Chapter 41: What I Noticed

The next morning, Ren woke up just after dawn and was preparing breakfast.

Yesterday, after that, we moved on as far as we could before moving on to the encampment.

“That’s strange. I feel like I would have been in a distress kind of situation if Weiss-san hadn’t taught me anything about encampment.”

He also recalled his escape with Licia.

Recently, when the roof of the old building collapsed, he was also taught how to encamp using monster materials.

There isn’t enough fur to completely cover a tent, but if you cover the gaps with fur, it was surprisingly warm, so it was worth the lesson.

Anyway, that was a joke.

Of course, I had no intention of complaining to Weiss.

“Good morning, adventurer-san.”

“Ah…. Good morning.”

Fiona came out of the tent, her voice sounding sleepy.

“Breakfast is ready. —-“

“Sorry …… I’m late again today —-.”

Then they both kept their mouths shut in mid-sentence.

Ren didn’t know why Fiona kept her mouth shut, but the reason Ren kept his mouth shut was simple.

(…… stubborn hair.)

Fiona’s gap was unimaginable given her previous good behavior.

Fiona had just woken up, and there on her head where her hair would probably be pinched, there was a cute little strand of stubborn hair standing out. It’s definitely a sleeping habit.

Should I point it out? No, that would make her feel embarrassed……

(I’ll pretend I didn’t notice.)

Ren smiled.

“It’s a no-frills dish, but here you go.”

“That’s outrageous, of course It’s a treat enough!”

Fiona, too, was refreshed, approached the fire, and began to eat the simple breakfast that Ren had prepared.

The menu consisted of tea, lightly seasoned and grilled meat, and a simple soup made from dried food brought from Clausel and put back in hot water.

But it’s nourishing, because it’s all prepared for such a situation.

Fiona, sitting by the fire, holds a cup of soup in both hands.

She puffs it up, letting it cool a little with her breath, and brings it to her mouth, her stubborn hair shaking on her head.

(Oh, it shook again.)

Every time Fiona takes a sip of soup, her stubborn hair shakes.

Ren quickly turned his head away, thinking it would be rude to keep looking at her. Instead, Fiona was now looking at Ren’s head.

What’s wrong? He was somewhat busy this morning.

Fiona was peeking at Ren many times right beside him as he twisted his head slightly.

But if Ren looked at Fiona, she immediately looked away.

She sat down and curled her back a little, making herself smaller and drinking her soup quietly.

“I’ll go ahead and get ready to leave. It’s not a time to rush, so you can eat at your leisure, Fiona-sama.”

Fiona looked at Ren as he stood up and called out to him for a moment.

She turned her back to him and was about to extend her hand to him, but she dropped it and said.

 “Thank you.”

With her voice behind him, Ren returned to the tent and began to prepare for departure.

It wasn’t long before he began to pack his few belongings.

He was putting the ironware in his bag.

“—-.”

He nodded solemnly and put the dishes in his bag.

His outstretched hands, not holding his head, touched his own hair, and he felt the texture of his own hair on his fingertips from not having had a satisfying hot bath.

But my attention was drawn to something else.

I touched my own stubborn hair, which was bouncing in my sleep habit—-without worrying about the bad texture.

“I’ll call it a draw.”

I wasn’t a winner, but I held my hair back with a mysterious stubbornness.

Then from outside the tent came Fiona’s surprised voice, “Wow, it was the same with me too….?” 

　—- When Ren eventually finished his preparations and went outside, he and Fiona’s stubborn hair had already been fixed.

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

After leaving, Ren walks by the snow and lava flow while thinking.

(Really, what the heck is going on?)

I’ve thought about this many times since we left the fort, but I can’t help but think about the recent disturbances.

I thought about it several times when I was on night watch and wondered where the rupture occured, who had created this situation, and for what purpose.

(I think the fire on the suspension bridge was aimed at Fiona. If that’s the case, it would seem that all of the anomalies in this final exam were also aimed at her in the first place.)

If that’s the case, the rupture started before the students arrived here.

At the very least, someone has been setting it up before the arrival of the magic ship.

Someone with enough power and wisdom to take advantage of the absence of Klonoa Hyland, the dean and set up this disturbing event.

However, Ren had no knowledge of this disturbance in his mind.

If there had been such a disturbance, he’d have been able to get information about it in the game. ……

(—- Yes, that’s right. I’m making a different assumption.)

Ren was very mistaken.

It’s only natural that he didn’t know about this situation. In the in-game story, Fiona is dead and there is no event to save her. He needed to think from a different angle.

For example……

(There are those who would benefit from taking Fiona Ignat’s life.)

It reminds me of the people who want to revive the Demon King, who were on my mind the other day.

They’ll take Fiona’s life and make Marquis Ignat distrust Leomel,…… Ren thought for a moment.

The Imperial Academy and the country are not unrelated, so it’d be very convenient to take a life here.

(What I don’t understand is how they could have created the Baldor Mountains as it is  now if they had anything to do with it.)

The harsh conditions in the Baldor Mountains today are nothing compared to those in the game.

In a few days, the silver peaks of the Baldor Mountains will be completely covered with reddish-black lava. But if they could have created that situation, they would have done so in the game.

As I concluded before, it’d have made it impossible for the protagonists to arrive.

(I was thinking about this the other day, but it depends on whether that was the direction of the game or whether the same situation couldn’t have been created now.)

What if the game couldn’t create this situation.

That’s to say, either there wasn’t enough power on the part of Marquis Ignat at the time, or he wasn’t prepared for it.

But if Marquis Ignat was involved, Ren felt that these two options weren’t the same.

(Then there’s a difference in the Baldor Mountains now from the game.)

Fiona was the one who came to mind.

Especially thinking back to the vortex of fire that hit the suspension bridge.

“Fiona-sama, I’d like to ask you a few questions.”

“Yes, what is it?”

Fiona, who had been walking hard despite her exhaustion, looked at Ren.

“You were taking care of those who had collapsed in the fort, right? What kind of skills were you using at that time?”

“Uh…. Let me see….”

Seeing Fiona hesitate, he was taken aback.

“I’m sorry. I know it’s hard to expose one’s skills.”

“My father told me never to tell anyone —- but…’

Fiona who showed reluctance looked distressed.

However, she didn’t want to hide anything from Ren.

“Besides the magic I’ve displayed so far, I’m able to interfere with the magic of other people.”

Her answer was vague.

The content itself is that of a skill Ren has never heard of.

“So that’s how you healed the broken vessels of the adventurers.”

“You’re right….. I wish that would have kept my own vessel from cracking down, but it doesn’t do much for my own body.”

“Heh….. I see.”

Ren nodded with curiosity and secretly thought to himself.

(I’m certain this girl has special powers.)

But

(I think aside from the fact that the mastermind knew about Fiona’s skills, there’s something else…….)

Suppose, for example, that the fallen adventurers are also part of the mastermind’s plan and have an important role to play in targeting Fiona.

If Fiona takes care of them, she’ll stay longer here in the Baldor Mountains.

This may be part of the mastermind’s plan, but it doesn’t feel right somehow.

(There’s no guarantee that the students will come to the fort, but then I don’t see the point of undermining the adventurers who are escorting the merchants.)

Because there’s no need for that.

If the adventurers and the students don’t meet, it’d be a total waste of time.

That said, in light of the fact that the adventurers were in that situation, I think the mastermind thought it was a necessary matter…..

(In general, if he was after Fiona Ignat, it’d have been easier if he had taken her life before she came to the fort.)

The fact that they didn’t do that means one of two things.

1. They had some purpose and intended to kill her after they arrived at the fort.

2. They actually intended to kill her before they arrived at the fort, but for some reason they were unable to do so.

Otherwise, it’s still a mismatch.

It’s definite that someone is behind this, but I don’t know what he or she was thinking when they created this situation.

However, Ren suddenly came to an “aha!!” moment.

(———————)

No way, I thought.

I’m so smart, I thought to myself, and looked up at the sky and chuckled.

(I was made to come here, too, wasn’t I?)

It was like a revelation.

The small dots of discomfort were connected to each other, and I came to the truth of what might be.

(That means— so that’s how it is)

Suddenly, Ren stopped and exchanged a glance with Fiona.

“I have something I wanted to talk to you about.”

Ren called out to her.

Fiona gasped as she saw the strength in his eyes.

Previous chapter | TOC | Next chapter