Abandoned by my Childhood Friend, I Became a War Hero chapter 83

83 – Date

The food at the restaurant was excellent. Indeed, it was like a restaurant at one of the best hotels in the empire.

The meat was perfectly grilled and the dessert tasted sweet and luxurious. I’m not a gourmet, so I didn’t feel any special feelings other than that it was delicious, but I could tell that it was a high-end dish that I don’t often taste.

There was a trivial incident in which Instructor Lilya was confused by the variety of forks and spoons and didn’t know which one to use, so he asked the staff for help, but overall it was a peaceful meal.

Of course, I ate a simple meal using only a fork and a knife. They all look the same anyway, so why is it necessary to differentiate them? There were times when I had to eat anything with my hands on the battlefield.

However, after finishing the meal, I was worried that Instructor Lilya’s expression was not good.

Usually, I wouldn’t have cared too much about other people’s feelings, but if that person was Instructor Lirya, who had helped me a lot so far, it was a different story.

So I asked cautiously, albeit a little awkwardly.

“Are you worried about anything?”

Instructor Lirya looked at me as if surprised for a moment. Then he smiled lightly and shook his head.

“No, it’s not like that. Just… I guess it’s because I’m not used to eating at a fancy restaurant like this.”

“Looks like I brought you somewhere.”

“Yes!? Oh no! Was the food really good? When will I come back to this place again? It’s all thanks to Instructor Graham. But….”

After saying that, a light shadow was cast over Instructor Lilya’s expression.

She hesitated for a moment, then slowly opened her mouth.

“Today, I was planning to show Instructor Graham around, but everywhere I go there are overflowing with people, I only get help from Instructor Graham, and I can’t go to the restaurant I reserved… In the end, nothing seems to go as planned.”

“… ….”

Did you care about that?

Anyway, when we first met today, the words that he would guide me through the system were not just simple words, but seemed quite sincere.

I came here with the intention of repaying my debt, so I don’t really care about that.

After thinking about it for a while, he said.

“Still, the performance was quite amazing. It was my first time seeing something like that.”

“Ahahahaha, is that so? Thank you for saying that.”

Instructor Lirya laughed softly, then dropped her eyes bitterly.

“But actually… That performance, I didn’t enjoy it very much.”

I swallowed dry saliva. It felt like stepping on a magic mine on the battlefield.

“It was very different from what I wanted to show Instructor Graham.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. The Merchen Opera Company has been my favorite theater company since I was a child. At that time, it was not a famous theater company like now, but a small theater company with small performances… As a child, I always looked forward to that performance. It was the only joy in my childhood.”

“… ….”

Even though she was not a direct aristocrat, it was quite strange that the granddaughter of the former Earl Bennett spent her childhood waiting for such a small-scale theater company.

I don’t know in detail about the life of the nobility, but I wonder if it was an environment where I couldn’t find anything to see. Or was Instructor Lilya’s childhood a little different from that of children from other noble families?

My intuition told me it was more of the latter.

“The performance of the opera troupe I liked was not like this. I thought it had changed a lot in recent years, but today’s performance in particular was very explicit. Maybe it was because I was sponsored by the imperial family.”

Instructor Lyria continued with a bitter expression.

“Why do the things I liked gradually change or disappear as time goes by?”

I couldn’t help but deeply sympathize with those words. I have had such feelings and thoughts.

As I lost my comrades on the battlefield and experienced loved ones passing away right in front of my eyes, I used to ask that question too.

Of course, there was no answer.

Instructor Lilya smiled and said with an expression that showed that she was smiling brightly.

“I really enjoyed today! I’m sorry to take up any more of Instructor Graham’s busy time, so I’d better break up for today.”

I pondered for a moment. Would it be okay if I just let Instructor Lilya go like this?

If I did that, it seemed that uncomfortable and uneasy feelings would remain inside me.

In the end, I spoke out a little impulsively.

“Instructor Lilya. Could you give me a little more time?”

“Yes?”

***

Booooong!!

“Kyaaah!! Kyaaa!!”

I rode instructor Lilya on the bike and got off the highway and ran outside the island.

With the roar of the bike, the surrounding landscape quickly passes by.

Instructor Lyria sat on the back seat of the bike and hugged me tightly. Her little arms, which had been holding her shoulders at first, were now holding me tight around my waist.

“That, Instructor Graham! It’s too fast!!”

“Speed down?”

Instructor Lyria shouted in a loud voice.

“No!!”

She was unexpectedly enjoying the bike’s speed.

The first time I rode her bike, I slowed it down considerably for her, but at this point, I thought she would be fine with a bit more speed.

Booooong!!

“Kyaaa!!”

As I pulled the throttle to speed up the bike, Instructor Lirya’s screams grew louder. But her arms that held me only felt stronger, and she didn’t tell me to slow her down.

I continued driving my bike and headed straight for my destination. After about 30 minutes of driving, we arrived at our desired destination.

From noble mtl dot com

I spoke to Instructor Lilya, who buried her head in my back.

“I have arrived.”

“Yes, yes… ? Alas!”

Realizing that she had been so attached to me, she threw herself back in surprise. Her cheeks were stained red with shame.

“Oops, sorry! I don’t know stop… !”

“It’s okay. Let’s take a look over there.”

Instructor Lyria looked in the direction I pointed.

What unfolded there was Jedo Sangria. Under the setting sun, the white marble walls and the towering Imperial Palace shone like platinum, and the far-flung scenery of the islands could be seen at a glance.

She stared blankly at the figure with her mouth open.

“Wow… So pretty….”

I’m glad you liked it.

I discovered this place the day I returned to Jedo after a bike test. When I climbed the nearby cliff, the scenery of the islands was revealed at a glance, and the scenery was quite impressive to me, so it was memorable.

As if Instructor Lilya had the same thoughts as me, she looked at the scenery of Shangri-La, an archipelago spread out under the cliff, for a long time.

“From here, people look really small.”

It was an island that I thought a little while ago was crowded with people, but when I looked at it from such a high place, people only seemed like small dots.

Of course, thanks to my excellent eyesight, I could still recognize the face here if I focused my eyes, but it must have seemed that way to Instructor Lyria.

“There are so many people living in such a big city. Compared to that, all of a sudden, my concerns feel pretty small.”

“I don’t know. Depth of worry is relative.”

“Is that so….”

Instructor Lirya, who was staring blankly at the scenery, suddenly opened her mouth.

Her words contained the worries she had been carrying heavily in her heart for a long time.

“My childhood was not very happy.”

“… ….”

“I think it was around ten years old. As the war began, my grandfather, the late Earl Bennett, and his father left for the battlefield. Until then, nothing would have happened, but both of them died shortly after the war began. After that, my father’s younger brother… My uncle became the only male survivor.”

After hearing her words, I realized one thing.

I have heard before that the current Earl Bennett is Instructor Lyria’s uncle. At that time, it was thought that his uncle inherited the family as the eldest son, and instructor Lilya, who was not a direct descendant of the eldest son, became a gentry.

But that was just my misunderstanding. In fact, Instructor Lyria’s father was the legitimate successor to the Bennet family.

A young daughter left behind by her eldest son. And the grown-up second son who did not become an heir.

I could easily imagine what had happened.

“What can a 10-year-old do when he loses his father and grandfather in an instant? Her mother also died giving birth to me, and she only had an uncle to rely on as an adult in the family. He was a really good person until then. Of course I trusted my uncle….”

Instructor Lyria continued with a bitter expression.

“But his uncle sent me to a remote villa in the Islands. After that, I couldn’t go outside or meet people. Life is all about spending time just looking at the scenery outside the window… If the troupe hadn’t come to perform sometimes, I might have lost my mind.”

I asked, frowning.

“Is that possible? The imperial family….”

Instructor Lilya shook his head slightly.

“The war was in full swing. The Imperial family must have decided that it would be better for her uncle to take over than to suffer confusion because the heir to the Bennet family is a girl who is only ten years old. In fact, my uncle managed the rear supply effectively. For me at the time, that would have been impossible.”

“… ….”

“On coming of age at the age of eighteen, I was only able to be freed when I signed papers to renounce the title of count and pass all rights to his uncle. But his uncle was not enough to keep me locked up, so he tried to marry me into a suitable family. If President Heinkel hadn’t visited by chance, I might have married her as if she were being sold at that time.”

“Not many people know this. My uncle spread rumors in the social world that I was sick when I was young, and that I gave up the county because of the pressure when I grew up. Others mistakenly believe that I was born into an aristocratic family and grew up in a good environment, but this is the truth.”

“I’m not the great guy Instructor Graham thinks I am. Instructor Graham survives on the battlefield at a young age, rises to the rank of captain, has excellent skills, and is recognized by President Heinkel and Marquis Karlstein….”

“I couldn’t even get out of there on my own. He just became an instructor a little earlier than Instructor Graham, a nobleman who can’t even hold a fork and knife properly… He’s just an insignificant person.”

After a long confession, Instructor Lilya looked at me with slightly fearful eyes.

There were clear traces of tears in her eyes that looked like they would flow at any moment.

“When Instructor Graham consulted with me, I was happy but also scared. I’m such a shabby woman, but I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed if you know the real me… Uh, I just wanted to show my good side somehow… !”

In the end, Instructor Lilya couldn’t stand it and shed another tear.

So you paid attention to today’s promise?

Because I only wanted to show a trustworthy side of me.

“… ….”

After a brief moment of thought, I took one step closer to her.