Chapter 92
I had a feeling that the count had even anticipated the young lady relinquishing her title.
The same went for shutting down the job-placement office and letting the young lady do as she pleased when she said she wanted to stroll around town. And as for this presentation of a Talent Jewel, the very idea that she could skip the ceremony was—an incredible disregard for aristocratic society.
In other words, the count prioritizes the young lady's growth as a person over his position as a noble—or rather, he seems to be rushing things far too much.
(Perhaps, on that day last year, when he was attacked and I saved him, the count had already given up on living out this life. He might not survive another attack. If so, he must have been wishing for the young lady to be able to stand on her own as soon as possible, even if only one day sooner.)
I've never heard him say anything like that, though.
Well, he probably wouldn't say it.
(If he doesn't say anything and the count dies, I'd definitely blame myself for failing to protect him... Then I'd absolutely say something like, 'I'll stay by the young lady's side until she becomes an adult.' The count seems to have seen that far ahead, too!)
In this world, there are far too many times when you can't tell who's strong or weak based on brute force alone. Nobles are scary. More precisely, intelligent nobles are scary. Who was it that gave that count so much power...?
"...Reiji."
As I was thinking all that, it seemed the young lady had been doing some thinking of her own.
"I am Count Slyries's daughter. I will see that path through to the end."
"...I see."
"There are many things one can do only as a noble, are there not? It won't be too late to become free after I have accomplished all of them."
The young lady said it without hesitation. Both her hands were clenched tightly in her lap.
"Th-then, Reiji..."
"Yes?"
"I also want you to... from now on, I mean, I want you to stay by my side—"
Grrrroooowwl.
My stomach let out an incredible rumble.
"............"
"............"
Come on, it couldn't be helped, right? I hadn't eaten anything since morning, and I'd been moving around and bleeding and all that, okay?! So, young lady, don't look at me with that contemptuous gaze that people with a certain predilection tend to regard as a 'reward'!
"Sigh... The first thing you said after waking up was that you were hungry."
"Hahahaha... Sorry."
"I'll have the cook make something for you now."
"No, it's fine. I'll go to the kitchen and eat some bread or something."
"I see..."
"...More importantly, weren't you saying something a moment ago? Your stomach was so loud that I couldn't make out the second half."
"!!"
The young lady's face turned red enough to be clearly visible even in the dark room, and then—
"I shall sleep too!"
She suddenly stood up and shouted.
"A-are you sure? Then I'll escort you to your room—"
"You don't need to! I'll go alone!"
"What...?"
Hadn't she said that I was her only guard, and that a guard was supposed to stay by their master's side...?
The young lady, for some reason looking quite cross, left the room, so I followed her out and headed for the kitchen. There was no bread left, but there was a large quantity of green-apple-like fruit.
"...Wait, this is that green-apple-like thing I nibbled on in the forest when I escaped from the mine."
Feeling strangely nostalgic, I ate my fill of that green-apple-like thing. It was juicy and tart, and I woke up completely.
(I'm a coward.)
Someday, I would leave the young lady's side. I had things I needed to do.
(Even while talking about how she had choices, I knew perfectly well that the young lady wouldn't say, 'Then I'll run away,' after being told something like that...)
Because I would eventually disappear, I had unconsciously been steering her toward standing on her own two feet as well.
How easy it would be if I could remain the young lady's guard forever.
Or perhaps, once I had finished everything I needed to do, I could come back here.
(...Now isn't the time to think about that.)
I would probably remain in the Holy Capital until I received information about Lark and Lulusha-san. I was happy to be reunited with everyone from "Silver Scales," but I probably couldn't travel with them right away.
(There are so many things I need to think about.)
I took another bite of the green-apple-like thing.
I could feel dawn approaching from the change in the air.
Count Slyries returned with the dawn, and immediately summoned me to his office.
When I entered, the head butler was asked to leave, and soon it was just the count and me in the room. The count was still wearing the splendid clothes he had worn for yesterday's presentation ceremony, so I assumed he had spent the night in them. He looked utterly exhausted, but even in that state, a handsome man somehow exuded a different kind of charm. It hardly seemed fair.
"First of all, Reiji-san, thank you for your hard work yesterday."
"You too, Count. It sounds like things were quite difficult."
"Difficult...? Yes, they certainly were."
The sitting area had sofas facing each other, and the count was unusually slumped against the backrest.
"I'm sure you have many questions as well, Reiji-san, but let me tell you about the urgent matter first."
"Yes."
"Shortly after noon today, Reiji-san, you will be summoned to the Holy King's Palace. I will accompany you, so please make preparations."
"I... have to go to the Holy King's Palace?"
"Regarding the dark dome, the eight-star Talent Jewel, and the Mediator—in other words, everything that happened yesterday—a strict obligation of secrecy will be imposed upon you."
"Well, I suppose that makes sense."
"In the worst case, contract magic may be imposed to prevent you from ever leaving the Holy Capital again."
"What?!"
I rose halfway out of my seat, but when I considered it from the opposite perspective, perhaps it was only natural.
Yesterday's events were undoubtedly among the most closely guarded secrets of the Kurvahn Holy Capital.
"I will do my best to prevent that from happening, but there is no telling what will happen."
"...Why?"
"What do you mean? A clever man like you should understand the need for contract magic."
"Why did you give me that information, Count? There's a chance I might try to escape this very moment."
"To be perfectly honest, I would say there is a fifty percent chance that you will leave the Holy Capital before noon."
"Then why—"
"His Majesty the Holy King seems to have reached the same conclusion. That is likely why he gave you half a day's grace."
"...His Majesty did too?"
My thoughts became tangled. The Holy King was summoning me, while also thinking that I might run away. If he wanted me to come, he could simply have given me no time at all and ordered me to come immediately.
"His Majesty must feel that indebted to you."
"Gratitude...?"
"Stopping the Mediator was your achievement."
"The Holy King was plenty strong too, wasn't he?"
"That was because he destroyed the Laws. This is jumping ahead, but let me explain."
The count cleared his throat softly.
"That dark dome is a midpoint between our world and the world we call the 'Other World.' I hear that creating the dome makes it possible for the Other World to interfere with ours. The Laws governing that dome prevent the people of our world and the people of the Other World from attacking one another."
"Huh? What about the Mediator?"
"The Mediator alone was an exception, permitted to perform any act as long as he obeyed the 'Pact.' I only heard that for the first time last night, too."
It was such a top-secret matter that even the count hadn't known about it.
"Because you shattered that dome, the Laws broke down, which allowed His Majesty the Holy King's attacks to get through as well."
"What was that stone?"
When I arrived at the dome, Count Slyries had been trying to break it by slamming a stone against it.
"I don't know the details myself, but apparently it was a stone from the same era in which the 'One-Day Altar' was created. It had been stored very, very carefully in the Holy King's Palace archives."
So you stole that stone that had been stored 'very, very carefully,' didn't you?
I couldn't ask. The count was smiling at me, after all. He definitely had a don't-ask face.
"Thousands of years ago... during the era we call 'Holy Antiquity.' The Holy King's clan, which possessed the 'One-Day Altar,' was bound by a certain 'Pact.' That is the eight-star Talent Jewel."