Sigrid

“I can’t believe a place like this exists. What is the Capital Knight Order doing?”

“Thanks to them, we can get out easily too. Cut them some slack.”

The two slipped through the hole nimbly. Well, the large-bodied Beramund had a slightly precarious time. Beramund asked:

“What did you tell them when you left?”

“Hm?”

“At the mansion.”

“Oh, I said I might have caught the western flu too, so I’d be going away to recuperate.”

“Recuperate?”

“Yes, I told them not to worry since I’d be gone to the countryside for about a month.”

“Scary to think rumors of a strange disease spreading in the west might circulate.”

At Beramund’s mutter, Sigrid frowned and said “Ah.”

“I didn’t think that far.”

“It’s fine, I used it as an excuse too. Eastern cold sounds strange too, doesn’t it?”

“That’s true, but.”

“Oh, and stop with the formal speech now. It’s weird.”

“Okay.”

The casual reply made Beramund, who had given the order, turn to look at Sigrid instead. She tilted her head and asked:

“What?”

“Nothing—”

As Beramund muttered, Sigrid took off her hood. Her round, neat forehead was revealed in the moonlight. Beneath it, straight eyebrows and eyelashes that sparkled like jewels, and those crimson eyes that gazed directly. Such an overwhelming sunset must be this color.

“If you don’t like dropping it—”

“No, no, no, no. I mean, that’s not it.”

Staring at her blankly, Beramund shook his head vigorously and reached out to put her hood back on.

“Better not to take it off.”

“Right? If I keep my mouth shut, I’ll look like a short man.”

At her proud words, Beramund replied, “Is that so?”

‘This is bad.’

That earlier “I like you” must have been quite shocking. Had Sigrid always been this pretty? This is troublesome, now that we have to travel together.

I’m in trouble.

Beramund swallowed a groan and quickened his pace. Sigrid quickly caught up and said:

“So where are we going?”

“First to Alphenso. We’ll take a carriage from there.”

“It’s my first time on a travel carriage.”

“We’ll have to change quite a few times. I’m thinking of renting a cart along the way.”

“Ah, I see.”

Sigrid said this and glanced up at Beramund. The eyepatch on his left eye looked out of place.

“Are you okay?”

“Hm?”

“The eyepatch. You’ll have a blind spot.”

“Can’t be helped. I can’t expose both eyes, can I?”

“It’s inconvenient.”

“It is.”

“But I think it’s pretty.”

“Huh?”

Beramund turned to her with his one remaining blue eye. Sigrid frowned and said:

“Ah, is it rude to say that?”

“No, not really…”

“I see.”

Sigrid grinned and looked at Beramund. Actually, her expression was hard to see, hidden in the darkness of her hood. From Beramund’s perspective, he could only see below her chin. So he could tell she was smiling from the corners of her mouth.

“Besides, I envy having good eyes.”

Sigrid grumbled. Beramund laughed lightly. She said:

“You keep catching my new techniques. Show me yours later too.”

“Sure, sure.”

Beramund answered lightly.

The two walked diligently and arrived at Alphenso not long after dawn broke. This village, one of the main stops before reaching the capital, was quite prosperous as a transportation hub. Beramund found a carriage heading as close to their destination as possible, negotiated, paid, and boarded. Because the carriage was carrying more people than its capacity, the two had to sit pressed together. Sigrid took out a thick piece of jerky from her bag and offered it to Beramund, who took it with a sense of déjà vu.

“Come to think of it, Siri, you’re good at packing food.”

“It’s important. I’ve only recently realized how important eating is.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I cared about supplies, but I didn’t pay much attention to supplying myself.”

“You don’t look like it…”

“There was a time when I only ate water and potatoes, or water and bread.”

“…That’s extreme… Wait, your salary isn’t even low?”

As Beramund unwittingly whispered lowly, Sigrid nodded and said:

“I used to be a bit obsessive.”

“Obsessive?”

Sigrid quickly scanned their surroundings. Most of the dawn carriage passengers were nodding off, but even so, they couldn’t speak loudly. She turned her head and whispered close to Beramund’s ear:

“About how a knight should be—”

“!!”

Beramund jerked his body to the opposite side and hit the carriage wall. The loud thump sounded quite painful, startling Sigrid.

“Bera…?!”

Unable to call his full name, she stopped halfway. Beramund groaned and rubbed his ear. He was wide awake now.

“No, I’m fine.”

“What’s wrong?”

“You whispered so suddenly.”

Sigrid frowned and said “So what?” in a low voice, but Beramund didn’t respond and just rubbed the back of his head. He cleared his throat and changed the subject.

“Is someone who only eats bread and water admirable?”

“No, not being extravagant?”

“Bread and water isn’t just ordinary, it’s poverty? No wonder you’re so thin.”

“No, I’ve been eating well these past few months. I’ve gained weight.”

As Sigrid spoke, Beramund said “Come to think of it” and asked:

“You said you bought a house recently, right?”

“Oh? Yeah.”

“Where did you live before that?”

“The 3rd District.”

“……”

He was at a loss for words. She lived alone in that dangerous neighborhood? If he could, he wanted to grab her by the collar and shake her. Yelling, “Are you out of your mind?”

By this point, he was curious about the details, the very details of her past. Beramund became intensely curious about Sigrid Ankertna, and he decided to focus on that during their upcoming journey together.

“Where in the 3rd District?”

“Among the places we passed today, remember that house without windows? If you turn right past that, there’s a three-story building with three chimneys. That’s it.”

Not even the outskirts of the 3rd District, but the center. And a three-story building at that. He could tell without seeing it that a three-story building in the 3rd District would be the epitome of dilapidation.

“The rent must have been… cheap…”

“Yeah. About 400 kerb a month?”

“That’s the amount I sometimes blow on a single meal.”

At those words, Sigrid just smiled without answering. Beramund tried to imagine a shabby house, but being a young master from a noble family, his imagination of poverty was quite lacking. He sighed.

“But at least there was a window.”

“Of course?!”

“I used to live in a place without one before. But I realized people really can’t live without windows.”

Beramund let out a groan.

“Why on earth…”

“I just felt that living poorly was right. I was completely absorbed in the idea of being a virtuous, frugal me.”

It wasn’t just that, but many things were like that. Recalling her past when she pushed herself to extremes, Sigrid said:

“I don’t think I ever made judgments on my own. I was just… always afraid of other people’s eyes… I pretended not to care a lot while actually caring a lot. Is that a contradiction?”

Beramund listened closely to Sigrid’s mutter-like words.

“So these days, I’m acting based on my own thoughts about various things, and while it’s often difficult… it’s enjoyable.”

She reached out and patted Beramund’s thigh, saying:

“Like you coming to help me like this.”

Who would have thought it would turn out like this? The person I hated the most is now my best friend. Life really is unpredictable.

Beramund reached out and placed his hand on top of hers, interlacing their fingers. Sigrid turned to look at him, puzzled, and Beramund smiled.

A smile different from usual, with a hint of shyness, like a boy’s.

“I’m glad you came.”

Oh? So he can smile like this too.

Sigrid felt caught off guard. Somehow, it made her feel tingly inside. Come to think of it, hadn’t there been times like this before? Or not?

For some reason she couldn’t understand, she felt embarrassed to look at his face and quickly lowered her gaze. Looking at their joined hands, she could see how large his hand was. It completely covered hers, hiding it from view. Their interlaced fingers were firm… Why? Even though they were both wearing gloves, she could feel that his hand was hot.

She wiggled her fingers, but Beramund showed no sign of letting go. Finally, she turned to look at Beramund, but he had his eyes closed, leaning his head against the carriage wall.

‘Is he asleep…?’

Come to think of it, she was sleepy too. Sigrid yawned softly. They had been walking all night, so it was natural to be tired. She closed her eyes.

Beramund felt a weight on his shoulder and slightly opened his eyes. He saw that Sigrid had fallen asleep, leaning on his shoulder. He smiled faintly and slightly adjusted his posture to make her more comfortable.

They woke up and fell back asleep each time people got on and off, had a simple meal when they stopped for lunch. After riding the carriage until evening like this, the two got off at the last stop.

With the curfew time approaching, they hurriedly found an inn. Though it was labeled as an inn, it was more like a boarding house that barely qualified for the name. It had a structure similar to a family home, with two rooms rented out to travelers.

Beramund entered the room and said with surprise:

“There’s no bed.”

“No bed. But there’s a mattress.”

“Impressive.”

Beramund said this and turned to the seemingly nonchalant Sigrid, saying:

“Don’t tell me there wasn’t even a bed in your old room.”

“I did have a bed at least.”

Sigrid burst out laughing.

“Well, that’s a relief.”

Beramund sighed in relief. Of course, there was no fireplace. Sigrid, confirming that there was only a brazier in the room, lit it.

Even so, the draft was too strong for the air to warm up. Beramund shook his head.

“At least we won’t suffocate from the brazier since we’re not closing the windows.”

“True.”

They replied and took off their luggage. Sigrid rotated her lightened shoulders a few times and stretched. There was no separate dining room, so after ordering dinner—with only one menu option—from the owner, a ‘simple’ dinner was delivered shortly after.

Beramund carefully sat down on a chair that looked poorly joined, and Sigrid sat on a chair with one wobbly leg. Beramund smiled as he looked at the meal.

“The meal aside, I wish they’d pay more attention to the furniture for this price. Don’t tell me I’ll have to pay if this breaks?”

“I’ll nail it back together, so don’t worry.”

“How reassuring.”

Beramund replied and stirred the soup with a wooden spoon, its contents looking suspicious. He asked with a serious face:

“Don’t tell me this is unpeeled radish?”

“This is a carrot end.”

Sigrid scooped up something long with her spoon to show him. Beramund muttered:

“Are they making our food with their leftovers?”

“Ah, a potato with skin. Or is it skin with potato attached?”

Sigrid showed him the second piece of solid food. They looked at each other and burst out laughing. It wasn’t particularly funny, but they laughed anyway.

Chuckling, Beramund put the soup in his mouth. He dunked all the hard black bread into the soup too. It was just enough to satisfy their hunger. After finishing the meal, they washed up with water that had a thin layer of ice on it.

As Beramund muttered lines like “This mattress must surely have bugs,” Sigrid said:

“Shall we sleep together?”

“…Huh?”

“If we sleep together, we’ll be warmer because of each other’s body heat…”

“Conscientiously, I should decline, but unconscientiously, I want to say ‘Let’s do it.’ Still, I’ll maintain my conscience and decline.”

“What conscience?”

When Sigrid asked in confusion, Beramund placed his hand on his chest and said:

“There is such a thing. You sleep on this side. I’ll sleep near the door.”

Although puzzled, Sigrid sat on her share of the mattress. Even though it was called a mattress, it was just thick cloth stuffed with rice straw. The mattress had flattened out from not having its straw replaced for a long time. The two lay down without taking off their clothes, keeping their cloaks on and covering themselves with blankets. That was the only way they could escape the cold.

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Arkana’s patience had reached its limit.

He couldn’t bear it anymore. No, he had surpassed the limit of patience. Finally, he growled, ready to grab his master by the collar:

“If you tell me to wait again today, saying there’s a meeting, I’ll kick down that door right now.”

Skard sighed at Arkana’s intensity and said:

“Sit down.”

“I can’t sit.”

“Sit down, my neck hurts.”

Arkana plopped down in his seat and snatched the water pipe from Skard’s hand. As Skard reached out with an “Oh?” Arkana inhaled deeply from the pipe and exhaled a long stream of smoke. The white smoke spread between them like a mist.

“Do you have any reasonable explanation?”

“It’s something I haven’t told you before.”

“What is it?”

“There’s something called dropouts.”

“Dropouts?”

Arkana frowned at the unpleasant-sounding word.

“It’s a term for magicians who stray outside, like you.”

At those words, Arkana put on a hard face and then put the pipe directly in his mouth.

“Explain.”

For someone who never touched tobacco normally, he looked too familiar with it. Skard grumbled, “Hey, that tobacco is expensive.” Skard leaned back into the cushion and said:

“Magicians are no different from aura users. Some call it effort, others call it talent. So there were people who said we should come forward like aura users.”

“Why are they dropouts?”

“Do you think you could win in a fight against an aura user?”

It was an unexpected question, but Arkana fell into thought. His point of comparison was Sigrid, but he couldn’t quite imagine fighting her.

“I’m not sure.”

“Then do you think you’re better than aura users?”