I Returned with the Cheat Holy Sword

Vespa’s gaze slowly shifted.
Her blinking eyes drifted back and forth between Carlyle and Gray—
—and then down to the hands they were holding so tightly.

“…”
“…”
“…”

All three of them froze on the spot.
Though in Gray’s case, it was less freezing up and more subtly gauging the mood of both sides—but given her usual temperament, even that could reasonably be called freezing.
How to put it…

There was no particular reason for either of them to react to each other like this. Everyone present was aware of that fact.
And yet, the strange tension hanging in ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) the air was proof enough that reality was very different.
“…”
The fortunate thing was that there was one person here who absolutely couldn’t stand this awkwardness.

After opening and closing her mouth for a moment, Vespa quickly spoke.
“—Hello, Carlyle. Hello, Miss.”
A cheerful greeting, as always. Just like normal.

And naturally, that meant the other side had no choice but to respond in kind.
“…Mm.”
“Yes, a fine evening, Vespa.”

“Were you out for a meal? What did you have?”
“…”
At those words, Gray’s brow twitched ever so slightly.

It was as if she disliked the idea of treating the two of them being together as something ordinary.
As if to say—it was something more special than that.
“It wasn’t just eating something.”

“…Pardon?”
“We’re on a date.”
“?”

And what happened to the explanation about doing this “only because the Duke of Chasefield ordered it”?
Why was she suddenly saying it like that—leaving it wide open for misunderstanding?
“…”
Vespa’s usual smile was still on her face at those words.

But her mouth had fallen completely silent.
The slow blinking of her eyes seemed like she was trying to process what Gray had just said.
“—”

A moment passed.
Just a very brief moment.
Then Vespa slowly blinked again before breaking into another bright smile.

“If it’s a date, you must have gone to a wonderful restaurant! Was the food delicious?”
“…”
And then—

Carlyle, who had been quietly watching her, spoke.
“Vespa?”
“Yes?”

“Are you alright?”
At his question, Vespa tilted her head before smiling sheepishly.
“What kind of question is that? What would make me not alright?”

From start to finish, her answer looked exactly like her usual self.
There wasn’t a hint of anything unusual to be found.
Except for one person.

“No. You look like you’re in danger.”
For someone who had spent so many years with the Hero’s party, it was as clear as day.
What kind of danger a person was in. What kind of thoughts they were having.

“…Excuse me?”
“It seems like you’re holding something back.”
This woman—

She was suppressing her feelings again.
Afraid that saying them out loud might hurt someone, or cause trouble for someone. Even when she wanted something, she shoved it down deep inside.
And right now, Carlyle’s assessment was that the “danger level” of the emotions Vespa was suppressing was fairly high.

High enough that if they weren’t released soon, there’d be a problem.
“—”
“If you need help, please say so. Anything is fine.”

Vespa pressed her lips together.
It was like there were words bubbling up to the top of her head—about to burst out of her mouth—
—but she barely managed to kick them back down.

It was just a fleeting emotion.
But to Carlyle’s eyes, it was perfectly clear.
“…”

And yet, like someone who’d clearly gone through the process of killing her own feelings countless times,
Vespa casually changed the subject again.
“The only thing dangerous for me right now is that if I don’t get back to the inn soon, it’ll be a disaster! I won’t be able to prepare dinner!”

“—Vespa. Just a moment. Let’s talk—”
“See you later, Carlyle!”
With that, Vespa was gone—vanishing so quickly, even using magic, that no one could stop her.

“…”
Carlyle stared blankly at the spot where she had disappeared.
***

Elena Lindell Anastasia’s days were always busy.
Meeting many people, having many conversations, exchanging many emotions.
As the daughter of the continent’s foremost merchant lord, such things were hardly unnatural for her. For her, meeting people and learning how to deal with them was practically part of her upbringing.

But even she sometimes encountered people she had absolutely no idea how to deal with.
For example—someone she happened to bump into in the dormitory hallway.
“…Um, so…”

Elena stammered as she finally opened her mouth.
“Vespa, was it…?”
They were no more than passing acquaintances who had occasionally crossed paths.

If she recalled correctly, Vespa had been Gray’s attendant. They’d had no deep connection, but she still remembered the name.
After all, it had been memorable to see someone willingly staying by the side of that monster.
“…Lady Anastasia?”

“…”
The moment she saw Vespa lift her head slightly at her words, the question “What are you doing here?” died in Elena’s throat.
Her eyes were swollen. The cuffs of her sleeves and the nape of her neck were damp.

…It wasn’t hard to guess what state she had been in just moments ago.
The fact that she was sitting alone in such a dark, tucked-away corner of the hallway already suggested her mental state wasn’t fine.
And when Vespa met Elena’s pitying gaze, she flinched and flailed her hands in panic.

“I-I was just, um, cleaning…!”
“Cleaning the hallway isn’t even your job.”
“N-no, but, still…!”

As Vespa floundered, Elena sighed and spoke.
“Look, we’re not exactly close, and we haven’t talked much. But I just can’t bring myself to walk past you right now.”
“…”

“If you’re alright with it, would you tell me? I’m actually pretty good at giving advice.”
“…”
At those words—

Tears began welling up in Vespa’s eyes again.
Elena, flustered, glanced quickly around.
Wait.

Wait, wait.
If someone else saw this, wouldn’t they immediately assume she had made her cry?
She’d offered kindness, but this was the reaction she got? That was a first.

“Ah, um, thank you.”
Vespa sniffled.
“It’s not because of you, Lady Anastasia—it’s just… someone came to mind.”

“Someone came to mind?”
At Elena’s question, Vespa gave a deep, bitter smile.
“…There’s someone who always barges into people’s hearts without asking.”

“…”
“And that person, like you just now, always says they’ll help me no matter what…”
As she listened,

A bitter smile appeared on Elena’s own face.
This is exactly what I think it is~
For all her ladylike poise, Elena had a knack for reading people in trouble.

And in her eyes, the problem troubling Vespa was obvious.
…A matter of romance.
And near Vespa, there was only one person who could provoke this kind of reaction.

“This is about Carlyle, isn’t it?”
“!”
Vespa practically jumped.

“L-Lady Anastasia, have you fallen for Carlyle too?!”
“…What on earth are you talking about?”
She was speaking as if Carlyle were some kind of siren, luring people in just by getting close.

But thinking about it—
The situation itself was strange.
Would he even be the type to make a woman cry…?

He didn’t seem like it.
He didn’t strike her as the kind to deliberately hurt someone.
“…Let’s move somewhere else. This isn’t really the place for it.”

Later, in Elena’s room—after hearing the full story—
The conclusion was that her initial guess was right.
The man wasn’t someone who hurt people on purpose.

He was just maddeningly dense.
“…I’m sorry, but… is he even human?”
Given Elena’s usual choice of words, this was probably the toned-down version of “Is that bastard even a human being?”

“You’re obviously into him. Even without making it that obvious, any normal person would have figured it out by now!”
“…”
Vespa’s face turned bright red.

“W-was it obvious…?”
“…How could it not be?”
It wasn’t just obvious—it was practically at the level of Please devour me now.

Even without saying a word, she looked at him with eyes so sweet they could melt sugar.
And it wasn’t just her eyes. Every little action of hers was twisted toward spending just a bit more time with him.
From one woman’s perspective, it was like she was constantly shouting “I like you!” in his ear.

“Well, since neither the Miss nor Carlyle seemed to notice, I thought maybe no one else would either…”
“…”
Hmph.

In the land of the one-eyed, the two-eyed man is the freak.
Being caught between two people whose emotional faculties were broken would naturally lead to this.
As Elena was shaking her head in disbelief, Vespa sniffled again.

“But please don’t be too hard on Carlyle.”
“…What?”
“He’s just not really interested in that sort of thing… He treats everyone the same way, not just me.”

“…”
“If you think about it, I’m the one who decided to like him on my own, and I’m the one who’s sad that my feelings aren’t returned, so… you could even say it’s my fault…”
“How is that your fault?”

Elena let out a sigh that seemed to say she had a headache.
Honestly…
Even after making all that effort to appeal to him, he hadn’t given her a single reaction—it was only natural to feel hurt.

She’d been hurt enough to cry her eyes out—
—and yet here she was, defending the man who’d made her cry.
Well… at least she didn’t fall for someone truly awful…

This girl was born with the instincts of a battered wife.
Which, in other words, meant—
That Carlyle was dealing with someone this good and wholesome, and yet still managed to make her suffer like this.

“…It can’t be helped.”
Elena straightened her back with a dignified air.
“I’ll help you!”

“…Pardon?”
“I told you, I’m good at giving advice! I’m sure I can help!”
“…”

Vespa tilted her head slightly.
“Um… Elena-sunbae, are you… experienced in these things?”
“…”

Elena’s face flushed bright red, almost to the point of turning crimson.
As Vespa idly thought about how a person’s expression could change so wildly, Elena stomped her feet and shouted.
“E-even if I haven’t done it myself! I can still give good advice—!”

“…”
Vespa simply looked at her in silence, as if she’d struck a nerve.
Normally, anyone sensible would ignore the advice of such an obvious amateur.

Would they?
…Unfortunately, this particular girl was also a virgin with absolutely no such discernment.
“F-first things first! Let’s change your approach!”

And so—two virgins with a combined dating experience of zero put their heads together to strategize about romance.
…It was quite the sight.