Editing Seikoku no Ryuu Kishi: Volume 6 Epilogue (section)

===Part 3===
“You wouldn’t happen to be Rebecca-san, right!?”

Ash sped up his pace as he spoke to the person in front of him. The girl running in front of him was wearing the Academy’s uniform. Exposed below her skirt was a pair of beautifully contoured legs wearing black tights. Despite wearing a hat to cover her eyes, her waist long red hair was still highly conspicuous. The two of them passed by a park as they ran, and so the young girl invited Ash to sit on a bench to rest for a while. After they sat down side by side, the girl lifted the brim of her hat away slightly. Revealed underneath the brim of that hat were a pair of bold and round emerald eyes that seemed to sparkle. This feeling was almost like having a private tryst with a stage actress, and Ash couldn’t help feeling butterflies in his stomach as his heart began to beat out of control.

“Rebecca-san, it really is you!”

“Phew. We shouldn’t need to be afraid of being found now that we’ve escaped here.”

Rebecca’s attitude seemed unperturbed.

“U-Umm…shouldn’t you be staying in the hospital?”

“Everyone seems so anxious, but it’s really no big deal. Fortunately, I had the protection of my Ark, so my body doesn’t have any serious problems, but I still need to be hospitalised for three days to undergo some complicated checks. Anyway, I happened to see you wandering around outside when I jumped out of the window from the ward, so I was quite surprised.”

“So that’s how it was…it’s good that you found me, otherwise I would have gone home.”

Ash smiled wryly as he spoke, but he immediately tensed with a solemn expression on his face.

“It was I who broke Rebecca’s Ark…I’m sorry.”

“Haah…when you were in the basic course, were you actually listening in class? An Ark is a crystallisation of magic, as long as Cú Chulainn remembers the design, it doesn’t matter how many times it’s regenerated.”

“Y-Yeah. Then I’ll be relieved.”

“It’s just that Cú Chulainn is a very prideful dragon. Next time, it’ll work hard to design a third type of Ark which can withstand the power of Excalibur.”

Ash felt admiration towards Cú Chulainn’s ambition.

“U-Umm, this is for you—”

Ash shyly handed the bouquet of flowers over to Rebecca. After all, this was the first time that he had ever given flowers to a girl, even though it was just a courtesy for visiting a patient, he still felt highly embarrassed nonetheless. Because the flowers were casually selected, Ash didn’t know what the name of the flower was. He simply saw that the colour of the petals was a bright red, so they probably suited Rebecca’s appearance.

“Thank you. I’ll place them in the best position in the ward for decoration.”

Rebecca smiled elegantly, and then accepted the flowers.

“A-Ash, would it be convenient for you to chat with me for a bit?”

The tone of Rebecca’s voice seemed slightly hesitant. And for her, who was usually quite calm, she seemed to wriggle and fidget with her body at that time out of unease.

“T-Talk about what?”

Rebecca’s appearance, lovely rather than beautiful or dignified, made Ash feel restless.

“Well…as the Student Council President, I have always been quietly watching your actions. Your performance has repeatedly exceeded my expectations, and you’ve overcome a countless number of difficulties. Currently, it’s already a fact that you’re the knight of the Avalon’s Holy Dragons’ Emperor Family. You’ve really grown a lot, and now, no one will see you as a ‘problem student’ anymore, and even if there are people who hold such a bias against you, I won’t forgive them.”

“Rebecca-san?”

After Ash revealed a puzzled look, Rebecca let out a long sigh.

“Actually, why don’t I feel confused? Am I caring about you only with my identity as the ‘Student Council President’? Or am I looking forward to things from you as a woman? I’m feeling more and more confused about it myself.”

“Eh?”

''—As a woman.''

The charm which was hidden in that sentence made Ash’s heart skip a beat.

“I can certainly understand the situation that you are in quite clearly. Eco, Silvia, Lucca, Jessica…everyone has a good impression of you and shows favour to you. If even I were to jump into the liveliness and commotion, it may make people think that I’m being childish. To begin with, showing my fancy towards you in such a direct manner like them doesn’t seem like something I’ll be able to do…”

Ash was barely holding onto his rationality, and he held back his urge to put his arms around Rebecca’s shoulders.

“I think that you also should have noticed, which is why you deliberately came alone to visit me, right? You probably came to ask me about the matchup from the ballot, right?”

“I didn’t want to ask about Rebecca-san’s plans…but I do hope to know the truth.”

“The truth is as you imagine. In order to fight against you in the draw, I made my move during the selection. But the only thing that I meddled with was the tournament matchup. The result which led to the split group activity in Fianna Forest was purely by chance. In regards to that, you absolutely must believe me.”

“Of course I believe you.”

“…You really are kind of heart, it seems that I was still not able to correct your overly naïve attitude. Having said that though, if gentle kindness is your charm, perhaps keeping it that way isn’t a bad thing.”

After Rebecca stood up, she turned around to look at Ash.

“It’s almost time I went back to the hospital.”

“Then I’ll go back to the Academy.”

“Yes, Ash.”

Rebecca slightly bent over her upper body, and then looked up towards Ash’s face. It was the first time that Ash had seen Rebecca do something so adorable, and his heart began to race so fast that it felt as though it was about to burst. Only then did he see Rebecca reveal a devilish smile, as she asked him a question which made him incredibly embarrassed.

“Did you see my body?”

“T-Th-That was something that couldn’t be helped!”

Ash felt extremely embarrassed, and steam was about to puff out of his ears. That scene then began to clearly resurface in his mind, and the efforts that he had previously made to try not to think about it all came to naught. Like a beautiful statue that God himself had crafted, her naked body could only be described as perfect… After Rebecca placed her hands on her hips, she resolutely said

“Listen, Ash. The only one person who can savour the aftertaste of my naked body is you.”

“Wah! What are you saying!?”

Seeing Ash panic exaggeratedly with his arms flailing about, Rebecca couldn’t help letting out a slight giggle.

“Haha, sorry. I was half-joking there.”

“Only half of that was a joke!?”

After Rebecca’s face was lit up with a cheerful smile, she casually fiddled with her proud red hair. Then, a serious expression returned to her face. Just from the change in the expression of her eyes, Ash couldn’t help tensing up slightly.

“I have to stay in the hospital, so I’m leaving the Five Hundred Years Festival to you. I’ll definitely be discharged from the hospital before the final round, so I’ll be watching your battle from the VIP gallery.”

Rebecca pretended to inadvertently lean towards Ash. When their bodies came close enough that they were in contact with each other, and in the instant that Ash was startled, a pair of soft lips swiftly kissed his cheek.

“You have to let go to allow Oscar a hit, and then steal victory from her.”

By the time that Ash realised he had been kissed and stared blankly ahead as if he had woken up from a dream, Rebecca had already left this sentence behind, and unconcernedly left. A gust of autumn wind blew through the desolate park.

“Rebecca-san, she…kissed me…?”

The touch of Rebecca’s kiss was still vaguely left behind on his cheek. All that Ash could do was stand in the same spot, motionlessly.

 

“The Avalon Knight Dragner I” is closed.

[[Image:SnRK V06 260.jpg|thumb]]

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