85 - Leonardo and Teo's Promise
We decided to take Teo, the only injured person in this whole commotion, to the Sedovara Church, but Teo himself objected. The reason was simple. He said he didn't have money to pay for treatment.
"I did kind of save you..."
"I didn't save someone like you! I saved Mirshe!!"
"...Yeah yeah. That's enough of that, resu."
Every other word out of his mouth was insisting he saved Mirshe, not me. I placated Teo while moving the conversation along. There was no way I could send a blood-soaked Teo home like this. I didn't know if this world had it, but if bitten by a dog, rabies was scary too.
"As for the treatment fee-nyara, Leonyaldo-san will probably pay it, mashu yo. It was along with Mirshe-chan-reshita kedo, but I was saved too, mashirashi."
"Who the hell is Leonyaldo-san?"
"Leonyaldo-san is Leonyaldo-san, resu yo. Teo should have met him once, resu."
When I went to visit Menhishumi Church once in the summer, Teo had met Leonardo. Leonardo had defended Teo's actions as 'things boys do,' and when I provoked him by saying to think 'if it were his own daughter' instead of a little sister, Teo had the terrifying experience of being glared at by Leonardo, whose face was scary even when normal with his bangs pushed up.
With that, Lorenz carried the reluctant Teo on his back, and we moved to the Sedovara Church. Since it had gotten late on the way back from Menhishumi Church, Petrona and Elke parted ways with us midway. Lusio and Nils were still accompanying me as my guards. Mirshe, who would be staying with Teo, was also with us.
When we arrived at the Sedovara Church, there was another small argument. Teo was judged as a pauper from his clothes, and treatment was refused because he couldn't pay.
...So they won't treat you unless you prove you have the ability to pay upfront. How harsh.
In Japan, medical fees were normally paid after treatment, but I'd heard it was different in foreign countries. Apparently when a father collapsed and his child called an ambulance, the ambulance wasn't dispatched right away because they doubted the ability to pay.
As Lorenz and the Sedovara Church doctor were arguing about payment, a familiar face came from the back.
"...Hm? If it isn't Tina. Long time no see."
"Ah, Jasper."
Come to think of it, Jasper was a scholar at the Sedovara Church, I remembered belatedly. While I was going to the quarantine zone, I saw him every day, but since summer came, I'd hardly seen him. The last time I saw him was probably when I had a fever on the day I went shopping with Jean-Jacques.
"What's the commotion about?"
"The doctor says he doesn't want to treat Teo because he can't pay, resu."
"Expecting a child to have the ability to pay is a waste of time. If you brought him, is he related to you?"
"Teo saved me, resu yo."
As I explained that he was bitten by a dog trying to save me, Teo insisted again, "I saved Mirshe, not you." Jasper shoved a towel into Teo's mouth, who was energetic despite his injuries.
"What's going on, resu ka!?"
"Just be quiet."
"Mugoo!!"
Holding down the struggling Teo's head, Jasper turned to the doctor. I thought he would defend us, but Jasper pointed at me.
"Even if the injured person can't pay, this girl's guardian will probably cover the treatment cost. Go ahead and start treatment."
"Even if you say this young lady's guardian will pay... the other party is a pauper's kid, right? The young lady is wearing nice clothes, sure, but if she's rich, there's no way she'd pay for a pauper's kid."
"This girl's guardian is the Fortress Lord, you know? If a kid who helped save his sister got injured, he'd generously pay the treatment cost."
Right? Jasper shrugged and asked for my agreement. I thought for a moment. Certainly, Leonardo would likely pay the treatment cost for wounds incurred helping me, without a moment's hesitation. Since he's a good person, I felt he'd probably pay for a kid's injury treatment regardless of whether he saved me or not.
"If you say you can't trust Leonyaldo-san, then let's have Lorenz-san advance the payment. Is that okay, Lorenz-san?"
Once we got the agreement of Lorenz, who had been listening to the report from the knight who chased the black dog, the doctor finally gave in and Teo's treatment began. He was given painkillers, and the treatment continued with wound cleaning, disinfection, and suturing. I couldn't get close to the treatment table, so I hugged Mirshe who was pacing worriedly. Teo went pale at the sight of the thick-needled syringe for a moment, but maybe remembering his little sister (Mirshe)'s gaze, he neither cried nor ran away.
...So they have syringes in this world too. Though the needle is pretty thick.
I had no idea what they were injecting. In Japan, I'd think it was a rabies vaccine, but since I wasn't the one being treated and I wasn't Teo's guardian either, I didn't get any particular explanation.
"...Come to think of it, you. Have you heard anything from Leonardo-dono? About guests coming from the capital or something."
"Guests, resu ka? I haven't heard anything, mashen ne."
As I was watching Teo's treatment from a distance, Jasper asked me this. The fact that he was asking if I'd heard from Leonardo meant it might be work-related. And if Jasper was concerned about it, it was probably about the Japanese script or something related to the Words disease. I guessed as much and searched my memory, but I really couldn't recall anything.
"If it's about work, Leonyaldo-san doesn't leak anything to me, mashen yo."
Leonardo was sweeter to me than sugar candy, but even so, he properly distinguished between public and private. I didn't think he'd carelessly leak work-related information to me.
"It's not exactly work talk... but I see, you haven't heard anything."
"If there's something you're worried about, why don't you ask Leonyaldo-san directly?"
The Black Knights should be relaying messages, so Leonardo should come to pick me up at the Sedovara Church before long. If Leonardo himself was coming, he could take care of his business without needing to ask me.
Around the time Teo, both hands wrapped in bandages, was being taken off the treatment table, Leonardo arrived in his cloak. It seemed he didn't have time today to stop by the residence first and take off his cloak like he sometimes did. The moment he saw my face, he picked me up and started checking all over my body.
"I heard Tina was attacked by a dog. Are you hurt anywhere? Any pain, or places you were bitten..."
"I'm fine, resu yo."
It seemed the accurate details hadn't been conveyed. It was true that a dog attacked, but the only one bitten and injured was Teo. As for me, Leonardo didn't need to worry.
"The one who was bitten by the dog and injured is Teo, resu."
Just then Teo came back over to us, so I introduced Teo to Leonardo. Teo, looking up at Leonardo, had his mouth hanging open. If I wasn't mistaken, his cheeks were faintly red.
"So you're the famous Teo. ...Now that you mention it, you're the kid I saw in summer."
"F-famous...?"
Teo, looked down upon by Leonardo, opened and closed his mouth, and the words that finally came out were this. I didn't think Leonardo looked particularly scary today, so what was Teo nervous about? Thinking that, I first secured the most important consent from Leonardo.
"Teo helped me too while he was saving his little sister (Mirshe). But because of that, Teo was bitten by the dog, resu."
When I confirmed whether he would pay the treatment cost, Leonardo agreed without a moment's hesitation, as expected. The reason, he said, was not because Teo saved me, but in recognition of his courage to take on a dog for his little sister.
"Thank you for saving Tina, Teo."
Saying this, Leonardo patted Teo's head, and Teo smiled sheepishly. Maybe he wasn't used to being praised. Teo, having his head patted by Leonardo, was as quiet as if his rambunctious behavior in the classroom had been a lie.
...So Teo can behave properly too.
He always made a noisy impression, so Teo's meekness in front of Leonardo was surprising. It was so different from usual that I couldn't help finding it a bit creepy.
"I want to become a Black Knight when I grow up. So helping someone is only natural."
...So he doesn't deny it in front of Leonardo. Saying 'I only helped her by coincidence, I saved my little sister (Mirshe).'
Apparently Teo's tsundere disappeared in front of Leonardo. Seeing Teo with his honest boyish nature coming to the forefront, Leonardo set me down on the floor and knelt on one knee to meet his eyes.
"To become a Black Knight, you also need to study, you know."
"Huh!? ...So, you really can't do it without studying?"
For some reason, Teo looked shocked at Leonardo's lecture on the importance of studying. Had he thought you could become a knight on physical strength alone?
...Is that really so shocking? If you can't read basic letters, you can't read or write documents, and considering soldiers, a knight has to be able to read military strategy books too, right?
Had Teo been disrupting classes at the Menhishumi Church without realizing such obvious things? And moreover, at a workplace where people who knew Teo from Menhishumi Church were present, he probably wouldn't get hired in the future. With his attitude in the classroom, there was no way he could do customer service or work under others.
"A healthy body is enough to become a soldier, but to become a knight, you need more than what Menhishumi Church teaches. You attend the church for at least one year, complete your studies, and only then does the path to Verloop Fortress open."
"...I've been going to the church for a year!"
Leonardo gave a wry smile at Teo's suddenly brightening face. The basic knowledge taught at Menhishumi Church could be learned in one season, but that basic knowledge was only the very surface, and there were separate Basic Knowledge levels 2 and 3. What I was learning at Menhishumi Church now was Basic Knowledge 1.
"The year of attending Menhishumi Church doesn't mean time. It means someone who has completed all three levels of Basic Knowledge 1, 2, and 3, each mastered in one season, and finished the application and review that confirms everything has been learned. You haven't even finished Basic Knowledge 1 yet, have you, Teo?"
Far from acquiring basic knowledge, Teo even got in the way of other children's studying. No matter how many years he attended Menhishumi Church, there was no way he could become a knight like this.
"Even if you're allowed to go to Verloop Fortress, you'll study there until you acquire more than what Menhishumi Church offers, plus another language called English at a practical level. And since knights meet with royalty and nobility, you must also learn etiquette."
Furthermore, on top of martial arts like swordsmanship and horsemanship, they drilled in tactics such as military strategy, and only then were they recognized as knights.
...It's constant studying, isn't it, being a knight. Sounds tough.
I thought it was a profession I could never take up. I wanted to acquire at least basic knowledge, but I wasn't actively seeking knowledge beyond that. I was only seeking the knowledge necessary to live an ordinary life.
...And, Leonardo-san. He was an amazing person. No, I knew he was amazing, but he was even more amazing than I thought.
What I just heard was the method to become a Black Knight, so to become what he formerly was, a Silver Knight, he might need to learn even more various things.
...That Jean-Jacques was also a Black Knight, so he must have mastered everything Leonardo-san just said, right?
The Black Knights were far more of an elite group among commoners than I'd vaguely imagined. Teo, hearing it directly from an active Black Knight, must have been surprised too. He blinked with his mouth hanging open.
"...Do you understand that you need to study to become a knight?"
Admonished by a quiet voice, Teo nodded silently. Then, Teo's eyes, which hadn't cried even when bitten by a dog, began to well up with tears.
"I, I... they said I shouldn't come to the classroom... I was banished from the church..."
If mastering the basic knowledge taught at Menhishumi Church was an absolute condition for aspiring to become a knight, then Teo could never become a knight. Teo, who had made noise and caused trouble in the classroom, had been banished from Menhishumi Church and couldn't learn. He must have realized that the path to his hoped-for future had been closed off.
"That's right. If you make noise in the classroom and disturb other children's studies like you've heard, we can't let you attend the church."
However, Leonardo paused, and ruffled Teo's black hair.
"If you can promise me that you won't disturb the other children anymore, I can ask Guide Anna to let you attend the church again."
When Leonardo asked, "Can you promise me?" Teo nodded emphatically.
The house we walked Teo and Mirshe to was a grimy apartment building. When Mirshe's mother opened the door at the knock, her cheek twitched at the sight of Leonardo's clothes. Then she grabbed her son Teo's shoulder, pulled him close, forced his head down, and made him bow to Leonardo.
"I'm so sorry! Has my stupid son done something rude to the Black Knight-sama...!?"
"Ow, ow, it hurts, Mom!"
"Be quiet! First you get banished from the church, and now what have you done to the Black Knight-sama...!?"
Mirshe's mother didn't seem to notice the bandages wrapped around her son's hands or the bandages covering his head. Bowing desperately to Leonardo, she kept pressing down on her son (Teo)'s head. Flustered by the mother's desperation, Leonardo ended up explaining the report from the Black Knights.
"...So you're saying it's not that Teo did something stupid again, but that he got hurt trying to save the young lady and Mirshe from a dog?"
"That's right. He wasn't caught doing anything bad, so you don't need to press down on your son's head like that."
The moment she heard that Teo wasn't at fault, the sycophantic color disappeared from the mother's face. I thought she'd sigh with relief, but instead her humble posture reversed and she began to puff out her chest.
...Ah, a bad feeling.
Her eyebrows raised, I got a prickling bad feeling. Teo's mother had the same face as Kaya when she was handed Leonardo's entire wallet.
"I gave him an infection prevention shot, but make sure he goes to the Sedovara Church in one month and again in six months to receive the medicine. The fee is already paid, so don't worry about it."
Leonardo insisted they absolutely go to the Sedovara Church for the medicine, but the mother gave a vague reply suggesting she wasn't really listening, and started patting Teo's head. It was as if her fierce attitude from right after coming home had been a lie.
"Teo, you saved 'the young lady,' didn't you?"
...Ah, I get it.
From the mother's voice, which had a ring of savoring a feeling of superiority, I understood what she was thinking. She was probably planning to play up the fact that he'd gotten injured saving my little sister (me) to squeeze money from Leonardo, who had both money and status. I thought she was a nasty person, but Teo smashed his mother's scheme splendidly.
"No! I saved Mirshe! It wasn't for her!!"
Teo declared firmly, and I could see his mother's shoulders droop in disappointment. If Teo had said he got hurt for me, he might have been able to mooch off Leonardo, but by declaring so clearly in front of Leonardo that it wasn't for me, she couldn't do that anymore. Leonardo patted Teo's head, saying he was a good older brother who could protect his little sister. Teo, smiling proudly, firmly grasped Mirshe's hand and went inside the room.
"...I'm tired, mashira."
Since I was being carried as usual, I flopped my weight against Leonardo's chest. Looking up at the sky, evening had long passed, and the moon was floating in the night sky. At this time I'd normally have finished dinner and be playing Reversi, having caught Leonardo or the knight on night duty. When I gave a small sneeze, I was wrapped in Leonardo's cloak. Since it was the season when nights were getting cold, a warm cloak was appreciated.
"Speaking of which, that was a strange dog, reshita ne."
"Strange? The black dog that chased you?"
"Yes, resu. Nils went to call the Black Knights, but instead of chasing after the running Nils, it kept glaring at me, imashira."
"...That certainly is a strange dog."
Normal dogs have the instinct to chase things that run. Running to get away from that place would have been a bad idea with a normal dog, but it was the right choice with today's black dog. The Black Knights arrived in time, and though Teo was injured, he was alive.
I felt like there were other strange things too, but the warmth of the cloak and the gentle vibration made my eyelids heavy. Being chased by a dog, running away to escape... today had been really tiring.
I meant to say wake me up when we got to the residence, but in the end I slept like a log until morning. There was just too much happening today, so I was really tired. It couldn't be helped.
By the way, the story in the text about "a Japanese father collapsed in a foreign country and called an ambulance, but because it was a child, they weren't taken seriously" ... I think it was about a situation where every second counted due to a cerebral infarction. A familiar adult who was called by the child for help showed willingness to pay, and finally the ambulance came. Apparently the father was left with disabilities... orz. Foreign countries are scary.
Typos and missing words will be handled another day...
Typos and missing words, I fixed the ones I found.