The Night Before Departure

Night fell.

I sat cross-legged in the clearing in front of the tent, the nameless sword across my knees, and ran a whetstone along its blade.

Rujierd had taught me the habit. On the Demon Continent, he sat beside the campfire every night, sharpening his trident. The scraping would go on for most of the night. I'd found it annoying at the time, but later I learned that even the best weapon would go dull if you didn't sharpen it.

The air in camp was chilly, and the wind blew from the north, carrying the smell of dry grass. The sky was completely dark, and the stars shone brightly, much brighter than they did over the Fittoa region.

After our discussion, Roxy came to see me alone and said she wanted to look at my sword. Her expression was calm as she took it, and she stared at it without a word, changing her grip from time to time.

She smiled? Why? I suddenly remembered that the sword wasn't just a gift from Rudeus to me. It had also been a gift from Roxy's father to him. Was she thinking of home?

After looking at it for a while, she gave it back, thanked me, and left. She was still smiling.

Tomorrow, we're going into the labyrinth to rescue Rudeus's mother.

I pushed the thought aside and kept sharpening. My face showed dimly in the blade.

"Sister-in-law."

A little voice came from behind me.

Sister-in-law? Who? Is she calling me?

I turned around. Norn stood there with both hands behind her back. Her hair was a little messy in the night breeze, and the cowlick on top of her head was still bobbing about. She wore a cotton nightgown that was a little too big for her, its cuffs rolled up twice.

"Norn?" I put down the sword. "Sister-in-law, are you calling me?"

She shuffled a few steps over to me and brought her hands out from behind her back.

A lopsided cloth pouch lay in her palms. Gray cotton had been sewn into a little bag, tied shut with red thread, with a flower embroidered on the front. It was supposed to be a flower, but it looked more like a tangled knot of thread. "Of course. You're my brother's fiancée, and Dad said we're family now, so of course I should call you sister-in-law."

"Oh, right, sister-in-law, this is for you." Norn spoke very softly, her eyes fixed on the ground.

I took it. The pouch was light, and it seemed to be stuffed with something like dried grass. It felt soft when I squeezed it. The stitches were crooked, and loose ends of thread stuck out in places. It had clearly been sewn by someone who had only recently learned how.

Family, huh? Thank you, Norn. And Paul too.

"It's a charm," Norn said. "I sewed it myself. Aisha taught me how before, but I kept pricking my fingers with the needle while I was sewing..."

She held out her right hand to show me. There were several red needle pricks on her index and middle fingers, some of which hadn't scabbed over yet.

"It's a little ugly," she said even more quietly, "but please come back safe."

I clutched the crooked little pouch, unable to speak for a moment. My nose prickled.

She's only seven. She sewed this charm herself, and her hands are covered in little wounds, all so I'll come back safely. I don't even feel like I'm really her sister-in-law yet. After all, Rudeus and I aren't officially married. But she's calling me sister-in-law.

"Thank you, Norn. It's beautiful." I ruffled her hair.

Norn looked up at me, a little uncertain. "Really?"

"Of course." I tied the pouch to my belt, right next to my scabbard. "I'll take it into the labyrinth with me."

The corners of Norn's mouth curved up. She stood there for a while, then suddenly stepped forward and wrapped her arms around my waist.

She buried her face in my chest and mumbled, "My brother too. Both of you have to come back safe."

My hand was still on her head. Her blond hair was soft, and as my fingers passed through it, they brushed against that stubbornly upright cowlick.

"Don't worry. I'll make sure to protect Rudeus," I said.

Norn held me for a while longer, then let go, sniffled, and ran back toward the tent. After a few steps, she stopped and looked back at me before disappearing behind the tent flap.

I looked down at the crooked pouch on my belt. It was made of gray cotton, tied shut with red thread, and embroidered with a flower that didn't look like one.

Thank you, Norn. This is the best thing I've ever received.

"Eris."

I looked up. Paul was standing beside the tent. I hadn't noticed when he came over. He carried a sword in his right hand, its dark brown leather scabbard fitted with a copper clasp worn to a shine.

He walked over and held the sword out to me.

"Take it."

I took it. The moment I held it, I knew it was a good sword. Its weight was moderate, its balance toward the front, and the leather on the hilt had been worn smooth from years of use. I drew it partway and took a look. The blade gleamed coldly, its steel grain fine and even.

"This is..."

"My spare sword," Paul said. "I've had it for over ten years. I was carrying it back when I was young."

He paused and scratched the back of his head with his right hand.

"That nameless sword of yours is a good one, much better than this. But it never hurts to take a spare into a labyrinth. If something happens to your main weapon, at least you'll have another one to use, right?"

He spoke casually, as though it were nothing important. But when he handed me the sword, his fingers had lingered on the hilt for an extra second.

"Thank you." I tucked the sword behind my waist.

Paul nodded and turned to leave. After two steps, he stopped again.

"Eris."

"Hmm?"

He didn't turn around. "I'm counting on you to look after that boy."

Then he left, his footsteps fading into the night.

I stayed where I was. The fire beside my whetstone had burned down considerably, leaving only a pile of glowing red coals. Insects chirped in the distance, one call after another, monotonous but reassuring.

Paul gave me the sword he's had for over ten years. He doesn't lack swords. He could get any equipment he wanted when the search party disbanded. But he chose to give me the one he'd used the longest.

I sheathed the nameless sword and stood up.

A great tree stood at the edge of camp, its broad crown covering half the sky. Rudeus sat on one of its roots, looking up at the stars.

I walked over and sat down beside him.

The root was a little uncomfortable to sit on. I shifted around until I found a somewhat flatter spot.

Rudeus didn't speak. His profile was hazy in the starlight, and his expression was serious. I didn't know what he was thinking about.

"If we rescue your mother," I said, "will she like me?"

The question had been on my mind for days, ever since we arrived at camp. Zenith, Rudeus's mother, was a woman trapped in the labyrinth. I knew nothing about her, and she knew nothing about me.

Rudeus turned to look at me.

"She definitely will." He sounded certain. "My mother will definitely like you. After all, you're amazing and beautiful, Eris."

My ears grew a little hot.

He's always like this. He can talk endlessly and more glibly than anyone, yet he says things like that at the most important moments. But that's Rudeus, my man. He's the best. I still think so even now, and that will never change.

I didn't reply, and we sat in silence for a while.

"Rudeus, this time I'll protect your family," I said.

During our three years on the Demon Continent, he had always been the one protecting me. He stood in front of me when we encountered monsters, used magic to cool me down as we crossed the desert, and didn't abandon me even when a swarm of scorpions surrounded us for an entire night. For three years, he had been protecting me.

But I no longer wanted to be just the one being protected.

Rudeus reached out and took my hand.

"It's not 'your turn,'" he said. "We'll do it together."

My fingers tightened around his.

Moonlight filtered through the gaps in the canopy and fell on our joined hands. His hand rested on top of mine, and his hair hung down and brushed my shoulder.

He suddenly stood up.

Then he dropped to one knee.

I froze.

He knelt on the grass beside the tree root, still holding my hand with one of his as he pulled something from inside his clothes with the other.

It was small and silver, gleaming faintly in the moonlight.

It was a ring.

A simple ring, a silver band with no gem, just a delicate pattern running around it that looked hand-carved.

"Eris Boreas Greyrat."

He looked up at me, his expression serious, but also a little nervous.

"Will you marry me? Even though I make you angry sometimes, and even though I might seem a little clumsy. I made the ring myself, too, so it isn't very valuable."

My heart gave a sudden leap.

He's down on one knee. Rudeus is kneeling in front of me. This man, who's amazing in every way and could be called exceptional-the man I think is the best, and the man I love most-is kneeling in front of me now, holding a ring and asking me to marry him. Idiot! How could I possibly say no?

I opened my mouth.

No sound came out.

I'd never been good at saying pretty things. I couldn't do it as a child, and I still couldn't now that I was grown up. Other girls would probably say all sorts of lovely things at a time like this, but I couldn't.

"Idiot... Of course I will."

I never cried in front of outsiders. Grandfather had told me ever since I was little that a Boreas must not be weak. But when this man proposed to me, looking even a little awkward, I cried. I was moved.

He slipped the ring onto the ring finger of my left hand. The silver band was cool against my skin, and it fit perfectly.

When did he measure it? I never even noticed.

Moonlight shone on us and on the silver ring. The insects chirped in waves in the distance, and Talhand's snores came from the tents, sounding like muffled thunder.

I looked down at the ring on my hand. Its slender silver band and hand-carved pattern glowed softly in the moonlight.

I'm clumsy, and I can't say sappy things. I can only express my love for him through my actions. With my sword, with my fists, with everything I have. Always, always...

In the distant sky, a shooting star streaked past, trailing a long silver tail before disappearing beyond the other side of the canopy.

I leaned against Rudeus's shoulder and closed my eyes.

The night breeze was cool, but his shoulder was warm.

"Eris?"

"Hmm?"

"Can I... can I kiss you now?"

I punched him in the head. "Ow, ow, ow!"

That same night.

Candlelight flickered in the library of Ranoa University of Magic.

A white-haired, red-eyed girl sat behind a long table piled with ancient books, her fingertips turning a yellowed page. She wore a dark uniform buttoned tightly at the collar, and her sunglasses were pushed up onto her forehead, revealing her red eyes.

Several ancient words were written on the cover of the book: "The Theoretical Foundations and Practice of Voiceless Magic."

She turned to a page and rested her finger on a passage. Her red eyes narrowed slightly, and her lips moved.

"...Rudeus..."

Her voice was so soft that only she could hear it.

"Where are you?"

Outside the window, a shooting star crossed the night sky in silence.