/
No bad Intentions, but still (2)
「Raise your faces, you two. What Klimt said wasn’t wrong, so let’s leave it at that」
Claira raised her head to Gozu’s words in relief.
「Thank you, Shiba.  Ah, and if possible, I would be thankful if you could tell me about Mr.Sora after you find out about him」
「

Ohh?」
Gozu said in a surprised voice.
From what Gozu knows, these two didn’t particularly have a close relationship with Sora. It was a surprise to see Claira caring about Sora’s whereabouts.
It wasn’t just Gozu, Klimt seems to have felt the same way as well with his eyes wide open like he was shocked.
「Why do you care about that Sora guy, big sis? Also, you don’t need to use honorifics on that guy who got disowned」
「It’s a fact that he was disowned. But, it’s also true that we studied alongside him, right? Also, he has never made fun of our eyes or hair, or the fact that we were adopted into the Berch Family」
White hair and red eyes――As so-called albinos, the two were often surrounded by eyes of curiosity since they were kids. And since they were in the upstart Berch family, and even adopted on top of that, being teased and bullied were normal everyday things.
However, Sora treated them equally even though he was the heir of the Mitsurugi family.
Her memory is hazy now, but she feels like there were times when Sora had chased away the bad kids who were persistent in making fun of them. She was still five or six at the time, Claira recalls fondly.
She felt scared and reserved towards the Mitsurugi family at the time, and she was spending all her time studying and training in order to be acknowledged by the Berch family too, so she didn’t really talk to him even though they were around each other. Their relationship didn’t change even after they became classmates for a long time, but Claira still did not forget her gratitude toward him.
That gratitude was not directed at the Mitsurugi family’s heir but at Sora himself. Therefore, even after he was disowned, those feelings did not change.
「There’s no way you don’t remember, right?」
「

Hmph, I have no idea what you’re talking about」
Looking at her brother who looked away on purpose, Claira smiled and continued to speak,
「The reason I want to know what Sora is up to is that I thought maybe that’s something Ayaka would want to know」
「Azurite would?」
Klimt was confused by the name that came out of his sister’s mouth.
Ayaka Azurite. She was a person who entered training at the same time as his sister and Sora. As a side note, she was an opponent Klimt had never won against in a sparring match.
Why did his sister bring her up here?  Klimt did not understand.
Of course, he knows that Ayaka was engaged to Sora. However, after Sora got exiled, Ayaka got engaged to Mitsurugi Raguna who became the new heir and she should have cut all ties with Sora.
Klimt was in a different unit so he doesn’t know the details, but at the very least, he has never heard about Raguna and Ayaka not getting along.
「Aren’t you doing something uncalled for? This could lead to that Raguna guy coming after you」
「Mr.Raguna isn’t a petty person like that. But yeah, I might end up doing something uncalled for

」
Claira sounded as if she was unsure in her response.
In fact, she had been thinking about it the whole time.
Amongst those who were referred to as the golden generation, three of them were female. Since these three people had a good relationship with each other, they stayed in touch even after they split up into different units of the Eight Flags of Green Woods.
Because of that, Claira knows more about Ayaka and Raguna than her brother does.
From what she knows, things were going well between those two. Ayaka has never said any bad things about Raguna, nor has she said anything about having lingering feelings toward Sora. Rather, Claira has never even heard the name Sora come out of Ayaka’s mouth in the last five years.
――But that’s exactly why she felt that something wasn’t right.
In Claira’s eyes, her friend Ayaka Azurite is an energetic, good-natured, genuine person who is well-liked by everyone, from her superiors to inferiors and even her peers.
Would a person like her not care a single bit about her fiance being exiled?
In her memories, it was Ayaka who proactively stuck by Sora when he was still on the island. She was doing that because she was pissed off by the people who said that they weren’t a good match for each other. In other words, Ayaka liked Sora enough to get angry at the people who talked badly of him, and she definitely looked like she was happy when those two were with each other.
To Claira who was envious of the relationship they had, Ayaka’s attitude after Sora was exiled was very unnatural in her eyes.
There was nothing she could do all this time even if it bothered her. Judging by the current family head’s personality, he would never take Sora back into the family. She also had no way to contact Sora who left the island, and nobody knew if he was still alive in the first place.
That’s why Claira did not talk to Ayaka about Sora even though she gets along with her.
But now, she has unexpectedly caught news of Sora’s whereabouts. It’s only natural that she would wonder if she should let Ayaka know. If there’s a possibility that Sora can get reaccepted into the family, that would be even better.


It’s just that
on the other hand, like what her little brother said, what she’s doing could be something uncalled for.
It’s a situation where she doesn’t even know what the best course of action is.
As she unconsciously stroked her long white hair with her fingers, Claira slowly formed her next sentence as if she had carefully chosen every letter that was going to come out of her mouth.
「

Whether or not I tell Ayaka, there’s nothing wrong with me knowing what’s going on with Sora, right, Klimt? And Shiba, since Sora has a wyvern as his transportation, he might head to other countries in the near future to avoid the stampede. The sooner you go see him the better」
◆◆◆
After a discussion like that ended, the trio was inside a carriage that headed for Ishka the following day.
It was the result of Lidelle proposing that all three of them should just go together after she heard that Gozu was going to Ishka by himself.
When Claira brought up the concern about a hole opening in the defense line, Lidelle explained that there was no need to worry because of the following reasons.
――She talked about how Ishka’s governing office and the adventurers’ guild had planned to let the people who had fought the stampede tirelessly until now take breaks in turns in the first place.
――how in a situation where they are living in tents and monsters can attack at any moment, no one would be able to get any good rest even when lying down. Also, once fatigue builds up, no matter how experienced the fighter is, they will end up making blunders. It’s a measure to prevent something like that.
――how normally, it would be considered suicidal to pull people out in the midst of a stampede, but in the current situation where they have built up a rock-solid defensive posture, they can afford to do just that.
――and about how Ishka’s upper management also wants the troops who have trained to protect the city but had yet to experience real battle to get some real battle experience in the current situation where they can afford to do so.
After hearing those reasons, Claira consented.
Gozu had muttered out “It would have been nice if you just told us this yesterday” as a joke.
Even Klimt did not have any reason to refuse when he was told that he can just take a break since he has been constantly complaining about having weak monsters as his opponents.
And so, the three of them ended up paying Ishka a visit together.
As they went past Ishka’s gates, Gozu pointed at a corner outside of the city and asked,
「That building there is a stable, right? But it’s pretty big for one though」
「Ah, that’s a stable for familiars. Because of the stampede right now, the familiars have been relocated to somewhere else. Sora’s indigo wyvern lived there until recently too」
Parfait replied in an easy-going tone.
Since interest was showing in Gozu’s eyes, she continued to talk,
「With the government’s permission, he seems to be using the yard of his home as a stable now. The dragon is popular with the citizens too, so I heard that people wouldn’t stop showing up nearby to look at it」
「In the middle of a stampede? The people of Ishka sure are tough」
「That’s just how much they trust the adventurers and the guild」
Parfait boasted with a bashful smile then clapped her hands as if she realized something.
「Oh yeah. Shall we pay a visit to Sora’s home before we head to the guild? Right now he’s out to scout the south, but he will go home once in a while and report to the government office. Perhaps we might run into him there?」
「That would be most welcomed, but
he’s scouting the south at times like this? Not just the north, but there’s a monster breakout in the south too?」
「Our master will be the one to tell you about that. I apologize, but I can’t speak about it」
Sora was going around dealing with a new poison that appeared in the river basin of the Kale river.
Ishka’s governing office had yet to publicize this newly incurable poison to the people.
Since the incurable part wasn’t confirmed yet, and there is a stampede going on, further chaos might turn the situation into an irreparable state. Ishka’s upper management had feared for that.
Gozu looked shocked after hearing Parfait’s words, but if it’s something that the guild master will tell him about, then there is no need for him to push the receptionist here. He nodded to the visibly agitated Klimt to control him a bit.
「If that’s the case, then I will directly ask the guild master about it. His name was Sir Elgart, right? Anyway, I want to head to Mr.Sora’s residence first. We’ll check if he’s home right away and see if we can run into him there. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to focus on talking to Sir Elgart」
「Yes, understood――And there you have it senpai, please!」
With the reins in her hands, Lidelle nodded and answered with a “roger that” in response to Parfait’s words.
She had no reason to refuse to bring the trio to Sora’s residence first before bringing them to Elgart anyway, but looking at Gozu and the others’ attitudes, it was clear that they care more about Sora than the guild.
Even if Lidelle insisted that they go to the guild first, it would probably just give the three an unfavorable impression. It was wiser to follow her junior’s idea here.
――But later, Lidelle had a thought.
If she had prioritized going to the guild at that time, the outcome might have been different.
And not just that,
If she hadn’t suggested to those three that they should all go together when she heard that Gozu was going to go to Ishka by himself

If she didn’t mind something like ethics and just told them everything she knew when Gozu and the others asked about Sora――If she had just told them about the members of 『Blood Spraying Sword』――
If she had only spent a bit more effort on figuring out those three

The endless regret is something she won’t feel until later. At the current time, Lidelle could not hear the warning of her future self and drove the carriage to Sora’s residence.
When Sora’s home finally came into view, Parfait made a sound of disappointment. It was probably because she didn’t see the wyvern there.
「Oh my, it looks like Sora hasn’t come back yet」
「So it seems. But it looks like there are people here」
What made Lidelle say that was because she noticed Ciel who was cleaning the front of the mansion.
And a few moments later, an elf with vibrant golden-colored hair came out of the gate.
After Gozu saw their appearances, he opened his mouth in deep curiosity.
「Hm, that’s a wildcat beastkin, and
the robe that elf is wearing is a sage’s robe. They are Sora’s servants?」
「

Yes. I think you can say that」
「They are quite a unique bunch. Don’t you think so, Klimt?」
「Hm, there’s no way they are mere servants. Nothing but young women. It’s obvious that he collected them for various purposes」
The one who was exiled from his homeland five years ago in a pitiful manner is powerful enough now to have women serving him.
Hah, Klimt scoffed.
「He has worked his way up pretty high, hasn’t he? That Sora bastard. Big sis, let Azurite know this. Even if she still has lingering feelings for him, she will probably stop after hearing that」
「Klimt, don’t make blind assumptions」
「Alright, then let’s ask them directly about him. Oi, hurry and――」
Klimt, who was in the middle of ordering Lidelle to do something, had suddenly shut up.
When Lidelle took a look at him in wonder, Klimt had opened his red-colored eyes wide.
It wasn’t just him. Gozu and Claira too.
Seeing the strange behavior of those three, she felt a chill run down her spine for some reason. As a bad premonition hit her, she followed the trio’s line of sight. What she saw was the beastkin, Ciel, and the elf, Lunamaria.
And then there was one more.
It was the figure of the young kijin girl who just came out of the gate, Suzume.