A Fragment Of A Bond With The Count’s Daughter

“Jonah!”

“Wah!?”

Marguerite threw herself at Jonah, who had collapsed onto the grass.

“Amazing! That was incredible! You burned every single one of those locusts to nothing! Jonah, you’re truly amazing!”

“E-ehehe…”

Jonah shyly scratched his cheek as Marguerite praised him through large, streaming tears.

As he thought—she was the one who saw him more than anyone, who praised him more than anyone. Jonah’s heart overflowed with happiness.

That Marguerite was this overjoyed… that he had saved her—that was what made him happiest of all.

Even if he had used ancient magic in front of Duke Langheim or his family, Jonah surely would never have felt this way.

…No—Jonah would never, ever use ancient magic for their sake.

This power he had obtained while forcing himself to keep looking forward no matter how painful the past eleven years had been—he would use it only for the people precious to him.

“Jonah… thank you, truly, for saving Hagenberg territory…”

Count Hagenberg knelt and bowed deeply.

For one of the high nobles of the Estraia Empire to show such utmost sincerity and gratitude to a mere commoner like Jonah was utterly unthinkable.

Yet the Count wanted nothing more than to convey his heartfelt thanks.

To this small boy who had wrought a miracle.

Seeing him like this, Jonah couldn’t help thinking: ‘If I had been the Count’s son, would I have been spared all that suffering?’

The two members of the Hagenberg family he had met at the very start of his journey.

Thanks to them, Jonah had been wrapped in happiness greater than any he had ever known.

So much that he strongly wished he never had to let them go.

“Well, there’s nothing more for us here. Let us return to the town of Zwerg.”

“Huhu! Yes!”

Regaining his composure, Jonah spoke, and Marguerite nodded with a bright smile.

“Indeed. Though Hagenberg territory is saved, there is still much to do. Relief for the neighboring affected regions, supplying goods… ah, and above all, we must return the tax rate to normal and distribute the stockpiled food to the citizens.”

Watching the Count speak happily with a refreshed expression, Jonah and Marguerite exchanged glances and smiled cheerfully.

“Hans. Tell the Ottmar Trading Company immediately to redirect all the food we purchased to the affected regions instead of here.”

“Understood, My Lord.”

Back at the Zwerg mansion, Count Hagenberg energetically issued orders left and right.

Yet unlike when he had shouldered the locust crisis alone and imposed higher taxes, his face was now vividly alive.

“Father! Please let me help too!”

“Very well. But you needn’t push yourself, all right?”

“It’s not pushing myself at all! After all, being able to work for the citizens like you do makes me so very happy!”

Marguerite had always striven to become a strength for the father she admired.

And now, at last, her efforts had borne fruit. She couldn’t be happier.

Moreover, there was now another person more precious to her than anyone.

Her small chest fluttered at the thought of a future spent together with him.

“Jonah! You too… huh?”

Jonah, who had been in the study just moments ago, had vanished without a trace.

“Maybe he went to pick some flowers (go to the restroom)…”

“Marguerite, sort these documents for me.”

“Y-yes, Father!”

Though puzzled, Marguerite followed her father’s instructions and turned her attention to the task.

“…………………………”

At that very moment, Jonah stood atop the hill at the southwestern edge of Hagenberg territory—the same hill where he had incinerated the locust swarm.

“Lady Marguerite, Count Hagenberg… Thank you so much. Please take care.”

He bowed deeply toward the town of Zwerg, then turned on his heel.

In truth, he wanted to stay by their side—by Marguerite’s side.

Surely the two of them would welcome him staying with them forever.

But the time Jonah had left was less than a single year.

He could not bear the thought of remaining by their side and becoming a burden.

Above all… he did not want to make Marguerite sad.

“…Now, I can endure it too.”

Jonah muttered, clutching the front of his shirt tightly.

In truth, he did not want to part from Marguerite—the first person who had ever praised him, been kind to him, smiled at him.

But if he stayed even a little longer, he knew he would never be able to leave.

That is why… he chose to say goodbye.

At that moment—

“Ah… guh…!”

Jonah’s heart began pounding violently.

The overwhelming pain and suffering made him collapse on the spot, clutching his chest and curling up.

“Ugh… medicine…”

The two kinds of medicine Günter had prescribed on the day he set out.

One to be taken daily. The other for emergencies when the pain became truly unbearable.

Jonah opened his leather bag and searched for the medicine, but couldn’t find it immediately.

He dumped everything onto the ground and finally found it tucked away at the very edge.

“Nn… nngh…”

He tossed the medicine into his mouth and swallowed.

The excruciating pain in his chest gradually subsided, and his breathing finally steadied.

“Haa…”

Still curled up, Jonah let out a deep breath—

“I don’t… want to die…!”

Embracing his own body with both arms, Jonah shed tears and whispered in a voice filled with anguish.

A small boy who had only just celebrated his eleventh birthday had been told he had less than a year to live—and until his final moment, he would have to endure pain so severe that even adults would want to run away barefoot.

“Hey, it’s not too late even now. Why not go back to those two?”

“Eh…?”

The voice he heard was the Mysterious Woman’s Voice from his dreams.

Jonah wondered if he had passed out, but the pain in his chest remained. This was not a dream.

Then—was this voice a hallucination?

Or was it the weak part of Jonah’s heart whispering to him?

“You already know, don’t you? From now on, pain like this… no, pain far worse will keep assaulting you. Wouldn’t it be happier to have that kind, gentle girl watch over you until the very end?”

“…………………………”

Jonah fell silent at the woman’s words.

That happiness was something Jonah had also imagined.

But—

“…No way. I’m going to keep traveling and see many, many more amazing legends with my own eyes.”

Jonah stood up and declared with all the bravado he could muster.

To fulfill his original goal—telling it to the woman’s voice… no, to himself.

“So please be quiet now.”

“…………………………”

The woman’s voice spoke no further. Jonah wiped away his tears with a rough motion and walked away from Hagenberg territory with unsteady steps.

Leaving behind a tiny, tiny fragment of a bond with the meddlesome, pushy, kinder-than-anyone, more affirming-than-anyone, most precious girl he had ever met.