MTM 143

The next morning. After a simple meal in the dining hall, the group returned to their lodgings for a short rest. Through the window, they could see priests who had finished their morning prayers and were now devoting themselves to their spiritual practices. Beneath the dazzling sunlight streaming through the clouds, the sight of priests dressed in snow-white robes walking in single file through the courtyard was so mystical it seemed almost unreal.

Harto and the rest of the group were mesmerized by the scene.

“It definitely feels different from Belnok.”

Everyone agreed with Leon’s remark. Practitioners imbued with true holy power were in a realm that could not even be compared to Belnok.

“Ahem, um… Zed.”

They had been gazing out the window for quite some time. Leon called out to Zed with a hesitant expression.

“Could I ask you a favor?”

“A favor?”

Leon cleared his throat to hide his embarrassment, then carefully pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and held it out.

“This… hmm. Could you maybe take a look at what’s written here….”

What Leon handed him was a letter featuring a yellow tulip carefully painted in watercolor. It was obvious at a glance that it was a love letter to Reina, so Zed stared at Leon, wondering, ‘Am I really supposed to read this?’ Leon nodded solemnly.

“Well… if it’s just the spelling…”

Zed reluctantly took the letter and began reading it carefully.

A moment later, the corners of Zed’s mouth began to twitch slightly, and not long after, he couldn’t hold it in any longer and burst out laughing.

“Hahaha…! What is this?! Hahahahahaha!”

Zed clutched his stomach and laughed heartily, then handed the letter to Harto.

“Hah, Harto! You should read this too!”

“Huh…? Uh, yes… Is it… fine if I read it?”

As Leon nodded with a resigned expression, Harto guiltily accepted the letter.

Leon’s handwriting was as elegant as a printed manuscript. The script and opening were flawless, leaving nothing to criticize.

But the content inside was anything but…

“Uh…”

The more he read, the more Harto’s eyes darted around aimlessly. The contents of the letter were so far beyond Harto’s wildest imagination that he could no longer keep a straight face.

[I am taking up my pen to write to you as soon as I arrived here at Carseon.

Looking at the nib and the soft feather at the end of the quill, I can’t help but think of your lush, silky hair.

Reina…

Ah… it’s coming. Inspiration bursts forth like fireworks!

The image of you filling my mind is so breathtakingly beautiful it’s blinding!

Oh, Reina! Beautiful Reina! You are a slender doe nibbling on a dew-kissed lily of the valley in the early morning!

And I am the stag that eyes you, the hunter who pursues you. Bewitched by your unbearable beauty, I run toward you without hesitation.

The scent of flowers drifts on the breeze. Your lustrous hair looks as if someone had poured a whole barrel of freshly pressed olive oil over it!

When you turn your head, bang! Sunlight shatters with a gunshot that pierces my heart. Ah! I am blinded once again! Your eyes, hotter than the desert heat, shine as brightly as the sun. Oh, beautiful Reina…!]

“T-this… here….”

The letter was a whopping four pages long, but Harto couldn’t bring himself to turn the page and hurriedly handed it back to Leon. He felt as though his limbs would fall off if he read any further.

“Pyu?”

Curious, the elements hovering around Harto approached, but Leon folded the letter carefully and tucked it into his chest with a sad expression. He must be somewhat aware of the situation himself.

“…May I hear your thoughts on it?”

At Leon’s earnest question, Zed wiped the tears welling up in the corners of his eyes and struggled to catch his breath.

“Uh, sure. Wow… I’ve never seen such an intense letter in my entire life.”

“I heard that writing like this is what women like…”

As Leon scratched the back of his head and muttered, Zed asked in disbelief.

“Who told you that? Which guy?”

“Well… the comrades from our mercenary days…”

“Hey, don’t you know that most of the guys in our mercenary group have never even held a girl’s hand?”

Faced with Zed’s facts, Leon replied with a dumbfounded expression.

“So, Zed… I guess you have a lot of experience in that department?”

“Well, I…”

Zed trailed off and glanced furtively at Harto. As expected, Harto was already staring at him. Startled by those bright blue eyes, Zed cleared his throat and quickly changed the subject.

“Anyway, I used to write letters to my mother quite often.”

“Your mother? …This is a love letter.”

Leon was determined not to let this one slide. Zed nodded with a resigned air. He understood exactly what Leon meant, and continued.

“Ah, well… when I was at the Academy, love letters were quite the thing. I just heard through the grapevine which ones were making the rounds. I also know that if you write the wrong thing, the romance could fizzle out in an instant. Ah, of course, I’m not talking about myself. Harto.”

Fearing a misunderstanding, Zed hurriedly explained to Harto. Leon slumped his shoulders, seemingly uninterested in cleaning up after Zed.

“Is it really that bad? I did feel like I might have gone a bit overboard while writing it… I couldn’t sleep all night worrying about this. I mean, how can a love letter be harder than memorizing a magic spell?”

When Leon pulled a long face, Zed finally realized the gravity of the situation. After a moment’s thought, he said with a sigh,

“Alright. I’ll take a look at it tonight. I have to go see the Archpriest right now, so let’s put our heads together later.”

At Zed’s suggestion, Leon’s face lit up as if he’d been waiting for this.

“Really? Great! Then I guess I’ll have to go to the square to buy some new stationery. Harto, you’ll come with me, right?”

“Huh? Uh…”

Harto nodded absentmindedly, but in truth, he wanted to stay with Zed today more than ever. It wasn’t simply because he wanted to be by his side. He wanted to hear what kind of conversation Zed would have with the Archpriest, and what the story was that Zed had promised to tell him earlier.

‘I’ll go buy stationery with Leon and then come back…’

Harto planned to look for a chance to talk with Zed.

“Hmm, then shall we have lunch outside the castle? Let’s call Allen and Ser too.”

When Zed made the suggestion with a bright smile, Leon replied excitedly that he would contact them via the communication device.

“Ah….”

In the blink of an eye, the entire day’s schedule was set. Harto didn’t manage to exchange a single word with Zed; he had no choice but to follow the fixed itinerary until evening.

***

With the kind guidance of the villagers, Allen and Ser made their way to the vineyard atop the hill. Since it was their first time there, they could easily have gotten lost, but fortunately, they reached their destination safely without any trouble.

The path leading to the vineyard was the very embodiment of peace. Farmers were diligently tilling the fertile soil, and in the fields where the autumn harvest had been completed, bundles of straw lay rolled into circles, basking in the warm sunlight. The scent of earth mingled with the fragrance of dry grass.

“What are you thinking about?”

Ser asked Allen, who had been staring at the backs of the working farmers. Allen paused for a moment, then scratched the back of his head as he replied.

“Hmm… I was just wondering if I might end up farming and living in a place like this someday.”

“You?”

Ser’s eyes widened in genuine surprise.

“Yes, why? Is that weird?”

“Well… You know, it just doesn’t seem like the kind of life you’d lead.”

“That’s prejudice. When I get older, I want to get married, have kids, settle down in a place like this, and live a cozy life farming together. Isn’t that the dream every man has?”

Ser didn’t respond to Allen’s words.

In that moment, Allen realized his mistake. He belatedly realized that, considering Ser’s situation, words like “marriage” or “children” might be sensitive topics.

“Uh, I mean… well, what I meant was…”

“We’re here.”

Just as Allen was about to stammer out an excuse, Ser stopped in his tracks.

Before them stood a wooden sign bearing the marks of time.

[Veritas Vineyard]

“Veritas?”

“It means ‘truth’ in the Eastern language. I didn’t expect to see it in a place like this.”

“Oh, really…?”

“Yes, I’m actually a little curious to see what kind of truth we’ll encounter here.”

Following Ser, who was muttering to himself, they stepped inside the vineyard’s fence, and an even quieter, more secluded landscape unfolded before them. The occasional sound of a waterwheel, birds chirping, and trees heavy with clusters of purple grapes. It was a place so peaceful it was hard to believe this was where a witch who practiced dark magic from legends lived.

Click.

As the two reached the edge of the hill, the door of the barn attached to the farmhouse opened. A woman with her black hair braided into two plaits walked out. She had tanned skin, a face dotted with freckles, and a sturdy, well-built frame.

“Huh? What’s this? You really came.”

Seeing Allen and Ser, she set down the bucket she was holding, dusted off her apron, and walked over to them.

“Welcome. I’m Cynthia. I’m the owner of Veritas Vineyard.”

Cynthia greeted the group with a bright smile. She didn’t look like a witch at all. She simply gave the impression of a kind-hearted neighbor. Moreover, judging by her tone, it seemed she had known in advance that the two of them would be coming here.

“Did you know we were coming?”

Ser asked with a look of suspicion.

“Of course I did. Hey, Ren!”

As Cynthia called out toward the back of the open barn, a man with a familiar silhouette emerged. With a wide-brimmed straw hat pulled over his face and wearing overalls, he looked at first glance like an ordinary farmer, but…

“You are….”

“You’re right on time.”

As Ser and Allen recognized the face peeking out from under the hat, their eyes widened in shock. The man standing there, covered in dust, was Ren, the Seeker they had met in Etheria.