486 - The Summer Tournament and the Course of Salisa's Love 2
"...What do you mean?"
I had heard that Salisa would be participating in the summer tournament. I had also heard that Alf had permitted Salisa, who is not a Black Knight, to enter as part of the entertainment. However, I had not heard that her opponents would be four active Black Knights.
"To be precise, Salisa's opponent is only Pearl. The others are..."
"I used the Black Knights to capture Pearl, who had been running away."
Alf adds an explanation that the Black Knights dragging Pearl along are men who have feelings for Salisa. Apparently, Salisa, who is loved by those men, has feelings for Pearl, and this summer tournament is for her to express those feelings.
...What is that? Isn't a lot of this just strange?
While confused about how things had turned out without my knowing, I return my gaze to Salisa, who is standing inside the fence demarcating the venue. Wearing simple armor and carrying a spear, Salisa in her maid outfit looks like a character from a game or a manga.
"...No, wait. At this point, I don't care that Pearl is the opponent or that the Black Knights dragged him here. Why is Salisa holding a lance? If my memory serves me correctly, I believe lances were meant to be used while mounted...?"
I only have the rough knowledge I acquired in my previous life, but in terms of being a spear, both spears and lances serve the same purpose. They are weapons used to pierce the enemy. However, the shape and size of a spear and a lance are different. What I imagine when I hear spear is a weapon with a blade at the end of a long pole, something a foot soldier might carry. And a lance is a Western spear, a conical mass of metal. Because it is a long, hard mass of metal, it is heavy, making it difficult to carry around the battlefield and defeat enemies. While the attack power is high, its weight slows the wielder's feet, and swinging it requires great arm strength. Therefore, its primary use was for cavalry, who used horses to carry the heavy lance, making it a practical weapon.
"Lances can be used sufficiently even if you aren't cavalry."
"No, you're the only muscle-brain like that."
Regarding the use of the lance, it seems my memory was not mistaken after all. While he didn't say it was absolute, Alf gave his seal of approval that it is a weapon primarily used by cavalry.
"Even so... well, Salisa is a girl raised by Iridal. Kalisa was also better at thrusting than swinging, wasn't she?"
"I've never seen Kalisa swing a sword...?"
However, now that it's mentioned, something comes to mind. When I was almost kidnapped at the hotel in Ragarette, the action Kalisa took instinctively was to thrust the Reversi board she was holding into the kidnapper's arm. Instead of striking the kidnapper with the Reversi board, she aimed for a single point on the arm holding me and pierced it. Indeed, she probably was better at thrusting.
Is that so? I turn my gaze toward the nursery spirit (Kalisa) on my shoulder to confirm. Receiving my gaze, the nursery spirit puffs out its chest proudly, then produces a pick from somewhere to use as a sword and a black dog plush toy as a shield, performing a thrusting motion into the air. It seems it's treating the pick as a rapier and imagining itself as a knight.
...Yes, my guardian spirit seems strong.
The nursery spirit is small and cute, but for some reason, I had a conviction that it was stronger than Giselle.
"...So, why is Salisa facing Pearl with a lance?"
"It's as you see. It seems Salisa is going to propose to Pearl."
"Don't say 'it's as you see.' Normally, one wouldn't know. ...Is proposing something you do by challenging someone to a match in a summer tournament?"
"I don't think so..."
When I ask Leonardo for a detailed explanation of how things rolled into this, Alf answers this as well. When I ask why Alf knows the circumstances of Salisa and Pearl, it seems to be the difference between Leonardo, who has no interest in the romances of others and believes it's not for the master of the fort to interfere, and Alf, who grasps everything 'happening inside the fort,' including romances.
"It seems Salisa wants to prove that she is stronger than Pearl. You can ask them yourself after the match is decided."
As Salisa's master, I and Leonardo, and as Pearl's master, Leonardo, will receive the post-match report. Prompted by this, I return my gaze to the venue. The match seemed to have started at some point, and Pearl was dodging the sharp thrusts Salisa unleashed, sometimes diverting their trajectory with his shield to let them pass.
"Is Pearl not going to counterattack?"
"Rather, if he switches to a counterattack, that will become an opening and he'll be pushed back."
As expected of a girl raised by Iridal, that seems to be Leonardo's evaluation of Salisa. Thinking about it carefully, Kalisa had always acted with me as my guardian in the royal capital. That means Kalisa's skill was something Leonardo recognized. If that's the case, there's no way her younger sister, Salisa, would be weak. Salisa must also be strong enough for Leonardo to keep her by his side as my guardian in case of emergency.
"Salisa was strong, wasn't she?"
"Well, in a one-on-one, she could probably beat a Black Knight."
Unless it was consecutive battles or multiple opponents against one, Leonardo's evaluation was that Salisa could beat a Black Knight. And just as evaluated, Salisa wins against Pearl. I think Pearl held out well, but Salisa attacked the moment his posture wavered slightly. He was pushed backward along with his shield, and the tip of the lance was pointed at his throat as he fell on his backside. Because of the distance, I couldn't hear the conversation between the two at all, but according to Alf's explanation, who says he can read lips, the words that came from Pearl, who had the lance pointed at him, were "Please marry me."
"Is he really saying that? It doesn't look like a sweet atmosphere for a proposal at all..."
"I heard Christina's proposal was also quite gallant. Leonardo was lamenting it."
At Alf's report that he had continued by wondering if he had raised her wrong, I shift my gaze slowly toward Leonardo. Even I secretly thought that proposal, which pushed childish selfishness and forcefulness to the forefront, was a bit much. You didn't have to spread my shame to others like Alf, I look at him with resentment, but immediately put on a lady's smile.
"...I understand. If Leonardo-sama still takes an indecisive attitude even when I turn twenty, I will use the same method as Salisa."
"Tina wouldn't be able to beat me..."
To Leonardo, who smiled as if he were in control, I correct him with "It's Christina," and then widen my eyes in exaggerated surprise, asking "What are you saying?" If I and Leonardo were to face each other on the battlefield, there is no way Leonardo could beat me.
"Can Leonardo-sama even point a sword at me? My victory by default is decided from the start."
How's that? I arch my chest, which has finally started to swell recently, and make a pathetic yet confident declaration of victory. I am aware that I couldn't beat not only Leonardo but even Giselle in a fair fight, but the absolute powerhouse Leonardo cannot point a sword at me in the first place. It wouldn't even be a contest from the start.
Whether he is aware of it or not, Leonardo's smile turned into a wry smile at my declaration.
"No matter how many more years you drift and run away, you'll just be pushed over by me eventually, so Leonardo-sama, please surrender early and prepare yourself."
"...I was entrusted with her as a younger sister by Salomon-sama, so making her my own bride, it's just too apologetic in many ways."
"In that case, let's go visit the grave in the village sometime."
When I say I'll introduce you as my future husband, Leonardo truly holds his head in his hands. If I say this, he says that. He says he might have raised me wrong.
...Since there's no way you can beat me with words anyway, you should just surrender early.
Right? I seek agreement only in my heart and turn my gaze to the nursery spirit on my shoulder. Receiving my gaze, the nursery spirit tilts its head, perhaps uninterested in the content of the conversation or not understanding the meaning.
Since Leonardo's match isn't for a while yet, I return to Leonardo's tent for a bit. While spending time secretly admiring Leonardo's dignified face while he's working, or scattering charm to the Black Knights who occasionally come to the tent to report, Salisa and Pearl arrive.
"...Pearl, why do you have a blue bruise on your face? You didn't have it a moment ago, did you?"
"On the way to the tent, every time I met a Black Knight, I was punched and told, 'You lucky bastard.'"
It seems the injury was caused by the proposal to Salisa. Since Salisa has a good reputation in the fort, there must have been other Black Knights besides those who dragged Pearl to the tournament venue who wanted to say something about this proposal commotion. That's too bad, I think, and just as I start to lift myself from the chair to treat it, I am stopped by the nursery spirit. Understanding that I'm being told to stay seated, I sit back in the chair, and Mirsche brings a towel and a basin of water, handing them to Salisa.
...Ah, they're flirting here. Of course, if I were to treat him, I'd be too much of a hindrance.
Then, after waiting for Pearl to start cooling the bruise with the wet towel, I ask the two for an explanation. There were too many things I wanted to ask.
"As you have seen, I have decided to marry this Pearl. Therefore, I wished to report this and receive permission from my masters, Leonardo-sama and Christina-sama, and so we have come to greet you both."
"I understand the report, but is permission necessary?"
If it were the marriage of Alisa, who is a servant (brownie), I would somewhat understand that permission is needed, but Salisa is just a servant. Since she is only someone working at the manor, as an individual, she doesn't need the employer's permission to marry. Wondering about this, I look up at Leonardo's face, and it seems my thinking was slightly off. While it was permission, it wasn't permission to marry, but rather the goal was to obtain approval that there might be an impact on her work upon marriage.
The first impact that comes to mind regarding Salisa getting married would be Salisa leaving the attic room of the lord's manor. If she were to quit her job upon marriage, I couldn't say there would be no impact at all.
"That's... true. It would be a problem if Salisa were gone. But I can't tell Salisa not to marry either..."
"I will continue my work as a maid. ...No, this is only if Leonardo-sama is alright with it."
It seems Salisa intends to continue being a maid at the lord's manor even after marriage. If she has children, she might have to take a break for about half a year, but after that, she seems to want to return to the workplace. Or rather, she seems to want to get married now to prepare for my marriage and childbirth that follow.
...In other words, is she aspiring to be a nursemaid or wet nurse for my children?
It seems part of Salisa's motivation for marriage was a rehearsal and review for my sake. I doubt this is the entirety of her motivation, but I feel it's one factor pushing Salisa's back.
"Does that mean Salisa will become a commuting maid from outside the manor?"
"That will be after we rent a room where the two of us can live, or buy a house."
Pearl, who was single, was currently living in the knight's dormitory in Gurnol Fort. Living in the knight's dormitory is not an obligation, and those who start a family or feel that the equally provided rooms are too cramped rent houses or rooms outside the fort. This is the residential district for Black Knights located between the fort and the town. Whether buying a house there or renting a new room, preparations are not completed immediately. According to Pearl's plan, he intends to come and pick up Salisa once he has bought a house.
"In other words, for the time being, it will be the same as before, and after the preparations for the house after marriage are complete, she will work as a commuter, right?"
"Yes. After that, I won't be able to be by your side all day like I have been, but..."
Since Mirsche has been raised as a maid, there won't be much inconvenience, which was Salisa's assessment. As for the parts where Mirsche is worrying, the nursery spirit will supplement them, but is that talking about military power? I don't want to think too much that even Mirsche has grown into a martial-arts-type maid like Salisa without my knowing.
"...By the way, why did Salisa participate in the summer tournament?"
I heard the overly brief story that she wanted to prove her strength, but I didn't quite understand how that connected to a proposal at the tournament venue. When I ask how it became like that, it seems Salisa decided to take active action following my example.
...Is my activeness that? That thing where I secured an engagement with Leonardo-san through selfishness and forcefulness...? It is, isn't it.
Looking back, it was a proposal that even I thought was a bit much, but it seems Salisa was stimulated by it. During last year's and this year's Spring Flower Festival, she should have been making general appeals like giving embroidery, but before I knew it, her actions had changed to a proposal method of defeating Pearl with a lance. I started to worry if I had given Salisa a bad influence, but listening to Pearl and Salisa's story, I feel that this was indeed for the best.
The only time I witnessed Pearl's feelings was once during the Spring Flower Festival. There was a time when Pearl wrote a love letter to Kalisa and tried to have me deliver it as a love intermediary (cupid). Kalisa read the love letter on the spot and gave Pearl a refusal on the spot.
...But Pearl-san didn't give up, did he.
Pearl, who couldn't give up even after being rejected by Kalisa, seems to have continued to secretly think of Kalisa. Even after returning to Mandez, and after Kalisa returned to the town of Gurnol following me from the royal capital, it seems he continued to desperately try to attract Kalisa's attention and woo her in places I didn't know. Then, the incident of my kidnapping and the discovery of Kalisa's body occurred. He seems to have been despaired by his own helplessness and became angry at the violence just before death that could be inferred from the state of the body. Even if Pearl had been there, I don't think the result would have changed since I was being held hostage, but still, the fact that he couldn't save Kalisa seems to have become a wound in Pearl's heart without him knowing.
It seems he started receiving embroidery for the Spring Flower Festival from Salisa, who came to fill the vacancy left by Kalisa, after I returned. To be honest, he was happy, but he seemed to have rejected Salisa's appeals because he was disgusted with himself for seeing Salisa as an overlap with Kalisa. Precisely because their faces were the same, he feared a future misfortune that hadn't happened, such as her being killed in a place where he couldn't protect her, and so he couldn't accept Salisa.
"...I see, I understand. In other words, Salisa just gave educational guidance to the wimp Pearl."
I feel a bit refreshed, as the story finally connects. Salisa just proved her own strength to Pearl, who was afraid of losing again. That I won't die so easily, and that she has enough power to protect herself.
The Black Knights who seem to have feelings for Salisa and cooperated in Pearl's capture probably acted out of consideration for Pearl. They prioritized the happiness of Pearl and Salisa over their own feelings.
I see off Pearl, who has finished his treatment and report, as he leaves the tent, and Salisa returns to my side. While we are talking about Salisa's future plans, the summer tournament seems to have progressed smoothly outside the tent. Soon, the time for Leonardo's match arrives, and a Black Knight comes to call Leonardo.
"Come, Tina. I'll show you the coolest side of Tina's big brother."
"It's Christina, Leonardo-sama. Please show me the coolest side of my fiancé."
I place my hand on the hand extended for an escort and lightly glare at Leonardo, who continues to resist by calling me 'Tina.' This is what they call being stubborn to the end.
"If you win, I'll give you a kiss on the cheek, Leonardo-sama."
"...If you say you're my fiancé, I'd rather have a kiss on the lips instead of the cheek."
The way he smiles with confidence, as if he's won, is probably because he thinks he's outmaneuvered me. Since he used to be shy even with a kiss on the cheek, he probably thinks I'll be shy and troubled this time too. In short, it was Leonardo's way of getting back at me.
...But you're naive, Leonardo-san. My competitive spirit is surprisingly strong.
I say something random, like there's a piece of lint in his hair, to make Leonardo lean down. I place my hand on the cheek of Leonardo, who has fallen right in front of me, to fix his position, and kiss his lips, saying it's a down payment. The fact that it shifted slightly from the lips is just charm. It can't be helped since I'm not used to it. My heart is pounding loudly, but I don't let that show on my face, and I look up at Leonardo with a lady's smile. Since I gave a kiss as a down payment, you must win.
...I feel like it's been a while since I've seen Leonardo-san frozen with a straight face.
The expression full of composure from a moment ago has vanished, and the face blinking blankly is a sight to behold. I wonder if I can think that he's started to be conscious of me as a member of the opposite sex. If even this doesn't work, I'll need to push a bit more.
...They say in love, if pushing doesn't work, try pulling, but I'm still in the pushing stage.
I can still push more, I decide a fighting pose only in my heart, and with an innocent face, I lead the hand of the still-blank Leonardo. I couldn't let it happen that he'd be so frozen in thought because of my kiss that he wouldn't enter the venue before the match started and lose by default.
[Author's Note]
While typing, "wo" is "を", so it's a secret that Tina became "the coolest side of my fiancé wwww".
Typos and omissions will be fixed at a later date.