It seemed some had already suspected them, but their voices were filled with confusion.
Taking advantage of the gap, Klen picked me up and put me on his back.
It was surprisingly difficult to move my body in sync with him as he staggered as if he were injured.
However, those focused on assessing the situation didn’t notice my awkward acting at all.
“What happened to Lord Adrian?”
“Is he injured?”
“To think he didn’t let go of his sword even while unconscious…”
“……”
Only then did I realize the flaw in my acting.
I had been so focused on falling that I simply forgot to drop the sword.
A strange sense of admiration lingered in the soldiers’ voices.
Encouraged by that expectation, I couldn’t bring myself to loosen my grip on the hilt.
“As expected of a Caldrich.”
My family’s reputation played a part in supporting this awkward performance.
Stories of not letting go of a sword until the very end were common in our household.
[Who dares do this to the master of the Divine Beast… Huh? Wait, you aren’t injured at all. Are you… sleeping? In a place like this?]
Aren, who had been bouncing around my head and shoulders expressing his anger, quickly realized something was wrong.
He immediately noticed I didn’t have a single scratch.
He began to grumble as if relieved.
Apparently, to him, I now just looked like someone who had fallen asleep without a care in the world.
[Did you fall asleep as soon as the fight was over? Truly, you are the human I chose as my master.]
‘Aren. Be quiet.’
“What is that bird?”
A cute bird chirping noisily was bound to stand out in such an atmosphere.
Even with my eyes closed, I could tell everyone’s gaze had shifted to Aren.
I could hear the sound of him proudly fluttering his wings.
“It’s a bird Adrian keeps. It seems it followed its master all the way here.”
“Lord Adrian did?”
“What an intelligent bird.”
A person who wouldn’t let go of their sword until the end, and a bird crying for such a master.
The scene alone seemed to evoke a sense of solemnity.
The people around us must have felt the same, as a silence settled over them.
It was getting restless trying to keep my eyes closed without knowing what was happening.
I felt like my eyeballs were going to move under my lids.
If that happened, someone would surely notice something was wrong.
“……!”
As if to soothe me, Klen adjusted his position so I could lean more comfortably.
He took the sword from my hand, lightly dusted it off, and carefully slid it back into its scabbard.
It seemed some dirt had gotten on Levatein while we were rolling around.
I could easily imagine how that made the scene even more convincing.
That alone significantly softened the tense atmosphere.
“But wasn’t there an explosion just a moment ago?”
“Y-yes. We heard the noise and came running.”
“It was their magic. Adrian was almost hit, but the sword deflected it.”
“Oh… Levatein did?”
“Ugh, whew.”
He readjusted his stance as if carrying me was a struggle and took a step forward.
I could see right through his shallow trick of finishing the explanation vaguely to leave before more questions were asked.
“He was hit directly by magic while defenseless, so his mind might be in a state of confusion.”
“……!”
The words he murmured loud enough for everyone to hear revealed why he was acting like this.
That way, any claims that I wasn’t that weak or that Klen used magic would likely be dismissed as nonsense.
Or they would think they mistook Levatein’s deflection for magic.
In doing so, he also subtly hinted at Levatein’s power.
“Lord Klen, are you alright?”
“We will take Lord Adrian.”
“No. I… will take him.”
“But you are injured!”
‘What? Injured?’
For a moment, I almost snapped my eyes open.
Surely my sword hadn’t even grazed his skin.
Even so, just in case, I hid my face against his back and took a deep breath.
Fortunately, I didn’t smell any blood.
“It’s fine. I want to be the one to take him.”
Like a stubborn child, Klen pushed away all help and started walking.
Despite not being tired at all, his hunched back looked as if he were struggling to keep me from falling, and every step was dangerously unsteady.
I could imagine how anxiously the gazes of those around us were wavering.
The soldiers, who had come with the sole intention of searching the area, didn’t seem to have brought horses.
Only after Klen had walked for a long time did I hear the sound of galloping hooves.
“Lord Klen. Are you alright? We brought horses.”
“……Thank you.”
He carefully placed me on the horse first, leaning me against the pommel, and then hopped up behind me.
Once he was stable, he pulled me so that I was cradled against his chest.
Every movement was meticulous.
I could feel his intense focus on not making a mistake.
Of course, it wasn’t genuine exhaustion, but a brilliant performance that warranted admiration.
It was making me itch to stay still like this when I couldn’t move on my own.
I wanted to jump up right now and pull the reins as much as I liked.
“Well then, I shall head back first.”
“Yes!”
Soon, the horse kicked off and started running.
I managed to finally relax my body and sit up in a more comfortable position.
Even that small movement helped calm my restless body.
While I was at it, I used every possible motion I could on the running horse to stretch my muscles.
“……When should I open my eyes?”
[Eh? Have you not opened them already? Or are you planning to sleep again?]
“Hmm.”
Surprisingly, Klen fell into deep thought for a long time without opening his mouth.
Then, he rested his chin on the shoulder opposite to where Aren was perched and turned his head slightly toward me.
His lips brushed against the curve of my ear, sending a sharp shiver through me.
Even such a small contact felt like it was charged with heat.
“How about waking up right as we reach our room?”
“…….”
His voice, lowered to a whisper on purpose, slowly seeped into my ear.
I tried my best to ignore the sensation of a fire being lit deep within me.
The reason he didn’t want me to “wake up” early was likely because the situation of having to give all sorts of reports would be a nuisance.
“Those two will wake up soon anyway. And once a mouth has been opened, it won’t be hard to pry it open again.”
“Hmm. I suppose so.”
Since they were only knocked out by the cold, the two—who were healthier than ever—would regain consciousness with just a firm shake of their shoulders.
Having already poured out so much information to us, they wouldn’t feel the need to keep their mouths shut now.
Especially since doing so might lead to actual torture next time.
Thanks to the late hour, the horse galloped quickly through the empty streets.
Since I couldn’t wake up yet, I had to let my body go limp and close my eyes again once we arrived at the castle.
