33 - Chapter 2 Epilogue
The first night after arriving in the royal capital.
I sat absentmindedly on the windowsill, gazing outside.
The moon was beautiful, and I wanted to keep watching it.
The Third Generation spoke to me.
"You're quite immersed in your thoughts. Was the parting that painful?"
I looked down and smiled slightly.
Looking inside the room, Novem and Aria were sleeping in the same bed. I had considered taking two rooms, but every place was full and I was turned away.
If there had been one more person, we could have taken two rooms with two people each.
"It was painful. Especially since it happened right after I was acknowledged."
When I said that, the Third Generation stopped his teasing tone.
"If Riel remembers him, the First Generation would be happy. More importantly, you've become a bit more decent lately."
"A bit, is it?"
I gave a wry smile at the consistently harsh evaluation.
However, in my heart, I was satisfied with that. In fact, I thought it was higher than my own evaluation of myself.
"Yes, just a bit. But you are certainly growing. It means the First Generation's actions weren't meaningless. I'm relieved."
In other words, if I had just moped forever after the First Generation disappeared, my ancestors wouldn't have forgiven me.
"...I still don't know what I should be aiming for. I've been entrusted with Aria, so I intend to look after her somehow. Until she can properly stand on her own, even if we eventually part."
"Oh, are you opposed to Novem-chan's harem plan? A man would usually be delighted... well, I understand your feelings, though."
Certainly, a man might dream of a harem.
But when it comes to how it actually feels, it's debatable.
I'm not even sure if I can make Novem alone happy.
Novem, who sold off her household goods before marriage to provide the funds.
I wonder if I'll ever be able to repay this debt?
"For the time being, I'll travel the world as an adventurer. While doing that, an answer might emerge... there are too many things I don't know."
When I said that, the Third Generation agreed.
"Humans are full of things they don't know. Even if you feel like you know everything, that's likely a mistake. That's why you have no choice but to keep learning for a lifetime. There is knowledge that cannot be gained from books alone, so I agree with Riel's opinion."
"Thank you, Third Generation."
Then, the Third Generation cautioned me.
"Oops, looks like I talked too much. The princess has woken up, so that's the end of our conversation."
As the Third Generation fell silent, Aria woke up.
As she sat up, the red orb hanging from her neck seemed to glow.
Aria spoke to me.
"...You're still awake?"
A sleepy Aria was exposing herself defenselessly. Rubbing her eyes, she looked my way.
While wishing she'd see me more as a man, I reconciled myself to the fact that it couldn't be helped given who I've been until now.
Aria got out of bed and approached me.
Then, she turned her gaze toward my necklace.
"You have a lot of skills too, right? Is that, as I thought, some kind of family heirloom?"
I nodded to Aria, who asked while looking at the blue jewel orb.
Rather than saying I had hidden it, it seemed people thought it would be difficult for someone with my frail constitution to use multiple skills. Even though I had a blue orb in my necklace, they apparently didn't think I could use it.
"...It's something the successive heads of House Walt have passed down. It's an important family heirloom."
Then, Aria sat on a nearby chair and touched her own red orb.
"I see. I have one too, but the treatment of them is ambiguous. ...Apparently they were popular in the past, but the technology to make them has been lost, so they can't be produced anymore. But they're ignored because the balance is poor."
When magic tools appeared, the orbs used until then rapidly fell out of fashion.
That's because they cannot be made to possess an arbitrary skill.
They are seen as mere tools that just remember a skill someone has manifested.
Aria seems to be in a good mood today, as she's talking a lot.
"Hehe."
"What is it?"
"I'm laughing at a memory. This red orb passed down through the women of House Rockword actually has a slightly interesting story at its beginning."
"An interesting story?"
When I showed interest, Aria told me.
It began with a woman who married into House Rockword.
"When orbs first started spreading, there were only ones that didn't remember any skills."
"...That's true."
I recalled the First Generation's face, regretting it after finding that out later.
The beginning of House Walt is nothing more than a joke if told now.
"So, my ancestor who married in had one of those. But apparently, House Rockword also possessed one at the time. So, they didn't understand why she brought one."
When that woman brought the red orb, it seems House Rockword also possessed an orb.
Since there were problems with using multiple orbs simultaneously, that orb remained with the woman who married in.
"And so, that ancestor apparently made it so it would be passed down through the women of House Rockword. Along with the failure story from that time."
"Is that interesting?"
"Rather than interesting, maybe a bit of sorrow? Before marrying, that ancestor apparently had someone she loved. She paid a large sum of money to buy an orb for that person."
Hearing that much, it sounds like a beautiful story.
From the flow of the story, however, it seems the person she loved was different from the husband she married.
"I don't think it's a story to tease about."
When I said that, Aria said, "This is the part."
"That ancestor seemed to be quite bad with words, and she couldn't even convey her feelings to the other person. Moreover, she had never even spoken to them! She was satisfied just watching from afar occasionally. Don't you think she was an idiot?"
I didn't know what to say to that.
Certainly, I thought it was a bit much not even being able to call out to them, but if I say that, our First Generation was similar.
"...Well, how should I put it, it's a bit..."
"Right! And so, several years passed without her being able to give it to the other person, and when the talk of marriage came, she couldn't refuse. So, she brought only the red orb she had bought back then. Even though she had information that the other person wanted a red orb, she couldn't even call out to them."
I felt a bit curious.
I became interested in the man that woman loved.
"What kind of person was the man?"
"I don't know the details, but apparently many young people were setting out to pioneer land at the time. That person also apparently led a pioneering party and went far from the royal capital. My ancestor bought this just to convey her feelings after learning that, but she couldn't give it to him until the end. Isn't that just too pathetic?"
Thinking that maybe, I decided to ask.
While thinking there would be plenty of similar men here, I couldn't help but confirm.
"D-do you know that person's name? Or their appearance!"
When I pressed her, Aria was surprised.
"Their appearance is probably too much... but maybe the name."
She probably didn't expect me to be this interested. Aria looked a bit perplexed.
Then, making a gesture as if remembering, she spoke the name.
"If I recall... the name was Bulge or [Basil]. The other person was the third son of a Knight-rank house, so it seemed to be a love across social classes. My ancestor at the time seemed to be the daughter of a Baron's house, so even if she had called out to him, it might have been impossible. Her name was [Alice]."
"I see..."
It seems the feelings were mutual.
I felt an indescribable emotion.
If only one of them had called out... but if that had happened, Aria and I probably wouldn't have been born.
The ancestors who had been listening to the story gave their impressions.
The Second Generation was brief.
"They're both the same."
The Third Generation also—.
"How should I put it, maybe it really was 'fate'. They had no chance to know until the end... if I had to say, it's very like the First Generation."
The Fourth Generation seemed a bit frustrated.
"I think it's a bit sad, but I'm a little jealous."
The Fifth Generation was cold.
"Well, they just didn't have a connection. If they did, they would have ended up together."
The Sixth Generation—.
"Whether one can be happy even if a love across social classes is fulfilled..."
The Seventh Generation was the same as the Sixth. But slightly different.
"It would depend on the circumstances. If that woman Alice had many sisters, she might have been able to follow the First Generation out to pioneer. They had just emerged from a chaotic era, so it probably wasn't an era as strict about social status as it is now. If they could become independent, letting her marry was not a bad means."
Unlike regional nobles, robed nobility cannot maintain military power to that extent.
This is because they live on pensions received from the royal palace.
One cannot say which is superior, but even so, it was important to have connections with regional nobles from that aspect.
(There really was a possibility of them being together... Certainly, the fact that Aria and I met might be fate, First Generation-sama)
As I thought that, Aria spoke to me.
"What's wrong, suddenly looking so sad... It's certainly sad, but this is a story of warning for the women of House Rockword. To make sure they convey their feelings properly. But there's a formal excuse. That it's to be fitting of a woman of a martial house. However, in reality, these kinds of maidenly worries lie beneath... see, isn't it strange?"
"...Haha, the gap is certainly terrible."
While thinking I wish I had heard this sooner, I realized that even if I heard it, it didn't change the fact that there was nothing I could do.
It was something that had already passed.
Aria seemed to have doubts about me, who was different from usual.
"Are you really okay? You've been a bit strange for a while now."
"No, I just thought that fate really does exist."
"Fate?"
Since Aria looked puzzled, I told her.
"The First Generation of my family, House Walt... was named Basil Walt. He was a man who tried to become a lord in order to welcome the person he loved."
Hearing that, Aria's eyes widened.
"Eh, could that be...?"
"Apparently, he couldn't even call out to her at the time. However, it seems he worked hard so that he could go and welcome her once he obtained land and was prepared."
The story of a man who seriously joined a dangerous pioneering party and cleared a forest for a single woman.
"When he went to welcome her, it seems the woman he loved had already married. Her name was Alice-san."
Hearing that, Aria had an indescribable expression.
Then, after a while, she spoke.
"I wonder. I don't know what to say. But if fate exists, then meeting like this might be some kind of connection."
When Aria said that with a wry smile, I nodded.
"I hope so."
I looked away from Aria and gazed at the moon.
Looking at the beautiful round moon, thinking that if only I could have told the First Generation this story... I felt a bit pathetic for still thinking such rambling thoughts.
I switched my mindset and looked only at the moon.
Words came out naturally.
"The moon is shining tonight as well."
Then, for some reason, Aria's face turned red.
The Fourth Generation said.
"He did it. He did it unconsciously!!!"
The Fifth Generation raised a questioning voice to that.
"What is it, you're so noisy. What's wrong with the moon shining?"
The Second Generation was the same.
"Indeed, the moon is shining beautifully tonight."
The Fourth Generation seemed angry at us.
"Why don't you guys notice! Riel, you like books, right? Have you never read about this? Never?!"
Finally, thinking they were noisy, I said I was going to sleep and headed for the bed.
(No, what's wrong with 'the moon is shining'? It's just as it is)
But this time, Aria began to gaze at the moon just as she was.
(Did Aria want to gaze at it too? Well, whatever... let's sleep)
"I'm going to sleep first, goodnight."
Aria, who wouldn't meet my eyes, muttered in a small voice.
"O-oh, excuse..."