A Homeward Greeting (3)
Home. Returning home. For anyone who has ever left, those words alone are enough to make the heart tremble with comfort. So after months away, even the ache of homesickness had been something the young lady could only taste in the tea I once brewed for her.
“…Vitagarte.”
When I told her what it meant, she repeated the resonant name, unable to hide the bright flush rising to her cheeks. Her skin was so pale it was nearly translucent, so such reactions always showed plainly. Yet it was rare for her to respond this openly.
She knew my reasoning made sense. Still, hesitation lingered.
“It’s true, we can go. But… am I really allowed to return?”
“A master needs no special reason to return to her own house. Just as one climbs a mountain because it is there, Vitagarte exists because you are there.”
“That’s not what I mean. I was…”
Driven out from that place. It was a fact we had repeated many times, so no further confirmation was needed. We understood each other without words. And I could grasp the weight of her worry, even if it went beyond mere logic.
Despite everything we had accomplished in the capital, the time to reclaim her position had not fully ripened. With so many incidents unfolding and our own actions drawing attention, we could not simply abandon the Academy. No matter how popular we had become, the justification and cause to march on the duchy right now remained thin.
Yet I had my answer ready.
“I believe this visit will lay the foundation for a true homecoming.”
“…A foundation.”
Karalin twirled a strand of hair around her finger, organizing her thoughts.
“You mean something like, ‘We know how disappointed you must be in the unworthy prince you were forced to serve. But look at us. Imagine what will happen when we return.’ That sort of impression?”
“Precisely. Just as you heard. You already know what major events occurred in the North while we were gone.”
“Yes. It was quite the spectacle.”
“Exactly. The North is waiting for someone.”
She closed her eyes.
“Then the best message would be to show the suffering people that I have not forgotten them.”
It was the judgment of someone who truly understood my intent—an act that would make her a beacon of hope. That perception would become the overwhelming justification for her future rule. It was obvious.
“Truthfully, it has always weighed on me too. Even while I lived in comfort, I could not remember the nameless heroes who kept burning away.”
So my response was already decided. There were times when the beautiful past came to mind.
“Those are nostalgic words… To see you show that side of yourself again, I can hardly contain my excitement.”
“But, Yohan.”
Even as she spoke, she buried her face against my chest as though her strength had left her.
“I don’t know if I can do it well. I’m scared.”
“…Oh?”
“It’s been so long since I’ve done anything like that. I might have forgotten how. Honestly, I have no confidence.”
“Even though the people still long for you? You know better than I how many letters they keep sending.”
Even now, stacks of unopened letters sat beside her. Perhaps this topic was her tear button after all. But I had misread the mark.
She simply said, “No. Being found lacking by the people is something I can endure. What truly frightens me is something else entirely…”
“…What is it? Will you tell me?”
“I’m afraid I’ll disappoint you.”
“Disappoint… me?”
“What if, once we arrive, the version of me you like falls short of your expectations? What if I’ve changed? That… that scares me the most.”
“…Karalin!”
I raised my voice—not quite a scolding, but close. Perhaps she simply wanted reassurance of my feelings. Why she still could not understand after so many times, I could not fathom.
It seemed she had never seen me speak so firmly before. She looked at me with new eyes.
“…H-huh?”
“I’ve told you! I live for you.”
“…Y-Yohan.”
Though no one else was around, my words were enough to make her glance about nervously. It was the sort of embarrassing declaration that would require a hundred mouse holes to hide in if overheard. Yet what could be done? It was the truth.
“The version of you I like? That is probably the young lady who once picked me up as a child. I won’t deny it. I do like that side of you. But even if your heart changed…”
I recalled the original history. The future where she became the Blue Witch of the North, one of the Six Swords under Gorgo, laying waste to the entire Empire before being struck down by Eclipse.
If, despite my help, she still fell that far, what would I have done?
‘What else? I would have followed her all the same.’
I would have stood by her side without hesitation, doing the same things. That was why I could never call myself a good person. Harboring such vile thoughts meant I was no good man. I was trash. Trash that simply refused to hate only you.
“I would have followed that path whether it led to hell or anywhere else. Even if it was a shameful road for a human, I would gladly become a demon. If you asked me to crush the world, I would crush it. Whatever you requested…”
“…U-ugh. You really—”
“That is why the word ‘disappointment’ does not exist between us!”
“I-is that so…”
“If change required such a word, then it was never needed to begin with. I will simply follow you. From beginning to end, I am your one and only knight.”
She pondered the words, then smiled faintly.
“You really do like me, don’t you.”
“Yes. And if that were not allowed, I would make it so. Please watch and see.”
“…Heh.”
Then she murmured, “Very well. We depart as you say, Lord of Steel. At first light.”
“Who shall accompany us?”
“I will ask everyone in the Autonomous Activities Department. With a few dragons carrying two riders each, there should be no problem reaching the North.”
“I will gather everyone and ask their intentions.”
“Apologize on my behalf for the sudden decision.”
“As you command.”
She seemed to want to show everyone she had met here exactly who she was.
***
At dawn, the first to arrive was the little cotton candy who had received Solaris from me and whose loyalty and affection had grown noticeably.
“Y-Yohan-siiiii…!”
“You’re early. I know the notice was sudden.”
“On the contrary, hearing it at dawn made my heart race even more! I don’t like being without plans, but… this time it sounded fun.”
Even as she said that, she had arrived with a backpack stuffed full of luggage. Ever the prepared one. I had told her everything would be provided in the North, yet here she was.
Next came the Northern group: the young lady, Gorgo, and our adorable junior.
‘The North, you say…?! If Senior is going, then I must go too, mustn’t I…!’
Hilken had immediately pledged to follow without question once Karalin and I decided to go. Gorgo, meanwhile, showed a reaction so pure and filled with wonder that it nearly matched Karalin’s own.
“…Finally. We’re going. Home. My… beloved home—”
Of course. She had not returned once in three hundred years. The promise she had made to her brother to one day go back must have carried a weight all its own. Even if the current royal castle of Vitagarte was different from the one she remembered.
“At this rate, everyone who’s coming seems to be here, Yohan. Shall we depart?”
“Please wait a moment, my lady.”
By her words, the current group was already a fine selection. Still, for my part—
“Cryan isn’t here. And that other one.”
Honestly, I had been hoping the three men would gather. A faint unease remained.
‘…It really was too rushed. But it’s fine. We can go just the two of us for now. I’ll show them the North later.’
Yet the moment I thought that, a familiar scream echoed from afar.
“—K-Kraaaah! Cryan, you crazy bastard…! C-can’t you carry it a little more carefully…?!”
“How am I supposed to carry several hundred kilograms of armor, you idiot? Only a dragon in polymorph could manage that. Still, it suits you. Watching you carry it like that makes it look like some kind of prisoner’s restraint…”
“S-shut the hell up—!”
From the distance, two figures approached on dragonback. One of them clutched an armful of metal objects. The moment I saw them, I could not help but smile.
“Hey, you made it…!”
“Sorry, Yohan. Even so, the notice really was too late. Preparing gifts on such short notice was no easy task—”
“D-damn it. Freed from prison only to be put straight into hard labor. You people are demons. Actual demons.”
“Ignore the dragon’s complaints. He was more than happy to accept when we said it was payment for releasing him, yet now he’s complaining.”
“I’ll kill you, you heartless bastard.”
I simply asked the two who were bantering, “Gifts…?”
“We couldn’t show up empty-handed when visiting a friend’s homeland.”
What they carried, once I checked, were sets of dragon armor perfectly fitted to the dragons’ measurements—splendid in appearance and clearly high-performance. Each piece bore the engraved tiger and violet of Vitagarte. Custom-made, and expensive at a glance.
“Don’t worry about the cost. There were ways.”
“Is it really all right to accept something like this?”
“Yohan, the North has been troubled by wyverns lately. If we fly in without notice, we’ll be lucky not to be shot down. But if the dragons are wearing these, at least we can approach with a little more dignity.”
I could only wonder how he had come up with such a thoughtful idea. He merely gave a sly grin.
“Come on, let’s go. We have a long way to travel. And it’s a path we can’t take without dragons.”
“Thank you. I thought you weren’t coming.”
“I would never do that.”
Cryan, you scheming bastard…
***
Vitagarte, which had been under constant wyvern pressure until recently, was now enjoying a brief lull. Though fierce battles had ceased, they were desperately trying to restore what they could. Yet they had not recovered easily. In truth, they had barely held on by fortifying only the capital, Fralbert.
True reconstruction was not something that could be achieved in such a short time. However, within that wave of recovery, only a brief disturbance was needed to raise the alarm once more.
“Your Grace, Your Grace—!”
“Silence. This is the war council. Are you incapable of anything but howling loud enough to stoke my anger?!”
“T-that’s not it! In the skies above Fralbert—w-wyverns, no, dragons! Five of them—!”
“…Damn it!”
Rexas had no choice but to rush up to the outer wall’s watchtower. The moment he arrived, he heard it—the distinctive, ear-splitting beat of dragon wings that made his chest ache.
‘Again? Still? They never tire. Those vile demon hordes. Filthy, detestable, kill-them-all bastards… Do not invade my territory. I will not let them burn what is mine.’
“Prepare the Ecurisia batteries. Bring the telescope. I will give the interception order myself.”
“Here it is!”
Rexas slowly counted down in his mind as the creatures approached.
Three. Two… One…!
“…?! Wait. Cease fire. Stop firing. Stop, you idiots!”
“C-cease fire—!”
Rexas stared through the telescope as though he had seen something he should not have, choking on his own words. Just as every soldier present was dying of curiosity—
“…T-the Steel Knight. The Steel Knight and… Karalin—?”
“…What?!”
“But why would Karalin be—”
Why were there two of them?