Watt tried his best to act cheery and bright. It was true that he’d bounced back from it as time had passed. Even if his old scar bled from time to time, he’d been able to bolster his heart to withstand it. More importantly, the man Watt was now wasn’t stuck looking back at the past.
“B-Buuut... He got his lover stowen away by that stupid pwince, and still got dwagged into the fight...!” Meddié sobbed, slurring her words.
“It’s fine, Meddié,” Watt replied. “After all, to be honest, I didn’t even know I had a daughter until just a few days ago. But now I’ve got Anna... I’ve got Cullina’s daughter here counting on me. That’s more than enough for me.”
Wiping all her tears and mucus onto her sleeve, Meddié firmly grasped Anna’s hand. “I’m helping you too, master! And the same goes for you too, Anna—if you ever have any problem at all, you can come to me! As master’s disciple—and as your friend—I’ll give it everything I’ve got!”
It was too much all at once—Anna found herself at a bit of a loss, wondering if she should be happy or taken aback.
While the excited young ladies before him were all fine and well, for his part, Otto couldn’t help but give a deep sigh.
“It all fell into place for me as I listened to you,” he explained. “There’s no doubt—it’s either some rival royal or a noble supporting them that’s coming after Miss Anna. They likely can’t send out the Royal Army, but even just their private militias are more than powerful enough.”
“That’s just it,” Watt went on. “And it’s not just one of ’em, for starters. I’m sure they’ve got bucketfuls just waiting in reserve.”
“Almost certainly so. I’d do the same myself.” Otto made his irritation apparent, and uncharacteristically so. After all, it was the highest seat in all the kingdom on the line. Just a little bit of a fumble wasn’t enough to make any assailant give up—a fact Watt knew full well, much to his chagrin.
“This isn’t good,” Otto went on. “In that case, we’ve no hopes of matching them with just our standing forces. We’ve little choice but to mobilize the hunters as well. We’ll send out a notice at once. Meddié, can I leave that to you?”
“Got it, pops. You just leave getting everyone together to me! I’ll show ’em just what this city’s Steelriders can do!” Meddié replied with a nod, suddenly brimming with energy.
Just then, right when the elder Socom and his daughter set about addressing the task at hand, Anna opened her mouth.
“U-Um! If you turn me over to them, you should be able to at least negotiate! If we go that route, perhaps we could keep the city from being attacked!”
Otto opened his eyes just a bit and cast a questioning gaze at Watt.
See what I’m dealin’ with here? She’s just like her mother.
I see.
“Hmm. While it pains me to shoot down your proposal, that’s out of the question, Miss Anna.”
“Why not?!”
“You’re far too kind. We’ve already gotten the better of one of those bandits. Even if those scoundrels were to get you, I find it hard to imagine that they’d back down so meekly. This is already an issue of appearances.”
Seeing Anna’s spirits sink, Watt patted her on the head. Anna felt terribly uneasy with her head hung down. Her stepfather, Lezamer, had never shown her such kindness. The only things he’d given her had been harsh demands and nothing more.
“Don’t worry about it,” Watt said. “Just for the record, your old man’s gonna be doin’ his best too.”
Watt pulled something out from his inner chest pocket—a key engraved in the design of an eagle. It was the start-up key to his Mechsteel—his partner.
“Are you sure, Watt? I thought you threw away all that knight business.”
“The only thing I threw away was the past,” Watt answered. “As far as I’m concerned, I haven’t given up on the future too. And besides, I made a promise—a promise that I’d use my sword to fight for someone who needed it.”
Everyone’s gaze fixated on the key.
The odds they faced were nothing short of monumental, and the city itself was now at risk. But they wouldn’t give up. The key seemed to be a symbol of their own resistance.
Just then, Watt gave a long sigh. “But I’ve got him tucked pretty far away. I’ll hurry and get him as quick as I can, so hang in there for just a bit till I’m back!”
“Bwhaa?!”
Anna’s face bounced up like a spring-loaded toy. Even Otto furrowed his brow.
“What are you saying, Watt? We don’t know when their main forces could attack—we don’t have time for that sort of—!”
“Cut me some slack here!” Watt replied. “I was planning on never using him again!”
Otto glared at Watt for a moment. Watt was wearing the same gentle grin he always did, but Otto didn’t miss the serious glimmer resting in his eyes.
“Then hurry and get it as quickly as possible. We’ll keep Anna safe until then.”
“I really appreciate it! And I’ll work twice as hard to pay you back!”
Watt tried to dash out of the room as if he were leaving that very moment, only to find Anna clinging on to the hem of his shirt. Anna’s body had moved on its own the very moment she’d realized he’d be leaving her side.
“Oh, don’t go making a face like that! I promised I’d help you, didn’t I?” Watt said.
Anna hesitated for just a moment before giving an uneasy nod. He was about to make his stand, despite having endured such a bitter past. Anna knew just what she had to do to respond to his resolve.
“I’ll be waiting for you.”
“Hey, I won’t keep you waiting long. I’ll be back before you know it!”
It was a considerable distance to his “trump card,” however. If he’d known that things would turn out like this, he would’ve hidden it somewhere closer, but it was too late to regret that now.
“All righty! If I’m late after all this, I’ll never be able to look ’em in the eye! I’ve gotta hurry and wake that sleepyhead up!”
Fired up, Watt dashed off as fast as his legs would carry him. This time—this time for sure—he’d keep her safe till the very end.