The Expedition (1)
"So it all came out in the end, huh?"
"Yeah."
Ain leaned against the window frame as he answered, gazing up at the night sky. Jina stood with her arms crossed, glaring at him.
"So, what are you going to do?"
"About what?"
"What are you going to do now?"
Ain said nothing. He simply closed his mouth and kept staring out into the dark.
Jina's brow furrowed. She let out a long, heavy sigh and spoke to his back.
"That fox of a woman. How the hell did she wrap you around her finger?"
"I wasn't wrapped around anyone's finger."
"The hell you weren't!"
The words burst out of her before she could stop them. Realizing just how loud she'd been, Jina clapped a hand over her mouth.
"...Anyway. Have you decided what you're doing next?"
"I've got something in mind."
"Something in mind?"
Ain flashed her a grin.
"Sometimes heading a little farther out isn't such a bad idea, right?"
"What kind of nonsense are you spouting all of a sudden..."
Jina tilted her head, completely lost — and from behind her came another voice.
"Jina, Ain, what are you two doing here?"
Er had just finished bathing. Her hair and skin still looked damp as she approached them carefully.
"Don't tell me Jina was trying to kidnap Ain again?"
"What are you talking about?! I would never!"
Jina planted both hands on her hips with complete confidence.
"If you don't get caught, it's not kidnapping."
"...So what were the two of you doing? It's late."
It was well into the night. Even the moon had already passed overhead. What kind of conversation could two people possibly need to have, gathered at a window at an hour like this?
"...You're not plotting some other ridiculous stunt, are you?"
"Er, do I look like some kind of walking disaster to you?"
"Why don't you try counting how many times you've charged off without a plan and made a mess of things."
"...I-it's not like that this time!"
Ain turned from the window to face her.
"My new technique is finished, and you guys have new gear. I figured we were about ready."
"Ready? For what?"
"Dungeon exploration."
"...What?"
"What kind of garbage are you talking about all of a sudden?"
Both of them stared at him, eyes wide. Ain let out a short laugh.
"Well, a pretty good job just landed in our laps."
"A good job..."
"I heard it from Lize at the Adventurer Guild earlier. The source of the mana that corrupted that former adventurer — the one who pulled the robbery. Looks like they found him."
The merchant caravan attack from not long ago had long since been confirmed as the work of dark mages. Naturally, the Adventurer Guild and the Karpe viscount's office had been tracking the traces, and the results had come in just recently.
"They confirmed it while you two were busy dealing with the grizzly bear. The Guild's going to issue a request soon. A large-scale expedition."
"An expedition..."
"And how exactly did you find that out?"
"I've got my ways."
He said it casually enough, but Er knew perfectly well that his "source" was Lize, the guild clerk. She couldn't help a small laugh.
"So I figured I'd head to the Guild once it gets light. About time we took on something big, don't you think?"
"...Ain, you've gotten way too cocky since you picked up that new skill."
"He's going to have to get his ass handed to him again before he comes back down to earth."
"You two do remember I'm standing right here, don't you?"
Ain gave them an incredulous look.
"Just wait, alright? I'll bring back a big score!"
"I can't allow it."
The refusal was absolute.
The guild reception desk. At the far end sat a clerk's station, and behind it, an ash-grey-haired woman wearing a nameplate that read Lize across her chest looked the man in front of her dead in the eye.
"The expedition force has already been assembled by the Karpe viscount's office, using the territory's knights, with additional support coming from the royal capital. There is no place for the Adventurer Guild in this."
"Why not?! You said the investigation was a joint effort!"
"It was. A joint investigation team with the Church of Light."
Lize dropped her voice as she took in the bewildered look on Ain's face.
"The Adventurer Guild has decided not to participate in this dark mage subjugation expedition."
"Why? This is a massive job!"
"But it is dangerous. Multiple dark mages are expected to be present. We have no intention of throwing our affiliated adventurers into a death trap like that."
She held his gaze — those strange, luminous golden eyes — and spoke evenly.
"Personally, I think it would be best if you did not participate either, Ain."
"Why?"
"Because you stand out."
It was a simple reason.
Ain's abilities attracted attention. The more people who saw what he could do, the harder it became to keep his secrets. How many people had already found out since he'd started taking adventurer work? Most of it had been his own carelessness, or situations that left him no other choice — but the more people who knew about his power, the more trouble was bound to follow. That much was obvious.
"The more eyes on you, the greater the danger. And now that attention is gathering around Er as well, it would not do her any good either."
"W-well, that's true..."
"So please, let this one go. I will arrange any other request you would like."
That was what she said. But when she saw the disappointment written all over Ain's face, Lize let out a small sigh.
"Is there a particular reason you need to be part of this?"
"...Not really."
"Then why?"
Ain glanced away.
"Well, completing a dangerous, difficult request like that would be good for our reputation, right?"
"...That's true."
"And we might get a chance to meet the lord of Karpe."
"That's also true, but..."
Lize studied him, a flicker of suspicion crossing her face.
"Are you looking to build connections among the nobility?"
"I wouldn't call it something as grand as connections... I just don't think I can afford to look away."
"...Is that because of Er?"
Ain did not answer. Was it simply embarrassment?
But watching him, Lize felt something off. If this were really about Er, he would have denied it and looked away. Instead, the Ain in front of her had gone quiet, as if he were trying to say as little as possible.
"...I understand your intentions, Ain."
He was a man whose thoughts showed far too easily on his face. Part of that was his inability to lie properly — but more than that, it was because Lize paid closer attention to him than she cared to admit.
Which was why, when she spoke again and watched his expression light up, she already knew exactly what she was doing.
"...It is not as though the Adventurer Guild received no request at all. If necessary, I will try to make a place for you."
"Really? Thank you!!"
"It may not work out. There is not much time left before the expedition, so they may have already finished assembling their force. But if you are alright with that..."
"Of course. I'm counting on you, Lize!"
Ain clenched his fist. Watching him, Lize felt the corner of her mouth lift, just a little, before she could stop it.
Their conversation seemed to be over. And then —
"So, when were you planning to treat me to a meal?"
"H-huh?"
"The grizzly bear Er's Party hunted recently fetched quite a price, as I recall. Shall I make a restaurant reservation?"
"Uh, um..."
"Count Arkhansiel left just like that. After meeting some adventurers, he fled back as if he were running away."
The lord's office of the Karpe viscounty. Buried behind a mountain of documents awaiting his seal, a brown-haired man sat with his elbows on the desk and his head in his hands. The old butler's report had left him with a question.
"Adventurers?"
"Yes. A Silver-rank adventurer and an adventurer pending promotion to Bronze, I believe."
They had already identified the guests who had visited the annex. And then —
"There is talk that the Silver-rank adventurer among them may be the young lady of House Arkhansiel, who was believed to be dead."
"Where did the rumor originate?"
"The Adventurer Guild. He went there in person and announced he was looking for his niece. Apparently it has caused quite an uproar."
"What a nuisance."
The man set down his pen, twisted his stiff shoulders, and stretched.
"If I'd been here, things might have gone a little differently."
"Suppressing the monster horde in the northern territory took priority over a trifling incident like this. It could not be helped."
"Calling the matter of a traitor house's young lady a 'trifling incident' — you've got some nerve."
"You flatter me."
Viscount Karpe huffed a quiet laugh at his butler, then let his gaze settle on the sword leaning against the desk.
"Duke Arkhansiel. I never had any direct connection with him, but I've heard the rumors well enough."
"The rumors, my lord?"
"Yes. The finest knight in the kingdom. The Heart of Steel. The Shield of the Kingdom. And..."
Viscount Karpe recalled a name that the nobility had long since made forbidden to speak.
"...My lord."
"I know. Wipe that worried look off your face. I'm not foolish enough to repeat this anywhere else."
"Coming from the man who made countless young ladies cry with his cutting remarks at his coming-of-age ceremony, that is very reassuring."
"Th-that was because I was embarrassed..."
He said it, but he clearly still felt the sting of it. Viscount Karpe glanced away.
"His Highness Licht's absence is far too great. Those who were called his closest retainers have, for all intents and purposes, all vanished."
"Even so, my lord, you..."
"I'm no different. A man who calls himself a viscount, yet he can't even go up to the royal capital and spends his days brawling with monsters."
He knew the truth of it. When former Crown Prince Licht had vanished and the royal family had been turned inside out, Viscount Karpe's father had only just passed away, and he himself had barely inherited the title. That was the only reason their house had escaped the storm.
"My father was of His Highness Licht's faction. If Father had still been alive, our house would have been destroyed as well."
"Is that... fortunate, then?"
"Fortunate."
Viscount Karpe rose from his chair and looked out through the office window at the city beyond.
"If you can call it fortunate that some incompetent fool has taken His Highness Licht's place and sits there covering His Majesty the King's eyes — then yes, I suppose it is."
"My lord."
"Isn't it the truth? The current Crown Prince isn't fit to be king. He hasn't the capacity. Princess Rina would be far more suitable. The problem is..."
"Princess Rina is of illegitimate birth."
"Yes. Ironically, that's the problem."
He let out a hollow, incredulous laugh.
"Even though the current Crown Prince is illegitimate himself. I suppose he simply can't stand the thought of his half-sister taking the throne."
"...His Highness Licht was the only legitimate heir to begin with."
"Yes. That's why it's such a shame. If His Highness Licht had taken the throne, so much would have been different. Perhaps..."
The flatness drained from Viscount Karpe's voice, replaced by something raw.
"We might have been able to wipe out every last demon and dark mage."
"..."
"I still remember it. Those dark mages, wielding a demon's power, carving open my little sister's belly."
"My lord."
"So let's drop the tedious politics and talk about something else."
A click. He reached out and shut the window. When he spoke again, his voice was ice.