TSMD 10

Chapter 10

“…Hmm.”

Baron let out a quiet sigh and adjusted his monocle.

Now that Ibi had left.

Although he was puzzled by Hedius’s statement that she had not been trying to kidnap Leo, Ibi’s words were not entirely without merit.

This was a world where even innocent children were mercilessly abandoned if they were deemed a burden to their families’ livelihoods.

So how much worse must it have been for someone like Ibi?

Moreover, judging by her refined appearance, she might even have been a noble. And nobles were even more sensitive to shortcomings, so perhaps they had thrown her into the Black Forest hoping she would die.

Ibi was amazed that the world was beautiful, but even in such a world, cruel things like this happened all the time.

So even if what she said was true…

“Even so, I am worried that she might cause unnecessary trouble. Is there really a need to keep such a suspicious and unsettling woman in the village?”

At Baron’s cautious addition, Hedius pointed out sharply,

“The fact that Ibi did not leave even after I offered her the chance to do so means that, at the very least, she cannot be a kidnapper. What reason do we have to send her away now? We still have no convincing excuse.”

As he said, Leo currently trusted Ibi blindly, as though he truly believed she was an angel. If they forcibly sent Ibi away under these circumstances, there was no telling what unpredictable action Leo might take again.

Hedius frowned as though the mere thought gave him a headache before continuing.

“If she really were a kidnapper, she would have accepted my proposal. But she didn’t.”

“…Now that you mention it, that is true.”

Within the Empire, the Shadow Bandits were the only ones who knew the paths through the Black Forest. Even if Ibi tried to flee with Leo later, surviving in a forest infested with swamps and beasts would be difficult.

And avoiding the pursuit of bandits who knew the forest better than anyone else was not merely difficult—it was impossible.

That was why the proposal Hedius had given her was, in truth, the final test he had devised.

Realizing that he had failed to grasp Hedius’s intentions, Baron’s face flushed.

“I merely…”

Hedius quietly looked at Baron, his hands clasped behind his back. His normally calm eyes held an unusual trace of confusion.

“Of course, I still cannot let go of my suspicions about her. Everyone we have taken in so far had a clear reason for ending up in this village. But we do not even know the details of her background, so we cannot simply trust her.”

Then Hedius muttered so quietly that only he could hear himself.

“And we don’t know if she has some purpose other than Leo.”

The only person who could touch him without hesitation.

To discover the reason why, it would be better to keep her close.

Hedius remembered Ibi’s words from earlier, when she had said she would help him, and squeezed his eyes shut before opening them again.

What exactly had she meant when she said she would protect him?

No—had there even been any meaning behind those words at all?

What am I even expecting from her?

Hedius let out a self-deprecating chuckle before speaking to Baron again.

“Anyway, it would be best to keep an eye on her for the time being. As you said, we still don’t know whether that woman will be a threat to our bandits or someone who can help us.”

Baron lowered his head.

“Your judgment is sound, Chief.”

That troublesome prince had been unusually quiet during the several days since Ibi arrived.

Perhaps because he was afraid Hedius would drive Ibi away, he had even refused to skip their training, unlike his usual self.

No matter how many times he fell, rolled around in the dirt, or scraped himself, he would get back up again. His vivid red eyes were filled with a fierce determination that was rarely seen in him.

Honestly, the result was satisfactory.

If one looked at it positively, then yes. There was no doubt that Leo needed her right now.

For the sake of the prince who will one day return to the Imperial Palace with his head held high…

Having made his decision, Hedius said to Baron,

“I heard that Leo gets along well with Ibi. Since things have turned out this way, it might not be a bad idea to keep Ibi by his side so that Leo doesn’t cause any more trouble.”

“Ahh! I’m crazy, I’m crazy! I’m really crazy! Even if it was just acting, how could I do something like that?!”

After returning to my bedroom, I repeatedly punched the goose-down pillow.

I had hit it so many times that feathers floated into the air before gently settling back down onto my head.

“Surely I haven’t actually started going crazy, have I?”

Grabbing Hedius’s hand had been an intentional attempt to smooth things over in that situation, but bringing his hand to my cheek had been a completely impulsive act.

Why?

Why on earth?

“Ugh, I’m the only one who has to deal with this embarrassment!”

I flopped face-first onto the flattened pillow. I desperately wished there were a mouse hole I could hide in.

Even so, that was too much. Everyone already suspects me… and then I went and did something even stranger.

Even if I wanted to turn back time, there was no way to do it.

So…

“No, no. This isn’t anything to worry about. I need to become even more shameless, Ibi!”

I abruptly sat up and clenched my fists, steeling my resolve.

“Since things have turned out this way, I might as well start putting on a thick face from now on. Even if I do something stranger than this, it’ll probably seem perfectly normal to them by now, so who cares?”

However, despite my determination, word soon spread that I was going to remain in the village, and interest in me outside was burning hotter and hotter.

Like I was a hot potato.

At the hour when everyone was asleep.

Smoke from the firewood burning in the center of the village rose high into the night sky.

The bandits, who had stuffed themselves with delicious roasted wild boar, corn soup, and wheat beer, gradually began bringing up today’s hot topic.

“The Chief, who is practically an iron fortress, actually let a woman who went crazy enough to grab his hand live. I couldn’t believe my own eyes!”

The freckled bandit’s words became the starting point.

“That’s what I’m saying. I thought for sure he’d kill that woman. But he let her live. I never expected that. Still, taking in a woman whose origins we don’t even know…”

“But haven’t we taken in people of uncertain origins several times before?”

“That may be true. But she was together with the runaway Leo, wasn’t she? It was only natural to be suspicious of her.”

The conversation gradually became more animated.

“Don’t tell me… the Chief fell for Ibi’s beauty?”

“What?”

“Well, think about it. Vice Chief, just look at the people in our bandits. I’ve never seen anyone so fair and flower-like.”

“That’s right. Just like Leo said, I really thought she was an angel who had fallen straight down from the heavens.”

“When I first saw her, I thought a flower had descended from the sky and settled there.”

“The Chief is just an excuse. Looks like you guys have fallen for her!”

“N-No, that’s not it!”

The conversation that followed gradually became heated with praise for Ibi’s appearance.

Hustlear stroked his beard and said,

“Ahem. I’m sure the Chief knows what he’s doing.”

Then one of the bandits gave a drunken, drooping laugh.

“This is just a joke, but the Chief hasn’t fallen into his first love, has he? Hehehe.”

“Watch your mouth! Don’t insult our Chief! How dare you say such a thing about a man who treats women like stones!”

At those words, the bandits burst into loud laughter.

The thought of their stiff, emotionless Hedius falling in love and becoming flustered over a woman was simply impossible to imagine.

“Then say that Ibi isn’t actually a crazy woman!”

Someone shouted, and silence fell over them in an instant.

“Hmm…”

Actually, the reason Ibi kept becoming the topic of conversation was simple.

Partly because she was beautiful, and partly because Hedius had been behaving strangely, but more than anything else, their suspicions about her had not yet been completely dispelled.

“Now that I think about it, that actually makes some sense. A woman that beautiful being crazy doesn’t really make sense, does it? She looked extremely refined. At first, I thought she was the young lady of some noble family.”

Hustlear spoke first, and voices agreeing with him immediately followed.

“Oh! Come to think of it, you’re right. Even the dress she was wearing looked expensive, didn’t it? And her hair looked so soft, as though someone had been taking care of it all the time.”

“When you think about it, there really are a lot of strange things about her.”

In an instant, the conversation turned serious.

“What if Ibi isn’t actually a crazy woman?”

“She might really be pretending to be insane because she’s after Leo.”

“If that’s the case, shouldn’t we report this to the Chief again?”

That was when it happened.

“E-Eek!”

A bandit who had gone to retrieve some spilled alcohol came running back, gasping violently as though he were about to collapse. His face was as pale as a sheet of paper.

“What happened? What’s wrong?”

“Th-There…!”

With his eyes wide enough to pop out of their sockets, he pointed into the darkness. His hand trembled violently with fear.

“Th-There… th-there’s a gh-ghost!”

Everyone’s heads snapped in that direction.

The bandits rubbed their eyes, finding it difficult to believe what they were seeing even with their own eyes.

“What is that?”

Something appeared to be floating in midair.

Even though it had feet, it moved as though it were drifting through the air.

Its pure white body fluttered in the wind as it moved toward somewhere in the darkness.

There was no doubt about it.

It was a ghost.

Everyone swallowed nervously and exchanged frightened glances at the eerie, hair-raising sight.

“What are we going to do?”

“…Sh-Should we follow it?”

“Yeah. We’re bandits, aren’t we? We can’t be afraid of some lousy ghost!”

“Of course not!”

And so, five bandits rose from their seats and followed the ‘ghost’ to discover its true identity.

The ghost passed through the village grounds and along the lakeside before finally coming to a stop in the wide field before the gorge.

There, where the swaying flowers rustled against the sound of the night breeze…

They quickly hid themselves in the grass.

Then they cautiously poked their heads out and stared intently at the ghost.

But then…

“Doesn’t that look like her dress got blown up by the wind?”

“Uh… I-It kind of does, doesn’t it?”

“That’s it! Her dress got flipped over, making her look like a ghost!”

As the wind died down, the hem of the dress gently settled, and the true identity of the ghost gradually began to reveal itself.

“Then that ghost is—!”

The ghost, who had been staring into the pitch-black sky while muttering incomprehensible words, suddenly turned her head slowly.

At the same time, the bandits’ eyes widened.

“I-It’s Ibi.”

“Yeah. That’s definitely that woman.”

Moonlight reflected off her pale, glowing skin and empty blue eyes that seemed devoid of all will.

Her pink hair was disheveled and wild.

And on top of that, her faint voice and laughter could be heard in the otherwise quiet night.

Without the slightest care for the fact that her bare white feet were becoming covered in wounds, she wandered around like a ghost.

She slowly looked around, as though searching for something, occasionally stopping and staring toward one particular corner.

Unlike her bright and cheerful appearance during the day, there was something utterly chilling about her now—so much so that it was difficult to believe she was the same person.

A cold shiver ran down the bandits’ spines as an icy chill brushed against the backs of their necks.