SML Ch 61

Chapter 61

The next day, Reynald and his companions left the castle to observe the strange statues Volant had spoken of.

Volant explained that the location was far enough away for the round trip to take a long time, and that due to the nature of the place, the more people they brought, the easier it would be for them to be spotted. For that reason, on this day, the escort knights would not accompany Reynald’s party, but instead take on the role of “scarecrows” in the fields.

It was hard to tell whether the expressions on the knights’ faces came from genuine concern for the princes, or from exasperation at having to spend the entire day on such an inefficient duty. Either way, they voiced no strong objections. After all, as long as the Golden Mirror was with them, there should be little real danger.

They seem to trust me more than the Golden Mirror…

“Wouldn’t the captain of the knights be more reliable than twenty of us put together?”

Hearing one escort whisper this to another left Reynald feeling oddly unsettled. He could not help but wonder how the discipline of the kingdom’s knightly order had become so lax. However, having stepped down of his own volition, it felt awkward to outright chastise them.

Still, at least the journey itself posed no serious danger. Going due east from Swine’s Forest, they came upon a vast, open wasteland with no end in sight, and in the very center of it stood a ruin — crumbling, and strangely out of place.

This ruin was Reynald’s party’s destination — and the dwelling place of the statues.

“My lord, what are those things actually called? We’ve just been calling them ‘moss-covered statues’.”

“The actual name is similar enough, Volant. Seems most people think along the same lines.”

Whether they were moss-covered statues or moss-encrusted knights, it was all the same. Hiding behind a large boulder, Reynald’s group observed the monsters tending the soil around the collapsed ruins.

Covered from head to toe in bluish-green moss, the statues moved in the sunlight, tilling the ground with their plows. Their appearance — difficult to tell whether they were living beings or constructs, much like the crystal clockwork birds — coupled with the armor they wore and the stone swords strapped to their backs, all seemed thoroughly ill-suited to farming.

They hardly matched the wasteland itself, either. For an expanse baked dry beneath a brilliant sun, there was a strangely damp and somber air about them.

From their moss-covered appearance, one might expect them to be found wandering a forest, yet in truth they were rarely seen there. They appeared only in mysterious ruins scattered across the kingdom’s wastelands — sites so old and broken that just the bare outlines of structures remained, leaving no hint of their original purpose.

They’re merely statues guarding ruins. If anything, they resemble gargoyles.

Yet unlike gargoyles, these beings plowed fields and grew crops — not for their own sustenance, but solely to perform a “ritual” in the autumn season. For this reason, their methodical farming carried an air of solemn religious ceremony.

“The more I look at them, the stranger they seem… Who exactly are they offering prayers to, and what are they wishing for with these rituals?”

“No one has yet discovered the answer. Just as no one knows why the crystal clockwork birds migrate each year between the northern and southern ends of the world.”

As the crystal clockwork birds had not yet arrived at the knights’ fields, Reynald’s group decided to rest and wait. During that time, Serna wore an unusually serious expression. Normally, simply seeing such a rare monster would have had him chattering excitedly, but instead, he sat quietly in thought.

It was not difficult to guess why. After repeatedly stealing glances at Reynald, as though pondering something, Serna soon turned his gaze toward Alex and began to speak.

“Sir Reynald, this is a little embarrassing to say, but… may I step away for a moment to take care of something?”

“Something?”

“Yes. Well, this area is far too open, so I’d like to go somewhere a bit farther away. I’ll be back as quickly as possible.”

Reynald looked at him with mild suspicion. The Serna he knew was the type who, even if his bladder were about to burst, would hold out until he had seen the crystal clockwork birds arrive — not someone to give up such a rare sight at a moment like this.

The conclusion was simple: there was a reason he wanted to buy time, even if it meant missing this spectacle.

“Then be quick about it. But… it’s dangerous to go alone.”

“Pardon?”

“You never know when a monster might attack. Someone should keep watch for you. If anything were to happen to a prince, it would be a disaster. Take someone along with you.”

“Ah, of course… Alex, would you come with me?”

It was more or less what Reynald had expected. Alex himself seemed startled at the request, but nodding as though resigned, he followed Serna. Volant watched the two head off with a look of expectation, while Arun regarded them with a hint of concern.

“Volant, do you happen to know something—”

“Hm? What do you mean, my lord?”

“Your face is full of mischief. Never mind.”

Clearly set on protecting Alex’s personal matters, Volant’s manner left Reynald shrugging before he turned to Arun. When this prince wore a look of concern, it meant Serna had told him something — perhaps he might be willing to share.

Feeling Reynald’s eyes upon him, Arun tilted his head, somewhat sheepishly.

“I have a rough idea of what Serna is thinking, but I’m not sure it’s something that can be resolved through simple conversation.”

“You believe it’s not a matter for words? I’d like to hear why.”

Though Reynald probed gently, he wasn’t expecting much — Arun was, by nature, principled and unlikely to divulge someone else’s secrets unless it was truly necessary.

Still, Arun unexpectedly gave a ready answer.

“It’s not exactly an area open to compromise, is it?”

“Compromise?”

“In the end, we can only do our utmost to take you with us, Sir Reynald. That goal of ours is completely at odds with that young man’s. Unless we abandon our goal, reconciliation will be difficult.”

“Hmm? What do you mean by that?”

“What do you mean, what do I mean? That young man doesn’t want you leaving early. He’s afraid that if we make this domain a better place, you’ll depart sooner.”

…That answer landed so far outside Reynald’s expectations that he momentarily stood with his mouth agape. Meanwhile, Volant’s eyes widened as he continued sneaking glances toward the direction Serna and Alex had gone.

“Wait, you’re just going to come right out and say it?”

“…What do you mean? Surely Sir Reynald already knew?”

It was only upon seeing Reynald’s look of astonishment that Arun realized what he had just let slip. “Serna assured me you already knew,” he muttered, flustered. Needless to say, Reynald was hearing this for the first time.

Either Serna had simply misunderstood — or, far more likely given the youngest prince’s character, he had been teasing him.

Piecing it together at last, Reynald understood: if the domain remained impoverished, Alex believed he could insist that the princes could not send their lord back to the capital because he was needed here.

If that explained Alex’s lukewarm attitude toward more efficient methods of capturing the clockwork birds, and his lack of an answer when Serna asked why they couldn’t simply send for a wizard… well, the pieces fit perfectly.

It’s quite a childish notion, in a way… or perhaps not? Even His Majesty’s strategy isn’t so different in direction.

The king, too, believed that without more escort knights, the princes could not remain in such a dangerous place — meaning they would return to the capital sooner. Hiding the Golden Mirror was just another piece of that cunning ploy.

Of course, the king and Alex’s thinking weren’t identical. The king was merely exploiting his understanding of Reynald’s mind, while Alex…

Was he really that upset at the thought of me leaving?

Unlike the king’s maneuvers, Alex’s “strategy” had virtually no chance of success — it was a vague, improbable wish. He likely knew that himself, which was why Volant’s persuasion had been effective.

Even so, the fact that Alex felt that strongly left Reynald with an odd feeling. He hadn’t done anything particularly remarkable for the young man — perhaps they had nonetheless grown a little closer.

“Well, my lord, I doubt Alex truly meant it in earnest. Whether you go or not depends on your own situation. Even if we threw away our chance to improve the village, it wouldn’t really stop you from leaving.”

As Reynald expected, Volant just smiled, shrugging in that easy-going way of his — though there was a faint trace of resignation in his tone.

“I understand what you mean. Then Prince Serna…”

“Probably wants to say something like, ‘We understand, but let’s be friendly while we’re here.’ Alex isn’t that stubborn — if we explain it clearly, he’ll understand.”

It would be nice if Volant’s prediction turned out to be right, but Reynald still felt uneasy.

I’m not particularly eager to return to the capital either, but everyone seems skeptical…

He could understand: the princes had reasons they could not back down from, while the young men here had long resigned themselves to believing the domain was not a good place to live. It was only natural, then, that both sides assumed Reynald would leave in the end.

Perhaps he truly had been keeping too ambiguous a stance… That thought weighed on him, until—

“Ah, the birds.”

Volant’s voice, tinged with curiosity, brought Reynald out of his thoughts. True enough, the crystal clockwork birds were beginning to arrive — and this time, far more of them than before. It seemed they were seeing the convergence of birds keeping to their original course and others that, for unknown reasons, had diverted from Swine’s Forest.

All eyes turned toward the statues to see how they would respond. One of the moss-covered knights, still in the midst of plowing, reached into his breastplate and drew something out.