SML Ch 72

Chapter 72

“…Y-you realized that so quickly?”

“It didn’t look like you were simply drawing a line to distance yourself. You’re worried about Sir Reynald, aren’t you? That something might happen to him, like your family before…or like with the Orthros Serpent.”

“…Yes.”

“And more than revenge, what weighs on you first is concern for him?”

Volant nodded quietly, and Reynald couldn’t help but be a little surprised. He had expected that, of course, the urge for revenge for his murdered family would come before any worry for a lord he had known for only a few months. And naturally, if it were revenge, asking others for help would be wiser than trying to shoulder it all alone. Yet—

“Revenge, huh… Of course, it matters, but…”

“……”

“Having gone through it myself, I know—it hurts when someone precious dies. No matter how important revenge may be, isn’t it more important to make sure fewer people suffer like that in the first place?”

Volant spoke in his usual calm tone, shoulders shrugging, expression remarkably plain for someone speaking of death and vengeance.

“You see… ever since my family died, I’ve been living in a strange sort of state. Not that I felt unbearably sad, but…no matter what I did, I couldn’t feel joy. As though some part of me was hollow. Nothing stirred in me, so in a way, it felt like I wasn’t really alive at all.”

“You mean you felt emptiness?”

“Mm, not exactly emptiness… More like the feeling of having lost something. You remember what the voice in the maze told me—that I didn’t even know what I’d lost. That’s about it.”

“…Hm.”

“Anyway, I kept drifting like that…until you suddenly came to this domain, my lord. After that—well, my mood lifted, I suppose. I’d been numb and void inside, but around you I finally began to feel something again. It was…good.”

Volant chuckled lightly as he said this. So my presence gave him that much solace…? Reynald thought, struck by complicated feeling. He had only assumed Volant’s brightness was innate character.

“That’s why I’m afraid. If anything were to happen to you, my lord, I’d go back to that state again….”

“……”

“So I just wish you’d stay out of harm’s way. If you returned safely to the capital with the princes, then fine. But I wouldn’t want someone I’ve grown fond of to face tragedy again.”

“……”

“Well…maybe I haven’t grown as attached to you as Alex has, but still. If danger doesn’t threaten you, my lord, I still want revenge. That masked murderer is my family’s enemy after all.”

Volant smiled faintly as he added this. Reynald meanwhile noticed Alex squirming awkwardly beside him, face twisting, for reasons unclear.

Arun, unaware of this subtlety, nodded gravely in response to Volant’s words.

“…I understand your meaning.”

“You do?”

“I do. But even if you think so, this is still something we are all bound to. Whether near or far, sooner or later we must confront that nameless killer—at least if we assume the doll’s answers were true.”

“Well…yes.”

“Then it’s a matter for us all to unite. Perhaps that’s why the doll fell silent—because this isn’t about whether you ask our help or not. Once chosen in the selection, this becomes an obligation that none of us can escape.”

Is that really so? Reynald shot a glance toward the clockwork doll—but it lay as before, flopped across its chair, unmoving. Silence because Arun hadn’t phrased it as a yes/no? Or because it simply wasn’t an answerable claim? If it truly disagreed, it would lash out or strike. Its passivity instead suggested a tacit acceptance…or perhaps, pure indifference.

While Reynald pondered, the youths continued.

“But, Your Highness,” Volant said, “couldn’t you just…return home? The doll said no harm would come even if you did. This isn’t your land after all.”

“What are you saying? This domain may be remote from the crown’s reach, but it is still the Kingdom of Carbonel’s territory. As royalty, I cannot turn my back on it. Were I to abandon it simply from inconvenience, I would surely regret it later.”

“Wow.”

“I’m not certain what sort of admiration that word expresses. But more than that—this is Sir Reynald’s domain. For his sake, I have no intention of retreating.”

“So even Your Highness cares for our lord that much! I thought your only plan was to drag him back to the capital.”

“I don’t deny wanting to take him back. But aside from that, I am fond of him in truth.”

“…Wow.”

Why Volant chose such odd exclamations for the ordinary statement of a pupil’s respect for his master, Reynald couldn’t guess. Yet Alex’s sidelong look too seemed vaguely disapproving—as if implying suspicion at something improper. Suddenly Reynald felt compelled to defend himself from unspoken accusations.

“Why the strange looks? When I was a child, I nearly died—from fae, no less. Had Sir Reynald not saved me then, I wouldn’t be standing here now.”

“Fae…? Wait—the story I once heard about fairies…was that…?”

“…Say it’s related, at least. Then too, having been left shrunken and frail after that, it was Sir Reynald who trained me with endless patience. He’s both my lifesaver and my lifelong teacher—of course I hold him dear.”

It was rare for Arun to recount such personal history aloud. Clearly Volant’s earlier honesty had coaxed his own candor. Volant, smiling in relief, answered sincerely:

“So that’s how it was…. Wait—what? You were small and frail as a child? You don’t look it in the least now!”

“Hard training. Whatever frame you’re born with, you can grow through effort.”

“True. Kids who seem short sometimes sprout tall later. Like Alex, ha! When he first came here, he was so tiny I thought he was maybe seven! I carried him piggyback and looked after him like a younger brother. Even wiped his nose sometimes—”

“Don’t you dare, Volant! After age eleven I was taller than you, remember?!”

With startling indignation Alex burst forward, voice loudly protesting. Why his pride bristled so fiercely, Reynald didn’t know. Volant gawked at the sheer number of listeners now exposed, eyes widening as he spotted Reynald himself standing there.

“M-my lord?! Since when have you been there?!”

“Well, ah….”

Caught without even the excuse of a question for the doll, Reynald had no good answer. Volant stared—then abruptly broke into peals of laughter.

“Pfft—ahahahaha! Seriously! What is this! So much for coming secretly at night to ask things alone—!”

“Exactly. Why cloak it in secrecy? Isn’t this a matter we should be facing all together?”

“True, I suppose. But it felt personal. And you—don’t you think you’re disgracefully brazen, eavesdropping so openly, my lord? What were you so curious about, anyway? Hm?”

“…My fault. Forgive me. I just wanted to understand you better. Would you accept that?”

Volant’s face flared scarlet. For once, he had no words. Alex grimaced at Reynald as if watching a rogue trickster. Reynald ignored him, knowing the sentiment was honest, if badly timed. Volant, flushing but defeated, pouted.

“…Fine. I get it, I get it. Anyway, I asked my questions. Now—it’s your turn. Don’t sneak around alone. Ask the doll openly.”

His tone made plain he wanted to drag the others down now that he was caught—no solitary victim anymore. Alex edged away, feigning disinterest. Arun, smiling earnestly, stepped boldly forward.

“Then I’ll go first. I wanted to ask about the forest where the swine live. But—ah, wait. The doll is leaving.”

“What? Hey—hey! Where are you—!”

For just as Arun drew near, the doll rose. Stretching like one weary, it lifted gently into the air. A clear signal: questions for tonight were finished.

“Are you serious?! You can’t fly away now—if I got caught out, the rest deserve it too!”

“If you want fairness, then ask in daylight next time. Perhaps the poor thing is simply tired.”

“Gracious of you, Your Highness…but I still feel cheated, you know?!”

But the doll drifted upward, unreachable, until it vanished atop the roof of the keep. Volant slumped sadly to the ground. Reynald offered him a helping hand.

“In that case, Volant—why not stay the night here? It’s far too late to return home.”

“…Ugh. I think I despise you, my lord.”

“But earlier you said you cared for me?”

“Gah, seriously!”

Grumbling, Volant took Reynald’s hand and stood. Reynald patted his shoulder gently. He still knew little of the doll’s purpose, of future events, or of how Volant’s family’s killer was tied to it. But…

At the very least, Reynald prayed those events would not wound Volant—or the people of this domain—again.

High atop the castle roof, the clockwork doll gazed silently at the bats that fluttered about.

[So you truly left the labyrinth at that dragon slayer’s side. Are you sure you thought that through?]

[O]

[Do you trust these humans so completely? Especially the dragon slayer himself?]

[X]

[That same dragon slayer might one day fall and cling to this land with twisted attachment. For all his seeming decency, no one can foresee the world’s turns. Can you swear old mistakes of this land will not be repeated?]

[X]

[Then what was the point of choosing him? Why not drive him off?]

Annoyed, the bats cuffed the doll on the head. But it did not lash back. Instead, it raised both arms heavenward, knees bent in some strange kneeling pose. After a while, the bats sighed and asked:

[Do you want my help?]

[…….]

[We’ll just watch for now. But—shall I aid you if things grow dire?]

[O]

[Very well. Do your best, then.]

With that, the bats slipped into the night sky. Alone, the doll gazed a long moment toward the dark swine-forest, then flopped face-down on the roof. It did not stir again, looking for all the world weary—or perhaps lonely.