Princess Ariel

Sylphie walked ahead of me at an unhurried pace, along the stone path behind the university's main building.

She wore her male uniform, with sunglasses perched on her nose. The wind swept her short white hair behind her ears. Her pointed ears peeked out, then disappeared again. If not for her ears and the curve of her chin, anyone would have taken her for a small, skinny boy.

"Ariel's in the little building on the east side," she said without looking back. "Not many people usually go there."

"Do you stay by her side all the time?"

"Pretty much."

Her answer was curt. She was completely different from the girl I remembered, who had followed me around, softly calling me "Rudeus." Back in Buena Village, Sylphie had spoken so quietly that I had to lean in to hear her. Her voice was louder now, but she had less to say. One look at her showed how much eight years could change a person.

"How much do you know about Princess Ariel's situation?" Sylphie suddenly asked me.

"Just the basics. Her older brother forced her out, so she came to Sharia."

"It was more than that." Sylphie faltered for a moment, then kept walking. "After the Teleportation Incident, the first prince, Gravel, took control of the government. Some of the people around Ariel were purged. The rest either switched sides or were exiled. Ariel left the royal capital with eighteen people and headed north. By the time they reached Ranoa, only five were left."

She paused.

"Thirteen people died on the way. Guards and maids. All of them died protecting her."

I said nothing. Eighteen people had become five. I could imagine how long and difficult that journey had been without being told. During our three years on the Demon Continent, Eris, Rujierd, and I had traveled through more desolate places, but all three of us could fight. A princess fleeing for her life with maids and guards was an entirely different matter.

Thirteen lives in exchange for hers. This princess is carrying a much heavier burden than I imagined.

"Why does she want to see me?"

Sylphie didn't answer. She pushed open a wooden door and stepped aside to let me in.

The hallway was short, with a closed door at the end. Sconces hung on the walls on either side, their soft light giving it a completely different feel from the white walls and cold light of the hallway outside. It was less like a university building and more like a small reception room reserved for someone's use.

Sylphie knocked twice.

"Come in."

The voice came from behind the door. It was soft, but every word was perfectly clear. It was a lovely voice. In my previous life, I had seen people on forums say that a voice actor's voice could get your ears pregnant. I'd thought it was a huge exaggeration then, but now I understood a little of how they felt.

The door opened.

The room was small. One wall was lined with bookshelves packed with books, while curtains hung on another, sunlight filtering through the gaps. There was no fire in the fireplace, but firewood was neatly stacked in the hearth. A long table stood by the window, with a teapot and two cups on it.

A woman sat behind the table.

Golden hair. Blue eyes. Those were the first two things I noticed when I entered. Her hair shone almost dazzlingly in the light from the window, as though molten gold had been poured over her shoulders. Her features were almost unreal in their refinement. She sat upright, her hands folded on the table. Every movement showed the etiquette she had been taught from childhood.

But I saw her eyes.

They were blue and beautiful, but there was something not quite right in them. I couldn't say whether it was hostility or wariness. It was more like a sense of distance that had grown in her on its own after going through certain things. She looked as though she was smiling at you, yet still kept you at a distance.

No wonder Sylphie follows her. Only someone who has truly been through something and come out the other side could have eyes like that.

"You're Rudeus Greyrat, aren't you?" She stood and gave a slight nod. "Please, sit."

I sat in the chair opposite her. It was soft, much more comfortable than the wooden chairs at home. Princess Ariel poured a cup of tea and pushed it toward me. The tea was warm and smelled of flowers.

"Thank you." I picked up the cup and took a sip.

"Then I'll get straight to the point." She sat back down, folded her hands, and looked me straight in the eye. "I hear you can use voiceless magic."

"Yeah."

"During the entrance test, you used a special ability to interrupt Fitz's magic, then pierced an advanced barrier with a Rock Bullet. Vice principal Jinas said your magic was the finest he had ever seen."

Her tone was even, as though she were stating facts rather than praising me.

"I need capable people." She paused for a beat. "If you're willing to serve me, I can give you a great deal. Money, status, political protection. The Greyrat family's position on the Central Continent isn't a good one. If you help me, your family will have the royal family's protection when I return to Asura."

Her expression didn't change as she spoke. She might as well have been reading a prepared contract.

I set down my cup.

"I'm not willing."

Ariel's hand stopped in midair. She had been about to put the teapot back on the table, and her movement froze for an instant.

Sylphie stood by the door, her hand on the hilt of her sword. I couldn't see her expression, with the sunglasses covering most of her face, but her body noticeably tensed.

"I won't be anyone's subordinate," I said. "Not yours or anyone else's. I have a home, a wife, a younger sister, and a father and mother. I have to think about them. Once you tie yourself to someone as their subordinate, you can't untie yourself."

Ariel slowly set down the teapot. She didn't get angry, and her expression barely changed, though she looked at me a little more searchingly.

"But I can be your friend."

Two seconds of silence passed.

"Friend?" Ariel repeated the word, as though checking whether she had heard me correctly.

"You look like you could use one."

A muffled sound came from the door. Sylphie turned to face the wall, her shoulders shaking. She was trying not to laugh.

I watched Ariel's face. Her expression finally changed. The corner of her mouth curved ever so slightly, and that sense of distance thinned a little.

"You're certainly frank." She picked up the teapot and refilled her cup. Her hand was steady as she poured, a world apart from the way she had frozen a moment ago.

"All right, then. Let's start with 'friends.'"

Over the next hour or so, she told me about the current situation in the Asura Kingdom. Gravel controlled most of the nobles and the army, and he also had Darius Silva Ganius behind him. Ariel had fewer and fewer supporters, and her old followers who remained in Asura were either under surveillance or had been sent to the frontier.

I listened and committed it to memory, while thinking about something else.

She's telling me this because she trusts Sylphie. Sylphie trusts me, so she trusts me. It's a chain, but when the weakest link breaks, the whole thing falls apart. I need to make myself the strongest link.

As our conversation was drawing to a close, Ariel suddenly asked, "You're married, aren't you?"

"Yeah."

"Sylphie mentioned it. She said your wife is a red-haired swordswoman, and very skilled."

"Very skilled," I said.

Ariel smiled. This time, it was a little broader than before.

"She often tells me about you. Starting with when you were children: how you taught her magic and how to write, and helped her drive off the children who bullied her."

I glanced at Sylphie. She stood at the door with her back to us, her long ears slightly red.

"That was a long time ago," I said.

"It's the things from long ago that matter." Ariel raised her cup. "The things people remember for the rest of their lives all happen when they're children."

She had a point.

I stood and gave a less than proper bow. I'd seen nobles bow in anime in my previous life, so I made a few gestures roughly based on what I remembered and hoped I didn't look too ridiculous.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Princess Ariel."

"Just call me Ariel." She set down her cup. "Friends don't need to call me 'Princess.'"

When we stepped out of the little building, the sunlight was dazzling. I squinted, taking a few seconds to adjust.

Sylphie walked beside me. She said nothing, remaining silent for quite a while before she finally spoke.

"Rudeus."

"Yeah?"

"Ariel is actually very lonely." Her voice was soft. "Ever since the Teleportation Incident, the people around her have left one by one. Eighteen became five. Of those five, Luke and I are the only ones she can talk to."

I didn't reply.

"Thank you."

"What for? I didn't do anything."

"You did." Sylphie stopped and turned to look at me. I couldn't see her eyes behind her sunglasses, but I could tell she was smiling. "You said she needed friends. No one has ever said that to her before. Everyone treats her like a princess, like a future queen. No one treats her like... an ordinary person."

The wind blew her white hair across her face. She reached up and brushed it aside.

"Your wife... Eris, right? She said she wanted to invite me over for a meal."

"Yeah, this weekend. Aisha said she was going to make a pie."

Sylphie fell silent for a while.

"Okay, I'll come."

She turned and continued on her way, walking a little faster than she had on the way there. I stood where I was and watched her go, a small, skinny figure, her white hair shining in the sunlight.

There's actually so much more I want to say to you. I want to ask if anyone bullied you after I left... I want to ask how you made it through, step by step, after the Teleportation Incident, and how you've been... Never mind. At least Sylphie is still here. That's enough.

I turned and headed toward the school gates. It was time to go home. Eris had probably finished her sword practice and gone back already, and Aisha was probably waiting for me to come home for dinner.