Fallen Noble (1)
“I never thought I’d run into you here, Lord Lawrence.”
“I’m surprised to see you here too, Cedric.”
“Looks like you’ve parted ways with Elvira and the others.”
“We split up in Frang.”
“I figured as much. You’re a free soul, Lord Lawrence.”
Hmm. Cedric nodded to himself.
“By the way, could you ask those lovely ladies behind you to put that thing down for now? I’m having trouble focusing on the conversation because I’m honestly terrified.”
“...Cedric. You brought this on yourself.”
Behind Lawrence stood the Valentina sisters.
Angela was holding the lantern she’d just used to smack Cedric, and Francois was hefting a book the size of a man’s head. Their eyes burned with a frightening intensity, as if they were ready to swing at him the moment he moved wrong.
“Lawrence.”
“For the record, he’s not a bad person.”
“Can you look me in the eye and say he didn’t mean anything by it?”
“......”
Lawrence avoided Angela’s gaze.
“Lord Lawrence?”
“It’s not too late yet. Come with me to the guard post.”
“Why are you so determined to drag me to the guard post!”
“Do you really have to ask?”
There was no defense for this situation.
This was a convent, a women-only space.
And not only that, but an outsider who wasn’t even a cleric of the Order had come wandering in.
“Why on earth did you enter the convent in the first place...?”
“Well. If I’m going to explain that, I’d have to start with how I met a nun named Dalley at a tavern.”
“And who exactly is Dalley?”
“A nun with a beautiful smile.”
Just like you, Cedric said with a grin.
“He really must be sick in the head.”
“Don’t look, sister. It’ll hurt your eyes.”
There was no chance of a friendly reaction.
Even without looking, Lawrence could imagine the expressions on the sisters’ faces as they stared at Cedric.
“For now, let’s go outside together.”
“I’m afraid that’s a little difficult, Lord Lawrence. It’s time for me to go meet the many ladies who’ve been waiting for me.”
“This is a convent, Cedric.”
“The location presents me with no problems whatsoever.”
Did he truly not understand that this was the problem?
“We haven’t seen each other in a while, so let’s chat for a bit.”
“Ahaha. I appreciate the sentiment, but I already have a prior engagement with a lady, so I’m afraid I must decline.”
“I’m not asking.”
Lawrence’s voice turned hard.
“Come with me, or go to the guard post. Choose.”
“......”
Cedric was not the kind of man who could fail to understand a point made that plainly.
The bard, who made his living off his face, rolled his eyes.
“You’re joking, right?”
“Whether I’m joking or not depends on your choice, Cedric.”
The smile vanished from Cedric’s lips.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Lawrence led Cedric to a dining hall.
Fortunately, the tavern he frequented was still open at this hour.
Glasses moved from hand to hand. Smoke from pipes hung in the air. Drunks packed the tables shoulder to shoulder, raising their voices over the din. Curses and shouted arguments kept battering his ears without pause—abuse for a worthless son, gossip about a coworker, complaints that some shop’s prices were too high. Voices that didn’t care who overheard them went on and on.
The atmosphere was very different from the daytime.
There were far more serving girls moving through the hall, and “half-dressed” was almost too mild a way to describe their clothes. It felt embarrassingly awkward for no reason.
If he’d known this would happen, he should have taken Cedric somewhere else.
Lawrence raised a hand toward one of the serving girls.
“Rada.”
“Lawrence! This is the first time you’ve come by at this hour!”
Rada greeted him with a smile, recognizing a regular. Her face, unlike usual, showed traces of fatigue.
But the smile lasted only a moment.
Rada quietly hid part of herself behind the tray in her hands.
“I couldn’t think of anywhere else to go. Do you have a seat?”
“Of course. I’ll show you inside.”
Rada threaded her way through the crowded hall. Fortunately, there was a table in the back with space for two.
“Order whatever you like.”
“Is Lord Lawrence paying?”
“I’d be happy to, in celebration of our reunion.”
A bond was a bond. It was true that he was glad to see Cedric again.
Perhaps sensing the sincerity in his voice, Cedric lifted the corners of his mouth.
“If you say it like that, it makes it hard for me to respond.”
“Let’s order first. Rada’s waiting.”
Rada looked as though she didn’t mind, but Lawrence chose not to take that at face value.
“That’s fair. It wouldn’t be polite to keep a pretty young lady waiting any longer.”
But when Cedric looked over the menu, his expression turned awkward.
“Might I ask whether Lord Lawrence has any recommendations?”
Lawrence and Rada both burst out laughing.
“Everything they make here is delicious.”
“Is that so? Then I suppose I’ll have to try everything, one dish at a time.”
“That’s not a bad idea. Rada, bring one of everything on the menu.”
This wasn’t an especially expensive place to eat.
Even if he ordered every dish on the menu, it wouldn’t hurt him much.
“As always, thank you. What would you like to drink?”
“A warm glass of milk, and... what about you, what do you want to drink?”
Cedric quickly waved both hands.
“Wait a moment. I was joking, Lord Lawrence. That’s too much. I can’t eat all that.”
“You don’t have to finish it all. I’ll eat what you leave.”
“You’re going to eat all of this?”
“Maybe your friend doesn’t know this, but Lawrence can eat that much by himself.”
There was amusement in Rada’s voice.
Cedric looked at Lawrence as if to ask whether that could possibly be true.
“If it tastes good, it goes down easy.”
“......”
For a moment, Cedric lost the ability to speak, then finally opened his mouth again.
“I’ll have butter beer.”
“Order received. Please wait a moment.”
After confirming the order, she returned to the counter.
It would take a little while before the food came out. The tables at the other occupied seats were empty as well. By order, their dishes would only arrive after the tables for those who’d come first had been served.
“So how have you been since then?”
“Since I left Frang, you mean? Oh. Quite a lot happened. If I tried to tell you everything here, not even staying up all night would be enough.”
Cedric folded his hands on the table as he spoke.
“As you know, Mistra is a large city. People travel there from both nearby and far away. The group I met after leaving Frang was also heading to Mistra.”
“So you came to Mistra with them.”
“Up to a point. But then the ladies got into a love quarrel over me, so I couldn’t stay long.”
“A love quarrel...?”
“That’s why I left. I didn’t want to watch the ladies I love fighting over me.”
Lawrence frowned.
For all Cedric’s flowery wording, something about it set off an alarm in the back of his head.
“Did those ladies happen to have husbands?”
“For the honor of the ladies, I’ll decline to comment.”
“...I’m surprised you’re still alive.”
“Ahaha. My life does have a certain resilience.”
“I wasn’t complimenting you.”
Lawrence could roughly guess what had happened.
The last time Cedric had left Lombamel, he’d been hauled away in a carriage too.
This time was no different.
In fact, it seemed he’d endured not once but two or three such incidents before arriving in Mistra.
“Here you are. Milk and butter beer.”
“Thanks, Rada.”
“It’s nothing. Take your time and enjoy yourselves.”
With a faint eye-smile, Rada stepped away from the table.
“As expected, Lord Lawrence, you’re very popular with the ladies.”
“What’s that supposed to mean all of a sudden?”
“You only recently parted ways with the gypsies, and now you’re on familiar terms with such a cute serving girl.”
“Rada and I aren’t like that.”
Lawrence took a sip of his milk.
“That’s how men and women always begin. At first it seems like nothing, and then suddenly you start caring about that person. You begin as close friends, and before you know it, you become lovers. The relationship between men and women is a truly strange and unfathomable thing.”
“I don’t know. I don’t think men and women are all there is.”
“Lord Lawrence. Care to make a wager?”
Cedric said after taking a refreshing swallow of butter beer.
“Wait a little while, and when Rada comes back, ask her once. Ask her if she ever has free time. I’m sure she’ll readily tell you she’d make time for you.”
“I don’t know whether Rada has time to spare, giving you the benefit of the doubt, but I don’t have time for that sort of thing, Cedric.”
“There’s no harm in learning about women, Lord Lawrence.”
“There’s no harm in not knowing either. At least for now.”
It would be a lie to say he had no interest in women at all.
But he didn’t have the luxury of looking elsewhere.
Even keeping up with magic left him with less time than he needed, and then some.
He could learn about women slowly later, once he finally had enough breathing room.
“That’s not what I mean. You need to understand women so women can’t get the better of you. When a woman bears a grudge, frost falls in May and June. I sincerely hope you understand what that means, Lord Lawrence.”
“I’ll return that advice to you word for word. The one more likely to be stabbed by a woman than me is none other than Cedric.”
“Hahaha. I won’t boast, but I don’t recall ever being stabbed by a lady. Men, perhaps, but not women.”
Lawrence gave a dry laugh.
He must have forgotten about Angela already.
One by one, the dishes began to arrive at the table.
As always, the food Rada brought was excellent. Cedric seemed to find it to his taste too, because he cheerfully lifted his spoon.
“How have you been all this time, Lord Lawrence?”
“Before I answer that, let me ask one thing. You’re not planning to turn my story into a song again, are you?”
“That depends on the contents, I think. The Song of the Shadow Mage is incredibly popular wherever it goes.”
“What’s popular isn’t my song.”
Cedric was a bard, but he sang like a dog howling in a ditch.
Nine out of ten people who came to hear him were probably only there to see his face. Whether Cedric knew that or not, he gave a slight shrug.
“I actually visited the Magic Tower.”
“The Magic Tower?”
“Yes. If a mage wants to learn magic, the Magic Tower doesn’t leave many other options.”
“That’s surprising. Considering the relationship between the Order and the Magic Tower... it couldn’t have been easy. Did you gain anything from it?”
“If I hadn’t gained anything, I wouldn’t have come back to Mistra.”
There was no need to bring up what had happened at the Magic Tower.
Telling Cedric he’d gone there was enough.
“Congratulations. You’ve moved on to a higher level. I hope I get the chance to see your magic someday.”
“Magic isn’t something to be gawked at.”
“Exactly. Where did I ever ask you to show me your magic?”
“Not never, no.”
“You should deny it there to preserve my dignity.”
Did he really think he still had any dignity left to preserve?
Even what had happened at the convent today alone—
He seemed to have no self-awareness that it was something too shameful to tell other people about.
At the very least, Cedric had surely been branded as a degenerate among degenerate women by the Valentina sisters.
And yet Lawrence didn’t feel sorry for him.
Given the way he usually conducted himself, it was all his own doing.
“Have you decided where you’re headed next?”
“I’m thinking of going north.”
“The north? Then you’re planning to go to Winterglen.”
“More accurately, a little farther north than Winterglen.”
“Are you planning to go beyond the Wall?”
“Not exactly... but I may get close to it.”
Cedric’s expression changed in a strange way.
It was similar to the face Lionel had made.
“Sounds like you’ve been to the north before.”
“Winterglen too, yes. But I honestly wouldn’t recommend going any farther north.”
He glanced around slightly, then lowered his voice.
“If you’re thinking of heading north, you’ll need a sherpa.”
“A sherpa?”
“A veteran guide who leads people through the north. Without them, traveling there is practically suicidal.”
“That sounds a lot like the Ulbazar Swamp.”
It hadn’t been easy to find a guide in the swamp either.
Fortunately, Neil had stepped up. If not for his help, Lawrence would never have made it to the deeper parts safely.
“The situation is worse than in the Ulbazar Swamp. The guides you can get in Winterglen aren’t sherpas. At best, they’re the sort of guides who take mercenaries to monster-infested areas.”
Listening to Cedric, Lawrence recalled something else.
“I heard this from the Mercenary Guild. They said a great many ethnic minorities live scattered across the north. Are sherpas one of those minority groups?”
“You’ve done your homework. That’s right. Sherpa is a traditional occupation passed down among the northern minority peoples. They say only a small number of people chosen by the spirits can become sherpas, since the work is imbued with spiritual power.”
Cedric pulled a sheet of paper from the table.
Then, taking a pen from his pocket, he began to draw.
At one end of the page, he sketched a great wall stretching in a straight line. On the far side, he drew the broad expanse of Winterglen. Between them, he dotted in a tiny village, no bigger than a speck.
“Without a sherpa’s help, the north is a land of death. Still, putting aside the cost, it won’t be easy to even meet one. In Winterglen, there aren’t many people who know where the minority villages are.”
“And they’re extremely hostile to outsiders,” Cedric added, tapping the paper with his pen.
“So they’re not the sort of people you can just decide to meet and then go meet. What happens if you travel around without a sherpa?”
“Without a sherpa? That’s suicide. A sherpa doesn’t just guide you along the roads. They set up safe campsites and prepare everything needed for the climb. And the truly dangerous things are avalanches and crevasses.”
At the unfamiliar word, Lawrence looked up.
“Crevasse?”
“A crack formed when a glacier splits apart. They say it can be so deep that once you fall in, it’s like dropping into hell. Falling while crossing a snow bridge is practically routine. But if you were to plunge into an invisible crevasse... well. They might not even be able to find the body. If you plan to travel the north, you must bring a sherpa no matter what.”
Cedric’s tone was, unusually for him, utterly firm.