Lyla stood up without a word.
Her lips curled into a faint smirk as she spoke, her voice laced with a mocking little laugh.
“I’ll leave you two alone. Enjoy your talk.”
The nuance was sharp.
Like she already knew—whatever ga you’re playing, it won’t work.
Now there were only three people left in the parlor.
Sayō quietly lifted her teacup and spoke.
“I understand you’re not in a relationship and have yet to marry.”
My brow twitched.
The hell kind of conversation starter is that?
Sayō’s eyes briefly flicked toward Reina, seated beside her.
“My daughter Reina... wouldn’t you say she’d make an excellent partner?”
Absolutely not.
I only had one person in my heart—and that was Lyla.
“I’m not just saying that because she’s my daughter. Her appearance is exceptional by any standard.”
“What are you trying to say?”
Reina dropped her gaze, clearly embarrassed.
Judging from her reaction, this wasn’t the first ti they’d discussed it.
What the hell is this woman doing?
“I’ve heard your parents are the Master and Vice-Master of the Hanul Guild. If our families grew closer... it wouldn’t be such a bad thing, would it?”
So she really was trying to arrange a political marriage with her daughter.
Figures.
Noble logic never made sense to —
and I had no interest in trying to understand it.
“Is this how the Takamine family does things?”
She didn’t even flinch. Just tilted her head slightly.
“I’m not sure what you an.”
“Sending your daughter to marry soone she doesn’t love.”
At that, Sayō gave a strange look—almost like she was surprised.
Was she that confident in her daughter’s looks?
“Well... feelings can grow, don’t you think? If young people spend ti together... go on dates...”
“...”
“...and maybe sothing sparks.”
She was making a huge mistake about .
There was soone I liked.
Soone I couldn’t imagine being without.
“I already gave my heart to soone.”
“That’s not a problem.”
“...What?”
“You an the woman nad Lyla, don’t you?”
Figures.
She was sharp—just as you'd expect from the matriarch of a major family.
If she already knew, this should’ve been the end of the conversation—
“I don’t believe it’s a flaw for a capable man to have multiple won.”
“...You say that like it’s no big deal, but what about your own husband—?”
“Yes. Reina’s father has several concubines.”
I’ve never once considered living that kind of life.
I don’t want to. That stuff only exists in fantasy novels.
“If I ever marry, it’ll be to one woman. That’s the only kind of family I want.”
“...Just one?”
Both Sayō and Reina looked at with an unreadable expression.
I get chat ssages sotis like: “Bro’s definitely gonna end up with a harem”—
But hearing it in real life?
Kind of ssed with .
“Anyway, that’s just how I am.”
“Don’t all n want to hold beautiful won in their arms?”
This was going nowhere.
The longer we talked, the worse I felt.
“That’s enough. I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear any of that.”
“Hmm... Though when it cos to beauty and background, Miss Lyla...”
—CLINK.
I didn’t even realize I’d tightened my grip on the teacup until it cracked in my hand.
“Don’t cross the line.”
Was she baiting on purpose?
She gave a small smile and bowed her head politely.
“I misspoke. My apologies.”
I stood and walked out, feeling their eyes pinned to my back.
****
Lyla was exactly where I’d left her, calmly staring at her phone.
When I opened the door, she looked up and skipped toward with a bright smile.
“Hero!”
She grabbed my arm and bead.
This woman—this Lyla—
How could anyone expect to look at soone else?
I couldn’t help but laugh.
“What’d you guys talk about?”
“Just... nothing special.”
“Hmm?”
Lyla narrowed her eyes, leaning in.
All the things Sayō had said started replaying in my head, and I found it hard to et her gaze.
“What, she asked you to date her daughter or sothing?”
“W-What? How’d you—?”
“It’s obvious. You used to get proposals like that all the ti, rember? This princess from X, that noble’s daughter from Y...”
Right.
Happened a lot.
Though when we actually t, they’d all run away like they’d seen a ghost.
Looking back, thank god.
“So, what’d you say?”
“I just told her no and walked out.”
“Hehe, so there is soone you like?”
“W-Who? ? What? No?”
“Okay, okay, never mind~”
Never mind?!
Did she figure out? My heart jumped.
But I had a plan.
I was going to confess to her once everything was ready.
—squeeze... squeeze...!
“Hmmm~ You sure there isn’t soone you like?”
...!!
She hugged my arm tight and shook it playfully.
I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to keep my body from reacting.
“N-No! Seriously, I don’t...!”
“Why so flustered? Relax~ I was just kidding.”
She let go of my arm, still smiling, and suggested we head out.
“Since we ca all the way overseas, why don’t we have so fun? We’ve got a few days until the artifact’s ready anyway.”
“Yeah... might as well.”
I’d already told the Takamine family to contact us when the patriarch woke up.
We headed toward the door—
but Sayō watched us with a strange look.
—tight squeeze.
I grabbed Lyla’s hand on purpose.
Let her see.
Then, confidently, I opened the grand front door and stepped outside.
“H-Hero...”
“Oh—sorry. Too tight?”
“N-Noo...”
Was that too much?
We weren’t even dating yet, and here I was, getting ahead of myself.
What if I’d just tanked my affection score with Lyla?
Still... I didn’t pull my hand away.
Even if I was nervous, I didn’t want to make it awkward for her.
We walked side by side in silence for a long ti.
Until our palms were sticky from the nerves.
“Lyla, your hand is kind of...”
“Ah...”
She spoke first, breaking the silence out of sheer embarrassnt.
“Um, should we grab sothing to eat over there...?”
So we did.
We found a place nearby and had dinner together.
Whatever awkwardness there’d been earlier, it disappeared fast.
By the ti the sun began to set, we were laughing and walking around like any ordinary couple.
...Well, except for that one punk who tried to hit on Lyla while I was in the restroom.
But he wasn’t all bad, I guess—once I walked up and smiled, he apologized and ran off.
“Hero, let’s do this more often.”
“I-I’d like that. I wanna hang out with you more too.”
Ah, shit.
I stamred like a loser.
But Lyla just looked at , sitting beside , and gave the brightest smile.
Under the streetlights, that smile was even more radiant than usual.
“Hehe, then let’s go on lots of little adventures.”
****
Ti passed in Japan, and then the news ca:
The patriarch had woken up.
When we got to his room, I locked eyes with a middle-aged man who still looked frail.
“So you’re the one who saved the Takamine family...”
“Nice to et you.”
“I am Hisao Takamine, head of this house.”
“Ah, I see...”
Co to think of it, this was the first ti I’d heard his na.
He gestured to the servants by the door, and one of them brought over a small wooden box.
The servant looked worried as he handed it to the patriarch.
“Sir... are you sure you’re okay?”
“I’ll be fine.”
He placed a hand on the box—
and instantly, flas engulfed it, consuming it completely.
What remained in his palm... was a bracelet.
Ah, crap. A bracelet? That’s not exactly easy to mount a gem on...
But before I could overthink it, he spoke.
“It can beco a necklace, a ring, or a bracelet. Wear it however you like.”
He placed it against different parts of his body, and the artifact resized accordingly.
For a mont I thought it worked like my earring artifact—
but Hisao shook his head with a chuckle.
“Not quite that fancy. It simply grants a blessing to whoever wears it.”
“Thank you...”
As I tried it on in different ways, Hisao gave a curious look.
“Planning to start a guild?”
“No, not really.”
“Hm... I see.”
His eyes drifted to Lyla, who stood beside .
Then, as if sothing clicked, he closed his eyes and gave a slow nod.
“Hm... yeah. That artifact will co in handy.”
“...Sorry, what was that?”
“Nothing important.”
“...”
“So, you’re heading ho now?”
“We’ll stick around for a bit. Do so sightseeing while we’re still abroad.”
Hisao gave a faint smile.
“Then enjoy your ti here.”
With the artifact in hand—and a generous bonus on top of that—we left the Takamine estate.
I asked Lyla to head back to the hotel first.
“...Why?”
“There’s sothing I need to do.”
You don’t propose without the perfect gem in your ring.
And now, it was ti to create the centerpiece—the finishing touch.
“Hmph...”
Lyla clearly wasn’t thrilled about going back alone.
She gave the slightest pout.
“I’ll be back soon, I promise.”
“You better be!”
“I will. I promise.”
To create the masterpiece of a lifeti,
I set off deep into the mountains—
to a quiet, hidden place where no one would disturb .
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