Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 259: A Change of Heart
More than ten days had passed since Tauro left Black-Gold Wings and went into hiding in the dragonfolk village.
Aeris had taken over as team leader, and she was extremely busy.
Only after assuming Tauro’s responsibilities did she fully understand how much work he had quietly handled for the team.
The experience also gave Aeris an opportunity to look closely at herself.
She had originally become an adventurer because she wanted to find meaning in her life. Her talent had been recognized, and the effort she put into adventuring had begun to feel worthwhile.
Then Tauro appeared.
At the time, Aeris had been praised as the guild’s youngest and most promising adventurer. She was shocked when a boy younger than her arrived and proved even more capable.
First she was astonished. Then she became angry, and finally she grew curious about him.
Before long, she had joined Tauro and his companions. Being beside him felt safe and comfortable.
Tauro was cautious and sometimes endearingly childish, yet he remained calm in a crisis and used his intelligence and abilities to find a way through it.
Aeris found a place for herself beside him, but she also became dependent on him.
During the turmoil surrounding the succession of House Van Dyne, Tauro spent his own money freely and supported her in every way he could. Her father later repaid him, but Aeris had been so grateful and relieved that her dependence on Tauro only deepened.
She was also the daughter of that wretched woman.
Aeris sometimes feared that she might one day become like her mother and that Tauro would eventually abandon her because of it.
Even so, she clung to the comfortable place beside him. Then Ragune joined the team, followed by Ankh, and Aeris began sharing a home with Ragune.
When Tauro temporarily died, the shock left Aeris unable to speak. His revival brought overwhelming relief, but the experience also forced her to recognize just how important he had become to her.
Spending time with Ragune and speaking openly with her helped Aeris recognize her dependence on Tauro and view herself more objectively.
Then Tauro temporarily withdrew from the team.
His absence gave Aeris the chance to review her past and face herself seriously. The fact that she could treat the separation as an opportunity rather than only a loss was itself proof that she had changed.
What could she do now?
She could create a place to which Tauro could return without fear.
It was her turn to support him.
But how? Destroy the Assassins’ Guild? That was unrealistic. Pursue the person who had hired them to target Tauro? How could they accomplish that?
Aeris repeatedly asked herself those questions until an answer finally emerged.
“Ragune, Ankh. Shall we go to the Royal Capital?”
She made the proposal while the three of them were returning from a completed quest.
“The Royal Capital?” Ragune and Ankh repeated, wondering whether she was referring to another request.
“Tauro’s gone into hiding until the danger passes, but I think we should do everything we can to help him.”
“That’s reasonable enough,” Ankh said, “but what exactly do you intend to do in the Royal Capital?”
“I’m going to ask my father to act. He’s one of the leading figures among the neutral nobles. Viscount Saissi, who appears to be behind the attempt on Tauro’s life, belongs to Marquis Halagoura’s faction. I want the neutral faction to cooperate with the Prime Minister’s faction, which is close to the royal family, and place pressure on Viscount Saissi.”
“Aeris, that could ignite a full conflict between the factions and split the kingdom in two,” Ankh warned.
“I’ll discuss it with my father. We don’t need to attack the entire faction. We only need to deal with Viscount Saissi and protect Tauro.”
“I don’t understand noble politics very well,” Ragune said, “but will this allow Tauro to return without fearing the Assassins’ Guild? If so, I support the plan.”
Ankh sighed.
“Are you two truly serious? Very well. We’ll trust Marquis Van Dyne to find a way to handle it without starting a civil war.”
With that, the three members of Black-Gold Wings decided to travel to the Royal Capital.