A Wish to Grab Happiness

Volume 10, Chapter 242: Drowsiness and the Negotiator’s Eyes

「Lugis. Did you hear what I’ve just said? 」

Upon hearing Saint Matia’s voice, the eyelids, which were heavily closed, opened and my eyes began to accept the light again. The voice that struck in my head had a color that seemed to entwine with the back of my ears.

I exhaled the white breath and moved my lips.

「…I feel a good amount of drowsiness. I’m about to have a wonderful dream that resembles golden silk.」

I played with my exhausted voice. In fact, weird sounds echoed in my head, since my brain was complaining of exhaustion. I just didn’t get enough sleep.

How could I meet with the ruler Philos Trait in this horrible state? There was no way I could even talk to her.

Most of the policy had already been decided by Matia, and the details were well organized by Largud Ann. In other words, my role was just leaning on the chair, so there should be no problem if I closed my eyelids for a moment.

By the time I thought about such thing, my eyelids became heavy again. At that time, yawning naturally leaked my mouth. I involuntarily put my body weight on my armrest.

Hearing my words, Matia opened her lips and spoke with a faint smile on her face.

「Lugis. For the last few days, you’ve been sleeping and waking at the time I said so. I know it is necessary for the body to have proper rest. But what we’ve done was also necessary. And so is right now. You must fight your drowsiness a little bit longer. Isn’t that right, Ann?」

In response to Matia’s words, Ann said “yes”. I bit my inner cheeks for a moment after hearing the words of both Matia and Ann. I breathed the cold air with my lips.

When I looked at Matia, who sat beside me, I saw a faint, yet fascinating smile on her face. Did I say something that strange?

Well, it was true that after Matia and Ann stuffed me with knowledge yesterday, I forgot to sleep and threw a few bets with the soldiers at night.

I quietly turned my gaze away from Matia and searched for a chewing tobacco from my pockets. Several of them were thrown away. I only had an unpleasant number. It seemed that I needed to receive more from Ann again.

「Lord Lugis. In fact, why not grab this opportunity to practice what you’ve learned so far? I believe it will save your skin in the near future.」

Ann spoke to me the moment I tried to calm down my mind with the unique smell of chewing tobacco.

Ann began to speak as if it were nothing special. I saw a sign when Ann’s expression faced my side. The corner of her mouth was strangely lifted, as if she were pulling me away like a magnet.

I had a bad feeling. Yes, I had a very bad feeling. What happened to her? She actually spoke in a light manner to me.

「Yesterday, it seems there were several people who violated the military code. It seems that they engaged in a funny endeavor with bottles of ale and cigarettes, which were not supposed to be there originally. I don’t know where they got them, but they broke the military rules. Maybe there are other things that have been torn or stolen too.」

Ann deliberately stabbed me with words. Was her expression light-hearted because she waited for this opportunity to threaten me?

It seemed that I crossed a line that shouldn’t have crossed. I felt like a nail was stabbing my spine. Surprisingly, it seemed that such stories were likely to appear in the Heraldic army. But I never thought I would be punished for it.

At this point, I was roughly aware of my situation. And why did she sharpen her voice to the extent of making me feel drowsier?

「By the way, Lugis… I felt that your tent was strangely noisy last night, or was it my imagination?」

I raised my hands to respond to Matia’s voice, which seemed to penetrate even the core of my bones.

Give me a break, what kind of interrogation was this?

—

「Okay, I understand. I’m sorry. What I did was wrong. I thought I needed a little break to ease my mind. Don’t blame the soldiers, because I brought the bottles of ale and cigarettes by myself.」

Matia smiled deeply at Lugis, who stretched his back and muttered with his hands raised up. His heart palpitations were probably about to spill out of his throat. Matia’s cheeks were about to loosen after seeing his desperate state.

Anyway, it felt good. Seeing him apologize, Matia felt great satisfaction within her chest.

Originally, Matia was not a person who deviated from calculation. She was someone who believed in her knowledge and wisdom. She wasn’t the kind of person who showed sweetness to a person who behaved arbitrarily.

But this time, Matia didn’t intend to blame Lugis seriously. After all, it was obvious that this would happen.

It was not surprising for Matia, since she heard before that Lugis had never been immersed in a life controlled by military rules. Therefore, it was natural to feel bored at such a thing, and sometimes throw it away.

That was why Matia didn’t feel like blaming him too much.

Yes, if you tightened everything from the point of exhaustion, no fruition would happen. As Lugis said, a little break was needed. Matia thought that it was necessary to look at the situation and loosen it appropriately.

…But there was no such thing as forgiveness.

A little power was confined in Matia’s chest, and heat began to sprout from her lungs.

“After all, although I knew it, Lugis is still out of my control. If that is the case, then it is necessary to make him understand what that means.”

Matia said, waving her lips. Matia desperately kept her voice low in order to avoid getting mixed with the boiling emotions corrupting her soul.

「Well then, I can ascertain there was no violation of the military law. Yes indeed, except that you Lugis trampled on the promise you made with me.」

In order to heal his wounds efficiently and manage his dire physical condition, Matia made several requirements for Lugis’ daily life.

He got up at the time Matia decided. He went to bed at the time she decided. He took his meal when she decided. Those were her requirements, or rules, so to speak.

That alone reduced the possibility of “poisoning”, and made it easier to find out where he was, thus making it easier for her to carry out military affairs without worry. It was a promise that he should have definitely complied with.

It was not as heavy as the military code, nor was it a contract left on a magical parchment. So really, it was just a mild promise. Therefore, there was no reason for breaking it.

However, Matia understood that the word “promise” was not something to belittle, and that it was effective in making Lugis feel guilty. Apparently, that word had a heavy weight on him. “Then, let’s make full use of it.”

Humans broke their promises to some extent. But Lugis viewed promises as something important, and he admitted that he was wrong when he broke those promises. He was by no means an unscrupulous person who did not know the relevance of a promise.

“What a wonderful thing that is”, Matia thought to herself.

Matia felt the edge of her lips bouncing as she saw Lugis’ expression, which was terribly distracting.

“The guiltier Lugis feels, the more he looks at my face. Is this good or is this bad? Gradually, I will not be able to make that judgment myself. There will be a time where I’ll wonder if this is all right.”

“But, oh well, that’s fine. In my control, Lugis will live by being hugged by me. I believe that is what leads to his happiness.”

For that reason, Matia decided to just teach what was right to him at the moment. Manage his time to wake up, sleep, and even meal times, and lead his body with the palm of her hands.

Looking at Lugis, who still raised his hands while his gaze wandered around, Matia suddenly smiled and said with a tone that contained something deep.

「I’ll hear the explanation about those actions later on. More importantly, have you forgotten that you carried out an assault on the battlefield without my permission?」

By the way, what kind of words did Lugis hear in his tent? Matia was looking forward to it and couldn’t help but feeling curious. There were many cases to be dealt with, but dealing with Lugis was something that needed careful planning.

Time passed while exchanging such talk. When the sunlight began to intensify, the voice of the messenger soldier echoed loudly in the tent.

…Philos Trait, the ruler of the autonomous city of Philos, has arrived. Shall I tell her that you’re ready to meet her?

In the distance, a horse’s hooves rang with a roar.