Silver and Black
"Kyaaaaak!"
In her room, Kiera stared into the mirror and screamed.
Black hair was growing in from the roots.
Her hair was silver now, but her natural color had always been black.
Eversince she had gained the Hero's power, the silver had come in—strand by strand, like a blessing made visible. Now the black creeping back in was an unmistakable signal that she had lost it.
"Wh-why…?"
As she kept staring into the mirror, dread welled up in her eyes.
What would happen if the Duke found out she'd lost her power?
Would the sponsorship be withdrawn?
They knew only that Kiera's condition had been poor lately—not that the Hero's power itself was gone.
"This can't be happening… Why is this happening to me?"
Kiera wrapped her arms around herself and trembled faintly, desperately racking her brain for a reason. But no matter how she turned it over, nothing came. She truly didn't know. Nothing had changed. She hadn't done anything.
And when no answer would surface, what rose instead was that—a memory she never wanted to relive again for as long as she lived.
Don't tell me… Han Maru leaving is the cause? No way…
Just then, the door burst open.
"Kiera, your strength still hasn't come back?"
It was Natalie, barging in without so much as a knock.
"I'm dying to spar with you like we used to. There's nobody worth a damn around here. They're all trash."
She strode in briskly, pulled a chair out from under the table, and sat down, then stared at Kiera, who sat blankly in front of her vanity.
"Why are you mute all of a sudden?"
Shaken to her core, Kiera spoke quickly, a note of agitation in her voice.
"Where did everyone go?"
"Lucy and Yoris? They're out sharing a drink with the new porter."
"A porter?"
"Lucy got bored, so she went and found one."
"Duke Toledo promised us ten servants to accompany our expedition for free. Why would she go hire a porter?"
"Go ask her yourself. How would I know what goes on in that prickly mage's head?"
Meanwhile, in the rear courtyard of the building, Lucy was issuing orders to some young man while Yoris looked on, hands clasped behind his back.
"You can lift that, can't you?"
When the young man looked at what Lucy was pointing at, his eyes went wide as saucers.
"Y-you want me to carry that?! Ma'am, are you serious?!"
"What, can't you?"
"C-can a person even lift that alone?"
What Lucy had pointed at was a magical contraption the size of a cart, built entirely of metal and looking phenomenally heavy.
"The last one lifted it. Can't handle it?"
"I can't! I absolutely can't!"
The young man waved his hands in refusal, quit on the spot, and bolted. Lucy crossed her arms and scowled.
"Gutless coward."
"That reaction is perfectly reasonable, you know. It was Maru who was the unusual one."
Yoris approached with a smile.
"Might I ask why our dear mage, having driven Maru out over his 'too-small' cut of the spoils, is now bringing in a porter?"
"I need someone who can put up with my temper."
"A punching bag, in other words."
"Yeah. Lately I've had nowhere to vent, and it's driving me insane."
"Then why on earth did you drive Maru out? He made a splendid punching bag."
Lucy shot him a glare.
"Don't push it all onto me. You were just as much a part of kicking him out."
"Ahem."
"When the king points at one man and orders his removal, is there any servant alive who can pretend not to hear?"
"And I was one of those servants, wasn't I. I repent."
"Don't grin like a fool and say things you don't mean."
"Heh heh, I mean every word. Lately I find myself missing the fish Maru used to fillet for us with his own hands."
"Come to think of it, you're a priest who serves God, yet you harassed Maru more than anyone."
"Harassment? I was tempering Maru's spirit, if you please. Thanks to me, our Maru hardly ever lost his temper, didn't he?"
"Whew."
Lucy shook her head and let out a long sigh.
"Anyway. Laughter's gone out of this party lately. We need something fun."
Kiera, still seated at her vanity, beckoned to Natalie.
"You want me over there?"
When Kiera nodded, Natalie rose from her seat and came closer.
"What is it?"
"Look at my hair."
"What about your hair? Huh? Wait, what's this? There's black coming in. Wasn't it supposed to be white?"
"It's been like this ever since I lost the Hero's power."
"Is that bad?"
"It's a very bad omen."
Kiera bit her lower lip, her face creased with worry. Natalie laid her hands on both of Kiera's shoulders.
"Don't worry. Your power will come back."
At that very moment, there was a sound at the door.
Kiera whipped her head around.
No. It couldn't be.
The door was open!
Kiera's brow furrowed.
"You didn't close the door?"
"Ah, clumsy of me. Sorry."
Before Natalie could even move, Kiera was already striding toward the door. She opened it and scanned the corridor to find a young maid standing there, holding a silver kettle.
"Good afternoon, Lady Kiera. I've come to change your water."
"Water?"
Kiera studied the maid's expression for a long moment.
Did she overhear that I've lost my power?
Sweat beaded in her clenched palms. She glared and glared until the young maid began to fidget uneasily, and only then did she speak, grudgingly.
"Come in."
"Th-thank you for having me."
A short while later, the young maid set down the fresh kettle, picked up the old one, and left the room.
Afterward, Kiera found it impossible to focus on her conversation with Natalie. She sent her off and slipped out of the room herself shortly after, hurrying to track down the young maid. Luckily, she spotted her heading somewhere down the hall.
Don't you dare run.
Kiera scooped up a fist-sized stone from the courtyard, hid it in her clothes, and shadowed the girl at a distance. As the minutes stretched on, a thousand anxious thoughts churned in her head.
This sponsorship is barely in my grasp. And it's a fortune. I cannot let it slip away here.
By the time the young maid turned into a shabby corridor where only servants and passing staff walked, Kiera's fear of losing everything overpowered her last restraint. Impulsively, she closed in right behind the girl and raised the hand gripping the stone—
"Kitty!"
At the sound of someone calling out, the young maid turned around.
"Yes?"
At the far end of the corridor stood a plump middle-aged maid.
"What is it, ma'am?"
"Did you change the kettle in the master's room yet?"
"I was just on my way."
"Good. Hurry and swap it out for her, then."
"Yes, ma'am."
The middle-aged maid departed, and the young maid went on her way as well. From a nearby alcove, Kiera stepped out, her face utterly blank.
Not yet. No need to rush.
If she hadn't caught the older maid's footsteps, she would have brought the stone down right then and there. She cursed herself for being so on edge—so rattled by the black hair she'd seen in the mirror earlier. If anything, she was glad the woman had appeared. It had let her clutch onto the last thread of her sanity.
Kiera kept tailing the young maid to the very end. Only after eavesdropping on the exchange between the maid and the Duke inside his room did she finally breathe a sigh of relief. It was nothing but worthless small talk.
She tossed away the stone she'd been clutching the whole time and returned to her room, collapsing face-first onto the bed.
"Haa…"
She rolled over onto her back and stared at the ceiling, blinking slowly for a long while as her thoughts drifted.
"If I've lost the Hero's power… then the only person I have left to lean on… is Maru, isn't it…?"
She was growing more and more afraid. With a deep sigh, she absently kneaded the soft swell of one breast, her eyes vacant.
"He's soft-hearted anyway. If I cry, he'll forgive me for anything."
"Your roasted venison, served!"
The Basilite Kingdom. A tavern in some small town.
A huge table was laden with a lavish spread of food.
"Go on, don't hold back. Eat up."
"You eat plenty too."
Maru dug in like a man possessed, devouring everything in sight. Edward, seated across from him, smiled with deep satisfaction.
"It's my treat, so order more whenever you like!"
"Do you even have money?"
Maru chomped away and drained his cup in one long swallow.
"Ahh~ now that's the stuff~!"
"Oh dear—come to think of it, I'm rather short on coin."
Edward looked down at his own getup. He was wearing clothes stripped off a fallen bandit, so his appearance was hardly presentable. He looked for all the world like some mountain thug.
"Urp… that was a fine meal. First one in ages."
When the meal was done, Maru covered the bill. He'd taken as much of the bandits' piled-up treasure as he could carry and hauled it around in a sack. Having nothing but gold coins on hand, he handed some over to the proprietress, who gaped in astonishment.
"Goodness me, what's this then? We've got no change for ye, love!"
"No change needed. Keep it."
"Truly? Well I never, lad—you must be flush! Hahaha!"
"And this is a tip, for making the food so delicious."
Drunk and flushed in the cheeks, Maru pulled a pearl necklace from his sack and draped it around the woman's neck. After a life of constant hunger, this was the first proper feast he'd had in a long while, and his good mood made him lavish.
"Oh my, bless you, dear!"
Overjoyed, the proprietress rushed straight to the kitchen to show off to her husband. Startled, the husband came bounding out.
"What manner of folk are you two, to be throwing money about like this? Adventurers, are ye?"
Maru pointed at Edward and offered a half-truth.
"He's a prince."
"Th-this here's a prince? Really?"
"Indeed it is so. I am Edward, prince of our proud Basilite Kingdom."
Edward declared this with boundless confidence, but the husband eyed him skeptically.
"Tch! You two, impersonating royalty is a crime that'll land ye in serious trouble. If you're drunk, go sleep it off. Anyhow, much obliged. Come back often, y'hear?"
"Will do~ may business boom!"
After leaving the tavern, they simply walked. Neither had any particular destination in mind.
"What now? Maybe I'll grab a room at an inn and sleep like the dead."
He was mulling it over as he walked when Prince Edward trailed along behind him, chattering endlessly about this sight and that. Then, oddly, Maru stopped dead in his tracks.
"What are you doing? Go home."
"Home? Ah-ha! You mean the castle I live in? You want to see it? Wonderful! Let's go!"
"No, no. You go home by yourself. This is where we part ways."
"Hm? You've rendered the great service of wiping out a bandit gang. You mean to just walk away? His Highness will surely grant you a reward?"
"You take the reward. I've got my payment right here—good enough for me."
Maru brandished the sack of treasure slung over one shoulder. There had been enough of it that five men would have struggled to carry it, yet to Maru now it felt light as a feather.
"No, it won't do. It must be you who receives it."
"I told you, I don't care. Don't they call you the Fool Prince? Just this once, tell everyone you wiped out the bandits. Won't people start seeing you differently?"
"People seeing me differently…?"
Edward pondered this with utmost seriousness, then nodded vigorously.
"You are truly worthy of my respect! Then I shall eat well off this! In your own manner of speaking!"
"Yeah, yeah. Get going. It was fun meeting you."
"May the gods bless your travels, my friend."
"You take care of yourself too."
"I shall hurry to the castle and spread word of my glorious deeds far and wide. Farewell!"
With that, Edward finished his goodbyes and sprinted off toward somewhere.
"Being around him drains me somehow, but he's a fun one."
Maru smiled fondly and set off walking.
Before long, he sensed someone tailing him from behind. He glanced back—it was Edward, fidgeting and shuffling along after him. Maru turned around with an annoyed look.
"What now? Spit it out."
"My friend!"
Edward came bounding up with a beaming smile. Blond hair, a sharp jawline—the man really was handsome, looks aside.
"I've just had a marvelous idea!"
"What kind?"
"Well, it's like this! How about we keep traveling together, racking up achievements—I take the credit, and you take the treasure! Isn't that a splendid arrangement?"
"…What?"
Maru could only blink in bewilderment before tilting his head to one side.
"Want me to knock some sense into you? I happen to be a dead shot with a noogie."
"By the way, my little sister is a great beauty!"
The prince abruptly changed the subject.
"Coming from you, I'd trust that judgment! I can introduce you with total confidence! Say the word anytime!"
"A princess…?"
He'd show him a princess?
A princess, huh… A introduction, whatever—not that I care. Though I am a little curious what she looks like.
Maru mulled it over for a moment, then broke into a wide grin.
"Well then, might as well have a look."
Besides, a glimpse of the various kingdoms' princesses would make a fun story to brag about somewhere down the line. With that thought, he followed Edward out of mild curiosity.
"But you handle the achievements yourself. I'm only staying for the princess, then I'm gone."
"If that is truly your wish, so be it. A shame, but I understand."
"I left home promising my mother I'd accomplish something great. You'll have to understand that."
"What's this? Say no more! Leave it to me—I shall see to it that vow to your honorable mother is kept, come what may!"
The two of them headed for the stagecoach stop. Behind them, bright sunlight poured down over the road they'd traveled.
Back when Maru had first arrived in this other world. His teenage years.
"Mother. Does our kingdom not have a princess? We have everything else, but I never see the princess anywhere."
The Queen stroked young Maru's cheek with a benevolent smile.
"Why would we have no princess? She's right in front of you. I am the princess. Before I became Queen, I was called Her Royal Highness."
Maru's face scrunched up.
"Aw, c'mon, Mother, you're an old princess. I want to see a young, pretty princess, not an old one. Huh…? Why are you crying all of a sudden?"
A few days later.
Wandering the market in commoner's clothes, Maru happened upon a beggar girl, scrounging for coins. He ran straight up to her.
"Hey! You there!"
"M-me…?"
"Yeah, you! You're the first kid I've ever seen in this castle with hair as black as mine. Be my little sister!"
"Your… little sister?"
"Yeah! And your nickname from now on is Princess. Got it?"
"I'm so hungry, so if you give me a—just a single coin, I'll do it. Little brother…"
That was the first time Maru and Kiera ever met.
A memory that, by now, neither of them wished to recall.