A Depressed Kendo Player Possesses a Reckless Aristocrat

I’m Home

So, a few days passed.

For the first time, I felt the reality of spring, and while I stood for a while in the warm scenery…

Before I knew it, a week had flown by since I’d arrived at the Duke’s mansion.

It felt like a fleeting moment.

Fortunately, during that short time, I had managed to recover our broken relationship to some extent.

But still, regret was inevitable.

Because now was the time to return to the Licith territory.

“I’ll be on my way now.”

I bowed politely to Raymond.

Raymond, who was seeing me off in front of the carriage, looked like he was genuinely sorry to see me go.

“I wish you could have stayed a little longer.”

“The Academy’s semester is starting soon, isn’t it? It’s time to prepare for a new season, truly.”

“I know… Thinking about my daughter, I want to keep you here, but it would be too shameless, wouldn’t it?”

“The Princess will be alright. She’s a strong person.”

“Yes, I hope so.”

Even as he said this, I too couldn’t help but feel worried.

Maharet wasn’t in a normal state.

Her mental health had deteriorated due to the obsessions and guilt that originated from me.

I’d suggested multiple times that it might be better if she stayed by my side, like Lucy, staying for a while at the Licith estate…

But each time, her outright refusal thwarted the idea.

I wanted her to show her face to others, clear up the misunderstandings of the past…

‘But with such a resolute attitude… it would be strange if I forced her.’

Maybe she still needs time to prepare herself.

Since I’ll see her again at the Academy in just two weeks, maybe I shouldn’t be so impatient.

I shook off the wavering, intrusive thoughts.

Right after, I offered a greeting to the silver-haired girl, stiff and still.

“I’ll see you again at the Academy, Princess.”

A faint smile played on my lips.

“May you be safe until then.”

Maharet just looked up at me, silent.

In her clear red eyes, the reflection of a certain black-haired boy was all that remained.

Her gaze was calm, as if lost in deep thought.

I waited in silence for a moment.

It wasn’t long before her closed lips parted slightly.

“…I hope the same for you.”

May her life now breathe with a gentle light.

The last words she uttered were carried away and scattered by the cool breeze.

Amidst the fragments of fluttering consonants and vowels, I forced myself to turn my reluctant feet.

Thud, then thud.

My steps to board the carriage were composed.

Just unwavering.

I raised my heavy leg as if it were light.

“Well then, farewell.”

A spring flower passing through a season of winter.

The season of snow became a single seed and left the Filea ducal manor.

.

.

.

-Rattle…

Only the sound of rolling wheels filled the emptiness of the carriage.

I stared blankly at the scenery flashing past the window.

Not that I was admiring the view or anything. It was just that I had some things to think about.

I tapped my drooping sleeve lightly.

The steady, consistent noise brought a sense of calm.

After repeating that for quite some time, I soon took a deep breath and lifted my head.

“Status window.”

A single, sharp call shot out.

Immediately following, a familiar mechanical tone rang clear, and a blue screen materialized before my eyes.

-Ding!

[System restored.]

I silently glared at it.

“……”

Right, the status window.

I’d been living as though it didn’t exist these past months.

So much had happened while the system was in hibernation; a maelstrom of events.

There hadn’t been a moment to think about it, but… it came back just as the hectic pace of my life finally slowed down.

-We told you. There’s an entity that manipulated your memories.

-Who do you think that could be?

I had so many questions for it.

Everything from my past life, to this life I’d believed was possession, and finally, to the now.

I desperately wanted to ask if it really tricked me.

I wanted to know if the person who had sustained me for the past six months, the one who had given me words of encouragement and comfort, had just been putting on an act.

I wanted to… but instead,

“How have you been?”

-Ding!

[The input question is not precise.]

Something was wrong with the system’s condition.

I’d been trying to talk to it for days, but it hadn’t given a single proper response.

It was as if consciousness had been drained from it.

No matter what question I asked, only stiff, rigid sentences would return.

This wasn’t the same guy I knew.

If the previous status window had felt like a ‘being’ with a self.

This status window felt like a lifeless ‘machine,’ completely devoid of vitality.

Could it be faking it?

I’d even tormented the system all day, on that suspicion, but had come up empty-handed.

He was empty, hollow like a discarded shell.

“…Cowardly.”

How could he just vanish like this?

At least an explanation, that’s all I’d hoped for.

I forced a bitter smile, fiddling with the blank blue screen.

What the hell was that?

To me, he was someone I could depend on, a friend of sorts.

Was I so easily disposable to him?

It felt like I’d become a pathetic plaything.

“I really was… relying on you.”

I bit my lip, a sting of betrayal pricking at me.

But I shook my head, dismissing it.

I calmed myself with a deep breath and turned my gaze back to the window.

The carriage was still rolling on.

Maintaining a still posture, I muttered, my voice weary,

“It’s fine… At least the system’s back, one way or another.”

It stung that ‘someone’ I’d formed a connection with through the screen had disappeared,

but at least the system was functioning again. That was something.

It would surely help me deal with the incidents and accidents that would plague the Academy.

Right now, everyday life was peaceful enough,

but after the start of the semester, all sorts of dangers would come, following the original plot.

“…Yeah, let’s think positive.”

I forced my mind blank and closed my eyes.

I was tired.

Deciding to get some sleep, I leaned back against the seat.

*

And then, after several more days.

The carriage, which felt like it would never stop, finally reached its destination.

“We’ve arrived, Young Master.”

The carriage door opened smoothly.

Beyond the slowly unfolding scenery, a familiar building comes into view.

The mansion’s form, as if emitting immense pressure yet holding a serene atmosphere.

I was home.

“……”

The haven I stepped into after nearly a month felt incredibly dear.

I stood there a moment, taking in the surroundings, when a call reached my ears.

“Oppa!!”

Immediately after, a warm presence embraced my back.

Turning around, I saw a crimson-haired girl looking up at me with sparkling eyes.

Perhaps it was because it had been so long since she’d acted like this.

My heart warmed as I spoke her name.

“Ariel.”

“I missed you, Oppa…!!”

Ariel, beaming, clung to me.

I calmly stroked her red hair, returning her welcome.

Judging by how she continued to bounce with energy, she must have missed me terribly.

“I missed you too.”

“Hehe…”

“Are you that happy?”

“Yep!”

It felt like holding a little puppy in my arms.

Of course, Ariel wasn’t the only one who came to greet me.

After waiting a moment, familiar voices began to reach my ears.

“Welcome back, Young Master.”

“Raiden, I was waiting…!”

“Little Master.”

“Did anything happen, Raiden?”

Rachel.

Lucy.

Gilbert.

Father.

They were all people who welcomed me.

I couldn’t help the small smile that escaped me, and I started walking towards them.

“Are you alright, Raiden? Did that Princess Filer do something nasty again…?”

“I’m fine, Your Highness.”

“Did you eat properly? You seem thinner than before you left.”

“I feel like I’ve actually gained weight…”

“Indeed, you do look like your cheeks have hollowed out, as the Duke mentioned.”

“Where are you looking… old man?”

A flurry of worries and concern poured out, each one more intense than the last.

As I answered their voices in turn, a finger poked my cheek.

My gaze landed on a brown-haired girl standing there.

“You’ve returned safely, Master.”

“Rachel.”

“Was the matter you mentioned before resolved?”

“Well… not perfectly, but I think it’s mostly resolved.”

“That’s a relief.”

The girl smiled, her eyes crinkling.

The graceful curve of her eye made an alluring line.

“I was worried about you every day… wondering if you were too scared to sleep at night.”

“How much of a kid do you take me for?”

“Hmm~ About eight years old?”

“It’s like our time stopped the moment we first met.”

Light, meaningless banter.

Only now did I begin to truly feel like I was home.

I tucked away the strangely ticklish feelings and quietly said to those before me.

“I’m back.”

That I was home.

*

Meanwhile.

In the uncharted space beyond the boy’s subconscious, a serious conversation was unfolding.

Figures observed the peacefully progressing scene.

They were, without fail, ‘fragments of existence’ bearing the forms of Kim Naru and Raiden.

“…What are you planning to do?”

Naru, who had been silent for some time, finally spoke.

The question dropped like a stone.

Raiden, who was sitting beside her, shrugged as if to ask what she meant.

“What about?”

“The status window… I mean, about ‘that person.’ It seems like he’s completely misunderstanding things.”

“Oh, is that all.”

“I don’t think it’s something we can just brush off with a reaction like that.”

Naru frowned at the lackluster reply.

Raiden’s nonchalant attitude was grating on her.

Right now, ‘he’ was feeling betrayed by the status window, thinking of him in a negative light.

It was a misunderstanding that would soon be cleared up, sure.

But still, knowing all the truth as they did, it was only natural to feel uneasy…

“Uneasy my ass. You just look like you don’t care at all.”

“Ha, haha…”

Perhaps stung by the piercing gaze, Raiden let out a meaningless laugh.

“But still, there’s nothing we can do, right? We’re absolutely forbidden from talking about him.”

“Yeah, well… There’s a restriction.”

Naru rubbed his forehead, as if dealing with a headache.

Raiden patted the boy’s back lightly, speaking plainly.

“Don’t worry~ The misunderstanding will only be temporary anyway.”

“Hmm…”

“He’ll know soon enough… how much he sacrificed for us, and how long he’s been on our side.”

A person who had been waiting for us anytime, anywhere.

Raiden, uttering enigmatic words, traced a curve at the corner of his mouth.

It was a soft smile, yet it held a hint of bitterness.

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