RPWS Chapter 099

New chapters released weekly here. Read the completed novel on my patreon by clicking the banner at the bottom of the post!

_______________________________________________________________________

 

“Why is it so hard to even just see your face these days?”

They were inside a noisy restaurant. A voice full of complaints came from the other side of the table where their lunch was placed.

“She’s never even here anymore… It’s already been three weeks since I’ve seen Elaine’s face!”

No, it’s been more than three weeks. Maybe a month? Sophia, sitting across from Elaine at the table, counted the days with her fingers as she complained.

Elaine laughed a little embarrassed as she cut the steak on her plate.

Between tracking down Talos Asgar and then going with Ash to meet with the other nobles in preparation for the overthrow of the king, she’d had little time to spend in the territory, so it’d been a while since she’d seen Sophia, much less eaten with her.

She asked what was going on, but Elaine couldn’t tell her the truth. The knights hadn’t yet been informed of their plans relating to the king. For now, Ash had ordered the Knights of Philres to return from their missions. He would reveal his plans once they were all assembled.

“Sorry. I’ve been very busy these days…”

“Why are you apologizing? If you’re busy, of course there’s nothing you can do.”

Contrary to her grumbling, Sophia immediately shook her head. Instead, she rested his chin on her hand and sighed deeply.

“I was just complaining for no reason. It’s a shame I don’t see you as often…”

Then Cezanne, who was watching the two from the side, finished chewing his meat and clicked his tongue.

“Come on, it’s only been a few weeks, you’re being too obsessive. If anyone else saw you like this, they’d think you’re Elaine’s lover.”

“What are you talking about? This is a pure and beautiful friendship after all! Could you please stop labeling it with such a impure words? And as for her lover-”

Sophia, who’d been shouting in exasperation, halted her speech with an expression that said, ‘Oops’. She withdrew her gaze from Cezanne and cleared her throat.

“Shh, the foods getting cold. Let’s eat quickly.”

Then she changed the topic in such an obvious way. Huh? Cezanne narrowed his eyes, and Elaine looked puzzled. However, Sofia only ate intently and pretended not to notice their stares.

The bickering didn’t stop after that, but it was nice to have a meal with them after all this time.

After the meal, Cezanne left first, saying he had plans, and Elaine followed Sophia out of the mess hall.

The midday sun scorched the sidewalk with its heat. The two walked along, chatting about this and that. Then they came to a fork in the road.

“… You know, Elaine.”

“Yes, Sophia?”

Sophia hesitantly called out to Elaine. When Elaine turned around, Sophia paused for a moment, as if choosing her words carefully.

“That, um, how are you doing with, um, him…?”

“What?”

Elaine blinked at the out-of-the-blue question. Rolling her eyes, Sophia nervously played with the back of her hair and continued.

“No, it’s just because you spend a lot of time together, in various ways… I was wondering if anything special happened.”

Various ways? Was she worried because spending a lot of time together might lead to conflicts or friction?

“Of course, nothing happened.”

“…Nothing at all?”

“Yes, there’s no problem with him, so you don’t have to worry.”

Thank you for caring. Elaine smiled softly before continuing.

“It’s not like that…”

Sofia seemed to want to say something more but stopped herself.

“Well, then Elaine. Do you have any concerns?”

“Concerns?”

“Like, um… if you need advice or something. If you need something like that, please let me know. Friends can always confide in each other! Got it?”

Her eyes sparkled, and there was unexpected eagerness in them, as if she was ready to listen to any problem. Elaine didn’t know why Sophia was suddenly asking her this, but she didn’t mind because she knew it was out of pure goodwill.

“Because we’re friends.”

Sophia naturally added.

“Thank you. If you have any concerns, please let me know at any time as well.”

Looking at Elaine’s gentle smile, could she really say it…? She had the urge to do so. She was worried about Elane. Of course, it wasn’t Sophia own personal problem, and she didn’t want to make Elaine uncomfortable. She suppressed the urge to say anything.

Instead, she only smiled, and Elaine smiled back.

Sophia waved back as Elaine headed back to the mansion where Ash was staying. In the end, she couldn’t ask this time either. She was afraid she’d misunderstood, or that bringing it up unnecessarily would make Elaine uncomfortable or get her into trouble, so she just watched from afar all this time…

“I don’t know if things are going well or not…”

Though it seemed fine… Sophia sighed as she watched Elaine’s retreating figure.

Of course, it was a monologue Elaine wouldn’t hear.

 

* * *

 

After parting ways with Sophia, Elaine decided to stop by the supply warehouse on her way back to the mansion.

It was where the knights’ supplies were kept. Whether it was from the last battle with Talos or from the spells cast by the wizards when they fought the assassins, there were scorch marks on her sword belt that looked like sparks had splattered it. It was leather, and the scorched areas were getting worse, so it was time for a new one.

As Elaine walked, she suddenly remembered Sophia’s words.

 

‘Is everything okay with him?’

 

When she was asked the question, she didn’t know what to say.

It was hard to say without hesitation that nothing had happened between them: his confession and her rejection. The awkward relationship that followed and the distance they’d barely mended.

Even as she recalled the things she’d tried to keep buried, she could only answer the question she’d been asked as if nothing had happened.

She was the one who wanted it to be that way, so it shouldn’t matter how she felt about it.

Yeah, everything’s okay.

Elaine remembered Ash’s face, as he began treating her like before.

After punishing the king and clearing Bella’s name, Ash would no longer have to suffer, no longer have anyone pointing fingers at him. He’d be able to live his life in peace and happiness.

That’s what she’d come all this way for, and now that day was almost here. All she had to do was watch him be happy.

So, it’s okay. Everything is going to be okay…

As she continued to ponder, the supply warehouse came into view. Elaine stopped her train of thought and looked up.

No one could be seen around the warehouse, which was overgrown with weeds. Most of the members used the supply warehouse near the training site, not here. This was a reserve warehouse, and it was quite far from the training grounds, so not many people came.

However, since it was close to the mansion and she was going there anyway, Elaine stopped there. She slowly approached the warehouse and tried to open the door, but it was partially open already.

‘Whose there?’

Even though there were very few people who came here, it wasn’t a restricted area. Elaine was curious but didn’t think much of it and stepped inside.

Crates were stacked high enough to block the small window, and shelves were lined up like bookcases, stocked with everything a knight would need, from basic armor to sword maintenance tools to saddles for their horses.

‘Is it… further back?’

Elaine passed through, looking through several storage crates. As she went a little deeper, she suddenly felt a presence.

The door was open, so someone must’ve been there. She thought about asking where the sword equipment was and moved in the direction of the presence.

“Uhh…”

That’s when a strange sound penetrated her ears. The moment she made her way around a row of shelves and looked straight ahead, the sight of a man and woman kissing, clinging to each other, came into view.

Elaine’s eyes widened.

‘Dame Sarah… and Sir Alex?’

Her surprise was short-lived, and soon replaced by even greater bewilderment as she recognized the faces of the man and woman. They were members of the same order as her. She didn’t know the names of all the members, but they had both been on missions together.

‘I never thought the two of them were dating…’

Although dating within the order was not prohibited, it was often done in secret because if rumors spread, they could end up causing trouble if they broke up.

And this seemed to be their secret meeting place. They looked very natural, as if this wasn’t the first time they’d met here.

In any case, it was clear that this was a very embarrassing situation. Rolling her eyes, not knowing where to look, she tried to get out of there.

That’s when a hand grabbed her shoulder.