[Grandpa, I don’t like tsundere’s!!]
[Hmmm? Why is that??]
This happened while Igni was training at a waterfall in the [Demon King’s Realm]
[Because they’re difficult! You can’t tell if they like you or not!]
[I see, I see]
Lucas thinks about this and…
<SLAP!!!>
[WHー?! BUT GRANDPA!! AREN’T YOU THE SAME?!]
[DON’T PUT ME IN THE SAME CATEGORY AS YOU!!]
[..........bーbut why?! It’s a tsundere we’re talking about! They’re so irritable and agitated!! Isn’t that scary to deal with?!]
[You idiot!! That’s the best part of them…….!!]
[Thーthat’s…….the best part? What are you saying, Grandpa?! Have you finally gone senile?!?!]
[Of course not!! Igni!! I can see right through you……!! All you’re trying to do is have an “easier” time!]
[..............?!]
[Looks like I was right judging from your expression. Igni, your weakness...your fault is that you always try to move towards the path of “least resistance”....the “easier” path….]
[.......thー.....the easier path……..?]
[YES! YOU WANT EVERYTHING TO JUST BE EASY!! FOR EVERYTHING TO START OFF AND REMAIN EASY!! YOU WANT THEM TO LIKE YOU FROM THE START?!? DON’T UNDERESTIMATE “POPULARITY”, YOU FOOL!!!]
[Gーgrandpa……….!!]
[ARE THEY IRRITABLE AT FIRST………..?! IS IT DIFFICULT TO READ THEM………?! BUT THAT IS IT!! THAT IS………..SO GOOD!!!]
[Thーthat……?]
[EXACTLY!! IT’S THAT DROP BETWEEN THEIR DISLIKE AND LIKE……..!! IT’S THAT GAP THAT DRAWS YOU IN………..!!]
[YEAH………?!]
[IF YOU SEE A BAD GUY SAVING A CAT, IT MAKES YOU THINK, “MAYBE HE’S ACTUALLY NOT THAT BAD?” AND THAT THOUGHT IS UNIVERSAL…..!! AND IT'S THE SAME WITH TSUNDERE…………!!]
[............!!]
[OYE, IGNI, JUST IMAGINE…..! SHE HATES YOU AT FIRST…..! YOU FIGHT OFTEN……!! BUT ONE DAY, SHE SUDDENLY SHOWS A GLIMPSE OF KINDNESS……..!!]
[........OH….OHHHHHHHHHHH!!]
Igni shook.
[DO YOU UNDERSTAND, IGNI……..?!?!]
[I….I GET IT……..!! GRANDPA……!! ME TOO….! I THINK I UNDERSTAND THE GOODNESS OF TSUNDERE………!!]
<<<<>>>>
Igni: (I guess it’s finally my time too)
Igni stares at Lilly while thinking very strange and perplexing thoughts.
High in the sky, the sun is beaming down on them.
They have departed from last night’s campsite and have traveled a few hours now.
Lilly: “.....what is it? Please don’t look this way.”
Lura: “Hey hey, Lilly. C’mon. You have to get along better than that.”
Lilly: “HMPH!!”
Lilly turns the other way.
But Igni is now able to look upon her defiance with overflowing patience and forgiveness.
Igni: (Yes! It’s because Lilly is a tsundere!!)
Igni: (This is the “tsun” (the disliking me) part of her!! )
……….or at least, Igni had to convince himself of this or else her persistent dislike of him breaks him.
This is because as soon as Lura woke, Lilly became extremely irritable and antagonistic towards Igni.
Igni was sad.
Igni: “Iris…”
Iris: “What is it, Sir Igni?”
Igni: “If a man’s really irritable and angry at first but～...”
Iris: “Yes?”
Igni: “.....but suddenly becomes nicer to you, what would you think of him?”
Iris: “Umm….well, I think he would be scary to deal with!”
Igni: (I see...she’s the same as I was 2 years ago.)
Igni let out an well-aged, parental sigh inside his heart.
Igni: (Iris, you have a long way to go….)
Iris: “Because if you think about it, isn’t that just like how Edward is?”
Edward: “Did you call for me?”
Iris: “No we didn’t.”
Igni: “......................................................hm????”
Igni: “Waiー....Iris, what did you just say…………??”
Iris: “Huh? I said that sounds just like Edward.”
Igni: “..........................................”
Iris: “SーSir Igni?! What’s wrong! All the blood just drained from your face!!”
Edward: “Wーwait! I haven’t done anything!!”
Igni: (...........hey)
Igni: (...................hey now)
Igni: (.....................wait wait wait wait….!!!)
Igni: “Edward…”
Edward: “Whーwhat is it?!”
Igni: “Don’t….push yourself too hard…”
Edward: “I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT!!!!”
A tsundere man, huh……………..
Yeah………..a man………………………..
Igni: (.................................)
Igni: (.......................................................)
A man……….
Why is it all men……………………..?
In his mind, a white-haired young man came to mind.
And Igni’s thoughts were thrown into darkness and chaos.
Igni is just being Igni as usual.
Lura: “Oh, stop the carriage!”
Lura asks the driver of the carriage, and the carriage comes to a halt.
And Igni and Lilly also realize what is happening.
And both look at one another.
Lura: “We’re pretty far from the Capital, so I thought it might be about time they start coming out.”
Lura shrugs.
Iris: “What should we do? Sir Igni, should I go ahead and cast my Spell?”
Igni: “Wait, Iris. You might accidentally kill them.”
Right after those words, armed men appear.
“Give us the loot and no one loses their life!!”
“HA HA HA, if you don’t wanna die, leave all the good here!!”
Bandits.
Lura: “Igni, who’s territory are we in?”
Igni: “If we’re this far from the Capital, it’s not related to the Royal Family. I can’t tell who they’re working for.”
Although it’s not often that you run into bandits in the Kingdom on the main roads. The security is not that lax or non-existent, but regardless, there are still bandits here and there.
There’s even some who work for the Governor of the territory and steal money from travelers.
Igni: “2, 3……...5 total.”
Igni identifies the magical powers around him and determines the exact number.
“HEY! ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING?!” Igni: “Iris, go ahead.”
Iris: “Yes! [EARTH BENDS] {Tetsura • DeForte!!}”
The <ground melts> below the bandits and with a <SPLASH>, their lower bodies fall into the earth.
Iris: “How was that?”
Igni: “Awesome, good job, Iris!”
Iris: “Yes! It’s the first time I was complimented by Sir Igni!!”
Iris is ecstatic even though she dropped a super-depressing bombshell of a statement.
And Igni continues to be wary of how he’s going to handle her going forward.
Igni: “Okay, let’s get going.” Lura: “Yes, let’s.”
And with that, the carriage starts moving again.
“WAIT!! HELP US!!”
“PLEASE DON’T LEAVE US LIKE THIS!!”
“WE’RE GONNA DIE!! THIS AREA IS FULL OF ORCS!!”
But the carriage continues to move on.
Iris: “They’ll be able to get out in about 30 minutes.”
Iris mumbles this to herself, and the group leaves the bandits behind.
<<<<>>>>
The firewood crackles.
Lilly: “WHY AM I PAIRED WITH YOU TWO NIGHTS IN A ROW?!”
Igni: “Lilly, you’re being too loud. You'll wake everyone up.”
Yes, Lilly and Igni were on guard duty together again tonight.
From yesterday’s rotation, Iris switched out with Edward, and Edward is on break from guard duties.
Lilly: “And why are you *calling me casually by name all of a sudden!”
Igni: “Oh, you’re right. I’m sorry.” Lilly: “Wーwell, it’s okay but…..!”
Igni: (........hm?)
Lilly: “Why did you look my way when the bandits arrived.”
Igni: “........just because?”
For Igni, there really was no definitive reason. It just happened that way.
Lilly: “Well, if you don’t want to tell me, you don’t have to.”
And with that Lilly turns away.
But is her cheeks a little red? From the firelight, Igni thought he saw that.
Igni: (............HMMMM????)
Lilly: “.......hey, Igni.”
Igni: “YーYEAH?!”
Having her call his name for the first time, it caught Igni off guard.
Lilly: “Can I sit over there again?”
Igni: “.........hm?”
Lilly: “Nーno! I mean, after yesterday’s incident...you know…”
Igni: “Oh, ohhhh…..”
She’s talking about the Abductor Owl incident from yesterday night.
Igni: “Of course.” Lilly: "Thanks.”
Lilly’s voice goes slightly higher than usual.
And Lura was listening in on their conversation the entire time.
Without noticing, Igni throws up a fist within his heart.
<<<<>>>>
Elenoir: “Oh～ Alicia, you’ll be excusing yourself from school for a while～?”
Alicia: “Yes……..I’m sorry. My <sister> is asking for me.”
In the teacher/student meeting room, Alicia sat in front of Ms. Elenoir.
Elenoir: “Are you sure～? Because if it’s your sister, she…….”
Alicia: “......it’s okay. It’s something I have to do now.”
Elenoir: “Okay～. Well, it’s about <your personal family matters>, and it’s a [Designated Quest] requesting for you specifically so～ your absence will be noted as official leave～”
Alicia: “Thank you so much.”
Alicia bows her head.
Elenoir: “But it’s such a weird Quest～ Why do they want you to suddenly head to the Principality? It’s not like anything big is going down in the Principality～”
Ms. Elenoir places a hand on her cheek and considers this.
Alicia: “Yes, I am not sure either.”
Alicia’s expression hardens.
This is all to keep Ms. Elenoir from realizing her plan.
Just the other day, a single letter reached Alicia’s hands.
The letter was written in Imperial Code and spoke briefly of the 【The Saint Abduction Plan】.
Within the letter, information about the Saint’s movements along with her relations were documented. Alicia saw one line within that summary and immediately moved into action.
【Fiancé: Igni Talcoyz】
Notes: “Igni Talcoyz has been excommunicated from the Talcoyz Family and has currently abandoned his family name. It is presumed that Saint Rose’s goals concern her former fiancé."
Alicia: “........really. I wonder why they’re calling me there?”
Alicia smiles towards Ms. Elenoir.
Alicia is a reserve force concerning the plan in motion. Her participation is not mission critical, but all competitions must be removed…….!
The Iron Maiden Alicia is still present in the here and now…..!!
<<<<>>>>
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