421 – On Repentance -4-

“Then, I shall be off.”

Having finished preparing to return to the manor, I slung my bag over my shoulder and offered my farewell to Elysia and Hans.

“Shall I escort you?”

Elysia, a small smile gracing her lips, told me not to worry and offered to see me off. With her ability to traverse dimensions, it would only take her three minutes to arrive before the manor.

I was tempted for a moment, but I shook my head lightly at Elysia’s words, saying it was alright. If I, with my resistance to dark magic, were to enter Elysia’s space, various… anomalies would likely occur.

“I am truly grateful, but I shall only accept your sentiment. I am, after all, rather… peculiarly constituted.”

“Indeed, it’s difficult to say what might occur should the Saint enter a space.”

“Haha… I shall ask when there is something urgent.”

Expressing my gratitude to the considerate Elysia, I turned to Hans with a smile.

“Then Hans, I leave the lessons in your capable hands.”

Upon hearing my farewell, Hans returned it with a wistful smile. He told me not to worry and to have a safe journey.

“We have decided to proceed with the task you requested together with Elysia, so please do not fret and rest well upon your return.”

“With Elysia?”

“Yes, Elysia also listened to the story and thought it sounded rather… interesting, so we decided to work together.”

“Haha… You both are participating, you say.”

In many ways, it felt as though a chaotic scene was about to unfold. If the two of them were to become truly earnest, something significant could easily occur.

Well, I suppose they will manage somehow.

I smiled as I looked at Hans and Elysia standing side-by-side. They were, after all, people I trusted more than anyone.

Knowing my people – who seemed unshakeable even in a raging storm of blood – the weight on my shoulders felt lighter than usual today.

“Then, I shall be off.”

It had been about ten days since I had left the family estate, and my steps felt light as I set off for home.

Since the Young Lady had collapsed, I hadn’t been away for such an extended period.

Back in my younger days, when I would go to capture slave traders or preemptively eliminate villains from novels, I would be away for long periods, but since the Young Lady had fallen ill, this was the first time I had been gone for such a long time. Therefore, my steps toward the manor were more excited than ever before.

*

As I drew closer to the capital, I smiled softly and released a languid sigh.

“Just a little further, and I’ll arrive.”

In my past life, there was something called a “navigation system,” but in this world, one had to rely on maps, which made it easy to take a wrong turn in many ways.

Even today, I ended up spending two hours on a journey that should have only taken one hour of running.

“I wonder if I could create a navigation system…?”

Having muttered a brief complaint, I decided to speak with Malik later and instead focus on the Young Lady waiting for me at home.

I was curious what she would be doing in my absence.

If I were to imagine the Young Lady as she usually is…

-Abby, fly!

She’d likely be playing flying games with Darbav, but Darbav was the busiest man in the Empire these days, so the chances of him entertaining her were slim.

Then…

“What could she be up to…”

Only now, did leaving the Young Lady behind weigh on my mind. She was someone who couldn’t stand being hungry or bored.

I worried she might turn into a slime if she couldn’t overcome her ennui. Even with Rosanna, Gomtang, and Tangtangi at the manor, I doubted they possessed the power to fully satisfy her boredom.

-Ricardo… I got bored and turned into a slime.

“…It wouldn’t come to that.”

Imagining the Young Lady as a slime, I breathed a soft sigh and quickened my pace towards the chocolate shop near the capital.

It had been a while since I’d gone home, and returning empty-handed was no virtue of a butler.

“Give me the biggest and most expensive thing you have.”

“Pardon…?”

“A life hangs in the balance.”

“…Pardon?”

“My future might vanish if I return empty-handed. Something flashy and delicious, please.”

“Well… we do have a 1000 gold gift set, but it’s quite pricey…”

“That sounds good. I’ll take it.”

Having spent a sum I wouldn’t have dreamed of in the past, I chose a gift for the Young Lady and headed towards the manor, carrying a giant chocolate bear.

“This should be enough to avoid being killed.”

The manor was visible in the distance.

[-Celebrations- Congratulations on the Desmundt Family’s successful subjugation of the Fierce Beast.]

The Desmundt manor, boasting a vast estate around a black, fortress-like structure. The residence of the Empire’s most infamous family was slowly drawing closer.

Some might say the Desmundt manor before me was a den of villains, but to me, Desmundt was like a comforting home—more so than any other place.

Of course, the most comfortable place was the Young Lady’s mansion in Hamel, but nevertheless, I felt good returning to Desmundt, where peace of mind found me.

Thinking of the Young Lady waiting impatiently, I approached the Duke’s estate with light steps.

And…

“Hmm…?”

I offered a tight, nervous smile at the kitchen spewing forth black smoke.

-Hwaaah!!!

Fire.

Fire!

-Hwaaah!!!

Why such bizarre noises from the kitchen, and the black smoke billowing out? And why the acrid stench of burning food scraps?

-Gomtang, eat up!

-Gom… (I’ll die if I eat that.)

-Eeeeeeeek!! Just eat it!

-Gooom!! (Master, save me!)

Whatever the hell was going on, I ran towards the sounds. A familiar voice was coming from the kitchen, so I felt I had to.

One step forward.

-Eat!

-Gom…

Two steps.

-Eeeeeeek! Fine, I’ll eat it myself!

-Gom!!! (Master, you’ll die if you eat that!)

Three steps in, and I could finally make out the witch, sprawled on the kitchen floor.

“Euh?”

“…Oh?”

“Euh…?”

Awkward glances met.

The young lady, soot smeared all over her face, staring back at me.

“Eeeeik…?”

And Gomtang, trembling with terror, his gaze awkwardly drifting in the air.

-Gom… (Master…)

I don’t know how to describe this situation, but what was unfolding before my eyes was definitely a living hell.

“Sniff…”

And the young lady was the one who had created this hellscape.

I slowly raised my head, cataloging the array of laboratory implements strewn across the kitchen. If she was concocting some biochemical brew, it was best to take stock.

– *Boil… bubble…*

A pot simmering with something violet and effervescent.

– *Hssssssss…*

Before the *gomtang* was a dubious, purple soup, brimming with…chunks. And, laid out on the counter: a cutting board and potato peelings.

‘Surely not…’

The scent hinted at chemical concoctions, but the board and knife pointed to only one conclusion: ‘That.’

Yes, ‘That.’

My eyes, trembling, I turned toward the young lady, my voice thick with trepidation. Was she, perchance, engaging in ‘cooking’?

“Milady…”

I had resigned myself, even resurrected, to never consuming a dish prepared by the young lady, yet a miracle seemed to be unfolding.

– *Boil… bubble…*

While consuming it might prove detrimental to one’s health, the scene before me had me poised to speak, eyes gleaming with…something.

Had I not noticed the young lady’s peculiar expression, that is.

“Milady…?”

“Sniffle…”

Before I could utter another word, her eyes were growing moist, brimming with tears. I was rendered speechless. I couldn’t fathom why she was weeping.

“I… I’ve arrived.”

Whether I had been so desperately missed, the young lady was there, not even bothering to wipe the snot from her nose, looked as though she was on the verge of tears.

“Why… why are you doing this?”

“Sniffle…”

“N-no…”

To my query, the young lady only clamped her lips shut, smearing the soot from her hands across her face.

“Ricardo…?”

“Yes, it is I.”

“…Ricardo?”

“Yes.”

“Truly?”

“Yes.”

The sight of the young lady scrubbing her eyes made me want to erupt in laughter.

“…Your face, Miss.”

“Sniff… You shouldn’t be here right now.”

“It’s not that, it’s your face.”

“I haven’t practiced yet.”

Seeing the young lady’s weeping face, it was definitely a moving reunion, but the more she rubbed her eyes, the more the smudges on her face made me want to laugh.

Hold it in, Ricardo.

“Ugh… You shouldn’t be here.”

“…”

“Sniff… Can’t you go back out?”

I mustn’t laugh right now.

It was then.

-I am a panda.

The image of a panda munching on bamboo popped into my head. I pinched my thigh desperately and bit my lip tight, trying to soothe the young lady.

“Miss, please don’t cry. I’m a bit flustered to see you crying after so long.”

“Ughhh…”

“Why are you crying? Are you upset that I was gone for so long?”

“Ughhh…”

“Pff… No.”

I had to choose between crying or laughing, but at the young lady’s unpredictable behavior, I was about to choose laughter.

“Olivia!!!”

Rosanna’s appearance with a bucket of water brought the long-awaited reunion to an abrupt end.

“Eeeh…”

Rosanna, mistaking the soot-covered young lady for an ember, poured the water on her.

“Eek…?”

Suddenly soaked like a drowned rat, the young lady stared blankly at me, then bit her lip and held out her hands.

“You’re back?”

I looked at the young lady and replied kindly.

“Yes, I’m back.”

It seemed we had a lot to talk about.

Starting with cleaning up the kitchen, that is.

*

With Ricardo gone, the students, gifted a rare free period until lunch, wore happy expressions and savored their leisure.

“I wish it could always be like this.”

“Haa…”

Shuen, who had risen early to style her cinnamon roll hair, addressed Faulkner, who was conversing with a student from another faculty, in a quiet voice.

“The algae bloom hasn’t happened yet?”

Where had that insolent Ruin gone off to, she meant.

“Ruin-sunbae? I didn’t wake him up, he was studying late last night.”

Hearing that Ruin, strained by his studies until the wee hours, was still asleep, Shaltia let out a long sigh, shook her head, and wore a crestfallen expression.

“He must’ve decided to become one with the river.”

Algae was algae, after all.

Just as they wished this moment of ease could last forever.

-Ah…

A chilling voice descended, and the students’ expressions slowly hardened.

-‘Resting’ well, I hope?

“…”

-Today’s lesson has a lot to prepare, so I apologize for the late start. I originally intended to finish in the early morning, but I wanted to show you all a perfect presentation, so I’m late.

“What is he saying.”

Malik, drying his hair, lifted his head to stare at the mana speaker broadcasting the message. He was already quite satisfied with the current quality, so the thought of him trying to do even more filled him with an ominous premonition.

But, as is always the case, ominous premonitions tend to come true.

-In 30 minutes, class will commence. Those students who are showering or in the restroom, please change quickly and wait inside your dorms. Thank you.

“…”

And so, the moment 30 minutes had passed.

The students found themselves awakening in vastly different places.

“What… is this?”

[Siege Team.]

In a place marked with a bizarre sign.