To Kill Him
Carlton stared at the mirage that had appeared before him, a foolish look plastered across his face.
“…What on earth is this?”
— Carius, must you truly do this?
— …….
No matter how he looked at it, this could only be the long-vanished illusion magic of the ancients. And not just any illusion magic—magic of such staggering refinement that only those who had ascended to the rank of Archmage could hope to wield it.
As far as Carlton knew… in the entire history of the continent, only one living being had ever reached that rank.
The mage Orpheon, companion to the Hero Carius a thousand years ago. And then there was the name the woman opposite him had spoken: “Carius.”
Gulp.
Carlton swallowed without realizing it. Yet even as those thoughts raced through his mind, the illusion magic continued to play.
— You’ve already heard the rumors, haven’t you? That the youngest princess of the Arian Kingdom has taken a fancy to me.
— …….
— She says she’d gladly live in the harsh north if she could be with me.
What kind of situation is this supposed to be?
To Carlton, the conversation’s flow made no sense at all. At a glance, the illusion looked as though it had been created to record and leave something behind…
So does that mean… this really is a scene from Hero Carius’s past?
— Well, it did seem that way. Every time I visited, she always tried to throw herself into my arms.
— Carius….
— Maybe I’ve been living like a fool all this time. I should have used the things I could use, in moderation.
Haha.
With that laugh, the illusion of Carius finished speaking. The projection only took a human shape; the face itself had not been rendered in detail, so Carlton could not make out the expression. But from the woman’s reply that followed, he could roughly guess what kind of face Carius must have been wearing.
— …You look so exhausted, Carius.
— It’s fine. This is the path I chose.
A brief silence settled between them. Then the woman asked Carius once more.
— A marriage without love only brings suffering to both sides. In the end, it will lead to tragedy.
— If that princess wants me, and if there’s something I can gain from her…
— …….
— We’re simply becoming what each other needs. I can put on that act well enough.
With a dismissive wave of his hand—as if there was no further need to discuss the matter—Carius brushed the subject aside. Then he moved as though to pick something up.
— I’m always sorry for relying on you. You’re saying if I go here, I’ll find them?
— …It’s a document recorded by an Executor who was tracking the remnants of the cult. It shouldn’t be wrong.
Hearing that answer, Carius rose from his seat at once. He turned away coldly, as if he had no further business here.
But the woman opposite him called him back once more.
— Carius.
— …….
— Please think it over just one more time.
She caught his arm, as if begging him to reconsider his decision.
— There must be a better way. Rather than…
— Athena.
Carius’s reply was firm—as if telling her not to say another word.
— No matter how much I think about it, this was the best option I had.
At those words, the woman called Athena could say nothing for a long moment. So much so that the hand gripping Carius’s arm slipped free of its own accord.
— Because this was the only way to kill him.
Saaaa—
With those final words, the illusion magic began to scatter like a mirage.
Thud.
The metal plate that had been floating in the air had already fallen to the ground at some point.
“……”
And Carlton, who had watched the entire scene, simply stood there without moving. He still could not properly process what he had just witnessed.
“I surrender.”
“…What?”
Juhan had declared his surrender in a hurry. Estelle, watching him, asked as if she could not believe what she was hearing.
“Surrender? Does that even make sense…?”
“I can’t do any more. This is as far as I go.”
“C-come on, just a little more.”
“You said yourself that if the other person doesn’t want to continue the spar, we should leave it there. Are you trying to change your mind now?”
“……”
At Juhan’s words, Estelle simply pressed her lips shut, looking almost wronged. More precisely, it had just been getting interesting, and now it had been cut short midway.
Whoosh—
The whirlwind that had been swirling around her was already losing its force and dispersing. For a while Estelle kept her head lowered in silence. Then she spoke to Juhan.
“…That’s unfair.”
“What is?”
“Normally people would come at me one more time here, wouldn’t they?”
“I told you I can’t. That was my best.”
If anyone had a right to feel wronged, it was Juhan, not Estelle.
I never thought she’d dodge that.
The final blow he had put his heart into. He had never expected Estelle to evade it without taking any damage at all. Even thinking about it again, the movement made no sense. How had she twisted her body in that instant to avoid the attack?
“……”
After watching Juhan for a moment, Estelle clicked her tongue softly and sheathed her sword.
Shing.
“Fine. There’s no point in continuing anyway. I lost.”
She said it in a way that made it sound like she was the one declaring defeat.
“I’m the one who lost. What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
“No. I lost.”
But Estelle spoke firmly.
“If I got pushed this far by someone who doesn’t even know how to hold a sword properly, it’s as good as a loss.”
She seemed to mean it sincerely. Juhan felt rather absurd hearing that.
“If you’d just learned proper swordsmanship, things would have gotten pretty dangerous earlier. I never expected you to throw out an attack like that.”
Swoosh.
As she spoke, Estelle stroked her chin as if replaying the previous fight in her mind.
“How old are you?”
The sudden question about his age. It might have seemed out of nowhere, but Juhan answered calmly for now. Of course he could not tell the truth, so he picked a number that came to mind.
“Out of nowhere? I’m twenty-two this year.”
“What? We’re the same age?”
Hearing the answer of twenty-two, Estelle’s eyes widened in surprise for a moment.
“Is that something to be so surprised about?”
“Of course. I figured you had to be at least a couple years older than me, no matter what.”
It was not that he looked old. It was pure admiration—how could someone his age possess that level of skill?
For someone saying that, you’re a monster yourself…
Of course Juhan did not say that out loud. But for some reason, after that answer, he noticed that the way Estelle looked at him had changed slightly.
What is it?
“……”
Where before she had watched him with the eyes of someone regarding “an interesting guy,” now her gaze was more like that of someone looking at “prey.” The eyes of a beast that had found a delicious meal. As if she wanted to devour Juhan.
Shiver—
Meeting that gaze head-on, Juhan felt a chill run through him without meaning to. He found himself asking Estelle why she was looking at him like that.
“Why are you looking at me with those eyes…”
But his words were cut off midway.
Grab.
“No matter how I think about it, this won’t do.”
“W-what?”
As if she could not hold back any longer, Estelle suddenly seized Juhan’s hand and started to say something, with a resolute look that said she was absolutely going to do it.
“You, come north with me…”
“Young lady!”
But Estelle’s words were interrupted by an old man’s shout that began to ring out from far away.
“Looks like someone’s come looking for you?”
“……”
At some point, Estelle’s face had scrunched up slightly in annoyance, as if an important moment had been interrupted. Of course the old man racing toward them from afar had no way of knowing that.
Thud-thud-thud.
“Hoo, hoo…”
“…Photon.”
The old man who arrived right in front of Estelle. Had he really sprinted at full speed at his age? He caught his breath and then spoke to her.
“Young lady, so this is where you were. I’ve been looking for you for quite a while…”
“What’s going on? It’s fine, take your time.”
As if asking what could be so urgent that he would run like that, Estelle had Photon sit on a nearby stump and calmed him down. Photon then told her the purpose of his visit.
“Something urgent has come up that requires you.”
“…Huh? Something I have to go for?”
“Yes. Anton Baronry is in complete chaos right now. The Baron is desperately searching for you as well.”
As if a major incident had occurred, Photon urged her to return quickly. He continued.
“You can hear the details on the way. Right now we need to hurry…”
Even so, Estelle showed little reaction. Her gaze still kept flicking toward Juhan.
“…Hm?”
Only then did he seem to notice Juhan. Photon turned his eyes toward him.
“And this gentleman is…”
“A friend I made here. Don’t mind him.”
“A friend? Of the young lady’s?”
“…What’s that supposed to mean?”
At the word “friend,” Photon looked back and forth between Juhan and Estelle as if it could not be true. His gaze soon began scanning the surroundings.
“Don’t tell me you were sparring?”
“Yeah, that’s right. We were just doing it.”
“……”
Seeing Estelle answer so confidently that she had sparred with this man, Photon seemed to think something over, then spoke to Juhan.
“I apologize.”
“Pardon?”
“I will apologize on the young lady’s behalf. She isn’t a wicked person by nature, so I hope you can understand with a generous heart.”
“…That’s a pretty unpleasant thing for the person in question to hear.”
Of course Photon did not seem to care about Estelle’s reaction. He simply urged her again, as if there was no time to waste standing around.
“First, let’s hurry back. It seems something has come up that requires the young lady’s presence.”