4-4 - Each Of Their Resolutions

Having decided on our course of action, Alice and I departed the elven village, seen off by Alice’s mother and the others, and arrived in Sphiel territory without any particular trouble.

Incidentally, I had lightly disguised myself in commoner’s clothing. Alice was also wearing her hair clip. Nobody knew what Alice looked like, but if anyone discovered she was a High Elf, she’d attract an entirely different kind of attention.

And so, on the night we arrived in the town of Sphiel, we concealed ourselves in the darkness of a back alley and observed the Sphiel estate.

“What do you think, Alice? Can we pull this off?”

“The guards… There are two at the gate and two pairs patrolling, I think? I don’t know what it’s like inside, but I think we can carry out the plan.”

“I… see…”

I might finally be able to save Claire-nee. Yet even after hearing that, my heart remained heavy.

I wanted to save Claire-nee. There was no doubt about that. But… I turned my gaze toward Alice, who was standing close beside me.

Alice had placed her complete trust in me and accompanied me to rescue Claire-nee. Seeing her like that reminded me of Milly that day.

What if I lost Alice because of something I did? Ever since we had left the elven village, that fear had gradually grown stronger.

“Hey, Alice. Over the past week, I’ve learned to use Spirit Magic with a few templates. So you don’t have to put yourself in danger—”

I couldn’t finish. Alice’s slender, graceful fingers had pressed against my lips.

“…Hey, remember when I told you I had an older brother?”

“Yeah, I remember. He was a good brother, wasn’t he?”

“Mm-hmm. My brother was incredibly kind, and he always protected me because I was weak. But I kept relying on him and never noticed how much he was pushing himself. And because of that, I lost my precious brother.”

Perhaps she was remembering her brother’s face. Alice gazed up at the sky, where the blue moon shone brightly.

“I’ll never make the same mistake again. I never want to feel that kind of sadness again. That’s why I’m going with you to save Lady Claire, Leon.”

“I see…”

Of course… She was right.

If Alice said she was going alone, I’d definitely stop her. If I was afraid of taking someone precious to me into danger, then it was only natural for her to be afraid of being left behind.

And now that I understood that, there was no way I could ask her to stay behind simply because I didn’t want to involve her.

“Besides, I want to save Lady Claire myself.”

“You do?”

I tilted my head, unable to remember the two of them interacting much.

“You know, I was originally supposed to be sold somewhere much worse. But Lady Claire went out of her way to buy me, even though it meant forcing the issue. Lady Claire saved me.”

“So that’s why you want to save Claire-nee too?”

“Mm-hmm. Lady Claire might not think she saved me, but… I’m incredibly grateful to her for bringing me together with you, Leon. That’s why I want to save her too.”

“So you want to save Claire-nee because you’ve decided to yourself, huh?”

After hearing all that, there was no way I could stop her.

“All right. Then let’s save Claire-nee together.”

“…Mm-hmm.”

Alice smiled gently before turning her attention back toward the mansion.

“Once the next patrol passes, we’ll climb over the wall and sneak inside. I’ll make some footholds, so make sure you keep up, Leon.”

“Got it.”

I answered briefly and waited for Alice’s signal. Shortly afterward, Alice gave a quick signal and slowly started walking toward the mansion. I silently followed behind her.

“All right, then… Please.”

As Alice lightly waved her right hand, a staircase of earth appeared in front of the roughly three-meter-high wall, reaching halfway up.

Alice’s Spirit Magic really was amazing.

I’d been trying to use the same method as Alice between my practice sessions with template-based Spirit Magic, but I just couldn’t seem to get it right.

“Leon?”

“Oops, it’s nothing.”

With Alice’s help, I finished climbing to the top of the wall. Immediately afterward, the earthen staircase vanished with nothing more than a glance from Alice. …So now she was casting spells completely without chanting.

“…It’s okay. There doesn’t seem to be anyone nearby. I’m going down—there.”

Alice jumped from the top of the wall into the estate grounds. Her movements were incredibly light and graceful… But beside her, I found myself hesitating to jump.

I mean, come on! The wall was nearly three meters high! That was a frightening height even for an adult, let alone a little boy.

“…Oh, right. Just a moment.”

Alice created another staircase on the inside of the wall, then stood at the top and stretched both arms toward me. It was almost as though she was telling me she’d catch me if I jumped into her arms…

“Wait, wait, wait! Isn’t this backward? Normally, I’d be the one catching you, Alice!”

I protested desperately, but Alice merely smiled wryly.

“If you don’t hurry, the patrol outside will find us, you know?”

“Ugh… I can’t wait to grow up.”

I summoned every ounce of courage I had—not to make the jump, but to endure the embarrassment—and leaped into Alice’s arms.

“Oof, you really are pretty heavy. …There, you’re all right now.”

“Ugh, I’ll never be able to get married now.”

“Wasn’t avoiding becoming someone’s husband the whole reason you were doing all those things in the first place, Leon?”

“…That’s right.”

Having successfully infiltrated the grounds, we turned our attention toward the mansion from behind some bushes.

“The guards… There are fewer than I expected. Maybe they never imagined a couple of children would get past their security and sneak inside?”

“They specified the date and time they’d be transferring Claire-nee, after all. Maybe they were hoping we’d try to intercept her then. But we don’t know what might happen, so don’t let your guard down. Honestly, I’m relying entirely on your ability to sense people’s presence, Alice.”

“Mm-hmm, I know. As for what we’re going to do next, we’re sticking to the plan, right?”

“Yeah, that’s the idea.”

Though calling it a plan was a bit generous. Basically, we’d sneak into Sophia’s room on the third floor, ask her where Claire-nee was being held, and then improvise from there.

Since we didn’t know where Claire-nee was, there wasn’t much else we could do.

“By the way, are you sure Sophia-chan will really help us?”

“…Sophia can tell whether someone is lying thanks to her blessing. So if I explain the situation, I think she’ll tell us where Claire-nee is.”

“You think, huh?”

“Unfortunately, I can’t be certain. I really don’t think Sophia is involved, but…”

I’d been putting off thinking about it, but since House Sphiel was acting against us as a family, there was almost no doubt that Sophia’s parents were involved, not just Regis.

Personally, I wanted her to take our side… But I couldn’t exactly ask her to turn against her own parents.

“…Just to make sure, what will you do if she tries to raise the alarm?”

She was probably worried about me. Alice asked the question with a slight hesitation.

…I was hopeless. I was supposed to be the one keeping it together, so why was I making Alice worry about me? I needed to be firm and decisive.

“Our objective is to rescue Claire-nee, nothing more. So if Sophia tries to interfere with that, then… Sophia will be our enemy too.”

Although I desperately hoped it wouldn’t come to that, I made my decision clear.