I’ve lived my life over and over again, so what if I told him that I know what the future holds. What if I told him that His Highness Arnold is going to start a war and I don’t want you to give him the gunpowder?

Michel told his experimental collaborators at the time that he didn’t want a “Tyrannical King”.

What if I told Teacher that giving His Highness Arnold the gunpowder will bring about a catastrophic future.

But Michel didn’t regard hearsays about someone’s reputation for granted.

He must see for himself, prove it, and judge personally. Then, in the end, contacting Arnold would be inevitable.

Another option came to Rishe’s mind.

If I were to leave the country and go away with Teacher Michel, would he still reach out to Arnold?

Then he might smile and say, “I’m sorry.”

“…”

Thoughts ran in circles in her mind.

She took a deep breath and slowly opened her eyes.

She noticed something strange on the other side of the balcony, where the curtains weren’t closed.

… Light?

When she looked up, a very small speck of light swooped across the outside.

Realizing what it was, Rishe hurriedly got up from her chair and stepped out onto the balcony, still in her nightdress.

And then he let out an involuntary gasp.

“… Whoa.”

A lot of fireflies were flying around.

It was as if fragments of a star had come down and were fluffily playing around. Rishe looked up and her eyes sparkled.

In the midst of all the time loops so far, she has gotten used to these creatures.

Perhaps because of this, she could immediately recognize their type just by looking at the characteristics of their glow.

They’re Luciola Fireflies. How lovely.

These fireflies were a land-based species that could fly quite high. They were relatively common on this continent, but when seen close up, they were very beautiful.

It’s a shame to appreciate them alone. It’s bath time for all the maidservants. That guy, however ……

Rishe glanced at the next balcony.

It was then.

She heard a click, then the door opened.

The owner of the adjacent room she was thinking might come out, appeared onto the balcony.

“!”

Then they looked at each other.

“Go…good evening.”

“…Hmm.”

The events of the day were still fresh in her mind, and she felt somewhat shy. Arnold, however, seemed unconcerned, and remained cool.

With his sword in his hand, Arnold quickly averted his gaze from Rishe and looked at the lights that were flashing around him.

“What are these?”

“Fireflies.”

“Fireflies…”

Arnold said, as if chewing an unfamiliar word.

After a few moments of contemplation, he said sullenly, “If you wish to exterminate them, I will order others to do so.”

“What? Why?!”

“Fireflies mean bugs.”

“… !!”

Rishe was appalled by that unemotional rejoinder.

Above all, regardless of whether these creatures emitted a beautiful light or not, extermination was a ridiculous thing to do.

“Insect control is necessary, but you can’t go about killing them indiscriminately! Every living creature, including humans, is part of a big chain. If you kill too much of one of them, it affects everything in the chain.”

Rishe ran to the railing close to Arnold’s side to persuade him.

The balcony of her room wasn’t connected to the next room, and even if she stood right by the railing, Arnold was a little far away.

“Besides, this is for human convenience. Take a look.”

She pointed to the fireflies drawing lines of light and smiled at him.

“Very beautiful, right?”

“…”

Arnold, who looked like he was mulling over something, let out a sigh after a few moments of silence.

“… I suppose so.”

She was glad he understood.

Rishe was happy, but on the other hand, had mixed feelings.

It’s weird. All my worries are all due to His Highness Arnold.

While thinking about this, they stood on the balconies of their respective rooms for a while, watching the fireflies.

A glow that passed in front of Rishe’s eyes went straight past and danced and frolicked near Arnold.

“Isn’t it flying towards Your Highness?”

She uttered with a hint of resentment to which Arnold laughed with a wicked grin on his face.

“Then you can come to this room too.”

She was in agreement with that.

“That’s right. It’s only about a meter and a half away.”

“…?”

Rishe plucked at the hem of her nightdress.

She put her hand on the balcony railing, and with a flourish, leaned up on her knees and climbed directly on top of the railing.

“Hey, no way…….”

Arnold was about to deter her, but before he could complete his sentence, she had already moved.

With that thought, Rishe flew in a swoosh.

It was nothing for Rishe to jump over railings.

She was supposed to land once on the railing on the other side, and then fly again from there and jump down to the balcony where Arnold was.

Even Arnold knew that Rishe could jump down from the second floor. Their rooms were on the fourth floor, so there shouldn’t be any problem.

That was how it should be.

“Kyaaa~”

Rishe couldn’t help but scream.

Because the moment she jumped down onto the balcony, Arnold caught her as if to protect her.

T/N: Kyaaaaah… nice catch Arnold. Watta romantic firefly date…