Yoori: “Okay, Igni. I’ll be heading off now.”
Igni: “Yeah, have a good trip.” With packed bags, Yoori set off on his trip ho, and they split off in different directions on the road. Yoori is heading to a horse carriage that will take him to the edge of the Kingdom. He will be switching off and on different carriages on the way there.
As Igni parted with Yoori, he headed to the location where he would et up with Elina.
On the way there, Igni recalled what Elina told him a few days before.
Elina: “Could you be my boyfriend starting from the day after tomorrow for one week?!”
Igni: “I’d love to.”
Igni responded without a second’s delay.
Elina: “RーReally?!”
Igni: “Yeah, but could you tell why? You must have a reason, right?”
Elina: “Starting the day after tomorrow, I’ll be returning to the Owlight residence for 1 week. When I return……I promised that I will bring ho my boyfriend.”
Igni: “To who…..?” Elina: “My father…….”
A gloomy expression falls over Elina’s face. The Owlights are a family of Knights.
They are a famous Noble household where many famous heroes have co from.
Elina: “My father will not allow anyone except a a strong man. Igni, you are strong. And…I can only ask this of you since you’re my friend.”
And Elina bowed her head with those words.
Igni: “I understand. You can count on .”
As Igni gives her his answer, Elina’s face brightens imdiately.
Elina: “Thank you. Really, thank you so much!”
And she took hold of Igni’s hand over and over again as she furiously shook it.
Igni: “Hey, Elina.”
Elina: “YーYou really ca, Igni.”
There, Igni saw a Elina completely stiff with nervous tension. Her complexion looked sickly and poor.
Igni: “You don’t look so well, Elina. Are you feeling okay?”
Elina: “OーOf course. I’m fine.” Elina lifted up her chin in pride and took hold of Igni’s hand.
Elina: “I know we’re just acting the part, so I’m sorry, but please let do this.” Igni: “Don’t worry about it. We’re friends, aren’t we?” And Igni gently gripped Elina’s hand as he spoke.
Elina: “Oh……”
And though she was the first to offer her hand, Elina’s face reddened as she looked hurriedly away.
Igni: “Shall we get going?” Elina: “LーLet’s go!”
Elina stood frozen as Igni held her hand, and Igni had to prod her to start moving. Elina walked with stiffly with straight arms and legs, and it reminded Igni of a poorly made golem as they headed to the Dragon Carriage Station.
Unlike horse carriages, a Dragon carriage is a vehicle pulled by a pedestrian dragon. The speed of their travel will be faster, but because of higher maintenance fees, ordinary citizens would have difficulty affording a trip on one.
“My dear Lady, we have been waiting for you.” Elina: “YーYes. Please take good care of us.” There, one woman was waiting for them.
“Is that?” Elina: “YーYes. He is Igni, my boyfriend!”
Elina blushed as she said the word boyfriend. Igni was worried that their cover would easily be blown, but he bowed his head politely after the introduction.
Igni: “It is a pleasure making your acquaintance.” “Thank you for looking out for our dear Lady Elina.” Elina: “IーIgni, let’s get on the carriage.” As Igni and the servant were politely exchanging bows, Elina rushed Igni onto the carriage, and they both got on.
“Then we shall get going.” As the servant finished speaking, the Dragon carriage began moving forward. They slowly moved through the Capital, but once they stepped outside onto the main highway, they accelerated with a burst of speed. They began traveling at incredible velocity.
Igni: “It’s fast.” Elina: “Yes, they are. The Owlight Dragons are incredibly fast.” Elina’s smile widened at the ntion.
Igni: (Looks like she’s starting to get back to her normal self.)
Igni rembered an urgent business with her and opened his mouth to speak.
Igni: “Oh yes, Elina. Congratulations on making it to the top of the class.”
Elina: “WーWell, it was after all! It was to be expected!”
Igni: “Here, I got you sothing. I don’t know if you’ll like it, but it’s a present for you.” And Igni handed her a recently popular brand of tea. These kinds of small gifts leads to Popularity.
Yes, the Popularity Etiquette No. 16 ーー “You should diligently perform small acts of surprises.”
Elina: “AーAre you sure?!”
Igni: “Yeah. Thanks to you, I was able to get a decent score too.” By the way, a decent score to Igni was an average score.
Elina: “Thank you, Igni. That’s really kind of you.”
Igni: “You’re welco.” Elina smiled genuinely for the first ti as she took the gift from Igni.
Elina: “..........Igni, um….I know we’ve already co this far but…..”
Igni: “What’s wrong?” Elina: “Was it…….really okay? For you to pretend to be my boyfriend?” Igni: “What are you talking about? It was a request from you. Of course, I couldn't refuse.”
Elina: “IーIgni….” Igni: “In fact, I’m really happy that you depended on and asked for my help.” Elina: “ThーThank you, Igni.”
Elina repeatedly conveys her gratitude several tis to Igni. But there is sothing looming over her when she ntions her family. Overall, Elina has never smiled when talking about her family.
Whether she sensed Igni’s concerns or not, Elina held her hands tightly to stop them from shaking as she spoke up.
Elina: “........Igni. It’ll be a burdenso week for you, but I’ll be relying on you for the next week.”
Igni: “Don’t worry about it.” And Igni smiled as he replied.
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