kscans

Chapter 241 - Episode 28: Part Two, Two Worlds

When we returned to the grand duke's residence, we went straight to Alfina's room. Euphillia and Mia were not back yet. Once inside, I sat across from Alfina at the table between the bed and the window.

"What was this selfish request you mentioned?" I asked her. Psychologically, I had not accepted Alfina's decision. It felt like asking this question would be an admission of defeat, a sign that I was giving up. Still, I had to hear her wish first.

"Yes..."

Alfina hesitated for a moment, then continued as if she had steeled her resolve.

"Just for tonight, I want you to forget what happened a little while ago."

"You mean about the message from the Empire..."

I did not understand. That was exactly what we needed to discuss.

"No, from before that. When you told me how you felt, Ricardo-kun..."

Alfina looked down as she spoke. She meant my proposal. If I was not just flattering myself, she had been about to accept it then.

"Alfina. I..."

"When morning comes, I will return to my role as the shrine maiden. So before then, just for tonight, would you please treat me as a simple girl?"

Alfina looked up at me. Even I could understand what she was asking. But that was not a request at all. We just needed to talk things through properly.

"Alfina. I want to continue our conversation from before Crenne arrived. I want to..."

"Ricardo-kun. You must not say it."

"Why, is it because I'm not reliable enough?"

"That is not it. You are a kind person, Ricardo-kun. I thought you might say that. But you cannot. I am no longer worthy."

Alfina shook her head firmly, her expression pained. Did she think I was saying it out of pity? That was impossible. I had made up my mind a long time ago.

I recalled the declaration I made to Euphillia. I had said it partly on impulse back then, but thinking about it now, I wanted to pat myself on the back. I even had a witness, giving me a perfect alibi.

"I need you to listen. There is no way my feelings would change. I want to marry you, Alfina."

"Ricardo-kun?"

I told a bewildered Alfina about the words I had spoken to Euphillia. It was on the day the prophecy of the Great Calamity was announced, right after I had heard from Maytyl that the line of the Elder Dragon's Eye users had died out. I told her about my declaration, that I would marry Alfina if my fears came true.

Those fears were about this very situation. In other words, the thing Alfina was worried about had never been an issue to begin with.

"...No."

Alfina froze.

"So, if you don't dislike me, Alfina..."

I seized the opportunity, trying to win her over.

"There is no way I could dislike you... No, I cannot. I am not worthy of you as it is, Ricardo-kun."

"What are you talking about? If anything, I'm not good enough for you. As long as you weren't disappointed in me this time, Alfina..."

"Disappointed... I do not understand what you are saying. I have thought this for a long time. You do not realize how amazing you are, Ricardo-kun. You could choose anyone... Princess Maytyl, Mia, someone far more suitable than I am."

Alfina stubbornly shook her head, her face still lowered.

"I have tried so hard to catch up to you, even a little, but it is not enough... Compared to those two... Besides, they both have a proper..."

I was stunned by Alfina's words. Was I the one who had cornered her like this? No, it was my fraudulent genius.

It made sense if I thought about it. My "accomplishments" up until now. Pulling out advanced knowledge as if by magic, uncovering secrets of magical power and monsters nobody knew. And devising ways to deal with unknown calamities with almost no sacrifices. Of course, all of that was only possible with my friends at the lab and Central Garden.

But how did it look from the outside? By any measure, I must have seemed like the greatest strategist in history.

But it was all a cheat. I had never told anyone. And as a result, I had driven Alfina into a corner. The realization sent a chill down my spine, like an icicle had been slid down my back.

If I told her, what would happen to the "amazing me" that existed in Alfina's mind? To be honest, I had always been afraid of that. But I could not stay silent any longer.

I stood up from my chair and went to Alfina's side.

"Alfina. Please listen carefully. The truth is, I'm not amazing at all. I have a secret..."

I told Alfina about my previous world, Earth. A world with science and technology far more advanced than this one. A world where the vast wisdom born from the enormous efforts of countless scholars was widely shared. It was a framework, a conceptual system for explaining the world, that was even applicable here, in a world with magic.

Everything I had done was nothing more than applying that borrowed knowledge.

"Memories from before you were born. Memories of another world... you say?"

Alfina blinked. My only salvation was that she was not looking at me like I was a madman, which had been my greatest fear. She was trying to understand what I had told her.

But now she must realize I had been playing the hero with a cheat. Haha, this was no time for a marriage proposal.

"So the 'amazing' me you thought you knew, it's all a fake."

Even so, I am sure I had a desperate look on my face. At this late stage, I was terrified of Alfina scorning me. Alfina blinked once more, then let out a small chuckle.

"You are the one who is mistaken, Ricardo-kun. Even after hearing your story, I do not see how you are anything but amazing."

"No, you don't understand. My past life had science..."

I tried to explain again, thinking the difference was too vast for her to grasp. But Alfina shook her head.

"That is not it. Ricardo-kun, do you remember the second time we met? In the gazebo in the academy's courtyard. The time you gave me this bookmark."

Alfina took the renge bookmark from her dress. Its corners were rounded. It was a sign that she had kept it with her constantly.

"I was isolated then because of the prophecy. 'She's from a traitor's bloodline after all. Is she cursing the kingdom?' I heard them whisper such things behind my back. The people I had met at the academy began to avoid me. I had been prepared for it, and I thought I was used to being alone. But I had been selfish and asked my aunt to let me attend the academy, and I thought I had made a few close friends... so I was still in shock."

I remember. I hesitated so much back then. Thinking about it now, I wonder why I did something that threw all self-preservation to the wind... I was probably already in love with her.

"My mother was also shunned for being from a traitor's bloodline. But my father married her regardless. Their relationship was something I admired. Do you understand? How you looked to me at that moment, Ricardo-kun."

Alfina smiled.

"The reason I fell in love with you, Ricardo-kun, is because you reached out your hand to me when I was all alone. And not just that, you shouldered the burden of the prophecy with me."

She told me her feelings from that time. But I could not simply nod in agreement.

"Even if that's true, that was ultimately only because I had the knowledge..."

"There is one more thing. After my father passed away, my mother lamented her own powerlessness. She regretted that she could not be of any help to him. You scolded me for being powerless, did you not?"

Alfina spoke of the time in the library when I criticized the naive thinking of a sheltered princess, as if it were a treasured memory.

"But at the same time, you taught me, Ricardo-kun. You taught me to face reality and gather information, to think and decide on a course of action. And to have the courage to act, even if I might be wrong. You showed me a way that even I could do it."

Alfina took several sheets of paper from a shelf next to the table. On them, she had put into practice the method I had taught her for organizing one's thoughts with pen and paper during the red bean paste project.

It was a method for a foolish person like me, someone far from a genius. Of course, this too was borrowed. But of all the knowledge I had shown off, it was the one that was most deeply ingrained in me.

"So it does not matter if you are a fake, Ricardo-kun. At least, not to me."

Alfina smiled, looking a little proud. Her smile captivated me. I still thought her assessment of me was overblown. Even so, her words saved me.

"Therefore, you do not need to choose me out of a sense of obligation. You have already given me more wonderful things than I could ever ask for, Ricardo-kun. But, just one more thing..."

Alfina jumped to her own conclusion and tried to return to her original request. I was happy to hear her feelings, but there was one fundamental misunderstanding.

"Alfina. I'm the one who wants you to choose me. Because I'm in love with you, Alfina. Um, right. It's decided that in these situations, the one who falls in love harder loses."

I spoke frantically, stumbling over my words. But Alfina's expression became defiant for the first time.

"That is not true. I love you far more."

"No, no, I'm definitely the one who's more in love. There's no doubt."

"I will not yield on this. In the first place, you are kind to everyone, Ricardo-kun. To Princess Maytyl and Mia, just like you are to me... But I have only ever looked at you. Because you are the person I love most in the world."

Alfina insisted stubbornly. Why was I being treated like some harem protagonist? That aside, why didn't she understand? What could I say to make her see? At this crucial moment, my past life's knowledge was utterly useless.

No, wait. What did Alfina just say? The most in the world...

"Alfina. Did you just say you love me more than anyone in the world?"

"Yes, I did," Alfina said clearly, though her cheeks were flushed. It was embarrassing for me to say it too, but it couldn't be helped.

"And you believed me about my memories of a past life."

"W, well, yes... but what of it..."

Alfina looked confused. But I pressed on.

"Then I win. You only know this world, Alfina. I know two worlds. And in both of those worlds combined, there has never been a girl as charming as you. That means I, who love you enough for two whole worlds, am the winner."

My declaration made Alfina's mouth open and close.

"Th, that is not fair..."

"I told you, didn't I? I am a cheat. Now, this cheat of a man wants to marry you. So there's only one thing for you to decide. Whether or not you will accept my wish."

I cast aside all shame and embarrassment and stated my ridiculous logic. Alfina gazed at me. Her large eyes welled up with tears. Then, a slender white hand rested on my chest.

"You are... unfair. After you say something like that. There is no way... I could ever give up now."

Alfina buried her face in my chest. I stroked her hair. After a while, she lifted her head. Then, with eyes that were a little red, she looked straight at me. I leaned my face toward hers. The act I had failed at that day, when I lost control, was finally accomplished.

Our lips parted. I helped Alfina to her feet, and we walked to the bed together.

None of the problems that had been brought to light today were solved. But I decided that, until morning, I would forget them.