Translator: Nox

Chapter 55

Was it because my mind went blank every time I talked to Yuriene? All I could think about was earnestly crossing swords with him in a duel.

‘After the duel… he said he’d tell me why he made me a Squire, and even the personal interest he showed in me at the anniversary banquet.’

I’m curious. I was madly curious. What he was thinking. What he thought of her. What he saw in ‘Ekinesia Roaz’ that made him keep paying attention to her.

If he really just suspected that she was a Cadet who didn't exist before the regression, if he was observing her to see if she was the Demon of the Demon Sword, then why did he show her those expressions? Were those expressions all tests and lies?

‘I want to duel. No, to be precise, I want to duel and hear his thoughts.’

Eki unconsciously touched the Amethyst hanging at her waist. The white and beautiful sword he had prepared only for her, with an amethyst of the same color as her eyes embedded in it.

〈I hope that one day I can have a conversation with you through swords.〉

His words in the train came to mind. I remember dueling with Alice. The first duel I ever enjoyed. Dueling with Yuriene might be even more enjoyable than with Alice. If we crossed swords earnestly.

But I couldn't. There was too much to hide from him. Accept the duel and lose miserably. With that decision, she quietly gripped and released the hilt.

After eating lunch in the middle, they reached a small valley between the mountains in the late afternoon. The mountains were not high, so the valley was not deep either.

Looking down from the ridge, a shabby shed could be seen among the trees that had become lush as summer approached.

"That's the place."

Yuriene stopped and pointed to the shed. When Eki looked up at him questioningly, he added an explanation.

"It's a shelter used jointly by hunters and herbalists in this area. We have to keep watching that shelter and wait."

"There..."

I almost asked if the Saintess had been murdered there. Eki bit her tongue slightly and barely stopped herself.

"What's going to happen?"

Yuriene turned to her at the question she barely managed to change. Clear sky-blue eyes that seemed to see through her. He looked at her quietly, then smiled slightly bitterly.

"Yes. The work will happen at night, so loudly that you can easily notice it. It could be as early as three or four days, or as late as ten days."

"How does the Lord know that?"

He spoke like a prophecy, and it seemed strange not to question it, so I deliberately asked. Yuriene turned his gaze to the luggage he had brought without looking at her and answered.

"I'm sorry, but that's a difficult question to answer right now. First, let's set up camp here."

"...Yes, Lord."

When leaving Ajenka, the camping equipment had been packed in advance.

Yuriene and Eki chose a suitable place in the valley that would not be noticeable when viewed from above and set up their respective camps.

Yuriene, who finished setting up camp before Eki, started a fire and began to prepare dinner.

Eki was unpacking her luggage inside the camp when she poked her head out in surprise at the pungent smell of food.

"Lord, I'll prepare the meal..."

"Finish packing and come out. It's not done yet."

He answered, stirring the pot without looking back. Stew was boiling in the pot, giving off a savory smell.

Eki hurriedly approached him. She looked for something to help with, but all the ingredients had already been prepared and put into the pot. All that was left was to take out the bread or stir the stew. And the ladle was in Yuriene's hand.

"Why don't you tell me to do it?"

She protested in a small voice with an embarrassed look. A Knight preparing a meal when there is a Squire. Yuriene smiled faintly.

"Don't you trust my cooking?"

"That's not what I mean. This is what a Squire should do."

"Don't worry about it. I just did it because I had time."

His skill, which was hard to believe he was from the imperial family, was evident. He casually scooped up a little stew and put it on a small plate and handed it to her.

"Would you like to taste it?"

"...Y, y-yes."

Yuriene's eyes looking at her were very gentle. Eki accepted the plate in a flustered state. She blew on the steaming stew several times and swallowed it. Her eyes widened slightly.

"I didn't know you were good at cooking, Lord."

Eki said as if muttering. Her gaze towards him naturally contained admiration. Yuriene slightly avoided her gaze. His cheeks were slightly flushed as he answered quietly.

"...I'm not good at it. I can just make it edible. I was a Squire, too."

"Yes?"

Eki was startled. He had lived as a Squire under someone. It was a figure she couldn't imagine at all. Yuriene chuckled softly.

"Is it that surprising?"

"I don't know, I thought you would have been a perfect Knight from the beginning, Lord."

"How could that be? I made mistakes, experienced failures, and wandered."

He said gently, putting the finished stew in a bowl. Eki took out the bread she had bought in the village, cut it, and put it on a tray. When she poured the wine she had brought instead of water, a simple feast was created on the temporary table.

"I can't imagine you wandering, Lord."

"Dietrich would laugh if he heard that."

"Sir Dietrich, are you talking about the Associate Knight? The one with red hair and red eyes?"

I almost said Giosa Owner. Eki bit her tongue again. Yuriene handed her a bowl of stew and answered.

"If you're talking about Associate Knight Dietrich Sarua, that's right. I've been friends with him since Military Cadet school."

I remembered the words Dietrich had shouted at her while she was setting up camp with Baraha during the White Raven Gorge Monster subjugation. He said he was Yuriene's roommate. And that geniuses are all crazy.

‘Come to think of it, does Yuriene also fall into the category of crazy that Dietrich mentioned back then?’

No way. I couldn't imagine it. Yuriene, whose thoughts she didn't know, continued.

"I was confused when I first entered the Military Academy. So I caused Dietrich quite a bit of trouble."

"Trouble, in what way?"

"...Let's eat first. It's getting cold."

He handed her a spoon. The story he was telling was much more interesting than the meal, but she obediently accepted the spoon.

The freshly boiled stew and the bread bought in the village in the morning were so good that they were extravagant for a meal in these mountains. Although it was low-alcohol wine to replace drinking water, it was still alcohol, so her mind relaxed slightly as the alcohol took effect.

Eki glanced at Yuriene, who was sitting across from her. His eating habits were neat and elegant, and his past of wandering and causing trouble to his roommate could not be connected at all.

As soon as she finished eating, Eki snatched the dishes that Yuriene was trying to take.

"At least I should do the dishes."

"I have nothing to do anyway, so let's do it together."

He quickly picked up the tray she hadn't even picked up yet and replied. It didn't seem like he would listen even if I tried to stop him. Eki gave up and moved with him.

There was a small spring created by a stream of water a little further inside from where they had set up camp.

Because Yuriene was next to her, she couldn't take off her gloves, so Eki put the dishes in the water with her gloves on.

She prepared an answer, thinking that he would definitely point out the strange shape. She was going to give a reason that she didn't like it because her hands would chap if they got wet. But Yuriene didn't ask anything.

They did the dishes in silence. Both she, squatting in a dress, and he, in a white uniform, looked out of place with what they were doing. However, regardless of whether they looked out of place, both were very skilled.

Yuriene was thanks to his time as a Military Cadet and Squire, and Eki was because she had wandered alone during her nine years of Giosa collection and had become a master of sleeping outdoors.

"Lord, what kind of trouble did you cause Sir Dietrich?"

Eki suddenly asked, shaking off the water remaining on the dishes. Yuriene hesitated. He lowered his eyes, moved his lips, and sighed softly.

"...Are you that curious?"

"You're the one who brought it up first, Lord. I can't help but be curious."

"Because you talk to me, I get excited and keep..."

Yuriene answered reflexively, then trailed off. Exci, what? Excited by me talking to him? Eki's face went blank as she understood the words he had let slip. Yuriene hurriedly avoided her gaze when he saw her expression and jumped up.

"Let's go back to camp. The sun is starting to set, so we have to watch the shelter."

"Lord?"

"I'll go first. I'll keep watch tonight, so you should sleep. It's your turn tomorrow night."

"Lord, um..."

Yuriene picked up the dishes that had been washed and quickly left the stream. Eki blankly stared at his white back disappearing as if running away.

[He's really weird. Why is he like that? Did he want to talk to you?]

"...I guess so."

[Why? What for? Is he trying to find your weaknesses while talking? Or is he aiming for you to make a mistake while talking?]

"A mistake?"

[He wants you to accidentally reveal evidence that you are my master, so he's trying to talk as much as possible! Oh, I think I just made a great deduction! Right? Right? There's no other reason!]

If I exclude emotions and think only with my head, the Demon Sword's words might be correct. But the tone, the expression, the gestures, and the content of the words that came out, keep pointing to something else.

〈No, it was personal interest.〉

His words in the stable rang in my head like a bell.

That can't be. 'Ekinesia Roaz' and Yuriene only saw each other once at the banquet and never talked to each other. I don't understand or accept it. I can't figure out the reason.

She grabbed her complicated head and muttered to herself.

"I have to duel."

[Huh? A duel? With him?]

"Yeah. I have to."

I have to duel and hear the reason. Otherwise, I feel like I'll keep thinking about other things. Eki made up her mind.