But setting inquiry aside, Klass told her what he knew.
“I-I think so. At least, the adult servants all said so.”
“Hmmm.” Though it was not clear whether she was actually interested or not, Holo nodded and gazed off into the distance.
“What’s the matter?” Klass finally asked, unable to resist, which Holo shook her head at.
“Ah, ’tis well. But if Antheo is truly dead, that means I’ve no longer a destination. I meant it as a bit of a joke, but I may be traveling with you for quite some time.”
“…”
Klass fortunately managed not to say anything, but his preference for traveling alone with Aryes must’ve shown on his face.
Holo raised an eyebrow bitterly. “I may well be a nuisance, but to have it show so plainly on your face hurts a bit.”
“N-no, I didn’t mean–”
“Ah, so I can stay with you forever?” asked Holo with a grin, which Klass could now hardly shake his head at.
And it was true that Aryes’s charm was enough to balance out Holo’s malicious smile.
So Klass nodded slowly, eliciting a chuckle from Holo. “At that rate, you’ll have no cause to complain if your dear Aryes slaps you clean across your face.”
Her brilliant smile turned into a mean-spirited grin.
Evidently spirits could read minds.
“Heh-heh. Ah, well, ’tis the right of all children to be honest. Should you be fool enough to bring her flowers, I’ll be kind enough to let you.”
Finding a retort was more trouble than it would be worth, so Klass simply cast his gaze up to the moon.
“Still, I envy you.”
“…?”
Holo spoke as though muttering to herself, then sat up and crossed her legs.
He could see only a bit of her profile, so it was hard to be sure, but she seemed to be looking far off into the distance.
Holo was silent for a while, then looked back at Klass and spoke.
“What would you do if wolves were to appear right now and attack?”
It was an unexpected question and it took him off balance, but Holo the spirit was here, so surely there was nothing to fear.
“Er, I’d try not to get in your way…” Klass immediately answered, and Holo smiled a bit ruefully, then flopped down on her side.
Klass flinched away because not only did she lay on her side, she also rested her head right in his lap.
“’Tis a logical answer indeed, but there’s nothing so hated as a selfish male.”
“I-I see…”
“You do not see. You should’ve said something more like ‘I would sacrifice myself to protect you.’ Come now,” she said, slapping his leg, which could only mean that she wanted him to actually say it.
Even if he was alone, saying something like that was embarrassing enough, but Holo was right there, her gaze upon him.
But he got the feeling that if he didn’t say it, she’d be angry, and she wasn’t going to release him until he did.
And yet he hesitated for a while, but at Holo’s deliberate throat clearing, he composed himself. He took a deep breath as though he were about to jump into cold water, stuck his chin out, closed his eyes, and opened his mouth.
“I… I would sacrifice…”
“Hmph.”
“… S-sacrifice…”
“Mm?”
“… Myself…”
Having gotten this far, his mind went blank.
When he stopped without continuing the sentence, Holo rolled her eyes and muttered, sitting up, “Sacrifice myself to protect,” she prompted.
“Oh, right, ‘Sacrifice myself to protect you.’”
Having finished this, he realized that it was a short thing to say, but it had felt like reciting a lengthy poem.
Even after he finished repeating the line, he left his chin up, and his eyes remained closed.
He knew all too well that Holo was looking at him, as her gaze was so keen it felt as though something were poking his cheeks.
“Heh. Aye, I suppose that’ll do,” said Holo, finally turning her gaze away.
Klass let his chin drop and took a deep breath as though having just emerged from underwater.
“Still, if that’s so difficult you’ll have a hard time climbing that next step.”
“Er, next step?”
“Aye.” Holo’s reply and her action were simultaneous.
Immediately thereafter, Klass was quite sure he had died.
Not only could he not move, but he couldn’t even breathe or blink.
“Heh.”
Klass could not tell whether Holo had actually let slip a chuckle or if the sensation of her finger softly tracing his ear had made him imagine one.
What he could tell was that Holo had wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder.
The silence continued for a while.
His left ear began to tingle, which he realized later was because of the sensation of Holo’s breath upon it.
He had no idea why she was doing this.
It was dreamlike and stifling all at once.
“Goodness, if I were to bite you like this, it’s as though you would just die on the spot.”
Holo’s words were like a hand thrust into the mud of his mind.
Though she was obviously making a joke, nothing about this seemed funny to Klass, and he was finally able to turn his head.
What met his gaze when he did so was the moonlit glow of her beautiful amber eyes and her preternaturally white fangs.
That and her dizzyingly sweet scent.
Even in this state, with his field of vision tilting wildly, the one thing he could see strangely clearly were those white fangs, her lips curled up to reveal them.
At that moment, he truly believed she was about to devour him.
As Holo’s mouth with its fangs approached him, some part of his numbed mind murmured that he wouldn’t even mind it if she did.
A sensation akin to sleepiness made him close his eyes.
All that remained was her scent.
Yet–
“…”
Holo did not eat Klass.
“Ho, I can’t very well devour you thus,” she said lightly, suddenly releasing him from her embrace.
In that instant it felt to Klass like the dreamlike layers that had enfolded him all popped like so many bubbles.
No – they had popped.
He was stunned for a moment, then looked at Holo as though he’d dropped his favorite sweet on the ground.
What happened next made his heart break at her distant face.
Holo giggled. “When you look at me like that, it makes me want to continue, it does.”
She tapped him on the nose with her index finger, and he knew she was joking.
Klass finally realized it.
He’d been toyed with.
“Don’t be angry. It’s not as though I’m offering not to do it only if you’ll protect me from that.”
“Huh?” Like a well-trained dog, Klass looked in the direction Holo nodded. “Oh–” His mouth froze in the shape of a cry. “A-Arye–!”
He couldn’t finish the word.
There at the end of his gaze was Aryes, who was supposed to be sleeping a short distance away.
She was propped up slightly, her face somewhat hidden – Purposefully? Klass wondered – beneath the robe she was using as a blanket. Out from under that robe came her unreadable, colorless gaze, to which Klass had no reply.
Just after he realized his back had broken out in a cold sweat, Aryes averted her eyes, just like she had when they’d watched the rabbit in the field.
Klass felt like he’d been caught doing something very bad. No – this was very bad.
Although he didn’t know exactly what was so bad, his brain ran in circles trying to come up with some land of excuse.
Next to him, Holo chuckled in a lowered voice.
She still hadn’t entirely released him from her
arms, so he could feel her chortling; it was just like the sound of a rabbit thumping to warn of approaching danger.
“I have heard that love burns brighter when its road has many obstacles,” Holo said.
“N-no, that’s not–!”
“Well, then there’s no need for concern, is there?” she shot back.
He glared resentfully at her, but she seemed to regard his harsh gaze as a gentle ray of spring sunlight. “This won’t do. When I see such a lovely cub, I can’t help but tease it,” she said, lightly releasing him from her arms. She stretched with a groan, then waved her tail grandly.
He felt just like a dog that had been soundly beaten in a play fight, and the comparison was not just hypothetical.
Because, after all, he’d been toyed with again.
“You cannot simply gaze greedily at a thing forever,” whispered Holo low enough that Aryes, who was undoubtedly listening in, would not be able to hear. Cocking her head, she continued. “But you’ve learned something now, yes?”
“Huh?” he replied, not understanding.
Holo’s face looked irritated. “Ah, ’tis well,” she said, shaking her head. “But know this: It’s not only wolves that will bare their fangs at you and her. Far from it, as she is a young maiden.”
“Wha–?”
“You’ve about as much charm as you have lesser traits. Now all you need is courage.” These last words were delivered as Holo stood and ruffled Klass’s hair.
He angrily pushed her hand away, but Holo only laughed and walked unconcernedly back to where she had slept.
Her movements were so light it was easy to think that the exchange that had just happened was nothing more than a brief dream during his night’s sleep.
In any case, he watched Holo recede; she did not clarify her last words to him.
He slumped and let slip a sigh less from dejection than from relief at having been released by Holo the wolf.
Then he reached up to fix his mussed hair but suddenly stopped short.
It would be a shame to straighten it, he realized, since it acted as a landmark by which he could continue the dream.
As soon as Holo reached her destination, she seemed to have a hushed conversation there, immediately after which Aryes met Klass’s eyes for a brief instant.
He suddenly felt like it would be a very bad idea to leave his hair mussed.
Klass fixed his hair and sighed again.
Holo and Aryes talked quietly for a while but eventually were silent.
Klass took the opportunity to return to where he’d been sleeping.
He was very tired, and suddenly felt he understood less than ever before.
“Still,” he murmured into his blanket.
There was one thing he did understand.
While they both might smell nice, Holo and Aryes were nothing alike.
And if he had to choose which one he liked better…
Klass put the question to himself but smacked his own head before answering.
The night was wearing on.
He sighed so heavily it seemed like his blanket would be blown off.
A strange feeling of guilt made him unable to look at Aryes the next morning.
But Holo seemed to have patched things up nicely, since after Aryes finished her morning prayers, she greeted him as happily as she always did without hesitation or awkwardness.
He was honestly relieved at this, but a feeling of loneliness lingered in his chest.
Klass was surprised to realize that he’d been expecting Aryes to have misunderstood and therefore be in a foul temper.
As he hastily told himself that he most certainly did not want to attract Aryes’ affection, he started to think of himself as more and more foolish.
And yet– he thought.
He tried mentally switching Holo’s and Aryes’s positions and imagining the situation that followed.
In his mind, Holo was mysteriously charming.
“… Oh.”
Feeling as though he’d become just a bit cleverer, he nodded to himself, but then his head was suddenly smacked, and he snapped out of his reverie.
He looked up to see Holo’s displeased face.
“Hurry. Will you not eat? You’re last to finish again.”
Klass was startled by the sudden strike, but at the same time, he was suddenly worried that the contents of his imaginings had somehow been seen.
He jammed the wheat bread that Holo had again provided into his mouth, swallowing it along with his secret thoughts.
“Eating with haste is an art unto itself,” muttered Holo, sounding so bored that the events of the previous night might never have happened.
Klass couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed, but evidently she wasn’t reading his mind. He sighed in relief.
He once again wound up carrying everyone’s luggage, and they set off walking.
Today Holo and Aryes walked side by side with the burdened Klass walking ahead.
He tilted his ear to try and hear their happy conversation; it seemed they were still discussing liquor. While a moment ago grape wine had been the topic, they were now discussing some kind of brown wine made with bread.
In any case, having suffered defeat at the hands of the wine earlier, it was not a topic that deeply interested Klass.
Raspberry juice mixed with water and honey was a far tastier treat, in his opinion.
However, Klass did not have the gumption to turn around and tell that to the musical chirps of laughter behind him.
Doing so would only elicit sad smiles of pity from them, he was sure.
He kept the lead, sulking at having been left out of the conversation, when he realized that groves of bushes and stands of boulders were becoming more frequent.
The landscape was beginning to shift from plains to scrub, and from the hilltops, the dark forms of trees were visible.
The forest spread out ahead to their right, and far off in the distance, there was a small mountain visible.
In contrast, the view to the left was all tall grass and thickets, and if he looked closely, he could see pools of water dotting the area. It was becoming a marshland.
“’Tis a lovely view,” said Holo, standing beside Klass, and beside her was Aryes, who put her hand to her mouth, surprised.
And now that she mentioned it, Klass realized that while they had climbed many hills, this was the first time they’d seen scenery like this.
“Pretty great scenery, eh?” said Klass proudly, looking at a surprised Aryes – but Holo was between them, and she elbowed Klass.
Ignoring Holo and Klass, Aryes looked off into the distance, taking in the view, then spoke in a hesitant voice.
“Er, is… is that the sea?” she asked, pointing in the direction of the marsh.
“No, that’s a swamp,” said Klass.
“Swamp?”
“It’s sort of like a pond. But it’s shallower and muddier.”
Aryes nodded her understanding. A swamp meant there would be catfish, and Klass dearly wanted to catch one of the strange fish and show it to Aryes, just to see her reaction. Ignorant of this, Aryes continued. “So–” she asked, “is the sea anything like this?”
“The sea is much, much bigger!”
Klass had never actually seen the sea in person, but he’d heard about it. As he explained, he traced a great circle in the air with both arms, at which point Holo cut in.
“And just how big is it?”
“Wha–?” said Klass, at a loss for words. Aryes took her gaze from the swamp and looked at Klass questioningly.
After fumbling for a moment for a reply, Klass repeated what he’d been told about the sea. “It’s so big that no matter which way you look – left, right, straight ahead – all you can see is the sea.”
At this explanation, Aryes exhaled her wonderment, while Holo being Holo seemed to realize that Klass had never actually seen the sea. She grinned.
Fortunately, though, Klass was asked no further question
s on the subject, and Aryes smiled and said, “I hope we can see it soon.” Dazed by the sudden smile he was shown, Klass nodded vaguely only to be surprised by Holo maliciously stepping on his foot.
“So, we’ll pass between the forest and the marsh. The town’s not far beyond, but…” explained Holo, gnawing on some jerky as the trio then took their midday meal.
Her explanation seemed to imply something unpleasant, so Klass asked her about it. “Is the road rough?”
“No. When I came this way from the town, it was not so difficult. ’Tis much faster to cut through the forest – and more dangerous. What worries me is not the road, but what lies beyond it.”
“Beyond it?”
“Aye. To be frank, I mean the state of your coin purse.”
Hearing this, Klass untied his bindle and thrust his hand into it, still chewing on a piece of jerky he’d gotten from Holo.
In it was the money he’d received from travelers and other visitors to the mansion.
After rummaging around, he finally produced five coins. All of them were smaller than the end of his thumb, and three of them were mostly black with spots of green; the other two were rusty and gray.
They had been Klass’s most treasured possessions for a long time.
“Oh ho, so this is your fortune, is it?” said Holo, mildly surprised. Klass nodded proudly.
Living for a half year on these might be hard, but he was sure they’d be able to get by for three months at least.
“Is this money?” asked Aryes, peering at the currency in Klass’s palm.
“Sure is.”
“I was taught that money is the root of all evil. But it’s nothing like what I thought.”
Klass amused himself by wondering what she did think it was like.
For a moment, he didn’t comprehend the words he heard next.
“I’m not certain this will buy a piece of bread,” she said.
There was a short pause; then Klass replied. “Huh?”
“I don’t well understand the thing called money. I can quickly know the quality of a pelt, though, so ’tis hardly a burden, but…”
As she spoke, Holo went through her own things just as Klass had and produced a small pouch.
Untying the white and purple drawstring, she emptied the contents into her open palm.
The shock that hit Klass when he saw them was no different from being struck on the head.
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