Chapter 114
On the third day of our stay at Wickhart's family home.
That morning, I woke to Opa-san's loud voice.
"It's impossible! I'll die!!"
That was what it sounded like, so I hurriedly leaped out of bed and headed toward the voice.
The voice was coming from the entrance.
When I hurried over, I found Opa-san clutching Drew's arm. Drew seemed to be trying to get outside, even if that meant dragging Opa-san along, but lacked the strength to do so. All Drew could do was stamp their feet in place.
"Drew! What's wrong?!"
"Oh, Roa, perfect timing. I want to go back to my room for a bit, so please bring out a horse."
"Your room? In the royal capital? Why all of a sudden?"
"Why, obviously because there's something I want to make, isn't it?" Drew tilted their head as if wondering what else it could be.
"Even so, it'll be a little while before we return to the royal capital, won't it?"
"If you won't bring out a horse for me, I'll walk there, so it's fine," Drew said, turning on their heel.
"They've been like this the whole time!" Opa-san said with a troubled look.
"What's all the noise this early in the morning?"
"What happened?"
The twins appeared, yawning, and everyone else followed one after another.
I took over from Opa-san in keeping Drew from leaving and explained the situation to everyone without changing positions.
"What a nuisance."
"You shouldn't be so selfish."
I wondered what gave the twins the right to say that, but set the thought aside.
"You two who look exactly alike, be quiet. You're disrupting the finished design in my head. You're being noisy." At Drew's sudden outburst, the twins bristled.
"Hey, Roa, can we shut Drew up?"
"I'll go get my morning star, so keep holding Drew."
Of course not. Don't you two always try to solve everything with violence?
"Um, if you'd like, shall we arrange to borrow a workshop from one of the town's craftsmen?" Wickhart's father, Lord Hogbeck, tactfully offered.
"No, it's the end of the year, so the craftsmen are probably taking time off, aren't they? I would feel bad imposing on them." I politely declined, but beside me, Drew once again said something outrageous.
"It has to have proper equipment. So I'm going back to the royal capital."
"H-hey, Drew. That's rude, isn't it?!"
It was Lapilia-sama who finally stopped Drew's relentless outburst with a light smack to the forehead.
"Drew. That's not acceptable. Apologize to everyone."
Scolded by Lapilia-sama, Drew finally quieted down and meekly said, "I'm sorry..."
After seeing this, Lapilia-sama let out a small sigh.
"Drew, let's go to Riese Fortress. They have a military workshop there, so we won't inconvenience anyone else."
Drew's eyes immediately lit up at Lapilia-sama's suggestion.
"You're right! Then let's go right away!"
"W-wait a moment! Today is the last day of the year, you know? Why don't you stay and relax for just one more day...?" Wickhart's mother hurriedly protested, but Lapilia-sama gave a small shake of her head.
"I don't think Drew can hold out much longer, so we'll set out ahead of everyone else. We were planning to head to Riese tomorrow anyway. The rest of you can ring in the New Year here..."
"That would make me feel bad leaving it to Lapilia-sama, so I..." I began, but Lapilia-sama stopped me.
"Listen. I told you before we left, but I took my vacation early, so I'm here partly for work. You all are on vacation. Besides, if Roa came along, Wickhart wouldn't be able to relax, either. Taking a proper rest is part of your job, too."
All I could do was answer, "Yes."
"With that settled, we'll be going on ahead. See you later at Riese Fortress. And Lord Hogbeck, Madam, Opa-san, Cecilia, thank you for everything. Sorry for rushing off like this, but see you again!"
With those words, Lapilia-sama took Drew and left like the wind.
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There had been a bit of a commotion that morning, but Lapilia-sama was right: we ought to properly enjoy our time off. Otherwise, it would be rude to the Hogbeck family, who had welcomed us so warmly.
After regaining our composure, we spent the day sightseeing around Hogbeck Territory, with Opa-san and Cecilia joining us. The wind was cold, but the weather was fine.
Along the way, we stopped at Hauwers Ranch as well. We chatted with the people spending the New Year there and were treated to some warm milk.
The hot milk sweetened with honey warmed us from the inside.
Meanwhile, Arrow enjoyed a short vacation in its homeland, happily reunited with the horses it had once gotten along with.
Then, when the opportunity arose, I asked Cecilia to give me some time to talk.
I honestly told her, "Right now, I'm so focused on doing my best with the Tenth Knight Order that I don't have the time or emotional room for romance."
Cecilia replied, "Then I suppose it can't be helped. But if that's the case, I still have a chance of winning Roa-sama over, don't I?" I gave a wry smile.
Cecilia was a good young woman. I did think it was a little bit of a shame, but that was something I kept to myself.
Later that night, when the time was right, we each went outside with a glass in hand.
The clear night sky glittered with stars once again.
A little later, bells began ringing from the town.
"To the New Year!" At Lord Hogbeck's call, everyone raised their glasses to the night sky.
In the very year our country was destroyed, I once again stepped into a new year.