Chapter 90
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Chapter 90
Act 8. That Which Moves and That Which I Do Not Dislike
We escaped the Nodule in the early dawn of June 1st. Yurien de Harden Kirie immediately sent word through mana transmission of the Saint's existence. The villagers were taken away by the lord's guards, who had learned the circumstances from the Changtian Knights' commander.
Afterward, they returned to Criola, the great city where the train station stood, bringing Shay with them. They spent a day there to recover from their exhaustion. The next morning, when I awoke, the High Priest and three Changtian Knights were waiting—they had departed the moment they received word and arrived by train.
Yurien intended to entrust Shay to them and have them return to Agenka. Before issuing that command, he called me aside.
The place where we stayed was a high-class inn with a reception room at its center and three separate bedrooms. I stood before Yurien's bedroom door, tense. After leaving the Nodule, I had been consumed with urgent matters and collapsed into sleep like the dead—this was the first time I had seen him properly since that confession.
[I don't understand. She said she likes you, and you said you like her? So why are you trying to hide that you're in love?]
I took a deep breath and grasped the doorknob when the sullen voice of the Demonic Sword reached me. I whispered with an expressionless face.
"It's all because of you, so be quiet."
[Why me? You said that when you like someone, you become special? So what does it matter whether I'm your master or not? Does that have anything to do with the feeling of love?]
"If you were as simple as you, things would be easy."
[Humans are too complicated! Ugh, I don't understand anything. This is so frustrating.]
Over the past several days, I had come to understand fully what the city of Agenka and people like Dietrich and Baron meant to Yurien. I had destroyed the foundation upon which he had grown and cultivated, and all those beings more precious to him than blood-bound family. In the end, I had killed him too. And Yurien carried the memory of that devastation.
'If he were to learn that the demon who committed such atrocities is me... his affection would vanish in an instant.'
Perhaps he would feel even greater betrayal and hatred in proportion to how much he had cared.
Even if he never learned my true identity, as long as I myself recalled my own deeds each time I looked at him, I could not accept him. Even setting aside all other circumstances, looking at emotion alone made this true.
'So let's pretend it never happened.'
His confession, the feelings he had shown—let me regard it all as if it never was and forget it. After all, he had said there was no need for me to answer. I knew it was discourteous, but I had no choice. Accepting his feelings and revealing mine would have been the greater deception.
I released my grip on the doorknob and rubbed my eyes. There was a burning sensation, but fortunately, no tears fell. I swallowed down the turmoil churning in my chest and knocked with my head held straight.
"Lord, Squire Echinacea Loaz reporting."
"Come in."
Even after permission was granted, I hesitated before entering immediately.
Being exposed as a Master, his confession, the engagement awaiting me upon my return, the forces that had manipulated the Demonic Sword—whether it was the 2nd Prince or the Crown Prince, still unknown—the anxiety about how Yurien, despite their poor relations, might react if I sought revenge, the Demonic Sword clinging to my right palm, accumulating murderous intent, the Nodule, my family, Nicole, the people I had met at the Military Academy...
Thoughts rushed at me dizzily. Even setting aside emotion and considering only the situation, it was like this. I drew a deep breath and opened the door.
As the door opened, Yurien sat at a tea table directly before me, examining what appeared to be documents. At the sound of the door opening, he lifted his head. With that movement, his silver hair, loosely bound, slipped over his shoulders and fell downward. The soft morning light streaming in from the right window touched him and shattered into golden radiance.
Long eyelashes blinked, and within them, eyes of a transparent sky-blue hue fixed upon me. His gaze softened gently. The corners of his mouth deepened slightly. A small smile rose naturally to his previously expressionless face, and his eyes filled with light as he beheld me.
After hearing his confession, it was far too obvious. That he held me in his heart.
"Did you rest well? You must have been exhausted."
At the quietly resonant sound of his voice, I, who had been rigid, started and stepped inside. With each step I took, my heart thundered—thump, thump.
This man had confessed that he loved me. The man I loved. The light that had saved me. I could have him with merely an outstretched hand. If I turned my eyes from guilt and pretended not to know, this man would become mine. Less than five minutes had passed since I resolved to let it be as though it never happened, to forget. My firm resolve wavered precariously the moment I faced him.
'Come to your senses, Echinacea Loaz. Just because you turned back time doesn't mean all those things never happened.'
A nightmare I had seen not long ago surfaced in my mind. The words Yurien's corpse had hurled at me. I bit the inside of my mouth where no one could see and barely managed to answer.
"Yes, I rested comfortably. And you, Lord?"
"I did as well."
Yurien folded the documents he had been reading and set them aside. I lowered my gaze. He regarded me quietly as I avoided his eyes, then spoke.
"Before returning to Agenka, I have business in Jedo. You need not accompany me—return to Agenka first. You still carry the fatigue of battle."
"I am fine, Lord. I will attend you."
"I have wanted to point this out for some time now."
When I reflexively countered, faint wrinkles appeared between Yurien's brows.
"You are certainly a Master. But your body is still too weak for a Master. Even at the fastest pace, it will take a year to properly train it. Your body is already being overworked, so I ask that you not push yourself further."
[...She really does know him well, doesn't she?]
The Demonic Sword muttered in bewilderment. For once, she found herself agreeing with it. No matter how much she had anticipated this, Yurien de Harden Kirie had accepted far too easily that she was the Master, and he understood her condition with unsettling precision.
Echinacea Loaz looked at him in confusion before protesting.
"I know my own body's condition better than anyone, Lord."
"What you know is merely the limit. Most people stop before reaching it. Do you wish to fall ill again?"
Yurien de Harden Kirie rose from his seat, folding documents in hand. He spoke with unmistakable finality, as though he would hear no further objections.
"This is an order. Return to Agenka."
"...Yes, Lord."
There was no room for rebuttal. The truth was that what she considered "manageable" pushed her mana reserves to their breaking point, her muscles deteriorating to the edge of collapse. Driving herself to the brink of injury naturally invited this backlash of soreness.
Yet still, he seemed to know her far too well—as though he had watched over her for countless years. Echinacea Loaz hesitated before asking him as he placed the documents into an envelope.
"Lord...I've been curious for some time now. How do you understand my condition so well? Am I that transparent?"
Perhaps the Holy Sword possessed some detection technique. He had said he recognized her talent from the Talent Awakening Banquet, so it was possible. Or perhaps there was some special method involving mana.
Yurien de Harden Kirie answered slowly as he dripped sealing wax onto the envelope and pressed his sigil into it.
"You have never been transparent. It simply appears that way because I keep my attention upon you."
"...."
"As I said before, I will pretend not to know that you are the Master until you reveal it yourself. You may forget everything that happened within the Nodule. Return to Agenka and rest sufficiently."
He walked toward her, envelope in hand. As he passed her frozen form, he whispered.
"You need not worry about anything. ...Think only of yourself."
Echinacea Loaz exhaled the breath she had been holding only after he left the room. Her head spun. Don't worry about anything—did he say that knowing what secret she carried? Why did he speak as though he could accept anything? If she confessed, he would not be able to accept it. The nature of his feelings toward her would change.
She suppressed the turbulent emotions within her and murmured.
"...I need to stop by Ollabart before returning to Agenka."
[Why there?]
"There's something I need to find out. There are useful people there."
[Huh? Those guys? The ones with the Wedge-shaped tattoos, right? I had such a blast back then! Good thinking—let's work off some bloodlust while we're at it!]
"We're not killing them."
[Why not! They're bad guys! We killed them before! Let's kill them, yeah? If we can't kill them all, we could just make examples of a few. Then they'd listen, right?]
"We're not killing anyone, so shut up, Demonic Sword."
[Ugh, how boring....]
Echinacea Loaz left Yurien de Harden Kirie's bedroom. Yurien de Harden Kirie had already vanished, likely to send the envelope. Instead, Shay, who had been meeting with the High Priest in the reception room, sprang to her feet the moment she saw her.
"Sister!"
The girl approached her with an anxious expression. Echinacea Loaz embraced Shay gently and turned her gaze toward the High Priest. The young priest smiled awkwardly.
"It is an honor to meet you, Squire Echinacea Loaz."
"Hello. Your name is...."
"I am Aaron, High Priest of the Ar Sebattiem. I have assumed all duties concerning the Saint."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Aaron."
"The Saint relies upon you greatly, it seems."
The priest's gaze turned toward Shay, who clung to Echinacea Loaz's dress. Shay, buried in the folds of her gown, whispered in a trembling voice.
"S-something important seems to be happening, but I don't understand any of it. What should I do...."
Echinacea Loaz stroked Shay's hair and glanced toward the table. Stacks of densely written papers lay before the seat where Shay had been sitting. The priest's expression was troubled. She asked Shay quietly, out of the priest's hearing.
"Shay, can you read?"
"No, I haven't," Shay replied in a hushed voice.
It was as I had suspected from the circumstances. I smiled reassuringly at the downcast girl, offering her comfort.
"It's alright. There's no shame in that. You simply say you don't know when you don't. This person has come to help you, after all."
I led Shay to sit across from the High Priest. The young High Priest seemed to be encountering a child who had never received proper education for the first time. Given that he had risen to the position of Chief High Priest at such a young age, he was undoubtedly an elite—it made sense that he would find this surprising.
"Aaron, Shay cannot read yet."
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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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