Please Do Not Abandon the Adopted Heroine

115 – Conversation in the lake is too cold

… What’s going on?

I have no intention of bragging, but I have always thought of myself as having a close relationship with Freya. She has always been soft and kind as silk, but she has a subtle, stern side, so she may have felt that way even more.

However, when I first saw the look Freyja gave me in this deep lake, my faith had no choice but to be completely shattered from the bottom.

“… … “Freyja?”

The moment I held out my hand, she looked at me with eyes full of fear.

The culprit couldn’t be found far away. asked Manwol, who happened to twitch the corner of her mouth.

“… “What did you do in the meantime?”

“Ahaha! Are you treating me like a criminal? Hey, this is a bit disappointing~”

“Don’t play around… “Did you say something strange again?”

“What kind of strange sound is this? If anyone hears it, they will misunderstand it. Right, Undine?”

Manwol subtly poked Undine, but she was already curled up in the water and spinning around like a clam.

“Hehehe… ! at las! at las! One less competitor! I defeated the most difficult enemy ♥ Uhehe… Is that Undine’s victory just a few days away? Is that so!”

… … You’re so excited.

Anyway, Freya was still keeping her distance from me with a wary expression on her face. There is no way I could have made a mistake in that short period of time, so all of this must have been caused by Manwol in the end.

“… … . Eugene.”

“uh?”

“You, by any chance. I know it’s the Freya Lovers… ?”

My heart almost stopped for a moment, but I barely managed to swallow my dry saliva.

After gathering my thoughts in a flash, I resolutely asked back.

“Uh, you know. that… You mean the strange group that was published in the Academy Newspaper during the Eunwol Festival? under… haha… really… There are a lot of strange people in the world. … Don’t worry too much. You can’t control the overflow of the power of fascination that couldn’t be contained in Brisingamen. “If you pay attention, you’ll just end up with a headache.”

“… … know. I tried to do that too. “I thought it would be best to pretend not to know.”

For some reason, I feel a cold feeling. Freya continued with narrowed eyes.

“… … By the way, do you know who the head there is? therefore… leader. “He, the leader of the fan club.”

“… … leader?”

What on earth does this mean?

One look at the full moon, and it whirls round and round. Facing Freya, the undine is spinning round and round.

Round and round, round and round, Undine, I know you’re excited, but I’m dizzy, so I won’t stop spinning.

“I am… … ”

Do you think you already know everything?

Or are you just asking out of curiosity?

When I clashed swords with Manwol earlier, Manwol already knew that I was the leader of the Freya Lovers. It is not surprising that the first full moon is by your side, who can predict the future or read the flow of the stars.

The problem is whether Freya actually heard that fact.

My heart is beating extremely loudly.

Even if you don’t know anything else, you can’t go wrong with this choice.

If Freya were to give me a chance to confess when she already knew all the facts, I would just be dragged around with a book in my head for no reason.

On the contrary, what if I told the truth, but Freya did not know?

What if you were just asking out of curiosity?

Biting one’s tongue and dying would be the shortcut for a nobleman.

To a friend of the opposite s*x I was comfortable with, ‘I’m actually the head of your extremely vicious fandom, and my name is ‘Freya-sama’, and when it comes to you, I have amazing perverts who check every second of your heartbeat as my subordinates. there is!’ How many people can say that with confidence?

This is the absolute perfect social suicide.

In the end, after thinking about it for a while, the answer I came up with was,

“well… ? “I’m not sure?”

It was just…

A long, long silence.

The water that surrounds my skin is somehow colder and stingier than the waves of the North Sea in the northern snowfield. My body temperature must have been maintained by Undine’s magic, but I felt strangely cold.

He can’t bear to meet Freyja’s straight eyes, but he seems to have the knack of avoiding eye contact, so he stares at her eyelids unnaturally still, but he catches Undine, who is still chattering nonsense and spinning around, and uses her as his attachment doll to relieve his anxiety. I order it.

After waiting for a long time, Freyja opened her mouth.

She said this with a wry smile, ‘That’s right then.’

“… … I see okay.”

“See~ I told you it was a joke. “The old moon is also very suspicious.”

“Manwol spoke so seriously that I had no choice but to believe it. In the first place, I was a fool for believing that Eugene was the head or leader of the fan club. … … More than anything, Eugene treated me that way… There’s no way he would like me that way. Hehehe… … ”

“Ahaha! Was that what Old Moon was most worried about? Don’t be so hard on yourself. Have confidence? “I believe in the power of fascination!”

“… … Please stop. “Is this why you came all the way here?”

“Okay, okay, I will. Sorry. Actually, the reason I came here was because I wanted to talk to you and Eugene. “It’s a bit unfortunate that Ignis isn’t there, but Undine will deliver it to you later.”

She then took off her mask, revealed her face, and spoke. Manwol slowly moved her gaze towards me, Freyja, and, round and round, Undine.

“With the people of the Magic Tower. “It’s been a while.”

***

“Actually, the reason I showed up as such a funny little guy was to save someone’s face.”

Manwol immediately fiddled with the mask and smiled brightly. Freya narrowed her eyes and glanced at her full moon, as if weary.

“… “Is that what you’re talking about again?”

“I heard that the Freya Lovers were planning to erase the romantic love you had by crushing Moonlight Chaser, that romantic blood relative, in front of you today.”

At the word love, Freyja blushed strangely and bit her lip hard.

I don’t know, but it looks like he really likes it. Moonlight Chaser.

I lowered my head out of remorse.

… By the way, I’m sorry again, Professor Aegis.

I never dreamed that my plan would be discovered so absurdly… .

“That’s over now. Now, I want to know Manwol’s purpose for coming here.”

“okay. hmm… Let’s see, Eugene. “I heard the hero of the 6th Holy Sword is coming this way?”

Even in the midst of the conversation, I was unable to concentrate and woke up Undine, who was floating around, by pressing her cheeks.

This guy’s delusions are too severe.

Only after confirming that the undine, which gurgled and poured out air bubbles, was looking at me with round eyes and pursed lips like a crucian carp, did I answer Manwol’s question.

“hmm… Warrior? uh. “I heard so.”

“You’re not just coming to have fun, are you? “The emperor of the empire did something interesting.”

“… “Something fun?”

If it’s ‘fun’ by her standards, and if it’s to the point where she leaves the Magic Tower and comes all the way to the Empire, then it’s an event that has long since crossed the line to be enjoyed.

“Complete restoration of the snowfield.”

“… … Restoration of snow fields?”

“Yes, the empire’s long-standing wish. “Complete restoration of the snowy field.”

I frowned.

“Oh my, that’s not fun at all. The snowy field has been completely restored. “Are the people of the empire still dreaming such absurd dreams?”

“uh? Undine! Have you finally come to your senses? Hello~”

“… Archmage, Undine. Greetings to Manwol. But I have no intention of receiving greetings.”

“I’m sad~ Are you upset because of what happened last time?”

“If you treat your master carelessly from now on, he will not distinguish between the Magic Tower and the Moon Tower. joy!”

“Haha, that means you should take care of yourself.”

“Don’t say anything else, Manwol, just tell us the truth about what the empire is doing!”

Undine asked rather nervously, brushing her silver hair.

I remember being polite before, but now he is very reckless. I’m not sure what they’re trying to do by making enemies here and there, but one good thing is that Manwol didn’t consider Undine as an enemy in the first place.

“You guys know, right? The purpose of the Magic Tower’s existence is to protect the ‘collapsed moon.’ Casting hallucinations on everyone in the world with the power of the old moon’s charm, and the moon phases, including me, pouring out enormous magical power every day to prevent the moon from collapsing, are all just desperately trying to hold on to the harmony that the goddess had ruined. .”

Manwol continued talking while leisurely swimming in the water.

“The moon is a goddess. The ash is the tears of the goddess. The place where the ashes are piled up is the land for those who betrayed the goddess. But in reality, those sinners ended up leaving the snowy field and entering a normal paradise. Subjugating the different races living in that cradle… On the one hand, he abandons his compatriots, who are left buried in the snow and turn into monsters and hideous creatures.”

“… … … … .”

“But their hometown is a snowy land. Their hometown was devastated. Well, okay. actually. In the end, the aspirations that humans have across generations, and the home of their hearts, is ultimately this wretched and barren land.”

“Complete restoration of the snowfield… . It wouldn’t be possible using normal methods… . “I read a similar book when I was in the Vanir God village.”

“that’s right. They, in other words, the emperor, are now trying to completely destroy the ‘moon’. It’s not impossible in theory. By destroying the Moon, which is the stain of her Goddess, but at the same time her Goddess herself, she may be able to restore her corrupted land.”

“Destroy the ‘moon’ protected by the Magic Tower… la… ”

“Courage aside, isn’t the idea amazing? “It feels like I’m seeing someone from years ago.”

Manwol was giggling when she saw me, so I pretended not to see her.

“… … What does that have to do with the 6th Holy Sword that was summoned this time?”

“That friend who was summoned from another world is said to have a special talent for handling the holy sword.”

Then Undine crossed her arms and began to show off.

“Huh~ Is this beginner’s luck? Anyway, it’s just the vegetables and the rice. “I win!”

“I don’t know if you win, Undine, but it’s no different for a hero from the 6th Holy Sword to come to the academy.”

“Oh, then what is it? Are you planning on kidnapping Professor Freya so that the Magic Tower can no longer hide the shattered moon with the power of charm, and then sending the entire empire into panic?”

“Oh, that’s a good idea. If I were emperor, I would have chosen that method. “It’s also fun!”

… Are you serious?

Anyway, I can’t tell if the two are a good match or not.

“But unfortunately that is not the case. “The hero of the 6th Holy Sword is currently going around to retrieve the Holy Sword.”

“… Retrieve the holy sword? “What do you mean?”

“I guess there were no Holy Sword warriors willing to participate in a plan like completely restoring the snowy plains. Since the hero of the 6th Holy Sword is a newcomer, I guess the emperor somehow managed to recruit him through gaslighting. However, the rest of the holy swords, led by the crown prince, have long since left the imperial capital. The Emperor is after them. And the first mission given to the 6th Holy Sword is to retrieve the scattered Holy Swords. Of course, the fate of the warriors is none of my business. If you save the hero again, it will be enough. What they need now is the power to destroy the moon. In other words, the power to deal with the magic tower. “It’s a holy sword.”

“… … “A lot of things happened.”

“Because the world is going on hard while you’re playing here, Eugene.”

And then suddenly, mate! And Manwol clapped her hands.

I thought my vision would turn over, but suddenly the feeling of floating that had enveloped my body seemed to leave in an instant.

The sound of water that was deafening to my ears, the feeling of moisture filling my skin, and even the strangely comfortable water pressure…

When I came to my senses, we were not in the lake, but in the sky.

Below you can see the spire rising from the academy’s main building.

“The academy now has two holy swords. One is the 4th Holy Sword of this school’s director. and… The other one… Eugene, you have your father’s memento, the second holy sword of ‘Hero Neferna’. “This is probably why the Academy became the first target.”

Manwol smiled brightly and snapped his fingers again.

Just right.

“Oh, of course. Eugene, we can’t help but consider the holy sword that is sealing your magical power. “The holy sword itself may not be in your possession, but the fact that the power of two holy swords is tied to your body must be an encouraging fact for them as well.”

The sound of snapping fingers rings again.

Just right.

My vision goes dark with a brief, cheerful sound.

“I’m done here. Well then, I’ll leave for today. Harvest Festival… ? Like? They say that if you dance here, you will make a lifelong connection? Who will survive until the end? Fighting, whether it’s Old Moon or Undine. Whatever it is, there’s still time until the 6th Holy Sword arrives, so have fun in the meantime! “It was fun to meet you~”