Densetsu no Yuusha no Densetsu

"... They"re late."

Ferris was waiting.

For information from her manservants.

The location was the Eris house"s garden.

By Sion"s order, the strangely cheerful manservant Calne, as he was called, and the inexplicably constantly angry manservant Eslina, as she was called, were to report to her as soon as they discovered Ryner"s whereabouts...

She looked towards the distance.

The sun"s light dyeing the sky a bright red, she looked towards the forests in the Eris house"s vast lands...

"... They"re too late."

She was irritated.

Ryner had left his inn yesterday.

And she knew that if Ryner had been walking all through the night, he would"ve been able to cross the country border and leave Roland.

Ferris knew better than anyone else that in contrast to that man"s lazy appearance, his abilities were quite high.

Despite that, she was still here...

Furthermore, no leads had been found.

Like this...

"... Like this, will it become impossible to track Ryner down?"

With an emotionless face, she murmured.

But her irritation grew worse.

As light fell and the sky became red, her irritation became stronger.

She recalled Ryner"s face that she"d seen at the end.

The expression of that eternally listless, lazy, useless man.

But...

Nevertheless, for a moment, Ferris felt uncomfortable.

It was different from usual...

"......"

No, I remember that face,

She thought.

When she"d met Ryner...

When she"d first met Ryner, the way that man had smiled.

She remembered that somehow vague, half-c.o.c.ked smiling face of Ryner"s...

"... Muu."

Again, for some reason, she felt irritated.

In addition to the irritation, her chest started to hurt...

Ferris was surprised at what was happening inside of her.

She was surprised at the large waves of the emotions that she"d never had before.

"... What is this..."

It was as if something was tightening in her chest...

"This is..."

In her mind arose Ryner"s smile.

"This is..."

Ryner"s truly half-c.o.c.ked smile...

That—there, in her head, Ryner suddenly began to talk.

"Uhehehehe. I"m leaving you. I"m not gonna meet up with you. It"s way too troublesome. I"m gonna run away by myself, go after women in the neighbouring country, and take some afternoon naaaaaaaaaaaaaps!"

Immediately,

"I"m coming after you, you d.a.m.n idiot Ryner. If I find you, I"ll kill you without fail."

In other words, that sort of thing.

In her mind was the stupid, proud face of Ryner. Even though she wanted to punch that, not being near him made her angry.

"I see."

The cause of her irritation.

Now that she could understand why her chest hurt, she relaxed slightly.

Then,

"Honestly... what is that Calne guy doi..."

But then her words stopped.

She redirected her eyes from the red-dyed sky to the top of a garden stone.

And.

"What do you want? Brother."

The moment she spoke, a single man appeared there.

The same blond hair as hers.

Closed eyes, ceramic-like skin.

Lucile Eris.

Ferris stared at Lucile, and,

"... Have you been watching this entire time?"

At that,

"Always."

Lucile smiled.

"Ever since you were young, Ferris, I"ve always... always been watching you."

But in contrasting to her smiling proper, Ferris"s face was neutral.

She gazed at the fading light.

The sky was becoming dark.

The day was ending.

Like this, another day had pa.s.sed since Ryner had disappeared.

If that guy was walking, then surely...

Ferris narrowed her eyes.

She stopped looking at the sky.

And,

"Brother."

"What is it?"

"What did you do to Ryner?"

She asked that.

At the question, Lucile smiled again. And easily,

"I merely warned him that I wouldn"t want him making any pa.s.ses at my younger sister."

"......"

In that moment, Ferris looked at Lucile.

As expected, Lucile was smiling. But in that smile, there was absolutely no emotion.

Ferris was fearful of that face.

That mask-like face.

But she was different. She had the same blonde hair, blue eyes, and features... but she was different.

Her face wasn"t emotionless.

Over there, there truly was nothing.

A cold, inhuman expression.

It was as if he wasn"t even human...

Her thoughts began, but then a different expression arose in Lucile"s face. A troubled sort of wry smile... However, with that crafted, false expression arising, he spoke.

"Oh? What is this? Are you glaring at me? Ferris. That"s a new expression. I haven"t seen it before. Have you obtained a new emotion?"

"......"

The mask continued.

"And so again, you"re becoming an adult, Ferris. Even though you were still small just before..."

"......"

The mask continued.

In response, Ferris...

In response, she trembled and didn"t move.

Just what was before her eyes...

What in the world was...

That, she didn"t know.

Trembling, she was unable to move.

It"d always been like that since that day.

Since that day when she was saved by Lucile, it"d always...

He spoke in an increasingly kind tone to Ferris.

"Truly. To see my beloved sister gradually grow gladdens me, yet makes me feel a bit lonely."

"......"

Trembling, she said nothing.

On that day, just what did Brother become?

"Truly, it makes me feel lonely. That someday, you"ll go somewhere my hands can"t reach."

"......"

Everything changed on that day.

There isn"t any question about that.

And it was likely... in order to save me.

But Brother...

"Brother, just what on that day..."

Ferris tried to say that, but Lucile looked to the side. And,

"They"ve come, Ferris."

"Hmm?"

Ferris looked in the same direction.

But she saw nothing there.

A vast garden.

n.o.body was there.

"What do you mean, Br..."

She began, but when she looked back, Lucile was no longer there...

"... He gave me the slip...?"

Could it be...

Then.

The sound of the Eris house"s gates opening.

But it was a faint sound. A truly faint, soft sound. The distance from this garden to the gates was considerably far.

Even if the gates opened, had it not been for Lucile"s urging, she wouldn"t have heard it.

However, Lucile had reacted to the arrival of a visitor before the gates opened.

"......"

It was overwhelming.

The difference in power was too great.

No, all her life, even with all of Ferris"s ability, she was no match for Lucile.

A genius.

Correct.

A literal genius.

Nevertheless...

While looking towards the visitors guided by their steward, Croselli, Ferris thought.

Even so, she wasn"t able to sense the presences of people far away.

To be able to do such a thing...

"......"

However, Ferris said nothing on that.

Her face was eternally blank. But in a way, it was a slightly sullen, remorseful face.

"... Just where did Brother go..."

But, as expected, her words stopped there.

♦

To go back in time a bit.

In the streets near Roland"s palace.

Eslina knit her well-arranged, pretty eyebrows.

And,

"Honestly."

Matching her eyebrows was pretty amber-coloured hair. Level-headed eyes that didn"t suit her still young age of fourteen.

With those eyes, Eslina looked to her superior officer by her side, and,

"Calne-san, are you paying attention!?"

"Eh? Paying attention? Ah, of course!"

Saying that while he walked, he had a boyish face.

No, he was already eighteen years old. Though he was at an age where he couldn"t be called a boy anymore... Giving a soft impression, he had wavy blond hair, childish blue eyes, and a slender body.

In addition to that,

"Funfufu~♪"

Even if she looked at the figure that was humming as he strolled lightly through the streets, the still young Eslina would say that more than a young man, the term "boy" would be more appropriate.

However, his t.i.tle was...

Major General Calne Kaiwal of the Roland Empire"s army.

Though, ever since the revolution, he should"ve been acting alongside Claugh as Sion"s right-hand man, being a sharp and able person...

Calne spoke.

"Ah!? Eslina, look at that, look at that..."

"Eh? Ah, what is it?"

"Isn"t the wife of that pastrymaker gorgeous..."

"Calne-san, didn"t I told you before to stop that!? This isn"t the place for that!"

After shouting, Eslina let out a sigh. Then, looking to the pastry shop, she saw the woman standing in front...

Certainly, she was a beauty.

But even if she was beautiful, she was clearly in her forties or fifties...

Looking at that, Eslina again knit her brow.

That Calne and adult... Or rather, that he liked much older women, she knew. Rather than a girl like herself, it was attractive, sultry women that...

But maybe that would change someday, she thought.

After all, one day she"d grown up and become a woman... That was what she thought.

Certainly, she was only a fourteen-year-old girl right now. But recently, she was starting to understand Calne"s pattern of preference.

Like this, maybe in a few more years.

Right.

In a few more years, surely... she would triumph over her superior officer who treated her like a child.

That was what she thought.

Despite that...

The woman His Majesty had introduced them to today was still young.

She seemed to be around the same age as Calne?

She didn"t fit under Calne"s preferences. She didn"t have that sultry appeal to her. At any rate, the first thing she"d said, in spite of it being their first meeting, was,

"In other words, from now on, I am the almighty ruler of you two."

But even though she"d said such things, it was if she could get away with it because she was beautiful.

A woman who could enchant others on sight...

It"s unfair.

Eslina thought that. Even though she was working so hard to become Calne"s type.

"Uwa!? What a beauty! I have no problems with working with a beauty like this, Sion-san. Hurray. I love you, Sion-san!"

It"s unfair.

She thought that.

Even though she truly was doing her best... Calne wouldn"t look at her at all.

Was it because she had no charm?

Or was it because she was the younger sister of her brother, Fiole Folkal...?

Then, Calne spoke again. Cheerfully squinting with his child-like eyes,

"Ah, that bookstore lady"s..."

"Geez! Calne-san, why are you always, always... Find this Ryner Lute properly as per your duty..."

Calne interrupted her words, speaking.

"Eh? I"m not searching for that Ryner guy?"

"Ehhhh!?"

Eslina exploded.

On His Majesty"s orders, they were to search for Ryner Lute, who"d disappeared yesterday.

Despite that, he said he wasn"t searching for Ryner...

"Then, then, what are we doing right now?"

"Searching for a person."

"T-That"s right. Searching for Ryner-san..."

"I"m not searching for him, you know?"

"Then, who are you..."

But then interrupting her again,

"Found you, Major General,"

Suddenly, a voice spoke from behind them.

"Eh!?"

Eslina said, surprised as she turned around, where four men were...

Eslina knew these men.

They were Calne"s subordinates. But they weren"t people from the army. One could see that they weren"t dressed in the military uniform. Their ages varied from the twenties to thirties, with no sense of unity.

Nevertheless, with one glance, it was clear they weren"t ordinary people. Sharp glint in their eyes. Movements with no openings.

Those men bowed their heads to Calne, and,

"The time it took..."

However, Calne shook his head.

"It"s fine. You were rather fast."

To those words, the men again bowed their heads. With admiration towards Calne, their expressions were loyal.

It was a strange sight. It was if adults were bowing their heads to a child.

Calne spoke. With his typical cheerful, child-like voice, he said,

"All right then, let"s go, Eslina. We"ve found our mark."

"I-Is what"s been found Ryner-san..."

But immediately—

"Like I said, I"m not looking for him."

"Then, then, just what..."

"You"ll know soon."

Like that, Calne turned to the men.

"Then, the location?"

"Presently, the mark is walking down an alleyway through the side."

"Hmm... shall we go at once?"

At that, Eslina said,

"Like I said, just who..."

But again, her words stopped. Calne grabbed her hand and started pulling her along.

At that, instinctively,

"......"

She felt her face turn red.

And then immediately, she realized that having her hand held by Calne was a normal occurrence, and so became embarra.s.sed over her being fl.u.s.tered.

As they entered a dark, croweded alleyway,

"Y-You can let go of my hand already..."

But as she said that,

"I"m not letting go."

"Eh..."

Calne gripped her hand more tightly.

To that, Eslina—

"Eh... um, i-it hurts. Calne-sa..."

But before she could finish, she was tugged along strongly.

"Ah..."

In that moment, she thought he was going to hold her. His chest grew closer. His face grew closer. And he casually covered Eslina.

Eh!?

Her voice wouldn"t come out.

Kept behind Calne, she was in such a position that she"d likely fall over, but she did her best to keep her balance.

"Wha, this is... Unsteady... ah... fuu..."

While doing her best to stay up,

"H-Hold on, Calne-san. Just what is..."

She said as she looked over her shoulder; however,

"Ehhhhhhhh—!?"

She continued in that voice.

The scene that she saw.

In the alleyway, four men had collapsed. They were Calne"s subordinates. Those four subordinates who"d seemed strong to Eslina had collapsed...

In exchange, within the darkness, a single man stood.

It was evidently this man who"d taken down Calne"s subordinates...

I-In other words, we"re being attacked? Right now, we"re being attacked—!?

Shaking, Eslina strengthened her will.

"Calne-san, run..."

She meant to step out in front of Calne and let him alone escape...

But she was pushed back by Calne and unable to move in front of him.

"Eh..."

Together with that voice, she fell onto the ground...

Without looking at her, Calne spoke.

"Ah, sorry, Eslina. But don"t move for a little while. I have to speak with this guy... so..."

Calne"s eyes were cheerful; however, their air felt like that of a different person"s.

A sharp smile that was in a completely different level than back then with his subordinates.

And possessing the same air as those eyes was the man standing before them.

If one were to judge by his appearance, he seemed a bit older than Calne. Around in his early twenties, it seemed?

Clever eyes. Fair-skinned. Dressed in the uniform of Roland"s army, his body was thin but seemed well-trained.

The man asked,

"Why have you been trailing me?"

In response, after looking at the fallen men, Calne shrugged.

"Isn"t it the opposite? Haven"t you been trailing my subordinates... Lear Rinkal-san?"

Unwavering, the calm expression of the man Calne called Lear became further cold, and,

"And you"re Calne Kaiwal. Equal to Claugh Klom, you are Sion Astal"s left-hand man... correct? You..."

He began, but his words ended there.

Halfway through, Lear suddenly stopped and lunged forward with unbelievable force.

"Ha—!"

He let loose a punch.

It was so fast that Eslina wasn"t even able to make a sound.

But at that, a smile arose in Calne"s face.

"I figured that would happen."

Raising his right hand to block, he struck out with the palm of his left hand...

But,

"Nnn—"

Lear moved his head slightly back and dodged it

However, Calne didn"t stop with his attack. He fired a kick towards Lear"s chest.

To that strike,

"Guh..."

Lear moaned and jumped back.

You did it... Eslina wanted to say; however...

"Gahh..."

She was interrupted by Calne"s moan.

Calne held his right arm in pain... That arm was bent at a slightly strange angle.

Looking at that, Eslina was about to cry out, before Calne fixed it with his left hand...

With an unpleasant sound, his arm was returned to normal.

And.

"That huuuurt. I"ve got no strength in my hand... Don"t you think that"s horrible? My muscles hurt!"

Calne glared at the man before him.

"... I"d intended to break it. Rather than that, you cracked my rib."

"Ah, I cracked it? Even though I"d intended to break it... but you know now, don"t you? We seem to be of equal strength, right? However this goes, whoever wins, you won"t be able to restrain me without getting hurt."

"......"

Lear said nothing.

However, Calne continued.

"Is that what you intended? In an honest exchange, you wouldn"t be able to get the true information that you seek. In that case, you intend to make me talk by force..."

At that, Lear said,

"Under whose instructions are you all moving?"

"Sion-san."

"That"s a lie."

"It"s the truth. After all, I was told by Sion-san to search for you and Luke-san as well."

He said that.

At any rate, it seemed that Calne had been searching for this man called Lear.

But why?

Eslina asked herself. Why, even though they were supposed to be searching for Ryner Lute, was he searching for this man first?

Lear still didn"t let his guard down at Calne"s words. Maintaining his distance from Calne—

"... That"s also a lie."

Calne tilted his head, and,

"Why do you think that?"

"......"

However, Lear didn"t respond and instead immediately looked thoughtful. Should he continue with this conversation, or should he stop...?

It seemed as if he were thinking about that. For a while, there was silence and no movement...

But then Calne made a slightly troubled face and held up his hands.

And he spoke.

"So, what now?"

"......"

In that moment, Lear"s expression changed.

Though Eslina again didn"t understand what was happening.

Lear spoke. With an increasingly cautious voice.

"... And if I intend... to kill you?"

But Calne shrugged his shoulders.

"If it"s you, I won"t die."

In other words, that sort of thing. Lear seemed surprised at Calne"s lack of vigilance.

"... If you"re an enemy, then I"ll kill you."

"I"m not an enemy."

At that, Lear again looked thoughtful.

But Calne continued, as if pressing for an answer.

"What is it that you"re afraid of? I"ve read your personal history—you shouldn"t be the type to do such things. Usually calm... Within your force, your duty is usually to take one step away and gather information. If it"s in that area, you"re not even inferior to the famous Luke, whom Claugh has a bone to pick with. You even cracked my joints so easily..."

He said, rubbing his arm in pain.

Then, staring at Lear again—

"... Just what..."

Immediately.

Lear lunged forward again. In just a second, he grabbed Calne"s collar and shoved him against the wall...

Furthermore, with one hand, he took out a knife and pointed it at his neck...

"Kyaaa—!?"

There, Eslina finally cried out.

However, just as she moved to help him...

"Don"t move, Eslina—!"

Calne yelled. And with just that,

"Ah..."

She wasn"t able to move.

Confirming that, Calne smiled gently.

"Sooorry for yelling. Just don"t move for a bit, okay~. It"s for the best right now."

Like that, he looked at Lear. And,

"So? Just what are you so impatient about?"

Nevertheless, Lear"s grip didn"t loosen. Pushing Calne further against the wall,

"... Luke-sen... Sergeant Luke Stokkart and First Lieutenant Milk Callaud haven"t been seen since the day before yesterday. Yesterday, Lach Velariore who"d been searching for them... and, as of this morning, Moe Velariore have disappeared. I"m the only one left. I suspect that this is the work of you sc.u.m."

To those words,

"Eh—!?"

Now it was Calne"s turn to be surprised.

His eyes widening,

"W-Why us? Honestly, we"re working under Sion-san"s orders..."

But ignoring those words, Lear continued.

"According to my investigation, the army is moving. However, I haven"t been able to get a hold of its tail at all. Did the n.o.bles suggest this? But what merit is there in capturing us? Regarding that, if it were the level of a n.o.ble"s instigation, it doesn"t seem likely that they would be able to do anything to Luke-senpai..."

Like that, the knife dug into Calne"s neck...

"But... Calne Kaiwal. You"re strong. And a capable person. Who is it that works behind you? Answer me."

He dug the knife in deeper...

But to that, Calne—

"Like I said, Sion-san..."

"That"s a lie."

The knife dug in even deeper. A bit of blood began to ooze out.

Stop...

Just as Eslina was about to call out without thinking, the knife was finally removed.

However, with the knife then pointed straight at Eslina,

"Tell me the truth. If you don"t... I"ll kill this woman."

Eslina trembled at that.

Killing intent was emitted. This man known as Lear was serious.

Despite that,

"Still going on about that? You won"t be able to do such a thing..."

Calne began, but Lear interrupted.

"... I"m not able to be the sort of person who can remain silent even while his allies might be in danger."

"Huum. Then, you"re serious about this?"

"Do you wish to see proof?"

But at that,

"... That"s not a very funny joke,"

Calne"s eyes suddenly narrowed. His courtesy, as the present situation arose, vanished.

And.

In a low voice, as if Eslina wasn"t to hear it—

"... If you lay a hand on Eslina, I"ll kill you."

"No, I"ll kill her before then."

In that instant.

Again, the two of them moved.

Lear"s arm that held the knife moved...

"Che—!"

Seizing Lear"s arm, Calne struck upwards, and like that, threw him to the ground before Eslina.

It happened in just a moment.

Eslina saw.

Calne jumping out as if to protect her...

However, behind that, as a light smile arose and he slowly returned the knife to his pocket, was Lear...

With that, it was all over.

In front of Eslina, Calne"s expression curved. Then, turning around at once,

"Like I said, that joke was the worst!"

He shouted.

Once more, it was Calne"s usual voice. Eslina relaxed at that.

Lear spoke.

"I understand. If you were to die now, you would fail in your duties. Nevertheless, you protected that woman... That"s good. That you truly had no intention of fighting me... I believe you."

It was a politer tone than before. Somehow, it seemed that this was his original tone. Though his tone was polite and cold, his expression, in some ways, was gentle.

Suddenly feeling her tension unwind, Eslina sighed.

Correcting his posture, Lear spoke.

"Pardon me for being slow in saying this. I... am Corporal Lear Rinkal. Your Excellency, Major General Calne Kaiwal. And..."

As he turned towards her, Eslina smiled and nodded.

"I"m Eslina Folkal. I"m Calne-san"s private secretary."

Lear deeply bowed his head.

"To a woman of your degree, what I did was unthinkably impolite..."

"Eh, ah... n-no, um, please lift your head."

To that conversation, Calne looked astounded.

"Y-Your Excellency... I-I see... because I"m of higher ranking... but seriously, why is someone like this a Corporal? I understand why Sion-san was clutching his head..."

Further speaking, this Lear was like Luke and had sworn loyalty... and so went no further than Major Miller.

Even though it wouldn"t be strange for those two to be of higher ranking than Calne, the two of them didn"t want that and instead declined all promotions.

But Lear completely disregarded Calne"s words and continued.

"Then, Your Excellency. As for me... what shall you do?"

Calne again frowned at that, and,

"Like I said, stop calling me "Your Excellency." "

Because he said that, for some reason, Eslina couldn"t resist saying,

"Your Excellency—!"

Calne pressed at his temple in a tired manner.

"Seeee. Because children will imitate you, stop that. All right?"

"I-I"m not a child!"

"You"re a child. You"re still fourteen years old, after all."

"Aren"t you only four years older than me, Calne-san!?"

"Then, how old do you think a child is, Eslina?"

"Eh—!? Ah... that... t-thirteen...?"

"Fuu..."

"W-What"s that sigh for—!? A-Alternatively, Calne-san, your adult age is too high! Around forty, or fifty—!"

As Eslina yelled that, her cheeks swelled.

It looked entirely as if two children were having an argument.

Watching that exchange, Lear smiled, and then for some reason, made a sad expression as if he were recalling something.

"Good grief, please be safe. Captain Milk..."

"Eh?"

"No, it"s nothing."

Immediately, his calm expression returned. Then,

"Then, as for me..."

Calne nodded.

"Somehow, it seems like there"s been a disappearance fad lately, huh?"

"Ha?"

Lear asked back in an utterly clueless manner, which Calne didn"t pay attention to and continued.

"Well, though we don"t know if there"s a connection to the disappearances of Luke-san and the others... the Taboo Breaker Ryner Lute you guys were chasing before has gone missing."

At those words.

Lear tilted his head to one side, and,

"... Gone missing?"

Calne nodded.

"Yes. Without informing Sion-san and his partner Ferris Eris of his whereabouts, he disappeared yesterday. So, Eslina and I have been given orders to search for him... that"s what I wanted to ask of you. You, who normally gather information on Ryner Lute"s movements..."

But.

Again, at that, Lear had a curious expression.

"... Ah, I understand. Hmm. That"s... So he"s gone missing? I did think it was a bit strange when I heard from my subordinates that Ryner Lute had made preparations for a journey and left his inn alone..."

To those words,

"You know his whereabouts—!?"

Calne and Eslina instinctively shouted at the same time.

But Lear spoke as if it were only natural.

"A Taboo Breaker is someone who, in the first place, learned the secrets of their country"s magic and then disappeared from their country. The Taboo Breaker Pursuit Squad is someone who then follows and apprehends them... and so, as a rule, it is my duty to know their whereabouts beforehand."

Eslina and Calne shared a glance with each other.

Calne spoke.

"Then, where is Ryner Lute right now?"

Lear easily answered that.

"In Estabul territory. Furthermore, he"s not taking the main route. Away from public gaze, he"s taking the western mountain route. I know that much... However, as he"s taking a discreet route..."

"On the contrary, it"ll be easy to pursue him. Even if we knew which direction he was going from the beginning, we"d have no options. Iyaa, Lear-san, you"ve saved us. OK. First mission complete. Now then..."

Then, Calne turned to Eslina. And,

"Eslina. At any rate, go report this to Ferris-san."

"Understood!"

"Then send out a search party for Ryner Lute as well..."

"I"ll report that. I"ll send a messenger to His Majesty, who left for Estabul this morning. As for the preparations for the search party, I"ll also..."

"Please do."

Calne smiled.

At that, Eslina also became happy. This was it. In order to see this, this was what she worked hard for.

From here on, their duties would increase significantly for a while.

But...

Calne let out a deep breath, before striking his palm.

"All right then, while Sion-san"s away, we have to hold down the fort. Aye aye..."

"Oh—!"

Eslina said, holding up a fist.

The two of them were always fired up.

Then, to the dumbfounded Lear, Eslina and Calne with shining eyes—

"Come on, come on, Lear-san too."

"Eh? U-Um... if it"s an order from my superior... Oh~"

Lear said in a small voice.

Calne and Eslina laughed.

Then Calne said,

"Then, the Great Detective Calne Kaiwal will resume the hunt for the missing persons & a beautiful woman..."

"There"s already a beautiful woman right here!"

Eslina shouted that.

"... I guess."

"What!? What"s that dissatisfied face for—!?"

But Calne ignored that and spoke to Lear.

"Well, relax, Corporal Lear. Using the authoritative power Sion-san entrusted me with, we"ll find Luke-san and the others immediately."

He stuck out his chest proudly.

Without thinking, Eslina smiled at the figure that was trying to look reliable.

Then, Lear seemed to relax as well...

He looked at Calne.

Then he looked at Eslina.

And with a happy, peaceful expression, he said one thing.

"I feel reaaally uneasy."

"Why—!?"

With that, the days of the king"s absence began.

♦

Again, back in time.

The day having completely faded away, it was nighttime.

Eslina, leaving the area where the n.o.bles resided, rushed over to the Eris house.

Guided by the steward Croselli into the garden...

In the garden was a beautiful woman.

Ferris Eris.

Though she was beautiful under the rays of the sun... Illuminated by the moonlight.. It was if she was a spirit that surpa.s.sed even a G.o.ddess...

If it were a man, he would certainly be charmed by her beauty. Even she, despite being female, was speechless for a moment.

Calne"s face when he"d seen her. Remembering that, she became somewhat disheartened.

I-I won"t lose... but if I"m fighting with someone pretty like this, my chances of winning are...

But then she looked over this way, and,

"What have you been doing? You"re late. Are you a tortoise? A slug? Manservant."

"......"

M-Maybe I stand a chance...

For some reason, Eslina changed her mind.

Well, that"s not important right now.

Timidly, Eslina—

"U-Um... I"m here to report. We know Ryner Lute"s whereabouts."

"Hmm."

"The place is in Estabul territory... The western mountain route..."

She began, but the beautiful woman apparently chose not to hear her words to the end.

"Estabul? ... Fu, fufufufufufu. Ryner, you"ve finally been exposed. Croselli, go. Get me a map of Estabul."

Croselli cheerfully said,

"Yes, Ojou-sama[1]."

Apparently prepared beforehand, he handed her a map.

At that,

"Eh... u-um, I"ll be going... I have to prepare a search party today..."

Eslina was ignored.

Ferris"s expression was blank; however, she said,

"It"s over, Ryner. I"ll send your head flying towards the Estabul sky."

After saying such scary words, she began to run off at once.

"Wha..."

She was unbelievably fast.

In the blink of an eye, she disappeared from one"s field of vision...

"... I-Is she searching by herself? Surely one person can"t..."

But suddenly, to the side, Croselli spoke.

"... My grat.i.tude towards you."

"Eh? Um... what..."

"For locating Ryner-sama. The ojou-sama had been considerably depressed until then."

He said that.

Depressed...?

Her?

"......"

Someone as beautiful as her, as if she were born in a different dimension, surely...

Eslina, somehow, felt like a fool for being slightly jealous.

♦

The worst always happens when you least expect it.

Ryner had an anguished expression.

"Uu..."

Quietly, he moaned.

He"d left Roland and headed towards Estabul; furthermore, he"d covered a considerable distance. It would take an ordinary person two weeks by foot, slowly moving forward, to reach a village...

That was why, wandering aimlessly, Ryner had covered four weeks" worth of ground.

Taking an afternoon nap here and there... Occasionally sticking to the path, uncertain if he had anyone pursuing him...

However, there were definitely no traces left.

And as of now, he"d already been staying at an inn for three days.

There were no indications of any pursuers. No, it was possible that he had no such pursuers to begin with.

"......"

That"d be good...

Ryner thought.

Remaining on his own, carefree.

Taking afternoon naps whenever he wanted.

But...

Nevertheless, Ryner...

"... Uuu,"

With a suffering expression, he moaned.

Right now, he was in an inn that was relatively large compared to the village size. The cooking was delicious, there were fifteen rooms, and all of them were kept in good condition.

But apart from Ryner, there were only two other people staying there. However, that was a lot, considering that yesterday and the day before, it"d only been Ryner.

One would think that that kind of customer income couldn"t possibly be enough...

When he"d asked about that while treating himself to lunch in the dining hall, the landlady in charge of managing the inn said,

"That"s not quite true. While we may not have many customers right now, there"s a special constellation you can only see in the winter here... do you know about it, customer? The Riroka constellation..."

Ryner tilted his head at that.

"Huh? Riroka? Ah~... one that you can only see in the winter... I wonder. In Roland, it"s said that there"s the Sehrol constellation..."

The landlady looked surprised, and then in a slightly tense voice, spoke.

"Oh, customer, you"re from Roland?"

However, Ryner—

"Not exactly. I"m a refugee from Roland."

"Oh, that"s a relief."

The landlady laughed.

Why that was such a relief, he didn"t understand at all.

More than someone from Roland, she spoke as if a criminal from Roland on the run would be vastly preferable.

This was the present situation between Roland and Estabul.

After a long period of fighting and mutual killing, even the constellation names were different...

If they were to meet, in spite of their quarreling, they were the same human beings in the end.

"It"s ridiculous..."

With sleepy eyes, Ryner muttered.

To that, the landlady asked,

"Eh? Did you say something?"

"Not really. Just that the food here is delicious."

The landlady"s expression returned to its original polite one, and furthermore, smiled broadly.

"Isn"t it? You come from Roland, after all. Isn"t the food over there bad? But that the customer is happy as well over the food makes me happy. That"s why for each meal, second helpings are free of charge."

To those words.

Ryner frowned again.

"... Uu."

Again, an anguished expression.

The landlady noticed, and,

"Oh, what"s wrong?"

"N-No... it"s nothing..."

"Your face doesn"t say that it"s nothing? Does your stomach hurt?"

However, Ryner shook his head.

The problem right now wasn"t such a trivial problem like that.

He gently reached towards his pocket.

From there, he took out his wallet. Flimsy, and even if he only touched it from the outside, he knew nothing but air entered it—a lonely wallet.

"... Uuu."

"Like I said, what"s the matter?"

A concerned expression.

But in response to that warm expression, he felt even worse.

At any rate...

The lunch price right now... To say nothing of the fact he"d already finished his meal, or even the breakfast charge...

"Ah, geez..."

I"m an idiot, aren"t I?

Why didn"t I steal any money from Sion"s place... Even if he thought of that now, he was already in Estabul territory..

Ryner clutched his head.

To that, the landlady—

"Hey, are you... really all right...?"

But then, all of a sudden, she turned towards the kitchen and spoke.

"You! Hey, you!"

It was a different "you" than Ryner.

Coming out from the kitchen was, as expected, a man with an unshaven face. He was the landlady"s husband. This landlady, her husband... and their daughter—the three of them managed the inn.

Their daughter was at school right now...

Right now, that was insignificant.

Anyhow, how should he deal with the situation?

Method number one.

Stay here for a bit and do some work here to earn money?

However, since work was troublesome—discarded.

Method number two.

Work here only for the meal just now?

However, since work was still troublesome—discarded.

Thus, method number three.

Dine and dash.

"......"

Ryner said nothing.

No, from the beginning, there"d only been one option.

That was why his chest hurt.

From the beginning, he hadn"t been willing to pay...

The landlord spoke.

"A-Are you okay..."

The landlady spoke.

"Does your stomach hurt? Oh, no, it must be because I recommended that he eat more even when he was feeling bad... As I thought, three meals was too much!"

He looked at the two of them, who were fussing over him. Really, they were good people.

And then he looked at the number of dishes of finished food before him that he"d eaten.

A mixture of staple food and side dishes, one, two, three, four, five... It became troublesome counting them all, so he stopped.

Anyhow, it was an amount that was unthinkable for someone who had no money...

If he were to eat, even one meal would be considerably costly. Though there were few customers right now, the inn still made a large profit.

Even if Ryner had money to pay with...

"... Auuu."

"Ahhh, do you need to go to the toilet?"

Ryner nodded at those words.

"Y... Yeah. That"s right. I just need to use the toilet for a bit."

He could escape through the washroom window...

He"d decided that in his heart.

Surely, it"d be fine.

Even if the were few customers now, this was a tourist attraction. Money was no problem for them. No, on the contrary, even if he stole a bit of money for travel expenses...

He began, but his thoughts were then interrupted.

"Should I call the doctor from the next town over?"

"... N-No, I"m fine..."

W-Well, let"s stop thinking about stealing from this inn, he decided.

"Can you stand? Are you able to go to the toilet by yourself?"

Immediately at those words, how troublesome it would be to climb out the washroom window, receiving these people"s help, and having to escape floated into his mind...

"... No, I don"t want to be a bother..."

Something.

There was clearly something he was misunderstanding about human life.

Ryner stood up. Heading towards the toilet, he opened the door. And,

"......"

He narrowed his eyes.

In this, while he couldn"t use the toilet on the second floor... the first floor"s washroom window"s placement was a little odd.

No, it went with the placement of the second floor"s. But that was bad, he thought.

The window"s placement was too low. He was completely visible to anyone pa.s.sing by outside the inn.

In spite of that, there were no curtains.

Then you can open a vent—if one were to say that, the fact was that they were locked to prevent dine-and-dash customers like Ryner and so couldn"t be opened...

Looking at that.

Let"s see, today"s inn expenses are... the breakfast charge I skipped out on, the lunch charge, and I have to add the bill of the broken window, huh?

He thought about such things.

As I thought, with all these expenses, I"ll have to run away...

Yeah. That"s right. The innkeepers seem like good people. I"ll escape without breaking a window.

It was when Ryner decided on that.

Outside the window, a shadowed figure appeared.

At that,

"Ah, you don"t need to say anything. Everything"s completely visible from outside..."

Ryner began, but his words stopped there.

At first, due to the bad angle, he couldn"t see the light"s reflection, but the silhouette"s figure was becoming clear.

Long, pretty blonde hair.

The shadowed figure was continuously looking at him.

An abnormally well-arranged face.

Almond-shaped blue eyes.

Those eyes... were staring straight into Ryner"s...

Elegant pink lips moved.

As the window was closed, he couldn"t hear anything.

But just from the movements of those lips, Ryner knew what the shadowed figure was saying.

This was what the shadowed figure was saying.

"I"ve finally found you, Ryner. I hope you"re prepared."

"N-No way..."

Ryner trembled.

The shadowed figure had an expressionless face. However, Ryner knew. It was a strangely cheerful expression.

But in contrary to that cheerfulness, in a delicate hand, a long sword was held without him noticing before...

"S-Seriously!? You"ve already taken it out—!?"

Ryner was scared.

There, the lips continued to move...

Furthermore, the expression became increasingly cheerful.

"Fufufu. The weather today is also good for sending your head flying..."

However, Ryner didn"t wait to the end. Whirling around on his heel, he fled from that place at once...

Immediately.

A sharp sound rang out once.

And,

"Ry~ner~"

An incredibly pretty voice.

The window wasn"t opened enough for that, though.

Ryner looked over his shoulder just a little at that.

He looked over his shoulder... and immediately regretted it.

Regarding the inn expenses... the cost of the window repair... to say nothing of the fact that it was necessary to remake the wall.

At that,

"Hey, Ferris! You, breaking..."

Ryner began, but his words only made it that far. The sword...

"U-Uowah!?"

He cried out, trying to dodge, and,

"Dangero..."

A dull sound echoed inside his head. The blunt edge of Ferris"s sword struck Ryner"s head.

His brain was jostled a bit. It dealt just a bit more damage than usual. His body was sent flying out of the washroom and into the dining hall.

If it were like always, he"d have bent his body slightly to soften the blow...

Four weeks.

After only four weeks of not seeing her, his reactions to Ferris"s sword were sluggish...

No... or was it that Ferris was swinging her sword more quickly than usual?

Crashing onto a dining hall table, he toppled over.

Like that, he glared at Ferris, and,

"Y-You—that was a little dangerous just now! Even if it was with the blunt edge, I could"ve died..."

He began, but Ferris charged towards him. She swung her sword.

"No waaaay!?"

Together with those words, Ryner twisted his body.

Immediately following that, the sword pierced through the area right by Ryner"s head, Ferris sat on top of him.

And,

"Die, Ryner,"

Furthermore, she lay her sword to the side. Positioned over Ryner"s neck, it was entirely like a guillotine...

"Kyaaaaaaaaaaa!"

There was a scream.

The landlady"s voice.

Following that was the landlord:

"S-Stop!"

At the end, to that, Ryner...

Finally, I understand.

He thought that.

With listless, half-closed eyes,

"... Ah, I get it. You must be another elite meant to kill me."

In that instant.

The sword suddenly stopped. Like a divine miracle, the sword only cut through the surface of Ryner"s neck.

Only a little blood oozed out. It hurt faintly.

But,

"......"

Ferris said nothing.

"......"

Ryner, with tired eyes, also didn"t say anything.

Behind them, the landlady and landlord spoke in fl.u.s.tered voices.

"M-Murderer... Y-You... Somebody..."

"O-Oh... hold on, woman. I, to you..."

They began, but Ferris said one thing.

"Outsiders—be quiet.

At that, the two—

"... Outsiders?"

"... Outsiders..."

They shared a glance, before looking at Ryner and Ferris again.

At the unsightly Ryner, and Ferris who was on top of him...

In that moment, for some reason, the two"s voices synchronized.

"Hahaa... I see."

"W-What!? You guys are getting the wrong idea here!?"

But the landlady, in a "you don"t need to say anything" tone, said,

"Noo, it"s good to be young... somehow, that pa.s.sion jumped out at me..."

"Haa!? What are you two..."

However, the landlord, in a "what a troubled guy" sort of way, smiled wryly, and,

"Well, brother. The resourcefulness of a man who fools around... You shouldn"t make girls cry."

"Like I said, just hold o... Hey, Ferris, you say something."

He tried...

"......"

Ferris, staring intently at Ryner, said nothing.

At that, the landlady—

"It"s hot, isn"t it... ah, yes, yes. It"s enough already. It"s been a while since you"ve met, hasn"t it? You can use this dining hall. Just clean up afterwards..."

At such words,

"Ehhhhh!? W-What!? Why is this happening!? Wait... that"s why..."

Ryner began, but the two, as if having seen something good, made a somewhat satisfied face and left.

In response, Ryner spoke in an astounded voice.

"... He~y."

However, for some reason, it was as if they were off in their own world, where nothing could reach them.

Like that, Ryner sighed.

And then his eyes turned to the window on the opposite of the dining hall. Looking outside the window... There were lands overflowing with nature.

There were fields... with fresh crops yet to be fully grown...

It was a carefree afternoon that, in the rural areas, was an ideal time to take a nap.

Now then, if I were to go take a nap right now somewhere, that"d be the best, etc. were the thoughts that were going through his head...

However, a voice descended from the above.

Ryner looked up.

"... An elite meant to kill you...? What do you mean?"

Ryner frowned at that, and,

"No, before that, your hair"s getting in my face, so would you mind moving off a little?"

Ferris, being strangely obedient, moved away. Well, the reason for that was presumably to go back to the original conversation...

Ryner stood up, and, looking at the knocked over tableware and table, grimaced.

"You... Do you have the money to reimburse them for all that?"

"That"s not what I came here to talk about."

Immediately reply.

Ryner looked at Ferris, and then immediately looked outside.

Because of the pain in her eyes as she glared at Ryner.

"I"ll ask you one more time. If you don"t answer me properly, your head will be sent flying next..."

"... That"d be just a bit problematic, huh? If I dirtied the dining hall with blood, I don"t think I"d be able to face that couple..."

His tone was disregarding everything.

Ferris spoke.

"That I"m... an elite meant to kill you—what did you mean by that?"

"......"

In response, while trying to avoid meeting her eyes as much as possible, Ryner gave her a side glance to confirm her state.

In her hand, she held her sword, as if to send his head flying at any moment.

Her sword withdrawn. If there was something she didn"t like, she"d immediately withdraw her sword.

And she"d hit Ryner.

For a long time, during the journey with her, he"d been hit many times...

Remembering that, he trembled.

He trembled... However, that sword didn"t send his head flying.

Ryner... understood that.

No, he saw.

When his cursed eyes went berserk, within his blurry consciousness.

Unlike his usual self, he began to rain down death and destruction.

Her sword, in its sheathe.

She was always swinging her sword around meaninglessly, but at that time, she"d kept it in its sheathe...

In other words, the opposite of her typical self.

Not doing the one thing he wished for.

Even though Ryner cried out "Run away" in his heart, she didn"t run away at all.

Instead, with the same painful, sharp look that she gave him now, she said this.

"Hey, Ryner... You wanted to advance forward, didn"t you? You didn"t like being called a monster, did you? You thought to yourself that you were sick of killing people, didn"t you? I"ve already evaded your attack five times. But I won"t dodge the next. You can decide the rest. I don"t consider you a monster.

Got that? You"re not a monster.

You are my partner, my manservant, and my tea-drinking companion. You"re no monster. Can you hear me? Ryner."

I hear you.

But, if I try to—if I try to kill you, what do you intend to do?

At that time, Ferris had said,

"Can you hear me, Ryner?"

I hear you, Ferris.

That"s why...

Isn"t that why I"m moving forward?

But his path alone wouldn"t cross with Ferris"s.

His path alone wouldn"t cross with Sion"s or the other"s.

That was the only thing.

To those who stayed by his side...

Because he would kill those important to him.

Ferris said again,

"What did you mean, I"m an elite meant to kill you?"

Ryner smiled wryly at that, and,

"Sorry. It was a misunderstanding. Forget about it."

"Do you think that answer..."

Ryner interrupted her.

Not meeting Ferris"s eyes.

Staring at the scenery outside,

"I know better than anyone that you wouldn"t kill me."

"......"

Ferris stopped talking.

With that, she was finally satisfied...

"I have one more thing I want to ask you."

It seemed she wasn"t satisfied...

"This suuucks."

Ryner ran a hand through his bedhed hair.

But ignoring his words, she asked,

"What did Lucile say to you?"

Ryner shook his head at that.

"Nothing."

However, Ferris again—

"What did he say?"

"Like I said, no—thing."

"... What did he say?"

"You"re stubborn, huh? He didn"t say anything..."

Ferris interrupted Ryner"s words and continued.

"Lucile told me that he warned you not to make any pa.s.ses at his younger sister."

At those words, what Lucile said back then again turned around in his mind.

"What manner of unfulfillable dreams... has such a hideous monster seen?"

Entirely right.

Ryner smiled wryly and spoke.

"He"s quite the caring brother, huh?"

However, Ferris didn"t respond to that, and instead,

"Was the reason you ran off because of that?"

"That"s not it."

Ryner again shook his head.

"Because my brother gave you a warning, you ran away?"

"... Huh? Ah... Well, if it were that kind of warning, anybody would run away at once just because of that... but that"s not it."

But even though he said that wasn"t it, Ferris went on.

"Attacking women and children night after night, faced with desperate pleas from hundreds of billions of guardians,

"P-Please, enough... not my daughter... not my daughteeeeeer!"

They say, and while they beg,

"Mwahahahahaha, who could stop me!? All women and children should fall prostrate before me, the terrifying, perverted overlord Ryner Lute!"

Etc., etc. You push the limits of human decency, and then suddenly, because of one little warning from my older brother, you turn tail and flee in disgrace? Have you no pride as an overlord!?"

To such a declaration.

"... I don"t want that kind of pride. Besides that, I"m pretty sure there aren"t hundreds of billions of guardians in the world—well, that aside... I think just being warned by that guy is enough,"

Ryner said with an astounded expression.

However, even though Ferris had just been joking, she continued to stare at Ryner with serious eyes.

Ryner, to that—

"... Could it be that you"re actually really angry right now?"

"I"m angry."

It was an immediate reply.

She glared at Ryner further sharply, and,

"... That day, I"d prepared fourteen, fully loaded backpacks of dango."

To that,

"Ah... I see. Right. Still, fourteen packs... One person couldn"t carry all those..."

After saying that, he pictured it.

In front of the dango shop.

Ferris, carrying fully loaded backpacks.

With a blank expression, humming to herself.

However, Ryner wasn"t coming.

She was humming at the start, but eventually, she stopped. Alone, surrounded by backpacks that she wasn"t supposed to carry by herself...

A lonely figure.

That lonely figure... immediately withdrawing her sword, shouting "I"ll execute him!" as she ran, angry...

As that image clearly appeared in his mind,

"Y-You"re angry... there"s no mistake..."

Ryner trembled.

Ferris then nodded.

"Mm-hmm. I hope you"re ready for what"s coming."

"L-Let"s not go that far? Hey, you... that"s why, why is your sword..."

Ryner began, but as he spoke, a voice came from the inn entrance.

"h.e.l.lo. May I use the dining hall?"

A male voice. A customer?

Following that, the landlady spoke in a frantic voice.

"Ah, Zepahd-san, welcome. But my apologies. Today the dining hall is closed."

"Eh? Why is that?"

"Eh? Uuum, thaat"s... a valued customer is in the middle of something."

"In the middle of something? That"s too bad. Truth be told, my wife went back to her parents" home this morning, so n.o.body"s preparing meals there."

"Ohh? Did you get into a fight?"

"No, no, that"s not... ah..."

Gokyu.

Suddenly, there was the sound of something breaking there.

"Eh... wha... Zepahd-san? Just... ah..."

Gokyu.

Their conversation ended with that.

The landlady and the customer suddenly became quiet. Even though they were in the middle of their conversation...

At that, Ryner—

"What was that?"

As Ryner turned around with a puzzled expression, there was the sound of something gushing out.

It was a familiar sound to Ryner.

But that...

"... Ryner,"

Ferris then said.

"Hmm?"

He looked at her. Her eyes were directed towards outside the window.

Following her gaze, he looked outside the window.

Outside the window was, just as it was before, the peaceful scene of the rural lands.

However, Ryner didn"t miss it.

On the unpaved dirt path, there were red streaks of bodily fluids streaming...

"... Blood?"

Then, over there, the landlord"s voice. A deep, gentle voice. It descended from the second floor...

"Sorry about that, Zepahd-san. But if we prepare a bento... oh... ah..."

Gokyu.

With that, it ended.

His words ended with that.

But at that, Ryner—

"H-Hey, Ferris..."

"I know!"

From the door, a voice spoke.

"Ah, this is also different. How strange."

Refined in some respects, a male voice.

"Even though we were to meet here. Where, I wonder?"

The dining hall"s door k.n.o.b started to move.

"Here?"

Slowly, slowly the door opened.

In response, Ryner"s body became tense.

He didn"t understand what was happening at all.

But...

The door opened.

From the crack, a man"s face appeared.

A young man.

Black hair, black clothing—everything down to his shoes was black. Though everything was black, the floor...

Ryner—

"... You b.a.s.t.a.r.d..."

Ryner scowled.

The floor was bright red.

With blood...

Furthermore, around the edges of his mouth, like a child sampling strawberry candy, was blood...

"... You b.a.s.t.a.r.d.. what did you..."

In response, the man looked at Ryner and then at Ferris.

"Hmm? Which one?"

At the same time.

There was the sound of something crawling across the ground. The man was holding something and dragging it across the floor.

Ryner looked at that.

Looking at that...

"... Ah—!?"

He couldn"t help but cry out.

Behind him, Ferris also moaned.

What the man was holding was black hair. A woman"s... Holding onto the b.l.o.o.d.y hair of a woman, he pulled her along...

It was the landlady"s...

Noticing Ryner"s gaze, the man spoke in a cheerful voice.

"Ah, this? Though the woman"s meat was soft, it didn"t provide much power, nor was it particularly delicious."

He dropped the woman"s head onto the floor with a thud.

And he stared at Ryner and Ferris happily...

"Looking at you two, I lose the feeling as if I"ve devoured cheap ingredients. Is it all right if I feed?"

Saying such things...

"W-What the h.e.l.l is this guy..."

Ryner said, feeling as if he were about to vomit.

Following