It's Dangerous With Just the Two of You
While Yohan led the knights through the city in search of lodgings, Shiron took Lucia by the hand and set out to find somewhere free of people.
Of course, the place he was looking for was not some deserted back alley or crime-ridden side street.
The Subjugation Festival was one of the greatest celebrations on the continent, and it drew powerful figures from neighboring vassal states and merchant guilds in droves. Somewhere among all that, Shiron reasoned, there had to be a quiet, comfortable space set aside just for them.
Before long, he found what he needed in an unexpected place. After wandering the length and breadth of the train station, they arrived at the sixth floor — an observation deck with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking a vast stretch of grassland.
"…That's better."
Shiron drew several deep breaths, as if trying to purge something foul from his lungs.
Both before and after his possession, he had always hated crowded places. And when the source of all that chaos was a throng of muscle-bound giants… well, half-panicking was only natural.
Having senses this sharp isn't always a good thing.
With the open landscape as his backdrop, Shiron sipped cold water. His uselessly keen sense of smell had already left him dizzy and nauseous, and the sheer presence of the men prowling the streets had worn his mind thin in ways he hadn't expected.
Who would have thought I'd end up going through something this miserable?
In his past life, Reincarnation Sword God had been a game packed with powerful women. He'd assumed that ten years earlier, the world wouldn't be all that different.
…At least Lucia is here. That's something.
Hoping to shake off even a fraction of the noise in his head, Shiron turned and looked at the girl sitting beside him.
"…What are you staring at?"
Lucia drew back a little under the sudden scrutiny.
"Nothing. Just glad you're here, that's all."
"…Are you sick? Why are you being so creepy?"
She scrubbed at her arm with both hands. Shiron only grinned and kept watching her.
"The creeps are the ones outside. All those walking slabs of meat."
"…"
The face that muttered the words looked faintly hollow. Had she ever seen him this worn down? The thought softened something in Lucia. The sniping that would normally have followed simply stopped. She couldn't bring herself to press him further, so she quietly rose from her seat.
Leaving Shiron slumped half-asleep in his chair, nursing a throbbing head, Lucia wandered the station's interior on her own. Promotional posters plastered on every pillar. Gaudily wrapped souvenirs. Old-fashioned sweets only the elderly would bother with.
MISSING CHILD WARNING
Do not leave children unattended.
A warning sign stuck out awkwardly among the rest, but her interest died almost at once. No child would be dragged to a festival reeking of sweat like this — and Lucia had even less reason to get lost.
"At least the 'festival' part isn't just for show."
She murmured the words while gazing out through the broad glass. An orchestra of uncertain origin played instruments she couldn't name, and armored giants clustered thickly around temporary buildings of wood and canvas. By contrast, the observation deck where she stood was relatively quiet. Soft sofas faced the massive windows, and snacks were laid out for anyone who wanted them — yet hardly anyone was here to enjoy either.
A middle-aged man with a meticulously groomed mustache.
A man in pure white heavy armor.
And the female knight Yohan had pointed out earlier.
Even excluding Shiron and Lucia, there were only three of them — and every one of those three was looking at her.
"…"
What the hell is with these bastards?
Lucia gave no outward sign as she stepped away from the glass and went back to Shiron. She placed herself between him and their stares, absorbing the attention as if to shield him. The soft, steady gazes weren't hostile, exactly — but she found every glance that raked over them deeply unpleasant.
Is this what Sir Yohan was talking about?
Before they came here, Yohan had said that looking weak would only invite trouble. Lucia had rarely been looked down on by anyone in her entire life, and her body reacted before her mind did, broadcasting open displeasure.
"Tsk."
The sharp click of a tongue slipped from her delicate features. The three of them only grew more interested, their stares turning frank and open.
Ah… right. I'm a kid right now.
Disaster. Lucia rubbed at her eyelids. She wasn't her past-life self anymore — just a little brat. A flash of regret crossed her mind: she should have just trembled like a proper child.
"…"
Footsteps approached. Among the three, the female knight moved first. Apparently conscious of the others' eyes as well, she was the first to step forward and walk toward Lucia.
Once she was close, she removed her helmet as if to put the tense girl at ease.
"Little one, who did you come here with? Is your guardian not around?"
"…"
The face beneath the helmet belonged to a refined beauty. Brown-haired, she smiled at Lucia, who kept her mouth shut and her guard high.
"It's dangerous for children to be alone without a guardian. A Witch might appear and snatch you up, you know?"
"Who are you?"
Lucia answered, easing her temper a little. As long as the other person didn't turn hostile, sharp words were better left unsaid. She no longer had the skill to spit curses however she pleased, the way she had in her past life.
The female knight blinked at the bristling girl, then smiled gently.
"I haven't introduced myself, have I? My name is Ailey Suarez. I'm the captain of the Unicorn Mercenaries."
"…Mercenaries?"
Not a knight, then — a mercenary? Lucia eyed the woman who called herself Ailey with open suspicion.
"That's right. Have you heard of us? We're an all-women company."
"…I don't care. We already have companions. They'll be here soon. Hey — wake up."
Lucia shook Shiron by the shoulder. Up close, she realized he had fallen completely asleep.
"What…?"
Shiron lifted his head to look at her. Sleep still clung to him; his eyelids had barely cracked open.
"Get up. You can't sleep here."
"I was asleep?"
He jolted upright on the sofa, looking thoroughly rattled, as if he hadn't even noticed he'd drifted off.
"…Is there something you need from us?"
Only then did he turn a wary look on Ailey. Her reaction to the red-haired girl was much the same, and Ailey let out a short laugh.
"No, nothing in particular. There wasn't…"
She trailed off and swept a glance around them. At some point, only the three of them remained on the observation deck. The man in white armor and the mustached middle-aged man had both left.
"Someone was about to try something strange on you. I was going to keep an eye on you for a bit — and somehow I ended up being the one who got treated like a threat."
"…Something strange?"
"Yes. Didn't you suddenly feel drowsy, out of nowhere? Like just now."
Ailey looked at Shiron as she spoke. Her gaze said clearly that he had been the target of some sinister art.
"Should I be saying… thank you for saving us?"
Shiron offered her a lukewarm smile. His eyes settled on the emblem etched into her pauldron — a horse with a horn. Something that didn't exist in the game. Something he was seeing for the first time.
Ailey snorted and waved a hand.
"Forget it. I didn't step in to collect thanks. If anything, I did it for myself."
"You did it for yourself?"
Lucia took a step closer as she asked. Perhaps it was guilt for having been rude to someone who meant well — she felt oddly unsettled.
"That's right. There's an oath bound to my heart, you see."
"You don't need to say any more. We'll gratefully accept your kindness."
Shiron bowed his head to her and took Lucia by the arm. Beyond the glass, Yohan and the rest of the knight contingent had come into view.
"Sh-Shiron?! What are you doing?"
"Just come."
Lucia stumbled after him as he pulled her along. Ailey watched the two children hurry away, then stood alone for a long while on the empty observation deck.
After quickly rejoining their party, Shiron followed Yohan into the lodgings the knight had secured. The place turned out to be a cluster of portable tent-houses of the kind nomads might use. Yohan had rented ten of them — traditional dwellings favored by the natives of the Arwen Highlands — enough for the whole knight contingent.
"Sir Yohan, I have something to report."
With a fire pit burning at the center, Shiron called Yohan and Lucia over.
"I encountered a Witch on the observation deck a short while ago."
"A Witch?"
Lucia's eyes went wide as she leaned toward him.
"Witches wear armor? Not pointed hats and robes?"
"There's no law saying a Witch can't wear armor and carry a sword."
"Might I ask what made you believe she was a Witch?"
Yohan stroked his beard with a grave expression.
"She said an oath was bound to her heart. As far as I know, binding an oath to the heart is not magic. It's closer to the forbidden arts practiced by the wicked."
"…I understand what you mean."
"Then—"
Lucia turned to Shiron.
"She said she was the captain of a mercenary company. Why would she lie like that?"
"How should I know? She might have stolen a dead woman's position. Or maybe running a mercenary company is just a little game to her."
Shiron stopped and stared into the campfire for a moment.
"One thing is certain, though. You and I just had a conversation with a Witch."
"…"
"You… I think you just racked up a penalty point."