“Oh, would you look at that.”
It was early in the morning.
Kunon arrived in Keym as the sun began to rise, and due to his high elevation, he spotted something interesting right away.
A magic airship was parked in a grassy field just outside the village. It was the same one he’d seen at the magic school.
The Harmony Faction must have come to this village as part of its expedition to gather materials.
Fall had just begun, and the harsh heat of summer had yet to let up. The days were still long, so Kunon was departing from Dirashik quite early every morning.
As a result, Serraphila’s butler had yet to get ahold of him. Not only was he leaving early, but he was taking to the sky from his house instead of from the school, skillfully escaping the butler’s ambushes. He’d managed to avoid him every single time, completely by accident.
The butler had already deduced Kunon’s place of residence. He was considering leaving a message or a letter, but he was hesitant to take that step.
Reaching out like that would leave evidence of Serraphila’s disappearance… There was a possibility he might harm his charge’s reputation and, by extension, that of the Quartz family, so he was being cautious.
A high-ranking noble girl had been sleeping away from home for multiple days in a row. If any rumors started, true or not, it could cause a scandal. Caution was of the utmost importance.
If only he’d managed to meet with Kunon before this point. They might have had a chance to bring Serraphila back to Dirashik.
“Good morning.”
Kunon entered the simple research facility on the outskirts of the village and found Satori, Zaricks, and Saiha already working.
“Hello, Kunon.” Shilto, the representative of the Harmony Faction, was there, too.
“Oh, hello, Miss Shilto. It’s been a while. I saw the airship, so I thought someone might have dropped by.”
The Harmony Faction was likely there to gather materials from the toxic swamp, so Kunon figured one of them would come to greet Professor Satori.
“You don’t say. We’re leaving tonight, so I wanted to say hello and make sure our plans don’t conflict.”
Shilto hadn’t known Satori was in Keym for an experiment. She’d greeted the villagers first. Then after hearing the teacher was staying there, she’d come to the building on the outskirts of the village. She wanted to make sure she and her faction wouldn’t get in the teacher’s way.
Kunon noted that Shilto and Satori seemed to be acquainted.
“We already have everything we need,” said the teacher, “so we won’t be going back to the swamp. Do as you wish.”
“Understood.”
It only took seconds to get that sorted out. Next, the two moved on to small talk.
“The sun grass in the southern mountains seems really high-quality this year,” said Shilto.
“That’s good to know,” Satori replied. “I should go stock up.”
“Ooh, really?” said Kunon.
“I can lend you some,” Shilto said.
“Thanks, but this experiment is almost done,” replied Satori. “I’ll go get some myself.”
“Hmm.”
“This experiment looks interesting. I’m guessing it’s about neutralizing poison?”
“Yeah. Come to my classroom if you’re interested. I’ll tell you about it and put you to work.”
“Nice.”
“Okay, that’s enough of that,” said Saiha.
She grabbed Kunon by the collar and dragged him away. He had been standing right next to Satori and Shilto, listening to their conversation and interjecting regularly.
“I’m not interrupting them. I’m just interested in hearing what these two lovely, intellectual ladies have to say to each other.”
“I don’t think it’s gentlemanly behavior to eavesdrop on ladies’ conversations.”
After hearing that, Kunon had no choice but to back down. Saiha was right—that was not something a gentleman would do. He reluctantly backed away and resumed recording his observations.
As he immersed himself in the experiment, he forgot all about Serraphila.
✦ ✦ ✦
“…Phew.”
A woman sighed after finally reaching a shadow and escaping the sun’s heat.
Her feet and back ached, but that was nothing new. The sun—which was punishingly hot at this time of year—was just as bad.
She was over eighty years old and small of stature, and she had a habit of saying she had “lived much too long already.”
This village had been her home since the day she was born. She’d married a man from the village, and her death, which she knew was approaching, would happen there as well.
She had spent all her days in this compact little world, but she didn’t think it had been a bad life.
Now she was long in the tooth and more than ready to join her husband in the next world.
Her body had been wearing down for some time, but her mind was still sharp. Today, however, she felt a little dizzy. The heat may have been to blame.
In winter, the cold immobilized her old bones. The summer was agony, but at least she could move. She did her best to put up with her infirmity.
Well, it was technically autumn. But it was still hot.
“…Oh my.”
Her dizziness suddenly intensified, causing the world to spin dramatically around her.
The old woman looked down. Was it finally her time?
So be it. She had no regrets.
Her children had fine families of their own. Her grandchildren were all healthy.
Old fossils like her shouldn’t stick around too long. She didn’t want to be a parasite to her family. Besides, her deceased husband was waiting for her.
The old woman, who had already made peace with her approaching end, thought her unusual dizzy spell meant she was dying.
She slowly began to fall.
Her cane hit the ground first, and then—
“Whoa there. Are you okay, my lady?”
—someone caught her.
“…Oh, are you dehydrated?”
Her mind still hazy, the old woman cracked open her eyes.
“Leave me be. I’ve lived long enough,” she said to a boy she didn’t recognize.
He was well-dressed and wearing an eye mask. Probably one of the sorcerers visiting the village.
The boy smiled cheerfully. “Ah-ha-ha. Let’s not be so hasty. How could a woman as young and gorgeous as you have possibly lived long enough? Please don’t be in such a hurry to leave us.”
…What did he just say? the old woman thought.
“I don’t even want to imagine the world losing a fair lady such as yourself. Every man alive would weep.”
…What was that?
This couldn’t be real. Either she was insane or he was.
Maybe the heat was to blame. Anyone could have a mental breakdown in this weather.
She’d definitely lost it.
Wait a minute. This might not even be reality, she thought. It was possible she had already fallen and was hallucinating on the verge of death. That would be fine with me.
She might have lost her mind, but there were worse ways to go than dying on the side of the road while being attended to by a cute boy. This was a dream compared to being seen off by her old, filthy, and decidedly uncute son.
But at the boy’s next words, her eyes opened wide.
“Let’s eat together when you’re feeling better. I want to try your home cooking.”
I want to eat your cooking every day for the rest of my life.
The boy’s offer caused her to recall words from bygone days. That was what her husband had said when he proposed to her.
She had buried those words deep within her heart. So deep it had been years since she last recalled them. Perhaps she’d held them too close.
“…Oh. Sure.”
After that, her husband’s final words flooded back into her mind.
Use the rest of your days to live. Don’t you dare follow me right away. If you do, I’ll send you right back.
Those words had been a curse, prolonging her life all this time. She’d done as her husband said and had no more regrets.
But now, at what she thought was the end of her life, she had accidentally made a promise she would feel guilty not fulfilling.
Her husband would have to wait a little longer.