Wind swept through and tousled her hair. The sound of golden-ripe green barley rustling down was like the sound of waves. Between those sounds, the heartbeats of the two people were very small and quiet, but when they lay overlapping bodies, even those small sounds echoed as loud as thunder.
Cider brushed away the curling brown hair with his hand. His gaze was sowhere in the sky, but his attention was entirely focused on Esperanza lying with her head on his chest.
He had never in his life laid his body in such a filthy place. Yet it was fine. Just with Esperanza's presence leaning against his body, this ridiculous situation of lying with his head on bare ground—not anywhere else—didn't feel unpleasant.
It was autumn with short days. The peace enjoyed while watching the golden field turn red seed like it would be eternal, even for two people who had no next autumn.
Esperanza, who had been lying with her cheek resting against him, lifted her head. When their eyes t, laughter burst out without either being first.
"Really, what is this? Why did it suddenly break?"
"I think it was because of this."
Cider reached into Esperanza's wings and pulled out a small tree branch. Once the branch that had been blocking the center disappeared, the creaking gears turned smoothly again.
"Ah, it works again! I'm glad it wasn't broken."
"It's more fortunate for
than for you."
"True, since I'm not the one staying up all night."
"No. If you had broken it, I would have forcibly conscripted you for the all-nighter too."
"What would I do staying up all night beside you?"
Esperanza sat up abruptly with an aggrieved expression. Cider also sat up and replied nonchalantly.
"Elderly noble ladies sotis hire companions for money, don't they? If I kept you beside , there would be sothing to make you do."
"An automaton would be more useful than ."
"Well, I won't deny that."
Cider, who had taken off his coat covered with grass, went ahead of Esperanza and cleared away the magic boards he had set up.
"Since there was an accident, it would be good to withdraw for today. How was your impression of flying? Any improvents needed?"
"Oh, quite a lot. It would be better to listen while taking notes."
"I won't forget even without doing that."
Esperanza slowly folded her wings from the tips while counting on her fingers, now that they were working properly again.
"First, there's no speed. This is the biggest problem—there's not much difference in speed when I put in 1 unit of magic power versus 10 units. And the movent is stiff during takeoff and landing. It's also a problem that extra magic power is needed when controlling direction. Ah, the center of gravity shakes when controlling direction during flight, but I have no idea how to fix this. And when changing direction, more magic power goes into one wing, so I can tell which way I'm moving by the machine sound. It's fine now, but it would be fatal in combat situations. Hmm, also..."
After talking for a while, she had used all ten fingers and it still wasn't enough. Cider just nodded while carrying the magic boards under both arms. When Esperanza finally finished speaking, she suddenly asked.
"Do you rember all of this?"
"I rember."
"...Even I can't rember it all."
She felt like she had thought about more things while flying, but had already forgotten several. If asked to repeat it all again, she would miss several more there too. There were over twenty problems Esperanza had ntioned, so it was only natural.
"Really? You can't leave out even one."
"Are you that worried?"
"Of course I'm worried. I'll be using it in combat."
Esperanza wasn't particularly ticulous in daily life, but when it ca to combat, she was more thorough than anyone. Moreover, it wasn't just anyone—it was a fight with fellow Hunters. Two opponents. If they summoned a dungeon, the battle could drag on indefinitely. Preparing for battle against such opponents, she couldn't afford to be careless about anything.
"Alright. If you're that worried, shall we make a bet?"
"A bet?"
"If I rember everything, you have to do one thing I want. Conversely, if I forget even one thing, you can demand anything from ."
That sounds sowhat dangerous. Esperanza suddenly thought about what would happen if Cider asked her not to go back. If it was a wish she had to grant no matter what, wouldn't that be possible too?
Even while climbing onto the driver's seat as if claiming a reserved spot, she couldn't let go of that thought.
"If you win the bet, what will you ask for?"
Cider, who had started the carriage, looked at the sunset road and answered matter-of-factly.
"Well. Maybe I'll ask you to marry ."
...What?
She thought she had misheard. But the person who actually said it was completely nonchalant, as if talking about soone else.
"Are you sane? Who bets marriage on sothing like this!"
"If you're confident, you just have to win, right?"
"What if I lose?"
"You'd go as a fiancée and return as a countess. How much was a special marriage license issued by the archbishop again?"
What could he be thinking saying such things? She wished she could peek inside that head while stealing glances at his elegantly curved profile. Though even if she could peek, she probably wouldn't understand!
"You're joking, right?"
"Would you prefer it to be a joke?"
'But I'll be going back within a year at most.'
Since she didn't want to say such words, Esperanza forced herself to bring up sothing else.
"Who makes marriage a bet?"
"You just have to win, right?"
That was true. If she just won, there would be no problem at all. The problem was that winning or losing wasn't entirely up to Esperanza.
"...Do you really rember everything?"
"Yes."
"Not leaving out even one thing?"
"Not leaving out even one thing."
"I said over twenty things?"
"To be exact, it was twenty-six."
As they made their way through the now-darkened road, his easy replies made her increasingly anxious.
...It wasn't that she disliked marriage. Although Esperanza thought she was too young to marry, she wasn't exceptionally young, and she had no conviction about living without marriage. So if she had to remain in this world without a way to return, she could have given a good answer to this graceless marriage proposal. An answer that would make both of them happy.
That was sincere.
'Really, spending a lifeti together with you like this wouldn't have been bad.'
But the situation was different, so the answer had to be different too. And Esperanza didn't want to voice the rejection directly.
Cider's hand covered hers, which had gone white with tension.
"My lady, bets aren't left to chance."
"...Then what are they?"
"If you must win, you have to create a situation where you can't help but win."
To win this bet, she could only hope that Cider would forget the improvents Esperanza had listed—ones she couldn't even rember herself. Though it would be problematic if he actually forgot them.
"It's not like I can push you off here to make you fall."
That would certainly make him forget. However, Cider tilted his head slightly, unfazed by the threat touching his skin.
"There are other thods. For instance..."
"For instance?"
"I think your betting opponent would forget one thing for each kiss."
As soon as he finished speaking, the carriage stopped by the roadside. Right under the tree shade as if aid. Cider naturally rested his chin on the steering wheel and blinked slowly.
"You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?"
"Who knows."
How annoying. But since he was offering to lose. Esperanza, who had regained her smile, lightly kissed the corner of Cider's mouth.
"You said twenty-six, right?"
Of course, forgetting even one would win the bet, but with such conditions, there was no reason not to be certain. Short kisses continued exactly nineteen tis. Cider asked teasingly.
"Don't you think there were too many kisses compared to the bet conditions?"
At those words, heat belatedly rose to her face. Esperanza clamped her mouth shut and turned her head away.
"...Be quiet. Just start driving quickly."
Until they arrived at the mansion, it was quiet for a while without any words. Cider occasionally burst into pointless laughter and Esperanza pinched the back of his hand. The day had completely set. Esperanza would never say it was because of those nineteen kisses.
The carriage puffing white steam passed through the mansion gate. The mont the huge gate closed, a large fla shot up from far away. Faint cheering sounds seed to be heard too. It wasn't a fire. Only then did Esperanza rember what day it was.
The flas reaching to the edge of the sky signified the beginning of the Beginning of Winter Festival.
"The festival has started."
"Indeed. It's winter from now on."
Winter.
Esperanza stood up on the driver's seat and looked at one corner of the deep night sky turning red beyond the carriage. The flas seen from a distance looked fierce like a monster with its mouth open.
Long ago, people divided the year into only sumr and winter. At the end of abundant sumr, to prepare for harsh winter, people gathered to light fires in the square and shared embers. Though it was now a festival with only traces remaining, its aning still survived.
It had been a very peaceful day. There had been pranks and affection, trial and error and success, gentle wind and golden green barley fields, steam carriages and chanical wings, and as always, Cider.
The flas brightening one corner of the sky bid farewell to peaceful and warm days and declared the beginning of a harsh new season. The start of a long winter.
"Ah..."
Even after getting down from the driver's seat, Esperanza watched for a long ti as the flas gradually devoured the sky. The beginning of winter. She felt an anxious feeling as if sothing was pulling at the back of her head. Though she grasped Cider's hand as if to comfort herself, that anxiety clung to one side of her heart and wouldn't disappear.
??????°??☆????°??????
The afternoon at the Boyle house was peaceful. The n smoked cigars and returned to occupy one side of the reception room playing billiards, while the won gathered on the opposite side, drinking tea and sharing various stories.
"...That's what happened. Anyway, I'm thinking of sending another one."
"Certainly, it's sothing unheard of elsewhere. A fiancée for Count Avondale! Riton's social circles will be completely ablaze!"
"Actually, it already happened once. But since the parties involved didn't show their faces, it died down quickly."
Mrs. Boyle said boastfully.
"Anyway, we're the only ones in this Riton who have properly conversed with that young lady called his fiancée. No matter what, if the count is in his right mind, he couldn't possibly not introduce the person who will beco the countess to society even once."
"Wasn't it common knowledge throughout Osdern that Avondale isn't in his right mind?"
The won burst into loud laughter. Mr. Boyle, who was completely losing to young officers in a billiards ga that had started with quite a large sum of money, quickly seized the opportunity.
"What's happening to make you all laugh like that?"
"It's about Avondale!"
Mrs. Boyle cleverly rescued Mr. Boyle. The young officers, who had planned to fleece the middle-aged man who was wealthy, proud, and lacking in skill through betting, clicked their tongues. But the ga was already as good as over, and they too were curious about the genius magical engineer Avondale's scandal.
They brought more chairs from other rooms and sat around in a circle, including the n. Mrs. Boyle, slightly intoxicated by the fact that everyone was paying attention to her, opened her mouth with an excited tone.
"This is a story only we know in Riton. I'm specially sharing very high-class information with you."
Mrs. Boyle was saying these exact words to different people for precisely the twenty-fifth ti.
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