A Bright Future
Through the bare, spindly branches, a sky the color of fallen leaves settled low overhead.
Time was a fleeting thing. The moment you wished it would stretch on forever, it slipped away all the more quickly.
Adelaide leaned against the wooden fence, letting the tension drain from her body as she gazed up at the sky. Unlike the bustling, progressive air of the royal capital Sperita, Antico breathed as one with nature. Had she been in Sperita right now, she would have been cooped up inside the castle, walking on eggshells. This freedom was exactly what Adelaide wanted.
She glanced sideways.
An early winter breeze combed through Alice's hair, setting the white strands swaying and shimmering. Adelaide had never been dissatisfied with her own hair, but watching Alice's cascade like white silk always left her a little envious.
The shadows cast by the sunset trees fell across Alice. Her thick lashes were lost in the dark, and those calm eyes grew dimmer still. Alice tipped back a mouthful of pineberry wine, then lightly swept her tongue across her lips to catch what remained.
When Adelaide looked at her, Alice met her gaze. She took another silent sip of pineberry wine before asking,
"Was it all right?"
Asking the obvious, aren't you.
Adelaide nodded, then looked away toward the sunset. The glow of the evening sky hid the flush on her cheeks. Her heart felt at peace.
"It was fun," she said.
In Sperita, there had been no one she could truly let her guard down around. Her own blood relatives were the only ones, and even then only barely. Retainers and knights either found the princess intimidating or saw her as a ladder for their own advancement.
Adelaide savored the quiet of this moment. Once she returned to the royal palace, the suffocating days would start all over again — scrambling for the throne, drowning in work once more…
She watched two birds perched on a branch overhead. She had no idea when they had arrived. Perhaps they had been soaring freely through the sky and simply come down to rest for a while.
A yawn crept up on her without warning. She couldn't hold it back. Adelaide scrunched her face and yawned softly, a tear pricking at the corner of her eye.
Alice, who had been staring blankly at the sky without a word, spoke up.
"Tired?"
"A little, yes."
Adelaide brushed the tiny tear from the corner of her eye with a fingertip.
"It's a shame I have to go back to Sperita."
With a sulky look, she turned and leaned her back against the fence, facing Alice. Their eyes met — Adelaide's and those flat, pink irises — and she opened her mouth again.
"You've become a Master Hunter. What do you plan to do now?"
"Dunno. I don't think much will change."
Alice lifted the arm she'd draped over the fence and twirled a lock of her hair between her fingers.
"I have to end the Anomalies."
"And your estimated timeline?"
"Optimistically? About a month per region?"
That was Alice's hope, at least — but estimates had a way of falling short. One wasteland was done, which left four regions remaining.
A jungle thick with every kind of plant. A riverside of flowing lava. Highlands where the snow never melted. And a beach choked with gravel.
Alice still hadn't decided where to go next. The order hardly mattered. She would have to visit every last one of them eventually.
Adelaide spoke up out of nowhere.
"My brother says he intends to investigate the wasteland further."
"Yeah, that's right."
"The future of our land, twisted by time, that we set foot upon…"
Adelaide cast a sidelong glance.
"The Cartadia of the future that you saw — what of Sperita?"
She wanted the answer from the one who had actually seen the wasteland with her own eyes. Alice considered it briefly before replying.
"There's nothing left. Everything's gone. People, life — all of it."
Adelaide found Alice's eyes terribly forlorn as she said those words. It felt almost as if she were speaking of herself. From what Adelaide had heard, Alice had no blood relatives of her own.
With complicated feelings, Adelaide said,
"How did it come to that, I wonder. An invasion by foreign powers? Or a monster attack?"
She went on.
"The thought that everything we've built will vanish like smoke leaves me a little bitter. From our ancestors down to our own age, so many people struggled so hard — and the future waiting at the end of it all is ruin. Honestly, I'm afraid."
Her words were bleak.
"If our fate is already sealed that way, then no matter how happy or sad this present moment may be, it only means we're racing full tilt toward a pitch-black future."
If Cartadia's destruction was already decided, then everything they were doing now — even exploring the wasteland, even resolving the Anomalies — was ultimately a hollow, pointless effort.
Alice, who had been listening, made a show of peering into her pineberry wine. She blinked several times in silence before finally speaking.
"…The future isn't set yet."
There was a hard resolve in her eyes.
"We can change it. I'm sure of it."
As she said so, Alice gulped down the rest of her pineberry wine. The cup emptied completely, leaving only a few dregs. She hooked a fingertip through the handle and slumped against the fence.
"Nobody said that has to be our future."
No one had ever claimed as much. It was only a guess.
Alice spoke a little more hopefully. She had to. Otherwise, everything she was doing right now would be nothing more than meaningless thrashing.
"I like bright futures."
Still leaning on the fence, she turned her head slightly and lifted the corner of her mouth in a smile. Her white hair fell loose, half-veiling her eyes, and those pink irises curved gently. To Adelaide, there was something strangely alluring about it.
The sunset caught on her lashes and cast a shadow. Adelaide could see that shadow tremble, ever so slightly. From that unconscious quiver, she knew the words had not been spoken with absolute certainty.
Even so, Adelaide smiled back.
"I prefer the bright side as well."
After all, she too preferred hopeful stories.
Even the sunset gradually sank away, and night arrived in silence. Once the sun was gone, Antico's nights were more than cool — they were cold. The streets, starved of light, were dark and thoroughly dangerous. Wandering outside any longer was out of the question. It was time to head indoors.
Even at this late hour, I was still with Adelaide. She wasn't heading back right away; she planned to set out early the next morning.
"What are you going to do?"
"I should go talk to the branch chief first."
Adelaide asked me to come along to the Association district. I escorted her through the late-night streets. I stayed on edge, never knowing when or where something might happen — but Antico's roads were perfectly quiet. Nothing out of the ordinary.
We reached the Association without incident and asked the staff still on duty where the branch chief was.
"The branch chief? He's probably in his office."
Just as the employee said, the branch chief was in his office. Adelaide opened the door and immediately frowned at the reek of alcohol wafting from inside. The branch chief was in there, neglecting his work and drinking with the Association President.
Adelaide made a face.
"Ugh, the smell of liquor."
"…Oh, Your Highness. That outfit suits you wonderfully."
"I bought it here. It's a piece I rather like."
The branch chief said it with a pleasant flush on his face. The Association President, who had been drinking with his back to the door, turned his head to look at Adelaide. The sight of his bald crown reflecting the moonlight through the window was a rare spectacle indeed.
"What brings Your Highness here? Care for a drink?"
Adelaide laughed and shook her head at the President's shameless offer.
"Mr. President, do try to drink in moderation."
"Haha, I'll take that to heart."
I wondered if this was really okay when other people were still working. Then again, they were the top dogs around here, so nobody was going to say a word. Was this what life at the top looked like?
Adelaide clearly didn't want to linger, because she cut straight to business.
"Branch Chief. I need a place to stay."
"Somewhere for the night, you mean? Well, the Association has a special suite prepared for Your Highness."
"Ah, about that."
Adelaide touched her lips thoughtfully, then continued.
"I was thinking of sharing a room with a friend tonight. Would that be all right?"
What?
I stared at Adelaide in open surprise. She reached out and pulled my shoulder toward her. After a full day of running around, I didn't have the energy to protest — I just let her pull me in.
The branch chief stroked his chin and tilted his head.
"Hunter lodgings are usually double rooms, so if one bed is free, it should be possible."
"You — is the other bed empty?"
"Yeah."
Pina had gone to visit her family, so the room was free.
"Then that would be best. Better than taking a suite all alone, wouldn't you say?"
"Indeed. Well then, I'll leave it to you. Mr. President — do try not to overdo it before you turn in."
"Yes, yes. Enjoy yourselves, and we'll see you tomorrow."
Apparently Adelaide would be heading back with the Association President in the morning. We left the office right away and exited the Association grounds.
Adelaide glanced at the dark night road, then slipped her arm through mine.
"Would you show me the way?"
"Sure—"
She hummed as she walked, light on her feet. I asked the unusually cheerful princess,
"That happy about it?"
"Truth be told, this will be my first time sleeping beside someone. From childhood I was raised to be strong, all for the sake of the throne."
"…I see."
Adelaide tightened her grip on my arm.
Ah — aah…
The soft pressure against me snapped me wide awake.
Adelaide spoke quietly.
"Even things like this. No one in the royal family would accept it. The only one who ever did was my brother, when we were small."
Imagining little Melchior and little Adelaide was almost too adorable. In my mind, Adelaide had clung to him exactly like this. And maybe he'd pushed her away on purpose, so she wouldn't grow up spoiled — so that a princess, too, could one day contend for the throne.
"He's a worthless man these days, of course. Always putting off his work."
The way she badmouthed Melchior so freely was probably affection, leftover from those childhood memories. Then again, wasn't she the one currently ditching her own duties to be right here?
They really do say family resembles family.
I couldn't take the chest pressing firmly against my arm any longer.
"So… is that why you're doing this to me?"
"My dear friend, between us, this much is fine, is it not?"
It wasn't a uniform this time but a tunic, which made the sensation all the more vivid.
"L-let go."
"Your flustered face is quite a rare treat."
Even as she said it, Adelaide carefully unlinked our arms. Still, the thought of her walking this night road alone made me a little uneasy. I held out my hand.
"…Hold my hand instead. It's dark."
"Very well. That is not so bad either."
Adelaide laced her fingers through mine. Against my rough hand, her palm felt soft.
We walked the night road side by side. It felt like strolling with an old friend.
"What was Melchior like when he was little?"
"Hmm. That man, you see…"
And for the rest of the walk, I listened happily to the princess's old stories.