House Aepheros (12)
-Would it be possible... to let Karsein stay and rest here for a day or so?
When Pollux had heard those words from Harnie yesterday, he had wondered why she was bringing them up at all.
After all, the boy had tried to save him while he was being beaten down in that tavern.
He treated the Yarikh people and imperial citizens no differently, and though his methods were certainly unusual, Pollux could wager with certainty that the convictions he carried were not of the same crooked sort as theirs.
And this, despite belonging to House Vagrand — one of the most powerful noble families in the Pecellos Empire.
So he had judged there would be no problem proceeding with the trade right away.
But asking for him to stay a day — didn't that mean she wanted the deal delayed?
Pollux had no intention of stealing time from Karsein, who already looked busy enough.
The boy had to attend the Eastern Noble Conference, so he'd need his preparations in order, and being the lord of Rusmayer was hardly a leisurely position either.
Yet now that he had actually met Karsein, it all made sense.
After just a few words of conversation. After nothing more than a light tap on the shoulder.
It was plain to see.
Harnie had seen it, with perfect precision.
I've taken a stopgap measure by setting our trade terms as the wager for a duel, but who knows how that will turn out.
Pollux let out a faint sigh.
He had asked Karsein to spend the day resting here so he could recover and face the duel in peak condition. As a bonus, it would let him keep track of the boy's sleep for the sake of treating the Dipeshan Syndrome. He considered it the right course of action on every front.
But if the boy refused to actually fall asleep, it would all be for nothing.
He might rise early claiming he'd slept plenty, already working the stiffness from his body — or, worse, he might be buried neck-deep in work at this very hour.
In any case.
Today, the duel with Karsein was scheduled.
Hoping to give notice of the appointed hour, Pollux was making his way toward where Karsein was staying.
As he walked, a lone figure came faintly into view.
Had Karsein, just as Pollux had feared, already given up on sleep altogether?
If so, Pollux would have sighed on the spot.
But.
Why was the figure so small in stature?
He stopped in his tracks and looked closer — it seemed someone had arrived before him.
Oh ho.
Pollux stroked his chin and nodded to himself.
Because he knew exactly who it had to be.
The figure was a woman with her face buried in her hands, framed by a cascade of purple hair.
And the refinement she couldn't hide even if she tried gave her away in an instant — it was Harnie.
A woman who comes to a man's quarters first thing in the morning, is she.
-Nod, nod.
His head was bobbing of its own accord.
Seen now, they made a rather well-matched pair.
Little by little, their similarities showed through, and both of them were in circumstances that lent themselves to this slow, mutual tending — the sort of ground where affection takes root.
He had only glimpsed it in passing, but he'd seen the two of them making good progress in that carriage, too...
Fresh and tender.
Youth, pure and simple.
Was there any better word for it?
The heaviness in his heart eased considerably.
Pollux smiled wryly and approached Harnie.
"So it seems your explanation went well?"
"Huh, wha—? Wh-when did you get...!"
Harnie jolted in fright.
Before long, she let out a sigh of relief, as if thankful for something.
Because the person who had caught her was not the one she had been so painfully conscious of.
"Why so startled? Did you do something terrible to Karsein?"
"What? No, that is... it's not a wrong, exactly..."
"Then what? Did things not go well?"
"Th-things?"
At his words, Harnie's face flushed crimson in an instant.
Pollux tilted his head, puzzled.
"Well, you were the one who wanted to give Karsein time to rest, weren't you?"
That was why Karsein had stayed at the Marquisate of Aepheros at all.
Because Harnie had asked to delay their deal a little.
Out of her wish to give Karsein time to rest.
"Have him stay here a day and rest. And beyond that, weren't you hoping to convince him — to make him accept that he'd been pushing himself far too hard, what with the Dipeshan Syndrome and all?"
Harnie had never laid out her intentions plainly, but that was how Pollux had understood it.
Only then did the heat drain swiftly from Harnie's burning face.
"I, I more or less managed to convince him. He slept the whole day while we treated the Dipeshan Syndrome, and... Karsein actually admitted he'd been overdoing it lately."
"Ohh. So that's how it went. Good, good."
"That's more like it," Pollux said, nodding along.
If the boy's condition had recovered by today, they could put on a decent show with the duel and then carry on with the trade.
And yet, on the other hand, one question still lingered unresolved.
"By the way, Head of the Flessia Merchant Guild. Where were you yesterday? I looked for you, but you were nowhere to be found."
"Pardon? You were looking for me?"
"Mm. I was worried, in a way. What if Karsein suffered some side effect, after all. I know you would have explained things thoroughly when you gave up your carriage, but still, I meant to ask how he had fared."
"..."
"It would have been truly dangerous if he'd caught a chill in this winter cold... but well, seeing you say you're fine, I take it nothing went amiss? Haha!"
At those words, Harnie's cheeks reddened once more.
Oblivious or not, Pollux pressed on — until he noticed that Harnie had gone silent, and he cautiously turned his gaze her way.
And the moment he noticed one peculiar detail, cold sweat began to pour down his back.
W-wait just a moment. Is the Head of the Flessia Merchant Guild... wearing the very same clothes she had on yesterday?
Wardrobes like hers were surely overflowing with gowns.
She was not a woman who clung to a single outfit.
Just then, Pollux's eyes drifted in one direction. This whole area was where Karsein was staying.
A glance.
Once, at Harnie.
A glance.
And once, toward Karsein's room.
Could she really have wanted to wear that dress again so badly?
...No. Not that. It couldn't possibly be that.
Considering the direction she had come walking from, and the fact that she'd been looking back this way...
The only reasonable conclusion was that she had come out of that room.
And yet...
Hadn't she said she'd slept soundly the whole day?
For Harnie to know that fact meant that, all day long...
"AHEM! Hm!"
At last, Pollux turned away with a cough.
"Ah, ahem! N-no, it's... it's entirely possible! Yes, that's it. Nursing a sick man back to health is only natural, after all!"
Pollux stammered and turned away as if fleeing.
Excuses were useless. The truth Harnie had tried to hide had already come to light, and nothing would change that.
The girl's face flooded red yet again.
"Hm? Harnie?"
What she did, flinging the door open straight away, was this:
"Why are you suddenly coming at me— uwah!"
Trembling with embarrassment, she began to beat poor, innocent Karsein on the back.
***
With no time to reflect on why my back had just been pummeled, a savage breakfast hour passed us by.
To this day, I still have no idea what exactly I was beaten for...
But I did have some idea of what change had come over my body.
▶ Western Region-exclusive status ailment: Dipeshan Syndrome has been removed!
▶ Stats that were due to be reduced will remain intact!
A debuff I had never once managed to dispel in all my time playing this game.
A status ailment I'd been carrying since the moment I set foot in the Marquisate of Aepheros — one that had clung to me even after clearing this episode — was finally gone.
Which meant my stats stayed exactly as they were.
It might sound like a small thing, but the removal of a debuff carried enormous weight.
The duel with the Marquis of Aepheros was looming before me right now.
It meant my odds of passing Pollux Tutulum's test had grown considerably.
But.
That possibility did not guarantee my victory.
My stats were still lacking — against Pollux, who would come charging at me to put me through my paces, I wouldn't so much as land a touch; I'd be driven back a mile.
The experience he had piled up over countless battles would carry a texture altogether different from my own sword, forged mostly through duels.
So.
I had to steel myself, thoroughly.
If I wanted to walk away alive.
"Hm?"
When I arrived at the dueling grounds a little ahead of the appointed hour, he already sensed my presence and turned.
I drew my sword at once and took my stance.
"Hm. There's still time before the duel. No need to start this early. You'd do better to loosen up a while longer."
"..."
"You're as impatient as ever."
Seeing no sign of retreat in me, he leveled his sword at me as well.
"Karsein? There's really no need to jump straight into the duel like this—!"
"Stand back, Guild Head."
"...Pollux."
"The boy has already made up his mind not to yield. Isn't that right?"
"It is."
Dragging things out any longer would change nothing.
There was only one way to clear this episode.
To prove my skill beyond doubt, for the sake of the trade with Pollux.
"..."
Harnie reluctantly withdrew.
And Pollux, narrowing his eyes as though taking my measure, asked:
"Can you tell me — how long have you carried a sword?"
How long, indeed.
It was a rather awkward question.
Because I didn't know whether to answer as me, or as Karsein.
But Pollux took the question back himself.
"No. Forget it — a pointless question. I'll know soon enough once our blades meet."
Ready.
"Here I come, Karsein."
THUD!
His foot slammed into the earth, and in the space of a breath he closed the distance between us.
CLANG!
A chilling shriek of steel rang out — and reverberated through the morning air.
***
From the moment Karsein set foot on this ground, Pollux had already sensed it once.
That the boy had planted his feet carrying something — a resolve, hard and absolute.
Even his eyes were different.
They fixed on Pollux with startling clarity, yet within those pupils dwelt something jagged and feral.
What lay inside that gaze?
And to find out, in the end, their swords would simply have to meet.
Karsein, for his part, accepted that unspoken bargain.
Yes. I'd like to see it for myself, while I'm at it — that cold, sharp beast that dwells within you.
After a brief announcement, Pollux charged straight at Karsein.
All that remained was for the swords to speak.
-CLANG!
The first exchange was struck.
And it was a heavy one.
In raw physical condition, Pollux held an overwhelming advantage.
Karsein's unfinished body would have found simply absorbing Pollux's opening strike a considerable struggle.
And yet.
He was not easily thrown back.
Ho. So he retreated a half-step in that instant to soften the impact, braced his balance on his lead leg, and pushed right back into me.
Pollux narrowed his eyes.
In anything else he might have let it pass, but in a duel, he meant every bit of it.
That strike would have sent any sword-carrying rabble sprawling in a single blow.
And this boy had clawed his way back to even footing on nothing but superb judgment and calculation.
Then—
-CLANG!
He wrenched his blade onto a new path in a single motion, even hunting for the chance to counterattack.
Nine times out of ten, men were too busy just parrying to think beyond it.
Yet even in the middle of defense, the chain of thought — defense flowing into the next strike — was already running behind those eyes.
To put it another way.
It meant he was facing this duel with everything he had.
They crossed blades again and again.
Good movement. Calculated, pragmatic, ruthlessly efficient.
Praise would hardly have been enough.
And yet.
Pollux's expression had darkened.
Though they had exchanged only a handful of strikes, the scent rising from Karsein's blade drew Pollux's brow into an instinctive frown.
Soon his brow was knotted tight, and he thought to himself:
What in the world is this sword?
How could a man's blade feel so cold, so dark, so utterly lonely?
What on earth had happened to this young boy —
to carve him into an angular, lifeless doll of a human being?