The walk back to Elline's dormitory was a long one.
"...You don't have to come with me."
"I'd just be studying if I went back anyway."
The two of us walked at an easy pace, hand in hand.
"Tomorrow afternoon is training again, right?"
Elline gave a small nod.
"I'll hold back this time."
She added the words carefully, as if conscious of the sparring session from last weekend.
*...She was a bit intense, I'll admit.*
After that, we talked about nothing in particular.
What to eat. How to train.
Ordinary things.
But somehow more comfortable than any other topic.
The path to the dormitory, which always felt so long, seemed short tonight.
Before I knew it, we'd arrived in front of her building. Elline let go of my hand
and looked back at me one last time.
"Thanks for today."
"Go on in."
Elline turned her head one final time just as she stepped inside,
and after she disappeared, I stood there looking up at the stone Alpha Class dormitory.
*...*
Could I get in there someday?
I'd have to work for it.
Because next time we said goodbye, I wanted it to be in the dormitory hallway—not at the entrance.
I saw Elline off and made my way back.
Maybe it was because I'd walked so much today and studied on top of it, like she said.
Even just washing my face and lying down, my eyes were already falling shut.
I sank into the soft mattress, rested my face against the pillow, and a wave of drowsiness washed over me.
My muscles unwound, and a comfortable warmth settled over my whole body.
*...I'm tired.*
Was it because I'd spent so long with Elline today?
Even lying there, I could still catch her scent.
*Seems a bit stronger than usual.*
I told myself it was just my imagination, surrendered to the softness, and closed my eyes.
* * *
The west—one of the five provinces that divided the empire.
The west had seen fiercer conflict than even the north, the site of countless wars, but now it seemed to have found its peace, with farming in full swing.
The land that had once soaked up blood now had crops planted in it, and people in work clothes were sweating over the soil.
Watching them through the window, the lord of the domain—Hezler—sat with his tea, lost in thought.
Knock, knock—
The crisp sound of knocking brought Hezler back to himself, and he raised his head.
"Father, it's me."
"Come in."
He answered in a stern voice, and the door opened to admit his son Assel, who dipped his head slightly as he entered.
Brown hair that mirrored his own. A sturdy build.
The face that unmistakably recalled his own youth—now walking in with documents in hand—was like looking at a reflection of his younger self.
"The results came in for the proposals submitted last month."
Assel spoke of the meeting's contents as he sorted through the reports with practiced ease, then laid them out in front of Hezler.
"Well? How did it go?"
"These two proposals were approved, but the rest..."
Assel let his words trail off.
"Assel."
"Yes, Father."
"I've told you more than once—when you finish a sentence, finish it properly. Don't trail off."
"...I'm sorry."
The Western Alliance, made up of Hezler's domain and the other western houses, had submitted eight proposals to the imperial court last time.
Of those, two had passed.
Freezing the taxes on various crops and securing support for transport costs were certainly notable achievements, but having the remaining six rejected was not a good result.
Among them, the rejection of the request for troop reinforcements due to monster outbreaks—and the accompanying funding—stung the most.
"Are they only looking at the surface-level peace, or did we simply fail to convey how much damage the monsters are causing?"
"I don't think it's that. But the north, inevitably..."
The north again.
"That damned north, north, north."
It was only natural that all eyes were fixed on the north, which was being called the fiercest battleground, but the west was suffering just as badly.
Over the past few years, the rate of monster appearances had begun to rise noticeably, and with direct damage reaching civilian settlements, the severity was impossible to ignore—
Yet the empire still seemed to have eyes only for the north, handling western affairs as an afterthought.
"Father, perhaps we should consider hiring knights again."
Hiring knights—a privilege that knightly houses could exercise.
Under the pretext of protecting one's domain, they held the right to maintain a minimum number of knights.
Hezler's house was a knightly house.
The sword mounted on the left wall of his study, awarded by the imperial court, was proof of that.
However, as it was a sword received centuries ago, no amount of meticulous care could prevent the rust from setting in,
and as if reflecting this decline, the house had stopped producing knights a century ago.
"Assel."
"Yes."
"How much do you think it costs to maintain a single knight?"
"..."
"Hiring fees, food, equipment, supplies, taxes owed to the empire—and that's not all. There's the upkeep allowance, the quarters to maintain. Where does all of that come from?"
Hezler gestured toward the window, and the vast expanse of the domain came into view.
The cost of maintaining a knight was a considerable burden.
Granted, monster appearances had been increasing over the past few years, but hiring knights at this stage was far too hasty a judgment.
"...My thinking was shallow. I apologize, Father."
"Remember this, Assel. You are the one who will succeed me and manage this Liperto domain as its Family Head."
"Yes. I understand."
"Meia and Elben have been spending recklessly lately as well—rein them in."
Hezler pressed his fingers to his brow, willing the heat in his head to subside.
"If they were going to refuse the funding, they could at least have done that—instead they're sending mages."
He muttered as he skimmed one of the stated reasons for the rejection.
The imperial message said they would dispatch mages to determine whether the monster outbreaks were a temporary phenomenon or something longer-lasting.
People who threw their weight around just because they could cast a few spells, clinging to their privileges.
Pretending to pursue scholarship with refined airs while calculating more shrewdly than anyone—Hezler had long since grown sick of their ways.
*...No. Wait.*
Hezler collected his thoughts.
Come to think of it, that was a matter that wouldn't last much longer.
By the time this harvest season ended, he would be able to set foot among that very class of privileged people.
His second child—born of a knightly house, yet sensitive to mana and capable of wielding magic.
And on top of that, the child had entered the academy that was said to be so difficult to get into.
When that child returned, they would elevate the standing of his domain.
With the importance of magic rising by the day, that child was an invaluable asset to Hezler.
"A mage in our house... I wonder what expression the other lords will make."
At the first smile Hezler had shown, Assel said nothing in reply.
He simply tidied up and bowed his head just before leaving.
"Hah."
Stepping into the corridor, the oppressive weight that had been pressing down on him seemed to lift, and a breath escaped him on its own.
He loosened the necktie he'd kept tightly knotted in tension, and the strangling feeling around his throat disappeared.
As Assel grew older, one question had begun to take shape in his mind.
His father Hezler was strict, but he cared for his children. His mother had always embraced everyone with gentle warmth.
Everyone except one.
Assel hadn't thought much about the reason when he was young.
But as he grew older, as he came to see more of the world and his understanding broadened, what he felt was the emotion his younger sibling must have felt in childhood.
*...*
How lonely must it have been. How hard.
But it was all in the past now.
In the two years since that child had gone to the academy, there had been no visits, and the only contact was replies to the letters his mother had reluctantly sent at his request.
He would simply be grateful if the child came home.
CRASH!
"Are you kidding me?! Not this! I told you to bring the Saimbringam brand!"
As the tantrum of his other sibling—still not quite grown up—rang out from somewhere down the corridor, Assel let out a long sigh and began to walk.
* * *
I opened my eyes to morning.
"...Mmph."
I must have slept especially well today—my body felt refreshed.
A light stretch, and my whole body gave a satisfying series of cracks.
"Must be from all that running around yesterday."
I got up in a half-daze, folded the blanket, and straightened the pillow.
"Hm?"
My white cotton pillow, always clean.
Now I noticed something catching the light, glinting faintly.
I picked it off without thinking and looked more closely.
*A hair?*
A thin strand I'd mistaken for a thread.
Why is this here...?
*...*
Elline had come over yesterday, but she'd only sat at the desk.
"Oh."
It must have blown over.
That's all it was.
A strange thought started to form in my head, but I pushed it away.
Morning. I left the dormitory and went looking for Balrod almost immediately.
Anyone might wonder how you'd find someone in an academy this vast, no matter how close you were.
With Balrod, it was simple.
To put it charitably, he loved food.
To put it less charitably, he ate like a man possessed—like he had a bottomless pit where his stomach should be.
It was a weekend morning.
And there was only one place he'd be: the dining hall.
Not just any dining hall, either—the one on the east side that he favored.
*....*
Sure enough, when I got there, I spotted a student who had already polished off three bowls and was now face-deep in a fourth.
Four bowls. In the morning.
I walked over, but Balrod didn't seem to notice at all, just kept inhaling his food.
"Balrod."
Only when I called his name did his body give a little jolt, and he slowly raised his head.
"Wha—huh?"
"Finish what's in your mouth first."
Some noodles that hadn't quite made it in were threatening to escape, and Balrod started sucking them all up in one go.
*He really is like an animal.*
He looked like a beast that hadn't eaten in days.
I sat down naturally across from him, and by the time he finished eating, he let out a belch and reached for his water.
"What brings you here on a weekend morning?"
"I have a favor to ask."
"A favor?"
Balrod wiped his mouth and looked at me with interest.
"You can decide after you hear it."
"Must not be an ordinary favor."
"Depends on who's listening."
"Hmm."
Balrod grinned with a theatrical air and sprang up from his seat.
"Alright, let's do it this way."
"What?"
He cleared his dishes and jerked his chin toward the entrance.
"That favor of yours—I'll do it."
"...?"
What was that supposed to mean?
"I haven't even told you what it is yet."
"I know. It's not like you're about to ask me to kill someone, is it?"
Is that really what he thought of me?
"I don't think you'd ask for anything unreasonable, so in exchange, you do one favor for me."
...Oh.
"You'll do mine if I do yours? Without even hearing it?"
"Of course."
"What if I told you to go a week without eating?"
"For real?"
"I'm joking. Relax."
I got up and followed him out, and the quiet academy grounds came into view.
"So what's this favor that's got you agreeing to my terms sight unseen?"
"Nothing major. Just... patrol duty?"
Patrol duty.
"Out of nowhere?"
"Yeah, well—with the professors heading out on deployment, there's apparently a gap in security coverage."
I'd heard they'd be away all next week, so a lot of them must have left as early as Friday.
"The student council assigned some third-years to temporary guard duty."
Temporary guard duty.
Made sense, actually—third-years, especially Alpha Class ones, were practically field-ready.
"So. You volunteered?"
"Less volunteered, more conscripted. Who volunteers for something like this?"
Balrod shrugged like a man who'd drawn the short straw.
"Going alone is boring, so just come along and keep me company."
"That's it?"
"That's it."
"..."
Should I call that simple, or just a pain?
Patrolling the academy out of nowhere, with no real reason given.
"It's nothing much. You went somewhere with Ross before, right—the Chirping Forest?"
"Yeah."
"We just walk around in there a bit and come back out."
I wondered what his definition of 'a bit' was.
That forest was bigger than it looked.
"We'll be done before lunch?"
"Could be even faster—there are already people patrolling inside."
If we'd be done before lunch, I didn't mind.
"Sure, why not."
At my answer, Balrod looked satisfied and clapped me on the shoulder.
"Good. I was getting bored anyway—this'll be time well spent."
"But why patrol duty all of a sudden?"
"Things have been unsettled lately. Monster outbreaks, more criminal organizations—the academy's doing this at least for appearances."
I'd heard that long ago, there used to be incidents of people breaking into the academy.
The reasons varied—criminal groups that despised magic, theft of knowledge, terrorism targeting talented students—but now, with the continent fully unified, direct attacks on the well-fortified academy had all but disappeared.
Partly because there were more sensitive targets to focus on elsewhere.
*Patrol duty, huh...*
Maybe this would be a new kind of experience.
"This is the right place?"
Where Balrod and I arrived was the eastern entrance to the Chirping Forest.
Despite it being morning, the dense trees cast the forest interior in a dark, deep green.
"You've never been here?"
"Not once. I'd only ever heard about it."
Balrod said it like it was the most natural thing in the world.
"There are already people inside doing rounds, so it won't take long."
He quickened his pace and stepped into the forest ahead of me.
*Well, it's just walking. Should be over quickly.*
The long walk was the downside, admittedly.
Better think of it as exercise.
"Come on, I don't know the paths in here."
At Balrod's impatient call, I followed him into the forest.
The forest, which I'd been to a few times before, felt familiar as always, and I decided to treat it like a light stroll.
*...Hm.*
I stopped walking.
"Balrod."
"What, don't tell me you're backing out now—that'd be no fun."
"No... never mind."
I shook my head and rubbed my eyes, then fell back into step behind him.
Maybe it was just my imagination.
But it had felt like the trees had swayed—a large, sweeping movement.
Not just one tree. The whole forest.