The Hunt #4
“Haaah…….”
On the road out of the inn and toward the border march, I was sweating under an untimely barrage of heated stares I had no business receiving.
It was the dark elves’ fault. They were trying so hard not to make it obvious, yet every time our eyes nearly met they would hurriedly look away, or else glance back and forth between Helena and me with those sly little smirks.
Compared to the days when they had kept their distance, bristling with suspicion, this was remarkable progress. Today, though, I found myself wishing they had never progressed at all. This was why people said human nature was fickle.
“What’s wrong? Something the matter?”
“No. Nothing at all. If only something had happened, it might have been better.”
A sudden downpour that passed as quickly as it came would have been one thing. But for them to still be like this when we were practically on the doorstep of the border march was enough to make a man feel trapped.
At least the fever had cooled a little. If they had kept staring the way they had at first, I truly would have gone mad.
It had started the moment I failed to cut Helena’s pleading short and ended up soothing her back at the inn.
“Hmm…….”
Helena studied my face in silence, then abruptly turned her head toward the elves trailing behind us.
“Everyone. It would be best if you did not look at us with such heated eyes. You understand, yes?”
“Ah—ah…….”
The words were so provocative I almost doubted they had come from Helena’s mouth.
Driving the cart, I could only spare the briefest sidelong glance, yet in that instant I saw a great deal: dark elves looking thoroughly cornered, Helena’s gaze gone cold enough to freeze a bottomless pit, and among them Ellen, whose eyes had sunk into a complicated quiet of her own.
“Yes. We were far too rude. Forgive us.”
“……Haa. Since you put it that way, I will let it go here. I would rather not have to blush in front of everyone either.”
Ellen’s polite apology smoothed things over nicely, yet the heavy air around her remained. As the head of a mercenary band she had always projected composure, but something about her was unmistakably different now—still quiet, yet the silence itself had changed.
“Thank you.”
From where I sat, the warning had been nothing but a blessing. The sharp, burning needles that had been pricking the back of my neck vanished, and I felt a sudden, almost refreshing clarity. When I offered my thanks, Helena merely nodded as if it were nothing.
She must have disliked the situation continuing as much as I did. In the end she simply could not hold back and issued that light warning.
“A pity, but…… playtime is over. The border march is beginning to come into view.”
I could not see it yet, but Helena’s eyes clearly already held the landscape of the Riesling Border March. The dark elves, seeing the same thing, wiped the looseness from their faces and settled into a proper tension. Helena’s words that the game was finished had landed.
“There are a lot of them.”
Only after the border march filled my own vision did I speak.
Massive walls, watchtowers spaced at even intervals that called to mind the Great Wall itself—though they had not managed to raise fortifications quite on the scale of those facing the monster-infested forest, this was a defensive line that came close enough. At least to my eyes it did.
And today, as every day, a long line of people waited their turn to enter the Riesling Border March. Even at a glance the proportion of rough-looking types was high; this place was clearly different from ordinary territories.
“Hey, look at that. Isn’t that the Red Hood Mercenary Band?”
“Six armed dark elves. Yeah, that’s them.”
“What wind blew those ones all the way out here? Sheesh…….”
Most of the rough voices muttering among themselves belonged to mercenaries. Ordinary travelers moving between territories were not entirely absent, yet they were unmistakably outnumbered by the armored, weapon-bearing crowd.
“I am reminded once again just how infamous Ellen is.”
“Infamous? Do I look that vicious?”
Ellen, who had been trailing at the rear of the cart, suddenly trotted up beside me and asked with clear displeasure. The dazed look from moments ago was gone; she wore the bold face of the woman I had first met.
“Of course not. I meant your reputation, not your looks.”
“……Ah. Hmm. That kind of thing. Well, it cannot be helped. As I said before, I would rather have them wary of me than not.”
She had stiffened as if taking my joke in complete seriousness, then relaxed the moment I clarified. Not fully relaxed, of course—just the right balance of tension and ease.
“Next. State your purpose—huh!”
The gate guard conducting inspections swallowed a sharp breath and went wide-eyed. The mercenary band waiting behind the cart was startling enough, but the family crest Helena produced was the decisive blow.
“D-Duke! And that is——”
“Helena Krauser. I have come to see the Count of Riesling. If the family token alone is insufficient to prove who I am, I can always light an Aura Blade…….”
“N-no! That is more than enough! Shall I send word ahead, or would you prefer an escort so you may go straight in?”
“Please send word. Our visit is sudden; the Count will have been surprised. We will wait just inside the walls for a short while.”
Waiting for a messenger was a bother, yet it gave the other party both face and time to prepare. It also made clear that one did not treat a border count lightly—and, in its own way, showed respect.
We passed inspection as easily as water through a sieve and were now taking a brief rest near the wall by the gate. Until the messenger who had ridden off returned with news, all we needed to do was stand in the sunlight and kill time.
“Quite lively, is it not?”
One might have expected a territory living in a state of perpetual war footing, yet the energy here far outstripped that of ordinary lands. From what I had heard and from prior knowledge, several guild branches had been established to deal in monster carcasses, and there were specialists who did nothing but dismantle them. The same was true of every other nation that shared a border with that forest.
That did not mean other economic activity was absent. The association with monsters simply loomed so large that everything else seemed secondary.
“Indeed. Whether it is because of the monster hunting or for some other reason…….”
“There must be complicated circumstances. Still, the liveliness itself is unmistakable.”
Helena and I traded light conversation to pass the time. The dark elves, for their part, had gathered among themselves and were speaking in lowered voices. Now and then their eyes flashed sharply.
“Mm. That much cannot be denied. Even the messenger galloping toward us from afar looks full of vigor.”
“The messenger…… ah. He is coming.”
Wondering what she meant, I looked ahead and heard the growing thunder of hoofbeats. Dust rose, and the outline of a mounted soldier grew steadily clearer. It was unmistakably the same messenger who had left earlier to deliver the news.
“Forgive the intrusion.”
The messenger dismounted and bowed to Helena at once. Every movement was crisp, a clear sign of how thoroughly discipline had been drilled into the man.
“Count Riesling has ordered that, in addition to Duchess Krauser, her guests be escorted as well. His Lordship is currently returning from a hunt and offers his apologies for being unable to greet you in person.”
“It is quite all right. We are uninvited guests who arrived without notice; we are grateful simply not to be turned away. In any case, we are in your care.”
“Thank you for your understanding. Then, if you would follow me.”
Before the messenger remounted, I climbed back onto the cart and turned it in the proper direction. Thanks to that foresight I did not need to crack the whip in a panic; the little bit of preparation bought us all some calm.
Soldier and guests alike set off at a leisurely pace. There was no need to race the way the messenger had when carrying news, and we ourselves were in no particular hurry. Even if we had been, we did not know the roads and would only have wasted time wandering.
“We have arrived. This is Count Riesling’s manor.”
The place the soldier led us to was the count’s residence—smaller in scale than any noble manor I had seen before. Yet it possessed a curious, solid weight.
An old building kept meticulously clean. Instead of an ornate garden, a training ground and sand floor greeted visitors head-on. Wooden barricades and various obstacles had been neatly stacked in one corner, clearly prepared for emergencies.
The whole place felt less like a noble residence and more like a military outpost.
“From here the manor servants will guide you. I take my leave.”
The messenger offered a brief bow from horseback and turned his mount without ever entering. He was plainly returning straight to his post. Thorough professional spirit indeed.
After he left we followed the servant who had come out to meet us, just as instructed. Stepping inside felt strangely different from viewing the place from without; a cool wind seemed to brush across my chest. Whether that was merely the barren scenery playing tricks or something else, I could not say.
What I did know was that I had no leisure to ponder the sensation. A presence was already approaching from the rear of the lobby as though it had been waiting for us.
“What unexpected guests we have.”
A voice heavy with middle age. Scars visible here and there on his body. A frame that was lean yet rooted with deep, unyielding strength. And what made the man before us seem even larger was his eyes—blue eyes sharper than any beast’s and deeper than any sage’s, eyes that held the weight of the abyss.
“Yes. Once again I apologize for arriving without prior notice.”
Helena bowed to the man—Count Riesling of the Border—without the slightest hesitation. By rank and by strength she had no need to lower her head, yet she chose to do so. Leaving every other consideration aside, she had clearly put the border count in an awkward position.
“Please raise your head at once. There is no fault here that requires a duchess to bow.”
“……Yes. Then, if you will excuse me.”
Helena did not snap her head up as though she had been waiting for permission. She lifted it slowly, with a measured pause. By bowing first with such courtesy she had removed any grounds for complaint; in a world where rank was law, this would not become a major issue regardless of whether her action had been strictly necessary.
“I believe this is the first time since His Majesty’s birthday banquet.”
“Yes. The roads between us are long, and there has been little occasion to meet.”
“Indeed. We simply never found ourselves face to face.”
The two exchanged light greetings while studying each other. Their expressions were so subdued it was impossible to tell whether they were truly pleased, yet the fact that conversation continued at all suggested some measure of welcome.
“So then—what brings a duchess burdened with so many affairs all the way out to this remote border?”
The moment greetings ended, the border count threw a straight pitch with no probing feints. In combat terms it was like a spear that tore the air and aimed straight for the heart.
Helena’s face, however, showed not the slightest fluster. On the contrary, as though she had been waiting for exactly this, the corner of her mouth curved and she went straight to the point.
“There is only one reason we have come to the place that guards our kingdom. We wish to lend a hand with the monster hunting. I ask that you grant us permission.”