This chapter was brought to you by the collaboration between PolterGlast and Saekano Translations.
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Volume 1 Short Stories
Translator : PolterGlast
The Prequel to
Love
One evening I invited
my dear friend, Tima, to the mansion for the first time. A commoner and an
aristocrat. An unlikely combination considering the difference in status, but
here in Arcazam, there is nothing wrong with that.
"Come on,
Tima-san, please tell me about it!"
"Well, I don't
have that kind of experience, so that's impossible."
The problem was that
my dear little sister was even more excited than I was. The content of the
conversation was first love. She is getting more and more excited about it.
Could it be due to the influence of a friend she made at Ecross?
If so, as her Onēchan,
I may have to have a word with her. ......
"Umm, what about
you, Ane-sama?"
Hm? Is it about my
first love?
Hmm. I'm not sure if I
can call it love ....... Out of my duty as a noble, I once engaged with my
fiancée, who was decided upon when I was a child, but unfortunately, that
engagement was broken off a few years later. I was to be the next head of the
Francilt family after all.
Forsina is a country
in the western part of the Arkmel continent where women have made considerable
contributions, but even so, it is undeniably a male-centered society.
My former fiancée had
also dismissed my aspiration to become the next head of the family by saying
that it was impossible.
"Well, whether
it's about getting married or adopting a son-in-law, it's something I'll never
have a chance to experience."
Somia looks at me with
a slightly sad expression on her face as I remember those days. Somia was even
younger then than she is now, so she couldn't possibly remember. ......
I pat my sister's head
as if to tell her it's okay. I am not sad, even if I never knew love. Because
what is important to me is already in my hands.
This is just a short
time before I met him and came to know love.
◆
Before the
Encounter
"Kuro-chan~!
Let's play~!"
I walked around
Central Park looking for my recent favorite black cat.
I called out to her
and she immediately came out from the grass.
She is a pitch-black
female black cat. She has been very difficult to make friends with, but
recently she has finally opened up to me.
My goal today is to
get to know her better!
For starters, I extend
my hand as a greeting.
She nudges me with her
nose while raising her tail.
A typical greeting
between cats. Then I quickly extend my hand to her neck and stroke her neck to
show my affection.
Cats are generally
hard to get along with. But I am more than happy to experience the feeling of
gradually getting to know these difficult creatures.
Hence, I am definitely
a cat person!
I squat down and pat
my knees. Kuro-chan was so kind as to climb onto my lap, as if to say, "It
can't be helped."
But I mustn't be
relieved yet. Kuro is a picky cat, and if something displeases her even a
little, she will immediately get down from my lap.
So, I slowly stroke
her with my fingertips, trying not to irritate her, and measure the distance
between me and Kuro.
In fact, I want to
touch her more. At that moment, I noticed that Kuro was staring at a certain
point for a long time.
The bracelet on my
right hand which was given to me by my sister.
I had a flash of an
idea. Although it is a very important thing, if I could get her to pay
attention to it, I might be able to touch her more.
I was driven by such
an impulse, and the moment I removed the bracelet......
"Ah!"
Kuro quickly grabbed
the bracelet in her mouth and climbed up to the top of a tree.
The tree was higher
than I thought, and I couldn't climb it.
Cats are fickle and
clever at the same time. Kuro had completely beaten me to it.
What should I do? That
was a precious gift from my sister.
"U~~!"
I was in distress and
Kuro-chan was looking down at me smugly and proudly. At that moment, I heard
someone's voice I didn't recognize from the side.
◆
The Protectors
and the Protected
Flashes of light and
sparks burst in front of my eyes.
Forgetting about the
magic chains binding my body, I am completely fascinated by the sight in front
of me.
The sight of him
fighting the vampire who is trying to take my sister away from me.
It is the first time I
have ever seen such a spectacle since I have always had my back on those I was
protecting.
A gentle heat seeps
out from deep within my chest.
It is a warmth that is
clearly different from the excitement I felt when I witnessed his masterful
skills.
It somehow resembles
the warmth that has become faint in my memory.
It is so unlike me to
feel this way.
I am someone who
always protects, and has someone behind me to support me, but I have never had
anyone in front of me.
The heat almost makes
my whole body relax, and my rational mind desperately tries to rid itself of
it.
It is dangerous to be
dumbfounded because the danger is not yet over.
But I am already
incapable of even casting a spell, and the battle between him and Rugato is no
longer an area in which I can intervene.
My eyes are once again
glued to his back.
The warmth that seeps
into my once-broken heart binds me and does not let go.
Oh, no. This is no
good.
This will make me
weak. The things I have sealed away, the things I have left behind in the past,
are about to reveal their faces.
But he is the only
one. He is the only one who is protecting the existence that I really want to
protect right now.
"Nozomu-kun......"
Before I know it, a
voice similar to a prayer naturally escapes from my mouth, as if I am
entrusting all of myself to him.
◆
Painful Scars
"Tch, if you're
going to pick a fight, look at who you're dealing with."
I spat insults at the
idiots who had attacked me in the alleyway of the commercial district and threw
their leader, who I had beaten to a pulp, out of the way.
His companions let out
a frightened cry as they ran away, dragging their fallen leader.
He had a bigger body
frame than mine, but he got scared easily right after I broke his nose.
"What do you
want!? There is nothing to look at here!'
I yelled at the stall
owner who had been peeping at me, and he looked frightened and quickly averted
his gaze.
He was apparently
feeling pretty bitter about having his store destroyed the last time he tried
to pull some kind of fraudulent stunt on people. Hmph, if you're going to be so
scared, you shouldn't have gotten involved in the first place!
The smell of rancid
sake on my nose is making me feel irritated.
I look at the
surroundings, trying to forget my irritation. All of the stares I receive are
filled with trepidation.
These stares brought
back the memories I had pushed to the depths of my mind.
(Dad, don't, please
stop it!)
The bitter memories
come back to my mind.
The violence and angry
shouts did not stop no matter how many times I pleaded to stop. My younger
sister was crying by my side.
Ena, who could not
stop crying, and I, who kept on begging and pleading, made that man even more frustrated,
and he began to swing his fist down more violently.
I glance down and see
my own hands, stained red and blue.
The hands resembled
those of my father, whom I loathed so much.
"......"
The unstoppable
impulse, the uncontrollable anger.
I left the back alley
of the commercial district, biting my lip to suppress the rage raging deep in
my chest.
◆
Unnoticed
Changes
"Heave-ho......"
Sitting on a long
bench in the vast garden, I watch the maids tidying up the mansion that has
been devastated by the battle with the old vampire butler. Beside me is Ai, who
has also come to see how things are going.
"Speaking of
which, what happened to Mars-kun after that?"
"He went home
ahead of us, carrying his sister who fell asleep on his back. He needs to explain
to his family and he prefers to let her rest at home where she is
comfortable."
What Rugato-san used
on everyone in the mansion was just a suggestive spell, so there would be no
aftereffects on the body. Even so, Mars-kun didn't leave his sister's side
after the battle ended the entire time.
It was a bit,
surprising. The fact that he saved me, and the fact that he was so worried
about his sister. I had an image of him being more violent and not caring about
the people around him.
Talking about the old
vampire butler's magic brought back the image of his back that protected me by
putting his body on the line.
"Fufu, I see.
......"
Ai, who was sitting
next to me, smiled meaningfully. Indeed, it was a bit of an unexpected side of
him.
"Well, I was a little
surprised."
"That's true. It
was a bit surprising that Mars-kun actually had such a strong affection for his
sister, wasn't it? Even though they quarreled so much at the party.
......"
"No, that's not
what I meant......"
Eh? What? Were we surprised in different ways?
As I tilted my head,
Ai shrugged her shoulders as if to say, "It can't be helped", and
turned her meaningful gaze on me once again.
Eh? What? Was it me
who was acting weird? Did I say something strange?
Wait a minute, don't
go back to the house without saying anything. At least please explain!
