I'll never again be able to hear the words I want to hear the most... ~ Megumi No Ame, Alan Dawa Dolma
xxxxxx
A long stretch and a deep sigh of relief ー that was what Yuri did as soon as they got out of Roseberke Castle's conference room. The meeting took a long, not to mention tedious, 3 hours. But it was something they needed to do at the moment, especially when their current situation at Shin Makoku. The house leaders did come up with a plan to help together with the Beast Knights. But at the moment, it was more of an investigative phase kind of help rather than actual sending of necessary forces to deal with the current situation.
It wasn't a surprise to Conrad, Gwendal, and Murata, though. They still needed to realize who they were up against, and so necessary investigation must be done first before anything else.
"Was it that full of tension in there for you to do that, Yuri?" Mari asked with a chuckle upon seeing the Maoh's actions. "Then again, I guess it's quite hard to breathe in there at some point, huh?"
"It's even heavier than the meetings I would usually have with the Ten Nobles back in Shin Makoku."
Mari smiled at that and tapped Yuri's shoulder. "Don't worry. It's not like they don't like you. A lot of things had happened in the past for almost everyone here to be quite guarded of this land and their missions."
"But Akiyama-san..." Murata interjected, making the said Knight face him. "Why didn't you tell us ahead of time that you were chosen as a Beast Knight? You and your friends back on Earth..."
"Honestly, I don't see any reason why I should. Or you could say that I have to do my duty first before anything else. After all, this land has been my home since I first got here. I have to protect it first."
Though that didn't answer Murata's question, the Daikenja sensed that Mari doesn't intend to answer it as truthfully as he wanted it to be. At least, not yet. At the moment, he had to respect that.
"But I'm glad you're one of the people that protect this island, Mari-san," Yuri said with a smile that surprised the said woman. "If you weren't here, I guess this place wouldn't be as beautiful as I see it today."
The others couldn't help smiling at that upon hearing those words. Mari, however, was showing a completely different smile than the rest. Both Conrad and Shori noticed that, but they didn't comment on it because it disappeared just as soon as they saw it.
Just what was that supposed to mean?
"They say that this land was even more beautiful before the war. But I only got to see that beauty through a vision that Klaus showed to me a long time ago," Mari said as she walked ahead of the young king. "I'm sorry, but I have to head straight to the training ground for now. There's still something I have to do before dinner."
Though confused and also curious, Yuri nodded as the other house leaders did the same thing. When the Wind Tiger Knight disappeared from their sight, Yuri faced Lady Sofia. "Just what does she mean by training ground? Does Mari-san have to train more even before dinner?"
"Not all the time, Your Majesty. But for this, I don't think it has something to do with her training."
"She's training her successor during this time of the day, as long as she doesn't have any mission or any other job to do," Hanz added to Lady Sofia's answer. "Knight Mari's quite hands-on when it comes to training that child. Not that it's a bad thing. But at times, both Knight Mari and Gale tend to forget the course of time that they would end up neglecting both rest and meal time."
"Mari's also like that on Earth, especially when she's training or in a competition," Shori commented with a helpless smile. "But I'm glad she's not feeling oppressed in this world that's as strange as I would always view it."
"She did say that this world is her second home. And a place where her heart would always reside. But I have a feeling that it has nothing to do with her job as a chosen Beast Knight." This time, Rina said it with a sigh.
With a frown, Murata faced the Water Swordfish Knight. "What do you mean, Rina-senpai?"
"A lot of Mari's words seemed to be coming from someone who had lived here a long time ago. Sure, I've felt as if I've been here before. But I always attribute it to my inherited memories of Lady Jihae. But Mari was different. It was as if she had lived more lives than I could think of," Rina explained without looking at Murata.
Instead, she was eyeing Conrad.
"It seems that my friend has caught your interest, Lord Weller."
Of course, the others almost immediately turned their attention towards the said soldier. Conrad didn't even faze through their intense gazes, though. He just continued looking in the direction where Mari disappeared to.
With a knowing sigh, Klaus approached Conrad and stopped beside him.
"You sensed it, as well, huh? The similarities between Mari and my dead sister Lyall," Klaus started.
Initially, the people around them thought that it would cause tension to rise because of bringing up Lyall. But a heavy air of melancholy was all that hovered around the two men.
"Were you surprised when you noticed that the first time Mari came here to the island?"
"At first, no since she wasn't exhibiting any similarities with Lyall when I met her. But I do miss my sister a lot, so I became fond of Mari not long after. Regardless of the hesitation that she initially felt because of the gravity of the tasks she meant to undertake, she accepted everything as she discovered what her powers can do to protect both worlds she called home. Just like Lyall. I only started noticing a lot of similarities when Mari began speaking words that Lyall would normally say to me," Klaus answered as he and Conrad started walking away from the others, with the young Maoh's permission.
The other Knights shrugged, but with understanding smiles on their faces. Despite the confusion coming from the others, they knew it was something that Conrad needed after a long time of not being able to visit Esovia.
"When did she start saying familiar things to you? And what exactly did she say?" It might be out of curiosity or something else, but Conrad decided to be forward in asking those questions.
"When Mari was already going to Earth and Esovia back and forth for about a year. I was the one who personally trained her all this time until I was sure that she was ready to undertake missions on her own. The first time Mari's words triggered a sense of familiarity was when we had our first mock battle for that year. She already acquired a third blade weapon at the time and it was similar to the sword that Lyall used before. Her Beast Knight gave it to her two days prior. When I asked her about it and how come it looked similar to that of Lyall's, she said 'No blade will ever be forged similar to its predecessor, just as how a warrior who was molded to become the defender of the home that's truly important to him will never be the same to the master or mentor that trained him.'"
Conrad's eyes widened when Klaus finished speaking before looking at the Light Eagle Knight. There wasn't any part of the Knight's expression that said he was joking.
He knew those words, as well. Lyall once mentioned it to him when they were younger, while they were traveling together with Dan Hiri. But how come Mari said the same thing to Klaus?
"That was the start of me observing Mari's movements and words ー but I had to do it as discreetly as I can since her powers are near as that of Lyall's when it comes to sensing people. Especially their motives. She's always been skilled at that, it's starting to become scary." Klaus chuckled and faced Conrad. "I still miss my sister. I'm not going to lie about that. But having the other Knights here eased that longing for me, even for a bit. I can't hear Lyall say more calming and encouraging words to me any longer, but that doesn't mean she will disappear from my heart. However, that's all I can do. I don't think there's any way for us to bring her back and dissipate the still searing pain we're both feeling because of her death."
On such a windy day, two men reminisced the life of the princess that they both treasured in their hearts until that moment. It was true ー nothing could bring Lyall back to them. And yet in some way, her presence could still be felt around them.
It might be a weird thing to feel. But at the moment, it was something that both Conrad and Klaus acknowledged to themselves. At least, until they finally found a way to dissipate the pain of losing Lyall a long time ago.