It’s a long chapter so it will be in parts.
{Chapter 6} Nina’s Hill
Part I
Early in the morning, just after dawn, Hiroto was summoned to Mizuho’s room.
Hiroto was being lectured by Mizuho and Marion with a lingering headache.
By the way, Marion wired Mathew and Nina’s room last night so that they would be aware of anything that might happen.
“Hiroto, are you listening to me? If there are any strange rumors about the client and the daughter of a bigwig named General Mathew, it will bring disgrace to the face of the Agency. If that happens, it will be my responsibility as the leader!”
“No, that’s why I only had a brief conversation with Nina-san……”
“Hiroto-san, the issue is the behavior that starts rumors even if it isn’t true.”
When Marion, who is usually very kind to him, says this to him, he feels a little scared.
“Th-that butler old-man …… Arokaune-san is the one who’s trying to start the rumor, and that person who is overreacting is the problem…”
“Hiroto!”
“Hiroto-san!”
“Heee!”
“Actually, you called out to Nina-san because she’s so beautiful!”
“That’s right! I could tell from the way you spoke to her yesterday. I think you were drawn to her because of her ladylike atmosphere.”
“T-That’s,…… and about being ladylike, then it’s not like you are any different….”
“Eh? W-What?”
“Eh? Me as well?”
The two girls who just now were so sharp-tongued suddenly become soft.
(A-Aree? This is a chance!)
“TH-That’s right! That’s why all of this was said in such a misleading way by Arokaune-san, who just cares about Nina-san. ……”
With Hiroto’s remark, there was a knock at the door at the most opportune moment.
The sound brought her back to her senses, and Mizuho responded, “Come in.”
“Excuse me, everyone. Breakfast is ready, and we would appreciate it if you would come to the dining room.”
As Hiroto was about to fold up to escape the sermon, his natural enemy Arokaune, who could be said to have created this situation, entered with a composed face and bowed.
(Nununu, again, as if he was watching the timing ……, don’t tell me this guy did it on purpose ?)
“Ah, I understand. I’ll get ready and be right with you.”
“I will, too.”
Mizuho and Marion, who suddenly started talking strangely, smiled, “Hohoho”.
Hiroto, who could not keep up with the change, stared at them with half-open eyes.
Arokaune grinned …… as he looked at Hiroto to make sure he was sitting small on the sofa and being reproached by the two girls.
“Ah! He just laughed! Mizuho-san, Marion-san! He just laughed with a very bad look on his face!”
“Well then, we will be waiting for you in the dining room. Ladies.”
Arokaune bowed to Mizuho and Marion more magnificently than was necessary.
“I understand, Arokaune-san.”[TN: They are speaking with very formal words, and I am bad with that]
“Yeah, later.”
The butler, who treated Mizuho and Marion as if they were princesses, left the room.
“Gunuu! That old man was definitely listening to us from outside!”
Hiroto hatefully glared at the door Arokaune had just left.
“Hiroto! Don’t talk nonsense, you go to the dining first.”
“Ah, yes, I understand.”
After being told by Mizuho, Hiroto reluctantly stood up and left the room, and walked to the dining room on the first floor.
“Ugg …… my head still hurts. How heavy was that bourbon?”
Hiroto, who had stayed up late with Mathew yesterday, held his head lightly.
There were three bottles of Bourbon prepared but Mathew fell asleep with the first bottle open, so Hiroto patted his chest. It was still too much for Hiroto, though.
(I’m glad General Mathew isn’t as strong a drinker as he says he is. …… upp)
Later, Mizuho and Marion came late for breakfast, dressed so pretty that he wondered if they had brought that kind of clothes with them. They were in a good mood as Mathew, Nina, and Arokaune praised them.
After breakfast was over, Hiroto and the others, including Mathew and Nina, discussed today’s plans.
“Hiroto-kun.”
Mathew has been calling Hiroto by his name since yesterday.
“Yes.”
“About the escort, I asked you to provide, can you start today afternoon?”
“Ah, I understand.”
Hiroto replied and turned back to Mizuho and the others.
Mizuho nodded to Hiroto and turned to Mathew.
“General Mathew, just to be safe, could you please tell us the destination? I know General Mathew’s intentions, but just in case, we would like to at least know where you would be.”
“Fumu ……”
Mathew showed an unusual reluctance. And then he stroked his chin thinking for a moment.
“Well, all right,……, I’ll let Arokaune tell you where that is.”
“Thank you, General Mathew.”
Arokaune then comes up behind Mathew, and the two exchange a whisper.
(Master….. Are you sure?)
(Umu, come to think of it, that place will soon be meaningless. No, it must be a thing of the past. It is already there. …… I suppose I could take Nina with me, but …… either way, when I return, all will be revealed. Besides, I have my mind to make up.)
Arrow Kaune bowed his head silently and turned to Mizuho and the others.
“I have just received the location, sir. I will prepare a map for you later.”
Nina looked quietly at Arokaune and Mathew as the conversation happened…….
It was late afternoon and Hiroto came to the front door of the mansion to go out with Mathew as planned.
A car had already been prepared, and he and Mathew got into the back seat of the car.
After getting in the car, Hiroto casually looked at the driver and was surprised to see him.
There was Teintan, the captain of the escort team, whom he had not seen for two days.
“Tientan-san! Have you recovered already?”
“Yes, Domori-sama, I’m really sorry for the trouble I’ve caused you. Thanks to Shurian-sama, my mind and body feel refreshed. It wasn’t that I was originally overstraining my body …… and besides, now is not the time for me to be lying in bed either.”
With that, Tientan started the car and Mathew leaned back against the back of the backseat.
“I feel sorry for Tientan, but there’s no one else I can take with me to this today except him.”
Hiroto’s expression turned serious as he caught the way Mathew said that.
After riding for a while,……, Hiroto spoke to Mathew with determination.
“General Mathew……, this is probably very important today,……. “
“Umm…… I’m going to meet someone now. No, would it be more correct to say I’m going to pick them up?”
Hiroto looked at Mathew’s profile.
In fact, Hiroto has an idea about the person Mathew is talking about, but why now? He had this thought. And he also wondered if he had really come this far.
“Fufufu, your face looks like you’re onto something, Hiroto-kun. Or is it the Agency? Your information network is not to be underestimated. Well, do these ability users have some information-gathering methods we can’t even imagine?”
“Eh! No, that’s not. ……”
Hiroto was surprised at Mathew’s insightful statement, but it is not something that would be beneficial for him to keep hidden. And there is a possibility that he could be wrong.
“General Mathew is a certain person the prime minister …… Guaran?”
Hearing Hiroto mentioning it, Tientan who was in the driver’s seat had a different expression.
“No way, they know this much…….”
Teintan muttered so and Mathew gave a quiet wry smile.
“Yeah, that’s correct. My life-long friend, and my half-brother. Being here for less than a week, I’m surprised you recognized him. How could you have known, even though no one had ever sensed it before ……”
Of course, Hiroto did not know. It was all something he was able to guess thanks to the information brought to him by Gaston.
“Did Tientan-san know about this?”
“No, I told Teintan for the first time this morning. His surprise was unbearable to watch.”
” Y-Your Excellency, that’s true. I had no idea that you were connected to the enemy’s number two. However, now that I hear it, some things do make sense. And now I am glad I was not told. If I had known that, I would likely have leaked this information to my enemies by now. ……”
Mathew patted Tientan’s shoulder from the backseat as he spoke the last part in a strained tone.
“I’m sorry, Tientan. It was painful for me, too. But whether I tell you or not, if this leaked out, the harm would be far-reaching, so please forgive me. But you have to believe me, it was all for Miramar’s sake. My and Guaran’s vows also began where we are going.”
Hiroto told Mathew with an air of impatience.
“General Mathew, the information I just gave you was obtained from my own sources. So, the Agency, as well as Mizuho-san and the others, do not know about this.”
“Well, I should say that I am glad to hear that. Well, everything will be revealed this evening. However, I will tell the two people who know so far ahead of time. The fact that we are going to pick up our friends today is a deviation from the original plan. Our meeting up was really supposed to happen much later.”
“Is that ……?”
Hiroto had a bad feeling from Mathew’s words.
“Guaran informed me that there is a high possibility that our relationship has been exposed to the military regime. The fact that he is contacting us means that he must be in a very dire situation. In the meantime, Tientan, please be prepared. Depending on the situation, there may be an all-out war with Kaliguda.”
“What are you saying, Your Excellency? We were already prepared for that!”
“Fufufu, I see. …… I and Guaran split into two organizations to avoid that as much as possible. We’ve been doing this by having the huge amount of money that Guaran has made in the shadows flow to us. Our equipment comes from there. We Democrats didn’t want to collect too much from the people of Miramar to win their support.”
Teintan’s eyes widen when he hears this.
“So it was. …… I knew that General Mathew was throwing away his private fortune. I also thought that it was thanks to influential people who were moved by that and offered financial support that we are where we are today.”
“No, that is also true. With that, we were able to manage our equipment, food, and soldiers’ salaries. But that is not the case when it comes to war. War is a war of attrition. With that much money, we wouldn’t last more than a few months. Thanks to Guaran, we have plenty of funds to prepare for this worst-case scenario. But the original plan of Guaran and I was to use this money to provide the people with the necessities of life in preparation for the chaos that would ensue when the new government takes office. And with the help of the Western countries. ……””
“…… how”
“Well, don’t worry about it too much. Kaliguda’s foothold has been shaken considerably. If the speech at the UN goes well, depending on how it goes, quite a few of the more well-informed people will turn on us. The signs were already there. In fact, many in the upper echelons are in communication with us, unaware that they are being manipulated by Guaran. There are many names in the mix that would surprise you, Teintan! Ha ha ha!
Mathew laughed merrily at the end, but Hiroto thought that Mathew must be worried about his best friend’s health right now.
“So …… General Mathew, where are we going?”
“Oh, it’s not that far. It is an unnamed hill between Minra and Zigon, Guaran’s hometown. That’s where I used to play with Guaran and …… Nina’s mother, Sunaina, when I was a child. We named it Nina’s Hill and referred to it as such. In fact, we had hidden a letter in the hollow of a tree there as our only means of communication. It was a treasure stash known only to the three of us, but it proved surprisingly useful.”
Mathew chuckled as he said this.
“Nina’s Hill ……. Then Nina-san’s name is …….”
“Yeah, that’s where I got it from. The word Nina is an old word in this region meaning ‘to be joined, to be united.”
Hiroto closed his eyes.
The hill where people are connected to each other …….
Hiroto knows well the beauty and joy of human connections.
And because these people were united there, the purpose of making this homeland of Miramar a good place to live was born.
And the subsequent determination and resolve of Mathew and Guaran seem tragic.
Mathew did not say much here, but I imagine that his parting with a woman named Sunaina determined the future of the two men at that time.
Now, the Sword of Surt, the enemy organization, crossed Hiroto’s mind.
The Sword of Surt operates on a different logic than the thoughts of these men.
And there would be no happiness for Miramar on the way to this organization.
Now, Hiroto’s thoughts were greatly shaken.
—Part I end—
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Thanks for the chapter it’s always funny seeing mizuho and marion get jealous 🤣