The Truth Game (2)

"That depends on Skadi."

The moment Skadi's name left Blow's mouth, every head at the table tipped to one side.

Cindy's eyes thinned as they settled on the stunned Skadi. She drew her brows together and turned on Blow.

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

"Skadi doesn't have a retainer. The two of you can just take one each."

"Hey! Blow Deblique, you are no fun!"

Cindy puffed her cheeks and shouted. Blow only shrugged.

"Why? Do I absolutely have to pick one?"

"That's the whole point of asking!"

She fumed, snorting, and shoved her Cindy Special across the table in front of him. Blow nudged the glass aside without much interest and looked from Hervena to Jane and back again.

"I'm taking whoever makes me less angry."

"What are you talking about now?"

"Whoever irritates me less between now and the Black Bridge Gathering. That's who I'm taking."

The words landed with a weight that startled Jane. She looked up at him, her breath gone thin, and Blow met that look without wavering. After what had happened earlier, holding his eyes was more than she could manage, and her head dropped.

Hervena, the other person those words concerned, remembered what she had told him about Rosalyn only a little while ago. The memory pricked. She asked, careful.

"By any chance... is not mentioning Rosalyn just now a deduction?"

"Minus three hundred points."

"That isn't even a thing! Ch-check it starting now!"

She had raised her voice without meaning to. Skadi and Cindy burst out laughing.

"Hervena actually wants to go!"

"A junior with a cute side to her."

"This is so annoying!"

Blow watched Hervena snap at the pair, let out a short breath of a laugh, and added, as if it were a kindness:

"All right. I'll make it a hundred."

"Same thing either way! It's still a minus!"

"Is it?"

"......"

But Hervena had nothing more she could say to him.

The Black Bridge Gathering allowed only a single retainer, and it was a place where noble heirs put those retainers on display for one another. She had never been, but she knew this much: at a gathering of aristocrats, a retainer advertised one's power more effectively than any luxury.

Turned over this way and that, examined as objectively as she could manage, she still thought herself the better choice. She did think Jane was... just a little prettier than she was. Unprecedented talent, first in her year, the makings of an archmage — none of that was Hervena praising herself. It was what other people had already said of her.

And yet, in a matter like this, her master was a man no one could predict. He was exactly the sort to take Jane to the Black Bridge Gathering for a reason that would look irrational to anyone else: Jane's feelings. Not Hervena. Jane.

If she heard that answer — and the chance of hearing it was high — she knew she would be miserably sad. Better, from where she sat, if her young master simply let the question pass under some trivial joke, the way he was doing now. If he meant to choose Jane anyway, then at least not in front of so many people. She wanted him to tell her when they were alone, with a thoroughly apologetic face. Then she might feel a little less pathetic, and she would still be able to grumble at him.

Fortunately, the moment seemed to be sliding past. Cindy drew the drink she had ordered back in front of herself and called across to Blow.

"This is fun. Then you ask something, Blow!"

"Hmm..."

He had sunk into thought when Megan came over from the kitchen. For an instant Linne's eyes and Jane's both went to her, but Megan did not so much as glance their way.

"Young master."

"Megan. What is it?"

"I will go and distribute potatoes to the children."

"No customers left in the hall, are there? It's late."

"Yes. Three tables remain."

"Then I'll go. You, Hans, and Melo ought to rest."

"I could not possibly..."

Megan looked reluctant, but Blow was already on his feet. Jane and Linne, who had been watching the exchange with dry throats, let out breaths of relief they had not meant to release.

"What's so difficult about it? The potatoes are all boiled, aren't they?"

"Yes. The preparations are finished."

"Hey! Where are you going? You still have to ask a question!"

"Hold my turn. I'll do it later. You can just go again."

Cindy puffed her cheeks, plainly unsatisfied, but Blow smiled at her as if to say she should let it go, and beckoned.

"Hervena."

"Yes... yes? What is it?"

"Let's go give the kids some potatoes."

"Me?"

"You said to tell you if there was anything to help with. You've had it easy today."

"Ah, yes! I'm coming."

Hervena swallowed the beer in front of her in a hurry and stood. A smile, barely there at all, touched the corner of her mouth.

The two of them went out of the restaurant, and Cindy, who had no idea what handing out potatoes was supposed to mean, turned to Skadi.

"What was that about?"

"Oh, Blow gives potatoes to the kids in Dusk Block."

"Potatoes? What, dumping leftovers?"

"No. It isn't scraps that have to be thrown out. He calculates the dates exactly and gives them out."

"Well, I'll be. One shock after another today. That guy looks after children? Not pounding them?"

Cindy was still clicking her tongue when Yulia, who had been watching the pair with open pleasure, slipped neatly into the conversation.

"Chief, the young master has changed a great deal, hasn't he?"

"The way he runs his mouth at me is exactly the same, but honestly, yes."

"He does have a playful streak, doesn't he? He teases Lady Rachel, too."

"That one does seem a little out of his mind."

"That's probably why Lady Rachel is so fond of him. He treats her without standing on rank. If the young master returns to school next year, campus will be much more entertaining."

"He's coming back? He opened a potion shop. Won't he be too busy..."

"If all he has to think about is graduating, it's manageable. And Lady Luce wants him to, she said."

"Well, true. Even just so the three years he already spent aren't wasted, he might as well graduate."

"Exactly. And if that happens, Young Master Blow will have to join my student council as well."

Cindy startled and asked it back.

"What? Really?"

"Since we're already business partners, I thought it would be good to share the student council, too. Then I could eat corn cheese a little more often. What do you think, Jane? That would be all right, wouldn't it?"

"Yes..."

"If I want a smooth, uncomplicated year, I need someone I can actually talk to. Cindy, if I'm elected president, I'll give more weight to the vice president and the secretariat and cut the departments' work sharply — the Treasury's most of all."

Somewhere in the middle of it, Yulia's eyes had begun to shine as they fixed on Cindy. Uneasy under that look, Cindy turned her gaze somewhere else.

"I see..."

"And after that, Cindy becomes student council president. One year as deputy chief and two as chief — it would be a first for the school."

"A commoner like me, what could I..."

"Hmm. Why wouldn't it work? It isn't written in the school rules."

Pressed by that persistence, Cindy jabbed a finger toward Skadi.

"If she does it, I'll think about it."

"Hey! Why are you dragging me into this all of a sudden!"

"Why? Sounds like nothing but fun."

"How do you do something like that for fun!"

"Well, iiiif it happens, we put a cask of beer on the first floor of the council hall."

"Oh... that isn't bad... Blow would like it, too."

The two of them went on spinning nonsense. It was only Cindy's roundabout way of refusing. Skadi would never join a student council that already had Rebecca as vice president.

Contrary to what Cindy expected, Yulia was already running the figures at speed in her head.

"Chief Cindy? You mean that?"

"Mean what?"

"If Skadi joins the student council, Chief Cindy comes as well?"

"S-Senior! Why me all of a sudden!"

"Why? I offered at the hotel last time, too, didn't I? And I'm only speaking of one chance in ten thousand. From where I sit, Chief Cindy is simply too tempting."

Cindy knew Skadi well. She lifted one shoulder, perfectly at ease.

"Well, sure."

"Hey, Cindy! Why do you get to decide that!"

"Because I feel like it."

She answered as if the whole thing would never happen, and Skadi lunged at her for it. Yulia only smiled, already thinking that she would have to talk this over with Blow later.

"Everyone, this stays a secret from the young master, yes?"

"What?"

"A truth game is something we play so we can make secrets among ourselves, isn't it? You understand, Jane?"

"Yes..."

Yulia proposed the toast with a smile that lived mostly in her eyes. By then Blow, finished handing potatoes out to the children, was opening the restaurant door and coming back in.

Once Blow had settled himself in his seat, Cindy barked at him.

"Hey, Blow, you ask this time. The turn you saved!"

"You're still doing this? Me? Hmm..."

He looked around the table, and his ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠eyes found Linne, who had been staring blankly into empty air since the drinking began.

"Linne?"

"Yes? Yes?! M-me?"

"Whoever hasn't asked yet has to take one."

"Ah... aah... y-yes, yes... go ahead!"

The sight of her fluster made Cindy chuckle. She glanced at Skadi.

"What's this? Blow's got her by the scruff like a caught mouse, hasn't he?"

"I don't think so. He treats her really well."

"You think I don't know you? Cindy?"

While he was still deciding what to ask, Blow thought of Rachel, who had found the girl so endearing.

"Did you agree to a retainer contract with Lady Rachel?"

"Whaat? No? No! W-we never t-talked about anything like that."

"Last time she told you to come to Serdia for university."

"Ah... th-that was probably just something she said. Sh-she does send a l-letter now and then."

"She writes you letters?"

"Th... just ordinary... e-everyday things. I-I didn't talk about the boss's business."

"She must really have taken a liking to you."

"Sh-she said to come to the Imperial Capital once in winter. Th-that she'd show me around."

"That won't do. Jane only gets any rest at all if you're here."

"Th-that would be true, I suppose? Haha..."

Linne's shoulders had drawn in tight. She had looked unwell for a while, and so had Jane, and Blow could not help noticing.

Skadi caught the sunken mood and spoke to Linne brightly.

"Then it's Linne's turn!"

"Th-then I'll ask S-Senior Cindy."

"Go on."

"I-I'm doing that school project, and—"

"Not something productive. Make it unproductive, please."

Cindy cut her off clean. Linne swallowed and tried again, cautious.

"Ah... aah. Yes, then... Senior Cindy, have you ever seen Young Master Blow get angry? Y-you two seem close."

She asked because she was afraid. From what she had overheard Megan say to Jane earlier, it seemed certain that her boss, Blow Deblique, was going to be furious.

"Hm? What kind of question is that?"

Cindy asked it as if she genuinely did not understand, and Linne barely got an answer out.

"I-I've just never seen it..."

"What? Seriously? You've never seen Blow get angry?"

Sheepish, Blow looked elsewhere, and Cindy's eyes moved on to Skadi and Hervena.

"Is that true."

"If I had to say... just now, when Rosalyn came up?"

"He did get angry when he caught the children in the middle of handing out potatoes."

"What did he say?"

"Just not to do it next time."

Cindy let out an empty laugh, and her eyes went thin.

"That isn't Blow being angry! You know that, and you're still saying it? At minimum he'd grab someone by the collar and—"

"Hmm... then I don't think there is one. Not recently."

Skadi cut the sentence off as smoothly as if she had always meant to. Every eye turned to Jane. She had been with Blow the longest, after all.

"I don't really..."

She was hedging when a single memory cut suddenly across her mind.

Megan's unyielding voice passed through with it. Jane's mouth, gone bleak, simply closed.

"Jane?"

Skadi, seated across from her, spoke as if she ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠were worried.

"Huh?"

"What's wrong all of a sudden? Tired?"

"N-no. I was just thinking, and..."

Jane let the rest fall away and drank the beer in front of her. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Into the gap, Yulia slipped with a careful voice.

"Back then — Delter, was it? Didn't the young master get angry at that Central Academy student?"

"Oh, finally a story with some substance! So something else happened? I knew that guy couldn't stand other schools."

Color came back into Cindy's face at Yulia's words, and Yulia told them what had happened then. Afterward Cindy offered a few old stories of Blow in a rage, and Linne's face went pale by degrees.

To Jane, those stories arrived muffled and hazy, like sound heard underwater.

Late at night, thoroughly and warmly drunk, Cindy came up to Blow.

"Hey! That was seriously delicious!"

"And you only told me to come once!"

"You should've dragged me here by the hair if that's what it took!"

With that, Cindy and Skadi broke into giggles. Blow watched them and held out two potion bottles.

"Come by now and then. These are hangover potions, so drink them once you've sobered up."

"Well! Good service! And... take this."

"Senior Yulia already paid for the drinks tonight."

"Ah, not for tonight... When you come to school ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sometimes... bring a little food to the Treasury. Cindy's request!"

Her mouth was rough, but Blow knew the lingering warmth underneath it. He nodded.

"I have to go to school anyway. I'll drop by whenever I think of it."

"Thanks."

"Where are you off to now?"

"Got to go finish the leftover work."

"...You were drinking."

"I'll sober up on the way anyway. I'm off?"

"Senior, if you're heading to school, let's go together."

At that — Hervena had grown rather close to her — Cindy shifted her linked arm from Skadi over to Hervena.

"Perfect, perfect! Skadi! See you in class tomorrow!"

"Young master, I'll be on my way."

The two of them left.

Somewhere in it, Skadi's expression had hardened. She breathed out a white plume in the cold and stepped up to Blow.

"Is something wrong?"

"Why?"

"Jane, and... Linne's face looks awful, too."

"I don't know either. I was about to ask. Linne saying she'd stay is unusual, too."

"Right. I hope it's nothing."

She glanced inside. Blow added it as if to tell her not to worry.

"What could it be. You kept spacing out in the middle, too, Skadi."

"No. Just... today Cindy was the main character, that's all. It's been a while."

"Anyway, thanks for lighting up the table again today. Skadi Hetaya."

"Y-yeah... listen... Blow."

"What? Is putting your name on a menu still a bit much after all?"

"Ah... no..."

She hesitated a long while, let out a heavy sigh, and forced the words out.

"Never mind. See you tomorrow."

"Anticlimactic. Get inside. It's cold."

And so Blow Deblique went back into Hills.

Skadi watched him until he was gone. She closed her eyes tight, then moved feet that did not want to leave.

Once Skadi was gone as well, he finally went into the restaurant and took a seat in front of Linne and Jane, who sat quiet as mice.

The mood had sunk completely. Blow opened his mouth to Linne in a light voice.

"Linne, I told you earlier to go home."

"Ah, n-no..."

"...What is it, seriously? Did you summon a monster in the potion shop?"

He tossed the joke out to loosen the frozen air, but their faces did not ease, and neither did Megan's, watching in silence from the side.

It was Megan who broke the quiet that had been stretching on.

"Miss Jane, shall I say it? Or would you rather tell him yourself?"

"......"

Jane could not say a word. Blow studied that sunken expression, and at last unease entered his eyes.

Megan stared at the girl who would not answer. Her eyes narrowed. Then she turned toward Blow.

"Young master, Miss Jane... compounded a potion for a state of suspended animation—"

"What?"

In the air gone cold, only someone's sigh settled, quietly, and was gone.