The Girl Raised by the Death God Holds the Sword of Darkness in Her Arms - Volume 7 - Chapter 5.4

IV

The Military District of the Emaleid Citadel

It was well after lunch when Claudia realized she couldn’t see Olivia.

Where has the general gotten to? Starting out with the mess hall, she searched everywhere she could think of, but Olivia was nowhere to be found. She asked Ellis, Evanson, and the others she passed on the way if they knew Olivia’s whereabouts, but they only shook their heads helplessly.

Gile would probably have had no trouble guessing where she is. He was always boasting about how there was nothing about the general he didn’t know... Sometimes it was only after losing someone that their worth revealed itself, and Gile was a case in point. Love him or hate him, Gile had breathed energy into the Eighth Legion. As though to get away from the memory of his face, Claudia unconsciously increased her pace. After that, she went through the commander’s station from top to bottom, but could not find Olivia anywhere.

If I still haven’t found her, that means...

She could only think of one other place that Olivia was likely to go. Claudia left the military district, her feet carrying her into the rows of shops and businesses of the residential district.

The Residential District

“Nice cuts of ash boar in store today!”

“Get in quick for the ripest cloudy peaches!” Animated voices called out from the shops lining the streets. As always, the residential district bustled with throngs of folk going about their business.

This is a world away from how things were while we were fighting the Crimson Knights. I suppose it’s just a sign of how much time has passed. Still, if only the people knew how things stand for the kingdom right now...

Cornelius had practically been Fernest’s guardian deity. When the people learned of his death, along with that of Paul, supreme commander of the Seventh Legion and the fearsome God of the Battlefield, the despair it would inspire was easy to imagine. With the arrival of the dead pressed into service to the empire, Fernest was facing a crisis like nothing ever before.

Even then, if Ashton were still alive...! No, stop it! Get it together, Claudia, or then where will you be?! She slapped her cheeks to drive Ashton’s smiling face out of her mind, then, spotting a shop that Olivia might have stopped off at, she started asking around.

Thirty minutes passed. As she finished questioning her tenth shopkeeper, Claudia couldn’t help a wry smile. It seems the general has really won the hearts of the people of Emaleid. The fact that Olivia was known in every shop she went into had been surprising in and of itself, but what really stood out was the way they all talked about her as if she were part of their own family. She inquired further, but only got more of the same. At last, Claudia came to a stop.

I thought she’d be here... she thought. Honestly, where can she have gone? As she stood there at a loss in the middle of the street, someone tapped her on the shoulder. Claudia turned and found herself face-to-face with a woman of generous proportions. The woman was a total stranger to her.

“I beg your pardon, but have we met?” she said.

“We haven’t, but would I be right in thinking you to be Lady Claudia?”

“Er, yes, that’s right, but...” As Claudia tried to make sense of how the woman had accurately guessed who she was, the woman, pointing out that they were in the way here in the middle of the street, led her beneath the eaves of a closed shop.

“I’m terribly sorry to stop you when you’re busy with your military duties.”

“I’m not worried about that, but how did you know my name?”

“Our little lieutenant talks about you all the time, Lady Claudia. I wondered when I saw you, and so I took the liberty of coming over.” The woman was looking at her with a satisfied smile.

Claudia tilted her head. “‘Little lieutenant’?” she repeated.

“Young girl, silver hair so beautiful you’d think she was an angel?”

“Ah.” There was only one person Claudia knew of with silver hair, and once she’d mentioned angels, it was clear the woman meant Olivia. This at once dispelled all her doubts. What the connection was, Claudia had no idea, but apparently this woman and Olivia were acquainted.

“You really are just like our little lieutenant says, you know,” the woman said, giving her a thorough looking-over. Claudia was more than a little surprised to learn that Olivia had talked about her. What concerned her more, however, was what had been said.

“So, ah... What did Lieutenant General Olivia have to say about me?”

“She said you have very pretty eyes, that you are noble and kind, and also that you are stunningly beautiful.”

“O-Oh.” It was so far from what she had been expecting that Claudia could only stammer incoherently. “The, um, the general said all that...?”

“Now, the reason I called you out of your way like this. It’s none other than our little lieutenant herself...” The woman’s cheery expression grew serious.

“The general—did something happen to Lieutenant General Olivia?”

“It was about two hours back; I happened to catch sight of her. It—”

“You what?! Where was this?!” Claudia demanded, so surprised that this woman of all people knew something about Olivia’s whereabouts that she took a step toward her.

Looking alarmed, the woman turned to look over her shoulder and said, “She was heading straight down the street just past here—”

According to the woman, she had happened to catch sight of Olivia in the warehouse district. She had been about to call out to her, but Olivia’s expression was so forbidding that she’d hesitated.

“She’s usually such a cheerful girl that it made me wonder, you know. You wouldn’t have any ideas, would you, Lady Claudia?” It was obvious from how the woman spoke that this was not mere talk—she was genuinely concerned for Olivia. Naturally, Claudia did have an idea, but that was all the more reason she couldn’t tell this woman about it.

“I... No, I don’t,” Claudia lied, feeling wretched. From the look that came over the woman’s face, she was not deceived.

“No matter how important a general she might be, she’s still only a child. She really seems to trust you, Lady Claudia. I only ask you take good care of her.” The woman bowed deeply. Her hands were clenched tight in front of her apron. She must have loved Olivia as though she were her own daughter. Otherwise, she would never have been able to make such a gesture to a total stranger.

“Ma’am, I understand,” Claudia said. “Please stop bowing.” From a certain angle, it might have looked like she was a soldier abusing her power over a civilian—and indeed, a few of the passersby were sending them sideways looks. But the woman raised her head.

“Wish that young man well for me too. From what I’ve seen, our little lieutenant relies on him just as much as you, my lady.”

Claudia understood at once who she was talking about. In the same moment, she felt a stabbing pain in her chest, as though a thorny vine had wrapped itself around her heart.

“Yes, of...course...I’ll tell him...”

“Lady Claudia?”

“Well, I’d best run. Excuse me, ma’am.”

The woman’s eyes widened. “Wait! You don’t mean something happened—!”

Shaking off the woman’s attempt to stop her, Claudia ran. She didn’t need a mirror to know what a miserable sight she must be.

Quite unlike the residential district, the streets of the warehouse district were almost empty. Claudia made her way confidently past laborers carrying what were probably food supplies into a storehouse until she reached the main gate. There, she called out to the guard.

“Private Malkin, has General Olivia passed the gate?”

“Colonel Claudia?!” Malkin spluttered. “Ser, I can’t tell you what an honor it is that you remembered my name!”

“I would appreciate it if you answered my question,” Claudia said with a crooked smile.

“Just so, ser,” Malkin replied hastily. “Did, um, something happen to Lieutenant General Olivia? I don’t mean to presume too much, ser, but she looked a bit out of sorts.”

“Nothing you need concern yourself with, Private. Keep up the good work.”

“Yes, ser! Begging your pardon!” Malkin saluted. Claudia pressed straight on without hesitation. She had a good idea now of where Olivia had gone.

She was here, after all... Claudia’s destination was a hill not far from the citadel, a picturesque location that overlooked all of Emaleid. There, resting her hand on a broad-leafed elma tree, stood Olivia. With her long, silver hair rippling in the breeze, Claudia thought she looked beautiful, but also ephemeral, as though she might disappear.

After a while, Olivia, without looking around, said, “I’m impressed you worked out I was here.”

Claudia came over to stand beside her, gazing down at Emaleid just as Olivia was doing. “I remembered Ashton telling us how he liked to lean up against this elma tree and read. I thought if there was somewhere you’d go...”

“Ah...” Olivia said. “Hey Claudia, do you know about the effects of elma trees? They’re fascinating.”

“Effects, General?”

“Right. Humans find the scent of its leaves very calming.”

“The elma tree has that property? I had no idea...” Claudia looked up with fresh eyes at the tree. It must have stood as tall as ten men. The leaves that spread out in a lush canopy over the hill did have a distinctive aroma.

Olivia reached out and plucked off a leaf, then held it up to her nose and quietly closed her eyes.

“It made me think—if the whole world were covered in elma trees, maybe then humans wouldn’t fight with each other anymore. War would just be something you read about in books.”

“I...”

Claudia knew very well that there was nothing so human as the act of war. So long as there were humans in the world, there would also be war. It was one side of a coin, and peace was the other—history had proved this time and again.

While Claudia struggled to think of a reply, Olivia linked her fingers, then stretched up toward the sky.

“Before Twin Lions at Dawn, Ashton and I came up here loads to read on our days off. We brought our favorite books and swapped them. Ashton would lean up against the elma tree, just like you said, and I’d lie on the ground next to him, and we’d read. Come to think of it, for some reason most of the books he brought were adventure stories. I finished them straightaway, so I’d just doze off there on the ground. Then when I woke up, we ate whatever Ashton made for us together. He used to laugh at me and say I seemed more interested in eating than reading. After I’d read my book from cover to cover—pretty rude, don’t you think?”

Those scant few days of quiet, ordinary life with Ashton in the midst of a bitter war were clearly a cherished memory for Olivia. Indeed, a smile lit up her face as she spoke. To Claudia, however, Olivia looked for all the world as though she were about to cry, and the sight made her chest grow suffocatingly tight.

A soft breeze wove its way over the hill, setting Claudia’s hair gently swaying. A butterfly perched on a white flower spread its wings, ready to take flight.

“Do you remember me saying there were lots of things Ashton wanted to do when we had peace again?” Claudia asked.

“Yes, of course,” Olivia replied.

“Well, there really were a lot. I laughed my head off when he listed them off and told him even with three of himself, he’d never get through it all. One of them was to travel and see the world. He said there’s a limit to what you can learn from books, and so it was important to really see and hear and touch all sorts of things. I’m sure that’s why he brought you so many adventure books.”

“Huh, so Ashton wanted to see the world...?” Olivia said. For a while, the two fell silent. Then, Claudia took a cracked pen from her pocket for Olivia to see.

“Is that...?”

“I’m told you gave it to Ashton as a present. Getting a gift from you must have made him very happy. It seems he kept it close at all times.” Claudia held out the pen. “I am returning it to you, General.”

With a tiny shake of her head, Olivia refused to take it. “I gave it to Ashton. You hold on to it, Claudia. I’m sure that’s what Ashton wants too.”

“I-I can’t!” Olivia stared at her in confusion as Claudia grabbed her hand and wrapped her fingers around the pen. Claudia had the sense she didn’t know what to do.

“Claudia...”

“I can’t... I... Ashton wanted you to have it, General, I’m sure of that.”

“He didn’t—”

“He did,” Claudia insisted. Olivia looked more confused than ever.

I’m sure Ashton would have...

Claudia took a few steps back, then saluted with a loud click of her heels.

“There is a war council scheduled for noon tomorrow, ser,” she announced, then, without waiting for Olivia to reply, she walked quickly down the hill. In her thoughts all the while was that she had realized her feelings too late.

Left alone once more, Olivia thought over Claudia’s stubborn refusal to take the pen, but got no closer to understanding it. She’d started to feel like Claudia and Ashton made sense to her, but perhaps in reality, she hadn’t understood them at all.

She thought about what came next. I actually managed to see Z, after searching for all that time. Now that I’ve achieved my goal, I don’t have any reason to stay in the Royal Army. Claudia would still be my friend even if I left, and the same goes for all the others. When I said I’d quit the army, Claudia was against it, but I’m sure she’d be happy for me in the end. I mean, there’s no one anywhere as kind as she is...

A memory came back to her, drawn forth by the pen she still held in her hand. It was a memory of Ashton.

“To think the day would come that Olivia Valedstorm would ask me to teach her how to use money. There’ll be thunderstorms tomorrow if we’re lucky—worst case, fire and brimstone raining from above.” Ashton looked up at the sky and shivered.

“You’re so funny, Ashton,” Olivia said, laughing. “You know you’re probably one of the funniest humans alive.”

“What’s that supposed to mean, ‘funniest humans alive’? I actually half believe it— Augh!” As Ashton looked about to walk straight by their destination, Olivia grabbed him by the back of his collar.

“We’re here.”

“You—ack, ack!—you just about killed me!” Ashton choked out, then looked around them. “This is the place?”

“Yep. Come on, let’s go in.”

“Are you sure this is right? Just in case, you know they don’t sell food, right?”

“I know that.” Olivia took no notice of Ashton’s frown as he looked up at the sign, taking his hand and pulling him over the threshold. Inside the dimly lit store, the shelves were crammed with all sorts of bits and pieces, just as they had been last time.

“I want to buy this.” Without further ado, Olivia reached into the back of a shelf and pulled out—

“A pen? What? You want a pen?”

“Yep.” Olivia twirled the pen between her fingers. Ashton gave her an intense look. Olivia thought he might bore a hole in her if he kept staring like that.

“Are you sure you’re feeling all right? That’s not a pen-shaped cake. It’s a real pen.”

“I feel like you’re being mean to me...” Olivia said, before continuing as though she’d never stopped. “Anyway, do you think this is enough money?” She unstrapped her purse from her belt and opened it up to show Ashton. As he peered inside, his eyes widened.

“Just a minute, there’s nothing but Estorian gold coins in there!”

“It isn’t enough?”

“Forget ‘enough,’ with this you could buy the whole store and then some. One of these would be too much.”

“So one coin will do it! Got it.” Olivia cheerfully took the pen over to the shopkeeper, then produced a single gold coin. “I want to exchange this coin for this pen.”

The shopkeeper gaped at the coin, then at Olivia.

“Is there something on my face?” she asked seriously.

“Er, no, ma’am...” the shopkeeper stammered. “Am I correct in my understanding that you wish to make a purchase?”

Olivia confirmed this. The shopkeeper gaped at the coin again. “Er, much as it pains me to show disrespect to one of our soldiers...” He hesitated. “Would you mind if I took a look at that?”

Olivia only cocked her head at him, so Ashton answered for her. “Not at all. Inspect it however you like.”

The shopkeeper thanked him for the permission, then took a set of scales down from a shelf and set about authenticating the coin. It looked like a difficult task with Olivia watching him so closely that her nose almost touched the scales.

After a while, the shopkeeper looked up. “I apologize for the wait. This is undoubtedly an Estorian gold coin.”

“Huh? You thought it might be a fake?”

“Huh?”

Olivia and the shopkeeper stared at each other with identical expressions of surprise, albeit for different reasons.

Ashton sighed quietly. “Olivia, the value of Estorian gold is so high that ordinary stores don’t deal in it.”

“How come? I mean, it’s all money, isn’t it?”

“It’s all money, but we use different kinds of money depending on the situation. Look, I’d be happy to explain in detail, but you’re not interested either way, are you?”

Olivia shook her head at top speed. “Nope, absolutely, one hundred percent zero interest. Money’s just as massive a pain as I thought.” She looked like she was already sick to death of the whole thing as she accepted her change, then dropped it carelessly into her purse. She then picked up her purchase and immediately held it out to Ashton.

“Huh? What’s this?”

“I’m giving it to you.”

“But you just bought it...” Ashton stopped short. “Wait. Could it be that you bought it for me?”

“That’s exactly it,” Olivia replied matter-of-factly.

“Why this, all of a sudden...?” Ashton stammered. “I mean, this is silly...”

“It’s not silly at all. I mean, you have to write reports and stuff as part of your military duties, right? That’s why I thought it’d be good for you.”

“I can’t believe you...” Ashton said, incredulous. “What’re you always going and surprising me for? Basically, you’re giving me a present?”

“Right. I mean, it would be silly if I used your money to buy your own present, wouldn’t it? With all the things I’ve learned, I know at least that much,” Olivia said proudly, planting her legs apart.

Ashton was quiet for a moment. “Thank you, Olivia. I’ll take good care of it.”

Olivia still remembered with clarity the quiet smile on his face as, handling the pen as though it were a priceless treasure, he had tucked it away in his pocket. She could tell at once from the way it still gleamed as bright as the day she had bought it that up until it had cracked, he really had taken good care of it.

Ashton... she thought, slipping the pen into her pocket just as Ashton had done on that day. As she did so, she remembered what Z had said.

This war was the doing of Xenia and its puppet. If I defeat them both, the war will end. And then... Olivia looked down at the magic ruby that glittered at her breast, then drew the ebony blade from its scabbard. Z, she said silently, give me the strength to see this through to the end. She held the blade to her heart.

After that, she lay down on the hilltop and let the day pass in silence until the clouds drifting across the sky turned vermilion.

The girl left that hill with her heart full of new resolve.

As though in answer to her, black mist coiled up from the ebony blade.

To be continued in Death’s Daughter and the Ebony Blade Volume 7: Finale.