Chapter 36 - Things to Give and Things to Receive (2)

One sigh, and one look.

"Have all the guests left?"

Alicia looked at the tree beyond the window and barely managed to swallow another sigh.

That tree, which held memories of her father, had always given Alicia comfort.

"Everyone has left except the people of the Bayezid Family."

"... It pains me terribly that I could not even give a proper word of warning to those who left."

The honorable duel was over.

It had not begun honorably, but its ending had shone brilliantly, so it would be fair to call it an honorable duel.

"Did Endre get away as well?"

"... The matter is on hold, after all."

"He requested protection from the church through a priest."

Endre stated that the duel was not yet over, asserted his rights, and at the same time requested protection.

Since the church judged that request to be legitimate, Alicia could not attempt any retaliation until Endre left Deirmar.

"It feels as though my heart is being crumpled."

"..."

Alicia had been forced to send Endre away unharmed, and even the knights who had tried to drive her into ruin along with him.

It felt as though the wound had gone beyond her pride and reached her very soul, but there was nothing she could do.

In such turbulent times, justification became both spear and shield, and moreover, Alicia had not yet taken complete control of Deirmar.

Everything needed time to grow firm.

"Let us wait for another day, Lady Alicia."

"For the past few days, it feels as though hot rage has been flowing through my body instead of warm blood, Sir Duncan."

That was why she had to swallow the bitter poison and send them all away unharmed.

Because she had to show herself as a rightful ruler.

For one who ruled had to bear responsibility and duty equal to their authority.

"How is the lemon crop?"

"It is not very good."

Although Alicia had recently faced a great ordeal and had been shaken without rest, she was a strong person.

It had not even been long since she had reclaimed her place, yet she was already striving to look after Deirmar's internal affairs.

Though she was burning up inside.

"The yield keeps falling more and more..."

Alicia frowned and once more looked at the tree standing outside the window.

The tree said to have been planted in her great-grandfather's time.

That tree was like a symbol of the Heinal Family, and when Alicia's father was alive, it had bloomed lavishly every spring.

Though now it was growing barer and barer, to the point that it was doubtful whether it would even bloom, or whether it was simply dying.

Was that why?

As time passed, the climate surrounding Deirmar grew colder and colder, and the lemon yield kept decreasing.

To the point that Deirmar's fame as a renowned lemon-producing region was put to shame.

"Would it be better to expand the barley fields instead?"

"... How about watching the situation a little longer?"

Changing the industrial structure that supported a territory's economy was not a matter one could decide lightly.

Moreover, for the Heinal Family, which had exhausted its strength through internal strife, it was certainly a very burdensome decision.

"Hoo..."

It felt as though, after clearing away a mountain of trials, another mountain was waiting.

In the end, Alicia let out a deep sigh in frustration.

"Hm?"

At that moment, a brilliant flash of gold caught her eye.

It was the sight of someone thrashing about beyond the window.

"... Sir Duncan."

"Yes, Lady Alicia."

Looking outside the window, Alicia asked with a smile.

"Shouldn't ordinary knights all know how to ride horses?"

"If one cannot ride a horse, one cannot be called a knight."

"It is a virtue as important as the sword."

"Ah..."

A sound that might have been a pitying sigh, or perhaps a mischievous exclamation, flowed from Alicia's thin lips.

"As expected, God does not grant everything to everyone."

"... I can feel Sir Jager's worries."

For a moment, Alicia looked at the scenery beyond the window and turned away from the countless worries before her eyes, smiling for the first time in a truly long while.

Because the sight of the boy staggering in the distant mansion garden as if he were doing a rodeo was giving her rest.

He was somehow holding on, but in the end, the boy finally tumbled off the horse.

* * *

"... You said an expensive horse would do?"

"I definitely rode one last time..."

An exhausted horse, a boy who had rolled across the ground and become a mess, and a stableman beside him at a loss for what to do.

All of them were cowed as they looked at the knight fiddling with his eyepatch.

"You said you could do it if it was an expensive horse?"

"Maybe it has to be an even more expensive one..."

At Vlad's shameless answer, Jager's pent-up anger finally burst, and he struck his squire without delay.

GACK!

"Always think before you let words out of your mouth!"

Vlad rolled across the ground once more from Jager's blow, but with a breakfall that had become as familiar to him as breathing, he immediately recovered his posture.

"I definitely rode one last time."

"Got was driving, though."

"Y-Yes, Sir Jager."

"He definitely rode."

Watching the two mutter like parrots, as if they had done nothing wrong, Jager clutched his throbbing temple and sank into thought.

'This is serious.'

When he had heard Vlad could not ride a horse, Jager had thought teaching him personally would solve it, but the problem was not the boy.

NEIGH!

Just as the boy said, the horse really was the problem.

To be precise, whenever horses saw Vlad, they watched him warily and backed away.

As if something frightening stood before them.

Even his own horse was behaving that way.

"We will stop here for today."

"Are we doing it tomorrow?"

"... Not tomorrow either."

At Jager's answer, Vlad looked at him with a dissatisfied gaze.

"What?"

"..."

Whether it was his innate nature or the environment he had grown up in that made him that way, the boy, with his fierce desire to improve and his competitive spirit, clearly wanted to learn horsemanship no matter how many times he was beaten.

To be honest, there was no saving face like this.

He knew how to use aura, but he could not ride a horse?

What kind of ridiculous nonsense was that?

"Then when am I learning how to ride?"

"For now, it is on hold."

"That's a word I've heard a lot since coming here."

"Do you have a problem with that?"

"A little."

Looking at the squire who did not seem the least bit inclined to be afraid of him, Jager sighed inwardly.

He thought the boy was truly difficult to handle.

"We will think about it after returning to Sturma."

"That is enough for today."

Seeing Jager say what he had to say and turn away decisively, the boy and the stableman could only stand there with bitter feelings.

'It feels like horses hate me more and more as time goes on.'

Watching the situation worsen by the day, Vlad's mind was just as troubled.

"What am I supposed to do if even this one doesn't work?"

"... How about trying to ride something like a cow?"

"They're duller than horses."

This bastard.

At Got's absurd answer, Vlad glared with his blue eyes.

"Just because you've got a mouth, does that mean everything you spout counts as words?"

Vlad began to growl as he looked at Got, who had suggested the ridiculous idea of riding a cow.

"Think before you talk."

"... I feel like I just heard that somewhere."

Looking at the vicious bastard taking out on him the anger he had received from Jager, Got quickly turned his gaze elsewhere.

He could endure and accept this much as much as needed.

Because he had bet big on Vlad.

... And because he had no choice but to endure it.

"Boss, I'll head to the stable, then."

"He may be unfriendly to you, but this horse here is a very precious gentleman."

"Both of you, get lost."

"Disappear from my sight."

NEIGH!

Now that there were signs it would finally be getting away from Vlad, Jager's horse rejoiced, showing its teeth as it began to laugh.

"..."

Though it was his master's horse, Vlad could not help finding that sight hateful.

"Then I'm off!"

"Take care of yourself!"

WHINNY!

Whether Vlad was grinding his teeth behind them or not, Jager's horse and Bayezid's stableman were moving away from Vlad with very happy steps.

"What the hell is the problem!"

Vlad looked at the two from behind, burst with anger, and ended up kicking the ground.

Because he had asked Jager despite being prepared to be scolded, yet he had gained nothing.

[The problem may be that your presence is too fierce.]

[Animals tend to sense such things more sensitively than humans do.]

At the Voice's answer, Vlad leaned on his sword and asked.

"Then what do I do?"

[You must learn how to handle your presence.]

"Teach me."

[It is one way of handling the world of mental imagery, so in the end, you will probably have to learn to use aura freely before you can control your presence as well.]

"..."

At the Voice's answer, Vlad was left with nothing to say.

Although Vlad had bloomed brilliantly in the dueling ground that day, using aura consciously still placed a great strain on him.

Not only was it difficult to call forth properly, but even if he managed to call it forth, it was exceedingly faint.

In the end, it meant he needed a great deal of mastery and training to use it in actual combat.

[Remember what Jager told you, not to run before you can walk.]

[One must not be impatient in anything.]

"I get it."

Chewing over the words of his two masters, that whether swordsmanship or aura, the fundamentals had to be solidified first, Vlad shifted his gaze into the distance.

"... There is nothing more I can do here, so I should at least go there one last time."

The boy, who was at an age where he tried to absorb everything like a sponge, was not learning only from Jager and the Voice.

Joseph Bayezid.

That young man, whose noble blood guaranteed his qualities as a ruler, was also as good as an excellent teacher to Vlad.

His movements, always thinking of the worst and seeking the best, gave Vlad many realizations.

Joseph's attitude of valuing opportunity and possibility was certainly broadening the boy's perspective.

"Let's take whatever we can until the very end."

[Thank you.]

Just as he had learned from Joseph, Vlad decided to use his last bit of free time to head once more to the tree on the hill.

Though it could not be seen in the boy's world.

Because he could at least feel the warm energy surrounding the hill.

* * *

"We won't run into Lady Alicia again, will we?"

[I think her office has a window facing this direction.]

"Let's hurry."

To avoid an awkward meeting with Alicia, Vlad was moving his feet quickly as he climbed toward the hill.

He was aware that it was certainly an impolite act, but now there was no help for it.

Because this might be his last chance.

'Still, after everything I did for her.'

And even if he was discovered, Vlad intended to be a little stubborn.

If not for the boy, Alicia might be lying cold by now.

So perhaps she would let this much slide even if he were caught.

After hearing that this place was visible from her office, Vlad knelt before the tree once more in the posture of prayer.

It was now a posture his body had become used to.

"It seemed like an old friend, so try talking to it nicely."

[Hm.]

[The snake recognized me.]

[To be honest, even I was shocked.]

Even as the Voice listened to Vlad, it honestly thought it would not be able to recall its memories.

The energy given off by the white snake was certainly familiar, but it had not struck with any intensity.

[... Still, there must have been some connection.]

But this was the only thing they could do now.

As if grasping at a straw, the Voice unfolded its own world through the boy's open left eye.

The boy's world, which had bloomed brilliantly in a variety of colors, faded, and a white world rippling intensely began to rise over his consciousness.

That world was the same color as the color forming the roots of the boy's world.

And at last, the moment the white world fully settled inside the boy's eye.

[...!]

"...!"

The boy and the Voice both startled at the sight unfolding before their eyes.

The tree on the hill, seen through the World of voices.

There was nothing there.

HSSSSS.

Because it had already descended from the tree and was coiled right in front of them.

It was a distance close enough that they felt they could even sense its breath.

"... It is a friend, right?"

[... I hope so.]

As if it had been waiting for them to come, the snake that had descended from the tree began to twist its body little by little and encircle the place where Vlad stood.

Because they could not speak with it, they could not know for certain, but it was wrapping itself around Vlad's body with a feeling as though it were excited.

"This is a greeting, right?"

[... It seems like it has to be.]

The snake, invisible yet certainly present, had at some point wrapped itself tightly around the boy and was wagging its tail.

If it applied even a little strength in that state, Vlad would probably be reduced to a pulp so mangled one could hardly find his shape.

Even so.

Though the boy and the Voice were startled, they did not feel threatened.

Because everything about the snake toward them was warm.

Some sentiment that could not be conveyed by words was being connected.

"----."

Having succeeded in embracing the boy, the snake lifted its head high and swayed it back and forth.

It looked as if it were dancing, but despite moving with such a huge body, it gave no sense of weight at all.

"What is this?"

[Do not try to understand spirits.]

[They are another face of the world.]

Humans always tried to interpret everything in the world by their own standards, but with only the fragile soul of a mortal, it was impossible to understand everything that surrounded the world.

That might be why humans relied on the existence known as God.

To be honest, even the boy was calling God's name in this situation.

HSSSSS.

In time with the dancing snake's movements, things began to rise from the hill.

Though it was bright daytime, the blue lights that rose were similar to fireflies one might see only at night.

They were flying toward the snake.

[... What are these things doing?]

Around the time even the Voice, which had always maintained its composure, was flustered by the situation.

HSSSSS.

The snake began to withdraw.

As if it had done what it had to do.

"..."