“Yaaawn! G’morning…”

“Ugh, mornin’.”

“What’s wrong Anna? Didn’t sleep well last night?”

“Ugh, not a wink! I kept twisting and turning in the damned bed, but no matter what I just couldn’t find a comfortable sleeping position. Do nobles always sleep in these beds? They’re way too soft, I practically sunk through!”

“Hahah, yeah, I guess they are a bit different from the ones we have at home, but I certainly didn’t mind them.”

“Geez, you get accustomed to these things way too easily! Whatever, let’s just go get something to eat and get out of here. I ain’t spending another night in this castle, plus we need to get that plant for Gramps as soon as possible.”

As such, we got dressed back into our own clothes and went out into the castle. It took no more than a minute before we met up with the maid, Mariabelle, as she carried the spare sheets I jokingly requested last night. Did she actually take my words seriously? This is hilarious...!

“Good morning, dear guests.”

“Morning, Mariabelle!” Anna answered her with a naïve tone.

“Did you have a good sleep last night?”

“Ugh, don’t mention it. I couldn’t get a wink of sleep…”

At these slightly vague and misleading words, Mariebelle twitched for a moment and did a double take at Anna. Oh God, this is too good…!

“O-Oh, i-is that so, Miss Anna?”

“Yeah, I can barely walk straight after last night (because of my sore back).”

Mariabelle immediately turned to me with a mixed expression. I went to read her mind just to see exactly what her thoughts on this were, but looks like even she was overwhelmed and at a loss for words. She sheepishly gave me the spares, suggesting that she wanted me to change the sheets myself while she pulled Anna aside.

“Hey! Where are we going?!” Anna inquired.

“We need to have a talk about your relationship…”

“Our relationship?! Ed!? Hey!!”

I don’t even mind her giving me her share of the job, this was definitely worth it (lol).

“Ed? What are you still doing in your room?” Adam came up behind me while I was making the bed.

“Oh, Mariabelle was too lazy to do her job, so she told me to do it.”

“What!? That damn maid, does she not care for Sol?”

“So who is that Sol guy, anyway? I’ve heard his name mentioned everywhere around this castle.”

“Come, I’ll tell you over breakfast. You must be starving.”

Adam ushered me through the halls and seated me next to him in this big empty dining room, where the other maids gave us our food. Honestly, it sort of felt like the dining hall back in ARA, just a lot emptier, since no one else was present besides us.

“Hey Adam, where is everyone?”

“Oh, they’re all out and about in the world. We Gryses have a lot of people who rely on us, we’re known as a charitable and kind bunch after all, so it isn’t too rare to see the castle this empty. Honestly, you kind of lucked out with having me be here when you came to visit.”

“Huh. Well, you were saying something about that Sol guy, right? Who exactly is he?”

“To tell you the truth,” Adam sighed, “I don’t really know myself. I’ve actually never met the guy myself, Mariabelle’s the only person in the castle to have ever seen him.”

“Whoa, really?”

“Yeah, he’s an extremely antisocial individual. There are even a handful of rumors suggesting she made him up just so she could get this job, hoping we would feel bad for her and give her a decent salary, but then that wouldn’t explain the inventions.”

“Inventions?”

“You haven’t noticed? Even with that AFP stuffed in your holster?”

I looked to where he was pointing and took out my pistol, only to inspect the name of the manufacturer more closely. Sure enough, the name SOL was etched on the handle. It was unmistakably him.

“He created this thing?!”

“Yup, and many other things apart from it, but that particular one was made ages ago. See, he’s put me in a bit of a pinch recently. He completely stopped inventing new types of weaponry, and instead is trying out some sort of pacifist act, inventing only things that you’d use in your day to day life, like flashlights and utensils and stuff.”

After stating this, he pointed to the very utensil that I was using to eat my plate. At first I thought what I was holding was just a weirdly shaped, foreign fork or something, but apparently not.

“That there’s a spork. Another one of his inventions. It can be used as both a spoon and a fork.”

“Whoa! That’s amazing! But… why would him not making weapons be problematic for you? Isn’t it better that way?”

“Ed, there’s no easy way to tell you this, but peace just doesn’t sell well. Weapons are an extremely profitable market, especially down south, in continents like Sulfury and such.”

I was taken aback from his very real comment, and frowned while eating my food. I didn’t want to accept that this is the way the world worked, much less that the Royal Family is funding weapons used in wars, but then again I’m just a traveler who doesn’t understand even a bit of the rest of the world. For all I knew, this could be the norm for every country apart from the ones I’ve visited, and I could just be playing ignorant to that fact.

“Hey Ed?”

“Yeah?”

“You gonna finish that?” Adam said as he pointed his spork towards my plate.

***

“You guys sure you don’t wanna stay a bit longer?” Adam asked us at the front gates.

“Nah, it was never our intention to crash here. We just needed to exchange our money somehow, but you went above and beyond and gave us a ride to Umoris too. We couldn’t ask for more.”

“Right!” Said Anna, “Thank you very much!”

“Don’t worry about it.”

While we were busy talking, Mariabelle was busy putting our stuff in the transport wagon (and not enjoying doing so one bit). She was murmuring some pretty harsh words directed at both me and Adam, but thankfully only I could hear them because of my Analyze ability (if Adam heard her, then who knows what would become of her…)

“Well, that’s all of it. Also, here you go, guys! A gift from Sol!” Mariabelle said as she gave us a package.

“Whoa?! What’s this?!”

“Like I said, a gift from Sol. After I told him you guys came here, he didn’t want you to leave empty handed, so he gave you a parting gift. Well, aren’t you gonna open it and see what it is?”

“Huh, what’s this?” Anna said.

“Wait, are those… sporks?” I figured, “That’s so thoughtful of him! Gifting us a batch of his very own inventions, I wish I could thank him personally!”

“Hehe, I’ll tell him you were happy to receive them.”

“No kidding, these are gonna be wonderful for the restaurant!”

“Hold on, there’s something else in here…” Anna rummaged through the box a bit more, “Ed, it has your name on it.”

It does? So were all these sporks meant for Anna? That kind of makes me sad… and a tad bit jealous. Seriously, who is this Sol punk? He already has Mariabelle, does he want to start a harem or something? I ain’t letting him get to my Annie that easily!

“Wait, is this…?” I said while Anna put it in my hands.

“What is it?” Adam asked.

It’s… a star shaped necklace. The craftsmanship is impeccable, and the material feels weighty as well. Certainly, it’s made of high tier materials, but why a star of all things? The fact that it also has my name etched in the center of it is also a bit concerning… I mean, yeah, it’s a nice gift and all, but doesn’t this feel way too sentimental to give to someone you’ve never even met before?

“Mariabelle, thanks so much for this, and thank Sol as well. Next time we come here, please introduce me to him.”

“Of course,” She smiled, “you’ll surely get along well. I just know it.”

And with that, we hopped into the wagon and headed to Umoris. The road from Centralis to there was actually quite developed, and there were hardly any bumps on the way there.

“Hey Ed?” Anna stopped looking out from the window to ask me something, “Mariabelle told me something this morning…”

Ah, so Mariabelle took her away to tell her about my prank. Looks like I finally get my due diligence, now Anna’s probably gonna get all mad at me for suggesting to the maid that we were fooling around.

“M-Mariabelle and that Sol are in a… physical relationship.” She said shyly.

“Yeah, so I’ve heard.”

“R-Right, but, she said they’re not a couple. They’re just doing… it, casually.”

“I don’t see where you’re going with this.”

“I’m saying!!” Her voice quivered while she raised her volume, “I-Is it really okay to do that? L-Like, just… sleep together, even when you’re not a couple?”

What has this maid been teaching her?

“Well, who knows? Maybe it’s alright, maybe it isn’t, but the way I see it, it isn’t any of our business to judge them-”

Just then, I noticed how close our faces were to each other’s. Since we were sitting next to one another, and the wagon was a bit tight, it really only took the both of us turning to each other to get this close. Goddammit, since the conversation is all naughty, I can’t think of anything but that!

“Hey, Ed…” She inched her face closer to mine without breaking eye contact.

W-Whoa, what’s gotten into her!? Oh God, she smells so good! N-Never mind that! H-Her lips! Her lips are getting close! I-Is she planning on going in for a kiss?!

“How about we also…-”

Just then, a loud thump could be heard as the transport wagon bumped up and down. Looks like we hit something, but I can’t help but feel a bit disappointed with the timing…

“You alright?” I made sure Anna wasn’t hurt before peeking out of the window to ask the driver what happened, “Hey, driver! What the hell is-!”

In that very moment, I saw death staring right at me. The driver’s body was getting brutally munched on by a pack of Stray Wolves, and they were certainly not gonna be satisfied with just him. My shouting immediately got their attention, and a couple of them immediately jumped at me.

I closed the window at the last second, barely avoiding death by a hair’s breadth. Anna asked me what was going on, but I was too shaken up to answer her. I couldn’t think, the situation was just too dire. Maybe if we run? But we wouldn’t make it far… Gah, fuck!!!

“Ed, what’s going on?”

With tears falling to my cheeks, I turned to a confused Anna who didn’t even know the situation that was unfolding around us. The cart was being attacked from all angles, and no one was gonna come save us. I silently gulped, wiped away my tears, and recalled Grim’s words about keeping her safe. I tried smiling to her, as if to tell her Everything’s gonna be alright! but I’m not like Grim! I can’t do it…

“Anna… I’m not Grim.”

“…I know.”

“I’m not strong, I’m not brave, and I’m certainly not able to protect you without a hint of fear showing.”

“…”

“We’re being attacked by a pack of Stray Wolves. The same ones Grim fought all those years ago. There’s at least a dozen of them waiting just outside that door.”

“!!!” Anna raised her eyebrows in surprise.

“But even still...” I reached into my holster and grabbed my pistol, ”I’m Edward Saint. I promised Arthur I’ll keep you safe on this trip, and I intend to follow through with that until the bitter end. I can’t guarantee you we’ll make it out of this, though. Just… be prepared to run if things get dicey.”

“Ed,” Anna gripped the hand that was holding the pistol firmly, “You are not Lune, and that’s okay. Lune would never be this honest with me about the situation, and he’d never have made this trip as fun as you did. You are you, and that’s just how I like it.”

I felt as if I had heard the words of a Goddess right then and there. All the doubts I’ve been thinking about endlessly suddenly washed away by just a few of her words. She values me, and I value her, which is exactly why I gotta calm down and give it my all in defending her.

“And another thing,” She said as she stood behind me, “I’m not gonna run. Even if they eat me alive, I’m not leaving your side.”

After that, the doors to the wagon were starting to give in to the force, and the hinges started to come undone. It was only a matter of time before these Stray Wolves entered, but I had a plan.

The door was narrow, and the wagon was small. If I just aimed properly, I could shoot all of them the moment they came in, since they’d be coming in single file. Now the only question is how fast I can reload…

“Here we go.”

Just like that, the doors opened. And I shot. The force sent me flying back, but I quickly recovered to reload. Another Stray Wolf came rushing in. I fired off another round. It hit it straight in the face. And another one, and another one. It felt like a never ending loop, and just as I was beginning to run out of ammo.

“…”

“…Is it over?”

I checked if Anna was okay, then slowly creeped up on the door to stick my head out and check.

“RAAAAWR!!!” The last Stray Wolf lunged at me, ready to chomp my entire head in one bite.

This was it! I can’t dodge it in time…!

“Take this!!” Anna stabbed its neck with one of the sporks that were lying on the ground, “Now Ed! Shoot it while it’s down!”

“Right!” I shouted as I gripped my pistol tightly, “You ain’t getting us that easily you fucker!”

Bang!

“…”

It’s over. It’s finally, without a doubt, over. The adrenaline had finally worn out, leading to me falling to my knees from all the shock and fear that gradually built up over time. But I couldn’t rest now, we were in the middle of nowhere still, and if we were to stay here any longer, I’m sure more of these fucks would come.

I silently got up, hugged Anna with all my might, and then went to the driver’s seat. I pushed his dead body off onto the ground and sat in his place as I revved the engine up. Silently, without a word, we escaped this deadly predicament without a single wound, and drove all the way to Umoris.