Episode 62
After the kidnapping incident, I spent the Monster Attack holed up in the dorm. Now, I was forced to wake up early to see Millie off on her journey.
“…So sleepy.”
But today, of all days, I have to drag myself out of bed.
After all, Millie is going to go through thousands, tens of thousands of times more trouble than I am. I want her to at least have a pleasant departure.
When I went to the back of the school building as instructed, Millie was already there, fully prepared in her traveling gear, waiting for me.
“Good morning, Millie.”
“Geld-kun!”
As soon as she saw me, Millie rushed over, looking deeply moved, and hugged me tightly, burying her face in my chest. It’s like the climax right from the start. I think there’s still over an hour until departure, but I wonder if she can maintain this tension until the end.
“Millie, I’m making you go through more hardship again.”
“…Yeah.”
“I can only wait, but I’ll be waiting for you the whole time.”
“…Yeah.”
“It’s going to be another tough journey, but when it’s over, let’s go wherever you want to go and do whatever you want to do.”
“Yeah. It’s a promise. Absolutely. For another three years.”
“Huh? Oh, ah.”
That’s strange. Wasn’t the current flow supposed to be that she only replies with “…Yeah” no matter what I say? Somehow, I’m being persistently reminded.
“You’re not allowed to add any other women, okay?”
“Eh? Well, of course.”
“You’re not allowed to go to any lewd places, okay?”
“Hmm? Well, I don’t plan to go anyway.”
“And you’re not allowed to lay a hand on the maids at the estate, okay?”
“The estate? Well, I’m hated at the estate, and I wouldn’t do that…”
She seems to be sweetly snuggling into my chest, but she’s also driving nails into me, one after another. What is this? So far, it’s manageable, but more troublesome nails might come out. I should launch a counterattack here.
“Millie, it seems like you don’t trust me. Ever since I met the most adorable girl in the world, Millie, I haven’t looked at another woman.”
I’ll say it decisively here. The goal is to reassure Millie, so I’ll say it powerfully and confidently. And Millie is weak to being praised by me. If I say she’s the most adorable in the world, there shouldn’t be any further counterattacks.
“…B-but there’s Shino-neechan. And I heard you had other girlfriends too.”
“Ah, that’s… well, yeah. You know, it was before I met Millie.”
“The most adorable in the world” isn’t very effective, and a critical counterattack has flown at me. I might be done for.
Is there anything else good to say…? There is. I’ve missed the opportunity to say it clearly, but this is a good opportunity, so I’ll say it here.
“Millie, I love you. I’ve always loved you… so it’s okay.”
“…!”
Did that work somehow? Millie doesn’t say anything and hugs me tightly. I can’t see her face, but the way she’s trembling, she must be crying. I should have said it sooner.
How much time has passed since then?
I keep stroking Millie’s head and patting her back as she clings to me, trying to soothe her… Is the meeting going to be okay? Is she going to be late on the first day of her journey?
As I was fidgeting, worried about that, Millie suddenly raised her head.
“Geld-kun is awful. Right before my departure.”
“Hmm? Yeah, I guess so. Did I mess up the timing?”
“Yeah. It makes me not want to leave.”
Millie’s eyes are completely swollen from crying, and my clothes are soaked. This is a full-blown cry.
“I really want to stay with you for another three years, but… I can’t move forward if I do. So I’ll do my best.”
“Yeah, I’m counting on you.”
“Yeah. …And, I love you too. I’ll always love you.”
Leaving only those words behind, Millie left the academy.
I’ve experienced it before, but when Millie, who had been clinging to me for over an hour, leaves, my warmed-up body suddenly cools down, and even my heart feels cold.
But Millie must feel the same way. I, who have nothing to do, can’t afford to complain. Because I really have nothing to do.
The flow from here is that Shino will start working as an adventurer in the town where the harem party is heading, and she should be able to make a name for herself in two or three months after enrolling.
After that, if we can somehow reunite, she can naturally join as a skilled childhood friend.
Yes. In other words, there’s nothing left for me to do. All that’s left is to wait for good fortune to come.
“Phew… It’s over…”
I unconsciously lost strength and collapsed on the spot.
How many loops… how many years have I struggled until now? I don’t know anymore, but anyway, I’ve done everything I can within my power. All that’s left is to wait for fate.
There’s a possibility of failure, of course, but if Millie and Shino, both at level sixty, are together, I don’t think there will be any problems in terms of combat power. If there are any, it would be getting stuck due to the scenario, but I can’t do anything about that since I have no knowledge of the original work, so I’ll ignore it.
And if this time is successful, there are things I should think about for the future after the loop, but I’m very strong right now.
Even the Knight Commander, who is one of the strongest in the kingdom, could be easily crushed by me now. If I’m this strong, I can do anything with my future.
“No. When it comes to the future, there’s one thing I have to do.”
To fulfill that, I decided to actively hunt monsters to save money and slowly walk back to Waslein.
“Woo-hoo, I’m home!”
When I returned to the Waslein Estate, I first headed to the study to report to Father, while being avoided by the maids.
I made the excuse that I dropped out of Desroah Academy because it was attacked by monsters, but I know I won’t be blamed for it.
“But what do you intend to do from now on? Surely you don’t plan to laze around here all year round, do you?”
This is it. I used to declare from this flow that I would test my martial skills in the world and set out on a harsh journey of warrior training as a lone man.
In reality, Shino came with me, and it turned into a different kind of journey…
And this time, I intend to laze around here all year round. I had to somehow convince Father.
“Father, that’s exactly what I plan to do. I intend to laze around here all year round.”
First, I decided to be honest to express my intention.
Father froze for a few seconds, then looked out the window with a distant gaze.
“Father, I’m going to laze around here.”
“Yes, yes, you don’t have to say it twice. …But, what is it? Well, that might not be so bad…? Any more scandals…”
Father is muttering something while thinking. But before his thoughts can come together, I’ll wash them away with my words. I already know that Father gets tired and overwhelmed when he’s told outrageous things.
“Father, about the next Family Head of this Waslein Estate…”
“…Geld. That matter is not something you should speak of lightly.”
I felt the air in the room become tense. This topic is still heavy.
“Of course, I understand. …Now, the legitimacy of the next Family Head lies with me, and the evaluation of the person lies with Older Brother. I believe Father is troubled by this gap.”
“…Continue.”
“So, I thought it would be best for you to see the reformed me. Yes, I think it would be enough if you watched me for about three years. I would like you to make a decision based on that.”
“Hmm. I thought I had seen enough so far… But you’re right, you’ve been different lately. It might not be bad to observe you?”
Father’s reaction is so-so. I need one more push. But from here on, I have almost no plan. I have no choice but to speak with momentum.
“Besides, my reputation here in Waslein is too bad. Whether I inherit the Family Head seat in the future or not, I thought it would be very important to improve this. And to do that, I need to be here.”
“…Mmm.”
“First of all, the maids. It’s impossible to rule the territory if you’re hated by the maids who are closest to you. So I’m thinking of aiming to improve my relationship with the maids.”
“Indeed, the complaints about you from the maids are too numerous. I was getting tired of hearing stories about my son sexually harassing the maids.”
What? So that’s why I’m hated. It’s extremely unreasonable to be hated for something I haven’t done at all… But oh well. It starts from here.
“So I would like to spend three years with the goal of becoming friends with the maids and playing with them.”
“…Something about that doesn’t sit right with me. And Geld, speaking of maids, what happened to Shino?”
Come to think of it, I ran off to the Royal Capital, saying I would borrow Shino for three years. I haven’t prepared any excuses for this.
“Uh, well… Shino is, how should I say it…”
“What is it? Why are you suddenly hesitating? Don’t tell me you sexually harassed Shino too and she ran out of patience.”
If I keep struggling with excuses like this, I’m going to be terribly misunderstood. Should I tell the truth to some extent?
“That’s not it, you see. It’s just that, at my request, I had someone… well, go with another man, so to speak… Anyway, we promised he’d be back in three years.”
“G-Geld… you’ve finally awakened to such a perverse hobby…?”
Huh? I think I’m being misunderstood in the worst possible way here.