Elsewhere in the castle, Tomoe, Ichiha, and Yuriga were saying their goodbyes too.
Yuriga would remain in the capital while Tomoe and Ichiha, as important noncombatant figures, would leave for Venetinova tomorrow with Roroa.
“You’re...staying, aren’t you, Yuriga?” Tomoe asked, a pained look on her face.
Yuriga shrugged. “Yes, I am. I need to see the showdown between my brother and Souma through to the end. As a sister...and as a wife.”
“Um...I probably shouldn’t ask if you’re okay, right?”
“Right. I’ve already come to terms with it.” Yuriga put her hands on her hips and grinned. “You’re off to Venetinova, yeah? Well, you two look after each other as future husband and wife, you hear?”
“It’s hard to feel that way...”
“Well, you’d better start. My husband and his gang of trusted companions are all ready to go, so I’m sure we’ll be able to meet up and smile together again in no time. Even if this country loses, I swear I’ll protect you two. You’re both important to this world, and I’ll make sure my brother understands that any harm that comes to you is a loss to everyone.”
“You sound like you could pull it off, but I’d rather you not find yourself in a position where you’d need to do that for us,” Ichiha said with a sigh.
In his capacity as Hakuya’s stand-in, Ichiha was in charge of political strategy, so there wasn’t much for him to do once war broke out. Julius and Kaede were handling military strategy, and he could give his political directives from the rear, so it had been decided that he would evacuate with Tomoe.
Yuriga gave Ichiha a light jab in the chest. “Don’t you worry about me. Keep an eye on your fiancée. Knowing her, she’s bound to say, ‘I’m going to stay too!’ and hide herself somewhere in Parnam.”
“Well...you have a point there,” Ichiha replied with a wry smile, knowing just how surprisingly active of a personality Tomoe had.
“Come on...” Tomoe puffed her cheeks out indignantly. “I don’t want to hear that from you, Yuriga, after you had us stow away on the ship to the Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago.”
There was an awkward pause, followed by Yuriga saying, “...I don’t remember anything that happened that long ago.”
“It’s only been a few years.”
“Shut up, you little kid!” Yuriga pinched Tomoe’s cheeks. The two had been doing this ever since their school days. It triggered a feeling of loneliness that brought tears to both of their eyes as they smiled.
“Do you think...we’ll be able to do stupid stuff like this and laugh about it together again?” Tomoe asked with a smile.
“Oh, we’ll be able to laugh,” Yuriga answered with a slight grin of her own. “For sure. And Lucy and Velza will be there to laugh with us too.”
“That sounds good. I’d love to relax and munch on snacks with everyone again,” Ichiha said, and they both nodded.
◇ ◇ ◇
The next day, Liscia, Yuriga, and I said our goodbyes and then watched as the wyvern gondola carrying Roroa, Tomoe, and Ichiha took off from the inner courtyard.
“We’ll...see them again, right?” Liscia asked, slightly worried. I laughed it off.
“Oh, please. Don’t talk in a way that’ll set off event flags like that. We just have to keep working quietly to prepare to meet Fuuga’s attack and defend the home they’ll be returning to.”
“Yes, you’re right... Are you okay, Yuriga?” Liscia asked with a hint of concern, but Yuriga shook her head.
“I’m prepared for what’s coming. We have to stop this...”
Stop this, huh? I clapped my hands when I heard the determination in her voice.
“Okay, let’s give him the welcome a great man deserves. If we’re going to end his era, we need to prepare to make the times change.”
There was no turning back now. We walked forward with our eyes on the future.
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