I stood there, wondering if this was a form of arrogance on my part.
It seemed Lancel had become too accustomed to rejecting romantic advances. He had turned down even a princess's proposal, so what more could be said?
His attitude toward Marigold had been the same. He had always tried to prevent her feelings for him from growing too strong.
Of course, that remained true even now. Marriage to Marigold was essentially a bad ending, so why reconnect only to add another bitter memory?
But.
"Sir Lancel, please step back a bit. You're too close."
"..."
Had he misheard?
Lancel was shocked.
Her attitude on the train was completely different from her previous life. He clearly saw her turn her face away and create distance between them.
*This can't be happening!*
This was the first time he'd experienced this since meeting Marigold. In their relationship, Lancel had always been the one to step back, never her.
Now it was the complete opposite.
"Since we're traveling together for a mission, it's problematic if you get too close. Please understand."
"Ah, yes."
Lancel wiped away nervous sweat. In his centuries-long life, he couldn't remember the last time he'd been this flustered.
"Ahem..."
Marigold, perhaps feeling hot, fanned herself with the edge of her clothes while busily avoiding his gaze.
"..."
Lancel, still mentally confused, had no choice but to increase the distance between them. What else could he do when asked to step back?
It was true that he had been too close when they first met. Not with ill intentions—he was just happy to see her. Happy to face a "normal" Marigold. That's why he had acted that way.
And for good reason.
Before coming here, Lancel had encountered perhaps the most abnormal version of Marigold across all his playthroughs.
...
"Human!"
"...Mary?"
After the regression Marigold died, Lancel couldn't find her for a full four years in the next playthrough.
He naturally assumed she was dead. After all, Marigold had always been too close to death.
But she was alive.
And quite well at that.
"Give me food, human!"
"...Is this for real?"
Perhaps a bit too well.
"Hurry! Right now!"
Finding Marigold in the southern imperial forest had been pure luck.
He had heard strange rumors—completely new in his hundreds of years of memories—about a "blonde female monster" occasionally appearing in the forest to steal food. With a faint hope, he had gone to investigate, and his hunch proved correct.
"Hand over the fruit in your bag! Then I'll let you go peacefully!"
"Hey, put down that spear. It's dangerous."
"You have two of them! Just give me one!"
"How did you know I had two?"
"I can smell them!"
"You've got quite the nose."
Her clothing barely covered her chest and lower body with animal skins. She clutched a spear and commanded nine wolves.
Marigold had gone feral.
*What kind of life have you been living, Marigold?*
Lancel closed his eyes in dismay before regaining his composure.
He had to do what needed to be done.
"I'll leave them here, okay?"
"Yes!"
"I'll leave both of them."
"Human... could you actually be a good human?!"
"..."
Though mentally shaken, he had found Marigold once again.
"I'm back."
From the next day, Lancel visited her regularly.
"Human! Are you going to eat that?"
"Yes, but I'll leave it for you."
One day.
"You came again today! I wasn't waiting at all, but I'm glad to see you, human!"
"You're human too. I'll leave this here."
Two days.
"How can you get so much fruit? Tell me your secret!"
"Huh? I bought it at the market."
"Eek! Market! Scary!"
"...?"
One week.
"Thank you, human. You're the best among humans."
"You're human too, you know?"
One month.
"Human. Won't you stay and live with me?"
"If you'll live in the city, I can do that."
"N-no, not the city! I want to live in nature, human."
"What exactly happened to you in the city?"
"Waaah!"
One year.
"Just have children with me already!"
"..."
"Ah! Don't run away!"
Three years.
"Human, I built a house for you. It was inconvenient when it suddenly rained last time, right? From now on, you can sleep here. Look, it's very spacious and nice. There's even a bed made of wool. What do you think?"
And so ten years passed.
...
[Playtime: 10 years, 0 days]
—Marigold has turned 25.
—No marriage partner.
—No achievements.
[Normal Ending 98: Barbarian Marigold of the Cabin]
—Ending has been recorded in the "Album of Memories."
—Opening album.
"I'll do all the hunting, farming, and gathering. Human, just stay by my side. You don't need to do anything."
Marigold, who once fled to the forest because she hated humans, has now shed her wariness like melting snow.
"My dream now is to build a kingdom. Starting today, I'll gradually add more houses, establish a village, and fill the entire forest with beloved family members. This tree house will be the starting point. What do you think, human? Hmm? You're asking where I'll find all those people? What are you talking about, human?"
The eyes of the great barbarian Marigold gradually fill with wildness.
"Don't you understand what I mean by 'creating' them?"
[Normal Ending: Barbarian Marigold of the Cabin - fin]
—Would you like to restart the game?
...
"..."
Lancel shuddered.
The piercing gaze of feral Marigold was still vivid in his memory.
How could he not be happy to see her now? A proper human being with a respectable job.
And not just any job—she had secured a position at the Imperial Central Administration Bureau, perhaps the best workplace a commoner could hope for.
1.
Meeting this playthrough's Marigold hadn't been easy.
The first hurdle was that she wasn't visible in the capital's streets, and the second was that she was much more principled than Lancel had expected.
============
—Congratulations! Marigold has been selected as the top graduate from the Academy's Administrative Records Department!
============
*The Academy?*
No wonder he couldn't find her.
It wasn't swordsmanship or magic. The Administrative Records Department—a field of study covering imperial administration, regulations, record-keeping, geography, management, and history—was the starting point for the "Imperial Administrator Route."
There, Marigold had become the top graduate through her own efforts. It had been exactly three years since the start of this playthrough, the year she turned eighteen and became an adult.
*Well, that's good anyway.*
Though he didn't know the exact conditions for a happy ending, one thing was certain.
*Nothing is more straightforward than material abundance.*
Lancel immediately went to find Marigold at the Academy.
"Um, Sir Lancel? The thing is... Miss Mary has been... refusing all personal sponsorships..."
"Huh?"
Lancel, who had brought bags of gold coins, tilted his head at those words. Someone who disliked money? Who? Marigold?
For Lancel, who clearly remembered her extremely miserly behavior in the merchant route, the Academy official's words were quite unexpected.
"We've been telling her to just accept reasonable offers, but she doesn't want to be indebted to any noble, so it's difficult to persuade her."
"It's unusual for an Academy student to refuse sponsorships."
"Well, perhaps Miss Mary has big dreams?"
"She wants to become an administrator?"
"Why else would she avoid noble connections?"
There were two main routes for Imperial Administrators:
1. Attach yourself to a noble and transition to a local administrative position.
2. Continue climbing as an Imperial Administrator until reaching a management position.
Most administrators fell into the first category.
It was much easier, more comfortable, and more lucrative.
The mandatory service period in the capital was 20 years, after which most administrators preferred to work under a local noble and live as comfortably as possible. The Empire used this as leverage to legally cycle through personnel for at least 20 years.
But Marigold didn't want that. Why?
"If Miss Mary changes her mind, please let me know."
"Yes, Sir Lancel."
After several more attempts at contact, Marigold's resolve remained firm. Lancel couldn't guess what her goal was in this life.
* * *
Lancel finally got the chance to meet Marigold about three months after she had graduated from the Academy and become an administrator.
============
—Regular event! You're about to start your first job as an Imperial Administrator. From today, you'll begin recruiting an escort to accompany you on administrative duties. Hope it's someone good.
============
"Is it time?"
"...Huh? Lancel?"
Lancel immediately secured his position. He completely ignored the puzzled look from Baron Evil Shen, with whom he had been sharing tea.
Normally, escorts for administrators were mercenaries recommended by the Empire. It was work far beneath someone of knightly status.
"What? You as an escort? Sir Lancel?"
But that wasn't a problem for Lancel.
"This is usually mercenary work. Why would someone of your standing..."
"Do I need to satisfy your curiosity too?"
"Well, no, but..."
"Then just do as I say."
He could simply ignore such concerns.
Lancel easily became Marigold's escort.
The only consequence was a brief rumor among Imperial Administrators about the strange knight who chose to accompany a rookie administrator on a difficult journey.
"I look forward to working with you! I heard you'll be assisting with my duties. I'm Mary, Records Officer of the Imperial Central Administration Bureau."
After this complicated and eventful process, Lancel finally met Marigold again today. Yes, with somewhat inflated expectations.
But now...
...
"When the day's work is done, we'll separate until the next morning. We'll obviously use separate rooms."
"...I'm fine with that, but will you be okay? What if you're attacked while sleeping?"
"I'll be fine. We won't be traveling through particularly dangerous areas. I appreciate your concern though."
"..."
Why on earth?