440 - Leonardo's Perspective - Camille's Visitor
While gradually preparing for our departure, I continued Tina's walks as a daily routine. The spirits had made new clothes for Tina's journey, easy-to-move-in pants. They reached just past her knees, and underneath she wore tights made from fabric knitted, not woven, by a sheep-like spirit. The tights I knew were almost indistinguishable from pants, but the tights the spirits made were astonishingly thin, clearly showing the shape of Tina's legs. When I lifted her calf wrapped in those tights to check if they were really okay being that thin, Tina scolded me, saying "Leo, you perv."
...I think I'll keep her dressed like a boy for a while.
If we could travel as a young lady using a carriage under my protection, that would be fine, but this is the Zugall Empire. My name would only be a liability, and even if a carriage were prepared, we would be forced to hide in concealment. Considering that, pants take up less space than a skirt with lots of fabric. As a blessing in disguise, Tina's hair was cut short like a boy's now. At fifteen, it would not be strange for the differences between boys and girls to start showing in the body, but Tina lacked any girlish curves, so if she wore boys' clothes, she might pass for a boy. Dressing as a boy should be a good camouflage.
...Well, everyone in this cave knows she is my sister, so it is not really a disguise.
Even when dressed in boyish clothing, the soldiers' gifts for Tina did not change. As always, only Tina's meal was soft pancakes instead of hard black bread.
...But it is rare for a soldier to come as a guide.
I stared at the back of the soldier walking ahead, tightening my grip on Tina's hand walking beside me. Usually Tina pulled me along, walking ahead, but today with the guide soldier, she walked at my side. Having a soldier prepared as a guide was unusual. In fact, I think it is the first time since we came to the cave. Camille had called us because someone from outside had arrived.
"Camille grandpa!"
Tina rushed into the room where the soldier stopped, saying "here." She seemed to understand Camille was waiting inside, but she had not considered there might be other people there too. Before I could enter the room, Tina came flying back out and hid behind my back.
"Forgive my sister's rudeness. She is shy with strangers..."
First I should apologize for Tina's behavior. As I thought that and looked around the room, aside from the unfamiliar elderly gentleman and Camille, there was a face I knew. A face Tina should know too.
"...Why is Bertrand-dono here?"
"That is my line. Why are you here? What happened to Christina? Her hair is shorter. And dressed like a boy like that. And what is the meaning of calling him 'Camille grandpa'!?"
It seemed the last part bothered him the most. After all, Bertrand had never once been called "Grandpa" by Tina with affection. That address was being used for another old man (Camille) as if it were perfectly natural. For Bertrand, that must have been unpleasant.
At Bertrand's intensified tone, the frightened Tina pressed her face further into my back, trying to hide more.
"For now, could you keep your voice down? Tina is scared."
"Urgh..."
Seeing Tina hiding behind my back and not even showing her face, Bertrand looked rather awkward. He must have remembered that if he threatened her in his usual manner, Tina would push back.
...Well, I am not sure if the current Tina would push back, though.
Since Bertrand seemed to have calmed down for the moment, I called out to Tina too. There was no need to be afraid, so show your face.
"Tina, this is Bertrand-dono. You have met him a few times, right? He is Tina's grandpa."
"Grandpa...?"
Peeking her face out from behind my back hesitantly, Tina stole a glance at Bertrand. As Tina stared fixedly at him, Bertrand tightened his expression, but I think that was counterproductive. Bertrand's stern face was more than intimidating enough for a child to see. Tina's body, which had been about to let down her guard slightly, stiffened, and she hid her face behind my back again.
"I do not have any grandpa."
"Your father's father. Of course you have a grandpa."
"...That is true, is it not?"
Tilting her head and saying "That is strange," Tina peeked her face out from behind my back again. It seemed she had gained some interest in Bertrand. At this rate, as long as Bertrand did not shout, it might be possible for them to deepen their bond.
...Well, I do not think Bertrand-dono will manage to get through this without shouting.
Since Tina's interest seemed to have turned toward Bertrand, I greeted the other elderly gentleman. The noble from Leberan territory who came with Bertrand was apparently Albert, the Zugall Empire knight who appeared alongside Bertrand in history books. The reason he introduced himself as 'Bart' was probably the same as why I called myself 'Jin' within the Zugall Empire. For a Zugall Empire noble, it would be problematic to be seen helping us return to the Kingdom of Ivizia. So he had chosen to use a false name.
"I owed a debt to Camille-dono. I was called here to repay that favor, but if the recipient is the rumored 'Jin the Bear Killer', that is a different story. First, let me test your skill."
Saying the talk could come after, Albert began taking off his jacket. I had heard about it from Camille, but it seemed that strength truly was everything to him. I had not expected him to propose a contest of strength right away, but perhaps he had heard about me from Bertrand besides the 'Bear Killer' rumor. I had beaten Bertrand once in the martial arts tournament. If Albert had been Bertrand's rival in his active days, it was not strange for him to want to test his strength against me either.
Since there were limits to how much we could fight indoors, we agreed to use only our bodies as weapons. I hid Tina, who would be frightened even by a practice sword fight, under the table. From under the table, she could see my feet and know 'I am here,' without seeing the exchange of blows. Bertrand frowned at Tina's unladylike behavior of crawling under a table, but whether the imprinting of 'grandfather' had worked, from the point where Tina, who had left my side, clung to Bertrand's leg, Bertrand's face went blank. It was probably the result of over-tightening his facial muscles at the fact that he was being relied upon by his granddaughter for the first time.
The contest of strength with Albert was unexpectedly difficult. Not that Albert was stronger than Bertrand, but mainly it was hard to gauge my strength. Against Albert, whose aged body still delivered attacks and stances with no openings, I did not have the luxury of holding back. But my full strength these days was more than a little dangerous. If I punched back with full force, I did not know what would happen even to a human body, let alone an old one. Since I could not very well beat to death the person I was supposed to borrow a carriage from for transport, I returned his attacks with extreme caution. Albert got angry that I was holding back, but I think the result was for the best in the end. When I blocked all of Albert's furious full-power punches, he calmed down a bit and remembered. That my fists could shatter even a bear's jaw. And that was why I could not fight at full strength.
...Well, he still seemed dissatisfied, though.
On the battlefield, there is no need to hold back, but I have no hobby of killing people otherwise. Even if I do kill someone, it is only those who approach with the intent to harm us, like bandits or thieves.
When Tina realized the fight was over, she immediately came out from under the table and hid behind my back again. She started glaring at Albert's face, so I stroked her head to distract her. It seemed that in Tina's mind, Albert was being categorized as a bad person who bullied me.
"Goodness, you military men are so troublesome."
Camille sighed, saying that not being able to trust each other without fighting was terribly inefficient, as he added plenty of sugar and milk to his instant coffee. Seeing that, Tina, which was rare for her, made instant coffee for herself. She seemed to have copied Camille and added plenty of sugar and milk, but apparently it was too sweet for Tina. She coughed once, as if it was burning her throat with sweetness.
"Now that we have settled down, let us get back to the topic. Why is Christina, who should have been kidnapped, here?"
"I picked her up along the way. Shin was carrying her wrapped in a blanket."
Bertrand looked puzzled at "Shin," so I corrected him that it was Jin. As usual, Camille did not seem interested in remembering my name.
"I found Tina in the Imperial capital and took her back. There were various things along the way and I lost my bearings, but Tina was not in any condition to be moved either, so until she recovered enough, I had Camille shelter us and decided to stay in this cave."
I gave a rough summary of the rescue operation, clearing Camille of the suspicion of involvement in Tina's kidnapping that Bertrand seemed about to cast on him. When I told him that the Black Dog (Oscar), though not here, also played an active role, Bertrand's expression softened slightly.
"...And what about Christina? Her state seems strange, and she has not grown at all."
"I do not know why she has not grown, but..."
As for her strange state, according to the spirits, it is because 'the inside is hiding in a safe place.' Something is missing inside Tina, so she is subtly different from before. However, thanks to that, she did not seem to have the same aversion to Bertrand, and though she would not leave my side, she silently watched him. She was probably curious about Bertrand, who had been introduced as her grandfather. Bertrand, on his part, seemed conscious of this unprecedented attention from his granddaughter, and was sitting more formally than necessary.
"The strange state is probably because of everything that happened."
In the end, I avoided mentioning what the spirits had said, deliberately being vague. I still did not want Tina to hear about Kalisa's death, and I had already told Bertrand that Tina's nursemaid had been found dead. Even if I was vague, he should understand what I meant. That this kidnapping had left deep wounds on Tina's heart and body.
"--Sheltering her in Leberan is possible, but beyond that is a bit difficult."
According to Albert, who had come from outside the cave, the search for Tina was still ongoing out there. They had not even found Tina's body searching around the Imperial capital, so they gradually expanded the search area, but of course they could not find Tina hiding in this cave, and now it seemed they were searching for her throughout the entire Zugall Empire. Albert said they had had their carriage stopped at multiple checkpoints just to reach this cave. Still, Albert's carriage bore a noble family's crest. While they were stopped at checkpoints, it seemed they were only asked a few questions verbally and were not searched inside the carriage. The usual sloppy checkpoint procedures.
"The problem is the border. Currently, separate from the checkpoints, troops are being gathered near the border. There is a rumor that the Kingdom of Ivizia is setting up camp at the border and preparing to start a war..."
Receiving Albert's gaze asking if I knew anything, I thought for a moment. When I was in the Kingdom of Ivizia, they should not have been considering an attack on the Zugall Empire. I had thought that Tina's kidnapping was merely the scheme of a single noble, not a state-level crime. So I had planned to quietly infiltrate the Zugall Empire and retrieve Tina discreetly. The Kingdom of Ivizia had not intended to cause a stir either. Well, that was only if Tina's kidnapping was not state-level after all.
...It was not state-level kidnapping, I suppose. Though the Emperor did take Tina from Edgar.
Since she was taken from Edgar, it would be hard to consider the Zugall Empire's Emperor involved in the kidnapping itself. All the Emperor did was take the girl named Sistina, known for her beauty, from Edgar's residence. Personally, I cannot forgive the torture inflicted on Tina, but that was something the Emperor did after acquiring her. It is a bit strange for the Kingdom of Ivizia, which should be mobilized over Tina's kidnapping, to be preparing to wage war against the Zugall Empire itself.
"I find it hard to believe the Kingdom of Ivizia would wage war against the Zugall Empire. His Majesty the current King is of a gentle disposition, someone who seeks ways to avoid war that would sacrifice innocent people as much as possible. Besides, the one guarding the border fortress is..."
The lord of Mehl Castle Fortress, which guards the border with the Zugall Empire, is me. I am absent now, but I left Alf and Yurgen in charge. I cannot believe those two would act rashly and start preparing for war in such a short time.
"...As I thought, there is no way the Kingdom of Ivizia would be the one to start it."
"I see. However... it is a fact that troops are being gathered near the border on both sides. While it is possible to shelter you in Leberan, crossing the border will be difficult."
To the proposal of either waiting for the tension at the border to ease, or taking the opposite route through the Divine Kingdom Quebia's border and making a wide detour around the Erath mountain range, I asked about one thing that bothered me. If troops were being gathered at the border with the Kingdom of Ivizia, would not the checkpoint presence on the Divine Kingdom Quebia side be lighter?
"I cannot say for certain without actually going there, but it is possible. The Divine Kingdom Quebia has no nature of invading other nations, after all. Even the Zugall Empire trusts that. Their security is sparse even in normal times."
Sparse is a problem, I would think. But for me and Tina, it is convenient. The already sparse security was being directed toward the border with the Kingdom of Ivizia. It would take some extra days, but considering Tina's safety, crossing the border from the Divine Kingdom Quebia side seemed better.
...Ah, so that is it.
Crossing the border from the Divine Kingdom Quebia side. Thinking about it that way, I understood the truth behind the rumor that troops were being gathered at the border on the Kingdom of Ivizia's side. It was probably Alfred's scheme. I had asked Alfred to thin out the border guards after securing Tina so we could cross easily. He must have read that I had secured Tina around now, and either moved troops to make the border easier to cross, or used his own intelligence network to spread a rumor within the Zugall Empire that 'the Kingdom of Ivizia is preparing to wage war against the Zugall Empire.' Unless someone was deliberately spreading the rumor, the Zugall Empire would not have moved troops to the border so quickly.
...If that is the case, crossing from the Quebia side is the right choice. If Cody were in Augun territory, I could have gone straight onto his wagon.
Unfortunately, when Cody moved to the Imperial capital, I sent him to Grenore with a report for Alfred. Even if I relied on Carlotta in Augun territory, Cody should not be waiting there.
...Still, Tina does not have the stamina to endure a long journey yet.
If there are too many soldiers in the Leberan territory area restricting our movement, we could head to Augun territory instead. Carlotta should have been preparing to welcome Tina too. If the number of checkpoints decreases heading toward the Divine Kingdom Quebia, relying on Carlotta would be better.
"Could you send us to Augun territory instead of Leberan territory?"
Unable to declare that the feudal lord (Carlotta) was helping us fugitives, I vaguely explained my reasons for specifying Augun territory. That in the course of searching for Tina, I had established a base in Augun territory. That Jean-Jacques should be there, so we needed to join up with him once before returning to the Kingdom of Ivizia.
"Augun territory, is it... If it is Augun territory, I will write you a letter of introduction to the lord, Carlotta-sama."
Albert said that a female hero like her would surely lend a hand to a brother troubled over rescuing his kidnapped sister and her safe return. I had tried to be vague to avoid casting unnecessary suspicion on Carlotta, but Albert seemed to know about her character too. They might very well be friends. Albert and Carlotta were nobles of a rare disposition within the Zugall Empire. There was plenty of chance they would get along.
Will fix typos and errors at a later date.