The magical exchange meet between the academies of Euphalia and the Royal Capital was over. Normally, I would have been pleased with my good performance, but I was reminded of my lack of ability by a girl named Yuna.
I lost to Yuna with a sword, and with magic. I feel that Yuna and I are fundamentally different. Yuna said she was an adventurer. At first, I didn’t believe her, but after having a match with her, I can believe her.
That girl was incredibly strong, which was a far cry from her frail-looking appearance.
Yuna may have acquired her strength through experience and surviving real battles.
On the other hand, I have no experience risking my life in actual combat.
Yuna was an adventurer; I believe she had been fighting monsters while her life was in danger. Yuna, who kept gaining experience under pressure, and I, who have practiced in the safety of a lukewarm environment, have a vast difference in experience even in the same time frame.
But I have done everything I can to be strong from the day my mother died until today.
So, to deny what I have been doing till now, there’s no way I can.
Yuna is Yuna. I am me
Even Yuna must have worked hard to become an adventurer at that age and to develop her abilities. She must have gone through hardships in a different way than I did.
And she doesn’t seem to be aiming to be the best.
When the man who killed my mother appears before me, I hope I can defeat him. I have learned sword and magic only for that purpose. I don’t care if I lose to Yuna. It’s already good for me if I can defeat the man who killed my mother.
That’s what I keep telling myself.
In two days, I will celebrate my 16th birthday. If that was not a dream, the man who killed my mother will appear. Everything will be settled on my birthday. That is why I have worked so hard until today.
But what would happen to me if the man who killed my mother doesn’t show up? If he doesn’t show up, I would lose my goal. That’s what I’m afraid of now.
In my mind, I am torn between wanting the man who killed my mother to show up and want him not to show up and for this peace to continue.
Which am I hoping for?
The answer to that question is becoming less and less clear as my birthday approaches.
The fatigue from the event caught up, and I collapsed on my bed and immediately fell asleep.
I woke up the next day.
Today everyone was going to play at the lake in order to get to know each other better as students.
I don’t like noisy environments, but this was part of the exchange meet. I have to participate. In any case, it might be a good idea to have a spar with Yuna. Yuna also said she doesn’t like noisy environments, so let’s ask her.
At that time, it would be good to ask Yuna’s strength secret.
I would like to hear Yuna talk about how she became an adventurer at her age and how she acquired her powers.
As I was changing into my uniform, there was a knock at the door. I gave permission to enter, and Colette, the maid, entered.
“Good morning, Cereille-sama.” (Colette)
“Good morning.” (Cereille)
Colette looks around the room.
“Is Keith-sama here?” (Colette)
She asked about my younger brother Keith.
“He didn’t come to my room. What’s up with Keith?” (Cereille)
“Well, I couldn’t see Keith-sama, so I thought he might be here.” (Colette)
She said Keith was not in the mansion.
“Is he not taking a walk in the garden?” (Cereille)
Sometimes he takes a walk in the morning.
“Well, I had thought about that earlier, so I checked the garden, but I didn’t see him there either.” (Colette)
Then there’s the possibility of missing each other, like in the bathroom, because this mansion was so big.
“I’ll look in the room again, and if he’s not there, I’ll look elsewhere.” (Colette)
Colette bowed her head and walked out of the room.
I fixed my hair in front of the mirror and went to the dining room.
Father was not present. We often eat separately. I finished breakfast alone, and as I walked down the hallway to return to my room, I saw the servants looking for Keith.
Apparently, he hasn’t been found yet.
He sometimes hides, but he comes out when I call him and I’ve never failed to find him.
Moreover, he’s not a child who would cause so much trouble.
Ah, but it reminded me of the time Keith was hiding after he wet his bed a long time ago.
Did he wet his bed again, by any chance?
I went to Keith’s room.
There’s no one in the room.
He doesn’t seem to be hiding because he wet his bed.
Really, where did he go?
“Keith-sama, are you here?” (Colette)
But when she saw my face, she got dejected.
“Cerreille-sama?” (Colette)
“Still can’t find him? (Cereille)
“Yes, we’re looking for him as hard as we can.” (Colette)
“Did he change his clothes?” (Cereille)
“No, he didn’t seem to have changed his clothes.” (Colette)
If he hasn’t changed his clothes, then that’s weird.
“What about father?” (Cereille)
“When I informed him earlier that we could not locate Keith-sama, he told the servants, all of us, to search for him.” (Colette)
So everyone was looking for Keith.
Gradually, I was becoming anxious.
“You searched the garden, didn’t you?” (Cereille)
“Is it possible that he went out?” (Cereille)
“He’s still in his nightwear. Right now we are splitting up and checking the mansion.” (Colette)
If he hasn’t changed his clothes, there’s no way he’s going outside.
Then, he got kidnapped?
Such words came to my mind.
After thinking about that, my body trembled.
“I’ll help you look for him.” (Cereille)
“Are you sure? Don’t you need to go to school?” (Colette)
“I don’t think that’s important right now. We don’t know where Keith is. I hope he is just hiding somewhere, but he may be in danger. Tell the others to be on the lookout for anything out of the ordinary.” (Cereille)
“Yes, I’ll tell everyone.” (Colette)
The search for Keith begins.
We searched every room, the garden, the tree tops, the warehouse, the carriage house, every nook, and cranny.
As time goes by, we get impatient. No matter how much we search, we can’t find Keith.
Father was starting to panic.
There was no indication that he had left the house. In the first place, it was hard to believe that he would go out alone in his pajamas. And yet, he was nowhere to be found in the mansion.
Father instructed me to go outside to look for him. I went back to my room and prepared to look for him.
“Where did he really go?” (Cereille)
I noticed a rolled paper on my desk.
I don’t recall leaving a paper out on my desk.
I held the rolled paper in my hand. Nothing was written on it. I unrolled the paper.
My hands were solidified.
“I have your brother, Keith-sama, in my custody. I will wait for you east of the city of Euphalia. Please come alone. If you tell anyone, your brother Keith-sama will die. -The man who killed your mother.”
The body began to tremble.
I took a deep breath to calm myself.
The person who killed my mother showed up. Moreover, he kidnapped my little brother.
It reminded me of what he said at that time when my mother was killed.
“If you tell others, your sweet little brother might end up just like his mother.”
The words of the person who killed my mother. They’re not empty threats. My mother was murdered in front of me.
I remembered the feeling of the man’s hands with my mother’s blood on them at that time.
My body trembled. I slapped my cheeks.
Don’t run away. What have you been working so hard for?
There was only so much I could do. If I told anyone, Keith would be killed. If it were just me, even if I lost, I would be the only one to die. But Keith was kidnapped.
Keith’s face comes to mind. My precious little brother.
I took out a book from the bookshelf.
Inside the book was a letter addressed to my father.
I wrote it down for this moment. I may die this time.
If I don’t come back, Colette would notice the book that I left out.
I checked the item bag. There’s a sword in it. Not for practice, but for killing people. I have never killed anyone before.
But now, I have to go kill him.
If I go and try to kill him, there’s a possibility that he will try to kill me too.
If my father knew about this, he would scold me for not telling him.
If I come back alive, I will accept your scolding, so please forgive me for now.
I clutched the paper and left the room. Pretending to be looking for Keith, I walked down the hallway and out of the house. I went straight for the stable and got on my horse. I left the stable after making sure no one was there, and jumped out of the gate.
I made the horse run through the city.
I rode down the central boulevard and came all the way to the gate.
The gatekeeper was surprised to see me, but I smiled so as not to arouse suspicion.
When I got out of the city, I rode my horse toward the east as written on the paper.
This leads us to the Cereille that Yuna saw previously.