Chapter 187

"……"

Mikhail stopped mid-shout and looked up at Lloyd's hand clamped around his arm.

Fingers gripping hard, as if to hold the movement in check.

Even so — some kind of consideration, apparently — the index and thumb, the ones smeared with sauce, were pointedly held clear of him.

Mikhail studied the tips of Lloyd's fingers, then tilted his head to one side and spoke.

"What? Since we've settled on going, may as well bleed my wallet dry. Otherwise it'll sting all the more, won't it?"

"No! I haven't given you any kind of answer yet!"

Lloyd snapped back, cutting Mikhail off, then clicked his tongue and dropped back into his seat. After that, he shoved the meat he'd been eating into his mouth in one bite and started chewing.

"'Ait… 'ait a 'ec…."

The pronunciation was mangled, but the meaning was clear.

Mikhail poured a glass of pink peach juice and slid it across in front of Lloyd.

"Take your time. Eat all you want."

"……"

He'd meant it sincerely, but Lloyd made a face like he was about to choke and stopped mid-chew.

Only for a moment, though. Lloyd swallowed what was in his mouth and opened it again.

"So basically… you're saying you're going to head to the eastern hills and take down a Great King Chicken… no, the head Pokryongse, and you want me to serve as your bodyguard while you do it?"

"Yeah."

Mikhail answered coolly, and Lloyd took a sip of the peach juice in front of him before going on.

"Bodyguard is what you call it, but on top of protecting you, you're also asking me to be your porter and your guide? And for the whole team you'll be putting together, at that?"

"That's right."

Lloyd let out a pained sound and drew his brows together.

"Hey. I don't usually say this kind of thing. Could you maybe spare a thought for my social standing and my pride while you're at it?"

"That's exactly why I'm offering. Where else are you going to get an experience like this?"

At Mikhail's easy answer, Lloyd let out an exasperated snort, then swept his bangs back.

But the deliberation was brief. Lloyd soon exhaled sharply, as if his mind was made up, and spoke.

"All right. Let's do it that way, then. I do owe you, after all…."

"Lloyd."

Mikhail cut in. He held Lloyd's puzzled look for a moment, then smiled softly and said,

"Deals and debts and all that. Drop the stiff talk — this time I'd like to ask as a real friend."

Clatter.

Lloyd dropped the fork he was holding. Across the table, the color was draining out of his face like water pulling out with the tide.

"What? Uh — huh?"

Lloyd's eyes went round and he blinked. Then he swallowed dry and asked, careful.

"Hey. Did you eat something bad? You sick?"

"…Forget it. Just — never mind."

Mikhail scrunched up his face and grumbled it out. Only then did Lloyd take on a relieved look and burst out laughing.

"Pfft! I mean, come on — you say something weird like that out of nowhere, with that kind of face, of course I got startled! Ah, my heart… I thought you'd taken something!"

"……"

…Is it really that big of a deal?

Feeling a little put upon, Mikhail let out a small breath and picked up the pink drink beside him to wet his lips.

In the meantime, Lloyd had grabbed a fresh fork and was tapping it against his plate as he kept talking.

"Still, though. Hmm… as a friend. As a friend, huh."

Mikhail watched as Lloyd, murmuring over the proposal, narrowed his eyes into a horizontal line.

The look of someone doing sums in his head.

But in practice, that wouldn't be far off from what Lloyd was actually thinking.

He'd be gauging where I stand, and working out what kind of stance is best to take at this moment.

The silence eventually broke. Lloyd put on his usual smile and answered readily.

"Understood. If you're asking as a friend, of course I'll come along. It's not like it's just anything…. Plus, as you said, this might be a kind of experience I won't get another shot at."

The tone of the acceptance was more cheerful than usual. What Mikhail had just proposed seemed to sit rather well with him.

Mikhail set down the juice glass in his hand and gave Lloyd a nod. At once, Lloyd shot his hand up and called toward the kitchen.

"—Over here! One more plate of butter roast."

"You're going to be working hard for a while — that going to be enough? Order more."

"Add an order of fried shrimp and mushroom skewers too!"

Lloyd called it out as if he'd been waiting for the cue, then swept the meat left on the table onto his own plate and set the empty one off to the side.

Clink.

That brought the stack to five plates.

Mikhail watched the tower of dishes and gave a small laugh. Guess this was what came of running around nonstop and swinging a sword on top of it. He had quite the appetite.

"Anyway. Eat as much as you want. No backing out on the promise."

"Obviously. I don't say one thing and then say another."

Lloyd answered with his hand waving through the air, then shoved the last piece of meat into his mouth and grinned.

"But if I'm your bodyguard, that makes you my employer, doesn't it…. Hey — you going to feed me properly? And what am I supposed to call you over there? Master?"

"…Oh really? Where'd that person go, the one just complaining about his social standing?"

"Like I said, it's an experience I won't get twice, right? So I may as well throw myself into the role. Don't you think?"

Lloyd answered with a shrug, then turned his head toward the window. Somewhere along the way, the far sky had already begun to sink into sunset.

"Come to think of it, we're heading out tomorrow morning?"

Lloyd asked without pulling his gaze back from the window. Mikhail looked at the new plates just now being set on the table and answered.

"Yeah. We'll need to catch the first coach out of here to get there with any margin."

"Yeah? Leaving right at daybreak, then — that'll be tight. I'll have to start packing the moment I'm back."

Lloyd nodded as he answered. Right after, drawn back by the savory smell, he looked at the table again and picked up a piece of fried shrimp, still steaming.

Crunch!

The milk-white breading gave off a sound like a cracker breaking. Lloyd's eyes went round; he gestured and pressed one on Mikhail.

A little over the top, a little playful. Just like any ordinary kid his age….

Mikhail watched him for a moment, then let out a small laugh and took a bite of shrimp himself.

"Ah — hot, hot…. Hey, though."

Lloyd polished off two pieces of shrimp in no time and leaned toward Mikhail's side.

"Setting you aside — why on earth are you dragging other people out here as backup? Isn't anyone else hiring a bodyguard?"

"Ah. That."

Mikhail rolled his eyes as he chewed on the last tail. Where should he start with this one…. He mulled it over briefly, then met Lloyd's eyes and said,

"You'll see when we get there."

---

The long feast wrapped up only after the sun had dropped completely below the horizon. Two people had sat at the table, but the check came out to seven portions.

[Here — the last portion's packed to go. Beef meatballs baked under tangerine leaves; the jam inside is pretty hot, so it's just as good if you let it cool a bit.]

Mikhail took the boxed meal for the sky-fox pair in hand and stepped out of the shop with Lloyd.

The staff who caught his eye one last time only bowed with bright faces — none of the fear or shrinking-back-and-hiding they'd shown before.

"—Safe travels!"

Leaving Denver and the staff's farewells behind, Mikhail walked with Lloyd along the road that led onto the academy grounds.

They passed through the front gate trading idle small talk, and followed the path that ran deeper into the campus.

Then, at the point where they had to split off toward their separate dormitories, they stopped, agreed to be at the coach stop in good time tomorrow, and parted ways.

Chirp—.

The evening insects were singing.

Mikhail walked on a little farther along the quiet path, then perched on the bench in front of the dormitory building and glanced at the lunchbox in his hand.

Heat still leaking from it.

To bring it to the pair, the food would be better cooled off a little on the way, as Denver had said. Might as well sort a few thoughts out at the same time.

"……"

Mikhail tipped his head back toward the night sky.

A single ribbon of wind, clearly colder than what had been circling through the air during the day, brushed the tip of his nose.

Meeting the current that had lost its warmth, the leaves swayed weakly and then dropped.

Rustle.

Along with it, what came circling to Mikhail's ear… was Lloyd's voice from a moment ago.

That voice from a single instant — brief as it had been — weighing what he was worth and what could be gained from him.

[All right. Let's do it that way, then. I do owe you, after all.]

[Still, though. Hmm… as a friend. As a friend, huh.]

Mikhail felt the tip of his tongue drying out; he drew a breath and hooked a faint, wry smile at his mouth.

The truth was, he knew perfectly well that Lloyd Cloelle saw him as a useful tool, and that the goodwill sent his way only came because it matched what he was worth.

That was why, at one point, he'd wanted to keep from getting deeply tangled up.

Mikhail himself… no, more precisely, the Unique Talent that would open before long — [Interpretation] — was important enough that even Joseph had drawn out an exception and gone to the bargaining table with Cloelle, the house that had laid down the kingdom's very structure.

[The Grand Duke has accepted the proposal. Title, authority, standing and warrant, safety — everything you desire, Lord Senit, he says he will give.]

[But, as agreed—]

—A power that pressed myth against reality.

Once Cloelle judged that they'd built up enough goodwill to soften his guard, they'd silently fasten the shackles and set about tying up his every move.

That was why, once, he'd thought that within the flow of the story as it was set to go, keeping his guard visible and holding them at arm's length was the most efficient way to handle Cloelle.

But that wasn't so anymore, at least not now.

The forces shaking the world had changed, the landscape had shifted. The kingdom's political currents, too, would change hour by hour.

And Cloelle, in step with the shifting times, was the kind of house that would play every card they held to claim the high ground.

Staying in a passive position against opponents like that would only, in the end, land him in their grip.

So. What I have to do.

Mikhail drew in a breath and brought the head he'd tipped back forward again. Watching the dark landscape, he curled his fingertips as if steeling himself.

If they approached seeing him as useful, he'd hit back. If they tried to build a friendship in order to make use of his abilities, he'd meet that the same way. From here on, he wasn't going to sidestep a single thing.

Because. Lloyd Cloelle. I….

I want us to be able to stand as equals, each of us on our own terms.

A silence carrying thought stretched on.

Mikhail blinked slowly, wrapping up his thinking, and reached his hand out to the side.

Tap.

The lunchbox settled under his palm. What came through the skin meeting it wasn't heat — it was warmth.

Suitable for bringing to Han and Ul, then.

Mikhail decided it was time to head up to his room and stood from the bench, moving toward the building entrance.

Rattle.

That was when it happened. The window overhead clattered open, and familiar faces peeked out.

"Yip!"

Two fluffy shapes wagged their tails in greeting.

Mikhail smiled at the pair leaning out as if to welcome him, and lightly waved the lunchbox.

"!"

Eyes bright as beads locked on at once.

Mikhail confirmed the enthusiastic reaction and stepped into the dormitory. Behind his forward-facing gaze, he was weighing what lay ahead.

"……"

Six days of break left… no, five, maybe.

Once he'd completed the mission with Lloyd and made it back to school, he'd see Ethan again, after the long stretch apart. And Edwin, too.