157 - Teo vs Oscar
I go to the Menhishumi Church again today with Bart's escort. Since my limbs have grown a bit, even if only slightly, I can now walk side by side with Bart if I walk a little briskly. Leonardo still says it's too early and immediately picks me up, but compared to when I was in Mey Village, it's remarkable progress.
When we enter the Menhishumi Church grounds, I have to part ways with Bart for a while. My guardianship is handed over to Nils, and Bart returns to the residence.
"Yesterday, I met Bertrand-shama at the reshidence, you know."
As we walk side by side to the classroom, I tell Nils about what happened at the residence yesterday. That the Black Dog's owner came to pick up his dog, and that owner was the famously heroic Bertrand.
"Eh? Bertrand-sama... you mean that Bertrand-sama? The one with the anecdote about swimming up the rapids of Almbach while acting as bait for the Imperial soldiers?"
"The one with the anecdote about sleepwalking and punching a hole in the wall of Mehl Fortress, that Bertrand-shama."
The hero Bertrand has many anecdotes, but the reason I know so much about them is all thanks to Nils. In the lessons at Menhishumi Church, Bertrand is taught as a hero who was active in five major battles, but according to Nils, Bertrand had already been participating in battles before he distinguished himself, and if you include minor skirmishes, he apparently went to war twenty-six times during his active years. When it comes to major wars nowadays, there was the one five years ago with the neighboring country of Saenard that Leonardo also participated in, but there hasn't been war with any country since then. Normally, at my age, I'd naturally hear about Leonardo's heroic tales from parents and the adults around me since they're recent events, but for Nils, who wants to become a scholar at Menhishumi Church, Bertrand, who achieved more battle results than Leonardo, is his object of admiration. And so, my knowledge, supplemented by Nils in my history lessons, naturally has more about Bertrand's achievements.
...Well, in a remote village like Mey Village, you don't hear stories about war heroes.
When I mention that he seems to be staying in the city of Grenore for a while because he has business, Nils uncharacteristically starts to fidget. I feel like I've discovered an unexpected side of Nils, who usually seems more mature than his age.
"Is Bertrand-sama staying at the Fortress Lord's Residence?"
"Our guest rooms are full right now, so unfortunately it seems Bertrand-shama is staying at Alf's residence."
"Then it seems we won't have the chance to meet him by coincidence."
I try to encourage the slightly disappointed Nils by saying I'm disappointed too. I also wanted to check the truth of the anecdotes I heard from Nils.
...If that black one hadn't been there, I'd have wanted to talk with him slowly.
When I remember Bertrand's sturdy build, that black dog inevitably flickers at his side. It's a smart dog that follows orders when Bertrand is around, but it doesn't always heed other people's restraints.
When I open the classroom door and enter, Teo, the one who suffered the most damage from the Black Dog, is sitting next to Mirshe. Teo notices me and Nils entering the classroom and smiles with an expression that's hard to describe.
...Why the smug face?
Somehow sensing the smell of trouble, I quickly decide to ignore him.
...Teo is annoying.
I can tell he's trying to show off something, but since he won't say what it is himself, he just keeps flashing that irritatingly smug face. Even after reading and writing class ends, even after arithmetic class ends, every time our eyes meet, Teo has that strange smug face.
...What is it, I wonder?
If this were Elke or Petrona, I could guess they wanted me to notice a new hair ornament or clothes, but with Teo, nothing comes to mind. I think I should notice and respond to it, but even when I think about it, no answer comes, and I'm starting to get annoyed by that smug face, so I finally push it out of my mind.
...If I can't figure it out no matter how much I think, I'll just stop thinking about it.
Just as I cut off that line of thinking and stop, suddenly, at the end of the day, my hair is yanked hard.
"Ow!?"
Reflexively, I press my hand to the back of my head and crouch down. Startled by my voice, Mirshe and Nils stop and turn around. Elke and Petrona are up ahead, so they're not the culprits. Actually, there's only one person who would do something like this. Thinking it's been a while since this happened, I stand up to kick him back and turn around, when a black shadow passes by my ear.
"Whoa!?"
A thud echoes, and Teo falls on his rear. The usual Black Dog is biting his arm.
"Oscar!? Why are you here?"
Forgetting that my hair was pulled, I try to somehow get the Black Dog off Teo. I can hear a terrifying growl that makes me want to cover my ears, but the Black Dog seems calm. It doesn't seem excited at all. It occasionally releases Teo's hands when he frantically waves them around trying to drive it away, perhaps to change its biting position.
"A, adult! Someone, an adult!"
I look around for someone, and the nearest person is the Menhishumi Church gatekeeper. Even "nearest" means over ten meters away. But he seems to have already noticed the commotion. He comes running over with a pole that looks like a two-pronged fork in his hand.
"...Huh?"
I thought for sure he'd come to help Teo, but the gatekeeper man lifts up my body. For a moment I think, what is this, a kidnapping like the other day? But that doesn't seem to be the case either. Instead of holding me to his chest, the gatekeeper sits me on his shoulder.
...Ah, I get it. This is an emergency evacuation.
I realize that my safety is being prioritized first, since a Black Dog suddenly attacked. Rather than Teo who's being bitten, they prioritized me, Leonardo's little sister.
...Right now, that special treatment is a bit of a problem, you know!
I'd rather they help the child being attacked by a dog than the safe sister of the city's powerful figure. The gatekeeper who picked me up restrains Elke and Petrona with his hand. He urges them to stay away from the dog, and Elke and the others obediently follow.
...Someone, an adult! An adult who will help Teo...!
The gatekeeper is useless, I think as I look around. I know he won't listen, but I keep calling the Black Dog's name to stop him. The Black Dog listened to my orders yesterday, but today it still won't listen. I'm starting to be convinced that it was just reading the atmosphere yesterday so as not to embarrass its owner, when a low voice that rumbles from the depths of the stomach resonates around us.
"Oscar."
The Black Dog's ear twitches, and it releases Teo's arm. Following the Black Dog as it goes toward the direction of the voice, I see Bertrand, whom I parted with just last night.
"Bertrand-shama..."
"What is this commotion? Why was my dog attacking a child? Someone explain."
Faced with Bertrand looking around with a stern gaze, I instinctively hug the gatekeeper's head. His face is already scary-looking, so when he glares, it becomes even more intimidating. Even the adult gatekeeper freezes under Bertrand's pressure, and surprisingly, the first to break out of the frozen state is Nils.
"Teo pulled Tina-sama's hair, and when the young lady screamed, that dog attacked."
"Tina...?"
At Nils's explanation, Bertrand's gaze turns to me. Apparently he hadn't noticed I was here. Bertrand makes a face as if seeing something strange as I sit on the gatekeeper's shoulder, clinging to his head. Then he looks between my face and the Black Dog, and finally shifts his gaze to Teo.
"Most likely, Oscar was admonishing that boy for bullying a girl."
As proof, Bertrand pulls on the arm of Teo, who's still sitting on the ground, making him stand up.
"There are tooth marks on the boy's arm, but no blood."
Saying it was just a gentle bite, Bertrand checks the injury, then drops a fist on Teo's head. A loud thud echoes around, and Teo blinks several times, not understanding what happened. When the pain finally reaches his head a beat later, Teo starts crying loudly.
...Th, that looks painful. That was a really good sound just now.
Even though I wasn't the one hit, I feel like my head hurts too. It was that kind of blow.
"Pulling a girl's hair, what a terrible little brat! You're a disgrace to all men!!"
His yelling voice made the air vibrate. Teo, who had been crying like he'd caught fire, stops crying instantly, and the classmates who were on their way home stop in their tracks, keeping their distance. As everyone stands frozen as if pinned in place, only Mirshe timidly steps forward in front of Bertrand and shields Teo with her back.
"I, I'm sorry... I'm so, sorry. My big brother is..."
"Her brother? You mean to say this little brat is, to his credit, a brother who has a little sister!?"
A brother protected by his little sister is something I've never heard of, Bertrand's anger at Teo being shielded by Mirshe increases. Mirshe must have always mediated Teo's mischief like this. But this time, the opponent was bad.
Gently, Nils takes Mirshe's hand and pulls her out of Bertrand's line of sight. Worried about Mirshe whose face is frozen in fear, I slap the cheeks of the gatekeeper who's still frozen and bring him back to his senses. When he comes to and puts me down on the ground, I move toward Mirshe. Mirshe, looking like she's about to cry at any moment, runs toward me.
I couldn't finish even though I was almost there.
I'll fix typos and errors another day. I've corrected the typos and errors I found.