“There are only two days left now.”
Originally, we had planned to stay for a week and then move to the next person’s house, so it was about time to leave Yuli’s house and head over to Anne’s. Perhaps sensing this, Yuli voiced her reluctant complaints. When she first came home, Yuli was all smiles, but as the days went by, the frequency of her grumbling only increased.
“Can’t we just not go?”
“I’ve already made plans with the kids; it’s too late to change the schedule now.”
Ploomp.
Now accustomed to Yuli’s behavior, I plopped down on her bed and reminded her of our week-long arrangement.
“But I’ll miss it. Oh, El! Don’t lie down right after eating—it’s bad for you.”
“Aaaaaah. I’m not hearing that, not hearing that.”
With my hands over my ears, I rolled around on the bed, lightly ignoring Yuli’s advice. After training all morning, a little indulgence was justified. Rest all you want, my body.
“And you’re acting like a child again? Occasionally, El, you really have childish tendencies.”
While soldiers and knights might consider training as part of their duties, I think it’s fine for us to skip afternoon training once in a while. A bit of laziness shouldn’t be an issue.
But perhaps I was the only one thinking that way. Yuli eventually pulled me up by the hand, forcing me to stand. She sat on the edge of the bed next to me.
Yuli, seemingly lost in thought, raised her index finger to touch her lower lip, pondering something. Then, as if struck by an idea, she lightly clapped her hands and stood up again.
“So! Let’s flip it. I’ll just go with El!”
“No.”
As soon as Yuli firmly decided, she immediately ran to Craig, but her proposal was met with a sharp refusal. Having just finished the morning training, Craig was starting his paperwork, with documents piling up on his desk in real-time.
“…Why not?”
Instead of protesting loudly, Yuli timidly asked for a reason. This prompted Craig, who had been busy processing paperwork, to stop, lift his head, and look at Yuli.
“It’s already been months since you left for the Academy. We’ve just started being able to practice together again… mm, mm.”
?
Was he just now contradicting himself? Craig wasn’t showing any signs, and Yuli seemed to have ignored it, but I, observing from the side, clearly heard it—those words, “spending time together…”. Too natural, it felt like a slip, but when I reflected on the past few days, it wasn’t a mistake—it was confirmation.
The way he hovered over Yuli during training, focusing all his time on her. Sure, given her lower level, it makes sense that more attention would be given. But his corners of his mouth that would sneakily curve up while saying it wasn’t enough.
Yuli occasionally wielded her sword well, and he praised her by patting her shoulder. Of course, people need encouragement too, not just discipline, right? But his hand would hover toward her head and pause before settling on her shoulder.
Every evening after dinner, he’d come around when Yuli and I were drinking tea, listening to our stories for quite a while. Sure, any father would want to know how his daughter is doing at the Academy and what her friends are like. However, while he never listened to my stories, he casually sipped the tea Yuli made for him.
This uncle… Could it be that the real reason he opposes Yuli wielding a sword isn’t because of her talent, but for another reason entirely? It’s a plausible explanation.
“I’ll see you out. I have work to catch up on.”
Once I had this suspicion, everything Craig said or did began to seem different. His claim of having work to catch up on seemed like he was saying he’d been neglecting his duties because he was spending time with Yuli.
Yuli seemed to be half-disappointed and half-anticipating this response, and she turned around to head out of the room. I bowed briefly at Craig and followed Yuli out.
“Really wanted to go…”
Back in the room, Yuli hugged her pillow with a voice dripping with regret. But this pillow—it looks exactly like the one she used in the Academy dormitory. It’s unlikely she specially brought the dormitory’s pillow here, so it’s probably from the same place she bought it.
“Umm… Yuli?”
“Yeah?”
Still with her face buried in the pillow, Yuli peeked out slightly, answering me.
“I have an idea… Do you want to hear it?”
As usual, after dinner, as Yuli was setting out three cups for tea, a knock came at the door. Instead of Yuli, who was preparing the tea water, I went to the door and opened it. Craig walked in naturally, just like yesterday or the day before, drinking tea and conversing casually.
Then, when the conversation paused and there was a brief silence, Yuli glanced at me sideways, gauging my thoughts. It seemed like she was asking, “Is it really okay to do this?”
I nudged Yuli with my eyes toward Craig. This was an attack that was bound to succeed, I was confident about that from experience.
Eventually, Yuli seemed to gather her courage and suddenly stood up.
“Father!”
“Hm?”
Caught off guard by Yuli suddenly standing and addressing him, Craig set down his teacup and looked at her. Then Yuli closed her eyes tightly and rushed toward Craig.
With a whoosh,
Yuli hugged Craig, burying her face against his chest. Then, peering up slyly, she asked,
“Can’t I really go with El?”
It seemed like she rarely ever acted so cutesy in her life—Yuli’s face was burning bright red. Similarly, it seemed Craig had never encountered such a situation before; he was frozen stiff, unable to speak.
Only his mouth corners were moving more intensely than usual. I’ve seen this before, and I know that no one with a connection to Yuli could resist this attack.
As expected, Craig’s conceding words were about to escape his lips.
“Of course…”
It should come out.
“Of course…”
The stern look on Craig’s face started to crack, his eyes trembling. How is he holding on?
“Impossible!”
Ah! I realized my mistake. Yuli’s request wasn’t just about leaving the house for a few days to spend time with a friend—it was about reducing the time she and Craig could spend together. That created a crack in Yuli’s ploy, and Craig finally resisted.
No matter what, if I were in his shoes, I wouldn’t have been able to refuse Yuli. But Craig used the will of a Sword Master to see through it and stick to his decision. Truly, they call them the eight Sword Masters of the continent for a reason—indeed, quite admirable.
Afterwards, Craig’s voice had softened significantly. Yuli seemed to have understood his sincerity, as she showed fatherly affection a few times. Because of this, the distance between Craig and Yuli had grown closer, and Craig’s attitude toward me no longer carried any trace of suspicion. While Yuli might be a bit disappointed, I thought it had worked out perfectly fine.
“See you when the break is over.”
“Hiiing…”
I waved goodbye to Yuli, who was greeting me. I also bowed deeply toward Craig standing beside her, expressing my gratitude.
“Thank you for hosting me. I hope you remain peaceful.”
“Yes. Feel free to come back anytime, like it’s your own home. Go safely.”
After Yuli’s act of cuteness, Craig’s voice had softened considerably. Yuli, initially shy about showing affection to her father, warmed up quickly and ended up using plenty of sweet gestures with him. Thanks to this, the bond between Craig and Yuli grew stronger, and Craig no longer harbored any doubts about me. Though it might be a little disappointing from Yuli’s perspective, this seemed like a good resolution.
“Thank you, Sir Lupin. I’ve gained so much from you.”
I also thanked Lupin who was standing behind. Even though it was only a week, it wasn’t an empty compliment—sparring with Lupin had given me new insights compared to training with Selian.
“It’s fortunate my old body could be of help. I’ll look forward to seeing you as the continent’s ninth Sword Master next time we meet.”
“Haha…”
A servant accompanying Anne’s carriage took my bag from me. When I first arrived at Yuli’s house, I had only one bag with me, but now I had another containing clothes given by Yuli.
As the carriage moved forward, I saw Yuli continuing to wave goodbye through the window. I opened the window and leaned out, energetically waving back. Even as the distance grew, Yuli’s waving hand didn’t stop. I continued waving until her hand completely disappeared from sight. It was hard to believe that only a few months ago, I wouldn’t have thought I’d do such a sentimental thing, but clearly, I’ve changed a lot.
