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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 80
Chapter Title: The Truth about the Red Saint
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Thanks to Ardores, Kaleo and the secretary's workload had greatly decreased.
"Thank you for letting us know!"
The secretary headed back to the office.
Light and bouncy, his much lighter footsteps were just like those of a cheerful cat.
'Maybe I shouldn't have told them so soon.'
Ardores felt unnecessarily guilty and turned around.
"Ow!"
"Oh dear."
He ended up bumping into Arep, who had somehow appeared right behind him.
Ardores quickly helped Arep up from where he'd fallen flat on his butt.
"Hey, kid, you okay?"
"Yeah..."
"Oh no, your nose is all red. What about your butt and hands? But earlier, when you fell, your landing form was pretty good..."
"I used a falling technique."
Arep looked up at Ardores with eyes full of admiration for recognizing it.
His nose had throbbed painfully from hitting those sturdy legs, enough to make his eyes water, but he was also a little thrilled to have used a move from training for the first time.
"Lord Ardores."
"Yeah."
"That, um, Red Saint..."
"You know it's not a magic beast, right?"
"......"
"When Nini was getting all worked up earlier, you held back more than I expected, Arep."
Arep, hit right where it hurt, couldn't say a word.
He was too busy averting his gaze like a guilty little wolf pup.
His eyes darting this way and that were so funny that Ardores couldn't help but chuckle.
"Arep. You don't have to blindly follow Nini's nonsense. If something's wrong, you say it's wrong."
"But..."
"Why? Afraid she'll hate you if you don't?"
Arep nodded.
After hesitating a bit, he finally stated the reason he'd come looking for Ardores.
"Th-the young lady's scared of swords."
"Yeah."
"At the imperial palace, she buried her face in the Magic Tower Lord's arms like this. She didn't even open her eyes. She was really scared."
"I see."
"But I'm learning the sword too..."
Ardores finally caught on to what Arep was getting at.
"What if she hates it?"
And he knew this wasn't good for Arep's growth at all.
Ardores let out a long, heavy sigh.
"Arep."
He scooped Arep up in his arms.
Compared to when they'd first met in spring, he was no longer skin and bones.
His healthy flesh was plump and soft, his skin clear from good food and sleep.
He'd gained a bit of a belly from all the snacks following Nibelria around, but even that was endearing.
His once-dry golden hair now shone with luster, and his lips and nails glowed with a healthy pink flush.
But he was still a timid scaredy-cat.
"You saw it too, right? Nini growling that she'd kill the Red Saint."
"Yes..."
"Nini's my granddaughter, but she's a really honest kid."
"Yes."
That was something Arep knew well.
Ardores grinned, quirking one corner of his mouth handsomely as he said it.
"Nini says she hates things if she hates them. If she really hated you learning the sword, she'd have opposed it. Right?"
"......"
"But she didn't oppose it—in fact, she's just waiting for your training to end so you can play together."
Arep nodded again without a word.
But this time was different from before.
'This kid.'
You're so honest too.
His face was flushed bright red as he beamed ear to ear.
"So if you're worried and curious about it, just ask her."
"What if she's holding back even though she hates it?"
"Then explain. Tell her why you want to learn the sword. If you like each other, you have to understand one another."
Ardores told him they couldn't do everything exactly the same.
"You two are different people. You're living your lives side by side. So even when you're together, you have to know there are things you can't share."
"I don't really get what that means..."
"It means don't always take Nini's side unconditionally."
If she'd done something wrong, let her know.
If you don't understand why Nibelria did something, ask her.
"It's not good to just give in to everything."
"......"
Arep pondered Ardores's words seriously.
Then he asked this:
"If I keep saying the young lady's always right, could she turn into a spoiled person who only thinks of herself later?"
"She could."
"That wouldn't be good for her."
"Right. Everyone would end up hating her."
And you'd suffer too.
A large hand gently stroked the golden hair.
Arep spoke with resolve.
"From now on, if she does that, I'll scold her properly."
That's a way to protect her too.
Arep looked up at Ardores, his thoughts reaching that far.
Ardores smiled brightly, as if to say that was exactly right.
With the topic brought up, Arep went straight to ask Nibelria how she felt about him learning swordsmanship.
Ardores followed behind.
'Even if the young lady hates it, I'll still learn...!'
So I have to explain well why I want to!
Steel ing his resolve, Arep headed to the living room.
Nibelria was sitting by the fireplace with Dether.
She was smearing soot on her face, clothes, and hands while positioning the poker's sharp tip toward the chimney.
"Young lady, at this rate, the Red Saint will cry and run away..."
"No way! Magic beasts are dangerous! Now we just light it up here and kill them all!"
"We have the Red Saint Festival in a few days..."
"I'll tell Daddy to cancel it!"
"My bonus..."
Dether covered her face with soot-covered hands and sobbed.
"Y-Young lady!"
Arep called out.
"Arep!"
Nibelria grabbed Arep's hand and pulled him over.
"Come on, Arep too! So magic beasts can't get in..."
"It's not a magic beast."
Arep corrected the misconception.
"The Red Saint is actually a good person. Not a magic beast—a saint who gives presents to kids who do good deeds."
Oh my.
Dether stopped her fake crying and sneakily glanced at Arep, wondering what was up.
This was the first time the boy, who would agree even in his sleep if Nibelria said so, was countering her.
"If you do this, the Red Saint won't be able to come give you presents."
"But it's a magic beast...?"
"It's not a magic beast."
"Really?"
"Magic beasts disappeared forty years ago. Lady Muniel and Lord Ardores got rid of them. Right?"
Arep turned to Ardores, who had been watching.
Ardores nodded.
"There are no magic beasts anymore."
"......"
"So Nini, you don't have to be scared."
"Eh...?"
Arep watched Nibelria tensely.
Nibelria glanced back and forth between the fireplace where she'd just been lurking and her now thoroughly blackened hands.
"Eh."
A feeble mutter slipped out again.
"Did Nini do something wrong?"
Nibelria peeked at the fireplace stabbed full of pokers.
"The young lady was trying to protect us."
Arep wiped the soot from Nibelria's face with his handkerchief.
"You did a good deed, so the Red Saint will definitely come with presents. I know it."
"What if he doesn't...?"
"Then I'll give you one."
Arep held out his pinky, promising.
Nibelria stared blankly at the finger before breaking into a radiant smile.
"Hehe! Promise!"
"Yes. I promise. And..."
Hooking fingers, Arep cautiously asked,
"C-can I keep learning swordsmanship?"
"Yeah."
This time, Nibelria answered without hesitation.
"Arep likes swordsmanship."
"But you hate it."
"Hmm, that's why I think you're cool, Arep. Really cool."
Nibelria said as she yanked out one poker.
Dether gathered the extracted pokers back together.
"Because you do it even though it's scary."
"......"
"Nini can't do it 'cause it's scary. But Arep does. Amazing!"
"You won't hate it if I become a knight?"
"Nope! Nini likes Arep!"
Just likes him!
"......"
He'd heard exactly what he wanted most.
Arep bit his lip hard to hold back the tears of joy threatening to spill, or they'd pour from his increasingly hot eyes.
'She likes me even if I do what she hates.'
She just likes me.
Arep barely held back his tears, then helped Nibelria pull out the pokers.
He moved them back to their proper place with the rest.
"Good thing it's not a magic beast!"
Nibelria fully accepted Arep's opinion.
'She listened to me.'
She trusts me like Solles does.
Arep was that happy, as if he'd received all the presents the Red Saint had skipped in one go.
Red Saint Festival day.
"Auntie's here!"
Armifera had returned.
"......"
Nibelria hid behind Dether's skirt, peeking out warily.
Her face clearly said, 'Who are you?'
"...No way, did you seriously forget your auntie already?"
Armifera slumped down in shock and dismay.
"Ah! Aah!"
Nibelria belatedly remembered who Armifera was.
"Auntie! Mercenary King Auntie! Runaway Auntie!"
"That's right! Your runaway-turned-Mercenary-King auntie!"
"I missed youuu!"
"Hey, you totally forgot about me until just now."
Where does this cheeky lie come from?
