Chapter 81

Clara was weeping. Though she didn't let out a sob, tears spilled through the cracks of the fingers covering her face, streaming down her cheeks to dampen the ground drop by drop. She was utterly overcome.

Harold stood before her, completely taken aback.

Given that he had saved the lives of both Clara and her daughter, Colette, it was a perfectly logical reaction for her to be moved to tears of gratitude.

However, Harold felt a lingering sense of guilt over the whole ordeal. While it wasn't exactly a case of arson-and-extinguish, the entire incident had been sparked by his own carelessness and the baseless accusations of the Stokes couple. Clara had been entirely blameless, yet she and her daughter had been forced into exile. Because of that history, being thanked to the point of tears made Harold feel more apologetic than anything else.

Furthermore, it had been nearly eight years since he had taken over Harold’s life. In that time, the emotions people directed at him were almost exclusively fear or disgust. He had long since grown accustomed to those two options.

That was precisely why he was at a loss for how to handle someone thrusting their gratitude so openly at him. Objectively speaking, however, he knew the situation looked terrible. A man making a widow cry on her doorstep in the middle of the night was practically an invitation for a police report.

For now, he had to calm her down and get her to take him inside.

"How long do you intend to stand there like that? I told you, I have questions."

"M-my apologies. I know I must look a fright, but please, come inside."

She led him into a modest, single-story wooden house. A lamp was lit, its glow illuminating an interior that was certainly humble compared to the luxury Harold usually lived in. Yet, the compact, tidy living space felt comfortable; Harold, who still hadn't shed his commoner sensibilities after all these years, found nothing about it unpleasant.

More importantly, the immediate issue was the girl peeking at him from the shadows—Colette, whose striking blonde hair was a perfect match for her mother’s.

"Colette, Lord Harold has arrived. Come greet him."

"I-it has been a long time, Lord Harold..."

Colette bowed her head timidly. It was their first reunion in five years, and as expected, she had grown into a strikingly beautiful girl. She looked exactly as she did in the game Harold remembered.

The last time they had met was at the Delphit fighting tournament. Because he had wanted her to grow stronger, he had lashed out at her with harsh words; it seemed those words still lingered, as she appeared quite frightened.

"Colette, was it? You sit down, too."

Without leaving room for protest, he saw to it that she took a seat. The Amarelle mother and daughter sat at the small table, with Harold facing them. He took a sip of the tea Clara served—accompanied by a nervous "I'm not sure if it will be to your taste"—and began to address the matter at hand.

"I heard a thief broke into the house next door last night. Is that true?"

"Yes."

"How many were there?"

"I heard there were two of them."

"Did anyone see what they looked like?"

"The Griffiths, the owners of the house, and their son, Rainer-kun. As far as I know, those are the only three. The rumor is they wore black robes to hide their faces."

"The house next door seemed empty just now."

"The couple was attacked and is currently in the clinic. Rainer-kun left the village after noon today to pursue the culprits..."

Harold cross-referenced his own information with the facts Clara knew. There were no major discrepancies. Naturally, it seemed they had no leads on the culprits yet.

Relieved by that, Harold turned his gaze toward Colette, who had remained silent.

"This Rainer who went after them—he’s that red-head, isn't he?"

"Y-yes."

The description clearly landed. Colette nodded, still looking terrified.

He felt a twinge of guilt, but he deliberately spoke words meant to stoke her anxiety.

"If my intuition is correct, he's going to die."

Colette and Clara both gasped. To have it stated so bluntly was clearly a shock.

But this wasn't a mere threat. If Rainer acted alone and engaged Ventus and the others, his current strength made defeat almost certain. And in this world, defeat wasn't a "Continue?" screen; it was practically synonymous with death.

Even though he had ordered Ventus and Lilium not to kill, accidents were a constant in combat. Therefore, Harold wanted Colette to follow Rainer immediately—ideally, this very second.

To achieve that, Harold decided his best course of action was to light a fire under her.

"Based on the witness reports, the culprits are likely a group of thieves called 'Trinity' that has been terrorizing the Royal Capital lately. They’re a dangerous lot—every one of them is highly skilled in combat. Even when caught in the act, they’ve managed to cut their way out and escape."

This was, of course, a complete fabrication. No such group existed. It was just a plausible-sounding name and backstory Harold had improvised. Since the trio in the game didn't have a collective name, he’d had to invent one.

Colette and Clara, however, had no way of knowing that. Their faces turned pale. The lie was so effective that they didn't even stop to wonder why Harold was chasing such dangerous criminals. He hoped they’d keep overlooking that detail.

"No..."

The grief of potentially losing Rainer and the regret of not stopping him by force were palpable in Colette’s voice.

Harold ignored the pang in his chest and turned back to Clara.

"So, which way did they go?"

"Toward the neighboring town... to the west."

"Hmph. Then it would be more prudent to return to the Royal Capital and gather a proper force."

"A-aren't you going after them?"

Exactly as planned, Colette bit.

From her perspective, she wanted him to charge off and save Rainer. He understood that, but if he did, Colette would never leave the village to follow Rainer. Conversely, if he took her with him, the timing for her to officially join Rainer’s party would become incredibly complicated.

Worse, he might accidentally reveal that he was the mastermind behind the whole thing.

"Not immediately. Capturing Trinity requires preparation."

"But Rainer will—!"

"You want me to risk my life for that brat? Is that what you're saying?"

He deliberately chose cruel words to shut down the option of her relying on him.

"T-that’s not..."

"Oh? Then what do you mean?"

"..."

Colette bit her lip and looked down, unable to find a retort.

Harold pressed on, lecturing her.

"Those men will kill for a prize. Their strength is the real deal. Are you telling me to hunt them down just for your personal convenience?"

"But... because, Lord Harold, you’re strong..."

"Yes, I could certainly win."

"Then—!"

"I told you, there are multiple opponents. There is no point in catching one if the others escape. That means I need more men to corner them. Can you guarantee their lives? If you're willing to take full responsibility for what happens to them, I’ll leave this instant."

Being right wasn't always the same as being "correct." He felt like he'd heard that somewhere before, and this was the perfect example. Even if he was a hundred percent right logically, was crushing a young girl’s hope really the right choice?

Then again, he was being so unreasonable that "logical" was a stretch. Even while berating himself internally, Harold didn't let his mask slip.

"Don't be soft, Colette. 'Relying' on someone is not the same as 'depending' on them."

"Huh...?"

"『I thought you had learned firsthand how powerless it is to be weak. But if you still choose the path of living as a weakling, do as you please.』"

He repeated the words he had spat at her five years ago.

Relying on others was fine. Families, friends, and comrades were built on mutual support.

But Colette was being coddled, and she was leaning on that. Doing nothing herself and simply expecting others to solve her problems was fundamentally wrong. As Kazuki Hirasawa, a man who had spent eight years carrying a secret he couldn't share and a constant fear of death—yet still kept fighting—he wanted to tell her to try harder.

Of course, he knew that was a horribly selfish thing to demand.

"I don't know if you even remember that, but is this the result of your survival? How pathetic."

"っ!"

Her chair clattered as she stood. Breaking away from Clara’s attempt to stop her, Colette fled the house, unable to bear Harold’s verbal assault any longer. Was that a glint of tears he saw reflecting in the darkness?

Silence fell between Harold and Clara.

(...I might have gone too far.)

He had a reputation for his mouth running away with him. When even he, the one supposed to be keeping himself in check, got heated, this was the result.

While breaking out in a cold sweat internally, he finished the now-cooling tea. In any case, he was out of time.

Even with the horse he’d arranged through El, if he didn't leave Brosche Village soon, he wouldn't reach the neighboring town before daybreak. If that happened, Rainer would charge into Fog Valley entirely alone. Harold needed to leave now to act as a secret safety net.

"Clara."

"...Yes."

"If Colette says she’s going after Rainer, do not stop her."

"...Why? If things are as dangerous as you say, Lord Harold, as her mother, I have no choice but to stop her."

A perfectly valid point.

But he had to get her to agree. If this didn't work, he’d have to get El to stir things up, but Clara would still be the final hurdle.

He offered a justification that sounded like something "Harold" would say.

"Hmph. Like mother, like daughter. You haven't changed a bit, either."

"What do you mean...?"

"Your foolishness in being paralyzed by meaningless anxieties."

"Could it be... Lord Harold, do you intend to protect her from the shadows?"

He didn't mean to go that far, but he did intend to spare no effort in supporting her to ensure the story stayed on track. For Colette, that was likely her best chance at survival.

If Justus's plan succeeded, almost everyone would die. Colette, as a member of the protagonist's party working to stop that plan, would only find a path to life by walking through the valley of the shadow of death.

"I’m finished here. Consider my presence here a secret."

With that, Harold left the house.

Three hours remained until dawn.

---

The spring air had warmed, but the night breeze still had a bite to it—especially for someone who had run out of the house in thin clothes.

Yet Colette felt no desire to go back.

“‘Relying’ on someone is not the same as ‘depending’ on them.”

“I thought you had learned firsthand how powerless it is to be weak. But if you still choose the path of living as a weakling, do as you please.”

Harold's biting words echoed in her mind.

She was angry at the way he spoke. She was frustrated that she couldn't argue back. But most of all, she felt miserable that she had been so satisfied with her life that she’d ignored his warning and failed to grow. She regretted every day she had spent doing nothing.

Colette looked up at the stars and fought back tears, wondering how it had all gone so wrong.

Until yesterday, her life had been modest, but happy. She had her mother, her best friend, and not a single worry in the world.

That normalcy had shattered in an instant. All she had left was a mountain of regret and her own powerlessness. Was this what Harold had feared five years ago?

Powerless and aimless, Colette wandered. Every corner of the village was filled with memories of Rainer. She hadn't realized how precious those mundane moments were until they were gone.

"Oh, is that you, Colette?"

Suddenly, a voice drifted on the wind. She turned to see El, wearing the same easy smile he’d had all day.

Without realizing it, she had walked all the way to the West Gate. She couldn't even remember the route she’d taken.

"What are you doing out here so late? You're barely dressed for the cold."

She couldn't bring herself to say she’d been lashed for her own stupidity and had run away.

She dodged the question and asked one of her own.

"A lot happened. What about you, El? Why do you have a horse?"

"Oh, this? Some scary guy woke me up earlier. Said he’d ridden his horse to death and needed a new one immediately."

"A scary guy?"

"Yeah. Red eyes, about your age. His stare was so intense I ended up selling it to him on the spot."

Colette knew exactly who that "scary guy" was. It was Harold. Based on the timing, he must have rushed to the village at an incredible speed.

And now, he was heading for the Royal Capital...

"Wait..."

Colette noticed something strange. If El had sold a horse to Harold, why was El coming from the West Gate—the way to the neighboring town—instead of the East Gate, which led to the Capital?

"Is something wrong?"

She had to ask.

"El, which way did that man go?"

"West. He seemed to be in a real hurry to reach the next town. Must have been something urgent."

Why? The question swirled in her mind.

Harold had said he was going back to the Royal Capital. He had said chasing Trinity alone was dangerous and pointless.

So why was he heading west—the opposite direction—in the middle of the night, going so far as to rouse a merchant for a fresh horse?

(Is he... going to save Rainer?)

The hopeful thought bubbled up. But Harold had explicitly said he wouldn't. There was no reason to believe he would.

And yet, she couldn't dismiss it.

She remembered the story Clara had told her a dozen times—the truth of how Harold had saved them.

How he had lied to his parents to hide Clara in a dungeon while he prepared a plan.

How he had pestered his father for money for a sword, only to give that massive sum to them for free.

How, when a knight asked if he’d be able to buy a sword without the money, he’d snapped, "Are you an idiot? I'll just pick up some cheap piece of junk."

How he had accepted being branded a murderer, putting his own life on the line to ensure their survival remained a secret.

"...I really am an idiot."

She knew his kindness was never straightforward.

She knew his harshness was just the mask he wore for his compassion.

She knew, deep in her soul, that he was an incredibly kind person.

She knew that when he lied, it was always to save someone else at the cost of his own heart.

He’d said he wouldn't chase Rainer. Then why was he galloping west right now?

Even his reputation... maybe he’d taken that on himself, too. He was the kind of person who would stain his own name if it meant saving another.

She remembered the rest of his words from five years ago.

“I thought you had learned firsthand how powerless it is to be weak. But if you still choose the path of living as a weakling, do as you please.”

There had been more. He had followed it with, "It's none of my concern." She remembered every syllable.

Now, she realized that was the biggest lie of all.

(It was never 'none of his concern.' Lord Harold has been watching over us this whole time...)

He had never visited, but Colette knew that the knight who had brought them here sometimes watched them from a distance. Not once or twice, but regularly.

He must have been reporting back to Harold.

Perhaps Harold had seen how stagnant they had become and felt a sense of crisis. That was why he had been so cruel when they finally met again.

She hadn't seen it. Worse, she had felt a flash of anger toward him for "abandoning" Rainer.

Regret, shame, and a sense of her own pathetic behavior crashed over her.

Harold was doing so much, and what was she doing? Crouching in the dark and feeling sorry for herself helped no one.

It wouldn't save Rainer, and it wouldn't answer Harold's faith in her.

"—I have to go."

She turned back to the village to gather her gear.

El called out to her.

"Going after the scary guy?"

"Yes."

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but catching a galloping horse on foot is a bit of a stretch."

It was a cold, hard, realistic truth.

But it didn't matter. It was no longer a reason to stop. She felt that if she gave up here, something—something important—would truly end.

"I’m going anyway."

"I see. Well, just as a little monologue to myself... that scary guy was in such a hurry he paid way too much. Enough for two horses, actually. Now I’ve got this extra horse I brought out for him to choose from, and it’s just going to go to waste."

"Eh?"

"But if I take this extra money home, my boss might think I swindled a customer. I guess I’ll just tie the spare horse up here and leave it. It’d be a shame if someone just happened to take it, but what can I do? I’ve already got the money for two horses in my pocket, fair and square."

"Yes, yes. Such a shame. A real tragedy."

Repeating his deadpan monologue, El disappeared toward his inn. Left behind was Colette in her nightgown and a swift horse tied to the gatepost.

Colette bowed deeply to El’s retreating figure.

"Thank you, El."

"I have no idea what you're talking about, but I’ll take the thanks anyway!"

His shrug was so exaggerated it made her let out a small laugh. The horse snorted as if it, too, understood the game they were playing.

There were less than two hours left until dawn.