Chapter 129 · Reunion (1)

We roughly filled our stomachs, and the moment we reached the lodging, we collapsed, dragging our exhausted bodies.

The next morning.

The Sohrab siblings ate breakfast in good spirits, as if they hadn’t seen something horrible, but I wasn’t feeling refreshed at all. Because I’d had a truly absurd dream.

It was a dream where Leo and Paeon were having a one-on-one duel in the colosseum. I was between them, screaming and shouting for them to stop. Ugh, what kind of nonsense dream was that? Maybe it was because yesterday I saw Leo and someone who resembled Paeon.

“First, let’s go buy masks!”

Emet chattered excitedly. She said it was her first time at the Ashinak festival too. We’d come to find mercenaries, but since we’d accomplished our goal, I decided to enjoy myself to the fullest. We’d come all this way, after all.

The streets were already full of people wearing masks.

Masks decorated with brilliant feathers, animal-shaped masks, masks densely studded with jewels, masks with comical or bizarre shapes…

Being bare-faced among them made me feel as if I were naked.

“Princess, you’ll strain your neck. Stop looking around so much.”

“Cyrus, let’s hurry and buy ours too! Quick!”

I tugged at the hem of his clothes as he walked slowly, urging him on.

“Goodness, all right. Seeing the princess beg like this does feel fresh.”

“Princess, you’re in a good mood, aren’t you? Right? Your cheeks are pink.”

Emet laughed. D-did I get too excited? Still, I wanted to put on a mask quickly and blend in with them to properly enjoy the festival.

We entered a crowded mask shop and shopped excitedly.

“Princess, look at this.”

Emet held a mask with heavy makeup painted over its eyes, nose, and mouth up to Cyrus’s face and giggled.

“You look much more handsome with your face covered. How about attaching the mask to your face?”

“Shut up.”

Putting all sorts of bizarre masks on Cyrus and teasing him was truly fun.

“Cyrus, wear this.”

“What?! No! Everyone will stare at me!”

He cried out, trying to take off the horse-head mask that looked uncomfortably realistic.

“It’s the princess’s order.”

“Are you going to disobey an order, Cyrus?”

“Ugh…! You two wear cute ones yourselves!”

Emet and I were each wearing a cute lion mask and a fox mask.

“Princess, you’re so adorable. As expected, a fox suits the princess best.”

Emet, who loved playing with Nine, often bought fox-related items. Thanks to that, the house we lived in was filled with fox dolls, fox sculptures, handkerchiefs embroidered with foxes, and so on. Now a fox mask would be added.

“Then shall we really enjoy the festival!”

We left the mask shop and headed to the street lined with stalls.

With half my face covered, I didn’t care at all about people’s stares, and I was simply cheerful. Emet and I held hands tightly and hopped around the plaza streets.

Cyrus, on the other hand, seemed unhappy, following us with his head bowed deeply.

“It’s not like I’m being punished…”

Everyone who passed by pointed at him and giggled. His horse-head mask was simply too realistic.

At a stall, a merchant’s ringing voice rose.

「Foreign visitors to Eldina! I will introduce you to the finest souvenirs!」

Souvenirs?

I had been looking for gifts for my friends, so I headed over gladly.

The merchant had spread out a pile of opal-colored stones shining brilliantly on the counter and was promoting them, spittle flying. Several customers were already browsing with interest.

「Now, now, what is this! It is none other than the ‘Saint’s Protection Stone’!」

Saint’s Protection Stone? Did it have some kind of effect?

「These stones have received the saint’s blessing and contain highly pure divine power! They are precious stones that guarantee physical health and family peace!」

Physical health, fine, but family peace? As if divine power had such power! To begin with, storing divine power in a stone is difficult.

Suspicious, I lightly touched a stone. As expected, I felt no prana at all.

「Hey, little lady! Don’t touch it carelessly. The divine power will wear off!」

The merchant glared at me sharply. I was dumbfounded and asked as if questioning him.

「How do you know whether this really has an effect or not? What if it’s just a stone?」

If this were Santra, this man would have been dragged straight to Yuditium.

「No, have you ever seen an ordinary stone shine this mysteriously? If you’re going to interfere with business, just get lost!」

“You rude bastard!!”

Emet flared up and pointed at the merchant.

「What, did you just curse at me? A young brat like you!」

Just before a dogfight broke out in the middle of the street, a customer approached and spoke.

「I’ll take one.」

「Yes, yes, three hundred pesso!」

Wondering what kind of person would get ripped off by a swindler like this, I turned and saw a boy dressed in very expensive-looking clothes, wearing an ornate golden half-mask.

「You have an eye for goods, customer. Haha!」

「Since it’s such a good item, may I take it to a royal priest and have its efficacy verified?」

The merchant panicked at the boy’s words.

「A royal priest…?」

The boy held up a golden badge that read royal palace entry pass.

「I happen to be going to the palace today.」

The merchant turned pale in an instant.

「Oh dear, oh, I should stop business here for today! I just remembered something urgent…!」

He hurriedly swept the stones into a cloth and vanished.

「Hey, you swindler!」

「I was thinking of buying one because I have a sick family member…」

The people standing in front of the stall spat and dispersed. Soon the spot was empty, but I couldn’t move a single step.

“Princess, what’s wrong? Let’s go too.”

Cyrus tilted his head and pulled my arm.

But I stood as if my legs were frozen, unable to take my eyes off the boy beside me.

「It’s been a while, Asha.」

I know this voice. Though it’s the first time I’ve heard him speak the southern continent language.

Cyrus and Emet were startled and wrapped themselves around me.

“Who are you?”

The boy held out his hand to me and spoke.

“This doesn’t seem like a good place to talk.”

“How can you go with someone you don’t even know—”

“…It’s all right. He’s someone I know.”

I swallowed hard and added.

“I’ll be back. I have the communication stone too.”

“Still…”

The boy’s lips, visible beneath the half-mask, curved into a small smile. Even with half his face hidden, it was a charming smile.

He took my hand and walked quickly.

Cyrus and Emet stared blankly after us as we grew distant.

The streets were so crowded that we could barely squeeze through, yet he spotted the gaps and quickly slipped into a quiet side street.

I couldn’t say anything the whole way. There was so much I wanted to ask that I couldn’t organize it, and my startled heart would not calm down.

We reached a secluded alley where no one passed. Even after stopping, he showed no intention of letting go of my hand.

“Leo.”

When I called his name, he released my hand and slowly took off his mask. Between his pitch-black hair, beautiful violet eyes like jewels were revealed.

Bare-faced Leo whispered low.

“I think I can take this off now. The mask.”

That’s not the important thing right now! Anyway, Leo had shown his face, and it felt awkward for me to keep mine covered, so I took off my mask.

Our eyes met. I was flustered by his handsome face seen up close after so long. Somehow embarrassed, I quickly set off the questions I had piled up like a bomb.

“Leo, is it okay for you to be here? Did you tell anyone you were coming? Do you not have guards or anything?”

“Of course I didn’t tell anyone.”

I was dumbfounded by his shamelessness.

“What? Then you sneaked out? How?”

“I pretended to be sick. I’ve been on a ship for months, so it’s plausible I’d be ill.”

Good heavens. Leo, faking illness! An honor student like him doing something so undignified?

“And why are you so good at the southern continent language!”

“Am I? I was worried it might be awkward. I studied in a hurry.”

This guy’s pronunciation was perfect earlier! Enough to be mistaken for an Eldinan noble if not for his appearance! Is it acceptable for a human who hasn’t even regressed to be this outstanding?

“Is that all you wanted to ask?”

Leo said with a slight frown.

“N-no!”

I hesitated for a long time. This question felt like it would damage my pride.

“So, we… didn’t meet by coincidence, did we?”

He let out a small laugh.

“Do you think such a coincidence exists?”

“…”

Crack.

Did you hear that? The sound of my pride breaking? I thought I’d been hiding quite well. To have my location discovered by Leo in Kalisa!

“How… how did you know I was here?”

“Did you completely forget showing me the magic theory I was researching?”

“!!”

Everything became clear. And I also realized that Leo’s sharp eyes—these eyes so rarely seen—were the same ones I had seen on someone else not long ago.

“Don’t tell me the Batian guild leader was…!”

“As expected, you catch on quickly. Yes, she’s my cousin.”

“Eeek!!”

I thought it was a great deal, but Leo had pulled the strings! No, more importantly, did this guy really come to Eldina because of me?!

“No, right?! You didn’t come because of me, did you? Then I’d feel sorry for the Eldinan people!”

“We’ve decided to import and export various goods. We’ll secure maritime trade routes too. It’s a really good country just for tourism, isn’t it?”

“…”

I gaped, speechless. Even if Eldina is a heaven-like place, trading with such a small country wouldn’t bring Kalisa much profit. Leo must know that too.

“I’m sorry.”

He apologized abruptly.

“Wh-what for?”

“For saying harsh things then… I’m sorry.”

Was he talking about the day we parted in Santra?

“Don’t tell me you went to all this trouble just to say that?!”

“It wasn’t just that.”

He hesitated a little, then added.

“I wanted to… make sure you were all right.”

“…”

“Though you probably didn’t think of me at all.”

“O-of course I thought of you, idiot!”

“…Really?”

“Yeah. Leo is my one and only friend.”

“…You have plenty of friends.”

Is this guy jealous right now?

“Leo is of course my best friend.”

“What does ‘best friend’ mean?”

“It means the greatest friend!”

“…Hah.”

“What? You don’t want to be best friends?”

“That’s not it…”

Leo trailed off, then sighed.

“Never mind.”

Then he held out his hand.

“Come here. I think that’s enough explaining.”

“Wh-where are we going?”

“We have to eat. Aren’t you hungry?”

Come to think of it, it was past lunchtime, and my stomach growled. Gasp, did Leo hear that?

I had no choice but to take his hand again. Leo had grown in every way besides height in just over a year, and my hand was completely enveloped by his.

It wasn’t the first time I’d held hands with Leo, but somehow…

‘This feels strange.’