BSS 45

Chapter 45

“There must be some mistake. We’re the delegation from Drike Academy in Dmitry.”

“We’re on our way to participate in the Wincan Festival being held in Elan. Perhaps you’re confusing us with someone else?”

“No mistake! You’re definitely the ones we’ve been waiting for.”

“Yes, we’ve been told every day that an accompanying party would arrive. That demon wearing the mask of an angel… ahem.”

“She was just here a moment ago. Where did she go?”

“She’s definitely off causing trouble again.”

The gatekeepers murmured among themselves in quick succession. Hansen and Philo could hear everything, but none of it made any sense to them.

“Um…”

“I’m telling you, she just doesn’t listen. We begged her to stay put right here. If she weren’t a noble, we’d have kicked her out long ago.”

“No, no—now that her guardians are here, we can fill out the paperwork and hand her off. Then we’re free. Free!”

“Exactly. Since her guardian has arrived, she’s no longer our responsibility! You’re a genius.”

The gatekeeper smiled so brightly it was almost burdensome to look at.

“This way, please. We’ve already prepared the documents for you to sign.”

“Uh… yes…”

Hansen had never met such a kind Baillan local in his life.

The unfamiliar hospitality made him uneasy. Reluctantly, he followed the gatekeeper into the guard post.

Meanwhile, Philo stayed behind to watch the horses.

It was his first time ever in Baillan. He lifted his gaze to look at the famous walls of Valen. The walls were wrapped in some sort of translucent energy that refracted the sunlight like a rainbow.

For Philo, who came from magic‑scarce Dmitry, it was a rare and fascinating sight. He craned his neck to stare up at it.

“So that’s… the magic barrier Baillan is so proud of…”

“Huh? Philo! Philo, is that really you?!”

He was marveling with pure awe when a familiar voice pierced into his ear.

Rather than trying to identify who it was, Philo instinctively turned toward the direction of the young voice calling his name.

Golden hair filled his field of vision in a single sweeping motion.

A dazzling color like the sun itself blurred his sight.

Then came shining blue eyes, bright with triumph, and a smile that could’ve belonged to an angel…

“Why are you so late! Do you know how lonely I was?!”

“W—!”

“The gatekeepers won’t let me do anything without a guarantor!”

A small figure sprinted toward him and practically crashed into his arms.

Though he was a trained knight, he failed to dodge such a tiny assault.

If the thing running toward him had been an enemy, he’d have died on the spot.

He froze stiff, jaw falling open.

At first he thought it was an illusion. Maybe one of the wall’s magical effects—illusion magic or something like that.

But soon he couldn’t deny it anymore. The voice was too real. Too familiar.

“You look like you’ve lost weight. Philo?”

“Uh… u‑u…”

The person looking up at him so casually—while he struggled to form words—was someone he had believed to be dead.

Genie Crowell.

“AAAAAAHH!”

He couldn’t help it. He felt exactly like he was looking at a ghost.

Because he had seen her fall into a ravine no one could survive. Because it had hurt him deeply.

Hansen’s entry paperwork was processed smoothly.

The gatekeeper seemed eager to get them inside the city as quickly as possible.

How many were entering, the purpose of the visit, whether they had proper identification, whether the documents bore the seal of a recognized noble family, and so on.

There were many documents, yet the gatekeeper barely glanced at them before stamping each one at lightning speed. The stack disappeared in no time.

“This is the last one.”

Just as Hansen was bewildered by how fast the inspection was, an unfamiliar document was pushed toward him.

“What is this?”

“A confirmation receipt for the transfer of Genie Crowell’s identity guarantee.”

“…Sorry?”

“When she first entered the city, she had no identification badge, so Captain Shavel personally stood as her guarantor.

But since he left the country, responsibility has been transferred to me, the officer who processed her entry. Now that her party is here—”

“Wait! What are you talking about? How do you even know that name?”

“I told you, I was the entry officer.”

“That’s impossible. She was swept away by the currents two weeks ago and died—”

Hansen’s words cut off at the sound of a familiar scream. Philo’s scream.

“AAAAAAGH!”

Recognizing the voice, Hansen burst out of the guard post.

And he saw it too.

A golden‑haired girl with noble features, grimacing and covering both ears with her hands!

“HUH—!”

His breath caught violently in his throat.

The young girl he’d mourned for days, prayed for days—prayed that she hadn’t suffered too much—was very much alive, and turning her head toward him.

Hansen broke into a cold sweat as her blue eyes met his.

“What’s with you? Why are you all reacting like that?”

Her eyes sparkled with happiness at seeing them, but their reactions made her pout.

They all looked at her as if she were a ghost.

“Are you… not happy to see me?”

“Y‑You… you’re alive?!”

“Huh? You thought I’d die?”

“Of course! You fell from that ravine! Everyone thought you had to be… dead…”

“But I’m alive. That’s why I’m here, see?”

Unfazed by everyone’s shock, she clasped her hands behind her back and gave a proud little “ahem.” How irritating.

“Well, I did almost die. The world is a scary place, you know?”

“How did you survive that current…?”

“How did you reach Valen before us…?”

“And why did that snake change color again?!”

Hansen and Philo bombarded her with questions. Genie glanced at Ry—now a pure white serpent—and shrugged.

“I just… had a little adventure.”

As if it were nothing.

“W‑Whoa!”

Someone else gasped with dramatic shock.

It was the knight captain, who had just arrived at the post.

His eyes were rounder than a freshly caught fish.

Genie Crowell was no longer surprised by people reacting like this. In fact, she was beginning to enjoy it.

“That face is hilarious. Right?”

“A‑alive… she’s… alive…!”

“Pfft, has he never seen a living person before?”

Judging by that infuriating expression, she was definitely Genie Crowell.

Yes—Genie Crowell was an infuriating child who tended to look down on adults.

And she had extreme favoritism depending on whether she liked someone or not.

The knight captain clutched the back of his neck.

“Unbelievable!”

Ironically, I didn’t get to rest until I explained in a “convincing” way why I was still alive.

The teachers and the knight captain pestered me relentlessly. I only escaped the interrogation after answering every single question they could think of for almost two hours.

Why I went into the forest alone at night, how I survived the current, why I followed strangers so easily, whether I understood how dangerous mercenaries were, and so on.

“So what was I supposed to do, huh? Leave a child alone in a forest?!”

[Please calm down, Master.]

Why were they so curious?! Why so much nagging?!

“This is insulting. They’re acting like I’m some kind of problem child!”

Stomach growling, I headed toward the dining hall while complaining to Ry, the easiest target.

[If by ‘problem child’ you mean what I think you mean, they’re not entirely wrong.]

“Do you want to die?”

[Spirits don’t die.]

“Want to disappear, then?”

[…Master, that’s unfair! I’m only speaking the truth!]

Ry was too honest sometimes. He really needed to learn tact.

“What problem did I cause? Anyone can see I’m a perfectly kind and exemplary—well, not student, but still.”

[At least you have a little self‑awareness.]

“Tch.”

[From their perspective, Master got into a fight with a swarm of bees, then went missing in the forest. It probably looks like you bring trouble wherever you go.]

“No, no! Think about it! Almost getting killed by bees was the bees’ fault, and getting separated from the group was because of the orcs!

I didn’t do anything wrong. The world is what’s messed up!”

I was confident. Because it was the truth!

[Sure, sure…]

“Why did that pause sound so long?”

[You’re misunderstanding.]

“You just looked at me with super thin eyes.”

[Not at all. My eyes are round like wild strawberries right now.]

The hallway we walked down was unnecessarily luxurious.

The inn we stayed at with Shavel’s party had been mid‑tier, but this one was definitely top‑tier. Which meant the food would be excellent.

I made sure Ry—now a white snake—was wrapped securely around my waist before entering the dining hall.

Meat! Give me meat!