The sound of footsteps drew closer.
And the silhouettes of two people appearing.
The identity of the shadows belonged to the soldiers guarding the workshop.
The soldiers approached where discarded wood was piled up, looking around.
"... Shit, there's nothing here."
Frowning, they muttered lightly.
"I told you, it's just that the piled-up wood must have fallen over or something."
"Damn... there goes my precious break."
Muttering to themselves, the soldiers looked around, but no matter how much they searched, there wasn't a single ant in sight.
"Tsk..."
Scratching his head in embarrassment, the soldier turned and began heading back to his post. His companion, still grumbling in frustration, followed closely behind.
Once again, silence settled over the spot. But then, something stirred. The dirty cloth tucked in the corner of the wood pile began to shift, slowly wriggling to life.
As the cloth was pulled away,
"... That was close."
With a sigh, Seria and Alain, who had been covered by the cloth, breathed out. In response to Alain's sharp gaze, Seria scratched her head and smiled awkwardly.
It had truly been a close call.
Had they not discovered the dirty cloth in the corner, or if their ruse of blending in with the pile of junk had been exposed, it would have ended in disaster.
"Ugh... I'm sorry."
"..."
Realizing how narrowly they had avoided a disaster, Seria glanced at Alain, who was huddled beside her. Alain let out a soft sigh and gently patted her head, offering a quiet reassurance.
"Well, it's fine. Nothing happened, after all."
"Yeah..."
"But you should be a bit more careful. It's not good to be seen by others."
"Isn't there any way around this?"
"Even if you ask me..."
If things continued like this, she would return to her
country while Alain stayed at the lumberyard.
In that case, it would be nearly impossible for them to meet again.
That was simply unacceptable.
It absolutely couldn't happen. With that thought in mind, Seria had a resolute expression as she said,
"...I suppose we have no option but to make a midnight escape."
"Wait, what?"
Alain stared at Seria, his expression one of disbelief. No matter how you looked at it, wasn't that a massive leap in logic?
"Isn't there another way? Like taking me with you or something..."
"Taking you with me?"
"Well, yeah. I've heard of similar cases before."
As she spoke, Alain recounted the stories told by the old man.
It was rumoured that some of the officers at this lumberyard had taken a few of the workers as lovers and left with them.
However, upon hearing that story, Seria thought for a moment, contrary to Alain's expectations, and replied,
"... I don't think that's possible."
"Why not?"
"That's... Ah, um, it's not that I want to break up with you or anything!"
Perhaps sensing that her words sounded like a rejection to Alain, Seria waved her arms vigorously in denial.
"No, It's fine. More importantly, Seria, can you tell me why it's impossible?"
"Well, that's..."
With a sigh at Alain's question, Seria explained,
"... It's simply because I'm still a 'trainee' at the military academy."
"... Can you explain a bit more?"
"Yeah, So I'm just a trainee from my country, Farron. This place is a facility of the Kingdom Alliance, so as an ordinary trainee from Farron, I shouldn't be allowed here."
"But you are, right?"
"That's only because it's a special case. More accurately, the Government of Farron somehow arranged it for me to be trained under Lady Karen."
This was something she often mentioned.
The reason Seria Windsor was here was to gain experience under the young hero, Sir Karen Eldridge, who had boldly joined the White Flame through her own skills.
"Um... how should I say this? I suppose I have some talent, the talent to ride 'golems.' That's why I was entrusted to Lady Karen, to help further develop that ability... at least, that's what I've been told."
At Seria's words, Alain nodded.
She had talent.
Magical power surged from Seria into Alain. It was no small amount.
Thanks to the magical power flowing in him, Alain's current state had elevated from that of a mere novice magician to a level that could be considered usable.
However, compared to his peak during the Demon King's era, it was still negligible.
Even so, despite transferring that amount of magic to Alain, Seria's own reserves had not significantly diminished. She possessed an astonishingly large amount of magical power that lay dormant within her.
If Alain's hypothesis was correct, her ability to control golems could indeed be seen as an innate talent.
Discovering such a gift would naturally prompt any ruler to seek ways to nurture it even further.
'That's why they must have arranged for her to train under a powerful expert like Karen...'
"Um... to put it simply, that's probably it. And because of that, as just an outsider, I have no right to say anything about Alain."
As she said that, Seria wore a gloomy expression.
In other words, her statement makes it clear that Alain had no chance of gaining freedom through Seria.
The plan to pretend to be a strong Knight's lover to gain freedom was doomed from the start. Still, Alain placed her hand on Seria's head once more and gently patted it.
"In the future?" she asked meekly.
"It's okay, it's not Seria's fault."
"But..."
"Well, something will work out."
Alain's demeanour as he comforted Seria was neither angry nor disappointed.
It would be more accurate to describe it as calm and kind.
That was only natural since Seria was the one who had saved her.
To betray such a person for his own goals, even if it was his mistake, was something that should never been done.
To respond with betrayal to someone who had shown kindness and support was the greatest taboo for Alain, who had lost everything because of betrayal.