SML Ch 60

Chapter 60

In the end, Alex did not return to the castle that day. It seemed he intended to stay overnight at Volant’s house. According to Heide, this happened occasionally, so there was nothing to worry about—yet the fact that Reynald could not ask Alex what was on his mind left him feeling oddly frustrated.

He wanted, at least, to ask Serna instead, but Serna only looked at Reynald with a meaningfully enigmatic smile.

“What exactly is that expression supposed to mean, Your Highness?”

“Oh, nothing. I was simply thinking that Sir Reynald is truly remarkable.”

“…Excuse me?”

“Ah, I do not mean it in any strange way, truly. If you think about it, my elder brothers and even Father are rather similar in that regard.”

“What are you even talking about right now…?”

Though Reynald heard Serna’s words, his confusion only deepened. He glanced toward Arun on the off-chance that the other prince might understand, but Arun’s expression made it clear he was just as clueless—perhaps even more so. In fact, when Arun asked, “What exactly is supposed to be similar?” Serna merely responded with an inexplicable chuckle.

The following day, Volant arrived at the castle with Alex in tow, saying he had left the fields to another villager for the day.

“So, my lord, I had a talk with Alex!”

“And?”

“It occurred to me—we should observe how the farming monsters drive away crows! When I thought about it, I realized we’ve never once actually witnessed it in all our lives.”

“…Do you not realize you skipped over a rather crucial explanation there? How on earth did the conversation even veer in that direction?”

Volant grinned sheepishly, blatantly trying to dodge the point. Had this fellow always been like this, and Reynald simply never noticed? Or had Prince Serna’s arrival rubbed off on him somehow?

Alex merely sighed with a look of resignation and weary acceptance. At least, Reynald noted, Alex no longer radiated the hostile resignation he had shown yesterday. Whatever conversation had transpired between the two of them seemed to have tempered the young man’s attitude. Even so, Alex kept sneaking wary glances at Volant.

“You say one strange word, Volant, and you’re dead.”

“Oh, that’s rich coming from you. You went and spilled my entire family history in front of Serpent, and now you want to play innocent? Anyway, my lord—truth be told, we’re… a bit afraid of things like royal treasures and magicians.”

“Afraid?”

“Yes. Folks like us from the backwoods have never so much as laid eyes on such priceless things. When something so extraordinary falls into hands like ours, we can’t help but fret over losing it. A treasure, as Prince Serna mentioned yesterday, could be snatched away by monsters at any moment. And a magician… well, honestly speaking, even you, my lord, have seen how many people abandon this land despite claiming it as their own. How could we ever trust that a magician wouldn’t just pack up and vanish in the dead of night? And you can hardly fault them—they wouldn’t want to rot away their lives in some backwater like this.”

“…Hmph.”

The words straddled the line between jest and sincerity. And they weren’t entirely wrong. Even if Serna promised, ‘Once Reynald returns to the capital, I will send a magician,’ there was no guarantee that such a promise would truly be kept.

Of course, it might also be an excuse to mask deeper intentions—but this time, Reynald found himself uncertain whether that was truly the case.

“Alex feels the same, you know. He’s scared too—because having something precious fall into your hands only to lose it later… that’s terrifying, isn’t it?”

Perhaps because Volant’s expression was unusually earnest, Reynald could not dismiss the statement outright. Alex, too, averted his eyes as if struck at the heart. Reynald decided not to pry further and merely nodded.

“…So what you want is a reliable method—something that won’t vanish in a fleeting moment of whimsy?”

“More or less! I was thinking about it, you see—the Ratmen and Swine don’t grow glass leaves, yet they somehow manage to survive the crow attacks just fine. I’ve never once heard of their harvests being ruined by birds.”

“So they must have their own methods, then?”

“Exactly. Especially the Swine’s forest—I don’t know why, but the crows always steer clear and detour around it. I can’t say for certain, but they clearly know some trick to drive the birds away.”

“The Swine forest has been the site of recent incidents. Approaching it might not be wise… but as for the other monsters, they might be worth observing.”

“That’s what I’m saying! Prince Serna, I know it’s cheeky after what I said yesterday, but… would you be willing to help us when we go to observe the monsters? If we’ve got that treasure thing of yours, we’d have an easier time escaping in an emergency, wouldn’t we?”

At Volant’s tentative suggestion, Serna’s eyes lit up with curiosity. Considering his unusual fascination with the clockwork crystal birds from the start, this reaction wasn’t surprising.

“Oh, that’s actually a great idea! With the Golden Mirror, we can fend off most monster attacks. We could even visit places we’ve avoided so far because of the danger!”

Of course, the king surely hadn’t entrusted Serna with the Golden Mirror so that he could go sticking his head into danger. Even with the artifact, recklessness could still prove fatal. Reynald opened his mouth to warn him—but froze at the prince’s next words.

“We can wander about, take in the sights… and maybe I can talk to Alex a little more. Honestly, it sounds like a wonderful plan.”

As Serna mentioned Alex, he cast a sly glance toward Volant, who subtly met his gaze. In other words, the whole pretext of “monster observation” was just that—a pretext. What Serna really wanted was to spend more time with Alex.

Does this prince… perhaps want to get closer to Alex? Reynald wondered. As the thought crossed his mind, Serna beamed and addressed him cheerfully.

“Sir Reynald, why don’t you come along with us as well?”

“If Your Highness is going, I can hardly refuse… What about you, Prince Arun?”

When Reynald asked, glancing toward Arun, the other prince nodded surprisingly without hesitation. Reynald had half-expected him to scold Serna for being reckless.

“I shall accompany you. I never realized the people here carried such fears. Since coming to this domain, I have learned much that I did not know before.”

“That is unexpected. I thought you would discourage this, citing the danger.”

“If the troubles of this land remain unresolved, you too will find no peace of mind, Sir Reynald. Besides, taking this chance to visit places we normally could not might not be such a bad thing.”

The look in Arun’s eyes hinted at a grim resolve—as if he thought, ‘Better to face the blow early than later.’ Moreover, from the way he kept quietly studying Volant and Alex, Reynald suspected Arun was also striving to understand the unfamiliar ways these two thought.

Not bad. Seems the lessons I taught them in their youth didn’t go to waste after all.

Regardless of rank or birth, strive always to understand others. Not for their sake—but for your own. Though such words might have been difficult for royal-born children to accept, the princes had nevertheless taken the teachings of their commoner-born mentor to heart and treated all with sincerity. That was, at least, reassuring.

I should observe Alex more closely as well. Perhaps this boy has experienced the loss of something precious in the past.

If losing something dear had made him defensive, it would explain much of his behavior so far. Perhaps it even tied into his childhood—the family he lost, the wandering life he endured.

It might not be wise to pry too deeply… but still, I can’t help but feel for him.

With that thought, Reynald set out with the youths in search of a way—however improbable—to repel the mechanical birds plaguing the farmland using their own strength.

First, they used the Golden Mirror to drive off the birds that appeared in the morning, then immediately set out toward the Ratmen’s fields.

“Come to think of it, the clockwork crystal birds only appear at two fixed times each day.”

“Of course they do. The springs inside them function almost like year-long clocks… Anyway, let’s finish our observations before the afternoon cycle begins.”

It didn’t take long to learn how the Ratmen dealt with the birds. From afar, the group could already hear the incessant squeaking and chaos. As they drew closer, they saw Ratmen shrieking, bleeding profusely as they were pecked and clawed mercilessly by the birds.

“…So they literally throw their bodies at them. Worse off than we are.”

“That’s useless. Even I could do better than that.”

Volant and Alex muttered incredulously as they watched. It was clear the Ratmen had no understanding of the birds’ behavior. All they seemed to grasp was that “loud noise draws them in.” So their strategy—if it could be called that—was to scream at the top of their lungs to lure the birds, then stand there getting mauled.

“At least their regeneration is fast… After a night’s rest, they’ll be fine, more or less. Though regrowing the fur will take longer.”

“Must be nice to be that young.”

“You two are barely nineteen yourselves. It’s not youth—it’s because they’re monsters.”

Ignoring Serna’s wide-eyed reaction to the mention of their age, Reynald immediately led the group toward the next destination: the Swine’s forest, to verify the rumor that “the birds avoid it entirely.”

They could only observe from afar, wary of provoking an attack, but the rumor proved true. For reasons unknown, the clockwork crystal birds circled widely around the Swine’s territory. Even though there were surely fields within that forest as well.

“Could it be the Swine know magic, Sir Reynald? The way the birds divert looks like interference caused by some spell.”

“I’ve never heard of Swine using magic, Prince Arun… Perhaps they were lucky enough to seize some enchanted object.”

While the young men whispered enviously about such a possibility, Arun watched the forest with unusual gravity.

Even with the Golden Mirror, tangling with the Swine would be dangerous. They moved in large numbers, and if the group were surrounded, attacks from beyond the mirror’s protective range would rain down mercilessly. Reynald decided to pull back rather than risk getting closer.

Where to next…? After lunch, they still had time before the birds’ afternoon descent. As Reynald pondered, Volant suddenly piped up.

“Oh, right! We should check on those guys too, shouldn’t we?”

“‘Those guys’? Who are you talking about, Volant?”

“Ah, those weird statue-like creatures with moss-covered heads. There are about twenty or thirty of them… They don’t even eat, but they cultivate wheat and other crops, then pile everything on some altar during harvest season. Most of it ends up stolen by the Ratmen or Swine, though.”

From the description alone, Reynald had a pretty good idea what kind of monsters they were.

Why in the world does this domain have such bizarre creatures, anyway?

No matter how many strange beings he encountered here, Reynald doubted he would ever grow accustomed to the sheer variety—and chaos—of this land’s monster population.