Episode 16: “A Reunion, After So Long”
The room they were shown to was clean but modest — a small guest room.
Dinner was in two hours; until then, they’d been told to relax and take their time.
Details about Conrad would be explained tomorrow, with the magic doll itself set to be created the day after.
“Fiine. I overheard something just now — apparently people from the Magic Corps are here too. Seems like the count sent out a request for aid to them as well as to us.”
Yuria told her this while lying sprawled across the bed.
“…So they actually sent soldiers?”
“Yep. Though from what I heard, the captain’s a young woman, and apparently kind of unreliable.”
If “young woman” alone was enough to earn that label, Fiine probably came across the same way. Maybe it was better than being saddled with overblown expectations, at least.
Requesting aid from the Magic Corps was a standard option available to territorial lords everywhere.
There was no fee for the request itself, but if it succeeded, it was customary to pay a reward as a gesture of thanks.
(Annoying, but it looks like I’ll end up crossing paths with the Magic Corps people too.)
After a sigh, Fiine got to her feet.
“Yuria. I’m going to take a walk.”
“Got it. Be back before dinner.”
Nodding, she took only her wand and left the room, careful to avoid running into anyone from the household on her way out.
The area was mostly private homes — hardly any inns or restaurants — though it seemed there were a few, at least.
(If they’re not staying at the village head’s estate, the Magic Corps people are probably at an inn somewhere.)
She wanted to get some idea, even just a little, of who exactly had been sent, before things went any further.
Once she reached the street with the inn, Fiine cast a concealment spell. Concealment magic was a light-attribute spell that used the bending of light to make the caster disappear from sight.
That way, she figured, she could move around freely without anyone noticing — or so she’d thought.
“It’s been a while, Fiine Fellner.”
She turned at the sound of a familiar voice. The dispel spell hit her almost instantly.
“…Bianca.”
“That’s right. Bianca von Behrendorf. Glad to see you still remembered me.”
“…Of course I’d remember you.”
“I wonder about that.”
Her former classmate scoffed, giving a little huff. Just as before, she wore her flashy blonde hair in high twin tails.
Back in their academy days, Bianca had stood out from the very first day.
Striking beauty, on top of her status as the daughter of the prestigious Behrendorf Marquess house. She’d always had a crowd of hangers-on trailing after her.
But what had left the strongest impression wasn’t any of that — it was how hard she worked. Magic exams, practical exams, written exams — she’d thrown herself into every single one, determined to come out on top.
Beautiful, well-born, hardworking, earnest.
Fiine knew perfectly well she was an admirable person.
(But I was always a little bad with her, honestly… she kept picking fights with me for no reason…)
As the old awkwardness came rushing back, Bianca kept talking.
“I hear you’re running some kind of ‘magic doll shop’ now?”
“…Yeah.”
“I wondered what had become of you, but I suppose you went private. Are you even keeping in proper contact with your old instructors? They were worried about you, you know.”
Even after all this time apart, she still hadn’t changed one bit — barging straight into things that weren’t any of her business.
“That, um, first, one thing—”
“What?”
“The magic doll shop isn’t a combat job. All we do is bring back the dead for one day, that’s all… this time it just happened to turn into a request that came with combat attached, kind of an irregular case, really—”
“Wait, what?! Not combat?! You, Fiine Fellner?!”
“Y-your voice, it’s loud—”
“Whose fault is that?!”
Bianca clutched her head with a groan of honestly…, sighed, then glared at Fiine.
“Anyway. I’ll cooperate on this matter. It’s irritating, but having you around is reassuring, at least. We’ll handle arranging magic tools and figuring out longer-term countermeasures on our end. Of course, I’m not about to leave the combat entirely up to you either.”
Crossing her arms, Bianca smiled with a provocative edge.
“I’ve gotten far stronger than I was back then, you know. I’m sure it’ll surprise you.”
Ah, still hasn’t changed at all, Fiine thought.
Working hard enough to say that with such confidence, growing steadily stronger, and still never satisfied, still pushing herself further.
Even after years apart, the woman standing in front of her was, without question, the same Bianca from back then.
—And yet, at the same time, she felt sharply aware of the years that had passed.
Hair grown longer than it used to be, a face a little more mature. She wasn’t quite the same girl from back then anymore.
“Hey, Fiine. There’s one thing I want to confirm with you.”
“…What?”
“You brought one assistant along this time, didn’t you? Her name — isn’t it ‘Yuria von Cornelius’?”
Bianca’s proud violet eyes stared straight at Fiine.
Come to think of it, the three of them had once eaten together, a long time ago.
Bianca picking a fight with Fiine, Yuria stepping in to smooth things over.
“This is my first time at a commoner’s restaurant,” Bianca had said, and then proceeded to clean her plate completely at the cheap little place all the same.
“Well?”
Her long lashes trembled slightly.
“…That’s right.”
Bianca had probably already known the answer to her own question.
She said nothing more. She only kept staring, steadily, into Fiine’s eyes.