The Wise Sheep in the Shadows (2)
The Wise Sheep in the Shadows (2)
#14
BOOM—
A brown wooden fragment flew past my eyes. Was that... a piece of the infirmary door?
Looking past the shattered door, I saw a silver-haired girl glaring at the red-eyed woman, practically radiating fury.
"Absolutely not! Do-yun here is a teaching aid that I rented. I'm the one experimenting on him!"
"Oh my, whatever could you mean? As far as I know, this fellow is a teaching aid to be shared by everyone. Besides, your borrowing privileges are suspended—you know that, don't you? Surely you must have heard it from Lady Estelle."
So I was still being treated like an object.
At that moment, Estelle appeared from behind Elysia and spoke up.
"Lady Rubel. The only reason I requested your help earlier was because I had encountered a situation I could not resolve on my own."
"And?"
"Therefore, whatever respect I bear you as a senior, I cannot overlook an attempt to monopolize a public Academy asset. Furthermore, I did not imagine you would unleash such destructive magic inside the infirmary."
So this woman's name was Rubel. With all pretense cast aside, she flashed a chillingly beautiful smile and answered.
"Whyyy? Our cute Estelle. A girl like you could easily turn a blind eye. The professor won't be back until next week anyway. And since we're both from Count Houses, couldn't we arrange a slightly better deal? Unlike that half-wit leftover over there."
Eek!—
Wait, hadn't she just smashed down an entire door? Where had all that bravado gone? Elysia had instantly crumpled into a tiny, huddled form and hidden herself behind Estelle.
"..."
"I only used magic in the first place because I thought this man was attempting to sexually harass you, darling. You ought to be thanking me."
But the golden-eyed girl steadied her resolute expression and replied.
"I am grateful that you intervened on my behalf. However, leaving that aside, you surely must also understand this, Senior: what I desire, I am fully capable of attaining without borrowing your power."
"Darling, why are you being this way?"
"Sister, I suggest you stop here. When Professor Carmine returns and assesses the situation, even you will have a difficult time."
"Hmm... How about this, then? I'll give up on claiming Subject 601 for myself. Instead, I'll offer the choice directly to him. There's nothing wrong with taking him as a rental—just as the half-wit did. If I grant a long-term rental to whoever he prefers, surely that doesn't violate any regulations?"
"..."
"Well? No problem with that, is there?"
"Fine. Go ahead and ask him. I will respect his opinion."
"Excuse meee... what about my opinion?"
The silver-haired mage raised her hand and tried to interject, but Rubel's reply cut her down like a blade.
"The leftovers stay out of this."
The golden-eyed apprentice mage spoke.
"Mr. Ha Do-yun, I will respect whatever choice you make to the fullest extent possible. Though you came to this Academy as a teaching aid, I, Estelle Eurasia, swear this upon the honor of my family."
A cold sweat trickled down my back.
"Until you fulfill your role and perish, decide for yourself who will be in charge of you. To put it plainly, you may choose your designated renter directly. You may follow Lady Rubel Valenor here immediately, or you may follow Lady Elysia behind me after one week. Whichever you choose, I will authorize an exclusive long-term rental of two months—the maximum period permitted under regulations—to the person you select."
—So, which was the better choice? Elysia, the quack with a kind heart? Or Rubel, who would grant my wish but might do something unspeakable to me?
"If you decline to choose for yourself, a neutral judgment will treat you as a standard public teaching aid. You will be rented out to an arbitrary renter whenever the practicals for human experimentation are held. Please understand that the option to choose is being given to you solely to prevent an unnecessary conflict between Lady Elysia and Lady Rubel here and now."
"You'll come with me, won't you? So long as I obtain the results I desire, I'll grant you anything you wish."
That was faintly tempting. Should I ask for money as payment? Or was something even better on the table? Either way, my debt was probably no more than pocket change to this woman—less than a coin dropped on the street. But would I even survive if I went with her?
"Mr. Do-yooooon! I'll treat you better from now on... I won't give you any more strange medicine! We have to finish our experiment! The reagent I injected into Do-yun really did cost me everything I had... Hwaaaaaaang!"
The prospect of going with this one was a bit terrifying. But if what Elysia said was true, wasn't there a chance I could become a mage someday? And she might even do those lewd things with me again under the guise of an experiment, like yesterday. A real man had to carve out his own future. Choosing the latter was the better move, wasn't it?
—
—
—
"My choice is—"
***
#15
Uweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeng!
A mansion as grand as a giant's castle. I thought I could hear someone's pathetic wailing coming from outside the white gate bearing the Golden Lion crest, but honestly, it was none of my business.
Even now, looking back, I was proud to say it was an absolutely outstanding choice. If I ever died, it would probably make the top three of the mad-movie montage they'd play at my funeral.
"That was a rather unexpected choice. But, Mr. Ha Do-yun, what was the reasoning behind your decision?"
The blonde woman looked at me with an expression of intrigue.
"Well... I felt that, from the most neutral standpoint, you would treat me like a person."
Exactly. My choice was neither the terrifying powerhouse nor the quack alchemist. It was to be the long-term rental teaching aid of this kind and beautiful apprentice mage, Lady Estelle Eurasia!
"You are not wrong. But please bear in mind that I cannot offer you any special treatment. For the two months during which I am the designated renter, you will reside in the servants' quarters of the Eurasia estate and live among the other servants."
An angel... Wasn't she a true noble lady who practiced genuine noblesse oblige? I couldn't take my eyes off her face, which was so beautiful it seemed to glow.
Anyway. My reasoning was simple. I had judged that Estelle, at the very least, was not the type to treat me carelessly like an object. If I could secure a two-month stay of execution as this young lady's property, I reasoned I could plan for the future rationally.
After all, judging by her earlier reaction, Elysia couldn't give me up. And once I came up with a plan, I might even be able to negotiate with that terrifying woman, Rubel. Perhaps in the process, I could clear my debt and begin a second life. I had no information advantage or real bargaining chips right now, so I resolved to thoroughly develop a survival plan over the next two months.
"Do you have a question? You've been staring at my face for some time now."
"I'm sorry, it's nothing."
I decided I should refrain from staring too openly.
"In any case, should an experiment requiring Mr. Ha Do-yun become necessary, I will contact you through another servant. Please wait quietly in your quarters until things are settled."
With those words, Estelle departed. Indeed, money and power really were something else. A Count House, was it? Even though it was only the servants' quarters on the estate grounds, the place felt like a fairytale palace compared to anywhere I had ever stayed: a massive white outer wall and golden lion ornaments stood in harmony.
After Estelle left, I sensed a presence behind me. I turned around to find a gentle-looking woman standing there, clad in a black-and-white maid's uniform that covered her body completely. Her age... if I'd had a mother, I imagined she might have been around this age. The marks of years were deeply etched onto her brow, as if she had weathered many storms.
"We meet for the first time. I am Mira, the head maid in charge of general duties within the Eurasia household."
So the head maid was the person in charge of the servants?
"Hello, I'm Subject 601, Ha Do-yun. I will be in Lady Estelle's care for a short while, starting today. Please treat me casually, for I am nothing but a human test subject of the Academy."
The woman who introduced herself as Mira replied with a gentle expression.
"No matter how humble one's station may be, anyone led into this mansion by Lady Estelle's hand is no different from a guest. I myself was once nothing more than a cleaning slave before the Countess of Eurasia took me in. Should you experience anything uncomfortable during your stay in the mansion, please inform me or any other maid."
After that, Mira's guided tour of the mansion continued along the corridors of the servants' quarters. By the time we had finished looking around most areas, nearly two hours had passed. So this was the Count House of Arcanum. As I admired the dazzling interior, I suddenly found myself led by the head maid's hand to a door.
"This is the room where Mr. Do-yun will be staying from now on. If you need anything, please call for me..."
As the door opened, an atmosphere entirely different from the exaggerated splendor of the corridor washed over me. It smelled of freshly laundered and dried fabrics—too clean to be simply the scent of wood. A thin green carpet that didn't sink too much underfoot covered the floor, and a small lantern on the ceiling softly emitted a blue light. The room was bright without being dazzling. The way the light was evenly diffused rather than simply radiant was impressive.
Oh— Compared to the other rooms we'd passed outside, it was small, but it was equipped with everything one might need, far more than I had expected.
The first thing that caught my eye was the bed. It was quite large for just me—a double bed where two people lying down would feel each other's breath.
The bedding wasn't terribly thick, but it had a crispness all its own: a white sheet pulled taut without a wrinkle, and a white pillowcase that seemed as if it would glide softly over the back of my hand.
The hotel beds I'd seen in films had looked like this. Seeing the real thing with my own eyes stirred a surprising sense of wonder.
A hotel bed I'd seen in a movie had looked like this. Seeing the real thing with my own eyes brought a certain sense of awe.
Beside the bed stood a low nightstand, with a water bottle and cup arranged neatly on top.
Against the wall opposite the bed stood a wooden table, long from side to side and narrow from front to back.
It was a tidy size—a little too long to call a desk and a little too narrow to call a dining table.
An ink bottle, a pen, and a bundle of thin sheets sat on top. Was that what they called parchment?
Beside it, a palm-sized mirror hung on the wall, with simple toiletries arranged beneath it. A wardrobe stood in one corner. It wasn't large, but when I opened it, a faint woody scent drifted out and hangers bearing several comfortable-looking everyday outfits rattled softly. A quick look told me the clothes were exactly my size.
Could the servants of a first-rate Count House prepare this thoroughly in such a short time? I couldn't help but admire them.
For a mere guest like me, this treatment felt far more generous than I deserved.
The window wasn't especially large, but the sill was wide and fitted with a thin curtain.
When I drew the curtain aside, the treetops in the estate garden and the sky beyond the white wall appeared like a picture in an angular frame. Almost no sound came in from outside.
Were the walls thick, or had the room itself been designed for silence? I even wondered whether soundproofing magic had been cast to block out the outside world.
Lastly, a small stove in the corner of the room caught my eye. No fire was burning, but a blue-glowing mana stone was embedded in it—a structure that could generate heat whenever needed.
And beside it was a beautiful and adorable silver-haired girl I felt I had seen somewhere before. She was curled up, hugging her knees, looking up at me with amber eyes that glistened like a baby deer that had lost its way.
Oh— A nicely crafted doll, so lifelike.
Something like this would be a huge help for emotional stability...
As if.
How the hell was she here?
