Ashes (6)

Leonardo did not immediately react to being called Lord Ertinez. He slowly remembered that it referred to the name of the body he was borrowing and turned to look at Baron Roald. Growing up as a rootless wanderer without a title, being referred to solely by a surname must have been a strange experience for him.

At first glance, Baron Roald appeared to be a dignified gentleman, but now he looked utterly bewildered as he regarded Leonardo.

"I've heard rumours about a young man with ash-grey eyes and blue hair spreading quietly around the city… But what are you doing here?" 

He seemed genuinely surprised, having heard how much effort had been put into tracking down the young master's whereabouts. Leonardo had built a reputation while busy helping citizens with various tasks, and Lord Lopez had even mentioned him during dinner. Today, after a significant event in the city, it was only natural for suspicions to arise.

Naturally, Leonardo couldn't respond. The actions of the true owner of the body, 'Leonardo Ertinez,' were entirely incomprehensible to him.

Baron Roald's expression fluctuated as he glanced back and forth between the wreckage of the collapsed inn and us standing awkwardly. 

"I heard that something wicked has caused a commotion, but surely you're not suggesting that the young master got thoroughly drunk and set someone's livelihood ablaze, and that this tale has somehow transformed into a monster's misdeed?"

Though it sounded like a joke, Roald's subtle tone and indirect questioning revealed that he was genuinely suspicious of Leonardo being the cause of the disturbance. 

Was the original 'Leonardo' truly such a troublemaker that he could raise suspicion even in this situation? The appeal of a character inhabiting a rogue's body often lies in reversing the tarnished reputation of the original owner, but was this truly manageable?

Instead of answering, Leonardo awkwardly deflected, "I think you've mistaken me for someone else." 

It was, of course, an utterly flimsy excuse. Roald scoffed in disbelief. 

"I'm not at the age where my eyesight has grown so dim that I can't recognize what's before me. Remember, I was a knight racing through the wilderness alongside your father. To me, you've been nothing but a child learning to walk, so to hear such nonsense from you is quite amusing."

Then, he gave a silent signal to his attendants. Following the baron's cue, they began to close in around us. 

Leonardo fell silent, clearly at a loss for words, and glanced at me with a blink, conveying his uncertainty. His eyes seemed to say, "What should we do now?"

Leonardo, Leonardo. What are you looking at me for? Am I some sort of magic button that can solve everything when pressed?

Of course, it's not that I can't think of a way out.

Leonardo is destined to be taken away anyway. Meanwhile, my status screen still only shows that it's calculating the rewards for the rank change. I'm currently in that delicate and somewhat precarious position between being a minor role and a supporting character.

I felt it instinctively.

It's not just about rising to a supporting role due to a higher weight; I have to stick close to Leonardo and escape from Sinistra to truly break free from the minor role. I quickly equipped a nervous gaze and grabbed Leonardo's arm.

"Leo. What is going on?"

The middle-aged man, who had been staring intently at Leonardo, finally recognized me and shifted his gaze. Lord Roald asked,

"Um, who are you?"

"I'm someone who operates—or rather, used to operate—an inn here in Sinistra. I'm also Leo's employer. Coincidentally, the building has collapsed, so I can't introduce you to a place right now… But if it's not too rude, are you Lord Roald? The one who owns the mansion blooming with white roses in the southern district of the city? I've heard plenty of rumours about you."

"Exactly."

After hesitating to continue speaking, he turned sharply to Leonardo.

"Leo. You explain. Why does the lord call you 'Lord Ertinez'?"

My body, deprived of sleep for almost three days, swayed slightly with the sudden movement, and Leonardo instinctively reached out to support my waist as I staggered.

Hmm. It wasn't exactly a necessary gesture, but it wouldn't hurt. Our gazes met, and there was no need to ask for a synchronized response. Leonardo stiffly opened his mouth.

"…I'm sorry for hiding it all this time."

"There are only two young masters of Ertinez in the world, and the heir to the Count's house wouldn't just disappear without a word. Are you, by any chance, 'Lord Ertinez'? Did you hide your past?"

"Ah, um. I didn't really want to reveal my past."

I tugged at Leonardo's sleeve, my mouth moving but words failing to form. "New person, new person." Sensing the cue, Leonardo continued his lines.

"I have become a new person now…"

He needed to make an appeal that he was trying to reform from his delinquent ways, but then Baron Roald interjected.

"New person?"

Hesitating at this sudden turn of events, I finally made up my mind and stepped in front of Leonardo, as if to protect him from the lord.

"There's still a lot of confusion, at least the Leo I know might be a little rough around the edges, but he's a good friend."

"Now, young man. Are you saying that the person next to you is indeed him?"

"Yes."

Lord Roald muttered "New person?" several times in disbelief. Leonardo observed the unfolding situation and gradually responded, stepping in front of me this time, as if he was the one protecting me from the lord.

"There's no need for any commotion."

"…Are you really going to take Leo with you?"

The lord nodded reluctantly. In the meantime, I quickly wrote letters on Leonardo's palm. Leonardo hesitated for a moment, moving his hand slightly as he counted the letters, then looked directly at the lord and stated his case.

"I'll accompany you without causing a fuss, but I have one condition."

"Go ahead."

"I want to take these people with me."

Leonardo pointed at me and Vittorio. Seeing the baron's face twist into a more bizarre expression, I felt something strange was brewing.

"Excuse me?"

"When I was drunkenly dying in the streets, he took me in and became my friend and home, so now it's time for me to take responsibility for him, who has lost his ground."

"Leo."

Hmm, a face that seemed overwhelmed with emotion. Maybe I should make my eyes sparkle a bit. The baron's expression grew more bewildered as he looked back and forth between us.

What's this? Is my appeal for friendship between the wayward young lord and his benefactor not working?

As I contemplated whether I should now switch roles to that of a villainous innkeeper trying to pin the fire damage on Leonardo to demand compensation from the count's house, Lord Roald pointed a trembling finger at the three of us and asked,

"So, are you saying that you've been living with this young man for the past month since you ran away, my lord? And that you want to take him to the count's residence?"

"Yes."

"How on earth am I supposed to explain this to the Count…?"

The baron buried his head in his hands, clearly flustered.

Is this really something to be worried about?

I watched as his mustache trembled, and the chilly dawn air made me shiver slightly. Leonardo, who had been supporting me all this time, rubbed my back up and down as if asking why I was cold, adding warmth to my body. Vittorio hurriedly grabbed a blanket and handed it to me, and I wrapped it around both of us. It felt warm.

"Haah…"

Suddenly, the lord let out a deep sigh. He looked troubled as he glanced over at us.

"With a child involved…"

I couldn't quite catch his words.

After a moment of intense thought, Lord Roald turned to Leonardo and asked, "So if I agree to take them along, will you promise to travel quietly without resistance?"

Leonardo quickly nodded. In the end, the Baron agreed to take all three of us to the Count's residence. I asked him for a little grace, and he granted us a delay of about half a day. Although Leonardo seemed uneasy about being separated from me, we decided to take care of our remaining tasks and meet up again later before parting ways.

***

I climbed the castle walls and maximized our emergency funds through a duplication glitch before heading to the church to request the reconstruction of my inn. I handed over more than half as a down payment, with the remainder entrusted to the church.

"The new inn will be protected by you all," I said.

If I could provide a roof for the children who have nowhere to go, that would be a relief.

After hurriedly finishing the arrangements, the three of us reunited in front of the inn. The only remaining task was to salvage whatever we could from the ashes and load it onto the wagon. I explained to those who approached, puzzled by the commotion, that things had turned out this way and we would be leaving for a while. In just over a month, the connections I had formed and the alleys of the city lingered in my mind.

Up ahead, Lord Roald was waiting for us, seated on a horse along with several knights. In comparison, our wagon looked quite humble.

One of Lord Roald's knights asked Leonardo in a bewildered tone, "Aren't you riding, Your Grace?"

"Well, that means there would be no one to drive the wagon," Leonardo replied.

"...?"

The knight's gaze shifted toward me, but I was in a position where I couldn't say much due to Leonardo's and Vittorio's strong insistence (or rather, threats) for me to get some rest in the cargo area.

Leonardo's partner is Vittorio, but my partner is Leovald. Sleeping side by side with a corpse would certainly be a unique experience. Ah, but honestly, I was too exhausted to care. After the repeated resets underground and the chaos in Sinistra, staying awake and thinking felt like a miracle at this point. What was just half a day for everyone else had turned into a very long few days for me.

As the wagon stopped briefly at the city gates and the Baron spoke with the guards, I leaned against the cargo area and gazed out at the snowy landscape beyond the gates. Outside the borders of Sinistra, that white expanse was both an emptiness and the space beyond the stage.

I bit my lip nervously, feeling my expression twist as I did so. Ever since the prompt for my grade change rewards appeared, my information screen had remained unresponsive. What kind of being would I be defined as out there? As a supporting character, could I overcome the challenges that would come to the protagonist alongside Leonardo?

Especially since the sub-writer seemed determined to attack the protagonist mercilessly. It would be a lie to say that the future didn't seem bleak here. But what could I do?

'I have to make it work.'

The white world that had once overwhelmed me on the first day of the stage now trembled like a mirage. New shoots poked through the ground, and trees stretched skyward, their erratic lines dividing the boundary between heaven and earth. A dirt path, scattered with gravel and sand crushed by the feet of travellers, lay beneath an endless expanse of pale air. The few visible farms looked decidedly more rudimentary compared to the structures I had seen in the urban centre of Sinistra. It was all quite realistic, yet the stillness rendered it devoid of movement, resembling nothing more than a frozen tableau or a lifeless mural.

Finally, after finishing the exchange with the guards, the Baron shouted, "We're off!"

As Leonardo glanced outside the city gates, the entire scene came to life at last. The leaves rustled, and the grass, heavy with rain, released a rich fragrance. In this moment, as the fresh and earthy scent of wet soil tickled my nose, the stage transformed into reality.

[Scenario clear conditions achieved!]

The moment I stepped out from the shadow cast by the arch of the city gate, clear letters appeared above the round sun hanging in the horizon.

[Act 1: has been successfully completed.]

[The number of scenario notes completed so far is twelve. The main scenario progress rate has reached '25.00%']

The message didn't stop there.

[An 'Intermission' will begin until the next stage is called.]

[During the intermission, the scenario notes will not progress, and the freedom of the characters will increase.]

[Notice: Some viewing functions may be restricted during the intermission.]

[Settling rank change rewards....]

It was the beginning of a new act.