Chapter 17: Reunion
Chapter 17: Reunion
“HAH, searching for someone in a city is not an easy feat, is it?” Johann grumbled, dropping onto a bench in the main square and leaning heavily against the backrest.
He was skilled at sensing magical power and using that to search for a specific person, but it was arduous to locate someone with absolutely no magic whatsoever like Elias. He couldn’t use magic to pinpoint his location, leaving him with the nonmagic option of fruitlessly wandering through crowds of people until they found them.
The Priests dispatched from the Holy Kingdom to find the newly born Hero struggled to find him for this exact reason. It was rare for a human to have no magic.
I’m exhausted, Johann thought, rubbing the sweat from his brow as he gazed at the empty sky. This was tiresome work for someone who lacked stamina, especially compared to Leo who worked out on a regular basis. Aah, won’t Elias and Aki find us instead?
As he dreamed of escaping reality by putting his hopes in others doing the work for him, Nako came running back to the bench from her stroll to stretch her legs for a bit.
“Oh, Nako? Where did you go—”
“Here you go, Johann!” Nako interrupted him and held out a paper container holding some sort of drink.
Surprised, he took the container, which felt cold against his hand. He peered down at the orange liquid swirling inside. It smelled like some sort of fruit juice.
“What is this, Nako?”
“I bought it from the food stall right over there. You looked tired, so I got it hoping it might give you an energy boost.” Nako perched on the bench beside him and happily brought her drink to her lips.
He had worried her. He played with a loose fiber on his vestment, ashamed of his meager stamina.
“…My apologies for making you concerned about me,” he apologized in hushed tones.
Nako should have been the one mentally exhausted after escaping the Dark Lord’s castle and searching for people with a stranger she met only a few hours ago. Johann felt like he should have been the one with enough gumption to buy her a drink.
She turned her face toward him and shook her head. “Johann, that’s incorrect. You are not supposed to say I’m sorry, but thank you if you want to make the other person happy.”
“…Thank you?” he parroted, surprised by her response. She grinned mischievously at him.
“Yes, that’s right! I feel like you create a wall between you and others and keep to yourself. Like you won’t let them become deeply involved with you? To put it another way, you feel like the type who quickly runs from others—ah, but I guess that was rude of me to say when we have only just met. Sorry for saying something that’s none of my business,” she apologized diffidently.
After listening to her words in awe, Johann lowered his gaze to the drink swirling in his hands. She had no reason to apologize. After all, everything she said was correct.
“Is that…how I come off? What you have indicated is not far from the truth. I have things I feel guilty about, so I restrain myself with others and prefer them not to get too involved with me. I cannot protect myself otherwise,” Johann said sadly, his gaze locked on his drink.
Everything is of my own doing. I doubt I can ever change myself as long as I continue to deceive Elias and stand in a position where I cannot disobey the Sanctuary. I am a coward when it comes to facing others and myself. I am afraid to take action because it might result in ruining what I currently have.
“But isn’t it painful for you to always interact with people in that way, Johann?” Nako quietly questioned.
“…Pardon?”
“I mean, as it stands you can’t speak frankly to anyone about how you truly feel, right? If you keep your feelings forever locked inside, they will gradually take on weight and crush you someday.”
Johann was stunned. He felt as if Nako had accurately put into words the anguish he had been carrying all along. She was absolutely right that he couldn’t tell anyone how he really felt. A piece of him may have been sulking that no one would ever understand the pain he was in as he pretended to endure the feelings he locked inside.
How much better would he feel if he opened up to Elias and Leo about everything? If only he could tell them he didn’t want to follow the Sanctuary’s orders and wanted to become a real ally to the Hero Party. They were bighearted and open-minded, they might accept him despite his atrocious deeds. For all he knew, they might have been waiting for him to bring it up so they could forgive him.
But…he still didn’t have the courage necessary to take that step. After all, betraying the Sanctuary only meant intensifying the brunt of their evil on Elias and the others.
Those numerous circumstances kept him from telling Nako the reason for keeping to himself, but he was happy she saw through him regardless. Her words were the key to his heart that had been locked behind a wall of chains for a long time.
“What was it again? Thank you?” Nako was taken off guard by his abrupt remark. He graced her with an awkward yet sincere smile from the heart. “Thank you, Nako. Thanks to you, I feel…a little better now.”
Do Aki and Nako have the power to encourage others? He casually thought. Elias is likely being saved in the same way by being with Aki.
Nako’s intent stare suddenly made Johann feel embarrassed. He quickly tried to turn his head away, but she reached out her hands to force his neck back.
Johann’s eyes widened. “Ow! Nako?”
“Hehe, I’m glad to hear it, Johann! As I thought, hearing words of thanks brings happiness!” She giggled, her adorable smile right in front of his face. Her innocence naturally got a smile out of him too.
It sure has been a while since I last enjoyed myself this much. That smile brought back memories of the distant past. Back to the days he was free from the task of monitoring the Hero and could spend time with Elias as a normal childhood friend. In those days, neither of them were constrained by their positions and roles in life. Johann and Elias had been such good friends too.
When did I first start putting a wall between Elias and me? When did this massive gap open between us? Isn’t it because I have continually hurt Elias for my own convenience?
“Ah, Johann, look!” Nako tapped him on the shoulder, dragging him back to reality. Two familiar people were running toward them from the direction Nako pointed out. The pairing of a tall blond man and a woman with light-brown hair wearing unusual clothing stood out wherever they went. There was no mistaking them, it was—
“Elias! Aki!” Johann stood, shouting their names. Elias and Aki ran over to him and stopped. Elias easily caught his breath and smiled at Johann.
“Johann, I’m glad we were able to meet up without a hitch. I was just shopping with Aki, but hurried over here when I spotted you—” Elias stopped talking when his eyes went to the girl standing beside Johann. He blinked, curious who she was.
Nako was too overcome with emotion to speak, her eyes tearing up as she stared at Aki. Aki put her hand over her mouth in disbelief and froze on the spot. Elias gently touched her shoulder, concerned over her unusual reaction.
“What’s wrong, Aki?”
“N-N-No way!” Aki unconsciously grabbed a handful of Elias’ cloak and locked her eyes on Nako. Cheeks and eyes red and damp from the force of her tears.
“You’re my sister, aren’t you?” she asked for confirmation.
Nako spread her arms open with an explosive movement and leapt for Aki.
“Aki! I wanted to see you so badly!”
Aki immediately wrapped her arms around Nako’s back and they tightly hugged each other as they cried.
“What’s going on here?” Elias stared in confusion at the hugging girls, completely left in the dark about the situation.
Johann whispered in his ear, “She is Aki’s younger sister, Nako Konishi. I happened to coincidently save her from some ruffians… It appears she snuck out of the Dark Lord’s castle alone to see Aki.”
“Alone?” Elias asked back in disbelief.
As expected, that fact caught Elias’ attention as well. It was unheard of for the Dark Lord’s Right-hand to sneak out of the Dark Lord’s castle. Elias looked from Aki to Nako and burst out laughing.
“I see! So the younger sister takes after Aki in her foolhardiness! Uh, I mean, she is a brave young lady,” Elias rushed to correct himself, but it was far too late for that.
Having clearly heard him, Aki pulled away from Nako and glared at Elias with one eyebrow raised. “Elias, what do you mean by that?! Are you implying I’m reckless?!”
“Thank goodness you are self-aware. Now I can relax a little.”
“And what is that supposed to mean?! Huh?!” Aki smacked Elias’ back with both fists. He laughed like he enjoyed her anger. Nako giggled at them.
“You look like you are having a blast, Sis! Is he the Hero Elias? The Dark Lord told me he has blond hair and green eyes.”
Aki pulled Elias over to introduce him to Nako. “Yup. He’s the legendary and illustrious Hero, although he doesn’t seem like it.”
“I don’t seem like it?” Elias muttered.
Aki smoothly ignored his retort. Nako didn’t notice the implied insult as she happily put her hands together. “I see! The Hero is an incredibly cool and attractive man! He looks kind like he will treasure my big sister too.”
“What? Wh-Why would he be treasuring me?!” Aki shouted with bright-red cheeks.
Johann strained a smile at Elias’ lost expression. It was going to be difficult to make Elias sensitive to the subtleties of love. Just as Johann thought Aki had a hard fight ahead of her, she zoomed up to Nako and grabbed her hands.
“We have more important things to discuss, Nako! Do you know how worried I’ve been?! You looked like you were being abducted by a strange man calling himself the Dark Lord, and then you went with him willingly despite my desperate attempt to stop you! I had no idea what was going on! You didn’t tell me anything!” Aki frowned as she came down hard on Nako, remembering the painful events of that fateful day.
Johann had heard a brief explanation from Aki about the Dark Lord kidnapping Nako, but he hadn’t heard the details. From the way she was talking, Nako shook off her attempts to stop her and came with the Dark Lord to this world.
Does that mean she consented to the Dark Lord taking her with him? In that case, do they have the kind of relationship that would allow her to freely sneak out of his castle? I honestly do not understand the situation. Johann was at his wits’ end.
Beside him, Nako squeezed Aki’s hands and lowered her gaze in apology. “…Aki, I’m really sorry about worrying you. The truth is that I met the Dark Lord when I was really young, and he promised to come for me again in the future…”
“Huh?” Aki stilled. Johann and Elias stared at Nako in shock. “What do you mean? I never heard about you being friends with someone like the Dark Lord—”
Elias put his hand gently over Aki’s mouth. “Wait, Aki. You should save that conversation for a place with less people. Let’s change locations. Let’s get Leo from the Academy’s Branch as well.” Elias turned to Johann. “Johann, can you send a message to Leo? I reserved an inn at the city outskirts earlier with Aki. Tell him to meet us there.”
“All right. I will inform him to come posthaste.”
Johann pulled a scrap of paper from his pocket and ripped it. He quickly wrote a message to Leo on it. He pulled the staff from his back and lightly struck the ground with it. A blue butterfly appeared and sucked in his note before flying in to the sky.
The Messenger spell, usable by both Solar and Lunar Magic users, allowed someone to send a message to a specific person at a set distance. Once they watched the blue butterfly flutter away, Aki softly lifted Nako’s hands and covered them with her own.
“…I’m sorry for overreacting, Nako. A lot has happened up till now, but I am relieved beyond words that you are safe. By the time I realized it, I chased you to another world. Even I’m shocked at what I’ve done.” A trace of glee touched Aki’s abashed expression.
Thinking of the dreadful fate she dragged her older sister into, Nako apologetically lowered her face. “I really am sorry, Aki. My actions have been nothing but selfish…”
Aki loosely shook her head. “No. I came here with the sole purpose of finding you at first, but there have actually been a lot of enjoyable things about this world and I’ve met good people. So I haven’t just been miserable trying to find you. That’s why I am grateful to you in a sense. Thank you for bringing me to this world.”
Elias and Johann warmly watched Aki thank Nako as she brought her hands to her chest. Aki had appeared from another world like a comet, her natural cheeriness and honesty quickly letting her become friends with them and bringing color to the Hero Party.
It should actually be us thanking her for coming to this world, Johann thought.
Elias turned, flipping his cloak behind him and glanced over his shoulder at the others. “With that settled, shall we head to the inn? Let’s hear what Nako has to say while we relax.”
“Okay, Lord Hero!” Nako cheerfully assented and ran to line up beside Elias. Aki and Johann exchanged glances as they watched Elias walk beside Nako and followed behind them.