Todayās the day when a very special guest arrived.
Father has asked me to give the highest hospitality towards this guest, was what I had to do but I messed up big times (!) by saying his name wrongly.
Stupid me, stupid me for making such a huge blunder! I have already stumbled upon my first encounterāāAnd I donāt even know how to face Usato-san anymore.
However, I canāt act like that forever.
Usato-san is waiting for me outside this entire time. Nothing will change if I hide in my room forever, and it would make the atmosphere more awkward.
Letās not make the first meeting any rougher!
Iāll not make any more mistakes.
I have to entertain him.
Ā
I want to get to know him better.
Ā
Right now, Iām feeling extremely happy.
I want Usato-san to stay around longer. I always wondered why the other visitors who came would never stay for one night.
But heās different, he is interesting. After dinner, he would continue to train his body for countless amounts of hours, such an amazing person.
Iām also happy that he is getting along with Eiri as well.
I think these few days will be the best days of my life.
But, Iām still worried, Iām afraid that he would leave as soon as I fall asleep.
Therefore, before the sun rises, I shall go to his room and check on him.
Since sleeping early and waking early is rather important, this is no problem for me.
Ā
Another wonderful day has passed.
Good night.
Ā
Day 2447.
Dear diary,
Today, Usato-san went to the palace for half of the entire day, it is another usual day.
Or was what I thought.
Early morning, before the sun has risen, I went to Usato-sanās room, but he wasnāt there.
Staring at the neat and tidy bed that doesnāt look as though it has been used, I thought that the worse had happened.
Liar, you willfully⦠These words kept spinning around my head as I frantically stormed outsideāāOnly to find Usato-san to be training by himself this early in the morning!
I assumed that he has run away at his own accord, but there he was.
He isnāt a liar.
The expression in which he was staring at me, was terribly pale, but that was probably due to the freezing temperature from the morning weather. What a strange person to have purposefully woke up this early just to warm his body up by training.
Ā
As I have written at the start, Usato-san has went to the palace.
I cleaned and tidied my room; then the garden; then cleaned the pond; I was cleaning and polishing the flowerbed of my motherās grave. That was how my day usually went.
Was it around the time when the sun was at its highest when Usato-san has come back?
When asking him where he went, he told me that he was asking for information on where his friends might be. Since he had a look of relief, it probably went well.
If itās possible, I want his friends to come here⦠When I asked, Usato-sanās face turned pale and wave both his hands strongly while saying āAh no, thatās alright, haha.ā
Why did he reject me?
I just wanted to provide more hospitality.
Ā
Once again, another fantastic day has passed.
Good night.
Ā
Day 2448.
Dear Diary,
The house was cleaner than ever.
Ā
Same as before, Usato-san woke up extremely early for his training, and after he was done training, he asked me whether he could do anything to help.
I canāt let a guest like him do thatā¦.But I was asked by Eiri to clean the house together with him.
ā¦Thinking about it, I would always clean the house on my own, or occasionally Eiri would help, but this is the first time someone else other than Eiri is helping me.
At the point of writing this diary, I thought that having someone else cleaning the house with me was truly the happiest point of my life.
But I opposed Usato-sanās suggestion of sharing our cleaning chores.
I thought it would be better if we cleaned the same place so it would be more beneficial.
For some reason, I felt that the light had disappeared in Usato-sanās eyes, but I told him not to worry about it.
Looking at him, the days have become much more fun lately.\nI wonder if he can stay here more.
Ā
And thatās that, another wonderful day has gone by.
Good night.
Ā
Ā
Ā
It has been three days since visiting the palace of Samaria.
During one of those days, I asked Lucas-sama about the whereabouts of Ark-san and co, and whether they are safe. After further investigating, it seems that they have found a guy and two girls staying in an inn, which meant that Amako and Neah were safe.
On the other end, I was exhausted in various ways these past three days.
Inside the vicinity of this barrier, I can feel the presence of her stare. One could say that this place isnāt so wide, but I could always feel her stares be it behind a tree or hiding in the shadows of the house.
I wanted to retort one too many times at the horror this girlās giving me, but above all, the eyes of this girl looking at me are like an innocent childās eyes with no malicious intent which made me decide to give up.
Ā
āHaah.ā
Ā
Morning of the fourth day.
I was outside doing my usual muscle training routine.
Looking up at the white sky, I took a deep breath and tried managing the street menus at any time, but the only thing I could confirm behind me was her presence that had scared me over the last three days, itās none other than Eva.
Is she ephemeralā-Or should I say she has no presence at all?
At first, I dismissed it without a single thought, but itās not normal for me to be caught off guard from behind this many times.
Ā
āā¦Seriously, what in the world is sheā¦ā
Ā
Is she sick, or maybe not.
I once tried using normal healing magic on her through my gloves, but it had no effect.
The only other possibility is the illness from within, or maybe itās some other circumstancesā¦..
Ā
āMaybe I should try using body strengthening on her⦠No, I canāt.ā
Ā
I havenāt completely mastered the skill yet. Itās better not to use it while thereās a danger of magic explosion.
Walking around the garden, I wondered what to do.
Then, I noticedāāthat someone was sitting in front of the white stone monument.
Ā
āā¦Is that Eva?ā
Ā
No, itās someone bigger than her. Then, Eiri-sanā¦?
I canāt see well due to the morning mist, so I tried getting closer. When getting closer, I can clearly see a figure sitting in front of the stone monument.
It was a man sitting in crossed-legsāāAnd he didnāt hesitate to place his gorgeous robe on the floor, and points at the stone monument with a gentle smile.
Ā
āLucas-sama?ā
āHm? Ooh, if it isnāt Usato. Youāre up early.ā
āYeahā¦ā
Ā
The King of Samaria, Lucas Urd Samaria.
He turned around and called out to me casually.
Ā
āWhat happened for you to be here this early in the morning?ā
āA king, needs to get up earlier than anyone elseā-Thus, I donāt have the time during the day, and thatās why Iām here.ā
Ā
Lucas-sama said as he stares motionlessly at the stone monument.
I couldnāt bring myself to ask over these few days, what this stone monument is for.
What I do know is that itās important because Eva was polishing it very intently.
Perhaps guessing my question, Lucas-sama slowly opened his mouth after turning his eyes away from the monument.
Ā
āThis hereā¦.is the grave of my wife, Eliza Urd Samaria.ā
āGraveā¦ā
āThough, thereās nobody buried inside. This grave is only here to comfort my self-satisfaction and for the child who doesnāt know the existence of her mother.ā
Ā \nLucas-sama smiled in self-derision as he puts his hand on the glossy surface.
The surface of the pure white grave is surprisingly smooth, with no irregularities.
Ā
āHer name used to be carved here.ā
āUsed to beā¦.? But, thereās nothingā¦ā
āAh well, I did call on a sculptor from a neighbouring country to carve it beautifully. ā¦But that kid was constantly taking care of this every single day that even the carving has been smoothed out.ā
āEvery, day?ā
āYeah. Since around ten years ago when she was just only five years old, she has been polishing Elizaās graveā¦ā
Ā
Thatās why she was polishing it so diligently.
Ā
āI donāt know what to say, but, thatās, brave of youā¦ā
āHahaha, I understand youāre trying to choose your words. To be honest, itās heavy.ā
Ā
I certainly thought so, but I canāt be saying something to the father-daughter relationship.
Lucas-sama who looked at me silently stares up towards the brightening sky and muttered, āYesā.
Ā
āIāll be making breakfast, how about going together?ā
āā¦.Uhmm.ā
Ā
What should I do, Eiri-san should be the one making it, and I was just wondering what I should eat after muscle training. No, I should eat some food after training.
Breakfast prepared by Lucas-samaā¦.Eiri-sanās food is not bad, but I got tired of having almost the same menu each time, and itās only been three daysā¦
Ā
āDonāt worry. The food Iām cooking is ordinary.ā
āIāll gladly go.ā
āYou have a good personality huh.ā
Ā
Lucas-sama who smiled at me for giving a straight answer looked up behind me as he stood up and brushed the dirt off of his robe.
Ā
āWell, is that alright, Eva?ā
āHuh?ā
Ā
Turning back from his words, thereās a familiar white hair of Eva staring at us from a slightly opened back door.
She smiles happily and nods at Lucas-samaās words.
Since whenā-No, Iām already used to this. She really has no presence whatsoever. At this point, I suspect sheās using some kind of magic.
Ā
āThis isāāturning intoā¦.ā
āEh?ā
āNn, itās nothing. Well, we got permission from the Princess, so letās move.ā
āH-Huhā¦.ā
Ā
Lucas-sama walked in the direction of the barrierās exit.
I thought back about the words I heard just nowāā
Ā
āSpirit?ā
Ā
Spiritā¦.No, or is it weak?
Remembering the word that Lucas-sama said with a bitter look, I followed him from behind.
Ā
Ā
Ā
The breakfast prepared by Lucas-sama was surprisingly normal.
Instead of a long table that you would often see in a movie, and the plates on which the food werenāt lined up, but it was prepared in the required amount on a medium-sized table.
However, because itās the King weāre speaking of, the table, plates, and utensils are all expensive, so itās safe to say that this is the most luxurious breakfast Iāve ever eaten in my entire life.
Besides me, who was seated opposite of Lucas-sama, there were only a few knights standing by the wall, which seemed to be on the lookout, but there was no one else.
Despite being early in the morning, I could not help but to think of assassination or kidnapping because of the lack of security.
Ā
āIs it okay for only so few people keeping guard?ā\n\nPhew, letās calm down and breath, relax my shoulders.
Ā
āSlaves are good as workforce, and this country follows the minimum rules in dealing with slaves. We prohibit all violence against slaves, or any unjust punishment and or excessive labours. If anyone sees someone doing thatā-They will be arrested immediately.ā
āThen why are the slaves unhappy here?ā
āI havenāt finished my sentence. But Iām sure theyāre unhappy because of the event in which caused them to become a slave in the first placeā-But wellā¦.youāre right, at least I donāt want them to feel unhappy working in my country.ā
Ā
In Lucas-samsās words, I remembered the appearance of a boy who seemed to be a slave before I came here.
Since he sat politely and waved his hand with an innocent smile, he doesnāt seem to be dissatisfied.
I canāt say for sure because I donāt know much about this country to that child, but it brings me to think that Samaria is still a kinder country for slaves than I thought.
Ā
āUhaa~, well, I think itās good that it wasnāt as what I had imagined it to be.ā
āTo me, I was scared of that look youāre giving me all this time with that expressionless face. If you went on a rampage, even Fegnis might not be able to stop you.ā
āAhaha, youāre praising me too much.ā
āAn ogre being able to keep moving as long as thereās magic supplying him is nothing but a nightmare. And if youād wanted to, you couldāve neutralised the entire army right? I donāt have any idea how many people would be mobilised before cathing you, but I canāt see imagine what that number will be.ā
Ā
I got the feeling heās talking about catching a violent monster.
Ā
āHahaha, what a monster you are. No matter how I think about it, I got a feeling I can never catch you! As expected of Rose Number Two.ā
āAre you praising me?ā
āOf course!ā
Ā
I donāt feel like heās complimenting me when heās saying Iām another reincarnation of Rose.
Moreover, that is quite overrated. Even if I was attacked by many knights, I had no choice but to escape. And if I have no choice but to fightā¦.Letās see, I will punch them one by one with my healing punchā¦.I guess? I have no attack that has a wide range effect like senpai or Kazuki, so my means are limited.
Ā
āā¦.Anyways, is there any particular purpose for having me meet Eva?ā
āHmm. Thereās the talk from earlier, but I couldnāt do it because of your personality, so I felt like I just want the both of you to meet. At the end of the day, Eva was able to make good memories. And personally, Iām happy.ā
āMemoriesā¦ā
Ā
I lean on Lucas-samaās words as his facial expression collapses.
This person takes great care of Eva, that I understand. However, the way of trying to present to her, who is an important daughter to her, and let me live together with her in that barrier.
I thought that he asked me to cure Eva with healing magic, but that was also different.
Does he really think itās impossible with my powers?
Or was there another factor in the palace?
I canāt possibly get a clear answer simply by just listening passively.
In that caseā
Ā
āLucas-sama, aboutā¦.this is just my hypothesis.ā
āHm? What is it?ā
āBut, my healing magic may cure Eva.ā
Ā
Now I should be able to know the answer.
Whether I can cure her, or I canāt, or thereās no need to.
Lucas-sama who had a gentle expression becomes rigid, but he spins his words regardless.
Ā
āBut, right now itās impossible. Iām ashamed to say that there are still many immature parts of my healing magic, and I canāt say that Iām able to cure the illness. However, if I master it, the illness that is damaging herāā
āUsato.ā
Ā
My name was called with a soft but quiet voice.
Being stopped with such pressure from him, he opened his mouth with a sad expression.
Ā
āIām happy with your good intentionsā-But itās impossible. Itās not that easy.ā
āā¦.If Iām not strong enough, thereās another person in Lingle that may be able to handle the strengthening of healing magic. Those people will surelyā¦ā
āNo, thatās not it. Itās true that Evaās body has a problem, but itās not because of some illness. If that wasnāt the case, do you think that I would like to keep her in such a place with no hope of seeing the outside world? āāUsato, youāre really a good guy. You have a kind heart that is suitable for her successor, but this isāāā
Ā
Lucas-sama who had a self-deprecating smile, stopped midsentence, and leaned his body on the back weakly, without any powerā
Ā
āā¦..This is my punishment. It has nothing to do with that child. This might be unreasonable and confusing right nowā-But this is a curse of death that erodes the royalty of Samaria.ā