"Heh..."
At my brazen lie, he looked at me with an absurd expression.
I said even more brazenly.
"What's certain is that we can help each other."
"...Ha, seriously..."
Aen looked at me, letting out a short, empty breath as if he was dumbfounded.
"..."
It was obvious that he was trying to manage his expression. However, he couldn't hide his wavering eyes.
Aen was clearly wavering.
I drove a wedge into that wavering.
"I won't ask you for more after the Rodbel qualification exam is over."
"...Just one question. What if you fail the qualification exam? Then wouldn't this whole thing be meaningless?"
Aen hit the nail on the head.
But...
"I won't fail."
At my resolute attitude, Aen made a difficult-to-understand expression.
"How can you be so sure?"
"Well... because Aen Rixus is my teacher."
"..."
"I will live up to what you teach me. I believe in you, Commander Aen Rixus."
"Heh... I feel like I'm bewitched."
He looked at me intently with a troubled face, then soon said with a sigh.
"Often, there are rookies who try to join the knight order with just a spirit like you. I'm the one who tells those guys the reality."
"..."
"But whatever. Shall we trust that spirit this time? I have nothing to lose either."
As if he had finished organizing his thoughts, he smiled brightly and held out his hand to me.
"Even though I look like this, I'll be a scary teacher, so be prepared, Miss, no... Disciple."
A large hand was held out, filling my field of vision.
I hesitated for a moment, then firmly grasped his hand.
This body temperature was so precious that I unconsciously put strength into the hand I was holding.
Although unlike the past, he and I started with a temporary relationship, it's still okay.
'This life will be different.'
You too, and me too.
A few days later, the dismissed adjutant returned.
Bringing someone I never expected.
"I was wondering where you had disappeared to, and you were here."
The emerald green eyes behind the silver-rimmed glasses scanned me up and down indifferently.
He looked at me wearing a servant's coat with an absurd gaze.
Why is this man here?
Aen seemed to be thinking the same thing, as he glared at the adjutant who brought Ligrin right away.
The adjutant, who was standing awkwardly, said with a wronged face.
"So, I was searching the surroundings to find the guardian of that, well, that lady over there."
He probably didn't try to find the real guardian, so he was just wandering around and killing time.
"But the head butler approached me and..."
"He asked if the lady was here first, and when I said she was being protected, he asked me to guide him."
Ligrin neatly summed it up, replacing the adjutant who couldn't figure out how to convey the words.
"Yes, that's right. That's it."
"I'm sorry for bothering the commander. Lady, come this way."
Ligrin held out his hand to me.
I really didn't want to go over there, but...
'I can't help it.'
I swallowed a sigh and tried to let go of Aen's hand.
'...Huh?'
Aen didn't let go of my hand.
Ligrin also noticed the situation and stared at Aen with a blank expression.
The eyes of the two people collided in the air.
"....?"
What's going on?
'The atmosphere is strange.'
Neither of them looked away. It's like they're fighting with their eyes.
"Commander...?"
As if I wasn't the only one who thought that, the adjutant called Aen in a bewildered voice.
Aen seemed to look at me for a moment, but soon.
"It seems like our head butler is misunderstanding something."
He said with a playful smile to Ligrin.
"A misunderstanding... you say?"
Ligrin's gaze became even more desolate, but on the contrary, Aen's smile deepened.
"The lady didn't bother me. Rather, thanks to her, I had a lot of fun for the first time in a while."
"..."
"So I hope you don't have any unnecessary misunderstandings."
"..."
At Aen's remarks defending me, Ligrin's gaze turned to me.
'What did you do again?'
...It was like he was saying.
Then he sighed and nodded.
"Yes, I misunderstood. But it's true that it's late, so may I take Lady Lucia with me?"
At the words as if to end this meaningless battle of nerves, Aen nodded willingly.
"Then, lady, don't forget our promise. Sweet dreams."
He greeted me in an affectionate tone, like a completely different person from when he was dealing with Ligrin.
'It's a pity, but I can't help it.'
I wanted to tell Ligrin to go back alone, but that would make things difficult for Aen too.
Hiding my regret, I smiled brightly at him.
"Yes, I had so much fun too. I won't forget our promise. Have a good night."
"Hehe, the young lady is so clever."
Aen kept praising me until the end.
I let go of Aen's hand and approached Ligrin.
Of course, he didn't reach out to me like Aen.
But even if he had, I wouldn't have taken it.
"..."
After looking at me with a strange gaze for a moment, he bowed to Aen and left the dorm.
-Thud. Thud.
Ligrin walked far ahead.
-Tap. Tap.
I followed at a moderate distance from afar.
Of course, he didn't match my pace.
Well, I didn't expect it.
But his actions of not even looking back to see if I was following well raised questions.
'If that's the case, why did you come to pick me up?'
No, why did he come to find me in the first place?
And how did he know I was gone?
I only had questions as I looked at the gradually receding green back of his head.
Abruptly.
Suddenly, his steps stopped.
...What's wrong?
After a while, Ligrin, who turned around, looked at me pitifully and said.
"You're slow."
"..."
I was so dumbfounded that I couldn't even think of anything to say.
'Isn't it obvious?'
How big is the difference between my pace and yours?
I have to chase at full speed to barely keep up with his pace.
But I didn't want to walk side by side with him by going that far.
That must be the same for Ligrin, so isn't this distance just right?
'Or is it that you want to abandon me but can't?'
If that's the case, I can help you.
I smiled brightly at Ligrin.
I said to him, who was quietly staring at me, in a light tone.
"I know the way back from here, so you can go back first. I won't tell anyone."
I thought he would leave me behind, thinking that it was right, but.
However, the response that came back was out of expectations.
"It doesn't matter if you tell someone."
"..."
It was really annoying, but it was true.
Even if I walked around shouting 'Ligrin abandoned me in the middle of the forest', no one would care.
'Then why aren't you leaving and doing this?'
I couldn't figure out what he was thinking even more.
In the meantime, the distance between him and me gradually narrowed.
Then...
Thud.
Ligrin started walking back again.
The narrowed distance quickly became much farther.
Like that, he kept increasing the distance...
Abruptly.
...He stopped and looked at me.
'What is he doing?'
I couldn't understand his bizarre behavior at all.
He's not waiting for me, and he's not going alone.
Since all I can do in this situation is walk, I slowly approached Ligrin, who was standing still.
But, is it just my imagination?
'It seems like the distance is closer than before.'
Unlike before, when the distance was stopped far away, it didn't feel that far this time.
Could it be...
I had a strange feeling.
'Is he really waiting for me?'
If it were someone else, it could be, but it was hard to believe because the person was Ligrin.
If so...
'Let's test it.'
As expected.
As I got closer, Ligrin started walking back again.
However, this time I didn't follow him and stood there watching.
How many steps did he take ahead?
Abruptly, Ligrin, who had stopped, slowly turned to look at me.
His glasses are shining under the moonlight.
It's not a mistake.
'He's waiting for me.'
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