“I have feelings for you, Najin.”

She had said it. She had actually said it. While her rational mind screamed itself into a frothing fit, Dieta thought that, honestly, he had been a little infuriating.

Wasn't that the truth?

She was making her feelings painfully obvious, yet Najin remained utterly unruffled. Dieta did not like that. It wasn't as though she came up short compared with anyone, was it? Honestly, on looks alone, how many women in the Empire were prettier than her?

Would it kill him to show the slightest sign of wavering, or at least get flustered when she moved closer?

‘If none of this is getting through because he doesn't understand romantic feelings...’

Then she would at least make him realize that she had feelings for him. Let's see if he could treat her the same as always after knowing that. At the very least, their relationship would change.

For better or worse.

Of course, if things took a turn for the worse, she would be a little sad—perhaps very sad—but she would deal with that when the time came. Her future self would think of something. Half anxious and half hopeful, Dieta watched Najin's expression.

And Najin reacted.

First, his eyes widened.

Then his gaze wavered. Still wide-eyed, he tried to step backward, only for the fence to block his retreat. His back bumped against it with a dull thud.

Anyone could see that he was flustered.

2.

Najin's reflexes far surpassed those of an ordinary person. That had been true even before he became a Sword Expert, let alone a Sword Seeker. His innate ability to track movement and his reaction speed were second to none.

As a result, he rarely allowed a blow to catch him off guard. Stronger opponents had landed hits on him, but weaker or evenly matched foes almost never managed to deal him a critical blow.

Yet at this very moment, Najin had been caught off guard. So thoroughly that he was badly shaken.

Who on earth had ambushed this youngest Sword Seeker? Had the attack been too fast to dodge? Had someone hidden and struck from behind? Or was his opponent a Sword Master?

None of the above.

His opponent was a girl who had walked slowly toward him from the front, a girl who had nothing whatsoever to do with martial pursuits. And Najin had allowed that girl to land a critical blow. His gaze wavered violently.

What had he just heard?

Her voice had been too clear for him to have misheard her. Her enunciation, too, had been impeccable. It was a perfect strike that allowed no escape. As he instinctively tried to retreat, his back hit the fence with a thud.

[“I have feelings for you, Najin.”]

Dieta had definitely said that.

However little romance had figured in his life, Najin was not ignorant of what that sentence meant. A direct, unadorned confession. The sort of line that belonged at the climax of a fairy tale or heroic saga.

Najin was bewildered. He always looked several moves ahead and reacted to his opponent's attacks, but he had failed to respond to Dieta's piercing words. He had never anticipated that attack.

What should he say? How should he react?

Unable to answer those questions, he naturally turned to Merlin. She was his guide. Surely she would tell him the right thing to say in this situation. He looked at her for help, but...

“W-what... whaaat?”

Merlin was not much different from Najin.

If anything, she was worse. Eyes round, she slowly tilted her head. When it had tilted so far it was practically bent sideways, her lips moved.

“Did I just mishear that? I must have. No, tell me I misheard it. I had better have misheard it.”

Merlin stared at Dieta in disbelief.

“The most important thing in a confession is the mood. The atmosphere! You just blurt it out without setting the mood at all? Is romance a joke to you? A confession should happen somewhere romantic, like a moonlit lake, to crown the end of a journey. Not in some awkward, halfway situation like this!”

She shrieked.

Naturally, Merlin had never confessed her feelings to anyone, nor had anyone confessed to her. She had merely spent her time fantasizing that, if someone did, she would like it to happen somewhere like that. Unknowingly spilling her own preferences, she raised her voice.

“What woman in the world! What man! Would enjoy a confession this sudden? Honestly, this is ridiculous. Does the boy look so easy that he'd fall for such a cheap trick? If that's what you think, you're sorely mistaken, you brazen little brat!”

Stamping her feet, Merlin whipped her head toward Najin.

“Right? Hm? Hurry up and tell her...?”

Merlin's eyes narrowed. She gave Najin a sidelong look through half-lidded eyes.

“What? What's wrong with you now?”

‘What did I do?’

“Your eyes. Your gaze! Why is it wavering like that? What, don't tell me you...?”

‘Well, this is a pretty flustering situation.’

“Grrrrrrgh!”

Merlin clutched the back of her neck as though she might collapse, foaming at the mouth, at any moment. She wouldn't be much help right now. Letting her screams go in one ear and out the other, Najin focused on Dieta in front of him.

“...”

She was looking at him in silence.

She did not seem inclined to move aside until he gave her an answer. Najin, too, had no intention of brushing this off. He was not rude enough to disregard the resolve of someone who had confessed her feelings to him face-to-face.

Silence, and deliberation.

After a minute that felt like an hour, Najin spoke.

“Dieta.”

“Yes, Najin?”

“To be honest, I don't really understand what you feel for me. Of course, if you asked whether I liked or disliked you, I'd say I liked you.”

But Najin understood that much.

“What you mean isn't something that simple, though, is it?”

“To put it plainly, I was confessing that I wanted us to be lovers. It's a little embarrassing to say that out loud myself, though.”

Dieta fidgeted with her fingers. As she murmured in a dwindling voice, seemingly overtaken by belated embarrassment, Najin smiled ruefully.

“That's why it's difficult for me to answer right away.”

“May I ask why?”

“Because I still don't understand. What it means to have feelings for someone, or what you feel for me. I think it would be cowardly to answer your confession now without even knowing what those things are.”

He wanted to approach the challenge she had presented with care. Responding with some casual answer, some convenient words, would be disrespectful to her. That was Najin's answer.

“I see.”

Dieta found herself smiling.

Cowardly, was it? It was exactly the sort of answer the man before her would give, and one she had anticipated to some degree.

“I thought you'd say that.”

“I'm sorry.”

“Don't apologize. If you do, it'll feel as though you've rejected me, won't it? You've only put off answering. You haven't turned me down. Surely you aren't planning never to see me again?”

“No, but...”

“Then don't apologize. You haven't done anything to apologize for.”

She had not blurted out her confession without knowing it might come to this. She had even considered the possibility of outright rejection, so this wasn't bad at all.

“I knew. I knew you didn't yet understand romantic feelings, and I knew you'd react this way.”

She had not acted blindly in a fit of temper.

She had confessed to Najin despite knowing.

“Originally, I meant to take it one step at a time. I planned to claim each of your ‘firsts,’ one by one, and eventually claim the place of your lover, too.”

Dieta smiled shyly, as though she couldn't help herself, as though she was a little embarrassed.

“But I simply couldn't wait anymore.”

She spoke with a smile.

“You're going far away, aren't you? They say distance makes hearts grow apart. So I got a little anxious. A bigger stage. Greater heights. A more impressive position. I know you're going to go so far...”

The youngest Sword Seeker. The youngest bearer of two stars.

Najin had already accomplished incredible feats, but Dieta was certain that this was only the beginning. And that certainty made her anxious. She feared that, as he became someone greater still, he would remember her as no more than someone he had once known.

She did not want that. Truly.

“I wanted to leave you with an unforgettable memory. You said it yourself, didn't you? The first time matters, whatever it is. Then remember this. Remember that I was the first person to confess to you.”

As she spoke, the corners of Dieta's lips curled upward.

It was a captivating smile. Enough to make even Najin catch his breath.

“What can I do? This is the kind of woman I am. Are you disappointed?”

“Not at all.”

Najin smiled.

“I actually like it. Honesty is a knightly virtue.”

“Should I try taking the knighthood examination? I feel as though I could manage it right now.”

“I'll help you. I can teach you swordsmanship.”

“That does sound tempting.”

Trading jokes, the two looked at each other and laughed, both at the absurdity and for the sheer pleasure of it. After laughing for a while, Dieta let out a long breath and spoke.

“Najin? Whenever it happens, tell me when you feel romantic love. I'd like it to be for me, but it's all right even if it isn't.”

A breeze blew past, stirring Dieta's hair.

“From now on, I'm going to make you fall for me... Even if you fall for someone else, I'll make sure you choose me in the end.”

Brushing back her light brown hair as it fluttered in the breeze, Dieta wore a confident expression. Her bright yellow eyes shone like stars.

“It's an auction. If a rival appears, all I have to do is offer better terms, throw in more money, and snatch you away.”

After all, she said,

“I'm the Snake That Swallows Gold. The merchant who will become the greatest in the Empire. Wouldn't I disgrace the name of a great merchant if I couldn't buy a single person's heart?”

She would make him hers, without fail.

Faced with the force of the girl's declared ambition, Najin had to admit that he had been overwhelmed. Najin, who had never once lost a contest of spirit, who would charge even a Sword Master with his head held high, stepped back for the first time.

It was Najin's defeat.

But not an unpleasant one.

“That's an impressive confession.”

“Isn't it? I think I delivered some pretty good lines myself. Well? Did your heart flutter a little?”

“A little.”

Dieta chuckled.

She reached out and gave Najin's chest a light push. She meant to put some distance between them and make a natural exit, but stopped after only a few steps.

Her original plan had been to say, ‘I'll see you next time,’ and leave. If she kept looking at his face, her heart felt as though it would burst. Unfortunately, Cambria—and her office within it—was quite far from here.

‘If I walk back to my office from here...’

The sun would have set by the time she arrived.

Dieta turned her head slightly to look at Najin.

“... Um, Najin?”

“Yes, Dieta?”

“Sh-shall we go back? Together?”

All her earlier boldness had vanished. Seeing Dieta avert her gaze every which way and stammer, Najin couldn't help laughing. In the end, she returned to her office in his arms.

As an added bonus, she covered her face with her hands for the entire trip, unable even to meet his eyes.

3.

“No romance.”

“Pardon?”

“I said, no romance!”

The first thing Najin encountered after parting with Dieta and returning home was a fuming Merlin. Pointing a finger at him, she shouted.

“Listen carefully. Arthur never had a single romance, right through to the end of his journey. It wasn't that there were no fools confessing their feelings to him. But Arthur remained aloof. He never! Gave his heart to anyone.”

Having said that, she smiled confidently, looking as though she had discovered the perfect argument to persuade Najin.

“Now, since you admire King Arthur and want to be like him, that's reason enough not to get involved in romance, isn't it?”

Staring at Merlin, Najin thought to himself, taking care not to let her hear.

Was this woman an idiot?

Had Merlin heard that thought, she would have rounded on him, eyes blazing, and given him no peace. Fortunately, his private thoughts never reached her ears. Najin gave her a sidelong look with an inscrutable expression.

“Why? What? Why?”

“No, it's just...”

Trailing off, Najin casually tossed out a question.

“You said King Arthur never had a romance, right?”

“Of course. As Arthur's guide, I can guarantee it.”

“Then if I have a romance as well, wouldn't that put me one step ahead of King Arthur? I'd have accomplished something he never did.”

“... Huh?”

“Now I have one more reason to pursue romance.”

As the speechless Merlin's gaze wavered, Najin straightened his clothes and lay down on the bed. He pulled the blanket over his head and turned his back to her.

“Wait. Wait a minute. That's not what I meant... Hey! Stop pretending to sleep and get up. Get up!”

Merlin shouted, but Najin ignored her.

She could make some noise, but she couldn't exert any physical force on him, nor could she pull his shoulder to turn him toward her. Normally, shouting like that would at least keep someone from falling asleep, but it did little good against Najin, who had slept perfectly well out in the underground city's alleyways.

“You're sleeping? You're really going to sleep? Hey, are you seriously doing this?”

With Merlin's whining as his lullaby, Najin fell asleep.

It was Najin's victory.