It''s been several months since the conclusion of the battle of the Biheiril Kingdom.
Since then, Hitogami has stayed silent, and the days went by without any enemy presence.
That said, what I have to do hasn''t changed.
To prepare for Laplace''s revival in 80 years, I''ve been silently moving around, making various arrangements.
But lately, I''ve been home a lot.
Because both Eris and Roxy got pregnant at the same time.
It has to be because I let loose after Gisu was defeated.
And my disorderly daily life was the result.
Of course, the result itself is something joyous.
But during pregnancy, their fates are weakened and they are easier targets for Hitogami.
I would also like to spend as much time as possible with my wives during their pregnancy.
And so, for the first time in a while, family time has continued.
By organising the information gathered by the Mercenary Groups established in various places, regular meetings were held where Orsted went through the information to determine our future course of action.
On one of those days...
On that day, together with Orsted, we were going over the information on the next country that I would be visiting.
The next king of that country was still young but he was already a remarkable figure, and I was supposed to approach him with the intention of taking advantage of him.
Orsted didn''t say what would cause the next king to fall, he kept silent.
He probably has some reason. Is the person that would cause that King''s fall not in the current loop?
Originally, we were supposed to meet him later on, at this point, is there any surefire way to topple him?
And so, how should I move?
Orsted said he''d look at his memo relating to him and think of a method.
And that was when it happened.
"Let Norn Greyrat get married."
"Wha.....?"
Sudden.
Orsted suddenly broke the silence by saying something insane.
I, who am normally very careful about my words around Orsted, almost unintentionally leaked out the line: "The hell you saying all of a sudden?"
Right now, we were thinking about how we would cause this remarkable figure to fall.
There was no logical link at all.
Is what I thought.
But no, maybe there wasn’t absolutely no link.
There was one possible answer.
"...A political marriage?"
Going by the flow of the conversation, to cause the remarkable figure to fall... that''s what we would do.
"Not as a political maneuver, I was thinking about the future."
Nevertheless, it is a painful topic.
Orsted had decided that I would move towards this man with the intention of having him win her heart.
Well that’s fine for now.
It''s not as if I don''t have confidence in this person.
I just don''t believe that this remarkable man of lineage could win her heart.
The man is a womanizer on the level of Paul, if we can''t find a woman to allot to him, I would have to consent to Orsted''s suggestion.
That said.
Norn is out of the question.
Norn will eventually get married.
But, Paul was a peerless womanizer, handing Norn over to the same kind of man is no good.
Norn''s partner would need to be someone more sincere.
And somebody that I can accept.
I won''t hand Norn over to some useless nobody.
I wouldn''t be able to face Paul.
No matter how noble their objective, I will not forgive those who use and discard their family.
"Not like that."
"Then what did you mean?"
"I am indebted to Norn Greyrat''s child."
"Debt...? So it''s not Norn that you are interested in, but her child, whom you have business with?"
"It''s not business. In this loop, it''s not all that important."
It was not a very pertinent conversation.
Not being able to read Orsted''s true intentions was not a new thing.
But up until now, I''ve at least been able to determine what he was trying to do.
Groundwork for the future.
Norn''s child isn''t important, but because in a previous loop he/she was useful, he would like to set the groundwork.
“I understand.”
I stood up.
He looked up at me while sitting.
He’s not currently wearing his helmet. His face is scary as always but, but I‘m sure right now it’s even more frightening.
“If it must be so by all means, would it be permissible to meet at noon in the forest to the north of here in three days time?”
Norn, rest easy.
I will protect your chastity,
Even if the opponent is Orsted, I will not pull back a single step.
So Paul… lend me your strength.
I ask you for the power to overcome this mighty enemy and return home alive.
“Wait. You are misunderstanding something.”
“Misunderstanding?”
“During the countless 200 years I have repeated, I have become attached to certain persons’ existences.
Norn Greyrat’s child is one such existence.
She has helped me on countless occasions, I am indebted to her.
Therefore, if it is possible, I would like to meet her in this lifetime.
Because as it is, it will not happen.”
It’s true that there’s no male presence around Norn.
That didn’t change even after her graduation.
She has her family, but she isn’t jobless.
On the recommendation of the school, she entered the Magic Guild and is now working at the main office.
She is what you would call an “Office Lady.”.
There are a considerable number of men in the Magic Guild.
But there is no male presence around Norn.
She doesn’t go out on her days off and spends all her time at home helping out by looking after the kids or doing housework.
Even during her schooldays, she had no one special that she associated with.
I thought Norn would eventually but, honestly, if it goes on this way, it seems like she might spend her whole life without getting married.
“…”
In this world, for those of certain positions, arranged marriages are a common practice.
It may be half-hearted, but I am technically a man of notable position with both influence and connections.
With that being the case, this development isn’t all that odd.
“…No, a child isn’t something you can make on your own.
The same person couldn’t be born no matter who the partner is.”
The King of a country would have a high enough standing.
But I do not intend to acknowledge it.
Until I see it with my own eyes, and confirm what kind of person they are.
“That aside, was this remarkable figure originally Norn’s partner?”
While I was thinking that, Orsted scrunched his face up in confusion and raised his eyebrows.
As always his face is scary.
But I remember this face, it’s the “The hell you saying all of a sudden” face.
He opened his mouth and his suppressed eyebrows moved.
“No… Sorry. That has nothing to do with this.”
After I pulled myself together, the conversation continued.
"So, just who was Norn''s partner?
Norn married this person each and every time, didn''t she?"
"Yes, as far as I know, Norn''s partner is predetermined."
Norn''s fated partner.
What a lucky guy.
Simply by existing, to have the good fortune of being able to marry Norn.
If he spends his days lazing around, I''ll kidnap him and fix it.
Spartan training.
From dawn till dusk, I''ll force it into him.
Until his body can say nothing but, ''Yes'', ''Absolutely'' and "Thank you very much, cheating will not be tolerated.
The condition will be, let’s see... If he would like to become Norn''s partner, he would at least have to be able to stay conscious after taking a punch from Eris.
"It''s Ruijerd Supardia."
My thoughts stopped.
Inside my head, I remembered the face of a bald warrior who had lived for over 500 years.
No, he''s not bald anymore.
He is a respectable man with a with splendid green hair.
"Their child is the last warrior of the supard race.
Continuing the will of Ruijerd after he had fallen to the plague, reclaiming the Supard''s honour by joining the humans side in the fight against Laplace and delivering the final blow.
It was a huge burden that anybody would recognize...
But this time around, the Supard race remains in large numbers.
That child will most likely not have to be burdened with this duty."
While I was still arranging my thoughts, Orsted finished his explanation.
He was probably remembering that child''s whole life.
If she defeated Laplace, that means that she most likely co-operated with Orsted.
Which means, right, for Orsted to make this kind of proposal, I do understand it.
"..."
But, well.
This time is different
I''m here, there was also the Teleport Incident.
I don''t know how Ruijerd and Norn got to know each other in the other loops,
But there is no mistake that this is a love story that Orsted is well aware of.
If I were to suddenly approach Norn with talks of marriage she would most likely just turn me down.
After all, he''s 500 years old.
Ruijerd would probably be bewildered too.
Having Ruijerd as a relative definately wouldn''t be a bad thing.
But this definitely isn''t something for me to decide.
Umu.
"...I think that Norn''s feeling are the most important."
"That''s right. There''s no need to rush."
Orsted said that and nodded in agreement.
After that, I had Orsted tell me Norn’s story from the previous loops.
In a world without me, it seems Norn became an adventurer.
She sang songs and wrote stories while adventuring; a singing, dancing, fighting, minstrel. She formed a party with those of similar interests, and journeyed towards the northern continent.
Although neither her swordsmanship nor her magic were, by any means, outstanding.
By adventurer standers she was at best a B grade.
And so, during a certain request, her party was annihilated by a demonic creature.
Norn was also on the verge of death.
What appeared then was our Ruijerd.
He beat down the approaching demonic creature and freed Norn from her predicament.
And to Norn, Ruijerd was love at first sight.
And from then on, she accompanied Ruijerd on his journey to find the Supard race, and slowly began her attack.
Apparently Ruijerd ignored her advances at first, but after he discovered that the Supard race had been wiped out by a plague, he fell into despair.
Norn devoted herself to comforting the anguished Ruijerd, he was moved by her affection, and the two got married.
The two of them began their life together in a corner of the Biheilil kingdom.
And during that time, while Norn was pregnant with their child, Ruijerd fell sick with the same illness that struck the Supard race and died.
Norn, now alone, took upon herself, the responsibility of raising the child, and eventually her life came to an end.
I thought it sounded like a lonely end, but according to Orsted, Norn looked satisfied on her deathbed.
It was an unexpected and unlikely love story, but with the two of them, nothing would be strange.
That said, I wonder how Norn and Ruijerd would get together without such a chain of events.
Would Norn be happy, being paired with somebody she didn’t love?
Would Ruijerd accept?
“…”
Well, there’s no point to me toiling over it alone.
What’s important are Norn’s feelings.
There may be no male presence around Norn, but she is at that age.
She’s got to have a man or two she likes, having been in a relationship or two wouldn’t be odd.
No, it may just be that I don’t know, she may already have herself a man.
And one day, all of a sudden, she might bring a man to the house and he would ask me “Father-in-law, please give your daughter to me”.
And then I would reply “Who’s this ‘Father-in-law”.
And then: “I am ‘brother-in-law’”…
I got sidetracked.
Anyhow, I must first hear Norn’s feelings.
At these times, I get the feeling that this isn’t something I should hear.
I also don’t think it’s something that Norn would tell me.
A woman would be better.
But Aisha is no good.
I feel like if Aisha hears this it’ll turn into something bad.
Which means, it would have to be Sylphy or maybe Roxy.
Norn seems to respect Roxy in particular, Roxy would be good.
On the subject of admiration, Eris would also be good.
Eris had been teaching Norn the sword for quite a while.
Ever since Norn graduated, she’s been going jogging and doing practice swings with Eris every morning.
It’s clear to see that Norn looks up to her.
But with Eris’s commando personality, telling her to “Ask indirectly” would be impossible.
It would have to be Roxy.
No wait, Someone with a high skill level at “Asking indirectly” would be Sylphy.
After all that.
Or should I say, as expected.
It seems the person Norn liked was Ruijerd.
She had looked up to him ever since she was little.
That admiration from childhood eventually grew into love, and the incident in the Biheilil Kingdom re-awoke it.
I like this person.
But after hearing about his past, she was convinced that she couldn’t be with him, and decided to hide her feelings.
“I understand leave it to your Onii-chan.”
After hearing all that, I hit my chest.
―○●○―
Q: Before you said it would be 1-2 chapter in a month and now it’s 2 in one day!
You always exceed expectations. Magonote-san salute!
A: Although for now, the first three chapters are just Norn’s story.
After that’s over it’ll be around another month.
I return you’re salute.
Q: Returning to the「In a Sense」
I have waited.
A: Rather than a return, I would like you to think of it as an end-game event.
Q: Guehehe… Marraige?
Onii-chan will always support you!
Becoming a bride is unthinkable!
Is what I had thought…_(┐「ε:)_
A: To begin with, Rudeus is also a married person.
Q: Is such an older brother alright?
I have a bad feeling lol
A feeling of fruitless effort…!
It’s a problem, Rudeus doesn’t at all feel reliable.
Very unreliable.
A: Is this what you take away from 2,800,000 characters!
Q: Norn-chan’s wedding… This is… Teren-san reads this… wouldn’t it turn into something bad?
A: Let those who will sing, sing.
Pielord: I wish people would realise I exist...