Second Intermission (2)
I contacted Leo, who was far away, through
'Maybe Dame Natalie is nearby. It's difficult to meet her right away, and we don't know her exact location, but should we leave a sign just in case?'
Instead of questioning how I came to such a conclusion, Leonardo agreed to leave a sign.
"Sir Raul, just a moment."
I shared the matter with Raul, who was in the middle of a lecture on the method of disassembling monsters.
I explained that Natalie was hiding from the king's pursuit team and, though her exact location couldn't be determined, she was likely wandering near the mountain range. Considering that Natalie was a hunter, I suggested leaving clues using monsters.
"Leo thinks it's a good idea. If we leave a sign that only the field army heading to the Vernis Mountains can understand, Dame Natalie might find it later and follow it… Um, are you listening?"
However, Raul's expression turned very odd. Before I could ask if something was bothering him, he crossed his arms over his chest and asked.
"…So you're really keeping an eye on everyone around the commander? Otherwise, how do you know how Dame Natalie is doing? Are you secretly watching even when I bathe or sleep?"
It was nonsense.
Even without using
And so, I did.
***
After leaving a trace and gathering the monster's corpse, the village chief was pleased that the extermination team had even captured the monster.
The extermination team hadn't intended to take the monster's corpse, only to eliminate the threat so that this small village could survive the winter, which also benefitted the villagers financially.
"When a peddler passes by later, you can trade useful parts for goods. It will be a great help to the village."
"Do peddlers come by?"
"They come by occasionally. We don't give them a room to stay, as they might bring mischief."
The village chief waved his hand, saying that the village was too small to provide any space anyway. The village, surrounded by a fence, was so cramped that even the hunting team had to set up tents outside, so it was understandable.
The treatment we were receiving now was only because we were sent by Count Ertinez, the lord of the region. Even though the treatment was just a stew made from ingredients scavenged from the thoroughly searched storeroom, cooked over a bonfire, it was still considered a luxury.
The village chief, looking a bit more comfortable, added, "A peddler passed by not long ago. We get news about the outside world from them, so they're always welcome guests. Hmm, they said something curious at that time…"
The suggestive hint put me on edge. During an intermission, while the scenario doesn't progress, anything could happen. The village chief fell into deep thought, as if trying to recall, and murmured.
"Did they say something remarkable came out of the Dragon's Spine?"
The Dragon's Spine… Vernis Mountains. Our destination and the setting of Act 3.
Leonardo, who had been quietly stirring the stew pot over the bonfire, also turned his gaze towards us.
The village elders still regarded Leonardo as a slightly rough-looking farmhand. When he paused for a moment, they patted his arm, urging him to stir the stew again to prevent it from burning. He silently resumed stirring the pot.
"What came out that was so remarkable?"
"Well, it seemed that even the person who mentioned it didn't really know. It might just be a rumour. They mentioned it in passing, so it wasn't anything significant. More concerning is the increasing number of monster hordes recently."
The village chief shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal and stopped speaking. Since the stew was now ready and people were gathering around the bonfire, it was hard to ask more questions. Besides, that seemed to be all he remembered.
At that moment, Leonardo, who had filled a wooden bowl with stew, came over and sat down beside me.
'Do you have any idea what that could be about?'
「The Vernis Mountains are close to the royal capital, under the jurisdiction of the 2nd Field Army and the Capital Defence Force. Due to the rough terrain, no one lives there, so we've had no reason to go there.」
'Is the mountain range that difficult to traverse?'
「The castle was built near the mountains because it's hard for foreign armies to invade through there.」
So it's like having natural defences. As I nodded in understanding, Leonardo suddenly stopped moving his hands, which had been busy with the utensils.
"What's wrong?"
Leonardo's expression resembled the one the village chief had just made, but it was much calmer. It was the look of someone trying to recall a faint memory.
「Hmm.」
'Leo?'
「…I can't seem to remember the name of the neighbouring country.」
Clank. He put the spoon down completely and spoke slowly.
「Since the erosion, the kingdom has been in turmoil for a while… now that I think about it, I haven't heard much about the affairs of other countries.」
His voice carried a hint of confusion.
「I don't think I've heard about any changes in the regions outside the kingdom caused by the erosion.」
Suddenly, the ridgeline of the mountains beyond Leonardo's shoulder began to blur and collapse slightly. It was as if a sticky candy was melting and losing its shape under the hot summer sun.
Then, the familiar white space appeared.
It was like the crude white background I saw when I first stepped onto this stage, where the set pieces were just being erected and flatly painted model buildings were gathered.
The background seemed to stretch further and further beyond the mountain ridge before suddenly hitting a barrier and stopping. It felt like a child's imagination being stifled before it could fully expand. Despite it being the dark of night, the sight was vividly clear, almost unnaturally so.
[Act naturally so that they do not recognize the discrepancies in the world of the play.]
I impulsively took the spoon from Leonardo's hand and fed him a mouthful. His eyes widened momentarily at my sudden mother bird act. Trying to soothe the strange and fearful feeling creeping down my spine, I gave him a calm smile.
'Because of the chaos, everyone was so disoriented for the past ten years. Other countries probably faced similar situations and were too focused on internal affairs to pay attention to each other. While we have you and other knights here, the neighbouring countries might have lacked talent. They might not have the same resources as this kingdom.'
「… 」
'Oh, by the way—'
Quickly changing the subject and tossing out various topics, the confusion on Leonardo's face gradually subsided. The strange sight beyond his shoulder, of the stage seeming to stretch and struggle against its fixed boundaries, also calmed down.
As I absentmindedly fed Leonardo another spoonful of stew, I reflected on the situation.
[During intermission, the scenario notes do not progress, and the characters' freedom increases.]
Freedom of the characters. The stage. The protagonist's awareness. These words tangled strangely in my mind.
For the first time, Leonardo had questions, even without any intervention from an external character like me. And trying to divert his awareness naturally, to prevent his realization, felt almost like deceit against him. My fingers gripping the spoon stiffened.
The stark white space gleamed like a polar day, and the winter landscape, which seemed to have arrived early for me alone, went unnoticed by everyone else.
An isolated sensation of seeing something different while in the same space. The shiny floor, the lighting, and the slightly elevated platform. With the right lighting effects and a well-crafted backdrop, it could become any space. However, even in such a creative space, there are limits. The width is a few meters, and the height is also determined by several meters.
The stage can summon seas, deserts, homes, and even places that do not exist in the real world, but the actors' movements are fixed. Imagination is limitless, but space is limited.
During Act 1, we could not step outside of Sinistra; all of the story took place within the "Sinistra" stage.
And in Act 2, once we entered the walls of El Dante's castle, we never left, not even once, until the curtain fell.
That's right. Isn't it clear from the names of the chapters we've passed so far?
The chapters of Sinistra, the chapters of El Dante. The space where we could unfold the scenario notes was clearly defined.
And through all of this, apart from the intermission, we unfolded the entire story on a round stage-like space. Perhaps it could be considered narrow, but still, within that confined place.
I see the mountains, perfectly aligned, as if a skilled tailor had just finished a fitting.
Leovald's revenge, those things, Godric. In this story, there's no need for the existence of foreign countries. Therefore, this stage does not need to unnecessarily stretch across the seas, sky, or to neighbouring countries or other continents. It is enough if it unfolds only within this kingdom. The finer details of the setting do not need to be explored in the story anyway.
So, the answer is simple, isn't it?
The world within the play may seem vast and round like the real world, open to anywhere, but…
'Actually…'
In a space no larger than the palm of my hand, only Sinistra, El Dante, and the path we traversed during the intermission exist in this world. Like a tiny island floating on a sea of white. And no one else exists here except for the people in this play.
Of course, I had noticed it on the first day we arrived in this world, but as the story unfolded, I thought that strange sensation would fade and everything would stabilize.
Was I completely wrong?
While I briefly lost myself in thought, Leonardo, who had lowered his head to take a bite of his meal, met my gaze. After a silent moment, he smiled gently and scooped up a large spoonful of stew, offering it to me.
The simplest conclusion came to my mind.
'The intermission needs to end soon.'