6. Proof of Existence (19)
The air quickly loses its warmth. Senior Elsie, with a cold complexion, was just staring at the princess in silence.
The princess couldn’t even properly hand over an apology. It was just shaking and glancing at me.
It was a face that reminded me of even one day’s nightmare. It seemed that senior Elsie had pushed the princess like this before. I couldn’t figure out the details, but it was clear that the princess was terrified.
First of all, Nara also decided to try to dissuade senior Elsie.
“Senior Elsie, please calm down. Even Her Highness, the princess, must have had no malice… … .”
“Are you saying that my uncle is the leader of the Dark Church?”
It was a word he spat out while gnashing his teeth.
A sigh escaped through my teeth. In fact, I could understand Elsie-senpai’s heart itself.
Senior Elsie was from a high-ranking aristocracy. He was proud of his family and would have respected his great and excellent uncle as much as he feared it. Also, isn’t Mr. Reynolds one of the two great wizards that the Rainella family is proud of?
There were not many nobles who could endure insults to their family.
Even so, if the opponent was the imperial family, he should have bowed down, but the opponent was the 5th princess, Shien. Among us, the princess’s hierarchy was not particularly high.
It must be because I put the first button wrong.
Even just now, the princess was trembling in shock. Originally, the exact opposite composition should have come out. If a noble used an insulting expression to the imperial family, it was the noble who should ask for forgiveness.
It wasn’t Elsie-senpai who didn’t know that fact.
Elsie-senpai, who was chewing on her lips, quickly bent her head. Whether he was aware of the fact that he had crossed the line, no more ferocious words were spoken. It was just that I turned my back and took a lonely step.
I hurriedly grabbed Elsie-senpai’s shoulder.
“Senior Elsie, we have a duty.”
I didn’t mean to go into detail about why. I just hoped that Elsie would understand my feelings.
To save the world, many things must be abandoned.
‘I’ from the future said so. I also struggled not to throw anything away, but the blood on my hands was mixed with the blood of my former comrades.
I didn’t want to even abandon my family.
However, if the family was a traitor, they had to be abandoned. This was not a realm of likes and dislikes, but a matter at stake for the fate of mankind.
Elsie-senpai, who hesitated for a moment, soon let out a gloomy tone.
“… … I know.”
It was one word that bothered me. I was about to follow Elsie-senpai as it is, but I heard a voice brushing my ears.
“I’m sorry. sorry. sorry… I didn’t mean to. I didn’t expect Sir Ian to fall so hurt. Sorry for being arrogant… … .”
The princess was repeating the words of apology like a broken doll. In the end, my choice leaned toward the princess.
Elsie-senior at least maintained her rationality. On the other hand, the princess seemed to be irritated by the wounds of the past. I decided to appease the princess for a while.
After senior Elsie left, I was still afraid of the princess.
“Your Highness, are you okay?”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. sorry. black, ugh… … .”
Now, even dew was forming in the princess’s eyes. There was no such thing as disloyalty as an aristocrat to make tears come from the emperor’s veins. I thought about how to appease the princess.
Shall we tell you a funny story?
Then, suddenly, a thought crossed my mind. It was one of the funniest things that had happened recently.
“Your Highness, come to think of it, did you hear? I heard that products that imitate my appearance are in vogue at the academy… … .”
It’s nonsense, I was going to throw a joke saying I don’t know who the hell made that.
Upon hearing my words, the princess’s trembling immediately stopped. As I looked at my questioning eyes, the princess spoke in a clear, dry voice.
“Oh, I made that.”
was it you
I couldn’t help but swallow a laugh.
It was always dark under the lamp.
The culprit is always nearby. The same goes for the masked monster.
**
Senior Elsie was not far away. It was because there weren’t many places in the orphanage where people were rare anyway.
The playground where even the children left to eat.
Elsie-senpai was sitting in the corner with a melancholy expression on her face. Even the cone-shaped hat had no strength, and it looked insignificant.
He seemed to have put a lot of thought into it.
Whether the princess’ reasoning was correct or not. Perhaps he tried his best to deny it.
Even so, Elsie-senpai’s mood was still depressed.
I didn’t ask, but I knew what the conclusion would have been. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t deny it. It was highly likely that they agreed with the proposition itself that at least confirmation was necessary.
A situation where you have to doubt your family.
It wouldn’t be nice to anyone. Especially if it’s a hero you’ve admired since childhood.
Without a word, I sat down next to Elsie-senpai.
“I went upstairs with Mr. Reynolds not too long ago.”
There was no reason to turn around. Elsie was an unpretentious person, and her direct expression was just as effective.
But I didn’t want to insult Mr. Reynolds at all.
I also knew That Mr. Reynolds is a good man.
Even if it’s just camouflage, isn’t it a comrade who has been together for a short time. He was not someone to gossip about in front of his nephew.
Also, the claim that Mr. Reynolds is a “masked man” is just a hypothesis.
“You fought well. Literally, he turned the battlefield upside down by himself.”
“… … Because it’s ‘The Great Wizard’.”
Even in the midst of depression, senior Elsie obediently responded to my request for a conversation.
I decided to obey the language of silence.
“The Archmage is that kind of being. It’s a state that only those who transcend logic and formula can reach. People who do not understand the world in words and numbers, but who accept it as an intuition and build themselves entirely within it.”
“Would you like to be Elsie-senpai too?”
It was a confrontation that could not even be questioned. Which wizard would not seek the title of Archmage?
Senior Elsie was no exception to that.
“Are you cool? No matter what anyone says, to find my own path and stand tall. It means that they are strong beings alone, even without anyone’s help.”
“It is a unique feeling.”
“Because I have admired it since I was a child.”
Light slowly returned to Elsie-senpai’s eyes, which had been shadowed. Crying, the emotions of the chimin turned into language and vomited.
“But my uncle made a deal with the Dark Church?! I’ve already risen to the level of a great wizard… … !”
“During his mercenary days, he lost all his colleagues.”
Now it was Elsie-senpai’s turn to remain silent.
The story he couldn’t bear to tell his family, even the scars he worked hard to hide are useless in front of the battlefield.
It was a story Mr. Reynolds confessed calmly. So I also tried to speak calmly.
“Even Reynolds isn’t invincible. Even a great wizard has limits.”
Senior Elsie did not object.
He just hung his head without saying anything. As you get older, there are some facts you have no choice but to know even if you don’t want to know.
No one can survive alone.
You need someone to rely on, and sometimes you make the wrong choices.
Mr. Reynolds was no exception.
Elsie-senpai held back her screams. And in the past, he spoke with his eyes burning brightly.
“Then try it.”
It was a mixture of hatred, anger, determination and trust. Senior Elsie was grinding her teeth far and wide.
“If my uncle is a traitor or not… why don’t you test it yourself?”
That was right. Only one question remained for me.
“how?”
The answer was simple. Elsie-senior smiled meaningfully as if she had waited.
“Master, do you love me?”
While mixing with aegyo.
I was resentful of my situation, which I couldn’t bear to say no. The bravado that trembled with anxiety while squinting his eyes caught my heart.
So, without saying anything, I hugged Elsie-senpai.
Perhaps she hadn’t expected me to come out like this, Elsie’s body stiffened. The more I did, the tighter my small body hugged me.
The rebellion soon ceased.
Against the backdrop of sniffles, I affirmed.
“I’ll do my best.”
There is no solution, but he said so. Seeing Elsie crying in her arms made her hair turn white.
Time passed and night came.
The moon and stars were visible in the distance. The road led to a low mountain, and a middle-aged man was walking along a blurry line.
Brown hair, blue eyes.
His face was stained with fatigue and doubt. even for a while.
The middle-aged man’s forehead narrowed slightly. It was because a monster suddenly appeared in front of my eyes.
The pure white mask reflected the moonlight. Even so, what stands out is the physique of the person wearing the mask.
It seemed like I had seen it a lot.
“……What are we going to do?”
Huh, the man Reynolds faced with a smirk.
He had a build similar to that of his niece’s fiancé.
Even his skills were extraordinary. The energy that had been saved was piercing Leonold like an awl.
Even so, the man in the mask hesitated for some time. As if you have something to say and you have to save it.
After a while, the masked man let out a dry voice.
“Is your nephew sick?”
“You bastard!!!”
Reynolds immediately rolled his eyes and ran.
It was as Elsie’s relay.