“Whoa.” Mizelia was standing behind Ryoma and caught him before he hit the ground. “Lights out.”
“Due to exhaustion as much as the drug,” Rosenberg said.
“Under his guise of nonchalance, the training was really getting to him,” Hudom pointed out.
“I’ve never seen him put off doing something slime-related before...” Miya said.
“Under any other circumstances, he definitely would have checked on the slimes before taking the medicine...” Hudom said.
“By the parameters of Master Ryoma’s normal behavior, it was downright bizarre.”
Everyone present—except for Rosenberg and Eleonora, who hadn’t known Ryoma long enough to truly appreciate his passion for studying slimes—nodded in agreement.
“Um... Are you all right, Lord Rosenberg? It looked like you were quite tense during the training session.”
“You are very observant, Miss Eleonora.” Rosenberg had been monitoring Ryoma with a spell of his own to make sure he could quickly jump in to help if Ryoma had lost control of his curse or overextended himself. “I must have been overexposed to his curse and magical energy from having to pay very close attention to any shifts in Ryoma’s magical energy, which he was using an abundant amount of. Albeit through blurry vision and muffled hearing, this was the first time I have experienced someone else’s curse through sights and sounds.”
“Should you not rest as well?” Eleonora asked.
“If I had allowed myself to, I would have been dragged into his memories. Fortunately, I pulled back before that could happen. It was a critical call that I made correctly, in hindsight.”
“What happened?” Hudom asked, sensing an undertone of fear in Rosenberg.
“I am not sure. Nothing was clear... Imagine a picture drawn solely with the gradient of black ink, or perhaps a moving, shifting silhouette. Even its outline was blurred... I saw long lines rising from the dark ground to the dark sky, intercrossed by shorter and thinner lines. The shorter lines were most likely people, freely moving through the shapes made of the long lines. The longer lines seemed to be buildings...in a city far larger than the capital.”
“A city bigger than the capital? We’ve been to the capital, and it’s hard to imagine any city bigger than that,” Welanna said.
“It is a reflection of Ryoma’s imagination, so his visualization may not accurately reflect reality. He was brought up in the Sea of Trees, so they could be trees instead of buildings. My true concern lies with the countless people moving through this place. I sensed all forms of animosity coming from them...all directed at Ryoma. It was as if they were forcing Ryoma to shoulder their dissatisfaction and misfortunes. I sensed unfathomable malice, more than anyone should experience over the course of their entire life. Something about the flow of malice felt...intentional. It is possible that Ryoma was raised to be a warlock’s sacrifice. Mister Sebas, you told me Ryoma is an orphan. Were his caretakers trustworthy?”
Sebas thought for a moment before answering the sudden question. “Master Ryoma’s grandparents who raised him are above suspicion. He has never shared any stories of mistreatment.”
“Then it must have been before his grandparents took him in... No, this is mere conjecture. I should not develop my theory further without evidence. However, I must say that the negative emotions Ryoma used in his curse were visceral enough to make me wonder...and enough to nearly make him lose control. In my defense for failing my supervisory duties, Ryoma had easily soared past my expectations, which I thought I had already adjusted sufficiently higher.”
Jeff took a step forwards. “You’re not inspiring a lot of confidence here... I don’t wanna interrupt his progress, but I gotta ask: Is this going to put Ryoma in a tough position? I know nothing about curses, and even I could feel his—what did you call it?—negative emotions. You’re the expert and you’re saying that Ryoma’s unpredictable? Is that gonna mark him as some kind of threat? Don’t you dare throw him to the wolves now because you think you can’t handle him.”
“Easy, Jeff. We’re all on the same side here,” Welanna reminded him.
Jeff was eyeing Rosenberg and the other members of the nobility there, demanding an answer.
Rosenberg met his gaze without flinching. “I misspoke... Ryoma was able to control his curse until the very end. He clearly has very firm control over his emotions, and he has never shown any behavior to the contrary. From our brief training alone, Ryoma has demonstrated enough skills to call himself a full-fledged warlock. If he so wishes, he can expect to receive eager support from Duke Cassiel, which would secure his safety and status. Of course, he is already under the protection of Duke Jamil...and forcing him into a new environment against his wishes would be folly. That could potentially jeopardize his current mental stability. For those reasons, my official assessment as a warlock is that Ryoma’s choices should be respected unless he commits a crime. That is my professional opinion—but merely that. How would Duke Jamil feel about it, Mister Sebas?”
“Things should stay as they are. No matter what transpired in Master Ryoma’s past and no matter what dangerous curse he may wield, as long as his character remains unchanged, the duke will continue to support and maintain the same relationship with him. The duke himself has established this policy,” Sebas said without hesitation, and continued how he’d known that there was a deep well of darkness within Ryoma since the day he’d met him. “A home reflects one’s character. We first met Ryoma in a house in the Forest of Gana. Inside and out, the house was neatly kept in a way that showed the warmth of those who lived there...other than the mountain of souvenirs in the shed taken from bandits, enough to suggest the house’s owner had fought them more than a few times. Outside of that shed, the house looked like it was lived in by a poor and humble family...but with no grave markers or any sign of trouble beyond the house. Anyone would have realized that all was not what it seemed there. I doubt Master Ryoma remembers that. When we first met him, the duke gave him permission to speak frankly and Master Ryoma immediately did so. Some may think him uneducated for taking permission like that at face value. In my opinion, it was Master Ryoma who was testing us—to see if the duke was the kind of person who would nitpick his etiquette, or someone he could allow himself to grow close to. I suspect that, had the duke reprimanded Master Ryoma’s behavior, he would have apologized without a fuss...and disappeared. As insignificant as this might seem, I always saw a wariness of others behind his polite demeanor.”
“Now that I think about it, before he started living in Gimul, he used to ‘go home to the forest,’” Welanna said.
“Oh, right... The whole team talked to him once after work, trying to convince him the forest was too dangerous for a kid to live in it alone,” Jeff added.
“Back then, it did feel like Ryoma could disappear into the wind,” said Miya.
“If something makes Master Ryoma uncomfortable, I can’t imagine him fighting against it on the spot. He would diffuse the situation quietly, and once he reached his limit, he would disappear without a word. I’ve seen him do just that in the city of Teresa. I wonder if anyone else here has glimpsed his inner darkness?”
“I have,” Hudom said, drawing all eyes to himself. “Not that I’ve known him that long, but I always thought there were two sides to him. Everyone has these, of course, but when it comes to him it seems like two opposite personalities share a body: an innocent kid and a man who’s tired of life. He usually acts closer to a kid his age, but when he works or fights or deals with emergencies, I really feel like he’s a full-grown adult.”
“I get it. He was in that mode full-time at the end of the year,” Jeff said.
“Yeah, that’s it. I think the ‘adult side’ of his is the same thing as the ‘inner darkness’ Sebas mentioned. It feels to me like the adult and kid sides are always bleeding into each other, and the ratio is constantly shifting. That might explain how he’s usually calm and nice to those around him, but isn’t just permissive either. Take the end of the year, for example. Against anyone who crosses a line against him or his people, he can be ruthless,” Hudom pointed out.
“I think so too.”
“Oh? Have you glimpsed it too, Miss Eleonora?” Rosenberg prompted.
Eleonora seemed to choose her words carefully before answering. “I spoke to Master Takebayashi about my family last night—how members of crime syndicates have gathered in our territory, raising crime rates. When I did, he offered to dismantle the syndicates and apprehend those criminals, should I ask for that. But there was something about how...”
“I think I can guess. I’m not going to pry about anything you don’t want to share, but I can easily imagine him wanting to help his employee. I’ve already said my piece,” Hudom said.
“Master Ryoma always follows through, no matter how much work a task demands... I urge you to make your decision carefully,” Sebas cautioned, implying that Ryoma’s involvement might stoke the flame before putting it out.
The others chuckled at this.
“Another showdown?” Miya asked.
“Very possibly.”
“It’ll probably work out in the end.”
“Just like things worked out in Gimul.”
The female adventurers added that it wasn’t easy to be caught up in Ryoma’s reforms, brightening the mood in the room again.
“Setting aside my unprompted conjecture of Ryoma’s past, his curse, in its essence, works by shouldering evil and freeing others from pain and suffering. The monstrous arm that appeared in the end, in contrast to its fearsome appearance, was a hand of salvation. Regardless of his past, Ryoma is using his powers for good. With your trust and assistance, there is nothing to worry about where he is concerned. Of course, as his tutor, I will do everything in my power to assist him,” Rosenberg promised brightly.
Jeff huffed out of his nose. “Okay... Sorry I bit your head off earlier.”
“It is forgotten. You only spoke out of concern for Ryoma, I am sure.”
“I see him at the guild a lot, and he takes care of the slum kids. The less trouble he has to deal with the better,” Jeff said.
“That’s called ‘being concerned,’” Miya pointed out.
“Can it! Are we gonna get Ryoma to bed, or are we gonna chitchat here all night?”
“We should get Ryoma to bed. Then you should carry him, Jeff. It’ll be easiest for you to take him into the boys’ cottage.”
“Fine. Give him here, Mizelia.” Jeff gruffly slung Ryoma over his shoulder.
Welanna watched him leave and muttered, “He’s like a stubborn kid. It’d be so much faster to ask for Space magic.”
“Shall I call him back?” Sebas asked. “It may be awkward somewhat, but our top priority is Master Takebayashi’s well-being.”
“Don’t worry about it. Going up on foot won’t take much longer than Space magic.”
✦ ✦ ✦
