I slammed the White Yuri Mask against the ground while crying.
“I’ve had enough…!!”
“D-don’t seriously cry… you just declined the lunch invitation from your Master by saying, 『I have an important mission』…”
“Had I not said that, I, who had been missing for two weeks, would just be a perverted dude who suddenly appeared in a cosplay costume!! If I didn’t say something cool such as having an important mission, my mind couldn’t have stood it!!”
“But if you want to lower their favorability, appearing as a cosplaying pervert with a mask is a good plan, though.”
“It will be increased instead!! If I looked back on the patterns so far!! For some reason, doing something like that will increase their favorability!! So, shut up amateur!!”
Suddenly, the bicycle was parked on the street and I, who was soaked in despair, got my head patted.
As I raised my face, the beautiful smile of Heine came into view.
“Don’t cry, you small fry.”
“Eh, ah, yes, my bad (tears withdrawn).”
“Get on.”
Straddling on the granny’s bike, Heine looked at me with her characteristic scornful eyes. Since it seems I would be beaten if I refused, I got on the saddle.
*Fwoosh*
The granny’s bike then proceeded to run nimbly.
What a pleasant breeze, as if it was a sign of a wonderful future.
Then, with my eyes closed, enjoying the cool breeze, I whispered.
“So, where are we heading to?”
“Alfheim.”
“No way in hell (both foot brake).”
As the granny’s bike stopped, the dissatisfied Heine glared at me.
“Don’t be a hindrance, servant.”
“Servant… What a big talk to your Founder-sama (temporary)… Listen, Heine… We won’t go to Alfheim… We don’t have to fight anymore… As everything is already over… it’s over…”
“It’s not over yet.”
Arshariya, who sat comfortably in the basket, whispered.
“Let me tell you, I will not agree to whatever you say anymore. I’m just going around on this granny’s bike with Heine and going home. I’m sure they’ve already contacted Lapis, so this clever me will not go to pick her up and just go back home. Promptly.”
“It seems that Lapis Klue la Lumet will be holding a wedding ceremony today.”
“… what did you say?”
I immediately raised my legs and Heine started riding the bike happily.
“Isn’t it natural? She is the princess of the Lumet royal family, after all. It is natural for her to have a proper fiance, and since she returned home after studying abroad in Japan, saying 『I won’t go to Japan anymore.』, it is inevitable for people to think that she is ready to become a queen.”
“Who is the partner? O-of course it is a girl, right?”
“It’s a man.”
At that instant, the smile disappeared from my face.
It is true that Lapis has a fiance in the game. On Lapis’ route, Lapis decided to love Tsukiori and breaks her engagement with her fiance. At that time, they showed the smile of Lapis who decided to pursue her love in a single picture, and I cried for its beauty.
In other words, there is no doubt that she has a fiance. However, it was never stated in the game that her fiance was a girl.
“… what do you mean?”
“The community of elves isn’t a monolithic one. There are 13 clans in Alfheim that she governs, and the strongest people among the 12 clans excluding 『Klue la』, which is the direct bloodline of the King, would be chosen as the Shadow (ALF). And when deciding the member of the royal guard, they took a member from every clan, so it would be balanced. Of course, that’s no exception to 『Klue la』, one of the 13 clans.”
“Stop with that roundabout explanation. Get to the point.”
With a bitter smile, Arshariya closed her eyes.
“It’s a simple story. The Lumet royal family has been taking a man into their family for generations. They created a balance by marrying women, who are at the top of the society, to men, who are at the bottom. It has been their custom to do so, and no one has ever argued whether it is reasonable or not. Which means, it is a so-called bad custom.”
It is indeed possible. There are several rejected events in Esco, one of them being 『The MC takes Lapis away during the wedding ceremony』. If we consider it as one of the main character raising events, assigning a man as Lapis’s marriage partner and having the MC save her from the absolute evil (men) is, in fact, preferable. Rather, it will be more exciting that way.
“… Does Lapis love the man?”
“No way, right? It is a marriage partner chosen just for the sake of balancing the power, after all. And since she is going to be married, she probably had her magic device taken away and has been cleansed, so I’m sure no one would be able to contact her. Now,”
Arshariya happily spreads her hands.
“What will you do?”
“… Heine,”
Instead of answering, I whispered to Heine.
“Pedal with all your might.”
“Roger that.”
Boom– just like that, the granny’s bike accelerated with tremendous velocity.
I placed my hands on her shoulders as we went through the dimension gate– until I could see the night sky, which happened to be a full moon.
Under the moonlight, our bike ran until we saw a golden castle in front of our eyes. In the middle of that, there is the majestic Alfheim, with a spiral spire… We, who fly in the sky with a granny’s bike that doesn’t fit the scale of its grandness, run through the shining night sky with two wheels while illuminated by the golden light source.
Swoosh–!!
Suddenly, an ambush, a pale arrow, flew toward us, and I blocked the shot.
“Arshariya, I’ll leave the ambush to you!!”
“Don’t say such an unreasonable thing please.”
As the ambushes were blocked by the anti-magic barrier that covered me, I jumped into the rain of arrows and pulled the trigger, generating a light ball (Light) in my right palm.
*Shoo, shoo, shoo*– an arrow managed to slip through the barrier and scratched my cheek, making it bleed. However, without minding that, I squeezed my magic power into the light ball.
“You guys are in the wayyyyyyyyyy!!”
*Shoot*
The light ball that I shot was distorted along the way, going straight at a tremendous speed and landed at its objective– blowing the elves away vigorously.
“Heine!!”
“Aye, aye.”
Understanding my signal, Heine stood up from the seat and grabbed the cantle, letting me grab the pommel.
I grabbed the pommel, rotated my body in a tremendous momentum, and sat down.
And then, console, connect– Having strengthened the granny’s bike with magic, generating magic power line on its aluminum body– *bam*– the bike landed with a noise. And Heine, who had fallen with a thump, sat in the back seat.
“Here I come, ORAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!! (skkrk, skkrk)”
While ringing the bell, I bent forward.
*Boom*
I plunged the bicycle with all my might, running the bike on the wall whilst I stood on the pedals.
“W-what is this guy?!”
“What is this guy?! (second time) What happened to the guards?! Intercept him quickly!!”
In panic, the elves who came out of the castle shouted.
“DON’T YOU DARE PUT A MAN BETWEEN YURIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!! YOU FUCKING ELVESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!”
“What is he say–”
“Heaven’s punishment!! Four-letter slaughter!!”
While sending the elves who blocked the way flying, I drifted, generating white smoke from the wheels. And with that momentum, we charged into the castle, blasted through the corridor covered with blood and arrows in my shoulders and belly.
“Founder, if you leave it like that, you will die, you know?”
“Whether I die or not, I will definitely kill a man who gets caught between Yuri!! Arshariya, where is Lapis?!”
“She should be in the wedding hall. It’s the place that the elves called 『Yggdra Medium』. Just go straight down underground.”
Hearing that advice, I ran down the stairs with the granny’s bike– and I jumped out of my seat as soon as I saw a large door and slowly pushed it open.
At that moment, silence spread in the room.
Pale and shining water flowing to my feet. The floor, walls, and ceiling are filled with the roots of a large tree, and only one has thick roots that hang down like a head. Blue water is dripping from the tip of that root, cladded in light.
Drops of water are also dripping down from the cavity of the pulpit where the magic power line is running.
Three people are standing there. Two of them stood facing each other with a pulpit between them, and an elf wearing pure white formal wear stood behind the pulpit. All barefoot and a pattern of magic power lines are drawn on their exposed skin.
Although Lapis and the other one who were facing each other were hiding their faces with a veil… I instantly know which was Lapis and which was the fucking elf.
There were tear marks on Lapis’s cheeks– and before I knew it, I had already jumped.
*Bam*
Then, I landed on the pulpit between Lapis and her fiance.
“Eh?!”
“W-what?!”
Holding the mask with one hand, I slowly stood up, and laughed behind the mask.
“I didn’t receive a wedding invitation, but… who gave you permission to make this girl cry…?”
“That voice…”
Lapis gasped. Subsequently, an arrow shot by the elf in formal wear smashed my mask–
“Sorry, but this girl’s fateful partner has already been reserved.”
The mask shattered and the fragments were scattered in the air.
Having my real face exposed, I laughed.
“At least, it’s not the role of you bastards who made this girl cry… if you understand, get lost, you third-rate!!”
I gathered my magic power– as numerous arrows came flying toward me.