Kays Translations

Chapter 21: Breathing white in the morning frost.

Ren, who was told so casually, spoke while making eye contact with Ulysses.

"Are you sure? Would it not be a bother to you, Lord Ulysses, if I was allowed?"

"A bother to me? Why would that be?"

"Permission is required to enter the old town. While I am grateful for your concern, Lord Ulysses, I would not wish to cause any inconvenience."

"In that case, you may rest easy. It's not that no one other than those involved can enter the old town. Normally, there are conditions, however..."

As an important cultural property, there are many who would wish to see it up close. Therefore, opportunities for regular visits had been arranged.

While this was not one of those times,

"We shall arrange for you to take a look around as well."

This was about the topic of security that had come up.

One could interpret this as facilitating convenience, or as asking for a favor while working.

"You seem to have done similar work in Clausel as well. I'm confident that it would be no problem for you to go to the old town. Please take this as half work, half visit. I will tell you about the security work I want to ask for later."

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

Ren, walking through the Marquis Ignat mansion, spoke to a nearby servant.

He had finished his conversation with Ulysses and they had parted ways. He was trying to find out what Licia and Fiona were doing during this free time.

"How can I assist you?"

"I wish to go to where Lady Fiona is. Could you guide me?"

"Understood. This way, please. The two ladies are in the young lady's private room."

"Oh... In Lady Fiona's room..."

At this point, Ren murmured "private room?" and stopped.

The servant also promptly stopped and turned back.

"Sir Ashton, is something the matter?"

"I'm sorry. You said Lady Fiona's room, right?"

"Yes. Lady Clausel is also with her, they seem to be having a friendly chat in the young lady's private room. It will soon be dinner time, so we will come to call you then..."

The issue wasn't about dinner time, he was concerned about the location.

It was okay for Licia to go to the daughter of the Marquis's room. She was the daughter of a viscount.

As for Ren, he was the son of a knight. This hasn't changed since his birth. Yet, he felt uneasy about stepping foot into the private room of a Marquis's daughter.

"I think I'll head to the guest room you have prepared for me after all."

"Oh? What seems to be the matter?"

"Well, it seems odd for a man to go into a young lady's room."

"Please rest assured. I believe there is no issue."

"...Huh."

There's no issue, is that so?

Ren was a benefactor and they wanted to show their hospitality, he had heard this many times.

And if Licia was invited, perhaps it wasn't so strange for him to accompany her in his role similar to an attendant.

After pondering over several things, Ren concluded,

"No, it's not happening."

Yet, because the servant peculiarly urged him to proceed, Ren walked for a while through the mansion to Fiona's room.

Walking through the hallway lined with remarkable furnishings he had seen many times caused a slight nervousness. Fortunately, he arrived in front of Fiona's room, but that made him even more nervous.

"Well then,"

The servant left him at the front of Fiona's room.

The servant was being considerate of Fiona, making sure not to disturb her, but Ren was unaware of this.

Left behind, Ren found himself in an unexpected situation, but thought nothing of it as he knocked on the door.

"Oh, Ren!"

The door opened immediately, and Fiona peered through the gap.

As if invited, I entered the room where her belongings were neatly arranged, a reflection of her character.

Each step I took, the sweet scent of flowers from Fiona's hair filled the room, creating a calming atmosphere.

"Huh? Isn't Licia here?"

I couldn't ask her to call me without formalities, abruptly.

Fiona felt saddened by being left behind, but she encouraged herself, knowing it's up to her from now on.

"Licia has been to her room for a while. It seems she went to check on some luggage that arrived from the inn."

That explains her absence.

Just the two of us in the room now.

Becoming aware of this, Ren...

"Eh"

Stunned, wondering if this was permissible.

But as Fiona didn't seem to mind, he scratched his cheek, wondering if he was overthinking.

Fiona, on the other hand, was feeling her heart pounding so hard she felt like it would burst, though she didn't show it on her face. She placed her hand on her ample chest, trying to control herself, sitting next to Ren by the window.

She couldn't just be shy or nervous.

"Re...Ren-kun!"

"Yes, what is it?"

At Fiona's more spirited voice than usual, Ren tried to reply as calmly as possible.

"May I... thank you now for the promise we made before crossing the Baldur mountain range...?"

Her eyes sparkled brighter than jewels, teary and her voice shaking with effort.

Struck by her sincere voice, Ren remembered the past. The time when he spent a night with her at the Baldur mountain range.

On the table, a full set of tea utensils were already prepared.

When Ren nodded, Fiona began to move, pouring the tea with somewhat nervous hands.

She had worked hard for this day.

In the imperial city or at the academy, she could have served Ren tea anytime she wanted.

But for today, despite her inexperience, Fiona never gave up and kept trying. The scent of the steam from the teapot was incomparable to that of the Baldur mountain range.

...It smells so good.

Without saying a word, Ren silently watched over Fiona, waiting.

Kop, kop - the sound of the water being poured. The tea poured into the teacup was clear and brightly colored, somewhere between brown and orange.

The cup placed on the saucer was gently pushed in front of Ren.

"Please don't force yourself to drink it if it's not good...!"

At her voice, Ren laughed.

Surprise showed on Fiona's anxious face.

"You said the same thing that night, Miss Fiona."

"But... I'm worried..."

"I told you then that I liked your tea, so I want to enjoy it without worrying... can I go ahead and try it?"

"Sure!"

With a hand to her chest again, feeling her heartbeat, Fiona nodded.

When Ren lifted the teacup, a small sound could be heard as it scraped against the saucer.

Even though it was clear it took only a few seconds to bring the teacup to his lips, it felt like several minutes, even hours, had passed.

"-----"

Ren took a sip, his Adam's apple bobbing.

After releasing a breath from his throat, he smiled gently.

"I've never tasted such delicious tea."

He said so not out of consideration, but from the bottom of his heart.

Not questioning whether it was true, Fiona simply accepted Ren's feelings.

She was just happy.

Her heart, pounding loudly, was now filled with indescribable warmth due to her love for Ren.

Feeling a drain of strength from her entire body, Fiona plumped down onto the carpet.

"Miss Fiona!?"

Ren, worried, stood up and knelt before her.

Her slender and supple legs extended from her skirt, knees touching each other.

"...haha."

Fiona laughed, squinting her eyes.

"I'm just... so happy that I've lost my strength."

As she said this, shaking her dark hair.

After a few minutes, Licia returned and the three of us gathered around the table.

The old city, which we had been discussing before coming to Fiona's room, came up as a topic.

The two girls were more proactive than Ren had imagined, voicing in unison that they wanted to go together!

"I'll ask Ulysses and the others later."

When asked at dinner, Ulysses and Lessard casually agreed, saying "sure".

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

It was a special night for Fiona.

Just the fact that Ren was there until late at night made her feel like her head was about to explode with tension, but she was also extremely happy.

She wanted to believe this wasn't a dream, to hear his voice before she slept, and she imagined the guest room where he stayed.

Ren, as usual, was not yet ready for bed.

However, Fiona found herself walking down the corridor, despite thinking it was not the best time to visit a guest.

Then,

"Ah."

"Ah."

Two girls' voices overlapped.

Fiona and Licia, who appeared from the left and right of the corridor leading to Ren's room, let out their voices simultaneously.

They stopped in front of the guest room, looked at each other, toyed with their hair, and attempted a deliberately dry smile. Is this a contest? There's no formal agreement, but the atmosphere becomes tense.

Eventually, a compromise idea occurred to both of them.

"...How about we all talk together today?"

Licia, who had taken a casual attitude as if it were daytime, and

"...Yes. That seems like a good idea."

Fiona agreed, and a truce was established. Fiona was the one who knocked on Ren's room. She had a reason because she was from the Ignat Marquis family.

However, when no response came, they both thought he might be asleep.

---

Ren, on his way back from borrowing the large bath thanks to Ulysses' kindness, was walking around a corridor corner.

"What are they both doing?"

He tilted his head as he saw the two of them standing in front of his room, wiping the sweat trickling down his forehead after his bath.

---

It was a morning when frost was commonly seen.

As expected, their breaths were white, and they slightly regretted not wrapping their scarves around their necks to fend off the cold wind sneaking in.

However, it would soon warm up as the sun rises.

Before they departed, Edgar had said so.

"Even so, the cold is cold..."

Even Fiona, born and raised in Euphaim and accustomed to the climate, couldn't help but smile wryly.

Fortunately, as they walked, their bodies gradually warmed up. Their backs seemed to straighten up more and more.

Euphaim in the early morning was bustling just like Elendil.

"Compared to the capital and Elendil, there are more carts drawn by monsters."

Ren noticed when he was looking at the town.

"Because there's a lot of cargo movement to the harbor, it seems better to have the monsters pull."

"Oh, yes, Euphaim is the largest coastal city in Leomel."

They walked through the elegant town streets, known as the "white crown" and also called the "city of water."

The journey to the old city was long, but it wasn't bad if thought of as a long walk.

Fiona guided them through the city and continued walking towards the outskirts of town, with the two of them. Since they could get over the disturbance at the Baldur Mountain Range, there was no worry.

"...It seems the condition is still bad."

Along the way, Fiona stopped and looked at the waterway.

Euphaim has had many waterways since old times, but since yesterday, the water flow has been poor, and investigations were being carried out in various parts of the town.

Licia stood next to Fiona,

"What's going on?"

"It seems there are several places where the water isn't coming out well, and they've been investigating since yesterday."

"I remember yesterday, some streets in the noble district were blocked too."

There is a public institution that handles life infrastructure such as water supply. The members of that institution were engaged in investigations using magical tools since yesterday.

The three of them stood at the edge of the waterway and watched.

But there was nothing they could do; all they could do was watch.

"Shall we go?"

After watching for a few tens of seconds, when Ren spoke, the girls began to move their paused feet.

Ren, who walked ahead, saw the figures of Sarah, Vane, Kaito, Nem, and Charlotte, the group from the House of heroes, on the road across the waterway.

He wondered if they were also going out of town, and Ren thought back to what happened yesterday.

"Licia, are Vane and the others going to the cape again?"

"Yeah. They said they might go for a few days, so probably."

"I see... well, there should be some good stuff hidden there, I suppose."

Ren's mutterings did not reach Licia's ears.

The reason he said 'probably' was that his knowledge of the legend of the Seven Heroes was fading quite a bit inside him, stemming from his lack of confidence.

Hidden in the shadow of the cape was a cave, and deep inside was a certain equipment.

Specifically, a special item called Hero Equipment.

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