The Truth Game (1)
Linne had been in high spirits lately.
Thanks to Blow looking favorably on her, she had landed work at the potion shop on excellent terms.
And there was more.
"Once you start brewing potions in earnest, you and Rowbedi take your share yourselves."
"Y-Young Master! I c-couldn't possibly..."
"It's fine. That much is yours to take. Just promise you won't sell it to anyone else. And if there's anything left from the old potion shop that you need, take that too."
"Th-thank you."
One of the reasons commoners struggled to hold on at a magic school was that the extra costs—potions chief among them—ran ruinously high.
And her kindhearted employer, Blow, had taken care of even that.
At this point it was no longer a question of loyalty. As one person to another, she had no choice but to follow him.
Rowbedi had even been saying lately that if only Blow were willing, he wanted to enter his service outright as a sworn retainer. Of course, that was talk the two of them kept strictly to themselves.
Linne had not thought that far. Even so, these days she was throwing her whole heart into the work. It seemed the only way she had to show her gratitude, and the only way to repay what she owed.
If she had one worry, it was Jane—who might as well have been her direct superior—pushing herself far too hard.
"S-Senior, when did you brew all of this?"
"Mm. Just last night."
"Y-you must have been swamped, a-and exhausted..."
"I'm fine. The Black Bridge Gathering isn't far off, so I have to get ahead of it. Keep it a secret from the Young Master. He'll worry."
"O-okay..."
That had been their conversation the day after the Central Festival, when Linne could barely keep her eyes open, and exchanges of that sort had only grown more frequent around then.
Two days ago, on Friday, there had been another.
"Just make the mana potions. I'm going to the central market with the Young Master later. I already brewed all the hangover potions yesterday."
"B-but there weren't any before we closed... D-did you make them last night?"
"Yeah. I just made them while I was settling the books."
"Y-you could have called me..."
"You have school, Linne. I'm the one with time to spare. I ought to be the one working hard."
Linne thought of herself as rather slow on the uptake, but she could not help worrying as the dark circles under Jane's eyes grew ever sharper and the luster drained from her hair.
So when the boss said he would have Jane rest today, Sunday, the relief that washed through her was beyond words. She had worked all the harder so Jane's absence would not be felt, and once the evening's work was done she had meant to ask not only Jane, but Hervena and Cindy as well, what she ought to do once she became a third-year.
But.
That plan shattered the moment she came face to face with Jane.
When she climbed to the second floor of the potion shop, Jane was nodding off at the desk in the very same clothes as yesterday.
Linne drew quietly closer, meaning to wake her—only to find the desktop covered in papers bearing drawings she had never seen, along with herbs that were never used in their brewing.
...Umandara, Hyosis, Curania. She's this busy, and she's doing separate research all on her own. But these aren't herbs we use often in potions. Wait—all three of them are poisonous...?
She checked again with a trembling hand, and her curiosity was slowly curdling into unease.
Why these, of all things?
Doing her best to ignore the heartbeat pounding in her ears, Linne began to read what was written on the papers. Her eyes raced down the pages strewn in a mess across the desk—and stopped dead on a certain phrase.
"S-suspended animation?"
Linne, one of the finest talents in the second year, began fitting the puzzle together in an instant.
If Senior Jane had gone this far, cutting into her sleep to do it, then it had to be because of the boss. Suspended animation... Could she mean the Young Master's condition when that white sphere appeared? Then was she making this potion to use on him?
No. If you meant to make a potion, experiments were essential. How on earth...?
Surely not?
She had gotten that far, her whole body shaking as she clapped a hand over her mouth, when Jane's nodding head stopped without warning.
"Linne?"
Waking, Jane hurriedly gathered up the papers strewn across the desk. Linne, who had taken in the contents long since, could only stare at her in a daze.
"Wh-what is all this..."
"Linne, Linne, wait... let me explain..."
"Explain... what?"
The Jane before her eyes was not the Jane she knew—the one who was always calm and composed. She looked anxious. Her frightened eyes darted, and even her words stumbled.
"F-first, um... I-I'll explain it properly tomorrow, so... could you keep it a secret from the Young Master?"
"...S-Senior, is there even such a thing? A p-potion for suspended animation?"
".....There isn't."
"S-so you're saying you're going to m-make one yourself. Right now."
"......"
"Y-you'd have to experiment, t-too, so how on earth..."
"Linne, I haven't thought that far yet... For now, can't you just keep it secret? I'm asking you. Please?"
Jane pleaded, but Linne shook her head hard, backed away, and cried out.
"H-how am I supposed to keep this a secret!"
"Linne, I'm begging you. Please..."
"N-no. This is..."
"Linne, that's why I'm asking you like this. All right?"
"A potion for s-suspended animation—absolutely not!"
Linne's shout left a silence between them as heavy as death.
Then she glanced at the poisonous herbs Jane had not managed to clear away, waved her hands, and cried out.
"Umandara, Hyosis, Curania... th-there's nothing here but poisonous herbs...!"
"Linne, you learned this in herbology. Depending on the dose..."
"Even if you did m-make the potion, how do you mean to run the final experiment!"
"That..."
Cut off, Jane bit her lower lip hard, dropped her head, and murmured, barely loud enough to hear.
"If I must... then there's no choice... on myself..."
"Miss Jane!"
A voice that should never have carried through the potion shop rang out then. Megan, the owner of that near-scream, stood by the stairs with her face gone pale, her whole body trembling in a way utterly unlike her.
Linne was already more than Jane could handle, and now Megan as well. For a moment Jane's eyes had nowhere left to go.
Megan came up with heavy footsteps, looked her straight in the face, and asked,
"Just what, exactly, are you saying?"
"....."
"I heard every word on the way up. I may be completely unlettered, but I understand that much. You're talking nonsense!"
"Megan, that's..."
Megan shook her head as if she did not even want to hear it.
"It really is nonsense!"
"I'll... explain... so just give me a moment..."
But Megan cut her off, firm, as if she would not hear another word.
"I am going to tell the Young Master about this myself. Today. Right now!"
"I said I would explain!! Just a moment of time—"
"Explain? Explain what!"
"Megan!"
"I'm sorry, but I don't serve you, Jane. I serve the Young Master!"
"I-I'm doing this for the Young Master too. If I run enough experiments first..."
At that, Megan let out a disbelieving breath and looked straight at her.
"I wouldn't know about any of that, ignorant as I am! Do you think the Young Master would order you to do something that dangerous for his own sake?"
Her voice sank low, her eyes wide, as if she truly could not understand.
"No, really—do you even think at all?"
"Why do you have to put it like that...!"
"Then answer the question I just asked! Whether the Young Master is that sort of person!"
Megan laid down the law before Jane, who was shouting in wounded frustration. The strength went out of Jane, and she sank to the floor.
"The Young Master relies on you in so many ways. You know that better than anyone, and still you come up with a foolish idea like this..."
"......"
Jane sat there like a rain-soaked puppy, unable to answer. Megan, having swallowed her anger, turned her gaze on Linne.
"Right? It's dangerous?"
"Th-that's..."
"Say it plainly."
"I-it's dangerous..."
Having heard even that, Megan looked at Jane again and spoke as if delivering a notice.
"I'll tell him the moment tonight's dinner is over."
A silence settled between them, as if they had stepped into a tomb. Megan let out a long sigh and opened her mouth.
"If you're not eating dinner, say so. I'll tell them you're unwell."
"...I'll go."
"We're going. Now."
Megan turned sharply and went down the stairs, and Linne followed weakly after her.
Left behind for a moment, Jane lamented herself for having lost to sleep—and still had no choice but to follow them.
Meanwhile, in the restaurant next door—Hills.
Blow had been worrying because the two who had gone to wake Jane had not come back, when Cindy, busy tearing into pork ribs beside him, spoke up.
"Hey, Blow Deblique."
"Yeah?"
"What's on your mind?"
"Nothing. Just..."
"What, hearing the name Rosalyn put you in a mood?"
"I wasn't thinking about anything until just now."
"Ha. You heard the name Rosalyn and still weren't thinking about anything?"
Cindy giggled and clinked her beer glass against his. Blow briefly called up the Rosalyn in his memory—the girl who used to charge about like a princess—and let out a sigh.
"It's been a while since I've seen her face. She still the same?"
"Yeaaah. Still childish. Still sharp."
"Yeah? Hervena, Skadi—that right?"
Skadi glanced at Hervena, who needlessly smoothed her skirt once before she spoke.
"Since it's come up."
"Something happened, then."
"Once the rumor got around that I was going to the Young Master, Rosalyn came and said something to me."
"What did she say?"
"She asked if I was only going after I'd looked my fill, and told me not to do anything that would catch her eye from now on..."
At those words, Blow's gaze hardened.
"Same as ever. But if something like that happened, why didn't you tell me?"
"I thought telling you would only put you in a bad mood. Me as well... and you, Young Master..."
"Next time something like that happens, tell me. She threatened you."
"Yes."
Seeing Blow's stiff expression, Cindy spoke in an offhand tone.
"Oh, come on. It's not like she can actually do anything."
"It still feels awful. And Hervena isn't a girl who can go unnoticed."
"That's true. She's so special it's a problem."
"Exactly. Our violet devil!!"
With that, Skadi pulled Hervena, seated beside her, into a tight hug. But the more Blow thought about it, the hotter his temper ran, and he spoke to Hervena again.
"Next time, tell me. Understand?"
"....Yes."
"If you don't, I'll be angry with you."
"I understand... I'll be sure to tell you."
...She was clearly being scolded. So why did it feel so good?
A faint smile spread at the corners of Hervena's mouth.
Just then the restaurant door opened, and Megan, Jane, and Linne came in. Megan was the same as before, but Linne looked dazed, and Jane's eyes were cast down. Blow tilted his head as he watched them.
"Young Master, I've brought Miss Jane."
"All right."
With that, Megan went back to straightening the hall.
...Did Megan scold the two of them? No. That couldn't be.
While Blow was thinking it, Jane offered him a bow.
"Jane."
"Yes."
"Did you rest well?"
"Thanks to your consideration..."
"Good. Think you can open the potion shop tomorrow?"
"I have to. It's the first day..."
Jane barely managed to lift the corners of her mouth for him. Catching the subtlety, Blow decided that once the dinner was over he would ask about this sense of wrongness.
"Now that everyone's here! Let's have a drink!!"
Skadi shouted it, bright with excitement. Just as she said, the company for tonight's drinking had finally all taken their seats.
Yulia, who had been in the seat of honor, moved down to a table, and they split into two tables of four. At the inner table, Rowbedi and Linne sat across from Cindy and Skadi. At the table set flush against it, Hervena and Yulia took their places, with Blow and Jane opposite them.
The customers had mostly gone home. Skadi, who had been looking them all over, flung her glass high and called out.
"A toast—to Blow's future!"
"Cheers!"
Everyone drank. Cindy, who had been enjoying the beer she had been putting away for a while, called out to Blow.
"Khhh... Hey! What is this? I've been drinking it and it's really good!"
"Pilsner Paulos. A lager. That's a lager."
"Oh? I thought it crackled on the tongue."
"You can call it beer."
Cindy glanced at him as he shrugged, then let out a short laugh.
"I figured you'd have Ropert Malt on hand, obviously. Weren't the two of you soulmates?"
"I don't drink it anymore. I just fell a little further out of love with it."
Ropert Malt. As the name suggested, a liquor produced by House Ropert—Rosalyn's family. Everyone nodded as if they understood.
Then Yulia, who had been devouring the corn cheese, spoke in a calm voice.
"Even so, Lady Rosalyn must weigh on you a little."
"Well... it doesn't particularly matter to me. From where you stand, Senior, it's a bit unpleasant, isn't it?"
"It does seem as though it would nag at me."
"Still, since you're the one preparing the banquet, there's an advantage, isn't there?"
"I hope so... but if it shows too plainly, that might be awkward."
"I'll think of a way that doesn't cause trouble for anyone."
"I trust you, Young Master. You'll handle it wisely. I'll think of something as well."
"Thank you."
The two of them were deep in serious conversation when Skadi and Cindy, seated nearby, whispered back and forth, then shouted so everyone could hear.
"Hey, hey, hey! Let's play a truth game! A truth game!"
"What's that?"
"You pick someone and ask a question, and if they don't want to answer, they drink Cindy's special!"
"...Cindy's special?"
At that, Cindy promptly mixed wine and beer half and half into a bizarre drink and set it in the middle.
"You drink this! Whoever gets the question asks the next one!"
"Oh my! That sounds like so much fun!"
"......"
Blow looked at the brightly exclaiming Yulia as if she had surprised him. Cindy did not miss the opening. She burst out laughing and made the proposal.
"Department Head, you should go first. Anyone object?"
There was no one who would, and so the first question fell to Yulia.
"Then I'll ask Department Head Cindy."
"Ask away!"
"If I become student council president, would you consider taking the post of finance director next year?"
"I would not."
The answer came in less than a second, and the corners of Yulia's mouth fell.
"Truly?"
"Yes. I'll be leaving the student council as well. Two years was long enough."
"What a shame."
"Indoor will be quite capable! I worked him to the bone, after all. I want to focus on magic for the two years I have left."
Whether some regret lingered, Yulia clicked her tongue. Meanwhile Cindy shifted her gaze to Blow.
"Then I'll take Blow Deblique."
"Go ahead."
"I've heard about the Black Bridge Gathering before."
"Well, of course you have. You're—"
"That's far enough...."
Before he could bring up Julbert Mertios again, Cindy cut his words clean off.
"They say you can bring only one retainer. Officially."
"That's right."
"So. Jane? Or Hervena?"
Hervena's heart dropped.
Startled, she looked at Jane. Jane, sunk in her own thoughts until that moment, snapped back to herself.
Blow looked from one of them to the other, then opened his mouth without a moment's hesitation.