82. summer vacation (2)

“Whoa… ”

The final exams were over, and time passed before I knew it, and it was the day before summer vacation.

Now that the Sherald family’s affairs were over, all I could do was train.

At least while I was swinging my sword and sweating, my thoughts didn’t come to mind.

“stop. Go there.”

“yet… We can do more.”

“Don’t make me say it twice. Put down your sword, Schmitz.”

Ryan, who had been watching silently, interrupted during the training.

Ryan forcibly takes the dagger from my hand.

Her eyes were confused for some reason.

Her next words pierced my complicated mind.

“Is it because of Princess Arlot? Schmitz: You are immersed in training like that.”

“…!”

“Nothing so surprising. It’s a fact that only an idiot can know.”

I couldn’t say anything back to Ryan who looked at me with a calm expression.

The restless mind, the immersion in training, after all, it was all connected to Arlot.

Perhaps taking my silence as an affirmation, Ryan continued.

“Even with the final exam, it is the same. As soon as Arlott was about to get hurt, I used an item without hesitation to block it.”

“…was it obvious?”

“It’s not just this.”

In addition to this, Ryan also talked about his usual school life and rumors in the North.

Every time I heard her words one by one, my face naturally became hot.

… How do you know so much about me?

While listening to Ryan’s story, Ryan suddenly made a serious expression before he could even speak.

“But there is one scene you haven’t seen.”

“…what is that?”

“It’s Koyonoda.”

… Why did Koyono suddenly appear while talking about Arlot?

As she looked at Ryan with questioning eyes, she let out a sigh.

“Isn’t Koyono telling me? When you entered the Orb of Cold, you cried out loud while holding it anxiously.”

“…heard of it for the first time.”

“Eh… Sinful bastard.”

Ryan, who was talking nonsense, came up to me and tapped me on the shoulder.

“You definitely won’t die gracefully.”

“Where is the master who curses his pupil?”

“Anyway, tell me everything that interferes with your training. Just go for today.”

As usual, there is still a lot of training time left.

Ryan shoved me on the back and kicked me out of the gym.

“Have a good finish during summer vacation. Your growth and your relationships.”

After her meaningful words, she closed the door of her private gymnasium firmly.

* * *

“Finally tomorrow is summer vacation… ”

Thanks to Ryan’s unknown consideration, I returned to the dormitory and lay down on the bed.

Feeling the soft feel of the bed, I recalled my plans for summer vacation.

‘Did they say they were going to the East at the same time as it started?’

Originally, he could have gone to the northern part and then went to the eastern part with Koyono’s guidance.

However, I went to the north just before the final exams, so there was no need to go right away.

In this era without cellphones, if you make an appointment far away from each other, your schedule could be messed up.

So, on the first day of the summer vacation, we all decided to head east.

‘This trip to the east is especially important.’

Of course, the reunion of our party, which received high grades in the final exams, was important,

For me, this trip to the East was a very important itinerary.

It was because I had work to do.

＜Quest #1: The Wounded Samurai Takes the Sword Again.＞

＜Content: Give the sword to Torino Koyono＞

＜Condition: Reach 100 affinity with Torino Koyono＞

＜Reward: A clue that Arlott’s leg can heal＞

＜Reward: Take a trip to the East with your party members this summer and get acupuncture. Could something good happen?＞

After losing consciousness and collapsing, I checked it like a habit one day and found that the quest was broken.

I think the quest might have been completed because Koyono regarded Schmidt of the ordeal and the current me as the same person…

Should I be happy to find a clue that can fix Arlott’s leg?

It was an ambiguous situation whether I should pay attention to Koyonoe.

For now, the awkward atmosphere between the two has been resolved.

After the conversation with me, Koyono returned as usual and was able to have a normal conversation.

In the case of Arlot, he was relieved only when he was promised that he would never do it again.

‘Then, the first goal is… ‘

Go to the east and get acupuncture. That will be your number one goal.

In addition to Koyono’s hometown, Heirin City, there were many things to enjoy such as hot springs and festivals.

“…I’m going to play, so for now.”

The second goal is ‘making fun memories together’.

Let’s put off complex human relations problems and make good memories in the East.

With that promise, I started packing to go to Heirin City tomorrow.

No matter how old you get, travel seems to be an exciting activity.

* * *

We arrived in the east with the start of summer vacation, and luckily we were able to jump right into the scene of the festival.

“Schmitz! Look at this. It’s candy made from apples!”

“Try one.”

“Umm, after all, festivals are crowded.”

A summer festival held in Heirin City, today was the last day of the festival.

Is this why Koyono kept saying that I had to come right after the vacation day…?

Seeing Arlott purely enjoying the festival, it seems that Koyono’s judgment was correct.

If there’s one thing you’re stuck with…

“Take a bite, too, Schmitz.”

“Ah, I’m fine.”

“Sah, don’t hesitate and have a bite. It’s street food that you can’t eat unless you’re Heirin.”

“…if you’ve said that.”

Arlot hands over apple candies and Koyono encourages them.

And… Even Evan, who looked at the three of us with an expressionless expression as always.

I took a bite of Arlott’s apple candy while feeling a little pressure.

“It is delicious.”

“right? whooping… ”

“Well, if you came to Heirin as an old man, you should eat at least some apple candy.”

Arlotte and Koyono smile happily as soon as they notice and bite into each other.

Unless I was an idiot, I could see that they were strangely taking care of me.

So much so that it feels competitive.

“Schmitz! Let’s go eat shaved ice!”

“Hmm, shaved ice with fruit syrup is also a representative Heirin food.”

I moved to the shaved ice shop with such high expectations, but

At the entrance, there was a phrase that said, ‘No business due to machine failure’.

It seems that the magic tool that makes the ice is the cause, but thanks to that, the owner of the shaved ice shop and all of us were in tears.

“boss… Could you please give me just water and syrup?”

“Hmm? Well, it’s not even a business, so I’ll give you that much. But what do you think about mixing syrup with water?”

She receives a water bottle from the boss with a confident expression.

And suddenly, the chanting began.

“miss?”

“Schmitz, wait a minute… ”

Arlott concentrated and drew a magic circle in the air.

After that, the water came out of the bottle and turned into ice.

Eventually, the ice was finely ground and piled up on the plates of Koyono, Evan, and Arlot.

“Oh, my God. Ice magic! It’s amazing, hahahaha!”

“It’s amazing, Prince Arlot!”

“You are also a princess.”

“hahahaha… It’s nothing.”

Arlott, blushing as if embarrassed, took a bite of shaved ice.

The rest of the party, including myself, also sprinkled syrup and savored the shaved ice little by little.

While we were eating shaved ice, I suddenly had a question.

“Come to think of it, princess can create ice in the air, so is there a reason you asked for water?”

“therefore…”

Arlott, who stopped moving at my question, looked at me.

She is a wizard who can handle water and ice freely.

I wondered if I had to go through the trouble of getting a water bottle and making ice.

Come to think of it, these shaved ice and ice creams were made by her when she was in the North.

“That… It’s a little like that, I guess.”

“Didn’t you do it often in the past? Is there any reason-”

“Well, it seems like something is giving away my bodily fluids, so no… !”

As if she had failed to control her voice, her shrill cry resonated throughout the shaved ice shop.

As he looked around, Arlott covered his face with both hands and lowered his head.

Her ears, which she couldn’t cover, turned red like strawberry syrup.

“I’m trying to make sweets… ”

In the silence, only Koyono’s sad voice came out.

The moment I was worried about how to solve the awkward atmosphere.

Someone came towards us from behind Koyono.

“Well? Koyono?”

“oh! S, Master?”

She was a tall, beautiful woman with a huge shield on her back.

Her hair in a ponytail like Koyono was impressive.

It was like Koyono’s older sister.

Upon meeting their eyes, Koyono put down the shaved ice and was embraced by the person called ‘teacher’.

“Long time no see!”

“Yeah, it’s been a while for me too. Who are these kids?”

“Chi, my friends! We met at the academy.”

“Hoo… ”

A woman who scans us with the eyes of a hawk looking for prey.

… Strangely, it seems that his eyes stayed on me longer.

“Sorry, excuse me. He is the one who taught Koyono the shield. Her name is Erika Shinomiya. I am both a shield mage and an acupuncturist. Feel free to call me Erica.”

Acupuncturist and shield practitioner.

I opened my eyes and looked at her face.

If you are an acupuncturist… Because he was an influential person who could fix Arlott’s leg.