Chapter 65: It Would Be a Miracle If I Didn’t End Up Stabbing Myself with a Sword or an Axe
Chapter 65: It Would Be a Miracle If I Didn’t End Up Stabbing Myself with a Sword or an Axe
"Yo, I'm back..."
After what could barely be considered a patrol, Anna finally returned to the knight headquarters, utterly exhausted.
Anna could swear that even though it was only an afternoon, today's patrol was the most tiring one in the past six months...
Of course, it wasn’t physical exhaustion, just pure mental fatigue.
It was all because of Louise and Helga!
Silently blaming the two in her heart, Anna stepped into the office to report her duties, where she would immediately encounter one of the culprits who had caused her so much distress...
"Anna-Senpai, you're back from patrol?"
With a meaningful smile on her face, Louise looked at Anna, who pursed her lips and asked, "What was the idea of sending me to patrol the red-light district?"
Yes, that was the most frustrating part of Anna's afternoon.
"Nothing much. Besides, Anna-Senpai didn’t do anything bad there, right?" Louise stood up from the comfortable leather chair that could easily lull her to sleep and sidled up to Anna.
"How about coming to my place tonight? I’ll give you a proper massage..."
"I don’t believe for a second that your massage would be 'proper.'" Anna rolled her eyes.
"I can guess exactly what you’re plotting..."
"Oh, Senpai, you’re quite sharp." Louise deliberately rubbed her hand against Anna’s chest a few times. "Want to get even sharper?"
"No! I’m going home to sleep tonight!"
Though Louise’s antics had stirred something in her, Anna, who still considered herself a proper knight, refused the invitation.
"Come on, don’t reject me so quickly. After all, Anna-Senpai is my girlfriend now..."
"Who does that kind of thing on the first day of being in a relationship?!"
"It’s not that uncommon, you know."
"Ugh, that’s exactly why I can’t stand this twisted trend in the kingdom!"
"Fine, if Anna-Senpai isn’t interested." Louise walked back in front of Anna and looked her straight in the eyes.
"You’re not going to see the Bartham family girl, are you?"
"Who says she’s not?"
The one who spoke wasn’t Anna, but Helga, who had been waiting outside the door for Anna to finish reporting her duties.
Yes, ever since dragging Anna to the weapon shop and making her pay, Helga had been following Anna around, claiming she wanted to accompany her during her duties.
This was the other source of Anna’s exhausting afternoon patrol.
Hearing Louise’s words, Helga couldn’t hold back any longer and barged into the room.
"Why were you standing outside?" Louise was surprised to see Helga outside.
"What’s wrong with the guards? Letting non-knight-related personnel in..."
"Well, she’s not entirely unrelated... We’ve fought together before, so it’s normal for them to let her in..." Anna muttered.
"Anna promised me she’d have dinner with me tonight."
"Oh, really..." Louise wasn’t concerned about that.
She was more interested in something else.
"Since you were standing outside earlier, does that mean... you heard our conversation?"
Helga fell silent.
"Since you know, then this makes things easier." Louise, as if declaring her territory, stepped in front of Anna:
"Anna-Senpai and I have confessed our feelings to each other. Could you please, as a third party, not interfere in our time together?"
‘Oh no... I knew it would come to this!’
When Anna brought Helga into the knight headquarters, she had already anticipated this outcome... But anticipating it was one thing, Anna had made no preparations to deal with it.
"Our time together, huh?" Helga, however, seemed well-prepared.
After giving Anna a knowing look, she continued, "But it was Anna who wanted to spend time with me..."
Then, Helga saw Louise’s cheek twitch.
And Anna, standing behind Louise, was completely stunned.
Why are you dragging me into this?
"Senpai, is what the Bartham girl said true?"
"Yes, wait, no! I never said anything like that!"
"But we kissed in the alley, and you even bought me that gift..."
‘You promised you wouldn’t tell Louise about this!’
"The throwing axe? You dragged me to the weapon shop and made me pay for it, didn’t you?!"
"Then, Senpai, what about the kiss in the alley?"
"That never happened! Helga is just... making things up... right?"
Anna couldn’t bring herself to outright deny it, afraid of hurting Helga’s feelings.
Though her indecisiveness was already hurting both of them.
However, Helga didn’t seem to mind at all.
Instead, she walked around Louise and brushed Anna’s hair aside.
"See? Senpai is lying." Louise’s expression darkened as soon as she saw Anna’s reddened ears.
‘What the hell! How do you know my ears turn red when I lie?!’
Helga, as her childhood friend, knowing this was one thing, but Louise had only known her for half a year, how did she figure it out?
Under the intense gazes of the two, Anna felt no warmth, yet her shirt was already soaked with sweat.
‘Am I... about to crash and burn?’
...
Then, a few dozen minutes later.
"Ah, Anna! And Helga and Louise! Welcome!"
A familiar Imperial-style restaurant, and Atala, the waitress who was a friend to all three of them...
Though they had only known each other for a few days, they had fought side by side as comrades.
"A private room," Louise, holding Anna’s left arm, spoke first.
"Atala, you’ll be serving our room," Helga, holding Anna’s right arm, added.
"...Of course I’ll be serving your room, but... what’s going on with you three?" Atala felt the atmosphere between the three was incredibly strange.
It was like two people fighting over one person in a love triangle...
"None of your business, Atala. I just can’t stand the Latimir family."
"If anything, I’d look down on you if you dragged Atala into this, Bartham girl!"
"Anyway... it’s probably what you’re thinking, Atala." Anna, standing in the middle and feeling like she was on the verge of a nervous breakdown, spoke weakly.
"Sorry to trouble you, Atala."
"Eh... Anna, how did you know what I was thinking?"
"It’s written all over your face." Anna sighed.
How did things end up like this?
Anna couldn’t figure it out herself, and she didn’t even want to think about it anymore, at least this was better than the worst-case scenario she had imagined.
At least these two didn’t stab her with a sword or an axe. What more could she ask for?