Chapter 85 Iris'S House
――Sieg and Leon led me through a peaceful forest, where not a single monster could be heard.
We walked along, chatting about trivial matters. Then, suddenly, the dense trees in front of us opened up. At that moment, Iris, who was walking next to me, ran forward. There, standing before her, was a red-haired man.
"Reinhardt-san!"
"Well, well, you little..."
Reinhardt-san hugged Iris, who ran up to him. His tone of voice was as lazy as ever, but his expression was somewhat happy.
I didn't know much about Iris's weekend routine, but she didn't seem to come home often. It wasn't exactly a long distance to travel, though.
As I watched the heartwarming interaction between the mentor and disciple with a smile, Reinhardt-san noticed my gaze and approached me with a bow. His eyes were still sharp, but he was a polite man.
"I'm so sorry for the sudden intrusion, both of you."
"No, no, not at all. We're the ones who barged in..."
Shaking my head, I couldn't help but be a little surprised to see Iris's house behind him.
――To be honest, what I had imagined was my mentor's mountain hut-sized house. The only house in the forest I knew was my mentor's, so my poor imagination had pictured a cozy, mountain hut-like house. But what stood before me now was a beautiful house that wouldn't look out of place in a corner of the royal capital.
As I gazed blankly at the house, Sieg peeked around my face from behind with a smile. And then,
"Please, come in."
He opened the door of the house with the grace of a skilled British gentleman.
Basilio and I stepped into the house as instructed. A spacious entrance hall with a high ceiling. To be honest, the interior was clearly expensive at a glance.
Perhaps Iris was a young lady from a wealthy family, and Reinhardt-san and the others were her tutors. I had this ridiculous fantasy that overprotective parents were worried about their daughter who had left home to study, so they built a villa in the forest near the royal capital and had her tutors live there.
"Wow, this is big!"
"Basilio, over here!"
Iris pulled Basilio-san's hand with a cheerful smile and they ran up the stairs. Iris's room must be on the second floor.
As I watched the two of them go up the stairs,
"...I'm probably causing trouble for Laura-sensei and that older brother. He's always doing whatever he wants."
Leon scratched his head uncomfortably and muttered. I shook my head reflexively at his words.
"No, not at all. Iris makes every day fun."
My words were not meant to please Leon and the others. It's true that Iris's overly innocent words and actions can be a handful, but there is no doubt that she brings us surprise and laughter. She is like a cute little sister to me. I am truly grateful that Iris and Basilio-san were my first juniors.
"Laura! Come here, Laura!"
Iris's loud voice from the second floor made me jump. I had no choice but to go up since I was called.
I smiled at Leon, who was looking at me, and bowed my head. And then, as I climbed a few steps, it happened.
"I'm so glad to hear that Laura-sensei has been taking good care of her. She used to get a lot of backlash because she was too free-spirited."
Sieg-san's gentle voice made me turn around involuntarily. He had a kind, big brotherly expression on his face.
――Iris seems to be loved dearly by them. The fact that this makes me happy as if it were my own.
Lured by Iris's urging voice, I stepped into what was probably her room. I added the "probably" because it was so different from the "Iris's room" I had imagined.
The room I stepped into had all 4 walls covered with bookshelves that reached the ceiling. The only other furniture in sight was a desk, a chair, and a large bed. However, the room did not look too bleak because flowers were decorated all over the place.
I had thought it would be a more fancier, girlier room――
I followed the spines of the books that were lined up on the bookshelves with my eyes. I saw some literature on synthesis, but I saw even more fairy tale titles.
"Is this Iris's room?"
"Iris-san really likes books, huh?"
Iris nodded vigorously in response to Basilio-san's gentle question.
"I didn't go out much, so I liked to read stories."
Iris spoke in a slightly sad tone, and Basilio-san and I exchanged glances involuntarily. Her usual cheerful smile was gone, and the side profile I saw looked much more mature.
--She said that she didn't go out much. There was a moment when I could see a shadow lurking behind the past of the innocent genius girl.
However, Iris is very fond of Reinhardt-san and the others, and it is obvious to anyone that they care about Iris. I don't think they would ever harm Iris, and from Sieg-san's words ―― that she was getting backlash from others because of her free speech ―― it is hard to imagine that she was being locked up.
I don't understand anything right now. But,
"I can go to so many places now, so I'm having fun every day!"
She said that and really laughed as if she was truly happy.
I don't think I need to pry around or dig up the past without a reason. It's enough if the present is good, but I don't mean to say that. If the time comes when Iris wants to talk, I want to be there for her.
The door to the room was knocked on. Or so I thought, and Reinhardt-san peeked in.
"Hey, Iris. Don't keep dragging the guests around without serving tea."
――As expected, the polite Reinhardt-san guided us back to the living room. The sunny living room was decorated with flowers just like Iris's room, making it very lively.
I sat down on the soft sofa that was offered to me, and Sieg-san immediately offered me tea. I took it with a smile and took a sip of the tea, lured by the sweet and elegant aroma. In an instant, a fluffy, refreshing sweetness spread through my mouth. It was a flavor I had never tasted before.
"Delicious..."
"We use a little rare leaf from the local area."
Sieg-san was the one who picked up on my comment, which I had unintentionally let out.
I was not sure what Sieg-san meant by "local" ―― was it this forest, or their hometown? ―― but I did not ask him any further questions and nodded in response.
The conversation continued with Iris at the center, chattering away.
"Hey, Basilio! There's a place nearby where rare medicinal herbs grow, let's go see it!"
"Eh, wait a minute, Iris-san!?"
Iris and Basilio-san ran out of the house through the back door. I was stunned and watched them leave.
I was wondering if I should follow them, but Reinhardt-san called my name, "Laura-sensei." I was surprised to be called "sensei" and looked at him. Reinhardt-san lowered his eyes to his cup and said,
"Thanks to Laura-sensei, that girl has been able to do a lot of things freely. Iris's letters often mention Laura-sensei's name. Thank you."
I couldn't help but look down at Reinhardt-san's words. I was happy to be thanked so directly by my junior's parents ―― or someone like them ―― but I also felt a little embarrassed.
"No, no... I'm the one who's always learning from Iris's imagination."
"I'm grateful. You may not understand it because I always have this face, but I used to force her to live a cramped life, so she seems to be having a lot of fun now."
Reinhardt-san raised his eyes from his cup and looked at me. His left eye had the same crest as Lukas.
I was sure his left eye was "normal" the first time we met and today. Although I was calmly judging that in the corner of my mind, I couldn't help but stand up and speak out of surprise.
"...That eye's crest...!"
But at that moment, the crest on Reinhardt-san's left eye disappeared.
"Oh, hey? Did it disappear?"
"So you know about this crest, do you?"
Reinhardt-san stared straight at me, who was confused. I instinctively understood that I had been led on, or rather, more bluntly, I had been trapped. The crest that appeared in Reinhardt-san's eye was probably caused by magic.
He showed me an illusion through magic, and Reinhardt-san said "You know" in response to my reaction. It was as if they knew I knew about the crest.
"...What are you guys...?"
The silence that fell was tense.
I looked at Reinhardt-san, Sieg-san, and Leon-san in turn. Two amber eyes, the same as the heroine of "Last Brave," suddenly looked down. Those 2 eyes belonged to Reinhardt-san.
He stood up and stood beside me. And he bowed deeply.
"First of all, I'm sorry for testing you like that. And I promise you, we will never harm you."
Reinhardt-san stopped there once. Then, without raising his bent back, he just raised his face and looked up at me.
"Now, this world is slowly being devoured by evil. Laura-sensei, you've noticed something strange too, haven't you?"
The evil that is trying to devour this world. With those words, I was convinced.
――They are connected to the heroine of "Last Brave."
I don't know how or what kind of connection they have, but maybe they are also ancient beings like the heroine. In "Last Brave," there was no setting that all the eyes of the ancient beings were the same amber color, but in this world, it seems that their appearance is like that.
There is no doubt that the "evil" Reinhardt-san spoke of refers to the demon king.
"...Is it related to the increasing monster attacks?"
Without getting to the point right away, I asked indirectly. Laura Ampère only felt uncomfortable about the monster getting stronger, and she didn't know yet that the demon king would be resurrected in the future.
Reinhardt-san nodded with difficulty in response to my question. Even before I could ask about the meaning of his expression, Sieg-san joined the conversation with a smile, as if taking over the words.
"Laura-sensei, you're an excellent person, so it's helpful that you understand quickly. Let's put aside the preliminaries and get straight to the point."
Sieg-san said, his smile never fading, but in a calm and easy-to-understand voice.
"The demon king is trying to revive in this world. We are the people of Rustu, who have fought against the demon king since ancient times. We contacted you because your childhood friend, Lukas Kamil-san, is the Hero who will defeat the demon king."
The word "Hero" that came out of Sieg-san's mouth made my heart skip a beat.
I knew better than anyone else that my childhood friend was a Hero. However, it was the first time someone else had called him a Hero, and I felt like I was being reminded once again that Lukas was truly destined to be a Hero.
Sieg-san and Leon-san stood beside Reinhardt-san. Their determined eyes and expressions momentarily overlapped with the heroine who lived with them in "Last Brave."
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