For a while, he remained next to her, his hands clasped together in prayer. A groan escaped from his clenched teeth as he was unable to hide his bubbling anger.
“But I won’t let you die... I can’t!”
He fell to his knees, and then took Miss Erifell’s limp hand and brought it up to his own forehead. This was a polite gesture that church knights did to demonstrate their allegiance as well as their resolve to put their life on the line. After a few seconds, he returned her hand, lifted his head, and stood up.
Just as I was about to tell him to consider the matter carefully, Miss Erifell raised herself upright and spoke.
“Please...wait...”
I was still on her head, so as I swayed to the side, I decided to remain quiet a bit longer.
“Miss Erifell!” Mister Derg shouted.
Miss Erifell glanced over at Mister Derg and continued in a breathless voice, “This is...my room... Isn’t it?”
“Two adventurers carried you here after you collapsed,” Mister Derg replied. “Oh, how should I explain all this...”
A witch had cursed her, she had collapsed, a night had passed since then, her life was in danger... Most people would struggle to explain such a situation. However, Miss Erifell, despite her ragged breathing, stared up to Mister Derg with a cool head.
“Don’t worry... I understand...the situation. Derg...take that decoration...”
Miss Erifell was pointing to a leatherwork piece on the wall. It seemed like a fine decoration to me, but as soon as Mister Derg handed it to her, she started to pull out the threads with quivering hands. This was something that Mister Derg should have been doing, but the overwhelming impact of her resolve must have left him unable to act. Miss Erifell undid the two stitched-together pieces of leather and a small key fell out. Mister Derg, noticing she couldn’t take it herself, picked it up from the duvet.
“Wh-What’s this?” he asked.
Aha, so a key was hidden. I was impressed at her savviness, but I decided to remain unmoving.
“It’s for my locker...at the guild... Show my colleague...Heelmey... She’ll know what to do.”
“I-I understand! It’s all there, isn’t it?!”
“Yes... Proof...that she’s a witch...”
“Great job! Incredibly well done, Miss Erifell! We’ll be able to summon the Carbuncles now!”
Perhaps she was relieved to hear this, for Miss Erifell let out a sigh before slumping back onto the bed.
“Miss Erifell!”
“Derg... How long...until the Carbuncles arrive?”
At this question, the corners of Derg’s lips curled, his eyes squeezed shut. He gulped and forced out the words.
“They are currently stationed in Lilliette. If I utilize the church’s channels, then I can get in contact immediately. It’ll take four...no, three days!”
A far more optimistic estimate than what he’d given my lady. However, even if they did arrive so quickly, there was still a high chance that the curse would eat away at Miss Erifell and she would perish before then.
“Is that...right...”
I couldn’t say if she was aware of this. When people pushed themselves to their limits, the thing keeping them going had a tendency to break once they had passed on their final wishes.
“If I...end up wasting away...” Miss Erifell cut Mister Derg off. She lifted up her head with a wheeze and looked right into his eyes. “Then can I...leave this to you?”
It was clear what she was asking: for Mister Derg to put his life on the line and indict the witch. A wish for him to act in her place if she could no longer.
“Of course. I will be there to attest to your bravery.”
Accepting this was a fitting action for a knight. I looked away as the pair held hands and stared into one another’s eyes.
As someone who couldn’t move or speak, this was all I could do. I just hoped that my lady wouldn’t return at this moment.
“Hey! Derg! We’re back!”
Alas, that hope was shattered in an instant.
A loud banging came from the other side of the door.
Lad! Please, lad! Stop that!
However, there was no way for him to hear words that weren’t voiced. Mister Derg and Miss Erifell stared at the door in silence for a while before they uncurled their fingers from each other’s hand. Mister Derg then awkwardly made his way to the door.
“Welcome back...”
“Yeah. This is for you,” the lad said.
“You have my gratitude. May I ask why this sandwich bag is not only covered in mud but also squashed?”
“Because a certain someone dropped it when she smacked me.”
“D-Don’t blame me! Fine, would you like for me to take responsibility and eat it?” my lady suggested.
“N-No, enough of that. Can you please keep your voices down?! Miss Erifell has woken up!” Mister Derg said.
“Huh?! She regained consciousness?”
Things had devolved into chaos. Troubled by the noise, Miss Erifell shifted her body up with a cough before she glared over at the group by the door.
“Come in...you’re disturbing the neighbors...”
“Okay...” the three replied as they awkwardly shuffled in with bowed heads. The atmosphere from earlier had completely disappeared.
“Apologies, Erifell, but do you mind opening your mouth for me? Like, ahh!”
“A-Ahh...?”
“Hmm, her throat is swollen, and her mucous membrane is inflamed.”
My lady made use of the fact that Miss Erifell was still lying down as she performed a little checkup. It was quite the rare sight to see Miss Erifell, lacking the energy to fight back, do exactly as my lady asked.
“Anyway, I will use my authority to summon the Carbuncles. Can you two head to the guild and fetch the evidence that Miss Erifell gathered? It’s a bit difficult for me to go in. We will organize our evidence until the Carbuncles arrive and then...I will indict her.”
This was a proclamation from Mister Derg, his way of showing that he was ready to put his life on the line. It communicated wordlessly that he was aware that Miss Erifell might not last until the Carbuncles arrived.
“Oh, Derg, about that,” the lad said with a quizzical look.
“Yes?”
“Use my name in the indictment.”
“Explain.”
“There’s a chance that it’ll get the Carbuncles here faster.”
Mister Derg, my lady, Miss Erifell, and I—none of us could understand what the lad meant by this.
“Derg,” the lad went on, “tell the priest in charge of communications this, and exactly this. ‘Hakura Istilla is indicting a witch in Esma. He requests that the Scarlet Star arrive as soon as possible so as to prevent a repeat of the witch trial in Lilliette.’”
Mister Derg gasped. It didn’t mean anything to me, but Mister Derg’s eyes went wide and he was standing on guard.
“Um... What’s the Scarlet Star?”
Fortunately my lady also shared my confusion. The lad had a complicated expression. He crossed his arms tightly and closed his eyes. Despite how confidently he’d spoken, his posture indicated just how much he hadn’t wanted to take this measure.
“It’s the title of the person responsible for all the Carbuncles. The leader of all the witch trials they preside over.”
As the lad spoke, I witnessed an expression of utter disgust that far exceeded the look he had given when my lady had first made her proposition to him.
“The Scarlet Star is Ruvy Miaspica, one of the six special-class knights in the entire world. She is the quickest witch hunter that I know of.”