Chapter 43: A Farewell with a Promise

“Only two days left.”

Originally, the plan was to stay for a week at each person’s house before moving to the next, and now it was almost time to leave Yuri’s house and head to Anne’s.

Perhaps because of this, Yuri expressed her disappointment with a tone full of longing.

When she first arrived at the house, Yuri was all smiles, but as time passed, the frequency of her grumbling increased.

“Can’t we just not go?”

“We’ve already made plans with everyone. It’s too late to change the schedule now.”

Thud.

I flopped onto Yuri’s bed, now familiar, and reminded her of our one-week agreement.

“Still, it’s disappointing. Ah, El! Don’t lie down right after eating. It’s not good for you.”

“Ahhh. I can’t hear you, can’t hear you.”

With my hand on my ear, I rolled around on the bed, lightly ignoring Yuri’s words.

After training so hard all morning, a little laziness wouldn’t hurt, right? So I allowed myself to rest. Rest, my body.

“Are you going to act like a kid again? Sometimes, El, you really do have childish tendencies.”

Unlike the soldiers and knights who have to train as part of their duties, there’s no need for us to participate in afternoon training, and I don’t think there’s any harm in being a little lazy.

But maybe I was the only one who thought that way, because Yuri grabbed my hand and pulled me up.

She sat next to me on the bed.

Yuri seemed deep in thought as she raised her index finger and began fiddling with her lower lip, pondering something.

Then, as if she’d come up with an idea, she clapped her hands and stood up again.

“Ah! I know! I can just go with you, El!”

“No.”

As soon as she made up her mind, Yuri rushed to Craig to drag me along, only to receive a sharp refusal.

It seemed that after finishing the morning training, Craig had just started working, as papers were piling up on his desk in real-time.

“…Why not?”

Yuri couldn’t protest harshly and asked with a small voice. Craig paused his work for a moment, looked up, and met her gaze.

“I’ve been away for a few months at the Academy already. Now that we’ve finally managed to spend some time together… Hmm, hmm. I can finally get some training in, so I can’t afford to waste any time.”

?

Didn’t he just change what he said? Craig didn’t show any sign of it, and Yuri, who was quite upset, seemed not to have noticed.

But from my vantage point, watching closely, I definitely heard him say, “Spending time together…” It passed so smoothly that I thought maybe I had misunderstood, but reflecting on the events of the past few days, it wasn’t a misunderstanding.

My suspicions were confirmed.

The times when Yuri would stick to him for training, and Craig would spend the whole time guiding her—of course, Yuri’s lower level of skill meant it made sense for him to focus on her.

But there were moments when, despite saying she wasn’t ready, Craig would smile faintly.

The times when Yuri would swing her sword well, and Craig would pat her on the shoulder to praise her—of course, a person can’t just wield a whip; sometimes, you have to give a carrot too.

But his hand would hover near Yuri’s head and then drop down to her shoulder instead.

Every evening after dinner, when Yuri and I would have tea, Craig would come by, sometimes listening to Yuri’s, sometimes to my stories, for long stretches.

Of course, he might be doing that to check how I was doing at the Academy or to find out about the friends I made there. But he would sip the tea Yuri offered while not paying attention to my own story.

This guy. Is it possible that the real reason he opposes Yuri holding a sword isn’t because of her talent, but for another reason? That seems quite plausible.

“If you don’t have anything else to say, you should leave. I have a lot of work to catch up on.”

Once I was sure of my suspicions, I started noticing things differently.

Craig’s statement about being busy with work felt like an excuse, as if he had neglected his duties in order to spend time with Yuri.

Yuri, perhaps unaware, left the room with a half-disappointed, half-knowing look on her face. I, too, bowed my head slightly toward Craig before following Yuri out.

“I really wanted to go…”

Back in her room, Yuri threw herself onto the bed, clutching a pillow as she grumbled in a voice thick with regret.

That pillow looked exactly like the one from the Academy dormitory.

It wasn’t like she had intentionally brought it along, so it must have been the same one bought from the same place.

“Hey… Yuri?”

“Uh?”

Still with her face buried in the pillow, Yuri barely poked her head out to respond.

“I have something I want to ask you… Would you like to hear it?”

As usual, after dinner, while Yuri was setting up three teacups, a knock sounded at the door.

Instead of Yuri, who was pouring the tea, I went to open the door, and Craig entered with his usual casual stride.

Just like yesterday and the day before, he came in, chatting about various things while drinking tea.

The conversation paused for a moment and became quiet, and Yuri, glancing at me from the corner of her eye, seemed to be looking for some kind of approval.

It was as if she was asking herself, “Is it really okay to do this?”

I signaled to Yuri with my eyes, pointing toward Craig. This was definitely a move that would work. I was certain of it, having experienced it myself.

Eventually, Yuri mustered up her courage and jumped up from her seat.

“Father!”

“Hm?”

Suddenly standing up and calling out to him, Yuri caught Craig’s attention as he put down his teacup. Yuri closed her eyes tightly and dashed toward him.

Thud.

Yuri embraced Craig, burying her face in his chest. Then, she looked up at him and opened her mouth.

“Can’t I go with El?”

It seemed like she had never tried such a childish act before, and her face was as red as could be.

Craig, too, seemed to be caught off guard, unable to speak, his whole body frozen.

However, the only part of Craig that seemed to move was the corner of his mouth, which was twitching more vigorously than I had ever seen before.

I knew well the power of Yuri’s childish acts, having experienced it a few times myself.

Anyone familiar with Yuri would find it impossible to resist that attack.

As expected, Craig’s lips parted, granting permission.

“Of course…”

…

Was he about to say no?

“Of course…”

The serious expression on Craig’s face shattered, and his eyes were trembling. How was he even managing to hold on?

“No!”

Ah, I realized my mistake. Yuri’s request was to stay at a friend’s house for a few weeks.

This meant that if Craig agreed, he would lose that much time with Yuri alone. That gave Yuri’s attack a slight opening, and Craig eventually managed to overcome it.

If it had been me, I would have accepted Yuri’s request without hesitation. But Craig, with the resolve of a Sword Master, stood firm and followed his own will. Truly, a Sword Master, one of only eight in the continent. I respected him once again.

“Well, see you after vacation.”

“Heh…”

I waved my hand toward Yuri, who was waiting to see me off. Then, I bowed my head slightly to Craig, standing beside her, and expressed my gratitude.

“Thank you for your hospitality. I hope everything goes well for you.”

“You’re always welcome. Come back anytime, like it’s your home. Travel safely.”

After Yuri’s little act of cuteness, Craig’s voice had become much softer.

It seemed that it was hard for Yuri at first, but after understanding Craig’s sincerity, she repeatedly acted cute toward him. Thanks to that, the distance between Craig and Yuri grew much closer, and there were no more doubts left in Craig’s attitude toward me.

While Yuri might feel a bit regretful, I thought this was probably a good resolution.

“Thank you, Lord Rufin, as well. I’ve learned so much from you.”

I also thanked Rufin, who had been standing behind us. Even though it was only for a week, it wasn’t just idle chatter.

My sparring with Rufin gave me insights I hadn’t gained from my training with Celian.

“It’s a relief that my old body was able to help. Next time, I hope to see you as the continent’s ninth Sword Master.”

“Heh…”

The servant who had come with Anne’s carriage took my bag from my hands. When I first arrived at Yuri’s house, it had been just my single luggage, but now, there was another bag filled with clothes Yuri had given me.

As I boarded the carriage and looked out the window, I could still see Yuri waving her hand toward us. I opened the window, leaned my upper body out, and waved back.

Even as we got farther and farther away, Yuri’s hand continued to wave in the distance without stopping. I, too, kept waving until I could no longer see her hand.

Just a few months ago, I never imagined I would be doing such a sentimental thing, but I’ve truly changed a lot.