Just as Sigurd closed his eyes to rest, a pair of delicate, soft hands began to gently massage his temples.
At the same time, a warm, petite body snuggled into his embrace, and a familiar sweet scent filled his nose.
Without opening his eyes, Sigurd knew that the former was Kiana, and the latter was Sin Mal.
He could also guess that the two were likely glaring at each other with hostility, on the verge of starting another quarrel.
"Don't make a fuss. I'm a little tired."
Patting the soft and silky back of the girl in his arms, Sigurd spoke calmly.
After the disaster, there were numerous trivial matters to handle, many of which inevitably involved high-level decisions.
At this time, Einstein was busy dealing with Wendy's issues, Bronya was on leave due to injury, Cocolia, Raiden Mei, and others were working hard on the front lines, and as for Welt... while he wouldn't make mistakes on major issues, handling complex administrative tasks made it difficult to fully trust him.
So, Sigurd had to take charge himself.
The administrative assistant system Icarus provided didn't offer much help, and coupled with the fatigue from previous battles and on-the-spot command, he was genuinely worn out.
"Mm, Sigurd, take a good rest."
Sin Mal muttered softly, rubbing against Sigurd's chest before contentedly closing her eyes.
Kiana focused on maintaining the pressure of her massage but couldn't help pouting.
'What the heck! That's supposed to be my spot! I already confessed, didn't I?!'
Kiana grumbled inwardly, but seeing Sigurd and Sin Mal seemingly falling asleep, she didn't want to disturb them. She continued to concentrate on the massage instead.
Silver strands of hair draped down from her exquisitely sculpted face, partially obscuring her pale, delicate chin.
This is nice.
Even though a terrible disaster had occurred and many, many people had suffered misfortune, everyone around her was safe, and Sigurd was still here as always... That was enough.
In the warm glow of the lights, Kiana's lips curved into a gentle smile, and her bright eyes reflected a soft and tender expression.
In this moment, the usual silliness and childishness faded away.
...
"Hah…"
Welt breathed a sigh of relief as he stepped out of the hall—he had felt a bit out of place inside.
To avoid the awkwardness, it was best to leave early.
"Well, well! Isn't it the leader of Anti-Entropy himself?"
A soft, loli-like voice greeted him.
Welt turned his head and was first met with the smiling, delicate eyes of Himeko, followed by a breathtakingly large chest, and beneath that, the figure of Theresa, who was being hugged like a stuffed toy by Himeko.
It was Theresa, resting on Himeko's bosom, who had spoken.
Welt smiled slightly.
"Good evening, Himeko, Principal Theresa."
"Good evening."
"Good—Hey! Himeko, let go of me! My head feels heavy!"
Theresa pushed against the weight on her head.
The extreme softness that seemed to swallow her hands made her pause for a moment before she ground her teeth, annoyed.
"They're so big, but during battles, they're just a burden!"
"Is that so? Well, I can't help it. It's natural. Unlike the school principal who never seems to grow, I, too, have my troubles, you know!"
"I'll dock your pay!"
"It's fine. I heard Anti-Entropy is short on people lately. I could always switch sides. You wouldn't mind that, would you, Leader?"
Himeko said with a teasing smile.
Welt nodded slightly.
"If it's Himeko, I'd absolutely welcome you. Actually, it would be great if you joined. Sigurd would certainly approve too."
Theresa froze for a moment, then kicked her legs in Himeko's embrace.
"No way! No way! If Himeko leaves, all the troublesome work will fall on me! That's unacceptable!"
"Alright, alright. I won't leave you, Theresa."
Himeko smiled indulgently, holding Theresa close with one arm and scratching under her chin with the other, as if soothing a pet or comforting a child.
Theresa finally stopped struggling, pouting as she muttered:
"That's more like it…"
Then she looked up at Welt.
"By the way, where's my niece?"
"She's in the hall. But it's best not to disturb them. They've been through a lot on their journey from the moon and are resting now."
"I see... Well then, can I go see Wendy?"
Giving up on bothering her niece, Theresa lowered her head slightly and asked hesitantly.
"Go see Wendy?"
Welt stroked his chin thoughtfully.
He was well aware of Wendy's past and the role Theresa had played in it, almost acting as a driving force.
By all accounts, Theresa was a good person.
But when it came to Wendy, as the school principal, branch head, and mentor, she couldn't entirely escape responsibility for her actions.
Welt never quite understood what Theresa was thinking at the time; her behavior seemed so contradictory to her usual character.
Maybe there was something deeper that he didn't know about.
"I'll ask Einstein. She's currently checking on Wendy's physical and mental state. If she says it's fine, you can go see Wendy… but you know Wendy has some resentment toward you after learning that you never paid attention to what she went through."
"I… I understand," Theresa replied meekly.
Himeko sighed softly and tightened her embrace around Theresa, offering comfort.
Not long after, Welt received confirmation from Einstein and gave Theresa directions before turning to leave.
The upper ranks of Anti-Entropy were all busy, and Welt, being someone with a strong sense of responsibility, wasn't going to let himself idle either.
There was much to handle—the matters of the surrendering faction and the "Moonlight Throne." The sooner these were dealt with, the better.
...
Himeko and Theresa watched Welt walk away.
Then, Theresa looked up, shifting the heavy object atop her head slightly, and glanced at Himeko.
"You're just going to watch him leave?"
"What are you trying to say, Principal?"
"You like him!"
"Who told you I like him?" Himeko asked, still smiling as she looked down at Theresa.
Theresa grinned mischievously. "I saw that photo in your room. Even though the face of the man in the picture was torn off, his figure matches up, and Welt's signature is on it. You've been treasuring that picture. Do you think I'm blind?"
"...Principal, you're not supposed to be this sharp," Himeko muttered.
"Huh? What do you mean by that?!" Theresa's forehead creased in frustration.
Even though she'd learned about this from one of Himeko's drunken rambles, how could Himeko question her intelligence? Theresa knew she was incredibly smart!
Himeko laughed heartily, patted Theresa's head, and then, still holding her, began walking in the direction Welt had indicated. She didn't say anything more.
Does she like him?
She does.
When they first met, Himeko had been a young girl just beginning to understand love, and Welt was the knowledgeable, gentle older brother. It was natural for her to be drawn to his warmth, like the sun.
But he was born before me, and when I came of age… it was already too late.
Himeko had met Einstein and Tesla. She had seen how Welt acted in front of them. While he was always kind, there was a difference between kindness born out of compassion and the kind of warmth that comes from affection or fondness.
Himeko understood that she and Welt had missed out on decades of time. And when it came to matters of the heart, missing the right time could be even more devastating than any misunderstanding.
Later, Einstein sought her out in private and told her the story and eventual fate of Ryusuke Murata, the person Himeko had searched for over many years.
That night, Himeko drank a lot.
When she sobered up, she didn't hold any grudges, but she fully let go of the emotions she had lost to time.
The only frustrating part was that Welt had remained oblivious to it all.
Still, that was probably for the best.
It meant his future wouldn't be smooth sailing, giving Himeko something to laugh about and a bit of solace in his misfortune.
Now, Himeko simply wanted to take care of the childlike Theresa and the students at the academy, to do what she could for the world.
She wanted to fulfill Captain Ragnar's dream. And when the time was right, she'd retire and settle down somewhere with a nice man and make a big family with him.
That's all she wanted.
<+>
Tn: If you want to see more chapter of this story, please go to my Ko-Fi[1], just for $5 each month, you can read till the latest chapter.
Latest Chapter in Ko-Fi: Chapter 274: Infighting? A Hundredfold Payback![2]
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