Chapter 71
Chapter 71
“Until now, you’ve probably been enduring out of a sense of duty.”
“I…”
He stopped speaking.
“No.”
With my hands covering my eyes and my head bowed, I said,
“There will definitely be days when you can’t do that.”
There are days when living is overwhelming.
Even if you think you should live on the memory of a warm touch you once received, there are times when you just want to throw everything away and lie down, wishing you could fall asleep forever.
Even in my second life, with the system, I felt that way.
How could Cassis not?
He might feel it even more than me, but not less.
“When that day comes, I hope you’ll remember me.”
How many people could help Cassis?
I don’t know.
“I wish you’d ask me for help, so I can do something.”
“…Irina, you’re kind.”
“But, I’ll do my best to prevent such things from happening.”
Cassis looked at me with a gentle smile.
His hand was already on my cheek.
My flowing tears smeared on his calloused fingers.
I put in the most effort to change Cassis.
Without asking anything that might bother him or make him face his condition before he was ready.
But I’m just happy that he has faithfully followed me in changing, that he enjoys and expresses pleasure when eating delicious food, that he says he’s happy when I show him new things.
Looking at Cassis, who was still wiping my tears, I said,
“My best efforts include not only reviving Luwin but also making you happy, Lord Cassis.”
Cassis stopped moving his fingers and just held my cheeks with both hands, giving a small smile.
I felt my heart sink.
He took a deep breath, inhaled, and then completely reversed the mood that had settled.
“So, Irina. You told me I needed to change, right?”
“Yes.”
“Since you’ve gone this far to tell me, I’ll try to change.”
“Really?”
I jerked my head back with my face half-held.
Cassis gently held me, saying I could get hurt, and restored my neck to its original position.
“But Irina needs to change too.”
“Me?”
Why?
I’m perfect as I am!
Cassis must have noticed the rebellion in my eyes because he chuckled and then suddenly turned serious.
“The thing that has troubled me most recently was Irina.”
“Gasp, why me?”
I opened my eyes wide and protested.
“If I had known you were so weak, I wouldn’t have brought you to the North.”
I was so incredulous that I let out a sound close to a sneer, “Ha!” and protested.
“I’m not weak!”
“Ordinary people don’t collapse after coughing up blood like that.”
I opened my mouth.
I felt wronged but had nothing to say.
I grumbled “Tch” and protested a few more times about being wronged, but it was futile.
Cassis admonished me as if dealing with a young sister.
“When you’re not okay, you need to say you’re not okay.”
“……”
“When you’re in pain, you need to say you’re in pain.”
“……”
“Answer.”
“Yes.”
[Hahahahahaha]
[Our Irina, you’ve found a good master.]
[You’ve been overworking yourself like that all the time, this is rather fortunate!]
‘What’s fortunate about this?’
The system just cackled, ignoring my protest.
“Working to the point of harming your health is not allowed either.”
“Ah, I have something to say about that too. You do the same, Lord Cassis.”
I feel wronged.
It’s not like I’m harming my health that much.
I still eat three meals a day properly.
But I shook my head and said,
“I do sword training every morning at five.”
Ah.
What kind of excuse is that?
Is he saying he’s a knight doing core exercises, and I’m a weak human who doesn’t even exercise?
[Yep.. Seems like it]
[He’s not wrong]
Damn it.
* * *
“It’s Lady Irina!”
“Miss Seike!”
“We’ve been waiting. We want to know the recipe for this ice cream.”
When I finally wiped away all my tears and waited for my reddened eyes to calm down before returning to the party venue, I flinched at the sudden attention.
As I stepped back hesitantly, I felt a solid body against my back.
Cassis firmly supported me so I wouldn’t fall.
As his body touched me, my startled heart instantly calmed.
Calming down and listening to what the people gathered in front of me were saying, it seemed to be roughly ‘Ice cream is awesome!’, ‘Please sell us ice cream!’, ‘Give us the recipe!’
I answered in order with ‘Thank you’, ‘Please wait a moment’, ‘The recipe is confidential’ and then quickly fled.
“It looks like we’re going to be a big hit.”
“Indeed.”
“Please think of an amazing ice cream brand name quickly.”
I was currently pondering various aspects of the overall mood of the ice cream brand and the design of shops and stalls.
[We should contact Yuri soon.]
‘I’ve already contacted him.’
By the way, these days Yuri was drawing various aspects of the overall interior and ice cream brand image according to my request.
As he was still a child unfamiliar with this kind of work, I had him work in advance for practice.
Could it be that we’ll really hit it big like this and pile up money in an instant?
If that happens, we’d earn so much that we wouldn’t even think about this enormous debt.
[SYSTEM | The enormous debt totals 99,883,001 Jurang.]
“……”
Of course, the system quickly made me face reality, saying the debt I had to repay was enormous.
“Irina, are you alright?”
Cassis asked as we were fleeing the party venue, probably because my condition seemed strange.
I must look a bit strange.
But it can’t be helped.
“Let’s really succeed.”
Let’s definitely succeed and pay off the debt.
[Just pay off the debt?]
[You have to save the empire too.]
“…They say we have to protect the empire too.”
At my statement, Cassis stopped fleeing and asked with a face full of doubt.
“Why should I?”
That’s what I’m saying.
* * *
Cassis looked at Irina, who had put in the most effort to change him.
It hadn’t really hit home until now that someone was showing so much care and effort for him.
No matter how much Roen, the butler, or Isiel cared for him, it doesn’t solve all the problems.
So Cassis thought all that worry was useless.
He thought their worry only multiplied the number of people suffering while the situation didn’t improve at all.
<I want you to be happy, Lord Cassis.>
But Irina’s concern seemed a bit different.
Cassis wanted to be happy if he could, hearing Irina’s words spoken with tears in her eyes.
If only he could be happy just because someone else wished for it.
<I wish you wouldn’t be in pain every time you open your eyes in the morning, and wouldn’t worry every time you close your eyes at night.>
Kind and warm words.
As images of her doing her best until now passed through his mind, and he reached the conclusion that her best efforts were ultimately for him, Cassis tightly closed his mouth.
Irina wasn’t the only one who felt like crying.
Irina said that even if he was the master of Luwin, even if he had to protect numerous territory residents, even if doing his best was his duty, there would definitely be days when he couldn’t do that.
<There will definitely be days when you want to run away.>
Irina was crying before he knew it.
She blinked with blue eyes brimming with tears, barely holding on, and finally, clear transparent tears poured down her cheeks.
The sight was so pitiful and beautiful that Cassis stared at it blankly.
<Until now, you’ve probably been enduring out of a sense of duty.>
<I…>
He stopped speaking.
He…
‘I’ve always wanted to run away since going bankrupt.’
He always wanted to run away.
To a place where no one knows, where he doesn’t have to be responsible for anyone.
But is there such a place in the world?
He could only escape if he died and sank to the bottom of the sea.
However, Cassis chose to bury this sticky emotion in his chest rather than reveal it.
<No.>
He couldn’t just watch Irina crying, covering her face with both hands and bowing her head.
So he found himself wiping her cheeks, wiping her tears, and even holding her cold cheeks with both hands.
Looking at her beautiful face, he thought.
That the world is warmer than he thought.
He had thought other people’s worries were useless, but that wasn’t always the case.
At least there was one person in his unfortunate life who cried saying she wanted him to be happy.
With this, Cassis permanently let Irina into his boundaries.
* * *
“By the way, Irina. Have you heard that rumor?”
“What rumor?”
Cassis said with a serious face.
“I heard a legendary animal appeared near the Tennua River.”
The Tennua River is a huge river that crosses the empire.
In other words, it can be thought of as the center of the capital.
You’re saying an unidentified animal appeared in such a river.
Is it a demon beast?
“What, a demon beast?”
Is the world’s destruction approaching already?
But I haven’t prepared anything yet!
I haven’t even paid off all my debts yet!
Our Cassis is still a penniless debtor, let alone a hero!
As I stood blankly, slightly panicking, Cassis shook his head.
“It’s not a demon beast, they say it looks very unique and beautiful, like a mythical creature.”
“Could it be a misunderstanding of something that looks unusual?”
“No. They say it’s an animal but it’s square-shaped and has no legs. There’s also a rumor that its skin is covered in scales that shine when they catch the light.”
Huh?
“Above all, they say it flies through the sky.”
“Ah.”
Cassis delivered the final blow to my reaction.
“Without wings.”
Oh my.
It’s not a demon beast, it’s our Vroom-vroom.
“Oh, my goodness. Our Vroom-vroom.”
You’ve become the talk of the town.
Still, it’s fortunate that it’s not rumored to be a demon beast, but a beautiful mythical creature.
