There were things that needed to be taken care of before going back home.
I had to pack the daily necessities I usually used, and I also needed to let the people who didn’t know I was leaving know about it.
Fortunately, there weren’t many people I knew well enough to call acquaintances.
First of all.
“You’re going back to your territory?”
It was Cattleya, the head of the Andvaranaut merchant guild.
She was someone I would’ve preferred to avoid, but if I disappeared without a word, she would definitely dig into my whereabouts.
So it might’ve been more convenient to just tell her in advance.
She was my source of funding, after all.
“Then should I come along with you?”
“Absolutely not.”
“How stingy. Do you have something to hide? You’re making me curious.”
“Are you seriously thinking of getting involved in a relationship between a man and a woman at your age?”
“…I’m still young. I’m only twenty-seven.”
“I see.”
Of course, it wasn’t any of my business.
“Haah… Fine. What would you know anyway. Just bring me back a gift when you return. Preferably something that could be considered a local specialty our guild might want to handle. I want to see a sample.”
“Let’s do that.”
Did our territory even have anything that could be called a local specialty?
I wasn’t sure.
Anyway, there was nothing to lose, so I figured I’d look into it once I got home.
Of course, the actual deal would have to be handled carefully.
I needed to set it up so that even if they one-sidedly cut off the deal, it wouldn’t be a problem. Only then would I avoid giving them any leverage.
“Well then, I’m off.”
“Go on.”
And with that, I left Cattleya behind and went straight to see Emily.
It was too early to ask about her progress, but I thought I should at least let her know I’d be away for a while.
That’s how I arrived at the Robinhood mansion.
“…Would you mind not dropping by our house so often?”
“It’s because of business. You know that, right?”
Annoyingly enough, Stan Robinhood happened to be home today.
“Just to be clear….if you’re harboring any impure thoughts about Emily…”
“Never going to happen. Besides, don’t you know I’m engaged to Ariel?”
“…I also know you’re having an affair with that pink-haired assassin.”
“I told you, I’m not!”
More importantly, where did that even come from?
Could Lobelia have spread some weird rumor again?
“Tch… whatever. Anyway, it’s not absolutely necessary for me to see Emily today. If you’re really that uncomfortable with me meeting her, then just pass on the message for me.”
“That sounds great. From now on, just talk to me about anything work-related. And please don’t approach Emily.”
“What if you’re not knowledgeable enough to understand what we’re discussing?”
“….…”
The truth was, I had a decent amount of knowledge in alchemy and other sciences.
And with memories from my past life, it was only natural.
My way of processing information was fundamentally different.
“Anyway, just tell her that I won’t be coming by to check on her progress since I’ll be heading down to my territory for the break. I’m only saying this so she doesn’t end up waiting unnecessarily.”
“…I’ll let her know.”
“Good. And relax a little, will you? It’s not like we’re enemies or anything.”
“Huh? What nonsense are you—”
…Was I wrong?
I didn’t have any ill will toward this guy.
And he didn’t have any real reason to dislike me either, did he?
Strange guy.
Maybe he was just really bad with people.
“Just can’t keep your mouth shut, can you…”
“Yeah, yeah. Thanks for your help.”
Good grief, wouldn’t it be exhausting being that angry all the time?
***
After roughly wrapping up all the personal matters I needed to handle,
I finally headed to the place I’d been putting off visiting for a long time.
“Ugh…”
Yuna who had trailed behind me the whole way stuck out her tongue in disgust as soon as she saw where we’d arrived.
Well, to someone like Yuna, that reaction made sense.
“I can already smell the paper.”
“Not surprising.”
The place we arrived was the Imperial Academy.
It was a place where papers written by various academic organizations, including the Cradle, were gathered.
A space where researchers came together to study and debate. Truly, it wouldn’t have been strange to call it a sanctuary of knowledge.
Since it would be difficult to continue my research once I returned home, I planned to expand my knowledge while I still had the chance.
Until now, I had solved problems by slamming my head against them with the help of enormous resources, but really, this was not the proper way to do things.
Ugh, studying… It was a pain, but I had no choice. I had to find the necessary papers and borrow them.
“I’ll be in the lounge having tea, Johan.”
“You could come along like usual.”
“Sounds boring. I don’t want to.”
Even though she usually stuck to me like glue even when I told her not to.
Yuna was a pragmatic individual who studied only as much as she needed, so it looked like this kind of place was like poison to her.
Come to think of it, didn’t she also skip coming with me to the library?
I felt like I’d just picked up a useful bit of information.
“Well then, entertain yourself. I’ll be about three hours.”
With that, I left Yuna in the lounge and entered the library.
If I found the papers classified as books here and told the staff, they would copy them for me with magic.
There was a fee, but since I was registered as an author with the Academy, it wouldn’t cost much.
I was officially treated as a scholar, after all.
That was only possible because the paper I had written had been recognized for its value.
Though, of course, that was also thanks to being a student of Professor Georg.
“Now then… what should I look for first?”
The staff would copy the papers by magic, but it was my job to find them.
Due to a lack of personnel, there was no helping it.
“You’re quite the diligent young student. Are you looking for something in particular?”
“Ah, then I’m looking for papers related to catalyst types based on temperature conditions…”
Just as I turned around, planning to thank the speaker for their kind voice, I saw no one.
“….…”
There was a shadow.
Even when I looked up, I couldn’t quite make out the person’s face.
Huge.
That was the first thing that came to mind.
“Hmm, those would be over this way. I’d recommend these three papers. A summary of the effects is more useful than long and detailed explanations, wouldn’t you agree?”
“…Yes, that sounds good.”
It was only after I took a step back that I could finally see the person’s face.
He was enormous, but overall, he had a warm and gentle expression.
Like a bear, perhaps?
No—he really was a beastkin bear.
It had been hard to see from below, but now I could spot the animal ears atop his head, typical of beastkin.
His features were kind, his demeanor was graceful, and his presence was soft and calm.
Anyone would say he looked like a good-natured scholar.
But…
“Here you go.”
“Thank you.”
…I couldn’t help the twitch at the corner of my mouth.
Even forcing a smile was hard.
“…Vidar.”
“Think nothing of it.”
Aaaahhh!
Aaaaaaaaahhhhhh!!
It is him! Damn it, it’s really him!
Vidar, the great warrior of the snowy plains who leads the barbarian group called the Speartip of Snow Blossoms.
I knew his cover identity was that of a scholar, but I never imagined it would be this flawless.
No, I did know, but it still hit me with a wave of cognitive dissonance.
What is this? Wasn’t he way bigger?
Did he… somehow fold that huge frame into a scholar’s outfit?
“Well, since fate has brought us together, why don’t we sit down and talk over a cup of tea?”
“Y-Yes.”
Nothing about his tone or mannerisms matched the image of a battle-hardened warrior.
Even if I ran to the guards right now and told them a great warrior was here, they’d probably think I was crazy.
Was it possible this guy was even better at acting than me or Yuna?
“Let’s head to the lounge.”
“Well, the café here is quite nice, after all. Let’s go, student Johan.”
Wait…. did he come here just to see me?
To keep an eye on me? Or for some other reason?
Maybe Cattleya sent him because I called her old earlier…
This is why you shouldn’t stay too long around lunatics…
“I’ll have a peach smoothie. What about you, Student Johan?”
“…Just coffee is fine.”
“Oh dear, I’m afraid we don’t have a menu item called ‘just coffee’.”
“Iced Americano.”
Now that I knew he was a great warrior, even his jokes no longer sounded like jokes.
“Um, by the way, I actually have someone with me…”
“Then let’s head that way.”
“…Yes.”
Completely unfazed.
Rather, I had ended up dragging Yuna into this whole situation as well.
To be honest, I didn’t feel sorry about it.
I was just worried Yuna might do something reckless after seeing the great warrior.
“Oh! Johan! You’re early—huh?”
Sure enough, Yuna who had spotted me and was waving froze the moment she noticed Vidar following behind.
“Hic!”
And then she started hiccuping.
I think it was the first time I’d ever seen her this flustered.
“Say hello, Yuna. This is the gentleman who helped us earlier. A truly kind man.”
I subtly told her not to act hostile, passing the message to her while she couldn’t stop hiccuping from the shock.
“Hello—hic! Mr.….”
“Oh dear, I must’ve startled you. My apologies. I suppose my size is quite large, being a bear beastkin and all?”
Vidar actually tried to ease Yuna with a gentle smile.
But that only made her turn even paler.
“You seem quite startled. Would you like some water first?”
“Yes…”
Yuna gulped down the water Vidar handed her.
Then she clung to me and started whispering in my ear.
“What is that? Seriously, what is that?”
“As you’ve probably guessed, he’s a dangerous person. Don’t provoke him. That’s Vidar, the one who leads the Speartip of Snow Blossoms.”
“That’s the great warrior?”
“That’s the great warrior.”
Yuna tilted her head in disbelief, then asked again with an even paler face.
“Isn’t it cheating to be that strong and that good at acting?”
I agreed completely.
***
Yuna and I sat at the table, shoulders hunched, quietly sipping our coffee.
I couldn’t really tell what it tasted like.
Yuna, seemingly more composed now, was chewing on her straw like she was bored.
But from the way she kept one arm lowered beneath the table, it was obvious she was gripping a weapon, just in case.
Meanwhile, the man who had driven us into this confusion and fear remained relatively calm.
“Hmm.”
Rustle.
Only the soft sound of paper turning echoed monotonously for a moment.
Then Vidar spoke with a warm smile.
“I’ve confirmed it. There were no lies.”
“……”
Only then did I realize that one of the two papers Vidar had been reading was written by me.
In that case, what was the other one?
“I didn’t know you had cured Varg’s Curse as well.”
That was my paper too.
It was the disease I had devoted myself to before I treated Ariel’s illness—
The disease Chris had suffered from. Varg’s Curse.
It was an incurable illness that had been passed down for generations, one that rapidly deteriorated the body when exposed to sunlight.
In the past, it had been considered a literal curse. Even after it was discovered to be a hereditary condition caused by a certain constitution, the name stuck.
“Did you know? My younger brother died from Varg’s Curse.”
“I… I don’t know what to say. I’m sorry for your loss.”
A tragic story.
Though I didn’t quite understand why he was telling me this.
Was he angry? Blaming me, thinking that if I’d developed the cure a bit sooner, his brother might have lived?
“Our relationship may not be the best, but I still wanted to say thank you. Thank you, Johan. I know exactly how painful that illness is. I’ve seen it up close.”
“……”
“And thanks to you, I’m now certain.”
A single tear welled up in Vidar’s eye and fell.
The great warrior who had seemed utterly devoid of blood or tears was now shedding deeply human ones.
“You’re right. It’s us who need to disappear.”
“That’s…”
The Speartip of Snow Blossoms now stood at a crossroads, looking toward two possible endings.
One was to bring down the Empire and finally fulfill their long-held wish.
The other was to be wiped out as barbarians.
“The Empire is horrifying, yes. But the people living within it… they’re working diligently toward the future, aren’t they?”
“……”
“So please, keep your promise. Let my death be the key that opens a real future for my people.”
Vidar took my hand and placed something on it.
A necklace shaped like the sun.
“Please cure Lady Ariel’s illness. So that I may fall at the hand of a true hero.”
“This is…?”
“It’s a necklace carved from the claw of a mountain beast. Just carrying it gives you vitality.”
It’s not a magical artifact.
It wasn’t made with any specific purpose in mind. It was simply a coincidence that gave birth to a miracle.
An item born from coincidence and miracle…that’s what we call an out-of-place artifact.
An item you can only obtain by defeating the final boss, the great warrior Vidar.
[Necklace of the Sun God]
I never imagined I’d receive it like this…
It’s hard to say it’s a powerful item, but the fact that it works just by having it is nice.
And it holds symbolic meaning too.
“It belonged to my younger sibling. I carved it myself for that child, who could never see the light.”
“I can’t accept something so precious.”
I decided to return it right away.
It’s not something I should be taking.
It’s a keepsake full of meaning.
And the more I thought about it, the more it felt like putting pearls on a pig.
It doesn’t mean much to me.
“You should accept it. It’ll serve as proof that you and I made a promise. As long as you carry it, the barbarians won’t target you.”
But Vidar forcefully placed the necklace in my hand and closed my fingers around it.
I could feel his firm strength, but it wasn’t so strong that I couldn’t pull away.
So the weight and force I felt just now must have come from something else entirely.
“We made a promise, didn’t we?”
“…Yes.”
I knew exactly what it meant to accept this necklace.
In time, Vidar would collapse on his own. His days were already numbered.
He would likely die before the time we promised ever came.
And the dead can’t speak. So even if I didn’t keep my word, he wouldn’t be able to say a thing.
But still, I accepted the necklace.
A keepsake was a piece of someone’s life.
And I knew that weight was never something to take lightly.
“Well then, I’ll be going now. I’ve seen everything I needed to see.”
With those words and a smile, Vidar left the academy.
Honestly…
“Truly a scholar, through and through.”
He had given a hollow promise all the weight in the world with nothing but cleverly chosen words.
Leave a Reply