Episode 10

To the west of the Kingdom of Diabalet lay the provincial city of Apion. Belonging to the Etra Domain, this town was seeing what seemed to be an epidemic spread through its streets. After making their preparations, Hiroto and the others arrived at the city gate.

“It feels awfully tense here.”

“Yes. I regret it, but until we know the cause, movement has to be restricted.”

At the towering gate, soldiers were conducting inspections. Residents’ movement was, in principle, forbidden, and entry into Apion was limited as well. Under the pretext of a high alert, they were controlling the flow of people.

(We really came… Is this okay?)

Hiroto didn’t know the details of this epidemic. Not because Ciel hadn’t told him, but because he had no knowledge of it from the original story.

There had been no in-game event about an epidemic, and neither the Etra Domain nor Apion had ever been named. Hiroto concluded this was likely material outside the main story concerning Ciel—essentially a prologue. There would be twists and turns, but in the end it would be resolved and lead into the main plot.

(It was the same with Glanz. The principal characters should have the ability to solve their problems… probably.)

He had thrown himself into the Lagias Dungeon event because he had wanted to see a party character in person. In hindsight, even if Hiroto hadn’t intervened, Glanz would have survived, so things had followed the game.

In other words, he thought this, too, wouldn’t become a disaster even if he didn’t get involved.

(An unknown epidemic? Give me a break.)

Ciel was one of the main party characters. If this was an event prepared for her, the person involved should resolve it; there was no need for outsiders to butt in—it would conclude on its own.

But irregularities came with everything. Hiroto remembered well what had happened in the Lagias Dungeon: the trap had triggered even without touching an obvious snare, and they had been thrust into a deathtrap. Whatever the process, the result had been the same.

Even if someone was a main character, meddling outside the original plot did not guarantee their life. Hiroto’s survival had been nothing more than catching a ride on Glanz’s magic—or so he believed.

That was precisely why he wanted Luke far from this affair. If Luke was a main character, he didn’t want him exiting the stage before the story began. Who knew how the scenario would change? At the very least, he wanted to see him take the knight order’s entrance exam and witness the result.

(After all that trying to stop him, he still came… Which means I have to go too.)

Hiroto had no knowledge about diseases. The only reason he had responded correctly to “mana sclerosis” was because he’d had information from the original story.

He had been just a high-school student; there was no way he possessed medical training. And this world seemed to be the world of a game—the common sense of his old world didn’t apply here.

(If I misjudge when to pull back, that’s the end. Dying without even understanding why? No thanks.)

With no prior information, he couldn’t prepare in advance. He had guessed at needed items and had them gathered, but it was unclear if they would help. Realistically, he had no choice but to rely on Ciel and her companions.

(The ducal lot… in the end they only sent three people. Given the situation, that means…)

Luke looked motivated, but this wasn’t a matter they should dig deeply into. He would pick a time and withdraw. If Luke refused, he would drag him out even if he had to knock him out.

(Sorry, Ciel. In the original, we end up at odds anyway. This just moves it up a bit.)

—He was not the protagonist.

Once their identities were checked at the inspection, they were allowed through the gate without issue. It seemed a notice had been sent ahead of time.

The town was desolate. It wasn’t that there wasn’t a single soul, but there were few residents in sight.

“There’s no energy here.”

“Many people are staying indoors as much as possible… I only wish that had proved effective.”

The faces of those on the street were gloomy. A mysterious epidemic was spreading, and each day was lived in fear. Movement was restricted, and daily life was disrupted.

“Hasn’t there been a major uproar?”

“…A portion of the citizens held protests, but in the middle of them several people collapsed into comas. People who had been shouting moments before, all of a sudden.”

Someone standing beside them, voicing the same complaints, suddenly fell over—and not just one person, but several. Fear swelled far larger than anger, and the protests themselves fell apart.

“It’s awful. The lord and the crown work to prevent the damage from spreading; the citizens raise their voices to keep living… and no one’s at fault.”

“…First, let’s go to the person in charge. We’ll start by understanding the current situation.”

“…? Understood. Zeke, are you fine with that?”

“…Do as you like.”

There was a shadow to Ciel’s expression. Zeke, too, gave off a faint sense of wrongness.
Were the two of them sensing something? At times like this, Luke told himself, he needed to be the one to stay firm.