They Say an Age Gap Like This Doesn’t Even Need Matching - Chapter 81

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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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A few hours had passed since we left Jedo.
The carriage gradually slowed its pace.
Clatter.
The wheels scraped against the dirt road before coming to a halt.
I opened the door and stepped down from the carriage.
In the darkness, I could see a path that forked into two directions.
One led toward the Holy Kingdom of Soleia.
The other stretched toward Bardia.
Carterus descended from one of the carriages that had stopped behind us.
He approached me and spoke first.
“It’s time for us to part ways.”
It was something we had already discussed.
Those we had rescued from Cradian needed recovery in a safe place.
Solea, being neutral territory, was the best choice to avoid being caught up in the continent’s turbulent affairs.
Carterus could also aid their recovery through divine power.
“…Once I finish what I need to do, I’ll come visit.”
“I’ll come see you before you arrive. So we’ll meet again soon.”
“Old Man….”
I grasped his hand firmly and spoke.
“Still, you must fulfill your duties faithfully.”
Don’t go dumping responsibilities on your subordinates and gallivanting about.
Carterus gave a small cough and tilted his head toward me, whispering.
“I never thought watching you fall in love in your old age would be this entertaining.”
“….”
“Don’t fight and get along well. Understood?”
His eyes held both playfulness and a warm tenderness.
“…Understood.”
I nodded.
“Please take good care of them….”
As I spoke, looking at the carriage carrying those we had rescued, Carterus smiled gently.
“Don’t worry. This is precisely my specialty.”
He spoke lightly, but I knew well it was no simple task.
Healing physical wounds is relatively straightforward.
But restoring shattered hearts and allowing them to live again—that required a miracle.
Yet I was certain that this man could be trusted with it.
“Please take care of yourself, body and spirit. Write to me often.”
“Understood. You too, Old Man.”
Carterus exchanged glances in turn with Elhart, who had descended from the carriage following me, and the other expedition members.
…It must have been my imagination that he seemed to engage in a particularly prolonged staring contest with Elhart.
“Let’s go.”
For some reason, Carterus’s mood had brightened in that brief moment, and he turned his body.
A breeze swept past, rustling the hem of our cloaks.
As Carterus climbed into the carriage, one of Kei’s guild members sitting in the driver’s seat bowed respectfully.
Soon the carriages began racing toward the right fork in the road.
They gradually receded into the darkness, as if being absorbed by it.
I watched their figures until the very end.
Until the last carriage completely disappeared from my sight.
“….”
My feet simply wouldn’t move.
Elhart approached me and gently took my hand.
His hand was warm, as it always was.
Because of that, I found myself reluctant to let go.
Thanks to him standing quietly by my side without a word, even my heavy heart seemed to ease a little.
“It will work out.”
To my murmur—neither a question nor anything else—he responded.
“Of course it will.”
He looked down at me as he spoke.
“Do you not know how revered the first Pope is in this age?”
“Huh…? Why? What do you mean?”
“Everything his hands have touched in the past is treated as a holy relic. Some even believe that merely touching such relics cures illness.”
The Goddess watches over all of this, yet how absurdly ironic.
“So they will believe the Goddess has granted them a miracle.”
“…In any case, you’re saying Carterus’s name will be of help?”
“Yes.”
Well, that’s fortunate.
“Now let’s depart.”
It was the moment I was about to move forward.
As soon as I took his hand and turned my body, I came to an abrupt halt.
“….”
After a brief silence, I opened my eyes narrowly.
“Raern, what are you doing?”
He quickly lowered his hand, which had been pointing his index and middle fingers alternately at his own eyes and Elhart.
A gesture not used since three hundred years ago….
“What do you mean watching? I told you not to be disrespectful to the Prince.”
“You’re acting like a fox.”
“What?”
This was utterly exasperating.
Could he really be this childish?
I was embarrassed in front of Elhart.
“He only knows magic, so forgive him.”
I exhaled a sigh, and Elhart let out a soft chuckle.
“That’s right.”
Raern’s eyes narrowed sharply, but we paid no mind and boarded the carriage.
“Hurry up. We need to arrive before sunrise.”
“Where are we going?”
Raern climbed into the carriage and plopped down onto a seat, asking the question.
“To the Brin Family Domain, of course.”
“What? We’re going straight to our house?”
“Yes. There’s apparently been some trouble. We need to handle it.”
Raern’s expression brightened.
“Great, let’s go! I’ll treat you both to plenty of delicious food!”
Why had she suddenly become so cheerful?
Elhart and I exchanged a knowing glance before indulging Raern’s chatter about her hometown.
Meanwhile, the carriage raced forward swiftly.
We took the left fork in the road—the path leading toward Bardia.
***
By the time dawn had broken and the surroundings had grown quite bright, the carriage’s pace gradually slowed.
The landscape visible through the window was changing.
The rough, desolate road became increasingly orderly in appearance, and endless fields stretched out before us.
Tall watchtowers began to reveal themselves one by one from the outer perimeter.
“We’re almost there.”
Raern gazed out the window as she spoke.
Her voice carried an unmistakable excitement.
I gazed silently out at the scenery. Eastern Bardia, the Brin Family Estate—a place I was entering for the first time.
Thanks to Raern having entrusted Bella, the coachman, with the family’s credentials beforehand, we were able to pass through the outer gate without inspection.
‘The city is quite large?’
It was far removed from the rural village Raern had occasionally described.
After passing through the outer gate and traveling for some time, the carriage came to a complete stop.
Thud.
Elhart and I pulled our cloaks’ hoods down low as a precaution before stepping out of the carriage.
Lukewarm air brushed against my skin.
The morning sunlight had already dispersed even the mist.
I found myself momentarily speechless at the sight before me.
“…What is this?”
It was as though an entire city had been enclosed within castle walls.
I had anticipated something to a certain degree, having heard the family was still managing reasonably well.
But this far exceeded those expectations.
The Lord’s Castle, situated at the center of the sprawling domain, was nearly fortress-like in scale.
Towering outer walls, meticulously hewn stone, and magical devices positioned throughout emitted a soft luminescence.
“Not bad, right?”
Raern lifted his chin as he spoke.
It was more than just decent.
“…Is this the ‘fairly large house’ you mentioned?”
It seemed like it merely had ample guest rooms.
“Yes. Quite spacious.”
His answer came without hesitation.
I was momentarily at a loss for words, then eventually shook my head in disbelief.
“Your standards are still peculiar.”
Kei, who had descended from behind, muttered softly.
“The magical resonance is considerable. The security is even more thorough than the Cradian Palace.”
He was right.
The aura I felt was far more ominous than the visible scale suggested.
This entire place operated as a single massive barrier and facility.
“Of course.”
Raern laughed.
“It’s my house.”
“…Didn’t you say you had severed ties?”
“I was just temporarily away from home.”
This absurd mage, I tell you.
“Why does everyone covet our estate so? When I returned, the Lord’s Castle and domain were on the verge of falling into their hands.”
“Well… it’s certainly covetable.”
“Exactly. I covet it too.”
At my murmur, Elhart glanced over in surprise.
“Let’s go inside first. We should have breakfast.”
Raern, now in an exceptionally good mood, took the lead.
I was quietly following behind him when it happened.
A commotion erupted from the direction of the closed main gate.
Creak—
Soon, the massive gate began to open from within.
Simultaneously, the sound of organized footsteps echoed from inside.
As the gate fully opened, figures emerged from within.
A knight standing at the head of the lined-up forces extended his hand toward Raern.
“Arrest that man!”
“…Raern?”
I called out to him in a hushed voice.
“Explain yourself.”
It seems breakfast is off the table…?

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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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