Author: Suisei
Translator: Rinkage
Character page: Here
Chapter 220 – I faced reality
“…What are we supposed to do about this?” [Youki]
It was supposed to be Yuuga and Mikana’s wedding, so how had things ended up like this? Was this really okay?
As I stood there at a loss, Happiness walked over to my side.
“…Captain.” [Happiness]
“Oh, hey, Happiness. This has turned into quite a mess, huh.” [Youki]
Happiness normally didn’t show much emotion, but at that moment, she looked uneasy. Maybe it was just my imagination. Even so, it wasn’t like I couldn’t understand how she felt.
“At times like this, we’ve got to stay calm and not panic. The two of them already have enough on their plates as it is, so we shouldn’t lose our heads either. We need to stay calm, cool, and collected so we can support them.” [Youki]
“…”
Without saying a word, Happiness pointed towards Cecilia’s group.
Hey! When did that stop being a line and turn into a full-on circle around Cecilia? Sure, there were plenty of handsome guys in the crowd, but it looked suffocating with Cecilia trapped in the middle of them.
At that moment, a dangerous idea flashed through my mind. I could turn invisible and knock them unconscious one by one.
“…Captain. Calm down.” [Happiness]
“Huh? Yeah. Right. Sorry. I must’ve been making a pretty terrible face just now. I literally told you to stay calm a second ago, didn’t I? But… yeah, no. I can’t do it. Watching your girlfriend get hit on like that while just standing by… it’s rough. Even knowing I’ve got my position to consider.” [Youki]
“…Agreed.” [Happiness]
“And that king really didn’t need to open his big fat mouth.” [Youki]
“…Agreed.” [Happiness]
Honestly, watching this scene made me want to ambush every last one of them in a dark alley. I knew I shouldn’t, but somehow that only made the urge harder to ignore.
“Things are going to get rough for those two from here on out.” [Youki]
Cecilia and Raven would soon be flooded with marriage proposals. And since status didn’t matter anymore, there would definitely be people who rushed in to try their luck – even knowing they’d probably be rejected. The two of them would be so busy dealing with that, we might not even be able to meet them for a while.
“Yuuga, is it really okay to leave the two of them like that? Cecilia and Swordsman are in serious trouble over there.” [Mikana]
“Yeah. But they’ll be fine. Raven and Cecilia… they’re not the type to compromise their feelings. They’re both far more put together than I am…” [Yuuga]
“What are you saying? Our life together is only just beginning, so you need to start being more responsible.” [Mikana]
“Yeah… you’re right. My life isn’t just mine anymore. Together with you, Mikana… I’ll make us happy.” [Yuuga]
The two stars of the day had their own issues to deal with as well. It would probably be best to avoid talking to them for a while, unless I wanted to hear them gush endlessly about their married life. They could enjoy their syrupy-sweet newlywed life in peace.
“…Hm.”
Happiness seemed troubled. Her cheeks were slightly puffed out, and she looked a little sulky. There was no doubt she was worried about Raven, which wasn’t surprising. After all, Raven was surrounded by beautiful women right now. Now that Yuuga was married, Raven had essentially become the last prime bachelor in the country. So, seeing him swarmed by women like that wasn’t exactly unusual.
“Um… excuse me. There’s something I wanted to ask.”
A girl in a dress called out to me. Judging by her appearance, she was probably a noble… which only made things stranger. What did she want from me? Could it be… some kind of invitation?
“You just came in through the entrance, didn’t you? You haven’t happened to see the Magic Knight of Black Lightning, have you? The one dressed entirely in black, with that rather unusual helmet.”
So she was looking for the Magic Knight of Black Lightning. Did I do something earlier? Did I accidentally trigger some sort of flag with this girl? No, all I did was beat up the Empire’s hero. I didn’t remember doing anything else with her.
“I’m… not really sure. Did something happen?” [Youki]
“No, it’s just… I wanted to talk to him a little. He fought the Hero of the Empire on equal footing, and he struggled so hard to protect the Hero’s wedding… I’m not the only one who feels that way. A few others are looking for him too, so we split up.”
You’re searching as a group!? Hey, Magic Knight of Black Lightning… you’ve gotten surprisingly popular!
Of course, there was no way I could admit it was me, so I decided to pretend ignorance.
“Ah, I see. Sorry. I was one of the people he saved too, but I was unconscious at the time.” [Youki]
“Eh… oh! You’re the one who protected Mikana-sama from the Hero of the Empire’s attack, aren’t you? Are you alright? Were you injured?”
“Well… yeah. It seems the Magic Knight of Black Lightning treated my injuries.” [Youki]
I showed her the bandages wrapped around my arm. I wasn’t actually injured, of course, but I had to make it look convincing.
Yep. Totally injured. Definitely.
“You rushed in so bravely to protect Mikana-sama… that was really cool. I hope your injury heals quickly.”
After saying that, she politely excused herself and left.
…Could this be it? Was my long-awaited popularity phase finally arriving?
“…Cheating.” [Happiness]
“We just talked, that’s all. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t say things that could be misleading.” [Youki]
“…Impure… vibes!” [Happiness]
Happiness shot me a sharp glare. It wasn’t like my feelings were going to waver. Even if I suddenly became popular, my feelings for Cecilia would never change.
Still… men really are simple creatures. Just being called cool by a girl was enough to make us happy.
“Yeah… I might’ve gotten a little carried away. Especially seeing Cecilia in that situation. I should reflect on myself.” [Youki]
“…A tragic way of life… unavoidable, perhaps. …Heh.” [Happiness]
“Happiness-san. Are you saying I’ve lived such a tragic life up until now that it’s only natural for me to get excited when a girl calls me even a little cool?” [Youki]
The way she scoffed right where I could hear it… Yeah, that was definitely malicious.
“…Captain. Correct.” [Happiness]
“Correct, my ass!” [Youki]
It was our usual back-and-forth, pointless banter with Happiness. You could call it part of our everyday routine by now. And in that sense, it was oddly comforting. Happiness was probably uneasy inside as well… No, she was definitely anxious. Just like me. That was probably why we both forced ourselves to keep joking like this.
Because we didn’t want to look at that scene.
Even so, Happiness still had her duties. She couldn’t stay here joking with me forever.
Fortunately, Yuuga eventually stepped forward and called for everyone to settle down. Thanks to that, the commotion died down for the time being. It was surprisingly heroic of someone like Yuuga, the usual troublemaker, to be the one calming everyone down this time. Even so, that alone wasn’t enough to stop people from casting glances towards Raven and Cecilia.
Still, nothing else particularly noteworthy happened after that, and the wedding eventually concluded without further incident.
“One day, you’ll surely come to face the Magic Knight of Black Lightning.”
Soleil left after saying that to me.
That day would never come for me, though. Somehow, in his mind, I – the Magic Knight of Black Lightning – had become my own greatest rival. It was exhausting dealing with him, but honestly, he could keep misunderstanding things forever for all I cared.
More importantly…
Something far more troublesome happened after the wedding. It was such a huge shock that I wondered if it would be acceptable to punch that big-mouthed king.
“…A ban on seeing each other for a while… you’re kidding me, right?” [Youki]
All I had done was come to the guild to pick up a request. Instead, Clayman greeted me with that depressing piece of news. I had suspected something like this might happen, but hearing it confirmed in reality was a different matter entirely.
“Yeah. According to Sophia, it’s gotten pretty bad. Some of the engagement offers can’t be brushed off lightly. Sounds like the young lady’s having a rough time too. She’s carefully turning everyone down one by one… and apparently there are people sticking close to her just to gather information.” [Clayman]
What is this, gossipmongers? Were they planning to collect rumours and spread them all over Minerva?
“Leaking information to people targeting the young lady would already be bad enough. But if the other party is a noble, they might try to secure cooperation from others. And… there might even be people who simply want to stir up chaos in the country. You could say she’s the most talked-about person in Minerva right now.” [Clayman]
“So if I casually went to her mansion to see her…” [Youki]
“Anyone aiming for the young lady would take a keen interest in you. You’d probably start feeling eyes on your back everywhere you went.” [Clayman]
So I’d end up with a whole flock of stalkers. Not to mention a barrage of bloodshot, jealous glares.
“I don’t want that.” [Youki]
“That’s exactly why this measure’s being taken… for your sake. If you’ve got a message for the young lady, write it down. I’ll have Sophia deliver it.” [Clayman]
“Ah… yeah. That makes sense…” [Youki]
I wrote that I missed her. I also said I wanted to talk about what we should do going forward and asked if she could make time for me. If we could just line up our schedules, it wouldn’t be hard to meet Cecilia without anyone noticing. I could just turn invisible and hop across rooftops. Keeping watch and checking my surroundings was my speciality, after all.
“Still… that king really said something troublesome. No idea when this will settle down… hell, I don’t even know how it’s supposed to settle down. I hate to think about it, but it must be hard for Sophia too, watching the young lady exhausted every day. If I had some kind of solution, I’d suggest it, but I’ve got nothing.” [Clayman]
“So all we can do is wait for things to cool off while Cecilia keeps rejecting people?” [Youki]
“Yeah… considering your situation, that’s probably the only option.” [Clayman]
“Haaah…” [Youki]
Sighing wouldn’t change anything. And I still had to work if I wanted to eat. Even so, I couldn’t bring myself to focus, so I picked the easiest-looking request available and finished it as quickly as possible.
“Alright… that should be enough for today.” [Youki]
It wasn’t so bad to take a walk alone once in a while. However, trouble had a way of finding you during moments like that. Honestly, they could have left that kind of thing to that lovey-dovey couple I saw earlier, like the ones shopping while radiating “happy newlywed” energy. Why should I walk on eggshells for them?
…Or so I thought. But why did it have to happen right in front of me?
“Hey there, miss. You’ve been standing around here for a while now. Don’t tell me your date stood you up? How about ditching a guy like that and spending the day with us instead?”
I knew it. This kind of thing was bound to happen eventually. If it had been ordinary people, that would have been one thing. But the girl they were hitting on was—
“…Declined.”
Happiness.
Two flashy-looking guys were pestering her. Was she waiting for Raven? She looked unusually dressed up for someone going out alone.
“Aw, don’t say that. How about a café? Our treat.”
“…Rejected.” [Happiness]
“Then how about that new clothing shop? They sell imported outfits, and it’s getting great reviews. I could even help pick something that suits you.”
“…Declined.” [Happiness]
“Then how about—”
“…Rejected!” [Happiness]
“…Tch! You didn’t even let me finish. Don’t act so high and mighty just because you’re cute—”
“You’re the ones getting carried away.” [Youki]
I rewarded them with a perfectly synchronised double bonk to the head.
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