Chapter 1101 - 初々しくも
────And then, it felt as though a long, long time had passed... but when I glanced at the edge of my vision, only a few minutes had actually elapsed.
While the twists and turns of emotions and such were certainly grand in the extreme, the reality of the "path until now" that I followed was a story that could be expressed in extremely simple terms.
In short, after getting knocked out three times by the Angel, the Fairy, and the Princess respectively, I simply made up my mind: "Alright, I get it. In that case, I'll bet my life on this without giving up on anything."
No matter how carefully I tried to stretch it out, that's all it boiled down to. Though I spoke with all my heart to show my sincerity, the entire explanation ended in just a few minutes.
...And so.
"────................................................"
Here was my Master, frozen in a compelling display of shock.
Her eyes were wide circles. Her mouth was a small, stunned 'o'. Throughout my long-winded explanation of this and that, she had remained frozen in this state, unable to offer any reaction.
To call her emotional state that of an elementary schooler... would be too rude. But the fact remained that she was someone who had lived for the sword, regardless of romance or anything else; it must be especially difficult for her to swallow the abnormal path I was taking.
Therefore, I had predicted this future.
By the way, regarding what comes after this, I also predicted────
"............,"
Suddenly, Ui-san stood up from her seat on the veranda in silence.
"......, ..............."
She glided away as if to go somewhere... then immediately turned back.
".............................."
Just when I thought she had returned to me, she walked right past...
"............"
She came to a dead stop.
"......, ......, ......, ..............."
With her back turned to me as I watched her movements from the veranda, she raised both hands and moved them back and forth in the air in a mysterious way, as if unsure what to do... ────before turning back once more.
"................................................................"
After returning to her original position, she quietly sat down.
"............"
"............"
"............"
"............"
................................................................
"Uh, what was that just now?"
────I need to deeply reflect on my arrogance for thinking I had predicted most of her subsequent actions, given those dozen or so seconds of mysterious behavior.
In response to my involuntary, blunt retort,
"...H-ha, fua."
"Hafua?"
After Ui-san let out a few unintelligible sounds.
Along with another dozen or so seconds of silence, she just kept blinking repeatedly...
"...... ............. ...!"
Then, abruptly. With a somewhat agile movement, she whipped one hand up and,
"...!"
Befu, she smacked it against her own knee.
Just as the sound effect—which was far from a pleasant one—suggested. It was an extremely awkward movement, far removed from her usual fluid and beautiful avatar control that served as a model for humanity and captivated everyone.
After slapping herself as if to fire herself up.
"A, ...────Um, you see!"
"............"
"............"
Perhaps she had overdone the self-motivation. The [Sword Saint]-sama, who had let out a high-pitched, cracking voice, froze again while looking at me.
Another dozen or so seconds of silence passed just like that...
"........................────...! It's Haru-kun's fault!!!!"
"No, well, you're absolutely right about that, so feel free to berate me infinitely, yes."
I wasn't sure how to react to her as she buried her face in both hands, completely defeated.
For now, judging the situation as requiring a salvage operation similar to the earlier Round Table scene, I began attempting to calm my Master, who had become incapable of conversation due to the double suffering of confusion and shame.
◇◆◇◆◇
────And then, this time, a truly long, long time...
Specifically, about an hour had passed.
"............In, in other words."
"Yes."
"Haru-kun, um, said he would 'devote his whole life' to all three of them..."
"Yes."
"A pro... p-proposal of marriage, you made..."
"Yes."
"Aa-cha... Iris-sa... Aa-chan has already given her consent in response..."
"Yes."
"In, in other words... Haru-kun and Aa-chan are, e... engaged."
"If we only look at our mutual intentions, that's how it is. Yes."
"On top of that, um, regarding Sora-chan and Nia-san as well, you're, um... s-sed..."
"I am in the process of wooing them with everything I've got. Yes."
"........................W-wh,"
"Wh...?"
"What kind of—no, that's not it!"
"That's not it. Yes."
"A-anyway! All three... th-three of them? Four of them?"
"Y-yes."
"They have, for the time being, accepted it...? In a way..."
"Well, I'm not sure if 'accepted' is the right word, but for now, the situation has settled down. Though it's a form where I'm dragging them along with my recklessness, yes."
After having her calm down enough to at least exchange words, we proceeded with a conversation that felt like a verification process. And then, at the end of it────
"........................................"
Silence, once again.
...For now, I couldn't see any color of reproach or disgust in her expression, but in her current state where her head probably wasn't fully working, it was impossible to read things accurately.
I had expected her to be astonished. However, I hadn't predicted what kind of reaction she would ultimately show after chewing on and swallowing my confession.
To be honest, there was fear. It was only natural, as I was more than aware that I had chosen an outrageous path. I had even considered the possibility of being despised, with her saying, "That's going too far."
I had, but.
Of course, I had considered it, but────to confess my honest inner thoughts. If I were to quantify that possibility through my personal observation, it would be less than a decimal point.
Only in her case.
Only in Master's case.
Only in Ui-san's case... ────Because I believed that she would take me with absolute seriousness, no matter how much I prattled on about 'betting my life.'
"........................Haru-kun, I'm sorry. Um, please give me a little more time..."
"...Yes."
It wasn't a sneer at my foolishness, but a smile of shame for her own inability to resolve her confusion.
At some point, we, Master and Disciple, began to be called 'two of a kind.' While harboring extreme agitation and confusion at my deathly stupid yet deathly serious current situation, Master...
"Right now, I am trying my hardest to swallow it..."
"Yes."
She seemed to be continuing to think about me, by my side, with endless kindness and sincerity.
She's cute.