Episode 15: “Him”
“Why did you even agree to a request like that…?!”
“Well, it’s done now, nothing to be done about it. Let’s get packing for another trip.”
Going north for once should be a nice change of pace, Yuria said, light as though humming a tune to herself.
Yuria had accepted, without hesitation, the very commission Fiine had meant to turn down — and Count Rehmbruck had gone home to his territory smiling.
There was no way, at this point, she could say actually, never mind, I can’t do it after all.
She understood that. She understood it, and still couldn’t make peace with it.
“…I can’t do it. Reviving the ‘Frontier Hero,’ of all things…”
“You can.”
“…But it’s only one day. Just one day of being alive again.”
Count Rehmbruck had said he wanted to trick the monsters into believing the “Frontier Hero” was still alive.
But could a single day of revival really be enough to fool them?
“Delivering that one day is exactly what we do, isn’t it? We’re the ‘magic doll shop.’”
Yuria declared it flatly, then went upstairs to get ready. Left alone, Fiine caught sight of her own pathetic expression reflected in the window glass and sighed.
“…I wonder if the ‘Frontier Hero’ would even want to be revived.”
Even brought back to life, would he still wish to protect other people? Was that the kind of person a hero was?
◆
“From here on, it’s on foot, not by carriage.”
Yuria told her this two days after they’d left the royal capital.
The Rehmbruck county sat at the very northern edge of the kingdom, and the place the two of them were headed this time — Schnee Village — lay at the very northernmost point of that county.
Just getting there from the royal capital took three days on its own.
“…And it’s a mountain path too, isn’t it?”
“Of course.”
Stepping down from the carriage, Fiine slowly looked around. White snow seemed to stretch endlessly in every direction.
They’d already arrived within Rehmbruck territory itself. Schnee Village lay beyond the mountain, and at this time of year, a carriage couldn’t manage the mountain road.
There was a roundabout route available, but walking the mountain path directly was apparently faster.
“Let’s go, Fiine. The villagers are waiting for us!”
“…Okay.”
It was a hassle, but there was no turning back now that they’d come this far.
“Hey, Fiine.”
“What?”
“Snow really suits you, doesn’t it. It’s pretty.”
Yuria scooped up snow in both hands and held it close in front of her — see? True enough, it wasn’t so different from the color of her own hair.
“Once the job’s done, let’s stay one night here on the way back. There’s supposed to be a hot spring inn nearby.”
“That sounds… nice.”
“Right? Did that put you in a bit more of a mood for the job?”
Yuria peered into Fiine’s face and smiled brightly.
“…Yeah.”
Yuria had always been good at making things like this, little joys to look forward to.
After grueling training sessions, she’d take her into town for delicious ice cream; after exams, she’d suggest a trip to some cooler resort town for summer break.
Because of her, Fiine’s life had become something worth enjoying.
◆
After walking nearly a full day, the village finally came into view. Fiine was thoroughly exhausted already, and the thought of the tiring work still ahead weighed heavily on her.
At the village entrance stood an imposing statue — of course, a bronze statue of the “Frontier Hero.”
Standing roughly twice Fiine’s own height, the statue obviously wasn’t life-sized.
The pedestal bore only the inscription: Frontier Hero, Conrad.
“Look, Fiine. There’s another statue over there too.”
Yuria pointed toward the center of a plaza a little further ahead. Another statue stood there as well — almost certainly the “Frontier Hero” again.
His statues might well be scattered all over the village.
“So sorry to keep you waiting.”
The sudden voice made her turn around in a hurry. Standing there was an elderly man, his back bent with age.
“I’m Lutz, the head of Schnee Village. Count Rehmbruck told me about the two of you. We’ve prepared a guest room at my home — would you allow me to show you the way first?”
For Fiine, exhausted from the long journey, Lutz’s offer was more than welcome. She nodded, and let him lead them to his house.
“It’s a small village. But Count Rehmbruck still cherishes even a place like this.”
Just as Lutz said, Schnee Village was quite modest in size. Being rural, the fields stretched wide, but there weren’t many houses.
(Still, militarily speaking, it’s an important enough spot.)
Schnee Village sat at the northernmost edge of the kingdom, beyond the mountain.
If it ever came to conflict with monsters or another nation, keeping enemies from getting past the mountain meant this village needed to be defended at all costs.
As they walked, they passed some village children. Lutz stopped and smiled.
“That song the children were singing — it was written to honor Lord Conrad.”
“…Is that right?”
“Yes. They never knew Lord Conrad directly, but their parents and grandparents were saved by him. I count myself among them too, of course.”
Another statue of Conrad stood in front of the village head’s house, this one holding a large sword.
“…By the way, what did the Frontier Hero actually die of?”
It was Yuria who asked. Lutz closed his eyes as though recalling something, drew a slow breath, and finally spoke.
“A battle against monsters. For a while even after the Demon Lord’s defeat, monsters that had lost their purpose kept attacking human settlements.”
“According to the records, though, weren’t those only ever low-ranking monsters…?”
By Fiine’s own memory, after the Demon Lord’s defeat, higher-ranking monsters had stopped approaching human settlements entirely.
The ones rampaging after the Demon Lord’s death should have been nothing but low-ranking monsters, unable to comprehend that their king was gone.
“Yes, that’s exactly right.”
Lutz answered Fiine’s tilted head with an expression touched by sorrow.
“The Frontier Hero, Conrad… he was just an ordinary young man who happened to know a little magic.”