there.
Even though he gave a somewhat earnest look, nothing changed.
From the moment Adele read the letter Robert had given her, she had decided that going to the south was a confirmed matter.
Adele, who roughly grasped the reins of the wolf, glanced at the letter sticking out of her bosom.
It was a letter from Robert.
Since it had made her mind too complicated, she was going to complain directly to him.
What was he thinking when he wrote that?
Thanks to that, so many things had come to mind that her mind, which was already dizzy, became even more complicated.
“Shouldn’t you stay here even just to see my face?”
“What’s with your face that I should do that? I have no feelings whatsoever.”
“Your heart must be pounding when you see Lord Taylor. Yes, I understand.”
However, that sarcasm didn’t last long.
Swallowing dry saliva again at the cold gaze looking at him, Lothos, unlike before, stared straight ahead with a stiff posture.
Looking at him with such an expression meant that she had already made up her mind completely.
It was all over.
The one who had to roll over was him, the one who had to stay up all night was also him.
Sighing deeply at Lothos, Adele turned her back and opened her mouth.
“Then I should get going now. It will take about 3 days to reach the south, right?”
“I hope you go where there are no people if possible. People in the central region are afraid of wolves.”
“Do I look like a fool? I know better than you.”
The north wind blowing made her cheeks cold.
The feeling she felt in such a wind was a bit of excitement.
The memories that had awakened from the letter she read.
If this was true…
She had so many things to ask Robert.
She thought it wouldn’t be everything.
What she had recalled was, at best, just a single memory.
Awoo-!
Adele began to run forward with the roughly howling wolf.
Towards the south, to be precise, towards where Robert would be.
On the lips of Adele, who was running, a faint smile bloomed like that.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
W. Thx for the chapter