Idle Talk: Night of Shooting Stars

“How does it look? Isn’t it strange?”

In a temporary office room, Lauren, wearing a dress resembling a purple kimono, twirled in front of Yu.

Her long sleeves and long black hair fluttered in the air.

“Oh, it suits you well.”

Yu nodded.

“Still, it feels a bit embarrassing. It’s the first time I’ve worn it.”

“I see, since you’ve never appeared as Shizuku Shizuku before.”

“Yes, this year, I thought I would give it a try.”

Her eyes held a gentle yet faint hint of sadness.

It was Yu’s usual gaze.

“I see.”

Lauren smiled.

Until recently, the tinge of sorrow mixed in Yu’s gaze had pierced her heart, but now she didn’t feel it as strongly.

She was convinced that it came from regret over supporting herself, but she knew that was a mistake.

—Thanks to Lucius-san.

She murmured in her mind.

“Will Lucius-san come with us too?”

“…I wonder. Why don’t you ask him yourself?”

“Right.”

Lauren did a final check in the mirror and then headed towards the main hall of the temporary office.

Inside the hall, people were gathered.

Since Lucius descended the Chiyou at the ceremony and returned to the temporary office, more and more people had been coming, and now over ten people were crowded in the not-so-large hall.

The people inside were staring intently at unfamiliar instruments and books they had never seen before.

At the center of the hall were an old woman and another person.

That person was Lucius.

His whole body was covered in something resembling metal or porcelain, making his body almost invisible. From the covering on his body, several tubes connected to unknown instruments in the room.

Lucius’s expression couldn’t be seen, but he was probably feeling uncomfortable.

“Wow, wow! Look at this value!”

In contrast to Lucius, the jubilant old woman was the former head of the Orleans family, Guffell, who oversaw the research and recording of the ceremony.

The people in the room flocked to the smiling old woman.

Except for Lucius, everyone else was members of the Orleans family.

“Have you figured out anything about the control neural circuit of the spell?”

“What about the magical power characteristic quantity that can contract with a special-class spell?”

“What are you talking about? Incorporating the spell of a magic sword into one’s own spell is a versatile self-learning circuit that is unparalleled!”

“There are plenty of spells with unique characteristics! What’s more important is the overwhelming amount of magic power. It’s crucial to be a special-class monster!”

“That’s why muscle brains are no good. The amount of magical power alone doesn’t decide everything. Magical power is nothing more than fuel. The problem lies in the spell that converts the obtained magical power—”

The members of the Orleans family continued their nonsensical conversation, with no explanation of why they could be so engrossed just by the numerical values output by the instruments.

“…Um, Gueffell-sama.”

Lucius, whose body was tightly bound in metal, called out apologetically.

“What’s wrong, Lucius?”

“I feel like my white eye core has been disturbed for a while now, and it’s making me feel really sick…”

“Oh, that’s right. They’re trying to analyze the characteristics of your magical power and spell by applying magical wave resonances to your magical power and spell. Isn’t it amazing? Only the Orleans family possesses this artifact.”

Gueffell smiled.

She seemed to be saying that it was an honor to use such a valuable artifact.

“No, I’m not interested in what you’re doing. It’s nauseating—”

Lucius tried to retort, but everyone in the room immediately cheered.

“Ohhh! Look at this value!”

Gueffell abruptly interrupted Lucius’s conversation and became fixated on a nearby instrument.

“This is incredible! Can a magical waveform modulation as short as this exist!?”

Another woman nearby exclaimed.

“How much longer do you think it will take to understand the excitation function of the magical element?”

“We still can’t see that. It’s not showing any reaction.”

In the midst of this, one man murmured.

“…Shouldn’t we try shining a stronger light on it?”

All the members of the Orleans family tensed up.

“Well, I’m not sure about that…”

“Going any further would be…”

“The strain on the subject…”

The man who proposed it asked everyone with a pressing expression.

“We are the Orleans, aren’t we? Don’t you want to know? The secret of Chiyou?”

Those driven by wicked thoughts.

Wearing expressions that had sacrificed their conscience to the devil of curiosity.

“…Wait, are you misunderstanding something? I’m feeling really—”

Lucius tried to object, but he was abruptly interrupted by Gueffell, who reached out for the large artifact attached to Lucius’s head.

And with a forceful twist, she turned something round attached to the device.

At the same time, a strong magical power began to flow into Lucius.

“Ugh!”

Immediately, Lucius couldn’t hold back and vomited.

—

“That was terrible.”

Lucius held his chest in his own room.

Beside him, Lauren rubbed his back, worried.

“Are you okay?”

“Ugh.”

Lucius covered his mouth with his hand.

Lately, he had been forced to endure incomprehensible experiments.

The Orleans family, a gathering of madmen obsessed with spells.

Lauren soon looked at Lucius’s face.

“What about that outfit?”

“Oh, this? It’s for Shizuku. I changed clothes for it.”

Lauren twirled around, showing it to Yu, but she seemed a bit bashful.

It was a traditional costume that only women wore in the eastern region, called “Shizuku Shizuku Yo.”

“Oh, wow, they have something like [*******] in this world too.”

Lucius said words unfamiliar to Yu.

The words were flat and devoid of intonation, making it difficult to understand what he said.

“Oh? Do you know this outfit?”

“Oh, no. Don’t mind it. Anyway, Lauren, I think it suits you well.”

Lucius quickly tried to change the subject.

“Really!?”

“Yeah, of course.”

“Thank you… so much. And… I have a favor to ask.”

Lauren took a deep breath and let it out.

Even though it wasn’t such a big favor, her heart was beating faster.

She closed her eyes and spoke the words with determination.

“Um… would you like to go see Shizuku Shizuku Yo with me!?”

Opening one eye, she stole a glance at Lucius’s expression.

“Sure.”

As expected, his face was smiling, with his slightly dark brown hair hanging over his eyes.

She knew he wouldn’t refuse, but she still felt nervous.

She couldn’t help but heave a sigh of relief.

“T-Then, let’s g-go.”

She forced her stiff body to stand up and left the room.

And while being seen off by Yu, the two passed through the gate of the temporary office together.

It was already evening, and the sun was setting.

As they walked along the street, the town girls were also dressed in colorful traditional costumes.

The buildings that had been destroyed by the Chiyou avatars were still unrepaired, and debris was gathered here and there.

Still, everyone’s expression was bright.

They were enjoying themselves on this once-a-year night.

—It’s strange, isn’t it?

Not too long ago, it was unthinkable to be out at this time.

I never knew when someone would insult me.

Even now, I’m still a little scared.

But just having the boy walking beside me calms me down.

“By the way, Lauren, what is Shizuku Shizuku Yo? Is it a festival in the eastern region?”

“Don’t you know?”

“No.”

“Today is the night when shooting stars streak across the sky.”

“Shooting stars? How do you know?”

“Because today is the day when shooting stars always fall every year.”

“What? Shooting stars have a designated day?”

Lucius had a puzzled expression.

“It’s only natural, isn’t it? The stars come to the same position after a year, right? That’s why we have constellations. Shooting stars are the same.”

Lucius’s knowledge seemed to have a significant bias.

Even adults sometimes have experiences they don’t know, just as children sometimes don’t know things that seem common knowledge.

“The movement of celestial bodies and shooting stars… What does that mean?”

Lucius started pondering alone.

“Lucius, you’re a strange person. There’s no point in complaining about the movement of the stars.”

“…Maybe you’re right.”

“In the customs of this area, weddings are held on the night of Shizuku Shizuku Yo.”

“Weddings?”

“Yes, it’s a day to pledge love to each other under the shooting stars. Many people get married on this day.”

“Oh, I see. It’s an interesting tradition.”

“Look, over there.”

Lauren pointed her finger, and there was a brightly lit area where many lanterns were illuminating the surroundings.

People were gathered in the square of Fumoto Town.

The people inside were dressed up, and two newlywed couples and their families were standing and eating. The people of Fumoto Town were offering words of congratulations.

“It’s true.”

Some of the people noticed Lauren’s presence and glared at her dismissively.

They seemed to think she would ruin the celebration and made a gesture as if brushing her away.

“I wish I could do something about them.”

Lucius made a sad expression.

—Truly a mysterious person.

Lauren recalled the battle with Chiyou.

“It’s fine. I am… I am different from my father.”

She had been controlled by something dark that clung to her since she was aware of herself.

Unlike her father, she didn’t kill the townspeople. Instead, she sacrificed herself for their sake.

She believed that it was the way to atone for her sins and the shackles that bound her.

But when she was trapped by Chiyou’s shield, Lucius released her manifestation to save her.

He should have burned Chiyou along with herself using the dragon’s flames. It would have minimized the damage, even though she understood that even without the education of a noble.

“My name is Lucius Noris Dragon, and I will stop you.”

The opponent was a monster. It might understand human language, but it wouldn’t care about human status. He staked his own name on it. It was a manifestation of resolve.

After a momentary clash, Lucius was thrown away.

And Chiyou was about to strike a fatal blow to Lucius to end his life.

Even so, Lucius didn’t run away.

Rather, his gaze was focused only on the chains that entwined him.

How kind it was.

How happy it was.

Lauren had lived trapped by memories she couldn’t recall.

Even after being trapped by the chains of guilt, she had accepted that she would wait for death.

What used to bind her had changed from chains of sin to chains of spell formulas, but the agonizing time until death had only changed.

—I shouldn’t sacrifice this person for the sake of someone like me.

Before she knew it, she found herself shouting.

“Run!”

But he narrowly avoided the blow that would have killed him, and Lucius denied what dhe had accepted as her fate.

He severed the chains she thought would never be broken with a blade of light.

-Huh?

Lauren thought she was about to fall to the ground, but Lucius swiftly lifted her up.

And he intercepted Chiyou’s next attack, which was about to strike with all his might.

All of it felt as if it was severing the suffocating, pitch-black entity that entangled her.

For the first time, Lauren felt it.

—I might be allowed to live.

After that, Lucius did something unbelievable and made Chiyou his manifestation.

It was certainly a remarkable feat to defeat a special-class monster like Chiyou.

But for Lauren, what remained vividly in her heart was that he had cut the chains that bound her.

“…You have already saved me.”

“Hm? What are you talking about?”

“Hehe.”

When Lauren laughed, a young girl’s voice echoed.

“Oh, Lucius isn’t it?”

Turning around, there was the new lord dressed in a white traditional costume.

Her name was Olivia, if she remembered correctly. She stood there with her light blue hair fluttering.

—Such a beautiful person.

She had visited Yu before as the new lord. Full of confidence and not much age difference, she already exuded a sense of dignity.

The complete opposite of herself.

“Hey, Olivia. What brings you to Tact Town?”

“Isn’t it Shizuku Shizuku Yo today? It seems to be the duty of the lord to visit the villages and towns where weddings are held.”

“Olivia, you have it tough.”

“It’s part of the job… Anyway, how is it?”

Olivia held up her drooping sleeve and lightly spread her arms.

“I think it looks beautiful.”

“I don’t really understand since it’s my first time wearing it.”

“No, I think it suits you. The color matches your hair too.”

“…Thank you.”

Olivia and Lucius had a good relationship.

They had known each other even before coming to Tact Territory, and it seemed that being from the same northern region was not the only reason.

And the way Olivia looked at Lucius was not just the gaze of someone from the same hometown.

—Olivia-sama too…

Lauren became aware and unconsciously compared her own clothes to Olivia’s.

The outfit was bought by Yu specifically for this day.

It wasn’t a cheap one, but it couldn’t be compared to the clothes a lord would wear.

Feeling embarrassed, Lauren took a step away from Lucius.

Maybe it stood out even more, but Olivia approached and spoke.

“Lauren, right?”

“Yes, my name is Lauren. I apologize for the late introduction, my lord.”

“I always thought I had to tell you someday.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m sorry.”

Suddenly, Olivia bowed her head.

Lauren was greatly taken aback. Normally, a lord wouldn’t bow their head lightly. It wasn’t to show her arrogance. She bowed her head lightly to avoid any disadvantage to her subjects.

“What’s the matter!?”

Olivia’s deep blue eyes stared into Lauren’s eyes.

“Originally, the one who should have become the lord of this territory was you. As the sole survivor of the Clarke Viscount family. But I became the lord instead.”

“No, I have no memories of my ancestral home. Besides, I am neither a noble nor anything like that.”

“This is a sort of atonement. I have no regrets. It’s something necessary for me to become a queen.”

“I… I’m glad you became Olivia-sama. The new lord.”

It was her true feelings.

Rumors said that Olivia was gaining the trust of her retainers one after another.

In fact, she heard from Yu that the discussion of rebuilding the burned down town hall had come up.

“I will do my best to live up to that expectation. From now on.”

The gazes of the two girls met.

It was a mutual restraint and a kind of declaration of intent.

At that moment, Lucius pointed to the sky.

“Oh, shooting stars. It’s true.”

Looking up, several stars had begun streaking across the sky.

Threads of white formed by the stars dyed the entire sky.

Rather than droplets, it felt more like a flowing river.

The townspeople all simultaneously looked up at the starry sky.

Sighs-like voices escaped here and there.

Beside Lucius, Olivia stood beside him.

“…?”

She looked at Lucius’s back with a slightly dissatisfied expression, and their eyes met.

In the next moment, Olivia laughed as if amused and beckoned Lauren.

Lauren’s heart fluttered.

Just a little bit… Can I be a little selfish?

Under the starry night sky of falling stars, Lauren took a step forward.

“Is it alright? You might get hurt.”

A voice called from behind, the girl she used to be.

Lauren whispered in a voice so small that no one could hear.

“It’s alright. Because I don’t have those chains that bind me anymore.”

Lauren, standing side by side with Lucius, smiled without a care.

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