The Book Of Flowers

Establishment

--- 4 days later ---

Ah...

We finally got to the little palace again. Everyone seemed exhausted after days of travel, both at sea and on land

A lot has changed... Even we had to take the time to clean up a little before entering this place. I will not discuss the repairs that will be needed to repair some parts of this damaged castle

I'll ask Artorius to find a handyman later. Poor my friends

The Orion army left and handed us over to the Hortensians after we reached the port of Typha. The journey itself was exhausting

We did ride a horse carriage to walk here, but the journey took time due to the existence of the demonic incarnation. I haven't been to Hortensia since 5 years ago, so I don't know at all that the number of demonic incarnations in uninhabited areas is increasing. And their form is no joke at all. Generally, they are starting to look like lions or elephants, and they are certainly difficult to deal with

Plus, it was me and my friends who had to clean them up. The soldiers of the kingdom who are with us are completely hopeless...

...

And about the royal soldier...

Why is this guy sitting with us now? Why would Frank bother to serve him the same tea as ours? Was he sent by Rosalia as our supervisor?

...

Well, let's just say he's watching us on Rosalia's orders. Everyone here can guess that

After all, who is the faster and stronger person to watch over us than Edwin, the black knight of the Hortensia kingdom

Whoa! The one I've hated since I met him! I don't know if Rosalia did send this thing to piss me off!

All right, I'll be honest. There's not a single Hortensian I'm happy with when they're around, other than Verdea

"Pulse... Why is Edwin here?" Verdea asked

Right no!? I'd like to kick him right out if he just happened to pass by

"Oberonian. Your expression shows that you don't like my existence"

"Forget yourself. I even hate you all, you fucking Hortensia

Don't mind me Verdea, Frank"

"What about His Majesty Artorius?"

"Oh, you mean the owner of these four wives? No thank you. He's not my friend. He's the DAD of my friend"

Artorius just looked down annoyed at my words, but I didn't care about his feelings. He made this mess by marrying the four. Had he been assertive enough as a king and only chosen to marry Marianne, I believe none of this would have been necessary

At least, even if I won't meet Verdea, I want her to be happy. I want everyone to be happy

"After all, why are you only after me to ask questions? It's not that you want to mince words with this king of yours" I pointed again at Artorius

"... Not required. Princess Rosalia only asked me to watch over you and Verdea" Edwin said after shaking his head for a moment

Well, at least he's honest. Her honesty shortened my problems a little

"In short, I don't need to see you. You also don't need to introduce yourself because I already know who you are. So get out there and do something else while Verdea rests"

"You rule me?"

"I threatened you. If you bother him or pull a hair out of his head, I'll make sure your bones break, Edwin"

Edwin just smiled cynically in response to me who was upset

"Rest?" Verdea interrupted

"Why? Don't tell me you don't feel tired after that trip?" I responded

"Hmmm... Can I practice for a minute? Besides, the sun's setting, isn't it?"

He was right. But I'm impressed he still has the energy. I mean, these 5 strong-impressed Elf officials alone look helpless right now. Their breaths were breathless as if they were dying, their faces were pale, and their sweat was pouring out

What an amazing kid

"alright. But don't take too long, afraid you're sick"

"Quiet"

He jumped down from his chair excitedly, then asked for his wooden sword that Luna had brought. Not long after the sword was handed to him, he immediately dashed out into the castle backyard

...

"He wants sword training?"

"Why? Wanna protest?"

"Why are you so agre-?"

Edwin stopped blurting out his words, then said, "Forget it"

Good though. He remembered that I didn't like him at all

We were silent for a moment. Accidentally hearing his voice, we both turned to Verdea from the window. He was seen swinging his sword around, but not carelessly. At least he learned a lot from Veskal in this regard, considering that none of the Elves had a sword as their weapon

But...

"It feels... He was a little weak in forming a fighting position" Edwin commented

Indeed... Edwin's right. Perhaps because Veskal was more of a knife user, Verdea was trained by him to make the fighting position as light as possible in order to move and dodge quickly

But, Veskal is the best sword trainer for Verdea. None of the Elf higher-ups could use sword techniques that humans could achieve. I'm satisfied enough that what Verdea wants to train can be fulfilled

Edwin suddenly woke up, and walked out. All my friends including myself raised their heads immediately as he moved

"Where is he going, Vainzel?" Ivor asked

"Eitherway. But I hope he doesn't bother Verdea" I said calmly, then started to enjoy the tea in my cup

Unfortunately, he did interfere with Verdea training. Verdea clearly stopped swinging his sword when Edwin was there

Seeing that, I immediately gushed out the tea I enjoyed, then dashed out as quickly as possible leaving Luxor sitting beside me and his face wet from the spray

"I told you not-!!!"

"- If I were to become your sword teacher, wouldn't that matter to you?"

Uh-h?

What did I just hear?

Verdea looked at me, as if asking for approval. Edwin also followed him simultaneously, waiting for my answer

"T-wait. Explain why you want to be his teacher?"

"It's obvious, isn't it? I want him to train his sword skills"

That's not the reason I want

"If I say no, how about it?"

Edwin looked at me sharply because of the response just now. But I just returned that sharp look back to her

"There is no need. Besides, Edwin still can't believe it, so sorry" Verdea said

Thank goodness he agreed with me...

Verdea swung her sword again diligently, as Edwin stood there beside her. I brought Edwin back, but he didn't seem to notice me

He suddenly snatched Verdea's sword, swung the sword, and...

THE KRAAKK!!

... Destroying the tree trunk that was in front of him was like a small branch. And he did it with a wooden sword

The tree immediately fell down and made a loud noise, making all my friends alert

I'm overwhelmed by that. Not out of awe, but out of sheer audacity he made such a sudden commotion. Even Ordelia shouted from the living room when she saw the fallen tree on the ground

The talk won't be fun at all later...

Edwin then turned around and looked at Verdea who was standing still. He was surprised that not the slightest bit of Verdea's face showed any sense of impress

He tried to calm himself down first before returning to talk

"Hows it? You could have this kind of ability if I trained you"

Verdea then slowly extended her hand towards Edwin

"Give me back my sword" He said back in an annoyed tone

This surprised Edwin even more

"It is not polite to take people's goods and then destroy the property where they live, right? At least give me my sword back if you don't want me to make you clean up all this mess"

...

It felt... Verdea is increasingly looking high-ranking the more the day goes on. The longer we were together, the more I felt his heart was getting stronger to defend his stance

I don't train him to behave that way too often. I'm not even sure that Veskal trained him that way

He trained himself, to raise confidence and dispel the opinions of others who only wanted to drop his intentions. He even fought my words back then, didn't he?

Since Verdea did not want to give up and said yes, Edwin had to give the sword back to his hand

"thank you. Excuse me, I want to rehearse again"

"A strong stance is the main key of a swordsman. You can be the greatest knight if you accept my offer just now, because you already have that key"

"... Then?"

"... Did you not accept my offer because of Oberon's words?"

"You could say so. I trust him more than anyone, even you. He helped me form a decision in case such a situation arose"

"It wouldn't be good for you, influenced by the opinion of such a person"

"Gaze in the mirror there. You are trying to change my intentions right now

My choice is my choice. In the end, no one will be able to force her, right?"

"..."

Their conversation stopped there. Verdea had been swinging her sword ever since, and it made me even more relieved that she could speak out of the conversation by herself

Edwin walked back into the castle because his request had been denied. I could see his very clear and real face of disappointment

Ordelia walked towards me past Edwin who walked inside. With a riled face, he held my shoulder and said

"Other times, hang the person on the tree upside down" in a scary tone

I was silent not answering. Because of that bad face, I offered to help him heal the tree again

......................

the Night of the Day, Verdea Room---

"Now, Verdea"

"Why?"

"You really don't want to be Edwin's student?"

"Well?!"

He raised himself from the top of the bed with a look of wonder

"You also said you can't, right?"

"I mean, you're not even the slightest bit impressed by the technique. If you're like a boy in general, you'll probably be begging him"

And also, I never once saw a coach pleading with someone to be his student. Edwin I saw first like that

"... I just wasn't interested. Veskal had also taken pains to train me, until my body had even begun to get used to the techniques he taught. Replacing the sword technique into Edwin's... Maybe it'll make me adapt for a little longer"

He had thought that far apparently. Incredibly

He's got nothing wrong at all. If you are used to a job, it will be difficult for yourself to adjust when moving to another job

A fisherman must study hard to become a good farmer. And the time it takes will be very long

"After all, I want to appreciate your efforts. I don't want to move that easily when you've tried your best to help me"

"...!"

Ah... This kid

I'm glad he wants to think that

"Thank you, Verdea. Thank you for appreciating us"

I stroked his head as usual. And for the first time, I realized that his hair had become rough. Not as soft as when he was a kid. Therefore I remembered again, that the child who I had always smeared his head, had grown up like a man

This brat. He has grown and developed without me knowing. I only saw him as a child I had to protect, but I didn't think he could grow up so fast that he was able to chase after me

...

"I'm glad you're trying to help me. But, I hope, when there is a dangerous situation, you can know when to back off

Promise me Verdea. Promise me that you'll always be okay, now or later"

I stretched my little finger out to him. He looked at me confused, then asked

"Why should I promise?"

He slowly smiled and made me feel sad

"I don't have to promise. Because, as long as you guys stay by my side, both now and later, I'll still be fine"

...

"So, you guys are supposed to promise me, you insensitive people!"

He stuck his tongue out at me. After her sweet words were ended by the protrusion of the tongue, I retracted my intention to speak kindly about her

"Hmph! You're insensitive yourself, you little boy"

"Hey! Don't call me boy!"

He kept making words of protest at me afterwards, as I just stared at him with a simple smile

After Verdea, if you know, the most important thing for me is to always walk by your side, with you. That was enough to make me okay

...

"Oh, Verdea"

"Yes?"

He stopped making speeches and watched me turn to his unresolved stuff

For some reason, his face suddenly turned pale. But I hadn't noticed it at the time

"We'd better get your stuff done first"

"T-wait! Don't touch my stuff"

...

I wonder why he said that, especially when he realized that pale face

Suspicious, I unpacked all her belongings, making Verdea scream in panic and jump down from the bed

Then I got the bottle, and it made Verdea try to take it out of my hand. But I dodged it and made him slip on the floor

Looks like this is where she suspected it...

I spilled the contents of the bottle containing the water. A very ordinary puddle of water when seen by the naked eye came out of it and spilled onto the floor

...

But unfortunately, I know very well that it is not ordinary water

"What are you doing here, you little brat...?" I said to the puddle

Remina poked her head from the puddle. She then formed a cute pretentious face

Well, the next incident is predictable. Both of their ears were clamped down hard for doing this secretly

Why are they acting like criminals by conspiring behind my back try!?