TDAA Ch 38

After several days of conducting alchemy, they closely monitored the changes in Siol’s body and decided to limit the firewood transmutation to seven times a day.

“I can do it eight times.”

“Don’t lie. I can see you getting tired from the seventh time.”

“It’s work, so of course I get tired. But I’m perfectly fine after I sleep and wake up.”

“If you keep this up, I might just reduce it to six times.”

“Ah, no. I’ll just do seven. Just seven.”

Siol whined and quickly took a step back. Ladie stared at him with narrowed eyes. Siol’s habit of overworking himself was not easily fixed. It couldn’t be helped since he didn’t even realize he was overworking himself. In the end, she gestured to Luber with her eyes, instructing him to watch Siol carefully so he wouldn’t do anything foolish. Siol, seeing the silent exchange of glances between the two, made an aggrieved face, but if he wanted to feel wronged, he should have taken better care of himself in the first place.

“Then I’ll be counting on you from now on.”

“Ah. Ladie, wait a moment.”

Siol stopped Ladie as she was about to return to her work.

Looking somewhat shy, Siol took a small box out of his pocket. Inside the box he hesitantly handed over was a silver bracelet set with a ruby. The thick, somewhat rugged-looking bracelet was elegantly covered with delicately engraved incantations. Ladie knew that engraving such detailed incantations was not an easy task. When they were at the king’s research institute, Siol often used this method of engraving detailed incantations to create effective alchemical tools even when resources were scarce.

“Master Siol! This is…!”

“No, Ladie. It wasn’t too much. Really. Right, Luber?”

“That’s right, my lady. He made it while sleeping and eating properly. He even took a ten-minute break every hour!”

Only after Luber sided with him did Ladie relax her glare. Siol finally let out a sigh of relief.

“If that’s the case, I’m glad, but… what is this?”

“Um, last time when you suddenly went to another fief. I saw you and Lord Meric fighting. At that time, I thought I should make something for you, even if it’s not a weapon. Lord Meric got angry because he was worried about you. I was worried about you too. So… so I made it.”

It took quite a while to make, creating it little by little every day, but it turned out to be a pretty good item. It was thanks to using good materials and putting in a lot of effort.

“Someday, when you’re in danger, this bracelet will help you.”

“…Thank you.”

Ladie hesitated for a moment before putting on the bracelet. The bracelet, carefully crafted so she could wear it at all times, even while sleeping or bathing, suited her very well.

“Master Siol, you’ve already saved my life several times….”

“The same goes for you, Ladie.”

Siol said, looking at Ladie with trust.

Their feelings were firmly connected by a deep sense of camaraderie. They had once walked through the same hell, each had saved the other’s life at least once, and now they were aiming for the life of the same enemy.

Just watching such a comrade head to the battlefield filled Siol with guilt. So, at the very least, he hoped this bracelet would protect Ladie in her final moments.

“Still, no overworking.”

“No, why are you bringing that up now? I said I won’t.”

“It’s just that you seem like the type to sneakily push yourself to make more, Master Siol.”

“Please, Ladie. Let’s stop this.”

As Siol pleaded with a sullen voice, Ladie finally stopped her questioning.

From then on, Siol began a very proper lifestyle.

He would wake up early in the morning for four rounds of firewood transmutation. After eating, he would research alchemy, take a walk, have lunch, and then do three more rounds of firewood transmutation. The rest of his time was spent on alchemy research again. Now that the firewood research he started after returning to the Meric territory was finished, he was currently racking his brain for a new research topic.

“Hmm….”

Siol scribbled down words as they came to him on a piece of paper, as if doodling, then scratched his temple with the end of his quill.

Compared to when he first holed himself up in this lab, his situation was better in every way.

Mana stones and various gems, given for his research, were piled up in a corner of the lab, and no one ostracized his alchemy. There was no pressure to make weapons to receive support, and he had Luber who made sure he ate his meals regularly and Ronia who took care of his laundry and cleaning.

However, despite all these conditions, no particular research topic came to mind.

The winters on this continent were long and harsh. With snow piling up between fiefs and monsters scattered about, advancing on the enemy at this time of year was akin to a suicide mission. The reason Ladie had visited another fief a few days ago wasn’t for war, but simply to provide temporary protection for a fief whose lord had been suddenly dismissed, until they could prepare to defend against monsters.

Right now, Ladie was honing her allies’ forces and contacting the lords who had sworn allegiance to her, preparing for their moves after winter.

If Siol created items to help the fief’s situation, it would give them an opportunity to further strengthen their forces with the remaining capacity, and if he created items that would be an asset to their forces, that would also be helpful. Ladie and Lord Meric didn’t set any limits on what he should create, telling him to do as he pleased.

But that made it all the more difficult. Siol had already wasted nearly a week just trying to decide on a research topic. The pressure grew stronger by the day, but he couldn’t lightly choose a topic because he anticipated that interesting research would be impossible for a while if not now.

When spring came and the snow melted, the real war would begin, and there would be no time to win over lords through dialogue and negotiation as they were doing now. From then on, a real war of swords, fangs, and bloodshed would begin.

When that time came, he would have to make weapons whether he liked it or not, so now, before spring arrived, was his last chance.

“How about going out?”

Luber, who could no longer watch Siol struggle, suggested.

“You came up with the firewood research while walking around the village before, didn’t you? Wouldn’t it be helpful?”

“…Did Eriard tell you to take me for a walk again?”

“N-No, he didn’t!”

At Siol’s suspicion, Luber jumped up and denied it. He had a look of injustice and indignation as if he was being wrongly accused, despite having done it once before.

“Then was it Ladie?”

“I said no! Wow, how can you suspect me when I really thought of it myself?”

“You have a record.”

“A record…!”

Seeing the shocked expression, as if he felt betrayed, Siol finally burst out laughing. He was a really fun puppy to tease. The closer he got to Luber, the more things there were to tease him about.

Finally realizing it was a joke, Luber pouted with a sulky face and glared.

“Let’s really go for a walk. You’re getting more and more bad-tempered because you’re always cooped up in the lab.”

“Alright, let’s go. Last time I went out, I only saw the central hall, so this time I want to look around a bit more.”

“The atmosphere will be completely different from then. Back then, everyone was tightening their belts because supplies were so scarce. They couldn’t even open their shops because there wasn’t enough firewood. I’m sure it’ll be fun! We must stop by Mrs. Oshu’s bakery. This is a secret, but Mrs. Oshu is actually a better baker than our chef.”

Siol took the clothes from the excitedly chattering Luber and changed into boots. Fully dressed in a fur vest, coat, shawl, scarf, and hat, Siol was about to leave the lab but paused.

“What’s wrong?”

“Um… is it okay for me to go out?”

“What do you mean, is it okay? Is there any reason why it wouldn’t be?”

“…What if I run into the beastmen from the land of the beastmen?”

His presence in the Meric territory was strictly a secret. In front of Siol, they would call him Master Siol, but he was told that no one had revealed Siol’s existence to them.

But what if he ran into them while out for a walk….

“Ah! Those beastmen aren’t here right now. They went on an errand to another fief.”

His eyes widened at the news he was hearing for the first time, and Luber began to explain, pulling Siol by the hand.

“A few days ago, you made some pouches for my lady at her request, right? The ones that are small but can hold a lot. Those beastmen took the pouches filled with various gifts and a letter from my lady and went to other fiefs. The ones on the current king’s side, not ours.”

Siol immediately realized that it was a highly political errand.

Luber called it an errand, but in reality, their procession was nothing less than a billboard advertising that the beastmen had sided with them. Ladie was conveying in this way that she was on intimate terms with those from the land of the beastmen, enough to have them run such errands, and that when the season for war came, she would advance using their military power as her weapon.

The letter itself probably didn’t contain much. Because the message she wanted to send would be delivered clearly without having to spell it out in a letter.

This kind of proclamation wouldn’t work on fiefs close to the capital, but it was likely to be effective enough on the lands near the Meric territory. The current king, who had to protect the capital, wouldn’t send troops to protect faraway fiefs, so in the end, the lords around the Meric territory were in a position where they had to choose between betraying the king and suffering from the threat of monsters, or turning their backs on Ladie and being attacked by her knights and beastmen.

It was obvious which of the two was a more imminent death.

“Ladie is smart….”

“My lady? Of course she is! My lady is smart, cool, she adores me, anyway, she’s the best.”

“Yes, yes.”

Throughout the walk outside, Luber strung together praises for his master. It was almost as if Ladie was cool just for walking, and he loved her just because she was his master. He had heard stories on Earth about dogs loving their masters, but watching Luber, he could see that he was truly overflowing with love.

The two of them wandered all over the place.

They spent the whole day visiting various locations, from large warehouses and temporary lodgings for knights built near the castle walls to small community halls in the east, west, south, and north, a public security office, a soup kitchen, clothing stores, and more. As a result, they were able to find out quite a few things. All the stone buildings of two stories or more in this fief were owned by Lord Meric.

Siol, at the last stable they visited, offered a piece of candy and freely exercised his right to stroke the horse’s cheek that he had earned.

“Yes, they are all buildings that have been owned by the lord for generations. I heard they’re hundreds of years old, but they don’t look it, do they?”

“You’re right. They don’t seem to have any damage either….”

“They say they’ve never been repaired, and yet they’re still like this. Apparently, they were built so sturdy in the first place that they never get damaged.”

How could a building, even if made of stone, be used for hundreds of years without needing a single repair? Siol suspiciously inspected the inside of the stable. Befitting a stable in a land with terribly cold and long winters, it was completely enclosed on all sides. While the interior seemed a bit dim and stuffy, it was so clean that it looked like it had only been built a year or two ago.

Somehow, the alchemist’s curiosity began to rear its head.

Scanning the interior more carefully, Siol discovered a sun pattern carved into the wall above the stable entrance.

“Ah. It’s a sun. I saw this earlier too….”

“It’s on all the buildings owned by the lord. They say that has been there since ancient times too.”

“Is the sun the symbol of the Meric fief?”

“No. I heard before that other fiefs also have suns like that on buildings owned by the lord.”

Then was it the symbol of this country?

“But there’s an interesting story. In any building, the sun is only in one place, the most important place in that building.”

“…What?”

“My lady told me. My lady traveled to many fiefs when she was young, and she found out then.”

Even while listening to Luber’s boastful story, Siol’s mind was filled with the carving on the fireplace in his own laboratory. The fireplace in his lab had a carving that seemed to embody the heat of the sun. There was no sun, but instead, when firewood was burned in the fireplace, that part served the role of the sun.

However, Siol’s room was not an important space. It was closer to an abandoned warehouse that Siol just happened to be staying in; in fact, it was more like a forgotten place.

There was one more question. When Siol went to Lord Meric’s office, he definitely saw a sun. A magnificent sun was carved into Lord Meric’s chair.

There were two suns in the mansion.

Siol smiled to himself.

After that, Siol had intended to head straight back to the mansion, but he couldn’t when Luber threw himself down on the road the moment he mentioned it. Luber protested, asking if they hadn’t agreed to stop by Mrs. Oshu’s bakery. Siol had no memory of making such a promise, but Luber looked like he was about to burst into tears, so he had no choice but to stop by the bakery before returning.

Mrs. Oshu’s bakery was a fairly large shop near the central square. As soon as he opened the door and entered, Luber received a warm welcome from Mrs. Oshu and crunched on the sweet candy she gave him. Then he turned into a large dog and rubbed his back on the floor, showing his belly. Good grief. For Luber to show his belly without a second thought!

Mrs. Oshu smiled fondly, stroked Luber’s belly, and then sat him up, feeding him bite-sized pieces of meat pie and cookies.

“…For goodness sake….”

Siol, who followed Luber into the shop, was at a loss for words at the sight. What was he to do with this childish puppy? Wasn’t that something only dogs would do, not a beastman?

Even with the ill-mannered puppy in front of her, Mrs. Oshu just laughed cheerfully and continued to feed him bread. It hit him again after a long time that Luber was the superstar of the Meric fief. But wasn’t it too much for him to be mooching bread off the bakery owner like that, especially when he earned a rather high salary himself?

Siol watched the scene with wavering eyes, then quickly grabbed a tray and tongs. He had to at least generate more income than the amount Luber was getting for free; he couldn’t just leave.

Siol quickly swept all the bread that Luber’s fur had touched onto the tray. He also piled on a gift set of cookies, bread filled with meat and vegetables, a large loaf of rye bread, and plenty of sweet dessert muffins. He thought it might not be enough to offset the cost of the bread Luber had mooched so far, but he couldn’t add any more as it seemed like it would collapse.

Last time, when Luber had allowed the residents to stroke him in exchange for food, it had just seemed absurd and like someone else’s problem, but strangely, now he felt as embarrassed as if he were a real accomplice.

It was a bit hard to admit, but it seemed Luber had become ‘our kid’ to Siol.

Siol sighed deeply and placed the tray on the counter. However, Mrs. Oshu smiled kindly and waved her hand.

“Oh my, you don’t have to pay. It’s enough that Luber showed his face after such a long time.”

“What? No, I’ll pay.”

“It’s really alright.”

“No, I can’t just take this without paying. And it seems like Luber is mooching too much….”

Luber, who was crunching on a candy, turned to look at Siol with a very wronged expression.

“I feel like I should be the one paying. I’m sorry….”

“Hmm. Actually, I shouldn’t be saying this, but since there’s no one else in the shop right now. It’s okay for a little, right? Master Siol.”

“Uh…. Yes.”

“Thanks to you, I was able to put firewood in the shop’s oven. If it weren’t for you, I would have had to close up shop all winter.”

“Ah….”

“Thank you. So this one’s on me.”

“Oh, but….”

Mrs. Oshu covered Siol’s hand as if to stop him from saying more and said.

“Enjoy your meal.”

At those kind words, Siol somehow couldn’t insist on paying anymore. What is this feeling? he asked himself, and in the meantime, he was ushered out of the shop, holding several large, stacked boxes. Mrs. Oshu, having somehow tucked cookies and jars of candy that Siol hadn’t picked into his arms, was waving from inside the shop.

Luber, who followed Siol as he awkwardly bowed and left the shop, also had several large boxes in his hands.

After walking in silence for a while, Siol suddenly said.

“I have to work hard.”

“What? Master Siol, you’re already working incredibly hard.”

“I have to work hard. I never knew… they would be this happy.”

“No, Master Siol, you need to take it easier.”

“I have to work hard. I’m going to work really hard.”

“Master Siol, are you listening to me?”

Of course, he had heard “thank you” countless times from Ladie, Lord Meric, the maid Ronia, and the knights. But hearing “thank you” from a resident living outside the mansion whom he happened to meet felt completely different.

Seeing Siol’s steps quicken without him realizing it out of excitement, Luber sighed, “Hah.”

Having stayed near Siol for several months, he had learned that Siol had a tendency to be a workaholic and would even go on a rampage depending on the progress of his work. He usually kept to his sleeping and eating schedules, but at certain moments when he was completely absorbed in his work, he wouldn’t hear when called, and if you tried to get his attention by touching him, he would coldly order you not to. At times like that, not just Luber, but even Ladie couldn’t do anything about Siol.

“Luber, look at this.”

When they arrived in front of the lab, Siol pointed at his lab door with a “eheheh” laugh. It was the slightly sinister laugh he made whenever he had a breakthrough in alchemy.

“Uh…. The door?”

“Not the door, the doorframe. It’s a mess, isn’t it? Huh?”

“Ah, should I ask for it to be fixed?”

“No, that’s not it….”

Siol stopped talking and then sighed deeply.

It was a thought he had every time something like this happened, but Siol really missed Burdril. If he were here, he would have shouted not to tell him the answer, insisting he would guess why he was told to look at the doorframe, and after racking his brain, he would have presented a plausible answer, even if not the correct one.

“Luber, you said it yourself earlier. The buildings with the sun on them don’t get damaged. But this doorframe is such a mess, isn’t it?”

“…Huh?”

“Right? Isn’t it strange?”

“Yes! Why is it like this?”

“I’m going to research that from now on!”

“…What?”

Even while looking at Luber’s face, on which was written, ‘There must be so many better things, so why this of all things?’, Siol couldn’t hide his excited expression.

“I have a feeling there’s some interesting secret hidden here. I don’t have any proof, but….”

“An interesting secret….”

Luber, still looking like he didn’t quite get it, continued.

“Um…. Yes. To be honest, I don’t really get it. It’s just an old story! But I also thought it was strange when you said you were going to research firewood, Master Siol, so don’t mind me.”

To think that Luber, who had been acting so cooperative, was thinking it was strange behind his back! Siol couldn’t close his mouth in shock.

“I just didn’t know you could increase firewood with alchemy!”

Luber mumbled, making an excuse.

Siol glared at Luber, then examined the gap between the wooden doorframe and the wall again. How could he not see this interesting research topic? The bricks on the outside of the doorframe were partially crumbling, and some had holes. He hadn’t noticed when he passed by without much thought, but upon closer inspection, it looked as if a section of what was originally a wall had been broken down and a doorframe had been forcibly inserted to hang a door.

But if you thought about it that way, there were more than just one or two strange things.

Siol’s lab had no other doors. Besides this one, it was walls on all four sides. There was a window, but it was a small one to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning when the firewood was burning, making it impossible for a person to use for entry or exit. The structure was also unique, so the window wasn’t even visible from the outside.

In short, if this door were to be removed as it originally was, Siol’s lab would become a sealed room with no entrance.

Siol examined all the connection points between the doorframe and the wall and then said to Luber.

“Let’s smash the doorframe!”

“What? No! Without a door, a ton of cold air will get in.”

“We can just block it temporarily with a tapestry or something! Is a building that never gets damaged really one that never gets damaged? Or does it repair itself even if it gets damaged? Which do you think it is, Luber?”

“No way, a tapestry can’t block the cold wind.”

“Tell me, which do you think it is?”

“…The one that never gets damaged?”

When Siol asked again, Luber answered despite his disgruntled expression.

“I think it repairs itself. If it never gets damaged, then the messiness of this door crack is strange. But just in case, let’s experiment. We can know for sure if we experiment.”

“…Sigh….”

“Hmm? Luber, please.”

“Then you have to promise me something. From now on, you have to dress more warmly even indoors. So you don’t catch a cold even if the chilly wind blows in.”

“Alright.”

“And you must only drink warm water, you can’t pester me for more alcohol, and you must take your walks….”

Only after a more detailed agreement was reached regarding his attire and Siol’s living habits did Luber remove the door and break the doorframe. Over the gaping hole, they hung a cloth tapestry as Siol had suggested earlier. Fortunately, there were plenty of tapestry cloths left behind by Ronia in the room. Even so, it only served to divide the space, and the wind blew right through.

Once his wish was granted, Siol this time ran to the fireplace, stroking its ornate decoration and laughing, “Eheheh.” He looked very sinister.

“No one will follow an alchemist with such gloomy preparations. Maybe the person who hid this secret tried very hard, but they can’t be better than me.”

The word ‘gloomy’ didn’t seem like it would be used as a compliment, but Siol was already in no state to hear such a comment.

Luber gave a vague “Yeeees,” and added three or four more layers of tapestries to block as much of the cold wind as possible. He placed a kettle full of water on the fireplace. Then, thinking he should have Siol drink some hot wine since they had just returned from outside, he turned around to find Siol already excitedly writing something at his desk.

He was a completely different person from the Siol of a few days ago. For some unknown reason, Siol, who had seemed deeply despondent, filled with sorrow, and lost in a daze, was now full of life. Of course, Siol had a slightly strange side when he was deeply engrossed in alchemy, but it was still much better than his expressionless, emotionless appearance, as if he had built a wall against the whole world.

Luber shook his head but let out a sigh of relief.

“I’ll be right back.”

He was planning to go to the kitchen to order some bite-sized meals for Siol to eat in between his research. When Siol was like this, he simply wouldn’t get up from his desk.

Contrary to Luber’s worries, Siol moved about actively every day. He had no choice. His research subject was the buildings with the sun symbol, and since he couldn’t bring those buildings into his lab, Siol had to go out himself.

And so, the days continued with him spending all day observing and researching the buildings with the sun.

Siol, wondering if other buildings might have hidden suns like the mansion, tapped and touched every single brick to check. The stables and warehouses had no secret spaces, let alone a door leading to a basement. The central hall had a basement, but it wasn’t secretly hidden. The connection between the door and the doorframe was also smoothly finished, unlike his lab.

Then what made the mansion special?

He could only think that it was related to the lord who lived there. That the mansion wasn’t special, but the lord was.

“Luber, have you ever been inside the Tower of Survival?”

“How could I go to the Tower of Survival? The tower is a place only the lord can enter. But why?”

“I’m curious if there’s a sun inside.”

“Should I go ask the lord?”

The tower in the Meric fief was not as tall as Marsiga’s. Perhaps Marsiga’s was especially tall because it was a city that had chosen a bird as its leader for generations. It could be that the towers in human lands, including the Meric fief, were on the shorter side. Siol became curious about the towers that existed across the continent, but he decided to put that aside for now. Right now, he was investigating the sun.

What would the inside be like? Would it be a plain, empty space with a huge, person-sized mana stone floating around like in Marsiga’s tower? Or would the towers in human lands have a sun? If there is a sun, what shape would it be? Would there be one? Or two?

To know the answer, he had to go to Lord Meric.

But he didn’t know if Lord Meric would welcome his question. Lord Meric was currently deposed, and naturally, he couldn’t enter the tower. If he asked a related question at a time like this, Lord Meric might be displeased, or perhaps he might hold onto the hope that Siol could do something about the protective barrier.

Siol wasn’t yet confident that he could fulfill such expectations.

He hoped to be able to someday, but not yet.

“…No. I’ll look into it a bit more first… and I’ll tell him when I’m more certain.”

“I think you could just ask him if you’re curious.”

“I’ll just look into it a little more.”

“But the proof that the buildings repair themselves has already come out. The proof that the buildings with the sun are something special.”

As the doorframe was removed, the wall was gradually returning to its original form. The speed wasn’t so fast that you could see the change while watching, but it was enough to see a difference after waking up, as the entrance to the lab where the door used to be was slowly getting smaller.

“Still, not yet.”

The fact that the underground lab was actually a sealed room didn’t seem like particularly important information yet. It might be enough to prove that the buildings with the sun were very special, but that alone wasn’t enough to proudly tell someone.

The important point was why the underground lab was a sealed room, and how one actually entered and exited that space. The research Siol was doing now was similar to twenty questions. Only after proving something could he move on to the next question. So, he had to solve the problem of the sealed lab to know what to do next. As he solved them one by one, at some point, it would be revealed whether this research was an important issue for the Meric fief or just the subject of Siol’s alchemical curiosity.

After exploring the path a bit more and uncovering what kind of secret this was, if it turned out to be really important, it wouldn’t be too late to report it to the lord then.

“Let’s go to the mountain cabin today. Ronia said there’s a cabin owned by the lord on the back mountain. She said there’s a sun there too, so I need to check it out.”

“The back mountain? The path there is a bit rough, will you be okay?”

“Of course I’m fine. You see me as too weak, but I’m a wolf too, you know.”

“A very weak wolf.”

“Luber!”

When Siol called out, flustered, Luber averted his gaze and pretended not to know.

It was the exact same reaction as the first day they went out. Siol felt the injustice of that day welling up inside him, but he soon decided to admit that the image he had shown so far wasn’t exactly the kind that could appeal to his strength.

“I’m going to go to Mrs. Oshu’s bakery and buy sandwiches. I’m having an egg sandwich, what about you, Luber?”

“I’ll have a croquette with lots of meat. Mmm. Sounds delicious.”

“If you keep eating greasy things like that, Eriard will come and get you.”

“Ugh…”

Luber, who had been dragged away by Eriard for several days and suffered through his training, groaned and began to reconsider his menu. Eriard no longer came to pick Luber up after he returned to his original weight, but he had left a chilling warning on the last day to manage his body properly.

In the end, the two bought an egg sandwich and a ham and vegetable sandwich full of vegetables from Mrs. Oshu’s bakery. Siol chuckled as he watched Luber, who couldn’t let go of his longing for the croquette until the very end. He was admirable and praiseworthy, yet also cute and funny.

The subsequent mountain hike was quite tiring, but not impossible. The two climbed the mountain together, exchanged a word of admiration at the view of the Meric fief below them, and then went on to the cabin. The cabin, untouched by human feet for several months, was already completely consumed by nature and looked like ruins.

The cabin had been completely surrounded by vines, and after they had dropped their seeds and withered, it was once again covered in snow. However, despite its messy and nature-entrenched appearance, the cabin had not lost its beauty. The streamlined carved pillars and the flower buds at their ends were delicately interlocked with the ceiling, and the roof was high and pointed. It was hard to see due to the snow, but there was a spot where the red tiles were slightly exposed. The doors and windows were all beautifully crafted works of art. Although it was a lord’s mountain cabin, he hadn’t expected much since Lord Meric didn’t have a particularly ostentatious personality and the fief’s mansion was also a building with few decorative elements, but it was very splendid and beautiful. Siol admired it as he scanned the building.

“Master Siol, the door is locked. What should we do?”

“Hmm…. Let’s break it!”

“Alright!”

Luber didn’t hesitate to break the doorknob and let Siol inside. He had an expression of excitement, as if he were playing a very fun prank. Indeed, for the mischievous Luber, he must have wanted to cause a lot of trouble but always had to endure it out of fear of Eriard. He must be happy to be able to act out deviantly using Siol as a shield and not get scolded.

The sun Siol had been anticipating all along was right in front. Upon entering through the door, there was a rather splendid and decorative staircase in the front. It was a Y-shaped staircase that went straight up to the middle and then split to the left and right. He had read in a book that on Earth, a portrait of the mansion’s owner, the first head of the family, or the family crest was hung at such a midpoint of the staircase. It was said that the most symbolic thing was displayed in the most eye-catching space upon entering the mansion.

In this cabin, the sun proudly occupied that spot.

It was clear that a very long time ago, when the Tower of Survival and these buildings were built, the sun must have been a very important symbol. The people who lived then, perhaps whom you could call the ancients, might have revered the sun as a god. They might have personified a religious being, or perhaps they wanted to become the sun. That is, the god.

There were many such cases in history.

With a flushed face, Siol examined every corner of the cabin. He checked every space, even considering the thickness of the walls to see if there were any secret spaces, but unfortunately, he couldn’t find any more clues.

It seemed he would have to investigate the mansion with its two suns further to uncover the secret. Still, it was well worth the visit to find out that there was nothing else there.

Siol and Luber sat together on the cabin stairs, facing the front door, sharing a sandwich, and then descended the mountain again.

By the time they reached the bottom of the mountain, the sun had completely set, and it was dark all around. Siol, who had even broken a sweat trying to be careful not to fall on the snowy path, let out a damp sigh. It was a treacherous descent, and he surely would have fallen if he didn’t have the eyes of a wolf.

Luber, looking at the exhausted Siol, asked with concern.

“Master Siol, can you walk any further?”

“Yeah….”

“Hmm. Should I give you a piggyback ride?”

Siol weakly shook his head.

“Then should we climb the wall? It’s a long way around to the main gate, but if we go over the wall, we only have to walk about half the distance. Normally, we’d get in big trouble for climbing the wall… but since Master Siol is dying right now, it should be fine.”

“I’m not… dying.”

“Let’s just pretend you’re dying and climb the wall. Huh?”

Luber pleaded, shaking Siol’s arm.

Though he had been stubborn, Siol’s legs were trembling, so he obediently nodded. He didn’t want to be seen by others getting a piggyback ride from Luber, but if he refused everything, he pictured a future where he wouldn’t even have the strength to hold onto Luber’s neck, let alone get a piggyback, and would end up being carried on his shoulder. It was better to climb the wall than to be carried on someone’s shoulder the rest of a way back after getting exhausted.

Of course, he had to be carried by Luber while climbing the wall. Siol couldn’t jump over the high iron gate.

“…Somehow, my pride is hurt.”

“Why are you getting your pride hurt over something like this? It’s just that you can’t climb a wall.”

Still, I’m a wolf, you know. Siol said only in his head, as if hearing an auditory hallucination of the words, a very weak wolf.

Luber casually climbed over the wall and set Siol back down on the ground. He explained that this place, which looked like a forest, was the mansion’s backyard, and the mansion would appear soon after passing the knights’ quarters. Just as he said, after walking a short distance through the dark forest path, the knights’ quarters building began to appear in the distance.

But the lights were bright and the noise was boisterous. Siol turned his wolf ears in that direction but couldn’t hear clearly, so he looked back at Luber.

“Uh… it seems like there’s a party going on. Our knights, and the knights from the land of the beastmen….”

Luber glanced at Siol’s expression and asked.

“Should we go around?”

Siol stared blankly in the direction of the loud noise and then said impulsively.

“No, I want to… go see, secretly.”

Luber nodded without surprise and led Siol to the back of the quarters building. From beyond the building, the sound of a red bonfire dancing and people sharing food and drink, singing loudly, and chattering could be heard, but the back of the building was dark and quiet. The two of them quietly pushed through the bushes, went to the back of the building, and went around stealthily shaking every window, looking for one that wasn’t latched.

“When I used to sleep here, I always left the window at the end open. But I guess someone locked them all while I was sleeping in Master Siol’s room for the past little while.”

Luber glared at the window as if he were vexed, then looked a little higher.

“The second-floor window might be open. I’ll go check real quick.”

“No, then let’s just go. I don’t want to see it that badly.”

“It’s no big deal. Just wait a minute. The wall we climbed earlier was lower than this.”

“But that was just climbing over, this requires you to cling to the wall. What if you fall?”

“Gosh. Such a worrywart.”

Siol’s lips twitched as he looked at Luber shaking his head. For a beastman, and a knight at that, jumping up to the second floor might be no big deal, but he was still worried. He remembered Ryufen saying something similar before, asking why he was worrying unnecessarily when he expressed concern. Why can’t beastmen just accept it gracefully when you worry about them?

Of course, even if Luber fell from the second floor, he would probably just get a few scratches like when he came crying after falling into a three-meter hole… but the reason he was so worried despite knowing this was surely because Luber’s usual conduct was so unreliable. If it had been Ryufen, he would have been worried about the window instead.

“Just watch me carefully.”

Luber, who had jumped up with a confident attitude, somehow landed back on the ground without latching onto the second floor. And before Siol could ask why, he clung tightly to the first-floor window and waved his hand widely. It seemed he had spotted someone passing by.

Siol was inwardly relieved. Thankfully, it seemed he wouldn’t have to watch Luber precariously clinging to the second-floor window, struggling to find an unlocked latch.

But the next moment, Luber grabbed Siol’s waist and lifted him up in a flash. What, what, he thought, and in his bewilderment, he looked towards the hallway to see a knight who had been rolling an oak cask stop dead in his tracks. The knight, who had craned his neck in their direction, was frozen in surprise, while the oak cask rolled on its own around the corner and disappeared.

Siol, trembling with shame, took back his earlier feeling of relief. He had told him not to do it out of concern, and now he had put him in this position.

He slapped Luber’s hands and whispered for him to put him down, but Luber held Siol up until the knight ran over and opened the window. In the end, Siol was passed to the knight who opened the window and was set down inside the building.

Immediately after, Luber vaulted through the window.

“No, seriously, he was about to ignore me and just walk away. I figured he wouldn’t be able to ignore Master Siol, so I showed you to him.”

“…I apologize for surprising you….”

“N-No. It’s my fault. If I had just come when I saw Luber, Master Siol wouldn’t have been put in such a predicament….”

Siol and the knight ignored Luber and had an awkward conversation. Still, this man, unlike Luber, seemed to understand Siol’s shame. Somehow, that made it even more embarrassing, but Siol tried his best to ignore his flushing cheeks.

“Um… you didn’t happen to come to join the banquet, did you? Ah, of course, Master Siol is always welcome, but right now….”

“I know. I didn’t come to join the banquet, I just came to rest for a bit, secretly….”

“Come to think of it, you look tired. Did something happen?”

Luber chimed in at that question.

“We, we went to the cabin on the back mountain today. Master Siol gets tired really easily. He’s this tired just from coming down from up there. We came to rest a bit in my room before heading back. It’s okay, right? Just because it’s a party, you guys won’t come into someone else’s room, will you?”

The knight who heard Luber’s explanation nodded his head.

“Then I will let everyone know so that no one comes in. Rest assured. Master Siol.”

They were reassuring words.

Siol found it quite amazing that Eriard’s promise to keep him hidden from those who came from the land of the beastmen was being kept so thoroughly. And he also felt a little happy.

Siol nodded in response and followed Luber up to the third floor. Luber opened a door in the middle of the hallway and led Siol inside.

“Here, this is my room. The bed on the right is mine. you can sit on the bed.”

“Whose bed is the one on the left?”

“…The squad leader’s. I don’t know why I have to share a room with the squad leader.”

Luber grumbled with great dissatisfaction, but Siol thought he could guess the reason. He was probably trying to keep him close and manage him since he always skipped training, ran away, was lazy, and whined. It was a thought he had often, but Eriard had a lot on his plate.

The room, which had been empty all day, was filled with cold air, not much different from outside. Luber squatted down in front of the stove installed in the middle of the room and began to light a fire.

Siol quietly approached the window, opened the curtain slightly, and peeked outside.

A huge bonfire burned brilliantly, consuming the surrounding darkness. Cooks and servants were busy cooking around smaller bonfires, grilling meat or boiling stew, but the beastmen’s appetites were so great that the food disappeared as soon as it was made. In one corner, there was a pile of empty oak casks. People were drinking, singing, dancing, and chattering with giggles. In another corner, a fight had broken out. A burly man who had just won the fight slicked back his white hair and glanced at a beastman sitting behind him. Siol, who had unconsciously followed the man’s gaze, flinched and closed the curtain.

Muriel. Muriel was over there.

“……”

His heart pounded.

It was better than when he first saw Muriel enter the fief, but he was still scared and confused.

But since he had decided to stay by Ladie’s side and help her, he couldn’t ignore the people from the land of the beastmen, and Eorzen, forever. They would help Ladie, and since Siol was now by Ladie’s side, it was a situation where they were bound to run into each other eventually.

Siol took a slow, deep breath and then opened the curtain slightly again. Amidst the boisterously chattering knights, Muriel was sipping wine with a somewhat tired expression.

“…What if Eorzen-nim comes too.”

Contrary to his words, Siol’s gaze was searching for blue hair among the knights.

The desire to see Eorzen, even from a distance, shook him, while at the same time, the thought of not wanting Eorzen to find out he was here made him shrink back.

When Siol left Eorzen’s side, although Eorzen hadn’t heard him, he had said he would protect him. He had boasted that he would make sure Nathaniel could never bother him again.

But now, Siol didn’t even know where Nathaniel was or what he was plotting. He had tried his best, but he had only managed to gain trust and establish a place for himself in the Meric fief. He couldn’t meet him having accomplished nothing after leaving with such grand words.

Furthermore, he had no idea how much Eorzen knew about him. Of course, he would know that Sizool was Siol. He would also have quickly deduced that Siol was ‘Siol, the Alchemist of Death.’ But what about the fact that the Alchemist of Death was actually a fool used by the king?

What do Eorzen and Ryufen really think of me?

That day, how much of Eorzen’s memory remained? Siol wished he would remember up to the point when Nathaniel mocked the Alchemist of Death, but not the night they spent together. If a dragon who had a separate mate found out he had spent the night with someone else, he would surely…. Ah, it was a nightmare he didn’t even want to think about.

But there was no way the situation would unfold as he wished. It was possible that, on the contrary, he had forgotten the truth and remembered only that night. In that case, he would rather he didn’t remember anything at all.

Siol trembled slightly and gritted his teeth.

He was not yet ready to accept Eorzen’s contempt.