Linus's House (2)
"You'll know when we get there."
Hindrastar's face went white at that.
"Where are we going?!"
"I told you, you'll know when we get there. It's not some weird place, so relax."
"Y-you're going to sell me off to the Imperial Palace…"
"You think I'd even get a single gold coin for you? Sit still."
"I'm such an idiot for falling for this…"
Hindrastar started dropping fat, round tears again. The girl had an absurd reservoir of them. She cried at the drop of a hat.
We left the road that circled the city's outskirts and kept going for quite some time, until a vast stretch of farmland opened up ahead, the horizon running on forever. The famous Calbasar Plain.
It was a great plain that began near the capital of Calbassar and rolled on far enough to swallow an entire decent-sized kingdom whole. This was the land that could feed every imperial subject with its harvests, and one of the key reasons the Empire had been able to dominate the continent so quickly.
Scattered across the fields were pits gouged to a considerable depth — all of them scars from the fierce fighting of the Four-Year War. Back then, the Demon King's army had launched a massive mobile campaign across this plain, aiming to seize the imperial capital, and they had failed. The terrain offered no cover and no concealment, and they couldn't punch through the concentrated fire of mages scraped together from every corner of the continent.
By that point Linus and I had already been stirring up trouble all over the map, so their forces were considerably weakened. After their defeat at the Great Battle of Calbassar, the Demon King's army's momentum broke, they were forced onto the defensive, and once the Demon King Assassination Special Task Force was formed, they walked the path straight into ruin.
But this was all fields and orchards. Linus lived somewhere like this?
I pulled the letter from my pocket and checked the address again. This area was definitely right… It wasn't the city center, and the land was wide open, so if we just kept approaching, the place would come into view.
Still, it really was nice out here. The sky was a clear, brilliant blue, a cool spring breeze was blowing, nothing blocked the eye, and even the farmers looked lively.
"Why are you taking me somewhere with nobody around…? Did you get a secret order from the Imperial Palace to get rid of me? Huh? Is that it? That's it, isn't it?"
Hindrastar was still babbling in terror. If this place had been farther from the capital, the me of ten years ago might have settled here instead of Brunswell. But then Olicia would have lost her mind. Brunswell was at least a port city in name, so it served the minimum functions of a city. This place had literally nothing.
We kept going until even Hindrastar's muttering finally died off.
"I think that's it over there."
I raised a hand and pointed ahead, and Hindrastar's head snapped up. A castle? A palace? No — a grand mansion stood there, large as life.
Seen from a distance, the mansion looked like something out of a painting. It was built of finely dressed stone, its warm ivory walls glittering in the sunlight. The main building at the center had a classical design — large arched windows, elegant columns, and a roof of red tiles forming a balanced silhouette along with several chimneys. A well-tended garden spread out in front, and even from afar you could make out the elaborate landscaping and the colors of the various flowers. A stone-paved path ran straight through it to the front door. Annex buildings extended from both sides of the main house, built in a style that harmonized with it, so the whole estate formed a striking, balanced symmetry. Set against the backdrop of the Calbasar Plain stretching into the distance, the mansion's scale and beauty stood out all the more.
"Y-you, you…!"
The moment she saw it, Hindrastar broke out in a cold sweat and started making weird noises again.
"You're going to offer me to some noble, aren't you? You agreed to give them a pretty, cute girl in exchange for something? And if that's not it, then some pervert whose type is a polymorphed dragon… Ack!"
I flicked her on the forehead. Hindrastar cut off mid-sentence and clutched her head.
As we drew closer to the mansion, I could see someone riding a horse toward us from that direction.
"You must be Sir Dian? We've been expecting you. Please follow me."
So it really was Linus's house. Linus, you bastard… you were living incredibly well, weren't you?
We followed the servant and arrived at the mansion's entrance. The entrance itself looked like a magnificent, intricate sculpture. The great iron gates were decorated with fine patterns and ornaments, and a crest was engraved above them — a straightforward design of two clenched, sturdy forearms crossed over each other.
"We'll proceed on foot from here. Please leave the carriage and luggage to us."
When we stepped down from the carriage, the gates slid open, and Hindrastar sucked in a sharp breath at the scenery revealed beyond.
A beautiful garden spread out before our eyes. Well-manicured lawns stretched out in a broad wash of green, and stone-paved walking paths branched off in several directions through the grass. Flowers of every color bloomed along the paths, their fragrance carried on the breeze to tickle the nose. A large fountain stood at the center of the garden, clear jets of water shooting high into the air and sparkling in the sunlight, the refreshing sound of falling water echoing through the whole grounds. Benches were placed around the fountain, offering a place to sit and rest. Trees were planted throughout, each with widely spreading branches that provided shade, and various statues stood among them, each crafted with such exquisite skill that they captivated the eye. On one side of the garden was a small, charming pond, water lilies and lotuses blooming along its edges. Looking into the water, I could see fish swimming, and dragonflies flitted above, adding to the pond's tranquil atmosphere.
Hindrastar, transfixed by the sight, muttered under her breath.
"Who the hell lives here…?"
"Dian!"
Just then, someone shouted my name from the other side. A woman leaning on a cane stood at the mansion's front entrance, looking at me. Dull chestnut hair, a gentle face covered in freckles. And below her skirt, a prosthetic left foot.
My old comrade, the hunter Celine.
"Dian! That's you, right?!"
"Celine!"
"Oh my god, Dian! It really is you!"
Celine hobbled unsteadily across the garden toward me, leaning on her cane.
"Stay there. I'll come to you."
I ran toward her so she wouldn't overexert herself, and Celine grabbed my hand with one of hers.
"Dian! I really missed you! How is it that you haven't changed a bit!"
"That's because I've done nothing but loaf around for ten years. But are you okay coming out like this?"
"Mm, I'm fine. I'm all recovered now. Haa, Dian. Seeing you again feels so, so good. But…"
Celine looked at Hindrastar standing blankly behind me.
"Who's that?"
"Ah, a Special Cadet from our academy. I didn't want to leave her alone over the weekend, so I brought her along. Her name's Sophie."
"Welcome, Miss Sophie."
"Hello."
Overwhelmed by the absurd grandeur of the mansion, Hindrastar returned the greeting in a somewhat meek manner.
"Pink hair and pink eyes — that's such a rare and pretty coloring. Come on in, both of you. Don't stand around out here, come inside."
Celine led the way toward the mansion, striding ahead stoutly on her cane.
"Who is she…?"
Hindrastar asked in a low voice as she walked beside me.
"A friend of mine."
"What's with the missing leg?"
I glanced at the prosthetic visible beneath Celine's cheerfully fluttering skirt hem. In the battle at the Demon King's Castle, Celine had lost everything below her left knee. Even with my knowledge of the future, I hadn't been able to prevent it. The original novel never described those kinds of details in the first place. If there was a silver lining, it was that quick first aid had kept her from dying.
"But earlier she was talking like you two split up ten years ago… Ten years ago would be right when the war ended, wouldn't it…?"
"That's right."
"If she was your friend during the war…"
Hindrastar started to say something more, then shut her mouth and stopped walking.
"Dian. You made it."
Linus stood smiling at the mansion entrance, a baby wrapped in a sling in his arms.
"You had a long way to come. Come on in."
"I had no idea you were living in a place this nice."
"The Imperial Palace provided a lot of support."
"So why aren't you living in the city? Why in the middle of a field?"
"This whole area is my fief."
"What…?"
For a moment I doubted my ears. The Calbasar Plain, the most fertile land on the continent. And the golden, prime real estate right next to the capital was Linus's fief?
"Wasn't the fief they originally promised you somewhere else?"
"That one's mine too. This one was granted a few years ago, when Her Highness the Second Princess reorganized part of her direct holdings to commend my service over the years."
"The Second Princess? She's really straightforward, isn't she."
Yeah. This was how it should be. The idea of the hero who killed the Demon King getting exiled or betrayed was just nonsense.
"Who's that next to you? Doesn't seem to be that maid from last time."
"Uuuugh…"
I turned at the strange sound to find Hindrastar frozen stiff, trembling as if in convulsions.
"Are you all right? You don't look well."
Celine asked, but Hindrastar couldn't even answer, looking ready to collapse on the spot.
Pssssshh—
"Oh my!"
I looked down. Ah, damn. Hindrastar had wet herself.
Seeing that, Linus smiled gently, as if he understood everything.
