Year 141_Keireki Era_Summer/01
Yo.
I’m currently on the run while carrying a girl.
From the outside, I probably look like a kidnapper.
First off, Dopines and his merry gang will be chasing after me, so I need to put as much distance between us as possible.
From what I saw back then, there were twenty guards, including Jedd.
The strongest-looking one was Jedd, but that doesn’t mean the other guards are weak.
Thinking back slowly, the bandits I was with had a decent amount of strength too.
That’s why they attacked the caravan.
You know how that turned out.
To be specific, not a single bandit managed to take down an opponent. They were simply dealt with.
The guards were dozing off and seemed unmotivated, but that didn’t mean they were weak.
Honestly, even if I had to face just one of them, there’s a good chance I wouldn’t stand a chance.
I do have some skill in throwing and a bit of confidence in my slingshot, but that’s about it for my combat abilities.
If I can keep my distance, I might have a chance, but then I don’t know what will happen to the girl I’m carrying.
That’s why fighting isn’t an option.
… At least, not for now.
“… Why…?”
The girl asks me curiously.
Why.
Why did I help her, even though she’s nothing but a burden?
That’s probably what she wants to say.
“Can’t you tell?”
“…?”
“I’m a bandit. I figured I’d snatch up a girl like you and sell you off.”
She gave a small smile.
“… Li-liar…”
Yeah, that’s right.
It’s a lie.
Anyone would want to help a weakened girl if they had the chance, wouldn’t they?
“It’s probably uncomfortable, but bear with it a little longer. I want to get far enough that they can’t catch up.”
She nods.
“… Retilet…”
She gestured to herself as she spoke.
Even though she’s struggling to talk, she still wants to tell me.
She stared at me intently.
She’s asking for my name.
Honestly, I never really thought about it.
I could die at any moment, so there’s no point in getting attached to a name or this body.
I don’t even remember the original owner’s name.
Being told to come up with a name on the spot is tough.
Hmm.
Should I just name myself after something I have with me?
I have some bacon (body temperature), a water flask (almost empty), and the captured girl, Retilet.
My belongings are so minimal they might as well not exist.
Retilet is so light it’s unsettling. I wish she were healthy enough to have some weight to her.
Maybe I should make that a wish of mine.
“… Gram.”
A unit of weight.
Since I just made it up, I need to link it to something, or I might forget it myself.
Running away while carrying Retilet should be a memorable enough experience. It’s a decent connection.
“… Gram…”
Hearing my name seemed to put her at ease. She relaxed in my arms.
I kept running, trying not to jostle Retilet too much, who was so light I barely felt her weight.
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“What did you say? Let me ask again. What happened?”
Dopines, the official merchant of Tuiknok, questioned his secretary with quiet anger.
“W-Well… The tribute for Their Excellency Wiminea seems to have escaped along with the captured bandit.”
His anger wasn’t about them escaping.
Searching for runaways simply took time.
What infuriated him was that it delayed his plans of arriving in Biumode, getting into a proper bed, and indulging in fine cuisine to soothe himself.
“… What were the guards doing?”
“They kept saying things like ‘the bandit vanished without a sound’ and ‘he’s no ordinary man.’”
“That bandit, you say… Hmm.”
Dopines erased his anger and fell into thought.
The only surviving youth from the bandit attack.
Even Jedd, who doesn’t judge by appearance alone, thought he might be worth selling.
“I see. I found it strange that mere bandits would dare attack a caravan of this scale.”
“T-Then, what does that mean?”
“Haven’t you heard the rumors surrounding Their Excellency Wiminea of Biumode?”
Advisor of Biumode’s Petition Guild.
An assassin from the cathedral.
An individual the Count’s house cannot control.
All these rumors painted Wiminea as an eerie figure with an unusual history—someone Dopines believed could be a trump card.
“The bandits were just a decoy used to send that young man in. All of this was a ploy to retrieve ‘The Undying Retilet,’ Their Excellency Wiminea’s tribute, from us.”
Even as he spoke, Dopines thought to himself,
(This wasn’t exactly how the plan was supposed to go… I only need to know if the attacker can be the pawn I want. As long as the result is the same, it doesn’t matter.)
Though he had some doubts about whether he had truly seen through everything, his results-first mindset, unshaken by uncertainties, was what made him formidable and propelled him to his current position.
“Bulco, Jedd. I will head to Biumode first. You two follow me. Orfus, assist him. The rest of the guards, track down and capture Retilet!”
The secretary-like man—Keith—tensed.
If he protested now, he might enrage Dopines and get killed on the spot.
“U-Understood…”
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Why do I have to chase after that former monster?
Isn’t Lord Dopines expecting too much from me?
I was just forced into this secretary role…
‘The Undying Retilet.’
She looks human, but she’s a monster beyond human limits.
Her title, ‘Undying,’ suggests she has even conquered death itself.
No—she has already lost that power and is now just a powerless girl.
… She should be.
That’s why Lord Dopines kept her in such a crude cage.
“Keith, you’ve got it rough.”
Orfus, an elite who serves as a bodyguard for Lord Dopines, commented sympathetically.
Like Jedd, he wears armor that doesn’t hinder movement, primarily dark-colored, allowing him to blend into the shadows and carry out orders—be it protecting his master or engaging in battles.
Lord Dopines often said of him:
‘His shallowness diminishes the dignity of his skills.’
‘If only he had more grandeur, he’d be the perfect bodyguard.’
I recall those complaints.
Perhaps he seems shallow because our master keeps making him do ‘that kind of work.’
I never voiced that thought, though.
“Well, he is quite capricious.”
If I were to be honest, I actually respect Orfus.
Or maybe I see him as a fellow sufferer and sympathize with him.
We’re both often saddled with troublesome tasks.
I return his words with a wry smile, but Orfus shakes his head.
“No, no, that’s not what I meant.”
What do you think about this chapter?
