Otome Game no Heroine de Saikyou Survival [WN] - Chapter 156.2

Although she now remained quietly under house arrest, no nobleman wanted anything to do with the dangerous Carla, who could do anything at the drop of a hat.

However, Mikhail and Rockwell thought that the dangerous person might be able to provide clues as to the whereabouts of Aria, who lived in the same world as Carla.

In fact, Carla had such information, and although the nobleman dispatched from the royal castle would not be able to help, there was a possibility that they, who cared deeply about the missing girls, would be able to do so.

“Mikhail, can you lower your head to Miss Carla?”

“…Oh, yes. Even if Grandfather, the Prime Minister, and Father, the Commander-in-Chief, won’t be able to do it, there’s no reason why I can’t at least kneel for Aria as a man.”

The image of a girl with peach-blonde hair flashed through Mikhail’s mind.

He understood that Aria’s impression of Mikhail was not even a dent in her life due to their bad encounter, but he still wanted to support her as a man as she continued to fight in solitary fashion.

“Hey, Mikhail, I want to save Aria as much as you do, but do you realize that rescuing Her Highness Elena is the top priority?”

“I know that. I know that, but–“

“No, you don’t. She deserves respect as a warrior, but to return this country to stability, the presence of Elena-sama… is essential. For her breadth of vision and integrity, I would give my sword…”

“Lady Elena, Rockwell, you…”

Mikhail’s eyes widened as Rockwell interrupted his own words.

Rockwell was an overly noble knight who only called those he trusted by name. When Rockwell realized the meaning of Mikhail’s gaze, he hid his face, which was slightly stained red, covering his mouth with one hand with a shocked look on his face.

“…Is it bad?”

“No.”

Mikhail grinned at Rockwell’s question.

There was no logic in a person’s feelings for another. There must have been something about Rockwell as a knight that made him attracted to her, not him as a noble.

Neither of them was a likely match to be reciprocated, but they walked down the road together and lightly bumped fists out in silence.

“Shall we go?”

“Yeah.”

Putting their personal feelings aside for a moment, the two of them revealed the face of a country-weary aristocrat.

In the story, they had drawn a line somewhere as nobles even though they were forgiving friends, but now they knew each other’s feelings, and between them, a friendship between men had sprouted that transcended the connection between noble families.

***

A little more than a month after leaving the Kingdom of Cleydale, they passed through a dangerous forest in a demon-inhabited area overrun by Rank 5 demons, and along the unpopular border of the Kingdom of Sellace, a beast was running and a figure that looked like a woman was riding on its back.

“Nero. That’s all for today.”

A seemingly odd-looking woman with skin like shiny obsidian–Celeshura called out, and the jet-black phantom beast Coeurl, called Nero, stopped in his tracks, looking dissatisfied.

–advance–

“You still want to go on? You’re not an elderly-friendly beast at all, are you?”

Celeshura, who was a Dark Elf, was around 30 years old in appearance, although her tone of voice reeked of old age, but as long as she lived within the Dark Elf or was involved with multiple people, she had no problems, but after being involved with only a very few people and watching them grow old, Celeshura’s spirit had and consciousness had changed along with aging.

There were changes in her life as well. The woman who had become Celeshura’s unwanted apprentice several decades earlier was a headache for Celeshura, along with her strange and delusional comments, but even so, she was not averse to the presence of a poorly trained apprentice.

After a few years of learning a certain amount of magic, she left, claiming to be an adventurer, and returned several times, but six years ago she stole Celeshura’s books and medicines and disappeared, never to be seen again.

However, two years after that foolish apprentice disappeared, a girl wearing a strange presence, Aria, appeared.

She told her story and said that she fought back against her foolish apprentice who tried to take her life. Celeshura was stunned and at the same time saddened by the end of her life, just as a foolish apprentice would be. However, Aria was not at fault, after all, and along the way, she had inherited knowledge, so she decided to train her as a new apprentice, at least to keep her from dying.

While living with Aria, Celeshura felt a new feeling emerge.

She had strength that you would not expect from a child. She was bold. But inside, she was just a child whose purity had been distorted by the foolish apprentice.

There was too much difference between what she knew and what she did not know. Aria did not even know what it meant for a child to be spoiled by an adult, even though she understood the meaning of killing others at the age of only seven.

So Celeshura treated Aria like a child, as an adult, while strictly instructing her. Aria, who was like an abused stray cat, gradually opened her heart, and Celeshura felt as if she had a daughter whom she had given up on somewhere in her heart.

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Also check out my other novels: Reincarnated into a Game as the Hero’s Friend, Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear, and A Girl Who Was Told “You Have No Talent” Turned Out To Be A Talented Monster