A moment of silence—then Benet’s expression suddenly changed. He carefully peered into the other man’s face and asked him in a grave tone, “Guinness… Are you going to tell her about that plan?”
“Yeah, and Adonis,” Guinness answered without a hitch. “I mean, they really are the best candidates for those roles. Don’t you think, Benet?”
“But…”
“The day I met Belle and sympathized with her howl was the day my luck ran dry.”
“…Yeah.”
“And there’s the bird-headed singer we listened to at On the Rocks… That’s the one thing I wish I’d never heard. It produces nothing, but because of that, it shakes the hearts of all who hear it. Hearing her sing knocked me out of a normal pitch of resting and the pleasures God provides. Fare thee well, days where I can sleep easy… Aaah, before this, I could get by just by giving people what they want. But now, if I don’t obey the ideals my selfish heart keeps coming up with, no sum of denari is enough, no food tastes good, and no amount of ale can cloud my thoughts.”
“Well… I feel the same way. But I’m going to insist on this. She’s going to depart on her journey.”
“But she hasn’t left yet,” Guinness said with a glint in his eye.
“Oh…”
Benet stared at this usually mild-mannered Sheepeyes’ face, taken aback. He was stunned, namely by Guinness’ eyes. That part of his face alone occasionally had the strong shine of tempered steel. It soon went away—or rather, was deftly hidden—but that glint in his eye overwhelmed Benet on some instinctive level. And he became convinced that whatever those eyes saw had to be something major. Something bigger and more important than Guinness himself manifested in his gaze, striking shock into the hearts of whomever it met. And whenever this matter was spoken aloud, it compelled people to listen to Guinness.
“Whenever you have that look in your eyes, it never means anything good…,” Benet grumbled feebly. He couldn’t get used to being the one who had to rein Guinness in.
Guinness flashed a carefree smile, but his gaze was still just as intense. “You need to understand, this is all I can really do for Belle. All I can do is show her. Whatever’s driving me is compelling me to prove it to the world. And it’s because I saw those flames. The flames that filled the catacombs, burning the souls of the dead. I composed them, I wrote them into my script, and they were made real. Using this plan, I’m going to take that place that’s free of the concept of top dogs and underdogs and establish a commune there. That’s…all I can do anymore. Those flames…told me that.”
Guinness’s eyes looked like he was still peering into that fire. Benet trembled, a hint of sarcasm in the action. He had to, lest he get carried away by Guinness’s nightmarish impulses, even if the other man was trying to keep it suppressed.
“You do know why she doesn’t talk to us much about her journey, right?” Benet said, a strong bitterness in his tone.
“If that woman is searching for a partner who will be her counterpart, I want to show her the possibility. I think this plan has that kind of potential. That while staying in Park’s framework, people can still become something like a Nomad and win their freedom from God. And you’re the only one who’s close enough to Belle to get through to her in the state she’s in now, Benet.”
“…Yes, sir, Mr. Conductor. After all, it’s my job to always protect other Solists,” Benet said, hanging his head. “So long as you go along with this plan, I’ll follow you. Even if all that is in store for me is unfulfilled love. But if you end up doing this for your own petty interests…”
Benet closed his eye.
“I will shoot you dead from behind.”
The one-eyed archer, capable of shooting by relying on his hearing rather than sight, spoke without a trace of mercy.
“I’ll be counting on you.”
The slightly tipsy braggart, Guinness, nodded at him with a grin.
His brand-new baton blade swooshed through the air.
Countless swords were drawn at once, flashing in the sunlight. Guinness sat atop a small stemgrass, overlooking the army following his orders. The top dogs’ vanguards moved exultantly, and both wings of the army followed, racing across the wetlands to meet their enemies, the underdogs.
The two armies clashed. And then the ranks broke. The top dogs’ army failed, and it had only taken a moment.
“Aw, this isn’t going to work.” Comparing the two armies fighting over the wetlands, Guinness whispered inappropriately, “Why’s it always the ones who come from traditional homes that end up being the worst Solists? The logic doesn’t add up.”
“Should you really be asking yourself that right now? What are we going to do?” Benet, who was likewise riding a stemgrass, looked at him with exasperation.
“The ones fighting on the vanguard are Solists from families of pedigree, and what they care about is making a show of themselves. Let them fight until the enemy brings out their reserves.”
“You’re joking. You know it’ll be me who has to clean up any messes this causes…,” Benet grumbled.
“I trust you as my kind, dependable barrier constructor,” Guinness said, waving his baton the whole time.
“And what good has ever come from earning your trust…?”
Benet immediately ad-libbed with his bows, matching Guinness’s commands. As he deftly created barriers, he occasionally shot his water-crystal projectiles that flew past their vanguard, keeping the underdog troops in check from an impressively long distance.
The precision with which the two of them commanded their ranks impressed even the Pianist who stood behind them, watching over the battle.
“You two…”
He looked like he had something to say but was eventually rendered speechless by their impressive performance, falling silent beneath his ivory mask.
“You really can see,” Guinness said, commenting on Benet’s precise marksmanship.
“I can.”
With both eyes closed, Benet flapped one of his triangular ears to illustrate. But then he turned his face to the enemy, sensing a change in their formation. Their vanguard, which had been spread out so far, was becoming more organized, with their main force and back lines joining in.
“She’s here.”
“I know.”
As the two spoke to each other, a voice from afar cut into their exchange.
“Today we settle the score!”
There was an incredible power behind that voice, which easily reached the pair. Looking ahead, they saw a group of Froggies had stepped out of the enemy ranks. It was honestly baffling that the voice had reached them from such a distance. They pressed Guinness’s forces back, fiercely cutting ahead.