The Entangled Threads (Part 1)
The capital of the kingdom.
Countless people gathered, and countless treasures of the kingdom flowed through. In every field, it could be called the center of humanity.
Naturally, its walls stood tall and sturdy, with maintenance that looked like iron. It was far more prosperous than any other city.
It was also safe. Until now, this place had been the most fortified fortress built through the full devotion of all mages and knights, never allowing enemy invasion.
Since it was far in the rear from the front lines, shadows from the war were hard to find in the faces of people here.
After riding for days to reach the capital, I dismounted from the saddle onto the horse and smiled at the coachman who had accompanied me.
“We made it thanks to you. Thank you very much.”
“No, miss. Then I must part ways here.”
I waved to the coachman who was disappearing far away, still gripping the reins of the horse I had ridden.
Ttok ttok. I lightly turned my stiff toes on the ground and stretched my whole body.
“Uddddd...” Haah...
My whole body was stiff. Every bone ached, and my waist and hips hurt.
Was this how it felt the first time I rode a horse? Back then, I didn’t ride much, so I had never experienced this pain.
Even if I knew how to ride skillfully, it required the proper strength. I had to ride the horse all day, and when the road was flat, I had to gallop. My body received that much shock the whole day and couldn’t handle it.
My hips hurt, and because I lacked the muscles to properly stabilize my body, my waist ached.
“First, I need to go home and then find Helahem, that person.”
I didn’t have much money on me. The documents for my account and the cash I could use immediately were all at home.
Most of the past year had been spent on the battlefield or inside the knight order, but I had been thinking about retiring someday.
So I quietly set aside money to buy a small house in the suburbs of the capital where I could live alone.
Given the current situation, it was truly a stroke of luck.
After getting off the horse, ten minutes passed. I walked through the twisting alleys of the kingdom and reached my house without much time.
“...I’m back.”
Even if I hadn’t gone there many times, I knew it was my house.
Although there were large apartment buildings on both sides, my house was dwarfed like a dwarf among giants—small and low—but I still felt at ease.
Let me see... I had put the key in the small flower pot on the railing...
I lifted each flower pot, but the key that should have been there wasn’t visible.
“Did I put it somewhere else?”
No, I definitely put it under the flower pot.
I lifted the pots again to check, but there wasn’t even a single piece of metal scrap.
Just in case, I opened the mailbox, but all I saw was an empty mailbox.
At that moment, the crisis I had been trying to ignore surfaced in my mind, and I had no choice but to accept it even if I didn’t want to.
“Shit...”
I said it casually, laughing to myself. I tilted my head back and let out a deep sigh, looking up at the sky.
What do I do? If I can’t get inside, I’ll really be in trouble. All the pension and performance bonuses I received my entire life are tied up inside.
I chewed my lower lip while frowning at the rising irritation.
What else to do. I have to open this door somehow. With a lockpick, or by smashing the window there...
Or, as a last resort, break this door handle...
Click.
...What? Why is the door open?
I grabbed the door handle out of impulse and shook it. The door opened as is.
Is there someone there? I glanced around the floor and the entire house, and faint traces of people passing remained.
I picked up the flower pot outside the door. If I encountered robbers, I was prepared to throw it at their heads.
“Is there anyone? No, when did they come to my house. Is it still here?”
I swallowed hard and pressed my ear to the wall, listening for sounds from inside.
My senses sharpened. My breath grew faint, blocking out all other sensations.
“...No one?”
I held my breath for a long time, but no other sounds came from inside. I immediately prepared to throw the pot, and my other hand rested on the sword’s handle.
For a moment, I turned my body and entered the house. I felt no presence, so I prepared to throw the pot.
I guess I should call it lucky. There was no one inside the house. Just faint traces of fingerprints on my desk and other places.
Thud. I set down the flower pot, and my hand on the sword handle stayed tense.
I cautiously checked the desk, shelves, and closet where traces remained, but...
“Nothing is missing.”
What? Even the emergency cash I gathered is still there, and valuable items that could be called precious are intact.
Someone broke in with a clear purpose, but I couldn’t figure out what it was.
“Who in the kingdom would do something like this.”
Well, Roengel?
He looked down on me, saying I hated him, but I didn’t think he would plan something so petty.
Moreover, he sent people to catch me and then searched my house? There might be a connection, but it was hard to guess his intention.
Probably not Roengel. If it were that guy, he wouldn’t plot something so shabby and sloppy.
Thoughts swirled in my head. But I thought about what I had to do right away.
“...What’s the point of thinking about this now? I won’t figure it out anyway. First...”
I had to change the lock. First, returning to my original body was priority.
***
The nights in the capital were cool.
It wasn’t so cold that I needed a coat, but it was mild enough to wear just a light shirt and not warm at all.
Especially since it was inland with large temperature differences, I needed at least a light windbreaker.
“The key is in my pocket... I won’t put it under the flower pot or mailbox again after being stolen once.”
I placed the new lock I bought from the market on the window and door, figuring it was fine.
“Here, there’s only this building on this road with a blue door... Helahem. The old knight order called the Iron Knight, a distant senior to me.”
Now he works as a professor at the Kingdom Academy, and according to Rondo, delivering this letter would help.
“Will it really help? I hope he doesn’t ignore it. Still... it’s a letter from senior Rondo.”
With my professor connections, if I could get help from a high-ranking mage to remove the changes to my body, that would be great.
Huu. I took a deep breath and knocked on the door three times with the back of my hand.
Ttok ttok.
I knocked and stood quietly for a few seconds. A heavy, knocking sound came from beyond the door.
The sound grew closer, rumbling through my body more than I expected.
And with a creak, the door flew open at once.
But beyond it was a wall. No, the man’s body filling the door completely filled my vision.
“Who are you? What business does a young miss have knocking on my door? Not a familiar face.”
A height where I had to look up for a long time. A tall man reaching over two meters long, with a well-groomed white beard, looked at me.
His face, with deep wrinkles on his forehead and white hair swept back, looked like a man entering old age.
“Do you know Rondo?”
“Rondo... Ah, that slacker knight? Was that the errand boy he sent? Miss?”
The word “miss” made my heart flutter, but I had no choice with this appearance.
A raspy voice sounded like it scratched my eardrum.
“No, he said he would fulfill my request if I brought this.”
“Your request? What exactly is that kid asking for. Well, come in, miss.”
Rondo handed the letter written on old paper to Helahem. The letter, larger than my hand, looked tiny in his grip.
Helahem, frowning at Rondo’s signature on the letter, looked at me with an unenthusiastic expression.
I nodded. Then, following the path he opened to the house, I entered Helahem’s home.
“What an unexpected story. Rondo sending me a letter is common, but... this is the first time.”
“Me too. This is the first time in my life.”
The inside of the house was quite luxurious. Although the space wasn’t wide, the interior and items in the shelves looked expensive.
But what caught my attention more than that were the many weapons.
They were arranged inside the house, clashing with the bright, soft colors of the interior.
Swords, axes, spears, clubs, even halberds. All leaned against stands.
Among them, in what seemed like a living room, there was a large, fluffy chair that looked plush at first glance. Helahem told me to sit there.
When I sat, with heavy footsteps, he disappeared somewhere inside and came back with a mug.
“Coffee? Want tea? Actually, I only have coffee.”
“Coffee is fine.”
It looked thick. I brought it to my lips, and the bitterness made me frown, but it wasn’t so bad that I couldn’t drink it—I sipped.
Helahem, pulling out glasses from his pocket and putting them on, began to tear open the letter and check the contents.
Oh, my heart is tense. If his expression wasn’t that good... What if he coldly refuses?
“...Ha, wahahaha! Rondo, you rascal! Quit being a knight and writing novels?! The frail young miss in front of me right now...!!”
“Rigel, Rigel Belheim is correct.”
I said it seriously, lowering my voice.
“...You’ve gone insane and sent a letter from a lunatic. Even if I lived behind a wall with the knight order, you expect me to believe it?”
“I can’t believe it myself. But my body changed like this. What should I do?”
How do I make him believe? While I was racking my brain, he lifted his heavy body.
He walked around the path from the entrance to the living room and back, then swept his hands over the handles of various weapons.
“Miss, unknown miss. Have you ever heard of this? Handling weapons means... talking...”
“It’s the same as learning the style through hundreds or thousands or tens of thousands of conversations.”
I wouldn’t not know that. It was what the knight order taught in the first training.
“...Fine. Miss, pick the most confident weapon you have right now.”
“...?”
At my words, I looked confused, but seeing his urging eyes, I stood up.
Let me see... the most confident weapon right now...
I held the short sword close to my body. I thought this was the only weapon I could handle with this weak body.
“This is the only weapon I can handle right now.”
“Yeah, is that so?”
Whoosh.
A sound of slicing wind came. It was a sharp, finely sharpened long sword. He lifted it with both hands.
“Then, show me who the miss is.”
“...Yes?”
At that moment, a thick pressure came over my skin.