Side Story 3. The Third Knights’ Bear Search Operation (1) |
“How are you doing these days, High Priest?”
Arendt asked, stuffing a well-cut steak into his mouth.
“Ah, I suppose it’s Director now, not High Priest?”
“It doesn’t matter. I’m doing well, thanks to you, Sir Arendt.”
Lumiel, sitting across from him, smiled brightly. A delicious meal was also plentifully placed before her.
It was a long-awaited day off.
The sky was clear, and the breeze was gentle. It was a beautiful day.
Arendt and Lumiel sat across from each other in a sunny spot at Lawrence’s shop, Cantares’s hideout and now their regular restaurant.
“I heard you’re also in charge of reforming troublemakers? Why don’t you just leave those guys to the Imperial Family?”
Lumiel put down her fork and smiled.
“And my main job is dealing with the aftermath of the war and providing relief to the victims. It’s not much different from my original work. And since I have people I’ve worked with before to help me out… it’s very comfortable.”
Thanks to Lumiel’s consideration, the priests who lost their holy powers during the war were able to work at the welfare center. Most of the priests, who were at a loss, unable to use their holy powers, readily accepted Lumiel’s offer.
Arendt waved his fork, stabbing it in a french fry.
“Those idiots, it’s a relief if they don’t give you a hard time. Do they even know how to handle administrative work properly?”
“Haha… they do just fine, following what they were taught. Don’t worry. We have officials sent by the imperial government.”
“And don’t overwork yourself, Director.”
Lumiel, sensing the worry hidden in his blunt words, smiled happily.
“I may not be as young as you, Sir Arendt, but I’m still more than capable of working.”
“Still, you should consider your age. Please eat something healthy.”
Warmth melted into Lumiel’s eyes as she looked at Arendt.
Arendt didn’t seem to have changed much since before the war. But if she had to point out one difference, it was that he no longer tried to hide the affection he’d once kept bottled up.
‘The Third Knights will be appalled to hear that.’
They say he’s still causing all sorts of trouble.
But at least to Lumiel, he was just a young man, nothing more, nothing less.
Now, Arendt seemed to have found some measure of peace.
“Eat well, Sir Arendt. You’re probably busier than me, so eat well and get your energy back.”
“Well, I don’t really have anything to worry about. I can just let my seniors handle the annoying stuff.”
He chuckled, his former precariousness no longer visible in his grin.
“An apprentice knight has joined us, although he is a little reckless. Isn’t that why we’re hanging out here like this?”
It was as if he’d shaken something off.
For her, it was a welcome sight.
After parting ways with Lumiel, Arendt leisurely returned to the dormitory. Today was a rare day off, so he planned to spend it reading a book.
But the moment he stepped foot into the dormitory…
“Waaaaaah!”
A child’s loud cries greeted him.
At that moment, Arendt had a gut feeling.
“…The expectations for a leisurely day off was all for naught.”
It seemed that today, too, was not a day that could pass quietly.
As expected, a rather unusual scene unfolded in the dormitory lobby.
The first thing that caught his eye was a crowd of knights gathered around someone. The child’s cries seemed to have come from somewhere in the middle of the crowd.
“Mommy!”
“Oh my, don’t cry! It’s okay!”
“So, what’s your mother’s name?”
“My teddy bear!”
“A bear, teddy bear?”
The knights were scrambling around the sobbing, babbling child.
Arendt let out a deep sigh, and the knights, at a loss, all turned around.
Glenn, who had been standing closest to the child, looking flustered, beamed.
“Arendt! Perfect timing. You’re good with children, aren’t you?”
“No.”
Arendt spoke with a serious expression, but no one paid any attention to him. In the end, Rider had dragged him straight to the child.
“Mommy!”
A young boy, perhaps about four years old, was crying, his face flushed red. Arendt asked Arthur, who was standing next to him.
“What happened?”
“He was lost, crying in front of the dormitory. So I brought him in, hoping to find his guardian, but…”
Arthur looked at the child with bewildered eyes.
“As you can see, he’s in this state. He won’t stop crying.”
“Well, if he’s surrounded by all these ugly seniors, of course he can only cry.”
Arthur’s face twisted at the jab, but before he could retort, the child’s wailing grew even louder.
“WAAAH!”
“…Guess there’s no helping it.”
Arendt sighed briefly and crouched in front of the child. Ignoring the crying, he began to calmly observe the child’s behavior.
“Is he a noble’s child? Is there some event at the palace today?”
“I heard His Highness is hosting a tea party… but it’s still a few hours away.”
“Hmm.”
Arendt thought for a moment, then placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder. Startled, the child stared at him with tear-filled eyes.
Arendt met the boy’s gaze and spoke briefly.
“Young master. First, stop. Enough crying.”
It was his usual blunt words. Everyone tensed, half-expecting the child to burst into an even louder fit.
Slowly, the boy began to calm down. The knights’ eyes widened in disbelief.
“What? He didn’t even budge when we tried to soothe him…”
“Of course he’d cry even more with all of you guys surrounding him like a monkey.”
Arendt shot back and turned his focus to the boy again.
“You lost your mother.”
Nod.
“And you lost your teddy bear, too.”
“Say ‘yes, sir.’”
“…Yes, sir.”
The child nodded at Arendt’s calm question. Arendt took a handkerchief from his pocket and roughly wiped the child’s tear-stained face.
“We’ll find your Mom and the teddy bear, so don’t cry. In times like this, instead of crying, you should grab an adult nearby and ask for help. Understand?”
“…Mmh…”
“Not ‘mmh.’ Say ‘yes.’”
“Yes.”
After exchanging a few words, the child seemed to have calmed down considerably. Only then could the knights breathe a sigh of relief.
“What’s your name?”
“Ed.”
“…Not your nickname. Your real name. Do you know your surname?”
“Ed…”
“Right, Ed. Good enough.”
Arendt quickly gave up and changed the subject.
“Who did you come with?”
“Mom.”
“Do you remember how you got from home to the palace?”
“By carriage.”
Arendt nodded briefly at Ed’s answer.
Then finding the child’s guardian wouldn’t be too difficult.
“Well, one of you useless seniors. Someone, please check out the carriages that came in today.”
“Primarily those of noble visitors? Maybe it’s a child brought by one of the people attending the tea party today?”
Unable to refute the “useless” comment, Rider asked dutifully.
“Yes. We’ll look for any families that have lost their child. It won’t be easy though.”
“Why?”
“The parents might not know they’re missing. Especially if the child came with a parent who came to work. They might be so busy running errands at the palace that they didn’t even realize the child is gone.”
It was a valid point.
The knights nodded with uneasy expressions.
“That’s true.”
“Well, while those knights are gone…”
Arendt turned his gaze back to Ed.
“Shall we look for your lost teddy bear?”
Ed nodded timidly, his eyes brimming with tears.
And so began the search for the teddy bear by the off-duty members of the Third Knights.
“Use your wits for now. Searching blindly will only be a waste of time.”
After Rider and Glenn went out to check the carriages, Arendt said this after sharing his snacks with Ed.
“It’s not easy for a kid to slip away from their guardian, isn’t it? My guess is he lost his teddy bear first, and then wandered off on his own to look for it…”
Arendt jerked his chin toward the child, who was nibbling on a snack.
“For now, tell the servants to search around the dormitory. They might have already picked it up and stored it somewhere, so check that too.”
“…You realize you’ve been bossing your seniors around with just a flick of your finger, right?”
Arendt’s eyes widened at Arthur’s discontented tone.
“You’ve got a lot to say for someone who couldn’t even calm a kid down.”
In the end, two more knights were dispatched and set off to find the servants.
They even brought along communication crystals so they could report back the moment they found anything.
Arendt, crossing his legs, continued in a bored tone.
“Then, let’s retrace the path the child likely took.”
“The palace is huge, you know. How are we supposed to figure that out?”
Arthur retorted sullenly, and Arendt shrugged.
“It can’t be a busy road. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have even reached our quarters. Someone would have discovered him along the way.”
“That’s… that’s right.”
The knights nodded, muttering. Arendt shrugged.
“For all we know, there might already be people searching for him. Let’s take the kid and head out.”
“Ugh… what are we even doing on our precious day off…”
Someone sighed deeply, and Arendt said sullenly.
“You shouldn’t have brought the kid into the dormitory in the first place. If you had just left him with a nearby servant, this problem would have been solved long ago. But seniors, weren’t you the ones who brought him into our jurisdiction?”
“…”
“That’s why they say there’s no cure for stupidity.”
Their junior was still as sharp-tongued as ever. Arendt clicked his tongue and continued.
“Anyway, how far could a small kid have come if he had walked here? I think that explanation was simple enough.”
“So… somewhere not far from the dormitory, a place with few people, and a path the kid could have walked on foot…”
Arthur summarized Arendt’s words.
“So we start by checking those areas?”
“Yes. The path to the main palace is the most likely route, whether it’s to find a teddy bear or someone looking for a child.”
Arendt nodded vaguely and spoke to Ed.
“Hey, kid.”
“Huh?”
The boy, absorbed in his snack, looked up. Arendt gave him a small, crooked grin..
“Let’s go together. We’ll find both your mom and the teddy bear.”