The Girl Who Followed

What on earth was going on here?

Luden pressed a hand to his forehead, feeling a dull throb building behind his temples. The appearance of a girl who had no business being here was precisely that bewildering.

Unable to contain his confusion any longer, he finally asked.

"Why are you here?"

"Grrrr…."

Perhaps still heated from the fight, Sarah was in no state to hold a conversation. Luden was just thinking he needed to calm her down first when a faint, coppery smell of blood stung his nose.

Come to think of it, she was just fighting a Forest Troll.

Sarah was drenched in the creature's blood. Of course she was—she'd torn into its flesh with her bare hands, no weapon at all, so being soaked head to toe in blood was only natural. And because she'd flung herself into his arms in that state, his own clothes were now filthy as well.

"Haah. What am I going to do with you."

Luden pulled a spare set of clothes and a towel from his inventory pocket and wiped the blood from himself and Sarah. Each time the cold, damp towel touched her skin, Sarah closed her eyes and obediently accepted his care.

"Now then. Tell me. Why did you come here?"

"Luden, Sarah followed."

"Followed? Me?"

"Yep!"

Sarah nodded with a bright, beaming smile. But Luden only felt his headache intensify.

Did the village know about this? Somehow, he doubted it. Judging by the sheer force of Sarah's will, she had probably slipped out the very moment he left the village, without a word to anyone. For all he knew, the village was in an uproar by now. She did, after all, have a history of being abducted.

What am I supposed to do about this?

Why she had followed him was beside the point—the real question was what to do with Sarah now. Every instinct told him to send her straight home. But there was a problem with that: the Black Wolf Village was a considerable distance from here. Sending a young girl to make the journey alone was far too risky—even if that particular young girl was a Black Wolf strong enough to beat down a Forest Troll.

But I can't exactly escort her back myself, either.

Turning back now would throw his entire schedule into disarray. He had no choice but ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to agonize over it.

That was when it happened.

Could you be any more obvious?

Luden frowned. Wasn't this practically shoving Sarah into his party by force? Was there some reason he absolutely had to accept her? The quest's intent nagged at him, but this wasn't a situation where he could simply accept on the spot.

"I suppose I'll have to bring you along to Talon. What excuse do I even give?"

"Luden?"

At this point, there was nothing for it but to travel together as far as Talon. Only then could he achieve his goal and either send Sarah home or arrange contact with the village separately. The problem was what to tell Gunter and the others. Knowing Gunter as he did, the man would likely wave it off and allow her to travel with them—but the two escort knights were another matter entirely. They had only recently been in open friction with the Black Wolf tribe. Even with the misunderstanding resolved, old feelings might still linger.

Even setting that aside, a beastfolk girl draws far too much attention. She'll need to hide her appearance somehow.

Should he lend her his Robe of Concealment? The moment the thought crossed his mind, Luden's eyes went wide.

Come to think of it—didn't he already have something perfect? A way to keep Sarah at his side without anyone discovering what she was.

"Sarah. You'll come with me for now. In exchange, no causing trouble."

"Yep!"

Sarah answered with plenty of energy.

Around this time, Talon was awash in festival atmosphere. Visitors poured in from every corner of the continent to see the knight tournament held once a year, and food stalls lined the streets at every turn. It had always been a large city, but now it buzzed with more life than ever before.

"Young master, wouldn't it be best if you returned home now, even at this late hour?"

"There you go again. Sir Casner, isn't it about time you gave up? We've come all this way—why not enjoy the festival yourself for once?"

"…Haah."

Casner answered with a sigh instead of words. The boy he served was usually well-mannered, but every so often he pulled something utterly outrageous. This was one of those times. Not only had he left his family estate without a word, he was entering the tournament under a false identity. If the truth came to light, it would not be quietly overlooked.

Another scolding incoming.

He could already feel a headache coming at the thought of being interrogated over why he hadn't stopped the boy.

"Oh. It's starting."

Oblivious to all of it, the boy in question was watching the newly begun match with shining eyes.

"But, young master—"

"Not 'young master.' Call me Reus. We can't have my identity exposed, can we?"

"…With respect, Reus, I see no need for you to enter a tournament like this."

Talon's games were called a knight tournament, but in essence they were closer to a free-for-all martial competition. Most of the participants were mercenaries, unaffiliated wandering swordsmen, or simply curious thrill-seekers. That wasn't to say there were no events for true knights—the lineup did include a jousting tournament restricted to knights alone. Since only knights of proven skill competed in the joust, its level was inevitably high.

"Wouldn't the jousting be a better fit? With your skill, Reus, you could realistically aim for the championship."

He wasn't being polite. The boy before him was still young, yet his talent had already earned him a reputation as a prodigy and drawn considerable expectations from those around him.

But Reus shook his head.

"I appreciate that you think so highly of me, Sir Casner, but I still lack experience. And you know full well that fame isn't the reason I entered this tournament."

There was a glint of stubbornness in his expression, and Casner let out yet another sigh.

"Besides, you never know. Something unexpected might happen—something beyond even your predictions, Sir Casner."

"Pardon?"

Despite the puzzled ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠look he received, Reus kept his eyes fixed on the arena. There, a blond boy who appeared to be about his own age was fighting his way through the preliminary rounds.

"I—I yield."

"Well fought."

Having won his preliminary match with ease, Luden pushed through the crowd and left the arena.

"I suppose that's the preliminaries for you—nobody worth noticing."

Winning the tournament meant earning a knighthood. And by swearing an oath to the lord of Talon, one could even join his knightly order—so most of those entering the competition had their eyes on exactly that.

Even without winning, making a name for yourself here would earn you similar offers.

In truth, that was why Luden had come to Talon in his past life as well. A runaway at the time, he'd harbored the childish notion of becoming a knight and making his family regret casting him aside.

The result: a first-round elimination in the preliminaries.

As the memory surfaced, Luden shook his head, overcome by a fresh wave of embarrassment. The son of Count Kaisar—renowned for his peerless martial prowess—knocked out in the preliminary rounds. It was the kind of humiliation that made you unable to lift your head.

If Geisel had ever learned of it, the man probably would have clutched the back of his neck and collapsed on the spot.

So this is why they say your cringe-worthy past is the scariest thing of all.

At this point, only he knew about it, yet shaking it off was still so hard. Having brushed the thought away, Luden returned to the inn where he was staying. Thanks to Gunter's consideration, the inn was quite expensive—and its facilities and service lived up to the price. Considering how hard it was to find even a single room during festival season, he couldn't help but be grateful to Gunter.

"Luden! You're back, you are!"

Greeting him as he entered the room was Sarah, the black-haired beastfolk girl. She darted over and threw herself into his arms, and Luden caught her with practiced ease.

"You stayed quiet the whole time?"

"Of course, yes! Sarah listened well to Luden, she did!"

Having spent the time since learning language from Luden, Sarah's speech had grown far more natural than before. She was driven by instinct, but her mind was quite sharp. The trouble was that he'd taught her formal speech so she wouldn't slip up in public—and it had left her with a rather peculiar way of talking.

Well. It'll work itself out with time.

Thinking this, Luden turned to her.

"I finished earlier than expected, so how about we go out for dinner tonight?"

"Yay! Sarah likes meat, she does!"

"Got it. Then let's head out right away."

Finished preparing for their outing, Luden and Sarah stepped outside. The streets were overflowing with festival spirit. Having lived her whole life in the forest, Sarah found the bustling spectacle fascinating, and though she kept glancing around in wonder, she followed Luden closely.

It really is Unique-grade, all right. Utterly seamless.

Sarah's current appearance was nothing like her usual self. And no wonder—the beast's tail and ears that marked her as beastfolk were gone. Luden stole a glance at the ring on her right hand.

A Unique item capable of changing one's appearance. He'd obtained it as a quest reward, but having found no particular use for it, it had sat in his pocket until he handed it over to Sarah. And its performance was certainly worthy of the Unique grade. Not only were her tail and ears perfectly hidden—there wasn't the slightest hint of anything unnatural. Even Gunter and his two knights had failed to notice until the moment they parted ways, which made it camouflage of a truly ghostly caliber.

Thanks to that, Luden was free to roam the streets with ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Sarah to his heart's content.

"That place looks about right."

"Smells delicious, it does!"

Though dusk had yet to fall, lines of people already stretched out from every visible shop. Fortunately, the restaurant the two of them entered still had seats open, and they were able to order right away.

"Meat! Meat!"

"Just hold on a little. It'll be out soon."

"Pardon me. There are no seats left, so would you mind if we shared your table?"

Luden, waiting for the food alongside Sarah, turned at the sudden voice. It was a boy who looked to be about his own age, accompanied by a middle-aged man.

Hm?

Even at a glance, the boy radiated an air far beyond the ordinary. Silver hair like refined sterling silver, and lake-blue eyes. Despite his youthful features, he possessed a beauty that could set any number ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of women's hearts fluttering. Beside him, a rough-faced man wore a sour expression, as if something displeased him—and his gaze was fixed on the boy.

"…Of course."

Luden studied them for a moment, then nodded and agreed to share the table. Just as the boy had said, every other seat was already full—there was nowhere else to sit. Sarah, showing little interest, continued to wait impatiently for her meat.

"Thank you. Whew, we've been wandering for ages—I never expected every seat to be taken. If you hadn't accepted us, we'd have gone hungry."

"It's a crowded time of year. Everywhere's like this."

"Isn't it just. Ah, I'm Reus. And this is Casner, my elder brother here."

"Your brother?"

"…Casner."

The two looked nothing alike, and Luden found himself echoing the question before he could stop—making the already grim-faced Casner's expression twist even further. Feeling an odd pang of sympathy, Luden turned his eyes away from the man.

"I'm Luden. And this is—"

"Sarah, she is!"

"A little sister I know."

"I see."

"Hm?"

"Is something the matter?"

"N-no, nothing. I was just wondering when the food would arrive."

"Heh heh. You must be quite hungry, then. I understand completely—I'm the same way, honestly."

Reus laughed as though he found it amusing, but Luden ignored him and stared at the quest that had so abruptly appeared. Quests popping up out of nowhere was an everyday occurrence—hardly surprising anymore. But a quest tied to someone he had just met?

Why on earth?