The Boy's Choice
“Then I’ll see you later, senior.”
“Sure. Rowell and Princess Aegina will probably be with you next time, right?”
By the time noon had passed the following day, we arrived at the next village. I had some time to spare, but the Cruse caravan needed to restock a few light supplies and depart immediately, so it was time for us to part ways.
“Rowell will be surprised, so please don’t tease him the way you did just now.”
“Tease him? About what?”
With a playful smile, he approached, and the caravan members and nearby villagers watched us with even greater tension. A few of them even had their eyes sparkling with anticipation, though I couldn’t begin to guess what they were hoping for.
“…You should depart first.”
I glanced toward the boy with a subtle look. Fortunately, he hadn’t done anything suspicious yesterday, and as I’d said then, my worries were likely unfounded. Still, I needed to see things through to the end before I could feel at ease.
“All right. See you later, Anak.”
He mounted his horse, took his place at the head of the escort, and soon disappeared beyond the village outskirts.
“Well then. Have you made up your mind?”
“…You really can send me anywhere?”
The boy hadn’t been able to decide even after we reached the village. At the very least, he seemed to have properly understood that seeking someone’s help to expose his stepmother’s misdeeds or reclaim control of the family would be far from easy.
“Yes. Whether it’s Duripool or anywhere else reachable by a teleportation circle, I can send you there.”
“But using a teleportation circle requires a considerable sum…”
“Don’t worry. I already told you—I won’t take any money.”
The boy didn’t drop his suspicious gaze, but he didn’t press further, perhaps fearing I might change my mind. His first impression hadn’t been great, yet for someone in such a desperate situation, his composure at his age was rather admirable. That was why I was overlooking his casual speech.
“So, will you go to Duripool? Or somewhere else?”
“…What would you do?”
He asked as if grasping at straws, his voice flat and devoid of expectation—simply to pause his thoughts for a moment.
“I’d go to Duripool. Assuming, of course, that your aunt hasn’t already joined hands with the countess.”
“My aunt would never do that! She wouldn’t involve herself in the family’s dirty disputes, but she would certainly…!”
It sounded like a prayer to me, but I didn’t bother denying his fragile belief. As I’d said, I had never met his aunt. Mentioning the possibility had been enough.
“If that’s what you believe, then going to your aunt would be even better.”
“…Are you saying I should take whatever money I can, like you mentioned yesterday?”
“That wouldn’t be a bad idea either. If you’re going to live away from the family, you’ll need quite a few things.”
“Right. It’s shameful, but I’m powerless.”
He agreed in a sunken voice, his head lowered. After all, having fled his home, he must have felt that powerlessness keenly until now. The expression on his face when he pulled out the jewelry and gold coins he’d hidden deep in his clothes had been filled with desperation.
“But if it were me, I’d make a different choice.”
“A different choice?”
“Yes. I’d make your aunt my guardian and enter the academy.”
Not all nobles attended the academy. Depending on the country or region, private tutors were often more common, and in places where the academy’s quality was poor, it sometimes functioned more as a training ground for merchants and lower-level technicians than for nobles. Given the boy’s age, attending the academy wouldn’t seem particularly strange.
“Once you’re enrolled, even the countess wouldn’t be able to act recklessly because of the scrutiny from other families and people. That would buy you time, and in the meantime, you could build your abilities and connections within the academy. Eventually, you might find the power or means to take control of the family—or perhaps another path will open up. Of course, none of that might happen either.”
A spark flickered in the boy’s eyes—an ember of ambition and hope, ready to ignite.
“…No matter what choice you make, no one knows what’s right or which path will lead to a better ending. It’s just a meaningless assumption that I might have done the same.”
Yes. Perhaps simply fleeing far away would be better for him than entering the academy. Even if he eventually seized the family, where was the guarantee that what he achieved after those bloody power struggles would bring him happiness?
He might spend his life trembling at the threat of poison, unable to properly drink a cup of tea or eat a meal. He might never sleep peacefully, haunted by fear and guilt. Perhaps he would helplessly watch his own children repeat the same acts.
“How you proceed is entirely your choice. The results of that choice are also entirely your achievement and your responsibility.”
There was only one thing I had promised him: to safely send him wherever he wanted. Nothing else concerned me, and I had no desire to get involved.
“Well then, what will you do?”
At my question, he looked me straight in the eye.
“…I’ll go to Duripool.”
His murky gaze was a mix of reckless fervor, anger, hope, and longing. Without any particular emotion, I averted my eyes from those pupils and took a step forward.
“As you wish.”
When we arrived at the mages’ guild, they quickly made the preparations. Though Duripool was quite a distance, they issued a pass allowing travel through other branches. The boy expressed his gratitude and disappeared into the magic circle.
He had been puzzled by the mages’ respectful attitude toward me, but in the end, he never figured out my identity. That was exactly what I had intended. I had no desire to get further entangled.
After he vanished, I quietly stared at the magic circle he had left through.
“…I wonder how things will turn out.”
I didn’t feel particularly good. It was like drinking cheap liquor—the aftertaste was unpleasant. That voice that seemed less like belief and more like a desperate wish to believe. That final gaze. Perhaps I had irresponsibly planted hope in someone without ability and then turned my back. Maybe I should have just told him to run away, that there was no way.
“Lord Anak. The next teleportation circle is ready.”
“Understood. Thank you for your swift assistance.”
“Not at all. It is an honor to be of help.”
After the usual formal exchange, I stepped into the teleportation circle bound for the Ayman Kingdom’s capital. With the mages’ staffs and the magic stones atop the pillars glowing, the circle drawn on the floor activated.
“Welcome, Lord Anak.”
The scenery changed, and the mages waiting nearby bowed. Unlike the remote, unmanned circle from last time, this was the bustling capital branch, so prior coordination had been necessary. That was why the mages who had heard of my arrival were waiting like this.
“Thank you for the warm welcome.”
I offered my thanks with the brightest smile I could muster. I could truly feel that this was the Ayman Kingdom—unlike before, each mage’s face was filled with reverence and curiosity.
Honestly, being met with suspicious glances when revealing my identity wasn’t pleasant either, but this excessive interest was also hard to get used to. Even the apprentice mages over there were staring with sparkling eyes.
“Will you be heading to the royal palace now? Shall we prepare a carriage?”
“No, it’s fine. There’s a place I need to stop by on the way.”
Before going to the palace, I needed to visit the study for at least a few hours. I had told her I might not make it depending on the situation, but knowing her personality, she might have jokingly burned a few books just to spite me.
“But for you to walk the streets alone…”
“No, it’s all right.”
Though I had paraded recently, experience had taught me well enough that I wasn’t the kind of person who left a strong impression in people’s minds. True, the names “Summoner of Deception,” “Second-Best Strategist,” and “Nightmare of Orsia Hill, Anak” had spread throughout the entire Ayman Kingdom. But would they really recognize me as I walked past them on the street?
No. Absolutely not. Even if someone with sharp eyes noticed me, they wouldn’t easily think that the hero’s companion was passing right by them.
“You may all go back inside.”
“Yes. Farewell.”
“Please visit again.”
After greeting the mages who tried to see me off multiple times, I left the guild. I had declined an escort to avoid unnecessary attention, yet still, about ten people followed me to the door.
Fortunately, the area around the guild, like other branches, was a small forested path lined with trees, separated from the main road, so it didn’t draw much notice. Still, this was the capital. A group of people who seemed to be visitors waiting outside watched us from a slight distance.
I passed them with a deliberately nonchalant expression. See? There was some murmuring and I felt their gazes, but that was all. They might have thought I looked familiar, but they didn’t recognize me after all.
Leaving the mages’ guild grounds surrounded by red Belk trees, I headed toward the city center. It was the same path I had taken during the last parade, and I remembered the capital’s layout well. Though some buildings and scenery had changed slightly, if I followed the main road to the right using the distant hill as a landmark, I would reach the royal palace.
During the parade, everyone had been too excited and elated to see properly, but this was indeed the Ayman Kingdom. Among the regions near the final defensive line, it was hard to find a place with so few shadows of war.
It wasn’t simply because they had fought bravely and held the line. The war against the Demon King’s army had been special in many ways, but the common problem in every war was the collapsing economy and dwindling food supplies as the conflict dragged on.
In the worst cases, food could become more expensive than jewels of the same weight, and the resulting collapse of public sentiment and order would strip a nation of control, making it impossible to continue the war—or even to exist.
Even countries inside the final defensive line, far from the front lines, had shown such signs. But what about the Ayman Kingdom? Of course, there had been crises and dramatic dangers, but through the desperate policies and administration of the royal family, nobles, and officials, they had maintained balance.
And the reason those policies and administration could proceed without major backlash or side effects was not only due to the long-revered king’s ability and the presence of Rowell and Aegina, who had become the people’s hope, but also because of the sacrifice of the two princes who had fought to the end without retreating, risking their lives for the wounded and the citizens in the previous battle.
That noble sacrifice had been enough to instill trust in their leaders among both nobles and commoners. Thanks to that, people didn’t dare doubt the king’s sincerity in various policies and thus didn’t reject them. Not everyone had gone to the battlefield or volunteered for sacrifice, but the majority genuinely felt ashamed of injustice or chaos that served only their own safety.
In the face of the threat of annihilation, hope had always been fragile, but in the hearts of the Ayman Kingdom’s people, hope had never been extinguished. That was what made the present possible.
Feeling a renewed sense of pride that I, too, had contributed to this peace, I turned toward a quiet alley. If I considered the return trip, staying at an inn would have been better, but this wasn’t the time for such luxuries.