Chapter 70

Nicol's body was not found.

If that's the case, we can't say for sure that he's dead.

Alice must have believed this more than anyone else.

More than half a year had passed, and Nicol, who had not shown up, was still alive.

At first, I thought Nicol couldn't return to the capital because he had been betrayed by his comrades and failed the quest.

I thought Nicol, considering he couldn't burden Alice and his family, had changed his name and was living quietly in this village.

However, his reaction was as if he didn't recognize Alice as his sister.

He showed no signs of knowing that he was a twin, and pointed at Alice's face.

The two parties fell silent, and the peaceful atmosphere in the dining room quietly turned to silence.

"U-um!"

With her emerald eyes trembling, Melissa spoke up boldly.

"Um, do you know Camus? He, in fact, is named Nicol, right? You two are siblings, no, twins, right? Camus collapsed in this village, and that's why...!"

Melissa started speaking all at once, but she stumbled over her words because there were too many things she wanted to say.

Thanks to Melissa breaking the ice, the time that had stopped for the two of them started flowing again.

"Melissa, thank you. From your reaction, you're not a stranger, right?"

"...Yeah. We are twin siblings."

When Alice nodded, the man, with a troubled expression similar to Alice's, scratched his cheek.

"I was found collapsed and covered in blood near the village, as Melissa said. I was saved by the village chief and Melissa, and have been living in this village."

"Why..."

Alice swallowed the words that followed.

Why did he disappear?

The man's next words revealed all the mysteries.

"I have no memory."

Alice gently closed her eyes to suppress the overflowing sadness.

"――Grrrrrrr"

A growling wail echoed around.

The Cerberus pups had awakened.

"Luke, I'm sure there's a beastmaster in this village, right?"

"Melissa, call the beastmaster! And can you tell us where the cage is?"

No matter how young they are, they are still Cerberus.

It was reaching its limit to keep them restrained with just chains.

Melissa glanced at the man.

"I'm the beastmaster. I'll show you where the cage is, let's go together."

"Nicol is a beastmaster...?"

Alice blinked, as if she couldn't believe it.

"I understand you have a lot to talk about, but the Cerberus comes first now. Let's go!"

Luke and Camus started running. I followed them out of the dining room.

When we reached the knights' quarters, the awakened Cerberus was thrashing around, swinging its three heads.

The knights were struggling to pull the chains attached to each head, unable to cast magic.

"Hey, look at me!"

The man—Camus—dashed in front of Cerberus, waving his hands to draw its attention.

"It's dangerous...!"

"Camus will be fine."

Alice was about to rush out, but she held back at Melissa's strong words.

"Here, this way. Are you hungry? I've prepared your favorite food, this way!"

The Cerberus reacted to Camus's voice.

Whether it understood or not, the Cerberus decided on a direction and started moving slowly.

"Noah, is that the beastmaster?"

"Tristan. Yes, that's right."

Tristan, who had finished talking with the village chief, came over when he heard the commotion.

After confirming with me, Tristan immediately took command of the knights.

Camus led the way, and the knights worked together to guide the Cerberus towards the cage.

"Here, there's meat! Don't you want to eat?"

Standing in front of the large cage with the front open, Camus taunted.

The Cerberus was now completely focused on Camus's movements.

Is this a technique of the beastmaster?

The cage was filled with large chunks of meat that the monsters would like.

The Cerberus was peering into the cage, tilting each head alternately.

Although it must be hungry, it was wary of the cage and wouldn't take that final step inside.

The knights' stamina wouldn't last much longer. Now that the Cerberus was distracted, they could cast magic.

Just as Tristan was about to signal Camus, a small girl ran out from the building to the right of the cage.

"AAAAAAH!"

"Oh no! What's happening!"

Melissa covered her mouth and shuddered.

The right head of the Cerberus turned towards the girl.

Unfortunately, the knight who couldn't keep up with the sudden change in direction let go of the chain attached to the right head.

This is bad!

Camus, in a split second, hit the edge of the cage.

"Over here, puppy!"

Camus made a loud noise and then jumped into the cage himself.

"Nicol!"

Alice ran, but she couldn't reach the cage.

The young Cerberus chose Camus and the meat over the small girl.

"「「「Grrrrrrr!」」」

As the Cerberus entered the cage, Camus shouted.

"Close the cage!"

Confused, the knights hesitated, but Tristan quickly gave the order to follow Camus.

The heavy door of the cage, as solid as it looked, closed with a loud sound.

2014/02/13 Some expressions revised

2015/01/12 Revised