Chapter 67: Love Talk All Night

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Translator: Soafp

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Meanwhile, on the surface…

“Hm. I want to talk about love.”

“Please go to sleep, Princess Victoria. I'm going to sleep.”

“Sister-in-law, you don't have to hold back.”

Victoria was doing her best to stop Fran from pulling the blanket over herself in bed.

Fran had no interest in romance.

When she was young, she might have admired the idea of a prince on a white horse, but as a realist, Fran quickly understood it was nothing more than a dream.

That was why she had no interest in love talk.

“Sister-in-law, let's talk about love.”

“No.”

“Let's.”

“No.”

“…If we don't talk about love, I'll keep pestering you all night.”

“Such a subtle form of harassment…”

Fran tried to ignore her and go to sleep, while Victoria pouted and whined.

It was then that Eri stepped in.

“I-I want to talk about love too!!”

“…Alright.”

“Hm. I can't accept that you get treated differently from Eri, but… fine.”

And so, the teenage girls' conversation about love began.

“Hm. Let's start with Lidiel.”

“Eh, m-me?”

Lidiel was confused by Victoria suddenly calling her out.

But she thought hard.

Lidiel had spent all her time honing her sniper skills and striving for top grades at the Hero Academy; romance was unfamiliar territory.

“I… I don't really understand love…”

“Hm, I'll ask directly. Lidiel, do you like Ask?”

“Eh? M-me, like Ask-kun?”

“Not true?”

“N-No, n-no way! I've never looked at Ask-kun like that! I-I mean, sure, he's skilled with his hands, a good conversationalist, supports my dreams, and I can't take my eyes off him sometimes, but… l-like him? N-no!”

“That reaction clearly shows you like him!!”

“Eri-chan!?”

Lidiel froze at the unexpected accusation.

But when she calmly reconsidered her feelings for Ask…

“I… I like… Do I… like Ask-kun?”

In the next moment, Lidiel's cheeks flushed red.

It wasn't the face of a hero who had saved countless people, but of a teenage girl confused by feelings she hadn't understood until now.

Watching the exchange, Fran turned to Victoria.

“…Was that intentional?”

“Sister-in-law?”

“I thought Princess Victoria would want to monopolize that boy.”

“Hm.”

Victoria nodded slightly.

“Ask is mine. But to gloat over a girl who likes him but hasn't realized it herself… would lower my dignity.”

“…A fair-play spirit I don't quite understand.”

“Hm. You'll understand if you ever fall for someone, Sister-in-law.”

“Are you implying I've never loved anyone, that I'm a cold-hearted woman?”

“I didn't go that far. That's just your paranoia, Sister-in-law.”

Fran's iron claw slammed down on Victoria's head.

At that moment, Lidiel spoke up.

“Th-then!! What about Eri-chan!? Who do you like!!”

“Huh!? M-me!?”

“You're trying to dodge the question by diverting the topic.”

“Hm. Coward, don't run away.”

“I-I'm not running!!”

Eri froze at being questioned, while Victoria and Fran turned to Lidiel, who had temporarily escaped the scrutiny using the child as a shield.

After a while of fidgeting…

“I-I do… have someone I like.”

“Hm!! Who?”

“Well… a few years ago, I visited the Kingdom of Kishirika because of my mother's work. At that time, I was kidnapped by some bad people.”

“Eh!? W-were you okay!?”

Everyone froze at the shocking revelation.

“At that time, I was saved by the Black Saint.”

“‘Black Saint…?'”

Hearing “black,” Victoria and Fran immediately thought of someone.

A man who wandered the night, healing countless injured people relentlessly—by his actions alone, he seemed like a saint.

In reality, he was just doing it as a hobby…

Victoria and Fran listened to Eri's story, still doubtful.

“Recently… I even had the chance to meet him again!! Ehehe.”

“Oh!! That's wonderful!! Isn't that fate!?”

“Fate, really… ehehe.”

Lidiel gently stroked Eri's head, making her smile happily.

Fran muttered under her breath.

“When did that girl…?”

“Sister-in-law, this is bad.”

“Princess Victoria?”

“Hm. I'm sure Eri already realizes the Black Saint's true identity—Ask. Everything lines up with me!!”

“Ha… I see.”

Fran ignored Victoria's anguished shout.

But the love talk was far from over.

Next, Lidiel turned the topic to Victoria.

“Then, Princess Victoria… you have Ask-kun, right?”

“Hm. I was going to talk about our child-making plan—”

“Too explicit! Eri-chan is here, so no!!”

“…Then it's your turn, Sister-in-law.”

Fran tilted her head.

“I don't really have any romantic stories.”

“Hm, at your age, having a fiancé is normal.”

“…I did have a fiancé candidate.”

“I'm curious!!”

“He said my little brother was my leftover trash, so I punished him nine-tenths and cast healing magic as torture… it turned into a court case.”

“““…….””

Victoria, Lidiel, and Eri exchanged glances.

And Victoria said one word.

“Sister-in-law, scary.”

“Oh, don't worry. I won the case because no marks were left from the injuries.”

“That's not the point!?”

“Fran-sama… scary…”

“?”

Fran tilted her head at the suddenly heavy atmosphere in the room. Feeling uncomfortable, she got out of bed and opened the window for some fresh air.

“Hm?”

“Sister-in-law? What's wrong?”

“…Nothing.”

Fran quickly closed the window.

What she had seen were the clearly insane residents of Zotas.

(Something's definitely happening… It must be Ask. Maybe he's out in the city doing his street healing… Then what I need to do is…)

Fran quietly returned to bed.

And to the still speechless Victoria and the others, she smiled and said one thing.

“Shall we continue our love talk?”

“““Eh!?”””

“But back to the topic, Lidiel—what do you really think of Ask?”

“Eh!?”

Fran's plan was simple: keep Victoria and the others' attention fixed inside, so they wouldn't notice the strange events outside.

If they talked about love until they got tired and fell asleep, all the better.

And if something happened outside, she could feign ignorance and cover it up.