The magistrate, at a loss, called me to ask for my advice. I still didn’t have the whole picture, but a wyvern in Roguebert reminded me of the time I returned from Stelia three months ago. The only wyvern that rang a bell was the one I’d borrowed from Warm, and if that were the case, I wasn’t sure why it returned to Roguebert. Plus, it seems some citizens hindered the subjugation expedition, I thought. What the hell are they thinking? Fol or Log must be behind that, but no matter the case, I need to head to Roguebert as soon as I can.
Conveniently, I was in the presence of the airship, and I ordered—I mean, politely asked Sigil to send me there. He gladly agreed. He did ask to turn a blind eye for their trespassing in exchange, and I wasn’t sure if I should accept that. When I told them that my decision all depended on how they acted, they flashed me an uneasy look. Insolent fools. Do they not know what position they’re in? Good grief...
Needless to say, the airship was very swift. I’d reach Roguebert before the sun would fully set. Normally, this was a trip that took four entire days by carriage, but on this ship, I’d be there in hours. Very, very nice... If possible, I’d like to mass-produce this ship and have one myself...
As I was lost in my thoughts, the door that led to the deck burst open.
“Brrr! It’s so cold!” Lilka said with a tray in her hands. “I’m surprised that you don’t feel cold at all, Mr. Lofus! You might catch a cold! Anyway, want some hot tea? It’ll warm you right up!”
“No,” I replied.
Despite my instant rejection, the undaunted Lilka approached me.
“Uh, do you perhaps not like tea?” she asked.
“I don’t,” I replied. “The weird aroma offends my nose.”
“But that’s the good part! It’s so yummy if you add a bit of jam to it!”
Jam? Why would anyone in their right mind add something so sweet to their drink?
“What in the world?” I muttered. “Who uses such a disgusting method to drink tea?”
“Izzy does! All the time too,” Lilka replied. “I tried it out the other day, and it was surprisingly pretty good.”
“I don’t care.”
I looked away, tired of this conversation, but Lilka pushed something onto me.
“Here. Take this,” she said.
“What is this?” I asked.
A metallic container was nestled in my hand. I stared at it with suspicion while Lilka smiled.
“You haven’t eaten anything since lunch,” she said. “I’m sure you’re famished. That’s canned food. Do you know of it? It’s a type of preserved food, courtesy of the empire.”
This small container has preserved food? How could anyone be satisfied with just this? But...now that she mentions it, I didn’t have time to eat lunch. I suppose I’m hungry, but...
“Are you lot connected to the empire as well?” I accused.
“Er, well, we sometimes just head there to do some shopping,” Lilka replied. “There’s some stuff that won’t sell in the kingdom but will fetch a high price in the empire. And they’ve got their own ruins and dungeons too.”
“An international treasure hunt, huh...”
Only those with an airship would ever be capable of such a feat. It was an international criminal offense to cross nations’ borders without following due process, but these lawless fools likely didn’t care.
“The empire persecutes those with mana, so I’m always terrified that I’ll get found out,” Lilka added. “It makes me feel timid, so I don’t like being there.”
She then took out another metallic container—her own pot of canned food—brought out a knife hidden in her boot, stabbed the can, and expertly removed the lid. Inside was some simmered fish, and Lilka held out her hand.
“Here,” she said.
“Huh?” I asked.
“Your can. I’ll open it for ya.”
“A-All right.”
I gave it to her. She opened it and returned it to me.
“Oooh!” she cried. “You’ve got steak! Congrats! That’s a lucky one!”
I frowned as I gazed at the thick slab of steak inside, and turned to her.
“Do you like meat?” I asked.
“Huh? Yeah, of course,” she replied. “Love it.”
“Then it’s yours. Give me your fish.”
Lilka blinked at my request. “Uh, sure. I mean, are you sure? This is a huge get... Do you not like steak?”
“I’m not a fan of beef. I much prefer fish.”
As I offered to exchange our meals, Lilka suddenly clutched her stomach and burst out laughing.
“Pfft! Ah ha ha ha!” she guffawed. “Mr. Lofus, you’re like a child! You don’t like tea or beef, huh? You can’t be such a picky eater! Ha ha! You’re a hoot!”
I’m not a kid. And you look a lot more childish than I do.
After Lilka laughed, she handed me her can of fish.
“Here ya go,” she said teasingly. “I guess you can have it this time. But you can’t be so picky next time, okay?”
“You little...” I started.
I angrily shoved the can of meat into her hand and tried to take the fish, but she refused to let go of her food.
“Hey,” I growled angrily, raising my voice.
“Here,” Lilka said as she placed my can of meat into her pocket and handed me a spoon.
“Huh?”
“I’ll hold the can for you. You’ve only got one arm, right? Or, what, want me to feed you?”
“No need.”
Seriously. Not having a second arm is inconvenient, but I’ve gotten used to it.
I created a Dark Hand from my left arm and snatched the can from her.
“Whoa!” she yelped. “I saw you use those hands to fight, but I didn’t think they could help you with mundane stuff. Magic sure is convenient!”
She stared at my spell, recalling the time I’d restrained her back at the tumulus. I just ignored her and began to eat. Lilka dug into her own can as well. The fish was rather salty, but it wasn’t all that bad. I’ve heard that the empire’s technological advancements are a sight to behold, but this is still impressive.
After I finished, I quietly stared at Lilka. She noticed my gaze and tilted her head to one side.
“What’s up?” she asked.
“Why do you keep pestering me?” I asked. “You were almost killed at the ruin. Don’t you fear me even a little?”
Lilka stared right back at me. “But protecting that place was your duty, right? You only tried to kill us to fulfill that duty of yours. Besides, we were trespassing, so we’re the ones at fault. Even if you did kill us back there, that was the consequence we’d risked by going in there.”
“Oddly poignant, but you didn’t answer my question,” I snapped. “Are you not afraid of me?”
“Right, well...I can’t really be afraid of you,” she replied. “Ultimately, you saved my life. I’m grateful, but I can never fear you.”
“Oh?”
Her reasoning was sound—I could at least understand where she was coming from. However, logic usually went out the window when one’s life was at stake. I’d almost killed her, after all, and it was normal for one to fear that, logic be damned. No matter how calm one tried to be, human emotions were complicated and, more often than not, rather illogical.
Lilka’s train of thought was eerily placid and profound, enough to make me more suspicious of her. This girl in front of me was very different from the Lilka Skyfield that I’d dreamed of. In the tale, Lilka seemed more childish and emotional; I felt a blatant disconnect between that version of her and how she was acting now.
As I thought... Did she also dream of the future?
I acted swiftly. I pushed the defenseless girl onto the deck of the ship and used my Dark Hands to restrain her limbs. And yet, Lilka didn’t even scream, nor even show a hint of fear in her eyes. She was certainly surprised, but that was all.
“Huh? What?” Lilka asked. “You caught me by surprise, Mr. Lofus.”
I climbed on top of her and peered into her golden eyes.
“You’re completely restrained, but you see rather...calm,” I muttered.
“Well, I was surprised since you pushed me down, but yeah,” she replied.