About Myself
Translated by GXYRU
Edited by GXYRU
After exploring the market, we all went to have a meal together. We chose a place that wasn’t as elegant as the ones nobles usually go to—a more casual open-air cafe with tables lined up outside.
“We don’t get to visit places like this unless we’re out with everyone,” Sofia smiled, and Zeke and Sasha nodded in agreement. Well, being royalty and nobility often comes with many formalities and complications. That’s not the case with the Gilbert family, though.
We ordered pizza and pasta to share among ourselves. Instead of individual servings, we enjoyed taking food from the large dishes.
It seems like sharing food like this is fun for them. Sofia looks a bit more excited than usual. It’s a rare sight to see her like this.
“What are you staring at, Arius? You lack delicacy,” Milia teased me. She’s pointing it out, so I guess Sofia is conscious about it and feels a bit embarrassed.
The food in this place is really delicious. Sirius and Alicia are also enjoying it with satisfied expressions.
By the way, I recall that Zeke doesn’t like tomatoes. However, he’s eating tomato sauce on the pizza and pasta without any hesitation. Sirius and Alicia are looking impressed.
“Zeke-sama isn’t forcing himself to eat. He dislikes raw tomatoes, but tomato sauce is fine,” Sasha explained.
“Why do you know such things… It’s true, though,” Zeke responded.
Hey, Milia, there’s no need to point out every little thing, you know?
After the meal, we headed to the theater as planned. I thought Sirius and Alicia might not have seats since they joined us later, but…
“Don’t worry. Being royalty comes in handy at times like this,” Zeke said.
We were led to the royal VIP seats on the second floor. It’s a spacious area with leather chairs. There are enough seats for all of us, including the bodyguards. Well, the bodyguards are on duty, so they won’t be sitting anyway.
The play’s title is “The Love of the Demon Lord and the Hero.” It’s a timely story for me, considering my situation.
It’s about a hero and a demon lord who fall in love after concealing their identities and joining a hero’s party together. A typical romance tale.
The hero eventually discovers the demon lord’s true identity and struggles internally, but in the end, chooses the demon lord over the world. It’s a tale of them forsaking their positions for each other’s sake, leaving their previous lives behind, and being together.
The play doesn’t delve into the aftermath of their choice, which leaves some unanswered questions. It’s like, is it really okay to leave everything behind for love?
“It’s something we could never do—choosing our loved ones over the world. It’s a beautiful story,” Sofia said, her face dreamy. Well, since it’s a fictional world, it’s something to admire.
“I can’t relate to the hero and demon lord at all. They could have convinced everyone instead of forsaking their positions. I understand it’s difficult, but giving up without even trying to find another way and escaping to their own world… I can’t accept that,” Milia voiced an opposite opinion. Escape rather than facing challenges. Milia works hard not to be like that.
“Hey, Arius, what do you think?” Milia and Sofia looked at me.
“I think the story is entertaining enough that Sirius and Alicia didn’t get bored,” I said.
“Yeah, it was really fun, big brother!”
“That’s right. We’re not kids anymore,” Sirius said. He seemed more engrossed in the action scenes than the romance part. Well, I won’t point that out to him.
“That’s not what I meant. I’m asking for your opinion,” Milia clarified.
“For me, rather than abandoning my responsibilities like the hero and demon lord, I’d rather stand up to them. If you guys can’t handle it on your own, I’d take responsibility for it, but I don’t like acting out of a sense of obligation,” I replied.
Do things because I want to, not because of responsibility.
Well, for now, I don’t have any noble responsibilities, so I can say this without any worries. The Gilbert Marquis family doesn’t have any retainers, so even if none of us siblings takes over, there won’t be any problems. We’ll just return the land we currently oversee to the kingdom, and that’s it. While we have hired some maids and tutors, we can easily help them find new jobs. And now, I can even provide them with enough money to ensure their future lives.
However, Sofia and the others are different. If they abandon their responsibilities as nobles, it will cause inconvenience to many people, like their retainers and factions. So, I understand that they need to put in effort to fulfill those responsibilities too.
“I do think that’s a very Arius-like answer, but that’s not what I wanted to hear,” Milia still doesn’t seem satisfied. Sofia also looks troubled.
Well, I get what they want to say, but when it comes to romantic matters, I’m not very knowledgeable.
In the end, I’ve never seriously fallen in love with anyone before.
“Thank you, everyone, for today. I had fun myself, and it seems like Sirius and Alicia enjoyed it too,” I said.
“Yes, it was so much fun. Thank you all,” Sofia expressed her gratitude.
“I had fun too. Thank you very much,” Sirius and Alicia thanked us, and Sofia smiled at them.
“That’s good to hear. It was worth inviting Arius,” she said.
I originally planned to part ways with them and send Sirius and Alicia back home.
“Hey, Arius. Can I accompany Sirius and Alicia for a while? I want to chat with them a bit more,” Milia asked.
“I’d like to chat with Milia-san too.”
“Me too! Hey, Arius-niisama!” Sirius and Alicia looked at me expectantly.
Milia and the two of them seem to have gotten along really well. So, the four of us chatted while walking through the nighttime streets.
It’s not so bad to walk and talk like this.
“Arius-niisama, can we visit again sometime?”
“Of course. But, can you guys stop calling me ‘niisama’? I’m not someone you should call ‘sama.’ Just call me ‘nii-san’ or ‘aniki’ or whatever you like.”
“Then… Arius-nii-san.”
“…Arius oniichan! I want to call you that!” Alicia said.
“Well, that’s fine. Right, I have something to give you both.” I took out two short swords from the storage space.
Both of them are identical, simple short swords without any fancy decorations on the sheath or hilt.
“These swords are difficult to handle. If you just channel magic recklessly, they’re just regular swords. But if you can manipulate magic properly…” I demonstrated, causing a blade of blue light to appear.
Since the blade’s length can be adjusted freely, it’s a convenient weapon to carry around.
“You might become adventurers in the future, and it’s better to become stronger to protect yourselves. Once you can produce the light blade at will, that’s when you pass the magic manipulation test.”
“Arius-nii-san… Can we really have such amazing swords?” Sirius seems to understand the value of these short swords. After all, they’re high-class dungeon drops from the high-difficulty dungeon “Dragon’s Palace.”
“Well, consider it a reward for today. It means that you have to train until you can produce the light blade,” I said.
“Arius oniichan, thank you. I want to become strong like you, so I’ll work hard!” Alicia said. Being called “oniichan” is honestly a bit awkward for me, but well, I can’t do anything about it.
When I went back home with Sirius and Alicia, Darius and Lea were waiting for us.
I had already informed them about today’s events through a message.
Since Lea smiles when Milia is around, I told her I’d send Milia back home and left the house immediately.
“You don’t have to talk to your parents? You said you hardly visit home, so isn’t it better to talk to them once in a while?” Lea asked.
“It’s fine. I don’t have much time before curfew, and I can’t leave Milia alone. Teleportation is an option if I were alone, but I can’t teleport directly to Milia’s room.”
“That’s true. I feel a little bad for getting in the way, but… thank you,” Milia said a bit shyly.
“No, there’s no need to thank me for that. I’m the one who should thank you for keeping Sirius and Alicia company. They were really happy,” I replied.
“That’s not something to thank me for. I’m happy to become friends with them. Hey, Arius. If Sirius and Alicia come to play again, invite me too, okay?”
“Yeah, they’d be delighted if you did,” I said, and for some reason, Milia glared at me.
“That’s nice to hear, but Arius, I told you before that you lack self-awareness. The thing they want to see the most is you.”
“Yeah… You’re right. I’m their older brother, after all. It seems like I’m still lacking self-awareness,” I admitted.
“That’s right. You have quite a few areas where you lack self-awareness,” Milia blushed.
“What do you mean? Like what areas?” I asked, and Milia got even redder.
“That’s why… Don’t ask such questions about yourself!” Well, yeah, she has a point. It’s about me, so I should think about it myself
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