Chapter 63
‘……Did I see it wrong?’
Then Aquila shook his head.
If it were anyone else, perhaps. But that had been Ark Batchel.
Even if it was only his back, there was no way Aquila could fail to recognize Ark.
After spending so long together, he could have identified him even if his eyes were covered—just by hearing his breathing.
‘Or… did I hallucinate?’
Thinking calmly, there was no way Ark could be here right now.
By this point, he should have been living a quiet, ordinary life with his family in his hotown, the port village of Fenein, without a care in the world.
And the ti when he would set out on a journey and reach Portplum was still two years away—not now.
Feeling his breathing gradually steady, Aquila pressed his palm against his pounding chest.
‘Then I really must have finally lost my mind.’
Compared to assuming he had mistaken Ark Batchel for soone else, or that the flow of the main scenario had gone awry, it made more sense that Aquila himself had simply snapped.
Considering how many cycles he had lived through, it was about ti for his sanity to give out.
In fact, it was almost impressive that he had held on this long.
‘Poor thing. Looks like I have finally gone insane.’
Just as Aquila was calming down, pressing his thumb firmly against his tired eyes—
“Young Master! Are you hurt anywhere?!”
Shen, who had run up from behind, suddenly grabbed Aquila’s shoulders with both hands, turning him around and inspecting his face.
Only then did Aquila properly notice the people around him.
Nearby onlookers were glancing over because of the commotion, and beside Aquila, an unfamiliar man was rubbing his shoulder, trembling.
“I-I am so sorry……! I was not looking ahead, and I committed a grave discourtesy toward a noble……!”
He seed to be the person Aquila had collided with while running through the crowd.
Though his clothing was not extravagant, the man took one look at Aquila’s neat appearance and the way he had been addressed, then went completely pale and shrank back.
With the Old Items Auction approaching, nobles were already gathering everywhere, so he had quickly realized that Aquila was one of them.
“I am truly, truly sorry……! I-if you would be so kind as to forgive …….”
Aquila glanced once more toward where Ark had been, then turned his head back at the man’s reaction.
Tapping Shen’s shoulder lightly as if to say he was fine, Aquila turned fully toward him.
“I am the one who should apologize. I thought I saw soone I knew and ran after them without watching where I was going.”
He apologized without hesitation.
After all, he was the one who had charged off recklessly and collided with soone, believing Ark was there.
If anyone was at fault, it was clearly Aquila.
The man, who had been trembling as if expecting divine punishnt to descend at any mont, stared in shock with his mouth hanging open.
“If you were injured because of , I can call for a priest—”
“N-no, no! Not at all! I am perfectly fine! Really!”
The man flailed his hands in frantic denial, his shoulders jumping.
It was an emphatic refusal.
Aquila nodded, apologized once more, and the man bowed repeatedly before quickly leaving.
When Shen moved closer, clearly unsettled by how different Aquila seed from usual, Aquila suddenly asked,
“Do I look sane to you?”
“Y-Yes? What do you an by that?”
Shen blinked at the unexpected question.
However, Aquila’s black eyes were calm and still, just as they always were.
Shen could not grasp the intent behind his young master’s question, and in the end, he had no choice but to nod.
“Yes, Young Master.”
“……Hmm. I see.”
Aquila tilted his head, his expression unreadable.
It did not look as though he was fully convinced, but that passed quickly.
As if nothing had happened, Aquila told them to head back and began walking.
“Vice-Captain Cahena.”
“Oh, co on. As if I would know what that was about. If even Shen does not know, how would I?”
Cahena shrugged, having imdiately understood what Shen was about to ask.
Exchanging glances, they both thought the sa thing.
‘The young master has definitely been strange lately.’
But there was no ti to discuss it.
Cahena and Shen hurried after Aquila before he could get any farther away.
“Young Master! You startled ! Where did you suddenly run off to? Did sothing happen?”
“No. I thought I saw soone I knew and followed them, but it seems I was mistaken.”
After apologizing to Yujelia and saying their farewells, they headed toward where the carriage was waiting.
And until they returned to their lodging, Aquila offered no further explanation.
***
The fifth night passed in a blur, and at last, the morning of the sixth day dawned.
The day the Old Items Auction would begin.
And Aquila—
“This arrived early in the morning?”
“Yes, Young Master. It is a gift sent from the Raiesel family. It looks quite nice.”
Taking advantage of the early hours, a gift from the Raiesel family had arrived.
A luxurious jacket.
It was a gift for Aquila, who would be attending the Old Items Auction as a representative.
Though it was called an auction, it was a place where many nobles and wealthy rchants gathered.
In that sense, it could also be considered a social gathering.
The Raiesel family, indispensable when it ca to social events, had sent Aquila such a gift for that reason.
Everyone would be attending under their own nas and family banners, and would naturally co well dressed.
In contrast, Aquila had co to Portplum abruptly from Igrail, without even preparing to stay long, let alone attend a formal gathering.
He did not even have suitable attire, so there could not have been a more fitting gift.
“I am not sure if it will fit.”
“It will, Young Master. I gave them your asurents.”
At Shen’s shaless reply, Aquila shot him a sidelong glance.
From this attendant’s perspective, he probably thought it was only natural.
In any case, other servants joined in as well, and they began to dress Aquila elaborately for the auction.
This ti, as expected, Aquila did not change his hair color.
His blazing red hair was fixed neatly back without a strand out of place, and in less than two hours, he looked perfectly presentable.
Shen fastened a dragon-shaped brooch, the emblem of House Reschenhardt, to Aquila’s collar.
“Perfect……! All done, Young Master. You look absolutely flawless!”
Looking at his fully dressed self in the mirror, Aquila pressed down a few stray hairs sticking out with his palm.
‘With such a striking appearance to begin with, this actually suits quite well.’
After giving himself that generous assessnt, Aquila checked the ti.
There was not much left before the hour rien Raiesel had said she would arrive.
After one last check of how his clothes sat and confirming that he had the invitation, Aquila headed straight for the door Shen opened.
***
Thirty minutes before the appointed ti.
rien Raiesel had already arrived.
“…Lady rien?”
“It has been a while, Aquila. Once again, thank you for your help with this matter.”
She looked completely different from what one would expect.
Her long, wavy black hair that usually reached her waist was nowhere to be seen.
Instead, her hair was closer to a dirty blonde, braided into twin plaits, giving her an entirely different impression.
On top of that, she wore large, round glasses, and whether it was because of that or her makeup, the rien before them looked like a mischievous young girl from sowhere.
“And today, I would like you to call ‘En.’ As for my role…… yes, thinking of as a maid would make happiest.”
Adjusting her glasses, rien spoke.
For a disguise, it looked practiced and natural.
However, the color of her eyes behind the lenses was still the sa deep green, and there was no trace of mana around her.
“So your appearance is not magic.”
“That is right. It is just a wig. Magic that deceives others’ eyes is not sothing most mages can pull off.”
rien nodded as if it were obvious.
Shen’s gaze naturally shifted to Aquila, but Aquila’s expression did not change.
Instead of asking more questions, Aquila turned his head to rien’s right.
“And what is that supposed to be? That hardly looks like an effort.”
“Huh? That is a rather hurtful thing to say. I did make my own effort, you know.”
A gentle voice echoed softly.
The Saint stood there, shalessly smiling as though he had been part of their group from the beginning.
But Aquila could not help questioning it.
For soone claiming to have made an effort, the Saint had only half tied his water-colored hair and swapped his pure white robe for simpler clothes.
Ianpel smiled brightly, dressed in a shirt with its collar gathered and tied with a ribbon, a blue vest cinched at the waist, and a white coat suited to the weather.
“What difference does it make if you do not wear the robe? The coat is still white.”
“The important part is precisely that I am not wearing the robe, you see. It ans that I am not acting as a priest of the Sun God right now, but spending private ti.”
It was a strange thing to say for soone with such a striking appearance.
Anyone who passed him on the street would imdiately know he was the Saint.
“So why are you here?”
“You have not forgotten already that you said I could attend the Old Items Auction as long as I obtained permission, have you?”
Aquila turned his head toward rien.
“Did you give permission?”
“…Yes. Lord Ianpel contacted personally. I was surprised, but I had no compelling reason to refuse.”
“Is it acceptable for the Saint to enter the auction hall?”
“I believe I answered that question before. Ah, but if you still feel uncomfortable…….”
Ianpel spoke as he pulled out a pair of glasses identical to rien’s from inside his coat and put them on.
The lenses were square.
“May you call ‘Fel’ as well? Since things have turned out this way, I thought it might be nice if my na matched too.”
“…You gave permission to that?”
At Aquila’s incredulous look, ‘En’ briefly lowered her head.
Then she nodded.
“The mont you step into the auction hall, Aquila, all eyes will be on you. Not only because you are a Reschenhardt, but also because of the recent rumors.”
House Reschenhardt rarely left Igrail.
As a result, people living elsewhere had few opportunities to encounter red hair.
Beyond the rumors spreading through Portplum, that was what rien ant.
As she spoke, rien briefly glanced at Ianpel’s water-colored hair.
“If people are going to stare anyway, having their attention focused on just the two of you is more than enough for . Do you not think so?”
It seed she intended to be completely overshadowed by their overwhelming presence.
rien’s goal was to remain unnoticed and confirm whether Quija’s Smile appeared at the auction.
“Look, see? I obtained permission. So, as promised last ti, you have to include . Right?”
“…Hah. Yes. A promise is a promise.”
“Haha. Wonderful. Ah, but do not worry. I have already heard the full explanation of what happened.”
Ianpel smiled gently.
It sounded imnsely reassuring.
“Sorry to interrupt, but it is ti, Young Master. If we board the carriage now, we can arrive at the auction hall with ti to spare.”
Shen opened the carriage door bearing the seal of House Reschenhardt and looked back at them.
It was truly ti to depart.
Aquila looked at rien and Ianpel, let out a silent sigh, then nodded.
“Let us go.”
With that brief reply, Aquila climbed into the carriage first.
Reviews
All reviews (0)