Tsuyokute New Saga (LN)

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In the center of Rimarze was a large round plaza, acting as a port for the wyverns. Even now, several large cages stood there with wyverns attached to them, heavily guarded. This was prepared to allow a return for the representatives who had participated in yesterday’s meeting. Of course, some of those participants remained in Rimarze for various other reasons, but many had to make their way home to their own countries, Rifuaro being one of them. Standing in front of such a wyvern from the Empire, Rifuaro just stood still without uttering a word. Next to him was Urza, not even looking at her father. The other elves stood a bit further away, watching the father and daughter, as well as the unfortunate victim.

Maybe they just don’t want to get involved in this mess…

Standing between the father and daughter that had not spoken a word to each other this whole time, Kyle was beginning to feel incredibly uncomfortable. After he had discussed his plans—or rather his evil plot—with Gazas, he went on his way back home, but on the way there, he ran into Rifuaro and Urza here at the plaza. He had intended on just greeting them and then moving on, but since Kyle practically urged Urza to meet her father, and with him being the reason things got awkward between them, he felt guilty and decided to stay around. That said, this was an utter mistake. The moment Rifuaro spotted him, he seemed only more aggravated, creating a heavier mood in the air. Waiting for his time to depart, Kyle wanted to say something because he couldn’t bear the silence any longer, but Rifuaro got the jump.

“Ahem! Urza, there’s something I’d like to give you,” Rifuaro said after awkwardly clearing his throat, ordering one of the elves to bring something.

It was a single wand.

“This is…” Urza’s opened wide in surprise.

The staff she was given was made from a branch of the World Tree, originally belonging to Urza’s mother.

“I had originally planned on giving this to you when you set out on your journey, but…”

This staff of the World Tree greatly strengthened your ability to control the power of spirits, and to any spirit user amongst the elves, this was a vital item, treated like a treasure. Back in Urza’s hometown, the forest of Evenro, only one of these existed, mostly locked away to prevent personal use.

“Now that we’ve created another staff using the branch you brought us, I can finally give this to you.”

“Thank you very much…” Urza must be remembering her mother’s face, gently grasping the staff.

He then used the power of the wind spirit Sylphid to create a wall around them. Now only Rifuaro, Urza, and Kyle were present in this small sphere, and nothing could be heard outside.

“My daughter Ekses…” said Rifuaro, using Urza’s true name.

A true name embodied the soul of the elf, and usually, this was hidden from anybody else. The only two people who knew Urza’s true name were Rifuaro and Kyle.

“You should live the life you want. However, you have a place to return to, and we will be waiting for you. Never forget that.”

“Okay…”

Rifuaro gently placed his hand on Urza’s quivering shoulders, as she pressed her face on his chest. As the only witness of this scene, even Kyle began feeling emotional but also wondered why he was even there. And when he wanted to say something, Rifuaro just glared at him.

“If this man ever forgets to treat you right, you can always come back home, okay?”

“W-Well…” Urza looked over at Kyle with a complicated expression, but it carried a level of resignation alongside.

Luckily, Rifuaro didn’t catch on to that gaze, but considering what Seraia said yesterday, Kyle decided that it was time to make up his mind.

***

That night, Kyle called Lieze to her room.

“What do you want to talk about? Something you can’t discuss in front of the others?”

Naturally, Lieze was a bit perplexed. Something like this had never happened before, after all.

“Well…it’s something important.”

Kyle seemed awfully anxious. Even Lieze, who had been by his side for most of her life, had never seen such an expression on him.

“The war with the demons is heating up. I think that it’ll be over within the next few months to a year.”

“I see…Yeah, of course. You’ve worked so hard after all.” Having watched this from up-close, Lieze carried deep appreciation for Kyle.

“So, once it’s all over…Do you have something you want to do?”

“Something I want to do? Well…before all this happened, I figured I’d just be living my life in Rimarze until it’s my time to go…” She showed a saddened expression for a moment.

The Rimarze she knew no longer existed. Of course, she knew that this was the best decision to provide protection, but it’s hard to get your feelings under control.

“Of course, it’s not like I’m suffering right now or anything. On the contrary, so many things are happening that it’s fun,” Lieze continued with a beaming smile.

Kyle realized that, if he could see that smile, all his hard work paid off.

“And you probably want to take it easy somewhere in the boonies, right?”

“Well, not doing anything sounds great, but I’m going to have to look for some sort of job.”

“Huh? So, do you plan on working officially with Zilgus or Galgan?” Lieze sounded surprised at that.

“I haven’t decided yet, but I think I’d prefer a regular job without much influence if you catch my drift.”

Lieze understood that Kyle didn’t want to have this kind of official work anymore, but didn’t understand where that came from.

“I’ve made up my mind. Because if I didn’t do that, I won’t be able to be with you…or rather, you all I should say.”

In other words, Kyle intended to formally be engaged to Lieze, Urza, as well as Minagi. In this day and age, a marriage is established if both parties agree to the terms of being married, and if their surroundings accept this as a fact. For the regular citizen, that was more than enough, and the royals and nobles would go through the middle man of the church and the gods, stating their vows. As for polygamy, if the man was charming enough and could provide for all his wives, there was no problem with it, either. It wasn’t something actively recommended, but nobody would judge them for it, either. Except in human society, if it was an average commoner, it could be seen as a way to earn money. And for the nobles, it showed their influence and power, so having more children would be generally better for the high society. Kyle didn’t want to bring shame to them, and he wanted their relationship to be officially accepted, so he needed at least that standing going for him.

“So, Lieze…”

“Ah, wait just a second,” Lieze interrupted him. “Since this is what I thought it was, you can come in.”

“Wha…”

At Lieze’s words, Urza and Minagi, as well as even Shildonia appeared. Urza maintained her calm attitude, as Minagi seemed awkward, trying not to look at Kyle too much. However, both of them were oddly conscious of Kyle.

“You said you had something important to talk about, so it had something to do with us, right? But since we’ve known each other the longest, you just took me with you. So, I figured I might as well get it over with.”

“R-Right.”

“Also, I’m not going to force the answer out of you. You have to say it with your own words.”

“Ugh…”

As a matter of fact, Kyle was incredibly flustered right now, and if the situation would permit it, he would rely on a roundabout way to express his feelings. But that was now not an option anymore, as he felt the pressure from the three girls. At the same time, this was Lieze trying to be considerate to ensure all three of them would be left on an equal level since especially Minagi had the habit of pulling back when it mattered.

“Knowing you, you probably left it on hold and just focused on the upcoming danger, right? Though, that’s an admirable thing… But anyway, I’m just an onlooker, so pretend I’m not even here.” Shildonia sat down on the nearby bed, munching on some snacks. “And no need to worry about me, I have no complaints. My real body has perished a long time ago, yet I get to enjoy food and drinks like this. I guess you could call this like my bonus stage.”

The last part might have been a saying back in the days when Zaales still existed because Kyle didn’t exactly know what she meant by that, but it was probably something positive.

“Just watching you folks is plenty of fun for me…But as my owner, I expect plenty of attention, too. At least make it so that I don’t starve.”

“That sounds expensive…Well, too late to cry about that,” Kyle laughed and then faced the three.

“I think it’d be fine to keep going like this, but…It’s Kyle we’re talking about.”

“You’re spoiling him too much. I know how Kyle ticks, but I want to hear it in his own words.”

Urza seemed reluctant, but Lieze would not let this slide.

“And Minagi, you should say something, too.”

“I…would be fine with the way things are going.”

Minagi remained in the backseat. She just came here because she got called here, but she also wouldn’t just leave.

“Will you say something already? This isn’t the time to be acting like a wuss,” Shildonia grumbled and glared at Kyle, who took a deep breath.

He couldn’t lie to his feelings now, and they were already written in stone. That said, the bashfulness and embarrassment made him feel more nervous than when he was fighting Three-Arms or the Ancient Dragon Juvars, and it needed much more courage.

“Well, you know…My goal is to live until the end of my days in happiness. For that, I’m going to try my best, and I’ll do whatever it takes, so…I want to spend these years with you!”

Kyle thought he handled it pretty well, but it apparently didn’t land too well.

“Hmm…I feel like there must have been something better. Especially that old age nonsense,” said Shildonia with a glimmer of disappointment in her tone.

“It was good enough, though,” Lieze said and accepted this request.

Though in all fairness, she seemed more like a mother accepting her child’s selfishness.

“I’ve already been through the whole marriage ritual, so…I doubt much will change,” said Urza with resignation in her voice.

When they had first met, they already went through the [Applied Contract], which was something akin to marriage.

“I didn’t really get my hopes up, but couldn’t you have chosen your words a bit more…?” Minagi was relatively calm but didn’t hide her disappointment.

Although they each had to say something about this way of doing things, they were seemingly accepting Kyle’s request.

“Well, leaving that aside, there’s another issue at hand.”

“That’s true…”

Kyle tried his best with his confession of a lifetime, yet the three girls already forgot about that and moved on.

I can’t tell if that’s admirable or reliable…but I feel bad for Kyle.

So thought Shildonia, but she kept that to herself.

“Honestly speaking, I’m worried about any offers coming from elsewhere,” said Urza, to which Lieze and Minagi nodded.

Many were interested in Kyle’s achievements and influence. Others would try to use that and rise in ranks. As of late, the number of those had dropped, but with the end of the war approaching, the three girls worried that this might reverse. On top of that, the reason the three of them could accept Kyle’s confession toward all of them was because they had come to grow closer throughout the journey, but they didn’t want another girl to come in and shake up trouble.

“…Especially that Milena-sama is very suspicious,” Lieze dropped the name of the princess of Zilgus, to which Urza and Minagi agreed. “I don’t think she’s a bad person, but considering her position and all that…”

Lieze was raised a regular farm girl, so she still struggled to interact with someone of such status, hence her worried expression.

“O-Oh come on, she was just teasing me about that,” Kyle tried to argue, but he did realize that the gaze she directed at him had changed as of late, so this was also more about him making excuses.

“You know, why not forget about all that social standing stuff? I don’t care what other people think, and…I-I’d be happy just having children, so…” Lieze blushed as she said that.

“And we’re from different races, so the people will be giving us odd glances either way,” added Urza who knew that this would attract attention either way.

“…I’m not one to walk around in the open, so I’m fine not caring what others think.”

Minagi, as the assassin that she was, didn’t think she even deserved this kind of happiness, now showing a faint smile. Met with the three girls trying to cheer up Kyle, he was only more flustered.

“No, no! I managed to keep it going so far, I can still go on!”

This was an issue of Kyle’s pride, more than anything. He would at least try his best to make the girls he had fallen for happy.

“A-Anyway, there’s nothing you guys have to worry about, so just trust me!” Kyle protested with all his heart, and although he would be more than reliable when it came to anything else, this once, the girls could only watch over him with a warm gaze.