Chapter 45
After the exams.
The shopping district was filled with a sense of relief. The satisfaction of having safely finished the final exams blended pleasantly with the ease of the approaching break.
The restaurants in particular were packed with people eager to celebrate their freedom. They carried on conversations over food and drinks.
-Whew, that’s all over now.
-We’ve only been here for the first semester, but…
-By the way, have you been to a dungeon much?
-Ah, well, you see…
And then.
-Ahem, ahem… Hey, commoner Marco.
-!
-As promised, I’ll take you there. You’ll like it.
-Th-thank you! Is there anything I should prepare?
-First, picture your ideal type in your head. And if you happen to run into each other there, pretend you don’t know one another…
They disappeared into a secluded spot.
Men who looked suspicious to anyone who saw them.
Some people headed for the back alleys for a little ‘deviance.’ Usually, they were led there by their seniors or went to be ‘introduced’ to a good establishment.
Nobles and commoners alike,
people from the Theocracy and the Republic alike went there hand in hand.
It was a pure, white paradise for men.
Lydia watched it all and nodded.
“….”
‘As you’d expect from an adult game, people were perfectly peaceful when it came to their desires. I was surprised that, in a world with magic and mana, the methods were so bizarre.’
The vow of chastity,
and the Sun God’s faith…
On the surface, it seemed like a noble world. But it was surprisingly open in many ways. People simply pretended otherwise and turned a blind eye.
‘As you’d expect from a fantasy world, the amenities for men’s carnal desires were incredible.’
A being created by combining slime extract with a lesser incubus.
Something inanimate that could only imitate a single night together.
In other words, a makeshift girlfriend(?).
It was an invention that might even make the Sun God feel awkward—a great triumph of magical engineering and human ingenuity. It was the driving force behind five centuries without wars between humans.
Thanks to it, most people could satisfy their desires rationally, except for gloomy guys like Raul, who wanted to dominate humans directly.
‘To think that a crazy spin-off setting—where the heroines were bound by vows of chastity until late in the story so lewd scenes could be added—had become reality.’
“….”
Lydia gave a small, wry smile.
Honestly,
she didn’t really care about this sort of thing.
The things she needed to normalize weren’t these trivial matters. They were things like people giving in to their urges and reaching out to someone who was actually alive…
“Lydia!”
“!”
She looked ahead.
Aria tilted her head while chewing on her food. Brown sauce was smeared around her mouth. The rest of the group was eating beside her, too.
“Aren’t you eating?”
“….”
Lydia replied,
“I was thinking about something for a moment. I’m sorry for ruining the mood.”
“Huh? No, you didn’t. I just thought maybe you weren’t hungry… Hehe.”
At that,
Morgan glanced to the side.
“….”
Arti wiped the corner of Aria’s mouth and said,
“Anyway, the Saintroix shopping district… I feel kind of excited for some reason.”
“Mmph…! Where is that? Is it famous in Gallia?”
“Of course. It’s such a dazzling commercial city that even new nobles arrive with pockets full of gold and leave broke three days later. It’s where all the wealth of prosperous Gallia passes through.”
“I-is it really that impressive?”
“Yes. They say every person in the Kingdom dreams of living in Saintroix for just one month before they die.”
“Wow…!”
Mave waved a hand dismissively.
“Hmph, even so, Saintroix is just an ordinary city compared to the royal capital, the heart of Gallia. Lady Lydia, wouldn’t you agree?”
“Who knows? I’ve hardly ever been inside the royal capital’s inner walls. I always lived with my brother in a mansion on the outskirts.”
“?!”
Oh no.
Mave, who had brought it up, flinched.
She had forgotten, beneath Lydia’s usual noble and confident image, that Lydia was a royal so neglected she was called the ‘Forsaken Gold.’
She was a royal of the highest birth,
yet treated worse than the nobles of the court.
The reality of it struck Mave anew.
“….”
“….”
“….”
“….”
The mood at the table suddenly turned somber. They felt deep sorrow at the reality that someone they trusted and followed—a girl so noble—had been abandoned.
At that moment,
Lydia lightly tapped her glass.
Ting, ting!
The clear sound made everyone at the table flinch.
“That’s enough. I’m all right. I was able to shine as gold beyond the castle walls, rather than as an ornament inside them. The memories of running around the vast fields outside with my brother are beautiful.”
“!”
“So let’s put an end to this silence that makes no one happy. In fact, I feel a kinship with you all because we share the same perspective.”
“Lydia….”
With those words,
the awkward atmosphere eased once more.
Aria shyly raised her hand and asked,
“B-but, what kind of person is your brother, Lydia?”
“!”
Mave picked up the conversation.
“I heard His Highness Leonard is becoming one of the most promising talents within the reformist faction.”
“His Highness Leonard?”
“Ah, he’s Lady Lydia’s twin brother, the other ‘Gold.’ You don’t know about him, bumpkin?”
“No, I’m from the countryside.”
“….”
Lydia heard that and smiled quietly.
“Hmm, you mean my brother. In a word…”
“?”
Lydia answered briefly and proudly.
“The light of Gallia.”
“!”
“!”
“!”
A light.
Fire was a special metaphor in this world.
For Lydia, who usually chose her words sparingly, that was extravagant praise. So the others swallowed nervously as they tried to decipher its meaning.
‘Could it be… that he’ll take the throne?’
A chill ran down their spines.
It wasn’t something they should casually say aloud.
But that thought lasted only a moment.
Lydia’s next words were anticlimactic.
“…I think he’s a man with the potential to become one. For now, he works as an official in the Foreign Ministry. Among many women, that is.”
“Pardon?”
“I mean my brother works as an ordinary diplomat. I hear his handsome looks have stolen the hearts of many women.”
“Pardon…?”
The group stared blankly for a moment. Then they burst out laughing.
“Pfft…!”
“Hahaha!”
“What, was that a joke?”
“Honestly, Lydia… You even make jokes like that about your family.”
“So it was just a way of saying he’s handsome….”
“Hehehe, Lady Lydia’s confidence nearly made me misunderstand. But I’ve heard plenty of rumors about his remarkable bearing.”
Then they traded various stories about Leonard de Gallia. Every one of them was about the many women who had confessed their feelings to him.
“….”
Morgan quietly watched Lydia’s expression, carefully imagining the face of a man who resembled her.
‘If he looks like Lydia—or no, exactly like her… Hmm, I guess that wouldn’t be so bad. Still, there’s only one Lydia, my friend.’
Lydia was smiling.
“Hehe….”
The light.
So, the light…
‘A light that will one day blaze from the embers.’
*
Aria was riding on Arti’s back, waving her hand energetically. Her silver hair shimmered mysteriously in the darkness.
“All right! We’re going to go have some fun! See you again tomorrow!”
“Goodbye, Lydia. I had a lovely time.”
Mave laughed heartily,
and Lydia sent them off with a wry smile.
“Puhahaha! Bumpkin! Are you playing horse for her now, too?”
“Don’t overdo it, Aria. Arti can’t keep up.”
Aria gave Arti’s shoulder a sharp smack.
“Giddy-up!”
“That hurts….”
“Giddy-up, giddy-up!”
“…Aria, I’m embarrassed.”
Aria murmured softly.
“You are?”
“N-no! Wait, aah?! I-I mean… this situation! This situation is embarrassing!”
“Hmph, who cares?”
Aria kept smacking Arti’s shoulder.
Arti slowly started walking. Together, they made their way into the campus gardens in the distance, until their quiet chatter could no longer be heard.
Lydia and Mave watched them for a while beneath the moonlight.
“….”
“….”
Mave murmured,
“A man and woman heading into a secluded garden in the middle of the night… Normally, you’d have some strange thoughts about that. But for some reason, I can’t imagine anything like that with those two.”
“Hmm, true.”
The vow of chastity didn’t mean
that every sort of interaction between men and women was forbidden.
The Sun God’s protection only worked within certain limits.
There were plenty of ways to get around it.
Even so, those two didn’t seem like they would.
“They’re still ‘friends,’ aren’t they? If they don’t think the time is right, they’ll just keep running around together and making memories. They’ll even share the silly, childish games they played when they were young.”
“Huh.”
Mave said,
“A love that grows slowly… It doesn’t seem as bad as I thought.”
“Hehe, that is the virtue of pure love. Anyway, what are you going to do now?”
“Me? Ah….”
Mave scratched her head.
Then she glanced at Morgan, who had been standing silently in the corner for a while. It looked like she wanted to say something, but was holding back.
In the end, all she said was a farewell.
“Well, I’m a little tired… I think I’ll just go back and sleep.”
“I see. Go get some rest.”
“Thank you. Have a peaceful night, Lady Lydia.”
Mave said that and walked away with steady steps.
Morgan watched her go and muttered,
“…Knight scum.”
‘Going out of her way to be considerate.’
Hmph.
“….”
Still,
well…
I guess it’s not bad.
Lydia turned around.
“Then, let’s go too.”
“Yeah.”
“….”
“….”
The two of them quietly headed for the dormitory.
“…Lydia.”
“Hmm?”
“Um, were you close with your family?”
“Hehe, are you interested in my brother?”
“That’s not it.”
“….”
Since she’d denied it so bluntly,
Lydia felt a little awkward.
“…I see. I think we were quite close.”
When they were young,
Lydia had been able to give way.
And as they grew older,
Leonard had been exceptionally intelligent.
The two kind and wise twins had shared a close bond.
A little solemnly,
Morgan nodded.
“…Do you think it’s strange when family members don’t get along?”
“Not at all.”
“!”
“Everyone has different circumstances, don’t they? To assume that others must be happy just because you are is more than arrogance—it’s madness.”
“….”
Morgan nodded.
She seemed more at ease than before.
“The break is almost here.”
“Indeed. Is there anywhere else you’d like to visit?”
“…No, not particularly.”
Just…
if it’s like this…
‘Anywhere would be fine.’