kscans

Chapter 33 - The Secret in the Wooden Box and Our Distance

There were several wooden boxes stacked on the fourth floor.

Reading them thinking they were "confidential documents" and reading them thinking they were "records of a fun Tree Sea date" felt completely different.

Mireille's eyes sparkled as she picked up the record of monster weaknesses.

"I was planning to re-process the wind magic stone in your weapon, Leonhard-san... but I want to read this too. Ugh! There's not enough time."

She was completely absorbed.

Some of the alchemical items she mentioned were familiar, but many were things he had never used in the Royal Capital or the Knight Order. Their applications were often unexpected, and it was fun just listening to her.

I watched her profile as I flipped through the documents. Our shoulders and hands naturally touched, and we would laugh whenever our eyes met.

--The Supreme Commander must have felt this same small happiness during his time with her master.

They turned even a difficult monster hunt into laughter and materials. If her master and Mireille were similar types--

"If you throw this bomb at this monster, it'll blow up in one hit!"

"If we ever meet this monster, let's change the dagger to the ice attribute, freeze it solid, and then eat it deliciously."

Just like now, they must have smiled and talked, with me thinking, "You're going to eat that monster!?" They must have caught each other off guard and made each other laugh.

Even with a busy life full of missions, your lover would be waiting for you when you returned. If you could have that kind of life by getting married. If she was twenty-eight, it would be natural to want to get married soon and have children.

It was far more relatable than Kyle's "any girl will do!" attitude.

Mireille was already over eighteen. If anything, she was too independent. If her master was worried about Mireille's future, she would find her a steady husband who wouldn't cheat...

I understood that line of thinking all too well.

I couldn't help but give a wry smile.

But..... the Supreme Commander was from a ducal house, wasn't he? His father was the previous king's son, which meant he was the current king's brother. His older brother had inherited the dukedom, and he had children of his own. That's why the Supreme Commander had said he wouldn't marry.

But Mireille's master was a commoner alchemist. Even if he had given up the family title, would his family ever approve of him marrying a commoner?

Her concern for Mireille's future and the postponement of her marriage couldn't have been just for that reason. It must have been due to the difference in their social status.

--Well, Mireille and I are both commoners, so there's no problem there.

Wait, wait, wait! What am I thinking! Why am I imagining marriage just because I've realized I'm in love?

But if the Supreme Commander saw something of himself in Mireille and thought we were a 'good match', then his judgment was sound. After all, I had completely lost my heart to her in just three days.

Her laughing profile. Every time our shoulders or fingers touched, every time her scent wafted over, my heart leaped. Honestly, it was an ordeal to pretend to be calm.

Smiling wryly to myself, I opened the next wooden box.

"The Supreme Commander and your master's... Tree Sea dates really took it to the next level, huh."

The second box was filled with statistics on the monsters her master had defeated, a list of the alchemical items used, and a large number of alchemy recipes.

But--the moment she saw the contents, Mireille's face tensed slightly.