Episode 8

“First, allow me to apologize for my retainer’s discourtesy.”

A silver-haired girl pulled back her hood. She appeared a little older than Zeke and the others.

“That hair color…!”

“Boy, your recognition is not wrong, but you should not speak such words lightly—especially if you aim to become a knight.”

“It’s all right, Golton. It is true that it looks unusual.”

In the Kingdom of Diabalet, all those connected to the royal family were known by their silver hair. The exact pattern differed by individual: those with stronger royal blood had hair that was entirely silver, while others showed silver only in part.

Even a direct descendant of the king did not automatically bear silver hair, and there were cases where a child with fully silver hair was born from a distant branch. It was not mere genetics; it signified inheriting the king’s innate qualities in concentrated form. The color silver was so special to the Kingdom of Diabalet that it had once influenced the line of succession.

This girl had inherited that special silver across all her hair. Being born to a ducal house made her existence exceptional—for better and for worse.

“My introduction is late. I am Ciel Astera. As Luke-san said, if you trace the history, you can say there is a connection to the royal family.”

“The Astera Ducal House… That is a public fact, not merely history. I am terribly sorry.”

Luke hastily dropped to one knee. Commoner though he was, he knew what silver hair meant in this country and which noble houses were closely tied to the royal family. …If he had known, he wished Zeke had told him beforehand, he thought with a twinge of resentment. Zeke himself wore a look as if nothing concerned him.

“Luke-san, please act as you usually do. We were the ones who concealed our status and behaved rudely.”

“However…”

“Hey, she said it’s fine. Otherwise we’ll never get this conversation moving.”

Even after learning their identities, Zeke’s attitude did not change. Watching Zeke stand unruffled before a ducal house, Luke began to wonder if the man was a little unhinged.

“…Lagias, at this point I cannot permit that attitude. Know the difference in our stations.”

“Borrowed authority, are we? What of silver hair? …What do you actually want? How long am I expected to humor this farce?”

It was the sort of attitude that could cost a man his head. Yet, as Zeke said, the talk had gone nowhere.

“You two, his point is reasonable. I will explain.”

The other two looked dissatisfied, but they held their tongues.

“To be blunt: a mysterious epidemic is spreading in a certain provincial city within the realm.”

“…! A mysterious epidemic… what exactly is it?”

“Exactly as it sounds. An unknown illness is eating away at the people. We wish to proceed with treatment, but at present we have not found any effective means.”

Ciel continued her explanation. According to her, people who had been fine until the day before suddenly fell ill. Fatigue, headache, fever, loss of appetite—symptoms much like a common cold.

If that were all, it would not have caused an uproar as a ‘mysterious epidemic,’ but a few days later the person lost consciousness and fell into a coma.

“A coma following a cold…? For example, did the person have any other pre-existing conditions?”

“I cannot rule it out. But what if it is not just one person, and the same thing begins spreading through the whole town one after another?”

At first it was not a commotion large enough to shake the town. But as time passed, more people with similar symptoms appeared, and in the end all of them slipped into comas.

“It began with one case, but it has slowly spread. As of now, we have confirmed forty infected.”

Forty—how should one judge that number against a city’s population? If the infections spread, the city’s functions would decline and eventually halt completely. And if it expanded across the kingdom…?

“What became of the first patient to show symptoms?”

“They are still comatose and have not regained consciousness. Treatments using magic or medicine have had no effect.”

The patients’ ages and sexes varied with no commonality. Worse, the transmission route was unknown. People with no apparent contact with the infected suddenly fell into the same condition.

“In that case… there’s no way to respond.”

“Yes. What we can do is seal the city to prevent the spread and, as quickly as possible, identify the source and establish a treatment method.”

The provincial city in question had been placed under lockdown, and a gag order was in effect.

Depending on how things developed, the kingdom could tilt. That was why they needed to act in secret.

“If uncertain information spreads, the people will be driven by fear. Therefore I expect none of you have heard of this.”

“It is indeed the first I’ve heard. Hence this method of contact… But why tell us? Given the matter, I see little point in informing mere adventurers like us.”

There should be capable magi, physicians, and apothecaries to approach first.

“Of course we are seeking cooperation from many quarters. As for inviting you two—Luke-san, you are the reason.”

“Me? …Ah. Mana sclerosis, then.”

“It has been counted among rare diseases. However, no treatment protocol had been established, and cases were extremely few, so the public would hardly know of it.”

Even specialists had scant knowledge. That was why Brink had struggled so much.

“You survived that rare disease—thanks to a special remedy that had not existed.”

There had not even been a formalized name for the disease. Luke had overcome an illness that rare. Its connection to the current matter was unclear, but the common thread was that both were strange afflictions.

“The one who brought that special remedy was you, Zeke-san—and the person who created that connection was Brink-san.”

At the time, the Apothecaries’ Guild and physicians had been in an uproar, and the kingdom had also taken note. Normally they would have interviewed the persons directly involved, but Zeke was one of those concerned.

Because the House of Lagias was, in a sense, difficult for the crown to handle, the investigation was left to the intelligence service—and went no further.

“We still do not know the cause of this epidemic. That is precisely why we must search for solutions from multiple angles.”

Zeke folded his arms and shut his eyes. Did he have an idea?

“Anything, no matter how small, would help. Do you or the House of Lagias know anything? We ask for your cooperation on site.”

All eyes turned to Zeke.

“How should I know? Do it yourselves.”

He cut her down in one stroke. Ciel’s words were mercilessly severed.

She had hated her hair color since she was small. She had not chosen it, yet those around her would not accept it.

Special treatment, for good or ill. The girl’s birth put her position in peril. How much happier might she have been as nothing more than an unwanted child?

“What of silver hair?”

She had been denied as a person plenty of times before. But having her hair color denied—this was the first time in her life.

By rights it was an insult to the royal house and worthy of punishment, and she should have felt indignation. Yet what filled her chest instead was surprise.

For the first time, someone had seen her not by her hair color but as herself. Back then she had not realized it immediately, but she must have felt happy. Now, those words had become precious to her.

“What of silver hair!”

He frowned at her sudden, contextless outburst, and his expression struck her as funny; a smile slipped out. The crease that formed between his brows at that made her laugh again.

He berated her with needlessly difficult words, but she understood: kindness hid behind his speech and behavior—the sort of kindness one would not sense from the outside.

She had always hated her hair color, but now she cherished it. Birth and blood did not matter. After all, it was this silver hair that had led her to meet him.