I Think My Fiancé Has Regressed

Chapter 60: Date in Eloreal (1)

It had been about two weeks since Ariana and I had arrived in the Eloreal Empire.

Nearly three weeks, if you count the travel time, which meant I’d been sharing the same bed and the same warmth for at least a full month.

At first, I thought it was a bit risky to suggest that we sleep together every day, but in hindsight, it was a great first step.

If I hadn’t done this, I wouldn’t have had any free time to spend with my fiancé since I entered the Eloreal Empire.

From the moment I decided that the Eloreal Empire was the destination for my winter vacation, I had no intention of simply slaying the demons and returning to Leavrov.

I had traveled all the way to the Eloreal Empire, only to capture a Walpurgis witch and return to my homeland.

No matter how I thought about it, the math didn’t add up.

It was probably impossible to visit a place twice in this lifetime, so at least I should have gotten as much as I could out of one visit.

At the very least, I had to investigate for clues that would make it easier to defeat the Demon King.

Even the smallest clue would do, any information that could be meaningfully used to defeat him.

In my previous life, I was really just one step away.

Even after everyone around me had completely abandoned me, I still had Ariana from my previous life who believed in me to the end.

Although it involved many sacrifices, I was finally able to reach the point where my sword was about to sever his neck.

To be honest, I still have some confidence in myself.

If I fought him again, I’d probably win the second time around.

Still, the more tricks up my sleeve, the better, so I’ve made good use of my spare time to investigate the clues that will lead me to his downfall.

There was no better place on the entire continent  than the Eloreal Empire, the land of magic, as it is popularly called by its neighbors, to learn and study all manner of magical knowledge.

Even so, with only a little over a month to work with, the knowledge to be learned needed to be chosen and focused.

So I decided to focus on just two things.

Holy Sword and Records.

By holy sword, I mean, of course, the Holy Sword of Protection, which I use.

In my previous life, the closest means to slaying the Demon King was this Holy Sword of Protection.

As such, I spent most of my day working with Imperial mages to research the holy sword.

The Records are the records of the Demon King.

Naturally, he doesn’t appear under the same name. This is because the Demon King always resurrects every few hundred to a few thousand years, claiming a new name in place of his old ones.

If he were to reveal his true names, he would also reveal his weaknesses.

So, remembering the characteristics of the one I encountered in a previous life, I investigated the identities of the Demon King in the Imperial Academy’s library.

The records of demons accumulated over the ages contain a great deal of information.

Red skin, two horns and the ability to manipulate space.

It didn’t take long to figure out the creature’s identity from among the librarian’s books.

Two weeks had passed since I’d stamped my daily attendance at the library of the Eloreal Empire Academy.

By the time the fifth dusty shelf was nearly cleared by my hand, I finally managed to find information on the Demon King.

Azazel, the fallen angel.

From the features and appearance left in the records, he was unmistakably the one I once crossed swords with.

And the description of how the hero from the past defeated him was detailed and accurate.

This was the greatest reward of my visit to the Eloreal Empire.

“…….”

Once I had the contents of the tome fully imprinted in my mind, I slid it back into the bookcase where it belonged.

Now that I knew what it was and how to deal with it, I just needed to memorize it.

Cramming information into my head was my specialty.

“Alex, I think it’s time for you to head back.”

“Yeah. I was just about to leave.”

By the time I took Dale’s advice and exited the building, it was already quite dark outside.

I don’t feel particularly hungry, as skipping dinner has become almost routine.

I’ll have to listen to Ariana again when I get back.

At least tomorrow would free up some time, enough for me to grab dinner with my fiancé.

It’s been a busy couple of weeks for both of us.

While I’ve been studying the holy sword and holed up in the library, Ariana’s been busy more by choice than by necessity.

Her inability to say no has led her to take on more work of her own.

In fact, Ariana’s excuse for joining me in the Eloreal Empire was her use of dark magic, which she is currently the only one on the entire continent to wield.

Ariana is a woman who knows her weapons.

I don’t just mean her feminine charms, but also the uniqueness of her dark magic, which is her one and only weapon.

It was unthinkable that the Eloreal Empire would not turn down her offer to teach the dark magic that only she could use on the entire continent.

Though, as it was, she would only be able to explain her tenuous theories to the students and faculty of the Academy.

She hadn’t expected that villagers or even retired elders would be interested in her dark magic.

Of course, the Eloreal Empire had explained the reason for her busy schedule, and offered to let her give a lecture or two to the general public as a representative sample.

Obviously, it was out of character for Ariana to fulfill only a few events in such a raw way.

Eventually, against my and Elise’s objections, she spoke up and said she would cover all of the lectures.

As a result, Ariana and I didn’t see each other for two weeks, except in bed.

I wish we could have at least shared a meal together, but even then, it was impossible to coordinate our schedules.

In that sense, it was clearly a good decision to start sleeping with her.

Without this time together, I don’t think Ariana and I would have been able to keep track of each other’s whereabouts and activities for two weeks.

When I opened the door to Ariana’s quarters in the guest house, I was immediately greeted by a crimson-eyed young lady.

“Welcome home, Alex.”

I love this greeting, especially when I return to my quarters at the end of the day.

And conversely, when I returned from my day, I loved the wait for her to come back.

It was a cuddle that started out as a way to relieve Ariana’s stress, but ended up as a way for me to find relief from her.

Because when she was by my side, my world seemed to take on a new color.

* * *

Ariana went into the bathroom first to wash her face.

I, in my own way, was spending my time on other important things so as not to waste the remaining time.

“Uh…yeah. Yeah.”

Eamon said.

It was getting close to the time to get moving, so I checked in with my brother, who had arrived first on the royal communicator.

“How’s your work going these days?”

“Same as always. Dinner with the Imperial students last night, friendly tournament with the nobles tomorrow morning, that’s about it.”

“You don’t seem to have much time to spare either.”

“Much better than you and Ariana. You know I don’t have more than two official appointments a day.

I can’t just come all the way to a foreign country to work and go home, besides Charlotte’s in town, so I’d be remiss if I didn’t go on a date.”

“…….”

Although he was in a position with a little less responsibility than me, he was definitely an immature brother even considering that.

…Maybe my mistake was the perfect counter-example, and unlike me, he’s taking his fiancée with him everywhere without fail.

“By the way, have you and Ariana been on any dates? From what I hear, you’re pretty busy these days.”

“…I can’t afford it.”

“…What? You haven’t been on a date? Not even once?”

“…….”

“….How can a person live like that all the time?

And it’s really too much. It’s been so long since you got out of the trance, so why are you trying to make my sister-in-law lonely again?”

“I never made her lonely, and as far as being busy goes, Ariana is busier than me….”

“Come on, when you’re out of the country, do something you can only do in a foreign country.

When you take over father’s position and ascend to the throne, do you think you’ll still be able to go abroad alone with Ariana like this?”

“…….”

“I’m not the heir to the throne. I’ll still have the opportunity to travel with Charlotte after we get married if I want to, but you won’t.

I don’t think Ariana would be the one to be sad about it, but at least you shouldn’t have it in your head as a regret.”

“…Okay, I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Anyway, my schedule will be over the day after tomorrow, and from now on, I’ll be waiting for a vacation until something happens. Please tell Ariana that.”

“Yeah.”

I ended the contact with my brother, who was always a pain in the ass to talk to, and immediately thought about the date he’d mentioned.

I know Ariana isn’t the kind of person who would be upset that she didn’t get a date, but after listening to Eamon’s words, I realized that there might be some regret on my part.

After all, my schedule would be cut in half starting tomorrow, and Ariana’s Dark Arts class was nearing completion.

I could afford to spend some time alone with Ariana, at least once, before it was too late.