Aftermath
It was late the following night when Rudell opened his eyes again.
The first thing he saw was Leje, sitting in a corner of his room, looking at him.
"..."
"..."
An awkward silence hung between them.
It was only natural, considering what had just happened.
It was inevitable that both of them felt uncomfortable with this silence.
"Leje..."
"Rudell..."
They both spoke at the same time, glancing at each other, but then averted their gazes and fell silent again.
To an outsider, it might have seemed like a strange charade, but to them, it was quite a significant moment.
"You go first."
"No, you go first."
It didn't really matter who spoke first.
Because they both wanted to apologize to each other.
"Pfft..."
"Heh..."
After their meaningless back-and-forth, they both laughed, looking at each other.
No matter how disappointed they had been, they were inseparable.
"Okay, I'll go first."
"Alright."
"I'm sorry. For trying to handle everything on my own without asking for your help."
"Okay. I accept your apology."
Leje, who had been watching him with her arms crossed, nodded in satisfaction.
Then, it was Leje's turn to speak to Rudell.
"I'm sorry too. I got caught up in the moment and didn't even try to listen to you."
"It's okay. It would have been the same if the situation were reversed."
If Leje had tried to shoulder everything alone without asking for his help, he would have been angry.
Rudell was sure of it.
"By the way... how long was I out?"
The last thing he remembered was the shattered remains of Experimental Subject 121 emitting a bright flash as the mana amplified.
And then, the intense shock that had struck his body.
"A day. It was absolute chaos."
"What was it like...?"
"I don't want to talk about it. Just thinking about it still gives me goosebumps."
"..."
What kind of state had it been in for Leje to react that way?
With that question in mind, Rudell looked at her.
"Hey, Rudell."
"Hmm? What?"
Just then, Leje hesitated, and Rudell tilted his head.
She seemed to have something she wanted to say but couldn't bring herself to say it, her expression uncomfortable.
"Um... well, you know... thank you."
"Huh? For what all of a sudden?"
"At the coming-of-age ceremony. For saving me."
"Ah..."
Rudell let out a low groan at her words.
"If it weren't for you back then, I probably... wouldn't be here, or I'd be very different from how I am now."
"Don't worry about it. It wouldn't have been any different if it were you."
Rudell said with a faint smile at her words.
"I've always wanted to find you and thank you. But I never imagined that the person I was looking for would be right next to me."
"Don't mention it."
He hadn't done it expecting gratitude, but it felt good to be thanked.
"By the way... I'm getting hungry... Ouch!?"
Perhaps it was because he had been unconscious for a whole day without doing anything.
Rudell, feeling hungry, tried to get up, but he stumbled and lost his balance.
"Don't get up so suddenly! You were hurt much more seriously than you think... KYAA!?"
"Whoa!?"
Seeing this, Leje hurriedly tried to support him, but because it happened so suddenly, she tripped...
And they both fell to the floor.
"Ow, ow, ow..."
"A-Are you okay?"
"Uh, yeah... I'm okay..."
Leje suddenly stopped talking.
"..."
Rudell, too, was speechless at the situation before him.
They were facing each other, only a few inches apart.
Because they were usually so casual with each other, they hadn't properly realized it, but they were literally each other's perfect type.
"U-Um, Rudell...? It's a little e-embarrassing when you stare at me like that..."
"Ah, s-s-sorry!!"
Rudell's voice was filled with panic as he sat up, avoiding her gaze.
As Rudell moved away, Leje also got up...
"..."
"Ahem..."
A strange, indescribable atmosphere hung between them.
It was a delicate situation where they felt they should say something, but it was difficult to be the first to speak.
"I-I'll go get us something to eat!"
It was Leje who broke the silence and left first.
"Take your time!"
Rudell shouted as he watched her open the door and go outside.
With a click, the door closed...
"Phew..."
Watching this, Rudell stood up and walked to the window.
Looking down at the sprawling cityscape of Friselium, he muttered to himself,
"That was close..."
Only he knew what that meant.
* * *
The next day.
"So... Young Master Weinstein is the Thorn Carpenter?"
"Yes, that's right."
"Yes, that is correct."
Leje and Rudell nodded almost simultaneously in response to Cayley's question.
Cayley, watching them, let out a short sigh of disbelief.
"Just how many more surprises do you two have in store for me?"
"S-Sorry."
"Well, it's not something to apologize for, but..."
As Cayley responded to Rudell, she rubbed her forehead with a low groan, as if her head was hurting.
Come to think of it, it wasn't that strange.
Who could easily believe that a somewhat capable young master from an ordinary noble family was actually a notorious murderer, and secretly hunting down a cult of an evil god?
Even if Rudell were in Cayley's position, he wouldn't have easily believed it.
"Sigh... How am I supposed to report this...?"
Cayley muttered as if she had a headache. And just then…
-Knock. Knock.
Someone knocked on the door, and familiar figures entered.
"[Oh, hello there…!!]"
"Good to see you."
It was none other than Kurt and Silfier.
Since Rudell's identity as the Thorn Carpenter and the Cult of the Devouring Death were already known, there was no reason to hide it from them any longer.
"So, these children are collaborators too?"
"Yes, they are."
At Rudell's words, Cayley silently looked at Kurt and Silfier.
Her golden eyes carefully examined them, as if assessing them...
"You two. You've heard the whole story, right?"
"[Y-Yes…!!]"
"We have."
They both nodded at her question.
"Are you sure you're okay with this? It could be dangerous."
"We knew what we were getting into from the start."
"[I-I'm okay too… I-I owe Young Master Weinstein a debt of gratitude…]"
Cayley narrowed her eyes at that answer.
And after a moment…
"Alright, I'll consider you collaborators for now. Welcome aboard."
"[W-We'll do our best.]"
"..."
Kurt and Silfier bowed, expressing their agreement...
"So? What do we do now?"
"Just wait for now. Something will come up as soon as the investigation is over."
The incident in the slums was reported as a conflict between criminal organizations.
It was quite common for organizations to fight in the slums, so most people could accept that explanation.
Of course, beneath the surface, an investigation involving the Kingdom's investigators was underway.
If anything was discovered, it would be immediately reported to Cayley.
"By the way, Miss Pelleneas?"
"[Y-Yes!!]"
Silfier responded with an unusually energetic voice at Cayley's call.
"I heard that Young Master Weinstein also gave you a blood sample of the False Thorn Carpenter. Are the results out yet?"
"[Y-Yes!! T-The investigation is complete!!]"
"Oh…? Then can I hear the results?"
It had only been about two days since Rudell had given her the sample.
However, the Kingdom's researchers hadn't yet produced any significant results.
Perhaps that was why Cayley's eyes were sparkling as she looked at Silfier.
"[W-Well… this creature, the False Thorn Carpenter, its genes are imbued with a l-large amount of mana… and by manipulating it with magic theory, and combining it with divine power, and various other techniques… uh…]"
Perhaps because she wasn't used to being the center of attention, Silfier stuttered more than usual as she struggled to explain.
Of course, even if she hadn't, it was safe to say that no one present could understand her explanation.
"[S-So… in that way… this is… th-th-this…]"
"Wait a minute, Miss Pelleneas."
"[Y-Yes…!!]"
Unable to listen any longer, Cayley raised her hand to interrupt her, and Silfier looked at her with a flustered expression.
"Could you explain it a little more simply? You know... without the technical terms, so that ordinary people can understand..."
"[Th-Then…]"
At Cayley's request, Silfier pondered with a troubled expression, and soon, with a short sigh, she opened her mouth.
"[T-To put it simply… this False Thorn Carpenter creature is a c-combination of human and magical beast… in other words, a C-Chimera…]"
"..."
"..."
"..."
And at her words, everyone present was left speechless, staring at her.
"[Uh… d-did I do something wrong…!?]"
At the same time, Silfier asked, looking at everyone who had frozen with a bewildered expression.
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