Episode 75: Something Feels Off
With a bang, the infirmary door flew open.
In came Edgar and Noel, with Yuria standing behind them.
“Are you alright!? I heard you’d regained consciousness.”
“Ah, yes. I’m fine now.”
At Fiine’s answer, both of them smiled in relief.
“Good. Can you step out of the room for a little while? Everyone’s waiting for you.”
“…Everyone, who?”
She had no idea what he meant.
When Fiine tilted her head, Edgar explained, looking puzzled.
“Isn’t it obvious? Everyone in the city. A huge crowd has gathered in front of the hospital to catch a glimpse of Fiine Fellner, the hero who saved the city.”
“T-the hero who saved the city!?”
“That’s right. This time, it was you who saved the city. You beat the black dragon on your own, and on top of that you protected every one of the residents, didn’t you? I’d thought you had a lot of magic, but I never imagined this much.”
“A-ah, but, um, the townspeople shouldn’t know it was me…”
A few residents might have seen Fiine, but she’d moved all of them to a place away from the fighting.
They shouldn’t have seen enough to cause a stir.
“Right. So the great me told them. That the hero who saved the city is right here.”
“…Eh?”
“A parade’s been arranged as well. It’ll be hard on you, but showing yourself safe to reassure the civilians is also a knight’s duty.”
Fiine wasn’t a knight to begin with, but there was no point in saying so.
(B-but even so, going around telling everyone it was me…!!)
Many people had come to Mond from both the Kingdom of Roselia and the Kingdom of Lyon.
If rumours spread here, her name would be known in both countries in no time.
As Fiine held her head, imagining the future, Noel came up beside her and apologised in a small voice.
“Sorry. …Edgar doesn’t understand not wanting to stand out. He thought he was doing the right thing, going around telling everyone about what you did…”
She could tell he meant no harm.
She knew it, but she still couldn’t bring herself to feel grateful.
“Let’s go, Fiine. After the parade, the great me will treat you to a superb feast.”
She could hardly say, “I don’t need the parade or the feast, I’d just like to sleep a little longer.”
Half by force, Fiine was made to take part in the parade as its star.
◆
“T-tired, so, so tired…”
After the parade and the meal, exhaustion had taken over her whole body.
Whether it was mostly from the fight or from the nerves of the parade, she could no longer tell.
Even so, for some reason she couldn’t sleep, so she’d slipped out of the inn to get some night air.
Sitting on a bench set up in front of the inn, she closed her eyes and felt the night air. Little by little she began to relax, and even the sweet scent in the air felt pleasant.
(…Hm? A sweet scent?)
Feeling something off, she opened her eyes. Edgar was right in front of her.
“Waah!!”
“What do you mean, ‘waah’? Don’t make a loud noise at the sight of the great me, unless it’s cheering.”
“I-I’m sorry, you startled me…”
How rude, he complained, as he sat down next to her.
He wasn’t in loungewear, and she hadn’t sensed anyone coming out of the inn. Had he been out somewhere?
(What an energetic person…)
During the parade too, even though she was supposed to be the star, he was the one who’d stood out most.
Well, she’d been grateful for that.
“There was something bothering me, so I did a bit of digging. There’s a lot of vague information, but I wanted to tell you before we head back to our countries.”
“Something bothering you?”
“Yes. The black dragon that attacked the city. Normally black dragons don’t attack human settlements. But the one you defeated was clearly going after the city. That’s what’s been bothering me.”
“…Ah.”
It was the same unease Fiine had felt.
But she’d completely forgotten it, and hadn’t thought of investigating.
(I thought he was a flashy person, but he’s actually serious…)
While she was still impressed, Edgar took a single vial from inside his coat.
What was inside looked like monster blood.
“Blood taken from the corpse of the black dragon you defeated. I had Noel examine it in detail.”
“Noel can do even that…”
“Yes. If anything comes up, feel free to ask him as well. Now, the problem is that this blood had a drug mixed into it that excites monsters.”
“…A drug that excites monsters?”
“That’s right. You could also call it a drug that makes them violent.”
“No way…”
She had never once heard of a drug to excite monsters.
To begin with, such a thing could only mean harm to humans.
(Is there a monster intelligent enough to make drugs? Or… is there a human who wants monsters to attack people?)
Either way, it was terrifying even to imagine something like this happening again.
“Naturally, we’ll report this to our country. I don’t know what will come of it, but… we may get more chances to fight together like this from now on.”
“…Yes.”
She was surprised at herself for nodding straight away. But there was no hesitation in it.
(If there’s something I can do, if there are lives I can save… then I want to do my best.)
Edgar stood up and held out his right hand to Fiine.
“I’m counting on you from here on.”
“…L-likewise, please.”
“See you, then. You’d better get to sleep before it gets late, too.”
Waving, Edgar disappeared into the inn.