28. A Lucky Day
28. A Lucky Day
"Hic, h-hic, seven... million sel?"
"Yeah. This place is called a private room. No records, and they keep who came here confidential. And look—there's not even a scar left on your leg."
"...You're right. If it'd been a hospital, hic, that wound would've taken two weeks to recover from...."
"What's with all this hospital talk? The entrance ceremony's less than two days away."
"Ugh...."
Stella kneaded and rubbed her snow-white thigh, confirming it was completely healed, then finally began rummaging through her clothes.
What she pulled out was an old, worn-out wallet.
A wallet with a navy base the same color as her hair, lined with purple stripes.
Each corner was stained a yellowish color as if moldy, and it was so frayed you couldn't even guess what shape it had originally been.
"What's that?"
"Can't you tell by looking? It's a wallet."
"No, I mean. That piece of—"
"My mom... my mom gave it to me for my birthday a long time ago."
"—how can you take care of it like that! If it's that precious! Sara. Can you wipe down the outside of that thing, polish it up, and, you know, uh? Make it look nice? Can't you make it like new? That thing?"
"Then you could've said it nicely. Why are you yelling?"
"Because it's a shame! It's a gift."
I felt cold sweat running down my spine as I looked at Sara.
"I'll do my best."
Competent Sara read my eyes and immediately gave the answer I needed.
Sara's the best.
"Yeah. She says so. Sara's seriously amazing at this kind of thing. Trust her."
"...Later. When it gets a little more worn out, then... I'll ask."
"Whenever you're ready."
"Th... thank you."
Stella hugged the wallet to her chest and gave Sara a small bow, then let out a little sigh and opened the wallet.
Then she fumbled out a few bills and began counting them with trembling hands.
One, two, three.
She counted ten times in total, then cautiously raised her head.
She must have been so flustered that even her hiccups stopped.
"Not enough?"
Stella didn't answer.
She just looked at me with her violet eyes welling up.
"Want me to lend it to you?"
"...Ugh."
Chewing on her lip, Stella hung her head low and carefully tucked the empty wallet back into her clothes.
"...Yeah. I'll... ask."
She said it in a voice full of resentment.
The back of her bowed head looked pitiful.
She'd held the bills gently so they wouldn't crumple, yet she was clutching the blanket tightly—it was heartbreaking.
Leaving the wilted Stella behind, I signaled Sara with my eyes. Sara understood my meaning at once and quietly left the room.
"Hey."
"...What."
"I already paid the treatment fee."
With that, I plopped back down into the chair.
"You don't have to pay me back. By your logic, we could've gone to a hospital, but I dragged you here against your will."
Stella's head lifted. Her tearful violet eyes stared at me.
"...I'll pay you back."
"How? You're about to enter the academy."
"If I get top or second place next semester too, I'll receive a dignity maintenance allowance. I can pay you back with that."
"And if you can't?"
"If I can't, then during break. I can go to Ge Vihenum, hunt Monsters, and sell the materials to pay you back."
"Oh..."
Hunting Monsters in Ge Vihenum.
She'd mentioned it several times since the entrance exam.
That she'd been active in the Demon World for over two years, and was a fairly famous adventurer.
Sure, if you hunted Monsters in Ge Vihenum, earning something like seven million sel wouldn't take long.
The danger was the problem, though.
Rolling the candy around in my mouth, I quietly watched Stella.
Then, a moment later.
Stella, who seemed to have collected herself somewhat, opened her mouth.
"Eliarnes."
"What."
"...Why are you so nice to me?"
"You think I'm being nice to you? Do you like getting cursed at and hit or something?"
"D-don't say crazy things! Th... that's not what I meant!"
Cheep-cheep— I popped a candy into Stella's mouth just as she started getting angry.
The timing was a little off so I got spit on my finger, but I didn't care and kept talking.
"Hey."
But Stella was covering her mouth, completely flustered.
"Uh-huh? You really are crazy! You got spit on your hand!"
"Did you eat?"
"What? Eat...? I, I did?"
"Let's go eat."
"I said I ate?"
"We're having steak today."
Stella's body flinched.
"And for dessert, Six-Nine? We're going there too."
"It's Nine-to-Six..."
Gulp— she swallowed.
Whether it was because of the candy in her mouth or because she was imagining the food I mentioned, I didn't even need to think about it to tell.
"What was that place called again. Salsa Garden in the west district? Well, anyway, I had a reservation there, and today's the day."
"It's not Salsa Garden, it's Sunset Garden."
Well, well. She even knows the name.
"Close enough. Anyway, how about it? Wanna go?"
"The reservation... wasn't it for a set number of people?"
"If we pay more, they'll figure something out."
"...You know that's being a jerk, right? It's an abuse of power."
I snorted and got up from my seat.
"I'm good at that kind of thing. Let's go."
"...Can I really go?"
"Yeah."
"It's not... a bother?"
"You sitting here trembling is more of a bother right now. Hurry up and get up."
"Ugh... Am I really going?"
"Oh, for fuck's sake."
"Eek..."
Haa, I sighed and placed her luggage on her lap.
Though her luggage was just a single staff.
Stella gripped the staff tightly with both hands, sat on the edge of the bed, and began looking around.
At the same time, Sara came back in.
"I've brought what you asked for."
"Thanks. Good work."
In Sara's hands were a navy hoodie similar in color to what Stella had been wearing, and a white hoodie.
And a pair of comfortable sneakers.
I wrapped only the white hoodie around myself and tossed the rest to Stella.
"Hey, the thing you were looking for."
"Huh? This isn't mine?"
"Right. I threw away the original and bought new ones."
"What?! Why! It was still new!!"
"New, my ass. It was covered in blood, couldn't wear it."
"You could've washed it."
"Blood doesn't wash out. Just wear it. Put on the sneakers too. And why are you walking around in dress shoes at your age? Wear sneakers. You won't grow taller like that."
"Can you not say boomer shit like that when you're the same age as me? And it's hilarious hearing you talk about height when you're shorter than me."
"Hey. What I'm telling you will all be for your own good later—"
The moment I turned around while saying that, Stella was already fully dressed.
Not only that, she was turning her body this way and that, checking herself out as if she liked it.
"Huh."
I laughed in disbelief.
Sara was also smiling with a pleased look.
"You like it?"
Stella, belatedly noticing my gaze, blushed and pulled the hood over her head.
"Ugh... Th-thanks. I'll wear it well. Thank you... for buying it."
Then she carefully tucked the lottery ticket lying limply on the floor into her clothes.
"That should go to Sara. Why are you taking it?"
She took it back out and held it out to Sara very politely.
"You really... don't have to give me a fee...?"
"Yes. It's fine—"
"Hey, just take 30% and give it to her."
An earthquake struck Stella's eyes.
"30%... 1.5... million sel... O-okay."
Even so, she nodded.
How is she planning to survive in this harsh world?
Well, she's probably putting up thorns because she's trying hard to survive herself.
Chuckling, I pulled my hood over my head.
And walked out of the church with the two of them.
The streets of the Imperial Capital were bustling even at this late evening hour.
It was so peaceful and busy that you'd never believe a Black Wizard had been running rampant here just a few hours ago.
Likewise, we too were peaceful.
And busy.
I sighed and stopped walking.
"Sara. Take Eurasia and go ahead, the three of you."
I still had something to do.
"I'll come with—"
Sara's mouth opened for a moment, then closed again.
Sara knew too.
That leaving Stella and Eurasia alone together right now might be dangerous.
It wasn't because Eurasia was weak.
It was because the attack was a surprise assault that could come at any moment.
Eurasia didn't have enough experience to counter an unexpected ambush in a crowded place.
Of course.
If I told her about Stella's situation, she'd stay on guard, but I didn't want to make Eurasia worry unnecessarily.
Stella didn't seem to want it known either.
"But..."
Of course she'd say that.
Still, I couldn't blame her for worrying about me.
But what can I do.
"It's fine. Go on ahead."
Soon after, Stella, who'd been watching my conversation with Sara, hesitantly opened her mouth.
"Then we can just all go together."
"Go when I tell you to go. Do you know how many times you dry-heaved after seeing that earlier?"
"That's... urp..."
"Oh, look at that. She's doing it even now. Seeing that before a meal would really kill your appetite. Anyway, go ahead. Sara will order for me. I'll be there soon."
"...If you don't return within 30 minutes, I'll come looking for you."
"Yeah. If I get kidnapped, I'll leave a Mana trail on the way."
I waved my hand and walked off.
First, I needed to find a gift for Eurasia.
*****
"Hmm... is this pretty...?"
Even while walking briskly, I couldn't take my eyes off the necklace in my hand.
A necklace to give Eurasia as a gift.
A custom-made necklace.
After the entrance exam ended.
I was certain that Eurasia, who'd crushed even the Special Entrance Exam, was the top scorer.
So I decided I needed to prepare a gift right away, looked around here and there.
And commissioned it from the most famous alchemist in the Imperial Capital.
An Artifact enchanted with weak stamina and energy recovery magic, plus various other magics in case of unexpected situations.
The alchemist said the design I had in mind was too tacky and that he'd handle it himself.
"It's just a cherry blossom shape."
It was a cherry blossom shape with five petals blooming extravagantly.
I'd asked for the center gemstone to be blue, matching Eurasia's eye color, but looking at it now, it was just my eye color.
The five cherry blossom petals were also the same color as my hair.
He'd confidently declared that matching colors like that was tacky these days, so I figured... well, it was just an artist being stubborn.
I'm not sure if it's pretty.
"...This is what kids like these days, right?"
What's the point of agonizing over it more.
It's not like anything's going to change.
Tsk, I clicked my tongue, closed the lid of the box containing the necklace, and kept walking.
And so I arrived at the back alley.
I'd expected there to be quite a few people at night, but there was no one.
Whether they'd noticed the commotion from earlier, or someone was waiting to ambush me from somewhere, I didn't know, but it was actually better this way.
I suppressed my presence. I exhaled steadily and sharpened my five senses.
Silent footsteps. My light steps carried me over the ground as if I were gliding.
Soon, the drum came into view.
The bloodstains and stench were gone, thanks to Sara erasing them with magic.
All that remained around it were traces of the battle we'd fought earlier.
The lid probably hadn't been opened.
As long as Sara's magic was on it, I would've known if the lid had been opened.
"Nothing much happened, surprisingly."
Standing in front of the drum, I set down the leather sack I'd been carrying on my back and opened the lid.
Then, the foul smell that had been blocked by magic burst out.
"...Huh."
A hollow laugh escaped my mouth.
Crunch— slurp— slurp— crunch—
The corpse that had filled the drum was gone.
No one had taken it.
The traces that looked like something had eaten it proved that.
Crunch— squelch— slurp— crack—
A finger with only two joints left.
A head leaking brain matter.
Intestines, liver, lungs. Fragments of organs.
Crunch— slurp— crunch— smack—
And a snake.
"Don't snakes usually swallow things whole?"
Not chew them up and devour them like that.
Even with me staring right at it, the snake kept crunching away at the corpse, then gulped down the fragmented body parts in one go.
Crunch— smack—
Then it began chewing on its own tail.
And in just 3 seconds.
In just 3 seconds, it devoured itself.
Now there was nothing left inside the drum.
There was no need to keep watching.
"Why are these bastards the same even after 400 years?"
I clicked my tongue and closed the drum's lid.
I don't know why they tried to get rid of an already-dead corpse.
Maybe the corpse's face belonged to someone whose exposure would cause a stir, or maybe they wanted to keep Stella from seeing the corpse's face.
But I didn't expect them to dispose of the corpse by eating it like this.
Should I have taken off the mask after all?
I'd left it alone because I didn't want to make an injured kid see it and have nightmares, but I didn't expect things to turn out this way.
Still, one thing became clear.
Stella must not be left alone.
If left alone, she'd clearly go missing within two days.
"I'll have to stay with her until the entrance ceremony."
What should I do about Sara?
Even if I hide it, she'll quickly find out that I didn't hand the corpse over to the Imperial Knight Order.
Then it would definitely reach my father's ears.
I need to tell her before that happens. I also need to ask her not to tell my father.
The reason... I'll just make something up.
I can't say it was to investigate House Verheigen.
Having roughly sorted out my thoughts, I rummaged through my pocket for the candy I'd grabbed from the church—
"Nom."
—popped it into my mouth, and headed toward the restaurant where everyone would be gathered.
*****
I'd thought that even without me, Eurasia's personality would let her get close to Stella quickly.
But.
"Lady Stella! Try this too!"
"Eek, th... thank you."
"Lady Stella! This sauce is delicious too!"
"Ah, I still... have food in, in my mouth."
"Lady Stella!"
"Eeek!"
"Lady Stella, why are your arms so thin?! This won't do. Here. Eat this too!"
"Th... this is what you were going to eat, Dame Eurasia—"
"No! I already ate a lot!"
"I... I already ate a lot too..."
This wasn't the kind of relationship I'd imagined.
A shiny large-breed dog who'd met a new friend—a scruffy stray cat—was so excited that she kept giving away all the things she liked.
And the scruffy stray cat who'd spent her whole life digging through trash and getting kicked around looked like she was being crushed by the exuberant big dog's boundless kindness and bright energy.
Of course, Eurasia had reason to be excited.
A small, prickly-looking kid made a face like she was melting every time she put food from the restaurant in her mouth, so of course Eurasia would want to keep feeding her new things.
Stella also found it hard to refuse Eurasia's pure goodwill, so she was forcing it down.
Anyway.
After that, this way and that way and this way.
Around the time dry-heaving sounds started coming from Stella's mouth, dinner came to an end.
I'd already told her to stay at our lodging until the entrance ceremony.
I didn't say why, but Stella understood the meaning immediately and agreed.
There was some back-and-forth in the process, but the main point was this.
"Eliarnes. Promise me just one thing."
"What?"
"When you see the house I live in... no matter what happens, don't say a single word. Got it?"
"Do I really need to make a promise just to go?"
"Yes. Promise me quickly."
I'm someone who went through countless battlefields 400 years ago.
And I also expected that Stella's house wouldn't be House Verheigen's mansion.
There was no way someone like me would say something weird just because a house was old.
"Fine. I promise."
And so, we arrived in front of her house to pack Stella's things—no, I arrived.
And I blurted out the words I was supposed to hold back.
"Are you homeless?"