Chapter 51
That day, Clael Byrne, who served as a priest in the town of Eggbell, was working at the shrine as usual.
Morning cleaning, offering prayers, treating the sick and injured who had been brought in... He was handling all those holy duties just like always when a familiar townsperson suddenly burst into the chapel.
"Priest! Priest! It's terrible!"
"What happened? Is someone seriously ill?"
"No, it's not that... It's Reina! Reina!"
"Reina...?"
Clael blinked repeatedly in confusion.
Reina should be at the academy in the royal capital. What could have happened to her?
"Reina came back! Right now, the shrine's carriage is at the entrance of town...!"
"What? Reina came back!?"
Clael was so surprised he nearly dropped the vase he was polishing.
At the last second, the plushie bear he lived with caught it, avoiding disaster.
"Why is Reina... What about the academy...?"
Clael wondered, but then quickly remembered that this time of year was the academy's summer vacation period.
"Oh, that's right—summer break..."
Summer break is something students look forward to, but once you become an adult and start working, you stop thinking about it.
That aside... Could it really be that Reina came home for summer vacation?
(Uh... In the game, during summer break, you'd go to a classmate's house to escape the heat, right? It's a limited-time summer event where you'd play at the beach or go camping with the romanceable characters...)
"Anyway, let's go. You said she's at the town entrance?"
"Yeah, that's right. There was a knight escort with her too."
"Understood. Thank you for letting me know."
Clael expressed his thanks and left the chapel to go greet Reina.
Why Reina had returned home instead of going to a summer retreat with her friends... He figured he'd understand once he talked to her.
Clael stepped out of the chapel and began jogging toward the town entrance when—suddenly, the sky shimmered brightly.
"Huh...?"
"Clael-samaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
"Whaaat!?"
Something came flying through the sky and crashed in.
Wrapped in white light and soaring with wings spread wide... it was none other than Reina.
"Se... 'Seraphim Evolute'"
That was the ultimate technique Reina was supposed to acquire in the latter half of the story.
Reina herself would take on an angelic form and unleash a powerful attack on her enemies—it was a finishing move.
It could wipe out weak enemies in one go, and even deal massive damage to the final boss. She actually used such a move here?
"Clael-sama!"
"Guh...!?"
Reina, still flying with momentum, tackled Clael in an embrace.
With her wings spread, she clung tightly to Clael with both arms and legs.
Her grown-up curves and various parts pressed against him... but this wasn't a situation where he could afford to care about that.
"R-Reina... Why are you here...?"
"It's summer break, so I came home!"
"Ah, I figured... But what's with those wings? Why did you fly here?"
"I was happy to be back in town, but then I got surrounded by townspeople and couldn't move... And when I really wanted to see you, Clael-sama, something just sprouted out!"
Don't unlock your ultimate move over something like that.
If Reina had even a hint of hostile intent, that charge just now would've leveled the entire area.
"I see... Well... that was rather improper."
"Ah... You're right. I'm sorry."
Saying that, Reina made the wings on her back disappear.
However, her arms and legs were still tightly wrapped around Clael, showing no signs of letting go.
"............Reina?"
"Ehehehe..."
Reina beamed with a wide smile and rubbed her face against him.
Like a cat or dog marking its scent.
"............"
(I thought she'd grown into a full adult over these five years, but I guess she's still just as clingy as ever...)
Flying through town, clinging to a man... There were a lot of things he needed to lecture her about.
But for now, there was something he had to say first...
"...Welcome home, Reina."
"I've returned, Clael-sama!"
After several months apart, Clael and Reina exchanged words of reunion.