“Miss Rún once told me something. She said, ‘Realizing the strength of your opponent is strength in itself,’” Nozomu said.
“Oh?”
“At the time, I took that to mean if you didn’t estimate the strength of your opponent before a battle, you’d regret it. But now I see that interpretation was wrong.”
“Hm, how so?”
“Sometimes an opponent is so far beyond your level that it’s impossible to tell how powerful they are. I now realize that that’s the gap between me and dad.” Nozomu gritted his teeth. With a single glare from Thutmose, he’d been rendered as immobile as if he’d been bound by rope—yet that very same person had been unable to withstand Yuuto’s aura. That was the harsh reality. The memory of boasting about surpassing his father earlier now brought him great shame. To Yuuto, those words would probably sound like the mewling of a kitten.
“Tee hee. Well, no need to get all down over it. Your dad is just a monster, that’s all,” Kristina snickered. Nozomu honestly agreed. Who else but a monster could treat someone whose name still remained in history after twenty-five hundred years like a little kid?
“But even if that’s true, how can I ever come into my own as a man if I can’t find a way to escape from his shadow?” Nozomu spat hatefully. If he was being honest with himself, the height of the wall he had to scale was enough to make him despair. He was almost ready to give up right this instant if he could have allowed himself to.
In the midst of his angst, he stole a glance at his wife, Ephelia.
“Her first love...was Father, apparently.” He remembered hearing that way back when. Knowing that, he couldn’t admit defeat so easily. As a man and as Ephelia’s husband, he couldn’t bear to keep losing to his rival in love. He wanted Ephelia to be proud of choosing him. He didn’t want her to wish that she’d chosen Yuuto instead. He had no choice but to keep chasing after his father’s back with everything he had.
“Your heart’s in the right place, but you know it’s going to be a hard, steep climb ahead, right?” said Kristina. At times like these, he was grateful for her honest, unvarnished assessment.
“Oh yeah. I learned that all too well today.” Just when he thought he was about to catch up to his father, it turned out to be a mere mirage, dissipating in the wind. That goal seemed to always be out of reach, far beyond the horizon. He was completely and utterly at a loss. With each passing moment, it became more apparent that having such a gifted father was more of a curse than a blessing.
“Yet you still don’t plan on giving up, I see. Hee hee, seems like you’re finally becoming a bit more of a man,” Kristina replied, perhaps somewhat mockingly.
“A bit more, huh? I probably don’t wanna know how you thought of me before, then,” Nozomu retorted.
“Well, I’ll just say I certainly wanted you to grow into your own a bit more before taking a dear friend of mine as your wife,” Kristina jabbed playfully.
“Oh, so that’s how it is.” He’d thought that Kristina had been especially hard on him as of late, but now he understood why. Albertina was in a class all of her own when it came to Kristina’s favorites, of course, but he’d often seen Kristina enjoying leisurely chats with Ephelia as well. Ephelia also saw Kristina as a reliable older sister, he’d heard. In other words, Kristina had likely determined that Nozomu didn’t yet meet the qualifications to be a suitable husband for Ephelia.
“Is that why you stopped Hilda back there, then?”
“Does that upset you?”
“Nah, I’m actually grateful you did.” It was called a comfort zone for a reason, but refusing to step out of it would mean denying oneself any chance at growth. Nozomu’s fervent wish was for everyone to acknowledge him as Ephelia’s husband, and to become a man Ephelia could be proud to have married. Getting her close friend Kristina to acknowledge him would be a huge first step toward that goal.
“Well then, I’ll continue to test you from now on.”
“I’d like to ask you to go easy on me, but that wouldn’t be very manly. Hit me with all you’ve got. Don’t hold back, and feel free to point out any areas where I fall short.”
“Tee hee, I like your resolve. But I won’t let you take back those words now, so be prepared.”
“Yeah, I know.” Nozomu nodded, but inside he gulped in fear. He knew firsthand just how sharp Kristina’s tongue was, and he’d just given it free rein to lash out. That freaked him out a bit, but if he wanted to get any closer to his father’s level, he knew he couldn’t complain.
“Hmm... Miss Kristina’s being awfully nice.”
“Hee hee, that’s right. Kris is always nice!”
“Huh? She’s clearly just enjoying bullying him. You guys are giving her too much credit.”
“My, my.” Kristina turned around, wholly unsurprised at the three women mouthing off behind her. She hadn’t noticed their approach, but that was hardly anything new considering how skilled they each were in their own right. “Don’t you all know it’s rude to eavesdrop? Homura, Al, Hilda?” She walked away without a single glance backward.
“We weren’t necessarily eavesdropping. We can just hear voices even from far away. Right, Hilda?”
“Right, Homura!”
“The wind told me!” However, the three didn’t seem to mind and trailed behind her. Starting from when they’d first arrived in the New World, the four of them (and Felicia) had often spent time together, perhaps because they were similar in age. Their skill levels and personalities were all over the place, but perhaps that unexpectedly balanced them out, as they rarely got into any arguments and had become quite close with each other.