The Former Child Prodigy Returns

After shouting for a while, Varnir fell silent.

Varnir kept staring fixedly at the place where the medicinal herb had been, without shifting his gaze at all. He did not even glance once toward Raios.

That wordless pressure— terrified Raios.

What had happened? The guess was very simple. Ilvis had slipped through the trap Raios prepared, followed Raios here, found the Granveil Grass, and left for the outside.

In other words, this was— Raios’s failure to finish off Ilvis!

Feeling as though he were being silently condemned by Varnir, Raios felt pain in his throat.

He had to say something!

“U-um! Varnir-sama, it is obvious that the man called Ilvis took the medicinal herb home with him! This Raios will search all over the Imperial Capital and surely take it back!”

After a while of silence, Varnir smiled faintly and answered like this.

“…Did you not report that that young brat was inside the kobolds’ stomachs?”

“Ah, no, well, that was—!”

Raios hurriedly added on.

“M-my deepest apologies! It was my oversight! I will surely find him and—!”

But Varnir’s reply betrayed Raios’s expectations.

“There is no need to do something meaningless.”

“…Huh?”

“It is not as if there was a tag attached to it somewhere. If he says he picked up something growing out there, that would be the end of it.”

“That is true, but—”

“Besides, there is no meaning in taking back the Granveil Grass.”

“…What do you mean by that…?”

“It is the number of days until the transaction. Once Granveil Grass is harvested, it does not keep well for long. The other party wants it not as medicine, but as a specimen. In that sense, some deterioration in quality is not a problem, but it seems they want to run experiments on it before turning it into a specimen. It must be fresh.”

Raios felt as though his throat were closing up.

If there was no point even in taking it back, then how was he supposed to make up for this blunder—

After thinking for a while, Varnir continued with these words.

“There is no need for you to worry, Raios. Such a thing has not happened.”

“Huh?”

“The Granveil Grass was not stolen. That is what I mean.”

Raios felt fear.

His superior, who was usually a man of clear intellect, was saying something strange. This “impossible mistake” had happened right before a transaction that absolutely could not fail— had he finally lost his mind?

Varnir muttered,

“…Do you think I have gone mad, Raios?”

“Hah!? N-no, such a thing, of course not! Never!”

“I have not gone mad. The Granveil Grass was not stolen, and therefore there is no need to report anything to Orfred-sama.”

He meant to hide it.

But Raios could not understand.

“B-but, Varnir-sama! Even if we hide it, once the day of the transaction comes, it will be exposed. This is not something that can be concealed forever!”

“It can be concealed.”

Only then did Varnir finally look at Raios. In his eyes shone the same intelligence as always, and a smile floated at his lips.

“We simply need to prepare a new Granveil Grass before then.”

“Eh, no…”

Raios could not understand Varnir’s words. Granveil Grass took time to grow. The one they had been cultivating here had also taken a full year to prepare.

And now they would prepare another one before the next transaction?

“There is no way such a thing is possible—!”

Only after saying that much did Raios finally realize it. What his master was trying to do.

It was possible. It certainly was possible, but…

Seeing Raios’s expression, Varnir snorted.

“So you realized it, Raios. Yes, we still have one plan left.”

Varnir took a step toward the outside of the cave.

“Well then, we’re going to be busy, Raios. A failure is not a failure if it is never exposed. Let us recover splendidly and win Orfred-sama’s favor.”

“Y-yes!”

They certainly still had one move left. Though they would have to be prepared for terrible side effects.

But Raios had no room to agonize over such things. The important thing was simply to make it in time. If they could not, he would incur Varnir’s displeasure, and then Orfred’s displeasure after that.

For Raios, that would mean ruin.

He had no choice but to carry it through by sheer force of will—Raios steeled himself with that resolve.

When I returned to the Imperial Capital, I showed the Granveil Grass to my little sister Arisa.

“I found it, the Granveil Grass.”

“Eh, no way…”

I pushed the Granveil Grass into my sister’s hands as her eyes went wide.

“Mission accomplished. Here, it’s a medicinal herb that doesn’t keep very long, so go take it to your friend.”

“Yeah… yeah!”

Arisa nodded, then hurried out of the house carrying the Granveil Grass.

And then, after that, a month passed—

I lazed around at home.

I mean, I think I worked hard, you know? I found the ultra-rare Granveil Grass, and I even got attacked by some huge pack of kobolds or something.

The faint trace of motivation that existed in me completely vanished.

So that was why I was lazing around, but compared to usual, it felt like my little sister’s gaze was gentler. Usually, it was the cold gaze you would use on a cockroach in the kitchen, but lately there was definite warmth? No, lately there was unmistakable affection in her eyes.

“I’ll rub your shoulders for you, okay?”

She even occasionally said things like that and actually massaged my shoulders.

As I spent my time like that, Arisa, wearing a solemn expression, spoke to me.

“Hey, big brother. Want to go to Liel Healing Institute?”

Apparently, it was the place where Mika, Arisa’s childhood friend, was hospitalized. It seemed that thanks to taking the medicine, her symptoms had improved dramatically, and her parents wanted me to come visit her.

“Me too?”

“You too!”

Me too? Hmm… me! Me! Ilvis, the capable man, the child prodigy, showing up all like, I brought the medicinal herb! Wouldn’t that feel kind of smug?

“Wouldn’t it be fine if I didn’t go?”

That was what I had been thinking, but—

Arisa took my hand.

“I want you to know, big brother. About the person you saved. About how great what you accomplished was. About how many people’s hearts you saved—and how happy I am.”

Her eyes were utterly sincere.

Just by looking at me, they told me many things.

Trying to laugh it off—

“…All right. It’s not really my style, but let’s go.”

was impossible.

And so, Arisa and I headed to Liel Healing Institute.