“Phew...”
The Drow baron’s estate finally came into view. Ersi slowed to catch his breath and unwound the bandages from around his neck. There wasn’t any trace of injury left on his body.
“Master should be alright... right?”
It wasn’t that he doubted his master’s abilities. What worried him was the fact that this Black Forest had been S-rank.
I hope she didn’t use that ability.
If she had, she would’ve collapsed again.
Maybe that’s why she never came to see me.
He’d heard that while he lay unconscious, his master hadn’t visited him even once.
Knock. Knock.
Ersi stopped in front of a somewhat... no, rather run-down building and knocked on the door. After a long wait, he heard someone approach. The door slowly creaked open.
“How may I help you?”
An elderly man who looked to be the family’s butler greeted him.
“I’ve come to see my mast... Lady Ceres. Is she home?”
“Lady Ceres is out at the moment. May I ask who’s calling?”
“Ah...”
Hearing that Ceres wasn’t home, Ersi sighed in relief. At least she didn’t seem to have been seriously injured in that battle.
“When do you expect her back?”
“I’m afraid she didn’t say. If it’s urgent, you’re welcome to come inside and wait.”
“No.”
Now that he knew Ceres was safe, he intended to return to the temple. Plenty of people were waiting for him to wake up.
From the Pope to the high priests, everyone who had seen the swordsmanship he’d displayed was waiting to hear what had really happened.
“I’ll come back ano—”
Bang!
Just as Ersi turned to leave, the door was flung open and someone stepped out. The moment he recognized the face, his jaw dropped.
“W-Whaaat?!”
A scream burst from his lips. Standing right behind Butler Colin was none other than Kainel.
Shing.
“Gah! W-Wait! Hold on!”
Seriously?! Why does everyone I haven’t seen in ages go straight for their sword the second they see me?!
As Kainel’s blade flashed from its sheath, Ersi scrambled backward and shouted in a panic.
“Lord Kainel! It’s me! Me! Master’s disciple!”
“Then all the more reason to kill you.”
“H-Huh?!”
“You should’ve been dead already.”
The Black Forest was gone, so why was a monster still roaming around? Kainel had no doubt that the man before him was a monster capable of weaving illusions.
“Aaaah! I’m not a monster! I swear I’m not!”
“Then are you saying you’re really Enoch?”
“Yes!”
“...Did Grace use that ability on you too?”
“No, she didn’t... Aaaah! I really am Enoch! I’m telling you, it’s me! The sword! Please stop swinging your sword!”
Ersi yelped nonstop as he darted back and forth, barely avoiding Kainel’s casual swings.
“Artia’s key! I had it! I was the one who had Lord Artia’s key!”
“...The key?”
Only then did Kainel’s sword pause.
“Phew...”
Ersi let out a shaky breath, wiped the sweat from his brow, and put as much distance between himself and Kainel as he could.
When he remembered that his master had come looking for Artia’s key, he’d wondered if mentioning it might get through to Kainel too.
Thankfully, as soon as he brought up Artia’s key, Kainel lowered his sword.
“So it was you.”
“Huh?”
“The one I was supposed to find.”
“What do you mean...?”
“I gave the key I had to someone else.”
“What?”
“To the one Grace will want to meet someday.”
“What nonsense are you going on about now?”
“You’ll find them.”
“Find what?”
“The keys. Make sure all three end up together. I don’t know who you’ll meet first, but...”
Kainel clicked his tongue as Artia’s words from long ago resurfaced in his mind. He still had no idea how it had all come together, but one thing was certain. Artia had known this punk, Enoch, was alive all along.
“Does Grace know?”
“N-No, she didn’t... Ah! Easy! Easy! Could you stop trying to slice me in half?!”
“So you fooled Grace too.”
“She knows now! She really does! I’m telling the truth!”
Ersi felt like coming here today was the biggest mistake of his life.
Master! Where on earth are you?! At this rate, your disciple is actually going to die!
“What are you two doing?”
“—!”
The voice he’d been longing to hear rang out like salvation. Ersi spun around and saw Ceres making her way toward them.
“Master!”
He bolted over and ducked behind her, practically trying to hide himself behind her back as he fought back tears.
“...Looks like you’re alright.”
“Lord Kainel’s trying to kill me!”
Ceres sighed before walking over to Kainel, who was still glaring at Ersi with annoyance.
“That one is a monster.”
“No, he isn’t.”
Just as I thought. He pulled his sword the second he saw him.
“He lied to you.”
“Yeah. So I roughed him up a little.”
The irritation left Kainel’s face as he finally looked away from Ersi.
“Where’ve you been?”
“The academy. What about you? Did you just wake up?”
“Yeah.”
“Have you eaten? Aren’t you hungry?”
“Not really.”
“What do you mean, ‘not really’? Come on. Let’s go inside and get you something to eat.”
With that, the two of them headed inside as though nothing had happened.
“...Um?”
Ersi was left standing there alone, trembling with a deep sense of unfairness.
.
.
.
Chapter 38: Rumors
BANG!
“Ceres!”
The door burst open as her younger brother, Antonian, hurried into the room. He must have run all the way here because sweat beaded across his forehead despite the freezing air.
“Is it true?”
“Is what?”
Now, what did he hear this time?
Ceres closed the book she’d been reading by the window.
“I heard you...”
“Me? What about me?”
“...became the owner of the Tamer Relic.”
“Oh.”
Come to think of it, she still hadn’t explained the Tamer Relic to them.
Ever since seeing the disciple she’d believed was dead at the temple, her thoughts had been in complete disarray. Naturally, she never got around to explaining why a baby rabbit had suddenly appeared and refused to leave her side.
“Sis, what’s with the rabbit?”
“He’ll be living with us from now on.”
“Really? Wow!”
“I’ve got a lot on my mind right now. Why don’t you go outside and play?”
“Okay! Can I play with the rabbit?”
“Sure.”
[Pii!]
...I guess that’s how I left it.
Realizing she’d completely forgotten about it, Ceres scratched her cheek.
Well, it wasn’t entirely her fault. A lot had happened lately. An S-rank Black Forest had appeared, for one.
“What’s with that reaction? Don’t tell me it’s true.”
“How’d you find out?”
“What do you mean, how?”
After Ceres collapsed, Antonian had barely gone to the academy himself. He couldn’t focus on his lessons, and eventually decided he’d rather stay by his sister’s side than waste time sitting through classes.
Then, three days ago, he finally returned to the academy.
When he got there, he noticed several students giving him strange looks. They all seemed like they wanted to say something, yet none of them could bring themselves to approach him.
He assumed it was nothing. They weren’t people he was close to. It wasn’t unusual for other students to single him out for no reason.
But then...
“Antonian, your sister’s name is Ceres, right?”
“Your family name is Drow, isn’t it?”
Today, people started bombarding him with questions out of nowhere. Why was everyone suddenly so interested? The unexpected friendliness from classmates who normally never spoke to him only made Antonian more suspicious.
“Your sister’s the one who inherited the Tamer Relic, isn’t she?”
“She is! My father told me! The Tamer Relic chose a new owner at the temple, and it was the eldest daughter of House Drow!”
“Antonian! Didn’t you say your sister goes here too?”
Once someone brought it up, the students who’d been hanging back started swarming around him and peppering him with questions.
Since no one had told him a thing beforehand, Antonian couldn’t answer a single one.
“So... it’s true? You really became the owner of the Tamer Relic?”
“Yeah.”
“...Seriously?”
“Yeah. That’s the little troublemaker.”
Ceres pointed at Airien, the baby rabbit happily snacking beside Sooty at her feet.
[Pii?]
Airien, who had just stolen a piece of fruit from Sooty’s cake, seemed to notice Antonian staring and blinked up at him.
“...That rabbit is the Tamer Relic?”
“Yeah.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“Re—”
“Ask one more time and I’ll hit you.”
“.....”
Antonian swallowed the question he was about to ask and stared at his sister in utter disbelief.
“Why are you only telling me this now?!”
“I forgot.”
“You forg...”
How do you forget something like that?!
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