Chapter 103: Confession and Conditions!
"Edel-chan, what's for dinner?"
Covered in snow, Torajirou Shiro pushed open the wooden cabin door.
Nearly a year had passed since he began living in this cabin. It had taken him almost half a year just to pass the sword peak training.
During the following half year, Edelweiss used her own experience to teach him a new training method.
"You came back at the perfect time. Come cut these carrots for me. Today's requirement is three-centimeter cubes."
That was right. The new training method Edelweiss gave Shiro was cutting vegetables.
He had to cut the ingredients according to her requirements within one second, and every piece had to be the exact same size.
According to Edelweiss, the reason Shiro had crashed into her arms that day was because his control over his ability was too rough. In battle, even such a small distance could be fatal.
Although Shiro felt this method contained quite a bit of Edelweiss's personal grudge, it was genuinely effective training, so he did not say much about it.
He covered the carrots with his hand, and the carrots quickly turned into three-centimeter cubes. Shiro placed them on a plate and handed it to Edelweiss, who was busy cooking.
"Today, we're having carrot and pork rib soup."
Edelweiss took the plate, poured the carrots into the pot, sprinkled in a suitable amount of salt for seasoning, and finally covered it with the lid.
"All right. It'll be ready in fifteen minutes. You should go take a bath too."
After finishing her work, she curled up on the sofa and looked at Shiro, who was dripping water everywhere as the snow on him melted.
After nearly a year of living together, Edelweiss, who had never had many friends to begin with, had come to treat Shiro almost like a close friend. Because they lived together, their daily habits even carried a faint taste of an old married couple.
Only after Shiro finished bathing and came out did Edelweiss ask him a question.
"Did a new group of people arrive at the foot of the mountain again?"
"Eh? How did you know?"
"By observing the snow that piles up on you every day. If it were still the same group, there would only be less and less snow on you, but today, there was actually a little more than yesterday."
Edelweiss's clear eyes narrowed slightly.
Because the sword peak training had been completed, most of Shiro's time over the past half year had been spent fighting the people at the foot of the mountain. Logically speaking, after being driven away by Shiro, the number of people who came later should have decreased.
However, for some reason, someone had given Shiro the title of gatekeeper.
Many people came to challenge him with the mentality of, "Even if I can't beat Twin-Wings, surely I can beat a mere gatekeeper, right?"
As a result, more and more people gathered at the foot of the mountain, and even the people who had originally been scared away by Edelweiss came back to join the fun.
"How is your Twin-Wings Sword Style practice going?"
"Mm, I've only grasped a tiny bit of the trick. I still can't make it completely silent like you."
"Is that so?"
Shiro wiped his hair and sat beside Edelweiss. There was no television on the snowy mountain, so aside from browsing through his phone, his usual entertainment was chatting with Edelweiss.
The pot bubbled with steam, and the fragrance of food drifted through the living room.
The girl closed her eyes and lazily curled up on the sofa, softly humming a song from some unknown place. Her white sweater outlined her perfectly slender figure, and whenever she thought of a topic, she would casually discuss it with the boy beside her.
When they talked about something interesting, she would even let out a silver-bell-like laugh.
Perhaps this was what a home felt like.
Something stirred in Edelweiss's heart.
Ever since she was listed as a criminal, she had rarely experienced such peaceful days. Most of the time, she wandered around outside to prevent strange people from showing up at her door looking for death.
Although she had long since grown used to a drifting life with no fixed place, as expected, living peacefully was more comfortable.
"Edel-chan."
"Mm?"
"How about becoming my girlfriend?"
Just as Edelweiss was lost in thought, Shiro suddenly said something astonishing.
This was the result of careful consideration. Aside from the fact that Edelweiss was beautiful and cooked delicious food, the faint warmth in this kind of life was something he had not felt for a long time.
Even during the years when he had been taken in by the old man, most of his time had been spent practicing swordsmanship.
If he had to put it into words, the gentle, wife-like atmosphere around Edelweiss made his heart move.
"Eh?!!"
Edelweiss clearly had not expected Shiro to say something like that. Her delicate toes curled together, and her jade-white cheeks were dyed peach-red.
"Wait! Leaving aside how sudden that question is, just our ages are more than ten years apart, aren't they?"
That was right. Although Edelweiss looked like a young girl, her true age was already nearly thirty. It was only because she had reached the realm of Desperado that her appearance remained in her teens.
"Age isn't that big of a problem. Swear to your [Testament] that you'll keep it secret, and I'll tell you the solution."
"Ugh..."
Although she was a little hesitant, Edelweiss's curiosity had been stirred up, so she swore to the [Testament] just as Shiro said. In any case, as long as she did not tell anyone, she would not lose anything.
Besides, who said that swearing meant she had to accept the confession?
After Edelweiss made her oath, Shiro told her everything about the Interdimensional Gate and the other world. Likewise, he also told her that once someone reached a realm like Loki's, staying young forever was something simple, so there was no need to care about a mere dozen years.
However, he did not notice that after Edelweiss heard about his experiences, her entire face darkened.
"So... what you just said means you already have a girlfriend, right?"
Crap.
That was what Shiro thought.
Because of the [Testament], he had subconsciously lowered his guard, so he had told her all of his experiences in the other world. Naturally, the parts involving Ryuu were included too.
"Uh... you're all my wings?"
"You really should die, you bastard who wants a harem!"
A burst of crackling sounds rang out inside the small wooden cabin.
…
"In any case, don't talk about this again until you can beat me!"
After calming down, Edelweiss spoke.
Although she knew there was a high chance no one would dare marry her, that did not mean she had to casually give herself away to someone. Eternal youth and other worlds were indeed very tempting, but Edelweiss was still extremely resistant to the idea of a harem.
And so, she put forward this condition. Since this concerned an important matter about her future, she needed time to think it over properly.
"Then it's settled. Once I beat you, you'll become my girlfriend. A mere world's greatest swordsman won't stop me from marrying Edel-chan. If you stand in my way, I'll cut you down too!"
"Hey, I only said we could temporarily date. If we don't get along, we can still break up. Who said anything about getting married directly?"
Just like that, the matter was temporarily settled.
Because of the confession just now, a trace of awkwardness appeared in how the two of them interacted.
Beep, beep, beep~
Just as both sides were unsure what to do next, a phone ringtone came to the rescue.
With Edelweiss signaling him with her eyes, Shiro picked up the phone that had not rung in nearly two years. A voice he had not heard in a long time rang beside his ear.
"Hello, hello. Kouhai, are you there?"
…
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