Chapter 51
Beneath clear skies, the carriage glided over the snow.
Rattle, rattle.
A heavy jolt roused Aria from her sleep.
Someone was kneading her cheek.
Judging by the slender, soft fingers……
“Azazel?”
“Did you sleep well, Big Sis?”
She was right.
When Aria opened her eyes, she saw the red-haired girl Azazel Anaid smiling brightly beneath a pointed hat.
‘I must've fallen asleep.’
Aria brushed her bangs aside and slipped off Azazel's lap.
Azazel withdrew her hand from Aria's cheek, looking disappointed.
“Did you have a nightmare or something?”
A nightmare.
It wasn't wrong.
“Um, it wasn't a very nice dream.”
They say terrible experiences leave a deeper impression than happy ones.
Aria's dreams usually involved reliving the things she'd suffered over the past year.
So she hated dreaming.
It was always full of painful, troubling things.
“I asked because you were wrinkling your face like crumpled parchment.”
Crumpled parchment, huh?
That was an elegant way to put it.
“Was I really acting that miserable?”
“Yeah, I was worried, too.”
The answer came from across the carriage.
The striking man with black hair and eyes was Ashtein.
“Is that so? I'm sor—”
Aria was about to apologize, but checked Ashtein's expression.
As expected, he looked sullen.
“……Thank you for worrying about me, Ain.”
“You don't have to thank me.”
The Hero turned his head away, looking pleased by her gratitude.
It was kind of embarrassing.
Perhaps Aria wasn't the only one who thought so; Azazel rubbed her arms vigorously.
“Ugh, I'm getting goosebumps. Some of us are dying of loneliness over here, while you two are practically dripping honey. Seriously, dripping honey!”
“I'm sorry, Azazel.”
“Why are you apologizing, Big Sis? Ashtein's the one at fault.”
“A-am I not at fault, too?”
“You're asking me that? Are you stupid, Big Sis?”
The witch fanned herself with her hand as if thoroughly exasperated.
At Azazel's prickly response, Ashtein smiled and patted her head.
“Don't pat my head! You're messing up my hair!”
Her words were fierce, but she didn't really resist.
She says she doesn't like it, but secretly wants it.
She was a catlike girl.
Aria joined in, stroking Azazel's soft hair.
“Y-you too, Big Sis?”
The witch was being toyed with by a man and a woman.
A moment later, her hair was a complete bird's nest.
“……What is this? I went to all that trouble fixing my hair, and now it's a wreck like broccoli.”
She grumbled as she fixed her hair.
Their giggles warmed the inside of the carriage.
Several weeks had passed since Azazel's confession had come to nothing.
Ashtein had successfully exterminated the monsters rampaging on Mount Ascendio.
He gathered Aria and Azazel together and explained what had happened.
The assailant who looked exactly like Ashtein.
The claim that the truth lay in the Royal Palace of Gallia.
The Holy Sword's suspicious behavior.
He told them everything, without concealing or filtering a thing.
It was difficult to accept at face value.
But Aria nodded without raising a single question.
‘What do you want to do, Ain?’
‘I was originally going to the front lines, but what he said is bothering me.’
The truth lies in the Royal Palace of Gallia.
The word ‘truth’ had a strange power to stir people's curiosity.
Hadn't Pandora of Greek mythology unleashed disaster after succumbing to her misguided curiosity?
‘Are you going to the palace?’
‘If necessary, I will.’
‘……Both of you, hold on a moment.’
Azazel, who'd been listening beside them, raised her hand.
Ashtein gave her the floor.
‘Go ahead, Azazel.’
‘Um, do I need to hear this?’
‘We're companions, aren't we?’ ‘We're companions, aren't we?’
They say people in love start to resemble each other.
Since they answered at the same time, Azazel was at a loss for words.
Companions, huh.
Not bad.
She blushed and crossed her arms.
‘Well, I don't have anything better to do right now, so I'll tag along.’
And so, they were currently riding a carriage to ‘Gallia,’ the capital of the Kingdom of Gallia.
However, there was one thing Azazel had overlooked.
She would have to endure being stuck between a couple in the throes of romance.
Those two were showing her a love more agonizing than even the most obnoxiously lovey-dovey couples could manage.
Watching it unfold in real time right beside her felt like it was giving her internal injuries.
The sense of relative deprivation made it quite difficult to bear.
‘This is so depressing, seriously.’
Azazel resolved to find herself a lover, no matter what.
Meanwhile, Aria sighed and looked out the carriage window.
It had snowed heavily for the past few weeks, leaving everything white.
“………So much white trash.”
It was absolutely horrific.
Anyone who'd served in the military would surely understand.
Snow on a weekday was at least somewhat bearable.
But when it snowed heavily on a weekend……
‘There was no personal time or anything.’
Aria shivered, and Azazel asked in confusion.
“Hm? What did you say, Big Sis?”
“Oh, nothing.”
“Come on, tell me.”
Azazel reached out and tickled Aria under the arms.
Since it was a sensitive spot, Aria twisted and struggled.
“Eek, Azazel! Th-that tickles!”
“I'll keep going until you tell me!”
“I-it's nothing! Really!”
“But I'm curious about that ‘nothing’!”
What a persistent witch.
Aria was having a hard time.
Was ‘white trash’ really something a Saintess should say?
They might tease her about it.
So she tried to keep her mouth firmly shut.
But things in this world didn't always go the way you wanted.
“Ah, s-stop!”
“You made me angry, Big Sis! You can't just start saying something and then stop!”
“I-if you think about it, Azazel was eavesdropping!”
“That's exactly the problem! It wouldn't matter if I hadn't heard it! But I did! Now I'm curious!”
“You're so overbearing, hiik! Ahak! I-it tickles!”
Ashtein quietly marveled at how much brighter the mood was than when it was just the two of them.
Maybe having one more woman around really did liven things up this much.
Still, watching them, he felt a little sorry for Aria.
“Aria doesn't like it, so stop.”
“Hmph, Ashtein, are your eyes just for show? I'm bonding with Big Sis.”
Was ‘bonding’ really the right word for this?
Ashtein scratched his chin and furrowed his brow.
“Is that… what it is?”
Aria shook her head vigorously.
“No! Ain, no! D-don't believe her, hii!”
But Azazel's palm covered Aria's mouth even faster.
“Big Sis, tell me already!”
“Mmph! Ngh, ngh!”
What kind of answer did she expect when Aria's mouth was covered?
At this point, it seemed like she was just doing it because she wanted to tickle Aria.
Ashtein decided not to interfere.
Aria sometimes wore a melancholy expression.
If the shadow hanging over her could disappear, even in this way, that would be wonderful.
Besides, he didn't want to butt in and get scolded.
Seeing Ashtein, whom she'd trusted, take such an observant, detached stance, Aria decided there was no point in resisting.
“I'll tell you! Fine, I'll tell you!”
Azazel smiled brightly.
“You should've done that from the start!”
“……Am I really Azazel's big sister? I feel more like the little sister.”
“Sisters fight all the time!”
She'd never had a sister, so she didn't know whether that was true.
Aria sighed and pointed at the carriage window with her index finger.
“I was just looking at that and calling it white trash.”
“Wow, so Aria Big Sis does curse people after all?”
“That's why I didn't want to say it……….”
Wait a minute.
Aria sensed something odd in Azazel's words.
“What did you say? People? I was talking about those white piles of snow.”
Now it was Azazel's turn to look confused.
“Huh? Snow? I thought you meant those guys in white masks.”
Guys in white masks?
Just as Aria turned to look out the window again, Ashtein pulled her toward him.
“Hyeek?”
Aria was helplessly pulled into Ashtein's arms.
She blushed and looked up at the Hero.
“A-A-Ain?”
“Stay still. We're under attack.”
An arrow was embedded in the seat where Aria had just been sitting.
Ashtein drew the Holy Sword and was about to open the door of the moving carriage.
Azazel stopped him.
“It'll be easier if I take care of it.”
“True.”
“So leave it to me.”
“……All right.”
A frostiness swept through Azazel's red eyes.
“How dare you scum lay your filthy hands on my adorable Big Sis?”
Rattle.
Azazel opened the carriage door and went out, apparently floating through the air to land on the roof.
They could hear the sound from above.
Ashtein shut the open door and pulled Aria into his arms.
He seemed to be trying to reassure her.
Slide.
A small rectangular window beside Ashtein slid open.
The coachman shouted urgently through the open window.
“Bad luck for me and my passengers, too. Those are the White Rakes! Damn it, I thought this area was safe!”
Ashtein asked calmly.
“What are the White Rakes?”
“Bandits who've been expanding their territory lately! They use nasty methods, too. They like valuables, sure, but I hear they enjoy toying with people. The pretty lady ought to prepare herself.”
When the coachman gave Aria a sidelong glance, she asked with a bewildered expression.
“Pardon? M-me?”
“Is there another beauty here besides you?”
At the coachman's threat, Ashtein said matter-of-factly,
“It's fine.”
“What is?”
“She's already gone to take care of them.”
Ashtein pointed at the carriage ceiling with his index finger.
The coachman furrowed his brow.
“Who?”
“Don't worry about that. More importantly, how do you know those men in white are the White Rakes? They might just be wearing white clothes.”
“Is that really important right now?”
“I'm just curious.”
The coachman clicked his tongue in disbelief.
It was the kind of gesture one might use to scold a young man who didn't understand the gravity of the situation, but……
KABOOOOOM!
A tremendous blast rang out, loud enough to be heard even inside the sealed carriage.
The coachman hurriedly looked forward and gaped at the carnage before him.
The White Rake bandits had all gone up in flames and been reduced to ash.
“I'm back. Took care of them.”
Azazel opened the carriage door and stepped inside, her voice calm.
Ashtein picked his ear.
“You made quite a racket.”
“That's how you scare them into running away, isn't it?”
“Good work, Azazel.”
“See? You're the only one who cares about me, Big Sis.”
From their exchange, the coachman deduced that the woman named Azazel was responsible for what had just happened.
“………Y-you people, just who are you?”
Ashtein shrugged.
“We're the Hero's party.”
