Three on the boat (the cat doesn’t come, of course)
Three young men in light clothes were on the boat. It was a picnic at the tributary of the Tempus river, with willows hanging down to the water’s surface and irises by the water. The current was slow, and the shade of trees covered the riverbanks, providing a respite against the heat of the day.
Amid the silence, Kleio threw a fastball.
“Fran, let’s go to the Brunnen fair.”
Upon hearing the sudden offer, Fran’s stopped mid-bite. He tried to say something, then stopped and decided to finish his bite first.
‘Well, it looks pretty good. This is a good approach.’
Fran swallowed the last piece of cream and lemon curd cake, then turned to Kleio with a bleak look on his face.
“Why should I do that? The fair is just an illusion of capitalism. I’m not interested.”
“No, the fair is just an excuse to enter Brunnen. The real destination is Izens Castle. I need your guidance.”
Instead of Kleio sitting before him, Fran glared at Arthur, who was manning the oars behind Kleio. Unlike Kleio, who wore a linen jacket, a boat hat, and a striped tie, Arthur wore a rolled-up shirt, overalls, and clunky suspenders. The pair looked like a master and a servant, which is the way it always was when the two of them were outside the school. Arthur had a straight posture and a good physique; he had to be careful about his clothing not to attract attention. In any case, it only seemed to be annoying Fran.
“Are you going with him? After imitating a servant, then trying to imitate a porter?”
“If you allow. Well, and actually, you’ll have a load that needs carrying.”
“Is this something to be joking about? Riognan, do you know why we should go to Izens castle?’
Arthur’s reply came quickly.
“No, so I’m curious. Lei said he was sad because his mouth was closed.”
“Ha!”
“Besides, I’m not kidding; I’ll really lift the luggage.”
With Fran and Arthur on either side of him, Kleio rolled his eyes. Izens Castle was a town on the outskirts of the mainland of Juleika’s father’s territory, and it faced the Pintos mountains. Fran himself had been investigating the fact that Hydra’s poison was being manufactured right there, and he hadn’t told Arthur anything about it.
‘There is an order to the work.’
Fran’s tone sharpened.
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“Kleio, did you just ask us to come with you on this boat to tell us that?”
Arthur coughed a bit, then shook his oar hard again, causing the speed of the boat to increase. Fran’s expression stiffened under the shade of his parasol. Kleio replied a beat late, holding his hat down from the wind.
“My lab would’ve also worked, but because the weather is so nice, I thought cooling our heads in the river would help.”
“You don’t sound like a merchant’s son when you say such things.”
“Of course, as you may have guessed, there was also the purpose of keeping this conversation secret. The school isn’t entirely safe.”
“Did you think we can’t refuse your offer if we were on a boat with no way out?”
“Well, my reasoning is shallow, so it’s embarrassing to have you look into it all.”
Kleio’s attitude was more gentle than usual, so Arthur had to swallow his laugh. His lab had been well-equipped with magic so that no one could sneak in or overhear them. Zebedee had unconditionally supported Kleio in setting it up for him.
In fact, for Arthur, the school wasn’t a completely safe place. Still, oftentimes, first-time attendants lingered in front of Arthur’s room. In recent years, invitations and letters sent to him have been increasing rapidly. Compared to when he had just enrolled, it was a pretty good situation. There were no assassins sneaking through the barrier and no watchdogs in a position of power around him. Kleio had been aware of the school’s invisible eyes, so, to make sure, today he had rented the boat.
The opening of the Royal Park Botanical Garden created a station by the river, but other than that, it was a suburban area with no special features or shops.
Now that it was the holiday season, there were few people around the riverside. Arthur paddled alone to move the three-person boat, showing no signs of difficulty. He was strong enough to row without even needing his ether. Perhaps it was Kleio and Fran who were poor-off, as even if they worked together, it would only be about the effort of one person.
The boat went deeper and deeper into the forest, passing under an old mossy stone bridge arch to reach a small island where birds soared through the leaves. Fran gave his answer only after a long moment of deliberation.
“If it’s for infiltrating the castle, yes. I will help because that’s something I left unfinished.”
Kleio snatched at the answer he had been waiting for.
“Thank you, Fran.”
Soon, Fran’s explanation began. The gray-haired young man briefly summarized the investigation into Hydra’s poison, Juleika, and Izens Castle. Arthur listened to Fran quietly. Once Fran was done speaking, he began to clap.
“You investigated it by yourself? I really respect you.”
“Stop that. So, Riognan, what do you think of infiltrating Duke Mainrat’s summer villa?”
“Even if I don’t know, you do. Whatever it is, didn’t you call me because you need me? I am a level 6 swordsman; I would be useful anywhere.”
“I thought you were busy playing politics dressing like that, but you’re also very diligent.”
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After being hit by an unexpected hook, Arthur scratched the back of his head calmly.
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“No, it’s an honor that someone like you pay attention to news about me… it’s embarrassing.”
“Alright. I can’t help but think that it was nonsense.”
“That…did it bother you?”
“It was because I realized that organizing a mass movement with my whole heart for many years wouldn’t bring out the support and interest a single royal speech would.”
As Kleio guessed, Fran felt more fatigue than anger. The crowd was the one to kill the king and then reinstated them again.
“…I wonder why the fantasy of the royal blood still doesn’t lose power. Is the eclipse the problem again?”
Arthur didn’t make a mistake to try and appeal to Fran. Instead, he spoke with words of support and gratitude.
“A person must have something to trust and rely on. Only those who are really strong-willed can live without faith.”
“Riognan, I don’t think those words fit you. What the hell are you thinking about? What are the benefits to intervening in this?”
“What do you think? I’m trying to keep the faith I swore to you.”
Promise fluttered with energy on Kleio’s finger. It was the Memory function that had naturally awakened in the past. In the fall two years ago, when pursuing the opera house incident, Arthur had spoken to Fran with faith. He wanted to disclose the unexplained truth and reveal it to those who had died unfairly.
As Promise continued to heat up, Kleio leaned out of the boat and plunged his hand into the river.
The cold water felt good. As if the curse had been released after the Amphitheater dungeon, he found that he wasn’t as afraid of water compared to before. As his fingertips swept through the water, Kleio looked over at the two. Arthur was a man who would never forget his will, and Fran had a good memory.
Fran’s expression softened ever-so-slightly.
‘It seems to be resolved well.’
Fran didn’t entirely tolerate Arthur, but it was fortunate that he didn’t completely push him away. At this point, the duo turned to Kleio.
“Then, Kleio, you have a plan, right?.”
Kleio explained to Arthur and Fran the plans he had been making step by step. Once he finished speaking, Fran’s eyes were wide open.
“Three people aren’t enough to execute your plan. Who else are you trying to bring in? Kision again?”
“You’re sharp. If it’s okay, I’d like to bring Celeste in addition to Isiel. The Angellium twins also have something to help with on this side of the border.”
“I guess everyone is still there. They must’ve already decided to join when this guy intervened.”
“Thank you, Fran. In more detail, Isiel will come to Brunnen with us. If we’re successful, Cel will be responsible for transporting the contents to Albion.”
“I like the idea of dividing the data transfer and transportation. However, the research data won’t be a small amount. Will Tanpet de Neju be able to move it secretly across the border by herself?”
“How about asking Cel directly? I can call her now.”
Fran seemed shocked.
“Kleio…you have something ready?”
Kleio pulled out a hemispherical mana stone crystal from the inner pocket of his jacket.
“This. It’s an improved signal magic tool based on something I saw recently.”
After the Kision incident, Kleio had learned how important communication was. Kleio had only been able to counter-attack Melchior thanks to Behemoth delivering messages.
‘But I can’t trust cat communication forever.’
Ezra, who had been going crazy because he couldn’t go anywhere due to his probation, had created a new version of his hug hemisphere. The new version had a much wider signal than before. Fran, who brought up his glasses of discrimination, carefully looked it over.
“Is it some long-distance signal?”
“Yes, the signal distance is pretty wide. Then, I’ll send a signal. Cel said she had something to do on the plains downstream, so she should be there in an hour or two.”
Click.
When Kleio twisted the top of the magic tool, the tiplaum inside began to sparkle at regular intervals.
“Is this sending the coordinates?”
“Yes. I sent a sign using this tiplaum filament….”
While the two wizards discussed how the device worked and how accurate it was, Arthur opened the entrance of the sack he had placed at the bottom of the boat.
“Hey, talking about complicated stuff is good, but why don’t we drink until Cel arrives?”