Dragging my tired body, I threw myself onto the bed, burying my face in the pillow.
“Mmm.”
Of course… what I did was just a simple class, so my body wasn’t too bad.
But speaking in front of countless gazes really consumes a lot of mental energy.
…It’s hard.
I wriggled around on the bed like a little caterpillar.
“I really want to stop this soon….”
My voice echoed from the pillow, muting any sense of urgency.
“Well, if you want to stop, you can just quit, right?”
Nameless, somehow understanding, chirped from the side of my head.
With a low tone, I could almost see his furrowed brow even without looking at his face.
I peeked out from under the pillow and mumbled, “That’s true, but….”
Even so, I can’t just quit right away, can I?
My research on the staff is far from finished, and I have nothing planned right after leaving the Academy.
Well, I guess I’d just be holed up in my hut, swinging a sword around.
“Gah!”
…That might be okay?
The hair on my crown felt all spiky.
…Maybe it’s worth considering seriously.
“Hmm.”
I nodded, then stretched my arm toward Nameless sitting by my head.
“Nameless.”
“Yes, Master.”
I held my palm out as if asking for something, and after a deep sigh, Nameless handed me a strawberry with a comment.
“…That’s the last one.”
“What?”
I shot up, pointing to the corner of the room.
“Are you kidding?! Can’t you see that mountain of strawberries over there?!”
I puffed up my cheeks in protest.
And rightly so.
In the direction I pointed, there was a pile of strawberries, as big as the mountain Camilla showed me.
In the fierce struggle for justice, the strawberry dictator, Nameless, shook his head and pointed behind me.
“Do you know how many strawberries Master has eaten today?”
I tilted my head back; indeed, there were more ridiculous amounts of strawberry tops stacked up.
…I did eat a lot.
But!
The truth can’t be hidden!
I raised a finger and poked Nameless in the side.
“There are still plenty left!”
“…”
How many times did I poke him in the side?
“Master.”
“What now? Did you finally realize your mistake?”
“Well….”
Nameless, seemingly hesitating to say something, took a deep breath and then dropped the bombshell.
“Recently, maybe I’ve gained a bit of weight…”
“…What?”
I quickly lowered my arm and felt my sides and lower belly.
“Hmm…”
It felt just as squishy as always.
That’s ambiguous….
I hadn’t even felt my body getting heavier, so I couldn’t have gained weight, could I?
Narrowing my eyes in suspicion, I looked at Nameless, half-convinced he might be tricking me.
Nameless subtly avoided my gaze and finally spoke.
“…It’s true.”
“Impossible…”
As I felt my mood darken, my hair stood on end and my shoulders shrank.
…It seems like it might actually be true.
I couldn’t imagine Nameless lying to me. But still, I couldn’t give up hope until the very end.
In a trembly little voice, I asked Nameless, “So… did I gain a lot?”
“…”
Nameless didn’t respond at first.
He just looked at me softly and nodded slightly.
But that alone explained everything.
“…I see.”
I nodded resolutely, my expression stern.
“Then I can’t eat anything more today!”
Later that night, as Nameless was sleeping, it’s a sad story that all the strawberries vanished as if a thief had come in.
*
“…You say I’m being sought after?”
“Yes… they said it’s urgent…?”
On my way back to my room, a student I had bumped into a few times at the library approached me.
Apparently, Bell was looking for me.
The student hurriedly explained that while others might not seem in a rush, it was the first time Bell appeared so eager.
I expressed a small gratitude to the student and headed to Bell’s workshop.
-Creeeak!
“Bell, why did you call for me?”
“Uhehehe….”
Upon entering, I heard Bell’s somewhat sinister laugh.
“Ah… you’ve come….”
Wiping drool from her sleeve, Bell grinned at me.
Looking at her somewhat dazed smile, Bell gestured for me to come closer.
“C-come here….”
“Fine,”
Once I stood next to her, she showed me a staff, pouring her energy into it.
…Is it safe?
Feeling uneasy about potential mishaps, I stepped back a little.
“Now, watch closely…?”
Noticing that I was backing away, Bell made a whiny face and sighed dramatically.
As her energy flowed into the staff, something began to happen.
“…What?”
“Isn’t it super cool…?”
With sparkling eyes, Bell looked back at me, but my focus was on the staff—or rather, the sheath.
“…Sheath?”
“Y-yeah… I found out about something strange while investigating….”
Almost as if trying to hide something, Bell added softly, handing me the sheath.
“Um, it must be an extraordinary magician… I’ve never seen this magic before….”
“…Magic, huh.”
“If the foundation of magic… wasn’t based on alchemy, I probably wouldn’t have found it at all….”
Saying this, Bell chuckled lightly.
“Wow, what a huge discovery….”
I stared at the sheath in my hand.
…Of course, both Elia and I had no idea this even existed.
Wait a moment.
If so, does this mean the sheath we were looking for in the Demon Realm is the item Lili introduced?
Was Lili intentionally trying to put Nameless in danger?
…She hasn’t come to see me lately.
Let’s not jump to conclusions; I’ll just think of it as one of many possibilities.
“Ugh….”
My head throbbed suddenly from the influx of information.
As if she had no intention of being considerate of my feelings,
Bell had taken the sheath and pointed to some characters engraved on the top.
“And… I couldn’t interpret this yet.”
“This is….”
There, written in characters not found in this world, were the kanji for Nameless (무명), a name known to no one but me and him.
“…How on earth.”
I muttered quietly, rubbing my forehead.
The headache was real.
Bell looked at my reaction with increased interest and asked,
“Do you know this writing?”
As if momentarily taken aback by her stammering question, I nodded slightly, troubled.
There was a sort of unease in the glimmer of madness reflected in her eyes, and I murmured an affirmation.
“…I know it.”
It was my disciple’s name, after all; it should be hard to forget.
Things felt strange.
I tried to tilt my head to think further, but suddenly,
“Could you tell me what it means…!”
Bell suddenly grabbed my hand, leaning closer to my face.
“Y-You’re too close!”
“Wha? Just tell me…!”
“Back off!”
Showing my dislike vividly, I pulled my body back, and only then did Bell realize what she’d done, paling.
“I-I’m s-sorry…!”
Bowing deeply, Bell quaked slightly, obviously scared.
“…It’s fine, mistakes happen.”
I sighed, waving my hand lightly at Bell’s panicked state.
And, I felt a bit sorry for her, but….
I certainly couldn’t reveal what that word meant.
After all,
Nameless? That’s just too blatant.
I could only imagine the kind of looks my disciple would give me if I told her.
…Not to mention Lucius’s remark about the ‘Nameless One’ was genuinely shocking.
And now it seems even the characters on the sheath say Nameless.
“…Tsk.”
So what should I do?
According to Lucius, the Nameless One they’re pursuing is undoubtedly a villain.
But my disciple, Nameless, has been a good kid by my side since forever.
It just makes no sense, but the connection between that kanji and the Nameless One Lucius is chasing circles in my mind.
“Tsk.”
It’s meaningless to deny it any longer.
It seems likely that my disciple Nameless is somehow connected to that sheath.
Moreover, Lili is the one who disclosed that sheath to us.
Reflecting on her words the first time I met her, she mentioned acting according to the prophecy of the Demon King yet to awaken.
And remembering the time when Jackal came looking for the black-haired man in the mountains.
The circumstances I’ve tried to ignore are all pointing to Nameless.
Then is Nameless going to become a villain in the future?
“…”
I really don’t know.
But, well.
Even if that were the case, it doesn’t really change much.
After all, for now, it’s just circumstantial, merely a possibility.
I’m a coward.
As long as there’s even the slightest chance, I won’t be confident easily.
And.
As long as I’m Nameless’s master, surely no negative events will happen.
And if by chance they do….
What can I do?
I’ll have to help Nameless.
If that fails too,
Then I’ll have to cut down the misguided disciple I’ve raised myself.
Once I gather my thoughts, my mind feels clear.
