novelraw Chapter 111 : Chapter 111
Chapter 111 : Chapter 111
Chapter 111: Departure (2)
The greenhouse was barely warm.
The outside was different. A winter wind was blowing. The surrounding walls occasionally shook. Frost had settled on the transparent glass, tilting water streaks in the direction the wind was blowing. So it's damp. Unpleasantly so. Louise thought, looking around.
“Please sit, Lady Monika.”
“……Okay.”
In the center of the greenhouse,
Monika sat facing the round table.
“Have you ever worn makeup?”
“No, not once.”
“You look like it.”
Louise took off her outer garment.
The grease stains on her work clothes glistened. She had been working since morning. Countless magitech devices were needed to support the floating island, and Louise, who had been employed as a repairwoman, had been working busily with tools in hand.
“Lady Monika Lohengrin.”
“You don't have to use honorifics. We're the same age.”
“Pardon me. I am more comfortable this way.”
If asked if she was satisfied, she was.
More so than when she was assisting the members of the Saint-Pierre family.
She had no interest in conforming to the etiquette of the nobility. She preferred to handle the principles of machines. The silent cogs were more human than the picky privileged class. Of course, even so,
It wasn't as if she had taken a job at CIAR without any purpose.
“Um……”
Monika carefully opened her mouth.
Was her name Louise Bourdieux? She had seen her before.
The employee who used to follow Fleur. The child who had come to pick up Fleur when she was discharged from the citizen's hospital. The girl with short, dark red hair stood facing Monika. In one hand, she held a basket of cosmetics, and in the other, a garment bag.
“Did you say it was a memento.”
Monika's amber eyes tilted.
Towards the garment bag Louise was holding.
“That, did you say it was Fleur's memento.”
“That is correct. It was in the storage compartment of the mana stone vehicle.”
Louise placed the basket of cosmetics on the round table.
She opened the lid and examined the contents. The condition was not bad. The expensive cosmetics were perfectly preserved.
“It was a dress ordered in your name. It's quite a fine item. A custom-made banquet dress. Were you planning to attend a ball?”
“That……”
Monika narrowed her eyes.
She carefully rummaged through her mind. The banquet held at the Brilliant Sun Royal Palace. Could it have been the clothes she intended to give her then? Probably so. Because that was the only day. Though she hadn't bothered to dress up, the only day she should have worn formal attire was.
“In any case, it's fine.”
Louise bent her waist.
She tilted her head towards Monika and examined the features of the girl who had never once dressed up in her life.
“You must try it on. I will adorn you.”
Come on, Lady Monika.
Close your eyes, she said.
Louise whispered in a quiet tone.
“……Ah, okay. I'm a little nervous because it's my first time.”
Monika sat up straight, fidgeting. She closed her eyes tightly and didn't move a muscle. Her brow furrowed from the force in her eyes.
Don't be nervous, she said. Louise said, stroking Monika's brow. It seemed it would be a difficult task. To have to work on the face of a child who had never worn makeup before.
“Louise.”
“Yes, Lady Monika.”
“Did you come looking for me to deliver this?”
“That is correct.”
Please relax your expression.
Louise muttered so.
She continued to speak while painting Monika's face white.
“It is one of the reasons I took a job at CIAR. I was asking around to find you. I didn't expect to run into you by chance like this.”
“Thank you. It must have been a bother……”
“Shut your mouth.”
No, purse your lips.
Louise said, painting Monika's lips red. It stings. My face stings. Monika thought in the silence. Louise's sudden touch was cold, and the cosmetics being layered on her skin felt unfamiliar.
“Lady Monika, were you friends? With Lady Fleur……”
“No, that's not it.”
I don't think we were.
Monika muttered so.
“Then what was your relationship? Lady Fleur was a foolish person. A woman who was endlessly clumsy in dealing with others. There wouldn't be many people to whom Lady Fleur would gift a dress. You would probably be the only one.”
“……I don't really know either.”
They were not friends. Nor were they enemies.
Monika said so.
“It was just the first time.”
It was the first time she had disliked someone so much, and the first time she had failed after putting so much effort into saving someone. It was not a relationship completed through bonds and communication. Only miscommunication and disconnection were clear between Fleur and Monika. Just as they were about to finally connect, they grew infinitely distant, and now she could only guess without reaching a conclusion.
Fleur was the first child like that.
The relationship she had with Fleur was the first.
To me, who had lost my parents, my hometown, and my right arm, the person who unhesitatingly told me I was beautiful was……,
Fleur was the first and the very first.
“After I got a job at CIAR……”
Louise opened her mouth.
“I visited Lady Fleur's grave. It was decorated with a lot of flowers. Did you do that, Lady Monika?”
“No, it wasn't me.”
I've never been able to go.
Monika muttered so.
“I haven't visited her grave yet.”
“Why?”
“I don't think I have the confidence to face her tombstone.”
How foolish.
In a way, this place could be Fleur's grave too.
Louise thought, opening the garment bag. She knew that Fleur had prepared a greenhouse at CIAR during her lifetime. She must have intended to hole up here and grow flowers. If what was buried in the grave was Fleur's corpse, then what was buried here must be Fleur's seed. Either way, it was Fleur's remains.
“……It's done.”
Louise took a step back.
She dusted off her hands and gazed at Monika.
“I feel strange.”
Monika muttered with her shoulders slumped. Fleur's dress was now wrapped around Monika's body. A black dress with restrained decorations. The hem of the calmly settled skirt swayed at Monika's feet.
“……Does it suit me?”
“You must judge that for yourself.”
To Monika's question, Louise replied in a calm tone.
It did seem like it was made for Monika. The size seemed a little big, but the sleeves of different lengths were a characteristic feature. The left sleeve was long enough to cover the back of her hand. On the other hand, the right sleeve was short. It must have been intended to reveal Monika's prosthetic arm. As if the fact that her right arm was absent was also beautiful.
“My work is done.”
Flutter, it went.
Louise grabbed her outer garment.
She rummaged in the inner pocket of her work clothes and took out a pack of cigarettes.
“I finally feel relieved. Both the cosmetics and the dress are all yours, Lady Monika. Please take good care of them.”
Louise put a cigarette to her lips.
She gave a light bow and turned her back. She had certainly delivered Fleur's memento. She had achieved one of the purposes of her employment at CIAR.
And so, just as she was about to take a step,
“Thank you, Louise.”
Monika opened her mouth towards Louise,
“Let's see each other again later.”
“If there is a reason for that.”
Louise responded with an indifferent expression.
That was the end of it. After Louise left the greenhouse, Monika sat alone facing the round table. The greenhouse, where not a single flower had bloomed, was empty. At Monika's feet, her simple outdoor clothes were scattered, and the paper bag filled with a survivalist's tools was plump.
And the book.
The book Abel had brought from the Lost Library.
Monika, who had been aiming for it on the round table, shook her head. It's futile. Everything is futile. This greenhouse, this dress are the same. Monika thought with her head bowed. Somehow scraping together the fragments of a dead child, even though I know it's all futile, to be so……,
‘……I can't help but be happy.’
Monika let out a sigh.
‘You were so stubborn too.’
Why did she prepare a dress?
Tomorrow, she would be wearing her school uniform anyway. She would live her life wearing her school uniform, and after graduating from CIAR, the days she would have to wear armor would increase. There would be almost no moments when she would have to dress up in a dress. Perhaps she might not have any for her entire life.
Did you ask how about becoming a florist, you? That won't happen. It's better to become a knight. I still want to be a knight. I don't want to be unable to save someone. I want to live a life of surviving, living, and saving. You, who in the end, dressed me in this cumbersome dress……,
“Tell me, Fleur.”
You, of all people, must tell me.
Thinking so, Monika opened her mouth.
A voice with no listener scattered in the greenhouse.
“Tell me I'm beautiful.”
Though I will only become stronger from now on,
Though I will probably become harder rather than softer,
“You, of all people, to me……”
Adamantly, always,
tell me I am utterly beautiful.
***
The next day,
The Farenheit family's mansion.
A single sword resting on the table.
Demian was gazing at it. The handsomely stretched scabbard was pale. There was no need to inspect the blade. The weapon laid before Demian's eyes was the Farenheit family's treasured sword. One of the artifacts bestowed upon the knights belonging to the family. It was quite a menacing object to be on the dinner table.
“In any case, you'll be an adult soon too……”
Demian's father, Gerhard, opened his mouth.
The scars that stained his face were intricately wrinkled. It was because he was chewing on pasta.
“I thought it would be fine to give it to you on this occasion. If you want to name the sword, do so. You'll be using it for a long time.”
“Listen well, Demian. You'll soon be knighted.”
Demian's mother, Beatrice, opened her mouth.
The burn marks that wrinkled her face were glistening. It was because she had applied mashed egg whites, which were said to be good for the skin.
“We've tried to raise you as an upright child. So that you will do the right thing in the future.”
“It is clear that your chivalry is firm. Now is the time to prove it rather than to learn.”
“Portsmouth is a dangerous place. While you take good care of yourself, also look after the people who live there.”
Looking at his father and mother who spoke alternately,
“……I understand.”
Demian wore a smile.
Cats were climbing up Demian's body.
“Demian Fernando von Farenheit, I will return safely.”
Meow, they went.
The cats cried out along with him.
***
The next day,
Cia-Harphe Academy.
The sound of a bell was ringing.
Ernst was walking down the corridor. He was tired from having taken an exam. Did he say he would make him live with Demian if he didn't get a perfect score? What a nasty person. Ernst yawned, recalling Abel's words. He couldn't let that happen. He had just come out after tackling the problems with all his might.
“Ernst von Tresckow.”
Meanwhile, an old man stood beside Ernst, who was walking aimlessly.
Christophe Jean-Jacques Saint-Sharma. The head of the Sharma family stood with a cane, smiling.
“You'll be leaving for Portsmouth soon.”
“That's what happened.”
Unfortunately, I might return dead?
Ernst whispered, adjusting his glasses. The students who had noticed Christophe's presence began to whisper.
“There's nothing to be done then. It's common for children to die.”
“Is it only children? The elderly are also dropping like flies.”
“Your disrespectful way of speaking is just like your grandmother. That child also used to twist other people's words all the time in her youth.”
Heh heh, it went.
Christophe, who was smiling with the corners of his mouth turned up, continued.
“The members of your family will soon issue a summons.”
“It's about time.”
Ernst shrugged his shoulders.
“There's a limit to how long they can play mind games. They must be tired by now.”
“Are you ready to act?”
“Of course, old man. I wouldn't have sought you out if I wasn't resolved.”
There is enough time.
There has been enough time, he said.
Ernst muttered with his head bowed.
***
The next day,
The basement of the pub ‘The Wounded Gunshot’.
Someone began to read aloud.
The content of none other than a banned book was being read. A record of the era a thousand years ago, when witches threatened the empire. Roberta kept silent and concentrated on the sound of the voice. Did it say that a suddenly appearing saintess had annihilated the witches? The history was recited that the Pope who had lost his throne had regained his position by the saintess, and the saintess had left for a place no one knew.
“Roberta, you look gloomy.”
Suddenly, Marco sat beside Roberta.
Roberta shook her head and smiled. It's nothing, she said. She whispered in a small voice.
“That's a lie. You're scared of leaving for Portsmouth, aren't you.”
“Please pretend you don't know. You're such a meanie.”
“Oh dear, was I too unperceptive?”
Marco laughed, scratching the back of his neck.
Though the night was deepening, the boys and girls who dreamed of a revolution were gathered together, their eyes shining.
Roberta closed her eyes in their midst. With her freckled cheeks puffed out.
“Are you afraid of fighting monsters.”
Marco stroked Roberta's head.
“You haven't fought a real monster yet.”
“That doesn't matter. I would have had to fight them eventually anyway. Besides, our professor is ridiculously strong. I'm not particularly scared of monsters.”
“Professor Abel Argento, is he that strong?”
“Yeah. That person is a little strange. He probably won't die even if he's stabbed with a sword. He actually told me to try stabbing him……”
It's just that, she said.
Roberta continued in a small voice.
“……I'm still scared.”
Making weapons,
I'm scared of making weapons with my own hands.
Roberta whispered so.
***
The next day, capital Naflansee.
As the sunlight brushed against the coldly settled scenery,
“Your parent's approval form was passed on my authority.”
Abel opened his mouth as he took a step,
“It will be so in the future as well. When you need a parent's name, tell me.”
“I will. Thank you.”
Monika was walking side by side with Abel.
All preparations were complete. This morning, Abel and the students would be leaving for Portsmouth. For that, they had just bought relief supplies. Abel was holding a paper bag of canned food, and Monika was holding a bundle of clothes in her arms. It was part of the supplies that Abel and the students would consume, and also be delivered to the subjects of Portsmouth.
“──Hey! Hurry up! We're leaving soon!”
In the distance, Ernst shouted, waving his hand.
A six-seater mana stone vehicle was parked on the road. Demian and Roberta were checking the supplies in the storage compartment.
“Demian oppa, I'm asking you seriously. Don't you know how to count?”
“I'm just a little weak in arithmetic. We can just count again.”
“……Idiot.”
After passing through the dimensional door via the mana stone vehicle, they would travel on foot from the vicinity of Portsmouth. Abel loaded the supplies and then reviewed the order of the journey. The only road to Portsmouth was made of swampland. Once, there had been a properly paved road, but as the monster attacks intensified, the soil had become contaminated.
“Professor Argento.”
Suddenly, Lizer opened his mouth beside Abel.
“I've checked the movements in Portsmouth through the spirits. The monsters are gathering in one place. An attack will take place this very evening.”
“……Understood.”
Abel nodded.
They had to arrive before the sun set.
“Everyone get in. We don't have time.”
Wearing fur robes over their school uniforms.
The students, lined up in their consistent attire, moved in unison. Monika took the passenger seat, and Roberta and Lizer sat in the second-row seats. Demian and Ernst sat in the third-row seats and waited for departure.
“I'll give a detailed announcement while we're moving.”
Abel sat in the driver's seat.
He took out the mana stone vehicle's ignition wand from the inner pocket of his formal robes. He inserted it into the hole provided next to the steering wheel and twisted it,
──Vroom!
The mana reactor heated up and the mana stone vehicle started.
“Listen up, everyone.”
Abel opened his mouth.
While stepping on the mana stone vehicle's driving pedal.
“From now on, you will all be engaged in a real battle.”
With a leisurely operating sound, the mana stone vehicle began to move forward,
“Don't think of the training at CIAR. Be sure to brace yourselves……”
……Thud, it went.
Not long after, it crashed into the wall of a building.
Since the speed was slow, no part was damaged. Both the mana stone vehicle and the building wall were safe. Only a heavy silence filled the inside of the vehicle.
“……Abel-sensei.”
Thus, Monika narrowed her eyes.
“Have you ever driven before?”
“Of course.”
Abel answered, gripping the steering wheel.
“I've often had to transport my comrades. Don't worry. I'm just a little clumsy at handling machines.”
“I see. How many of your comrades passed away?”
“Not a single one died.”
“So you managed to keep them alive somehow.”
Haa, it went.
Monika let out a sigh.
She turned around and looked at her classmates.
“……Anyone know how to drive?”
Monika's question scattered listlessly.
Everyone except Abel let out a sigh.