Holy Fire (8)
Ain and his companions returned to Karpe late at night.
The direction they had gone tearing off in had been the exact opposite of the city, and as a precaution they had taken a wide detour around any region that might still hold the black fog. The first place they sought out was the Adventurer Guild in the heart of the city.
They burst through the doors soaked in sweat and dust — enough to startle anyone — but the guild clerk who received them spoke with the same expressionless face as always.
"Good evening, Adventurers. What brings you to the Adventurer Guild?"
"Lize, this is bad! We've got a huge problem!"
Unlike Lize, Ain was gasping for breath, his voice raw with urgency.
"A black mage showed up — with a whole pack of chimeras! The guy was strong enough to seize control of the surrounding space! If we don't do something fast—"
"We're already looking into the black mage. Someone who saw the same thing you did arrived at the guild ahead of you and filed a report."
"Someone who saw the same thing?"
Ain tilted his head at Lize's unexpected answer and glanced back at his companions. Wondering if he had missed someone, he shot them a look full of suspicion — but they only shook their heads.
"There was nobody around, was there?"
"Did you forget? Not even a single bug."
"Meaning: unclear."
Confirming that his memory was not wrong, Ain immediately turned back to Lize.
"Who was it? There was nobody there but us. The only ones there were us and… the black mage."
If someone had witnessed what happened on the plains, they needed to be treated with suspicion. It could be a black mage's informant spreading false information to cover their tracks.
"You have to check carefully! Those bastards are used to that kind of trick—!"
Ain slammed his fist down on the clerk's desk with a bang, about to shout — when a familiar voice cut through the room.
"Quiet, you idiot disciple. Do you have any idea how late it is to be yelling like that?"
Smack!
The crisp crack of a blow against Ain's forehead arrived together with that voice. Everyone except Ain — who had sat down hard on his rear from the sudden impact — turned toward the sound.
Standing there was a silver-haired beauty wearing a look of utter boredom. She had taken off the white robe she always wore and held it in one hand; the tight-fitting shirt left the curves of her body completely unfiltered. Veronica spoke in a voice laced with mild irritation.
"If the job was done, you should've come straight back. Where the hell have you been wandering around?"
"Master! Are you all right!?"
Despite her master's sharp words, Jina rushed over and began checking Veronica over from head to toe.
"You're not hurt, are you? You didn't overdo it, or…"
"Don't fuss. There's nothing wrong with me."
Veronica's manner was distinctly gentler than when she dealt with Ain. Looking distinctly put out, Ain stuck out his lip and snapped,
"See? I told you there was nothing to worry about!"
"And who was it that was just now hounding Lize about how there was no time?"
"Hmm. Well, it certainly wasn't me."
With a thoroughly shameless expression and tone, Ain got to his feet.
"So what happened? The black mage?"
"He's dead. But he probably isn't."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It was a clone."
A clone. Ain and his companions swallowed dryly, their faces tightening.
"You'll be fine. That black mage never got a proper look at you. I confirmed that myself, so don't worry."
"…But we still don't know what those damn bastards will try next, do we?"
"That's true. Which is why I intend to return to Arcadia immediately and work out a plan. I've already dealt with the black mage, so the high priests of the Prayer Assembly won't be able to come down too hard."
They could claim the black mage's suppression as the Temple's achievement before the royal court. But that would inevitably require mentioning Veronica's name — the one who had personally caught and killed him. The high priests, who had no desire to see Veronica's standing grow, would find it awkward to make a fuss about this incident.
If what had appeared in Karpe had been a Black Magic Tower executive rather than a mere chimera, they never would have sent Veronica. Catching the black mage — or deliberately letting him escape — would have been a perfect opportunity to raise alarm at the royal court and expand their own influence.
But the royal family, having seen through the truth of the incident first, had used the Adventurer Guild to make contact with Veronica — who was at odds with the high priests — checking them and shutting their mouths. By now the Grand Temple would have learned the real story, and the high priests would be throwing a fit over the opportunity they had lost.
Ain pictured that for a moment, then curled the corner of his mouth.
"Good. Serves those damn old men right."
"Ain."
"What? I'm not wrong, am I?"
Jina nodded in agreement.
"I'm glad those old geezers got what they deserved, but will you be all right, Master? They're going to grill you pretty hard."
"That's just another Tuesday, isn't it? And this time, they'll have something more important to worry about than harassing me."
"…What do you mean?"
Veronica looked into her disciple's golden eyes and closed her mouth.
Should I tell him? That the black mages are targeting him. That the new master of the black mages — the one they call True Darkness — is searching for him.
If she wanted him safe, she ought to tell him. Then Ain would take more care of himself, and he would stop showing off his power wherever he went. But something held her back.
What if, once he knew, Ain went looking for the black mages on purpose?
The wound in his chest was far too large — and she lived with a wound just like it. She could not say with certainty that he would not. That was why she herself was hunting the Black Magic Tower right now.
After long deliberation, her decision reached Ain in a low voice.
"…Ain. Take care of yourself. It seems the leader of the black mages has his eye on the power you possess."
She had decided to tell him the truth. Because she believed in her disciple. Because she believed he would handle it well.
Whether or not he understood what she was thinking, Ain wore an odd expression and curled his lip.
"Let them come. I'd love it, actually — I'll wipe those cockroaches out in one shot…!"
"Do not go looking for them, and do not provoke them. If you pull a stunt that dangerous, I'll have no choice but to drag you back to the Grand Temple."
"…"
Ain shut his mouth at his master's words, which held not a trace of humor. Veronica lowered her voice so that only he could hear.
"You still have something you need to do, don't you?"
"…What's that supposed to mean?"
"I don't believe you fled the Temple because you genuinely wanted a peaceful life. If you had, there would have been no need to become an adventurer."
If he had truly been sick of the Temple and the Church and wanted to live in peace, there would have been no reason to take on something as dangerous as adventuring. Ain, who could not possibly not know that, insisted on being an adventurer and sought out battlefields for a reason.
"I won't ask why. In fact, I think I already know."
"…What would you know?"
"The fact that you still wear that rosary around your neck is enough."
A somewhat old silver rosary. The familiar rosary that her former star pupil had once worn around her neck. As long as that rosary — which glowed with a gentle light, as if someone had cherished it for a very long time — hung from Ain's neck, Veronica, who knew what it meant, had no choice but to say it.
"Everything was my fault. It happened because I was incompetent. So don't let it consume you… Don't put yourself to the test."
Her lavender eyes met his golden ones. She could see the anxiety and bewilderment that showed in their depths, even as he pretended to be indifferent. And so she knew that the boy was hiding a secret from her.
"Take care of yourself."
For now, that was all she could say.
"Once this incident gets out, the high priests of the Prayer Assembly will raise hell demanding they bring you back… but I'll hold them off. If I use the excuse that the Grand Temple itself might come under attack, it should work out somehow."
They were people who looked after their own hides with terrifying diligence, so it would work out one way or another.
"…Why? You always hated it when I stepped out from under your shadow."
"There are living things that can only survive if they receive sunlight."
If her shadow became an obstacle to him. If her existence was a wall standing between her disciple and his path.
"I believe in you, and in the God who led you here. This, too, is fate — and the mission we carry."
This visit had been for the sake of saying these words from the start. A foul-tempered master. A disciple like a protruding thorn. Her true feelings, which had never quite meshed and always gone awry, reached him in this moment.
Ain said nothing. He simply closed his mouth. Looking down at her disciple, whose face suggested he had a great deal to think about, Veronica smiled and ruffled his hair.
"You've grown up. You're almost as tall as I am now."
"…I'll get taller. Probably."
"Yes. I hope you do."
Veronica lifted her gaze and addressed the companions standing behind Ain.
"Look after this idiot for me. He's got a rotten personality and a filthy mouth, but he's not a bad kid."
"Master… I already know that."
"Rare specimen. No intention of losing him."
Veronica chuckled at Jina and Haru's replies.
"Miss Er. I'm counting on you."
"…Yes."
"If this one starts running wild, stop him. He's stubborn as a mule, so it won't be easy… but he'll listen if it's you."
"W-what are you talking about!?"
Ain yelped, startled — perhaps because Veronica's tone had been a little strange. Veronica smiled at the boy's face.
"Haha. Why so shocked? Isn't it only natural for a party member to listen to the party leader? Or did you have something else in mind?"
"W-what do you mean…!"
"For instance — that you're a complete idiot who can't do a thing when the girl you like tells you—"
"AAAHHH!! If you're going to talk nonsense, just GO already!! You said you were leaving!!"
Ears and face faintly flushed, Ain babbled and shoved Veronica in the back. She could have stood her ground if she had wanted to, but there was no reason to. If anything, she was grateful he was pushing her out — and she could finally get the cigarettes she had not been able to pick up, having waited at the Adventurer Guild for fear of missing them.
But she had to say this one thing.
"Ain. Do not return to the Temple for a while. Under any circumstances."
"That's obvious…"
"Absolutely do not come back. No matter what happens."
She said it in a voice so small that only Ain, who had drawn close from pushing her back, could hear.
"The atmosphere among the Church's upper ranks is not right. Believing in you is part of it — but it's also why I let you run from the Grand Temple, and why I let Jina follow after you."
"…The atmosphere isn't right?"
"I don't know the details. But… it's obvious that something big is going to happen at the Temple before long. The rift between the high priests, blinded by greed, and those who have grown sick of them, is widening by the day."
Having said that much, Veronica spoke in a voice that was rare for her.
Not a shred of pretense. Pure sincerity. Ain, who could tell, found himself bowing his head deeply.
"…You too, Master."
In that moment, the hand that had been pushing her back grew unusually warm. At the same time, the sting from the wound on her cheek — earned fighting the black mage — faded away. Veronica smiled despite herself.
"It's been a while since I heard you call me Master."
"…I never have."
"Ha. What a charmless brat. Fine. My business here is done, so I should be going."
Freeing herself from Ain's hand, Veronica turned back.
"This is farewell, then. May God watch over your journey."
Veronica offered an old-fashioned blessing of the sort elderly priests used, and made the sign of the cross. The others bowed their heads respectfully in kind; Ain merely dipped his chin.
Taking in the sight, Veronica turned her back and took a step. There was no need to worry about her disciples anymore. They had people they could trust now.
Which meant—
"I'll have to move the plan forward."
Veronica's violet eyes shone with a quiet, poignant light.
"…She's gone, then."
"Yeah. She's gone."
It had been a brief reunion. In the end, all she had done was come find them, yell a bit, torment Ain, and then personally wipe out the black mage in a one-woman show. Realizing that all they had left was the request payment sitting at the guild — which they had not even earned — Er muttered with an exhausted face.
"So in the end… we didn't actually do anything, did we?"
"…You're right. Why the hell were we even dragged around?"
"Jina, you sure filled up with complaints the second Lady Veronica disappeared."
"You wouldn't understand if you haven't been through it. You… you're lucky…"
Unlike Jina, whose eyes had gone distant and wistful, Er tilted her head. The Veronica she had seen had been a little mischievous, but not particularly difficult. But Ain, who seemed to share Jina's opinion, let out a long sigh as he stared in the direction his master had gone.
"Still, it's a relief. Looks like it ended without incident."
"Without incident?"
"Yeah. That human I call my master loves surprises… She has a habit of dropping a bomb at the very end."
"Urgh… lizards, mealworms, frogs… pupae…!!"
Jina suddenly mumbled something incomprehensible, then crumpled to the floor, her shoulders shaking.
"N-no, nooo…"
"Jina, what's wrong!?"
"Leave her. She'll be fine in a bit. Every disciple of that woman goes through it… Yeah, it's like a mild disability…"
"What on earth did she DO to you?!"
As Er, completely in the dark, cried out and checked on Jina, Haru had somehow approached Ain and tugged on his sleeve.
"…Ain."
"This. From Lize."
"…Lize? Why would the guild clerk…?"
"Said to give it to you."
What Haru handed over was a letter. An unremarkable white envelope. Ain took it and, without meaning to, said with a grave expression,
"A love letter, huh. So the day has finally come."
"…Ain?"
Er called his name with a bright smile.
"Keep that up and you'll die. Without a trace?"
Who was going to die, exactly? He was far too terrified to ask.
"H-hey, it's a joke…! There's no way it's actually a love letter! Look, look! There's something written on the back of the envelope!"
Startled by Er's somewhat frightening reaction, Ain hurriedly examined the envelope. Unlike the blank front, a single line of elegant handwriting ran across the back. The handwriting was familiar to Ain's eyes. He blurted it out without thinking.
"This is Master's handwriting."
"Lady Veronica's?"
"Let's see…"
It's a letter from your parents. It arrived at the Temple. Leaving it at the guild in case you forget.
"…Parents?!"
"Ain. You have parents?"
"…Is making dead-parent jokes about me just a given with you people?"
Ain let out a disbelieving laugh at the "do you have parents" line he had heard before. But the laugh vanished just as quickly. He tore open the envelope without difficulty and scanned the contents.
"……"
"Ain, what's wrong?"
"Is there something weird written in there?"
Holding the letter paper, Ain had gone completely still — then his shoulders began to tremble.
"No… seriously, why do they always do this to me…"
"What's going on?"
Even Er's worried question was no use. Ain's face had gone somewhat pale. In the end, as if he could not hold it in, he bellowed in the direction his master had gone.
"You son of a—!!"
"W-what are you doing?! It's the middle of the night!!"
"Have you lost it!?"
"Ain. Too loud…"
Er and Jina grabbed him and clamped a hand over his mouth. Haru, apparently also finding it noisy, flicked her hand once and erased Ain's echoing voice.
"What's the matter!?"
Having instantly cleaned up the commotion Ain had caused, they all looked at him. Under their gazes, Ain spoke in a voice that sounded like he had given up on everything.
"…They're coming."
"Coming? Who?"
"My parents."
"…Excuse me?"
Ain held out the letter paper to a slack-jawed Er. This is what was written on it.
We're coming there to see our son's face.