LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 272
Lars and Lishe, heading north at full speed, arrived at the Gothberg Marquisate in less than a month.
“Your Highness has returned!”
“You went out with the Royal Princess and came back with another woman!”
“You’re already concerned about the family’s lineage. As expected of the Young Master, I trusted you!”
Lars responded to the hearty welcome by giving each knight’s head a playful smack.
“Mind your manners, you fools. It’s the Hero, you hear me? The Hero!”
“The Hero, you say? So Your Highness… you weren’t satisfied with just the Empire, huh?”
Seeing Lars welcomed in his hometown, Lishe felt a pleasant surprise at his new side.
She had thought nobles and knights were all stiff like the Imperial Family, but the north had a rather rough atmosphere. Lishe actually liked it better here.
Above all, Lars was careful not to trouble her.
But she didn’t mind the atmosphere that subtly linked her to him.
“You arrived just in time. The blizzard in the north is ending. A few days of rest for resupplying should be just right before moving on.”
With the help of the Gothberg Marquis, the Imperial Army was ready. With a short vacation, Lishe found some time to explore the mansion.
“This is where the Teacher grew up, huh?”
While looking at the golden rose garden she discovered by chance, Lishe imagined Lars’s childhood.
“Oh?”
On the way, a strange sense of déjà vu passed through Lishe’s mind.
It felt as if she had been to this place before.
What disturbed her was that the Marquis’s Estate she had just seen was merely a remnant of ruins.
“Ugh.”
A headache struck.
The Holy Sword at her waist gleamed.
It seemed to have something to say, exuding a powerful presence.
“Eh…?”
An uneasy premonition washed over her, but her curiosity outweighed her fear.
Lishe chose to place her hand on the rough handle of the Holy Sword.
*
In the annex of the mansion, Lars, organizing his notebook in his room on the highest floor, suddenly looked up at the loud thud that echoed throughout the mansion.
“Lars!”
Lishe burst in through the door without giving him a chance to respond, marching straight to him and throwing her arms around him.
“Lishe?”
Something was off. It was against the laws of logic for a Hero to behave this way, whether through science or magic.
Lars, familiar with Lishe, found it perplexing that she would suddenly act like this.
As if to say she understood all his concerns, Lishe’s eyes were filled with compassion as she gently caressed him.
Just when her lips carefully parted…
“…Ah.”
The light of the Holy Sword dimmed, and just then, Lishe returned to her senses. Blinking in confusion, she tried to comprehend the situation with his face so close.
“Wah! I’m so sorry!”
She threw herself away, falling with a thump to the floor.
“Lishe, what’s wrong?”
“Uh, no… It’s just…”
“Were you worried that the expedition was too long?”
“…I don’t know. It just felt like I had to.”
Lars took a candy from his pocket, unwrapped it with a crinkle, and placed it in Lishe’s mouth.
The sweetness, combined with his kindness, spread throughout her body.
“It’ll calm you down.”
“…Thank you.”
Slowly rising, Lishe leaned against him. She couldn’t quite grasp what had just happened.
It felt similar to when she first grasped the Holy Sword.
…A sense of having her body taken from her.
The unblemished, white sword began to give her chills.
“I always keep causing trouble. I want to repay you somehow…”
“I’m your caretaker, so it’s my duty. Plus, you saved my life last time.”
“That doesn’t feel like something I did.”
Turning her gaze away, Lishe realized she had leaned against Lars’s bed.
It seemed no one had tidied up since he woke up that morning.
‘…Ugh.’
Unconsciously, she gently placed her cheek on the blanket. Her flowing hair obstructed her view.
“…Huff.”
The moment she took a deep breath.
“Lishe?”
“Y-Yes!”
Snapping back to reality, Lishe jumped up, bowed to Lars, and rushed out of his room.
Thud, she slammed the door behind her and placed a hand on her pounding chest.
“I can’t keep doing this.”
Lishe raised the Holy Sword and faced her half-reflected face in its blade.
“I have to control this no matter what.”
Otherwise, she’d trouble the Teacher again.
What the Hero does is still a mystery to her, but if she cannot part from this sword…
“Let’s have a chat.”
She spoke with seriousness.
*
As the blizzard ceased, Lars, accompanied by the doctors and knights, advanced into the northern valley and encountered the Thunder Tribe.
After negotiating with them, only Lars, Hugo, Lishe, and Tanya were allowed to enter, and Lars met the Thunder Tribe’s chieftain, the barbarian Gishta.
“Hmm? There’s a different woman beside you.”
Gishta sniffed with interest at Lars and Lishe.
“Oh, this is the Hero. Even explaining it, you wouldn’t know what a Hero is, would you? I’m the attending physician. Apparently, that’s not common knowledge either. Anyway, she’s higher ranked than me.”
“Hahaha! I won’t be fooled by that. Don’t they smell similar? Look, even the Hero doesn’t deny it.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The healer, Lars Gothberg. I see you’re a dangerous man. That’s fine. You’re welcome as a friend.”
Gishta laughed heartily and patted Lars’s back.
Lishe was a bit wary of the sturdy barbarian but soon felt relieved watching her simple nature.
Late at night, stepping out alone to the village entrance, Lishe, gripping the Holy Sword, began talking to herself.
“Gishta didn’t look that dangerous compared to what my sister said. …But then again, she does seem really strong. Oh, so that means she hasn’t fallen to the curse yet. Thank goodness… right?”
“Teacher Gothberg? You must be busy today. I’ve never seen her take a break. She’s incredible—always sincere and solves problems…”
“Wh-Why am I thinking about her like this! If it weren’t for this design, I’d still be in that village. I might never have known the world was this vast. No, not that… I might have died from sickness long ago.”
“I’m completely different from her. Even if everyone says otherwise, she keeps finding her path. I… I can only give up. It’s all about not collapsing the present…”
“What I’m doing isn’t really effort.”
“I’m just compromising at every turn.”
“I… have no goals.”
“Isn’t that how your sister feels too?”
A moment of silence fell.
Drawing the Holy Sword, Lishe reflected her face in the blade, but perhaps due to the engulfing darkness, her expression was hidden.
*
As days passed treating in the Lair of the Heavenly Dragon, the final day finally approached.
“Teacher, the barbarians are coming!”
Upon discovering the glacial tribe launching a full-scale assault, Lars evacuated the doctors. There was very little time left until the Heavenly Dragon awoke.
To buy that little extra time, Gishta and Lishe went up to the lair’s surface. When the battle began, the two endlessly fought against the encroaching glacial tribe.
“Ah—Lara-rat!!”
Perhaps stimulated by Gishta’s valiant spirit calling down lightning or perhaps to protect Lars behind her, Lishe became more proactive in the fight than usual, and as a result…
“Ow…!”
While still unfamiliar with close combat, she received an embarrassing injury.
“No, just a little more!”
She rebelled against the voice piercing her mind.
But as time passed, the enemy’s momentum intensified, and standing became increasingly difficult.
“Where’s the Teacher…!”
“Leave Lars to me! I will never abandon my friends!”
Gishta also swung her axe, bleeding, but this only made Lishe feel more anxious.
“…I’m not enough.”
In the end, Lishe had no choice but to admit it to herself.
She wasn’t enough to protect Lars.
…She could only ask her sister for help.
‘Of course.’
‘I will protect your Teacher instead.’
Lishe let go of the mental threads she had held onto.
At that moment…
—Boom!!
Light fell from the sky, sweeping away countless barbarians in an instant.
“Oh.”
Gishta immediately recognized the change in the atmosphere caused by her presence.
The Hero seemed uninterested in the enemies before her, turning right back toward the lair.
Inside the lair, the glacial tribe had already invaded. They had broken through the defenses from behind.
“Lars.”
Calmly dispatching them, the Hero rushed down into the underground.
“Lars!”
He was surrounded by barbarians.
An unarmed doctor in a desperate situation, the Hero wasted no time.
—Slash!
A clean sword stroke swung by, and the barbarians fell.
Seizing the opportunity, Lars completed his final task, and finally, the Heavenly Dragon opened its eyes wide, spreading its wings.
—Boom!
Shattering the ceiling, the Heavenly Dragon soared upward. Warm emerald mana filled the space.
“…Lars.”
The Hero unconsciously grabbed the hem of his clothing and pulled him closer.
The third time returning to this past and meeting him, she finally managed to reach out to him.
Through this process, she realized many things.
That her past had changed so dramatically.
That the life of the girl, Lishe, had shifted because someone besides her had traveled back in time.
And she could easily sense that the one who did so was none other than Lars.
He was just as she remembered him.
“Lars, I…”
“Did you fulfill your wish this time?”
Seeing his refreshing smile in response.
‘…Ah.’
The relief that she was not alone.
The reassurance that she wouldn’t be alone going forward.
Filling her with a deeper despair than ever.
Like a sticky swamp, one she could never escape.
A deep, deep despair.
That wretched thing synonymous with hope.
“Your wish, huh.”
“Yeah. You wanted to be born as Charles, didn’t you?”
“You waited for me.”
That’s how I could remember that name.
—There was no need to take this part further.
Since there was no reason, the Hero—Charles gave him a kiss instead.
Their lips met… or rather, it would be more accurate to say their breaths mingled.
She felt as if their souls had touched.
Perhaps that was the correct sensation since she was a being without a physical body.
After erasing the regrets she would leave behind upon death, Charles slowly pulled back and tousled her red hair.
“It’s too late. I realize now.”
“What do you mean?”
“This should have happened long ago. Lars, I…”
Thud!
With a sudden shock, the light of the Holy Sword went out.
The ceiling began to crumble, and the lair’s collapse commenced.
But showing no signs of trying to escape.
Lishe, for the first time since meeting Lars, opened her eyes slowly, showing a displeased expression.
“Sister.”
With a voice colder than ever.
“Stop kissing my Teacher.”