Aria of the Withered Branch
Chapter 6

Phasion, who’d been watching the others speak quietly until then, had been the one to question the background check.

“I’m against the idea. If there’s something we want to know, we should ask him ourselves,” Hellicharde said.

It was rare for Hellicharde to offer her opinion so seriously. Mahorren, who was sitting beside her and had been about to voice his approval of the idea, seemed to pause and reconsider. Channe-Lodiharrah looked around for a moment and then burst out laughing.

“I suppose you don’t realize this, but if he was the type to open up about himself so freely, he wouldn’t have come out here to die all alone in the first place. Regardless, this falls within my area of expertise. I’ll look into it. Discussion over.”

What sort of life had Al lived that caused him to wear so little expression on his face at all times? There had to be a reason. Channe-Lodiharrah was lost in thought.

Hellicharde, who’d been watching her carefully, narrowed her eyes, then asked suspiciously, “You’ll tell us what you manage to find?”

“Well, that depends,” Channe-Lodiharrah said with a lazy laugh, her pretty face taking on a cunning edge.

Hellicharde pouted. She’d expected as much. “You can’t keep the information to yourself! We have a right to know!”

“Well, I’ll think about it.” Channe-Lodiharrah was as curious as the others to know what she might unearth.

But I’m going to keep you on edge for a while! she thought, laughing again as she noticed the intense gazes leveled at her.

***

What a chaotic day…

“Do you have any plans regarding what you’re going to do next?” Phaison asked.

“Why not go on a trip?” Hellie suggested.

“A relaxing stay at a resort seems to be in order,” said Mahorren.

“Make that offer after you’ve actually built the place, old man.”

They came to me at every opportunity to ask a variety of questions, leaving my mind a cluttered mess. What plans? I was planning to end my life not all that long ago.

I closed the book I’d been reading with a loud thump and stared at the people gathered in front of me. They began to look increasingly awkward the longer I stared, seemingly aware that they were bothering me. I’d have died for this sort of attention when I was younger, but now, all I felt was annoyance and discomfort. Am I being ungrateful?

“I don’t have anything in mind yet. I’m going to stay here until my two months are up since I already paid for them. Why don’t you all see to your own business? I know you’re all very busy people.”

“Not at all! I’m not busy in the least!” Hellie said.

“No. We can’t trust you to be alone yet,” Jules replied.

Hellie shook her head, and Jules seemed to balk at the idea, though I couldn’t see his face.

“So, why are you still being so formal with us?” Hellie asked with an innocent look on her face as she tilted her head. I found myself thinking this frequently, but the combination of her face, expressions, and gestures made her irresistibly cute.

“It’s not easy to break the habit,” I said. “You’re pretty old, after all, and I haven’t taken a more informal tone with many people, as it turns out.”

“I thought you were a noble?”

“Yes, but I wasn’t particularly friendly with the servants… Don’t worry about it. I’ll try to be more casual with you bit by bit.” I smiled at them, showing them I could manage that, at least, and odd looks appeared on their faces.

“Hmm… Oh! Then, like I said, let’s go on a trip!” Hellie said.

This sounded a lot like a rushed change of topic to me, but I decided not to mention it and replied, “Is there somewhere you’d like to go in particular?”

Hellicharde threw her hand in the air and shouted, “How about Bistrea, on the eastern continent? I hear there’s lots to see there!”

“It’s also known for its beautiful men and women. That’s why you want to go, right?” Phay said with a graceful smile as he looked down at Hellie. It was a beautiful smile.

But am I the only one who feels it’s also kind of scary? The dark aura that lingered behind his smile seemed to mock Hellicharde’s dirty ulterior motives.

“What’s everyone up to without me? Bistrea?” said Chandy as she entered the room. She gave me her usual stunning smile, looking over the small gathering, then addressing Hellie, “You want to go there? I have some bad news for you. Everybody there is tall.”

Hellie looked devastated by this discovery. “M-my hopes and dreams…!”

What hopes and dreams? Actually, never mind. I’d rather remain in the dark about them.

“But Al, what’s this?”

Chandy, who’d been looking around the room, picked up something that had been lying next to my luggage. It was a white envelope with a golden border, and the moment I saw it, I realized I’d made a mistake leaving it lying around.

I forgot about that. It was the reason I’d left home in the first place, but I’d forgotten about it entirely.

“Hmm. Let’s see. My goodness, honey! This looks like an… appointment certificate. You are hereby appointed to the Second Affairs Department at the Embassy of Chaive in Vichatzer… Wow! That’s certainly a very stable job!” Chandy said.

“A stable job? I don’t know about that. Working at an embassy is usually the fast track to getting a promotion, usually, but this is the second department. That’s basically where the people with no future are sent—or at least that’s what I heard from some fairly high-ranked people,” I said.

Other nations typically relied on knight orders to serve as their armed forces, but in my home nation of Chaive, a different sort of organization existed. Windom was a collection of only the most talented and elite individuals. They basically represented the entire country and were in a special rank all of their own. The first department aided Windom in conducting investigations outside our borders and taking charge of diplomacy. The second department was considered the errand boys, so to speak. It was not a ladder to success, but a pit that led to nowhere—just a pool of stagnant water that the first department used whenever they needed to. All my efforts had amounted to this.

“What’s wrong with that?” Chandy said.

“I’m sorry?” I asked.

The white piece of paper fluttered in her fine, pale hand as she gestured. I blankly followed the movement with my eyes and found Chandy smiling as she brought the envelope close to her lips.

“Isn’t that a good thing? It’s not an important division, so there’s not much work. You’re paid regularly, and it’s a public enterprise, which means a great working environment and fantastic benefits. You are guaranteed everything a worker could want while slacking off at your job. And you rejected this of your own accord? Are you out of your mind, Al?”

“Chandy is right. What are you thinking, abandoning an opportunity like this? You’ve got no time to lose!” Hellie said.

The conversation was taking an odd turn.

No. Unacceptable.

“You’re not suggesting we go there right now, are you?” I asked.

“Why not?” she said.

I wasn’t sure why, but there seemed to be a hint of teasing in her otherwise utterly emotionless voice. I tend to pick up subtle stuff like that.

I frowned bitterly, and Jules nodded to himself, suddenly standing to leave the room, saying over his shoulder, “I’m going to pack my things.”

“Wait, you’re coming along?” I shouted urgently.

Everyone present turned to look at me.

“Of course we are.”

My god!

“Wait, this isn’t right. Excuse me, hold on a minute!” I shouted. The desperation in my voice was loud and clear. I’d never felt so frantic in my life, not since my immature childhood days.

Just listen to me this time!

“Please. Can’t you just put me to sleep forever and be done with it? I’ll do that declaration thing for you! So let’s agree on that eternal sleep deal, and we’ll call it a day. Lock me up somewhere safe. Or you could just put me away in some magical subspace or something!”

They looked at me with shock.

“No way…”

“He certainly seems to have been through a lot.”

“Maybe he’s deaf?”

Chandy, Hellie, and Ren each spoke in turn. Then they continued to gape at me stupidly. I shouted at them,

“Put me to sleep!”

“Sleep, my ass! You exist to control us! Are you really forcing me to say this?” Jules shouted, throwing the door open and sending it crashing into the wall as he leaped into the room, while the remaining Binah continued to stare at me blankly. He seemed to be at the end of his rope.

So in the End, They All Came Along.

The sun was shining on the blue ocean, causing it to glitter and shine as the scent of the lush green trees all around us filled my nostrils sweetly. Even the tiny chunks of rock scattered among the sand seemed filled with lively energy, merely by virtue of being part of the scene. And yet, I was despondent.

With my luggage slung over my shoulder, I shielded my eyes with my hand. The sunlight was undeterred all the same, and even it felt like it was threatening my safety. That was how depressed and on edge I was. I hadn’t always been like this. I’d been completely unshakeable at one point.

Where did that part of me go?

“My lord, please give me your things.”

An older man I didn’t recognize bowed politely and then snatched my bag. He was dressed oddly. His gown, tied closed tightly at the waist with a belt, went to his knees. It had no sleeves and looked to be made from a very stiff material. He wore pants underneath, only a portion of them visible, and the fabric was very thin and light. The way his loose pant legs were bound at the ankles with a cord was not a style found in Chaive—this exotically dressed man was one of the men who served Mahorren.

As it turned out, the main branch of his merchant group was located on another continent. Because Mahorren had taken a gate and vanished in order to search for me, they’d apparently had a great deal of trouble locating him. As if Mahorren alone wasn’t enough of a burden, now I had his men to contend with as well.

Mahorren wasn’t the only one who had added to our entourage. There were dark figures dispersed throughout the party. They were dressed in dark robes that covered their entire body, just like Jules, and they were carrying boxes that had come from the gods only knew where. They were Chandy’s guards—or, put more precisely, her subordinates.

“Al, hurry!” Hellie waved excitedly from next to a massive automobile, the back door thrown wide open. Next to her was a gigantic silver beast yawning with its enormous jaws wide open.

I stiffened, wondering what I was looking at. Jules, dressed in his typical black robe with fancy golden embroidery, scratched the beast’s neck and turned to me. “Now, Poppi. This human here is a companion of mine. Don’t eat him. He’s not edible, you hear me?”

Good god. Don’t tell me that an animal three times his size is his pet! The name Poppi seemed far too cute for this gargantuan animal whose species I couldn’t even guess at. But even so, I wanted to believe that logic and common sense would not let me down this time, even though it had already done so on many occasions before.

“It’s my pet. Say hello,” he said to me.

Let down again as usual. I hesitated outside the car, unable to bring myself to go inside. Chandy slapped me on the backside, insisting I climb in. This wasn’t the first time I’d thought this, but despite looking like an innocent little goddess, she behaved like a lecherous old man.

“What do you think, Al? I had very little time to prepare, but I hope you like it.”

Ren greeted me with his usual saintly smile, but I couldn’t bring myself to erase the frown on my face. The interior of the automobile was just as overwhelming as his clothes and accessories. There was a small space to place one’s shoes, and when I climbed up another step, the fancy interior came fully into view. It looked like the drawing room one might find in a noble mansion.

The first thing I noticed were the seats, which seemed to form a makeshift area to lounge. Chairs set at floor level with comfortable backrests had been placed around a round table, one for each of us. It was a small tea table set low to the ground.