"...Yes?"
Did he hear wrong? Ian glanced around, rubbed his ears, then looked back at Alaric. Alaric opened his mouth as soon as their eyes met.
"I said, take me with you too!"
It took Ian a few seconds to form a proper sentence without any curses inside.
"Do you even know where I want to go?"
"I don't care. I'll tag along and follow you wherever you intend on fleeing to."
"What the actual fuck?" Ian corrected his impolite speech after a second. "What the actual fuck, young master?"
"....What's so surprising about that?"
Everything about this was surprising! Ian stood there, silent, not knowing how he was supposed to react.
'He wants to tag along? Why? Does he want something from me? Did he find out about my identity and wants to abuse it? But he won't gain any benefits from it...'
As if reading his mood, Alaric stepped up to continue the conversation.
"Look, I don't really want to become a count. We've talked a lot about this before, and the problems are resolved. Everything will be better once Elaria becomes the heir. I'm free now. I can become a mage by asking my father to hire a tutor for me, but I don't think that's the kind of life I want to have."
Alaric shook his head from side to side, arms folded. "I don't want to only be at the receiving end. Sure, living a rich life is nice and comforting. You can spend as much as you want and order the others around, but I'm not fitted for such a lifestyle. I don't feel comfortable spending the money I haven't earned myself or ordering people who are older than me. I'd rather move around and study on my own, work, earn money, and lead a peaceful life."
"....."
The more Alaric talked, the more flabbergasted Ian became.
"....Haven't you lived this way your whole life?"
"Well, people can change." Alaric didn't give Ian the chance to speak. "You've changed too, haven't you? I'm not sure what happened, but I'm not too blind not to notice everything you've done. I don't know if normal servants can keep their calm so much on a battlefield or show such a demonstration of holy power, not to mention disappearing and reappearing again and again. There are a lot more that we both know about."
'Since when did he...'
Alaric shrugged his shoulders under Ian's frowning, fierce gaze and looked at the background monsters.
"I'm sure you are planning something, and with those guys as well, right?" The young man pointed at the swordsman who was moving their way after taking care of the monsters. "I just want to tag along, nothing more, nothing much."
"...."
-Master... Don't just stare at him, say something!
-...I don't know what to say.
If speechless was a person, that would be Ian.
-I thought he was a fool, but right now, he looks kind of cool... Alaric must've observed your actions for him to assume that you were up to something.
-Yeah...
The usual Alaric didn't pay Ian much heed, even if he died. Ian didn't think it'd be needed to act carefully around him. He did whatever he wanted to do and needed to be done, without thinking of their consequences. On top of that, Alaric acted and looked way too stupid to Ian, so he didn't care about him much.
However, it seemed that he was read through so easily. It was quite embarrassing for Ian. It wasn't his first time being suspected by the others. Throughout his many lives, he'd been treated like this many times, so Ian, already used to it, didn't lose his calm. He was just taken aback as he didn't expect to hear these from Alaric.
"Do you know where I want to go?"
"Hmm? No. How would I know?"
"And you aren't going to ask?"
Alaric's wandering gaze shifted back to Ian. "Would you tell me if I asked?"
"No."
The nobleman lowered his head as if expecting such an answer.
"I get what you want to say, but you don't have to tag along with me if you want to lead an independent life. Just talk to your father and leave the county, that's all."
"....That's not it."
Alaric indeed, didn't like the way he was forced to live and desired to be free, but he had another intention in wanting to join Ian.
'A villain is designed to die.'
If his guess was true, if this servant was the same person Alaric thought he was, then his fate wouldn't be so great. His outcome was clear in Alaric's mind, vivid and painful.
If he wasn't that person, if the cause of his personality changes were the same as Alaric's, then he couldn't lose track of him.
'I'm sure he is different from how he was supposed to be, but I can't be certain if he's experienced the same phenomenon that I've gone through...'
Alaric needed to know how that person ended up here, in this place, and before that, how he learned about that novel.
'I might be uselessly mixing myself with the plot after going through so much not to get noticed by the protagonist...'
But if he could stop this man from whatever evil plans he had, and prevent a villain from being born, couldn't he prevent his death? Whatever the cause of the anomaly was, or whether he was the same person or not, Alaric didn't have any intentions of letting him die.
'Seriously, I didn't even know he was a servant prior to the start of the major events... I didn't know of his name either... How did I end up being this man's master?'
Alaric could cry for hours because of his entangled fate.
Kieran arrived beside the two at that moment after taking care of the last monster. He shot a glare at Alaric before turning to the bluehead, asking if there was anything wrong thought his gaze. Ian didn't pay him any mind; he was already deep in thought.
'It won't be too bad if he joins me...'
First, Ian was still curious about this man, now even more than before. He was reluctant to leave him without finding out about his secret. It would be the best chance for him if Alaric followed him around out of his own will. In addition to that, the boy had potential. Ian saw the magic he used and recognized the talent in him. If nurtured and raised well, he could be a great addition to his plans.
There was no reason to reject him. Ian was slightly worried and suspicious of him, but he decided to think about it later.
"But you can't suddenly disappear into thin air. The count's son's disappearance isn't something that can be taken lightly, they will search everywhere for you."
Kieran turned to Alaric with an eyebrow raised, not knowing what was going on. Alaric's eyes widened significantly.
"Uh, huh, do you mean I can tag along?"
"For now."
"Really???" The young man raised his clenched fists up, waving them around in the air.
"Really? Really??? Yaaaay!!"
"What?" While Alaric cheered loudly, Kieran shot a blazing glare at his 'lord', making the 'lord' shiver and back away.
"Ahem! Let's go back for now."
"But what did you mean that we can't leave like this? Aren't we running away? Shouldn't it be secretive?"
"Send a letter to your father first, and leave a note for Ranger."
"Eh??? What if he tries to stop me?"
"He won't."
"Oh!"
"Also... Tell him to take good care of his health, especially his heart."
If he wanted to take away the future count and put his sister in his position, then he needed to make sure that, unlike the previous rounds, the current count wouldn't die until Elaria was done with her education.
"Eh?? Why???"
"Just do."
Responding to Alaric's continued questions while ignoring Kieran's piercing gaze, Ian made his way back to the inn with a half-crumbled wall. The guards and servants rushed to check on Alaric's condition, while Ranger, once again, thanked the swordsman for saving their lives.
The young merchant girl was sitting on a sofa near the destroyed wall, looking outside while her doctor examined her body despite her not looking ill at all. Evelyn's eyes were fixated on the street, glued to the corpses of the monsters sprawled everywhere in the city. The corners of her lips kept twitching up as a light twinkled in her pupils.
Ian shook his head while walking past his student, knowing too well how her thoughts were circulating right now. He had given her a clue, and she used it to her own benefit.
'She and her people will be fine since she can use Aether now. No matter how unique an Aether blessing is, its purification nature will remain the same.'
"Head manager." Evelyn's emerald-colored pupils shifted to a man who was checking on the guild staff's condition. "Have you heard of monster trading markets?"
"...."
The manager halted, frozen as if, then turned to his boss, eyes gradually widening in realization and joy.
"...No way...!"
The two business people grinned at each other as soon as their eyes met.
The damaged city was soon shrouded in darkness with the arrival of night. Unlike how they had to hurry to the capital when they were going to attend the banquet, the nobles now weren't in a rush, so they agreed to stay in the city a little bit longer until the damage taken was dealt with. The merchants decided to stay here for longer until all the corpses of the monsters were gathered and taken out of the city. They told the noblemen that they didn't need to wait for them any longer as it would take a long time to deal with everything.
Walking up the stairs, the old butler of the count's house carried a tray of food, heading to his master's room. The young man came back a few hours ago and had been in his room since then, not leaving for a single second. Ranger knocked on the half-open door and waited, yet he received no answers. The procedure was repeated a few times, but the outcome was the same.
"Excuse me, young master."
Feeling slightly anxious, the old man pushed open the door while apologizing, yet what he found in front of himself was a dark, empty room.
"....Young master?"
The room was cold and clean as if no one had been there for a few hours. The bed was tidied up, the luggage was set up near each other, and the master's favorite magic books were nowhere to be seen. The only thing that caught one's eye was a piece of paper sitting atop the bed.
[Hey, Mister Ranger. It's me, Alaric °˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°]
[I just wanted to inform you that I've decided to run away for a while. Ian is with me and so is Mister Raven, so don't worry, and please don't look after me. I sent a letter to my father as well, so he already knows. He won't be against it since I've rejected my position as the future Count as well and have become a useless jobless shame for his family~ ehehe~]
[Anyway, I'm off! Thank you for taking care of me and please rest well!]
[With best wishes, Alaric Poqlen ヾ(❀╹◡╹)ﾉﾞ]
"......"
The old man stood still, frozen on his spot, staring at a letter that was crumbling in his trembling hands.
"YOUNG MASTER????"
- - - - - - - -
"Hey, don't you think you've brought too much luggage?"
"Hmm?" Alaric gave a tilt to his head, "But this isn't much. Just a few pieces of clothes, my magic books, and a few papers and pens. It's heavy because of the books." He then pointed at Ian. "It's rather you who is the strange one. Why didn't you take anything?"
Ian, sitting at the back of the other horse right behind Raven, shrugged his shoulders.
"I don't have anything. I'm a mere slave."
"Huuu..."
Kieran's surpassed rage huffed out in the form of a sigh, causing chills to run down Ian's back.
"Still, it's too little..." Alaric, the person responsible for taking care of their luggage, peeked at the little bag in his hand which contained some worn-out white shirts and black pants, all the same size and shape, looking rather ragged. Eleen, the one riding the second horse, chuckled at him.
"Don't worry, young master, we can purchase anything later on, including clothes, food, and anything else."
"Uhhh, but we don't have any money?"
"You can earn some by taking missions. Oh, by the way," the woman turned to the bluehead. "Are the two of you going to join the mercenaries?"
"Will your boss hire a runaway noble and his servant?"
"He gives everyone a chance regardless of their status or job, it's you who should prove your worth and rise up the ranks by your efforts." Eleen giggled. "And you are quite the talent, Mister Servant!"
Ian chuckled while his knight grunted his teeth. The two horses galloped down the path at a slow yet steady speed.
The requirements to join the mercenaries weren't much. One only needed a name, and if they didn't have one, or weren't willing to use it due to a variety of reasons, a nickname was enough. Eleen was a name while Raven was a nickname. The two newbies followed suit and each chose a nickname for themselves when being enlisted into the guild.
"Wow, Asterum? It's a pretty decent nickname, sir Ian!" Eleen praised as she read the identification cards that were given to the new members. Her brows knitted slightly after moving on to the next name and she turned to Alaric, "...But... what does "Dark Magician UwU, MyDearKI'mSorryICouldn'tPullYouBeforeWakinUpHere, Man throwing the table emoticon AAaAaaAAA New life here I come."... this... What does this mean?"
"...."
Alaric was sweating buckets on the other side of the table.
"P-please don't ask..."
"Uh... Sure." The woman was still oddly glaring at the identification card, "But how should they refer to you? They can't possibly call you Dark Magician UwU, MyDearKI'mSorryICouldn'tPullYouBeforeWakinUpHere, Man throwing the table emoticon AAaAaaAAA New life here I come, every time there is a mission, right?"
"...." Alaric bit down on the bread in his hand, face blushed and sweaty. "I... I think they'll just call me Dark Magician..."
"Hmm... But why did you choose such a-"
"Please don't ask, please please!"
"....Alright."
It seemed that the young man would faint from embarrassment if Eleen continued the topic a little bit more, so she quit the conversation and went back to eating her food. The group left the contact point and headed for their next destination once they filled their stomachs and rested.
"....Why are we here again?"
Alaric grabbed Ian's arm and pulled him to his side.
"Hey, why are we here? You don't plan on joining them, do you?"
In front of them stood a buffed woman in dark clothes. Her gray eyes were bearing down on the group as if weighing their worth and use.
"Why do you think we are going to join them?"
Kieran stood at Ian's right side, holding his sword tight with an arrogant posture, while Alaric was pulling Ian's left arm, almost hiding behind his back. Eleen was standing near the horses, watching the scene with a curious glint in her eyes.
"Didn't you say you'll follow me wherever I go?"
"I... That's right but I won't allow you to take the evil path!"
"What evil path?"
Ian took a step forward; Alaric got dragged onward while stuck to him.
"We are just going to help them out a bit."
"They are The Resistance! You can't! Ian, listen, you can't become a villain, please!"
From the other side, a voice came out through gritted teeth.
"Who are you to tell him what to do and what to not? Stop whining and shut that trap."
"...."
Alaric shivered silently without even attempting to defend himself.
"Hmm~ Villain~"
Ian hummed under his lips, pondering over the meaning of that phrase.
"I think I might be one."
"Noo!!!"
Ian didn't pay any heed to his "Master"'s naggings.