[323] The Second Outing (1)
When Shirone arrived at the Carmis estate, he smoothed his clothes and walked toward the main gate arch.
Through the white iron bars, the Carmis family's characteristically free garden stretched out.
The guards, scanning the grounds with sharp eyes, were the same as before.
As expected, when Shirone approached one of them immediately moved his right hand toward the hilt in the scabbard at his waist.
"Stop. What business do you have here?"
The only difference from half a year ago was that they were using polite speech.
Guards at a noble household rotated every four hours and changed stations monthly, so none of the men from that day should still be on duty.
Still, they couldn't be rough with Shirone because they sensed an unusual, unsettling presence about him—something not like an ordinary criminal.
A year at the Magic Academy had taken some of the country-boy look off Shirone.
Above all, the sharpened mental discipline he'd honed through real combat and training now radiated an aura even magic-ignorant guards could feel.
"I'm a friend of Amy's. Is Amy inside?"
The guards exchanged puzzled looks and signaled one another with their eyes.
Shirone had once entered Amy's room—then a male-forbidden area—half a year earlier.
But no one had since been allowed in as a supposed boyfriend, so guards who didn't know about that incident naturally couldn't believe him.
"There are no scheduled guests today. If you have business, please follow the proper procedures."
Exactly the answer he'd expected.
Shirone clicked his tongue and turned away.
He'd come hoping luck would let him go straight in, but things had gone sideways; he would have to write a letter and send it to the house.
"It's fine. Let him in."
A pleased voice came from inside the gate.
Shirone turned to see Adel, the Carmis family's head steward, smiling faintly.
The guards straightened to attention.
For those who lived in the house, Adel's kindly face could feel like the messenger of hell.
Supporting himself on his cane, Adel crossed the gate, stopped in front of Shirone, and looked up at him closely.
Memories from half a year ago made Shirone brace himself.
The first time he'd experienced the eye technique called 'pressing.'
As the household steward, Adel would hardly have held back, so Shirone tightened his mind.
But Adel cast no technique. He merely bowed deeply in the formal manner and greeted him courteously.
"Welcome, Young Master Shirone."
Relief washed over Shirone and he blinked blankly before hurriedly composing himself and bowing in return.
"Yes, how have you been?"
"Hah, an old man's routine never changes. You came to see Miss Amy, I take it?"
"Yes. I'm sorry for dropping by without notice. Is she home?"
Adel scratched his eyebrow, looking awkward.
"You must already know the circumstances. Because of that, Miss Amy has been somewhat unwell recently. The day before yesterday Miss Seriel came to see her and left without meeting her."
"I see."
Seriel was Amy's closest friend. If even she had been turned away, it meant Amy's state was serious.
Still, Shirone didn't give up.
"Please at least tell her I came. If she still says no, I'll leave."
Adel hesitated a moment, then nodded.
Since Amy had failed the graduation exam the house atmosphere had been terrible. But she wasn't the type to show irritation, so no one had stepped forward to comfort her; they only watched, unsure what to do.
Still, Shirone might make a difference.
After all, he was the only friend who could enter Amy's house as a man.
"Understood. Please wait a moment."
Adel instructed the guards to treat Shirone politely, then climbed into the carriage waiting in the garden.
'It's been about half a year. What on earth did he go through?'
When the carriage started, Adel's expression finally turned serious.
Giving the 'pressing'—locking eyes and intimidating men who approached Amy—was a small pleasure only the steward could indulge in.
But this time he didn't dare even attempt it.
Shirone's mind had been honed far sharper than before.
No—sharp didn't even capture it.
'A chill.'
The instant their eyes met, Adel felt every hair on his body stand on end.
Shirone's overall temperament seemed unchanged.
He was still bright, clever, and kind—the same boy Adel had seen half a year ago.
Yet there was a subtle edge in his gaze.
'Something else lives in him. A terrifying monster...'
Only the steward of a top family like the Carmises could perceive such a thing.
Adel couldn't say exactly what it was, but if it turned hostile it would leap out and devour him.
In that sliver of eye contact, Adel realized such a thing must absolutely never be allowed to surface.
It was a violent, extreme kind of presence.
'Should I let him in? Of course he wouldn't bring forth an uncontrollable inner thing just to visit a friend...'
Adel withheld judgment for the moment.
Shakora, the head of the family, surely knew whatever Adel sensed. And the person involved—Amy—knew better than anyone.
Thinking that far, a bitter smile crossed his face.
'...What an absurd boy.'
How long had it been since he'd felt his spine go cold like that?
Shirone had sealed that monster deep within himself.
'He's grown even stronger in half a year. Truly remarkable talent.'
The Carmis family prided itself on genius blood. Amy's talent, in particular, was unrivaled even among the household.
But Shirone's growth exceeded imagination.
If Amy was the fastest sprinter among humans, Shirone's stride was that of a giant from another plane.
'What drives him?'
As the carriage halted, Adel's thoughts stopped with it.
Carrying that unanswered question, he opened the house door.
Although some time had passed since the graduation exam, a solemn mood still hung over the place.
For Adel, who had loved the household's many shifting moods his whole life, it was hard to adapt.
"Lord Shakora."
Shakora, reading the paper, looked up.
"Shirone came to see Miss Amy. But Miss Amy told the steward's office she won't see anyone..."
"Hmm, Shirone?"
Shakora understood Amy's feelings.
How could a daughter so full of pride keep her face after flubbing the graduation exam?
Still, there was room to consider Shirone's intentions.
Seriel had been refused, but feelings between men and women were different.
Isis, who had been listening in the kitchen, came out and spoke.
"I'll ask Amy, at least."
Isis went up the stairs to Amy's room on the second floor.
Quiet conversation was heard for a moment, then Isis came back out, shook her head at the railing, and confirmed Amy's wishes.
Adel, having received Amy's message, bowed without further deliberation.
"In that case, send Shirone away."
"No—let him in."
At Shakora's words, Isis looked worried.
"But, dear, Amy is..."
"It's fine. You told him to come when you saw him at school, didn't you? Turning him away now would be discourteous. I want to see him. Let him in."
"All right."
Adel brightened at the thought that at least he wouldn't disappoint Shirone, and left the room.
Ten minutes later Shirone arrived.
Shakora sat on the sofa waiting, and Isis brought a tray of tropical fruit right on time.
Shirone approached Shakora and bowed.
"Hello, Father."
"Yes, good to see you. Sit here."
Shirone sat on the sofa and waited for the conversation to begin.
Having heard about the house's bad mood on his way in, he held back from bringing up Amy first.
Like Adel, Shakora had immediately noticed the subtle sharpening in Shirone's demeanor.
At the time of the exam, Shakora had been too worried about his daughter to study Shirone closely. But once Amy failed, as a father he became interested in Shirone's accomplishments.
'The kingdom's top prospect...'
That assessment excluded the graduating class, of course.
Even including them, Shakora didn't think Shirone's standing would fall much.
He hadn't told Amy, but Shakora had become so enthusiastic about the magical community after she enrolled that he'd taken to clipping news articles. The student he heard of most often was Dante.
When Shirone defeated Dante, the kingdom's number one, everyone had been forced to take notice.
But now it was clear it wasn't a fluke.
The gaze of someone who had mastered his mind burned with a yearning beyond the mundane.
Adel had called it a monster, but Shakora saw it differently.
That thing was still Shirone.
'You can't acquire that anywhere. Did a latent tendency manifest later? But how?'
He'd heard the tale of what Shirone had endured in the Kazra Kingdom. Still, that inner something felt too transcendent for an eighteen-year-old to carry.
Realizing how long they'd been silent, Shakora, reverting to a doting father, smiled wryly.
"Actually, she's not all that physically ill."
"Yes, I know."
Shirone had suspected as much.
But he didn't think it was an untruth, because this could be worse than physical pain.
Shakora scratched his head as if puzzled.
"Honestly, I'm not sure. She doesn't seem to be in pain, but she's a bit hollow. You'd understand, wouldn't you?"
"Of course. I would too."
At first it might be bearable.
One could resolve to start over now that things had come to this.
But thinking about having to repeat grueling training for a whole year made the failure sting to the bone.
Each day would pile on heavier regret and gnawing self-disgust.
"Amy is strong. She's given everything since she was twelve to get here. That's probably why the wound runs so deep."
"Yes. It's best to leave her be for now. In any case, Amy is in that state."
Shakora shrugged in resignation. It meant he couldn't do anything to help his daughter's mood.
Shirone glanced up at the second floor and saw Amy's door shut tight.
He could almost hear the mournful sobs he'd heard outside the dormitory door the day the graduation exam ended.
"May I go up?"
Isis looked troubled as she said it.
"I asked her and she said she's ill and told me to send him away. With her temper, if you barge in..."
"Ha! I'll probably get slapped—so be it."
Shirone replied with a grin. At the same time, he made clear he would never give up.
Shakora exhaled and fell into thought.
Only Shirone could understand Amy's heart a hundred percent.
And the fact that a usually considerate child was being stubborn meant Amy's state was worse than expected.
If there was no other way, a shock might be the right medicine.
"Go to Amy's room and see. I give you permission."
"Thank you."
Shirone rose from the sofa and climbed the stairs to the second floor.
Watching him go, Isis asked Shakora with a worried look.
"Honey, what are you going to do? You know Amy's personality..."
"It's all right. Shirone understands Amy's psychological state better than anyone. Even if Shirone leaves afterward, his insistence on meeting her means things can't go on as they are."
"And if things get worse?"
"They won't. Besides, he's a friend Amy trusts."
Isis shot Shakora a glare and pursed her lips.
'Since when are you praising a boy? Such a doting father...'