An Unexpected Appointment (2)
In the western noble residential quarter, where the Valentine count family's villa stood, lay the First Commercial District.
Before the enormous dragon statue that served as the plaza's landmark, a young girl was waiting.
She was petite, with hair the soft shade of young leaves and eyes like topaz, yellow-green and luminous.
Milia's classmate—and one of the few people she could truly call a friend. Neris Beltain.
"Neris—!!"
Milia charged toward her, calling out at the top of her lungs, and waved when Neris turned her head.
"My Lady. Please don't shout so loudly."
"Ugh… fine."
Schwarz's quiet reprimand drew a low, sulky sound from Milia.
As the daughter of a count, she was expected to carry herself accordingly. Now that she had graduated from Central Academy and stood as a proper noble in her own right, it was part of Schwarz's duty to keep her from careless displays.
"Sorry! Did I keep you waiting long?"
"Mm. I only just got here myself."
Neris shook her head as Milia caught her breath.
"Good afternoon, Lady Beltain."
"Hello, Schwarz."
Schwarz offered a light bow. Neris returned a faint smile.
"I'd completely forgotten we were meeting you. I'm not late, am I?"
"It is three minutes past four. Three minutes late."
Milia puffed out her chest with a theatrical ahem, but Schwarz simply tucked his pocket watch away as he spoke.
"So what? Three minutes is nothing!"
"Being late is the point."
"Y-you're as merciless as ever, Schwarz…"
Milia grumbled; Schwarz answered without a shred of compromise. Neris let out a soft laugh.
"Come on! We should get moving. If we want to keep to the schedule, it's going to be tight."
"You have another appointment?"
Schwarz tilted his head at Milia's words.
"Yep. We've got quite a few places to stop today. Right, Neris?"
"R-right…"
Milia flashed a mischievous smile; Neris nodded along, playing her part.
"…"
Something about it felt off, but with Neris standing right there he could hardly press the matter openly.
"Understood. Let us be on our way, then."
"Great. Then—off we go!!"
He exhaled a short sigh. Milia answered with a bright, energetic shout and started walking.
"M-Milia! Wait for me!!"
Neris hurried after her, and Schwarz brought up the rear as the three of them headed into the commercial district.
"It's completely different from the Second Commercial District."
"Much more splendid, isn't it?"
Northeast of the royal palace—unlike the Second Commercial District that sat to the southeast—the First Commercial District catered mainly to the nobility. The difference showed at a glance.
White buildings of polished marble rose along streets of red brick. The people strolling past were clearly of noble houses; their dress and bearing were refined and elegant to a one.
"So. What exactly did you come to buy?"
"That's a secret."
"…"
Milia covered her mouth with a finger. Schwarz's eyes narrowed.
Whenever she answered like that, she was almost always plotting something troublesome…
"R-right… it's a secret!"
If she had been alone he might have managed to pry the truth out of her. But Neris was at her side. A servant could not interrogate his mistress in front of another. All he could do was nod and keep watch over the two of them.
"You wait here for a bit."
"Pardon? What do you mean by—"
They had stopped in front of a certain shop. Milia's words left Schwarz gaping, but she and Neris offered no further explanation as they stepped inside.
"What in the world…"
Left alone, Schwarz muttered in bewilderment and peered through the glass windows.
"Clocks?"
Display cases packed with timepieces—alarm clocks, pocket watches, grandfather clocks, wall clocks…
Each one looked like the work of a master craftsman, every piece a work of art in its own right.
"Well… still, this one suits me best."
After watching for a while, Schwarz drew his own pocket watch from his coat.
A silver watch. Milia had given it to him as a gift not long after he entered the Academy.
"It's gotten rather worn."
Four years had passed. Compared to the day he first received it, the watch was unmistakably aged—scratches here and there, the surface dulled by time.
If he ever found a free moment, he ought to take it to a silversmith for a proper cleaning. He slipped it back into his pocket.
Then—
"…?"
A gaze. He turned toward the sensation.
All he saw were people passing along the street.
"I could have sworn someone was watching…"
An odd, hard-to-name feeling. He scanned the surroundings with a low sound of unease, but nothing suspicious turned up.
"Must have been my imagination."
He shrugged and looked back at the display. How much time passed after that, he could not say.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
"S-sorry…"
Milia and Neris emerged from the shop. A small paper bag rested in Milia's hand.
"What is that?"
"Hm? This? I needed it for something."
"Needed it for something? For what?"
"Oh, just something."
Was there still more she was keeping from him? Schwarz asked, but Milia only answered with that same playful smile.
"Ugh…"
It was maddening. What could possibly be so important that she would hide it even from him?
Perhaps Neris had been brought along as a shield for just this sort of situation. The thought drew another short, frustrated sound from him.
"All right! Next stop!"
"Y-yeah…!!"
Whether she knew what he was thinking or not, Milia set off again toward some new destination.
After that they visited any number of shops, yet the things Milia actually purchased were few.
"Hmm~♪ Hmm-hmm~♩"
Milia hummed a little tune, clearly in high spirits.
"My Lady. Might you finally tell me what all of this is about?"
Schwarz grumbled at her. His arms were piled high with boxes—so many that any ordinary person would have wondered how he kept them from toppling. He maintained the balance without the slightest difficulty.
"Heh heh. Sometimes ignorance is bliss, you know. Isn't that right, Neris?"
"R-right! Sometimes it's better not to know!!"
Neris nodded vigorously in agreement with Milia's teasing.
"…"
Schwarz could only seethe in silence. There was nothing else he could do.
"Well then—shall we head back soon? Schwarz, are you all right? Want me to take some of those?"
"No. This much is still fine."
He shook his head. When a balance was this finely struck, even the slightest interference could bring everything crashing down. If Milia "helped," the aftermath would be all too easy to imagine.
"B-but how are they not falling?"
"Please do not touch them. I have the balance set just so."
Schwarz answered Neris's wonder with a faint smile. She let out a startled squeak and scrambled several steps away from him.
She didn't need to go that far… He followed the two girls with a slightly pained expression.
At last they left the commercial district and returned to the noble residential quarter.
And in that moment—
"…"
"Schwarz?"
"W-what's wrong…?"
Schwarz stopped dead. Milia and Neris both looked at him in confusion.
Then—
"Both of you, act as though nothing is amiss."
He spoke in a low voice, set the boxes carefully on a nearby bench, and continued while pretending to stretch and loosen his shoulders.
"I believe someone is following us."
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
"A-a tail…?"
They kept their expressions carefully casual as they asked.
"When you and Lady Beltain went into the clockmaker's, I felt as though someone was watching me. I dismissed it as imagination at the time—but I felt it again just now."
"Is that so…"
Milia rubbed her chin, a low sound of thought escaping her.
"W-what do we do?"
"Well. There's only one real option."
She sighed at Neris's anxious voice, then looked at Schwarz.
"I'll stay with Neris. Go ahead and take care of it. Catch them if you can."
"Yes, My Lady."
Schwarz nodded, drew a slow breath, and pulled the surrounding mana into himself.
In the next instant—
"I shall return shortly."
With those words he reinforced his body with mana and shot off at a run toward the direction from which the gaze had come.