Seeking Refuge with the Brans Army (2)
The unexpected sound of a woman's voice caught me off guard for a moment—but no matter how many times I checked, this was unmistakably the house on East Anel Street, number thirty-two.
I opened my mouth carefully.
"I've come here on the orders of my lord, Lady Lin."
No answer came at first. But I didn't have to wait long before the door swung open.
"……"
Standing before me was a woman in what looked like a pure white nightgown. Skin so pale it seemed almost cold to the touch. Long red hair. Violet eyes.
I knew her name.
Airen Juliette.
She possessed the rare specialty Siege—and at S-rank, no less—earning her the dual titles of "Lady Knight" and "Master of Siege Warfare." An S-Class General by every measure. Her raw stats were exceptional, and her loyalty to her lord Lin was absolute; she would never betray her. And yet, ironically, her compatibility with Lin Brans sat near −100. Whenever the AI ran Lin's route, Airen was almost guaranteed to die by the hand of the very lord she served so faithfully—a tragic knightess doomed by the system itself.
The only way to ever see her shine on the battlefield was to play as Lin.
Back when I still served the Lunarien Army, I had gone to Anel Castle as an envoy to meet Lin Brans. While I was away, it was Airen who led the assault on Jeiland Castle. Luna never made a show of it, but piecing together what I found upon my return made the truth plain enough. A little longer, and Jeiland would have fallen. Considering that a siege demands far more troops than a defense, she had clearly been the best card the Brans Army could play.
And yet, for all her brilliance, her end was already written. She was destined to lose her head to the lord she served.
Once you accepted the premise that Lin and Airen were fundamentally incompatible, it wasn't hard to figure out why I'd been sent to a house with a woman already living in it.
In other words… Lin was treating Airen like dirt. Take in this new male officer. Put him up in your room. What are you going to do about it if you don't like it? That was the tone of it. Completely inappropriate behavior toward a young female general of Airen's caliber. Even in a world that mashed medieval fantasy into a blender, common decency on this particular point wasn't all that different.
Airen blinked her large violet eyes once—then, having apparently finished assessing the situation, gave a short nod. She didn't even sigh. Remarkable self-control.
"You are the new arrival, then…?"
"Yes. My name is Swen. As of today, I serve Lady Lin Brans. My lord has ordered that I reside here for the time being—as your roommate."
"I see."
She answered briefly, then studied my face. I returned the favor, observing her in turn. The pixel art had never done her justice. This woman… her chest was absurd. Two mounds nearly the size of her own head. In armor the effect would have been somewhat muted, but she was in casual clothes now, and her figure was impossible to ignore.
Fighting with a chest like that must have been a nightmare of inconvenience—and she still made enough of a name for herself to be called the Lady Knight. What a woman.
I marveled at the odd detail for a moment, then added, almost as an afterthought:
"…I will say, I never expected the person living here to be a woman. If this arrangement makes you uncomfortable, I'm perfectly fine staying at an inn. Please don't hesitate to say so."
Frankly, I was the uncomfortable one. Sharing a roof with a complete stranger of the opposite sex—was there a more exhausting situation imaginable?
But she shook her head.
"No. That will not be necessary. If my lord has given the order, I will obey it. You may come in."
"……"
I had no desire to waste any more time at the threshold. I nodded slowly.
"Then, if you'll excuse me."
And just like that, I found myself living under the same roof as Airen Juliette.
A major city. A fine house. A beautiful, well-endowed woman as a housemate. From a third party's perspective, it would have looked like a meteoric rise in fortune.
Airen's house was strikingly sparse. For all her beauty, she had been born a warrior through and through. Where an ordinary woman might have arranged pretty furniture, two straw dummies stood riddled with countless sword cuts. Beside them sat a collection of mysterious contraptions that looked like strength-training equipment. There was no wardrobe to speak of—just a few suits of armor hanging roughly on the wall.
"Make yourself comfortable."
I pulled out a chair at the table and sat down. She busied herself in the kitchen for a moment, then returned carrying something and took the seat across from me. Hot tea and a light assortment of sweets. So this world had those, too. Of course it did.
"Had I known you were coming, I would have prepared more thoroughly… Forgive the meager hospitality."
"Not at all. I'm the one who showed up unannounced. More importantly—is that how you normally speak?"
"My manner of speech, you mean? Yes, it is…"
In the game, I'd always played from the lord's perspective, so I'd never known how a subordinate general like Airen addressed people below her. So this was what it felt like. Talking to her was like conversing with the textbook image of a sovereign. The more I thought about it, the more it seemed that she and Lin had their speech styles swapped—Airen's would have suited a lord far better.
She looked at me and parted her soft pink lips.
"My name is Airen Juliette. In private, 'Miss Airen' is fine. I would prefer you not feel overly burdened."
"How could I possibly address you so casually, Lady Airen? I'm more comfortable this way."
"Well. As you like, then."
She said it lightly and took a sip of tea.
"More to the point, Swen—I understand you were with the Lunarien Army until recently. Is that correct?"
"It is."
"I heard Lunarien abandoned you and fled."
"Yes. For some reason, she became convinced that I was colluding with Lady Lin Brans. No matter how many times I explained, nothing got through to her."
"……"
Airen fell silent for a stretch, then spoke as though steeling herself.
"I have no talent for dancing around a subject, so I will be frank. I find your account extremely difficult to believe."
"Is that so?"
I took a sip of tea and asked, as if it were nothing of consequence:
"May I ask why?"
"Because the Lunarien I met is not the sort of person who would do something so petty."
"You say you met her… but that was only once, wasn't it? On the battlefield?"
"True. But the eyes tell you everything. She had the gaze of a true leader. She didn't flinch in the slightest before me. And when our blades crossed, I felt the presence of a strong opponent."
Airen's voice carried absolute conviction.
"Which is why I suspect this may be some kind of scheme. Forgive me for saying so to your face so abruptly."
"It's fine. I've already heard the same thing from my lord once."
"Have you? Then why…"
She trailed off, then cut herself short.
"No. Forget I said anything."
"…In any case, Lunarien has a weak-willed nature unsuited to a sovereign. I can't speak to her eyes, but she is not the steadfast person you describe. For reasons I still don't fully understand, something about me—someone who had only just joined her ranks—gave her grounds for suspicion… or so I imagine. It hardly matters now."
"I see."
She closed her eyes, took another sip of tea, then inclined her head lightly toward me.
"Regardless, I apologize for opening with such accusations upon our first meeting. I simply couldn't rest without asking—I was afraid I might treat you unfairly without realizing it. I hope you'll forgive me with a generous spirit."
"Of course. You're my senior, Lady Airen. We'll be living together for a while, and I agree it's better to clear the air early."
"I'm grateful you say so."
For the first time, Airen smiled at me.
She was beautiful. If Luna's beauty was like warm sunlight, Airen's was a fragile, almost heartbreaking kind—as though it might shatter at a touch.
Wait.
In the end… was Airen destined to remain under Lin and die by her hand?
That would be a waste.
Airen was one of the few S-Class Generals in existence. If I could bring her over to my side, she would be an enormous asset. Her loyalty to her lord was formidable, true—but that didn't mean I should simply give up. I needed to steadily build her favor toward me.
"Well then."
Airen rose from her seat and pointed toward a corner of the room. A single bed stood there.
"It's late. You should get some sleep. You're welcome to use that bed."
There was only one bed in the room. No adjoining chambers, no other place to rest. Which meant that bed was the only option for sleeping.
"And you, Lady Airen…?"
"I can sleep on the floor. I have no desire to put a newcomer through hardship."
Ordinarily I would have protested—No, really, I'm fine—but my abysmally low Martial stat was catching up with me. Walking all the way from Jeiland Castle in the Brans Army's procession had drained what little stamina I had. It was only because we'd been a large force moving at a leisurely pace that I'd managed at all. A slightly faster march and I would have fallen behind for certain.
A bed was better than the floor.
"…Then I'll gratefully accept your kindness."
"Think nothing of it."
She smiled again. Setting aside her speech patterns, she was genuinely endearing. The ordinary clothes instead of armor only reinforced the impression.
I made my way slowly to the bed. It wasn't particularly soft, but compared to the scrap of fabric that passed for a blanket in my old quarters, it might as well have been an angel's nest. And for reasons I couldn't place, it carried a faintly pleasant scent.
"Good night, then."
"Sleep well."
Airen extinguished the lantern and settled herself against a suitable spot on the floor. I felt a twinge of guilt… but right now, recovering my body took priority.
And so the first night of our cohabitation slipped by.
…Hm?
When awareness returned, I found myself standing alone in a place that felt profoundly alien. Looking around, I could tell at once that this was a harbor town—buildings of white brick and blue roofs rising in beautiful clusters on every side.
Where is this?
I turned in a slow circle, the fundamental question hanging unanswered. There was no one. Pretty buildings everywhere, and not a single living soul to inhabit them. The whole place carried the eerie emptiness of a film set after the crew had gone home.
I wandered for a long time, climbing a hill—and then a plaza opened before me. A plaza with a commanding view of the entire harbor town. Beneath a circular roof held up by four pillars, seated in a chair at the center, was her.
"………Swen."
I approached. She wore a pure white, immaculate dress, and blinked golden eyes as she looked at me. Dazzling blonde hair streamed in the wind. The distinctive hairpin she wore caught my eye at once.
She was beautiful. More beautiful than any woman I had ever seen.
"Swen. Come here."
As if enchanted by that voice… I walked slowly toward her.
But I couldn't reach her. The closer I tried to get, the farther away she seemed. And then the ground beneath my feet began to crumble. Unable to close the distance, I plummeted into freefall.
Why?
Why can't I… reach ■■■■—
"……Swen, are you all right? Swen—Swen! Open your eyes. Swen!"
Consciousness seeped back in stages. What registered first was the voice of my roommate from the night before—Airen.
I forced my heavy eyelids open.
…A dream…?
A dream. If so, it had been a vicious nightmare. I was still half-dazed, but I could feel the cold sweat running down my back with perfect clarity.
I opened my eyes fully. After the brief stage of being blinded by sunlight pouring through the window, the scene before me gradually resolved into focus.
…?
A moment later, the sight laid out in front of me grew sharp and unmistakable.
Ha.
And I let out a short sigh, wondering if I still hadn't woken up.
…Airen was shaking me awake in nothing but her undergarments, her pure white skin fully, unmistakably bare.