Kelton looked at the knights with a stern expression.
The group Geloman had brought with him was not his personal unit. The king had shown consideration, yes, but Geloman himself—the King’s Second Star—was already worth more than an entire order of knights on his own. So under the calculation that there was no need to send elite personnel on top of that, a few knights from the palace patrol had been pulled in and hastily assembled into a temporary unit. Because of that, discipline was lax, and some of them seemed to think of this as little more than leave time, or perhaps some event they got to attend alongside the Hero Geloman. They did not act that way while Geloman was present, of course—but seeing how quickly they loosened up the moment he was gone said enough.
“...Enough. This is an important mission as well, so just follow orders.”
“Yes, sir!”
That said, he could hardly stand there and explain the mission in detail.
What was happening in the heart of the royal palace was not something that could be shared with ordinary knights. The only ones who properly knew why they had come all this way were the Hero Geloman, his attendant Charles, and Kelton himself, who was in command of the unit.
Sometimes it was better to issue orders and nothing more than to risk careless talk and let things leak. In truth, bringing the knights along was little more than a way to keep an eye on Temar’s younger brother. Hero Giselle had said, “Children are bound to cause trouble, so unless you absolutely must, don’t take your eyes off him,” and had left instructions that the boy was to be watched carefully so he would not slip off somewhere. But telling them outright to monitor Ren would make it too obvious, so he had only said they needed to escort the young boy with proper care.
Even so, for them to be this oblivious... Kelton found himself seriously worried about the future of the palace knights. Once he returned, he decided, he would conduct an inspection of the palace patrol division.
“What time are we leaving tomorrow?”
“...We’ll decide once that person wakes up and we can judge the situation. Until then, carry on as usual.”
“Yes, sir...!”
Kelton had been unable to find a suitable way to refer to Ren, and when he chose to use respectful language, the knights’ expressions soured slightly. Fortunately, the darkness kept it from reaching Kelton’s notice.
Whatever the knights thought, Kelton believed a Hero’s family had sacrificed just as much as the Hero himself. Because of that, he felt the kingdom ought to show them every courtesy owed to those who had helped uphold its safety.
In reality, of course, aside from a few at the top of the kingdom, very few people showed Heroes any real respect at all.
Would that change if war broke out again?
If so, he hoped they would finally be treated properly.
This was the first time a Hero’s family was heading to the capital. Perhaps this time, something really might change.
Kelton thought of the boy he had glimpsed earlier.
A very thin frame, and looks that stood out immediately. What had remained with him most was the boy’s vivid green eyes, so striking even in the dark.
When Geloman returned, Kelton decided, he would ask what he ought to call that boy.
***
Meanwhile, Charles was drinking at a point halfway between the Black Fire Inn and the inn where the knights were staying.
“Uuugh!”
“Enjoy your meal, sir!”
There was glistening meat and frothing beer on the table in front of him, but he could not even think about eating. He just clutched at his hair. No matter how he thought about it, it was too humiliating.
“My God, why did I do that?!”
Thunk!
The sound of his forehead hitting the table rang out loudly. As if the bright red skin on his forehead did not hurt at all, Charles kept slamming his head down again and again. He was hitting it so hard the table shook and the beer nearly sloshed over.
“Hoo...”
Scrubbing a hand down his face, Charles shoved all the hair that had fallen over his forehead back and tried to forget what had happened earlier.
That memory was this: he had stolen glances at the younger brother of the Hero Temar—the brilliant Seventh Star of the King, Temar.
“No, really, I’ve seen plenty of beauties at the royal palace, haven’t I?”
Charles liked beautiful women. Not only did he like them, he never hesitated to trail after them and confess his feelings. His nickname being “the confession machine” said it all.
But even Charles had never once acted like that while on a mission. That had been one of the things he was proudest of!
“So why was I looking at him like that?”
He had only snuck a few glances, but judging by the displeased expression that boy had made, Charles’s gaze had clearly been too persistent. Why the hell would he do that in the middle of a mission? It was mortifying.
But it couldn’t be helped. A kid who threw a punch that cool looking that pretty was just unfair!
“Ugh... this is torture.”
If this were not such an important mission, he felt as though he would run away even now.
There would no doubt be people who would ask what the big deal was, why he was agonizing over something so small.
Sure, maybe sneaking a glance once or twice was not some huge problem. So what? He could just stop doing it from now on, couldn’t he? But damn Charles’s interest—once it locked on, there was no retreat.
The fact that someone had caught his eye at all during a mission was already a problem. He was going to be stuck near him the entire trip to the capital... If he actually started liking him, that would be a headache.
The real problem was that the boy had something about him besides just being pretty. Something that pulled the eye in.
“Charles. You need to look after him carefully. Giselle already explained things, so I doubt there’s more I need to say.”
“Captain... I think I might be doomed.”
Charles slumped over the table and muttered miserably.
***
Ren kept walking.
Before long, his legs were trembling and the soles of his feet were burning, but sleeping rough somewhere unfamiliar in the middle of the night was too dangerous. It was better to keep moving.
Fortunately, the moon was bright enough that he was not in any danger of losing the road.
So Ren kept going forward.
Countless thoughts came and went. All the time that had never moved while he was shut up inside the shack seemed to have suddenly rushed through him all at once after he left the village.
Should I have lived differently?
Ren thought he had done his best, but had that really been his best?
His steps gradually slowed.
He had never earned money on his own, and all he really knew how to do was housework. The thing Ren had done most in his life since the day he was born was wait for Temar.
Had he maybe spent his whole life giving up too much under the excuse of being sick?
What was my life, anyway?
Walking slowly through the night and through his own thoughts, Ren eventually could not keep going and stopped.
He sank down beneath a large tree and drew his knees up into his arms.
He had no idea what he was even doing.
He had packed his things and stormed out so boldly, and yet... Ren looked back the way he had come. The lights of the village were still glowing not that far away.
He had run out in utter despair, and he had only made it this far? Was that all the resolve he could forge out of pain amounted to? Was this really all there was to him?
As Ren stared blankly at the ground, a light fell across his feet. A large shadow swallowed him.
The clatter of hooves came right up close.
Light wavered near his feet.
“Hey there.”
The hoofbeats stopped.
“Hey.”
He heard footsteps on the dirt, and then someone shook his shoulder.
“Hey, now. Are you sick?”
“...Who are you?”
His voice was guarded, but weak. Ren lifted his head slightly. Normally he would have knocked the man’s arm away, but right now he had neither the energy nor the presence of mind to be wary of anyone. His whole body felt heavy, soaked through like wet cotton. As if he had cried himself into complete exhaustion. Maybe it was because he had finally sat down, but all the fatigue he had been pushing back came crashing over him at once. He could barely lift a finger.
“Well now. Don’t tell me you’re planning to spend the night out here.”
The man clicked his tongue, his voice thick and deep.
“If you sleep out here, your face’ll freeze crooked. Heading somewhere? I can give you a ride.”
“...”
Back then, Ren probably would have told him to mind his own business and get lost. Or he might have just ignored him outright.
But Ren sat there and quietly listened to the middle-aged man speak. Maybe that was because, through traveling, he had learned how to accept other people’s kindness.
“Come on. It’s cold at night. If you’re not heading back to the village, come with me.”
The middle-aged man jerked his chin toward the back of his wagon, as if telling him to get on.
“How do you know that?”
Ren asked with a start.
“Hm? Is there any village around here besides that one? If you’re out here leaving in the middle of the night, I figure there’s got to be some story behind it. Come on and ride with me. You’re making me think of my son...”
The man clicked his tongue again. His voice carried disapproval, but there was pity in it too.
After staying silent for a long while, Ren finally gave in to the man’s urging and got to his feet, heading for the back of the wagon.
Is it really okay to just get on a stranger’s wagon? The thought came too late, since he had already climbed on.
The suspicion did not last long.
He was too tired to keep holding on to it, and all he could think was that as long as he got farther away from here, what did it matter?
If I stay sitting under this tree and they find me, how humiliating would that be. Ah, though maybe they wouldn’t even come looking for me in the first place.
He hated how ridiculous it felt that this was all the farther he had gotten after running away on his own for the first time. No matter how he felt inside, this was as far as his own ability could take him... that powerless feeling...
I guess it’s the same either way, since I’m still getting help from someone else. Whether I get farther from here or not.
With the man’s help, Ren climbed into the back of the open wagon. It was packed full of large sacks.
From the driver’s seat, the man asked, “Do you have a destination?”
“No. Anywhere but here.”
Ren whispered the last part.
“Then for now, come the way I’m going. I’m headed to Delfona.”
“Delfona?”
“Hm? You don’t know Delfona...? It’s the biggest territory in the kingdom after the capital. The land ruled by Count Conter’s family—the Delfona domain. It’s famous as a tourist city, with the sea right there.”
The sea. A place he had only ever seen in pictures.
Ren’s eyes widened.
“That’s where I’m going too.”
The words slipped out of him. The man let out a hearty laugh. Ren’s heart started pounding.
Delfona. A place with the sea.
“Well, that works out nicely.”
The middle-aged «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» man asked no more questions and set the wagon in motion. The whole thing jolted hard.
Ren looked out from the wide-open back of the wagon at the village growing farther and farther away.
I see.
A place like that can be a destination too.
He had never thought about it before. That he could go somewhere he had never been.
Ren suddenly wanted to visit every place he had ever seen in storybooks.
Just having somewhere to go, even like this, made his wretched heart feel a little better.
Rocked by the motion, Ren fell sound asleep among the swaying sacks.
