ACT 3
“Luu la laa! ?” From behind Yuuto came a voice singing out of tune, accompanied by a roaring wind.
The voice belonged to Albertina, merrily enjoying herself as she rode astride her horse.
As for the girl’s other half, Kristina rode alongside Yuuto’s carriage, occasionally sneaking warm glances in her sister’s direction and letting slip a chuckle or two.
“Wow, this is convenient,” Yuuto exclaimed, impressed by the much higher than normal speed of the carriage.
It was a technique that combined the powers of both twins. Kristina rode alongside the carriage and used the power of the Silencer of Winds, Ve?rfölnir to remove any headwind, while Albertina rode behind them and used the power of the Provoker of Winds, Hræsvelgr to create a strong tailwind.
Thanks to that, they were on track to arrive at their destination early.
“I am glad to see that it’s to your liking,” Kristina replied. “In exchange for your Chalice oath, I could promise you pleasant travels from now on, as well.”
Yuuto shook his head. “Quite the attractive offer, but not enough. I’m not giving it to you yet.”
“That’s disappointing,” she remarked, though she didn’t actually seem that disappointed.
The two girls were currently being treated as Yuuto’s live-in guests.
The annual harvest festival having concluded successfully and without incident, Yuuto had been preparing to head out to inspect the new territory he’d won from the battle with the Horn Clan when they had asked to accompany him.
“If you could use this power to affect the battlefield as well, then it’d be really convenient,” Yuuto added.
“We would like to be able to do that,” Kristina replied. “However, we can only control winds in our immediate surroundings.”
“That’s disappointing.” Yuuto sighed and shrugged his shoulders.
Being able to control the battlefield winds on a tactical level would carry an immeasurable advantage. One could use headwinds to shorten the range of enemy arrows and boost the range of one’s own with tailwinds. With a constant tailwind, one could also easily set up traps and strategies to kill the enemy using fire.
But, having a few supernatural powers didn’t change the fact that Einherjar were still human. Expecting abilities that inhumanly powerful from them was unfair.
“Disappointing... Crap, I’m getting way too used to Yggdrasil.” Yuuto shuddered at the realization that his thoughts had immediately turned toward violence.
In the two years since he’d arrived, the Wolf Clan had been in a state of war almost the entire time, so in a way it was inevitable, but Yuuto was a bit worried about how things would go once he made it back home.
“We shouldn’t have to go to war anymore... right?” Yuuto murmured.
He had received information from multiple sources that several clans subservient to the Hoof Clan had broken off and declared independence upon Yngvi’s death.
One could safely assume those fragile new clans wouldn’t be invading the Horn Clan for the time being.
“Yes, it’s all thanks to you, Big Brother,” Felicia said. “I never imagined the day would come when we could take a leisurely trip together like this. Although the presence of a pesky third wheel or two does muddy things a bit,” she added in a mutter.
“It’s an inspection, not a vacation,” Yuuto chided her with a wry smile.
Despite saying that, it was true that Yuuto himself felt considerably more carefree and relaxed compared to the many times he’d rode off to battle.
“Still, that idiot Stein?órr still worries me. I’m not sure how to put it— I just have a bad feeling about him, or something.” Yuuto sighed heavily.
After the fateful encounter with his new neighbor, Yuuto had returned to Iárnvi?r and immediately set about gathering information on Stein?órr and his Lightning Clan. What he had come to understand about the man known as Dólg?rasir, the Battle-Hungry Tiger, was just how absurd his strength really was.
Stein?órr had assumed the role of Lightning Clan patriarch three years ago, at the age of only sixteen. Likely underestimating the young patriarch, the Hoof Clan’s hero Yngvi had led an invasion, but Stein?órr had driven them off masterfully.
After the battle, he had sworn the Oath of the Sibling Chalice to become brothers with Yngvi, and with the threat from their north neutralized, the Lightning Clan had begun their expansion eastward. The surrounding smaller clans had been crushed one after the other, and in a mere three years, the Lightning Clan’s military strength had more than doubled. All the while, this red-haired young man had constantly fought on the front lines, yet it was said that he hadn’t sustained any injury, not even a scratch.
Yuuto wanted to believe that was just hyperbole purposefully spread to other nations as a boast of strength, but at the very least Stein?órr hadn’t had any visible scars.
In spite of the fact that the various opponents he’d attacked had also undoubtedly included Einherjar warriors, his trail of victories left nothing else to say, except that this young man was a monster.
“I’m sure it will be all right, Big Brother. After all, it seems he really took a liking to you,” Felicia teased, giggling mischievously.
One wouldn’t have to be as observant as she was in order to notice that Yuuto held less than pleasant feelings toward Stein?órr; anyone who had been present at that ritual hall would have been well aware.
“Come on, cut it out.” Yuuto frowned, genuinely upset.
From the moment they’d first met, there had been something about that fearless young man that Yuuto couldn’t stand. Even just thinking back on it incited a nauseating pain in his chest.
It wasn’t really because Stein?órr was rude and arrogant. If that had been the reason, Yuuto would have been more annoyed at the way Kristina and Albertina had first behaved. Yuuto had thought maybe it was because of how his younger sister Linnea had been made a fool of, but even that wasn’t enough to explain the visceral hatred he felt toward the man.
Finding himself unable to figure out the reason behind his irritation annoyed Yuuto even further, which increased the hate he felt toward Stein?órr. It was a classic vicious cycle.
“But if you swore the Oath of the Sibling Chalice with him, the peace of the Wolf Clan would be all but secured, wouldn’t it?” Felicia said.
“Urk.” Yuuto groaned, grimacing as if he’d just swallowed something disgusting.
He would honestly rather die than become brothers with that man, but as a patriarch, Yuuto couldn’t let himself make decisions based on personal feelings alone. If he were to think about his country’s future prosperity, naturally it was an option that had to be on the table. Even if just imagining it was enough to give Yuuto goosebumps in revulsion.
The city of Gimlé had been built near the intersection of two rivers: the Körmt River, the great mother river whose waters nourished the greater Álfheimr region, and the Élivágar River, a smaller tributary flowing down from the steep ?rú?vangr Mountains which formed one corner of the “Roof of Yggdrasil.”
A portion of the wall surrounding the city had collapsed, and bare-chested and sunburned laborers were laying new bricks. Looking into the town proper, one could see that in several places along the main street, carpenters were busy assembling houses. Every member of the populace walking along the main street, from women and children to the elderly, was busily working together to carry more bricks to and fro.
“This is a fact of life in war. Please do not worry yourself unduly over it.” Felicia’s words were considerate, but a cloud remained over Yuuto’s heart.
“Yeah... I know that,” Yuuto said with a bit of self-derision. He looked over the city, burning the scene into his eyes. Just looking at it caused his chest to tighten up with guilt, but that was all the more reason he needed to remember this.
He needed to remember the image of the people who suffered because of what he had done.
The fortress citadel at the center of the city was still damaged or destroyed in areas, and had been left exposed to the elements in a way that continued to markedly showcase the ravages of war. That was because reconstruction of the city proper had been given priority, and there weren’t enough people to spare.
This fortress was one that Yuuto had assaulted and captured during the war with the Horn Clan. Since the fortress itself was the target, he’d focused on trying to avoid excessive damage to the city, but it had been hard to avoid completely.
“This sure is a large town, though, isn’t it?” Yuuto murmured, turning back toward Felicia.
“Yes, I’ve heard reports that its population exceeds that of Iárnvi?r.”
“It does seem pretty rich in resources.”
“Indeed. At the time, it was so amazing that I was left speechless.” Felicia gave a small sigh of admiration.
There was no trace of it now after the fall harvest, but at the time he’d taken the fortress, the entire landscape outside the city had been covered in waving heads of golden wheat, stretching as far as the eye could see. The locals apparently referred to that sight as I?avöllr, “the Shining Fields.” From the perspective of someone from the Wolf Clan, whose territory was mostly in mountain foothills with rocky soil unfit for farming, the sight must have been more captivating than any gold or jewels.
“For my part, I’m breathing a sigh of relief that our own food situation is about to improve dramatically,” Yuuto said.
Currently, the Wolf Clan was making up for its food supply shortages through trade. They’d been unable to avoid buying at a comparatively high rate, and had been going into the red financially at times in order to supply their citizens. And the countries they were trading with didn’t really have much of a surplus in food production to begin with. One bad harvest season would make market prices soar, and there was a chance that there wouldn’t be enough to spare for trading at all. One could call food supplies a nation’s life support system, and Yuuto wanted to make it possible for the Wolf Clan to provide for itself with its own food production.
“Hey hey, Lord Yuuto...” Albertina was tugging at his cloak, and Yuuto turned to find her with an absolutely pitiable look on her face.
“Huh? What’s wrong—” he began, but then her stomach gave off a lively, thunderous growling, and he surmised the rest.
Holding a hand over her stomach, Albertina smiled, embarrassed.
The sky was already beginning to glow with the setting sun. It must have been some time since they’d eaten lunch, not to mention the fact that she’d been using the power of her rune to create tailwinds to push Yuuto’s carriage the entire time. It was no surprise she’d worked up an appetite.
“Oh, you’re so hopeless, Al,” Kristina said. “I guess there’s nothing for it. Well then, I still have some bread I saved from lunch, so...”
“You’re going to give it to me?!”
“I’m going to eat it myself, of course.” Kristina stuffed the leftover bread into her mouth all at once and began chewing furiously. It was a pretty big piece of bread, so both of her cheeks were puffed out like a squirrel’s.
“Ah... ahh... ahhhhh...” Albertina fell dramatically to her knees, reaching an arm out to her sister in vain with tears streaming down her face. She was wailing forlornly like it was the end of the world.
Watching that reaction, Kristina looked absolutely ecstatic, as if she were walking on air. As always, she was completely devoted to picking on her sister.
“We’ll get you some food real soon, so don’t cry.” Yuuto, feeling a bit sorry for Albertina, patted her on the head, tousling her hair a bit. They’d arrived in Gimlé ahead of schedule thanks to her, and he definitely wanted to get her a good meal.
“Wahhh! Thank you so muuuch...” Albertina gripped his hand and thanked him profusely.
Meanwhile, her sister responded with a chilly objection. “Oh, my. Lord Yuuto, could I trouble you not to feed her without my permission?”
Kristina’s mouth was smiling, but her eyes weren’t. Looks like this wasn’t so easy a problem to solve.
Yuuto couldn’t help but give a wry smile.
Whatever she might say to the contrary, Kristina had waited to make a show of eating in front of her sister until the city was right in front of them, when they would be able to get something to eat without much of a wait. Yuuto had the feeling that if they really were out of food with no way to get more, she would have given the last of her own food to Albertina.
“Seriously... you are one twisted girl.”
“It sounds like you’re really having trouble with it, then,” Yuuto said.
“Yes, sir.” The middle-aged man sitting across the desk from Yuuto sheepishly bowed his head repeatedly, wiping sweat from his brow with a small cloth. “It’s just that there are quite a few differences from what we’re used to, and, um...”
He was supposed to be about in his mid-thirties, but he must have seen his share of troubles, for he looked much older. His brown hair already had bits of white in it, and there were thick crease lines etched into his face.
The man’s name was Olof. He was the Wolf Clan’s fourth-ranked officer, and the new governor put in charge of running the city of Gimlé.
He didn’t have any particularly outstanding achievements to his name, but he had gained his current rank by fulfilling any mission or assignment given to him without any fanfare or complaint, and over time, his long and steadfast dedication had made him a valued and experienced general.
Ruling over a newly annexed territory was expected to bring its share of troubles, and Yuuto had determined that a man known for his plain but solid results would be the best fit for the task. It seemed it had been rough sailing even for Olof, though.
“Even so, we have to get this Norfolk system implemented somehow,” Yuuto said.
“I’ve given everything I have to try and make it so, sir, but I fear I wasn’t up to the task.” Olaf bowed his head again. “I am truly sorry.”
“No, it’s okay, I understand that it’s difficult.” Yuuto waved his hands, trying to reassure the apologetic Olof. “I know it’s gonna be tough, but keep trying.”
The Norfolk system was a four-course farming system in which four different crops (barley, clover, wheat, and turnips) were planted in four fields, and then their positions were rotated with the new planting each year.
In the 18th century, the tremendously rapid increase in agricultural productivity, in no small part due to the widespread use of this crop rotation technique, had come to be called the Second Agricultural Revolution.
Until the advent of this system, it had been difficult to prepare an adequate amount of fodder for all of one’s domestic livestock, and so as winter approached, it had been common to slaughter most of them, which in turn prevented one from retaining a large number of livestock.
For Yuuto, that meant that in preparation for this year’s coming winter, he wanted to at least draw up a plan for the planting of turnips and clover. The turnips would serve as livestock fodder during the winter, while the clover would both feed the livestock and help renew the soil.
“The greatest problem for us,” explained Olof, “is that this city was under the control of the Horn Clan for many years, and the people here truly came to love and appreciate them. So, they do not look too favorably on our rule.”
“I see,” Yuuto said, nodding. “Well, the Horn Clan did improve life here by a lot, after all.”
Linnea’s father was known colloquially as Gullveig, “the Golden Hero,” and it seems that name was no exaggeration. Linnea herself was so devoted to the well-being of her people that she had been willing to offer up herself as a sacrifice for their sake. It was likely that she had learned this sense of devotion from her father’s teachings, and by watching his example.
“Yes, sir,” Olof said. “And when outsiders like us come in at that point, demanding that they change the practices that have been passed down for generations, it’s quite difficult to get any of them to lend an ear...”
“Yeahhh, that’s gonna be the case when your farming customs have been passed down for hundreds of years...” Yuuto couldn’t help but agree with Olof’s point, sighing bitterly and folding his arms.
In the “information society” of the 21st century where Yuuto came from, advances in technology were practically a monthly or even daily occurrence. But in ancient eras, there had often been periods of several hundred or even a thousand years with no significant or revolutionary change, where people simply continued to use the technology and practices passed down to them.
For example, even though the concept of fighting while riding on a horse had already come into being by around 1,000 B.C., it took another 700 years before the bit mouthpiece was invented, and 1,400 more years passed before the advent of the modern stirrup.
“‘There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things.’ ...So it is.” With a bit of irony, Yuuto quoted Machiavelli’s The Prince from memory.
In that book, Machiavelli followed this with, “Because the innovator has for enemies all those who have done well under the old conditions, and lukewarm defenders in those who may do well under the new.”
And this was agriculture, the core and foundation of people’s livelihoods. Failure would mean they might have nothing to eat the following year. Yuuto could understand why the people of Gimlé would think twice about trusting something new.
By the time he’d tried putting the system into practice with the Wolf Clan in Iárnvi?r, Yuuto had already built up a reputation with several accomplishments for the clan, and he’d earned the trust of high-ranking authorities in the clan like Felicia and Jörgen. And those Wolf Clan authorities already had the wholehearted trust of the citizens. That was the only reason he’d been able to implement even a partial version of the system as smoothly as he had.
Gimlé was, in this regard, enemy territory, and just across the Élivágar River border lay the Lightning Clan’s territory. If he wasn’t careful with managing the emotions of the local population, at worst it could lead to a revolt, creating a fatal opening in Wolf Clan defenses and inviting invasion.
“There’s seriously nothing harder to deal with than human emotions,” Yuuto grumbled, and sighed.
“You are quite right, sir.” Olof gave a stern, solemn agreement.
Then they exchanged glances and both gave a wry laugh.
No matter how sound the logic, no matter how revolutionary the expected result or improvement, without the ability to sway the human heart, any new idea was nothing more than a pie in the sky.
Knowledge from the 21st century was, at the end of the day, nothing more than that. Just how long had it taken him to learn that simple fact?
“Good grief. So, what can we even do about it?” At a loss, Yuuto stared up at the ceiling.
Little did he know, a solution to this problem he had thought extremely difficult to solve was even now racing toward him from an unexpected direction.
Whether that solution would be something desirable to him or not was another matter entirely.
“Big Brother! It’s good to see you again after so long!!” Linnea cried.
“Uh, y-yeah, g-good to see you too, Linnea.” Taken aback by his sworn sister’s sudden arrival in the citadel, Yuuto struggled awkwardly to return her greeting.
It was about five days since Yuuto had arrived in Gimlé. He had been visiting various locations in the city, asking indirect questions of the residents, and had just begun to really get a feel for the difficulty of the problem facing him.
“W-why are you here, though?” Yuuto asked, his face tense.
It wasn’t that he disliked her; in fact, he actually liked Linnea. But right now, she was the one person he least wanted to see.
Thanks to Felicia’s expert wit in handling the situation, Yuuto had managed to buy some time to think, but even with all that time, he still hadn’t been able to come up with a diplomatic, problem-free way to turn down her marriage offer. It was still something that he racked his brain over.
“Originally, this city was under the rule of the Horn Clan,” Linnea explained. “Of course, I have absolute faith that you can bring the people here peace and prosperity, Big Brother! It’s just that it’s something I thought about a lot, and... When I heard that you would be coming here, I thought, this a great opportunity. Um, and... B-Big Brother, I also just wanted to see you, too.”
As she said the last part, Linnea’s voice cracked and faded out. Her face turned bright red, and she looked down, embarrassed.
Yuuto was almost unable to make out the words... almost. He thought about how much better it would feel if he hadn’t heard them, and cursed his hearing.
He had absolutely no idea how to deal with this.
For the past two years, he had plunged himself feverishly into the study of government, economics, and military science, but that had left him without a moment of time to learn about relations with women. And it wasn’t like he’d had any life experience to draw on, either. He was just a green recruit, like many young men his age.
“Um, so, um, if it’s possible, I’d like to hear your answer soon...” With her two index fingers pressed together, Linnea asked him in a small voice. But her truly sweet, even adorable mannerisms just drove the sword that was Yuuto’s conscience all the more deeply into his own heart.
“Ahhh, so in regards to that, um...” Yuuto’s face had broken out into so much cold sweat that one might mistake him for a toad fresh out of the water.
I have to think of an excuse...! Yuuto’s mind raced, but there was no chance of him coming up with something useful when he hadn’t been able to after all this time.
“Big Brother?” Linnea asked.
“Uhh... um um um...”
“I’m terribly sorry, Elder Sister Linnea,” Felicia said with a bow of her head. “The truth is, another offer of marriage came to us from the Claw Clan, and as it is a delicate political matter, we hope you could grant us a little more time.”
In the end, it was once again Yuuto’s talented adjutant who came to his rescue in a moment of desperation.
“Wha— Did you say the Claw Clan?” Shaken, Linnea’s face changed from that of a young maiden in love to that of a composed patriarch. She locked her gaze on Felicia, pressing her for the details, when...
“Right here, that’s meeee!” Albertina raised her hand and called out energetically.
“Or so she says, but she is nothing more than a concubine, and I am the actual marriage candidate,” Kristina added.
“Ehh?! But I’m technically the older sister, Kris!”
“Ability and merit are everything in this world, Al. Heh heh heh...” Kristina snickered to herself like some evil magistrate out of fiction.
For someone who had outright stated she had no interest in marriage, it seemed she was willing to go to any lengths to tease her sister.
“Grr, to think you had Big Brother let you accompany him on his inspection tour... If you’ve already earned his favor in that way, I can’t take you lightly.” With a fearful expression, Linnea took an unsteady step backward.
It would appear she assumed that Yuuto had brought the twins along as his “favored mistresses” or something to that effect. In actuality, they had stubbornly decided to come along of their own accord.
“B-Big Brother!” Linnea cried. “With all due respect, the Horn Clan is greater than the Claw Clan in terms of national strength. I think it is obvious which one of us would lead to better prosperity for the Wolf Clan.”
“Oh, my, trying to snare a man with material wealth?” Kristina sneered. “You must truly not have much confidence in yourself as a woman. Hee hee.”
Kristina placed a hand over her mouth and giggled haughtily, in the style of your typical evil woman character.
She was totally enjoying herself. While her main target was of course her sister, it would seem that she also just loved sadistically picking at people in general.
She really was a girl of bad character.
“Rrrrgh!” Glaring at Kristina, Linnea growled, presumably unable to come up with a response to her taunts.
“Hee hee.” Kristina giggled again. She seemed to be thoroughly enjoying how frustrated she was making Linnea, but to Linnea’s eyes, it had to seem like Kristina was gloating over her marriage prospects.
“Grr...!” Linnea’s face twisted up with displeasure. That reaction of hers was even more of a treat for Kristina, but she didn’t realize it.
“S-so more importantly, Linnea, you were concerned about the state of the city, right?” Yuuto hurriedly attempted to change the subject.
Partly he did so because he felt sorry for Linnea, but mainly he had determined that this topic was too dangerous. It would be a real problem for him if it were revealed that he’d tried to send the twins back home. He wanted to keep Linnea thinking that he was struggling to decide between the marriage offers from both clans.
To Yuuto, it felt like he was acting the part of the sort of man who would string along multiple women and never commit.
Back home in the 21st century, I thought disgusting jerks like that were the worst, so how did I end up as one? he lamented to himself.
“Oh, uh, yes,” Linnea said, seeming to come back to her senses at Yuuto’s words. She stopped glaring menacingly at Kristina and her sister. Returning to her earlier courteous manners, she turned to face Yuuto. “On my way here, I took the liberty of viewing the state of the city, and I was relieved to see that the reconstruction appears to be proceeding well.”
“Well, it’s shameful to admit, but the truth is it’s actually not going all that well,” Yuuto admitted.
“I-is that so?!”
“Yeah,” Yuuto said. “It seems the previous rulers here were pretty amazing at their job.”
“Ah...! That’s, um, what can I say...” Linnea nearly broke out into a wide grin, then stopped herself, looking apologetic. Even so, her modesty couldn’t completely conceal the happiness from her cheeks, creating quite a mixed expression.
Yuuto found the sight heartwarming as he continued explaining the situation to her. “So because of that, there’s something I’ve wanted to find a way to put into practice here, but we can’t get anyone to agree to it, and we’re deadlocked. I guess there’s no way around that but to start by earning their trust slowly and steadily, right?” Yuuto raised both hands in a wide shrug.
Haste makes waste, as the famous expression went. Just because he had 21st century knowledge, that didn’t mean that things would always go his way. Even if it felt like a frustratingly long road, he was going to have to walk every step of it.
“Um, incidentally, what sort of plan is it?” Linnea inquired. “If it’s all right, would you be willing to tell it to me?”
“Hmm, what should I do...” Yuuto only hesitated for a moment. “Ahh, sure, why not. So, the thing is...”
Yuuto gave Linnea a rough explanation of the Norfolk crop rotation system.
In an era when it was no exaggeration to say a country’s national strength was equivalent to its agricultural productivity, putting this system into practice would bring immeasurable benefits.
He’d wavered a little bit on whether it was right to give such valuable knowledge to someone from another clan, but he’d decided to tell her. It wasn’t because he’d come to like Linnea or wanted to bring happiness to the citizens of the Horn Clan, though he couldn’t deny that he also held those kinds of naive sentiments. No, as a patriarch, he had a more practical reason for his decision.
The Horn Clan had recently suffered a serious decline in national strength. In their defeat by the Wolf Clan, they had lost a large number of soldiers and a good portion of fertile land, including Gimlé. And in their most recent war with the Hoof Clan, their western lands had seen a lot of damage. From a geopolitical perspective, the Horn Clan was what one could call a buffer state, shielding the Wolf Clan’s western side from the many other clans it bordered. It was like how Tokugawa Ieyasu had been for Oda Nobunaga.
Now that they’d formed an alliance, it wouldn’t be very good for the Wolf Clan’s national security to let the Horn Clan grow too much weaker.
“Oh... Ohhh...” Linnea nodded and let out sigh after sigh of wonder as Yuuto explained the crop rotation system. By the time he finished, she was so deeply moved that she trembled with excitement, and began to praise him relentlessly. “Wooooooooow! Amazing! Amazing!! That’s too amazing! Not only can you win in battle, you even think of splendid ideas like this! I-I admire you from the bottom of my heart! Big Brother, I think your wisdom surpasses that of the gods in the heavens!”
“N-no, see, I didn’t actually think of any of it, though,” Yuuto said, recoiling from Linnea’s downright ferocious praise.
Inwardly, he was also thrown off for another reason. Yuuto had never before seen a person emotionally moved on such a deep level just by a simple scientific explanation. Humans couldn’t comprehend something that was too far removed from the bounds of their own common sense. In Yggdrasil, planting the fields every other year was still the common practice. Though the Norfolk system had already produced definite results in Yuuto’s world, there was still no precedent here.
With a proposal that sounded far too good to be true, it was normal for people to get suspicious of fraud, and there were plenty who might react with anger, claiming the gods would not allow such blasphemy.
“I understand!!” Linnea suddenly stood up, and with a face filled with determination, thumped a fist to her chest. “For my big brother, and more than anything, for the people of Gimlé! Though I may be unworthy, I, Linnea, will do my utmost to assist you!”
“Ohh, it’s Lady Linnea! Lady Linnea’s here!” a man cried.
“Thank you so much for coming here to see us,” a woman added. “It’s so wonderful to have the chance to look upon your face again.”
“Here are some apples we’ve harvested. Please, make sure to enjoy them to the fullest.”
The people of Gimlé adored Linnea in a way that could be called religious. It was almost like they viewed her as some sort of living god. There were even some who exclaimed “Praise be!” and prostrated themselves the moment they saw her.
“You’re... seriously amazing...” Yuuto said, taken aback.
“No, it’s my father’s influence. I have nothing to do with it...” Shaking her head, Linnea gave a forlorn denial. She seemed to have lost confidence in herself with all that happened over the last few months, but Yuuto couldn’t agree with her at all.
Yuuto was revered in Iárnvi?r, but not to this extent. And more to the point, it was a different kind of reverence. The emotions Yuuto felt from his clansmen were those of gratitude, praise, and respect toward a ruler who led them and who gave them the gift of his Chalice oath. There was a certain sense of distance.
Meanwhile, the worship the people of Gimlé showed Linnea contained an affectionate warmth, as if she were their own flesh and blood family.
The fact that Linnea was the actual daughter of the previous patriarch was a secret, so that couldn’t be the reason. Besides, however talented and virtuous a ruler her father might have been, if she herself hadn’t had her own charisma and appeal, she wouldn’t have obtained this level of deep affection from her people.
“They really do love you, huh?” Yuuto murmured. He’d come to see her in a completely new light.
However, he would soon come to realize that even his new assessment of her had been far, far, far too low.
“You... you’re seriously amazing...” Yuuto gasped.
“Indeed...” Felicia murmured.
Yuuto and Felicia could only manage those few words, and sighs of admiration, at how things had unfolded.
It was now the third day since Linnea had arrived in Gimlé. It had been less than three days, yet she had spoken to every influential figure in the city, and gotten each of them to give their agreement on a plan to implement the Norfolk system. That alone would have been cause for celebration, but wouldn’t have left them in such a state of shock.
No, what overwhelmed the two of them was that, in such a short time, Linnea had already worked out the details of who would be planting what crops where, and even how to regulate the balance of economic interests that would arise among the citizens who planted different types of crops.
“Hey, wouldn’t it be interesting if we did this?” Everyone has had the experience of coming up with a great idea and saying that. However, such visions rarely become reality. Ideas by themselves have no power to make anything happen.
One needs to put in actual work: putting together a concrete schedule, procuring supplies, gathering people, allocating roles. It is with this ability to get things done that an idea first begins to take shape in the world.
Linnea possessed that ability.
In the Wolf Clan, officers like Jörgen and Olof excelled in that department, which was why they were given valued appointments like second-in-command or governor of Gimlé. But Linnea’s practical skills were far beyond even theirs.
Natural talent might have played a large role in that, but it was more likely because Linnea had, from her youngest days, been trained vigorously by her great father in the skills necessary to fulfill her future role.
“So then, Big Brother.” Linnea didn’t seem to take notice of their reaction. “The greatest cause for concern for many of the people involved is about what would happen in the event of a bad harvest. If you can promise them a financial guarantee of these amounts in the event of that happening, I think everyone will feel secure enough to work together on this. So, I would really like to get your authorization for this.”
“Y-yeah, uh....” Yuuto looked down at the paper placed on the desk in front of him, covered with tightly packed lines of text, but he couldn’t read it. He glanced up at his adjutant, and with a reserved expression, she gave a single nod. It seemed like these were reasonable conditions.
“W-well then, let’s proceed with this. Keep up the good work.”
“Yes, I will,” said Linnea happily. “Thank you very much!”
“No, you’re the one who deserves thanks.”
“I’m just doing what I can for everyone in Gimlé.” Linnea’s smiling face was colored with fatigue; she likely hadn’t slept much in the past two days. But even the signs of weariness were outshone by her joy.
In the realm of sheer looks, Linnea was no comparison for Felicia or Sigrún. But there was a charm she had that they did not, an ability to move people’s hearts.
I bet the people of Gimlé were done in by that smile of yours, Yuuto thought with certainty.
Logic was not enough to push people to change. What had changed them was undeniably Linnea’s sincerity.
Despite her noble birth and standing, she always put herself among the common people, listened to their voices earnestly, and worked harder than anyone else. That single-mindedly earnest approach convinced them that she really thought of their well-being, and that they could entrust her with their fates.
“If that fool Stein?órr is Xiang Yu, then she’s like Liu Bang and Xiao He put together,” Yuuto muttered to himself. “It’s no wonder at all she got picked to be patriarch at her age.”
Liu Bang hadn’t been known for being particularly exceptional in heroism on the battlefield nor in ingenuity, but he had seemed to have some mysterious quality that attracted people to him, and many capable and talented people had gathered under his leadership.
Among that number had been Xiao He, whom Liu Bang had praised as the greatest retainer in all of unified China.
Xiao He hadn’t performed any miraculous or spectacular feats on the battlefield, but he’d been a skilled administrator of Liu Bang’s stronghold in Guanzhong. From there, he’d consistently sent soldiers and supplies to the front lines, without any interruptions and without causing any undue strain on the populace.
“Making her my little sister as soon as I could was such a good call,” Yuuto said with a wry smile. She was like the strongest parts of two great historical figures combined into one, which made her so high-level that she might as well be cheating.
It was true that when he’d faced her army on the battlefield, he frankly hadn’t considered her much of a threat, but knowing her now, he was glad from the bottom of his heart that he’d never have her as an enemy again.
Yuuto’s surroundings were bathed in darkness. The only light in the room was from the dim, wavering flame of a nearby lamp.
Normally Yuuto would use his free time before bed at night to read e-books and study, but tonight he was skipping his usual routine.
Tomorrow morning he would be leaving Gimlé, and borrowing the twins’ powers, he should arrive back in Iárnvi?r sometime around evening two days after that. It had already been twelve days without hearing Mitsuki’s voice, and he was really starting to miss her. He wanted to save as much battery charge as possible for the day he got back.
“With everything that happened, this was a worthwhile trip, huh?” he murmured.
Yuuto would have liked to fall asleep right away, but thanks to his routine, he was usually up at this hour, and he wasn’t the kind of person who could easily fall asleep whenever it was convenient for him. So, while he waited for his eyelids to get heavy, he was ruminating over the days he’d spent in Gimlé.
“It looks like governing this place is going to go more smoothly than I’d originally thought, which is great.”
That was all thanks to Linnea. Though the populace’s antipathy towards the Wolf Clan hadn’t disappeared entirely, Yuuto had received reports from Olof that it had subsided quite a bit.
Linnea had personally gone around and laid the necessary social groundwork for them, making sure the people would obey Yuuto, and the Wolf Clan by extension.
Olof was also an honest, diligent and dependable man. With everything set up this neatly for him, there was no worry he’d drop the ball and ruin it.
“Big Brother, are you awake?” a voice asked.
“Huh? Oh, it’s you, Linnea.” Yuuto sat up. He was a bit surprised to hear her voice from outside his door just after he’d been thinking about her. “It’s the middle of the night. What’s going on?”
“Would it be all right if I came in?”
“Sure, it’s fine, but what did you need to talk with me about? Is it something about Gimlé?”
“No, it’s not about that...” The door opened, its hinges making a slightly unpleasant squeak.
Linnea seemed somewhat nervous as she entered the room, and Yuuto noticed she wasn’t wearing her normal formal attire, but a loose-fitting nightgown.
Clenching a fist in front of her chest as if gathering her resolve, she stood before Yuuto. Straining his eyes in the dark, he could see that her hair was wet. Was it some kind of perfumed oil? There was some kind of sweet scent wafting towards him.
“Big Brother Yuuto...” She called his name in a delicate voice, and her garments slipped off of her and fell to the floor. Even in the near darkness, her naked body stood out sharply against her surroundings.
“Wait, hold on, L-Linnea?!”
Damn it! Too late, Yuuto cursed his naivete. These past few days, Linnea had been so swamped with her work that the only time they’d spoken with each other it had been about Gimlé, and he’d completely let his guard down.
While he was still caught up in his confusion, she suddenly embraced him, with an amorous look in her eyes. A small but unmistakable soft sensation pressed up against Yuuto’s chest.
“Please, lie with me,” she whispered sweetly into his ear, her voice flushed with passion.
“Gah...!” Yuuto felt pins and needles rush up his spine. All of the thoughts were blasted away, and his mind went blank as a sheet. As if guided by some invisible force, Yuuto’s arms slowly lifted and began to wrap around Linnea’s back—
Yuu-kun...
—but before they could, the image of his childhood friend’s face briefly and intensely flashed through his mind, and he somehow managed to restrain himself.
It was a close call; he had almost completely lost himself.
Yuuto closed both eyes and took a long, deep breath, then grasped Linnea’s shoulders and pulled her body off of his.
“Why...? Am... am I really unattractive after all?”
“No. It’s... not that.”
“...Please don’t worry about my feelings,” she said. “The truth is, I had already figured it out. Whenever I brought up the subject of marriage, you would get such a distressed look on your face, Big Brother.”
“Ah...!” She had hit the nail on the head, and he couldn’t say anything in return.
Young as she was, Linnea was still a woman. Compared to men, women are said to be markedly superior in their ability to perceive a person’s lies or hidden emotions from the tone of his or her voice, facial expressions, or seemingly trivial body language. According to one theory, this natural advantage in perception and insight comes from having to take care of infants, who can’t speak any language.
Yuuto was forced to realize all over again that he should never underestimate a woman’s intuition.
“I understand, though,” she said sadly. “There are Lady Felicia and Lady Sigrún, and those twins from the Claw Clan. All of those women around you are so pretty, are so cute, there’s no way you would ever want to lie with someone like me.”
“No, you’re plenty attractive,” Yuuto fumbled. “It’s just, um, I’m the patriarch of the Wolf Clan. I can’t afford to get married thoughtlessly without first... No, no, that’s not true.”
Yuuto caught himself halfway through the lie and bit down on his lip, shaking his head from side to side.
He couldn’t keep doing this superficial act. He was always just making these excuses, trying to say just the right thing to keep from hurting her feelings. How could he have continued to be so dishonest towards Linnea, who always gave all of herself into everything she did, with sincerity and humility? How could he do the same thing again here and now?
He couldn’t stand how pathetic he felt.
“Hngh!!” Yuuto took a deep breath... then grunted and slammed his forehead hard against the wall with a bam!
Bam-bam-bam! Unsatisfied, he banged his head several more times.
“B-Big Brother?! What are you doing?! Blood! You’re bleeding!”
“I’m fine.” He held up one hand to stop Linnea, and pressed the other to his forehead. There was indeed something warm and wet there.
Anyhow, it hurt. It was a ridiculous amount of pain. But in a way, that had pushed all the annoying, pretentious thoughts out, and his head felt strangely clear.
He knew exactly what he needed to do now.
“Linnea, I’m sorry! I can’t marry you,” he said, bowing his head to her deeply.
Yuuto wasn’t childish enough to cling to thinking that if he just honestly explained his situation, everybody would understand. He couldn’t afford to be a child.
As a patriarch, strategy was absolutely necessary in all things. If the situation called for it, he would even deceive someone without hesitation.
However, with someone who was completely open and honest with him, he felt that he needed to respond with honesty and integrity in kind, not as a clan patriarch, but as a civilized human being.
“I... see,” Linnea whispered, keeping her emotions in check. “Could I at least... ask you the reason why?”
Yuuto raised his head and looked Linnea in the eyes.
Honestly, he did find her cute. She was a kind girl, who was considerate to others, and who idolized him like a puppy. He couldn’t deny that somewhere deep down, he had become fond of her.
That was exactly why he needed to tell her.
“There’s a girl... I’m in love with. I... don’t want to betray her.” It took quite a bit of willpower to squeeze the words out of his throat.
Linnea stared at him, puzzled. That was only to be expected. In this world, it was common for men in positions of power to have several mistresses or concubines. And a marriage with Linnea involved the politics of both of their nations.
What is this person even trying to say? wouldn’t be an unusual response. What he’d said was so unnaturally sentimental, it might seem incomprehensible to her.
“I’ll... tell you the whole story,” he said. “Without covering up any of it. You might not believe me when I say this, but I’m... not from this world.”
“What... are you...?”
“I came from far, far, in the future— several thousand years. That’s why I have all this knowledge that you all don’t.”
“...I-it is a hard story to believe right away. But... there are a lot of things that fall into place, too,” Linnea mumbled with a serious expression.
Of course she wouldn’t be one to believe a story like his without question. But she had also witnessed Yuuto bringing ideas and inventions into this world that had never existed before, over and over. In a way, his explanation was hard not to believe.
“It’s all true,” he said. “And eventually, I’m going back to my own world. Well, I have no idea how to actually get back, but I want to do whatever it takes to do it.”
“...Is it because that girl you love is there?”
“Yeah. So that’s why... I can’t commit myself to marrying anyone in this world.” He managed to declare it clearly and concisely.
If he hadn’t declared it with certainty, it felt as if his heart might waver. If he hadn’t had Mitsuki, he surely would have accepted Linnea’s advances. No, it wasn’t just her. By now, he would have likely have had sexual relations with Felicia, or Sigrún.
Because they would never have refused him. Because such egoistic behavior would be tolerated from someone in the position of patriarch.
“So she’s someone you care for that much, Big Brother... I’m jealous. She must be a truly marvelous person.” Linnea cracked a tiny smile.
Even if Yuuto’s story was on par with a dream or fairy tale, she must have decided from his tone to trust that he wasn’t lying.
“I don’t know about that,” Yuuto admitted. “She’s fussy about things, and she’s a crybaby, and lately I’ve learned that she gets really scary when she’s angry. She’s totally hopeless, see?”
Exactly that. She was hopeless. That was why he had to get home, no matter what.
The child still deep within his heart had sworn, I am the one who will protect her.
He wasn’t going to surrender that role to anyone.
“Well, I don’t know when it’s going to happen yet or anything, but it’d make me happy if you and your clan still get along well with the Wolf Clan even after I go back home,” Yuuto said. “I plan to at least make arrangements with my Chalice to prevent infighting.”
“That will not be an issue for me,” Linnea said. “However, there is still a problem. If you are returning to your own world, Big Brother, then I am not sure what I should do.”
Linnea sighed. She was still only in her teens, but in that moment, it was as if she were an old lady weary of life.
“With me as patriarch, the Horn Clan will only continue its decline. Rasmus is already quite old for the position, and Haugspori is a skilled general but has little interest in governing. This is a real problem. Just who should I turn to?”
“Er, it’ll be just fine if you stay on as patriarch, Linnea,” Yuuto said. “Honestly, the skills you showed off here in Gimlé practically swept me off my feet.”
“There’s no need for flattery, Big Brother. I’ve been made fully aware of my own limits.”
“Wait, it’s not flattery—”
“I’m not good enough. ‘I’ll be able to protect the Horn Clan my father loved just fine,’ I thought. ‘I can grow the clan to be even bigger than he did.’ Truly, I... I was so conceited. Everything I accomplished, I only did so by borrowing my father’s power and legacy; it was all a sham. But I’m someone who couldn’t even realize that. I’m a coward who was face-to-face with my father’s killer and couldn’t do anything except yell at him... There’s no way I can protect the Horn Clan!”
“H-hey, Linnea,” Yuuto cut in, unable to stand watching Linnea denigrate herself like this, but he couldn’t think of anything else to say.
“Being used by someone with real strength is more fitting for someone like me,” Linnea confessed. “If I don’t have someone to take the lead, then the anxiety is so overwhelming, I don’t know what to do anymore...”
Overcome in her despair, Linnea gazed at Yuuto. Her eyes were lifeless and desperate, as if crying out for rescue, in a servile way that seemed so unlike the Linnea he knew.
Yuuto finally, painfully understood what it meant that Linnea had offered to hand over the Horn Clan. Her spirit had been completely broken.
As soon as she’d become patriarch, one incident after another had weakened the Horn Clan, and she’d lost all confidence in herself.
And the one who had driven her to that state, who had set in motion the events that had destroyed everything she’d built up, was Yuuto himself.
Under normal circumstances, the Horn Clan should have enjoyed a sweeping victory in their war with the Wolf Clan, for the Horn Clan had no weaknesses to speak of. And with their longstanding enemy finally destroyed, Linnea’s name would have echoed throughout the region as the patriarch who had brought her clan to even greater might through battle.
She certainly had the strength to accomplish that. She possessed a skill in large-scale strategy that went beyond mere battle tactics. But reality had had exactly the opposite outcome in store for her.
She had made Yuuto her enemy, an outsider with knowledge beyond the realm of common sense, and that was what had thrown the gears of her fate into disarray.
Yuuto didn’t regret doing what he’d had to do to protect the Wolf Clan, but he still felt the pang in his conscience. He couldn’t stand to watch Linnea like this anymore.
With a very long sigh, Yuuto looked up at the ceiling, and began to mutter softly. “Why don’t I tell you an old story? It’s about a worthless brat of a kid.”
“Huh?”
“So this kid, he had access to all kinds of knowledge nobody else in this world had, and everybody started praising him up and down. Everybody who had once looked down on him, called him completely useless, switched to completely the opposite, lining up to fawn all over him and curry favor. And it felt so good that he completely let it go to his head. Ha, even though all of it was just because he’d gotten a hold of some borrowed knowledge, ideas he’d never have been able to come up with himself, and there was absolutely nothing amazing about the kid himself.”
“So... that person is...”
As expected, Linnea had guessed who this story was about.
In answer to her questioning gaze, Yuuto grinned and gave a short, self-derisive laugh, and continued.
“So he kept getting more full of himself to the point where he believed without a doubt that he, the guy with all this knowledge, was always right, so when someone tried to advise him of the danger, he laughed it off as jealousy... Well, everyone knows what happens to idiots like that. ‘I’ve done things exactly how the knowledge said, so everything will be fine,’ he thought, and that carelessness cost him big time.”
Even as he said it, Yuuto was astounded by how idiotic he’d been. Even though that same cockiness had been the very reason he’d become stuck in this world and unable to go home, he hadn’t even learned from his mistake.
Continuing to the next part of the story was difficult for him emotionally.
“So normally the one who pays the price in the end should be the idiot himself. But that’s not how it ended up. Instead, the one who died was someone who had helped look after him from back when he was still ignorant and useless, someone who had always tried to keep him on the right path. Just, incredibly nice. And this person died protecting that idiot kid.”
Yuuto flashed back to that scene and clenched his back teeth, enduring the pain that came with the memory. The ache in his chest was stronger than the pain he’d gotten from banging his head against the wall a moment ago.
He waited for it to settle down, and let the tension out of his shoulders before he spoke.
“I was just like how you are now. I learned all too clearly how lacking I was. I blamed myself and blamed myself, over and over. But... what’s really important is what you do after that.”
Remembering what had been entrusted to him, Yuuto’s hands balled into tight fists.
Back then, things had been so desperate, he hadn’t been able to afford the time to sit around discouraged. That had turned out to be good for him, in retrospect.
With the painful lesson he’d learned from that experience taken to heart, he’d been able to move forward, relentlessly.
“‘Hyaku-ren-sei-kou,’” he continued. “It’s a saying in the language of my country, and it roughly translates to: ‘Steel is tempered one hundred times.’ It means that only by going through many experiences that challenge and temper the body and soul does someone finally become a strong, exemplary person.”
It was Yuuto’s personal motto now.
He knew he was still a kid. He had an overwhelming lack of life experience. However, as patriarch with the lives of so many resting on his shoulders, he didn’t have the luxury of childish excuses.
And so he must continue to temper himself, without becoming prideful or complacent, learning and accumulating experiences. Then he must turn them into his own strength.
He reminded himself constantly that 21st century knowledge was nothing more than a cheat he was borrowing, so that he would never again get carried away with himself and repeat the same kind of mistake.
“Even in the history I’m familiar with, out of all of the great figures who’ve left their mark on the world, there isn’t a single one who never had a failure or setback,” he said. “In particular, there was this incredible guy Liu Bang who led the nation of Han. He lost 72 times against the same opponent but never gave up, and in the end, he united the land under his rule.”
Nobody ever wanted to experience failure. For someone as kindhearted as Linnea, the fact that her failures would lead to deaths must have been all the more unbearable for her. Even so, Yuuto hardened his heart to that fact and continued his pep talk.
“Hey, Linnea. This is a crucial moment for you. Are you really going to give up here, after one failure? You haven’t even finished being tempered once. From here on is when you have the chance to truly get stronger!”
“That’s... but...” Linnea’s eyes wavered, still doubtful.
She must have wanted to be the one to protect her clan herself more than anything. If that hadn’t been the case, she wouldn’t have pushed herself for so long, from such a young age, to gain the abilities she had.
But her confidence and spirit, once shattered, wasn’t going to be restored so easily. “Can I truly become stronger, though? Can I really gain the strength to protect the Horn Clan?”
Linnea had already become unable to judge her own abilities in an optimistic light. However, that was exactly why she could become stronger.
“I’m sure you can do it.” With absolute confidence in her, Yuuto nodded strongly. “You’ve got way more of a knack for this stuff than me.”
The ancient Greek philosopher Socrates had once said, “The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing,” and “The true wise man is one who is aware of his own ignorance,” as well as other quotes pointing to the importance of being aware of one’s own foolishness and ignorance.
Even the basketball coach in a sports manga Yuuto had read long ago had said, “The first step for a crappy player to become a great one is to realize how bad you are.”
There was a mountain of quotes like this if one looked for them.
In the past, he hadn’t really gotten it. He’d always thought it just came down to raw talent. After overcoming his setbacks, however, Yuuto now understood.
Ignoring reality in favor of naive illusions weakened and undermined the heart. And it wasn’t easy to recognize one’s own immaturity and weakness. However, true strength and spirit of ambition came to those who accepted and faced reality, however difficult and painful.
It wasn’t something he could say to her directly, but the only cause of Linnea’s failure had been in having Yuuto as an opponent. Even looking at the city of Gimlé, one could see she had considerable ability as a patriarch. If she pulled herself out of her current state, there was no doubt she’d gain even more experience and skill, becoming a fine patriarch anyone would deem worthy of her title.
Yuuto lay a hand on Linnea’s head, and gave her a small smile. “Hey, don’t worry. As long as I’m still in this world, I’ll help you any way you need helping. You’re my cute little sister and all, you know? Take it slow, step by step, and you’ll get stronger.”
“...Right!” Tears still dripping from both eyes, Linnea nodded firmly.
Yuuto knew this didn’t mean she’d completely recovered. In the end, the only one who could save someone’s heart is one’s own self. All Yuuto could do was provide Linnea the opportunity to do that. Whether she effectively used that chance or wasted it was up to her. But he somehow got the feeling that she’d made it past the worst of it.
Suddenly, she was looking at him with a serious look in her eyes. “Big Brother, it’s wrong to give up too easily on things, right?”
Yuuto had already decided that he wasn’t going to lie to her. So he answered honestly.
“Yeah, that’s right. There are times when it’s important to know you should give up, but I think giving up right away is wrong.”
“Right, it is, isn’t it?! So I’m not going to give up on you, Big Brother!”
“Whaaat?!”
Yuuto blurted out his surprised reaction in an almost wild tone, despite himself. It was a natural response, given that he’d so thoroughly and clearly explained why he couldn’t marry her, only to have her bring the subject back up again now.
“Wait, hold on! Like I just said, I have to go back home! I can’t be the patriarch of the Horn Clan...”
“Yes. I understand that. I no longer have any intention of asking you to take over the Horn Clan, Big Brother. I will protect it myself. But that and my feelings of admiration for you are separate matters. Actually, after speaking with you tonight, my feelings for you have only grown deeper!”
“But, no, I told you I’ve already got someone I like, okay?” he protested.
“Yes, I’m aware. That is why I stated that I won’t give up. Even if I lose 72 times, it’s fine if I win in the end, right?! I cannot deny that I am still far from a suitable candidate, but I’ll improve myself as a woman. I shall capture your heart, and steal you away from that other woman!”
“Uh. Ummm...” Yuuto couldn’t even string two words together in his mind, and all he managed was a groan in response.
Just how had things ended up this way? Where had he made the mistake that led here?
“Apologies for disturbing your pleasant conversation,” a third voice said smoothly.
“Gah!”
“Aah!”
At the sudden voice of a third party, both Yuuto and Linnea shouted in surprise.
The fact that neither of them expected to hear another voice here, this late at night, was part of that, but so was the speaker’s playful tone.
“K-Kristina, what is it?” Yuuto recognized the voice, and spoke through the door.
Thinking back, when the Hoof Clan had begun their invasion, an eerily similar situation had happened, with a sudden call in the night.
He didn’t have a good feeling about this.
“There is something urgent I must report,” Kristina said.
“All right, come in,” Yuuto told her.
Linnea raised her voice in panic. “H-huh, w-wait, Big Brother?!”
That’s when Yuuto realized: Linnea was still stark naked! With how absorbed he’d gotten in their serious discussion, and how dark the room was, he had completely forgotten about that.
With another squeak, the door opened, and Kristina chuckled.
“Oh, my,” she said with a grin. “Were you in the middle of something fun?”
“We weren’t. So, what’s the report?”
Yuuto didn’t give Kristina anything more than a curt, weary response. She knew exactly what was (or wasn’t) going on, but had asked anyway.
Kristina’s smile disappeared, and when she next spoke, it was with utter seriousness, without an ounce of her usual playful tone.
“The Lightning Clan has begun preparations for war.”
Just when Yuuto had been thinking he’d resolved a major issue, he was out of the frying pan and into the fire.
This was turning out to be one unlucky day for him.
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