Chapter 238 – Eve of the UnionApril. Snow still remained, but the skies were clear. A month more and the snow would completely melt away. Yellow flowers—similar to the purple primrose in j.a.pan—bloomed here and there, sprouting through the snow, dotting the landscape in the outskirts of Forestzard.
「It"s been a while since we came here.」
「There"s no trace of snow in town.」
「Maybe the people shoveled them all away.」
With the help of connections, Hikaru secured a room good for four people at the fifth floor of a high-cla.s.s hotel. Everywhere was fully-booked. He wouldn"t have been able to get a room without help.
After finally checking in, Hikaru sat down to rest, while Lavia took a seat across him. Paula said she"d make tea after putting away her luggage. Drake was with her.
「Tomorrow"s the day.」
Carriages went back and forth down the streets below, mostly carrying happy couples. A few of them were rather hasty, already showing off their wedding attire while riding roofless carriages. People on the streets cheered as they waved their hands.
The day everyone was waiting for—the day of the ma.s.s wedding—would be tomorrow. A thousand and two hundred couples would be wed in the capital"s cathedral. League was the one managing the ceremony. With him on the helm, there shouldn"t be any trouble, not immediately at least. Incidentally, League was also the one who secured the hotel room for them.
「Are you going to see League?」Lavia asked.
「I don"t think we can see each other for a while. We"ll probably meet again once school resumes. But then again…」
「What is it?」
Hikaru wondered if he needed to enroll again this year. He had already learned a lot from Professor Mille. Unless there was someone better at the Short Sword than her, he had no reason to stay in the academy any longer.
「How much of the books in the library have you read?」he asked Lavia.
「I"ve read most, if not all, of the notable ones. The only things I haven"t touched are theses, research studies, catalogs, I guess.」
The library in the academy was mostly used as a resource center. Most of the materials were not the kind Lavia would read.
「I see… I guess we can leave Forestia, then.」
「I"ll go wherever you want to go. But what about the student alliance?」
「That"s this country"s problem anyway. I can"t be involved with it forever. As for Professor Katy"s research… I don"t think she"ll ever stop asking for help.」
With the help of Drake, Katy had enthusiastically made progress in her research on holy mana over the winter. While she never treated the drakon roughly, Drake frequently complained about the nasty way she used her hands or that her eyes were terrifying. As a result, Drake wouldn"t come close to Hikaru lately.
After he killed the Gray n.o.ble Drakon, he shoved Drake into the Dimension Dragon Box, a thing made out of the stomach of a dragon—a species that Drake"s kind despised. The drakon was stuck inside for a while and after he came out, he was mad at Hikaru for a few days.
「Hikaru-sama, Lavichan, tea is ready.」
「Thanks.」
「Thank you, Paula. Take a seat.」Lavia said.「We were talking about our future plans.」
「Okay!」
Paula took a vacant seat. It wasn"t as though Hikaru and Paula got a lot closer after that night. Like usual, she stayed by Hikaru and Lavia"s side, cooking and going shopping with them. But she had moved to the apartment, and she was now more frank when talking to Hikaru.
Was this for the best? Hikaru wondered. I sure hope so. I don"t get how women think.
That night, Hikaru went back home with Lavia and told her everything that happened, even the surprise kiss.
「So she finally did it!」
Lavia was actually happy.
「Do you get excited when some other woman steals me away from you?」
「Wh-What are you saying?! That"s not it… I like Paula. She"s my first friend. I just thought she"d eventually break down if things stayed as they are.」
It was clear that Paula liked Hikaru in a romantic way—she probably even harbored deeper feelings than that. But her feelings could never be answered as long as Lavia was around. Yet, her promise with Hikaru prevented her from leaving.
Lavia and Paula talked a lot while Hikaru wasn"t around. Hikaru was everything to Lavia and she told Paula her life story. Paula herself told Lavia about her life back in the village of Cotton Elka.
Lavia didn"t want to see her friend worn down from thinking about the boy she liked.
「But… I love you.」Hikaru said.
「Thank you. I"m glad to hear that. What about Paula, then?」
「Paula is… important to me. So much so that I don"t want anyone else to have her.」
「That"s not love?」
「It"s a little different. It"s like… Uhm… Nah, you might hate me for saying it.」
「I would never hate you. Just be honest with me.」
「Um, yes. Let"s see… It"s more like I want to monopolize her. I"d be furious if a girl who likes me was taken by someone else, even though I"ll never answer her feelings. I know I"m just being selfish.」
Hikaru was disgusted with himself, at how self-centered he was.
「No, you"re not being selfish, and I"m sure Paula would be happy to hear that. I"m not asking you to do anything. Since we never stay in one place, I just figured it would be better if we had Paula with us. If things stayed the way they are, she would"ve fell apart.」
Wow, Hikaru thought. Lavia was more focused on the future than he was and she had a firm grasp of their situation. She even tried to find a solution. It was hard to believe she was the youngest of the three.
「I"m kinda selfish too. I was glad to find out she kissed you, but I also feel a little jealous.」Lavia said as she forced a smile.
「Hikaru-sama? What"s the matter?」
『His mind is somewhere else, obviously.』
「No, it"s not. The jar of dried fruits we just bought is in there somewhere. You can ahead and eat them.」
『Really?! You say some pretty good things once in a while!』
Drake jumped from Paula"s neck and scuttled into the next room.
「All right. That"s the nuisance gone.」
「You"ve been treating Drake roughly lately.」
「You look like an evil villain right now, Hikaru-sama.」
Wow, rude. I just don"t feel the need to be reserved around him anymore. I mean, Drake"s the one who was pretty blunt right from the start, Hikaru thought as he took out a bag made of smooth cloth. Inside were small bracelets about two centimeters wide. The words “New Moon Star” was etched into them, their party name.
「Ah…」
Paula was surprised. She knew where they bought these, in a jewelry store in Scholarzard. She saw Hikaru and Lavia in there looking at bracelets. But Hikaru took out three of them from the bag.
「Our birthdays are one month apart. I figured they"d be perfect for birthday presents.」
「I-Is this for me?」Paula asked.
「Yup. For all three members of our party.」
Tears welled up in her eyes as Paula received the bracelet. She thought they would buy two and wear them as a couple. But she was wrong.
「Thank you! Thank you sho much!」Paula said, choking back tears.
Hikaru gave a wry smile.「Let"s try them on. If they don"t fit, we"ll have to make some adjustments.」
「I"ll adjust the size of my arm for it!」
「You know that"s impossible…」
Fortunately, they all fit. Hikaru felt somewhat embarra.s.sed. Lavia was ecstatic, while Paula stared at the bracelet, wiping tears off with a handkerchief.
「All right. Let"s check the city out.」
「Yeah, let"s go.」
「Okay!」
『W-Wait for me!』Drake came rushing from the next room.
「Oops. Forgot about you.」
『Meanie!』
「Just kidding. Let"s go.」
And so three people and one small creature headed out to the festive streets of the capital.