Beneath a dark night sky, where hardly any stars were visible,
the crackling flames of a modest campfire illuminated a small clearing in the forest.
“Come to think of it, is this the first time we’ve gone out together, just the two of us?”
A woman clad in leather armor, with short ‘brown’ hair and eyes of the same color, asked. The ‘brown’ haired man in similar attire responded.
“…That seems to be the case.”
The man, glancing at the starless sky for a moment, sighed softly.
“It would be nicer if there were more stars.”
“I like it just the way it is, what about you?”
Eileen said, leaning her head on her shoulder by the campfire, to which Logan responded with a smile and a nod.
With a clear purpose and on their way to the battlefield,
the tension was inevitable, yet there was a charm to the starless night sky they faced on that path.
Perhaps it was because of the person beside him.
Sentimentality unexpectedly surfaced, revealing an inner thought.
“Have you ever considered that maybe my headstrong plans could be wrong?” he murmured.
“…We’re doing this for our future.”
“Even so, my decisions could be wrong. There have been several cases of missteps.”
“This time will be different.”
“Hm?”
“Our strategies are convincing enough, except for having no choice but to match hair and eye color exactly.”
Eileen lifted the identity badge she’d been keeping close.
The badge flashed blue,
seemingly a simple token of nobility, but what they had was a transformation artifact made personally by the mage Clayton.
“Yes. It was quite an achievement of his recent work.”
The credit belonged to the research journals left by Ignis and Craune, but there was no need to delve into those details.
‘And if those journals belonged to an actual organization…’
A group of mages symbolized by a black serpent.
As Logan’s expression stiffened at the recollection of that ominous insignia, Eileen suddenly brought up a different point of discontent.
“I’m not quite happy with it.”
“Hm? What about?”
“It’s too mundane. You could have made me a more handsome face.”
“Ha!”
A chuckle was inevitable.
Though the face they prepared for Eileen’s disguise, while average, had retained some of her original features, making it rather attractive.
Logan smiled involuntarily as he realized that his wife’s teasing demeanor was meant to ease his burden.
“See?”
“What?”
“When you smile, even that face looks much better. We may be in a hurry, but let’s enjoy these few days we have to ourselves.”
It seems he had been looking too stern.
Logan, too, had a rather harsh expression due to his altered appearance.
“…Sorry.”
“And enough with the apologies.”
“Ah, that…”
A light laugh.
“We are enough as we are.”
Eileen spoke serenely, and Logan nodded emphatically in response.
“People might find our relationship dull, but we are perfectly content in moments like these, simply conversing together.”
Logan kissed Eileen’s forehead gently, momentarily setting aside his anxieties about the future.
Three days later.
“Is this the junction? It’s a shame. From now on, you’ll be known as Gail of Liberty, correct?”
Eileen’s voice, disguised as low as Logan’s, asked. She had cut her long hair short, so it wouldn’t even reach her neck, to maintain her transformed appearance.
“Right. And you’ll be Armud of Teronan.”
“…Be careful.”
“You too.”
Logan watched his wife’s retreating figure at one path of the crossroads for a long while before turning around.
As a king, but more so as a man, he couldn’t help but feel guilty for pushing his wife into the battle.
But there was no need to worry about a superhuman, especially one with awakened defensive attributes, in a small kingdom’s war, let alone an imperial conflict.
Suppressing his desire to follow her, Logan headed down his own path.
* * *
“Gail comes recommended by Lord Jordan Marlinz.”
Two days later, Logan arrived in Libertas, the capital of the Kingdom of Liberty. But even with such a recommendation, it wasn’t that simple to enter the castle of a nation on the brink of war.
So Logan showed his ‘Silver’ aura.
“Just a moment, please!”
The guards, after witnessing the aura’s performance, slicing through steel as if it was butter, hurriedly dashed into the palace.
– A superhuman has arrived!
Within a mere 30 minutes,
A bald official, similar in appearance to Jordan Marlinz, ran out to Logan.
“Huff. Huff. Are you Gail, sir? Unfortunately, Jordan Marlinz is away inspecting our supplies. So I’ve come out to meet you. My name is Eric Grice.”
Well aware.
‘That’s why I’ve come.’
Even though his appearance had been altered by disguise, Logan didn’t want to risk being recognized by Jordan, who had conversed with him previously.
However.
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