Royal Capital Gallia (6): She Is Not Here
She was gone. The heated emotions that had surged through him sank like air plunging to absolute zero. Ashtain slowly turned his gaze out the window. The deep navy sky after sunset stretched above a landscape thick with darkness. Even accounting for Azazel, the fact that Aria still hadn’t returned at this hour was impossible. Hadn’t she always preferred shutting herself away in their room rather than wandering around? For someone like her to leave of her own accord and still not be back? This can’t be happening.
Unlike the quiet mountain village, this was a bustling city, so Ashtain had no idea how excited Aria had become. His worries gradually dragged him into deeper mire, and his concern for her swelled until it threatened to consume him. Something has definitely happened.
Ashtain examined the doorknob. There were no signs of forced entry. That ruled out an outside intruder dragging her away. Even a highly skilled professional would leave some faint trace. And if the door had been picked cleanly, Aria—being inside—would have surely put up a fight. Yet there were no marks of resistance anywhere in the room.
Then did they use mental manipulation magic to move her?
That possibility was uncertain too. Aria was a Saintess. Any spell that attacked the mind could be countered and healed through Holy Spells. The most plausible explanation was that she had simply walked out on her own. Ashtain raked his fingers through his hair in frustration.
“……That’s the most impossible scenario of all.”
He forced his thoughts to stop twisting like a hopelessly tangled knot or a ball of snarled thread. Don’t overcomplicate it. Focus only on what’s in front of you.
One. Aria was not in the room.
Two. The hour was late.
Three. Aria was not the kind of person who would do something like this without a word.
Conclusion: Aria might be in danger.
Ashtain’s eyes flashed with a cold, lethal light. At that demonic gleam the Holy Sword resonated, as if urging him to calm down. The attempt was pointless. Aria was his reverse scale. Once that tender spot had been touched, how could he possibly remain composed?
In truth, Ashtain was gripped by raw terror. She was a beautiful woman. Even in a well-patrolled capital, the dregs of society lurked everywhere. There was every chance she could suffer something unspeakable. His blood began to boil.
This is no time to stand here.
Bang!
Ashtain flung the door open, intending to rush out and find her.
“Uwaah—what the hell?”
Azazel, who had been reaching for the key just outside, clutched her forehead and groaned. She looked up at him with a startled face.
“Uh, Ashtain? Why do you look like that? Planning to kill someone?”
“Where have you been?” His voice was icy.
Azazel answered in a daze. “Me? I’m affiliated with the Magic Tower, so I was there talking about this and that. I filed a report that I’d be traveling with you more often, submitted a magic thesis… I told you earlier, didn’t I?”
“I see.”
Azazel pointed at his face, looking puzzled. “What do you mean, ‘I see’? Hey, do you realize how terrifying you look right now? What’s going on?”
“Aria still isn’t back in the room.”
“………Huh? Sis?”
“Yeah.”
Having spent the last several weeks with Aria, Azazel knew her behavioral patterns well. The moment she grasped the seriousness of the situation her face hardened.
“……Isn’t this a really big problem?”
“It’s an unprecedented crisis.”
“Any idea who might be behind it?”
Ashtain’s brows twisted into a savage scowl. “No. I can’t even guess. I thought I’d already cut down every possible threat.”
“We can’t just stand here. Let’s at least search the area. Someone might have seen her nearby.”
He nodded at Azazel’s suggestion. “That was my plan.”
As Ashtain began to walk, a single thought burned in his mind. If someone had dared to touch what was precious to him, they would have to pay a price equal to their crime. He didn’t know whose handiwork this was, but if they had laid so much as a finger on even one strand of Aria’s hair, he would erase them from existence. After all, he had already done exactly that to Bishop Ronin.
The Hero and the mage left the inn together.
Following the man in silence, they arrived at a run-down inn. Aria cautiously scanned her surroundings. The place was deserted in a way that set her nerves on edge.
“Don’t be too frightened.”
The man had probably meant to soothe her, but the words only sharpened Aria’s wariness. Don’t be scared. You’ll get used to it. You might even come to enjoy it. Those were the exact phrases her rapists had loved to repeat.
Seeing her bristling like a wary cat, the man swept back his soft golden hair and sighed.
“I’ll go in first. Follow after me slowly. Maybe that will ease your tension a little?”
“I-I’m not scared.”
Her face remained blank, yet the man caught the fear lurking beneath it. Perhaps his senses had been honed in the royal court, where everyone wore masks and spoke with honeyed tongues. Even when he didn’t want to read people, the truth revealed itself anyway.
A priest whose mouth and body are completely at odds.
Rather than contradict her and create conflict, the man chose coexistence. After all, the only one who could heal the patient was this very priestess.
“If you say so.”
“……That sounds unpleasant.”
Coexistence, it seemed, would not be easy. The man shrugged and stepped into the shabby inn. Though her heart felt uneasy, Aria could not bring herself to run. Perhaps it was because his desperate plea had touched her. Or perhaps because she wanted to become a Saintess who could stand proudly before Ashtain without shame. Maybe both.
Ding, ding. The bell hanging at the entrance gave a clear, ringing sound.
It happened the moment she followed the man inside.
“Hek?”
A foolish gasp slipped from her lips. All she could see was the ceiling—the ceiling of the dingy inn. When she tried to turn her head to understand what was happening, the scenery changed again. Her body was being forcibly dragged.
“Ugh!”
The one pulling her was the same blond man who had led her here. He hauled her toward a table lying on its side. The rolling motion made her ankle and hip throb with pain. The two of them ended up crouched behind it, hidden.
“Wh-what are you doing all of a sudden?”
“Sorry. It’s an ambush.”
The man jerked his chin toward the other side of the table. When Aria cautiously peeked, she saw numerous figures all dressed in black. They carried compact crossbows suited for indoor use and narrow shortswords. It was clearly a planned attack.
Aria glared at the man. “Did you make enemies?”
“There are those who find the very fact that I continue to breathe offensive.”
“……Did you kill their parents or something?”
“How unfair. Do I really look like such a brute?”
“Yes.”
It was an immediate, unequivocal answer. The man grimaced and let out a low groan. Not only because of her reply—Aria had just noticed the long arrow embedded in his shoulder.
“……Is that arrow my fault?”
“I was simply clumsy and got hit.”
This was the same man who had moved with such agility moments ago. It was a lie no child would believe.
“Thank you. For protecting me.”
“I’m the one who dragged you into this danger. There’s no need to thank me.”
His stubborn reply made Aria exhale softly. She gripped the shaft of the arrow buried in his shoulder with both hands.
“I’m pulling it out.”
The man shook his head, trying to stop her. “Leave it. If you pull it now, I won’t be able to—ugh!”
She yanked the arrow free with force. Flesh tore away with the arrowhead and blood gushed out. Just as the man opened his mouth to speak about the wound—
“High-Speed Healing.”
A brilliant light shimmered, rapidly closing the hole in his shoulder.
The man, clearly not expecting such masterful healing, stared at her with wide eyes.
“……Who exactly are you?”
“Shouldn’t I be the one asking that?”
He gave a hollow smile, as if he’d been outmaneuvered. “So the last thing I grabbed wasn’t straw after all—it was a lifeline.”
“Who are you calling straw—kya!”
Thud. Several arrows slammed into the table as if the attackers had grown tired of waiting.
The man’s lips curved into a savage grin. “Impatient bastards. Stay here a moment. I’ll clean them up and return.”
“Isn’t that easier said than done?”
Simply declaring he would clean them up wouldn’t magically grant him the power to do so. If it were that easy, Aria would have slaughtered every cardinal and bishop long ago. She had screamed her desire to kill them countless times.
“It is easy.”
Even in the face of her cynical words, the man smiled brightly. His blue eyes remained perfectly steady—just like Ashtain’s always did.
“I cannot bring back the dead. You should run while you can.”
“You worry about the strangest things.”
The man rose from his hiding place and drew the sword at his waist. Shing. A silver blade gleamed as it emerged.
“I intend to repay the rudeness shown to my guest with your blood. Any objections?”
There was no reply. Of course there wasn’t—it would have been absurd for assassins to start arguing.
The man swung his sword. The blade swept in a straight line, then strangely elongated, reaching the distant enemies. Aria’s eyes widened. The sword stretched?
Squelch. The sound of flesh being severed was always horrifying. Blood sprayed. Aria quickly looked away. The act of killing was far too intense a stimulus for her. Only the brief, dying screams echoed through the shabby inn.
Several minutes passed that way.
Thud. Thud. Footsteps approached.
Was it the man, or the masked attackers? Regret flooded her. She should have listened to Ashtain and stayed quietly inside the inn. She shouldn’t have wandered around in excitement. She shouldn’t have followed just because he mentioned an injured person. Curling into a ball, she clutched at her hair.
Suddenly the footsteps stopped. Aria cautiously lifted her head and peeked over the table. A blood-drenched man stood right in front of her.
“Hyaaaaaaaaaah!”
Aria let out a piercing shriek. The man awkwardly wiped the blood from his face, looking somewhat sheepish.
“I’ve finished cleaning up.”
Aria felt as if her heart had fallen to the floor. It was still hammering wildly.
“Y-you scared me!”
“Surprisingly, you have the heart of a small rabbit.”
“………Anyone would be startled if a blood-soaked person suddenly shoved their face at them.”
“After you boldly yanked out that arrow shaft, I assumed you weren’t afraid of anything.”
“……That’s different.”
“Is it?”
The man gave a hearty laugh and offered his hand. It was clean—he must have wiped it on his clothes. Naturally, Aria did not take it.
“I can stand on my own.”
The only man whose hand she would ever hold was Ashtain alone. At her curt refusal the man gave an awkward smile.
“Hmm. Seeing you like this, you don’t seem like a complete coward after all.”
“Enough. Where is the injured person?”
“I’ll guide you.”
The man began walking. Aria followed, making a tremendous effort not to look at the dismembered corpses scattered across the floor.