Episode 74: Burkhardt’s Dream
“A-ah, I… h-how long was I asleep? The people of the city are safe, right? And the black dragon in the cave…”
When she’d woken up, Yuria and Burkhardt had both been there, and then Yuria had slipped out of the room.
Her memory was somewhat hazy, but she remembered managing to defeat the black dragon.
As far as she could see, Burkhardt wasn’t injured, so the hunt for the dragon in the cave had probably gone well too.
“…Yes. Aside from you, there are no injured. The townspeople were somewhat confused right afterwards, but they’ve calmed down now. Edgar and the others even repaired the broken wall.”
“Thank goodness…”
As the tension drained out of her, the pain in her left leg began to register.
When she reached down and rested her left hand on it, Burkhardt’s face twisted slightly.
“I-I’m fine. It’ll probably heal quickly.”
“…I’m sorry. If I’d known another black dragon had come outside, I wouldn’t have left you alone. It was a failure on my part to confirm.”
“N-no. There were no casualties or injuries, and there was no way to know about a second black dragon until we were out of the cave.”
In that situation, if anything, it was the three who had stayed behind to fight the dragon in the cave who’d been in more danger.
“Even so…”
Silence filled the infirmary. Neither of them had ever been talkative.
(Uuh… why did Yuria go out…!?)
If she’d been here, Fiine could have spoken a little better.
“…Fiine.”
“Y-yes.”
Her back straightened on its own. She took a deep breath and looked steadily into Burkhardt’s eyes.
“…Thank you. If it had been me who left the cave, I might not have been able to protect the townspeople, and I might have died.”
“…That’s not…”
“I should have been ready to die long ago. Even so, I can’t die yet.”
Taking a deep breath, Burkhardt straightened his posture.
His jade-green eyes seemed to carry a deeper colour than usual.
“There’s something I still want to do.”
“…Something you want to do?”
“…Yes.”
He was a man of few words. Above all, he rarely ever said anything that wasn’t a fact.
“I joined the Magic Corps more or less by circumstance. I didn’t have any strong will behind it. But now I’m continuing this work for a clear reason.”
“A clear reason?”
“A dream, I suppose you could call it.”
It was the first time Burkhardt had ever said anything like that, and without realising it, Fiine clenched her fists.
(I’ve been with Mr. Burkhardt for such a long time, but… there’s still so much I don’t know.)
She leaned forward to wait for what came next. It was the first time she’d found the bangs covering her right eye so annoying.
“…I want to show you a peaceful world.”
“…Eh?”
A sound escaped her at the completely unexpected words.
Burkhardt lowered his face, as if to hide his expression, but he didn’t stop talking.
“You’ll think it’s foolish. You’re far stronger than I am.”
“I-I don’t think that at all.”
“I don’t regret teaching you how to fight. But I’ve always regretted that I couldn’t teach you other options.”
“Mr. Burkhardt…”
Burkhardt let out a deep sigh.
“If the world becomes peaceful, you can gain freedom in the true sense. Until that day comes, I can’t die yet.”
A peaceful world.
Speaking of such a vague ideal wasn’t like him. And on top of that, the reason was Fiine herself.
“U-um, Mr. Burkhardt…”
“What is it?”
“…Why do you care about me so much…?”
She had run away from the magic academy and kept being disloyal to him.
She’d ignored his letters for years.
He had raised her, and she had never repaid him in any way.
“Because you matter to me.”
It wasn’t any kind of answer at all. Even so, his straightforward feelings came through.
“…Hey, Fiine.”
“…Yes.”
“Do you think it was a good thing that I took you in?”
She had never heard his voice so full of anxiety. Despite the pain in her left leg, she found that she’d stood up.
“Of course! You saved me that day. You taught me how to fight, and you sent me to the magic academy, so I could meet Yuria, and not only that, really, really I…”
All sorts of feelings welled up.
Even if it didn’t come out in order, she felt she had to say it now.
(Because Mr. Burkhardt matters to me, too.)
Burkhardt put out his right hand and steadied the staggering Fiine.
Through his palm, his warmth seemed to spread through her whole body.
“…I didn’t want to run away.”
After losing Yuria, after despairing of the people around her.
She’d become unable to try, and had even stopped dreaming.
She had hated that weak self who threw everything away and ran, ashamed of her.
She’d pretended not to notice. Because even if she noticed, she’d thought she couldn’t do anything.
Because she knew that nothing she did now would bring back what she’d already lost.
But.
She had met people who, even after losing someone precious, tried to move forward.
(I think I was envious of them all…)
Of the people who had the strength to move forward. Of the people who could strive to change.
“I want to change too…!!”
Even if she couldn’t get back what she’d lost, she didn’t want to lose anything more that mattered to her.
“I want to be able to protect everything precious with my own hands…!!”
As she said it, the thoughts in her head fell into place one after another.
(…Yuria died, and I made a magic doll, desperately trying to go back to the past. But maybe, all along, I’d wanted to change.)
Slowly exhaling, she gripped Burkhardt’s hand tightly.
“Mr. Burkhardt. Thank you for relying on me. I was really so happy to be relied on.”
Without this request, she probably wouldn’t have noticed her own feelings.
“So please rely on me again, any time.”
“Fiine…”
They looked at each other in silence. It was at the same moment that they both grew embarrassed and looked away.