447 - Leonardo's Perspective - Return
"Hepshoo!"
At the strange sneeze heard from beside me, I dropped my gaze to Tina. I had been watching the work of unloading the wagon from the Quebian ship, but the harbor wind seemed to have been cold for Tina. As I adjusted the collar of her coat while she sniffled, my fingers touching the inside of the coat felt oddly warm.
...Come to think of it, this was supposed to be a slightly thin autumn coat, wasn't it...?
It was nearly midwinter now. I realized an autumn coat couldn't fully block the winter chill, but the inside of the coat I touched was covered in fluffy fur. Apparently, Tina's coat, made by the spirits, seemed to grow fur on the inside as autumn turned to winter. Since the cabin had been warmed by the wood stove during our time on the ship, the fur must have appeared just now. Until this very moment, I hadn't noticed the change in the coat.
...When spring comes, I wonder if it'll shed and change over.
While I was thinking such thoughts, the work finished. I thanked the captain who had brought us this far, prayed for safe voyage, and parted ways. Since we had already crossed the border, traveling overland from the city of Tior would be relatively safe, but we couldn't return to Grenore by the Divine King Festival using the land route. Going upriver by an Aback-drawn boat would be faster and more certain to return us to Grenore by the Divine King Festival.
...If it's a Quebian ship, I feel like they could go upriver even without an Aback to tow them.
Surely they would get favorable winds just like on the sea route and speed up the river. I thought so, but I understood that it was better not to advance a Quebian ship too far inland. The Divine Kingdom of Quebia was trusted as a country that wouldn't commit acts of aggression, but even so, having a ship come without prior arrangement would only be acceptable at the port. If they sent a small boat inland, it would create unnecessary friction between the Divine Kingdom of Quebia and the Kingdom of Ivizia. For Remihio, he sent the small boat just to see us off, and then he would be suspected of preparing for an act of aggression. For both our sakes, there really were lines that must not be crossed.
"Leo, is this the city of Tior?"
"That's right. If we go up the river from here, we'll reach Grenore in no time."
I left the search for a boat that would take us and our wagon all the way to Grenore to Cody, who was experienced with such things. I wanted to keep Tina from being exposed to the cold wind any longer, so I stood guard by the wagon while waiting, but Tina was unusually curious about the outside of the wagon. Just like near the border of the Zugall Empire, I didn't want her to attract unwanted attention from shady people, so I didn't want Tina to stick her face out of the wagon, but no matter how many times I pushed her back inside, she would pop her face out again.
"Since we've come all the way to Tior, let's go shopping!"
"...Shopping?"
It was unusual for Tina to want to go shopping. In fact, I felt like it might be a first. We had stopped by some bigger cities before, but Tina had never said she wanted to go shopping. Even the old Tina had rarely said such things.
"Do you have something specific in mind?"
I asked even though I thought there was no way she did. The city of Tior was the first time Tina had ever stopped here. She couldn't possibly have anything specific in mind, and she wouldn't even know what kind of shops there were.
...Hm? Information about the city of Tior that might be in Tina's memory?
I felt a slight catch and searched my memory more seriously. Before I could reach the answer of what information about Tior Tina would be interested in and have remembered, Tina spoke up.
"Someone said that the main branch of the Three Crows Tavern is in Tior. I want to eat sashimi."
"I see, so it's about food."
Tina was the same Tina as always. When I pushed her head back into the wagon, she resisted with renewed determination. She pressed her head against me with all her might, going "O-sa-shi-mi" in a drawn-out way, so I pulled my hand back and caught Tina as she tumbled forward from the momentum. Every culture has a saying about how if pushing doesn't work, try pulling.
"Tina, you seem to have forgotten, but the white-bearded old man is registered as a regular at the Three Crows Tavern."
I implied that I wouldn't be responsible if we ran into Ethelbert, and Tina seemed to understand the meaning. After blinking her blue eyes, she did a complete about-face. She said that detours were no good, and that we should hurry home.
The Aback-drawn boat was fast. Or rather, it seemed this winter was a little warm. In normal years, they would have to break the ice starting to form in places along the river to proceed, but apparently this year nothing had frozen yet. The boat pulled by the Aback advanced without being stopped even once.
And the season for Aback-drawn boats was almost over. In this season there was a lot of cargo heading toward the Divine King Festival, but once this was over, the boatmen too would take a break from work for the Divine King Festival. The round trip between Tior and Grenore by Aback-drawn boat would wait until next spring. It wasn't impossible to go upriver by breaking the ice, but few merchants went that far.
...The pier had been restored in these two years, but I wondered if it was alright to show it to Tina.
I recalled the devastation of the pier and warehouses that had burned down in the fire, and thought of Tina who had been taken from there. I worried that it might have left some kind of psychological scar, but the boat that passed through the city of Lagarette near evening arrived at the pier in Grenore close to dawn, well past midnight. Thanks to that, the surroundings were wrapped in darkness, and Tina herself was in dreamland.
Taking advantage of Tina being asleep, I headed straight into the city of Grenore. It was too early for the city gates to open, but since I was here, I was able to pass through the knights' gate. This gate was sometimes used for urgent messengers, so it wasn't the case that it only opened at set times.
"Wow... it really is Tina-chan."
I stopped the gatekeeper who was about to cheerfully greet me to spread the news of my return to the other knights, and showed them Tina sleeping in the wagon. At the sight of Tina sleeping soundly, it seemed my intention that loud voices were prohibited got through. With voices properly hushed, messengers began running to various places.
We passed through the city gate without issue and slowly advanced the wagon so as not to wake Tina. I thought I should show my face at Grenore Fortress after being absent for a year, but carrying Tina to her bed at the residence took priority. Sleeping wrapped in a blanket inside the wagon couldn't compare to sleeping in a warm bed inside a room heated by a wood stove.
When we arrived at the Fortress Lord's Residence, the gate was already open. Since messengers had run from the city gate, Bart and the others were probably already starting to stir by now. The gatekeeper who came out of the residence stretched a little and peered into the wagon as if it was on his way back to his post. Even if he did that, he probably couldn't see Tina lying down wrapped in a blanket from that angle.
"Welcome back, Leonardo-sama."
"I've been away long. Any changes?"
"Everything has been moving according to your instructions, Leonardo-sama. Vard-sama has worked really hard, and any shortcomings were supported by Alf-sama."
When I pulled the wagon up beside the entrance, Bart appeared to greet me. I had been worried before leaving, but from what Bart told me about the situation during my absence, it seemed Rannvald had worked well. With that, after the necessary reports were finished, Bart paused and fidgeted, looking behind him. To be precise, he was curious about what was in the wagon.
I gave a wry smile at Bart's unusually restless behavior, and lifted up Tina, who was fast asleep in the wagon. Tina would jump up even if I got off the wagon alone, or if Cody approached saying "your shoulder is showing" to straighten her blanket, but when I picked her up, she showed no reaction at all. She was carried in my arms breathing softly in her sleep. And seeing Tina's sleeping face, tears welled up faintly in Bart's eyes. Bart must have been relieved that Tina had finally come home.
"...I want to let her rest in bed soon. Is her room usable?"
"It is prepared and ready for use at any time."
As if to hide the moisture gathering at the corners of his eyes, Bart turned his body around with vigor. Just then, Salisa, who seemed to have finished getting ready, came to the entrance.
"Welcome back, Leonardo-sama."
"Ah, I'm back. Perfect timing. Take Tina to her room and --"
I tried to hand Tina over to Salisa to have her put Tina to bed, but Tina seemed to have sensitively sensed the intention to separate her from me. With sleepy eyes that were clearly still half-asleep, she looked around, noticed Salisa reaching out for her, and turned her gaze to me who was offering her. After comparing my face and Salisa's face for a while, Tina reached her arms around my neck. It seemed she didn't like being carried by Salisa either.
...So she can tell Kalisa and Salisa apart, after all.
I wondered what reaction Tina would have when she saw Salisa. I had been a little worried, but it seemed to have been an unfounded concern. Tina didn't confuse Kalisa and Salisa. That itself was a welcome thing, but another worry surfaced. What kind of reaction would Tina have when she learned of Kalisa's absence?
"Tina's having a relapse of her shyness around strangers. I'll carry her, so lead the way."
"Very well."
"Bart, show Cody to the guest room. He must be pretty tired too after the journey here."
"Understood."
Salisa held the door to Tina's room, and I carried Tina to the bed. The bed was still occupied by the giant bear stuffed toy as always, but there was still plenty of room for Tina alone to sleep. When I laid Tina down using the belly of the giant bear plushie as a backrest, Tina's eyes opened at the sensation of my hands pulling away. Sensing her checking the surroundings as if to ask what was happening, I sat on the edge of the bed and lifted Tina's feet.
"Tina, when you sleep in a bed, you have to take off your shoes."
"Mmm... Mnh?"
It was a vague reply that was clearly more than half asleep. Still, her arm extended in a slow motion, showing the intention to try to take off her shoes, but then her arm flopped down onto the bed. It seemed that Tina, who was more than half asleep, had fallen asleep after all. Well, that was fine, I thought as I took off Tina's shoes, and Salisa removed Tina's coat. Perhaps because I was there, Tina didn't show any sign of waking up even though another person, Salisa, was touching her.
Salisa took her coat and hat and covered Tina with her blanket again. For now, I wouldn't have to worry about her catching a cold. As I thought that and stood up, Tina opened her eyes.
"Leo, where are you going?"
"...I just got back, so I need to go report to the fortress. You can sleep peacefully, Tina."
"Good night," I said, stroking her head and moving away from the bed, but then Tina got out of bed. She came over to me with unsteady steps and clung to my waist.
"I'll go with Leo."
"But Tina's sleepy, right? It's fine, you can sleep."
"I'm not sleepy at all."
Even when she repeated "not sleepy" in a voice rounded as if it were almost sleep-talking, it wasn't convincing. The evidence was Tina's head, nodding drowsily as she clung to my waist.
In the end, I lost to Tina, who kept getting out of bed to follow me no matter how many times I put her back. I had a message sent to the gatekeeper that the report to the fortress would be done another day, and lay down with Tina in her bed. When it came to this, the giant bear plushie occupying the bed was a bit in the way. Little by little, Tina had been growing too. Before, there was still a little room even when I slept here, but if Tina grew a bit more, the two of us wouldn't be able to sleep together.
...No, by the time Tina grows up, things should have settled down, and we shouldn't be sleeping together anyway.
I had intended to take a short nap with Tina, but apparently I ended up sleeping quite soundly, more than planned. When I woke up, my eyes met Tina's blue eyes staring intently at me. Seeing that I was awake, Tina crawled over and huddled by my ear. It seemed she had a secret to tell.
"Leo, it's terrible. We're in some unknown place."
When she said she could sense someone nearby, that was probably Salisa, who would be outside the canopy. She was just waiting as a maid, but to Tina, it seemed to feel like the presence of a suspicious person. She should have met her once before going to sleep, but I suppose she was still half-asleep after all.
"It's not an unknown place, Tina. It's your room. See, Jinbei is here too, right?"
When I urged her to look, Tina raised her face. There was the face of the giant bear plushie that Tina had named "Jinbei." Jinbei was a plushie I had bought soon after Tina came to the residence, so it should remain in the memory of Tina, who believed herself to be nine years old. I bought Jinbei when Tina was nine.
At Tina's vacant "Huh?" sound, our waking must have been communicated to those outside the canopy too. Salisa and Mirshe opened the canopy and peeked in.
"Good morning, Leonardo-sama. Tina-sama...?"
Salisa's greeting became strange partway through because Tina had hidden behind my back. Having apparently been completely groggy the night before, Tina fully displayed her shyness toward strangers with Salisa and Mirshe.
"Tina, there's no need to hide. It's Salisa and Mirshe."
"...I know Salisa. She's Kalisa's little sister. But who is Mirshe? That's the same name as Mirshe-chan."
"The 'Mirshe-chan' you're talking about and this Mirshe are the same person."
"No, that's wrong. Mirshe-chan isn't this big."
The height Tina indicated for how tall Mirshe was matched the height from when they first met. It was even smaller than Mirshe from two years ago. And the Mirshe of now was taller than Tina. Even two years ago, Mirshe had been taller, but Tina, who had hardly grown at all in these two years, had been completely overtaken in height by Mirshe, who had entered her growth spurt. For Tina, who believed herself to be nine, it was perhaps inevitable that she couldn't see the current Mirshe and the Mirshe she knew as the same person.
...Still, Mirshe is mature.
She showed a brief look of hurt at Tina's words and actions, but seemed to quickly understand that Tina's condition was strange. Mirshe composed herself and greeted Tina as if meeting her for the first time. That she was a new maid trainee hired at the residence.
"I've asked Mirshe to take care of Kokumaro. Mirshe, how is Kokumaro doing?"
"He still sometimes drags his leg, but lately he's been able to run around the garden too."
When Mirshe said he was waiting in front of the room, I allowed the black shiba to enter. The black shiba would want to see Tina soon too. When Mirshe opened the door, the black shiba came running over, occasionally lifting his right hind leg in a strange way. According to Mirshe, when walking normally, he could walk on all four legs, but when hurrying or running, he sometimes lifted his right hind leg. For the black shiba, it seemed that posture allowed him to move faster.
"What's wrong with Kokumaro? Does his leg hurt?"
"Kokumaro..."
I swallowed the words that he nearly died because of Jasper, and although his life was saved, it seemed he was left with a disability. I could infer from circumstantial evidence what had happened to Kalisa and the method and circumstances by which Tina had been taken, but I still didn't know about this kidnapping from Tina's perspective. Thinking about how I should tell her about the black shiba too, I shifted my words slightly and answered.
"He's been a little unwell. With Mirshe's care, he's recovered this much."
"Is that so? Thank you, Mirshe."
While stroking the head of the black shiba who had come to her feet, Tina turned her gaze to Mirshe. Her eyes still looked at her as if she were a stranger, but her face wasn't as frightened as right after waking up, so she would probably get used to it eventually. It might be hard for Mirshe to be looked at by Tina as if she were an unknown person, but it shouldn't last that long. This was a matter that would resolve once the memories in Tina's head connected, or once Tina's contents returned.
As expected, or rather, Tina's state was unsettled even after returning to the residence. I had heard from the spirits that "her contents are hidden somewhere else," so I had a certain level of resignation about this, but even so, I had held onto a sliver of hope, so it was quite hard. That said, with Remihio's cooperation, we had made it in time for the Divine King Festival. Since we hadn't tried everything regarding Tina's return yet, there was still hope.
...It was surprising that she didn't try to search for Kalisa.
Tina, who had returned to the residence, still wouldn't leave my side, but she didn't try to search for Kalisa just because the location had changed. In any case, from morning till night she was glued to me, and changing clothes and bathing were also done in my presence behind a screen, just like before. With her like this, I couldn't go outside either, so the fortress work continued to be entrusted to Rannvald until the Divine King Festival was over. As for me, I was reasonably busy at the residence's desk, taking over work from Rannvald, writing letters and reports to various places. In between, I also instructed Salisa to prepare so Tina could spend the night of the Divine King Festival by the hearth. I couldn't have Tina catch a cold by being shut in a cold hearth all night. Even if we couldn't light a fire, I wanted to make it as comfortable as possible for Tina to spend the night.
Around the time Tina began to get used to Mirshe, though she still didn't connect "Mirshe-chan" with "Mirshe," the day of the Divine King Festival finally arrived.
It had been seven years since I took Tina in, but this was the first time I would spend the night of the Divine King Festival with her. When I cut up the "Itsurateru's Four Blessings" arranged for dinner and served it to her, Tina was overjoyed. Perhaps the nights of the Divine King Festival spent alone every year had been lonely. Even when I say alone, there were maids and Ms. Hartmann around her, but her family, her older brother, wasn't there.
...Usually I'm at the fortress performing the rites. Until I quit being a knight or stop being the lord of the fortress, this might be the only Divine King Festival I can spend with Tina, mightn't it?
After dinner and a bath, Salisa had Tina sit inside the hearth that had been comfortably prepared. At first, Tina was happy about how cozy and fun it was, but gradually she started sulking about being bored. Certainly, spending the whole night just sitting still inside a hearth would be boring. So I brought in Saik and Reversi to play with her. Since we had a wood stove, we could use hot water freely too. If Tina wanted something to drink, we could prepare the cocoa I had brought back from the cave right away, and there was the black shiba and Mirshe too, so there were substitutes for playmates.
With this, she should be able to get through one night, I thought, seeing Tina looking happy, but around near midnight, Tina suddenly started fussing about wanting to get out of the hearth. She said she hated the hearth, that it was cold and scary. At Tina crying and refusing so intensely, I became more convinced that there was indeed something to it. I felt bad for Tina who was crying and refusing, but I could clearly see some kind of change in her. Even if I got scolded or hated for it, if it was for Tina's sake, I hardened my heart and pressed Tina into the hearth. When Tina couldn't bear it anymore and tried to get out of the hearth on her own, I used my back as a lid to trap her inside. She pounded on my back with all the force I could tell was her full strength, but I didn't mind. The crying Tina was pitiful, but this was what the imp had taught me at the cost of its life. I absolutely didn't want to waste it.
After struggling for a few minutes, Tina quieted down, having apparently cried herself out. My back was warm because Tina was clinging to me.
I could only enjoy the peace of the quiet Tina for these few minutes.
I heard Tina's crying from behind me again, but this time, something was different. Something had changed. At Tina's crying, which felt like it had a core to it, I was convinced of Tina's return. As proof, even when I shifted my body and opened a gap wide enough for her to get out of the hearth, Tina didn't come bursting out. The crying that became clearer through the gap was an apology to someone. As Tina cried with her face all scrunched up, saying "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," I reached out both hands to her. When I hugged Tina's small body, her crying grew even louder.
"Welcome back, Tina."
I didn't know what she was apologizing for, but I knew that Tina had finally, truly come back. This was Tina. Not the vague, somehow incomplete Tina she had been until now.
My little sister had finally returned.
With this, Chapter 12 comes to an end. I'll be taking a plot organization break, once every three chapters. Since it's deviated quite a bit from the initial plan, I'll take a leisurely week. Next update is aimed for June 6th.
Will fix typos and errors at a later date.