Capital City Aingart (2)
Al Kaski, you say?
I've heard that name before.
"No way……."
"That's right."
Jenise wore a strangely smug expression.
"The second younger brother of Irian Al Kaski—the promising talent of the Serpina Army and a general making a name for himself on every front—is none other than me, Jenise Al Kaski."
I wasn't so sure about the "making a name for himself" part. What I remembered was him sticking his neck out, getting chewed out by Serpina, and then shrinking back like a scolded puppy. No need to bring that up in front of him, though.
Anyway, once I heard the explanation and took a closer look, the family resemblance to Irian made perfect sense.
Short black hair cut close to the head. I'd always thought Irian was rather pretty for a man, but the Jenise standing in front of me looked even more delicate. Their eye color was similar too—there was no mistaking the blood relation.
Do all the men in that family look like pretty-boy attendants?
Irian might have been handsome, but he still carried a clear masculine presence. Jenise, on the other hand, could have thrown on a wig and insisted he was a girl without anyone batting an eye. He wasn't particularly tall, either.
"Swen, right? It's a bit forward for a first meeting, but that hair color of yours is really something."
"I hear that a lot."
I tensed for a second, wondering if rumors of the white-haired mage had already reached his ears, but thankfully he didn't press any further.
"If there's anything you want to ask, feel free anytime. Oh, right—this is advice from your senior. If you want to succeed here, just doing what you're told isn't enough. You have to produce results people can see, or you'll never get close to Lady Serpina."
"I see. Thank you for the advice."
"And if you walk about ten minutes outside, there's a shop that—"
He kept going, oddly excited, explaining one thing after another. Watching him, a thought crossed my mind.
Just how badly has this guy wanted to play the senior role?
It made me feel a little sorry for him. As long as someone wasn't a clear villain, there was no harm in getting along with the people around you. I answered him with a polite smile, and he opened up easily, fussing over me and trying to take care of everything.
Not exactly the type suited for chaotic times.
"Anyway, let's both work hard from now on and support Lady Serpina so she can reunify the continent. Got it?"
Reunify, huh.
From Serpina's perspective—as the one who inherited the legitimacy of the Aingart Empire—conquering this continent would indeed count as reunification.
That thought sparked another: this might actually be a good opportunity.
"Jenise."
"You can just call me Senior!"
"Senior Jenise. Do you believe Lady Serpina can unify the continent?"
Jenise looked at me as if the question itself were bizarre.
"Of course she can. Why would you even ask that? Don't tell me you think Lady Serpina can't unify the continent?"
That's exactly the question I wanted.
I silently thanked Jenise for handing me the perfect prompt, then quickly fed the question into my mind.
Is Serpina von Aingart unable to unify the continent?
[Yes.]
As expected, nothing had changed. Not a single thing.
If even Serpina—who currently looked closest to unification among the remaining sovereigns—could not achieve it, then the continent would fall into Lunarien's hands, just as every previous prediction had indicated.
Confirming that once more steeled my resolve.
"No. Of course I believe she can. Lady Serpina is an exceptional person, bloodline aside."
"Right? That's what I think too! Where else are you going to find a lord like Lady Serpina? People out there call her the Tyrant of the North and all sorts of nonsense…… isn't that just ridiculous? Our family has served the Serpina Army for generations so I wouldn't know, but every officer who used to serve under other warlords says life is better under Lady Serpina."
Listening to him, his loyalty to Serpina came through without any effort. She clearly treated her own people well, so having a few officers like this around wasn't strange at all.
We talked a little more after that, and the conversation naturally turned to when I might be able to get my own place and move out.
"Hmm? They're building houses as fast as they can, but you just got here, Swen. The people who've been waiting longer will get priority. I'll probably move out before you."
"Is that so?"
I felt a twinge of disappointment at the thought that I wouldn't be able to live with Airen for a while. Then he clapped a hand on my shoulder.
……For a man, his hand was surprisingly small and pale.
"Don't worry! Our lord ordered a massive construction project. If the timing works out and you get lucky, you might get your own house sooner than you think."
"I suppose I'll just have to wait and see."
"That's the spirit! Dorm life can be inconvenient, but I'll look after you as much as I can. No need to stress!"
Jenise grinned as he said it.
He gave off a strangely little-brother vibe, but the way he tried to take care of me as a self-proclaimed senior wasn't unpleasant. For the sake of basic social survival, it would be best to get along with him moderately well.
And so I settled into Aingart Castle.
The facilities weren't as good as the residence at Valharat Castle, but the space wasn't bad at all.
The triple room assigned to Airen and Reika.
The two of them had finished unpacking and were having tea.
"Wow……! It smells like peaches."
"You like it, then?"
Reika nodded.
"Yes! It's such a lovely scent. Even if you baked cookies with peach juice, it would be hard to get a fragrance like this…… The world of black tea is truly mysterious."
Instead of answering, Airen simply offered her a quiet smile.
Perhaps it was because they had grown quite close while living together in the annex. Just as Reika had begun to stutter less and less, Airen too had stopped putting on quite so much weight in front of her.
They were adapting to each other—that was the best way to put it.
As the fragrance of the tea carried their idle chatter along, the conversation naturally drifted toward the man who was the shared interest of both women—Swen.
"The male officer who came to the house…… that was Lord Swen?"
"Yes. I was truly shocked at the time. I never imagined they would send a man."
Airen still could not forget the moment they first met.
The white-haired new officer she had faced while still in her nightclothes.
She no longer denied that sending a man—Swen—to room with her, a woman, had been an act of contempt.
But.
"Honestly, I'm grateful to Lin."
"Grateful……?"
Airen smiled at the puzzled Reika.
"Because of Lin, I was able to meet Swen."
Whatever intention Lin might have had when she did it—
In the end, Airen had met Swen.
The only person who had ever truly recognized her existence.
Someone always kind and gentle, who became her support.
And the person she wanted to protect with everything she had……
"If I had never met Swen, my life would still have been colorless. I might not even be in this world by now. I would have died alone, carrying a meaningless loyalty that no one ever acknowledged and that I could never fulfill. So I no longer resent Lin. Because of her, I came to know Swen."
"I see……."
Living alone with Airen, Reika had already heard a fair amount about the treatment Airen had received back when she belonged to the Brans Army.
"Still, I'm grateful that you're living so bravely. It might be a little…… presumptuous of me to say that, but……."
"It's fine, Reika. Nothing you say is presumptuous to me."
"I'm glad to hear that…… Hehe."
Watching Reika smile like a fool, Airen asked a question of her own this time.
"Come to think of it, how did you end up connected to Swen? I've heard the rough outline, but never from your own lips."
"Ah…… my connection with Lord Swen?"
Reika fell silent for a moment, weighing how much she could safely say.
But it's not just anyone—it's Lady Airen…… She's so close to Lord Swen. I can't hide everything forever…… And I think she's already noticed a fair amount.
Reika carefully parted her pink lips.
"I was actually…… learning magic from Lord Swen."
"Magic, is it."
Reika slowly nodded.
If she had never seen it herself, she might have asked what on earth that meant. But Airen had already witnessed with her own eyes the flame sphere Reika had conjured in the palm of her hand.
"So magic truly exists."
"Yes…… Lord Swen already has something of a reputation for dropping a giant boulder from the sky, doesn't he……?"
"You think that was magic? No. Swen……."
Airen's voice trembled slightly.
The image of him collapsing lifelessly right before her eyes had risen unbidden.
"Swen risked his life to communicate with the heavens and read their flow. The mages in the old texts never staked their lives, did they? That is why…… I would rather not see Swen perform such magic-like feats if I can help it."
"Is that so……?"
But Swen knew that mana existed. Not long ago he had even used something like a magical tool capable of storing spells.
From Reika's perspective he seemed at least a quasi-mage, even if he wasn't a full mage. If his life was in danger, though, perhaps there was something she didn't know.
Would it be all right to ask more……?
While Reika was still deliberating, a knock sounded at the door.
"Ah……."
"It seems our roommate has arrived."
The lodging assigned to Reika and Airen was a triple room on the second floor of the women's dormitory building.
No one had been there when they arrived, but once the guard had mentioned a roommate, it was easy enough to guess she had simply stepped out for a while.
"P-please come in……!"
At Reika's answer the door slowly opened, and a woman walked into the room.
And…… the moment Airen saw her face, astonishment bloomed across her expression.
"You are……?"
"……Huh?"
That woman.
It was not a face she was seeing for the first time.
Back when she still belonged to the Brans Army, she had met her once and traveled with her toward a northern fortress……
"……Silin?"