Paper Is Sharper Than a Dagger

When winter came, I turned twelve. Looking at it as optimistically as possible, I had passed the first quarter of my life, considering the state of this world’s hygiene and medical care. Maybe even a third already, taking into consideration my own guess at the average life expectancy. That meant I was left with roughly twenty or thirty years to chase after my dreams. I had to use my remaining time wisely and overwork myself as efficiently as possible while also making sure to stay healthy.

As a first dash towards my dreams as a twelve-year-old, I was helping the acting count with his duties. I was in charge of processing the yearly reports from all the different villages within the territory. It was the same task that had kept Lord Itsuki so busy last year, and it was said to be such a tough task that it shortened the lifespan of the count. The pile of documents in front of me was already enough to make anyone regret taking on this task. Looking around the place, it appeared that I had been given the same amount of paperwork than all the other official civil service employees. How did that happen even though I had just signed up as a helper?

Lord Arthur, who had come along when I asked them to help, forced a smile as I let out a sigh next to them. “After you helped manage the equipment last year, everyone’s been talking about you here at the administrative halls. I’ve heard multiple times people saying that if you can take care of the storage, you are equally qualified to help with the work here,” they said.

“Who did you hear that from? The maids and butlers?”

“No, I heard it from my brother Itsuki.”

So the acting count was the culprit, huh?

The other project members had also been recruited for different tasks. Lord Itsuki had requested for Lady Maika to be his personal assistant. He must have wanted his beloved niece by his side as comfort to his harsh work. Lady Reina, who was likely going to be in charge of these tasks in the future, helped under the supervision of her mother. Her team partner, Hermes, was also working here at the administrative halls.

In addition, some of the study group members, like Glen, had volunteered to help organize the military equipment, just like I had done the previous year. Starting this year, the task was split up into four sessions throughout the year, according to my plan. Moreover, Sir George was more than willing to accept students as trainees.

“I am flattered that he thinks so highly of me, but I am not used to this kind of work, so I feel a bit anxious when I get entrusted with this much at once,” I said.

“You feel anxious too?”

“...Arthur?” Do you think of me as an inconsiderate, selfish boy who can’t read the room?

As I frowned at Arthur, I was met with a cheerful smile. Apparently, they enjoyed teasing me. Seeing that expression, I just could not stay mad. I imagined it was the influence of Mrs. Yuika leading me around by the nose. My first crush had the special lingering effect of making me weak to that particular expression coming from the opposite sex.

“There are still a lot of things that I have never done. And even I am reluctant to do those.”

“Hehe, naturally. I mean, you’re still the same age as me.” Then Lord Arthur inclined their head, a smile still on their face. “But you never show it. You just keep on moving forward. Makes it seem like you’re never worried or hesitant.”

“In reality, I always meticulously research and make plans before I act.”

“I see... But a lot of people don’t even get to that stage of research and making plans.”

Research did require a lot of time and effort. It was not like I moved around without ever getting tired or feeling burned out. I got quite irritated and felt like bursting out in anger when I did not find specific sources or had to explain things that were considered common knowledge in my past life. So, it was not like I did not feel anything.

“I am so thankful for everyone who always helps me. I feel a lot of responsibility towards them. Of course, that includes you too, Arthur.”

“You’re welcome... I’m glad to hear you say so, but you don’t have to mention it. I’m helping you because I’m enjoying myself.”

Lord Arthur’s bashful expression looked a bit more intimate than usual. It reminded me that, at the end of the day, they were still a young girl beneath the face of their public character.

“But then, how come you manage to do this much? I’d love to know for future reference,” they asked.

“That is a difficult question.”

I had not even thought about it myself. When I was younger, I was full of despair and apathy. I probably could have given the zombie priest a run for his money. In other words, it was not like my ambition was naturally higher than that of other people. Yet I did not succumb to laziness and fatigue—I kept moving all over the place. I wondered why that was.

It must have been because I had past-life memories of what could be achieved one day in the future. Since I did not see the ancient civilization as a mere legend, it was easier for me to get motivated. However, this was not something I could explain to others. I had not come across anyone else with past-life memories. Not in the village and not here in the city either. It was safer to come up with another reason.

It also came to my mind that I was not sure if I could have survived without chasing my dreams, considering the harshness of this world. I felt like I could get behind that reasoning. Reading books and getting absorbed in their stories was still an important aspect of my life. Yeah, let’s explain it like this.

“If I stand still, there is only pain and suffering. And if it is going to hurt no matter whether I do something or not, would you not agree that in that case it would be better to work towards a better future, so that I can have some hope moving forward?” Then, I tried wording it a bit more stylishly. “In other words, chasing my dreams generates the hope that I need to live.”

Lord Arthur blanked at me.

Oh, I did it again. I missed the mark.

I was overcome with embarrassment. Why did I have the tendency to act like a dandy even though it did not suit me at all? I always ended up regretting it, yet I never learned from my mistakes. I was dying of embarrassment.

As my confidence was slowly fading away, Lord Arthur finally reacted. “Hope? Why do you need hope?”

Did they not want me to have hope? Maybe Lord Arthur was the devil or something?

Noticing my astonishment, they quickly corrected themselves. “Ah, I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. I was just wondering if there’s still a point for hope at this stage... Ah, no, that sounds bad too...” Lord Arthur desperately looked for the right words until they clapped their hands. “That’s it! I thought that, since you are always so forward-looking, you never felt hopeless.”

I felt bad since they had gone through the trouble of correcting themselves, but it still did not sound too comforting.

“I am still a normal human made of flesh and blood, so I do despair quite frequently.”

For example, whenever an essential part of a book that I had been searching for a while was missing or illegible. It felt like the end of the world.

“I see...”

Lord Arthur looked at me with the surprised expression of a child who had just discovered that cute mascot characters are actually middle-aged men in disguise. Although they were still a child, so I did not mind.

“Anyway, just think of it as me running towards my dreams as fast as I can to escape that despair. I desperately want to live, after all.”

“You’re desperate? I’ve never seen you like that, but that would explain why you keep starting new projects.”

“Yes, it would.”

Let’s make sure it stays that way. Time to get back to work.

The yearly reports primarily covered the production output of each village and city within the territory. At the current level of development, most of that output came from agricultural production, with a few exceptions of reports on livestock and processed goods. These reports set the region’s budget for the year, as they decided the amount of taxes to be collected from each village and city. It was laborious work, but since the region’s budget also influenced the budget for my projects, I could not afford to not feel motivated.

“However, I think just checking whether the production output has increased or decreased compared to the previous year could lead to problems...”

The reports only included this year’s yield, which I was supposed to compare to the previous year and look for any fluctuations. The amount of taxes was fixed by convention. If last year’s yield had produced one hundred units, one hundred coins were collected in taxes, and if this year’s harvest amounted to eighty, so did the tax.

Lord Arthur seemed puzzled by my statement. “You think so? I can’t think of any problems myself... I’ve heard that the method is the same everywhere.”

“Yeah, but if you only compare it to the previous year, you cannot really see any big problems. Maybe it would be better to say that this method makes it harder to detect issues. For example, it is not unusual for a yield that increased in the past year to in fact be on the decline when looked at the trend over the past few decades. The total output could very well only be half of what it was fifty years ago. Like fish hauls, for instance.”

“Over the past few decades? Could there be such big discrepancies?”

“Yes, definitely. Since the soil is used every year, over time it loses the nutrients necessary to grow crops. That is why there are farming methods trying to slow that process down by rotating crops.”

All resources were finite. Some of them may have appeared inexhaustible at first glance, but they still had a limit when taking a closer look. Even the sun was bound to die one day.

“If you look at the bigger picture, it is easier to notice such problems. Conversely, if the yield appears to increase steadily, there may be positive reasons for its growth, which may be worth examining.”

“I feel like I understand what you’re trying to say, but can we do that?”

I remembered it being common practice in my past life, so it was possible. Line graphs were perfect to summarize this kind of information. The data of recent past years should still be somewhere inside this building, and anything older should be at the temple library. Thinking about it, I realized how familiar I had become with the city after living here for a year.

“How about we only check for areas where there was a big change compared to last year for now? Collecting the data from three locations should be doable, anything more might be difficult.”

“Thank the gods. I was already worried you were going to say we should check everything.” Lord Arthur let out a big sigh of relief. I mean, even I did not want to make this hell any hotter than it already was. At least for now.

“I would love to check the data from every region eventually, though. We could optimize tax collection and as a result increase the revenue.”

If taxes increased, so did the budget. And if the budget increased, it would be easier for us to ask for favorable treatment of our projects, and even request more funds for the temple library. As such, I wanted to complete this task as thoroughly as possible. Unfortunately, all resources were finite, including manpower and time. It frustrated me, but I could not complete this task before my time budget ran out.

“If only I had started laying the groundwork a bit earlier...” I muttered.

“I don’t think anyone would’ve been able to keep up with you. You were already going so fast working here and there all year round.”

“Hm, you may be right. Even if I wanted to do it, I already have my hands full. I will just have to admit that I was getting ahead of myself.” Let’s make it a goal for next year instead. I wonder how much time I’ll have then.

“The brickwork is going surprisingly smooth too. I would love to help the team, but I am completely caught up here in the region’s finances. I wish I could make a copy of myself.”

“A second Ash? That sounds like it would cause a stir...” Lord Arthur started showing a smile, but decided otherwise halfway through. For some reason, they lowered their voice and said, “In that case, we’ll need to duplicate Maika too.”

“Yes, that would be great. If there were another Maika, no one could stop us.”

“Otherwise, the balance would be upset. I’m not yet capable enough to fill that role.” Lord Arthur pressed down their lips and murmured, “I wish I was.”

After reassuring them that they were a great help, they showed me a strained smile. “The role I meant is a bit different from the one you’re thinking of. Anyway, you said the bricks are coming along better than expected?”

“Yes, I did not expect the stonemasons to be this forthcoming.”

“Ah, I see what you mean.”

In this world where brick production had gone extinct, the craft closest to it was stonemasonry. Therefore, that was where I decided to seek advice. I had been worried that the craftsmen were going to reject my plans of reintroducing bricks, a material that did not currently exist, but that didn’t happen.

It should be noted that stonemasons were high-income earners. Stones were a valuable, high-class resource managed by the royal family. Accordingly, the stonemasons were in close contact with the upper classes, who contracted them to build or repair city walls and official buildings of the different feudal domains. Naturally, this led to the stonemasons paying attention to etiquette and considering themselves as part of the elite.

I had feared that bringing a strange novelty material to proud people like them would not go anywhere. However, when I showed them the prototype bricks and explained to them what they were, they immediately got interested. They were so enthusiastic that they even let out a war cry when I showed them the adhesive cement made out of slaked lime, as well as the stacking patterns from the reference books.

Currently, the stonemasons were merrily—or maybe even zealously—investigating facilities for which they could use the prototype bricks.

“I expected them to push back at least a little bit, telling me that they did not train to become stonemasons to handle this strange new thing.”

I had imagined them to be obstinate craftsmen handling luxury items. After all, their trade was acknowledged by the honorable and prideful upper-class. I thought that they preserved traditions and their way of life conservatively, since those were an integral part of their craft. However, it appeared not to be the case in this world.

As I tilted my head to the side, Lord Arthur answered my doubts. “If this were the capital, I’m sure it would have provoked the reaction you just described.”

“Do you think so?”

“Yeah, a lot of the artisans I met there were like that. In the capital, it was commonly assumed that renowned workshops made the best products. Any new place was treated as if it didn’t exist.”

In other words, stonemasons had built high-grade brands for themselves. On the one hand, that meant that there was a constant production of high-quality stones. That was a positive. On the other hand, it was difficult for new technology to get a foot in the door. That was a problem. Judging from the worried look on Lord Arthur’s face, it appeared that the capital was filled with corrupt practices.

“I used to accept it as the norm when I lived there. But since coming here and learning from you, I’ve started to seriously doubt the atmosphere back there. In the capital, we wouldn’t have been able to experiment with the manure to make compost, and probably wouldn’t have received the approval for the exhibition flight of our tendon-powered plane either.” Lord Arthur pouted while voicing the dissatisfaction with their home city. Their angry face was beautiful too, but they looked even more charming when smiling.

I made an attempt to lighten the mood. “What about eating tomatoes?”

“Of course not!”

While the tomato had gone through its first phase of testing, it was still not officially deemed safe for consumption. However, Lord Arthur had caved to their curiosity and stealthily ate them. Their reaction when eating one was the same charming, childlike smile that they were showing now.

As I reciprocated their smile, they became flustered. “A-Ah... Uhm... I-I mean, the capital is not very welcoming to new things, so in a way your concerns weren’t unfounded.”

The obvious attempt to hide their embarrassment by clearing their throat was adorable.

Then, Lord Arthur continued. “I’m sure everything is going according to plan because we are in such a remote region. This may not be appropriate to say right here, but most people living in the capital and the central regions do not venture out to the more dangerous outer regions. This leaves only those with special circumstances and low social ranking living here. They are people looking for a new life, who have the guts to step towards the unknown.”

“I see. They’re adventurers.”

I imagined there were a lot of people brimming with curiosity who loved novel things. As such, this place was perfect for Lord Arthur, who also brimmed with curiosity even though they often held back due to their tendency to show restraint. Naturally, they were also going to take a liking to the forbidden tomato.

“In that case, it is great that you were able to come here,” I said.

“Yeah, I think so too. After coming here, I realized that I feel revolted by those people who want to stay inside their own little world.”

No doubt the reasons for Lord Arthur to pretend to be a boy were related to the royal capital. There was not an ounce of brightness in their voice when talking about the place. Something horrible must have happened back there.

I should probably change the subject.

As an aspiring gentleman, I had to make an effort to hone my conversation skills.

“You are quite the adventurer yourself. You are the type who wants to see the outside,” I remarked.

“You think so? Do I look like that?” Lord Arthur replied cheerfully after hearing my comment.

“Yes, very much so. By the way, today for lunch they will be baking pizza outside the city walls.”

Although Lord Arthur was forbidden from interacting with the prisoners, they showed serious interest in this valuable information from outside the wall.

“Is there some for me too?”

Of course, there is. But I had not expected them to express their desire to join this fast.

“See? You are an adventurer.”

“Haha, this would also have been impossible back at the capital. I’m really glad I came here.”

While this was a remote region, that did not mean that everything was bad. I wanted to thank the gods for all the positives about my hometown that I had not noticed until now. Maybe I’ll squeeze in a prayer next time I go borrow a book from the temple.

“But before we go, there is something I want to check,” I said.

Which region’s reports showed the most fluctuation? It was probably best to ask one of my reliable seniors for help before going off on my own. I decided to ask the only other person who was with us in the room. She was not a helper like us, but a professional maid.

“Renge, can I ask you something?”

“Y-Yes?”

My senior, to whom I owed a great debt since last summer, turned around like a quivering, small animal that had just been spooked.

Renge’s Perspective

I first met Ash last year in summer. It was two years after I had graduated from the military academy and finally finished my apprenticeship to become a fully-fledged maid.

Two students from the academy came to the administrative halls to “prepare for their future.” One of them was Ash. All the senior maids praised their enthusiasm. If they had come during the busy period in winter, they would have been met with sullen faces, but luckily for them, summer wasn’t too busy. Nonetheless, since two children of the count’s family attended the academy, it was busier than usual.

“It is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Ash. I am sorry to trouble you with even more work at such a busy time, but I look forward to working with you.”

I opened my eyes wide at the well-mannered greeting from the boy. He looked very mature and probably more reliable than me, someone who had just been hired as a maid after graduating from the academy.

“So that’s the boy everyone’s been gossiping about,” Ms. Azami murmured next to me.

“What gossip?” I asked.

“I’m sure you’ve heard about how Sir George’s inspection of the equipment went extremely well.”

Come to think of it, I remembered hearing Mrs. Kikyo and Ms. Azami talk about that.

After I nodded, Ms. Azami once again looked at the red-haired boy, who had just received the documents detailing his duties as a helper from Mrs. Kikyo.

“Everyone’s been saying how Sir George’s job went so smoothly because of a red-haired boy that helped him.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

I had heard my seniors talk about how the winter management of the equipment was considered to be hell. And hearing that come from a maid meant that it must have rivaled the winter administration hell. Or to put it differently, it must have meant that people working there suddenly let out cries and just fell over, totally exhausted and burned out. And apparently, that boy who had just enrolled at the academy was able to keep up with such work.

“Th-That’s amazing for such a young and quiet boy,” I murmured.

“Oh? You sound like your seniors now, Renge.”

I was the youngest maid, so Ms. Azami liked to tease me.

“I-I’m sorry, I-I didn’t mean to be rude.”

“Don’t worry, I’m sure no one minds. You are older than him, after all. Just be confident. How about you look after him? You’re close in age too, Ms. Renge!”

Ms. Azami’s teasing voice was a bit too loud. As a result, both Mrs. Kikyo and the boy looked this way.

“That’s right, Renge might be suited for this job,” Mrs. Kikyo said.

What?

“I agree!” Ms. Azami added.

Wait!

“It’s decided, then. Ash, the girl with the long bangs is Renge. She only just started out as a maid, but she is a good girl who is very serious and reliable. If you have any questions regarding your tasks, please ask her.”

“Got it, Kikyo.”

While I was preoccupied with being flustered, everything had been decided for me.

The red-haired boy, Ash, approached me with a smile. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Renge. Do all the other maids call you Ms. Renge? Should I adhere to that too?”

“Ah, n-n-no! Th-Th-That’s f-f-fine.”

I stuttered several times in a matter of seconds. How embarrassing. Even at the best of times I was clumsy with words, but when meeting someone for the first time I became completely useless out of sheer nervousness. Besides, Ash’s smile was too bright for me. I felt my face blush to a point where I could no longer look him directly in the eyes and I frantically cast down my eyes.

As I was writhing with shame, Ms. Azami whispered in my ear, “Renge, get a hold of yourself. Ash’s a farmer boy. Don’t you think he’d make a great husband for you?”

“Eek?!”

I didn’t know where that high-pitched sound that had just left my lips originated from. How disgraceful of me! They will definitely think of me as an oddball now!

As I crouched down with my face buried in my hands, Ash continued as if nothing had happened in a calm voice, saying, “I will start working, then.”

While I stayed silent, Ms. Azami and Mrs. Kikyo voiced their surprise. I cautiously raised my head and saw through my tear-filled, blurry vision how Ash was sitting at the desk reading the documents.

Was he taking me into consideration so that I wasn’t going to lose face? How was he so accomplished at such a young age? I unconsciously clenched my fists.

“Ah, Renge! I am sorry to bother you already, but could you help me with these numbers?”

“Yes? Oh, s-sure!”

After hurrying over next to Ash, he pointed at the description for the budget of the army’s packed lunches.

“I understand that this total amount includes bills from several different businesses, but should it not also include detailed statements from each individual one?”

“N-No, that’s fine. W-We don’t go into that much detail here. B-But the amount is always confirmed with the official in charge and the companies.”

“I see, thank you!”

Ash looked at me directly while thanking me. His smile was so bright. I noticed how handsome he was up close. Maintaining eye contact while speaking was already difficult for me, but someone like Ash made it even harder. He was poison for the eyes. Bad for the heart.

As I covered my face, my seniors murmured something. “He is somewhat different from my first impression of him... He might be incredibly talented...”

“He’s not getting distracted at all even though there is such a cute girl next to him...”

“If the rumors are true and he really was capable of helping Sir George...”

“Yeah, maybe he could help us in winter too? I’ll put in a request with Lord Itsuki!”

They were devising a plan to gain control of the winter hell... Their secret weapon was Ash, whose murmurs while working sounded like firewood slowly burning away.

“This doesn’t seem quite right. The amount is higher than what I’ve heard from Sir George and his men.” And on he went.

Next winter, Ash did indeed join our ranks. I was a little relieved to hear that he readily agreed to the task himself. The workload here in winter was too nasty for anyone to be doing it reluctantly. It was not called “hell” for nothing... Moreover, Ash had not only dragged along Lady Maika, who had also accompanied him in summer, but Lord Arthur and Reina too.

That wording may have sounded strange, but it was correct. Lord Arthur, who worked in the same room as me together with Ash, had said himself that, “I came along because Ash invited me, but this is really draining work.” Ash had dragged along Lord Itsuki’s younger brother. Considering that they shared a room, it may not have been too far-fetched, but it was still hard to believe. The farm boy had dragged along the count’s youngest son.

“This will be a good learning experience. Especially for someone like you, knowing how to properly judge these documents will be valuable no matter your position,” Ash told Lord Arthur.

“You’re right, I can’t deny that. I’ll do my best for my future!”

They both laughed and talked in-between work. Lord Arthur’s gentle smile was just as beautiful as Ash’s. I understood why the others had given me reproachful looks when I was put in charge of these two.

“By the way, Renge.”

“Y-Yes, what is it?” I replied after having spaced out for a few moments, so my voice sounded shrill.

Ash was fixedly staring at me. “Don’t overdo yourself, Renge.”

“D-Don’t worry, I can handle this.”

Hearing my reply, Ash’s eyebrows slanted. Lord Arthur also looked as if he had realized something.

Ah! My reply just now sounded as if I was showing restraint. Unfortunately, it was a bit too late to realize that now.

“S-Sorry, I’m fine! Really!”

At moments like these, I hated my timid voice. No matter how much I said it was fine, it didn’t sound convincing. But I really was fine. I did have some worries on my mind, but those were private, and I had to put them aside while performing my duties as a maid.

I scanned through the harvest report at hand. Adele village’s yield had tragically decreased compared to last year. Although not as much, Ajole village’s yield was also down by a lot. However, the total for the latter was lower since it had fewer crops to begin with. The former was my birthplace. The other one was the village where my childhood friend still lived. Familiar faces of acquaintances popped into my mind after seeing those numbers. I imagined they were having a rough winter. My heart felt cold and heavy, as if it had turned to ice. If only I could help them.

The first solution I could think of was distributing stockpiled food. Every city had emergency stockpiles, but those were not meant to help out troubled villages; they were reserved for region-wide famines and sieges by large groups of demons. It was difficult to swallow, but receiving reports from all over the domain, I could understand it. It was better to guarantee the safety of ten thousand people rather than just a hundred. Yet I was not prepared to give up. There must be something that can be done.

Since not the whole of Sacula suffered from crop failure, the count should be prepared to allow some leeway. If I managed to play my cards correctly, maybe I could help alleviate the suffering of my hometown and my childhood friend’s town. What could I do—

“Renge, can I ask you something?”

“Y-Yes?” Focus. I can’t get lost in my thoughts in the middle of work.

“Are there any places with considerable decreases in yield compared to last year?”

“Oh yeah, these two here...”

The answer to his question lay within the reports that I had just been ruminating over. Apparently, Ash had been talking to Lord Arthur about something, but I hadn’t heard a word since I wasn’t paying attention, so I just handed over the documents.

After politely thanking me—just as he always did with everyone—Ash flipped through the pages of the documents like a seasoned maid would.

“You were right, Renge! There is a big difference this year. Arthur, let us start with these two.”

“Got it. Tell me the names and I’ll look for them.”

“Thanks. It’s Adele and Ajole village. The names sound similar.”

“The village founders may have been related. Sometimes, when villages become too big, relatives are sent to a neighboring site to build new settlements. In those cases, they chose names similar to the original village. It actually tends to happen fairly often.”

“I see. I guess with a similar name the settlers grow more easily attached to the new village too.”

As the conversation flowed along, Lord Arthur got up and left. Unable to follow them, I vacantly looked at Ash.

“Uhm... A-Ash? What is this about?”

“Do not worry. We will work without causing you any trouble.” His smile could not completely conceal his concern for my absent-minded self.

“N-No, I don’t mind that at all!”

“I was discussing with Arthur about researching spots with big fluctuations in yield. If we can find out their circumstances and investigate the reasons behind their decrease in production, we may be able to help them rehabilitate next year,” Ash explained with a smile on his face.

“Th-That’s wonderful!” This was my chance to help. The solution was right beside me. “Please let me help too!”

Ash’s bright smile had shone a light on the way forward.

“Are you sure? It might not be my place to say this, but it will be a burden on top of your regular workload.”

“I don’t mind! I’ll do it! Please let me help!”

I was not going to let go of this light and lose sight of the way again.

“You seem quite motivated. I guess I have no reason to refuse your help.”

“Thank you!”

“I look forward to working together.” Ash tilted his head, a beaming smile on his face. “...But will you not get into trouble if anyone sees us like this?”

While leaning forward, I had grasped Ash’s hand as if I was about to embrace him.

“Renge, I have some more reports for you—”

Ms. Azami really arrived at the worst possible moment.

“Oh my...”

After her murmur, her shocked expression quickly turned into a wicked smile.

“Sorry for intruding!”

The door was closed again before I had a chance to correct this huge misunderstanding.

“Eek?!”

I realized I let out this high-pitched scream whenever I experienced extreme embarrassment. That was something I didn’t have to know about myself...

Itsuki’s Perspective

He had many names. The red-haired boy (this one was quite cute). The Sweets Boy. Sir George’s adjutant. The Dorm’s Sous-chef. The Secret Leader. Tomato-head. Head of Prisoners. Werewolf Slayer (even though he didn’t kill it). And finally, Phoenix.

Anyone hearing that one person had this many names would have been surprised. And so was I. Usually, someone like him would have been referred to with a mundane name like “Ash from Noscula.” Although I had to admit that “Tomato-head” was quite funny. Hahaha. His hair’s bright red, after all.

Apparently, that one originated from an insult directed at the prince who had suffered mental decline from eating too much of the red fruit. Even Mrs. Rihn, who had reprimanded people for using that nickname, seemed to agree with ninety percent of the reasoning behind it.

Speaking of tomatoes, at the time of the soap incident, I had actually felt as if someone had fed me a poisonous tomato—that was how badly my stomach was turned. However, as it turned out, tomatoes weren’t even poisonous. As such, was it possible that the kid nicknamed “Tomato-head” only appeared like a dangerous madman from the outside, but in reality...?

“Lord Itsuki, Ash brought you a present.”

After hearing the maid announce my guest, I stared at the documents in front of me on my desk. Even though we had passed the peak of the winter period, I was still busy, so if it was just a present, he could—

“I will let him in.”

As I was ruminating over whether to let him in or not, the maid just decided for me.

“Hey, Ran. Are you not going to ask my intentions?”

“The present appears to be homemade by Lady Maika.”

“What are you waiting for, then?”

She bowed while gloating as if to say, “I told you so,” before proceeding to let in the guest.

Ash charmed the strict maid with a childlike smile and whispered to her, “Ran, thank you for the warm reception. I left some sweets that I made from the leftovers in Kikyo’s office.”

“Lord Itsuki, I will take my leave now as I have some business to attend to. If you need anything, please call for me.”

That “business” was most definitely the sweets he just mentioned. Quite bold of you to bribe and get bribed in front of me.

As my face twitched, the small invader offered me the warm food he had brought with an innocent smile. “I made this okonomiyaki together with Maika. Chef Yacoo told me you have not had lunch yet. Your bad habits have everyone worried!”

“Yes, you’re right. I’m sorry.” Why am I the one apologizing after he bribed my maid?

But no matter how much I wanted to object, it was true that I hadn’t eaten lunch yet, and the food Ash had brought along looked delicious. The savory smell had made me stop caring. I didn’t hesitate to sink my teeth into the bread-like food.

“Oh! This is great!”

The fried batter had a fragrant yet salty taste. It was filled with leaf vegetables and pork, making it a filling meal. And since you could hold it with a spoon, you didn’t have to dirty your hands either.

“What’s this called again?”

“It is a pseudo-okonomiyaki.”

“I haven’t heard that name before. Why ‘pseudo’?”

“The ingredients are different from the recipe and it tastes different than expected too.”

Ash’s look was filled with an extraordinary zeal. One day, he was surely going to make a perfect version of the dish. I had witnessed Yacoo becoming like this from time to time. I knew that if I told him that even now it was already delicious enough, he would only become angry at himself.

Apparently, there were many things—like the balance of the acidity and the smoothness of the texture—that needed to be considered when cooking a meal. I had no idea myself. Although I did taste the difference when someone presented me with a meal that was cooked to perfection. I decided to just stay silent and look forward to that future meal. Do your best.

Still, it was really good. After recovering from the werewolf incident, Ash had started to send me various new dishes via Maika and Yacoo. All of them were unusual and delicious, but this one really spoke to my taste. It had a simple yet rich flavor. As I was thinking to myself, I hungrily devoured the food.

“By the way, Lord Itsuki, Quid gave me a warning.” Nonchalantly, but also with slight caution, Ash began talking. “It appears that an unfamiliar peddler has been getting nosy regarding matters not concerning his trade.”

“Hm? Well, that’s not unusual.”

They must have been a spy. Probably from a noble family living in the central territories. They were known for that. But there was hardly anything here that needed to be kept a secret. Recently, we made a machine that could fly, soap, compost, and started to approve of tomatoes as food... Darn it.

Maybe I did need to come up with some countermeasures after all. I had been careless. Until recently, a spy would not have found much material in this rural area apart from the occasional appearances of demons, so I hadn’t made any efforts to secure our intelligence. We were defenseless. Since we had spent our spare time and energy dealing with the demons, it may have been inevitable, but considering recent developments, it was not safe to keep our secrets out in the open.

“However, they seem to be looking for a missing person that has come here in the past year or two. Judging from their goods, they are a merchant from the capital.”

My optimism disappeared when Ash relayed further information. A missing person. The past year or two. From the capital. As the words came in through my ears, I could hear the alarm bells ringing and I felt my face stiffen.

In a hurry, I averted my eyes from Ash. I had the bad habit of letting everything show on my face. I always tried my best to keep a straight face, but to no avail. My dear sister, who was the exact opposite, would have made a much better successor to the count... But now’s not the time for that.

“My name was mentioned to that peddler in light of my newly-gained fame from receiving the silver medal. Quid told me to watch out for him, so do you think I should also alert Mrs. Rihn and Sir George?”

“Hmm...”

Damn those bastards from the capital. They had come all the way to the countryside to snoop around for information on Arthur. Did they really not know when to stop? How did these old geezers not feel ashamed for ganging up and trying to use Arthur? I was used to them being annoying, but they had gone too far this time.

Nevertheless, it was not befitting of an acting count to just stay angry. I needed to adopt my brother-in-law’s presence of mind and my dear sister’s composure. For the time being, I should do as Ash said and alert Rihn and Baleas—and Yae too—to make sure that no one is getting near Arthur.

Wait a moment. The boy in front of me had asked if he should alert the two. In other words, he hadn’t consulted them yet. If this were just about being approached by a suspicious person, surely he would have first turned for advice to someone closer to him. As a student of the academy, he should have talked to one of the teachers first. And it was not like he was in a position where it was difficult for him to approach them. Ash had entangled all three of my trusted confidants. So, why did he go out of his way to come to me and bring me a meal just to tell me this directly? Moreover, we were alone in this room. Enticed by the sweets, Ran had left the room earlier. It was the ideal situation to weed out anyone that potentially didn’t know the secret. Did he know?

I stared at Ash’s face. He gave off a mature impression, while still undeniably looking like an innocent child. The look on his face said, “I don’t know anything.” All these cues and he still feigned ignorance. This pretty much confirmed it for me—he knew something. Or perhaps almost everything.

“So you decided to tell me before Baleas and Rihn?” I asked.

“Yes. I thought you would be interested, so I came straight to you. Arthur would probably also love to hear about it.”

I knew it! I felt happy rather than surprised. He knew about our domain’s secret. He knew about Arthur. And still, he signaled that he wasn’t going to ask me anything. He was prepared to keep it a secret if that was what I wished. He hinted that he was going to stay silent, pretending not to know anything. It reminded me of our first meeting. After telling him about my difficult experiences at the academy, I told him, “You can’t completely free yourself of your status, but... it’s a good chance to make friends of your own age.” To which he generously replied, “I will try my best to talk to your younger brother.” Back then, I was impressed by his magnificent smile devoid of any fear or selfishness. He had seemed to genuinely enjoy himself.

It appeared that at this very moment he still adhered to his promise of getting along with my younger brother. He treated Arthur simply as the youngest child of the Amanobe family, and here in front of me, as a friend.

My dear brother, you can consider yourself extremely lucky to have a friend who worries this much about you. I wonder what you would say if I explained this to you. I’d love to see your reaction, but now’s not the time.

I felt frustration building up inside of me and turning into a warped smile. No wonder my dear sister and brother-in-law had recommended Ash and told me to let him share a room with Arthur. And with a kind friend like that, it was also no surprise that my younger brother’s smile had become bright and warm again, even though it had been so cold at first.

“I guess I can say that it was a stroke of luck that you joined the academy this year.”

“I also feel very lucky. I have been able to do all the things that I want.”

He didn’t mention a single word about experiencing any hardships, but rather how lucky he considered himself. This was getting interesting. In a roundabout way, he was letting me know that he was prepared to keep helping and staying silent to protect Arthur. He really didn’t try to find out anything. Not why Arthur was hiding his true identity nor what the circumstances were. He didn’t want to know Arthur’s real name either. He didn’t even want to know who the enemy was. You really have a great friend here, my dear brother. You’re at least as lucky as me.

I decided to act for the sake of my younger brother. Inspired by his reliable friend, I was going to act in a way that was befitting of an older brother. Not as the acting count, but as an older brother.

“I see. I’ll take the necessary precautions so that you can keep having as much fun as you want. For now, just keep going on as usual. She would want it that way too.”

“Yes, please rest assured.”

Ash showed himself to be quick on the uptake. He really did pay close attention to details, allowing the conversation to progress smoothly. It was as if we were effortlessly dancing along to the rhythm of an uplifting song.

“That suspicious peddler is not good for the education of our students,” I remarked.

“You are right. We already have Quid as a merchant, so there is no need to get involved with a peddler if they seem suspicious even in the slightest.”

There was a mutual understanding that under no circumstances we were going to let them interact with Arthur. That was good. Now we just needed to find a way to divert the spy’s attention to somewhere further away.

Apparently, Ash had the same idea. “By the way, Quid will start selling toy model planes soon. Will there be another exhibition?”

I hadn’t heard about anything like that, but if there were to be such an exhibition, no one would be talking about Arthur for quite a while. I assumed that, since Ash himself had mentioned it, he was ready to host it.

When conferring the medals, I had noticed how uneasy Ash was in front of a crowd despite his theatrical personality and actions. And yet he was willing to play such an obtrusive role. I appreciated that.

“That sounds interesting. I’ll talk to Quid,” I said.

Lousy spies. Don’t think it’ll be that easy to meddle with my brother. First you’ll have to deal with their older brother and friends.

The presentation of the commercial tendon-powered plane was a huge success, surpassing even the merrymaking of the awarding ceremony.

We had spread around the word via post-horse, but the unexpected success had unfortunately also worn out the guards. In order to show my appreciation, I treated them to some wine casks with my pocket money, but even my pockets started to slowly become empty. I guess I’ll just have Baleas treat them to drinks next time.

In any case, those damned spies from the capital must have been at a loss by now. That served them right. When I told my accomplice Ash, he agreed with a smile all over his face, saying, “Poor spies.” In that regard, he was quite different from the serious Baleas. Maybe a bit scary even. But it was the right attitude to deal with those ill-natured bastards from the capital.

Ever since then, my reliable accomplice had started to casually visit my office more often.

“Good day, Lord Itsuki.”

“Hey, hello. What is it today, Ash? Oh, you don’t need to worry about Ran. I appreciate that you are suspicious, but she knows.”

“Oh, okay. Let me be brief, then. I was approached by someone who appears to be a spy.”

“Hnng?!”

I assure you it wasn’t me who almost choked. It was the maid. I’m calm.

This was the natural consequence of standing out, after all. However, I didn’t deny that the frankness of Ash’s statement was bad for my heart.

“What did they say?”

“As expected, something seemed off. They asked me about my circle of friends, so I misled them by using Father Folke as a decoy. Considering that he is a recluse who came from the capital and avoids human contact whenever possible, he seemed like a good fit. I think they will probably go investigate Noscula village.”

While Tomato-head briskly reported how he had dealt with the spy, all I could do was nod along. I could not have handled the situation better. Next to me, Ran gave me a discerning look, as if to say, “Don’t just nod along and do your job!” I understood where she was coming from, but there was no time for me to get any words in. Besides, what did she want me to say? That he shouldn’t have carelessly talked to a spy? Ash had only faithfully carried out what we had agreed upon in advance. He was supposed to befuddle those shady people sniffing around Arthur’s affairs. Although I had not anticipated that his techniques were going to include information warfare on top of him making himself the center of attention through a flashy exhibition. Moreover, the gears were already in motion and the presumed result was promising.

Oh? Was this what my three confidants had meant when they said in their reports that there hadn’t been any problems?

“I doubt they will do anything violent, but you should probably send a message to Noscula village,” Ash suggested.

“Yeah, I’ll let them know. As long as my dear brother-in-law is at the village, he can easily take care of one or two of the likes of those spies in the unlikely event that things do get violent.” Whenever Ash suggested a plan, I had the tendency to readily agree. Rihn, Yae, Baleas. I think I know how you feel now.

The progression was laid out from the start. Ash caused some trouble, then he dealt with it by himself until it reached a turning point, and finally, the problem was solved. And if you were only shown the result, all you could say was that there hadn’t been any problems. It was strange. I had been prepared for problems to arise, but the moment I had noticed them, everything was already settled. What a reliable young boy.

At the same time, it looked like I was atop a runaway horse who dashed at an amazing speed. On the one hand, I admired the horse, but on the other hand, I worried that it wasn’t listening to orders and was running off too far ahead into the future... But now was not the time to think about that! He was reliable! I could depend on him! I had to trust in my dear sister’s character judgment. The runaway horse was surely running towards its destination in a straight line.

I collected myself to focus on the issue right in front of me. “However, those spies sure are persistent,” I said.

“They are indeed staying quite long, considering that their expenses must not be insignificant either,” Ash remarked.

The more time passed, the likelier it was that suspicion was going to arise regarding Arthur. Since he was the youngest child returning from the capital, the spies must have already been suspecting something.

“How about we get Arthur away from the city?” Hearing me murmur, Ash seemed puzzled. It must have been a bit too sudden for him. “There is an outdoor training camp that is part of the military academy’s curriculum. It usually takes place in summer, and we could move it forward to now. If we remove the target of investigation from the city, we might be able to gain some time,” I elaborated.

“That makes sense. It sounds like it could work, but moving out of the city also means temporarily letting down our guard.”

He was right. There were advantages as well as disadvantages.

“But so far there haven’t been any reports that the spies approached Arthur, either. Now that they aren’t watching too closely, it’s probably the safest time to move out.”

“You are right, there have not been any spies in Arthur’s vicinity so far. Ah, I see. If we move to somewhere less guarded now, it will also send the message that none of the students at the academy really require high security. That is indeed a good bluff.”

A bluff? Ahaha, right, yes. Of course that was my intention... If only my sister would have taken over as the acting count at times like these. She would have definitely planned ahead with those intentions in mind.

As I was complaining to myself on the inside, Ash seemed to have gathered his thoughts and he nodded in agreement. “Lord Itsuki. If we are going to have the outdoor training camp, may I make some suggestions?”

“What do you have in mind? I want to make sure that everything goes according to plan, so I welcome even the most trivial opinion.”

To be honest, I was not good at strategizing or espionage. The Count of Sacula’s politics and military specialized in dealing with demons. We didn’t really have tacticians or spies.

“Firstly, could you deploy Sir George and his subordinates as escorts? Secondly, I would like to take my hunting equipment. And finally, is it possible to set the camp up in the forest near Noscula village?”

I didn’t have any issues with the first point, since I had intended to send along Baleas anyway. I also didn’t mind the hunting equipment, which was more than adequate for an outdoor training camp. And I didn’t see anything wrong with the final point, either. That forest had been used as a spot for the camp in the past. Besides, we could count on the assistance of my dear sister and brother-in-law in case something went wrong.

“Just to confirm, why do you want to use the forest near Noscula village?” I asked.

The red-haired boy, or “the cute sweets boy,” as the maids called him, showed a radiant smile upon hearing my question. “I am familiar with that place and I am confident that I could easily run through the forest to make it to Noscula in case something happens.”

That was indeed a good reason. Once they reached the village, my dear brother-in-law and the others could help them.

“Although I would use the hunting tools before running away. As of now, I am confident enough that I could take on a pack of wolves or a family of bears with my full equipment.” A smirk came over his face.

Yes, he truly was reliable. Very reliable. Not scary at all.

Maika’s Perspective

Ash had come to my room. That in itself was already unusual, but judging from his serious expression, I knew he was about to tell me something important.

“I would like to ask you a favor, Maika.”

“Sure! Leave it to me! I’ll do anything!”

If it was Ash asking, I didn’t need to know anything before agreeing. Even if it involved a bear or a werewolf. Count me in! I didn’t make any effort to hide my feelings and Ash seemed delighted at my reply.

“As expected! I can always count on you!”

Haa—! I can’t get enough of that smile! And it was meant just for me! That was my reward for always staying by his side and helping him out.

But please forgive me, Ash. While I had laid my feelings bare, there were still some secret doors that I kept closed. My mom had told me that a maiden should always keep some secrets to herself. According to her, that increased your bargaining power. That was also why Ash was so strong—he was full of secrets. I was never able to predict what he was going to do next. It was the source of his strength.

So, what did he say again? Oh right, he wanted to ask me for a favor.

“What do you need from me? I told you the progress of the brick research team yesterday, so I’m guessing you want me to ask my uncle a favor?” Those were about the only things that I could think of that Ash would need my help with.

“I just wanted to alert you just in case... It appears that we will be going on an outdoor training camp with the academy. Probably very soon. They might even ask us to start packing tomorrow.”

“What, really?”

Reina had told me that there was going to be such an event around summer, but even she didn’t know it was going to be this soon. Since Ash knew about it, it was probably safe to assume that this wasn’t normal. Then again, once Ash got involved, even normal things stopped being normal. I knew that all too well.

“The camp will be in the forest near Noscula village. Since people who grew up in the city are not familiar with such an environment, they are probably prone to panic in the event that something goes wrong.”

“You’re right. Even people as reliable as Reina and Glen are only really used to life in the city. And while Arthur and Hermes are both smart, they don’t have nearly enough experience in the woods.”

“Exactly. You, on the other hand, went foraging every year and have accompanied me on strolls through the forest.”

“Yes!”

After Ash had trained as a hunter, he had started roaming beyond the area designated for gathering plants. Of course, I had wanted to tag along. Just the two of us, going on a date through the forest...

“Therefore, you are more used to the woods than all the other students. If anything happens, I would like you to help everyone else. Especially...” With a gentle expression, Ash fixed his serious gaze upon me. “...Arthur.”

“Yeah, got it.” Don’t worry, Ash. I know exactly what you want from me.

He hadn’t explicitly said anything, but I understood loud and clear. I had been observing Ash for a while now. His gaze. His body language. What he was looking at. How he interacted with people. I noticed even the smallest differences.

“Say, Ash, do you remember your fight with the werewolf?” I suddenly asked.

“Uhm, yes, of course I do.”

Ah, Ash straightened his back and entered remorse mode. You can relax. Your mom already lectured you a lot, so I won’t scold you anymore. At least not today.

“Do you also remember that you told me to take care of Arthur afterwards?”

“Of course.”

Ash’s expression changed to a smile as sparkling as the sunlight shining through honey. It was the same smile that he always showed when I solved a difficult problem. I felt happy. In other words, this meant that I had just impressed him.

“You know, I’ve got some complicated feelings regarding Arthur,” I confessed.

Like, you’re roommates. And he lives with you. And you share a room!

“But even so, I still like Arthur. He’s kind and gentle, although a bit reserved. It irritates me to see him hold back, but it’s also cute to see how happily he tags along when given a push. I just feel like I can’t leave him alone.”

Besides, he tried helping Ash with all his might. Arthur may have looked meek, but he actually carried great strength. Keeping up with Ash, who always unpredictably ran away at full speed, was a difficult task that easily led one to become dizzy. First of all, one had to understand what Ash was even trying to do. And even with my insight as his childhood friend, that was still a massive task! All in all, I just couldn’t leave alone anyone who tackled such a difficult task with the same elan as me.

“Of course, I’ll look after Arthur if you ask me to. I can’t guarantee how useful I’ll be in the worst-case scenario, but I’ll do my best!” I proclaimed.

“Thank you, Maika. I am glad I can always count on you,” Ash replied with the biggest smile.

I should be the one thanking you.

●　●　●

“Finally, we have arrived!”

After marching for a day and a half, those were the words that escaped my mouth. It sounded like I had come back home. And in a way, I had, even though there was a thick forest stretching out in front of me.

The academy students had marched all the way from the distant city to camp out here in nature to hone their forest survival skills. We were in the forest near Noscula village, where I had trained as a hunter under Ban, so you could say that this splendid forest was my home ground.

“There are some edible wild plants around here. Let us pick them up.”

Passing by, I plucked bits of this wonderful plant that got rid of the smell of meat.

“Can’t we leave this for later?” Sir George, who was leading the group, gently rebuked.

His tone was probably not too harsh because he expected me to enrich our camp meals after seeing me find an edible plant that he hadn’t even noticed. The preserved food which we had brought along was so bad that it had already lost its appeal after the third meal. I had distributed it countless times to the soldiers on patrol while helping Sir George organize the equipment, but I had not expected it to be this bad. I even started to feel a bit guilty even though the taste was not my fault at all.

Accordingly, I looked Sir George straight in the eye, giving an honest explanation as if I was praying to the gods. “Sir George, if we have these plants, we can boil them together with the dried meat and make the soup taste much better. Adding the right berries and wildflowers, it will even turn out quite delicious. We can even use the soup to soak the hard-baked biscuits until they are soft enough to enjoy.”

Everyone, including Lord Arthur and Lady Reina, held their breaths. Lady Maika was diligently picking up the plants in my place.

It appeared that my passionate yet logical explanation had persuaded Sir George too. “Hm, yeah. I get what you’re saying, but I want to secure the campsite first. Not everyone is as energetic as you are.”

“Hm... You have a point too.”

He was right. While the students who had grown up in villages were still fine, those who came from the city were tired from marching for a day and a half. Lord Arthur and Lady Reina also looked like they were having a hard time.

“How about I procure the ingredients myself while you go ahead and set up camp? Dividing up the tasks is more efficient as well,” I proposed.

“But it would be troublesome if we split up in the forest. Won’t it be hard for you to find our campsite on your own?”

“Not at all. With all due respect, may I remind you that I spent some time as a hunter in Noscula village?”

As I mentioned earlier, you could say that this place was my home ground. Even in the extreme case of losing all my provisions and equipment, I was confident that I could survive for three days and make it back to Noscula village on my own.

“And while I do not know where the campsite is, I can easily find it by following your footsteps.”

Following the path of a group with more than ten people in a forest without many animal trails was easier than finding edible plants. I had learned how to track wild animals from Ban, after all. When it came to city folk who were not used to running through the woods, I even felt confident that I could pursue them at night.

Seeing me brimming with confidence, Sir George could no longer oppose me. “You’re making it hard for me to object... Maika, as a fellow villager you should know how capable Ash is in that regard, so what do you think?”

Having finished gathering all the edible plants that she could find, Lady Maika seemed pleased with herself, but her expression stiffened after hearing Sir George’s question. “Will Ash be fine on his own? Judging purely from his abilities, I would say there is no need to worry... He even came back by himself after being knocked out by a wild boar,” Lady Maika reminisced while murmuring to herself. Sorry for always making you worry. “But I’m still a bit worried to just leave him alone. We don’t know what might happen, so it’s probably best—”

“How about you accompany me then, Maika?” I suggested.

“Yes! George, I don’t think there will be any problems! Just leave it to me and Ash!”

Luckily, he somehow agreed to our proposal.

After separating from the other students, Lady Maika and I walked briskly through the woods. She looked more cheerful than usual, breathing the fresh air of the forest, which she must have missed in the city.

“It’s been a while since we’ve walked in the forest, just the two of us,” she said.

“Yes, it is delightful. We need to make the most of times like these.”

“Yeah! Ah, that one over there is edible too, right?”

We both were familiar with the plants, since we used to come here to gather every season. While we were at it, we also picked up branches that could be used as firewood, as well as stalks and ivy to set up traps. We planned to stay here for three days, but I did not intend to only eat dried meat that entire time. I swore on the name of Ban that I was going to make a delicious meal using fresh meat.

After gathering ingredients and other materials for a while, we set out to track down the others. They had walked so recklessly that all the plants in their path were wrecked and the soil dug up. Also, I probably could have followed them by picking up their scent. No animal left such an odor while walking.

“I don’t think I could track them down just by smelling,” Lady Maika said.

“You have never gone hunting in the forest, so that is normal. Besides, my five senses are quite sharp.”

Ban had even praised my sense of smell and hearing before, saying I had good perception. Strangely enough, my senses had only become keener after fighting Sir Werewolf. I would’ve almost thought that I leveled up, but alas, this isn’t a convenient fantasy world setting. Life’s tough here. When I had been on the verge of death, some switch in my brain must have flipped.

Following the smell, we discovered footprints and safely made it to the site where everyone was setting up their tents. They appeared to be having a hard time getting it right. As I observed them, I walked towards Sir George to report back.

“You’re back earlier than I expected,” he said.

“What can I say, we are both quite used to walking in the woods.”

As I presented him with our yield, his serious face broke into a smile. “That is a lot. Can I look forward to dinner, then?”

“At the very least, it will be better than lunch today.”

The large pot that Sir George’s attending subordinate had carried along was going to come in handy. However, currently there was not nearly enough firewood—someone had to gather dead branches while others set up the campfire.

“Would you mind if I leave again to gather firewood?” I asked Sir George.

“Did you read my mind? I was just going to ask you. Take some people with you and gather as much as you can.”

Sir George did not sound like he was talking to a young student, but rather a private staffer or subordinate. In other words, he was no longer talking to me as a student, but as his prospective adjutant who was also a relative. It must have been difficult for him to switch his tone like that with me. But I’m afraid I’m not going to stop being myself anytime soon. Sorry.

“Understood. I will try to gather at least enough to cook tomorrow’s breakfast.”

First, I called Lady Maika, Lord Arthur, and Lady Reina, who had all finished setting up their tents. Then, I also enlisted some male helpers, including Hermes and Glen, before deciding that should be enough people. Since there were not many people who came to this area to pick up wood, there were dead branches perfect for making fire lying all around the place, as expected.

Using ivy, I bound up the branches so that they were easier to carry for everyone. Similarly, I also used ivy and straw bags to make traps for catching birds and small animals.

It was a simple contrivance. I made a ring with the ivy, which tightened as soon as a head or a foot got trapped inside. Adding bent branches and stones, you could turn it into a fun little device that was triggered by footsteps and lifted the prey up in the trees. Although I had never used such a large-scale trap myself, since it required a lot of time and effort to set up.

Impressed, Lord Arthur observed my trap. “How clever.”

“The principle is quite simple. Once you practice enough you can make them in an instant.”

I showed them how to make one of these “the prey gets caught in the ring without noticing and then proceeds to tighten it by continuing to walk forward” sort of trap.

The others seemed intrigued too and glanced towards us.

“We gathered quite a bit of firewood already, so how about we make some traps with everyone together?” Since we had some time at our hands, I asked the others to help out.

The hardest part about setting hunting traps was finding a place where the prey walked by. My observation skills were not nearly as good as Ban’s, so I had to make up for it by placing as many traps as possible.

Pretty much as expected, Hermes was the first one to master building the trap. Although Glen gave up almost immediately and returned to gathering dried branches, he was still impressed that you could make such a device by substituting rope with ivy.

Since the campsite was near a river in order to secure water for drinking and other necessities, I also decided to set up some traps to catch fish. It reminded me of my first incident in the forest. After performing various tasks, the sunlight shining into the forest started turning scarlet.

“It is getting late. We should go back.”

I would have liked to set up a few more traps, but it would have to wait for the next day. If we did not start preparing dinner soon, it was going to be dark in an instant.

“We made a lot of traps in this short amount of time,” Lady Reina said, impressed. But she should have held off her praise until we knew how much they had actually caught.

Honestly, I would have been satisfied if our traps rewarded a tenth of our effort. At that moment, I realized that we probably should have focused on making the fish traps first, since those were more likely to succeed. And since it was summer, it was also possible to catch some freshwater crabs. That was a blunder.

As I confessed my mistake to everyone, Lord Arthur smiled in amazement. “You are just as amazing here in the forest. We already did this much and you are still aiming for a better result. Whenever I’m impressed, you always take it one step further.”

“Well, I guess this is my appetite’s work... Back at the village, when I wanted to eat meat, hunting for it was the best solution.”

Hunting was the best source of meat in this world. Of course I had wanted to learn how to hunt. In addition, I had been blessed with a great teacher like Ban.

Having learned how to cook while out camping with Ban, that night I was able to improve the horrible dry meat by boiling it in a wildflower soup. Still, I had grown tired of the dry meat; I wanted to make a fish dumpling hotpot tomorrow.

The next day I made the rounds to check on my contraptions and, as I had anticipated, there were no birds or small animals trapped inside. Of course, there were no large animals like boars or deer either. However, I was greeted by a good haul at the river. The cone-shaped trap made out of branches was filled with summer river fish. There were even some crabs among them, promising a delicious hotpot.

To make dinner even more lavish, I decided to go out to gather some rapeseed flowers and berries after lunch.

As Lady Maika and I led the usual suspects through the forest, I noticed a strange presence. It almost felt like a pack of wolves observing us, but their stride was too reckless. They were breaking the vegetation, leaving behind the smell of green. It could not have been a group of wild animals. By process of elimination, they must have been human assassins, then. Most people would probably not have reached that conclusion just normally going through their lives, but we had Lord Arthur with us.

The reason for coming to this camp was to avoid the spies investigating Lord Arthur, so it was not too far-fetched. They must have somehow found out Lord Arthur’s true identity before we ran away. As a result, we ended up getting targeted in a situation with decreased security. Our plan had evidently failed. Instead of trying to guard the secret, we should have stayed in the highly-guarded city, dear Acting Count.

“Arthur, can you come with me for a moment?” I told them.

“Yeah? Do you need something from me?” Lord Arthur approached me with a puzzled look on their face.

“I think a boar came through here recently, so I want to follow its tracks.”

“Oh, really? I can’t see anything.”

They investigated the ground, searching for the tracks that I had supposedly found, but unfortunately, that was a blatant lie, so there were none. It was a means to lure away the assassins.

“Are you sure I’m the one who should come? Wouldn’t Maika or Glen be more useful?”

“Without Maika, the group would be left without a foraging supervisor, and Glen’s physique, as great as it may be, is not really suited for following tracks.”

I was about to add that, in fact, going alone would have been the best, but Lady Maika, who had been listening, rushed over towards us. “Don’t do anything reckless! Arthur, make sure to keep an eye on Ash!”

“I see. Don’t worry, I’ll look after him in your place.”

Lord Arthur let out a giggle towards the worrywart Lady Maika. Seeing how much they enjoyed themselves, I almost felt like a villain trying to separate Lord Arthur from everyone else by lying to them.

I put the strings on my small bow and dissolved the poison powder in a small bottle filled with potable water so I could spread it on an arrow at any given moment. As I looked up at the sky, I noticed clouds, but it did not seem like it was going to rain for a while.

“Maika, it might rain soon. I will only search for a little bit and then go back. You should head back soon too.”

“What, really? It doesn’t look like it’s going to rain soon, though...” she murmured to herself while looking up at the sky. “Huh?”

“You see, Maika?” I gave my doubtful childhood friend a nod while making eye contact.

“Ah, you’re right!”

She was only a little confused at first, but quick on the uptake, and responded appropriately. Her momentary serious expression almost seemed like an illusion as she swiftly recovered her bright smile.

“I got it. We’ll finish things up and go back as soon as possible. I’ll let George and the others know that you went off on your own.”

She had seen through my lie and guessed why I had resorted to it. Everyone should have a brilliant childhood friend like her. Once Lord Arthur and I were gone, I was sure she was going to meet up with Sir George and ask for help.

“What direction are you heading, Ash?”

“Let me see...”

I could not let the bloodthirsty fellows get close to the students. It was reassuring to have Sir George and his soldiers as protection, but there were still some dangers involved, like the possibility of the children being taken hostage. I was going to prioritize Lord Arthur’s safety and leave the students to Sir George and Lady Maika.

“The boar went northwest, so the opposite direction of the campsite,” I told her.

Lady Maika had already started preparations to go back. While she kept her smile, her face looked cloudy compared to her usual self. Ah, I’m going to get scolded again once I get back. But I shouldn’t complain about her worrying about me.

With a bittersweet smile, I held out my fist towards my childhood friend. “I cannot promise I will bring back the boar, but I will make a delicious hot pot when I get back.”

That was my promise that I was going to return safely.

“It’s a promise,” Lady Maika said as if to make sure.

“I will not be beaten by a boar this size.”

She bumped my fist.

“Well, we should get going,” I told Lord Arthur.

I wondered if there was anything else that I should be careful of. I could not think of anything. One last time, I checked the direction of our camp. I turned around to lure away the assassins in the opposite direction.

“Arthur, please follow me.”

“Yeah, I’ll try not to slow you down.”

“Make sure to watch your step. As long as you do not hurt your feet, it will be fine.”

While they may have been better spies and assassins, I was still the better forest hunter.

“This might turn into a slightly unusual hunt,” I murmured.

I had to bring down multiple prey who were chasing us, while at the same time guarding my companion. The difficulty level was not yet known. Bearing in mind their poor tracking skills, it was probably going to be easier than taking on a pack of wolves.

I had to protect the sweet young girl from the villains chasing her for some elusive reason. Hehe, I felt a bit excited. It’s almost like I’m the hero of the story.

Maika’s Perspective

Once Ash was out of sight, I listened carefully to my surroundings. Ugh. Since my senses were not as sharp as Ash’s, I could not tell where the danger he had felt was coming from. Had they followed them? Or were they still standing watch around here? I hesitated to move out, since I couldn’t tell.

Having seen the serious look on Ash’s face, I realized how dangerous the situation was. Being separated from him now felt like I was left in the dark after losing my torch. I was agitated and a chill was running down my spine. It was as if I had touched the well water in winter.

Argh! Why did he always try to shoulder the burden by himself even though he knew how dangerous it was? Scolding him after the bear and the werewolf incidents didn’t help at all.

Stupid Ash. Stupid, stupid, stupid. He’s smarter than me and still so stupid! Ah, but I love that about him! My honest thoughts were mixed in with my anger. How could I like someone that much?

Meanwhile, and in contradiction to my thoughts, I felt as if my feet slowly became glued to the ground as I listened to the sounds of the woods.

“I can’t take it anymore! Everyone, let’s go back to George at the camp!” I ordered.

Unfortunately, unlike a certain someone, I wasn’t very good at holding back. I suddenly got up and grabbed Reina’s arm.

“Maika? What’s happening?” she asked, confused.

“It’s an emergency, so we have to run back! I’m sorry, but since you’re too slow, I’ll drag you along. Glen, take care of Hermes!”

“Wait, what?”

Reina and the others seemed confused, but there was no time to explain.

“Make sure to follow my lead, Glen! Reina, hold on!”

“Maika, I don’t understa—aah?!”

I picked her up in my arms. She was lighter than expected. Are you eating enough meat, Reina? Pointing my chin at them, I urged the other two who still stood in surprise to follow suit. We’re running out of time.

“I’m not sure what’s going on, Hermes, but she wants us to move.”

“I can run by myself. You don’t have to carry me.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll carry you on my back!”

“No, I’m oka—aaah?!”

Now that they were ready too, I started running at full speed towards the camp. I had to hurry for the sake of our knight and the princess.

Yes, I knew Arthur’s secret. There was no way that I wouldn’t have figured it out. She looked at Ash with the same eyes as me. We were rivals in love. In fact, I had noticed it ever since submitting the agricultural development plan to Rihn.

Around that time, I started seeing Arthur leaning over Ash’s shoulder and talking to him with their faces next to each other when he was sitting on his desk. No matter how you looked at it, Arthur’s face then was that of a girl. She had that special look in her eyes. She smiled only for him, and whenever he reciprocated, she couldn’t help but fix her bangs while soaking up each word directed at her. I knew that feeling. Still, it was not like I had seen myself in the mirror; I realized that she was just like me, but with a different upbringing.

Naturally, I had been furious at first. Why did a girl share a room with Ash? If that was an option, why couldn’t I have lived with him? It felt like I had grasped an ice-cold blade. But then, I remembered Ash’s look when he had first introduced me to Arthur. Back then, he had already known. Of course he had. If I had realized that Arthur was a girl, there was no way that Ash wouldn’t have. At that time, Ash’s gentle gaze had warmed my heart—it made me realize that there must have been a good reason for this whole situation.

Deciding to find out what was happening, I went to see my uncle ready for a cross-examination, but he let me in on the secret surprisingly quickly.

“From the beginning, I didn’t think I could hide the secret from you. After all, you are the daughter of my dear sister Yuika, whom my father called the most talented woman in the domain, and of Sir Klein, who is the best living swordsman. Both of them have a natural gift to read the subtle cues in people’s expression and behavior, so I expected the same from you... Although you realized earlier than I had anticipated.”

My uncle had murmured this last sentence while fixing his gaze on my waist. Without realizing it, I had brought along my sword. Maybe that was a bad move, but either way, he told me everything.

Back at the capital, Arthur was being pushed around by all the adults and no one was willing to help her. My uncle had helped her escape the capital to avoid the conflict. However, Arthur, who held back as much as possible to not cause trouble to anyone, was still being pursued.

After hearing the explanation, my emotions spilled over and I exclaimed, “Aah!!” I wondered what exactly that sound had meant. It may have been an expression of my understanding of why Arthur always endured so much and showed that cold smile. It may have also been an expression of sympathy for a girl who had to suffer and persevere to the point of almost breaking apart. At the very least I wanted her to not hold back anymore while she was here at the academy. Or it may have been an expression of understanding of Arthur’s pining for something as bright as Ash’s summer sun-like smile.

Being led around by Ash, Arthur had lost the time to hold back. She was too busy working on various tasks and eating delicious meals, which eventually led her to genuinely smile. And not only towards Ash, but also towards Reina and me. She even became so upfront about her feelings that she turned bright red and got angry at me for sitting on Ash’s bed.

Arthur had become so pretty that I was growing more and more insecure. Several times it got to the point where I wanted to tell her that she was taking my place. I’m not good at restraining myself, but I did my best to hold back. I did it for Arthur. So much so that I almost wanted Ash to praise me for it.

Regardless, to think that Arthur had come this far and they were still pursuing her! I was never going to forgive those who bullied my friend and rival in love. If they ever came close to me, I was going to take good care of their heads... Unlike Arthur, I’m not the type to hold back after all.

“George!” I immediately yelled as soon as I arrived at the campsite.

Apparently, George had left for a bit, but his subordinates ran off to call him right away. Seeing how they were barely able to conceal their nervousness, some of them must have also known about Arthur.

“What happened, Maika? Where’s Arthur? And Ash?”

And of course, George knew too. My uncle had told me that, if there was ever any trouble related to Arthur, I should ask George for advice.

“They went that way to chase after a wild boar,” I said meaningfully.

“They ran off together?” he asked.

From that alone, George was able to tell that something troublesome had happened. He looked a bit like Ash as he pondered his next move with a serious face.

“Maika, let’s talk over there. If we can get hold of a boar, we should also help.”

He came up with an excuse that allowed us two to go back the way that I had come from. Of course, we walked as quickly as possible.

“So, what’s the situation, Maika? Why did Ash and Arthur go off by themselves?”

“I’m not quite sure myself. But Ash said he was going to leave with Arthur, and he told us to quickly meet up with you.”

Nodding along, George showed an angry and troubled expression. “Why does that boy always have to be so reckless? Couldn’t he have come to us? Or did the situation not really allow for that?”

“Hm... Maybe not?”

After all, Ash had said multiple times after the bear and werewolf incidents that he would have run away if possible. And it didn’t sound like an excuse to me. I still didn’t forgive him, though.

“That probably means that there are several enemies, then. I doubt there’s twenty or thirty of them, but even against just five, it would be difficult for us to protect everyone. Especially if they took anyone hostage... Ash must have thought the same thing and decided to lure them away, so we could corner them from both sides. A very Ash-like thing to do.” George distorted his mouth into a smile mixed with anger. “I’ve heard about his fight with the bear at the village. And the prisoners told me about what happened during his fight with the werewolf too. He really is something else. He always chooses the method that ends up causing the least harm to everyone but himself. Quite the bad habit, if you ask me.”

Yes, George! It really is a bad habit! But...

“...But he’s a great guy,” George said as if to finish my thought.

I couldn’t have said it any better!

Arthur was currently being protected by a boy whom even George acknowledged as a wonderful person. And since I didn’t like hiding my emotions, I was just going to come out and admit it, I wish I could have been the princess protected by the knight!

Arthur’s Perspective

Even though we had only walked for a short while, Maika and the others were no longer in sight and I couldn’t hear their voices, either. I took in the forest with all five of my senses. It was like a completely different world compared to the city. Here in this world, Ash was crouching down on the grass and examining something. I wondered what the forest looked like to someone with hunting experience like him.

For an instant, Ash narrowed his eyes with an extremely sharp look. I was startled by that unfamiliar expression of his. However, the next moment he showed me his usual smile.

“Arthur, let me teach you how to set up another trap,” he said.

“Another trap?”

I was still bothered by his sharp expression from a moment ago, but since he didn’t mention anything, I didn’t ask either. I had faith in him. More than anything, I was intrigued by the new trap he was showing me. It was really simple. To me it just looked like grass that had been tied together into a ring.

“Can you make them like this? I want you to put lots over there.”

“Sure, but... Is this for catching the boar?”

Even if the boar got caught in the trap, it was likely only going to fall over and run away again before we could catch it.

“Get moving.” His reply was unexpectedly sharp.

Had something happened? His look from earlier and now this.

I nodded and lowered my voice. “I imagine there’s a reason for all this.”

“Yes, I will explain as we are making the traps.”

If Ash said it was necessary, I was prepared to do anything.

As we were working on the traps, Ash regained his soft demeanor and explained the reason for his strange behavior. “It appears that we have been followed by people who are after you.”

This was the first time that Ash’s words had felt so harsh and cold. I felt despair—as if my heart had been pierced by a shard of ice. I didn’t even have any time to think about smoothing things over with another lie. Blood gushed out from my broken heart and my whole body froze. It was similar to my encounter in our room with Maika, yet much more impactful. I would have preferred to die on the spot.

“...Why?” Still freezing, I finally managed to get out a single word.

Why had Ash said that? Why did he know that I was being targeted? Why? Why? I was afraid to even think about it. It felt as if my whole body was being pierced by ice splinters. Was it possible that Ash knew my secret?

“It is difficult to put it into words. It is the same intuition that kicks in when a wolf or a boar is preying on me. I am sorry I cannot explain it better.”

That’s not what I mean. I don’t care about that.

I was used to being targeted by people. I didn’t care who disliked me or hated me. I had persevered until now, and I was not going to give up at this point. But I didn’t want Ash to hate me. That would have been a fate worse than death. After all, I was a liar.

Nervously, and with timid words, I tried to find out what was on Ash’s mind. I was terrified of the answer. I didn’t want to hear it. I wanted to disappear before Ash told me I was a liar. However, I was still here, trembling from the bottom of my heart, as Ash’s reply came swinging down upon me.

“I did not exactly know your secret. I just guessed that something was going on and that you had a good reason for it.” Those words were unbelievably warm. “Please do not make that face. No matter your real name, I will not change the way I talk to you.”

His words were even gentler than usual, like a hearth on a cold winter day. He put his hands on top of mine, the hands of a liar. They were the same warm hands that had easily chased away my nightmare.

“I want you to help me. I want you to assist me. There are still so many things left that I want to do, and I am counting on your outstanding support from here on out too,” he gently said.

Did I really deserve those words? Was it okay for a liar like me to stay next to Ash?

Normally, anyone in his position would have been angry. They would have cursed me, calling me a liar, blaming me for causing so much trouble. Normally, anyone would have stopped being friends in a situation like this... But Ash was not normal.

“I do not care what anyone else says. I need your help. And as a first step, I want you to help me save you.”

Hearing him speak, I once again realized how special he was. Yeah, Ash was not normal. And as someone who had spent all this time together with him, I felt like I was no longer normal, either. No one could have stayed normal when faced with that expression, which made you feel as comfortable as holding your hands over a burning bonfire.

My shivering hands grabbed back his in return. The ice shards that had pierced my heart melted as if they had never been there in the first place. After all, that just had been my imagination. Just another lie that I had told myself. I had been fixed on those thoughts, ignoring reality. Ash had not behaved coldly towards me. He was the same considerate and warm Ash as always.

Suddenly, it all seemed clear to me. Ash hadn’t found out my lie. Thinking back, he never really called me “Arthur” whenever he wanted to talk to the real me. So he hadn’t found out my lie so much as he had found the real me.

“I-If I can be of any help, and if you’re okay with me, I want to do whatever I can.”

There was no longer any need to hide my identity from him. He had seen through the charade from the start. Ash had been the first friend of the real me from the beginning.

“As someone who is always relying on others, I heartily welcome your help.”

I was happy that you were there for me. I could say with confidence that I was not going to care this much about anyone else for the rest of my life.

●　●　●

I ordered her to run ahead of me. Panicking at the sudden movement of their targets, the assassins had also set out from their hiding place. Hidden in the grass, I took a shot with my short bow. Unfortunately, it was too sudden and far away to hit, but I had expected this much. This was supposed to be a warning shot to let them know that we had noticed them and that we were carrying weapons.

Sure enough, I heard their flustered voices.

“Watch out. We’ve been found out.”

“Don’t let them get away! And make sure to dispose of that other brat too.”

Dispose of us? Please don’t use such unsettling language this casually! Otherwise, I’ll be too scared to go easy on you.

As I ran off to catch up with the girl that I was supposed to protect, I also enticed the assassins to follow me. They tried to use their numbers to their advantage and encircle us, but they did not know how to move around in the forest. Those who had split up to the left and right were slowed down by the bad footing and limited vision. The other two that had chosen to stay on the middle path right behind me got caught in the trap we had been preparing and magnificently fell down.

I reflexively did a double take. Both of them had fallen for a trap that could have easily been avoided if they had anticipated any tricks and slowed down a bit. Those guys really were amateurs inside the forest. Since there were reports that the spies had come from the capital, those guys probably did so too.

As I evaluated our opponents’ strength inside my head, I caught up to the person I was supposed to guard.

“Sorry to make you wait.”

“Ash! Have they already caught up?”

“No, it is only me. Those people are not used to running around the forest. It may be easier than expected to get rid of them.”

She was a bit relieved after hearing my assessment of the situation.

“We should set up some more traps around here,” I said.

“Okay, let’s do it.”

“They fell over from your traps earlier. That was a good job.”

“R-Really?”

Of course, I’ve got no way to verify it, but let’s just say it is the case.

Judging from her little smile, it appeared that Arthur was no longer nervous. Maybe it was just my imagination, but her smile even seemed a bit fiendish as she laid out a trap. Why was I drawn towards that kind of expression when it came to women?

Leaving all the traps on the ground to her, I started working on a contraption at eye height. There was a point where the trees on both sides leaned into the path, narrowing the passage and making it ideal for this trap. I bent the branches in that area and fixed them so that they would whip onto the face of anyone who pulled the trigger made of ivy at chest height. However, since having a single string of ivy hanging in that area was unnatural and too obvious, I camouflaged it by wrapping it around a bunch of other loose ivy plants. It was still possible to make it out if you paid attention, but the question was if the assassins, who did not know their way around the forest, would notice it.

“They still have not caught up. Could they have lost us already?”

How pathetic to lose us already at this distance and speed! Although they probably would eventually catch up following our footsteps, this gave me time to add sharp little twigs to the tip of the branches that would hit their faces. I even rounded off my delicate handiwork with a touch of poison. I felt like my fingers had become nimbler since I started working on my craftsmanship with Hermes and Am.

When everything was fully prepared, I heard the group of assassins approach.

“It is time to run away. Please keep going straight in that direction. I will follow after trying to slow them down a bit.”

“Understood. Be careful.”

“I will be with you right away.”

Hiding in a nearby patch of grass, I fixed an arrow to the string of my short bow. Unlike the earlier warning shot, I was using a poisoned arrow. I was aiming for the narrow passage where the trees were crowding and I had placed the traps. Passing through that area, their movement was going to be severely restricted, making them easy targets.

The bunch approached making a lot of noise from the point of view of a hunter. Two of them tried to get through the narrow passage, but they got stuck in the traps Arthur had set out. Realizing what had happened, they started cursing. In turn, their attention was drawn to their feet, which finally led to one of them carelessly cutting the ivy in front of them. The bent branches swooshed towards one of the men’s faces. In tandem with the screams of the man who had been caught off guard by the surprise attack, I shot an arrow at the other one. Against a backdrop of angry screams of bewilderment and pain, I ran off.

“There he is!”

“Go after him! Come on, that’s just a scratch! How long do you plan on screaming?”

Yes, it’s just a scratch, so come on and follow me. I quite liked people who were passionate about their work. They were easy to deal with.

Looking over my shoulder, I saw all six of them pursuing me. The one with his right eye clogged by blood and the one who pulled out and threw away the arrow from his right shoulder looked very angry. You come prepared to kill and yet you get angry when your target fights back a little? I’ll have you know that I’m much angrier for almost getting killed by your planned surprise attack.

After thirty seconds of having them follow my shadow, I heard a loud bang from behind.

“What are you doing? Get up!”

“Wait, something’s off.”

“He’s foaming at the mouth! Did he get poisoned?”

“M-My body feels kind of numb too...”

It was the first time that I had used the poison on a human, but considering that it worked against a giant bear, it took effect even faster with humans.

Using their confusion to my advantage, I sprinted towards Arthur. For a moment, she seemed scared at the approaching footsteps, but when she saw me pull up next to her, she smiled with a gasp. It appeared that my sporty charm alleviated her fatigue.

“Sorry for making you wait again.”

“I’m glad you made it. I heard some screams. Are you fine?”

“Not a single scratch. But two of our pursuers have dropped out.”

Since I had managed to buy more time, I decided to set up an even more intricate trap this time. First, we were going to completely disappear. We had arrived at a clearing that was probably the result of a large tree falling over. Here we trampled down the grass on purpose up to the center. This left our footprints on the ground, which we then backtracked until we jumped into a thicket where it was difficult to check our further footprints. As such, our trace made it seem to our pursuers as if we had suddenly vanished into thin air.

Arthur admired our tracks, almost forgetting that we were being chased.

“I-I see. This is really smart.”

“Hehe, animals often use this smart method.”

Her eyes sparkled when I told her that I was just a fool in comparison, and that even an expert hunter like Ban still often got outflanked by animals.

“Really? I want to see an animal outrun you.”

It was very much like her to show such brimming curiosity. For the time being, I had her hide in a well-hidden spot as I started to place traps around the clearing. Most of them were the same as the ones used already. However, this time I was not going to wait for them to set off the traps, but rather implement some mechanisms for me to trigger them too. I took a final look over the clearing before climbing up a tree, where I awaited their arrival.

As expected, four assassins came to the clearing. They had probably left behind the two poisoned men. I had anticipated this much, but it was still heartless towards their colleagues. Did they not know the saying that “Those who are kind benefit themselves?” If they had looked after their colleagues and buried their corpses, maybe I would have spared them.

The four assassins that had stepped into the clearing appeared worn-out. They must have come all this way in considerable fear of further traps. Hesitant whether they should proceed with caution or swiftness, they walked towards the center, where they looked around in surprise after discovering the footprints suddenly stopped. A wild animal would have run away the moment it realized this. Anyone who could not do that and stopped in their tracks was at the mercy of the predator’s fangs. And since all four of them had tried to kill us in the forest, I was going to apply those laws of nature to them.

Suddenly, an arrow pierced one of the men’s back. The man who was shot let out a scream before falling onto the ground, probably realizing that it was covered in lethal poison.

The remaining three discovered me as they looked up into the trees with their now pale faces. They actually decided to come straight at me. They shot an arrow, which I easily dodged by hiding behind the tree before jumping down at the right timing. As I jumped down, I tightly grasped a rope made out of vines, which was connected via the shortest route through the branches of nearby trees to a large loop extended on the ground. Even though I was still a child, using my body weight to pull at the rope led to the loop closing in and rounding up all three of them at once.

Taking aim at the assassins who were now bundled together like a stack of firewood, I fired off a precise shot. I intended to follow up with two more arrows, but even they were not that slow. One of them had immediately taken out a dagger to cut the rope.

As I ran towards my next trap, all three of them followed me vigorously, albeit one of them with a pale face from the poisoned arrow. They ran quite fast, assuming there was no further danger with me running ahead of them. Considering the gap in stamina between them and me, they probably would have caught up with me rather quickly at this pace.

In order to avoid that fate, I cut the ivy that I had wrapped around a tree earlier as I passed next to it. One end of the ivy disappeared up into the tree, giving way to a short but thick log swinging down in front of me. The log itself was repurposed from a decaying fallen tree. I had fixed it high above the ground so that it would accelerate and come crashing down like a pendulum. Of course, I had managed to step to the side just in time, but it was too late for the assassins, who were following me at full speed.

“What?!”

With a scream, the person in front threw himself to the ground to avoid the impact. Admittedly, I was impressed by my enemy’s quick reflexes. However, the next in line, who had to act in an even shorter window, did not follow suit. He was hit in the chest and sent flying backwards, knocking over the person behind him too. Neither of these two got back up again.

The pendulum log was more destructive than I had thought. Just in case, I had stuck a poisoned arrow at the tip of the log, but it seemed like that was not really necessary. While the third person that got knocked over had received some protection from the human shield in front of him, he did not get up either, probably because of the poisoned arrow from earlier. Only one left.

The final assassin was still lying on the ground, dumbfounded at his colleagues’ demise. After slowly standing up, he gave me a spiteful look.

“I’ll make you pay for this.”

I laughed scornfully at his cliched line. “I am ready to forgive you.” That is, if you cry and apologize to your target, give Lord Itsuki all the information he needs, and willingly cooperate with all our demands after that.

Laying out my conditions to him, the man’s face turned bright red in fury. “What a load of rubbish! Are you making fun of me?”

“I think those conditions are quite fair for someone who suddenly showed up to kill us.”

Besides, it felt appropriate to make fun of six assassins who had tried to surprise-kill ten-year-old children but ended up having the tables turned on themselves.

Hearing my logical and convincing explanation, the man showed more and more indignation. It appeared that he had rejected my peace offering. What a shame. Really, a pity.

“I guess you do not want me to forgive you, then...” It was such a pity that I started to smile. “I will more than happily oblige with revenge.”

While I knew neither Arthur nor the assassin’s circumstances, the same could be said for the guy in front of me. He had pursued me without knowing a thing about me. So why should I have to deliberate the circumstances of a fellow like him? I did not want to lose a talented person who was willing to help me achieve my absurd and reckless dreams. Much less did I want her to be killed by someone who did not even appreciate her talents. I could not bear that thought. I would rather snatch her away myself.

Accordingly, I confronted him with a declaration of war. “Let me be clear. My desire will poison you to death.”

Before my opponent could move, I jumped into the tall grass behind me to hide.

“Damn, you coward! Don’t go hiding again!”

That’s funny coming from the likes of you.

They were the ones who had chosen to bring the fight to my home ground. They had their own reasons for pursuing us. Just like we had our own reasons for trying to drive them away. The fight had started on equal footing, so there was no reason to blame their failures on me.

As I was hiding in the grass, I pulled on a previously-prepared vine, which led to a smaller tree further away. Since that was all there was to this contraption, it only produced a rustling sound by shaking that tree. Although it was worth mentioning that the small tree was placed just in the right spot for a clear shot from my current position.

Lured by the rustling sound, the final assassin approached the tree. At that moment, I quietly drew my bow and shot my final arrow. While listening to the ensuing screams and jeers, I secretly withdrew. I did not feel the need at all to make use of my holy hunting dagger in this hunt.

After informing the girl that it was over, I left the rest to the adults, like a good kid. I gave a rundown of the events to Sir George, who had arrived in support after hearing what had happened from Lady Maika. I helped out a little bit before spending the rest of the evening quietly eating dinner.

Luckily, none of the students had noticed the commotion caused by me and Sir George. Given that we were going to vacate the campsite and embark on another day-and-a-half long march to the city tomorrow, they were probably more tired than curious. As the sun set, everyone crawled back to their tents.

As for me, I tried making some smoked meat with the leftovers. While I was also tired, I managed to pull through to avoid having to eat dried meat and hard-baked biscuits again starting tomorrow. If only this place was further industrialized...

I decisively looked up at the night sky. I decided to develop preserved meals once the industrial development plan was set in motion and the technology for processed packaging had reached a certain standard. It appeared that the beautiful, sparkling stars gave me their blessing. How romantic to wish upon the stars. Although it’s a bit smoky.

While I was looking up at the sky surrounded by the smell of smoked meat, the girl quietly approached me.

“Ash, do you have a moment?”

“Yes, of course.”

She stood nearby with a calm yet guilty look on her pretty face. Considering what had happened to her today, I could not blame her for having complicated feelings.

“Should we go somewhere else?” I proposed.

“Yeah, that’s probably better, if you don’t mind.”

“How about we go enjoy the cool air near the river?”

Near the riverbed, where the trees cleared up, the stars were shining even brighter. Even the moon, which you could not see from the campsite, was reflecting on the water surface.

After looking at the moon for a short while, I decided to break the silence. Since it must have been difficult for her to start the conversation, I came up with some bland line.

“The moon is beautiful tonight.”

“It really is,” she reacted to my simple expression with a brief affirmation before hesitantly continuing, “It is thanks to you that I’m able to see the moon tonight.”

Hearing her express her gratitude for saving her life, I told her not to worry about it, “You are a precious friend who helps me in a lot of ways; it’s the least I could do.”

“You still call me a friend?” she asked in a slightly shaky voice.

I see. It would not have been strange for me to hate her after my life was put in danger because of her pursuers. But I did not feel that way at all.

“Of course you are still my friend. I do not remember you doing anything that would make me hate you. On the contrary, you make me like you even more.”

My smile appeared to take her breath away for a moment before she hastily covered up her face and looked downwards. “You shouldn’t say that so casually. You should be aware of how impactful your words can be.”

“Do you think so? But I am truly happy that you have helped me work towards my dreams. And we have spent quite some time together ever since we met. Would you not say it is normal for me to like you?”

“You’re doing it again!”

She was talking with her face turned away, only catching fleeting glimpses of me. As our eyes met and I smiled, she somehow got angry.

“Are you even listening?!”

It sounded like she was embarrassed by my straightforward affection. Admittedly, it had been a bit cheesy.

“Anyway, for the time being, you do not have to worry about anything. You have helped me out in so many different ways. Today I managed to pay you back for that. Even if it was just a tiny fraction of my debt,” I told her.

As I always said, kindness repays kindness. And she had shown me a great amount of kindness. She may have been thinking that she did not do anything that was worth putting my life on the line for her, but that was just her point of view. According to my criteria, her kindness had been more than enough to warrant today’s efforts. Or she could consider it an advance for all the kindness that she was surely going to show me from here on out, if that suited her better. Besides, in this world putting your life on the line was almost a daily occurrence. Therefore, it really was not a big deal, but from her point of view, I was the one that was too kind.

“You’re too kind, Ash.” Her voice sounded brittle, as if it was going to break at any moment. “Even though I haven’t told you anything about me. You don’t even know my name. And yet you’re so kind... to a liar like me...”

A tear flowed from her eyes. At first, I thought it was just a single one, but then it was followed by another, and yet another, until there was a small river running down her cheeks. I wondered for how long she had held in those tears.

As honest as she was, she must have suffered from keeping up the lie. As patient as she was, she must have desperately resisted the urge to expose her true self. As curious as she was, she must have resented not being able to do what she really wanted.

Under the light of the beautiful moon, her tears did not stop. I could not bear to look straight at that painful scene.

“You know, I like lies,” I said.

An ad-lib complaint towards reality rushed out of my mouth.

“I mean, would you not agree that reality is too cruel? If you are born as a poor farmer in a poor village, there are not many fun things in your life. Reality does not really provide you with any motivation to keep on moving forward each day.”

Until I turned eight, I lived as if I were dead already. Imagining what I had looked like from the outside led to feelings of shame and resentment that showed themselves through my wry smile.

“I am only alive right now thanks to lies. I survived by clinging onto fun and kind made-up stories where the suffering is always resolved.”

I was deeply grateful to Mrs. Yuika for reading aloud that story on that fateful day. Ever since then, I had been able to somehow enjoy life even in a cruel world like this. At the very least, my life was good enough that I wanted to help anyone who was crying in front of me.

“So it does not matter to me that you lied. I am sure that lie was necessary for you to live your life.” She should not have been blamed or hated for that lie. “And if you have managed to survive thanks to that lie, then I like it. You should treasure it even more than reality or the truth.”

The crying of the girl under the moonlight now turned into loud sobbing. I had failed as a gentleman. I could not even comfort her.

“I am sorry. I am not really good at finding the right words in these situations...” Not knowing what to do, I became flustered.

In response, she just shook her head while crying her eyes out. “Tha... not... it... I’m gla... you don’t... hate me...”

“Of course I do not hate you. How could I? You help me work towards my dreams. You are a dear friend now and from here on out.”

“Ash... thank... you...”

If that’s all you want, I’ll be your friend however and whenever you want, but please, stop crying...

I suppressed my impulse to run away. I wondered how many minutes I had spent watching her cry now.

Finally, her sobs died down to a sniffle. She then discreetly waved me over.

“Yes?”

As our faces drew closer together, she seemed to remember that her face was wet from crying. Embarrassed, she turned her face away.

“U-Uhm... I was told not to tell anyone, but... you’re special. I owe my life to you...” After coming up with an excuse to share her secret with me, she softly whispered into my ear, “My... real name is...”

The camping trip had included an unexpected hunting event, but we had managed to come back without leaving anyone behind. We even brought back a large prey, so you could say that it was in fact a huge success.

After several days, the exhausted students also got back to zealously studying for the sake of their futures. I was no exception. Once I had gotten back into my daily routine, I worked vigorously towards the implementation of both the agriculture and the industrial development plan. If I dare say so myself, I was busy to the point of feeling dizzy, but as a result of the camping trip, I had even more work to do. After all, I had to look after the large prey we had caught during the sudden hunting event.

“Good morning. Thank you for your service.”

I greeted the guard standing in front of the room at the back of the count’s mansion. He was one of Sir George’s subordinates who had accompanied us on the camping trip.

“How is our guest doing?” I asked.

“He is awake, but still doesn’t speak a word. He doesn’t look as pale anymore, so it looks like he’s getting better.”

“I see. So I can assume that the antidote is working, then.”

I was glad to hear that. For the time being, my objective was to not let our prey die.

“However, because of that he may also attack you, so please be careful when approaching him,” the guard warned me.

“Yes, I will watch out.”

Every hunter knew that there was nothing more ferocious than wounded prey.

Bracing myself, I opened the door. The room with blocked windows was dark and bleak, but clean. The bed, which was the only piece of furniture, was quite lavish. At the very least it was much more expensive and imposing than mine back home at the village. Tied to that bed for surveillance was one of the assassins that had been caught in our trap during the training camp.

After repelling all the enemies, I had brought along Sir George to collect the bodies, but found one of them was still breathing. We treated him and brought him back with us. It was the assassin who had lost his right eye to the tree trap. Apparently, he had not been poisoned too badly, so the antidote still worked. What a streak of luck! As a result, we were given an opportunity to gain information on who had sent him.

“Hello, it is time for your daily check-up!”

Greeting him with a merry voice, I looked at the face of the man whose four limbs were tied to the bed. It was a model sour look!

“There you go again, making sour faces. I have heard you are still not giving up any information. Are you not happy with the guarantee that we will let you live the rest of your life if you talk?”

I tried making conversation, but the man still did not look like he wanted to talk at all. Was that appropriate behavior towards the nice boy who treated him? I wished he would have let me examine him with a slightly friendlier attitude.

Regardless, this was an important task, so I could not just do it half-heartedly. I had become quite good at concocting lethal poison, but I still did not have much experience counteracting it. Fortunately, I had never poisoned myself with my own poison up to now.

“Oh? Looks like the swelling on your face has gone down quite a bit. Hm... You still have a fever. Nonetheless, you are getting better each day. Are you experiencing any other symptoms?”

While taking notes, I asked him about his well-being, but the man did not break his silence. What an uncooperative test subject.

“You should at least tell me how you are feeling. Otherwise, I cannot treat you properly.”

“I didn’t ask you to treat me at all.” He laughed scornfully while making a throwaway remark.

However, I did not see what was funny about this situation.

“Why are you stating the obvious?” Why should I have had to comply with my test subject’s wishes? “I am asking you to please let me treat you. I do not care if you want to receive treatment or not. I want to cure you.”

As I smiled from the bottom of my heart while informing him about my desire to heal him, my test subject’s sour face slightly faltered.

“Oh, did you understand? Yes, I am in fact really looking forward to healing you.”

So much so that I had even temporarily halted my precious other plans. So much so that I burst into laughter by myself when looking through the list of poisonous plants and medicinal herbs that I had received from Mr. Quid.

“After all, if you keep refusing to give us any information, you are going to become mine.”

“Do you plan on making me your slave?”

“By no means! I already have enough people helping me with my work. And even if I did not, you alone would not really make a difference.”

Belgo and the prisoners were there to help me with simple tasks. I did want to build a highway and cultivate new plots of land, but a single slave would have been of no use.

“Besides, a slave? Only humans can become slaves. Do you still consider yourself a human?” He seemed dumbfounded by this unexpected question. “You committed the serious crime of trying to harm the count’s son. Under normal circumstances, you would have already been executed. You are only alive and receiving medical care because there is important information stored inside your head.” Do you realize what that means?

I lightly tapped his head. There was no reply. Maybe the information pretended to be out.

“If by any chance you do not have any information... Or if you do not want to give it up... There is no value in letting you live. You would just be a corpse that is not dead yet.”

And who would have wanted a rotting corpse as a slave? It would have been a waste of a burial fee.

“However, to me, a corpse that is not dead yet is extremely valuable.”

After all, it still had the reactions of a living body. In other words, if you injected it with poison, you could check what effects it had, how they presented themselves, and how long they lasted.

“Do you know what anesthesia is? It is an agent from the ancient civilization which temporarily removes a human’s sense of pain. You could say it is a very strong painkiller. If I use anesthesia, even cutting open your stomach will not hurt.”

I slowly traced the abdomen of the restrained man. It felt revolting doing it to a bastard like him. Personally, I would have liked to trace the abdomen of a beautiful woman. However, I chose not to express these thoughts and instead passionately talked about the greatness of anesthesia.

“If we had anesthesia, we would be able to treat seriously injured patients who are currently doomed! We could also start treating patients with diseases of unknown origins. After all, it would allow us to perform surgery, cutting open their bodies.”

Without anesthesia, the only way to perform surgery was to hold down the patient as they writhed in pain. This may have been feasible for small cuts into the arms or so, but no human would have let their stomach be cut open like a fish. And if the patient did not stay still, it was easy to miss one’s aim and hard to look at the affected parts. The bleeding was stronger and there was a higher probability of unnecessary wounds. Or to put it differently, they were likely to die. That was the reason why the concept of surgery did not currently exist.

As a result, if, for example, a broken bone pierced through the skin of a patient, it was not possible to put it back, leading to a permanently bent bone. That was if the patient did not die from a festering wound first. It was a shame how many lives were lost to a mere bone fracture. The world still held a lot of empty space to house more humans. That was why anesthesia was necessary. Anesthesia alone may not have solved everything, but without it, nothing would start. Accordingly, I had always aimed to bring back anesthesia, so I would be able to perform surgery on myself and the people around me in case of injury and illness.

“But it is not that simple! The main ingredient of anesthesia is poison! And pretty deadly poison as well! If you use too much, the patient will die, and even if you find the right dose, it comes with side effects that can make you sick. It would be scary to test that on myself or the people around me.”

So scary that I had not done it. I had experimented on my guinea pigs, but naturally the dosage was completely different. While I did calculate the weight proportions and came up with different variants, it was impossible to know if they worked until I tested them on a human.

Having explained this much without taking a breath, I took a moment to look down on the restrained man. His face had turned pale. It appeared that he had guessed my plans for him from the direction my explanation was taking. As expected from a corpse that had not died yet. See? There was a proper human reaction. That was important.

“I will repeat myself. I am asking you to please let me treat you. I do not care if you want to receive treatment or not. I want to cure you.” No matter how much you cry that you object, I will provide you with the best possible care in all sincerity. “After all, if you happened to turn into a dead corpse, I would no longer be able to perform any experiments.”

Having received the official seal of approval from the acting count for human experiments, I could not consciously let this precious life go to waste.

I showed an affectionate smile to my test subject. “Do not worry. While the experiments may be dangerous, I will not do anything that risks killing you right away. At first, I will administer a small amount of anesthesia that will definitely keep you alive. However, since that also means that you will retain most of your sense of pain, I will not perform any pain sensitivity tests at this stage. Maybe I will poke you a bit with a needle or something.”

My test subject started sweating profusely. What a worrywart. In order to reassure him, I continued my explanation even more seriously. “Of course, the amount of anesthesia will increase with each experiment, and accordingly, your senses will become more numb. At that point, I will have to cut open various parts of your body as if I was performing surgery.”

This part of the explanation just made it sound like a grotesque experiment coming from a mad scientist. Understandably, my test subject’s anxiety went through the roof.

In complete reversal, I showed a bright smile. As animals living in groups, humans instinctively relaxed when seeing a smile. “However, please rest assured. At the same time, I will conduct experiments on the technique of stitching and put you back together. I will make sure that your wounds close and heal properly. I will also take utmost care of hygiene. I promise you I will do my best to keep you alive.” Isn’t that a conscientious experiment?

The possibilities ranged from dying after a single test to surviving and moving on to the next one.

The test subject’s anxiety morphed into full-blown despair, skyrocketing even further.

“Judging from your expression, I assume you understand what that means. Unfortunately, there is also the possibility that you will die due to my poor ability.” One should not lie, so I told him the honest truth. “But even in the unlikely event that you do die, your sacrifice will not be in vain. After your death, I will carefully and respectfully cut open and dissect every bit of your body. This will allow me to observe the thickness of your veins, the flexibility of your muscles, the spread and the color of your nerves, as well as the placement and structure of your internal organs. Generally speaking, I will disassemble and document everything without exception. And that is not all! After scraping off all the flesh, your skeleton will forever become a model for medical science.”

As I swore to the three gods that I would not let a single bone go to waste, the test subject got watery eyes. Did my passionate speech move him to tears? This proved how important it was to talk with all one’s heart.

“In that case, your noble sacrifice would surely result in your name becoming renowned. However, you refuse to even tell us your own name... Well, you do not have to. All you need to do is let me perform my experiments on you.”

There must have been some kind of duty to confidentiality due to the nature of his job. While he was an assassin, he was still a human. If he had any family, he probably did not want to sully their name. In that case, I just had to give him an alias. That was good enough to record his devotion for posterity.

“Let me give you a name that has been passed down in my family to all those who offered their life for the development of science.” What number am I on again? Ah, right. “Starting today, your name will be Guinea Pig 57. I imagine the 56 rats who helped me in my experiments before you would be highly pleased too.”

The test subject—or I should say, Guinea Pig 57—was so moved that he was shaking and crying. It warmed my heart to see how pleased he was.

With that warm feeling in my chest, I asked Guinea Pig 57 for a favor. “I went through great pains to draw up an experiment plan that will last for five or ten years. So, could you please continue to keep your mouth shut? Please do not tell us who sent you here.”

I finished today’s visit with these polite and kind words of enthusiasm.

One hour later, Lord Itsuki called me to tell me that Guinea Pig 57 had told him everything he knew.

After the assassin who was supposed to become Guinea Pig 57 had talked, Lord Itsuki was in an extremely good mood.

“Good work, Ash! Your threats were very effective. Naturally, I will have to double-check the information, but it didn’t look like he was lying.”

“I am glad everything went well. I was nervous.”

Of course, my earlier behavior was all just an act. As someone who aimed to be a conscientious gentleman with common sense, there was no way that I would have condoned such practices spitting in the face of humanity. However...

“I did not mean to frighten him... Maybe he was surprisingly cowardly?”

To make it sound scary, I did think up lines that sounded like they could have come from a crazy, high-achieving, bloodthirsty killer. Honestly, though, I had not expected a professional assassin to falter from a single interaction like that. Did people like him not come prepared to die for their job?

“Well, he was not so much an assassin, but rather a spy who also engages in dirtier work,” Lord Itsuki explained.

“So you are saying that he has less courage than professional assassins?”

“I’d say it’s a matter of degree, but you got the right idea.”

Nonetheless, someone like him should have been more resolved to keep information concealed. I was suspicious of his loose tongue, but I did have an explanation for it.

“I guess it is not too strange to become mentally unstable in his situation. He lost all his colleagues, his body is weakened from the poison, and he finds himself confined in a dark room.”

“It’s all thanks to your judgment. You said we should press him for answers before he recovers.” After laughing loudly, Lord Itsuki added in a lower voice, “But the guard was also scared of you, so it probably wouldn’t have made much of a difference.”

“Haha, that is a good joke,” I laughed.

There was no way that an intelligent and gentle child like me, who would not even hurt a fly, could have scared one of Lord Itsuki’s adult allies too.

“Uh...”

Lord Itsuki, you should look people in the eyes when talking! Otherwise, you’ll make them sad thinking that you’re avoiding them!

“Anyway! Ash, I really can’t thank you enough this time. We still need to await the actual results, but it looks like her position will improve considerably with the information that we’ve obtained.”

Hearing those words come from Lord Itsuki, I first felt an immense sense of relief, followed by a sense of satisfaction.

“I am happy to hear that.”

“Let me thank you as a representative of the Count of Sacula’s family. We are indebted to you and we will never forget your meritorious deed.”

The acting count expressed gratitude as a representative of his family. Since he could not make the circumstances regarding her situation public yet, he could not go into any further details. This probably translated to him saying, “We will reward you sometime in the future, so please wait for now.”

Part of me was counting my chickens before they hatched, but at the same time, I also hesitated to receive a reward from the count’s family.

“Thank you for your kind words. However, I only acted to save my friend. How should I put it...?”

I managed to save a precious friend and deepen our bond. The fact that she was going to keep being a good friend of mine was already rewarding enough to me. I did not need anything more from anyone else.

“...Having my friend back is all that I need. It would be a bit greedy to ask for anything more... Do not worry too much about owing me a debt or my meritorious deed this time.” But only this time around. This is a one-off. Starting next time, I won’t mind receiving a reward for every single deed.

As I looked up with a serious expression, Lord Itsuki’s face resembled that of a leader of a bunch of rascals joining his friends. Was that the face of a statesman facing a subordinate? I was most definitely sure it was not.

“How tactless of me! Please forgive me, Ash!”

“A-Ah... Yes, I do not mind at all.”

“You’re absolutely right! It’s inappropriate to think about getting a reward for protecting your friend! You don’t need anything like that to help your friends! I know, I know. Bahaha.” He boastfully laughed, facing towards the ceiling.

Hmm, I see.

Somehow, Lord Itsuki’s switch had been flipped. At work, he tried to be a composed statesman, but he just was not able to hide his affinity for hard work, friendship, and victories.

“Right. Today’s a wonderful day! Ash, would you mind joining me tonight? I’ll call Baleas too, and we can have a men’s night out!”

He was asking me out in such a cheerful way that it was almost impossible to refuse. Not that I would have had any reasons to refuse in the first place, so I just accepted.

“If it is alright with you, I would be happy to join you.”

“Yeah! Let’s drink until sunrise!”

That night we ended up trying out various establishments across the city, which eventually led to one of us drinking themselves under the table at one of the guard lodging houses. That person was neither me nor Sir George.

While shouldering the passed-out acting count, Sir George showed a resigned yet delightful smile. “Since you were here today, it was much easier to deal with him than usual. I’ll count on you joining us next time too.”

It appeared Lord Itsuki himself also had a great friend.

After the recent events, Lord Arthur’s reputation and social standing improved with each passing day. While Lord Itsuki could not give me many details regarding the situation, he relayed information as needed. According to him, it was to alleviate my concerns for my friend.

As summer passed by and it felt more like fall day by day, Lord Arthur’s problems at the capital seemed to be heading towards resolution. At the same time, Lord Arthur’s expression became gloomier, just like the sun that was losing its strength in the face of fall.

Wondering what was weighing on her mind, I received the answer one day, when she came back to our dormitory room. Around that time, winter’s footsteps could already be heard in the distance.

“I’ve got to go back to the capital.” She spoke with tear-filled eyes in front of the closed door.

“...I see.” That was my answer.

I had anticipated this turn of events. Considering the meaning of her real name, she could not have stayed here forever. No matter whether the trouble got resolved or not, her presence was needed as a balancing weight in the capital. It was incredibly unfortunate that I had to part with such a brilliant and talented person.

I let out a sigh, thinking I was about to lose contact with her.

Lord Arthur’s slender shoulders shook in surprise. “I-I’m sorry...!” she apologized with teary eyes. “I can’t believe I won’t be able to repay you for saving my life... I told them I wanted to stay here, but they wouldn’t listen.” Holding one hand to her temple she shook her head.

That doesn’t surprise me. In your position, that’s out of the question.

As a person of reason, I felt compelled to comfort her. I did not want her to start crying again. “There is no need to apologize. Your desire to stay here is already more than enough.” So please don’t cry, okay? Otherwise, my gentleman experience points will decrease.

“Y-You’re not angry?”

“Me? Angry? At you?”

On the opposite, I was bursting with feelings of guilt and kindness towards a girl who was about to cry. There was no room for anger.

“I mean... you said you saved me because you wanted me to help... So I thought I should put my life on the line helping you to repay you for risking your life for me.”

“Please do not put your life on the line that casually!”

I could say that with confidence as someone who had risked their own life about once a year for the past three years.

However, my statement had not been as persuasive as I assumed, since her face went from almost crying to grimacing.

“Well, you’re the one who risked your own life first...”

“Yes, that is exactly why I said it. I guess that advice comes from my own experience.”

Lord Arthur glared at me, not looking convinced at all.

Let’s change the subject. “In any case, I am not angry. However, I think it is unfortunate that we cannot be together forever.”

“F-Forever...?”

“Yes, forever.”

Lord Arthur’s face turned bright red after hearing my reassuring answer. “I-I’m not going to get tricked again! Y-You mean as friends, of course! Right?!”

“Yes, as friends... When did I ever trick you?”

I did not remember ever doing anything so disgraceful in my whole life! Not even once!

“Just as I thought! Everything’s fine... Y-Yeah, I’m glad to hear you say that, I think.”

“You really are a brilliant person. If you stayed by my side, I am sure you would have helped me with many things. Considering that, I cannot help but feel disappointed.”

“Yeah... I also think it would’ve been much more fun to spend time with you. It’s really frustrating.” The curious girl smiled as if she were talking about a pleasant dream. “And... even more so, it feels very lonely.” Her smile could not mask her urge to break out into tears.

It seemed that she had very much enjoyed the time spent with a hopeless oddball like me. In that case, there was no need for me to hold back in making a demand.

What demand? Naturally, regarding our future cooperation. I was not going to let a brilliant human resource like her get away without doing anything about it.

“In that case, I know just the right person that can help you drive your loneliness away.”

It was a perfect match. This may have been divine guidance.

I took out the letters that Mr. Quid regularly brought me back from the capital. “Do you remember Father Folke, my teacher who went to the capital last year?”

Seeing a big smile come over my face, her teary expression gave way to a perplexed look. “Y-Yeah, the person deciphering the ancient language.”

“Yes, precisely. The middle-aged delinquent, shut-in priest deciphering ancient language.”

“I think you’re the only one calling him that.”

And that had been me toning it down for the sake of the well-brought-up Lord Arthur. Usually, I was much franker with Father Folke himself, who did not hold back either. I only repaid his good manners with mine.

“It seems that Father Folke’s studies in the capital are coming along nicely, and he has been making friends with various interesting research fellows.”

It was not just ancient language researchers, either. There were natural historians and medical scientists among them too. My first reaction upon hearing that was that I wanted to go to the capital right away.

“I would love for you to talk to Father Folke and his research fellows once you get back to the capital.”

“Yeah, of course. I can just talk to them...” She tilted her head as if to say, “Are you sure you don’t want me to do anything else?”

“It is not just talking to them. It is you who is talking to them. You, who studied alongside me and helped me make various things. Someone as brilliant as you.”

Lord Arthur knew very well what it was that I needed right now. And she knew what it was that I wanted to do moving forward. That was precisely why I wanted her specifically to talk to researchers who had access to all the knowledge stored in the capital.

“I am sure you will have many conversations with them that would make me jealous. And I am certain you will learn things that I am dying to know.”

It felt as if I had obtained my other self—my clone—that I had jokingly wished for in the past. And, coincidentally, my other self was going to the capital. Truly wonderful. The time that I had spent together with her now made it possible to fulfill this pipe dream of mine. Not a single thing had been in waste.

“All you have to do is talk to them. However, your brilliance and your experience helping me out will turn those conversations into crystals of valuable knowledge.”

I tightly grasped the hand of my precious, precious friend.

“Please continue to talk to me like this even after going to the capital. While your voice may not be able to reach this far, your writing will. Please keep talking to me through letters. Let me know what interesting new things you have learned at the capital. I will read your letters at the temple together with everyone else. It will be as if you were there with us doing research again.”

Of course, I was also going to write her letters. I was going to tell her about new projects I started with my friends, what shapes they were taking, what direction they were going, and how fast they were coming along. I wanted to share with her what new things I acquired, and what new things I wanted. I wished to let her hear my laughing voice.

“So please keep saving me going forward. Please keep lending me your help.”

If she wanted to repay me for what I had done, that was more than enough. After all, while it sounded easy, I knew more than anyone else how absurdly bothersome, plain, and endlessly long that path was. But that was what helping with my dream entailed.

If I had not been in despair at the state of this world, I would not have chased after such a reckless dream myself. Therefore, if she was prepared to agree to my request and follow me into such a dangerous dreamland, then I declared to abide by the phrase “Kindness repays kindness.”

“I see...” Her smile resembled the sun rays after the rain, driving away the darkness. “...I’ll be able to keep helping you.”

“Of course.” I resolved myself and reciprocated her smile. “I will always want your help. Please do not forget that.”

As long as you’re offering your help, I’ll go anywhere I need to accept it. And I’ll kick away anything that tries to get in my way.

Arthur’s Perspective

It was that time of the year when strong winds blew over Sacula. At last, the day of my departure had come.

In the morning, I got dressed in a dreamlike and fuzzy state. First, I went to see our dorm supervisor, Mrs. Rihn, who had helped me both openly and secretly after coming to this town. Yes, I had to call her Mrs. Rihn now—I could not be too familiar with the leading maid of another family. Of course, I had not yet departed, so I still needed to take care out in public, but now I was alone with her.

“Thank you so much for everything. Your assistance was very reassuring, Mrs. Rihn.”

“I am glad that I was able to support you with the little that I could do.”

After formally bowing at the proper angle, just like she did when we first met, she went on to say something that was not proper at all.

“But this doesn’t feel right.”

It was nothing big, but it was unusual to hear the strict and serious maid point this out with a smile on her face.

“I’m standing here in front of a student whom I looked after for the past two years at this dormitory. So please, keep calling me ‘Rihn.’”

I caught my breath seeing her smile, which I had almost never seen in the past two years.

Was it really okay to call her “Rihn”? That way of calling her was a representation of the very limited time that I had spent with her as Arthur. It didn’t belong to me—it belonged to Arthur, who was about to leave.

“But...”

“There is no ‘but.’ I don’t know what it’s like at the royal capital, but here you are in the remote region of Sacula. Different manners and etiquette apply under the rule of the Count. As the dormitory supervisor, I looked after you as a member of the military academy. It may only have been two years, but that relationship will live on forever.” Her face lit up with a cordial smile. “With all due respect, I don’t feel comfortable with a naughty child who secretly eats tomatoes being so formal all of a sudden. So please, keep calling me ‘Rihn.’”

It was not like the strict maid to be so irrational. However, I also felt a familiar warmth radiating from the dorm supervisor earnestly carrying out her job.

“Yeah... Thanks, Rihn.”

Our relationship, which was only supposed to last for two years, had been freed from the constraints of time.

Next, I visited the temple. I was especially grateful towards Mother Yae. Whenever I failed to keep up with Ash and Maika, she was the one who sat beside me and helped.

“Mother Yae, thank you so much for teaching me so many things.”

“I’m glad you feel that way. But you don’t have to mention it.”

The intelligent priest, who looked prettier by the day, had her beautiful face light up with a passionate look.

“I am a priest, and you were a student who enthusiastically pursued knowledge. The gates of the temple are always open to someone like you. Here in Sacula as well as in the royal capital. Don’t ever forget that.”

She then proceeded to hand me over a dozen envelopes.

“What are these, Mother Yae?”

“I guess you could say they are letters of recommendation certifying your high expertise. If you show them to the people at the temple in the capital, you should be able to receive an adequate reception. This should be all you need. For the rest, you should be able to make the necessary connections by yourself.”

The sealing wax showed the Count of Sacula’s family crest. It was not the one used by the acting count or count himself, but it was of equal formality and the highest-ranked seal she could have used. In other words, these envelopes didn’t just represent the authority of the Church, but they also wore the authority of the count on the outside. They were like a master swordsman carrying a weapon made by a famous artisan.

“Mother Yae, aren’t you going to get in trouble for this?”

To my surprise, Mother Yae showed a mischievous smile. I could almost hear her saying, “Oh, did you notice?”

“Yes, I could possibly get into trouble.”

The Church cautioned against the open cooperation of religious authorities and political authorities such as the nobility. This was because, historically, the nobles had used the power of the Church to obtain tyrannical profit.

“However, this is innocent compared to what those guys from the capital are prepared to do.”

“But I don’t want to cause you any trouble...”

“Are you in any position to say that?” The intellectual priest showed a beautiful yet terrifying hunter’s expression. “Ash told me that you are going to help him with his research at the capital.”

I faltered after hearing the facts laid out to me.

“I’m sure Ash will not say anything if you only report to him every once in a while. He is not the type of person to go hard on other people.”

She’s right. That makes him even more...

“However, you’re different. You’ll mind a lot if you only report to Ash sporadically. So much so that your food will get stuck in your throat.”

My chest hurt from being pointed out the truth. She may have been right. No, she was definitely right.

“You should make use of everything at your disposal. For your own sake. And mine.” Mother Yae expressed her selfish desires with a lovely smile. “If it’s easier for you to act in the capital, ultimately that will help out Ash. And if you can manage to help Ash, he will probably also help me in return. I’m so close to winning over Baleas’ heart.”

Before I knew it, she had started calling the person to whom she had referred as “Sir George” when we first met by his first name.

“So don’t feel like you have to hold back. It’s also for the sake of my romance.”

She was upfront about her feelings. My admiration manifested itself as a wry smile. Sir George must have been one lucky guy to have such strong feelings directed towards him.

“From my point of view, it looks like you’re also in no position to choose your methods,” Mother Yae interrupted my thoughts with another warning. “If you have no choice but to get separated, you have to make sure to stay on his mind. It’s not you who should be irritated by the distance, but you have to make him feel frustrated that you are far apart.”

“What are you talking about...?” I felt like the conversation was moving in a different direction.

In response to my bewilderment, Mother Yae drew closer and whispered into my ear. Not as a priest, but as a woman. “Given my position, I should probably be rooting for Maika, but after spending so much time studying with you, I also want to support your romantic feelings. In a way, I’m also in a position where I’m sort of stealing someone’s romantic partner.”

Looking away, I felt my face flush at once after receiving this friendly yet teasing advice. “Wh-What do you mean?”

“I’m Lady Yuika’s younger cousin, and as a result, Maika’s blood relative... But above anything else, and just like you, I’m a woman who’s in love.”

She let me know that she had seen through my lie—my feelings were obvious to her.

“Love is another major discipline of life. If you ever need any advice, I’ll be there for you, my top disciple,” she added.

And that’s how, just around the time where I was supposed to leave this land, I was roped into a new relationship.

After saying goodbye to various people, I finally came to the count’s mansion. I had to say farewell to the most influential person currently in this region.

“I am sorry for causing the count’s family and, by extension, the Sacula region so much trouble during the past two years. I will never forget your kindness for as long as I live, Lord Itsuki.” I displayed the manners expected of someone of my rightful social status.

Lord Itsuki nodded with a demeanor befitting of an acting count. Somehow, I had anticipated this outcome. I had a feeling this was not going to be over that easily.

“I want you to start again.” Just as I had thought, Lord Itsuki spoke out with a serious expression on his face. “I am your older brother, and you are the youngest child of the house of Amanobe. You address me accordingly.”

I let the tension out of my shoulders. My eyebrows shamefully lowered.

Everyone here was like this. Even though I built a wall around me and distanced myself so as to not cause any trouble, they all came knocking on that wall, inviting me out to join them.

“Thank you, my dear brother Itsuki.”

Thanking him as my alter ego, he once again nodded. This time with the demeanor of a family member.

“That’s it! I’m sad to see my cute younger brother go away to the capital, but judging from your activity report from the military academy, I’m sure you’ll be able to flourish there as well.”

My dear brother paused for a moment. As a statesman, he always acted with a sullen face, but he now showed himself as a private individual.

“In the unlikely event that you end up disliking everything in the capital city, I want you to remember the time you spent here. When you come back, those guys will be delighted no matter what.”

I was surprised at the faces that came to my mind after hearing that statement. It was not just one or two people. I didn’t realize how many sparkling memories I carried inside of me. Memories that acted as a hearth driving away the cold. I had truly been accepted in this place.

“I’m glad I got to see that face,” my dear brother Itsuki said, and smiled as if he had seen a light inside the darkness. “I was the one who brought it up, but I admit I was slightly worried you were going to say that there are no such people.”

“Of course they exist!”

I was perplexed by my fiery, vehement response. But those were my honest feelings. It felt as if a flame from the bottom of my heart had consumed my body. Of course those people existed.

“Yeah, there will be many people who rejoice when you come back. And it will not be simply because of who you are, but because of the two years you spent together with them as Arthur. Don’t ever forget that.”

My very kind and gentle big brother proceeded to pat my head in a slightly rough manner.

After I had said farewell to my big brother, I was greeted by someone that I had not expected to meet here in the corridors of the mansion.

“Hey! Do you have a moment?”

Her bright, sun-like smile appeared extremely cute even to me.

“Sure, Maika. I’m almost done saying my goodbyes, and there’s nothing else left for me to do until my departure.”

“Let’s talk a bit, then.” Maika grabbed my hand.

“Where are we going?”

“To the guest room over there. That’s better than just standing in the hallway.”

I followed behind Maika as she pulled my hand. This casual behavior of hers filled me with emotion. She had always dragged me along like this. When Ash had already moved ahead by leaps and bounds by himself, and it felt like I was being left behind, she had extended her hand. When I had thought that maybe I should give up chasing after him, it was always her hand that brought me back. This was the last time I was going to be pulled along by her hand. I didn’t want to forget its warmth.

At that moment, I suddenly let go. We had already arrived at the guest room, which was deeply intertwined with my memories.

“Is this the place where...”

“Yeah, this is where we treated Ash’s serious injuries.”

A half-dead Ash was brought here after his fight with a werewolf. My hands trembled as I recalled how cold he had felt back then.

“I thought this would be a good place for us to talk,” Maika added.

Yeah, it didn’t look like she just wanted to say goodbye. She chose this place after all. It must have been something special and important.

“Let’s see...” After closing her eyelids for a brief moment, she looked me straight into the eyes. “I won’t call you ‘Arthur’ anymore.”

Her words mercilessly ripped through my lie, just like Ash’s words had done a while back. But I had changed since then. I was fine now. After all, she had already brought me down once. There was no point in trying to keep up the lie with her. That day when I had frozen, she had closely embraced me, so naturally she would have noticed.

“I’m sorry for lying to you,” I apologized.

“I don’t mind. It’s a bit inconvenient that I can’t call you by your name, but we are still friends. More importantly...” As she continued speaking, Maika just brushed off my secret. “There’s something else I want to talk to you about. Let’s talk about Ash.”

“Yeah, that’s indeed very important.”

He was the person that she liked, after all. No that’s not right. That’s a dishonest way of putting it. He was the person that we both liked. Naturally, she would have wanted to say a lot of things to the person who had shared a room with Ash for the past two years.

“First...”

Maika took a couple of deep breaths. It was a rhythm that I hadn’t heard before. Regardless, it was nothing strange considering she was about to rush into a state of tension different from our usual interactions.

“What do you like most about Ash?”

“Let’s see. It has to be his warm smile.”

My true thoughts had slipped through. Probably because I was always thinking about this. Whenever I looked at Ash and talked to him, I always thought how I liked his expression, so when she asked, this answer came out instantly.

“Right! I think so too! His smile sparkles brighter than the midday sun on a summer day!”

“Y-Yeah? I mean, that’s not it, Maika.”

“You don’t agree?”

“A-Ah, no, I do! But I didn’t just want to talk about his smile...”

“Ooh! There’s more than one thing that you like most about Ash! I get that! I also like how smart he is!”

“Yeah, that’s another one of his charm points. Personally, I also value how he can be a bit overbearing sometimes. But not in a bad way. It’s more like handing me a warm drink at times when I’m prone to holding back.”

“I know, right? It’s like a mature kindness... or maybe tolerance.”

“Yeah, it really makes me happy... Ah, but I’m getting off-topic again...” Why are we talking about such embarrassing stuff? “Listen, Maika. It might not be my place to say this, but don’t you have other things to tell me?”

“Would you prefer talking about Ash’s favorite food?”

“No, no, no! That’s not what I mean at all. Like, are you not angry that I like Ash?”

I had assumed that two girls who liked the same guy were only going to have serious arguments... But Maika just chuckled.

“I thought that you were probably worried about that. It’s so like you.” It was a pleasant laugh coming from the bottom of her heart. “I guess I’m jealous. Of course I want him to myself... But I also realize that he will be liked by many other people. He is the person I like after all,” Maika proudly said with an expression as if she were looking at the sun shining through a rift between the clouds after rainy weather. “Besides, I also realize very well how difficult it is to keep liking Ash. He is always nice and takes care of me, but he doesn’t notice my feelings.”

And her expression also showed that she was aware that the same sun was not just shining on herself, but illuminating the whole vast land. Yeah, I know. I know what you’re going through, Maika. It was a painful feeling creating a burning jealousy, but yet I somehow liked it.

As I reflexively held my chest, I saw Maika do the same. She gently nodded to acknowledge our shared feeling.

“I understand that you have come to really like Ash as he is,” she said.

“I knew it was wrong and my feelings wouldn’t get answered, but still...”

Both our social standings. The distance between the capital and here. The expectations from my surroundings and his dreams. If I had kept being Arthur, then perhaps it would have been possible to take his hand, but for the real me, it was too far away to reach out.

The truth really wasn’t worth anything. If it were possible to keep being the fake me, I wouldn’t have minded my true self getting killed. That was how much I liked him. I was never going to be able to forget this feeling.

“There’s no use fighting the feeling, then. No one can stop it.” My rival in love, who carried the same feelings, showed a pretty smile. “That’s why I thought we should take this opportunity to tell each other what we like about Ash.”

“I see. That’s, how should I put it...” Just like Ash always behaved like Ash... “It’s very much like you, Maika.”

“Really? Hehe, thanks.”

You immediately knew how much she liked Ash. It made me a bit jealous.

“But I’m not going to lose to you! While you’re away, I’m going to keep appealing to Ash with all I’ve got!” Maika added resolutely.

“I won’t stop you, but don’t you think that’s a bit unfair?”

It felt like I had a great handicap. While I didn’t even know whether I was ever going to meet Ash again—socially I probably wasn’t supposed to—Maika had no intention of slowing down at all.

“Not even a little bit! You’ve shared a room with him all this time! That’s unfair too!”

“That’s not the same?! You can’t compare that to me going to the capital! You were still in the same dormitory!”

“To me it’s the same!”

When it came to Ash, Maika really went all out. That was why I could trust her to take good care of him. If I had to choose someone to watch over Ash while I went away somewhere where my hand could no longer reach him, then there was no other choice than Maika.

“Alright. I’ll also try my best in the capital to impress Ash and make him grateful towards me,” I declared.

“Sure. And I’ll do my best here to help Ash,” Maika said on her part.

It was a promise between two love rivals. We pledged to both give our all to help the person we liked.

“Take good care of Ash. I know it will be difficult, but make sure to keep your eyes on him.”

“Leave it to me. You keep at it too. Ash is really looking forward to your trip to the capital.”

In the end, I made another promise that continued on to tomorrow.

Once again, Sir George and his subordinates were in charge of my protection on the way to the capital, just as they had been on my way here. And once again, no one was seeing me off, but that was to be expected. I shouldn’t have been here in the first place. Therefore, when leaving, I had to quietly take off so as to not leave behind any traces.

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel lonely. But considering the many important things that I had learned and received during my time here, I decided to endure the loneliness. Not out of necessity, but because I wanted to out of my own free will. As memories crossed my mind one by one, I tolerated the tightening pain that accompanied them. The memory of making my first friend. Drafting up a project plan with everyone. Tasting the warm tea with honey. The tears of my friends who didn’t hold back their emotions. Working all together on the model plane.

Holding back my emotions while recollecting all these things felt painful, but not cold. My restraint was like a stone wall protecting the warm, glistening fire inside a hearth. It was a stove of restraint, where I kept my important memories burning. Alone inside the horse carriage, I held my chest as I rocked along to my memories.

“Excuse me, can I talk to you?”

Hearing a voice from the outside, I opened the window to find Sir George.

“Sir George, what is it?”

“I thought you might like to have a look at the city.”

I recalled having the same exchange two years ago.

“Ah, I see. Does that mean we are...”

“Yes, it’s the same spot as two years ago.”

We had arrived at the spot where I had first set eyes on Itsutsu.

In that case, I definitely wanted to see it. This may very well have been the last time I could look at it.

“Thank you. I’ll take you up on your offer.”

As I got out of the carriage, I was greeted by a strong wind. It was the same wind that had blown when I had arrived here. Pressing down my hair, I recalled the town where I had lived until this morning. I felt like the crooked and irregular city wall resonated with me. Most likely because my emotions were just as warped and all over the place.

“It was a wonderful town.”

My days there had been awkward, noisy, and strict, yet strangely marvelous and warm. All my worries were removed one by one, or rather burned to the ground in one go. It was one hell of a time. I was sure those days were going to turn into a light shining on my life moving forward.

As I squinted my eyes at this dazzling light, Sir George spoke to me in a low voice, so as to not disturb the fire inside of me. “As someone born and raised here, I am glad that you enjoyed your stay. This is exactly what those city walls have protected over the years.” Realizing that his low voice didn’t in fact disturb the fire, Sir George continued in a louder voice. “And if you ever feel the need, please feel free to rely upon this rustic pride of ours. You have already become a part of the city that those walls are sworn to protect.”

“...Thank you.” If only that were possible... I would have wanted to return there right away. Back to that room where he is staying.

But unfortunately, I had to go. I had to carry the torch that he had entrusted me with all the way to the royal capital. In his place, I had to shine a light on the knowledge sleeping in the unknown darkness.

My chest felt hot. It felt like a copious amount of strength was flowing through me. It was strange. While my chest felt like it was going to burst open from loneliness at any moment, it wasn’t cold at all. I was surprised at myself for not shaking even a little bit in the face of this strong wind signaling the coming of winter. Even though it was the same wind that I had lamented as violent two years ago, it felt completely different now. This strong wind was indeed pushing me along. It encouraged me to walk away from the place and the people that I didn’t want to leave behind. Yeah, it’s time. Thanks.

“Goodbye.”

I straightened myself and took a deep bow. This was the end of my fantastic, dreamlike days.

“Yes, goodbye.”

I felt like I heard someone reply in his voice. But it was just my imagination.

...Or was it? Nervously, I turned my head.

Strangely enough, I was afraid even though it was the voice that I had wanted to hear. Why did I hear the voice of someone who wasn’t supposed to be here? Hearing his voice, I was convinced that he was here even though he shouldn’t have been.

And when I had turned around, it really was him. Ash was here. There was no one else. Why? Well, it was Ash after all.

“I am glad I made it in time. Maika told me to wait around here, but the map that I used wasn’t very precise. The carriage stopped a considerable distance ahead of where I was waiting. Sir George, you should redraw this map.”

I laughed. All I could feel was joy for Ash being himself on a day like this, and for Maika, who had probably planned all this.

“Ash...” I murmured.

“Yes, what is it? Maika did not tell me any details either, but is there something that was difficult to speak about inside the city?”

Not at all.

Surely Maika also knew this, but there was something that I had wanted to tell Ash in this spot. I wanted my last words of the days spent here to be my farewell to Ash.

“Ash, I just want to say...”

As I called out to him, Ash just politely replied with a “Yes,” waiting for me to speak.

I wanted to tell him to come with me, but I refrained from doing so. I wanted to tell him that I wished to meet again, but I stopped myself from saying that too. I took a deep breath. I realized that I was welling up, on top of my chest feeling like it was about to burst.

“Thanks. Goodbye.” I shouldn’t cry. This might be the last time—or rather, this should preferably be the last time—that I see Ash, so I don’t want his last memory of me to be my crying face.

“That was not a good farewell. We should redo this,” Ash suddenly said.

My tears dried up. Before I could ask any questions, Ash smiled. It was his usual smile that had always driven away my coldness.

He rephrased my words with his familiar warm smile. “Take care. See you again.”

His farewell implied a reunion in a loud voice. He let me know that I was always welcome to come back, and that he was waiting for me.

Don’t do this to me, Ash. If you say something so delightful, I can no longer hold in my tears.

Then, I recalled Maika telling me that it was okay to cry at times like these. I could no longer hold them in.

“See you... later.” I wiped my cheeks. They were warm. “I’m off. You take care too. Let’s absolutely meet again someday.”

It felt so warm. There was no way I could have retained something this warm.

“Yes, let us meet again,” Ash responded.

“Really? Definitely? You promise?”

How selfish of me. Clearly it was only going to trouble him to promise me to definitely meet up again.

“Yes, I promise. I will definitely meet you again, if that is what you wish.”

And yet, Ash smilingly went along with my selfish desires. It was not fair of him. He didn’t let me hold back at all...

I felt like I was willing to give my life for Ash. And it was his fault that I couldn’t restrain that feeling.