Fate
Fate
The tears of Eldmia, whose mental age exceeded thirty, were nothing to be ashamed of. An elf who had lived 126 years had cried too. They were utterly justified tears.
"You're really something else, you know that."
Asilie, dumbfounded by my shameless attempt to rationalize it away, smacked me on the back.
In the end, the next morning we woke up with our eyes swollen as hell, took one look at each other's faces, and couldn't help but laugh.
But aside from the swollen eyes, nothing was special. We woke up like always, trained like we always had, and I took on a bit more of Asilie's chores than usual as we spent the rest of the day as if nothing had happened. It was a day no different from the daily routine we'd shared up until now, save for the promise we made to exchange letters through the Adventurer's Guild.
As if believing that by doing so, time would pass and we'd naturally meet again safely, we spent the day in the most ordinary way, as if it were some unspoken pact, and packed my things as if we were setting off on a journey together before facing the final day.
Truth be told, my luggage wasn't much to speak of. Light clothes, one waterskin Asilie had used, some bandages, Asilie's pouch filled with various herbs sorted by type. A small bedroll was about it.
Even then, once I stuffed my clothes into the bedroll, wrapped it around the scabbard, and slung the whole thing over my back, my pack was so light you could've believed I was going for a picnic on the next hill instead of leaving on a long journey.
"You're traveling with an escort unit anyway, so there's no need to wear your sword at your hip. Rather, if the current Eldi wore a sword, it could be taken as an insult to the escort."
Having never once carried a sword on my back since taking up the real sword, it felt extremely awkward, but after hearing Asilie's explanation, I had no choice. No matter what merits I'd earned, for an underage commoner child not even recognized as a warrior before everyone's eyes to be unable to put down his weapon was ultimately no different from saying he didn't trust the escort—her explanation was painfully sound.
"Come here."
Once all preparations were complete, Asilie pointed to a chair and called me over. I trotted right over and sat down, and Asilie, standing behind me and stroking my head a few times, held something up and showed it to me.
"An earring?"
What Asilie held in her hand was an earring the same color as her hair. About the size of a finger joint, it looked like a braided lock of hair, and though I couldn't tell what thread it was made from, it was hard as if it had been coated and compressed.
"What's thiaaaaagh!"
And without giving me a moment to ask in puzzlement while I was admiring it, she just fucking put it through my ear! I let out a scream without meaning to at the sensation of something being driven into my earlobe, but there was no pain, surprisingly. Still, I couldn't stop my startled heart from pounding at the small hook that suddenly flashed beside my eye.
"You scared the shit out of me!"
"It's an elf's earring. It's a kind of talisman, made by cutting your own hair, braiding it into shape, and processing it with magic, carrying the meaning of returning safely."
"Asilie...!"
So that's what she'd been fussing away at since yesterday, I realized, and overcome with emotion I stood up and looked at Asilie—she was putting an earring on her own ear too.
"Hm?"
The shape was the same, but unlike mine, the color gleamed black like ebony. Looking closely, if the one on my ear was Asilie's hair, didn't that mean the one on hers was... my hair?
"I cut it the night before last while you were sleeping."
As if she'd read my question, Asilie spoke flatly. Since I hadn't been maintaining it often lately and it had gotten a bit long, just trimming a bit would yield that much, so I wasn't worried it'd look like rats had chewed on it, but honestly if it carried that kind of meaning, I would've wanted to make it myself.
"No, the cutting part I don't mind, but does it still have meaning if you make it yourself? If something like this existed, I would've wanted to make it for you..."
"It doesn't matter so don't worry. What's important here is the heart and the form."
If it didn't matter, I felt like that was a bit weird in its own way too, but since she'd put it on her own ear and smiled with satisfaction, I decided not to tack on any more commentary. Well, whatever the case, if we were both satisfied, that's what mattered.
"Come back safe, Eldi. Write whenever you can."
And so, with all preparations complete, Asilie gave a short farewell as she looked at me mounted on the borrowed military horse. In that moment, so many thoughts flashed through my mind, but in the end I realized answering with a smile was the best option.
"Yeah. I'll be back, Asilie. I'll send a letter as soon as I arrive, so stop by the village often."
I spurred the horse forward, leaving behind her waving hand and satisfied smile.
Like that, I kept turned around waving until the cabin grew smaller and smaller in the distance and finally vanished behind the trees.
◈
By the time I reached the camp, I'd spent half the ride fighting back tears that kept threatening to spill. Ragnis came out the moment she heard I'd arrived, took one look at my face, understood immediately, and let out a disbelieving laugh.
"Even that Eldmia knows how to shed tears, huh."
"Something got in my eye."
"I'm sure that's it. That means I can take it that you're accepting Lord Ekaf's proposal, right?"
"I said I didn't cry."
"Who said anything?"
It was annoying how Ragnis didn't even bother hiding the subtle expectation in her voice and grinned away with no regard for other people's feelings, but since it was true, I didn't argue.
"Yeah. The revenge I've gotta do either way—that route's got a higher chance of survival. Asilie agreed too."
"Mm-hm. That's the right call. Honestly, knowing you, I was terrified you'd refuse and then a few years from now I'd suddenly hear you'd gotten yourself killed. You made the right choice."
"Just what kind of bastard is the me inside your head?"
"A reckless guy who charges in first and looks later with no thought for consequences?"
"The fact that it's not exaaactly right but also not entirely wrong either is kind of annoying."
I made plans before charging in, but since 'reckless' always accompanied those plans, it was hard to deny or affirm. Thanks to that, I'd even forgotten the sad mood and was making a complicated expression; Ragnis looked at me with a satisfied grin and led me to where Lord Ekaf was.
"Thank you for accepting the proposal."
"I should be the one thanking you for giving me this opportunity."
Lord Ekaf, whom I naturally addressed with honorifics since he'd be the one to teach, feed, and house me from now on, was considerably pleased with my decision. It wasn't as if a knight of his caliber would lack people to teach, so I found it curious that he seemed happier than I'd expected; noticing this, Radnelbandes added an explanation from the side.
"Your talent is part of it, but this friend of mine is very fond of his daughter, you see. But she's got hardly any peers who can keep up with her, so he'd been worrying over that when he met you."
According to him, Lord Ekaf was a man who, relative to his position and reputation, was extremely humble and prudent, and considered that a virtue. Consequently, while he was tickled pink by his daughter growing up so admirably, on the other hand he'd lately been worried sick that she'd fall into arrogance from being too outstanding. With her enrollment at the Royal Academy—where the most renowned prodigies gathered—coming up, he half hoped he'd be able to relax a bit once she was there, but he couldn't ignore what was right in front of his eyes right now.
Honestly, setting aside all that uninteresting explanation, what was striking was that if someone else had said it I'd have wondered if it was flattery—a description that was nothing but praise—but when Radnelbandes spoke it, it felt like nothing but plain truth. Were mages truly creatures who spoke only the truth? Did it just sound like truth to me?
"She qualified for the Royal Academy with the top entrance ranking this year, so yes, she really is exceptional. She's quiet, but she has a good heart too."
"...Though lately she's started keeping a little distance from me. I can't say I'm happy about it."
Seeing him praise her even more than her father Lord Ekaf, it seemed it wasn't just empty words. Anyway, if she was the same age as me that meant 14 years old—the fact that he felt distance meant it was puberty, maybe?
"Heh heh heh. Come to think of it, didn't she throw a sulk last time and refuse to talk to the servants because the clothes weren't sorted before washing?"
"They say she didn't snap at them or act irritable, but... haah."
Puberty in another world wasn't much different, I supposed.
It was unbelievable that even a man who was the King's 3rd Sword himself would let out a sigh like that when tangled up with his daughter. The typical nobles I'd picked up rumors about in this world didn't openly display such deep familial affection.
But being a Tusin meant he was an incredibly high-ranking noble, so maybe, contrary to the typical nobles known to the world, the high-ranking ones were bound together by tight-knit familial love.
"In any case, I won't deny Sir Radnelbandes's words. It'll surely be a good opportunity for mutual growth."
A faint halo seemed to glimmer behind Lord Ekaf as he spoke with a dignified smile that could only be described as that of a sage. The brightness couldn't compare to when I faced Asilie, but that's how it felt anyway.
This man... might actually be a genuinely good person!
"Thank you, Lord Ekaf. Ragnis? Honestly, thank you for giving me this opport...unity...?"
Ragnis, who I'd turned to for a greeting, wore a subtly frozen smile and was fidgeting with her demurely clasped hands, pressing her thumbs firmly over and over. For some reason... it was a sight that felt subtly hurried and anxious.
Like someone who'd unexpectedly hit a snag...
"For my benefactor, this much is only natural. There's still a long way to go before I've repaid everything, so you can look forward to more."
The way she seemed to bite her lower lip ever so slightly as she smiled... had to be my imagination.