"Only two questions are allowed."
"They’ll answer most things."
With those conditions in mind, I carefully considered what to ask.
"…Yeah, I’ve decided."
"What do you want to ask me?"
"First…"
After much thought, I decided to go with a particular question.
And that was—
"Why do you like me, Lena?"
"Huh?"
Lena let out a bewildered sound.
She was probably thinking, "What kind of question is that?"
But to me, it was a very important question.
Love at first sight, interest in strength—I’d heard various reasons.
But none of them really satisfied me.
I couldn’t help but wonder if there was a deeper reason behind it.
If I could understand her heart more deeply, maybe—just maybe—we could reconcile.
That’s why…
I wanted to know more about her.
This question was for that purpose.
"Ahahaha!"
Suddenly, Lena burst into laughter.
"I said you could ask anything, but I didn’t expect that! Ahaha! Fate, you’re really something else."
"Am I?"
"Yeah. I’ve never met anyone like you before… Ah, I laughed too much. My stomach hurts."
Tears welled up in Lena’s eyes from laughing so hard.
She wiped them with her fingers and smiled brightly.
"As for why I love you, hmm… There are a lot of reasons. Like how you’re such a weirdo—someone you won’t find anywhere else? Also, you’re cute. But then, sometimes you suddenly act all cool. Oh, and I get the feeling that if we got married, you’d become even kinder than you already are."
"I-I see…"
It kind of felt like I was being flattered to death.
My face grew a bit hot.
"But the biggest reason is that you’re strong."
"Me?"
That was… a totally unexpected answer.
I had trained with Sofia, experienced all kinds of incidents…
So, yeah, I had gained a decent amount of strength.
But just decent, you know?
Not enough to call myself a strong swordsman.
Compared to Sofia or Lena, I was nowhere near their level…
So why would "strength" be her reason?
"You’re making a face like, ‘Why?’"
"Well, of course I am. I’m still nowhere near there yet."
I mean, I do want to stand alongside Sofia someday, but…
Even I know that’s not something that can happen overnight.
"Sure, right now, Fate still has a long way to go, huh? If I got serious, I don’t think you’d last even a second."
"Ugh…"
"But that’s just how it is now. In the future, no one knows. Like, if we fought a week from now, maybe I’d be the one to lose."
"No way…"
"I’m not joking, you know? I really believe that. That’s how much talent I think you have, Fate."
Could I really have that kind of future…?
I couldn’t believe it…
But—Lena doesn’t seem like the type to lie about something like this.
…For now, I’ll just keep listening.
"If I were to get married, I wouldn’t want someone weaker than me. That’s why—you’re the top candidate, Fate."
"I… see."
"Do you understand now?"
"…Yeah, I guess."
Her reasoning was a little strange, but…
Still, I could feel her sincerity in every word.
I wasn’t about to justify everything she’s done so far…
But I felt like I had to acknowledge her feelings.
To deny even that would just be rude.
"That’s the first question done, right?"
"Yeah, that one’s fine."
"Okay. Then, what’s the second one?"
"Uhh… give me a sec."
"Take your time."
What should I ask for the last question?
It was a very important matter, but…
There were too many things I wanted to ask—picking just one was hard.
But…
"Yeah, I’ve decided."
After thinking it over, I was able to settle on a single question.
No matter what, I felt like this was the one thing I had to ask.
"What is it?"
"Lena… what is the Dawn Alliance really trying to accomplish?"
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