Editor: Tseirp
The day after the Royal Residence repelled the attackers.
Ryo and Abel, returned from the south, visited the Royal Residence.
The two had heard at the port that the Royal Residence had been attacked.
“Are you safe?”
“Duke Rondo, thank you. Yes, we are alright, but…”
“But…?”
Ryo tilted his head, unable to make sense of Princess Shio Fen’s phrasing.
At that mont, others appeared.
At the head was Captain Lu Yao, and ten Ice Golems.
One of them was pulling a cart.
Sothing lay across the cart…
“Duke Rondo, I am sorry.”
Captain Lu Yao bowed, her eyes reddened.
“Huh?”
Ryo did not understand.
But he noticed that Captain Lu Yao was trembling.
She was crying while still looking down.
Then Ryo realized.
The Second Unit of the Oniwaban stood beside Captain Lu Yao.
But the Second Unit’s captain was missing.
“Oh? Where’s Friendship Token No. 2-kun?”
When Ryo said that, realization struck him.
What lay on the cart was an Ice Golem.
Around the golem’s neck lay a yellow scarf.
“Eh? This can’t be…”
The information reaching his eyes was processed by his brain.
But his heart refused to accept it.
He took a step forward.
The images beca clearer and his brain processed them —
But his heart resisted understanding even more fiercely.
When he took another step forward… at last his heart understood.
“Did Friendship Token No. 2-kun… help you?”
“Yes…”
Ryo asked very gently, and Captain Lu Yao answered through her tears.
“He saved my life…”
“In that case, that’s good.”
Ryo replied with a smile.
Surely Friendship Token No. 2-kun had thought it better that he be wounded than to see Captain Lu Yao hurt, and had offered himself.
Ryo bowed deeply to Captain Lu Yao and, leading the Second Unit that had pulled the cart, returned to Rondo Manor.
Back at Rondo Manor, the party was t by lined-up golems.
They were the Rondo Manor Oniwaban First Unit led by Advance-Notice Officer No.1-kun.
It was as if they were comrades holding back tears to welco Friendship Token No. 2-kun, who had given his* life… (TLN: This took a lot of contemplating) ⱤαＮôВЁ𝙨
Ryo and the others entered the study.
“Hey, Ryo. Can that golem be restored…?”
“If it’s only appearance, I can recreate the exact sa one at once.”
Ryo answered without stopping his work, in response to Abel’s question.
“Right? Then why didn’t you restore him imdiately? Wouldn’t that have given her so comfort?”
“That… that may be true, but… for Captain Lu Yao, that wouldn’t be Friendship Token No. 2-kun. He wouldn’t be the comrade she entrusted her back to and fought alongside. That would make it aningless, wouldn’t it?”
“Isn’t that unavoidable?”
Abel understood that Ryo’s words made sense, yet still felt uneasy.
“Abel, you know how my golems receive their mana, right?”
“Yeah, you taught before. From those water magic stones over there, right?”
Ryo was working by connecting blocks of ice in front of the two water magic stones.
From those, the golems received their mana.
The coverage area included not only the Rondo Manor but also the Prince Ryun Royal Residence, surrounding it in a semi-circle.
That was why Friendship Token No. 2-kun and his Second Unit could fight even at the Royal Residence.
“These magic stones also record the golems’ logs.”
“Logs?”
“Yes… records. Everything: their past actions, interactions with people—all of it.”
“That must be… quite a lot?”
“Yes. An enormous amount.”
Abel spoke while imagining it a little, and Ryo nodded.
Even narrowing it down to a single unit yields a substantial log.
“However, Friendship Token No. 2-kun’s log is, in essence, the mories of his life. Of course, it’s constructed as a log, not as a backup designed to be restored to the exact pre-destruction state.”
“Um…?”
“If I recompose the log into the form of ‘mory’ and make it restorable, then connect it to a newly created Friendship Token No. 2-kun…”
“So Friendship Token No. 2-kun would be completely restored?”
“That’s the idea.”
Ryo nodded happily.
Of course, he did not stop working while saying this.
Even now, Captain Lu Yao must be grieving.
He wanted to restore him as quickly as possible and let him be revived and returned to her…
“So Abel, I’ll pull an all-nighter tonight. Please bring rice balls for a late-night snack.”
“O–okay…”
That night, at Prince Ryun’s Royal Residence.
“Lu Yao, can’t sleep?”
“Ah, Your Highness…”
Princess Shio Fen called to Captain Lu Yao, who stood in the garden.
“You saved my life, Lu Yao, and Friendship Token No. 2-kun saved yours. As I said earlier, I am grateful.”
“You flatter .”
“If there’s anything I can do, please say so.”
“Yes.”
Those were all the words Princess Shio Fen offered.
Telling her to rest or not to worry would an little here.
Captain Lu Yao understood that intellectually as well.
Everything is a matter of the heart.
“I don’t want to trouble the Princess with this…”
Captain Lu Yao felt a strong responsibility.
She did not wish to cause concern even for her master’s wife.
So she at least returned to her private room away from concerned eyes.
But she could not bring herself to sleep.
The final monts of Friendship Token No. 2-kun were burned into her sight…
Still, Captain Lu Yao was only human.
She had fought to the limit of her magic as a magician the previous night.
Even after the battle ended, she could not rest while the image of Friendship Token No. 2-kun collapsing remained before her.
Her heart mourned, but her body eventually cried out.
And she was forcibly drawn into sleep…
“Eh?”
Captain Lu Yao felt as if soone had called her na.
She woke up.
It was just before dawn.
The eastern sky was about to brighten, but mist hung over the garden.
Captain Lu Yao went out into the garden and headed to the main gate.
Without knowing why.
She had a vague feeling that going there was the right thing to do.
She opened the gate and stepped onto the road.
From a distance, soone was coming.
Three people?
The one in the middle was Duke Rondo.
To his left was the swordsman guard Albert.
To his right… slightly shorter than Duke Rondo?
Entirely blue in color?
A yellow scarf was wrapped around its neck…!
They must have recognized Captain Lu Yao too.
They began to run!
Captain Lu Yao understood.
Completely understood.
That it was Friendship Token No. 2-kun.
Not just an Ice Golem with the sa appearance.
But the comrade who had backed her and fought through to the end.
“No. 2-kun!”
The two were reunited safely.
TLN: Please read my translations at tseirptranslations, I did not give permission to any site to host my translations.
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