Heaven's Labyrinth (3)
North Stella Wood was a typical rural village. A river flowed nearby, gentle hills rose in the distance, and there were forests and farmland all around. Hundreds of people lived huddled together in a place where everyone knew one another’s names, faces, and even their personal tastes. Some might have found such a tight-knit community suffocating, but I didn’t particularly mind. Why? Because I was just a traveler. I would be leaving soon anyway—what did the village’s affairs have to do with me?
I took a long swig of the cool honey wine. The god of alcohol is a true god. To be able to enjoy something this sweet and refreshing anywhere in the world—this was the real miracle. Nothing else came close.
“Miss Ruina is drinking again.”
“Alcohol is the best. One sip and all my worries vanish.”
“So even you have worries, Miss Ruina. If I may ask… what exactly are they?”
“The fear that I might never obtain a certain magic.”
“I knew it.”
There are so many kinds of magic in this world. The entire system is built on the lives and imaginations of mages, so it couldn’t be helped. Of course, human thought only goes so far, which means a lot of overlapping spells exist, but even then the total number remains staggering. That was why ordinary methods would never be enough to achieve my goal.
Thanks to Balance, I had fewer concerns than before, but I still needed something more. Well, I had already decided what that something would be. I had put it off again and again to keep my promise with Kelton, but the time had finally come.
Just a little farther and we would reach the Holy Kingdom. Treatment awaited me there. We were transporting the Holy Grail, after all, and the knight who had recovered it would become a Paladin. A Paladin held a very high position within the Holy Kingdom. If Leon—who was about to become one—simply said, “This person provided tremendous help during the Holy Grail quest. Please treat her,” the kingdom would have no choice but to comply.
I once called Chris coin mere foam. As expected, the fundamental paladin coin reigns supreme.
“Miss Ruina. Why are you staring at me like that?”
“Miss Chris, do your best.”
“Ugh…”
Leaving Chris with her sullen expression behind, I wolfed down white bread and cheese. Haa. I shivered with pleasure as the taste spread through my body. Delicious. This was why I loved Happy Mid-land. The food was actually good. In Sad Mid-land I would have been gnawing on dry, blackened bread instead. Long live magic.
“Miss Ruina, what will you do after this?”
“I’m going to drink honey wine.”
“No, I mean after the Holy Grail.”
“So that’s what you were curious about.”
Come to think of it, I had never properly explained this part to Chris or Leon. I opened my mouth slowly.
“I’m going to collect magic.”
“But you already do that all the time.”
“There’s a specific magic I need to obtain.”
“I see.”
Having accepted my answer, Chris drank her honey wine along with me. She drinks more than she lets on. After finishing our meal at a leisurely pace, we all slumped back in our chairs.
Sizzle. Fire caught on the pipe tobacco. I exhaled a plume of smoke and asked Jerry,
“What about you, Mr. Jerry? What are your plans?”
“Me, ma’am?”
“You’re a high-ranking mage now. You could do anything you want.”
Jerry had become a fifth-circle archmage. He was a prized talent welcomed anywhere in the empire; if he wished, even the imperial family would treat him with respect. If he disliked the palace, he could simply return to the Croft School. He had any number of paths before him.
Yet when I spoke, Chris wagged her finger. What now?
“Miss Ruina, you really don’t know anything.”
“What do you mean?”
“Mr. Jerry likes being a flint striker.”
“Aha.”
No wonder he kept following me around lighting my pipe. His dream was to become a living flint? He should have just said so.
“Does it make sense for a grown man’s dream to be a flint striker?”
“Apparently it wasn’t.”
“My goal is to become like my master. I still have a long way to go.”
“Which means…?”
“Since my circles rose while following you, Miss Ruina, I intend to keep traveling with you for the time being.”
“Even after we return the Holy Grail?”
“If anyone heard that, they’d think I only came along for the Grail.”
True enough. From the very beginning I had never quite understood why Jerry joined us. His intentions had always been vague, so there was no particular reason for him to leave once our objective was complete.
I more or less understood Jerry. Hmm. I turned my gaze to Muran.
She was fiddling with a lump of iron while wearing those empty prop glasses. The way her hands moved was genuinely unpleasant. When I first met the group, Leon had called me a witch, but he had been wrong. That was a witch. This gloomy alchemist right here.
“Miss Muran?”
“…Yes.”
“What about you? What will you do?”
“…I did have one clear criterion.”
“You did?”
This was news to me.
“What criterion?”
When I asked out of curiosity, Muran pushed her fake glasses up with one finger and answered.
“…I planned to return to the capital once your alchemy skill reached the target level, Miss Ruina.”
“Really? Then are you leaving now? My skill has improved quite a lot.”
“…….”
“We’ll stay together forever. Understood.”
I will not describe the look on Muran’s face. Why? Don’t ask.
“Miss Ruina, aren’t you going to ask me?”
“You’re going to make money.”
“You really do understand me, Miss Ruina.”
“Just trust me.”
That left only one person. I studied Leon. The rest of the party had no particular affiliations. Even Muran, who technically did, had been ordered to follow me. Therefore, among us, only one person was obligated to leave once the Holy Grail quest ended.
Leon was the Holy Kingdom’s proud paladin who protected their sacred milk. He had a duty to guard that milk. Once the quest concluded, he would have to return to his original mission immediately.
“Miss Ruina.”
“Yes?”
“Your gaze is strange. You’re not having weird thoughts again, are you?”
“I was thinking about your future, Mr. Leon.”
“So you were having weird thoughts.”
Suddenly I grew curious. What did paladins normally do? I can never resist a question once it forms. I asked Leon what a paladin’s daily life looked like.
He thought for a moment, then spoke.
“It differs from person to person.”
“What about you?”
“I’m not sure. Many things will probably change once I return to the Holy Kingdom.”
“You know the life of an apprentice paladin but not that of a full Paladin. Is that it?”
“More or less.”
“Still, you must have some expectations.”
“The truth is, Paladins are among the Holy Kingdom’s greatest assets. They are usually deployed only where absolutely necessary. But I became a Paladin simply by recovering the Holy Grail—a completely unprecedented case. Because this has never happened before, no one can predict what will come next.”
Now that he mentioned it, that made sense. Retrieving the Holy Grail hadn’t actually increased Leon’s personal power. He was still just a paladin who had awakened his holy energy. Promoting someone like that to Paladin purely for merit was unheard of, so the follow-up measures would have to be equally unprecedented.
Chris thrust her hand into the air.
“Miss Ruina! I think Leon will be sent on some diplomatic mission!”
“Why?”
“Because of his face.”
“True.”
Chris and I stared openly at Leon’s face. That demonic charm capable of captivating even men. The Holy Kingdom would be foolish not to exploit it.
Under our combined gaze, Leon set down his glass of milk and sighed.
“The Holy Kingdom would never do that.”
“But without your face there’s nothing left, Mr. Leon.”
Leon shook his head with a helpless laugh.
“Well… it’s possible they might order me to keep following you, Miss Ruina.”
“The Holy Kingdom would never. If they dispatch you anywhere, it would at least be to the capital.”
“If that suddenly became reality, wouldn’t I be the one feeling embarrassed?”
Thank you. I savored the sunlight streaming through the window for a moment, then stood up.
“On a day like this, nothing beats a picnic.”
“You’ve become quite relaxed.”
“I’ve always been relaxed. Besides, we’ll only stay a few days before leaving, and there’s nothing left to do now that we’ve already found the Holy Grail. So shouldn’t we at least enjoy ourselves?”
“You make a fair point.”
I took Leon and the others to a nearby hill. A gentle breeze blew while we ate sandwiches. It was nothing short of paradise. Wonderful. Let’s keep living exactly like this.
*
North Stella Wood was a typical rural village. A river flowed nearby, gentle hills rose in the distance, and there were forests and farmland all around. Hundreds of people lived huddled together in a place where everyone knew one another’s names, faces, and even their personal tastes. Some might have found such a tight-knit community suffocating, but I didn’t particularly mind. Why? Because I was just a traveler.
“Miss Ruina, the first thing you do when we arrive is drink?”
“It’s customary to have a welcome drink when visiting a village.”
“Whose custom is that?”
“Mine.”
I took a long swig of the cool honey wine. The god of alcohol is a true god. To be able to enjoy something this sweet and refreshing anywhere in the world—this was the real miracle. Nothing else came close.
“Shall we have a picnic? The weather is lovely.”
“Sounds good.”
I took Leon and the others to a nearby hill. A gentle breeze blew while we ate sandwiches. It was nothing short of paradise. Wonderful. Let’s keep living exactly like this.
*
North Stella Wood was a typical rural village.