Episode 54
- Zzzzt!
Illuminating the surroundings with light, the place where Irina and Frey arrived was a dense forest.
"Hah...!"
Gasping for breath momentarily due to the side effects of teleportation, Irina soon began surveying the surroundings with sharp eyes.
"W-where is this?"
Looking around for a while with a guarded expression at the somehow familiar yet unfamiliar place, Irina quietly looked down at her embrace.
"I- is he dead?"
In Irina's arms, Frey was holding her tightly without making any movement.
Frowning slightly as she examined his appearance, Irina carefully laid him on the ground and quietly placed her ear against his chest.
"...He's alive for now."
Though his condition was little different from a corpse, Frey's heart was certainly beating. Of course, very faintly.
Thanks to that, Irina relaxed slightly and removed her ear from Frey's chest, sighing, then suddenly began looking at his chest area that had been torn open from being grabbed by the undead.
"Hmm..."
Hesitating for a moment as she watched that sight, Irina glanced at Frey cautiously, then carefully removed his upper garment and muttered.
"As I thought, something is strange."
His body was quite clean except for the traces of burnt mana circuits and the wounds he just received from the undead.
However, throughout his upper body, a dark energy was rising for some reason.
- Shuuu...
Quietly observing that phenomenon for a while, Irina began running her hand over Frey's bare body.
Then, from places where there were clearly no wounds, the same rough sensation she felt when she touched his body before began transmitting to her hand.
Feeling that sensation as she continued stroking Frey's body, Irina's eyes started to widen at some point.
"T- this is...?"
The shimmering mana Frey had emitted during the fierce battle earlier was mixing with the dark energy on his body and disappearing, gradually revealing his true physical condition.
"Oh my..."
His fully revealed body condition was quite shocking.
His shoulders had turned blue, his entire body was covered with stab and slash scars, and some scars had burst open again and were bleeding.
And these wounds were distributed evenly throughout his body.
'Most of these are wounds from monsters and demonic beasts... furthermore...'
Since she was the continent's foremost battle mage, Irina could tell at a glance that these were wounds from monsters and demonic beasts. After investigating more closely, she was able to determine that the monsters and demonic beasts that caused these scars were species that lived in the 'Ashen Forest.'
And from that point, the sight of Liana... no, Frey taking attacks meant for her even at the cost of pushing himself began floating before her eyes. Irina knelt down and began muttering with a troubled expression.
"Just why... just why did you do such a thing?"
But of course, no answer came from Frey, who had collapsed unconscious.
Only after seeing Frey's condition did Irina snap to her senses. She let out a deep sigh and began picking him up again.
Though as a mage Irina lacked physical strength, Frey was light enough that she could lift him without difficulty. She began walking to explore this unknown space, but suddenly stopped to look at the grass trampled from their appearance and fell into thought.
'...Just what is going on here?'
The scroll she purchased was definitely an 'attack scroll.'
However, being born poor, even after gathering all her money, she fell far short of buying an official scroll, so she purchased an 'illegal scroll' from a back alley.
Of course, scams were so frequent in the back alley that there was even a saying that 'buying scrolls in the back alley is suicide,' but Irina was confident.
Because she was an unparalleled genius in magic, a great mage who would make a name for herself across the entire continent in the future.
Therefore, though she couldn't use magic, her magical knowledge remained, and naturally, distinguishing defective scrolls was as easy as pie.
Searching through all the magic scroll shops in the back alley from morning, she finally purchased a scroll from a shabby street vendor in the evening.
Because all other shops sold fake or defective scrolls, that was the only place left.
The owner, who looked experienced for some reason and had band-aids on his face, handed over the scroll with a meaningful smile, but it was definitely a properly functioning 'attack scroll.'
But why on earth did the attack scroll turn into a 'teleport' scroll? Could it be that she really made a mistake?
'Come to think of it... it was like this during the last incident too...'
Continuing to ponder, Irina shook her head and started walking.
The strange magic scroll, the suspicious owner, the connection between the last incident and this one were all important, but figuring out this unidentified location was the priority.
"...Huh?"
Carefully emerging from the dense trees while carrying Frey, Irina saw the scene before her and froze, muttering.
"This place... surely...?"
In her view, a shabby secret base that she had made with Frey when they were young came into sight.
.
"Hah..."
Looking at Frey groaning on the dilapidated bed of the secret base, Irina frowned deeply and began looking at the setting sun.
"...This has become troublesome."
This was a place containing memories of Frey and Irina's childhood, a forest located near the Starlight Duchy where the incident occurred when she was injured on her face while saving Frey from a wolf.
When she first realized this fact, Irina grabbed her head and worried about why the magic scroll sent her and Frey to such a place, but then quietly picked up Frey and quickly began descending the mountain.
Since she realized this was a forest she frequented as a child, escaping was very easy. After descending for a while, she finally made it out of the mountain with Frey and reached the street.
But...
"T- this is..."
Seeing the imperial newspaper spread on the street, she froze while carrying him.
- Meanwhile, 'Frey Raon Starlight,' known as a prime suspect in the incident, was revealed to be currently resting in his dorm due to a recurrence of aftereffects from the 'Commoner Dormitory Attack Incident.'
The newspaper stated that Frey, whom she was currently carrying, had been named a prime suspect in the 'Holy Undead Knight Incident,' but had been cleared of false charges after being discovered resting in his dorm.
'...Did Kania or Serena take some measures?'
Momentarily confused by the content, Irina guessed that either Kania or Serena, who were clearly helping him secretly, had created an alibi, then continued reading the newspaper.
- In response, the 'Sun God Church' is officially protesting against Saintess Peruche and the Third Princess for their false testimony, but the Saintess and Third Princess have also declared they will reveal the Church's secrets, causing a huge uproar...
"Sigh."
But when political talk she hated most came up, Irina frowned and closed the newspaper. She stared blankly at Frey in her arms and fell into thought.
'As expected... he shouldn't be seen by people right now?'
She still couldn't guess why Frey acted this way or what his purpose was, but it was an undeniable fact that he saved many children's lives and Peruche's life today.
So, deciding to hide him for now, Irina went back up the mountain and returned to the 'secret base,' the space most familiar to her.
"Mmm..."
Watching the setting sun, Irina cautiously approached Frey as he started groaning in pain.
"This... needs treatment..."
Soon convinced that his wounds and physical condition were becoming serious, she began rummaging through the backpack she had been carrying.
"...Sigh."
But since her poverty meant only one healing potion came out of the bag, she lowered her head and sighed.
"Mmm..."
"...Drink."
Cursing her poverty for a moment, Irina began tilting the potion into Frey's mouth.
"Mmm..."
Then, whether it was her imagination or not, Frey's expression slightly eased.
'This isn't enough...'
But it was far too little to treat his serious condition. Before long, Frey's expression changed back to pain. Watching him quietly, Irina shouldered her backpack and stepped outside the secret base, muttering.
"...I'll need to find some medicinal herbs."
.
"Frey, try to wake up."
"Hah... hah..."
Irina, who had gathered highly effective medicinal herbs in just a few minutes thanks to knowing the mountain's geography well, faced an unexpected difficulty.
"Damn, I can't feed him herbs like this."
The potion was liquid so she could somehow make him swallow it, but as long as he was unconscious, there was no way to feed him herbs.
Forcing them into his mouth might block his airway, and even if she cut them small, these were herbs that needed to be chewed thoroughly to be effective. It was truly a dilemma.
"Hoo..."
Eventually sighing and sitting on the edge of the bed where Frey lay, Irina looked at his face covered in cold sweat and quietly spoke.
"What... are you thinking?"
Until a few months ago, Frey was someone she wanted to kill madly, and now he was groaning in pain right before her eyes.
If she shot even a tiny amount of mana into his heart, if she strangled his neck for just a moment... no, she didn't even need to do that. If she just left him like this, Frey would die.
And no one would blame her for it.
He was the Empire's greatest scoundrel in the current situation, having committed various crimes, and in the future, he would be the greatest villain in Imperial history who would destroy the Empire.
But...
"...I haven't uncovered the truth yet."
Perhaps all those fundamental premises might be shaken.
Having nearly reached the end of his secret - committing evil deeds in front while doing good deeds behind - giving up now was no different from disgrace to Irina.
After such thoughts, Irina made her decision. She put the herbs in her hand into her mouth and began chewing.
"Hup..."
Chewing the herbs for a while, Irina hesitated briefly, then pressed her lips against Frey's.
"Hmm..."
After pushing all the herbs into Frey's mouth, she continued repeating that action for a while.
"Puh..."
Having fed him all the herbs she brought by chewing and passing them, Irina wiped her mouth and began checking Frey's condition.
Whether her efforts worked, Frey's complexion had eased, and the blood flowing from his wounds had stopped.
'Was it this effective?'
Watching that sight, Irina turned to gather more herbs for Frey and headed toward the entrance.
"Cough! Cough!!"
"W- what?"
But at that moment, Frey suddenly coughed up blood and began trembling. Irina urgently ran to him and began checking his condition.
"I- Irina...?"
"...!"
Meeting Frey's eyes as he opened them narrowly, Irina was so flustered she froze in place.
"Where... where is this...?"
"W- well... that is..."
Frey asked Irina in a fading voice, and when she stammered, he rolled his eyes and began looking around.
"What... it's a dream again?"
Realizing where he was, he muttered with a hollow voice.
"Lately, I always have this dream after fighting... Right, what memory is it this time..."
"You... do you know where this is?"
Though she wanted to tell him to stay quiet and lie down, Irina found herself asking him a question.
"Of course I know... it's our secret base..."
"You remembered that?"
"We used to catch fish here... dig traps... play in the water... now they're all just memories..."
Answering Irina's question with a wistful expression, Frey coughed up blood once more and muttered.
"But why... do you look like an adult? And where's the cat doll?"
"What?"
"And... even though it's a dream, why am I so sleepy..."
Continuing to speak with a weak voice, Frey closed his eyes again and lost consciousness.
"Sigh..."
Seeing Frey talking about the secret base with the pure and kind appearance she liked when she was young, Irina eventually said with a determined expression.
"As expected, this won't do."
After saying that, Irina started to go out to gather herbs to feed him, stopped briefly, and added one more thing.
"Tomorrow, I will find out all the truth."
.
"Irina student, where have you been that you're only returning now?"
"...I'm sorry."
Late at night, Irina bowed her head and apologized to the manager at the Academy gate, then quietly entered the school grounds.
'Frey... will be fine.'
The secret base in the forest had an intrusion-prevention magic that Irina had set up when she was young, so no one but her and Frey could enter.
And Frey, having been fed five more herb plants, had recovered enough to regain consciousness by tomorrow morning.
Having judged that now was the time to use this opportunity, Irina began heading quickly to the noble dormitory.
"Just a moment, commoners cannot enter the noble dormitory..."
"You know."
"Ah..."
Soon blocked by a maid at the entrance, she made a shameful expression and murmured low. The maid, who knew well the rumors about Frey and Irina's relationship, avoided her gaze and stepped aside.
'Does Frey not care about his own rumors?'
Passing by such a maid and heading to Frey's room, Irina began chewing on a question that came to mind.
'With his power, he could suppress such rumors as much as he wanted.'
Rumors of evil people spreading through the Empire were common, but recently Frey was truly public enemy number one.
According to information she obtained coming to the Academy, though Frey's innocence was proven in this incident, many still believed he was the culprit.
'Is he intentionally acting conspicuously evil so rumors spread? But why? What's the need for that?'
Lost in endless worry again, Irina saw Frey's room and began quietly knocking.
"It's Irina. I came to do my service."
But no sound came from inside the room.
"Please open the door. He said he'd cast a death curse on me if I don't do the service by today."
Irina frowned and tried lying, but the door still didn't open. Sighing, she sat down in the hallway and began sobbing loudly.
"What... what's going on with you?"
Then the head maid who managed the noble dormitory hurried over and began scolding her.
"If you do that and wake the nobles, what will we do! Then both I and you would be dead..."
"B- but...! If I don't serve Frey-nim today, I'm dead!"
Making an expression full of fear, Irina grabbed the head maid's legs and began pleading.
"P- please! Head maid...! I don't want to die! How... how I've endured this terrible life...! Dying just because I couldn't do service is too unfair...!"
"Sigh..."
The head maid was also well-versed in Academy rumors, and seeing her desperate expression, she began looking increasingly conflicted.
Irina knew well that she was a hidden benefactor who died leading the evacuation of commoners during the Academy invasion incident in the previous timeline, so she pleaded even more earnestly.
"P- please help... I beg you... I want to live. I don't want to die like this. So please..."
"I'll check for a moment."
"E- excuse me?"
The head maid began patting Irina's body, then quietly looked at her and spoke.
"No weapons."
"O- of course! If I did that...!"
"I understand, so go in. I'm letting you in specially because you're mana-depleted."
Saying that, the head maid carefully handed her a key and whispered.
"...She's going to die soon anyway, don't ruin your life by killing her."
After saying that, the head maid hurriedly disappeared into the darkness.
"...Gulp."
Watching that for a moment, Irina opened the door with the key and carefully entered the room.
"Wake up."
Coldly muttering to the person who looked like Frey lying on the bed, Irina began shaking him wildly when he didn't wake up.
"I don't know who you are, but wake up. I want to know the truth now."
"Mmm..."
"Wake up! Right now!! I said wake up!!"
But even then, the fake Frey remained silent.
"Damn, what is this? Was it not a person but a doll?"
Irina had planned to tell the person disguised as Frey everything about this incident and learn the truth in exchange for revealing Frey's location. When the fake Frey didn't move, she began to panic.
- Poke poke
"That's strange, the texture feels like real skin... and there's even a heartbeat."
Poking and investigating the fake Frey, the moment Irina unconsciously pressed hard on his stomach...
"Meee... ow!"
Suddenly, a bizarre sound came from somewhere.
"W- what? Did that come from the cat doll?"
Startled and backing away, Irina discovered the cat doll at Frey's bedside, picked it up, and tilted her head.
"M- meow...!"
"Why does this thing scream when I poke fake Frey?"
Realizing that pressing the fake Frey's stomach made the cat doll cry out, Irina frowned for a moment, then noticed the cat doll's mouth was puffed open.
"Aha... so that's what it was..."
"A- ah... a- meow!"
Opening the cat doll's mouth, Irina smiled with triumph and muttered.
"...This might be applicable if I do it right."
.
"Mmm..."
As morning came, Frey, who had been unconscious for a while, groaned and tossed, then opened his eyes.
"Young master, have you awakened?"
"K- Kania?"
Kania, who was in front of him, bowed her head and greeted him. Frey stared blankly at her, then smiled broadly and asked.
"Was it you who saved me?"
Kania bowed her head and answered.
"That is correct, young master."
"Sigh... really fortunate... I thought I was going to die."
Frey then made a relieved expression and began thanking Kania. Kania watched him and quietly muttered to herself.
'...Good, he fell for it.'
And in her pocket, there was an empty bottle.