124 – Side Story – 1
#Promise
“So? When are you going to teach me?”
Raina urged me while looking at me with cold eyes.
I held on to her silence even as I felt the tremendous pressure in her eyes.
“About. Inside. Did you?”
“Joe, please wait a little longer….”
In the end, my choice was to leave that excuse and run away.
Why did this happen?
With such doubts, I quietly recalled the past.
★
It must have started about five days after I returned to the Empire.
“Three years…. It’s been really long.”
“It was really hard.”
Over the course of five days, I told Reina many things about the other side of the world that had happened to her over the past three years.
The story of how she underwent rehabilitation for a year because it was too much to even move her body, and the story of how she went to a construction site and rolled over.
Reina listened to all of those stories with interest, and by the time she was finished, she let out a sigh of pity.
And I thought of it as an expression of wanting to hear more of my story.
By the way.
“… Ike?”
Today, after Reina let out her sigh, her reaction was a bit strange.
“I have a question, is it okay?”
“Oh, as much as you like.”
In a cold atmosphere that gave me goose bumps on my back, I straightened up and sat down.
“You haven’t forgotten the promise we made, have you?”
“… Promise?”
“No way, did you really forget?”
As if in shock, Raina looked at me with her eyes wide open.
Anyone could see that he had an expression of lamentation, as if he was disappointed.
“There’s no way I could have forgotten. Could I have forgotten that promise?”
On top of that, the light from Reina’s purple eyes was so powerful that it could scare even a god, so I, an ordinary human being, had no choice but to quietly bow my head.
“… Really?”
“Yes. I really do remember.”
“But why still….”
“It’s because I need a little, really a little time. Can you wait?”
“Hmm.”
Reina puckered her lips out and glanced at me, as if she didn’t like her.
“… Okay. I’ll wait.”
Then, Reina said she would get up for today, and left the drawing room.
“Ha ha.”
I let out a sigh.
I really didn’t forget the promise.
‘So I’d like you to tell me your real name.’
‘When everything is over this time, I’ll tell you no matter what.’
‘Yeah, that’s enough.’
How could I forget that promise in the first place?
The reason I was able to hold on to the end in the fight against Dyt was that promise.
But really, it’s not right now.
Of course, that will come out after today.
By the way, I never thought I’d see Raina stubborn like that.
I guess she was really looking forward to it.
… Be cute
“One month, is it?”
“Yes. They said it would take at least a month under the conditions you said.”
Leon added that this was also to shorten the period as much as possible.
Originally, she said it should hold at least 4 months.
Okay. My request was quite difficult.
“I don’t know what you promised, but wouldn’t it be better to just tell the truth? Miss Reina would surely understand.”
“I want to surprise you as much as possible.”
Because I wanted to talk about it from the beginning.
But if there’s a problem now, it’s that Reina is looking forward to this promise for some reason.
“… How should I run away for a month?”
“Well, you made the choice, so you have to take care of it. It doesn’t seem like a problem I can help with.”
Leon raised the corner of her mouth and smiled at my question.
I can’t refute that statement at all.
“Ha ha.”
I just sighed quietly.
★
Two months have passed since Ike woke up.
The weather was already chilly, indicating that it was early winter.
And Ike.
“Sorry, Raina. Let’s talk about that later.”
I was still running away from Reina.
“Really, I don’t know what Ike is thinking.”
At Reina’s lamentation, Sophia, Helen, and Michelle smiled awkwardly.
How many times have I already heard a story related to this?
I couldn’t help but have those thoughts running through the three of them.
Why don’t you be a little more patient with Raina? It’s already been 2 months since I said that.
Raina’s patience had already reached its limit.
But if Ike said it was wrong.
‘… Still, Ike isn’t a bad person.’
As he said that, he made an expression like a cat abandoned by his owner, as if he was depressed to anyone’s eyes.
Reina, who usually looks infinitely cold, almost opened up a new horizon to the three of them just by making that expression, but it’s a different story.
First of all, whenever this story comes up, what do the three of them think first?
‘A woman in love is annoying.’
It was an honest impression.
Of course, all three of them know what kind of existence Ike is to Reina.
But that was it, and this was this.
So the conclusion that the three people came to is finally.
“Ha ha ha….”
Every time a story related to this comes up, let’s smile awkwardly and earnestly pray that this topic will pass quickly.
★
“In the end, it took close to three months.”
Looking at it, I quietly sighed.
“You were expecting it, right? I couldn’t help it.”
Well, Leon was certainly right.
Because I said at least one month in the first place.
And as long as it took, the quality was definitely excellent, needless to say.
But.
“… Will you really like this?”
I wasn’t sure.
Of course, I find time to meet with Reina almost every day, and there is no particular problem when we talk.
The problem is, after every conversation, Raina has been talking about promises, and I am every time.
‘Let’s talk later.’
‘Wait a little longer.’
I was running away with these words.
Three months have passed since then.
Since it dragged on for so long, I wasn’t sure that Reina would be truly pleased no matter how much I showed it.
“So you’re giving up?”
“Well, not that.”
Yes. Even if Reina isn’t particularly happy, it’s all my karma.
I have no choice but to accept it.
With that thought in mind, I quietly put it in my pocket.
The next day.
“Ike. Promise, I mean….”
After the usual conversation in her parlor, Reina tried to bring up a story related to her promise to me again.
“Reina.”
I cut her off and opened her mouth.
“There is something I want to say.”
At my assertion, Reina tilted her head and looked at me.
I swallowed nervously at the gesture that seemed to ask if I was finally keeping my promise.
“I’m really sorry for the past 3 months. I didn’t want to, but there were circumstances.”
I quietly got up from her seat and approached her.
“If I made you uneasy, I sincerely apologize.”
My heart trembles.
I wonder if I’m making a mistake. I feel sick to my stomach at the thought.
“Really, I didn’t forget the promise.”
Right after I came back from proposing to Rayna on that hill, I realized something amazing and immediately called Leon and Atal to consult.
And the result was finally released yesterday.
“… I wanted to show you this.”
Slowly, carefully so as not to cause any trouble, I took out the small box and lifted it with my left hand.
And with a trembling right hand, I opened the box and handed it out to Reina.
What was in it?
“A ring?”
“It’s a ring made with magic stones and diamonds.”
At the center is a small but clearly shining diamond.
And around it, four magic stones processed to the same platinum color as Reina’s hair were spread out on both sides.
“I wanted to deliver it as soon as possible, but it took three months to go through various processes. Really sorry.”
There are 4 different magics on each magic stone, and it is said that 2 months out of 3 months were invested in it.
“The day I proposed to you, I came home and thought about it. I couldn’t help it because I was out of my mind right now and I didn’t have anything prepared, but I really want to put a ring on you.”
“So, did you prepare for three months?”
“Yes. I’m sorry to have kept you waiting for so long.”
I quietly got down on her knees and gently grabbed Reina’s left hand.
“A folk tale whose surname is Yeon and whose name is snowflake. This is my real name
“Seol, Tuesday. It’s a pretty name.”
“Well, thanks to that, I heard a lot that it sounds like a female name.”
Raina smiled at my joke.
Fortunately for her, she didn’t feel any sign of her dislike.
“I will have to give up this name now. I won’t tell anyone in the future. Because now I have to live as Ike Axus. So I’ll say it again to you, the only person in the world who knows my real name.”
I put the ring on the ring finger of Reina’s left hand and looked into her purple eyes.
“I love you. Next year, when you graduate from Arcana, marry me, Reina.”
“… Pretty.”
Reina muttered, reaching her hand up to the ceiling and shining a light on her ring.
“To make me wait three months for an appointment because of this is really stupid. I didn’t have to do this.”
“So, don’t you like it?”
“No, that’s why I like it more. Good luck in the future, Ike!”
After saying that, Reina smiled and hugged me.
A little bit chilly, but you can definitely feel the warmth.
Feeling that, I quietly let out a sigh of relief.
Really, I’m glad I didn’t fail….
#It’s hard to be a woman – 1
Reina and I are basically silent personalities.
Even if you start a normal conversation, it’s rare to talk about one topic for more than 10 minutes.
But I didn’t hate the atmosphere.
On the contrary, I liked looking at Reina in that peaceful atmosphere.
The more I looked at Reina, the more I found new charms.
By the way.
“… Joy.”
Nowadays, no.
Raina has been avoiding me for almost 5 months.
It definitely started from the day after I handed over the ring.
The atmosphere must have been great, but what happened?
Recently, I felt really resentful of my past life, where I had no friendships.
“Ha ha.”
What the hell happened?
I really don’t know.