Vol 2 Chapter 2 (1/2)

Chapter 2 - The Balance Scales For Passion And Love

Approximately at around the same time

Just north of the highhere Ferris and Iris were rolled onto, at Asohld tea-house, was Ryner Lute

There was yet no sign of Ferris who should have already arrived at the rendezvous location, and on top of that, it was raining, and just about the tiet worried, all of a sudden

“ yner”

He heard a voice

Which was muffled by the rain

“ Ryner”

He heard it clearly this time

His name was called

He thought it was the voice of Ferris, as late for the rendezvous and started,

“ so the princess has finally arrived eh?”

Fro shelter frohway

However,

“”

There was no sign of Ferris

Huh? What the? I thought I heard so my name

As he tilted his head, once again

“ Ryner-tteba!”

He was called

However, that voice was not co from the south, but rather from the north

“Eh?”

Ryner turned around

And looked at the highway through the reduced visibility caused by the rain

There was a wo there

“”

But the wo there was not Ferris As he looked closely, he knew she was clearly not her

Firstly, her height was different She was somewhat shorter than the tall Ferris Her hair color was different Ferris was blond, while she had shoulder-length red hair

And her voice was also different from that of Ferris

Compared to Ferris’s emotionless and monotonous voice, her voice carried a tone of intimacy and happiness

And that voice

For some reason, was known to Ryner

A long time

He had not heard that voice in a long time

From a distant memory, that voice resided in the most peaceful part of his mind

It hen Ryner and Sion were both seventeen When they were students In that side Ryner, and nagging at him

But in the end

In the end, she also left crying

Even though she was originally a spy frodom of Estabul, she was made used by the nobles of Roland who had held her sister hostage

And that led to her betraying her co to the deaths of many

But that’s not her fault They were in a terrible era, and there was nothing much she could do

But still she felt responsible for all that and had left the country

That’s right

She had left the country a long tio

But yet, right now, she was right in front of him

No, perhaps, she was no longer the same person as before

Previously, her red hair was in a short cut that extended to her shoulders Her face which still bore some childish features had now turned into a beautiful face of an adult

But her eyes reed with a feeling of weakness embedded somewhere within those red orbs, it was if they were completely the same as before

She was happily looking at Ryner with those eyes With a s face,

“Ryner!!”

She said with a strong, loud voice, no softer than the loud patter of the raindrops

It really had been a long time since his name was called by her Ryner, in response to that, with a dumbfounded voice,

“ Kiefer”

He spoke

Her name

Kiefer Knolles, the name of an old friend

At that moment

Her face which should have been bea with happiness contorted before his very eyes

Into a crying face Even though herface

He could not see any tears No, , but the tears were hidden by the falling rain,it impossible to really tell

Suddenly she started running Towards here

Ryner could notup to him

And then

“”

Kiefer cae of the eaves of the tea-house

She embraced Ryner

Pressing against hiainst the door of the tea-house which was not yet opened for business

And while that was happening

“”

Kiefer did not say a word She only ehtly

He looked down at the head of Keifer which suddenly ca into his chest

“ er?”

What a thing for Ryner to ask stupidly without thinking Given the fact that she knew Ryner, and suddenly, with a crying face, ca

But because he had not seen her for a long time ever since she had left the country, he was just stunned when she suddenly appeared and ca him

Ryner looked down at the wohtly troubled expression

“Ah, er time no see”

“”

But Kiefer did not reply She hugged hihter She buried her face into his chest

And then

“”

And Ryner just gave up on saying anything

Looking at her with a troubled face She was already completely drenched by the rain The water drops in her beautiful red hair glistened The slender body that was hugging hily cold

“”

Ryner aardly held her shoulders with his hands

“ if you stay wet like this, you’re gonna catch a cold, you know?”

He said softly

At those words, she looked up

She ht on with her red eyes

Her eyes looked di Her face blushed slightly with embarrassment But more than that, she happily looked up at Ryner’s face and showed him a mischievous smile

“Ah ~, now, Ryner-tteba, while I wasn’t around, did you go after other women? You lecher”

What a thing to say suddenly and Ryner frowned

“It’s been a long time sinceeach other, and all of a sudden, that?”

Kiefer laughed

“But ~ The Ryner froeez”

After saying that, she gently touched his hands that were around her shoulders And then,

“Before in the prison, the time when I kissed Ryner Ryner was much more nervous”

Before she finished her words, Ryner withdrew his hands

Thereafter, while shi+fting his eyes,

“Eh, ah, ah, er, Kiefer, to, to bring up so like that suddenly”

As he fumbled with his words in a flustered manner,

“Yeah, that’s it, that’s it”

Kiefer laughed again Following the withdrawing rasped his hands

Ryner was about to promptly shake them off but Kiefer, instantly,

“”

Instantly,face, and he stopped short

His hands were grasped Her hands ar of that, his chest had beco

If that’s the case

“”

If that’s the case, I’ll let it pass, Ryner thought If he could pass on so body, he would let it pass, he thought

But Kiefer just sed him like how a lover would

“ urmm”

Ryner had a real troubled look

In other words, erm, hm, what kind of situation is this?

Erm, erm, erm, what should I, eh, what should I do? About this?

As his , Kiefer said

“You know, Ryner”

“?”

“Erm do you remember the words I’ve said on the very last dayeach other”

And then

“ the words on the very last dayeach other?”

Ryner started thinking back

And remembered

On the very last day he saw her

Everything took place in a prison

A double agent for Roland and Estabul, the business was settled with her being thrown into prison, and in order to save her, Ryner ain with the upper echelon of the ed his own freedom for hers

That was soo

Ryner recalled that distant memory

That day

That day when everything had changed

That day when every of their comrades died on the battlefield, the day when the last reone

That day

When Sion was reproaching himself, and said that he would rise above To the upper echelons of the military He said that he would rise to the top of the country with everything he got, and change everything for the better In order to not let any et hurt

True to his words, he hadof this country and changed everything He was really so But he was a fool who overworked himself sometimes

And then on that day

Ryner said that it was botherso He was sick and tired of having his co others And thus he ran away Going into prison, and spending his two years languidly The only thing he did was to write that report on the Heroes’ Relics But in the end, he didn’t strive to achieve anything beyond that Because he didn’t strive, that’s why things had co weird

And additionally, on that day

He later heard from Sion that Kiefer had left hi resided in both Estabul and Roland, she wanted go out to see the world, and see the other countries Ryner did not know of the thoughts and feelings she held in her heart when she left the country But still, she left the country

But, before that

In the prison, just right before Ryner took the place of Kiefer in prison, they had their last conversation

Three years ago

Within this country, where there was a hter security in the prisons then, the two of them had a conversation

Ryner looked sleepy as usual

But Kiefer was crying While crying, she kissed Ryner and said

”I finally knohy I have fallen in love with Ryner I used to think that it was because there was no need for ainst someone that unmotivated and that I could always feel at ease around you but it wasn’t like that Because Ryner is really kind And strong That’s why that’s why you are no ain, I won’t forgive you”

He remembered those words of hers

“”

Ryner frowned again

She had held out her outstretched hands towards Ryner again

The same kind of outstretched hands from Sion and Ferris, towards him

Even though he had thought of hiht to love another, and had continued running away, she had told this monster that she loved him

But still, even with that, Ryner ran away He had continued running away during those three years

And it was not until he was too late for anything and everything that he realized it

Sion had beco Kiefer crying Milk crying Tyle, Toni, Fahl, Byor, Lafra, Pueka, all died

Only when he was too late for anything and everything then he realized

Everyone had stretched their hands to e to take hold of any one of them

The last day they met

Even though when Kiefer had already told him that

”Ryner is not a monster At the very least, in my eyes, you aren’t one”

And then Ryner

“”

The Ryner now still did not see it that way however He still thought of hierous existence who may hurt people, even noas afraid of all that however, he no longer thought of running away

He won’t run away again, he thought

Therefore, Ryner,

“ ah, I remembered of course Kiefer told me I’m not a monster”

But he was interrupted and with a sparkling smile, she looked up at him,

“I said that I like Ryner, did you remember that properly!?”

She said

And Ryner,

“Huh, it was about that!?”

Instantly, her face turned red

“Eh? Eh? What do you mean by ‘it was about that’!”

“Erm, ah, ah ~ … no ah, that, you know? That Kiefer like ht”

But, Ryner could not continue

Since Kiefer’s eyes started to blur as she looked straight at him

Into Ryner’s eyes

Looking straight into the eyes bearing the aboma

Ryner, without thinking, seemed to want to turned his face away Since he could not bear it when people gazed into his eyes

When people peeked into the eyes bore by the monster, by himself He felt ill at ease every time when people peeked into his killer eyes

But she should already be well aware of it

Since he had gone berserk right before her

Because he couldn’t stop his eyes fro berserk, he had killed lots of people around him

Not only did he kill all of the dom of Estabul, he almost killed his friends, Sion and Kiefer

He was a monster

A cursed monster

He had no right to accept the love of another

He had no right to be loved by another

Even though he should be well aware of that

Even though she should be well aware of that

She still looked straight at them

Ryner’s eyes

Cursed eyes

The creepy eyes where the vermillion pentacles floated above

“”

With eyes filled with love, she looked intently at him

And Ryner

“”

“”

But, at that moment, suddenly

“ kuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuun!!”

A voice shouted out

Frohway, upon which rain continued to fall

From the south,

“Kuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuun!!”

The voice of a young girl was screa desperately

And then Ryner,

“Eh?”

He looked up

And Kiefer as well,

“Eh?”

And turned her head around

As they did that, again,

“Beast-kuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuun! Helpppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp!!”

Such a voice could be heard

And furthermore, that was a familiar voice

An adorable, clear voice

He could ier of sister of that crazy, troublesoo demon

Ryner looked towards the direction of the voice

In the heavy rain

Stood a young girl

With blond hair, and extraordinary perfect features on her face Wearing a dress with lots of frills, and both her back and her hands were laden with a number of knapsacks

It was Iris Eris, younger sister of Ferris Eris She was around ten years of age? Wait, she should be twelve now, right?

Well, it did not matter noay

That Iris was looking this way

“Beast-kun!!”

She called out again

And then Kiefer,

“Beast-kun?”

She looked here with an incredulous expression

And then Ryner,

“”

Did not reply

By the way, regarding the nicknaht, in order to assault girls, Ryner will transform into a beast and wander around the streets! And since then, Iris had always called him that Well, it would be troublesonored that for now

Ryner strained his eyes to look at Iris through the low visibility caused by the rain

As he did that, he could somewhat make out her face

“ what is it?”

Ryner muttered reflexively

The Iris as always energetic, andas if she was about to cry

At that moment, Kiefer asked

“ an acquaintance?”

Ryner nodded

“The younger sister of my partner”

“ partner?”

“Yeah”

After giving an appropriate reply, he again looked at Iris But, it was evident that there was so

With her feet, she should be able to reach this tea-house in just mere seconds

But yet, she did not see a move

And further here, appearing to be dragging soround

But he did not knohat that was The rain was extremely heavy, and he couldn’t really make out as at her feet

“”

At that moment

Iris propped soround

What was propped up had the same blond hair as her, a face of similar features as her, the face of a peerless beauty

With long bond hair that was completely drenched, fair skin, and a flawless face

But those eyes on that face were shut And the face looked pale as well

Looking unconscious

Or was it because

She’s dead?

“ Ferris!?”

Ryner shouted and sprinted forward

“Ah”

Kiefer exclaimed in surprise but this was not the time to pay attention to that

It was clear that so bad had happened

Iris looked as she was about to cry

And that monster-like, willful, bothersohty foe against any opponent, that Ferris was lying on the ground

It was clearly an abnormal situation

Ryner ran with all his , at an insane speed

The nearer he got, the ed Ferris through the rain all the way up till here

Both of the pathetic

As Ryner reached their side, he said

“What in the world what in the world has happened?”

Iris, while weeping,

“Ne, Nee-sama Nee-sama was killed”

“Wha!”

Instantly, Ryner’s heart seemed to stop

Killed?

Ferris?

Ferris was killed then Ferris is already

“”

Ryner placed a finger to her neck, and froh Ferris felt cold from the rain, he could still sense a body temperature and a clear pulse

Then, Ryner looked at Iris,

“She’s alive, you know?”

As Iris was sobbing up her tears, she nodded a few times

“She, she, she died but then came back to life”

To those words,

“Huh? She died but came back to life?”

“Un”

“Huh, ah ~ What do you mean by that?”

As Ryner asked with a questioning look, Kiefer caught up to him

“Now Ryner-tteba, you were so fast”

But Ryner did not answer

She then looked at the unconscious Ferris, where Ryner had placed a finger to her neck, and turned serious

“ is she dead?”

Ryner shook his head

“No, she still has a pulse”

File:DDnYnD v02 085jpg

“Her temperature?”

“A little cold, but there’s no problem”

“But, if she continues to stay in this rain”

“Ah, ah, you’re right”

“Let’s move her”

On saying that, Kiefer carried the legs of Ferris

And Ryner as well,

“Yeah”

He acknowledged, and carried her head and body And with that, they back-tracked from where they came from

And as they reached the edge of the eaves again, Kiefer started knocking on the door of the tea-house

“Excuse me There’s someone injured, can you let us in?”

She called out

Ryner could only act dumbfounded at Kiefer’s sensibility

In a way, he was fed up with hi useless

He was again stunned into inaction

After seeing Iris cry, and hearing about Ferris being killed, he was very much stunned

But there was really no ti around

Due to too otten that both he and Ferris were Roland’s fugitives right now, and they were being pursued by the military

It was possible that Ferris ht have been done in by those pursuers No, it’s not a possibility, that had to be the case

Those pursuers could just be nearby

They were actually able to render Ferris to such a state The pursuers this ti like what they’ve seen till now

There was really no ti around

“Geez, get a hold of yourself”

Ryner said to himself and breathed out softly

At that moment, the owner of the tea-house came out A person Ryner also knew by face, the bearded Oyaji of this establishment

As Oyaji looked at Ferris,

“Ferris-chan!? What in the world”

And Kiefer,

“She see outside, can we bring her inside to rest?”

“Of, of, of course Come, please come in quickly”

And then Kiefer turned her head around After Ryner acknowledged her gesture,

“Kiefer”

“Uhn”

“For now, I’ll”

But before Ryner could finish what he wanted to say,

“Got it”

Kiefer nodded After that, she took hold of Ferris and entered the tea-house

Ryner as about to speak, but in the end was able to send his communication across to her without the further need for words

“”

Ryner smiled wryly

Of course, and again he recalled the past

Kiefer, she is excellent

Even in that Roland Empire Royal Military Special Acadehly popular, and thanks to that, because she was often seen with him, he was even more hated by the rest

But that was convenient Since he didn’t like to le with other people, thanks to her, he was hated by all the rest, which made it easy for him

No, perhaps she was the sa others, but perhaps she did not really have the strength in her to bear with her own hypocritical front, that’s why she chose to stay beside the most hated dunce of the academy

And the both of theet close

Then Sion ca

To make Kiefer and Ryner his comrades, the Sion as the top of the academy came to scout for them

Ryner recalled the scenes from the past academy days

As he recalled the days he spent with Kiefer, the first ti like an honors student, Ryner smiled

Then, he turned around

He tensed up his whole body and cast his consciousness around him

To ascertain the presence of any enes To ascertain the nearby presence of whoever had caused Ferris to be in that state

However, even when he strained his ears, he could not sense the presence of any eneht beside hi sounds of the rain

Every other sound was masked by the sounds of the heavy downpour, and he could hear nothing else

But still, even so

“ can’t sense any killing intent”

But still, that ht not be necessarily accurate

Since the enemy was someone who could defeat Ferris To erase his presence completely from detection should be easy for this fella

“”

Ryner took a step into the rain

But there was no reaction, no sign of any enemy

“Anyone there?”

“”

“If you are there,a response will make my life easier, you know”

But to Ryner’s words,

“”

There was no response from any possible enemy at all

“None I suppose, HERE!”

Ryner tried using a much louder voice, and as expected, there was no reaction at all

However, it did sees

So as to speak, if there were any ene the time when Ryner was still unaware of whether Ferris was still alive, at the point where he was in a stunned state incapable of ements, that would be the best time attack him

That was the time when he was utterly defenseless

Which meant,

“ then, there aren’t any pursuers after all?”

Who did that to Ferris?

Could it be that she was in that state because of so else?

Well, regarding that, everything would beco

“ it’s hard to h”

As Ryner said that wearily, he released the tension in his body And he turned round his heel again

And started walking towards the tea-house where Ferris, Iris, and Kiefer were in

And then he,

“Perhaps I should wait until Ferris regains consciousness”

Then, in response to his oords, in a dejected tone,

“No, it et any proper information out of the elder sister”

While saying that in a groaning tone, Ryner smiled

In any case, there were s to do He couldn’t relax yet, for now, he would wake Ferris up and find out what had happened U Kiefer

“”

At that hts halted

Even though for now, there were already s to do, but he just reo was at another level of urgent huous matter

Those biting red eyes of Kiefer

He reht at Ryner

“ u~mm”

He tried shaking his head perplexedly but, his unkempt black hair, which was a result of his sleepy-headedness, was now thoroughly wet from the rain

Ryner then,

“ ah ~, it’s a little troubleso the country, but maybe I should cut my hair”

What a thing to say when groo that as a habitual practice of running away from reality

Then, once again, he looked at the tea-house where Kiefer and Ferris were

“ sigh”

Aftertowards the tea-house

♦

It was a sudden thing

Suddenly, anything and everything about the world had changed

It was really sudden But it’s because that it was so sudden that during all this while, people were taking things easy, and that no one seemed to have realized it

No, even now, there were still a lot of people who had yet to realize it, wasn’t it so?

The wildly enthusiastic populace

The joyful people

The landscape of this place, Roland Eed, it was now surrounded by fiery emotions

With an overwhel, Sion Astal, had started proclai the world