Inside the hut, where the air should have been bitterly cold, a sudden heat now filled the space.
But this heat did not come from any physical phenomenon — it came from a sincere, steadfast love that would last unto death.
When that blaze of warmth subsided, everything returned to calm. Rozen held the girl — completely naked and leaning against him — and his previously troubled heart quieted, at least for the moment.
Even if the calm lasted only briefly, Rozen was satisfied. He hugged his lover tightly and, in a low voice, said, "Thank you…"
Those words drew a slight reaction from the girl in his arms.
Edelweiss opened her eyes; they were wet and shone with a new kind of allure she didn't usually show. A faint flush lingered on her face, and even the exposed shoulder outside the covers had a faint pinkness — an astonishing beauty emanated from her whole being.
Edelweiss lifted her eyelids and looked at Rozen, simultaneously fulfilled and embarrassed.
"Are you satisfied now?"
Her tone carried a hint of plaintive reproach.
There was no helping it — surrendering herself to Rozen like that, and not under some romantic pretense but simply to comfort this little man, a girl couldn't help feeling a little put out.
Rozen felt sheepish too.
Truth be told, what he'd done was a little improper: seeking comfort and then taking the other person — that was a rather frivolous excuse.
Fortunately, they had already made their relationship official; they had clearly told each other their feelings, regarded each other as lifelong partners, and even felt as if their souls had merged. So it was only natural they would come this far; there was no point in being coy.
"Sorry…" Rozen offered again, awkwardly.
Edelweiss couldn't help laughing softly.
"Alright, I'm not blaming you." She nuzzled against Rozen's chest, listening to his heartbeat, and said in a quiet voice, "I know you must be dealing with something important, otherwise you wouldn't be like this."
After more than ten years together, Edelweiss felt she knew Rozen well. She understood that whatever could unsettle such an intelligent, decent man couldn't be trivial.
"I don't know what it is," she admitted, "and I want to help, but I'm clumsy with words — I'm not good at comforting people."
Saying that made her a little downcast.
She had devoted her life to swordsmanship and pastries; though she was charismatic, she truly was rather awkward when it came to comforting others. If not for that, she might not have chosen this simple, physical way of consoling Rozen — but she could think of no other method.
"Do you think I'm stupid?" she asked, sulkily.
That made Rozen laugh.
"What? You care about that?" he teased.
"...What do you mean by that?" Edelweiss shot him a glare.
"It's nothing." Rozen hurriedly shook his head. "You're just not skilled at flattery or pleasing others — that doesn't make you stupid."
That was the truth.
Perhaps Edelweiss seldom showed her true self to strangers; many people didn't really know her. But Rozen could say with certainty she was full of personal charm.
She was strong without arrogance.
Self-aware and strict with herself.
Determined and always striving to improve.
Kind and considerate of others.
The label of "the world's most evil Blazer" was utterly baseless. If anyone else ever felt lost in life, Edelweiss, as a senior, would surely offer meaningful advice based on her convictions and values.
But she simply wasn't good at flattery or at doing things just to please people — her strength, discipline, and resolve wouldn't allow it.
Asking the world's greatest swordswoman to flatter people? That would be a joke.
So Edelweiss wasn't stupid; she was just naturally a little innocent, a little endearing, a little cute at times.
"Have I helped you at all?" she asked again, raising her head to look at Rozen.
"Of course." Rozen nodded without hesitation. "Thanks to you, I feel a lot better."
Even if his confusion hadn't completely vanished, and even if he still hadn't decided what to do, for now…
"I just want to spend time with you and unwind."
Rozen told her.
There were about three days left before Chaldea's final battle. But having come to another world, Rozen no longer needed to worry about those three days.
He could now freely choose which timeline to enter, so long as he didn't violate paradoxes like going back to the past. Although there could be a time lag — when he previously reentered worlds he'd been to, months or even a year might pass — that was because time keeps flowing and it's difficult to synchronize perfectly with a moving point.
Now, however, Rozen could use the perfect-state power of his Mind's Eye at will. He could accurately locate a point in time, calculate the flow before and after, and enter that moment precisely.
So even if there was a slight error, it would be at most a day — nothing that would endanger Chaldea.
That was why Rozen had left Chaldea for this other world.
First, to see important people while his heart was unsettled.
Second, to complete the ascension of his Foreign Mana before confronting King Solomon.
In another world, even without actively working on the ascension, time alone could accumulate it without pressure.
Rozen decided he would take this time to relax, visit acquaintances, and be with his lover until the ascension of his Foreign Mana was complete — then he would return to Chaldea.
Edelweiss seemed to guess some of this and gazed at Rozen intently. After a while she relaxed her expression.
"I'll come with you and unwind too." she said with a smile.
"All right."
Rozen smiled, and to Edelweiss's startled cry he rolled over again, pinning the woman in his arms.
Once more, the room flamed with heat.