“I thought that we should send Phillip to the town of Ractos.”
“That seems like a good idea. But why is he tied up?”
“So that Leo can carry him. You were attacked by monsters, Mr. Takumi, while Leo was away… Well, the village was attacked…”
But how was that related to tying up Phillip?
“After such an event, it will be difficult to convince Leo to part with you again.”
Leo nodded at this explanation from Sebastian.
I was grateful that Leo felt that way.
“And so this is a way of shortening the time that Leo is away from you as much as possible. This way, Leo can run to Ractos quickly, and return the same day.”
It was true that if Leo didn’t have to worry about the rider, she could probably run to Ractos and back in half a day.
Now, if Phillip was tied up …did that mean…?
“…You tied him so that he won’t fall off of Leo?”
“Exactly. If Phillip is tied onto Leo, then he will not fall off no matter how fast she runs.”
“Well, that’s true…but…”
Phillip was looking at me with a pleading expression… But I didn’t think I would be able to stop Sebastian, who seemed to find this amusing…
“Phillip, accept your fate. After all…I heard about how you’ve been behaving since coming to this village.”
“…What! Was it you, Mr. Takumi!?”
“No, I heard from Mr. Hannes and the other villagers.”
Apparently, Sebastian had heard from the others about how Phillip wasted no time in getting drunk off of the wine.
As I did not want Phillip to get into any trouble, I had kept my mouth shut about that.
“As the guard of His Grace’s house, you came to this village and drank wine… This is your punishment. But at least you won’t die.”
So this task was also a punishment for Phillip.
As Sebastian announced the sentence cheerfully, Leo also nodded.
Well, he wouldn’t die as long as he stayed on Leo.
And Leo understood that as well.
Perhaps Leo wanted him to repent as well… She was now on Sebastian’s side…
My hands are tied on this one.
“Yes. Sorry, Phillip.”
As Phillip struggled, Johanna, who had left the merchants to be guarded by the villagers, came and put Phillip onto Leo’s back.
Though he was struggling, he was helpless while she expertly tied him to Leo.
“Oh, I can’t forget this…”
Sebastian took out a small barrel and strapped it to Leo, as well.
“It contains the wine. I want Isabelle to look into it while she studies the glass sphere.”
As Ms. Isabelle was studying the glass sphere now, it would make sense to have her study the actual wine that was infected as well.
Perhaps she would be able to find a way to reverse the effect.
“Now, Phillip. Your job is to hire some wagons and deliver that to Isabelle.”
“Also, Good Leo. Please return as soon as you put Phillip down.”
Knowing that there was no way out of it, Phillip agreed with a somber expression.
Leo just nodded cheerfully.
…Also, it seemed like Sebastian was able to communicate with Leo just fine…?
“Now, are you fine with everything, Mr. Takumi?”
“…Uh, yes. Sorry, Leo.”
Sebastian confirmed it with me one last time.
But it was too late to stop things now… And Leo was ready to go.
When Sebastian gave the signal, Leo barked once and then ran off like the wind.
Phillip’s voice faded away as Leo disappeared into the distance.
That speed was a little… He would definitely fall off if he was just holding on… So it was a good thing that he was tied.
“What is it, Mr. Takumi?”
I realized it after I could no longer see Leo.
“Who is going to untie Phillip once they reach Ractos?”
When I asked the question, both Sebastian and Johanna murmured at the same time.
So neither of them had been thinking about it.
“I’m sure that your Leo will think of something?”
“…But it might be difficult…?”
While she was a Silver Fenrir, surely she could not untie someone from her own back.
It wasn’t like her paws would be able to reach him…
“Hmm… I suppose we’ll just have to hope that someone over there will realize and do it.”
“Well, the guards are acquainted with Leo and Phillip. It will be fine.”
While Sebastian thought that being able to punish Phillip and send him to Ractos was killing two birds with one stone, he had not considered the need to untie the ropes.
It was unusual for Sebastian to be so forgetful, but things had moved at such a quick pace, so perhaps he didn’t have time to consider everything.
And I was in no place to judge, since I was the one who bought wine without thinking of a way to transport it.
“And next…we must escort the merchants.”
“When will we leave?”
“…Indeed…We need to take them to the town as soon as possible for questioning… After breakfast, then. Johanna…have the horses ready by then.”
“After breakfast, got it. Will it be fine without Leo?”
“They have been threatened so much that they have lost all will to resist. Besides, I will cast pursuing magic on them, so even if they were able to escape, we can just chase after them.”