kscans

Chapter 516 - 4 vs. ④

"—My, my… they seem to be having fun, don't they."

After watching the boisterous exchange among the men for a while, the one who finally spoke was the eldest of the women, the [Lady-in-Waiting], Helena.

It wasn't just the subtle differences in her features; her voice and her entire demeanor were different from the ‘Queen of the Southern Faction’ in the virtual world. Here, she had a gentle air about her.

While Iris, who knew both sides of her well, was unfazed, Sora and Nia, who were meeting her for the first time in person, seemed a little bewildered.

I hope they can open up to her, Iris thought, offering a small prayer in her heart.

"With the addition of a boyish boy, it might be easier for them to be more boisterous than usual."

She spoke, recalling the relatively calmer 'trips' of years past. Helena responded to her words with a small, sincere smile of understanding.

"Ordinary, yet special… I see. He is certainly a rare find among the rankers."

While not all of them were eccentric, those who rose above the ordinary in that world (Arcadia) tended to have their quirks, big or small. A person like Haru, the Acrobat, who for the most part had the mindset of a normal person, was indeed a very precious existence.

Well, again, for the most part.

"Haru is Haru, though. He's still not quite normal in his own way."

"Well, that is to be expected. No ordinary boy would be able to openly declare a challenge to the [Sword Queen] with the whole world watching."

"He was magnificent."

"Fufu, I doubt you were thinking that at the time, were you?"

"…I don't know. It feels like it was so long ago now."

Every time she recalled it, the sight of that day grew more radiant. With each passing day, with every meeting, with every word exchanged—with every moment she fell more in love with him.

Her feelings had grown so large so quickly that perhaps she could no longer clearly remember the emotions she had felt back when she hadn't been so captivated by his brilliance.

"…………At first, I was admittedly perplexed."

Perhaps her tone, tinged with her burgeoning emotions, had given something away. Helena, who had been staring at Iris, let her cheeks soften into another smile.

"I'm glad you were able to fall in love, Iris. Looking at you now no longer pains my heart—however, now that we're here…"

Her brow furrowed in a troubled manner, and her smile turned wry as she shifted her gaze to:

"It seems your trials are far from over."

—the two girls standing beside the one she served and watched over.

"Even I never thought my first love would involve so many tangled and frayed ‘threads’."

We're in the same boat, in more ways than one. Looking at her two rivals, who were apparently also experiencing their first love, Iris returned a frank agreement.

"This too, how should I put it… Looking at it again, this is a very peculiar situation, isn't it."

"………………"

"Ahaha…"

Listening to the conversation between the de facto master and servant from the side, the two girls, who had been growing fidgety as the topic shifted, had a predictably awkward reaction.

Nia averted her gaze, looking uncomfortable, while Sora laughed, at a loss for what to say. Including Iris, none of them could deny Helena's words.

It wasn't just the situation of three people simultaneously having feelings for the same person, but the even more abnormal state of affairs where all three of them were unable to direct hostility at each other.

To be honest, Iris was starting to feel troubled as well—she was at a loss as to what stance she should take in dealing with them.

"…………Sora and Nia are both very good people."

She wasn't sure what she had intended to say… but as Iris tried to gather her thoughts, a soft, heartfelt sentiment slipped from her lips.

It was a statement she had made almost unintentionally. Since Iris herself was surprised by what she had just said, it was no wonder that the other two looked at her with matching expressions of ‘Huh?’.

But, well, this was a good opportunity.

Sooner or later, a time would come when they would have to show their intentions to each other.

"Yes… that's right. Sora's purity, Nia's earnestness—they're both very lovely and charming. They're supposed to be my rivals, yet I find the devoted feelings they have for Haru to be precious."

"…It sounds as if you're acknowledging and cheering on your rivals in love."

As she laid bare her honest feelings about the two of them, Helena offered a somewhat exasperated comment—but there was nothing to be done about it.

Because that's exactly right. In other words,

"—I might think of you both as… ‘precious’."

The moment she said it, the word settled into her heart with a sense of perfect rightness.

"I like you, Sora and Nia."

"—………………Heh, eh…!?"

`W-w-w-wait, stop, what's with this sudden topic, where is this conversation going?!`

Struck by the sudden 'confession,' the two girls, despite being of the same gender, blushed as if they'd been set alight. Watching them with a detached thought of “how cute,” the invincible princess continued on, completely convinced of her own logic.

"Because I, too, see you both through Haru. It is only natural that I would also cherish the people my beloved holds more precious than anyone in the world."

"Wha, heh, aeh…?"

`Hey, Sora-chan, what is this situation???`

"I-I don't know…!"

While the men were being boisterous at another table, the women's table had suddenly veered off in a completely different direction. As the two girls trembled and one looked on in a daze, the one who calmly proceeded on her own path, fully aware of their turmoil, did not stop.

"So, yes—no matter how tangled our relationship becomes, I will likely never come to dislike you. After all, you are my dear one's precious people."

Of course, she also held a personal fondness for them, which made it all the more true—Iris concluded on her own, came to her own understanding, and found her own satisfaction, leaving the others behind.

"Huh…?”

"…………"

Having been bombarded with words like ‘like,’ ‘dear,’ and ‘precious’ by the [Sword Queen], the two girls were left speechless, flushed with a heat they didn't know what to do with.

"…Hah. She is a White, after all, this one."

The [Lady-in-Waiting], who knew the nature of the famous family well, let out a great, exasperated sigh—and then, with a hint of amusement, she let a faint smile grace her lips.