TWEM Vol. 5 Chapter 14 Part 2
At that moment, my four fiancees namely Finne, Iris, Suzuno, and Ephyr sent sharp glares at me.
Cold sweat trickled down my back.
“Haruto?”
“Haruto?”
“Haruto?”
“Haruto?”
Is it just me or are their eyes getting colder?
I turned to Kusel, but she looked uninterested, and Asha was looking dumbfounded.
Zero was standing quietly with his eyes closed, as if he wasn’t interested in the subject at all…he’s not sleeping, is he?
I hurriedly came up with an excuse to tell the four of them.
“Um listen guys, I obviously refused, okay?”
I managed to say so, but the stares from the four of them turned even colder.
Then, Ilmina, who looked up just a little, opened her mouth.
“H-Haruto, do you not want me?”
I couldn’t say anything to her as she looked at me with tears in her eyes.
Iris then raised her voice cheerfully.
“I am all in favor! And Ilmina is my friend to begin with.”
Iris seems to be fine with it, but…
Finne called out to me.
“Haruto.”
“Yes, what is it?”
“From what I can see, Ilmina is a nice and wonderful person. But if you keep bringing in new wives everywhere you go like this, I won’t be able to spend time with you, Haruto…”
Finne looked sad and downcast.
“Finne…”
I’m not proactively trying to get more fiancees, either…
Speaking of which.
“Finne. I’ve said it before, you’re the one I hold most dear, Finne. I love everyone else, too, of course. But if you make a sad face like that, then——”
“Haruto!”
But then Finne interrupted.
“I’m not going to say anything even if you get more. But I want you to love everyone, including me. As long as you keep that in mind, I won’t object.”
“That goes without saying.”
“Thank you!”
I nodded, and Finne replied with a smile.
“If it’s okay with you, Finne, it’s okay with me. But next time, we’ll have a meeting before adding any more!”
“That’s right! We’ll have ourselves a fiancee conference!
And Suzuno agreed with Ephyr…what’s a fiancee conference?
But I guess this means that all four of them are fine with it.
Looks like I dodged the bullet this time…as I was thinking this, I heard Liebert’s low voice.
“Ahem. May I have a word, Haruto?”
“Yeah, sure, what’s…up…?”
W-Whelp, this ain’t good. I can tell from the tone of his voice, without looking into his eyes.
He’s fuming like crazy!
“So, you’re making Ilmina your fiancee, huh?”
I turned my head awkwardly towards him, but the aura emanating from Liebert was tremendous.
It’s invisible, but I sure can feel it.
On top of that, his bloodshot eyes are spooky as hell. Not the kind one should see on a Pope, that’s for sure!
Dammit, what’s the play here?
“Hm? What do you want to do with my beloved daughter? Please tell me, I won’t be offended.”
Yeah right! Your aura already says it all!
He’s got that dangerous look in his eyes, as if he will hack me in pieces if I say anything funny.
I decided to go with the most reliable means in order to give Liebert a most satisfactory reply.
And by that I mean——Almighty Ellis.
Ellis! The best solution if you would!!
<<…There isn’t one.>>
That can’t, be…? Even Ellis can’t come up with an answer?!
While I was inwardly astonished, Liebert pressed on demanding answers.
“What about it, Haruto? The question ain’t going to answer itself if you keep quiet.”
Way to go with the pressure!
I reached out to Finne, Iris and the others for help, but they quickly looked away.
You’re on your own. That seemed to be the message.
I looked at Ilmina and our eyes met.
Instantly, Ilmina’s cheeks flushed and the pressure from Liebert increased by a notch when he saw this.
Ugh, you know what, fuck it!
I will just say what’s on my mind.
“It’s not my decision to make. Then again, I guess it is…”
“What is it?”
“I would like to hear your own thoughts on the matter, Ilmina.”
When I said this, all eyes gathered on Ilmina.
Liebert asked Ilmina.
“What do you want to do? You’re free to do whatever you want.”
Hearing this, Ilmina opened her mouth with a bright red face.
“Father, um, the, the truth is, I-I-I really like H-Haruto!”
After saying this, she covered her face with her hands again.
She’s so cute to watch.
“Ilmina…I see now. I understand that love is different for each person. In the first place, I have always wanted Ilmina to be able to make her own decisions when it comes to her own love life.”
“Thank you, father!”
Ilmina thanked him with a big smile.
Then Liebert continued and looked at me.
“Haruto, what are your thoughts on this?”
“I’m honestly flattered you feel that way about me, Ilmina. So, allow me to respond with the same degree of determination.”
I got up from my chair, kneeled down in front of her, looked straight at her and opened my mouth.
“If it’s all right with you, I’d like you, Ilmina, to support me along with Finne and everyone else.”
I said and held out my hand.
“Y-Yes, of course. I-I hope you will treat me kindly.”
Ilmina smiled with flushed cheeks and took my hand.
It was the best smile I’ve ever seen, like a blooming sunflower.
“That’s great, Ilmina!”
Iris and the others came up to her.
“Iris…yes, it is! And, nice to meet you all!”
Ilmina greeted my fiancees, Finne, Iris, Suzuno, and Ephyr.
“Once again, I’m Finne. Welcome aboard.”
“I’m Suzuno. Let’s get along from now on.”
“I am Ephyr. I look forward to spending time together.”
“Thank you everyone!”
After greeting Ilmina, the three shook hands.
“Again, it’s nice to have you among us, Ilmina!”
“Me too, I’m looking forward to spending time together, Iris! ”
At any rate, they seem to be getting along just fine.
While I was watching the four of them, Liebert called out to me.
“Haruto.”
“Yeah?”
“Please take good care of Ilmina. I’m not asking this of you as the Pope, but as her father.”
His eyes showed he was dead serious.
I couldn’t just give him a random answer, so I looked him in the eye and replied.
“Please leave it to me. I will be sure to protect Ilmina no matter what. She is now my fiancee, so rest assured.”
The respectful tone was also a gesture of sincerity on my part as the one taking away Liebert’s daughter.
“…Thank you. But I gotta say, I just can’t get used to you using honorifics, please carry on with the way you were. So, will you be taking Ilmina along on your trip too?”
“No, Ilmina is a saint. I can’t just show up and decide to take her along so easily. And before anything, wouldn’t it be best to hear from the person in question?”
Hearing that, Ilmina looked at me.
“…I want to go with Haruto too. But with the capital in turmoil due to the situation. I will have to stay back this time and fulfill my role as a saint.”
I see that Ilmina wants to help out her country as a saint.
I would like to respect her wishes and won’t force her to come along.
“Okay. Is that okay with you, Liebert?”
I nodded and asked, and Liebert nodded as well.
“All right. Honestly, that would be very helpful. So, Haruto, when do you plan to leave the holy city?”
“We’re planning to attend the Empire’s tournament, and would rather we arrive somewhat early, so…I’m going to remain here for a few more days. Until then, I’m going to take it easy, you know, with all that has transpired.”
I’m so beat…
I really can’t wait to go back and lie down…it’s starting to get to me.
“Is that so…”
Ilmina seemed a little down, I wonder if our departure was earlier than she had expected.
“We’ll come back here after the tournament.”
“I’m going to hold you to it!”
Ilmina leaned in and took both my hands in hers, staring at me intently.
A tender, flowery scent hits my nostrils.
“Yeah, I promise you.”
Then Liebert chipped in.
“Haruto, we have prepared rooms for you all tonight. You can have a good rest here.”
“Oh, that’s perfect. I’m not going to lie, I was already thinking about how I’m going to get myself back to the inn. In return, I’m going to help with the city’s recovery efforts tomorrow.”
The cathedral is also quite damaged, and the area around the building where the devil summoning took place, as well as the city, must have suffered some damage from the battle between Zero and Schwartz.
“Are you sure? I mean you’ve already done enough…”
“Yeah, because If I go to the Empire like this, it’ll just linger on my mind.”
Besides, even though I said I’m going to take it easy, with my ability, it shouldn’t be a problem if it’s just reconstruction.
When I said that with that thought in mind, Liebert smiled.
“Thank you. I would very much appreciate it.”
“Then, can we talk about the details tomorrow? For now, I would like for you to please show me to my room.”
“Sure, of course.”
Liebert called the nuns who were outside the room and asked them to show us to our rooms.