"Without the Black Hero's name, who are you?"
The tale of a former prince's glory as a nameless hero that drove the Empire to its destruction is buried under the name of a criminal.
"Lux, who are you?"
A son.
A brother.
A friend.
A partner.
A her...
「Ah.....well, I just thought you were acting somewhat strange. You could act like a child sometimes but, I don't think I've ever heard you speak childishly...? 」
The sun was going to set any moment now. They were flying west, above the forest below to get to the capital quickly.
「Heh~ a keen insight. I'm impressed, Onii-chan.」
「Ahh...... I'm not even flattered.」
They were talking about what happened earlier when Mel went ahead and gave him a baffling secret implication behind her words.
Lux then turned to Mel with a small grimace.
「However, I did not like the part where you pretty much did it on the spot. You don't know how confused I was.」
「Ahahahahaha! "All of my fingers" was the only thing I could think of when I wanted you to buy me 10 minutes.」
「 You better have a good reason for this. That was so embarrassing. It was obvious that I was trying to make small talk with those stupid questions.」
「Ehh, what's this. Is Onii-chan getting vexed by one simple mistake of your junior here? Gosh, and I thought highly of you too.」
Lux sighed at her obvious jests. And then, there was also another matter. Clearly, she wasn't taking this seriously if she wasn't planning on explaining if he doesn't probe first.
「....Well? Won't you tell me now why you put those back there?」
「Hmm...? Surely, you understand too, Onii-chan. We don't have the leeway to trust anyone right now. 」
「...That's,」
They were talking about the part when she had to have Lux distract the merchant with small talk while Mel stuck something to the crates.
What she stuck there was usually something Lux would strongly object to but, it seems he didn't put up much of a fight and it made her wonder why.
「....Ah, look. It's a stream. 」
「Oh, it is....... This is confusing. It feels like I'm not in Ymir at all.」
「There are unexpectedly a good number of rivers and meadows here too you know? Come, let's land and cool off for a bit.」
There were a lot of plants around which suited the atmosphere.
Lux looked at the river and thought of cooling off so he removed his coat and neatly folded his turtleneck sleeves as to not get them wet later.
(It was unusually humid today so I felt a little uncomfortable, but I still feel chilly. The nation of the north indeed.)
As Lux was brushing off the plants in his way to catch up to Mel who landed near the edge of the banks, he noticed the parsleys.
(Come to think of it, lately I'm always getting hurt here and there. I think I heard something about this having good blood clotting effects. Maybe I should get some?)
As he brushed past the parsleys thinking that, a hot stinging feeling started to tingle on his arms.
「—!!!」
Mel immediately turned to him and was alarmed to see a part of his arms tainted with the hue of red, the redness on his skin spreading to only (thankfully) a small part.
She immediately grabbed and pushed his arms to the water. Lux looked once more at the plants that surrounded the banks of the stream. He blanched at the realization that those weren't parsleys.
「—Water hemlock?」
Normally, coming into contact with it usually doesn't pose a risk (for skin irritation or rashes) unless you accidentally ingest it, which, in most cases, can result in death. However, it seems it was just his luck to never know that he has unexpectedly, sensitive skin. Fortunately, it looked like it was just a simple irritation for touching it carelessly.
While Lux was enduring the disturbing itch and the slight pain of the irritation, Mel immediately got out her device and activated Dragon-Voice.
「Reporting from Ymir. We've found what seems to be a potential poison used in our case. It seems the abundance of water hemlock in some western meadow near the banks of streams would make it easy for anyone to harvest it without being suspicious.」
「.....Specifics?」
The one who replied was their captain, Magialca Zen Vanfrick. She was also the one who instigated this investigation and currently, dispatched the Paladins to their designated locations.
「We were flying west. We should be near the southern gates of the capital.」
「Good. Is anyone else there?」
「So far we've encountered just one merchant who was going to set up his goods at the capital markets to sell tomorrow. However, there is currently no one in our surroundings.」
「...Alright. I heard the New Kingdom's raid squad is going to arrive there any moment now? Deal with them on your own. Make sure they know nothing of this.」
「....Understood.」
After they both signed off, Lux was still groveling on the ground while his arms lay outstretched at the river. It seems the stinging was still there but, if they wait it out, it could be gone later with some medication.
「Geez, Onii-chan. You couldn't be any more careful huh? And it seems your skin is a bit more sensitive.」
「I'm sorry... I was careless—!!」
Suddenly, something made his spine run cold. He looked everywhere in a panic.
And then he froze. He saw it.
In the distance of the meadows, in the midst of the slowly falling snow while the winds started to accelerate.....
A man stood there.
Bright hollow eyes.
And a smile.
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