“I’m okay. I’m okay…”
In a place where sunlight trickled down instead of rain.
“As long as you can live… I’m… not afraid to die.”
In a moment when the ground was covered in puddles of rain that fell the day before.
“So, don’t you ever feel guilty.”
The person, smiling like a white flower, placed a hand on the back of his head and pulled him into an embrace. Crack. With each crack of the whip, the air trembled as leather tore it apart.
“You're not the one who caused my death.”
The world, faintly visible over her shoulders, was blurred by light. He couldn’t see much.
All he could see was that person, enveloped in a halo of light that made her look like some kind of divine being, as she was administered punishment and drops of her blood splattered everywhere.
“This… absolutely isn’t your fault…”However, the voice ringing in his ears was so incredibly clear.
“So… So live. Survive. No matter what stands in your way or hardships lie before you, you must…”
Crack! With that final lash, that warm person embracing him finally lowered her head.
She didn’t appear withered or shriveled like a wilted flower, but more like the moment before the stem was separated from the blossom.
“Sal—”
Thud.
.
.
.
“Kuhuk!”
“Young hunter!”
Deathbringer gasped for air, feeling as if a tight grip on his lungs had finally released.
His neck was burning and tingling.
“Gasp, gasp.”
But the real pain wasn’t in his neck. What truly hurt, what tormented him so much…
“Breathe. You need to breathe.”
“Uwaah…”
“Hunter.”
He wished she’d blamed him instead.
For forgetting her, for not living the way she said he should.
“Argh…”
“Hunter…”
For driving countless people to their deaths in the name of revenge for her.
He wished she would chastise and blame him for everything he’d done wrong.
“Emmitte…”
But she never would, would she?
Because she was already gone.
* * *
“We received word ahead of time. You brought a letter from Mia, correct? Thank you.”
No matter how shocked I was by that murmured comment about a supposed fishy smell, the situation simply advanced.
“It was nothing. We were headed here anyway, so she asked us for this favor.”
“I see. But I do feel quite flustered. I must be the first to receive a letter hand-delivered by a renowned adventurer, the Hero, and a Great Sage.”
It couldn’t be that he was unhappy about me not greeting him properly, right? But he didn’t even give me an unpleasant look.
That would suggest he’d unconsciously muttered that after smelling a fishy scent somewhere.
I’d just showered, so it couldn’t be me! But I’d heard something similar on the streets not too long ago. This just left me feeling incredibly uncomfortable.
“Ah, right. It’s impolite to keep guests standing at the entrance. Tom, could you please prepare some tea and refreshments and bring them to the garden pavilion?”
“Yes.”
“Please, this way.”
Was it me? Was it really me?
Could it actually be me?
“What a beautiful garden.”
“Haha, thank you.”
“I heard you tend to it personally, Young Lord. Is that true?”
“Yes, though I didn't do much. It’s not something I should boast about since I’m not the only one tending and caring for it.”
Th-This couldn’t be happening. With that, I resolved to wash myself even more thoroughly—despite already scrubbing myself hard enough to leave slight bruises, so I didn’t really know how to do it any better—and use better soap, even if it was more expensive.
No matter what, I couldn’t allow myself to smell bad.
“For now, let me give you the letter.”
The host, who’d made an effort to maintain even a minimum level of decorum, took the letter.
“Ah… Thank you.”
But was it just my imagination? For someone receiving a letter from their lover, he didn’t seem particularly happy.
Instead of happy, he even seemed rather cold.
“…Aren’t you going to open it?”
“Haha, as much as I’d like to read it immediately… I feel rather shy to do so. I appreciate your consideration, but I strive to separate business and personal matters.”
He even… reacted rather unexpectedly to this question.
The young lady of Camborough had said we shouldn’t consider it rude if he wished to read the letter first and that we should just let him.
She’d added that the letter contained important information on their current situation in code. She’d even shown us the letter and taught us how to read it so we could have a proper conversation.
She was so sure that Leon, the young lord of Ednium, would want to read the letter right away. Whether it was a promise between these two or something else, I didn’t know, but she had firmly based her instructions on that assumption.
“I see.”
But why didn’t he want to read it now?
Did something change?
My first hypothesis was that he might be getting coerced or surveilled by Demons or something.
However, if a Demon were involved, the Inquisitor would undoubtedly know. If she didn’t, that meant it was concealing its presence well to avoid her detection.
More importantly, thinking about it again, he was acting too strangely for someone being threatened or watched.
I couldn’t forget his cold gaze just now. I felt I couldn’t dismiss it as just being in my head.
Before we arrived, I’d already considered the possibility that the ruling family had already been taken over by evil and would betray us, a common cliché. While unlikely, it could also be that their love had simply cooled.
“The refreshments have arrived.”
At that moment, a servant approached us with a trolly filled with colorful candies, pastries, and tea.
“Thank you for your hospitality.”
“Not at all. Please help yourself.”
“Th-There are flowers inside the sweets…”
“They are candies with whole flowers encased inside, a specialty of our castle chef.”
Flower candies. Deb probably would’ve liked them.
“The aroma is quite pleasant…”
“Haha, our chef will be delighted to hear that. If you like, I can give you some to take.”
“Is that alright…?”
“Of course. If the Hero liked these candies enough to take some along with her, our chef would be so overjoyed that he might dance.”
At least the kimchi dumpling seemed to be enjoying them.
I watched Leon instruct a servant to pack us a handful of the candies. The package was soon handed to us.
I also noticed that he never once tried to open the letter throughout our exchange, and when the Archmage asked about the beasts, he only said that he didn’t really know anything.
Although his actions weren’t directly problematic, once suspicion took root in me, everything he did seemed dubious.
“Ah, right. The young lady of Camborough asked me to check on the cat you’ve seemingly grown fond of…”
“Pardon?”
Yeah, especially when he was reacting like that.
“The cat that frequently visits the manor, I mean.”
“Aah. That one.”
There was… something off about those delayed responses, as if he needed a moment to remember what we were talking about.
Of course, it could just be that he had a lousy memory…
“…I’ve been so preoccupied with wedding preparations, so I haven’t been able to play with it as much. Perhaps that upset it. I haven’t seen it around lately.”
But for someone in his position to have such a poor memory was rather strange.
“You must miss it a lot.”
“Yes. It’s such a cute thing.”
“How are your allergies, though? The young lady of Camborough was quite concerned.”
“…Mia was worried about me? That… makes me happy.”
He was highly suspicious.
I couldn’t pinpoint it exactly, but something was definitely off. My instincts, which I’d developed over the years, were screaming that something wasn’t right.
“They’re still present. However, that particular cat seems to be an exception. I don’t react as badly to it. Maybe that’s why I grew fond of it.”
“I see.”
However, we couldn’t just pull out our swords.
* * *
In the end, we prepared to leave without gaining any useful information.
“Looks like we came up empty-handed… It would have been nice if we’d uncovered something.”
Ah, not entirely empty-handed, though? The kimchi dumpling did receive that bundle of sweets. But considering our real goal had been to gather information, it seemed this had been a complete failure.
“Who knows… we should keep an eye on things a bit longer.”
It appeared the Archmage shared my suspicions to some extent.
“Inquisitor, you’re certain there weren't any traces of Demonic Energy around?”
“Huh? Ah, yes. Are you suspecting the young lord?”
“His behavior doesn’t match what the young lady of Camborough told us. It feels like there’s something more to this.”
“In that case…”
“Let’s investigate a little more. We weren’t planning on leaving the city right away, anyway.”
“Yes!”
“It’s just… rather unfortunate. He would have been the perfect fit for this kind of investigation, but he's currently in no condition to do so.”
Ah. Right. Now wasn’t the best time to ask our meat dumpling to do something like that.
Of course, while Deb might not be available right now, I still had access to the Information Guild thanks to the pass Deb gave me.
But what good was having the means without the expertise? After all, there were things that came with being a regular customer, such as connections and extra benefits.
In short, I wasn’t confident I could gather information as effectively as Deb. In the end, we were at a complete disadvantage.
“You mean… that troublemaker?”
“He’s always been in charge of conducting these types of investigations. He’s the most outstanding among us, after all.”
Ah. Indeed.
It was already a considerable blow when our member responsible for social interactions was out of action, but now faced with needing to gather information, we felt his absence even more painfully.
Deb really did a lot for this party.
“…”
“What’s the matter?”
“Nothing. I just feel like I’m not really of any help and need to work a little harder.”
What was with her now?
Was she feeling down because she couldn’t detect any Demonic Energy just now? She did look kind of dejected.
“You are doing very well, Inquisitor. Everyone has different strengths and talents. Don’t let it bother you too much.”
“Yes… I guess you’re right.”
I watched as the Inquisitor lightly slapped herself on the cheeks.
“I have my own role to play.”
Seriously, Deb and the Inquisitor… both were giving me strangely precarious vibes.
* * *
“The guests have left.”
“Thank you for your work. You may go now.”
Meanwhile, after hearing the butler’s report, Leon, the young lord of Ednium, took a deep breath.
And when the butler was entirely out of sight, he raised his hand.
“Ah, that fishy smell.”
Leon, or rather the being posing as him, grimaced, waving his hand as if trying to clear the air.
“This place isn’t even near the sea, so why must I endure the smell of seafood?”
But the lingering scent continued to assault his nostrils.
Covering his nose with a handkerchief, the false Leon moved back to the garden. Despite the lush trees, flowers, and grass, a strange chill permeated the air.
“How oblivious, as one would expect from someone chosen by that creature of the sea.”
Rustle. As he walked, young sprouts and leaves stretched toward him.
It wasn’t unnatural, but as if drawn out by an overwhelming surge of life and energy.
“I overlooked the ruckus you caused in my forest as a warning and even sent my children as a sign, yet you still dared come to this land.”
As he entered the maze on one side of the garden, trees taller than a person bloomed all at once. The scent of flowers that didn’t match the current season spread in all directions.
“Especially while carrying a letter from that filthy creature.”
As he approached a specific section, the hedges parted as if trying to reveal their insides.
“Urgh, urgh.”
But the surprises didn’t stop there.
Between the branching bushes was another Young Lord Leon, his whole body bound by vines and plants.
“Have you been waiting long? My apologies. But there was little I could do.”
Young Lord Leon, or someone pretending to be him, smiled down broadly at the bound Leon.
“This was the one thing I didn’t want you to receive.”
Rustle. The letter in the imposter’s hand shriveled and crumbled into dust.
“Urgh!”
The real Leon’s eyes widened as big as they could.
“What? Were you curious about what the letter said?”
The imposter, still disguised as Leon, smiled bashfully as his white face and body slowly began to change.
“What a lovely being.”
The flat chest and waist, which had been nearly completely straight, became more womanly, the chest swelling out and waist cinching in.
Her hair, which had been a medium-length bob, grew down to the tips of her toes and took on a platinum color.
“There’s no way I could let you see it, right?”
The eyes, once soft, became sharp and long with crimson highlights.
The same was true for the clothes. The plain, slightly soft-looking cloth transformed into a silken material adorned with gold and jewels, layered with a white fur cloak.
Jingle, jingle.
Earrings, necklaces, and bracelets that swayed with every move she made sparkled and glittered in the sun.
Though still human in form, her clothes and appearance somehow made her seem inhuman.
> [I understand that, loving someone else. Humans are often foolish, unable to see the truth.]
What truly made her seem inhuman was her voice, now resonating in an otherworldly manner so very different from a human’s.
> [But marriage is out of the question.]
With that, the vegetation restraining the real Leon’s limbs and gagging him retracted.
“…You!”
Yet despite being freed, the Young Lord couldn’t move an inch.
The first reason for that was the face, which belonged to that figure made entirely of white and gold, buried in his nape. The second reason was the tight embrace firmly holding him in place.
> [I will never allow it.]
And the third, final reason…
> [The only one who can stand by your side is this Skyflow Tiger.]
…was this person’s true nature, something a mere human couldn’t even dare to handle.
> [So, stop denying it and accept the natural order.]
Ah. Had he known it would come to this, he might never have offered food to that white cat shivering in the rain.
> [In return, I will gift you life that blooms even during a drought and abundance that will never end.]
With a sigh, Young Lord Leon closed his eyes, lamenting that one simple act of kindness had ruined his life.
He so longed to see his beloved.
____
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