For Now (1)
“Hrngh.”
“Sniff.”
After they had cried themselves hoarse, shouted themselves raw, dug graves for each other and then filled those same holes back in with the dirt of their own digging until everything canceled out to zero, the two of them finally found a long, heavy moment of reality. The crushing embarrassment and shame came free of charge.
“…Don’t beat yourself up so much, bookworm.”
“…Same goes for you. You’re important.”
Yet even through the awkwardness they managed to scrape out a little relief, a little catharsis. They shook off the unexpected flood of feelings that had poured out of them and stood up.
“Proxy…”
“The bond you share with your companion… it is truly beautiful.”
“How heartwarming…”
“Kids these days, I swear.”
What awaited them now was the lukewarm stares of everyone else. Both faces flushed scarlet all over again.
“Waaaaaagh!!”
The first to move was Deathbringer, who had just involuntarily spilled every last scrap of his true feelings.
“I don’t think I’m needed here, so I’ll go check on the young city lord!!”
“You—you!!”
He abandoned the early goal of assessing the situation without a second thought. Of course, behind that choice lay the fact that cleanup had already begun while they were yelling, and that the antidote was starting to work—Demon Knight’s complexion was improving. In short, he had instantly calculated that he was unnecessary and chosen escape. A thoroughly cunning move.
“You—you can’t just run off alone!”
But the Inquisitor could not do the same. She was not nearly as quick as that traitor, and more importantly she had a reason she could not leave this place.
“The forest still needs purifying…”
“Perhaps the Hero should be given time to rest…”
“Hah—I’ll do it. I can do it.”
There remained a task only she could perform. With a face as red as a tomato, the Inquisitor began scattering radiant light.
“Well now. Unexpected as that was… it’s a good thing it came out now.”
Meanwhile Archmage, who had watched the entire spectacle, could not hide a fond smile. Something had felt off, yet he had not known what it was and so had been powerless to act. Now it had resolved itself of its own accord. He could only call it fortunate.
“Even with age, the affairs of the world still leave me this clumsy…”
If growing older automatically granted wisdom, how wonderful that would be. But worldly matters—especially those between people—remained this difficult. Even after that incident had supposedly deepened his understanding of others, it was still so.
“If I’d known, I should have left the Magic Tower more often in my youth.”
Living among people who only ever raved about magical formulas meant that the thoughts of ordinary young people sometimes became impossible to follow. Archmage felt the regret every time.
If she had met more people, known more of humanity, she might have helped those youths wander a little less.
“If only…”
Perhaps, just perhaps, she might have known how to set someone like the Demon Knight straight. She recalled her last gloriously failed attempt and felt a pang of regret. She had thought it a fine method; she never expected such a catastrophic defeat. That had been the first time she truly felt the pain of never having raised a child. Well—truthfully, she felt it rather often.
Anyone who knew would sigh, “A desk-bound scholar trying amateur psychology was always going to end like that.”
“…No. What would actually help might be something else entirely.”
Yet that train of thought did not last long. The research she herself had burned rose in her mind. And that, of all things, was the most pointless act of all. The matter was far too old for regret.
“More importantly, you.”
“….”
“Berserk?”
“…Huh? You call me?”
“Yes. I was calling you.”
Clinging to things already finished was pure waste of time. Archmage raised an eyebrow at Berserk’s slower-than-usual response. With the two youngest finally settled, it seemed this one was next. The inescapable cycle of looking after people.
“Is something the matter?”
Yet that was precisely why she walked this path. Archmage prodded a little further.
“Nothing.”
“Then why not rest a while?”
After dealing with the Demon Knight, she had more or less learned the knack for reading this type. You never asked them straight out. You had to come at it sideways.
“Berserk is fine.”
“Even so, you fought Biryuho.”
“Hah, that a fight? Norda warriors do not call such things fights. That was a hunt.”
Still—yes. Having the knack did not make answers easy to obtain.
“A failed hunt.”
Archmage’s eyes grew unreadable.
“Even so, because you stood in the invader’s way at the end, the damage—”
“Mage. Open your eyes properly. That was not stopping anything.”
“…Letting one slip does not make what you did meaningless.”
“Berserk’s words are not about that… Hah. Forget it.”
The same thing that had happened when they told her “Do not be angry; it is not your fault” happened again. Berserk had been about to say something and then shut her mouth for good.
“If not that, then what?”
“The mage needs to know nothing. It is Berserk’s problem.”
Knowing that would make Berserk far easier to understand. She felt it instinctively, yet she never received the answer. Berserk kept silent through several more questions—a highly effective way of ending a conversation.
“Very well. But if it becomes a problem, speak to me anytime.”
Pushing further would only do harm. With that judgment Archmage let the talk drop.
“Archmage.”
“…What is it?”
This time someone else approached—the mage more skilled at healing magic who had taken over Demon Knight’s treatment.
“Preparations to move the Demon Knight are complete.”
“That is fortunate. Is he all right?”
“Thanks to the antidote it never became critical. He only needs rest now.”
Fortunately Demon Knight’s condition had not worsened. She pulled her gaze from the protective barrier she had been supervising—the one meant for Biryuho’s remaining torso—and looked toward the Demon Knight.
She saw the knight lying quietly on ground where ash still drifted from the fire.
“And so, for a safer environment, we wish to transfer him to the temple in Ednium…”
He was just then being lifted onto a stretcher.
“Ah, Archmage?”
“…Do so.”
Yet the way he was being carried looked so much like a black-and-white painting. Even as she answered the temple personnel, one corner of her mind recalled old masterpieces. Was it right to look at a living man and think of classics and ancient texts? Was it right to drape those soon-to-crumble things over that young man? Thin doubts rose and vanished just as quickly.
This time someone from the temple side approached.
“Have you come to report on the pursuit?”
“Yes. However… it seems we will lose the trail. They say they will search a little longer, but…”
“Tell them there is no need for self-reproach; we never rated the chances highly from the start. And there is no need to push themselves.”
“They insist on searching a little more, so I will have them return after that.”
“Very well.”
The opponent was presumed to be a Great Demon. Even if not, with the power and preparation they had displayed, they would never have left clumsy traces. Thus Archmage, rather than feeling disappointment at the failed pursuit, began weighing the ripples it would create.
Would another Great Demon revive as this one had? Or would something absorb that power the way Biryuho had, birthing an even stronger demon? Either way the news was not good. Either way the Demon Knight and the Hero could handle it—but they would pay a price as well.
“…Is the evacuated young city lord unharmed?”
“A band of ruffians believed to be Ednium citizens did cause a disturbance, but before we could even intervene, the young city lord of Camborer stepped forward and subdued them all.”
“…Is he truly all right?”
“The young city lord of Camborer is uninjured and perfectly well. The young city lord of Ednium has also been treated for Demon Energy Invasion and has declared he will resolve this matter himself, so it does not seem likely to escalate.”
“That is a relief, then.”
Archmage wondered just who those idiots who had started the riot might be, yet she asked no further questions. If they had settled it themselves, that was enough. There was no reason for her party to interfere that far.
“Protective barrier complete!”
“It seems our side is finished as well. Now we need only wait for the forest to be purified.”
“I worry we are placing too heavy a burden on the Proxy.”
“It cannot be helped. If the poison rides the wind into the village, it will be a disaster.”
Had that not been the case they would have prioritized purifying Biryuho’s corpse, so that no more of it could be stolen by demons as had just happened.
“With the priests’ Holy Power alone it would take far too long.”
“We are ashamed.”
“It is not your responsibility. I walk this journey with you as well, yet I have accomplished nothing, have I?”
Of course even now the Inquisitor was not alone; many priests who had rushed here were working. But as she had just said, the gap in ability was simply too vast. Dozens of priests purifying Biryuho’s remains would still be slower than the Inquisitor purifying the entire forest and returning.
“How burdensome an irreplaceable power can be.”
In the end Archmage could only lament that fact. Why had the gods not allowed everyone to save the world together? Why had they made only a handful of people carry the burden for all?
“There are so many hands that could carry the load.”
If that power had been given to everyone, those few would not have to push themselves so hard. Such was her quiet lament.
Fortunately, no one stole what remained of Biryuho’s corpse. There had been no further attacks while the Inquisitor purified half a Great Demon’s corruption. Thus she burned away the Demon Energy with relative ease, and now only the massive tiger’s body was left.
“Ah!”
“What is the matter?”
“What now, bookworm?”
At that moment the Inquisitor realized one crucial problem.
“Th-this way, the Demon Knight will not be able to use it…!”
“…Oh.”
“Damn.”
Because the Demon Knight could forge equipment from it, they should have left a little Demon Energy behind. Realizing her mistake, the Inquisitor sank into self-reproach once more.
“I-I’ve caused trouble again…”
“No, no one knew about that, so…”
“…But could he even make anything from it in the first place?”
“Sh-shoes or a bag or gloves… anything made of leather, right?”
“Well, yes, but the young master is the type who rips his clothes every single fight. Unless you put auto-repair magic on it, he probably wouldn’t bother using it.”
Desperate comfort and excuses followed one after another so that the self-esteem they had only just propped up would not collapse again.
“But this also raises the issue of distribution, doesn’t it?”
“The Demon Knight basically soloed it—what’s left to distribute?”
“No, the temple worked hard pinpointing Biryuho’s location, and there are people who suffered damage. Compensation for the damage isn’t our responsibility, of course, but…”
Yet the matter they had barely quieted led straight into another. Who would claim the remaining corpse? It was a fairly important question.
“Slaying Biryuho was entirely the Proxy’s and her companions’ achievement, so our city will not dare covet it.”
Unlike the western campaign, however, the distribution went smoothly. Back then there had been ships and soldiers and all manner of contributions; this time there was nothing for anyone to insert themselves into. If anything, a careful reckoning would leave them owing money. Thus neither Ednium nor Camborer pressed any claim to a share.
In that instant Biryuho’s corpse became the sole property of the Hero’s party. Even so, the Demon Knight’s portion already exceeded half.
“Berserk refuses. No right to take it.”
“I’m… the same.”
“I as well… I failed to protect half of it. That responsibility is mine.”
“I am not shameless enough to demand a share either… but Inquisitor, I thought we agreed that line of thinking was wrong.”
Not only did the Demon Knight’s share surpass half—it ended up becoming his exclusive property. Everyone had simply relinquished their rights.
“Though you won’t be able to use it because of the purification.”
“…S-so it was me after all.”
“Oh for fuck’s sake, don’t start sniffling! That’s not your character!”
“I’ve done it again…”
“I was the one who messed up!!”
Of course, whether any of this would even matter to the Demon Knight remained unknown. If he could not even touch it, it would ultimately be nothing but trash to him.