Let’s Make Saving a Habit - Chapter 93

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 93
“What do you mean by that?”
At Elysion’s startled tone, I suddenly realized my mistake.
As if I’d marry anyone but him.
I had been painting our future together as though it were the most natural thing in the world, and I’d let that inner conviction slip through.
I tried to recover without appearing flustered.
“Just what I said. You’re my closest friend, after all.”
“Friend, huh….”
Elysion continued to turn the word over in his mind with an unreadable expression, then murmured something so quietly I could barely hear it.
“Well, I suppose we should keep things wholesome at our age.”
But then his eyes curved into crescents as he smiled and said something that made my heart skip.
“Tania, you know what they say—there’s no such thing as a platonic friendship between a man and a woman.”
“What?”
I was so startled that my eyes trembled.
“I’ve been thinking about it, and you don’t have any other friends besides me, and you’re certainly not the type to enter into a political marriage.”
I opened my mouth to protest at being told I had no friends, but he spoke faster.
“So how about we make a safe bet and see where it goes?”
“…What do you mean?”
“When we both become adults, if neither of us is dating anyone or has feelings for someone else, we date each other.”
“Wow. That’s the least romantic confession I’ve ever heard.”
“So, do you hate it?”
As if I would. He was offering to become mine the moment we came of age.
This was a proposal with no downside whatsoever.
From friend to lover, from lover to spouse. It was such a natural progression.
“No, I love it. What if we skip dating and go straight to marriage?”
“That’s the least romantic proposal I’ve ever heard.”
I burst out laughing as Elysion threw my own words back at me.
I tilted my head and spoke the words that should come next.
“So, do you hate it?”
“No, I love it.”
“Then we should seal this noble promise with something, shouldn’t we?”
As I placed my hands on my hips and chuckled, Elysion’s expression shifted in an oddly subtle way.
“…What are you planning to stake?”
“Obviously our pinkies. That’s essential when making a pinky promise, isn’t it?”
“…So I’m the only one who’s worthless again.”
Elysion let out a dry laugh. There was a note of regret in his voice.
“What were you thinking?”
“I thought you’d ask me to stake my wrist, or at least demand a penalty fee. I figured you’d draft a detailed contract and have us both stamp it with our seals so thoroughly that neither of us could back out.”
“…Is that really what you think of me?”
Instead of answering, he simply nodded solemnly.
I suppose I’ve only shown him my merchant side.
After all, there’s the project investment in the Magic Tower, and I’m preparing the Department Store in connection with the catalog business.
It was strange enough that I suddenly asked to link pinky fingers like a child.
So I cleared my throat and made an excuse.
“Ahem! Even so, it’s a bit much to produce a contract over something said in jest, isn’t it?”
“…I don’t mind making a contract. It’s just that you never do it at times like this.”
“Are you going to keep muttering to yourself like that? I can’t hear a word of what you’re saying.”
“No, since we’re on the subject, let’s just link pinky fingers already.”
Elysion chuckled and extended his pinky finger to me.
I hooked my finger around his pinky and locked it in place.
Why did our firmly linked pinky fingers feel so reassuring?
Not wanting to let go, I brought up a different topic while our fingers remained intertwined.
“Anyway, I won’t suddenly marry you without saying a word. Don’t worry about Duke Tempus’s proposal.”
Elysion gazed at me intently before suddenly offering a warning.
“Tania, if that guy keeps bothering you, tell me.”
“What difference would that make?”
“Well… there are plenty of directions things could go.”
The way he averted his eyes slightly suggested his methods wouldn’t be gentle ones.
“Okay. I’ll ask for your help if it becomes hard to shake him off later. Thank you for worrying about me.”
Ungentle methods aren’t necessarily bad.
I was grateful that his approach to handling villains was similar to mine.
Is this what they call compatible values?
Perhaps Elysion and I were destined to be together.

✦ ✦ ✦
Rosemary returned from her mission.
“Hero!”
“Mari, it’s been a while.”
She was an indispensable figure in the Information Guild I was running, so it was rather difficult to see her face.
“Hiii! I missed you so much.”
She rushed toward me and nestled into my embrace. Then, like a cat, she buried her face in the crook of my neck.
“Ah, this longing and sense of security…! Even your soft baby skin!”
“Mari, you’re becoming increasingly perverted.”
“But who else would I do this to if not you, Hero?”
“There’s Ron.”
“Ugh, if I did that to him, he’d try to kill me!”
Rosemary shuddered and pulled away from me. I had always thought the two of them made quite a good pair.
“Mari, so did you find anything useful?”
“Yes. Thanks to your help, I found some things. Your foresight ability really is amazing! How did you manage to avoid all those dangerous moments?”
“I’m just relieved you didn’t get seriously hurt.”
I had arranged a small safety measure to prevent Rosemary from sustaining major injuries during her missions.
A signal ring I had Elysion create for me.
Whenever Rosemary found herself in danger, she would press the ring.
Then a signal would reach me, and the moment I saw it, I would return to the most recently saved point in time.
I would rewind time to before Rosemary fell into danger.
Then, from that rewound moment, I would press the ring to send her a signal.
Once she received my signal, she would immediately abandon her mission and return.
This way, Rosemary could abandon her mission and return before ever falling into danger.
If she didn’t know my ability was Save Load, she might have questioned this method.
But because Rosemary trusted and followed my words unconditionally, she raised no particular suspicions.
“Mari, so what did you learn about the Golden Silver Mercenary Company?”
This time, Rosemary had infiltrated the Golden Silver Mercenary Company and extracted information.
It was something no one but her, a Doppelgänger Ability User, could accomplish.
The Golden Silver Mercenary Company maintained such strict security that extracting information was extremely difficult.
It was also the reason I had personally established the Information Guild.
In fact, it would be easier to discover what color undergarments the Emperor wore today.
Rosemary cleared her throat and placed her hands on her hips.
“I discovered information about Aiden’s past—he was formerly affiliated with the Golden Silver Mercenary Company.”
“My father’s past…?”
“Yes. It seems Aiden was once renowned as the Mercenary King. He always concealed his face with a hood and scarf, so his appearance never became known to the public.”
I nodded slowly.
There were only rumors about the Mercenary King, and no one had ever claimed to have seen his true face.
Some insisted he possessed monstrous, rippling muscles, while others claimed he was an ordinary person.
Still others scoffed, saying the Mercenary King was merely a fabricated legend.
So that Mercenary King was… Aiden.
I had known his swordsmanship was exceptionally skilled.
After all, he had even defeated the Knight Commander of Duke Papiope’s Household.
But I had simply assumed it was because he belonged to the Golden Silver Mercenary Company.
I never imagined he was the Mercenary King.
“It appears that Aiden founded the Golden Silver Mercenary Company and has been running it continuously with comrades whose temperaments aligned with his own.”
If they were comrades whose temperaments aligned with Aiden’s, they would certainly be trustworthy people.
That’s how the Golden Silver Mercenary Company was able to grow so much.
“There’s a gap of slightly over a year when Aiden didn’t appear at the Golden Silver Mercenary Company… I’m not sure where he was during that time.”
“A gap?”
“Yes. During that gap, it seems even his other comrades didn’t know where Aiden was or what he was doing.”
A man who knew nothing but his home and work had left the mercenary company for an extended period? And without informing his fellow mercenaries?
I narrowed my eyes and asked.
“How many years ago was that gap?”
“I’m not certain, but roughly 14 to 15 years ago.”
“Hmm.”
“What’s peculiar is that after the gap, Aiden apparently never went on commissions directly.”
The pieces of the puzzle were beginning to fit with the information I already knew.
It seemed that during that gap, Aiden had experienced some incident after which he began living a hunted life.
What on earth had happened during that gap?
Even after searching through major incidents from the past, I couldn’t find anything that matched.
“Is this all the information you found about Father?”
“Yes. I’m sorry, I wanted to find more…”
“No. You did your best, Mari. I know how difficult this is, so don’t be discouraged.”
The information was precious, yet hearing it only left me wanting more.
Should I send Rosemary again?
As I pondered this, I ultimately decided to move myself.
“I think I need to meet Father’s comrades directly.”
Conveniently, monsters had recently increased in the Papiope Dukedom to an unmanageable degree.
It was a perfect situation to hire them under the pretense of that.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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