GDTEA Chapter 118

Taking Them Along

The sky where the sunset had faded was being dyed a deep blue darkness. Ren had slipped into hiding behind a food storage shed near the Chelonar County mansion.

With the mansion’s entire staff—aside from the knights standing guard—dispatched on the search, concealment was no easy task.

“S-Still, at least they don’t search the same place twice right away.”

The general merchant, who had fled in a panic mid-bath, trembled beside him as he explained.

“B-But did you really b-beat up the Count’s knight?”

It was impossible to tell whether he was shivering from the biting winter wind or from fear over what he had overheard as the reason for their flight. What was certain was that Ren’s mood looked exceedingly foul.

And so the general merchant had had no choice but to flee after Ren in a half-undressed state, not even knowing what had happened.

“W-What do we do now? We can’t just keep r-running like this forever.”

The general merchant flinched at the sound of the wind growing fiercer and lowered his voice.

“……”

Ren gave no answer. He continued to give none.

Even so, it was better than the murderous string of muttered curses from a moment ago.

The general merchant swallowed a sigh inwardly.

After confirming there were no signs of anyone nearby, he belatedly rummaged about and dressed himself. Since taking up the trade of general merchant, he had become impeccably skilled at keeping his bag in order, and this time too his pack had made it out unscathed.

“……Um, shall I give you some ointment?”

The general merchant asked cautiously, hugging his large bag to his chest.

Ren’s fingers and the backs of his hands, clenched as he hunched over, were swollen badly, mottled black and blue with bruising.

Just looking at them was enough to feel the pain.

“……”

Whether the pain was severe or not, Ren was utterly still, jaw clenched tight.

The general merchant felt awkward for no reason and fell silent in kind.

Whoooosh— The wind began to pick up.

Hidden behind the storage shed, the wind itself was no problem. Instead, it only sent cold air drifting in.

Thanks to that, the fury boiling inside Ren’s head ebbed back somewhat.

I shouldn’t have wandered around.

It seemed that wearing one magical device had made him drop his guard entirely.

This was no secluded mountain village—it was a noble’s domain, the very estate of a Count, and he had been careless. He’d gone and caused trouble in a stupidly witless state of mind.

……Damn it.

More than the injured hand, it was the shard of the silver ring he held clenched in his palm that stung worse.

Ren carefully opened the hand he had been gripping shut all this time.

His fingers were so swollen they had already grown clumsy.

“……”

At the sight of the magic device smashed to pieces, Ren bowed his head deeply and bit his lip.

His sunken teal eyes gleamed with a cold, sharp light.

[Hahaha! How does it feel to taste the might of a sword swung with aura?]

Denver, who had said to take just one hit, had used that petty excuse to make all the fellow knights—those who could not wield aura—swing wooden swords at him.

[I’ll make sure that hand of yours never holds a sword again. Hahahahaha!!]

The rest of his body had been fine. Even when struck, it was only enough to make him furrow his brow.

But the hand they had clearly aimed for with deliberate intent—his left hand in particular, the one wearing the ring—had been struck with such malicious purpose that the silver ring itself had shattered.

When Ren reflexively clutched his left hand and stumbled back, Denver’s mocking laughter had only grown louder.

As Ren stood with hollow eyes, clutching the shattered pieces of the magic device, Denver’s taunting did not stop.

[Aaah~ And I suppose that means you won’t be holding your wife’s hand either?]

In that moment, he had heard something snap inside his head.

Thwack—! By the time he came to his senses, he was clenching his broken hand and driving his fist straight into the abdomen of a nearby knight.

It was violence where his body had moved before his mind.

[Wh, what……!]

In that moment, Ren couldn’t even see the faces of the startled knights. Tracking only Denver with his eyes, Ren moved as his instincts dictated.

Ren stepped over the collapsed knights.

As he closed in until he was right before Denver—who had been chattering away in high spirits all the while—the stunned eyes between layers of tightly wrapped bandages came clearly into view.

Ren held out his left hand and opened his fist.

[……Can you fix it?]

[Y-You! How dare you do th-that to the Count’s knights and think you’ll walk out of here a-alive?!]

Gripped by fear, Denver shrieked frantically.

He didn’t spare the shattered magic device so much as a glance.

[Fix it.]

When Ren stepped closer and extended his hand further with an expressionless face, Denver outright swatted his hand away.

[H-How dare you……! Mmph!]

At that point, it had suddenly occurred to him—there was no way to fix a magic device that had already broken apart into pieces. In that case, what was the point of holding him responsible?

[Close your eyes. Before my mind changes and my hand starts putting in force.]

Ren gripped Denver’s jaw roughly and said dryly.

But Denver only opened his eyes wider instead. Knowing full well what he himself had done to Ren when he had obediently closed his eyes, there was no way he could close them now.

Just as Ren’s hand was about to apply force in response to Denver’s defiant gaze ignoring the warning, the knights who had been on guard appeared.

[Just what is going on here……]

The moment his eyes met the flustered knights, Ren immediately released his grip on Denver.

His mind snapped back at that instant. Ren had tried to explain the situation as calmly and honestly as possible.

[Kk, kk……. No settlement.]

That was, until Denver opened his mouth.

[Well, if your wife gets on her knees and begs for your worthless life, maybe I’ll think about it.]

Creak…… Even recalling it now made his body instinctively tense.

Ren leaned his back against the storage shed and smothered his fury.

……I should have snapped his neck.

Swinging the elbow was faster than reaching out a hand.

Thanks to that, Denver had gotten away with his life—and aside from a broken tooth, he was perfectly fine.

Ren rubbed the space between his brows at the headache of a situation.

If I walk out of here now, I may have to leave this entire region.

Denver, who had brought up his own family name, would surely put out a warrant if the current search turned up nothing.

If that happened, travel aside, the first obstacle would be leaving the Count’s domain as a fugitive.

Innocent Sha would get dragged into it too.

For now, I need to get the kid.

Ren silently rose to his feet, and the general merchant urgently grabbed his leg.

“Wh-Where are you going?”

“To get the child.”

“You mean you’re going inside the mansion?!”

Gasp! The general merchant clapped his own mouth shut and glanced around nervously.

Thanks to that, the hand gripping his leg fell away, and Ren turned without hesitation.

“What about me?!”

“Are you saying you want to come?”

“No! You’re supposed to protect me!”

The general merchant grabbed his leg again and silently vented his grievances—how on earth was he supposed to hide here alone.

Ren looked at the general merchant with an annoyed expression.

Under that gaze, the general merchant mentally cursed in every way imaginable before nodding his head, indicating he would come along.

“Not now! Wait until the night grows d-deeper. The number of search personnel will surely thin by then.”

“How can you be sure?”

“Because apparently the Count’s young lady tries to sneak out of the mansion every night.”

There was sense in those words, and Ren sat back down.

The general merchant secretly glared at Ren, then pulled a water bottle from his pack and gulped it down.

“But will that child—the boy—actually leave, abandoning the Count’s young lady?”

“……”

“If we flee like this, there’ll be no coming back into the mansion a second time.”

Ren could not answer.

Tein was sharp, so even if he told him they were leaving immediately, he would follow. But that kind child would surely spend a long time chewing over the fact that they had left a sick patient behind, and grieve over it.

The deeper Ren’s worries grew, the deeper the night grew as well.

****

When the darkness of a moonless sky seeped into the manor, Ren moved.

At the hour when only faint small candles lit the mansion’s hallways, Ren happened upon Tein, who had come out looking for the washroom.

At Ren’s notification that they had to leave immediately, Tein’s large eyes trembled.

“This isn’t what we agreed. We’re supposed to leave tomorrow.”

“Something came up.”

The general merchant’s eyes went wide at the shamelessness of the very person who had caused the problem.

Tein, now glum, gave a small nod. Yet his feet wouldn’t move easily, and in a manner unlike his usual self, he hesitated and fidgeted.

“I didn’t finish treating baby angel.”

“Even without us, they’ll find a better doctor to treat her.”

“But until then, baby angel will be suffering.”

“……”

Ren had no choice but to scoop Tein up and tuck him under his arm. There was no time to gather the child’s bag.

Tein looked back over his shoulder repeatedly with a forlorn air. He felt uneasy at having to leave without even saying goodbye.

“Let’s go.”

At Ren’s urging, the general merchant swept his eyes over the mansion’s expensive furniture and vases with a gaze brimming with reluctance.

He had thought he’d be able to get a big haul from the Count’s household.

A big haul……?

“W-Wait a moment……!”

A brilliant idea that flashed into his mind made the general merchant step in front of Ren.

The general merchant, receiving a raised-eyebrow look from Ren, glanced around instead and pulled him inward.

Under a gaze that said what are you doing in a situation where every second counts, the general merchant fixed greedy, glittering eyes on Ren.

“Let’s take the Count’s young lady with us!”

“……!”

“……Are you in your right mind?”

As contempt flickered across Ren’s face, the general merchant shook his head frantically.

“We take her with us and have her treated directly by your wife.”

“Sha isn’t someone who can cure every illness.”

“But right now, for the Count’s young lady, it’s the best option available.”

“Not worth the risk we’d have to take.”

Ren was unyielding.

Unless certain safety was guaranteed, there was no compromise when it came to anything involving Sha.

“Either way, fleeing like this and going to your wife carries the same risk, doesn’t it?”

“For this incident, only I need to be held responsible—but treatment is something Sha bears responsibility for as well.”

When Ren refused strongly, the general merchant could only move his lips without words.

Either way, weren’t they fugitives regardless!

Above all, he had heard from the attendants that the Count’s young lady had been found wandering the streets after slipping out of the mansion before—so if they took her along and it turned out she couldn’t be treated, they could just leave her outside. Then the Count’s knights would find her on their own and bring her back.

“Enough. If we waste any more time, we won’t make it out.”

“……Yes.”

But if he voiced that selfish plan aloud, Ren might abandon him. He needed Ren until they were out of the heavily guarded Chelonar County estate.

“Ren, can’t we take baby angel with us?”

“……Hah.“

He’d silenced the general merchant, and now it was Tein’s turn.

The child was gazing up at him with clear, guileless eyes.

“Baby angel is really, really sick. She said sleeping is scary. But she said she’s always sleepy and it makes her sad.”

“……”

“Teacher is a good doctor. I think Teacher can treat baby angel.”

“If Sha can’t cure her, it puts Sha in a difficult position.”

It was not a matter to be stubborn about.

At the complicated look in Ren’s eyes, Tein made a face like he was about to cry.

“Really, really, really can’t we?”

“……”

“Just for a little, little, little while—can’t we bring baby angel to meet Teacher and then come back?”

“……”

“Can’t Ren help?”

Always spirited and clear-headed, the child’s voice was now waterlogged with tears—and even Ren could not bring himself to look away.

When he thought about it, every broken promise and derailment of their plans had been entirely his own responsibility. In that case, it was right that he see it through to the end.

Ren let out a long sigh and ruffled the small head of hair vigorously.

“Alright. Fine.”

“……!”

“Ren!”

Tein broke into a wide smile and wrapped his arms tightly around Ren’s side.

Ren turned to look at the general merchant.

“Everything in that bag—throw it all out.”

“……!”

A short while later, several shadows slipped soundlessly out of the mansion into the darkness.

Click. The attendants quietly opened Eryl’s bedroom door and then closed it.

“The young lady?”

“How unusual—she’s sleeping with the covers pulled all the way up over her head. Let’s come back a little later.”

“Is she snoring? I thought I heard some sound.”

“She made a friend her own age for once and played happily. She must be tired.”

Thanks to the general merchant’s “snoring background noise” device and the general merchant’s goods piled up under the blankets, they succeeded in deceiving the attendants for a short while.

But it was only a brief window of time that had been bought.

The night seemed short—yet stretched on long.