Chapter 3 – The Black Saviour (Part 3)
This morning, Fino, who couldn’t sleep for the entire night, welcomed the dawn.
—— Selo still hasn’t returned.
When Fino had gone to the flower field of Night Weeping Grass to get Selo, the scene that she saw was unsightly.
Unnaturally dug up soil were everywhere, and there were a lot of burnt flowers.
She couldn’t comprehend the situation, but without a doubt “something happened”.
Fino searched through the flower field in confusion, and found a basket that belonged to Selo next to a soil mound.
There were still Night Weeping Grass leaves inside, so she concluded that Selo faced an incident during the harvesting process.
After that, Selo rode her Celestial Wooden Horse, and searched within the mountains. She occasionally went back to the mansion, to check if Selo had returned, before going back into the mountains.
The result ——
Until this morning, Selo had still not returned.
Having the situation develop to this stage, even Fino’s servant Kardena begun to worry. She didn’t scold Fino, and only stayed by her side.
The intruder the previous night hadn’t been caught either.
Fino gazed at the front gate without uttering a single word, and Kardena cautiously said to her.
“Ah, ojou-sama —— You haven’t rested yet right? When Selo returns, I’ll wake you up, so please take a rest ——“
Fino didn’t reply.
In her current state, Kardena’s voice was unable to reach her.
Selo knew the mountains very well, he couldn’t have gotten lost. Moreover, giant wild beasts wouldn’t appear at the place where the Night Weeping Grass grows either.
Where exactly is he ——
Thinking to that point, Fino’s thoughts came to a halt.
She couldn’t imagine what was next.
“… I’m going out.”
Fino murmured, then took out the Celestial Wooden Horse once again.
Kardena grabbed her hand from the side.
“Please, you should take a rest. We will look for Selo instead ——“
“… I’m sorry, Kardena. Let me look for him. If something happened to Selo, then I…”
Fino slipped, and Kardena immediately caught her.
Since she had gone all over the place controlling the Celestial Wooden horse the previous night, she had used up her stamina and mana. Although she was still young, the usage of magic tools required concentration, and couldn’t be used continuously.
Just at this moment, the adoptive father Ordoba appeared in the mansion.
Last night, he also waited till very late for the report of the intruder. Perhaps due to the lack of sleep, his expressions looked very tired.
He casted a strict glance towards Fino and Kardena.
“What, Fino? Did Selo not return…?”
Fino nodded her head. Ordoba placed his hand on his chin and asked lightly.
“… Fino, tell me the truth. The intruder you saw last night, was he similar to Selo——“
Fino almost lost all her strength to reply, and only sighed.
“… Although Selo is still a child, it’s impossible for him to be that small. Perhaps it was about the size of a dog, cat or maybe even a rabbit. However, it looked like it carried a weapon…”
Ordoba snorted.
“Is that so. The amount of food stolen last night has been counted already, only a few pieces of bread and cheese were missing, those were just food meant to be used for breakfast.”
Hearing this, Fino finally understood her adoptive father’s thought process. Selo had been scolded due to his relationship with Fino, and couldn’t bear it anymore, thus stole some food and left the mansion —— It seemed like the adoptive father was considering this possibility.
But, Fino clearly knew that Selo wasn’t that type of person.
“Please don’t say things like that carelessly. That is impossible. The flower field of Night Weeping Grass was all messed up. Selo’s basket also fell there. Selo must have encountered something —— “
Ordoba snorted once more.
“Then what do you think Selo encountered? What other reason could there be for his disappearance ——“
“—— No, I think he was in some kind of incident. For example —— hurting his foot somewhere.”
That voice suddenly rang out from Fino’s back.
Fino didn’t notice the person approaching, so she got scared and grabbed Kardena’s arm.
The one who entered the conversation was the Captain of the Magic Knight Squadron Helmbekt.
He was wearing a neat military uniform early in the morning and worriedly looked at Fino.
Following behind Helmbekt was lieutenant Elsie. She silently nodded. Those red pupils were very empty this morning.
The handsome youth knight suddenly grabbed Fino’s hand.
“Firiano-sama, I can understand your feelings. You must be worried about that youth ——“
“… En.”
Hearing his words, Fino nodded, but still did not let down her guard.
The youthful military commander with a terrifying expression continued.
“Even if I say that, I don’t agree with letting someone with a status such as yours go and search by yourself. No matter what happened last night, if something happened to Fino-sama, that pharmacist boy would also feel grief.”
Hearing this, Ordoba also nodded.
“Helmbekt-san is right, Fino. The flower field of Night Weeping Grass is deep in the mountains right? Also, it is barely within the effective range of the ‘Belfry of Beast Avoidance’, so it is not a place where a young girl like you should be wandering around at in the middle of the night.”
Although her adoptive father wasn’t wrong, Fino still bit her lips.
“Didn’t Selo, who just turned fourteen, also go alone there? If I knew things were going to turn out like this, then I should have followed from the start…”
While Fino was feeling repentance, Helmbekt placed his hands on her shoulders.
—— Fino’s body shuddered in disgust.
Helmbekt didn’t seem to have noticed Fino’s reaction, as he just revealed a worried expression, and said with an admiring tone.
“Fino-sama is very caring —— How about this? About the search for him, why not leave it to us? Encountering this incident while we’re staying here could also be said as fate. It’s better to have more people for the search.”
Calmly thinking, this was a thankful suggestion.
But, Fino was still hesitant on whether she should nod her head or not.
(This person’s eyes —— feels weird…)
It was hard for her to describe how Helmbekt was “actually different” to others, she just felt that his figure bore an ill omen.
Fino lightly massaged her eyes.
Fino’s “eyes” aren’t normal eyes, but magic tools that Majin Fandal installed for her to save the blind Fino, which resulted in directly influencing her sight.
Fandal called the magic tool the “Seed of Ortaff”. It was said that Spirit Ortaff who ruled over light was a very pure existence, as soon as it felt the human’s malice or bad intention, it would immediately change color.
Fino poured power into her eyes.
Since this pair of eyes were a magic tool, they would react to everyone’s mana.
She used this pair of eyes to look into Helmbekt’s eyes ——
Deteriorated.
Fino replied with an uncertain smile.
“No —— Although I appreciate your goodwill, it is unneeded. I will find Selo.”
As if her rejection was very surprising, Helmbekt revealed a confused expression.
“But, with more people ——“
“The knights also have a mission to accomplish here, right? Please complete the mission first. There is no need to trouble you over this matter.”
After Fino rejected politely, she suddenly realized.
Fino was unclear about what their “mission” entails. She heard that it was “Collaborative Research with Ordoba”, but if it was only that, then there wasn’t a need to bring the other knights.
(Selo’s disappearance may be related to these people…)
Thinking to this point, her body trembled.
She couldn’t think of a reason for Selo to be targeted. But, Selo might have found out their “secret” coincidentally, and to silence him ——
As her thoughts without evidence reached this point, Fino stopped thinking.
—— Just thinking in a pessimistic way was no help to the matter. She could only believe in Selo’s safety and prioritise searching for him.
“Fino, don’t say that, how about letting Helmbekt-san and co. help? It is an act of goodwill ——“
Her adoptive father Ordoba’s voice entered the conversation, it seems like he still thought that his daughter was only being polite.
Fino was hesitating on how to answer, when the lieutenant girl standing beside Helmbekt said in a quiet voice.
“Firiano-sama, since it is like that, if permitted, how about travelling with us? We are worried about Firiano-sama’s safety as well. It is the same for Ordoba-sama. Compared to searching alone, it is safer with us——“
Helmbekt revealed a smile.
“Haha, this is good as well. Apparently the intruder last night wasn’t caught yet? If you stay with us, then nobody will raise a hand against you”.
Fino quickly shook her head.
“Can’t take action with him ——“
She didn’t know why, but she had this intuition.
“No, there is no need to do this for me——“
Fino mumbled, and intentionally pretended to be standing unstably.
Kardena, who was standing by Fino’s side immediately grabbed hold of her.
“Ex-Excuse me, Kardena——“
Kardena lightly caressed Fino’s hair.
“Ojou-sama, you really shouldn’t continue to act by yourself. Using the magic tool throughout the night has caused you to reach your limit. Even if it’s a few hours, please rest in your room. During this time, why don’t you leave the search to the knights?”
Although she didn’t notice Fino’s intentions, Kardena still created a perfect ending, this allowed Fino to not need to act with them.
Fino showed a thankful expression and lightly nodded.
“… I’m very sorry. Then, please allow me to rest for a moment. During this time…”
Helmbekt naturally nodded and said.
“Yes, please leave it to us. The sun has already risen, we will leave immediately.”
Helmbekt turned and ran towards his subordinates, lieutenant Elsie also followed behind.
Respect could been seen in Ordoba’s eyes, as he watched Helmbekt’s back.
“He is a pleasant youth. And also very sympathetic.”
Fino didn’t have any strength left to reply, and only ambiguously nodded. She knew that her adoptive father lacked the “eyes to see through human nature”.
“Father, could you tell me about something…”
“What is it?”
“What is Helmbekt-sama’s ‘real goal’?”
Weird things had started happening since the previous night, but now this was what she was most concerned about.
Ordoba was shocked.
“It doesn’t matter even if you don’t know. It is something to do with research.”
Although he said so, Fino still did not back down.
“Please tell me, I think —— It can’t be something to do with Selo right?”
“Selo…? Hey hey, how is there any connection, he can’t even be considered a sorcerer.”
Ordoba revealed an astonished expression with a tint of anger, and tilted his head.
Seeing this, Fino couldn’t help but reflect.
—— I might be overthinking this.
Thinking to this point, she frankly lowered her head.
“I said something impolite. Please forget about it.”
“No, it’s fine. After he disappeared, you are the one who has been the most worried. Rest for a while.”
Ordoba lightly patted Fino’s shoulders and pointed in the direction of the mansion.
Fino nodded, and returned to the mansion with Kardena’s support.
Seeing her back, the adoptive father Ordoba let out a long sigh alone.
Chapter 3 – The Black Saviour (Part 3)
This morning, Fino, who couldn’t sleep for the entire night, welcomed the dawn.
—— Selo still hasn’t returned.
When Fino had gone to the flower field of Night Weeping Grass to get Selo, the scene that she saw was unsightly.
Unnaturally dug up soil were everywhere, and there were a lot of burnt flowers.
She couldn’t comprehend the situation, but without a doubt “something happened”.
Fino searched through the flower field in confusion, and found a basket that belonged to Selo next to a soil mound.
There were still Night Weeping Grass leaves inside, so she concluded that Selo faced an incident during the harvesting process.
After that, Selo rode her Celestial Wooden Horse, and searched within the mountains. She occasionally went back to the mansion, to check if Selo had returned, before going back into the mountains.
The result ——
Until this morning, Selo had still not returned.
Having the situation develop to this stage, even Fino’s servant Kardena begun to worry. She didn’t scold Fino, and only stayed by her side.
The intruder the previous night hadn’t been caught either.
Fino gazed at the front gate without uttering a single word, and Kardena cautiously said to her.
“Ah, ojou-sama —— You haven’t rested yet right? When Selo returns, I’ll wake you up, so please take a rest ——“
Fino didn’t reply.
In her current state, Kardena’s voice was unable to reach her.
Selo knew the mountains very well, he couldn’t have gotten lost. Moreover, giant wild beasts wouldn’t appear at the place where the Night Weeping Grass grows either.
Where exactly is he ——
Thinking to that point, Fino’s thoughts came to a halt.
She couldn’t imagine what was next.
“… I’m going out.”
Fino murmured, then took out the Celestial Wooden Horse once again.
Kardena grabbed her hand from the side.
“Please, you should take a rest. We will look for Selo instead ——“
“… I’m sorry, Kardena. Let me look for him. If something happened to Selo, then I…”
Fino slipped, and Kardena immediately caught her.
Since she had gone all over the place controlling the Celestial Wooden horse the previous night, she had used up her stamina and mana. Although she was still young, the usage of magic tools required concentration, and couldn’t be used continuously.
Just at this moment, the adoptive father Ordoba appeared in the mansion.
Last night, he also waited till very late for the report of the intruder. Perhaps due to the lack of sleep, his expressions looked very tired.
He casted a strict glance towards Fino and Kardena.
“What, Fino? Did Selo not return…?”
Fino nodded her head. Ordoba placed his hand on his chin and asked lightly.
“… Fino, tell me the truth. The intruder you saw last night, was he similar to Selo——“
Fino almost lost all her strength to reply, and only sighed.
“… Although Selo is still a child, it’s impossible for him to be that small. Perhaps it was about the size of a dog, cat or maybe even a rabbit. However, it looked like it carried a weapon…”
Ordoba snorted.
“Is that so. The amount of food stolen last night has been counted already, only a few pieces of bread and cheese were missing, those were just food meant to be used for breakfast.”
Hearing this, Fino finally understood her adoptive father’s thought process. Selo had been scolded due to his relationship with Fino, and couldn’t bear it anymore, thus stole some food and left the mansion —— It seemed like the adoptive father was considering this possibility.
But, Fino clearly knew that Selo wasn’t that type of person.
“Please don’t say things like that carelessly. That is impossible. The flower field of Night Weeping Grass was all messed up. Selo’s basket also fell there. Selo must have encountered something —— “
Ordoba snorted once more.
“Then what do you think Selo encountered? What other reason could there be for his disappearance ——“
“—— No, I think he was in some kind of incident. For example —— hurting his foot somewhere.”
That voice suddenly rang out from Fino’s back.
Fino didn’t notice the person approaching, so she got scared and grabbed Kardena’s arm.
The one who entered the conversation was the Captain of the Magic Knight Squadron Helmbekt.
He was wearing a neat military uniform early in the morning and worriedly looked at Fino.
Following behind Helmbekt was lieutenant Elsie. She silently nodded. Those red pupils were very empty this morning.
The handsome youth knight suddenly grabbed Fino’s hand.
“Firiano-sama, I can understand your feelings. You must be worried about that youth ——“
“… En.”
Hearing his words, Fino nodded, but still did not let down her guard.
The youthful military commander with a terrifying expression continued.
“Even if I say that, I don’t agree with letting someone with a status such as yours go and search by yourself. No matter what happened last night, if something happened to Fino-sama, that pharmacist boy would also feel grief.”
Hearing this, Ordoba also nodded.
“Helmbekt-san is right, Fino. The flower field of Night Weeping Grass is deep in the mountains right? Also, it is barely within the effective range of the ‘Belfry of Beast Avoidance’, so it is not a place where a young girl like you should be wandering around at in the middle of the night.”
Although her adoptive father wasn’t wrong, Fino still bit her lips.
“Didn’t Selo, who just turned fourteen, also go alone there? If I knew things were going to turn out like this, then I should have followed from the start…”
While Fino was feeling repentance, Helmbekt placed his hands on her shoulders.
—— Fino’s body shuddered in disgust.
Helmbekt didn’t seem to have noticed Fino’s reaction, as he just revealed a worried expression, and said with an admiring tone.
“Fino-sama is very caring —— How about this? About the search for him, why not leave it to us? Encountering this incident while we’re staying here could also be said as fate. It’s better to have more people for the search.”
Calmly thinking, this was a thankful suggestion.
But, Fino was still hesitant on whether she should nod her head or not.
(This person’s eyes —— feels weird…)
It was hard for her to describe how Helmbekt was “actually different” to others, she just felt that his figure bore an ill omen.
Fino lightly massaged her eyes.
Fino’s “eyes” aren’t normal eyes, but magic tools that Majin Fandal installed for her to save the blind Fino, which resulted in directly influencing her sight.
Fandal called the magic tool the “Seed of Ortaff”. It was said that Spirit Ortaff who ruled over light was a very pure existence, as soon as it felt the human’s malice or bad intention, it would immediately change color.
Fino poured power into her eyes.
Since this pair of eyes were a magic tool, they would react to everyone’s mana.
She used this pair of eyes to look into Helmbekt’s eyes ——
Deteriorated.
Fino replied with an uncertain smile.
“No —— Although I appreciate your goodwill, it is unneeded. I will find Selo.”
As if her rejection was very surprising, Helmbekt revealed a confused expression.
“But, with more people ——“
“The knights also have a mission to accomplish here, right? Please complete the mission first. There is no need to trouble you over this matter.”
After Fino rejected politely, she suddenly realized.
Fino was unclear about what their “mission” entails. She heard that it was “Collaborative Research with Ordoba”, but if it was only that, then there wasn’t a need to bring the other knights.
(Selo’s disappearance may be related to these people…)
Thinking to this point, her body trembled.
She couldn’t think of a reason for Selo to be targeted. But, Selo might have found out their “secret” coincidentally, and to silence him ——
As her thoughts without evidence reached this point, Fino stopped thinking.
—— Just thinking in a pessimistic way was no help to the matter. She could only believe in Selo’s safety and prioritise searching for him.
“Fino, don’t say that, how about letting Helmbekt-san and co. help? It is an act of goodwill ——“
Her adoptive father Ordoba’s voice entered the conversation, it seems like he still thought that his daughter was only being polite.
Fino was hesitating on how to answer, when the lieutenant girl standing beside Helmbekt said in a quiet voice.
“Firiano-sama, since it is like that, if permitted, how about travelling with us? We are worried about Firiano-sama’s safety as well. It is the same for Ordoba-sama. Compared to searching alone, it is safer with us——“
Helmbekt revealed a smile.
“Haha, this is good as well. Apparently the intruder last night wasn’t caught yet? If you stay with us, then nobody will raise a hand against you”.
Fino quickly shook her head.
“Can’t take action with him ——“
She didn’t know why, but she had this intuition.
“No, there is no need to do this for me——“
Fino mumbled, and intentionally pretended to be standing unstably.
Kardena, who was standing by Fino’s side immediately grabbed hold of her.
“Ex-Excuse me, Kardena——“
Kardena lightly caressed Fino’s hair.
“Ojou-sama, you really shouldn’t continue to act by yourself. Using the magic tool throughout the night has caused you to reach your limit. Even if it’s a few hours, please rest in your room. During this time, why don’t you leave the search to the knights?”
Although she didn’t notice Fino’s intentions, Kardena still created a perfect ending, this allowed Fino to not need to act with them.
Fino showed a thankful expression and lightly nodded.
“… I’m very sorry. Then, please allow me to rest for a moment. During this time…”
Helmbekt naturally nodded and said.
“Yes, please leave it to us. The sun has already risen, we will leave immediately.”
Helmbekt turned and ran towards his subordinates, lieutenant Elsie also followed behind.
Respect could been seen in Ordoba’s eyes, as he watched Helmbekt’s back.
“He is a pleasant youth. And also very sympathetic.”
Fino didn’t have any strength left to reply, and only ambiguously nodded. She knew that her adoptive father lacked the “eyes to see through human nature”.
“Father, could you tell me about something…”
“What is it?”
“What is Helmbekt-sama’s ‘real goal’?”
Weird things had started happening since the previous night, but now this was what she was most concerned about.
Ordoba was shocked.
“It doesn’t matter even if you don’t know. It is something to do with research.”
Although he said so, Fino still did not back down.
“Please tell me, I think —— It can’t be something to do with Selo right?”
“Selo…? Hey hey, how is there any connection, he can’t even be considered a sorcerer.”
Ordoba revealed an astonished expression with a tint of anger, and tilted his head.
Seeing this, Fino couldn’t help but reflect.
—— I might be overthinking this.
Thinking to this point, she frankly lowered her head.
“I said something impolite. Please forget about it.”
“No, it’s fine. After he disappeared, you are the one who has been the most worried. Rest for a while.”
Ordoba lightly patted Fino’s shoulders and pointed in the direction of the mansion.
Fino nodded, and returned to the mansion with Kardena’s support.
Seeing her back, the adoptive father Ordoba let out a long sigh alone.
