kscans

Chapter 132 - Next to So Much Happiness, I Worry

The moment Aria’s illness was cured, Kyle went and married her, and now they’re completely head over heels for each other. Watching them from the side, I, Leonhard, let out a sigh.

"Why don’t you get married soon too, Leonhard-san?" Kyle said, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, all his former flippancy gone.

He made no attempt to hide how crazy he was about Aria. Aria, for her part, had been concerned about her time in the Royal Capital brothel, but she seemed relieved that, surprisingly, she knew no one here, just an hour’s ride away by horse. Perhaps it was because of all the travelers and merchants. Now she had filled out to a healthy weight, and her expression was calm.

"Marriage... I wonder if I should just push for it."

Though I said the words aloud, my anxiety did not fade.

I wanted to get married soon too, but the problem was that Mireille was worried about leaving Ariel all alone.

Ariel was a one-way street unless you initiated contact yourself. If we got married now, I was afraid our interactions would decrease even further, and we would truly lose all connection to her.

"You can’t even hold a proper conversation with her, can you? Even when someone is right in front of her, it’s hard to tell if she’s even aware of them..." Kyle said, furrowing his brow.

"...Darius must have been the one who coaxed her out of her shell and helped her act more like a person. The her in the old diaries wasn't like that."

That said, she apparently recalled things if Adrian gave her a light explanation. Perhaps she would become a little more human if the lid on her memories came off. I heard Eleonora-fujin had recently started teaching her manners, etiquette, and even dancing.

(...Adrian. After making such a scene, is he really trying to leave a path for her to get back together with Darius? Or is he aiming for a different match...)

An unpleasant thought crossed my mind.

"Hey, Kyle. Any news from the Royal Capital?"

"First off, there’s a mana shortage. I hear machines are stopping all the time. The lights will suddenly go out at night."

"Is that because Ariel stopped carrying magic cores to the Magic Furnace?"

"That’s part of it, but the dismantling of the Mage Order seems to be a big factor too."

Only mages could operate the Magic Furnace. But it wasn't just any mage. It required a certain level of mana and control.

"So now Duke Albert is controlling it, I hear."

"Hmph... serves him right."

I’d have to tell Ariel to stay away from the Magic Furnace. Even if she had forgotten, it was not a good place for her. It would be a disaster if she ran into Albert.

"Also, they apparently integrated the mages into the knight orders... but they’re completely useless and causing nothing but trouble."

"The Captain must be having a rough time. ...Maybe I was right to quit."

I shrugged. I couldn’t live extravagantly as one of Adrian’s private soldiers, but it was more than enough to live with Mireille.

"I hear Julius is having a pretty hard time too."

"You seem to know a lot. Who’s your source?"

"My source is Julius."

"What?"

Kyle answered with a straight face.

"He contacted me to recommend a doctor, saying that with Rainer dead, there was no one left who could make Aria’s panacea. But I turned him down, telling him, ‘She was cured by the power of love.’"

"...You haven’t been leaking information about me, have you?"

"He asked about you. Seemed like he wanted to bring you back to the order. But I told him, ‘He’s living happily with his girl, so it’s impossible.’"

"...You better be telling the truth."

I shot him a glare. Kyle frantically shook his head.

"There’s nothing to be gained by selling you out now."

(...So you would sell me if there was something to gain.)

I sighed again.

"Just as Adrian predicted, the Royal Capital is already full of trouble. But that makes me worry about when a major power might invade."

When I said that, Kyle laughed breezily.

"Our territory will be fine. We’ve got Ariel-san and Mireille-san’s alchemy tools. And with Adrian-san as our strategist, aren’t we invincible?"

...He was right, we would probably be safe. But we couldn't just stand by if the entire country was taken over.

Perhaps I really should try to meet with Darius. I asked Kyle to find out what unit Darius was in now.