Kays Translations

Chapter 29 – At Night, from the Magic Ship’s Window

Near the district where the academies stood, a stallkeeper called out to Fiona.

“Young lady! Over here!”

Even with her light disguise, Fiona could not conceal her beauty. She had drawn the attention of more than a few men as she walked, so being addressed was hardly surprising.

Fiona, however, was so absorbed in talking with Ren that she did not realize the woman meant her.

“Yes, you! The young lady walking with her boyfriend from the Imperial Military Academy!”

No other academy students were near Fiona besides Ren.

(Boyfriend?)

Wondering whether the stallkeeper had mistaken her for someone else, Fiona turned toward the voice. The good-natured woman behind the stall smiled at her.

“How about something sweet?”

The stall sold thin pastries cooked on a griddle and covered with syrup and cream. Their aroma was tempting, but Ren and Fiona had already eaten their fill.

“Thank you, but we are already full. And I am not her boyfriend,” Ren said.

“Oh? You looked so close that I assumed you were. My mistake! Come again sometime!”

After exchanging a few more cheerful words with the woman, the two resumed their walk through the festival crowds.

Fiona could not stop thinking about what the stallkeeper had said.

“Y-You did not have to deny it quite so quickly…”

“Fiona-sama? Did you say something?”

“N-No! Nothing at all!”

The stallkeeper had mistaken Ren for the young man Fiona was dating. Fiona could scarcely imagine how happy she would have been if that assumption had been true.

She knew Ren had answered exactly as his personality dictated, and she could hardly blame him for correcting a misunderstanding. Even so, the speed of his denial left a tiny, girlish dissatisfaction in her heart.

“Ren-kun…”

“Yes?”

Wanting to move even a little closer to him, Fiona gathered her courage and asked a question she had never dared to ask before.

“What kind of woman do you like?”

“…What?”

The feeling behind that single word was entirely different from his earlier denial. Ren stopped and stared at her, plainly caught off guard. His confusion was so endearing that Fiona giggled.

“That was not a question I expected,” he admitted.

He assumed it had been prompted by the stallkeeper calling him her boyfriend. As they began walking again, he searched his memory and realized he had never seriously considered the matter.

Fiona watched him with open interest as he struggled for an answer.

“Someone kind, I suppose.”

It was an almost painfully ordinary reply.

After a moment, Fiona smiled. “Kindness is important.”

“I cannot think of much else.”

“Did anything come to mind?”

“I do not know whether it counts as a preference, but…”

Ren scratched his cheek with an awkward smile that finally made him look his age.

“I spend a great deal of time swinging a sword, so someone who would not mind that.”

Fiona had hoped to hear something about his preferred appearance, or perhaps a more romantic answer. Even so, after considering his words for a few seconds, warmth spread through her chest and her expression softened.

A laugh escaped her as she covered her mouth. For the moment, she decided that answer was enough.

Before long, they reached the girls’ dormitory and stopped to say goodbye.

“Ren-kun, do you not have a gathering aboard a magic ship after this?”

“I do. I need to return to Elendil first and get ready.”

The gathering was related to Lessard’s work. It was closer to a business reception than a party, and many of the attendees had professional ties to House Clausel.

“Lessard-sama first invited Ulysses-sama, but he seems to be very busy as well,” Ren explained.

“Father felt terrible that he could not attend.”

Ulysses and Lessard met frequently, so both men had chosen to prioritize guests they rarely saw. Neither took offense; they simply attended to the work before them.

After a short conversation, the time came for Ren to return to Elendil.

At that moment, Fiona unconsciously summoned her courage. At first, she truly acted only for Ren’s sake.

“Ren-kun, your tie is crooked.”

Ren was still in uniform. Fiona reached up and gently straightened the slightly crooked tie at his collar.

She immediately realized how bold the gesture was, but she smiled as though she had not noticed the violent pounding in her chest. Ren froze in surprise when she suddenly stepped so close.

“Is that better? I have never fixed someone else’s tie before…”

“I-It is! Thank you very much!”

“Not at all. Thank you for walking me back, Ren-kun. And please be careful on your way home!”

Fiona fled before her composure failed, opened the dormitory door, and hurried inside.

A few students stared at her in surprise. She had no attention to spare for them. With her back pressed against the door she had just closed, she placed both hands over her racing heart.

Then she hurried to her room and shut herself inside as well.

Fiona stood before the large mirror above the washstand.

“…I am completely red.”

From the instant she realized what she had done, she had desperately tried to keep her face from flushing. Now that she was alone, there was no need to maintain that facade.

Her cheeks in the mirror were bright red, and her eyes were slightly moist. She covered her mouth and nose with both hands.

“What did I just do…?”

Ren had not appeared displeased, so surely it was all right. Still, countless thoughts tumbled through her mind. More than anything, she was astonished that she had mustered such courage without even intending to.

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

That night, Ren and Licia stood aboard a magic ship.

The reception for the nobles proceeded like a standing party. After an exhausting succession of greetings, Ren and Licia finally took a short break with drinks in hand.

“Ren, look!”

Licia pointed through one of the large windows.

From that height, the night landscape still held traces of red along the horizon. Temporary buildings could be made out below, along with the lights of the provisional magic-ship landing area.

Ren moved beside Licia and looked toward the mountain she indicated.

“Is that Roses Caitas?”

“Yes. That fog must be the Cage of Time Chronois-sama told us about.”

Even in the darkness, the fog surrounding the seal remained visible.

“It looks as though the mist itself is shining,” Ren said.

“Perhaps it has properties similar to Sacred Magic. My Sacred Magic sparkles as well, so the seal may emit a faint light for the same reason.”

“That makes sense.”

(It really is enormous.)

Before it was sealed, Roses Caitas had been a sacred place visited by countless pilgrims. They climbed the stone steps along the steep mountain and worshiped before the divine statues in the open space above. That was how followers of the Elfen Church had once offered their prayers.

Roses Caitas was now forbidden ground.

“So many people must have climbed those stone steps in those days,” Ren said.

“Yes. The books say that countless torches burned there and that the bells rung by holy men echoed across the mountain.”

As a sanctuary, it must have possessed extraordinary solemnity. Ren could easily imagine the scene and continued gazing at the distant seal while the magic ship drifted slowly through the sky.

“You two.”

Ren and Licia turned from the window. Richter Leonhardt approached them, dressed in the same vivid clothing Ren had seen earlier that day. Because of their meeting at the arena, Lessard had invited him aboard for the evening.

“Leonhardt-sama, are you enjoying House Clausel’s gathering?” Licia asked.

“Very much. Tonight I have become acquainted with Viscount Clausel and several people close to him. It has been an excellent evening.”

“I am delighted to hear it.”

Richter stepped beside them, glass in hand, and looked outside.

“You were observing that sanctuary, I see.”

The seal of Roses Caitas was reflected in his eyes as well.

“Even from aboard a magic ship, it is magnificent. A seal less than an hour from the imperial capital, yet so immense. As its name, the Cage of Time, suggests, it is a crystallization of power beyond human understanding. There can be no possibility that the Demon King’s army remains alive within. Only because that danger is gone can the seal be allowed to remain where it is.”

Richter took another sip of the wine Lessard had prepared.

“Truly remarkable. The mysteries of the Elfen Church are beyond me.”

“This is the first time Ren and I have seen it from so close,” Licia said. “What about you, Leonhardt-sama?”

“My second time… or perhaps my third.”

He had first seen it during an earlier visit to Leomel, again while traveling to Leomel on this journey, and now for a third time beside Ren and Licia.

“I would like to descend and inspect it more closely, but unfortunately I do not have the time. When I next return to Leomel, I would be pleased to visit it with the two of you.”

With that, Richter left them to greet other nobles. He had apparently stopped only because he happened to pass them.

Ren and Licia remained by the window. They had already completed their greetings and were free for the moment. They could have stayed beside Lessard and helped with his work, but he had told them it was unnecessary. Their remaining duties would begin after the ship returned to Elendil, when they helped see the guests off.

“I wonder what it is like inside that seal,” Ren murmured.

“Oh? Do you want to see it?”

“How could I not be curious after hearing that time has stopped inside and the entire space is filled with holy power?”

“I would be lying if I said I was not curious too. But we might be purified along with everything else.”

“You are right. Staying alive is more important than satisfying our curiosity, so let us give up on that idea.”

“Agreed.”

The two spent a while longer talking by the window, watching the rarely seen seal of Roses Caitas and discussing the first day of the Lion King Grand Festival.

Eventually, an announcement informed the guests that the magic ship had begun its return journey to Elendil.

Previous chapter | TOC | Next chapter