14
Chapter 14
'It's been a while since I've been here.'
The guild was as boisterous as ever.
Perhaps because she had been cooped up in the mountains, Rien looked around with curiosity, fascinated by the lively atmosphere.
As I walked along with her... I spotted a very familiar face.
"Ciel!"
When I shouted, our eyes met.
Ciel stood on her tiptoes and waved her hand high to let me know she was there. Her expression was as blank as ever, but her actions betrayed her joy.
"Are you feeling okay? Did you finish everything you had to do?"
At my question, Ciel hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"It's complicated."
Another typical, vague answer.
However, having spent so much time with her, I could more or less understand what she meant.
In a way, it was obvious.
Ciel was clearly in bad shape, stumbling as she moved.
She had probably paid her respects at the grave, but her body wasn't fully recovered.
'I really should have stopped her from signing that fraudulent contract.'
That thought flickered through my mind.
Of course, she might have exerted herself on the way to the grave, but for the aftereffects to be this severe...
Anyone watching would think she'd fought hundreds of Black Mages single-handedly.
"Wait here. I'll go buy some medicine."
"...Medicine?"
Ciel asked back.
Then again, it's not like there's health insurance here.
Naturally, the cost of medicine is higher than expected.
I'd have to spend a significant portion of the money I made from raiding the warehouse.
But that didn't matter.
I had a way to get more money.
After all, the reason I was heading to the Capital now was to take down the Mastermind and secure a financial backer.
It would be a bigger loss to save money now and have Ciel be unable to perform when it actually mattered in the Capital.
'Besides, I need to buy a few other supplies.'
Once my mind was made up, there was no reason to hesitate.
Since the shops would be closing soon, I told Ciel I'd be right back and quickly left the guild.
For some reason, I felt like I'd forgotten something, but it probably wasn't anything important.
*****
In the suffocating silence.
Ciel stared blankly at Rien, who was desperately avoiding her gaze.
"Who are you?"
At those words, Rien's pupils began to shake wildly.
Rien quickly began to explain the situation.
How Ian had suggested they travel together, and how they had ended up meeting.
The more she spoke, the more her voice trembled.
Rien felt like she was about to lose her mind.
She had definitely heard that he had a companion named Ciel.
Knowing what kind of person Ian was, she figured that woman must have feelings for him too.
Because of that, Rien's conscience pricked at her.
How should she put it?
She felt like a wicked woman who had seduced a taken man.
She couldn't possibly look Ciel properly in the eye.
And after hearing the whole story from Rien, Ciel.......
"Wolf, don't hurt her, be gentle."
She attacked Rien without warning.
A dark shadow transformed into a Beast. Rien instinctively drew her sword and blocked it.
Then, in front of a completely baffled Rien, Ciel pondered for a moment.......
"You're strong. That's good enough."
She sat back down and resumed nibbling on her bread like a rabbit.
Rien really felt like she was about to lose her mind.
She couldn't understand what was going on at all.
"Um... what was that just now?"
"......? I was just testing if you were strong enough to be helpful?"
"But why test me?"
"Did Ian not tell you?"
Words that made absolutely no sense.
Ciel stared blankly in thought for a moment, then handed over a Wanted Poster she had torn down before.
The name written on the Wanted Poster belonged to a figure so prominent that even Rien recognized it.
Black Fang.
An enigmatic organization shaking the Empire to its core.
"Why is this......."
Rien's words caught in her throat before she could ask. She had a rough idea of what was going on.
Thinking back on it, Ian did have some peculiar traits.
While everyone else was afflicted by the Curse and unable to move, he alone could move around as if nothing was wrong.
And then there was that map.
A map containing detailed, high-level intel that not even the Empire's High Command possessed.
And Ian had memorized it all effortlessly.
Even when Ian suggested they leave the village together.
She had accepted the offer without hesitation. But later, when curiosity struck and she asked Ian about his purpose.
Ian had clearly evaded the question awkwardly.
He had simply answered that he needed to gather strength for some grand objective.
Traveling from place to place to gather power, recruiting allies, and on top of that, an unknown goal.
However, if this was true, everything made sense.
Knowing such information, being reluctant to reveal his goal, and possessing incomprehensible abilities.
With all these pieces fitting together so perfectly, it would actually be stranger if Ian wasn't the Leader of Black Fang.
"It doesn't matter what feelings you have for Ian."
Ciel said that with absolute sincerity.
Ciel's love was simple.
She just wanted him to be happy.
She would be satisfied if he smiled, even if she had to sacrifice everything she had.
So the suffocating tightness in her chest every time she looked at that woman, the strange emotions writhing inside her—she could ignore them all for Ian's sake.
The current situation was quite dangerous.
Ciel had been dealing with people trying to uncover the organization's true nature, but it was starting to become too much for her.
The Empire's wariness towards Black Fang only grew stronger by the day.
It had reached a point where Ciel couldn't handle it alone anymore.
And if someone actually managed to uncover the organization's identity like this, Ian would be in danger.
That was the one thing she had to avoid above all else.
"Are you prepared?"
Ciel asked Rien.
If she was prepared. If she was truly willing to join her in this dangerous endeavor.
However, it was a meaningless question.
Rien knew. She would never forget it for as long as she lived.
The foolishly warm boy who had saved her when they first met, the man who had risked his life for her.
Rien nodded without a hint of hesitation.
And so, the secret organization unknown even to its Leader welcomed a new member.
*****
Clean clothes that wouldn't draw too much attention while walking around the Capital, instead of the tattered rags I'd been wearing.
Along with the medicinal herbs for Ciel.
Having finished my shopping here and there, I returned to the Adventurer's Guild with my hands full of luggage.
And then it hit me.
The thing I had forgotten.
'......Come to think of it, they don't know each other, do they?'
A meeting between a friend of a friend.
The awkward atmosphere when the mutual connection is missing. I could roughly guess what kind of situation the two of them were in right now.
I've had somewhat similar experiences before.
Besides, Ciel... no matter how you put it, isn't exactly the most sociable person.
She struggles to hold a proper conversation with someone she's just met.
She must be having a really hard time right now.
Thinking that, I quickly went looking for them.
And then, I found them.
Ciel and Rien were chattering away about something or other.
......That's strange.
Do their personalities just click?
Or did Ciel's social skills suddenly skyrocket over the past few weeks?
Either way, it worked out for the best.
I waited a moment so as not to interrupt their conversation, then timed my entrance to walk right between them.
Both of them immediately focused their gazes on me.
Instinctively, I knew this was the perfect moment.
"Let's head to the Empire's Capital. There's someone we need to meet there."
With those words, I began to explain my plan.
An abrupt trip to the Capital, and since we couldn't exactly enter as official guests, a plan to infiltrate someone's estate.
This was the biggest problem I was facing.
I couldn't for the life of me explain why we needed to execute this plan.
I couldn't exactly tell them I got this information from an internet post I read on Earth before transmigrating into this world.
Before, I could at least use the excuse of an herb-gathering quest as a reason to head into the mountains.
This time, I had to convince them to follow through with this insane plan of trespassing into a Noble's estate, all without giving them a proper reason.
It was obviously going to be a massive hassle.
It should have been.......
"When are we leaving?"
Ciel asked.
Even Rien wasn't flustered; rather, she nodded with an expression that said she'd been expecting this.
A smile naturally formed on my lips.
I knew they were good people, and I knew we'd built up some affection over time. But I never expected our bond to have forged this much trust.
To just go along with a plan like this without even asking why?
It was almost touching.
"Let's leave right now."
Saying that, I handed them the outfits I had prepared.
Well, due to budget constraints, I could only get my hands on some drab black hoods. Still, they'd draw less attention than clothes so old they had holes in them.
I threw on my black hood and looked out at the city, glittering even in the dead of night.
The Empire's Capital.
Our next destination.