Crimson Lament (7)
On the morning Albrecht left at the crack of dawn following Raynes, the Forest Shadows—acting on the command of High Elf King Ger-Senia—began to move in earnest.
In accordance with the royal order, they set out to find Allen… or rather, the man who had begun living as Albrecht.
"Have you by any chance seen a man named Albrecht around here?"
"If you know anything at all, please tell us!"
The members of the Forest Shadows looked distinctly urgent. They had expected the hunt to be over far sooner; it was taking much longer than anticipated.
As the High Elf King's tracking unit, veterans of unimaginably long years of service, pursuing the trail of a mere porter should not have been difficult for them.
In truth, it had not taken them long to follow him all the way to the Shah Zar Kingdom. In a single day they had found the traces of Albrecht heading toward that realm and closed in.
Yet once they arrived, the Forest Shadows could not conceal their bewilderment. From the moment they entered the Shah Zar Kingdom, Albrecht's trail had vanished without a trace.
Given how long they had been active, the Forest Shadows possessed every technique for uncovering even the most carefully concealed tracks. Even so, these seasoned hunters found nothing of Albrecht.
They could not help but be deeply unsettled. A porter could not possibly erase his own traces with such precision; even if he had taken every precaution, it should never have been enough to slip their pursuit.
And yet, no matter how thoroughly they scoured the ground like men hunting rats, the Forest Shadows discovered nothing.
Skill of that caliber existed in only a handful of people in the world—mages capable of wiping away every physical mark and even the residual mana, or trackers who surpassed the Forest Shadows themselves.
People such as the thief known as Nameless, a member of the party led by Erinn, Hero of the Dern Empire.
Though the pursuing Forest Shadows were shaken, the king's command had not changed. In the end they were forced to comb through the entire Shah Zar Kingdom like rat-catchers, still without a single lead.
The capital of the Shah Zar Kingdom, Parvata, fell within their search radius as well. It seemed an obvious place for someone who had gone to ground after concealing his trail, yet the old saying that the darkest place is under the lamp kept them from excluding it.
The city was so vast that searching without the residents' help was impossible, so the members assigned to Parvata waited until morning, when the townsfolk rose, before beginning their inquiries.
It was a natural, rational decision—and it proved to be their first real blunder.
"Ah~ You mean Mr. Albrecht? He's probably at the Kalari Payat Martial Arts Academy again today, don't you think?"
Following the tip from a student who shared classes with Albrecht, they visited the academy, only to be told he had not appeared that day.
When they asked whether the student knew where he lived, Krishna—looking oddly amused—replied with a laugh,
"He lives on Tenth Street in the residential district. Though I doubt you'll find him even if you go."
"What do you mean by that?"
"That fellow received a huge commission from the Red Magic Tower not long ago."
"…The Red Magic Tower?"
The Forest Shadows were momentarily taken aback. Unlike ordinary cities, the magic towers lay beyond the reach of their tracking. More precisely, they could not rudely force their way into a vast magical organization that transcended national borders.
Especially when the power of each tower master rivaled that of the hero parties—humanity's decisive weapons against the Demon King's army—and could fairly be counted among the strongest forces mankind possessed.
"He'll probably return once the commission is finished, but he never said how long it would take."
Thus the Forest Shadows had no choice but to suspend the pursuit. They had, however, achieved their objective to a reasonable degree, and they reported the findings at once.
"……"
High Elf King Ger-Senia received the report and let out a quiet sigh. He knew full well that the Red Magic Tower was the place where Ser-Aria's former party had once suffered an unpleasant incident.
He hesitated, wondering whether he ought to tell his daughter. Watching her father wrestle with the decision, Er-Nelia spoke.
"Father, please tell her the truth."
"But…"
"Aria is no longer a child who needs protecting."
Er-Nelia continued,
"How she chooses to act after hearing this is for Aria herself to decide. And…"
She held out one of the bluebirds the elves used as their communication network.
"It was her request, wasn't it? You're not thinking of hiding it from her, are you?"
"…Aren't you taking your little sister's side a little too much?"
"Hehe. Of course an older sister has to take her little sister's side."
The inn where Letisia and Freya were staying.
In consideration of the hard-working members of the hero's party, the military had lent them the entire building so they could rest in comfort; consequently there were no other guests.
Under ordinary circumstances they would have savored the guaranteed quiet and rested at ease. Right now, however, both Letisia and Freya were sunk in a deep gloom. In that state the silence became poison, only multiplying their idle thoughts.
They were not even in the mood to speak to each other; aside from the brief moments they crossed paths at mealtimes, each remained shut away in her own room.
Into that oppressive atmosphere one person returned to the inn—none other than the party's leader, Hero Erinn. Having finished every duty at the imperial palace, she sensed the desolate air the moment she stepped inside and asked the innkeeper,
"Did everyone go out?"
"No, Hero. They are all in their rooms."
The answer left Erinn faintly puzzled. It was strange that they were present yet unaware of her arrival.
"…"
She half-guessed the reason and sighed. That farewell, it seemed, had struck Letisia and Freya just as hard.
Yet she felt no urge to reproach them. Honestly, she understood their feelings all too well; if anything, her own condition might be worse than theirs.
She was in no position to tell anyone to pull themselves together. It would be fortunate if merely seeing them did not drag her down further. Still, she had to let them know she was back, so she dragged her heavy feet up to the second floor.
First she carefully knocked on the door that held Letisia's presence. A moment later the door creaked open slowly.
"Letisia."
"Ah… Erinn."
Letisia appeared looking thoroughly haggard. The usual luster of her carefully tended hair was gone, and the cute ears that always stood perkily upright now drooped limply without energy.
"Welcome back. You've worked hard."
Naturally, the eyes that once shone so brightly were deeply sunken as well. Facing her, Erinn found herself at a loss for words. She knew perfectly well that everything about Letisia's present state stemmed from that day.
So she could not easily say anything; she managed only to ask after Freya.
"…Freya?"
"She's probably in her room. Has she not come out?"
"It was so quiet."
"Ah… I'm sorry. You suffered on our behalf."
Letisia fussed with her hat as she spoke.
"Let's go to Freya together. It's nearly mealtime; at least we can have dinner with her."
As though she understood a little of Erinn's feelings, Letisia forced a brighter tone and led the way.
"Freya."
She gave Freya's door a light knock and called her name. For some reason, no answer came.
"Hmm, just a moment."
Letisia carefully took hold of the doorknob. The door was not locked; it yielded gently to her touch and swung inward.
Inside, Freya sat with both hands neatly clasped, offering a prayer. Seeing her, Erinn whispered quietly to Letisia,
"Letisia, let's not disturb her. We should leave."
"…No. It's all right now."
Contrary to Erinn's wish not to interrupt the prayer, Letisia strode straight up to Freya and touched her.
"Freya."
"……Ah, Letisia?"
Like someone roused from deep contemplation, Freya only then came to herself and looked at Letisia. Discovering Erinn standing behind her, she started and rose to her feet.
"Ah! Erinn, when did you arrive? I'm so sorry—I should have gone out to meet you…"
"That's fine."
What truly puzzled her was why Freya had been praying in the first place.
If it had been the ordinary worship offered to the Life God, Letisia would never have interrupted. Yet she had declared it was all right, and Freya herself showed no particular reaction—meaning the prayer was not for worship.
For whom, then, had the Saintess been praying so earnestly?
…
With only a moment's thought, the quick-witted Erinn understood at once.
She had intended never to raise the subject, to keep pretending everything was fine until their wounds healed. But the party members' condition was worse than she had expected, and she knew her own state was hardly better.
…It will fester.
Her intuition told her that if left alone the wound would only fester; it was not something that would heal on its own.
Erinn asked Freya, who was brushing off her knees as she stood,
"…Freya, who were you praying for?"
"Yes? …Ah, that is…"
A faintly troubled look crossed her face. At the sight Erinn let out a soft sigh and said,
"You don't have to mind my feelings."
"…"
Erinn looked from Freya to Letisia beside her. Then, carefully, she asked what they were thinking.
"You two…"
She herself did not want to admit it, and still could not accept it rationally, yet—
"…Do you wish he hadn't left?"
Perhaps it was a wish she herself still harbored as well.