Chapter 161, Interlude, Cyan’s Meddlesome Thoughts (: Navy)

Translator: Nonon

Proofreader: Silavin

 

POV: Cyan

 

Ray, Cottie and even Io, unusual as it was for her, were all asleep in the carriage, probably because they were exhausted from their time in the capital and celebrating Clo’s birthday yesterday. So, I was blankly staring at the outside scenery as the carriage slowly moved along.

If Clo or any other customer had been here, I would have been able to talk to them, but there were no other customers and Clo couldn’t ride the carriage because of the schemes of some petty idiot, so he was probably flying home with Ro at the moment.

The coachman grandpa is hard of hearing so it was hard to talk to him, and it would be scary if any incidents happened if I distracted him with my stories so it would probably be better to leave him alone.

Fire magic stones were keeping the carriage warm, but there was snow on the road because of the ongoing snowfall. Considering how cold it was usually, the cold air would get in directly through my habit without the winter gear, making me sigh just thinking about it. That being said, snow also has its charms. I’ll make snowmen and snow huts with Shiki’s children again. Oh how I look forward to it.

After that the only thing left to do would be to take revenge for last year’s snowball fight. I lost last year, but this year I’ll… hehe.

 

“—Nn, fuu”

 

When we reached the point when the view from the window looked pretty much the same, I stretched while yawning.

Once my body relaxed a little, I checked on everybody in the carriage

 

“Nn, Funyu…”

“Suu…Suu…”

 

Ray let out sweet sleeping sounds, while Cottie slept beautifully.

They were good friends as usual, even sleeping together.

As we began to ride the carriage, Ray was excited about the souvenirs in his hand, hoping that everybody in Shiki would love them, and Cottie was talking like usual. After a while, Ray began to doze off from the warmth and exhaustion, and started sleeping with Cottie’s cloak on him. Cottie also fell asleep before I knew it.

 

Looking at them like this made me realize once again how close they were and it warmed my heart.

 

“Fuhaha,ha … my disciple, pay close attention to my true abilities…”

“As expected of you…  Lady Apricot…”

 

… Those kids are talking like Master and Disciple even in their sleep. Just how well do they get along!?

It’s very characteristic of them, but they should at least have a different kind of relationship in a dream. Even I do… act the same as real life if Father appears in my dreams…

 

“Suu—-…Suu—…”

 

And Io, who had been looking at them with a warm smile until a while ago, had also fallen asleep. Her sleeping sounds were just as cute as Cottie’s.

She would probably be awake if Clo or her retainer Siblings were here, but because neither were here, she must have let her guard down. This would have been a rare sight from Io a while ago, but now she trusts us enough to let us catch her sleeping.

Besides, a lot of things happened at the academy, but in the end she’s sleeping happily like this. As Io’s friend, I’m happy.

 

“Fufufu… Lord Clo… Gray…”

 

… Yeah, seeing her sleep so happily, I just had to pinch her cheeks, but not enough to wake her up.

I don’t particularly get jealous or resentful of other people’s happiness, but I think I’m allowed to be a little envious. I’ll definitely take out my resentment on Clo later.

 

“Lord Clo… it’s sweet…”

“… Sweet?”

“It’s so soft, my first…”

“… Hmm.”

 

I don’t know the details, but looks like there’s been progress between her and Clo.

… I caught her taking glances at his lips and touching her own lightly a few times, so maybe they kissed somewhere. She also mentioned something being sweet, so my theory is highly possible.

Well, it’s not like I would know if a kiss is sweet or not. I only have knowledge from the books Senior In (Indigo) was reading… I wonder if it would be sweet if I did it with Father? I want to try it.

 

— That aside, Io and Clo are a married couple but they’ve barely had any progress.

 

It was a sudden marriage, but they get along very well and they’re trying to get closer. In fact, Io has boldly declared that she loves him several times. Those were her honest feelings without any ulterior motives.

So what’s up with them still getting shy when their hands touch and finally be able to kiss(probably)!?

It’s so frustrating. They’re married, so they should take things a little further.

 

Of course I’m not saying that they should put their lust on full display like Ki, but when those two act the way they do, it’s just frustrating.

Maybe I should just throw them inside the hot springs near Shiki. If I do that much, they should at least — wait, I did do that once. In the end Ray also joined in and it turned into a Family get-together.

In that case, I should have arranged for Ray to stay at Cottie’s place and sent Io to Clo’s room — oh, apparently that was already tried. They just rejected the idea.

N-no, maybe the result would be different now. Yes, for example— huh, I feel like no matter what, either of them will exceed their capacity from embarrassment and only make a slight progress.

… Well, that’s how Io and Clo are as a married couple so maybe all we should do is give them a little push and watch over them. That being said, I’ll push them when they need to be pushed though.

 

“So, how are things going in that regard, you wimp?”

“What’s up all of a sudden?”

 

As I was feeling frustrated, I spoke to Clo, who was outside the window.

Why is Clo here? The reason is simple. Ro flew from the capital and caught up with us as we were relaxing in the carriage. As expected of the culmination of the past’s super technology. Ro, who can achieve things impossible with modern technology, is as amazing as ever.

 

“Well, it’s nothing really. Come to think of it, you caught up with us pretty quickly. Did Ro improve her speed?”

“I feel like it wasn’t really nothing though… anyway, we were quick this time because… how should I put it…”

“I. Was. Just. Experimenting. With. A. New. Feature. I. Set. A. New. Record. For. Speed. But. Damage. Was. So. Severe. I. Am. Going. To. Seal. It. Away.”

“I see. That’s a shame. If it worked, we could have gone on one day trips or something… so, what’s wrong? You even deliberately used the quiet mode.”

 

I was curious about Ro’s new function, but I put it aside and asked Clo why they took the trouble of approaching the carriage by running alongside it. Moreover, they were using quiet mode so others couldn’t hear them. I wonder if there’s something Clo wants to tell me.

 

“Well, you know how Robot said she was going to hunt down a Vampire? So, she did come close to doing it but…”

“But?”

“Things got a bit troublesome.”

 

He made it sound like she let the Vampire slip away, but there’s no way Ro would do that. In fact, it was more likely that she would burn them down along with their dwelling.

 

“I . Could. Not. Purify. Them. With. My. Functions.”

“Huh, that’s unusual. It must have been a very high-ranking Vampire. Oh, so you want me to purify them for you? Should I ride you in Clo’s place?”

“No. I. Brought. Them. Here. [OPEN]”

“—-!—-!”

 

… Yeah, she’s the same as always.

Ro, as usual, pulled out the Vampire from a mysterious place hidden on her. They were wrapped in holy cloth and their powers seemed to be sealed away.

Hmm, but this is certainly a high-ranking Vampire. If they weren’t weakened, I wouldn’t be able to purify them completely…

In this regard, they just had run out of luck. Had Ro not been their opponent, they would have been fine.

That being said, they cause trouble for the surrounding towns and the kingdom every night, so given my position, I have to purify them.

 

“Ro, sorry but can you make it so they can talk? It might be an evil being, but I don’t want to not be able to hear their dying words, and it’s not good according to the doctrine either.”

“Yes. I. Understand. I. Have. Made. It. So. Violet. And. Others. Can. Not. Hear. So. I. Leave. Everything. To. You. Until. The. End.”

“Yeah, thank you. – okay.”

 

I straightened myself and turned towards the Vampire.

Pray to God. Do not be conceited. God does not save the individual.

It is not permitted to destroy evil through one’s sole judgement.

However there are times when one must act on their personal decision upon understanding all this.

Without judgement there can be no salvation.

Even if it is an evil being, we must talk with them and—

 

“Ha! I don’t want to be purified by a nun like this! She’s the type to arrogantly give love advice to others, but when it comes to herself, she becomes a shameless idiot nun who gets nervous and runs away! I doubt she could even purify me to start—”

“[Sanctuary Triple Down]”

“GYAAAAAAAAAAAAA”

 

Okay, I’ve completely purified them.

It’s not like I forcefully shut their mouth and used the greatest purification magic I could use just because they were right, okay!?

 

“… Maybe I’ll confess to Father when we go back… but it’s probably impossible, uuu.”

“Ah, well, erm, I’m rooting for you. Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help…”

“Yes. I. Will. Root. For. You… I. Will. Help. You. Too.”

“Thank you…”

 

… It’s true that I can’t be proactive with him exactly because I love him… I know I would be overjoyed if we ever touched hands… so I’m not really in a position to say anything to Clo.