The morning on Philo's Hill was always quiet. Silver grass swayed in the wind, and a bird called out from somewhere distant. The white castle walls of the royal capital Blancheir hovered hazily against the northern sky. Riko touched her fingers to the embroidery on her apron and took a deep breath. The air of Luca was sweet, just as always. Nothing like the residential streets of Tokyo—it carried a faint scent like confectionery, gentle and kind. "Alright. Twenty days left. Let's do our best today too." She adjusted the shoulder strap of her backpack while muttering to herself. Inside were five financiers made with Miela honey, baked this morning at Atelier Momo. Sweets made with Luca's ingredients didn't cause problems when brought here. In fact, tasting them on-site and researching flavors had become her recent habit. "—Don't move." The moment the voice fell from above, Riko's body froze. It was low. Quiet, yet utterly devoid of gentleness. At the top of the hill, right beside the stone monument. A man stood there. Silver armor. It gleamed, catching the morning light. He was tall—a full head taller than Riko. His short silver hair swayed slightly in the breeze. And his eyes were gold. Sharp as blades, that gaze pointed straight at her. A thin scar ran beside one eye. In his right hand, a sword. Pointed directly at her. "Uh... wait—" Riko took a step back. Her foot caught. She felt herself floating for an instant—then thud. She stumbled over the backpack at her feet and fell hard. The backpack rolled across the ground. Something flew out of it. With a soft clink, a small paper-wrapped package landed at the man's feet. A Miela honey financier. The wrapping paper, carefully folded, had come slightly open, revealing a golden-baked pastry peeking out halfway. A wonderful aroma wafted up. The man—apparently a knight—kept his sword raised as his gaze flickered to the package for just a moment. Then, as if pulled by something, he bent his knee and picked it up. For all his knightly reflexes, it was less "swiftly retrieved" and more "conditioned reflex made his hand move." The problem came next. As he lifted the package, the financier that had been peeking out touched the knight's lips. It landed right on his mouth with a soft pat. The man went still. One second. Two seconds. Slowly, the financier slipped into his mouth. Riko remained on the ground, hands planted, eyes wide as she watched. The man's cheeks gradually flushed red. "..." Silence. The hand holding the sword trembled faintly. His golden eyes took on an expression of disbelief. Then the man quickly wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and tried to compose his expression. But the redness in his cheeks simply wouldn't fade. "[surprised] You ate it!?" Riko shouted as she pushed herself up from the ground. "This is—" "Then let me off! You ate it, so come on, let's make a deal!" The man narrowed his eyes. His cheeks were still flushed. "[cold] I absolutely will not." The answer came instantly. "What!?" "[serious] I am Eldo Varein, Vice-Captain of the Third Squad of the Tilnade Royal Guard Knights of Luca. By authority of the Interdimensional Travel Prohibition Edict, I am placing you under arrest." The words came like arrows. Riko stood dumbfounded. "I-inter-dimensional... prohibition edict?" Eldo sheathed his sword and continued, his expression completely composed. Though Riko noticed his ears were still slightly red. "[serious] In Luca, opening a passage to another world without the king's permission is a grave crime. Violators are brought before the royal court. In the worst case, you face exile from the kingdom." "Exile from the kingdom..." Her mind raced with calculations. (This is bad. I have to deliver sweets to the king within thirty days. If I get exiled, it's all over!) The color drained from Riko's face. Eldo watched her reaction impassively, then turned on his heel. "[serious] Come to the knight headquarters. We'll confirm the details there. It's a nuisance, but..." "Wait, you're taking me!? Just hold on, let me explain—" "[cold] Walk." --- The road to the royal capital Blancheir was longer than she'd imagined. The two of them walked along a dirt path heading northwest from Philo's Hill. Farmland stretched out on both sides, and by the time the white castle walls came into view, the sun had climbed considerably high. Eldo walked forward the entire time, his back straight, his stride long. Riko had to jog slightly to keep up. "Hey," "Be silent and walk." "Has Tilnade always been a knight order?" Eldo sighed. "[serious] ...It was founded about 180 years ago. At the time, magical beasts were ravaging the food-producing regions in massive numbers. The king created this unit to protect his people. Currently, we have 240 members. Our primary duties are defending the capital and patrolling the food-producing areas." Then, as an afterthought: "[cold] ...The hill you infiltrated is also within our patrol zone." "That's why you always show up so fast!" "Every time?" "Oh..." She wished she hadn't said that. Eldo's sharp gaze turned toward her. "How many times have you come?" "Um..." "Answer." Riko counted on her fingers while hugging her backpack. In three months... how many times was it? Seeing the furrow between Eldo's brows deepen, she hastily changed the subject. "Hey, was the financier delicious?" "..." Silence. A long silence. Eldo continued walking forward. His ears seemed to flush slightly red again. "You don't have to answer. Yes, I understand." Riko laughed softly. --- It happened around the midpoint of the road. The grass on the right side of the path, knee-high, rustled violently. With a sound like grass being kicked aside—a massive shadow burst forth. Two meters tall. Four thick legs. Two large curved horns extending from its head. A boar. But not an ordinary one. Glowing lines ran along its joints, and its eyes shone red. A low growl resonated from its entire body. (A magical beast—!) Eldo reacted instantly. He jumped in front of Riko, positioning himself protectively behind her. His right hand grasped the sword's hilt. It took less than a second. "[serious] Get back." His voice was low, quiet, and utterly commanding. The horned boar charged. The sound of its hooves thundered against the ground. Eldo didn't move an inch. He timed it perfectly, and just as the boar reached him, he sidestepped and swung his sword diagonally downward. Clang! The blade struck the horn, sending sparks flying. The boar's charge was deflected, and it flew sideways. But. The boar's horn, following its curved trajectory as it recovered, grazed Eldo's left arm. Precisely through a gap in the armor. Eldo's movement stopped for just an instant. The boar regained its footing, growled, backed away, then turned and bolted toward the forest. The grass rustled as its footsteps faded into the distance. Silence returned. "[scared] Eldo!!" Riko rushed over. From the gap in Eldo's left arm's armor, something red was seeping through. A cut. The fabric beneath was torn where the horn had struck. "It's fine. The wound is shallow." "It's not fine!! You're bleeding!!" Eldo tried to pull his arm away, but Riko had already plunged her hand into her backpack. She rummaged through it. The financier wrapper, a notebook, her phone, a pen... a bottle of Miela honey. Right, she had some left from what she'd bought from Jorgue yesterday. Riko pulled out a handkerchief—a clean white one. She soaked it generously with Miela honey and gently pressed it against Eldo's wound. "[cold] What are you—" "Just wait. Jorgue told me about this—apparently Miela honey helps wounds heal when you apply it." "Folk medicine—" "Look." Both of them looked at the arm. From where the handkerchief was pressed, something was visibly changing. The redness of the wound was fading. The edges of the skin slowly, but unmistakably, were closing. At a speed visible to the eye. The bleeding stopped, the edges met—and in less than three minutes, only a scar remained. Eldo stared at his own arm, motionless. His expression had frozen. "This stuff heals bug bites too with just a little application. Pretty amazing, right?" Eldo slowly turned to look at her. His golden eyes held a color she hadn't seen before. Surprise—that much was clear. But beyond that, Riko couldn't read anything else. (He's making a complicated face. Is he angry? Happy? Which is it?) "[serious] ...The power of food." He murmured it softly, like a whisper to himself. --- After that, the two walked in silence for a while. The castle walls of the capital drew closer. White stone buildings spread beyond the outer walls, and merchants led cargo carts along the road. Lively voices drifted from the distance. The sounds of Luca's streets. Eldo spoke without turning his head. "[serious] Until I report to the palace—you remain under my supervision." Riko tilted her head in confusion. "Huh?" "[serious] If I let you roam free, there's no telling what you'll do. This is neither arrest nor release. Do you understand?" "...So you're saying you'll stay with me?" "[cold] No." Instant reply. "Supervision." "But staying with me is the same thing as supervision!" "[sarcastic] It's a matter of terminology. It's a nuisance, but..." Eldo's gaze shifted slightly away. Seeing that, Riko couldn't help but smile softly. It wasn't so much happiness as relief. The thought of going to meet the king alone had been constantly weighing on her. With only twenty days left and knowing almost nothing about Luca, she had no one to rely on. And then, suddenly, this man appeared. He was a stern knight, not her type, but at least he knew about Luca's circumstances. "Then thanks for your help, Eldo—" "[cold] Call me Vice-Captain Varein." "That's too long!" "..." Eldo turned forward again. Riko pulled out her notebook and began recalculating how many leaves remained for the day. "I need to recount how many leaves I have left today." It was meant as a murmur, but she caught Eldo glancing at her sideways. His brow twitched slightly. He said nothing after that. The two walked side by side toward the white castle walls. Eldo's large shadow and Riko's small shadow stretched across the dirt road, overlapping as they went. ————— Eldo quickened his pace slightly while still facing forward. It was the moment she'd asked why he became a knight. "[serious] ...The conversation is over." He said only that, curtly. Riko tilted her head. She wondered if she'd made him angry, but she simply followed in silence. Eldo didn't answer. He only looked up at the sky once, as the dusk drew near. In that moment—unnoticed by anyone—a memory surfaced. Philo's Hill, in his childhood. That hill where silver grass swayed. A large back clad in silver armor walking away over the hill. His father's back. He'd said he was pursuing the scent of something from another world, and then he'd left. He never came back. This morning, when the portal's light opened on Philo's Hill. His body had moved before his mind could think. His feet had run before reason could catch up. Eldo closed his eyes once, then opened them again. Riko knew nothing. She simply walked along, innocently counting her leaves. That was fine. "...It's a nuisance, but..." This time, his voice was truly small.