Ch.29597. I Have Something to Say (3)

“The air has gotten a bit chilly.”

Shortly after emerging from the dense forest path, Alesia muttered while briefly dusting off her hands.

Her once-short red hair had grown to tickle her shoulders, and she turned to look at the two following behind her, wrapped in a thick reddish-brown coat.

“……”

She was as taciturn as Kariel.

While Mines’ pale long hair trembled in the cold wind blowing through the forest, the red-haired girl following behind him was looking around at the open landscape with uneasy eyes.

“Lutesia?”

“??”

The girl turned her head like a deer or squirrel.

With eyes as red as Alesia’s, she quietly gazed back at her.

“Um, well. Aren’t you cold?”

“Clothes?”

Though it seemed like a somewhat odd response, it wasn’t.

After all, the coat she was wearing was the same type that Alesia had on.

“If you’re okay… then it’s fine.”

The feeling that Alesia’s tongue was getting tied wasn’t just her imagination.

Even after getting used to it, this happens sometimes.

How should I put it, I don’t really know why.

“We should go to the nearby village and get a carriage, or if not a carriage, at least a donkey…”

As she continued speaking and looked around for the path ahead, a dark figure approached from a distance.

“Huh?”

That something, both familiar and unfamiliar, looked like someone in black armor mounted on a black horse.

So…

‘Kariel?’

Carrying that suspicion, she tentatively approached to greet whatever was coming.

Clop, clop.

The sound of hooves was clearly audible, though it was hard to tell if that was comforting or concerning.

It was approaching the three of them at a steady pace, neither fast nor slow.

“……”

By the time its figure came fully into view.

“Lutesia?”

For some reason, Lutesia began to approach it with trembling eyes, stumbling forward.

“……”

Just in case, Mines quietly watched her from behind.

Clop.

Just as the horse came to a stop, Lutesia also halted her steps.

The distance between the horse and Lutesia was barely ten steps.

From there, someone in black armor dismounted from the horse and stood somewhat unsteadily on the ground.

“That’s not Kariel.”

“I thought so.”

When Mines pointed this out, Alesia nodded slowly as if something had occurred to her.

“But the horse, is that…?”

“Caligula?”

Grandeus’s beloved horse, now presumed to be Kariel’s… anyway, that one.

The uncertainty stemmed from Kariel never directly speaking about it.

…Still, it wasn’t difficult to make an educated guess.

A lot of information had reached them while they stayed in Ardisus.

That’s when it happened.

“…Daddy?”

Huh?

Alesia and Mines opened their eyes wide, thinking they must have misheard.

Suddenly, Lutesia began to approach the black armor, reaching out her hand.

“Da…ddy?”

……

The black armor flinched, then, as if showing some kind of certainty, slowly approached Lutesia.

“Ah…”

Had she found confirmation there?

Lutesia, with steps that looked like she might fall at any moment, soon switched to a running pace after barely taking two steps forward, as if she might collapse.

Thud!

Perhaps concerned about her precarious movements, the figure in black armor carefully caught her body.

“Daddy…”

Though it didn’t say anything,

Lutesia, as if having heard some response, let tears flow down her reddened eyes before she could even make a sound of crying.

Soon, the sound of crying spread like wildfire, filling the surroundings.

……

The black armor, holding her in its embrace, gently patted her back.

Snort…

Even the fierce-looking warhorse, at that moment, merely turned its head away with somewhat melancholic eyes, pretending not to notice.

“If that’s Lutesia’s father…”

“……”

Mines thought that Kariel must have done something again.

It couldn’t be called a normal reunion.

But at least in that moment, the two of them came together like pieces finding their proper place.

She cried.

She laughed.

Sometimes crying as if the world had wronged her, then whispering incomprehensible mixtures of gratitude and resentment like baby talk.

Yet the black armor, surely empty inside,

As if showing emotion, longing, and concern.

Yet also joy, gladness, and tenderness.

It held her tightly, stroking and patting her back and head.

Yet with the gentleness of handling a small, fragile baby bird.

It moved its black iron hands, presumed to be hands, with delicacy.

Snort!

Clop, clop!

The warhorse, which had been keeping its distance, soon approached Alesia and Mines.

Then.

“Huh?”

It tilted slightly, exposing its side, as if inviting them to look.

“A saddlebag?”

As if telling them to open it.

When they untied the knot and rummaged inside, they found what appeared to be a bundle of letters.

Each had a name written on it, including some addressed to Alesia and Mines.

…The fact that there was one for both of them to read together was, well, a bit disappointing? Disheartening?

“Let’s see.”

Alesia unfolded the letter and examined its contents.

The content was basically…

“Stop by Dabas on the way and pick up the kids?”

“……”

We don’t even have anything left with us, why would he ask such a thing…

“Sigh.”

First he leaves a child with us, and now he’s sending us on errands.

How are we supposed to repay this debt?

“……”

And.

Mines felt his heart flutter a bit when he read that he might be able to see his younger sibling on the way, with a note suggesting he handle that matter as he sees fit.

Even so, he still didn’t want to.

It was enough to know they were safe.

The last thing he wanted was for them to get entangled in his problems…

“It’s not an immediate concern, so think about it as we go.”

Alesia cleared her throat, suggesting there was no need to agonize over it right away.

“But still…”

Are we supposed to take that with us?

Then suddenly it occurred to her.

“Hmm…”

If we had a cart, we wouldn’t need to find another horse?

Was it Kariel’s kindness or consideration?

Or perhaps offering help this way to make up for the errand?

Either way, this timely consideration wasn’t bad at all.

Lutesia mounted the horse with the black armor.

Walking alongside them, Alesia examined the map she had received from the fairies once more.

“…It’s a journey of several days if we walk normally.”

“……”

Finally, Mines made a decision.

“Huh?”

As he grabbed Alesia by the neck and lifted her into the air,

As if responding to this, the black warhorse, Caligula, neighed loudly and began to pound the ground forcefully.

“Kyaaah!”

A cry close to amazement burst from Lutesia’s mouth as she sat on the saddle.

“You, you?!”

“Close your mouth. You’ll bite your tongue.”

“Even so!”

The air was already freezing, and Mines began to slide across it as if racing.

Alesia, held by him, fluttered in the air like a pennant.

Lutesia laughed gleefully at the sight, while the black armor guided the horse, concerned for her safety.

…And so, an unexpected and peculiar journey began.

====

I rub my eyes after waking up.

First, I head to the chicken coop.

Gathering eggs in a basket.

But the hen crows late.

Still, my eyelids droop heavily.

After a long yawn, I finally realize.

Ah! Ah! Is today that day?!

I run to the morning market with my basket.

Filling it with warm bread.

Carefully counting my change.

When I get home, I see the milk cart.

Only then does the morning sun peek out.

Isn’t it truly a cheerful morning?

“……”

The rhythm and tune are perfect, but the verses are quite unsatisfactory.

On one hand, they’re substantial, but the problem is that the singing voice is quite deep… how should I put it.

“The content and rhythm… right. The theme doesn’t match.”

“Does it matter? Hmm, maybe I’m being too stylish. But aren’t songs and poems meant to be freely created and modified according to one’s mood? The realm of art and creation is originally—”

No sooner had he spoken than words poured out like a waterfall.

“Ahem.”

“Ah, my speech can’t keep up with my brain’s rotation speed, so it might sound like I’m rambling. This means neither you listening nor I speaking are acquiring quality information— Oh right! You can examine others’ pasts, thoughts, and reasoning, can’t you? Why not try that on me? Then you could obtain more concrete and clear quality content more directly—”

“Alright, be quiet.”

Reluctantly, I took the hand he extended.

Then— I tried to grasp his thoughts.

Bzzt!

-Asyouknowivealwayslivedwithmyemotionsshutoffsowhensomethinglilethissuddenlystirsupmyexcitementitfeelsveryunfamiliarkarielsolistensaywecouldcontinueholdinghandslikethisandwewonthavetotireourmouthsorearsisntthatagreatideathisisreallyonenessofspiritisntitthatsexactlywhatweshouldpursue—

“Enough…!”

“Is there a problem?”

The fellow tilts his head nonchalantly.

Despite exuding the aura of a wild beast, his eyes sparkle like a rabbit’s.

More than that, could it be that this chattering was actually him being extremely restrained?

No, not restrained… but unable to pour everything out, so it was being controlled by necessity?

Like a crowded plaza where only one gate allows passage, creating a bottleneck.

As he had mentioned earlier, the thoughts and ideas racing through his head were far more intense than what he was saying.

…This makes it difficult to properly grasp his thoughts.

With four or five different thought topics coming and going in just a few seconds, this wasn’t something that could be understood even if I tried.

…I heard from Aureas that intelligent people use their minds qualitatively differently from others, so is this what that means?

“By the way.”

“……”

Perhaps I need to adapt for a while too.

Let’s just ask him to recite a song or poem instead.

“Shall I?”

And more restrained content bursts forth again.

But this time, the song’s content is…

An angel has fallen.

Plummeted from the sky.

Look over there.

A wingless angel is falling.

Flailing limbs as it drops!

Oh my! Look at that poor thing!

Our child shouldn’t be like that, right? Right?

“…What kind of content is that?”

“It’s a familiar rendition about how even something noble, great, and brilliant will fall if it doesn’t desperately flap its wings—a principle of equality and difference. Similarly, it addresses what it means for a winged being to lose or damage its wings, what devastating consequences that brings, and how it might lead to delightful and interesting results for some—”

“Ah, yes. I don’t quite understand, but it’s impressive.”

For now, I might just have to leave him be like this.

It seems he had a lot bottled up.

…For a moment, I had the terrifying thought that he might have always been like this, but I deliberately ignored it.

Because such a frightening possibility should never be true.

“Kariel. By the way, can’t you play musical instruments? I think you can? I believe I heard eyewitness information somewhere, and when I received information that you were carrying an instrument, I could speculate that you might have been carrying it as a disguise, but even during your time in the system, you were secretly playing the lute—”

…How weary you must be, Kariel.

I certainly never saw or anticipated such a future.

“Are you listening? Didn’t I say? Yet you’re distracted! Respect and courtesy toward others are the most fundamental and basic aspects of human relationships, no, of various racial relationships in colorful and refined—”

What should I do?

What’s going on here? What exactly is happening?

Kariel pondered deeply.

But even that thought quickly crumbled and collapsed at the sound of the voice beside him.

“Are you listening? At times like this, you should look into these eyes! Come to think of it, I’ve repeatedly mentioned how pretty your eyes are—”

“……”

For now, let’s hope it’s just temporary.

Yes, let’s believe that without a doubt.