An Unexpected Reunion
Satou here. Even in the modern world, where cell phones and e-mail are commonplace, you sometimes lose touch with people. It’s not a big deal if it’s someone you didn’t know well, but it can be worrying if a close friend drops out of contact.
“…Ben! It’s you!”
A man had called out to Arisa in the capital of Kageus County.
It seemed they knew each other. According to the AR, the bearded man’s name was Ben Farmar, though he didn’t have a title to go with his family name.
“Lady Arisaaa! Thank the stars, yer alive after all.”
“You too, Ben! I’m so glad you managed to survive.”
Arisa and Ben both burst into tears as they hugged each other.
Judging by the fact that they were both using the language of the lost Kuvork Kingdom, they must be friends from back when Arisa was a princess.
I turned to Lulu, who looked surprised.
“Do you know him?”
“Yes, he was a hereditary knight and one of Arisa’s vassals.”
She explained that this Ben person helped Arisa run experiments for her internal reformation plan, to the point where he could even be called her right-hand man.
His support of Arisa’s reforms started with tilling the fields with leaf mold, and continued into making compost, beekeeping, and creating farming vehicles. He even got his relatives involved in making new tools and farming appliances.
“Is the rest of your family with you?”
“Uh-huh. Thanks to the letter you done sent us through Miss Lulu, we all got out safe and sound.”
“Oh, thank goodness.”
Arisa wiped away her tears and smiled.
“I know! Lady Arisa! I got someone you just gotta meet!”
“Someone I should meet?”
“Uh-huh!”
Ben picked up Arisa and started running so quickly that her wig tumbled off.
I didn’t think he was trying to kidnap her or anything. Still, he should probably slow down a little.
The rest of us hurried after Arisa and Ben.
“Your Highness! You in here?!”
“What is it, Sir Farmar?! How many times have I told you to knock before you—?”
A cold-looking young man started to tell Ben off, then stopped midsentence when he saw Arisa.
“Th-the witch!”
“Lord Pid! T’ain’t right to call Lady Arisa that name!”
Ben reacted wrathfully to the boy’s rude words.
The other people who were gathered in the entrance hall all stared at us, too. Most of their expressions went dark when they spotted Arisa.
I’d almost forgotten that she had titles like “Witch of the Lost Kingdom” and “The Mad Princess.”
“Silence! Ben, how could you bring the witch who destroyed our land to the headquarters of the kingdom’s revival, of all places?! You fool!”
“Lady Arisa didn’t destroy nothin’! It was the second prince and the minister who butted in, I tell ya.”
They should’ve asked Arisa to come back once they resolved that conflict, then.
I gently retrieved the increasingly distressed-looking Arisa from Ben’s arms.
“What is this insolence?! You are in the presence of His Highness!”
A door on the second floor visible from the atrium flew open, and a cranky-looking old gentleman emerged.
Behind him was a chubby young boy around middle school age. He must be the “highness” in question—making him Arisa’s older brother.
From what she’d told me in the past, the rest of her family aside from Lulu had all been either executed or sacrificed to bring back a withered labyrinth. It looked like there might have been other survivors after all, though.
“Brother Eruus!”
“…Huh? Arisa? It’s really you!”
Eruus pushed past the older gentleman, ran down the stairs, and threw his arms around Arisa exultantly.
“Brother, did any of the others make it, too…?”
Eruus’s face clouded. “I’m the only one who survived. Elder Brother Sitam saved me.”
“I see… Brother Sitam…”
Checking in the AR, I saw that Eruus was technically a slave.
He must have been put under a Geist like Arisa and Lulu.
“Arisa! Let’s rebuild Kuvork Kingdom together in their memory!”
Eruus grasped Arisa’s hands.
“Your Highness, no!”
The onlookers all exclaimed in alarm at Eruus’s sudden declaration.
I guess the rude young man who called her a “witch” wasn’t the only one who blamed her for what happened to their kingdom. Only Eruus, Ben, and a few of their friends and family seemed to know otherwise.
“Arisa, let’s find an inn and turn in for today.”
“Yeah, good idea. I’m sure they need time to cool off, too.”
Even someone as stouthearted as Arisa was probably hurt to see so many people from her homeland rejecting her.
I spoke to the elderly gentleman, who seemed relatively reasonable, and told him that we’d go to an inn and send a messenger once we were settled in. Then we left their base behind.
A few people blocked our way, claiming that we might reveal their location, but there wasn’t much they could do to stop mithril explorers like us. Pochi and Tama lightly knocked a few aside, and the rest were quick to clear our path.
“Arisa, I’ll make whatever you want for dinner tonight. You should eat your fill and go straight to bed.”
As tears streamed down Arisa’s cheeks, I pulled her close to me, comforting her ineptly.
“…No, it’s okay. I’m not crying because I’m sad, Master. My big brother Eruus… I’m happy that someone else survived besides Lulu and me, even if it was only one person.”
Arisa looked up at me, smiling through her tears.
“Well, in that case…we should celebrate Eruus’s survival.”
“Thank you.”
Arisa rested her head on my arm.
I pretended not to notice that she was just putting on a brave front, even though it was obvious.
Hopefully, that would soothe her sorrow at least a little.
“Who’s there?”
The elderly consul, who was heading to his desk to do some work, turned around when he heard me knock on the door.
After putting Arisa to bed, I came to speak with the former marquis of Kuvork Kingdom, who was now the guardian to the former fifth prince, Eruus.
“Good evening.”
Since he’d questioned me in Shigan language, I responded in the same.
“You were with Lady Arisa.”
“Yes. I am Viscount Satou Pendragon of the Shiga Kingdom, Arisa’s guardian.”
I left out the fact that I was a vassal of Count Muno out of concern that there might still be rumors about it being “cursed territory” in this far-off land.
“An upper noble of Shiga Kingdom, eh…?”
The man must have misheard me. “No, I am the head of a humble family—the very first Viscount Pendragon, in fact.”
“At such a young age?”
“Yes, thanks to Arisa and our other companions, I was just promoted quite recently.”
The gentleman looked startled by the contrast between my visible age and rank.
Luckily, he seemed to believe me, and switched to a more polite tone.
“I take it you have come alone to discuss Lady Arisa?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“In spite of what His Highness said, there are none but the Farmar family who would agree. If you have come to request my persuasion on the matter, I am afraid that would only be in vain.”
Oh, he’s got the wrong idea…
“No, that isn’t why I’ve come.”
The gentleman looked puzzled.
“I want to free Arisa and Lulu from their status as slaves.”
“…Impossible. Are you familiar with the terrible curse known as a Geist, Viscount?”
“Yes, Arisa told me about it.”
The elderly man heaved a sigh. “A Geist can only be undone by the one who set it in motion. The imperial mage who placed the Geist on Lady Arisa and company betrayed Kuvork Kingdom before its destruction and joined Yowork Kingdom, and now works there in an important position.”
Oh, then this should go more quickly than I expected.
“Is this mage in Yowork Kingdom now?”
“That I cannot say for certain. However, I would certainly wager that he is in Yowork Castle. Though there are rumors that Yowork Kingdom is aiding the rebel army in Vistall Duchy, it is highly unlikely that he would be dispatched there.”
“It is?”
If this guy can put a Geist on people, I bet he’d be able to enslave enemy troops in battle and so on.
“Indeed. He once told me in the days of the Kuvork Kingdom that there are many conditions to using a Geist. It is no small feat to meet all of those conditions on a battlefield.”
Now that was news to me.
It made sense, though: If you could use a Geist on other people without any conditions, this imperial mage might have made himself king by now, and certainly could have made Yowork Kingdom a lot stronger.
“What are those conditions?”
The elderly gentleman looked at me appraisingly before answering my question.
“There are four conditions to use a Geist: the magic power of a hundred mages, an intricate magic circle as big as this mansion, a Xanthic Staff, and the consent of the target. I do not know if all four conditions are truly necessary, but it is not the sort of thing one could use on an opposing army in battle.”
I see. So when I go up against this mage, I’d better keep an eye out for the magic circle and staff, and be careful not to accidentally agree to anything.
“Will you be going to Yowork Kingdom?”
As I recorded these notes in my menu’s memo tab, the man questioned me.
“Yes, I intend to go meet this imperial mage.”
“That nation can be rather closed-off. They may not be willing to tell you where he is, even if you show up at the castle doors.”
That wouldn’t be a problem in my case since I could use “Search Entire Map.”
But since it seemed like he wanted to say something else, I went along with his warning.
“That is concerning, to be sure.”
“If you wish, I would be glad to help you.”
“Help me? How so?”
“I have a few connections in that kingdom. I can get you a map, and introduce you to a peddler who travels between Kageus City and Yowork Kingdom.”
“I would appreciate that.”
A peddler could tell us about any sightseeing spots on the way, and maybe even some hidden gems and local specialties.
Still, I doubted he was making this offer out of simple kindness.
“In that case, what could I do to repay your generosity?”
The man looked faintly scornful at my direct question, though he hid it with a smile.
“Anything you could offer as a tip toward Sir Eruus’s aspirations would be much appreciated, I confess.”
Huh?
I expected him to ask me to get Eruus’s Geist lifted. Instead, he just asked me to hand over a bit of funds or supplies for the restoration of Kuvork Kingdom.
Of course, since Eruus was related to Arisa, I was planning on getting his Geist lifted either way.
“I’d be happy to offer some aid.”
I put a Magic Bag on the table.
I’d acquired it in the ruins in Lessau County. It could hold about twice as much as a large dresser.
“Please accept the bag and all of its contents. I hope it can help with the restoration of Kuvork Kingdom.”
The bag contained two thousand gold coins in pouches, as well as some magic weapons and armor with a military look, various potions, and Pure-Water Bags made with water stones, which were convenient for long marches.
I didn’t include things like Fire Rods and explosives that could be used for indiscriminate acts of violence, though.
“I-incredible…”
Once the old consul looked through the contents of the bag, he stared between the bag and my face several times over.
“…Sir Pendragon, if you are offering all this to Sir Eruus, does this mean you wish us to take Lady Arisa back as a member of the royal family…?”
His voice trembled as he asked my true intentions. I guess it must have seemed like a huge gift to a kingdom in the middle of rebuilding, though it was nothing special to me.
“As I said before, I have no ambitions of making Arisa queen or attempting any kind of puppet regime over the Kuvork Kingdom. This is merely a gift to her older brother.”
If they were willing to accept Arisa as a royal, I’d certainly appreciate that, but not if it meant Arisa would lose her freedom in the process.
If possible, I just wanted Arisa and Eruus to be able to see each other without any issues. I wasn’t going to use money to strong-arm them into it and pave the way for future problems, though.
“Please accept it. I promise you I have no ulterior motives.”
“…We appreciate your kindness dearly, Viscount.”
The gentleman bowed his head deeply.
They must have been hurting for cash more than I realized. The man looked pleased as punch while he wrote me a letter of introduction to his connections in Yowork Kingdom.
He said he would have a map copied and sent to our inn, as well as to the peddler in question.
I stood up once I received the letter.
Oops, I almost forgot.
“Could I ask you one last question?”
“What is it?”
“Do you mind telling me the name of that imperial mage?”
As long as I knew his name, I could look him up using my map search.
“Orchidee. These days, he goes by the family name of Matossh that he earned for selling out the royal family.”
I thanked the elderly gentleman for the information and left their base behind.
“…Your report?”
“Viscount Pendragon went directly back to the inn. It didn’t look like he intended to go back out, so I left the rest to the guards watching the inn.”
The young male noble responded to the elderly consul.
I remembered what I’d seen from the shadows as I listened in on their conversation.
I’d noticed the young nobleman tailing me from their base and hid a near-undetectable Shadowdive Bat in his shadow to investigate his intentions.
“Your Excellency, we should eliminate the witch and her companions under cover of darkness.”
The gentleman stared coldly without responding to the boy’s words.
For my part, I carefully controlled my anger toward the young man, lest he sense it through the Shadowdive Bat.
“We mustn’t wait until that bastard puts the witch into power and spreads her influence.”
The boy continued spouting nonsense.
I get what he was worried about, but there was no need to spread her influence. If Arisa really wanted to rebuild Kuvork Kingdom, I could make that happen anytime I wanted.
“I understand your concerns. Yet I cannot approve a surprise attack.”
“Why not?!”
“Because you would all be killed.”
A military man who’d been in the room this whole time spoke up to answer his question.
According to my map, he was a respectable level 38.
“General! How can you be such a coward?!”
“A coward? That’s rich coming from someone who got knocked down a peg by a couple of brats.”
“I—I was just careless, that’s all.”
“Keep making excuses, and you’ll end up dead next time.”
The young man scowled at the general’s words.
“Those people are strong, make no mistake. Especially the scalefolk girl. I could fight her ten times and lose every time, no doubt. From what I gather, she’s every bit as strong as the Shiga Eight Swordsmen member I once met.”
Ooh, he could tell all that without the “Analyze” skill? Very impressive.
“Th-then we just need to capture that homely girl and blackmail the rest of them. Surely the witch’s maid is weak enough to…”
“She’d still destroy you, I guarantee it.”
“Do you make a mockery of me?!”
“I only state the truth. That girl is skilled, too, if not as much as the scalefolk woman. You can tell just by the way she moved when they fought your people.”
I forced myself to keep listening without voicing my many complaints about the boy’s inability to appreciate Lulu’s supreme beauty.
“Possam, is this true of the viscount as well?”
The man hesitated before responding to the elderly gentleman’s question.
“…I can’t say for sure. He doesn’t look strong, and yet my instincts scream at me not to mess with him no matter what.”
Rude. That makes me sound like some kind of monster.
“Sir Rukuubho, you must not lay a hand on Viscount Pendragon and his companions. That man will surely be of use to Sir Eruus. And the same is true of Lady Arisa, of course.”
Scowling, the young man reluctantly agreed to the old man’s warning and left the room.
“Possam, make sure they don’t do anything foolish.”
“Very well.”
“While they might not be capable of causing much trouble, the last thing we need is for them to displease the viscount and let His Highness lose a valuable ally.”
At any rate, it seemed like we didn’t have to worry about the young man and his friends doing anything stupid.
Still, while I was pretty sure they would keep him under control, I kept the bats I summoned on guard around our inn so that we could sleep soundly, just in case.
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