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I Will Save You – Part 04

It was a storage room. Sacks and wooden crates—what was inside of them, Hikaru had no idea—were cluttered about. From where he was standing, he could see iron bars deeper inside the room. Ancient script was engraved into them, emitting pale light. A magic seal.

It was a prison. An extremely solid one.

The inside, however, was neat and tidy. A painting hung by the wall. The cell was furnished with a cushioned chair, a bed that looked to be of better quality than what Hikaru had in his hotel room, and a table with piles of books. Adventure novels.

“…Is someone there?”

The girl was there.

Her long, neatly-trimmed silver hair reached just above her modest chest. She had bangs brushed to the right side of her face and underneath them, blue eyes—as blue as a mystical lake found deep inside the mountains—regarded Hikaru.

She’s beautiful.

Her beauty was out of this world. It was dark the night he killed Count Morgstadt, and he didn’t have the time to examine her closely.

She was wearing a dress as red as wine. She was apparently reading under the dim, orange light of a magic lamp.

Hikaru checked his mask. His face should be well-hidden.

Switching his Blessing would require taking out his guild card, so he just turned off his Stealth directly.

He seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

The girl gave a start. “Who are you?”

“…The one you helped.”

“I see. The person who killed the Count.”

He didn’t expect her to guess it right that quickly. Though it wasn’t that surprising. She might not have seen his face, but she saw his build.

“I’ve come to help you,” he said.

“Is that so? Thank you for coming. But I can’t get out of here.”

“Is this a magic prison?”

“A magic cell, yes. It was built by the guildmaster of the Alchemists’ Guilds. He’s the only one who can open it,” she said indifferently. Her voice was as clear as a tiny bell, yet seemingly devoid of emotion.

She was inside a cell, and the real culprit was before her. But she was as calm as she could get.

“I see. I didn’t expect the key to be a living person.”

“It will open if you kill the guildmaster. But you can’t do that.”

“What makes you think so?”

“Because you have a pure heart. You can’t kill innocent people.”

“The guildmaster could be someone wicked who deserves to die.”

“No, he’s a good man. Earnest and sincere, he seeks the truth behind magic.”

“Don’t you want to get out of here? You saved me. I have a reason to help you. If you wish to be free—”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because I’ve already achieved my goal.”

For the first time, emotions flickered in the girl’s eyes.

“Because you killed that man for me.”

He saw emotions from her—relief, as if she’d found repose in the death of the Count.

“Sounds like a lot of people didn’t like that guy.”

“Very few liked him.”

“He was that horrible, huh?”

“Just the thought of his blood running in my veins makes me want to die.”

Then it dawned on Hikaru. He killed her father.

“You’re Count Morgstadt’s… daughter?”

“In a technical sense, yes. Please don’t look at me like that. Did your parents lock you up inside the house? Treat you like a tool? I wonder how long it’s been since I’ve gone outside. Not once since I moved here, so around four years, I suppose.”

“The Count placed you under house arrest?”

“He feared me. But he couldn’t get rid of me because I was valuable to him.”

Her choice of words was probably something she picked up from Morgstadt in their everyday interactions. Cold, inhuman words.

“Why do you think the Alchemists’ Guild’s guildmaster had to personally come to build the magical cell for a young girl?”

Hikaru swallowed. Pale, blue light—almost as blue as her eyes—gathered around her. The air’s density changed, making it hard to breathe.

“Because I can use extraordinary magic—magic that only knows how to destroy.”

The light vanished, and Hikaru’s body felt lighter. His back was drenched in sweat. He had activated his Mana Detection so he knew that that was a mass of pure magical power just now. Incredible amount of mana filled the whole cell, so much so that her body seemed to have vanished.

He wanted to check her Soul Board, but he couldn’t bring it out. The moment he tried summoning her Soul Board, the blue runes on the cell started glowing, jamming his ability.

The cell had completely shut down her magical power as well. It wasn’t just the iron bars; the walls, floor, the ceiling all had ancient markings. Yet even the air around Hikaru, who was standing outside of the prison, changed. Her power was immense.

“Thank you for coming all the way here. I never thought anyone, much less the actual culprit, would come to save me.”

“Who pinned the murder on you?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“It does. There’s just too much stuff I don’t understand. Don’t you hate your own power? Then why did you show it to me?”

She tilted her head slightly and smiled. “You asked who pinned the murder on me. There’s the clue to your question’s answer.”

“What do you mean?”

“In a few days, I’ll be transported to the capital as a murderer. His Majesty will then show my power to his subjects. Once the kingdom knows about it, I’ll be incorporated into the expeditionary force under the pretext of atoning for the murder of my own father. They’ll turn me into a weapon of slaughter, killing endlessly in the front lines of war. I will die on the battlefield in the not-too-distant future. I will be known as a mass murderer who killed her father, and since that will stain the historic Kingdom of Ponsonia’s reputation, my whole existence will be buried in darkness.”

“Wait, so you’re saying… that the one who pinned the murder on you…” Hikaru swallowed. “…is the King.”

“As someone who’s concerned about me, I wanted to at least let you know,” she said, neither affirming nor denying Hikaru’s statement. “That I existed.”

“…”

So fragile, Hikaru thought. How could this girl be so fragile? How could she give up on life so easily?

“Patrols should be here soon, so you should go home… And don’t come back.”

Their worlds were too different. Hikaru was estranged from his parents too. He was more or less aware that he grew up bitter because of it.

But what about her? Not only had she not felt a parent’s love, she was treated as a tool. And she accepted that.

Tools don’t want to live freely? Live their own life?

No.

The girl’s hands, clasped together, were shaking ever so slightly.

Of course not.

Hikaru removed his mask. The girl stared at his face, a little surprised. His appearance had changed slightly since she saw him that fateful night.

His hair and eyes were now completely black.

“I want to know your name,” Hikaru said, holding her gaze.

“You don’t need to know. Soon it will be forgotten—”

“I’m Hikaru.”

She had given up on life? Not at all. That couldn’t be farther from the truth.

“Tell me your name.”

If she did, her hands wouldn’t be shaking.

If she did, she wouldn’t be reading adventure novels.

If she did, she wouldn’t be reluctant to give her name.

She was scared that giving her name would make her harbor hope.

“My name is Lavia D. Morgstadt… No, it’s Lavia. Just Lavia.”

If she did give up, then why were her cheeks wet?

“Lavia, I will—”

“No!” she exclaimed. “Don’t say any more. I don’t want to expect anything. Once I do, I won’t be able to stop hoping. I was fortunate enough that the man who tied me down is gone. I can’t wish for any more than that.”

But Hikaru went on. “I will save you.”

Tears spilled down her cheeks.

“No. Don’t say it.”

Lavia had prepared herself for a life of darkness. Suddenly a hand stretched out to her, and the dam in her heart that kept all her emotions burst.

“You’re right,” Hikaru said. “I can’t bring myself to kill innocent men. So I won’t kill anyone. I’ll help you escape without shedding blood. Three days from now, adventurers will transport you to the capital. It’ll be the perfect opportunity.”

She didn’t answer. She just kept on crying, tears flowing endlessly.

Hikaru held out his hand, but was stopped by some sort of invisible barrier surrounding the cell. He pressed his hand against it.

“People say I’m arrogant,” he said. “I have confidence in myself, and I believe I can pull off what I just said. Whether you wish for it or not, I will save you. I will barge into your life, just like how I appeared out of nowhere and killed your father.”

Lavia staggered toward him, and pressed her own hand against Hikaru’s.

“Can I believe in you? I’m an extremely heavy burden.”

“I don’t care. You saved my life first. I can’t just sit by and let you die without even returning the favor.”

“If you save me, I’ll give you my everything,” Lavia managed.

---

The door swung open, and two knights stepped into the room. East and the guy who was sleeping on the job.

“Ah, for god’s sake. I didn’t expect to run into that sort of trouble here.”

“That’s what you get for goofing off while on duty.”

“Now, now. Let’s not get too grumpy. Oh, the lady is fast asleep.”

Lavia was lying on the bed, her back turned to them.

“…”

“What’s wrong, East?”

“She’s usually reading books at this hour.”

“She must be exhausted. You worry about her too much.”

“How could I not worry about her?”

They didn’t notice that the girl who had her back turned was still awake. That she ignored them because she didn’t want them to see her eyes that were red from weeping. That a boy slipped past behind them and left the basement.

ETA until the escape plan: three days.