Shiron, clutching his head about to split from a hangover, boarded the flight to Rien.
He drank too much at yesterday’s farewell party. Although it might seem odd for a cleric, the seminary students in Shiron’s order didn’t hesitate to drink, so it wasn’t strange for alcohol to be at the farewell party after the graduation ceremony.
“I’m going to die.”
Shiron sighed as he plopped down in the area marked on his ticket.
Lucerne -> Rien
Platform: A16 Departure Date: May 12
Arrival Date: May 15
IlIIlIIIllIIlIIIlIlI
The journey from Lucerne, situated at the edge of the continent, to the Empire of Rien, was long. In an era without smartphones or television, the thought of being cooped up in an airship for three days was suffocating.
But in a way, it was just three days. Time would fly by if he read something. Shiron pulled out something to read.[VIVLE]
“…This isn’t it.”
Due to his hangover, he accidentally pulled out the wrong thing. Shiron gazed blankly at the scripture he had unintentionally taken out. A book that made him nauseous just by looking at it, reminding him of the game’s creator.
As far as he knew, the only person who wrote the Bible as VIVLE was Yura.
-Hey, you spelled it wrong.
-Huh? Where?
-Bible. It’s not VIVLE, but the Bible.
-Oh…
-Better fix it before the teacher sees it.
-…Thanks.
-Our homeroom teacher is such a psycho, right? Who beats a student just for a spelling mistake?
Even though it was a story from elementary school, Yura wasn’t always good at everything from the start. Yes, until elementary school, he was better than Yura at everything except fighting. Yura was learning from him.
The annoying girl who coincidentally lived nearby, always coming over with homework or something and even eating at their house…
“I feel like I’m going to throw up.”
His thoughts had wandered for a moment.
Shiron shook his head and tucked the scripture back into his coat. He then took out some unopened letters.
“Reading letters again?”
“I’ve accumulated a lot of unread ones.”
Shiron took a drink from Seira while replying. She was currently pretending to be a nun, accompanying Shiron as his assistant priest. Seira shuddered slightly at the sight of the stack of letters Shiron read. Despite having seen him reading letters many times, she couldn’t get used to the ever-present mountain of letters.
“For five years straight, without fail…”
Since the letters were long-distance mail, they would arrive at best once a month. Choosing such a cumbersome frequency meant the girl who made the pile of letters had some ulterior motive.
“That… letter from a girl named Siriel? The one with silver hair? She seemed kind and had pure eyes.”
“That’s her.”
Shiron opened the first envelope with a faint smile. As soon as he opened it, he involuntarily took a deep breath of the spreading fragrance.
It was the smell of perfume.
‘She wrote it in spring.’
Shiron guessed when Siriel wrote the letter by the smell of the perfume.
Siriel’s perfume changed with the seasons. In spring, a warm floral scent; in summer, a fresh citrus fruit fragrance. In autumn and winter, there was a heavy scent of wood and smoke… Since last month was the start of spring, the letter was fragrant with the scent of flowers.
However,
While Shiron enjoyed the scent, Seira moved a seat away from him.
It wasn’t because the fragrance was too strong. She realized the intention behind the scent of the letter.
A means to continuously remind a distant brother of her presence.
A warning that he’s a man with a partner, so others shouldn’t approach.
One or the other. Maybe both.
Either way, it was sly.
Seira looked at Shiron with complex feelings.
Reading the accumulated letters served as a welcome distraction on the tedious journey.
Shiron opened the seal of one of the few remaining letters.
[To my beloved brother.]
[Brother, are you doing well? I hope you’re safe and sound. Winter has ended, and spring has come. While preparing to enter the academy this past winter, I had to get my clothes custom-made. It’s odd that all students wear the same uniform. We’re not in the military or the security department. But the design is pretty, so I don’t mind it much. I wanted to show you my uniform first, but it’s a pity I can’t. I miss you a lot today, too, brother. I’ll end here.]
[It’s been a week since I started at the academy, and there’s so much I want to tell you already. Brother, guess what? Lucia decided to become a library committee member. Lucia has her quirky sides, right? I knew she liked books, but I didn’t expect her to take on such a burdensome role. Oh, and does Lucia still read Kyrie’s fairy tales? I wonder if you know that. I miss you a lot today, too, brother. I’ll end here.]
“… I’ve finished reading.”
Shiron wiped his forehead with his sleeve and sighed. Reading Siriel’s letters was sometimes enjoyable, but they were hard to read because she wrote about even the minutest details. And her consistent postscript of missing him made Shiron feel guilty for not being able to return to Rien.
Of course, Siriel didn’t always send heavy letters.
Shiron pulled out a faded letter that was sent five years ago.
[This is my first letter, so it might be awkward, but please understand, brother. It’s been a month since you left, and I already miss you. What should I do?]
Siriel’s first letter had a certain simplicity. Unlike now, the handwriting was a bit crooked, and there were occasional grammatical errors.
It felt like witnessing the growth of a child, almost like being an unrelated parent.
‘Lucia…’
Shiron looked at the letter sent by Lucia.
[I can now emit sword energy and cut rocks from a distance. Are you practicing diligently?]
[The academy seems exciting. A place to learn and compete with other peers. Doesn’t just thinking about it excite you?]
[Victor is the student council president here at the academy. Why is a prince spending time here? It’s strange. Even if it’s an important time to build connections with future leaders of the empire, doing such trivial tasks… I’m starting to worry about the future of the empire.]
[The academy is more chaotic than I thought. Kids with barely dry blood on their heads forming groups and fighting for power, seniors treating lower-classmen harshly. Is this really education? Siriel seems to be adapting well without any complaint, but am I the weird one? I don’t know, Shiron.]
Lucia’s letters were generally like this. Although Siriel and Lucia grew up seeing the same things, their perspectives were so different. True to her frank nature, Lucia’s letters often reflected her concerns about her situation, while Siriel’s letters seemed to be carefully chosen to avoid causing unnecessary worry.
‘Still, it’s unexpected that Lucia followed Siriel to the academy.’
Was it because of lingering feelings for unfinished studies? Or searching for traces of departed comrades? One thing was sure: Lucia’s letters reflected a longing for learning and anticipation.
“…”
Shiron looked at Seira, who was nodding off. He hesitated about his plan to introduce Lucia to Seira after her coming-of-age ceremony.
‘Poor kid.’
Shiron returned the tied-up letters to his coat and gazed out the window.
Goooooo—–
The boat’s horn signaled their arrival in Rien.
“Hey, wake up.”
Shiron tapped Seira’s shoulder to wake her up.
“What… Are we there?”
“Yes. So wake up. We have a world to save.”
Shiron fiddled with the holy sword in his coat.
On a bright spring day with the sun shining down.
At the airship platform, carriage drivers lined up competitively, eager to pick up passengers as quickly as possible.
Chamberlain, who was yawning lazily in his carriage, was one of them.
He straightened his disheveled clothes as he watched the gangway extending down from the airship.
Now, after lunchtime, these people would become Chamberlain’s first customers of the day. Even though it was a time when he could have already served dozens of customers, the patrons of the airships, able to afford the expensive fares, often had the means to give tips equal to a week’s salary of other drivers.
Just then, a young priest accompanied by a nun approached Chamberlain’s carriage. True to the users of the airship, they were impeccably dressed, emanating an air of dignity and grace.
‘Passing the front carriages and coming all this way to mine. Today is my lucky day.’
However, his luck didn’t stop there. As Chamberlain opened the door of the carriage with a friendly smile, two gold coins slipped into his breast pocket.
The young priest had tipped him before even reaching their destination.
‘What a windfall!’
He hadn’t expected much of a tip, especially from a cleric known for their frugality and asceticism. He never dreamed such fortune would come his way. Chamberlain struggled to keep his lips from curling up too crudely and spoke in a reserved tone.
“…Where may I take you?”
Shiron, with a solemn face, replied to the driver.
“Let’s go to the red-light district.”
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