The Guardian Knight of Affection-Starved Young Ladies

89 – Family Bound by Blood (01)

090.

When was it?

It seems like I’ve been in a similar situation before.

And it was quite recent.

-……

Kallen was sitting quietly in a luxurious room that could hardly be called an inn.

Moreover, since this was his room, there was nothing strange about lying down comfortably.

However, Kallen sat on the bed, as if slightly tense.

The reason was quite clear.

Kallen quietly lifted his head and met the gaze of five pairs of eyes staring at him.

Especially the gaze of the four young ladies, except for one, felt somewhat piercing.

As the uncomfortable silence continued, Kallen realized that this situation was similar to something he had experienced before.

The tea house of Ecclesia.

Especially the inner tea room.

It was something that happened not long after they started the selection process.

Being dragged into the forbidden area and bombarded with difficult questions.

The current situation was very similar to that.

The looks directed at Kallen were also similar to when they found out he spent time with Laris.

Recalling a bit, there was a time when the rule of the forbidden area in the inner tea room of Ecclesia was broken.

The culprit was also Kallen, who once unknowingly brought Eliana there.

Yes, that was when he knew nothing.

And Kallen could tell that now was different from then.

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It felt like a situation where saying the wrong thing would be disastrous.

It was right after he mentioned that he would briefly visit the Plache family following Laris.

Of course, it was something everyone knew without needing to be said.

The relationship between Kallen and the young ladies staring at him was far from ordinary.

Even if we set aside Daphnis and Liches, at least Eliana, Selassie, and Sinat had shared their lives with him.

Kallen knew that they had been very anxious and had shown almost obsessive behavior.

Moreover, considering what Sinat had said… their feelings for Kallen were not something to be taken lightly.

However.

No matter how much that was the case.

He had only said, “I’ll be back after following Laris,” and yet, they were looking at him so coldly.

Kallen felt a bit wronged.

This was like…

Like a wife managing her husband.

He had never dated anyone, and marriage was even more out of the question, so he wasn’t sure if the analogy was accurate.

However, Kallen felt that this unfamiliar feeling was incredibly appropriate.

“…So.”

Kallen, lost in various thoughts.

Eliana’s quietly murmuring voice brought him back to reality.

When he turned his gaze to her, Eliana’s eyes were as cold as the atmosphere.

It might have been Kallen’s illusion.

Eliana was originally a calm girl, and even when they first met, her expression rarely changed.

But this was different.

Kallen knew that the current look was far from her usual calmness.

“You’re going to… visit the Plache family…?”

“…Yes.”

“…”

He only answered because he had made the decision.

Kallen quietly turned his head, thinking that Eliana’s expression had become even colder.

Where his gaze landed, Selassie was also staring at him with a hardened expression.

“Kallen.”

“…Sister.”

“Do you really… have to go?”

Selassie seems to smile well at first glance, but Kallen knows that he is the only one in the world who knows that it is not true.

The girl behind the mask she wore in front of Kallen was not so bright in personality.

However, unlike Eliana, her original expression was not so cold, so it was possible to keep facing her.

“It’s different. We overcame something inevitable by chance. What the Flache family is trying to do is to create danger forcibly.”

It’s a valid point.

If the creation of a mental image follows a certain framework, it makes a big difference, as Selassie said.

It might be completely irrelevant.

After all, the idea that a mental image can be intentionally awakened was a debate that ended early in the magical world.

However, there are three young ladies here who awakened their mental images with Kallen.

Kallen nodded towards Selassie, who was one of them.

“It’s not just you, sister.”

“…Huh?”

When Selassie questioned the sudden remark, Kallen looked back at Eliana, Selassie, and Sinat.

“Eliana, you, and Sinat were all desperate.”

“…”

Kallen didn’t say much, but the three young ladies understood the meaning of his words.

Who could deny it?

Even if for different reasons, the three girls were suffering from their own great wounds.

And it was the boy in front of them who healed those wounds.

The mental image is a proof of that strong relationship.

So it cannot be denied.

Even Laris might have had the same wounds as them before meeting Kallen.

The three girls were saved by him, so it is impossible to stop it.

When Selassie lost her words, Kallen continued.

“I’m not blaming you for that. It’s just that the young lady of the Flache family has her own circumstances, and I happen to be able to help. And…”

Kallen looked towards Daphne and Richeza.

The young ladies who did not share a mental image.

It started in Ecclesia.

“I found what I want to do, and it might be related to this. It doesn’t seem completely unrelated, and since I haven’t found any clues yet, I have to try everything.”

Kallen turned to Sinat for the last time.

Sinat, who had a cold expression when he first barged into the room, began to relax his expression after hearing what Kallen had just said.

“In other words, this time it’s a controllable risk, so there’s no reason not to do it. Three times something unexpected happened. I did well there.”

A confidence that might seem arrogant at first glance.

In Kallen’s eyes, which uttered such words, there was an unwavering belief.

That belief is what has created the miracles so far.

Those miracles were not possible purely because of luck.

Daphnis and Liches could only admire inwardly just by seeing the surface of that infinite belief.

The three young ladies who vividly remember the memories cannot help but acknowledge it.

It’s Kallen, no one else.

The boy who saved them and performed unbelievable miracles.

To deny his steps, the girl’s heart might have come too far.

They say the one who loves more loses.

Now, rather than stopping him, the three young ladies’ expressions began to show a worried look.

In fact, they might have expected such a sight.

A person who is more reliable than any other boy of the same age or any nobleman in society.

The steps that move forward from belief, just not revealed.

Because he has created a path that only evokes awe.

“I’ll be back safely.”

It’s not a question asking for permission.

Kallen simply informed them.

It was just that Kallen acted quickly, feeling the young ladies’ expressions soften.

But the young ladies, who had no way of knowing his true intentions, just nodded their heads.

*

So, after a stormy time passed.

Kallen was exhausted and lay down on the bed.

Because he was so tense that he broke out in cold sweat every moment.

It seems to have passed safely, but he doesn’t feel like being too harsh on those young ladies.

Kallen lay on the bed and closed his eyes for a moment.

“You speak better than I thought. You always seem to adjust to them.”

“…Then why didn’t you help me a bit?”

“Me? I wouldn’t have lasted a moment. You must not feel it because you’re used to them…”

“What do you mean by not feeling it?”

“Nothing. No matter how much I say, you, a man, wouldn’t understand.”

As before, there is a lot of unknown meaning in what Laris says.

After thinking for a moment, Kallen roughly brushed it off and turned his head to the side, opening his eyes.

“I want to go as soon as I’m ready.”

“Good. I don’t want to drag it out either. In fact, I want to do it even faster.”

“Will you leave tomorrow?”

“Yes.”

Having received the desired answer, he looked back at the ceiling.

Laris, who had been sitting in a corner of the room, finally stood up gracefully.

“…Kallen.”

“Yes.”

“Thank you.”

And with those words, she left the room without waiting for a response.

Kallen lay on the bed, quietly holding her thanks in his heart.

*

Meanwhile, the five ladies who came out of Kallen’s room.

Eliana, Selassie, Sinat, Daphnis, and Richeza gathered in one room.

Recently, even after returning to the inn, they often gathered for selection work, so they took turns gathering in each other’s rooms.

Today was the day to gather in Selassie’s room.

So they should have gathered in her room to continue the selection.

“This is serious.”

Right now, the selection work was the last thing on their minds.

The first thought came when they left Kallen’s room.

Each of them was reminiscing about their memories with Kallen.

After hearing his words, the memories came flooding back.

Looking back, their memories with Kallen were filled with happiness, but the three ladies with a certain mindset suddenly reached a realization.

The things I did with Kallen are precious memories.

We risked our lives together, engraving unforgettable scenery into our eyes.

When I look at the boy like that, my heart naturally starts to race.

It was something none of the three young ladies could avoid.

And.

Kallen is now trying to create an image for Laris.

It’s really an impossible task, but the problem is that if it’s Kallen, it might be possible.

So Kallen creates an image with Laris.

Just like with the three young ladies, they risk their lives for each other.

They obtain an incredibly beautiful image.

As I said, the emotions that arise when reaching the end are something one cannot handle alone.

Laris is no different.

-……

Eliana, Selassie, and Sinat unknowingly looked at each other at the same moment.

Daphnis also felt something unusual in the air.

Richeza just looked at Daphnis with affectionate eyes…

The thoughts they had at that moment were probably not very different.