I Was Sent to an All-Female Frontline Unit to Get Rid of Some of the Trouble, but the Most Beautiful Girls Who Are Rumored to Hate Men Love Me So Much That I Have a Hard Time at Night - Chapter 78: Precious

Chapter 78: Precious

◆◇◆

After Finn completely settled the matter with Narcissus, we walked toward the inn. Then, Elena opened her mouth and spoke.

“Everyone! Since we understood the upper management’s intentions and defeated that guy, we cannot stay in the city any longer, so pack your things immediately and return to the frontline base today!”

“Yes!”

“Understood!”

“If we stay here, someone might target Teraward-kun’s life again at any moment…”

“Seriously, targeting Teraward-kun’s life is just unbelievable…”

After that, everyone started discussing among themselves. In the midst of this, Sephia spoke to me.

“Finn-san.”

Before going to the underground of the arena, I planned to confirm something about when Finn-san, who was passive during the expert match, changed his behavior and cast magic at that person, Sephia said in a gentle tone. From what I heard earlier, Finn-san truly valued the sword I gave him and cast the first magic because of it, right?

From mentioning the first magic, Sephia referred to the time when Narcissus threatened to destroy the sword I now carried at my waist. As I recalled that moment, Sephia spoke in a kind voice.

“Thank you so much for valuing that sword so much.”

“N-No! Valuing the sword Sephia-san gave me is only natural, so no need for thanks…! Rather, I am the one who truly thanks you for giving me the sword!!”

“Finn-san…”

After gazing at my face for a moment, Sephia continued, as if remembering something.

“During training, I couldn’t teach you up to the point of actually casting it, but I was truly surprised when Finn-san used Wave Blade earlier.”

“That was my first time too… but when I thought Narcissus belittled Sephia-san’s sword, I couldn’t help but want to show its greatness. Though, it might be presumptuous for me to show the sword’s greatness on Sephia-san’s behalf…”

“There’s no such thing. No matter what someone like him says, nothing in me wavers, but separately, Finn-san’s action was truly joyful for me… So, once again, thank you for valuing the sword—and everything related to swordsmanship.”

I didn’t think I deserved such thanks, but refusing after repeated gratitude seemed rude, so I accepted her words sincerely. Then, I opened my mouth to tell Sephia something I wanted to say.

“Sephia-san… I truly value the sword you gave me and the swordsmanship you taught me. But just as much—no, even more—I value Sephia-san herself and everyone in the frontline unit.”

“! …I, too, naturally value everyone else… and Finn-san, you are a very… very precious person to me.”

Sephia’s expression, filled with deep affection, made my face break into a smile. We continued walking toward the inn, enveloped in a warm, comforting atmosphere.

◆◇◆

Around the time Finn and Sephia talked, Elena also spoke with Norn alone.

“Norn, did you notice from before that the upper management targeted Finn-kun’s life?”

“I had no proof, but I was almost certain,” Norn replied. “From Finn-kun’s words and actions, and the situation… especially the assassin incident.”

“The assassin incident…?”

“If that assassin came from Granzenia Kingdom, there’d be no reason to target Finn-kun, who just arrived at the frontline with unknown strength… The same applies to other countries, so by elimination, I concluded someone from Luvankrum Empire’s military sent the assassin.”

Elena had heard this before from Norn—that Luvankrum Empire’s military sent the assassin to Finn.

“But that alone isn’t enough to suspect the upper management, right?”

“Don’t you think there aren’t many people who’d want to target Finn-kun’s life with an assassin? Even if the world turned upside down, he doesn’t have a personality that easily earns grudges.”

“True…”

“Considering that, remember when a man from the upper management’s dispatched unit was surprised Finn-kun was alive? We couldn’t confirm it then, and the matter dropped, but in their plan, Finn-kun was supposed to have lost his life by that time.”

Though Norn spoke calmly, her darkening tone let Elena, who knew her for a long time, sense her anger. Elena glanced at Finn, who talked with Sephia, a gentle smile on his face. If Finn had lost his life to the upper management, that smile wouldn’t exist now. That thought alone made Elena feel intense anger toward them.

“Absolutely unforgivable… I’ll erase every single one from this world…”

“I agree, but we can’t do that right away. First, poison them, then use flame magic to raise their body temperature and speed up the poison’s effect. Those who ignored words and tried to take Finn-kun’s life deserve fitting suffering.”

“Of course, I understand.”

Though Elena usually disliked such things, she had no mercy for those who tried to take Finn’s life and answered from the bottom of her heart. In contrast to that coldness, her feelings for Finn continued to grow immensely.

◆◇◆

“Okay! With this, we finished preparing!” Elena said after we returned to the inn’s room and packed our things.

“Then, shall we gather everyone and return to the base?”

“Please wait,” Sephia interjected.

“Sephia-chan? What’s wrong?”

“Well…”

Sephia’s cheeks flushed slightly with embarrassment, and she spoke in a shy tone.

“The frontline base has enough supplies, so there’s no issue, but since we won’t easily come to the city again, just in case… may I go buy something I want to get?”

“Oh! Of course, that’s fine!”

“Thank you… T-Then, I’ll excuse myself for a bit.”

Sephia glanced at me, still seeming shy, and left the room. I thought wanting to shop wasn’t strange, but her behavior seemed slightly off. As I wondered about it, Norn spoke up.

“By the way, I also want to buy something in the city. Can I go out too?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“Thanks~”

Norn glanced at me, then turned and left the room. This left only me and Elena in the room. Then—

“Finn-kun… Finn-kun!”

“!?”

Elena hugged me tightly.

“E-Elena-san…?”

“I know this sudden situation must make you anxious, but it’s okay, it’s okay… I’ll absolutely protect you, Finn-kun.”

“Elena-san… thank you.”

But then, I continued, hugging Elena back.

“I’ll… absolutely protect Elena-san too.”

“Finn-kun…”

As we quietly hugged, Elena spoke in a sweet, gentle tone.

“Hey, Finn-kun… can you hug me a bit tighter?”

“Uh…? Um… like this?”

While saying so, I tightened my hug slightly. Elena responded by tightening her hug as well.

“Yeah… now we can feel each other even closer.”

“! …Yes…!”

Her words made my heart skip a beat, but I answered. Then—

“Soon… I want to feel Finn-kun even closer… deeper…”

Elena murmured something, and we continued hugging quietly for a while. When Sephia and Norn returned, we stopped hugging, picked up our packed belongings, and left the city with everyone else, heading toward the frontline base.