Chapter 37
Translated by Momo.
"Cecil!"
"Sis!"
It wasn't long after she passed out that she heard those voices.
When she opened her eyes, Gilbert, illuminated by the moonlight, was staring at her with a pale face.
"Gil...?"
"Are you okay!?"
(I can see the moon... I'm outside...?)
She tried to judge the situation but couldn't move her head.
That place wasn't outside. She was still inside the armoury. However, the walls in front of her somehow had turned into rubble. The cross-section of the falling wall looked as if it were cleanly cut with a blade.
"Gilbert, carry Cecil! I will force our way through like this!"
Looking at the direction that voice came, she could see Oscar's back. In his hand, he had his 'treasure' sword.
Cecilia was lifted up by Gilbert without any resistance.
"Cecil! Hold on!!"
Jade was running next to them. He covered their bodies with his 'treasure' making it so they wouldn't be visible to anyone else.
"Oscar! There are fewer enemies towards this side!"
"I got it!"
As she heard that conversation, she noticed that Leanne was also there. "You don't have to worry about anything. It's going to be all right. Just rest for now."
Gilbert smiled up close.
The voice seemed to have passed beyond worry and sounded like he was almost about to cry.
She closed her eyelids as if accepting those words. Then her consciousness slowly faded away once again but with a totally different feeling as before.
◆ ◇ ◆
"Cecil, what do you want to say to me?"
"I'm really sorry for acting on my own..."
Cecilia bowed and apologized while sitting on a bed inside the infirmary at Wruhel Academy.
Gilbert was standing next to the bed with a terrifying smile on his face.
Mordred, the supervisor and owner of the room, was talking to the school principal about the situation and wasn't there. There were Cecilia, Gilbert, Oscar, and Leanne, who seemed more meek than usual.
"Hey, there's no need to be that angry. In the end, everything ended up just fine, right?"
From behind him, Oscar sent her a helping line. Gilbert looked back at him.
"Your Highness is being too yielding! Cecil needs to get scolded properly at least once!!"
"You're the one being too hasty. When we rescued him, you went overboard and even called him 'Sis'... "
"No, that was..."
His expression stiffened up with his cheeks pulled up in a weird forced smile.
It was rare for Gilbert to make this sort of mistake. For him to let something like that slip out was unthinkable.
(I guess he was so worried about me that it just happened...)
When she thought about it, Cecilia was filled with regretfulness.
Oscar stroked Cecilia's lowered head.
"Well, Gilbert has a point. Don't do ridiculously dangerous stuff like that ever again. You gave us cold feet."
"Okay."
"You haven't introduced me to Cecilia yet! I'll be troubled if you just disappear on your own like that!"
"What that has to do with it!"
Oscar's joke made her laugh.
Getting along with the mood, his face relaxed.
He stroked her cheeks as if assuring her existence, and the warmth transmitted by his hands made her a bit nervous.
"Oscar?"
"Hmm. You're really alive, right?"
"O-of course!!"
"Aaaaargh!"
Gilbert edged in between the two of them who were getting really close to each other. Then, he confronted Oscar.
"This kind of thing! Exactly this kind of thing! I know you don't have any second intentions, but can't you see how bad it looks? Really, you--Haaah ?!!"
"Why are you angry again?"
"Even if you realize, what's the use of it! This damn natural 'princely manner'!"
"...I don't really understand what you're talking about, but I can tell you're looking down on me!!"
As their usual bantering began, Cecilia smiled while sitting on the bed.
When Cecilia woke up, everything was already over.
The story about how things unfolded was told by Gilbert as the following.
Immediately after Cecilia was kidnapped, Gilbert and the others went to rescue her, disguising it as a military drill. But by the time they found out the place, the castle was already on fire.
They left the fleeing members of Heimat to the soldiers, and the four of them tried to focus on rescuing Cecilia, but they didn't know where she was.
At that moment, they encountered Dante carrying a woman on his back. He told them her location and all that had happened in the armoury.
At that time, it seemed that Dante himself revealed his true identity directly to Oscar.
When she remembered that, Cecilia asked with downcast eyes.
"By the way, Oscar...About Dante... That..."
"What is that strained look about?"
"It's because... you know..."
Oscar, in the game, became very depressed when he discovered Dante's true self.
She was worried that he might be feeling the same way now, but instead, he said without hesitation, understanding Cecilia's regret.
"I already knew it."
"What?"
"I said I already knew all about Dante from the beginning. I knew that and I played along with him."
"Eeeh!?"
"Are you insane? Even though you knew he was trying to kill you!?"
Impulsively, Gilbert also exclaimed.
Oscar's attitude did not change.
"It was obvious that he didn't want to."
The way he looked relaxed, with his arms crossed, really didn't seem to point out he felt hurt by any of that.
(How did it turn out this way...)
In-game Oscar was a lonely prince. Always calm and lofty. He had an unapproachable air, and nobody piqued his interest except for the heroine, Leanne.
However, the real Oscar was still dignified but not too arrogant and was rather friendly and sociable.
In-game Oscar wouldn't want to get involved with a low status noble like Cecil, but the current one got along with anyone regardless of their rank.
(Maybe Oscar wasn't really interested in Dante in the game so...)
Cecilia thought it over.
In comparison, the current Oscar had more interest in the people around him. Because of that, he might have noticed Dante's discomfort at an early stage and figured it all out by himself.
While she was thinking about that, she heard a light knock at the door. When Cecilia responded "Yes", Jade peeked in.
"Ah, Cecil! You woke up."
"Yes. I'm sorry I have worried you."
"Never mind that. I just followed along with them. The praise should all be for those two who can move the whole kingdom by themselves."
"Oh, right." Said Jade while he looked into Gilbert and Oscar's direction.
"His Highness, Gil. The person in charge is calling you. It seems they would like a report about the drill."
"All right."
"I'll be going now."
They walked towards the door.
Then, they looked back at Cecilia, who was watching and seeing them off.
"Try to rest and don't overdo it."
"I'll come to see you again later."
"See ya!"
Each one of the three boys bid farewell in their own manner and disappeared behind the door.
Leanne and Cecilia were left behind.
Sitting in the corner of the room, Leanne was the quietest she had ever been, possibly pondering about the heavy burden of blaming herself for the kidnapping of Cecilia.
"Leanne? Are you okay? Did you hurt yourself anywhere?"
As Cecilia spoke, Leanne lifted her head. Looking at that face, Cecilia suddenly started to feel a strange nostalgia.
Leanne smiled brightly.
The voice she used was more energetic than Cecilia expected.
"I'm okay, it's all thanks to Hiyono, who protected me."
"Even if you say I protected you, in the end, I got caught myself so it was really ridiculous--."
"That's not true. At that moment, Hiyono looked so cool! I was dumbstruck!"
"Aaah, it that so? If you compliment me that much I...hmmm?"
At last, she noticed something strange.
(Huh? Did Leanne just now...said "Hiyono"...?!)
She looked at her with a pale face, and Leanne smiled amusedly like something was really interesting.
That expression was also familiar. But not in this world. It was a familiar trait from her past life.
Cecilia grabbed Leanne's hand.
"Wait, wait a minute. I think I understand the situation now..."
"I would have never thought that Hiyono had reincarnated as Cecilia and even cross-dressed as a man."
"I asked you to wait a minute!"
Her voice got louder.
Leanne was laughing from beginning to end without caring for Cecilia's bewilderment. It looked like she was in a really good mood.
Leanne raised her index finger.
"Well then, I have a question for you. Who was I in my previous life?"
"It's definitely Ichika!!"
"Ahaha! That's correct!"
Laughing away, Leanne made the V sign with both hands. It was the same playful gesture as usual.
"You must be kidding me……"
Cecilia cried out as she reunited with her best friend who transcended time, dimension and even the whole world itself.