Chapter 23: A Grownup Everyone Should Stay Away From

A fire crackled on the riverside, its warm glow staving off the cold darkness of the night. Mia let out a sigh of relief.

"Okay, we don't have to worry about catching a cold anymore."

The Kingdom of Remno was not in the frigid north, but it wasn't so southern that its nights were perpetually sweltering either. Worried about the effects a chilly night could have on their health, they promptly started a fire. Well, one of them had. The other just watched.

"I must say, I didn't think you'd know how to start a fire," said Mia.

"...Well, I've gone hunting before. I learned a few things on those trips," answered Sion, not meeting her gaze. Instead he looked away, his cheeks glowing red in the firelight.

It was hard to blame him. Everything they wore was soaked through and had to be removed to dry, leaving both of them wearing nothing but their underclothes. As a result, Sion, being the gentleman that he was, had to constantly try to keep his gaze pointed away from her. Mia, meanwhile, rested her chin on her knees and observed him.

My! What an adorable reaction!

The chink of innocence in his armor of competence put a smile on her face. Not that she wasn't embarrassed too, of course. Her sensibilities were equally vulnerable to the awkwardness of being stared at by someone of the opposite sex while wearing nothing but wet underwear. However, at the end of the day, Sion was a boy of twelve or thirteen, whereas Mia was twenty years old on the inside— Twenty-one, actually, considering it had been almost a year since she'd leapt through time.

She was a grownup! A lady of maturity and composure! Who was gawking at a blushing boy with a creepy grin on her face!

She was... the kind of grownup everyone should stay away from.

"If anything, I'm the one who's surprised," said Sion. "I mean, I know they call you the Great Sage of the Empire, but I never expected you'd even know which wild herbs are edible."

"Oh, please. It's hardly the kind of thing to be surprised about," she said with the smug confidence of someone holding an ace up their sleeve.

There was a reason for her attitude. Mia, you see, was no amateur. She had previous experience in spending the night in a forest. It wasn't during the incident in the Sealence Forest; it was much longer ago, all the way back in the previous timeline. In a desperate attempt to escape from the revolutionary army, she'd run into a forest to hide, accompanied by only a single maid of dubious competence.

Those were some tough times...

She couldn't find drinking water. She had no food. Her guards had long been separated from her, and wild beasts seemed to lurk in every shadow. Furthermore, her captors were nearby, preventing her from seeking help.

It didn't take long for her maid to flee to one of the villages in the vicinity.

"It's all your fault that I got dragged into this mess!"

Leaving behind those words and a spiteful glare as a parting gift, the girl ran off. With her departure, Mia became truly and brutally alone. As the night grew darker, her heart grew frailer. Thirst and hunger, amplified by the dreadful loneliness of the woodland gloom, gnawed painfully at her mind and body. Eventually her will gave way, and she shambled out into a nearby village, where she was promptly captured by the revolutionary army.

Compared to that, this is a walk in the park.

Thirst wasn't going to be an issue. After all, a river — when it wasn't trying to drown you, anyway — was an infinite source of drinking water. As for hunger, it would depend on what was edible in the forests of the given continent. Which, of course, Mia had already thoroughly researched when she'd holed herself up in the library. The all-encompassing and ever-present fear of the guillotine had turned her into a veritable wilderness guru. By now she was knowledgeable enough to give real survival specialists a run for their money.

She examined their surroundings and took note of her available options, ranging from edible herbs to berries and fruits, and decided that her tummy wasn't going to complain for a good while. Furthermore, she had Prince Sion at her side.

I remember being scared to death of running into a bear or wolf back then, but as long as I have him, she thought with an appraising glance at Sion, I'm safe.

With relief came contentment, and a complacent smile slowly spread across her lips. A reasonable bystander would have pointed out that asking a boy to single-handedly fight off a bear or wolf was a tall order, if not impossible, but alas, no such bystander was available to provide any level-headed commentary. The only other person present was Sion himself, who was currently staring contemplatively off into the distance and unavailable for comment.

Now that I think about it, I can't believe he's now protecting me. It's all very bizarre, she thought, idly studying his profile. His features were so chiseled that it actually upset her. It upset her so much, in fact, that she was unable to resist the urge to have some fun at his expense.

"Say, Prince Sion, would it be all right if I asked you a question?"

He glanced quickly at her before turning away again. "Sure. I'll answer to the best of my ability. Within limits, of course..."

She kept her eyes on him and continued in a quiet voice. "If you were to discover that your friend and schoolmate, Prince Abel, was taking part in the forceful suppression of his people, would you strike him down?"

"I..."

"I have heard much about your character, and I believe you to be a person of integrity, every bit as noble-minded as Miss Rafina. And it is precisely because of your character that I wish to ask you. If someone you knew by name — someone who is your friend — was involved in the doing of evil deeds, would you pass judgment on them with your sword?"

It was a question that had been on her mind for a long time. The revolutionary army, led by Prince Sion and Tiona, had taken her life. To a certain degree she had come to understand why they'd done so. She could see how the hunger of her people had spurred their anger. Driven by their many grievances, they'd probably had ample reason to wish for her death.

But that was then. They had been people she didn't know. What she was truly curious about... was how Sion had felt. What thoughts and feelings had been going through his head when he watched that terrible blade descend upon her neck?

"That... certainly came out of the blue, Princess Mia."

Sion fell silent for a moment, his face pensive.

I hadn't considered that possibility at all...

The slightest hint of uncertainty flickered through his eyes, lasting only a second. Then, he answered.

"If Prince Abel were to take part in the forceful suppression of his people and stained his sword with their blood... Then yes. I would have no choice but to turn mine against him."

His voice was unwavering, and he spoke with the solemn conviction of someone who, raised and trained to be the Crown Prince of Sunkland since he was a baby, had been told for his whole life to uphold justice at all times. It was simply not in him to turn a blind eye to evil, especially if the doer was standing before him. However, Mia's next words would cause him to falter.

"So depending on the circumstances, you're willing to kill Prince Abel? Is that what you mean, Prince Sion?"

He had no immediate reply. It was true that Abel Remno was no bosom buddy to him. Even so, their shared experiences as classmates at Saint-Noel Academy had been more than enough to forge between them a bond that was close enough to be called friendship. If the time came, could he raise his sword against someone he considered a friend? Could he kill Abel? Would his heart allow it? He answered, trying very hard to ignore the uncertainty wavering within him.

"Yes, it is. What you said is possible."

Then, in a tone very different from his usual confidence, he qualified his statement as though making an excuse. "I mean, I'd do it, but it's not as if I'd have any choice, right? It's a choice that Prince Abel would have made. There'd be nothing I could do about it."

To rule a kingdom was to take on the responsibility of upholding justice. As a member of the royal family, Sion had always been taught that he had a duty to deliver appropriate punishment to those who committed evil, and that principle served both as a standard he strove toward and a source of discipline for himself.

"You'd have no choice... There'd be nothing you could do... Is that really true?"

And yet, the girl before him, known as the Great Sage of the Empire, expressed doubt.

"Are you saying I'm wrong?"

His voice took on an edge. A thought flashed across his mind. Was Mia viewing this through the lens of reason... or love? Was she perhaps inserting her personal emotions and taking Abel's side? He considered the idea, then dismissed it.

No, she's not.

He saw the glint in her eyes. It wasn't the faint flicker of sorrow, nor was it the pitiful embers of appeal. No... It was anger. The Great Sage of the Empire was furious at what he'd said.

"Those words should come only from the lips of one who has already done everything in their power to avoid violence, should they not, Prince Sion?"

The way she looked at him — through him — made his breath catch in his throat. He passed judgment because he had no choice. He delivered punishment because evil had been done. These were core tenets of his world view. He saw them as fundamental truths, as plain as the sun in the sky. And yet, Mia had questioned them. In doing so, she seemed to be asking him, "Have you, Prince Sion? You claim to have no choice... but what have you done to prevent that evil? To stop that person from committing the deed?"

Sion wasn't oblivious to the difficulties faced by the Kingdom of Remno. His spies working there covertly had sent him a steady stream of reports over the summer holiday, and he'd known that unrest was in the air. He'd even braced himself for the eventuality of a military intervention. That was, however, the extent of what he'd done. There was nothing else. Though he went around spouting moral platitudes about upholding justice and punishing those who torment the masses, he hadn't done a single thing to stop that torment from being inflicted. Did he, then, truly have the right to pass judgment on Prince Abel? A nebulous mass of uncertainty began to grow in his heart, along with a new question.

Why did Princess Mia set out on this journey? I thought it was because she just wanted to see Prince Abel... but could there be another reason? Could she be trying to stop him from doing something wrong?

He continued following the logic of his own hypothesis...

Which means... she's trying to stop the revolution from breaking out in Remno? Is that even possible?

He looked at her gazing into the fire. She said nothing. Her silence, however, and the words they left unsaid echoed in his mind, and he discovered within him a budding sense of awe for the young princess.

...It hardly needs to be said at this point, but obviously, Mia had no intention of stopping the revolution. To be honest, she didn't give a damn about Sion's beliefs either. So what was she getting so angry about, then?

You had no choice? That's your excuse for what you did to me?!

Therein lay the source of her outrage. Sure, the Tearmoon Empire had been falling apart at the time. She could accept that the masses had good reason to hate those of high birth. She could even stomach the criticism from foreign nations. That was all arguably justified. However... there was one thing that she found utterly intolerable.

I died because you couldn't be bothered to even warn me that I was getting into trouble? Just a quick heads-up would have been enough! You could have, you know, said something before you started a revolution and dropped a freaking cleaver on my head!

Surely, all that time they'd spent together at the academy should have earned her at least a word of caution before such drastic measures were undertaken. If he'd just sat her down one day and told her, "Hey, look, we're sick and tired of your attitude," things might have changed for the better. Instead, he'd waited until things were far past the point of no return before gallantly swooping in to save the day and declaring to her that "I had no choice but to bring you to justice!" and "This is the consequence of your own actions!" Just thinking about it made her seethe with anger.

I take back everything good I've ever said about him! He's a terrible person and I hate his guts!

So upset that she had to stop herself from gnashing her teeth, all sorts of thoughts entered her mind. Angry ones, indignant ones, frustrated ones... The one thing that never appeared was any semblance of a plan for what they were supposed to do starting tomorrow.