Chapter 24 You And I, We Always Hold Hands
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
March 25th
Tomorrow, we will finally perform the operation to alter Viola’s hand circuit under Kanon’s guidance.
Even from my perspective, there doesn’t seem to be any problem with Viola’s hand circuit.
Mana circulates constantly and I am amazed by the speed of that circulation.
While Viola possesses a considerable amount of mana, it is this speed of circulation that sets her apart.
Mana, which is easily influenced by changes in the environment and the mind, directly affects the efficiency of its use through the speed of circulation.
She gained the title of the Sword Princess of the Raging Fire by repeatedly enhancing herself using her natural sword skills and the overwhelming amount of mana she possesses.
In terms of delicate mana manipulation, there are probably very few in the Imperial Kingdom who can match her.
That’s why… no, for now, I should focus on treating Viola’s hand.
I can’t help but rely on Kanon, but all I can do is continue bowing my head to her.
Also, I’m going to get scolded…
* * *
”What’s the matter?”
”Well… I don’t really know. It just feels really cramped.”
”That’s a sign that your mana circuit has changed. It’s going smoothly.”
Inside Kanon-san’s mansion, in a room.
I was lying on a medical table, with Beth and Kanon-san on either side of me, covered only by a thin cloth.
”It’ll completely altered in a few more hours. To regain full functionality and be able to move freely, you’ll need rehabilitation… Well, it depends on your effort and talent, I suppose?”
”If it’s Viola-sama, it’ll be quick. I’m looking forward to it♡”
”…”
Just a little longer until my hand can move.
Just a little longer…
I don’t really feel it yet, but I already know what I want to do first once my hand can move.
”When your hand can move, is there something you want to do?”
With a smile on her face, Beth peered at me, tilting her head while swaying her purple twintails.
Well…
Well, there are so many things I want to do.
”Well, for now, it would be helpful to be able to get up on my own. It would make it easier to crawl and move around if necessary. It would also be nice to be able to wipe myself in the bathroom… I also want to regain my skills in swordsmanship. I need to be able to fight back if I’m ever attacked by thugs again.”
”It seems like you’re only talking about practical matters… I was expecting more… romantic stories to come up.”
”Well, considering the inconvenient life I’ve been living, I guess that’s true. I think Viola has really been patient. If it were me, I would have been more frustrated every day.”
…Inconvenient.
Well, I think it’s definitely been inconvenient.
But… I feel a bit conflicted.
Being able to do things on my own is nice, but that means… I won’t be taken care of by Lute anymore, right?
Well, it’s not like it’s a big deal.
Just because I won’t be taken care of anymore doesn’t mean we can’t be lovey-dovey. If anything, I want to be more clingy and touchy-feely.
Just imagining Lute’s embarrassed face right now gives me even more determination.
”What will you do if you can’t move your arms and legs, Kanon-sama?”
”…Well, for now, maybe I should hire about 100 butlers. They should all be young men with good looks. I don’t want someone as clueless as Lute, at least.”
Not that Lute is clueless or anything. In fact, he often thinks too much and gets tired from it. And while I can’t say he has excellent looks, to me, he’s just handsome in a normal way.
Also, when it comes to age, I find men around Lute’s age a little childish since we’re around the same age. I prefer men who are more mature.
Calm and composed men are wonderful. I don’t want someone who is too flashy, but someone like Lute, who makes me feel at ease when we’re together, is more than welcome.
”What if there were 100 Lute-samas?”
”What kind of hellish sight is that… One Lute is enough. Besides, even if there were 100 Lutes, they would all be modest and hesitant to approach each other, wouldn’t they?”
”Ah… That might be true… When I think about it, Viola-sama, it might have been better if Lute-sama were alone. Because Lute-sama would have to take care of Viola-sama by himself… By the way, Viola-sama, would you be happy if there were 100 Lute-samas?”
”…”
I might be interested in seeing 100 Lute. I wonder if they would all blush and look down when I whisper sweet words to them. And if I groan in pain, would all 100 of them turn pale and rush to my side…
It would be quite a spectacle.
But it’s kind of unpleasant.
”I guess it’s fine if it’s just one too…”
”Hmm?”
”Oh?”
”What…?”
”Well, nothing…”
”It’s nothing in particular. Just… oh”
What’s with that reaction? I didn’t say anything weird, did I?
”It’s nothing, but… somehow, I feel love in Viola-sama’s lines”
”Huh…?”
”Lute-sama… 100 people… They must all really love Viola-sama… Ah… What is this feeling… I’m getting a little excited just imagining it.”
”H-Hey, don’t imagine weird things!”
”Weird things? What kind of things are considered weird?”
”I-I don’t know! Can’t you stop picking on my words!?”
”You didn’t imagine anything ecchi, did you?”
”I didn’t!!”
”…Hey, Beth. If it’s just to calm her down, it’s fine, but don’t make Viola uneasy.”
”I’m not uneasy!!”
”See…”
”Just be quiet already.”
As I glared at Beth who was grinning while saying “yes” and “hehe,” I let out a sigh with a throbbing headache.
What’s up with this girl, seriously.
Even though she’s almost the same age as me, she has this youthful vibe. And yet, sometimes she shows an expression that seems wise…
I like Beth, but if I had to say whether I’m good or bad at dealing with her, I’d definitely put it in the category of being bad.
Whether it’s Lute or Kanon-san, it’s impressive how they manage to be close to such elusive individuals. Especially Kanon-san, who goes as far as saying it’s fine to im***ate her to Lute… what’s the difference between that and a confession?
”Nevertheless…”
Even though Beth has been told to stay silent, she’s already speaking. Kanon-san must be a considerably important figure in this country, right? It’s astonishing how someone can freely act so uninhibitedly in front of her.
Even though it’s apparent that they are more than just a maid, there should still be a master-servant relationship, making me quite uneasy as an observer.
”It feels nostalgic.”
”…Nostalgic?”
”Beth has undergone a mana circuit operation like this before. Lute was present at that time with me.”
”…Oh?”
Come to think of it, Beth mentioned something about performing mana transfer with Lute before. Was it part of the treatment, similar to what I experienced?
”Curious, Viola-sama?”
”…Well, it’s about Beth. But I don’t particularly feel compelled to pry.”
”If you’re curious, shall we have a chat? Can I, Kanon-sama?”
”It doesn’t matter to me if you’re okay with it. It’s unrelated because we’ve already published the technical discussion.”
”Technical discussion?”
”Yes, it’s about the treatment method that Lute and I developed for Beth’s treatment. It hasn’t been put into practical use yet because it’s difficult to reproduce, but Lute might adapt it into medical equipment. That person finds it troublesome to talk about such things, so I don’t know how much progress has been made.”
”I see…”
He finds it troublesome to talk about such things.
I didn’t really have that impression of him.
Well, it’s not like I’m jealous just because Kanon-san knows a side of Lute that I don’t know.
…They’ve known each other longer.
…I guess it can’t be helped.
”I, originally, was a candidate for the Divine Princess.”
I stared in astonishment at Beth’s face, smiling with a smile, as her words unexpectedly jumped into my ears.
”…Huh?”
”No, I mean, I was a candidate for the Divine Princess.”
…No, I can hear you.
”Divine Princess candidate? Beth?”
”Yes, originally she was from a fallen noble family, but during the church’s public investigation, her total amount of mana exceeded the standard by a large margin… She had some skills as a member of the knight family. That’s also why she was evaluated.”
…There’s a lot of information.
”You say it so casually, Kanon-san… But at what stage is she as a Divine Princess candidate?”
”…She has reached the final stage.”
”Final…”
I’m not particularly familiar with the situation in the Imperial Kingdom, but I have heard that reaching the final stage is an achievement that less than one in ten thousand can accomplish.
The Imperial Kingdom’s Divine Princess holds authority and status equivalent to the commander of the knights in the kingdom. In other words, by being chosen as a final candidate, Beth should have had the abilities equivalent to that of a vice commander.
”Beth was a strong candidate. There were many judges who praised her abilities.”
”Yes, but when I opened the lid, it turned out I was defective, though.”
Beth laughed and wore her usual bright expression.
…The serene expression she occasionally wears is surely a reflection of the heavy time she has spent.
”Even after passing the Divine Princess’s trial, my mana output just wouldn’t increase. The total amount keeps increasing, but…”
”…”
Bottleneck Syndrome.
It’s a disease that imposes certain limitations on mana output, and it’s said to have hundreds of times more affected patients than those who are aware of their symptoms, right?
Although it’s an incurable disease without established treatment methods, it doesn’t have much impact on the daily lives of ordinary people.
That’s why proper treatment methods haven’t been thoroughly researched, and there should be many aspects of the disease that are still not well understood.
”Well, thanks to that, I managed to avoid becoming a Divine Princess. At the time, I was worried, but now I can only feel grateful for the flaws in my mana circuit.”
”…I see.”
”I ultimately did not become a Divine Princess, but I couldn’t free myself from the church. Instead, I ended up being assigned to the Divine Princess Guard.”
”The Divine Princess Guard…”
”Is there talk of it in the kingdom?”
”Well… yes. It’s a well-known unit, and I only know the basics.”
”It has a bad reputation, doesn’t it? Even within the country.”
”…”
The Divine Princess Guard is essentially a unit tasked with handling the dirty work that the overt actions of the Divine Princess cannot handle. Rumors of activities like purges, assassinations, and torture surround this notorious unit, composed of a few elite members with extraordinary abilities.
It’s said that there are multiple women with abilities rivaling or surpassing the Divine Princess, who, for some reason, couldn’t become the Divine Princess but are now part of this unit.
While the Imperial Kingdom claims that the Divine Princess Guard is a symbol of order, it would be more accurate to say it’s a symbol of fear.
”It was a terrible day. Everyone around me was trash. There was not a single moment of rest for my weary heart.”
The Divine Princess Guard is constantly plagued by bad rumors. Just the things that leak out to the kingdom are enough to make your blood run cold.
Noble families that leaked confidential information to enemy countries were all mercilessly slaughtered. Villagers who killed tax collectors were all massacred. It’s nothing but gruesome stories.
”One day, I was given an assassination request.”
”……”
”The client’s information was unknown, the target was also unknown. All I was given was the date, location, and a description of the target’s appearance. It was a fairly normal job for the Divine Princess Guard, so I moved forward without much caution, focusing on completing the mission.”
”……”
While saying that, Beth, with an undisturbed expression on her face, wiped the sweat on Kanon-san’s forehead during my treatment and let out a small laugh.
Her face, illuminated by the faint white light emanating from Kanon-san’s and my arms, seemed somewhat empty. Maybe I’m just overthinking it, but…
”The target was lured out by my client. It was a house on the outskirts of town. According to what I heard later, a tear-jerking episode was created, asking for help to save a hidden child suffering from a severe illness. Apparently, they even prepared an actual sick child. They must have really wanted to eliminate that target.”
”……”
Oh…
Somehow…
I feel like I understood the story.
”At that time, the target was under the protection of a rare genius archmagician who had risen to the position of bishop at a young age. The magician always had her magic spells woven around her, and it was nearly impossible to break through her security even with considerable abilities.”
”Calling her a genius archmagician is an exaggeration. Genius magician is good enough.”
”……”
It’s Lute.
I wonder how many years ago this story is.
Why did Beth… try to kill someone she loved so much?
”The target was the heart of that magician. He himself had no interest in positions or fame, and his achievements often appeared in the world as the achievements of that magician who acted visibly.”
”…Doesn’t that sound like I took the credit for it?”
”Isn’t that right?”
”…No, it’s not… Well, whatever.”
The approval of magic tools should be one of the activities of the Imperial Kingdom’s church. Lute doesn’t seem like the type to bother with such detailed procedures. It’s as if I can imagine Kanon-san reluctantly going through the process of applying for magic tools for Lute.
”I don’t know who was resented. Even after investigating, Beth’s client was never identified. But in the end, it turned out that those without combat power were targeted.”
”…”
”It’s probably me. Resentment or jealousy, it has nothing to do with Lute.”
”Well, I too don’t understand. There are many men who are targeting Kanon-sama. I mean, the two of them have a special bond. Childhood friends, you know. Like an obstacle to love, maybe?”
”…Don’t say stupid things. That’s not the relationship between me and Lute.”
”Oh, yes, yes, you’re right.”
”…”
Oh, somehow…
What is it?
There’s a tingling sensation in my chest.
It’s not something I should complain about though.
“Still, I thought it was strange at that time. I was being given all sorts of amulets, talismans, and sealing charms… It was as if I was being equipped to face a gigantic magic weapon alone, so it’s not surprising.”
“I don’t want you to talk about people like I’m monsters.”
“But you’re a monster.”
“…That’s rude.”
Kanon-san, with her pursed lips, is honestly adorable.
Her wavy red hair and mysterious eyes, reminiscent of a crescent moon, always fit the expression of a seductive woman perfectly.
But when she pouts like this, she suddenly exudes an innocence that makes her seem like a young girl, which is quite intriguing.
…I can’t understand how Lute can be so calm with such a beauty by his side.
He must truly be a thick-skinned guy.
…When I think about it, am I really lucky?
I mean, I’m told that he loves me… Not directly though.
”Well, at first, things were going smoothly. I was younger back then, and I just looked like a regular child on the outside.”
”…”
”I managed to eliminate several guards without any issues and even subdued the target inside the house.”
…Beth is saying this like it’s nothing, but to overpower a grown man with a child’s strength… Well, I mean… I definitely did it too.
”And then, you know, the house blew up. No exaggeration.”
”…Only the second floor, though.”
”But you’re saying it blew up.”
”But you made sure not to hurt either of them, right, Beth?”
”Well, I got blown away quite a bit. Ended up breaking my arm, actually.”
…Why were these two able to reconcile to this extent?
”I was desperate, you know. Trying not to get killed. Didn’t even know who the other person was. Attacks were coming at me from all directions. It wasn’t just a simple target situation.”
”Well, you didn’t surrender, Beth.”
”After all, I thought surrendering meant certain death. Moreover, I’m going to kill, after all. And to think, after all those attacks that tore apart the forest, you’re saying they weren’t really trying to kill me. I definitely felt the killing intent at that time. Otherwise, I would have given up and run away much sooner.”
”Because Beth dodged so beautifully, I got a little excited. There has never been a time when someone was dodged my attack so perfectly, before or after that moment, you know?”
”…I’ll take that as a compliment.”
I kind of wanted to see that battle, the offense and defense.
…Or rather, if my hands and feet start moving, maybe we could have a match someday. Beth and Kanon-san should be stronger by then.
”Anyway, in the end, I reached my limit. I kept increasing the output of my mana to compete with Kanon-sama, but as a result, my mana got clogged and went out of control.”
”…That means…”
”Yes, I almost died.”
”Rather, Beth even experienced cardiac arrest. Even though I told her to stop resisting, she wouldn’t listen. I warned her many times because something seemed off.”
”…?”
”…And after that, Lute-sama saved me.”
”Lute?”
”Yes, at that time Lute-sama had brought a large number of medical magic tools to respond to a false request. As a result, that lie ended up saving my life.”
”Beth, you have such bad luck.”
”Indeed, I really do.”
Beth’s laughter had a gentle quality to it, making her appear more mature than usual.
”Lute-sama, I heard that he asked Kanon-sama to protect me, even though he didn’t know the circumstances. I mean, I’m the person who came to kill him.”
”…Well, I was really fed up with Lute’s lack of common sense back then. He didn’t listen like he said that a child like Beth wouldn’t do something like this willingly. That she was being used as someone’s tool… Well, in the end, Lute’s judgment was correct.”
”…”
”Since then… I have been placed under Kanon-sama’s protection. And thanks to Lute-sama’s suggestion, I am even receiving treatment for my illness… To ensure that he is safe even if he is targeted by my former organization. That the issue of mana is resolved.”
”I opposed it, you know. I said that he would be the one to suffer if he healed you.”
”That’s rude, Kanon-sama… I’m not that ungrateful.”
”Well, what would you do if you were in the opposite position?”
”I definitely wouldn’t make him heal you, that’s for sure.”
”I thought so.”
As they looked at each other and smiled, the two of them seemed like sisters despite the age difference.
Even though their hair and eye colors were completely different, it was quite mysterious.
”Well, that’s the situation. Kanon-sama is head over heels for Lute-sama.”
”Beth… if you say something silly like that just because I can’t let go of your hand, you’ll regret it later, you know?”
”…head over heels.”
”Viola, you don’t have to believe in Beth. We’re just stuck together.”
”No, she’s head over heels for Lute-sama to the point of throwing away her own life to protect him.”
”Beth, remember this.”
”…her own life.”
”Viola, stop it.”
Kanon-san, with slightly flushed cheeks, was incredibly beautiful.
”…”
I realized that I was really lucky… I had a feeling that I wanted to thank God somehow.
* * *
”Viola…”
Lute-sama cautiously called out to Viola-sama, who responded with a gentle smile and tilted her head.
She looked truly divine.
Her silver hair flowed smoothly, her red eyes sparkled, and her expression was filled with love. Just by looking at her, even as a woman myself, I couldn’t help but be enchanted.
”So, how is it…? Can you move?”
”…”
Upon receiving Lute-sama’s words, I can feel the power building up in Viola-sama’s body.
It should still be incredibly difficult.
Merely moving the muscles unconsciously won’t be enough. She has to consciously move different parts of her body while controlling the distorted mana.
”Mmm… Guh…”
”D-don’t push yourself…”
Her beautiful eyebrows furrowed, and her shoulders trembled.
But, little by little, her arm rose.
”Vi… Viola…”
”Ugh…!!”
While still trembling, her arm was lifted to chest height.
”Mmmmm…!! Funn~!!”
Desperately reaching out, her hand extended straight towards Lute-sama.
”Lyu… Lute…”
”Viola…!”
Seeing Lute-sama cry upon seeing her hand, I couldn’t help but let tears stream down my cheeks.
There’s no doubt that I’m happy, but various emotions overwhelm me, and I can’t understand my own feelings.
When Lute looked up, he saw Kanon standing next to him, gazing at him with a calm expression, and it made him tear up again.
”Lute…”
Surely, Viola had always, always wanted to hold hands with him.
”Shall we hold hands?”
”Yes… Yes!”
As soon as his hand started moving, she wanted to hold hands with Lute-sama like this.
”Are you… Are you okay? Does it hurt?”
”…It doesn’t hurt. It’s just a little difficult… or rather…”
As their fingers intertwined and tears streamed down Lute-sama’s eyes,
”Isn’t it not the time to silently gaze at each other?”
”I-I’m sorry… but…”
”You really are Lute…”
While laughing and crying as she looked at Lute-sama’s face,
”You’re really something, aren’t you?”
Right now, she’s definitely the most beautiful in the world.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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