Vermillion

Chapter 35 – Advice

A silver mushroom standing still in a tranquil room.

It made Kei remember the first time he’d encountered a contractible Spirit on the field during his game days. He was just as surprised back then when the Spirit suddenly appeared before his eyes. He, however, failed to make a contract with it as he couldn’t fulfill the requirements.

Kei and Aileen approached that person slowly, frightfully even.

“Excuse us, Sir.”

The man who was absorbed in reading a file turned around.

The moment Kei saw his face, he almost burst into laughter. He appeared to be in his late fifties, and had somewhat charming features — a round face, a snub nose, and drooping eyes.

On top of all that, his hairstyle. His mushroom-cut looked so carefully tended that it actually felt contrived. Looking at him from close proximity, Kei could see that even his bangs were perfectly vertical.

However, it would be beyond rude if he laughed during their first meeting, so Kei strained his iron will to suppress his amusement.

“—Yes?”

“…Am I correct to assume that you are Mr. Valgren Kremrart?”

“Yes, I am indeed Valgren Kremrart, but who might you… Oh, wait.”

Mushroom’s — aka Valgren’s gaze shifted back and forth between Kei and Aileen.

“I seem to remember your face. Aren’t you the winner of the martial tournament’s marksmanship division? I believe you were called… Kei Nogawa?”

“That’s right. Were you present during the tournament?”

“Ah, yes, I watched your performance. From afar, however.”

He answered with a playful wink. However, Kei somehow sensed a cunning glint in his eyes. Though his hairstyle was deceiving, his intuition told him that he was no simple, good-hearted old man.

“So then, what business might Mr. Champion have with me?”

Valgren asked with a friendly smile. Pulling himself together, Kei cleared his throat and answered.

“I realize this might sound impudent, but we have an earnest favor.”

He roughly explained that they got to know about Valgren through the Encyclopedia’s Northland and Haunted Forest entries, and that they were planning to head to the Haunted Forest.

“—And as such, we thought it would be smart to ask a specialist like you for an opinion.”

“…Hmm, I see, I see.”

Valgren gave a small nod, erasing his smile as he gazed out through a nearby window.

Gentle midday sunlight spilled into the library. White doves could be seen beyond, flapping their wings as they flew away.

He silently slid a hand into his pocket and took out a pocket watch. The dial had a faint light pulsating within — it was a magic clock. He glanced at the time and closed the cover.

“Alright then, talking while standing would be awkward, so why don’t we sit down, Mr. Kei? Also, the young lady next to you.”

Immediately after he said so, Valgren promptly sat down on a nearby sofa. Following suit, Kei sat down opposite him with Aileen taking the place next to him.

It was a soft, comfortable polster sofa with a deep green coloring. The cover’s fabric was made out of smooth silk with piquant embroideries of delicate flowers. The two had already sat on these sofas a number of times, but the smooth texture caused them to reflexively brush the polster with their hands each and every single time.

“…Now, before we continue, may I ask you a few things?”

Making himself comfortable, Valgren put his hand on the armrest and supported his chin.

“Of course, go ahead.”

“First, I would like to hear the motivation behind your goal. Why did the Étranger of the Fog, or Haunted Forest entries catch your interest? Also, why did you decide to actually visit the Haunted Forest? Excuse my rudeness, but you two don’t appear like enthusiastic history students to me, and Northland is too far away for it to stem from simple curiosity. Moreover, that young lady seems to be a Snowlander, so shouldn’t she know a lot more about the area over there than me?”

His amused yet serene eyes were pinned on Kei.

“…Right.”

Kei looked over at Aileen to ask for her opinion, but she merely answered with a shrug. Apparently, she was leaving everything to him.

Kei believed that there would be no point in covering up information when asking a specialist for advice, so he decided to be honest about their circumstances to some extent.

“Well, Étranger of the Fog might refer to the two of us—”

He started to explain in chronological order while keeping the parts about the game and otherworldly elements vague. He explained that they entered a white fog and lost consciousness, only to find themselves on a grassland of this world when they woke up.

“—So we are trying to determine where we are, and whether or not we can return to our homeland. We’re expecting to find clues in the Haunted Forest.”

“…I see.”

Valgren gazed into the air as he listened to Kei’s explanation. While he was lost in thoughts, his right hand reached for the top of his head but stopped just as his fingers were about to touch it — pulling away without doing anything.

“So, in short, the two of you wish to determine a way back home, and plan to leave the duchy eventually — is that correct?”

“No, I still haven’t decided on leaving. I’m personally quite fond of my life here. But I wish to at least ascertain what happened back then.”

“I see. Does that go for the young lady too?”

“Huh?”

Aileen’s shoulders jumped when the conversation suddenly shifted to her.

“I-I… I’ll think about it after we’ve made sure whether we can go back.”

“I see…”

“……”

It was hard to say what he read out of Aileen’s hesitation, but Valgren nodded many times over.

Kei, however, remained silent.

“…Well, I roughly understand your goal now. In that case, the Haunted Forest will indeed be a place of great interest for you two.”

“So you’re saying there’s a point in going there.”

“Indeed, I suppose you could say that, yes.”

Valgren smiled faintly, lowering his voice, as if they were having a secret talk.

“—To tell you the truth, I have been there myself before. In the Haunted Forest, I mean.”