R 05

Chapter 5

This Ellie…?

I looked at Lus, wondering what he meant by that. But he ignored my gaze and continued looking straight ahead.

I wondered how long we had been traveling like that.

Around sunset, a large city appeared in the distance.

Something was floating here and there in the sky above the city.

“Ah! I’ve seen that on a map. It’s Luta City, right? I heard it’s a really big city. But what’s that thing floating in the sky?”

Lus looked incredulous at my question.

“You’ve never seen it in person, but you’ve seen it on a map, even though this place is relatively close to the secluded village? And you don’t know what an airship is?”

“Um, I’ve never left the secluded village before.”

“…Really?”

“…Yes. I suppose the only time I ever moved somewhere would have been when my parents abandoned me. Right after I was born?”

After finally managing to answer, I felt a little depressed. Fortunately, Lus continued the conversation as though it didn’t matter.

“An airship is a large means of transportation that flies through the sky. The secluded village you lived in was more rural than other places, though… Hmm.”

After remaining silent for a moment, Lus soon gave me a playful smile.

“I wonder if this country girl will faint when she enters the big city.”

“C-country girl?”

Good grief, what kind of thing was he saying?

“Lus! You’re teasing me right now, aren’t you?”

I wanted to tell him that I wasn’t some country bumpkin. But no matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t come up with a single argument against him, so I kept my mouth shut.

Even though shocking things had happened, ever since I left the secluded village, one thing after another had left me amazed. Carriages, Roadloaders, and unusually beautiful scenery.

And now, was I really supposed to remain unimpressed by the first big city I had ever seen?

That seemed impossible.

I had no idea what I would encounter once we entered. Even I couldn’t be certain that I wouldn’t be amazed.

As expected.

“Wooooow.”

The moment the carriage entered the city, I thought it was a good thing I hadn’t argued with Lus.

Because I was encountering an entirely new world for the first time.

The city was orderly and clean, with buildings of various designs standing both high and low. Several lines had been drawn across the long road running through the center of the city.

After studying the lines carefully, I realized they were lanes for carriages. Carriages pulled by Roadloaders were traveling back and forth along them.

Some of the Roadloaders heading toward the outskirts of the city spread their wings and took flight into the sky.

I watched in awe as the Roadloader disappeared into the distance, becoming nothing more than a black dot.

“Wow. So that’s a flying-type Roadloader.”

“Is that really your first time seeing one, too?”

“I told you earlier. There were only ones that pulled carts in the village.”

“……”

I looked around even more.

Then I spotted people wearing a particular uniform flying low through the air with their wings extended, and I cried out in surprise.

“Oh! There are people flying!”

“That’s the city security force. I can understand this being your first time seeing the security force since today is your first time outside the secluded village, but is this really your first time seeing people fly, too?”

“Yes. I heard that hardly anyone flies by actually bringing out their wings these days. But seeing it in person is really fascinating.”

This time, even Lus nodded.

“You have to train hard from a young age if you want to fly, so there aren’t many who can. Still, security officers have to be able to fly at least a little to qualify.”

“Really?”

“It’s an essential ability for dealing with unexpected situations.”

After listening to Lus’s explanation, I turned my gaze back toward the security officers.

“Come to think of it, Ellie, how much can you fly?”

I hadn’t expected him to ask me something like that. Feeling embarrassed, I scratched my forehead.

“Um. Just a tiny bit? I can’t bring out my wings.”

“If you can fly ‘a tiny bit,’ I suppose you must be just about to the point where you can bring out your wings. So how much is ‘a tiny bit’?”

“Um… About as much as a chicken flapping its wings?”

“A chicken?”

Lus’s eyes rolled around, and then he belatedly covered his mouth with his hand.

“…Pfft!”

He seemed to be desperately suppressing a laugh that was about to burst out. I pouted.

“Tch! Judging by how you’re laughing at chickens, I suppose you must be pretty good at flying?”

At my sullen response, Lus avoided answering with an awkward smile.

“Fine. Whatever. Even that is incredibly difficult for me, so I don’t fly very well.”

I snapped back at him primly before turning my eyes toward the city again.

Lus stared at me for a while before muttering as though talking to himself.

“It must be nice, having everything be new every time.”

“…What?”

I wondered what he meant. I asked him to clarify, but Lus merely smiled with a hollow expression.

Before long, the carriage arrived in front of a high-rise building.

“Wow.”

I stared up at the building for quite some time, dumbfounded by its incredible height, which seemed to reach the sky, and its sophisticated exterior. Seeing me like that, Lus shook his head.

“Stop being surprised by every little thing. Even I’m starting to get flustered watching you now.”

“What?”

“Just take things in stride. Anyway, we’ll stay at this hotel tonight, and tomorrow we’ll travel by airship. That’s all you need to know.”

A short while later, the carriage we had arrived in was taken to the carriage storage area by the hotel staff.

The knights who had arrived with us also began getting down one by one.

“Let’s go inside.”

Lus headed toward the lobby as though there were no need to wait and see them arrive. I quickly asked him,

“Um… What about my friends from the village?”

Lus raised a finger and pointed toward the carriage coming in at the very back.

“They’re in there.”

“I know that. I mean, can’t we wait and watch them get out?”

“No.”

“Why can’t we?”

“Because they aren’t getting out.”

I wondered if I had heard him correctly.

“How are they supposed to rest if they don’t get out?”

His answer that followed left me horrified.

“It would be troublesome if we let them out and they tried to escape. We’ll transport them just like that.”

“What…?”

“If it really bothers you, we could just kill them and go. Honestly, that would make everything easier.”

Lus was saying something horrifying with an utterly casual expression.

“…Good heavens.”

I was so dumbfounded that I couldn’t say anything more. All I could do was stare at Lus with my eyes wide open.

“……”

Only then did Lus seem to notice the feelings hidden behind my silence. He soon cleared his throat and called for Sir Scone.

“Arrange somewhere for them to rest… Yes. Give them food, too.”

“Yes?”

“But keep watch so they can’t escape, and if they attempt to flee, kill them immediately.”

“Yes, understood.”

Sir Scone looked bewildered by Lus’s instructions, but soon bowed his head.

Then he immediately began unloading my friends from the carriage together with the other knights.

Kill them on the spot if they try to escape?

I let out a sigh.

Of course, if it weren’t for Lus’s consideration, they would have been dead long ago. But hearing him give the order himself didn’t exactly make me feel good.

Still, I should be grateful.

At least they were alive and being taken inside the hotel to rest.

And then, the moment Lus and I entered the suite on the top floor of the hotel—

“Wow!”

I let out another loud exclamation at the splendor of the interior, then lightly covered my mouth with my hand.

At that moment, Lus looked at me as though he couldn’t understand how I could possibly not be tired of being amazed at everything I saw.

“Ahem. Well, I suppose that’s possible.”

I gave a small cough and sat down on the plush sofa. Lus sat on the sofa opposite me.

I neatly folded both hands on my lap. I planned to sit quietly like this until Lus left, and then happily explore the interior again.

But no matter how I looked at him, Lus showed no sign of getting up.

“Aren’t you going to sleep now?”

“I am.”

“…Then why aren’t you leaving?”

“Leaving?”

Lus genuinely seemed not to understand what I meant.

“You’re not seriously planning to sleep here with me, are you?”

“I’m sleeping here.”

“What? Where are you planning to sleep?”

I was horrified. When I jumped to my feet, Lus merely chuckled.

“There’s a bed.”

“……”!

Where Lus pointed, I saw a king-sized bed.

I blinked several times before finally remembering reality once again.

Oh, right. I’m being taken somewhere against my will.

I had become so captivated by the elegant carriage, beautiful scenery, and luxurious hotel that I had forgotten my circumstances.

Lus was my guard.

He also appeared to be the highest-ranking person among the knights who had come with us.

If that’s the case…

I guessed that Lus would sleep on that bed and perhaps tie me up in a corner somewhere.

Because I might escape.

Feeling anxious, I asked him again.

“Then… where am I supposed to sleep?”

“You sleep on the bed, too.”

What on earth was he saying without even changing his expression?

Is this man saying he’s going to share a bed with me right now?

A rather suggestive image of a night together flashed through my mind. I felt strangely pleased for a moment, but at the same time, his brazen attitude left me utterly dumbfounded.

“H-how can an unmarried man and woman sleep in the same bed?”

“If there’s only one, can’t we use it? It’s pretty spacious, too…”

“Oh my goodness. What are you planning to do in the same bed?”

Unable to hide my shock, I ended up throwing the question at him point-blank.