“W-will you… get engaged with me!?”
She dropped such a bombshell.
“…Huh?”
“I-I’m sorry for being so sudden… but I want to get engaged to Phil-Salemabart-sama…”
Perhaps because she had mustered her courage, Lily’s cheeks were rapidly dyeing crimson.
The sight of her shrinking into a small ball is cute. He probably would have thought that normally, but Phil’s mind was currently filled with questions, leaving no room for such thoughts.
But even that returned to normal in a few seconds.
“U-um… may I ask the reason?”
“Huh!? U-uh… well…”
At Phil’s question, Lily began faltering.
“(Looking at this reaction, I can tell it’s not because she likes me, which is painful. The fact that her ulterior motive and reasons are transparent makes it even more painful. I shouldn’t have made up that lie.)”
“(…)”
“(I thought if something like this came up, it would be from Nicola-sama… wait, Kahlua-san? Are you receiving my eye contact?)”
“(Refuse. Right now. Hurry.)”
“(Young lady, that eye contact while strangling my neck is just plain threatening.)”
Phil felt terror at the current situation where breathing was gradually becoming difficult.
That said, he had intended to refuse this request from the start.
Most likely, Lily had also come here knowing that Phil-Salemabart was the [Hero of the Shadow].
Was it the king’s order, or perhaps something Nicola thought up?
Either way, he could understand the intention to bring the [Hero of the Shadow] into the royal family.
After all, if only she had somewhat of a poker face like Nicola, it would have been better, but from what he could see, Lily, like Milis, didn’t seem suited for probing each other’s true intentions. It was completely obvious.
There was no way the playboy Phil could form an engagement with someone from the royal family. If he were to marry someone from the royal family, those around them would surely realize it was because of the [Hero of the Shadow].
If that happened, Phil would be confirmed as the [Hero of the Shadow] in the kingdom for the rest of his life.
That must be avoided at all costs.
Definitely not… yes, definitely not because he was about to seriously lose consciousness!!!
“I’m sorry, but I must decline the engagement proposal…”
“…!?”
The moment he said that, tears welled up in Lily’s eyes.
“Is it… no good…?”
“Ah, yes. It’s strangl— I mean, it pains my heart, but…”
It truly pained his heart.
After all, he was about to make such a cute girl cry by not being able to grant her request.
But he couldn’t give up his free lifestyle.
For Phil, who wanted to play around and laze about, an engagement with royalty would be too much of a shackle.
Then, Lily suddenly stood up, crouched down in a corner of the room, and began staring at the locket hanging at her chest.
Were those such harsh words? Phil became worried—
“Uuu… I guess it’s impossible for me after all, Abi-oniichan…”
—but his hand stopped before that.
“A-Abi…? Did you just say that?”
“Huh?”
“By any chance, do you know Abi-Biklan…?”
“You know Abi-oniichan!?”
At Phil’s words, Lily involuntarily stood up and latched onto him.
Neither could hide their surprise. That was clear from both their reactions.
Kahlua tilted her head.
She had no recollection of hearing the name of the person Phil and Lily were mentioning.
“Phil, who is this Abi person?”
Forgetting eye contact, Kahlua asked with her voice.
“Ah, now that you mention it, I never told you—”
Then Phil spoke with a nostalgic expression, yet one that showed some darkness.
“Abi-Biklan—he’s my childhood friend and was a genuine, true hero.”
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT gadgetizedpanda.net
An unexpected encounter.
To think he would meet someone who knew his childhood friend.
Phil was happy about this, and his previously apologetic face completely changed to a cheerful one.
Perhaps it was the same for Lily, as she showed Phil the locket in her hand and became more cheerful than when they first met.
“So nostalgic! He had such a young face back then! He looks so weak at first glance that it still makes me laugh!”
“That’s not true! Abi-oniichan was really strong! Phil-oniichan would get beaten to a pulp!”
“Oh yeah? When we were kids, my record against Abi was a hundred wins, zero losses! He might have had a chance if we started with me injured and still in diapers!”
“Hmph~! Abi-oniichan is strong! Because he’s my hero!”
Phil laughed as he patted the head of Lily, whose cheeks were puffed up.
“And you calling me Phil-oniichan… wait, ah!”
Lily seemed to realize something and hurriedly covered her mouth.
Seeing this, Phil also realized.
“I’m sorry for speaking so familiarly to you, Princess…”
“N-no, I’m the one who… but if Phil-Salemabart-sama doesn’t mind, I’d be happy if you stayed as you are now. Um, because you’re similar to Abi-oniichan, and that makes me happy…”
She showed a bashful expression, turning her cute face and adorable eyes toward him.
When being asked like this, even though he didn’t have a little sister, it felt like a little sister had suddenly appeared.
Phil found this strangely pleasant and roughly patted Lily’s head vigorously.
“Alright! Then I’ll keep going like this, so Lily, you keep it like before too! If you later say ‘never mind,’ big brother here will be greeted with tears and a cold jail cell, so absolutely don’t say that, okay?”
“Wah wah! Phil-oniichan, stop it!”
“Ha ha ha!”
Little sisters are cute, cute, super cute. Phil’s mood reached its maximum.
However, at that moment.
He felt an ominous atmosphere drifting from behind.
“…jealous.”
“…O-okay. I won’t turn around. I can easily imagine my partner’s displeased face, so even though I don’t have a weapon, I’ll obediently raise both hands and surrender.”
Phil, who had just learned the meaning of “jealous” moments ago, raised his hands with a twitching cheek.
Apparently, neglecting his partner wasn’t a good idea.
“But if he’s Phil’s childhood friend, I’d like to meet him once. You know, since I’m indebted to him in a way.”
“…”
“…”
Due to the casual comment Kahlua made, the atmosphere suddenly froze.
Perhaps noticing that the flow of the air had changed, Kahlua began showing slight signs of panic.
“D-did I say something wrong…?”
“Ah… it’s not that you did anything wrong, Kahlua.”
Phil answered ahead of Lily’s place.
“He’s dead, Abi is. So I can introduce you in front of his grave, but I can’t let you meet him.”
“…!”
Kahlua finally understood why the atmosphere had frozen.
Feeling pathetic and apologetic, her expression darkened all at once.
“I-I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay, don’t worry about it. It’d be wrong to blame you when you didn’t know. Ignorance is shameful, but it’s not the kind of common sense that should make you ashamed.”
Phil gently patted the head of Kahlua, who was looking down, and smiled slightly to reassure her.
It would be impossible to ask someone to be considerate about something they didn’t know.
If it were common sense or manners that’s one thing, but it would be strange to expect someone to know the names of another person’s acquaintances.
Though the atmosphere had become strange, this was definitely not Kahlua’s fault. If anything, it was the fault of the two who got excited talking about someone she didn’t know.
“Well, getting back to the topic… sorry, Lily. I have no intention of getting engaged to you.”
“I-is it… no good…?”
“If you’re acquainted with Abi, you know, right? Mages pursue their ideals. Rather than noble customs or ambitions, I prioritize my own ideal. This time, it’s not that I dislike you, Lily, but rather the engagement is obstructing my ideal—that’s the situation.”
At this point, he had no choice but to answer honestly.
The moment the words “ideal” and “mage” came out, it meant Phil had acknowledged that he was a mage and the [Hero of the Shadow].
Even so, if a small girl had mustered her courage to come here, he had to show sincerity. That’s what Phil thought.
Especially if he was refusing rather than accepting.
“I-I… don’t want to give up!”
“Even if you say that…”
“If I give up here, I’ll have no value…”
The words were heavy. Lily’s low tone made the weight understood.
That’s precisely why he seemed even more troubled. Because he felt apologetic, for Phil this was a situation he couldn’t laugh off—it was a rare predicament.
Perhaps because of what happened earlier, Kahlua wasn’t saying anything either.
“But since Phil-oniichan has his own feelings, I’ll give up for now.”
“For now.”
“In exchange, please let me live here for a while!”
Requests from royalty basically cannot be refused.
Even so, understanding that it was a presumptuous request—Lily bowed her head as deeply as she could.
The guilt that welled up in his chest. People try to take action to clear their feelings even a little.
Therefore, to the request whose threshold had been somewhat lowered, Phil sighed and reluctantly nodded.
“Haah… even if you say ‘for a while,’ it’s only for a little bit, okay? Even if a ghost appears in the middle of the night, I can’t go pick flowers with you.”
“Yes!”
Lily showed a beaming smile, then quickly left the room.
Was she going to prepare for her stay, or perhaps to make a report?
He didn’t know the reason, but Phil, who didn’t feel like chasing after her, slumped against the sofa the moment she disappeared.
“…Chances of this becoming troublesome?”
“Hundred percent.”
“Figures.”
What should I do from now on?
Phil looked up at the ceiling with an annoyed expression.
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