“…Isn’t that going to make you seem like a weirdo, Claris?”
“You’re right, it might. But anyway,” Claris said, looking behind her at Ludie’s room, then stepping a few paces away from the door to make it easier for me to enter.
“Uhhh, this isn’t a trap, right?”
“Unfortunately not. If we were doing our combat training right now, I would have gladly led you into any number of traps, but alas.”
She urged me along inside.
I assumed Ludie must have been feeling depressed inside her room.
At least, that’s how she is during this part of the game. Without anyone to talk to about the dilemma, she tearfully worries over the things she wants to do, the things she’s capable of, and the practical issues getting in her way.
“Heya, Ludie.”
But the girl sitting inside was dignified and elegant.
Now that I thought about it, Ludie had always been strong.
“I came here as soon as I could when I heard you were confined to your room, but you seem to be doing well.”
“Hey, Kousuke?”
“Yeah?”
“Have you heard about the state my country is in right now?”
“Your mom told us everything. She was pretty forthcoming about it all, too.”
“…I see.”
Ludie let out a big sigh, as if expelling all the air in her stomach at once. Then—
“I want to go to the Sanctuary,” she declared. “I know it may be stupid, and I know I’ll be stopped. Even then, I can’t sit here and do nothing.”
“Yeah?”
Ludie looked me in the eye and began to speak resolutely.
“Kousuke? I have a favor to ask.”
“Sure, I’m game.”
She let out a small sigh at my reply. Then a conflicted look came to her face; she looked happy, yet a bit regretful, all while seeming on the verge of tears.
“I swear, it’s always like this with you…”
“’Course it is. No matter what happens, I’m on your side, Ludie.”
We all are, I added.
“Thanks.”
Slipping out of the castle was not a difficult proposition. I came to this conclusion based on my conversation with Ludie. Though there were many different paths to the Sanctuary, there was a road near the castle that would take us straight there. However, the only ones who could use this route were the imperial family; regular soldiers couldn’t go inside.
Once we decided to meet back up with everyone and head there, we were faced with an obstacle in our path.
“Claris, out of the way.”
The elf woman was blocking the exit to the room, keeping completely silent.
“Can you hear me?”
We didn’t know when another soldier would come by. This situation had to be putting Ludie on edge. After a short pause, Claris opened her mouth.
“What do you plan on doing, Lady Ludivine?” she asked.
“You know, don’t you? At this rate, the whole Empire will be in danger.”
There was no way Claris didn’t understand the current situation.
However, she wasn’t simply Ludie’s maid; she was also a knight. Could someone in her position honestly allow her charge to disregard the danger she was in?
“Are you going to go there yourself?”
“That’s right. No matter what anyone says otherwise.”
“There is a very real chance you could die. Do you remember how many times you’ve fallen into grave peril before?”
“Of course I do.”
“The followers of the Church of the Malevolent Lord will be there—the same people who endangered your life the last time. On top of that, it is said the Sanctuary is home to some of the strongest monsters in the empire. Even then, do you still insist on going, Lady Ludivine?” Claris asked.
“I do.”
“Have you thought over how much Emperor Marc and Empress Sophia love and care about you?”
“I know full well how much they care for me.”
“And you still insist on going?”
Ludie’s eyes never once moved away from Claris.
The two elves locked gazes. They stared hard without exchanging a word. I felt a strange tension between the two.
They weren’t sending out mana or a hostile aura. They were slamming their solemn, earnest feelings at one another.
Thinking that, should the worst happen, this would end in a fight, I filled my stole with mana. However, this proved unnecessary.
“It’s okay, Master Takioto. Please, calm your mana,” Claris told me.
“Lady Ludivine, if I am being perfectly honest, I do not want you to go. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“…I know that.”
“At the same time, however, I also wish to respect your thinking.”
“Huh?”
“You really have grown strong,” Claris said, softening her expression a bit.
“Claris…”
Ludie tried to approach Claris, but the maid put her hand out in front of her and stopped her.
“I will allow you to go, Lady Ludivine. But I do have a condition.”
“What condition?”
“That you take me along with you. I will risk my life to keep you safe.”
Ludie dashed forward and threw her arms around Claris.
“Thank you, Claris.”
Yup. Wonderful. A happy ending.
Or at least, I wished that could have been the end of it, but was this really going to go so smoothly? Obviously, I was grateful to have Claris along with us. Grateful, but…
“Are you sure, Claris? Ludie’s parents definitely didn’t give you any orders like that, right? You’re technically employed by the empire, aren’t you?”
While she may have accompanied Ludie as her bodyguard, Ludie’s parents were the ones paying her salary. It seemed to me like their orders would take priority over Ludie’s.
“He’s right…,” Ludie sorrowfully murmured after stepping back from Claris.
“When you came this way, did you perhaps think that there was an unusually small number of guards?”
“…I did.”
“I worked out a plan. There are important officials within the empire who do not feel it is a good idea for His Majesty to go to the Sanctuary. I conspired with them.”
“Whoa, whoa, hold up,” I reflexively murmured. “Is that gonna work out all right?”
She was totally violating her orders here.
Claris feebly flashed a slightly self-deprecating smile. “Probably not, I would say. I’m prepared to be fired.”
“…I won’t let that happen.”
Claris shook her head at Ludie’s comment. “Lady Ludivine, please understand that is just how grave this matter is. But remember that I am doing this fully prepared for what may come.”
Ludie nodded solemnly.
✦ ✦ ✦
“However,” Claris continued, flashing a gentle smile. “The thought occurred to me that perhaps, if I am fired, I could be employed as a maid of the Hanamura House. How does that sound?”
I mean, c’mon, a valuable talent like her?
“That would be more than I could ever hope for,” I said.
“Better yet, Master, what do you think of taking her in right now?”
I let out a small yelp in surprise. I turned to find Nanami was standing beside me. When exactly did she get here?
“Nanami will always be at your side, Master, no matter what.”
What horror movie did she fall out of? That sounded terrifying!
“We’re here, too.”
Next came Yuika and Yukine.
“Huh, why?”
“Apparently, Empress Sophia, of all people, told the soldiers nearby that Ludie was feeling anxious and it would be a good idea to let her friends talk with her.”
Oh, if that was what was going on, then it made sense why we had been able to reach Ludie. So Sophia had really said that. I glanced at Claris.
“Oh…,” she murmured in response to Yukine. “Forgive me, Miss Yukine. Though they may have said they heard that from Empress Sophia, the truth is, they were repeating a lie I spread myself. Lady Sophia would never say something like that, and she had absolutely no intention of letting Ludie out of here either.”
Yukine was downright stunned by the boldness of Claris’s actions. Y’know, it was a pretty rare sight to see her with her mouth hanging open.
“Lady Ludie, your mother and father truly love you from the bottom of their hearts and are very concerned for you. Do you understand that?”
With a solemn look on her face, Ludie nodded.
“Then promise me you’ll make it back here no matter what, for your family’s sake.”
“Obviously, I’ll come back home. Why…” She looked at all of us as she spoke. “…when I have such dependable friends, how couldn’t I?”