It’s been a few weeks since my running away from home sparked the commotion.
Patrick and I are walking through the streets of Dolknes territory as winter approaches.
The morning was cold but pleasantly warm now that it was past noon.
We were going to have a date in the morning, but we had a sudden visitor, and our departure was delayed. We were supposed to return before noon, but here we are at this hour.
“I didn’t expect Linus-san to come.”
“That disguise was brilliant.”
The visitor was Linus-san, an intelligence agent from Lemrest.
I was surprised to see a well-built, merchant-like figure appear and instantly transform into a slender young man. He is a man who has the decency to come to me in person because I have put myself in danger when he could have sent someone else with a less distinguished face.
He filled me in on the current situation in Remrest.
“I didn’t care much about what happened to Remrest, but I guess it’s good if things turned out better for Linus-san.”
“Who knows? This means that Remrest’s technological prowess is now firmly grounded, though it is somewhat concerning for the position of the Balshine Kingdom.”
The first prince faction, including Linus-san, is doing surprisingly well. The next king of Remrest is almost certainly the first prince. They also promised that the First Arsenal, the research institute for magical tools, would continue to exist.
They should have gained visible war merits to gain an advantage in the throne succession struggle. Although they should have withdrawn without achieving anything, they made up an achievement.
“But couldn’t they have made up a better story about preventing the descent of the God of Destruction?”
Something about how they stopped the descent of the God of Destruction just in time. Even if they were going to lie, they could have come up with something a bit more believable.
Within Remrest, the propaganda of the First Princes’ faction has succeeded. They have added credibility mainly by taking advantage of natural phenomena that occurred by chance.
Two weeks ago, around when I returned from Lemrest, there was some kind of abnormal weather.
And I missed it. It is a pity I could not see this unusual natural phenomenon.
Huh? When I didn’t get a response, I checked next to me, and Patrick had a troubled look on his face.
“Patrick? What’s wrong?”
“…Oh, sorry. What were we talking about?”
“There is no such thing as a God of Destruction.”
“…Linus is trustworthy, even though he’s from an enemy nation. Fresh information from Lemrest would be invaluable.”
No, I brought up the topic of the God of Destruction. For Patrick, it was just an inconsequential story. Although he was listening to Linus-san’s stories seriously…
I agree that Linus-san is trustworthy.
“But there were some urban legends and nonsense stories.”
“Are you talking about the story about the woman who crushes swords at the blacksmith?”
“Yes, that one. It’s not like I will listen to some popular made-up story in the neighbouring kingdom.”
He even went on to talk about something useless. The blacksmith story was a side story that had nothing to do with the main storyline, but he graciously shared it with me.
…He shouldn’t have figured it out yet. Since Patrick wasn’t there, he shouldn’t have known that the woman was me.
“That’s you, isn’t it?”
“…No, it’s not.”
“Since rumours have been spreading about what Yumiela has done, Linus probably thought he would share the news, too, right? It can’t be anyone but Yumiela. Besides, the timing fits.”
“…Yes, I did it.”
“If it’s something you did domestically, it’s one thing. But why would you do something so conspicuous abroad?”
I can only express my apologies to an angry Patrick. I am truly sorry.
Well, Linus-san knew that the identity of the rumour was me. Speaking of identity… since Patrick’s scolding will likely continue, I try to change the subject.
“When I met Linus-san in the royal capital, he didn’t tell me that Gilbert-san was Patrick’s brother. Isn’t that strange?”
“Wouldn’t it be normal not to notice? His name is Gilbert, and he looks a little like me. How could Linus possibly think you didn’t know each other’s identities?”
“Oh, so that’s what it was. I thought Linus-san was a little bit absent-minded.”
“You are the one who is absent-minded.”
“Isn’t Gilbert-san, too? He didn’t even know I was Yumiela until I told him my name.”
“Yeah, my brother is quite something.”
And Gilbert-san still misunderstands our relationship.
He thinks his brother is trying to stop Yumiela from destroying the world by becoming her lover. He thinks something completely misguided like this is the truth.
The parallel world’s Number Two is the one who is trying to destroy the world. I have never once plotted the world’s destruction.
Ah, my life has always been riddled with other people’s misunderstandings.
Instead of improving our relationship, my relationship with Gilbert-san has deteriorated, almost to the point of no return.
“But he will be at the wedding, right?”
“My brother seems to have been stretched too far on his own devices.”
This time, Gilbert-san’s father gave him discretion regarding Remrest-related matters, but he deemed it too much to involve me.
After being reprimanded by the frontier count, scolded eccentrically by his eccentric mother, and even complained by his beloved younger brother… Gilbert-san apologized to me with tears of blood and promised to attend the wedding.
His displeasure is obvious, but it’s not hard to say that the problem has been solved…?
But whether my brother-in-law attends or not, weddings are tedious affairs. Recently, the fact that a wedding cake doesn’t exist was also proven.
Patrick wouldn’t have liked such formal ceremonies, but why did he insist so much?
I had assumed it was because of common sense or public appearance. But there are other reasons for his insistence on the wedding.
“Patrick, why do you want to have a wedding so badly? Is there something good in it for you?”
“Something good… I’m happy to be able to marry Yumiela… is that not enough?”
“We can get married without a ceremony.”
“Then… I want to see Yumiela in a wedding dress.”
A wedding dress.
Humans have created clothing to regulate body temperature and protect the skin after body hair has gone. While these requirements vary depending on the climate, mobility is essential.
Wedding dresses are among the worst types of clothing in terms of mobility. It is almost ridiculous to call them clothing; they are more akin to restraints.
For Patrick to want to see such a wedding dress is quite peculiar.
“…Ah, so that’s it.”
“You’ve thought something strange again.”
Patrick sounds exasperated, but I have found the truth.
In social games featuring beautiful girls, there are seasonal event gachas. For example, in summer, they have swimsuits; in winter, they have Santa Claus; and in some cases, they have school or Japanese-style events. The existing characters appear in various outfits, sometimes with improved performance over the originals.
The important point is the change in clothing. In other words, men habitually enjoy the fact that girls are dressed differently than usual.
In this fetishism, Patrick is what is called a wedding dress enthusiast.
“I have a question for Patrick.”
“What’s with the sudden question?”
“Please answer which outfit you would be happy for me to wear from the following options: sailor suit, swimsuit, Santa outfit, shrine maiden outfit, wedding dress… come on, which one?”
“I didn’t know half of those outfits.”
It is difficult to explain because I can’t show the real thing, but I’m confident in my ability to describe it.
It should be easy to convey through language alone.
“The sailor suit was originally a sailor’s uniform, with the collar spread behind the head so they could hear each other on the ship.”
“Does it have a big collar? I don’t want you wearing something so outlandish.”
“The Santa outfit is the one Santa wears. Santa is an old man sneaking into children’s houses during events I hate. That’s why he’s all red.”
“Why red?! Is it a scary story?”
“The shrine maiden outfit looks like traditional Japanese clothes. You will die if you reverse the order in which the left front collars are stacked. I don’t know which left
over right.”
“What kind of curse is that? An outfit that could kill you 50/50 is bad news.”
“You do know what a swimsuit and a wedding dress are, right?”
“I know that, but… aren’t the rest just too dodgy?”
I don’t think the sailor and shrine maiden outfits are that bad, though.
Since I explained it adequately, Patrick’s reading comprehension is more of a problem if we misunderstand.
When I asked him about his options and which one he would like me to wear, he replied as if it were a given.
“Among them, wouldn’t a wedding dress be the usual choice?”
“I knew it. That’s what I thought.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Patrick didn’t seem to understand that he was exposing his core proclivity.
Oh, he likes wedding dresses, huh? He will plunge into the gacha until he goes bankrupt if a character like the limited-time-only Yumiela (Wedding Dress) 5-star character appears.
Fine, if you insist that much, then it’s settled.
“We must do the wedding because I must show Patrick my dress.”
“That’s very nice of you, but are you sure you’re not mistaken?”
“I’m not.”
How will he react when he sees me in my wedding dress? His love might grow too big, leading to something outrageous. Specifically… eek, how embarrassing. While thinking about these things, I began to look a little forward to the wedding.
The estate was getting closer as we had this conversation.
Lately, I have been going out alone and coming home alone, so walking with someone like this is fun.
“By the way, why did you come with me today? Since Patrick’s level can’t get any higher, why bother going to the dungeon?”
“I had a bad feeling… but judging by how things went today, I’d say my fears were unfounded.”
“What do you mean by that?”
I have been going to the dungeon daily for the past two weeks. This is another case where I might get scolded for only thinking about levels, but Patrick recommended this one.
Today, we went on a date, which means we both went to the dungeon together.
Patrick insists that the last two digits of my level should be in the 90s. He says I should have enough numbers that people who don’t know the situation won’t think I’m weak when they see me.
I don’t care whether the last two digits are 13 or 99. Since I can spend my days going to dungeons without hesitation, I have no reason to miss out on this.
“You measure your level every day, right? How long until you’re in the 90s?”
“…Hmm, it should be soon.”
With trepidation, I said nonchalantly that Patrick’s premonition might also be true.
He didn’t appear to be bothered and continued the conversation as usual.
“When that happens, I’d better return to doing my work.”
“That’s right. We need to investigate the effects of abnormal weather.”
“Ah, that.”
Interestingly, the first prince of Remrest used the abnormal weather two weeks ago in his propaganda.
I heard that a black pattern spread across the sky. The phenomenon seems to have been seen on a global scale and could be a celestial event like an eclipse.
Whether it is a solar eclipse or Halley’s Comet, apocalyptic theories always accompany such events. There is a widespread occult theory that it is the beginning of the end of the world or the aftermath of an evil entity’s descent.
Oh, I regret that I missed it. From what I heard, there was a pattern in the sky that looked like Saturn’s rings.
“Did you get to see it, Patrick? I hope it happens again.”
“I never want it to happen again.”
There is no way to say there will be no impact on crops, so we must investigate.
Since it is a global phenomenon, information will likely come in without me going out of my way to investigate it. But doing nothing feels wrong.
But I have no idea what kind of investigation I should make. While I was pondering this, we arrived at the estate.
“I’ll just take care of my sword.”
“Okay.”
After returning home and parting ways with Patrick, I still thought about the mysterious natural phenomenon.
Hoping it would occur again, I looked at the sky by the window. Then Eleanora called out to me from behind.
“What’s wrong, Yumiela-san? Do you see something in the sky?”
“Did you see it too, Eleanora-sama? I was wondering if that black pattern would appear again….”
“What?! You want it to happen again?!”
“Again? …Oh, I’m not talking about running away from home. I’m talking about black stripes that appeared in the sky.”
Regrettably, I am the only one who hasn’t seen the phenomenon. Everyone else sees it, but I am the only one left out of the conversation.
While I was feeling sad, Eleanora’s cheeks puffed out, and she became angry.
“I don’t want to see that again. I was so worried!”
“What do you think caused it? Everyone else is seeing it, but I’m the only one who doesn’t. I feel like I’m outside the loop.”
“More like you’re at the centre… I think it’s difficult for you to see that, Yumiela-san.”
“…Huh? Patrick said something similar to me the other day. He said it would be impossible for me to observe it. Why is that?”
“Ah, I think it’s something like… you can’t observe your sleeping face.”
I can’t observe my sleeping figure in a world without cameras. What does that mean?
I have talked to many people close to me about this matter, and there is an atmosphere that suggests they are all hiding something.
Was the source of the phenomenon, which I had a vague sense of… me?
“Did I do something again?”
“That’s not it! Yumiela-san, you can’t sprout wings!”
“Wings… that’s the first I’ve heard of it.”
“…Ryuu’s wings are magnificent, aren’t they?”
“That’s right! They’re the cutest when they’re working so hard to move!”
Ryuu’s wings are cute when folded but also adorable when flapping.
…Huh? What was I talking about? Um, something about the black… the black one is Ryuu’s wings.
Then, Eleanora pulls me by the arm and interrupts my attempts at recalling my thoughts.
“Rita has prepared some tea and cake. Let’s eat together.”
“I’m coming.”
“You’ve been busy ever since you got back. You’re going to raise your level to around 90, right? How much more do you need?”
I have kept this from Patrick, but I think it’s okay to tell Eleanora.
“When I checked with the crystal yesterday, it was 98.”
“What?! Um, Yumiela-san? After 99, it goes back to 1, right?”
“Not 1, but 0. The next number after 99 is 100, right?”
“Waaaaa… this is a huge problem!”
Eleanora’s speech has recently become somewhat erratic, and she puts her hand over her mouth to hide her agitation.
That’s right. Today, I returned from the dungeon but haven’t measured my level yet. I’m trying to get into this habit, but I’m naturally lazy and forget to do it. I quickly pull out my crystal.
“It should be 99 today.”
Since breaking the level cap, I have started levelling earnestly, but my speed has not changed much. The required experience value increases as the level increases, but this is not the case.
I’ve managed to go from level 13 to 98 in the past few weeks, which is fast enough to make me proud.
It has been a while since Yumiela, who looks like level 99, appeared, but as soon as Elenora sees the crystal, she lets go of my hand and starts running down the hallway.
“Patrick-sama! Where are you?! We are in trouble!”
Eleanora is as noisy as ever.
Although noisy, it is not unpleasant. I feel a sense of peace.
May today and tomorrow continue to be peaceful days. With that wish, I looked into the crystal in my hand.
The display showed the number 00.
“Patrick-sama! This is serious!”
“What happened?! What did Yumiela do?!”
“The level is about to go full circle! She said she was 98 yesterday!”
“That’s too fast!”
I stared at the number 00. Oh, it’s not 0 but 00. I could have guessed it would display as 01 for Eleanora and others. But since there are no level 0 people, I might be the first in human history to see this.
It’s a precious scene, and I will show it to everyone.
When I looked up, Patrick and Eleanora were in front of me.
“Yumiela is strong. I know that. Since the level cap is gone, this isn’t zero. You understand, right?”
“Yumiela-san is the strongest!”
What is wrong with them? People keep calling me the strongest, but I had enough of that the other day.
But more importantly, it’s 00.
“Hey, look! Isn’t this rare?”
“Huh?”
Patrick and the others look at 00 in disbelief. It’s cool, isn’t it? Reading it as ‘Double O’ makes it even cooler.
They were stunned, but why were they so flustered just now? When I wondered, Patrick explained.
“I thought when the level went down to zero, Yumiela would get another violent… shock. That was a needless worry.”
“Patrick thinks the number should be around 99, right?”
“Well, considering using a level measuring magical tool in public, it would be better to keep them in the 90s… but raising it again would be a hassle….”
Ah, I guess it’s not good to have an apparent low level. Well, it can’t be helped then.
This is the real reason why I hid my level from Patrick yesterday. I’m going to say it with a big smile on my face.
“I’ll be fine. I’ll raise it again!”
“You… did you do that on purpose—”
“Yumiela-san is…”
His eyes widened in astonishment when he realized it was all in my control.
Eleanora sighed in exasperation.
“Rita is brewing tea for us. Let’s go.”
Even if my level resets to zero again… I can just level up again.
My leveling-up journey is far from over—
Love how even Eleanora got a bit exasperated about Yumiela xD
Thx for the chapter!
She is proud of the 00 XD