Chapter 6 (2/2)

The continuing flow of troops was quite long, keeping us on edge in our hiding spot, which turned out to be relatively nearby. Aira screwed her eyes shut, her face paper-white.

Anyway, get going, quickly. All I could do was hope that they would.

As the end of the marching ranks approached, the transport wagons followed, bringing up the rear of the procession. They were being escorted by a horseman that was clearly different from the others.

…That’s the commanding officer, right?

Without a helmet, the man’s rich blonde hair was exposed to his surroundings.

He was young. Not even thirty yet, I bet. And a disagreeably good-looking guy. That lone figure, on his horse and in pure white armor, certainly fit the bill.

So much that I honestly admired it.

Before I knew it, I couldn’t take my eyes off him. Actually, he did stand out, but it was more than that. How should I put it, he had amazing presence.

Charisma, aura, something like that? 3

— No, that wasn’t all.

There was some sort of uneasiness inside me.

When I looked at him, for some reason, my mind fell into turmoil. For the life of me, I couldn’t figure out what it was.

What the h.e.l.l is it? This sense of discomfort —

I dug around for the reason, my stare fixed on him as if I were possessed. Suddenly, as if he noticed my gaze, the man looked back at me.

“!”

Beside me, Palmira inhaled sharply. It seemed that she’d seen the same thing.

Sure enough, the troops’ apparent commander turned his horse around and approached us.

We’ve been found out? We’ve been found out, right?

‘At this distance? Impossible,’ I thought, but our eyes met.

Maybe it was a mistake. But he was heading straight for us.

— What do I do? What should I do?

My heart hammered away as sweat trickled down my forehead. All sorts of thoughts flicker through my mind, but in my panic, I couldn’t think straight.

Meanwhile, the distance between us steadily shrank.

He’s definitely coming here. I’m sure of it.

“…–!”

Next to me in my panic, Palmira let out a small groan.

When I looked at her, she took the knife from my hand and pressed it to her ankle. Her expression was a bit pained. Blood trickled out from between her fingers.

What in the world did she do?

In front of me, as I struggled with my confusion, Palmira threw away the knife and quickly whispered something into Aira’s ear.

Looking surprised, Aira’s expression immediately turned serious and she nodded.

My mind couldn’t keep up. In that time, the man had already reached us.

Dismounting, he parted the thicket covering our hiding place.

Our eyes met. This time there was no mistaking it, we had obviously been discovered. After an expression of slight surprise, the man approached us.

“What’s wrong, miss?”

A voice addressed us from overhead, as we stayed crouched. A beautiful, gentle voice, completely in line with his appearance. It resonated in my ears. Like so, the man calmly watched us.

I didn’t want to admit it, but I knew that voice, that expression, had defused the tension.

What’s with this b.a.s.t.a.r.d? He’s too perfect. Even though I cursed him in my heart, what came out of my mouth, contrary to my wishes, was a sigh of relief.

“M–My little sister, she — hurt her leg…”

While I stared blankly at him, fascinated, Aira’s unexpected words reached my ears.

When I looked at the other two, startled, I saw Palmira holding her ankle in apparent pain, while Aira hovered protectively over her.

Just like she said, no matter how I looked at it, Aira was the spitting image of a big sister worrying over her injured little sister.

I was surprised.

By Palmira’s quick thinking, yes, but also Aira’s instant improvisation.

“…I see. The wound seems shallow, but it certainly is some cause for concern. Would you please wait for a moment?”

Crouching down beside Palmira, the man took a quick look at her injury and rose to his feet. He made each and every movement look good. His figure, his bearing, I couldn’t tear my eyes away.

“Leopard! Leopard! Could you get over here!”

He directed his voice toward the soldiers.

Not long after, another mounted soldier came running over. This one also seemed to have some sort of standing in the army. An adjutant, maybe? In contrast with the gentleman commander, his hard-nosed expression was too at-home on his aggressive features.

A tough career military man. That was the impression I got.

“What is it, young master?”

‘Young master’?!

The man reflexively turned around in response to the words of the man he called ‘Leopard’.

He certainly wasn’t your run-of-the-mill gentleman; it showed in his actions. Maybe that came with being a man of high rank.

Such as a n.o.ble.

With his presence, it wouldn’t be the least bit strange.

Glancing at me as I unintentionally stared at him, he smiled gently.

“Ah, this young lady seems to be injured. I was thinking of having her ride in the coach.”

What a good guy. The fact that I’d just inadvertently thought such a thing, terrified me.

I knew that I wasn’t a particularly trusting sort of person. But when I saw this guy in front of me, I ended up trusting him unconditionally in spite of myself.

I had to wonder if it was some kind of magic. His charm was that strong.

“I see. Of course, if we were to leave a beautiful injured young lady in need, it would be a stain on the honor of our company. Are you going to call the coach?”

“No,”

the man said decisively. He took Palmira, supine, in his arms. The so-called princess carry. Even Palmira was surprised, her eyes widening.

“Leopard, I’ll leave my horse to you. You two, please come with me.”

“Y–Yes.”

With things progressing too quickly, even Aira, who’d been acting her part, trailed after the man with confusion stamped on her face.

…To tell you the truth, I thought he was dangerous.

A man who mysteriously compels others to trust him: isn’t that dangerous?

Maybe it was perverse of me, but the remaining part of my heart, which had otherwise been won over, grew all the warier.

“Come now, you as well.”

“O–O…kay.”

I remembered Aira and Palmira’s cover story, and despite my uneasiness, I agreed to his urging with an awkward response.

For some reason, it was humiliating.

Nonetheless, I no longer had any control over the situation, and so I followed after the man who was briskly walking off with Palmira in his arms.

Anyhow, now that we’d come this far, all I could do was brace myself. With Palmira’s current state, even saying something awkward from here on would be too unnatural.

Plus, as long as we could secure a spot in the coach, we’d be able to enter the city normally. In terms of results, you could say that everything was working out perfectly.

There wasn’t a single reason to refuse.

“By the way, how were you injured?”

“Actually, when we went out to find medicinal herbs, we were chased by a wild boar… We ran away, but my little sister got hurt, and we lost everything we were carrying…”

Aira smoothly fed the man lie after lie in response to his question. She’d been of no help whatsoever until now, and her transformation kind of drew me in.

Still, women are tough, aren’t they?

Footnotes

1. Help? まだまだ、これだけで終わりそうには無かったし、終わるつもりもない ↵

2. What’s this first half, exactly? 少なく見ても、１００人ほどは居る ↵

3. No idea, please help: もしそうした不確実な物を説明するとしたら、あれがそうだと言えば足る程度に、その男だけが周囲からやけに浮いて見える ↵

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