Lena and Leo settled into a small house. They shared the soot-stained house with other soldiers, but they had a room to themselves.
Having a roof over their heads provided them with a strange sense of security.
One day, as dusk settled, Lena called out to Leo, who had just returned from his duties. Her face was flushed with excitement.
“Leo, want to spar?”
“No, thanks. I don’t think I can win against you these days.”
Leo sat down on the bed and shook his head.
Lena’s skills had improved further. It seemed she had developed a feel for Katrina’s swordsmanship through applying it in actual battles.
“You fight well in real battles, so why not during sparring? Are you going easy on me to make me feel better?”
“No, I’m not.”
The effects of {Combined Attack} had become more pronounced as Lena grew stronger, but unaware of this, she approached the bed and asked,
“Does this mean we could even defeat that female knight now?”
“You alone?”
“No, both of us.”
“We’re still not at that level.”
Lena smiled brightly.
“Well~ I think we can do it.”
She grinned and then pursed her lips.
She had been doing this a lot lately. It was like she had something to say but was stalling.
“You have something you want to say, don’t you?”
“...You’re quick.”
“What is it? Just tell me.”
Lena paced back and forth, buying time, before finally mustering her courage and blurting out,
“Let’s get married when we get back.”
Leo was taken aback and stared at Lena.
“Hehe, why are you so surprised?”
She turned her back and continued her confession, her embarrassment evident in her stiff posture.
“It’s my dream to become a knight like you and then get married. That’s why I was deliberately putting it off. I’m sorry.”
“Wouldn’t it be difficult to become a knight after becoming a mother? But for us to already…”
“Squire!” Lena shouted, spinning around.
Her face was a mixture of embarrassment, pride, and happiness.
“Maybe I’ll return as a knight, and even if not, as a squire, I can still aim for knighthood after marriage! If I train hard and prove my skills to the lord, I could receive a knighthood, right? We wouldn’t even need to go to the capital.”
Lena looked at Leo directly and declared,
“So, let’s get married when we go back.”
“......”
“Why aren’t you saying anything?”
“...I’m so happy I’m speechless.”
“So, what’s your answer?”
“I’d love to. Lena, will you marry me?”
Lena shyly buried her face in her hands. Even so, he could tell she was smiling brightly behind them.
“Ahh… It’s hot. It’s nice even though we’re already getting married.”
She cautiously moved closer to Leo and sat down. Then she looked at him expectantly.
She wants something.
She may be clumsy at everything but swordsmanship.
As Leo kissed her, Lena shyly accepted his lips.
* * *
That night, as the chirping of crickets filled the air, Leo couldn’t sleep.
He was trapped.
It wasn’t that he disliked Lena’s confession.
He loved it. He was incredibly happy.
But it was a complete disaster. Being on the battlefield made him realize that he could never make Lena a princess.
If they were on the battlefield, they would inevitably encounter Katrina.
This was an unavoidable {Event}, and to survive, they had to fight and win. That meant defeating at least one knight.
If they achieved the feat of defeating a knight without sustaining major injuries, they would meet the prince during the victory march, where his favor would work in their favor. He would open the path to knighthood for them.
And if the path to knighthood opened up… Lena would confess.
At this rate, even if they survived the war, he wouldn’t be able to make Lena a princess. They would have to get married once the war was over.
Break up?
Only a scoundrel would even think of mentioning breaking up to Lena, who was so happy.
Even if he was determined to leave his mark on history, he wouldn’t do something so cruel.
His heart was pounding like crazy, and even ‘he’ couldn’t sleep, overwhelmed by happiness.
There was a glaring contradiction in the ‘Engagement’ scenario. There seemed to be no legitimate way to make her a princess.
At least one thing was clear: the {War} Event had to be avoided at all costs.
‘Besides, we don’t have much time due to our age. We can’t afford to waste it on the battlefield. Being on the battlefield only brings us closer…’
He had known the way to avoid war all along. The {Hunting} Event, he had to hunt down the Noguhwaho. That would give him a reason to avoid participating in the war.
However, there was one small problem.
The Noguhwaho was too strong.
Its massive body moved with the lightness of the wind, but that didn’t mean it was any less heavy. He knew from experience, having helped move a dead Noguhwaho. It was terrifyingly heavy. One swipe from its foreleg would send even a grown man flying.
Even Dehorman, the renowned warrior of the Einar Tribe who had hunted numerous monsters, had achieved a celebrated feat by slaying one.
Leo groaned and turned over.
‘How am I supposed to catch that thing? Should I just run away?’
But he had no plausible way to convince Lena.
Elope?
They were already engaged.
Use swordsmanship training as an excuse?
His father watched over his sword training every day.
He quickly dismissed the idea. Unlike the Childhood Friend scenario, this one didn’t offer a justification for running away with Lena.
As he turned over, his eyes fell on Lena. She looked adorable, sound asleep. But frustrated with their predicament, he reached out and pinched her nose.
‘How am I supposed to make her a princess? Argh!’
She stirred and let out a groan, making Leo feel guilty. The creator of this game was the crazy one… Lena had done nothing wrong.
He pulled the blanket back over Lena.
That night, Leo tossed and turned, unable to sleep, while Lena, in her sleep, kicked off the blanket he had put over her.
Summer was slowly coming to an end.
He needs to stop trying to go the cuck route with this lena. Sitting through that would be torture.
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