第８７７堀：自然な結果 (Part2)
"I don't need a mistress, but I do want Agil."
"Huh? Wait, just a second..."
"We'll talk details later. I mean, it involves work, but more than anything, it's because I trust you."
"...Fine, I get it. If you say it's for work, I can accept that for now."
Right, that was how the conversation went.
"So, it was just a normal talk about work, wasn't it?" I asked.
"Eh? But Big Brother, the way you said it—saying it 'includes' work—implies there's another meaning too, doesn't it?"
"Ah."
That’s right. If it includes work, but it’s *not* about being a mistress...
"Aaaah?! I never heard the rest of that!"
I hadn't listened to the details of why he said he wanted me!
"Wait, Agil-nee, you haven't talked about it yet?"
"A lot has happened since then, you know."
And I mean a *lot*. Right after that conversation, I got swept up in the chaos of the Intercontinental Exchange Declaration. Then the Sea Sipho crashed the party, and since I’m an immediate combat asset, I had to go help out—not to skip my embassy duties, of course, but to give Weed a good impression!
I had so much fun working that I completely forgot about that conversation.
"...So you were put on the back burner just like us," Dressa noted.
"Sigh... Big Brother really is hopeless at times like this," Vilia added.
"Mm. Big Brother is bad at this," Hiiro agreed.
Dressa and the others let out deep sighs as they listened to me. It’s true—letting a woman get her hopes up and then leaving her hanging without a word is pretty bad. Though, I suppose I’m also to blame for not understanding the importance of the talk and then forgetting it entirely.
"Well, now that you've remembered, what are you going to do? Are you going to Enaria first? Or to Yuki?"
"Good question. I don't want to deal with the elders' nagging, so I'll go to Yuki first and hear what he has to say."
If I can secure a proper engagement here, the old geezers won't be able to complain, and I can finally grasp my own happiness.
"Alright, Comet! I'm heading off!"
"Go for it. I'm looking forward to the results."
Leaving the monitoring of the Blue Hole to Comet, I steeled my resolve and went to find Yuki. However...
"Hm? Oh, the marriage thing? Are you okay with me, Agil?"
"Huh? Oh, well, it's more than I could ever hope for."
"Then it's settled. We'll hammer out the details later."
"Ah, okay."
And just like that, it was over in a flash. He looked buried in paperwork and incredibly busy, so I started to head out of the office...
"Wait! Isn't there supposed to be more romance?! I feel like this pattern has happened before! Right... back at the Lancer Magic Academy!"
It felt exactly like that time when things just moved forward on their own, leaving me in the dust.
"Ah, I guess that did happen. But even if you ask for romance... Agil, you're usually either in the lab or dead asleep. Those are your only two states."
"...Was I really like that?"
"I mean, I could have invited you to dinner, but do you really want to go through all those formal steps? You don't seem like the type who'd enjoy that."
"I can't deny that. My motto is efficiency in everything except research."
It’s important to finish non-essential tasks quickly so I can pour as much time as possible into my studies.
"Even so, this is a once-in-a-lifetime thing, right? It should be more... more..."
"More? What kind of thing do you want?"
"...Uhh."
What *did* I want? What would actually make me happy?
"Should I hold a bouquet, wear fancy clothes, and whisper sweet nothings?"
"Absolutely not."
I rejected the idea instantly. If Yuki dressed up like that and started whispering lines, it would remind me of those lolicon creeps back home who tried to court me. I turned them down on the spot, of course.
"See?"
"Mugugugu..."
He was right, but I still wasn't satisfied. I mean, Kagura and the others had these grand, dramatic romances full of ups and downs. Why was my path so flat and devoid of excitement?
"Well, I guess this works too. Doing it in the middle of work."
With those words, Yuki stood up, walked over to me, and took my left hand.
"Hmph. This is a big deal for a girl, you know. So, what are you doing with my hand?"
"For me... I wonder how many times this makes... But I know it's important to you, Agil. So, for this hand..."
Yuki pulled a ring out of his pocket and slid it onto my ring finger.
"...Yuki, you really are a devil. I can't even complain when you do something like this."
"I'm glad you're happy. Now, Ria!"
"Right! Time to go pick out a dress!!"
And so, I was ushered out of the room to go choose a wedding dress.
Man, I feel like he played me again. But... looking at the ring shining on my left hand, I found myself thinking, *'Oh well, this is fine.'* Am I a hopeless woman?
***
With Agil, it’s more like a relationship between two people who know each other inside out.
"Wanna get married?"
"Sure, why not?"
That kind of flow. This sort of thing is nice too, isn't it?
So, this round of marriages was all about diversity. Rather than being forced by an event, we had the "School Romance" types like Kagura and Mikos; the "High Society" types like Stasia and Enola; the "Always Together" types like Dressa, Vilia, and Hiiro; and finally, the "Best Friends" type with Agil.
I wonder what kind of marriage dynamic you all prefer?