Episode 9

Silence settled over the room. Being rejected without a beat had been beyond Ciel and the others’ expectations.

“Z-Zeke!? Were you even listening?”

“I was. That’s all.”

“…Zeke, there are people suffering this very moment. People terrified of an unknown disease.”

“So what? That’s their problem.”

I was struck speechless by sheer shock.

This friend had a foul mouth and spewed abuse as naturally as breathing. Even so, in the end—grumbling all the while—he had helped many people. I knew that because I had always watched from his side.

Yet this time he cut the matter off without a second thought, though depending on how things went, the kingdom might suffer immense harm.

“She said it herself, didn’t she? ‘Know the difference in our stations.’ Is this a matter two adventurers should be involved in?”

“Even so… there must be something we can do.”

“Are you with the Church? Have you mastered recovery magic, healing magic, divine arts, or pharmacology?”

“…That’s…”

Zeke was right.

In the three years since overcoming my illness, I had worked relentlessly—building stamina, learning swordsmanship, broadening my knowledge. But that had been for my future dream. What I had cultivated to become a knight could not serve as a means to cure an unknown epidemic.

“There’s no definitive treatment, and both the source and the route of infection are unknown. You can’t even hear from those who are comatose. What exactly do you plan to do if you go there?”

“Gh…!”

“You don’t even know the incubation period or the conditions. What if you unknowingly bring the cause back into the Rent Domain or somewhere else and it spreads? How will you take responsibility?”

In my head I understood—he was right. But Luke wasn’t mature enough to nod obediently.

“I get it… But I still can’t just do nothing.”

“That’s the state’s job. It’s not your turn to step in. —Well, I don’t really get why these ducal types are sticking their noses in either.”

Ciel lowered her gaze. No one from a ducal house would personally go to a place where an epidemic was spreading. With a little thought, that much would seem questionable, but Luke, lacking calm, failed to notice it—the true meaning of being forced toward a deathtrap.

“…Or are you going to repeat it all again? Why did Brink throw away his position? Why did he bow his head, bending even his convictions?”

My father hadn’t said much—only that Zeke had helped him find a way to cure the disease.

“If you lose consciousness again, Brink will do the same thing once more. And your path to becoming a knight will be cut off for good.”

Rehabilitation after recovery had been truly harsh. It wasn’t only about returning from more than a year bedridden to an ordinary life; I also needed the training to become a knight. Losing a full year of boyhood—a key time for growth—had been a huge handicap.

If I became immobile again, how many years would recovery take? The thought that I might have to give up my dream flickered through my mind.

“There are other things you should be doing. Don’t waste your mind on nonsense.”

There was no age limit for the knight order’s entrance examination. Anyone could take it—if they had the ability. Conversely, if deemed lacking, you might never be allowed to take it in your lifetime.

Even if I ended up bedridden and later returned, how would the order judge me? From here on, this period of growth would matter even more.

“Don’t get conceited. One guy like you, who’s only gotten a bit stronger, won’t change anything.”

(Why is he this negative about it?)

I thought I understood Zeke’s character after three years together. His mouth was vicious, and he hurled abuse at every turn. He did it to me too—but never had he denied me this hard.

Griping as he did, he hadn’t stopped me when I joined Brink’s instruction sessions or accompanied requests from the Adventurers’ Guild.

(He’s even dragging in Father’s name and my dream.)

No doubt I’d lost my cool; I wasn’t even seeing the three—Ciel and the rest—in my field of view.
But not everything had slipped away. As one person and as a dear friend, I noticed a small sense of wrongness. From where I stood, he too wasn’t his usual self. The cool-headed Zeke looked, somehow, to be in a hurry.

(What is he in a hurry about?)

Zeke was a living embodiment of arrogance. He insulted and looked down on others regardless of their status or station. In a sense, he was equal-opportunity about it.

Ordinarily no one would go near such a man, and he’d be left alone—but that wasn’t the case. Luke knew there were, if not many, at least a certain number who understood him. He never voiced his true feelings, but in his heart he always thought of others—of the weak.

(I see… I did know what kind of person he is.)

Zeke was probably planning to solve this alone. Because he knew my dream, he had pushed me away—to keep an unknown epidemic from ending my path to knighthood. Even though, if things went badly, he might be the one to lose his life.

(You’re far ahead—too far. But that’s exactly why I want to catch up.)

My resolve was set.

“Even so, I’m going. I don’t want regrets.”

“You’ll throw away your dream for strangers?”

“I won’t. I’ll become a knight—and I’ll make that strength help the townspeople.”

“I see… So you really are…”

Zeke muttered something, but I couldn’t make it out.

“Hmph. At this rate I can’t tell which of us is putting on the farce. …Hey, Astera girl. Stop wasting your time on petty thoughts and give us more detailed information.”

“!? …Lagias, I told you to drop that attitude.”

“Like I care. You think there’s a fool who’ll revere some ducal scion fading out without even resisting? …You brought us the job. You people will prepare the necessary supplies and money.”

Though Zeke had shown only denial a moment ago, it seemed he had decided to take the request. I couldn’t call it “the sooner the better,” but we began moving quickly.

A ducal house fading out… Though she had explained nothing, he seemed to understand—how the girl had been born, and how she would fade.

Even knowing, he had offered his hand. Helping would not buy him ties to the ducal house. There was mortal danger, and somewhere beyond her knowledge the scales were being set to weigh her. Even so, he…