CH 27

Lost and Found

“Why is Seiryuu-senpai with Leidyrune-senpai?”

Seiryuu, who was approaching through the waves of people, opened his mouth while paying attention to the presence of the crying girl beside Sheila.

“What are you doing here?”

“I’m exploring the royal capital with Cody and Zechs, but….”

Sheila hesitated to continue as she glanced down at Abby, who was holding her hand. If she found out that the person who had called out to her was also lost, it would only make her more anxious.

Seiryuu, noticing her hesitation, whispered near her ear.

“….. You got lost too, didn’t you?”

“…. Yes.”

“And that girl is――”

“…. Lost.”

“…. I see.”

Sheila and Seiryuu looked into each other’s eyes, and she bowed her head in shame. She was lost in an unfamiliar city, and protecting a lost child was, in her opinion, a little too much of an unthinkable thing.

There must have been a lot to say, but the gentle senior didn’t reprimand Sheila in front of Abby.

“Lost children are usually taken care of by the patrolling corps. I’m sure they’ll be patrolling the area, so let’s just head toward the square for now.”

“But Cody and Zechs might be looking for me….”

Leidyrune, who had been silently watching the exchange between Sheila and the others, interrupted them.

“It’s not a good idea to split up with us here, because you’ll just get lost. Your friends may also be relying on the patrol, and even if they are not, you can go back to the dormitory with us. If they don’t find you, they’ll come back.”

“Umm, that’s true.”

It’s going to cause a lot of trouble for Cody and Zechs, but Abby is her priority right now. She’ll apologize as much as she can when she sees them later.

When she was finally convinced, Seiryuu and Leidyrune started to walk away, followed by Sheila and Abby who were holding hands. They seemed to be walking slowly, matching the pace of the child.

“So, what brings you two to the royal capital?”

When she repeated her question, Leidyrune glanced back and answered.

“I’ll be under the care of the Patrol Corps for summer training, so I thought I’d take a look around the city.”

“Summer training?”

“When you’re in the special course, they train you to get a real feel for what it’s like in the actual field. I’ve already been confirmed for training with the Patrol Corps.”

As he was a high-ranking noble, it seemed natural to advance to the special course. It was said that the results would be announced this week, but she was surprised that he knew not only his designated course but also the place of training. Was that the aristocrat’s connections?

“But I heard that most of the Patrol Corps are assigned to people in the general course.”

She doubted that Leidyrune, who was near the top of the nobility, needed to go to the Patrol Corps for training. If he chose to become a knight, he would already be enlisted for the Imperial Knights[1].

“That is why. Many nobles join the Order of the Imperial Knights. In order to learn the work of other corps while they are students, they are sometimes assigned training other than for the Imperial Knights.”

“I see.”

Sheila was surprised that Leidyrune would explain it in detail to her. Maybe there was a caring side to him.

“Wow, training sounds interesting. If I was put in a special course, I wonder where I would go?”

In Sheila’s case, there was a strong possibility that she would be put in the general course, so it was only an imagination. Seiryuu replied to her mutterings.

“There are various types of on-field training, including border patrols, patrolling the royal capital, guarding dignitaries, and fortifications, but fourth-year students won’t be sent far from the city. If an emergency situation arises, they could be a liability.”

“So, it means that I’ll be assigned to a relatively peaceful and safe place. Then, I guess I’ll be guarding the royal capital.”

As she was imagining it, she felt a tug on her hand.

“It’s so boring with all the complicated stories.”

“Ah. I’m sorry, Abby.”

She hurriedly apologized to the puffy-faced girl, but her eyes were already on the two people walking in front of her.

“Hey, hey. Did big brothers come to the royal capital together? Are you good friends?”

Abby fearlessly asked questions that even Sheila had a hard time asking. Seiryuu blinked his eyes, but eventually chuckled.

“I’m afraid to even think of it that way. Even though he is now a junior at the academy, he is a nobleman. I’m only acting as his guide since I’m almost unofficially assigned to the Patrol Corps.”

Abby raised her eyebrows at the stiff tone, but Sheila’s face lit up.

“Speaking of which, I heard from Claushezade-sensei that Seiryuu-senpai will eventually become the commander of the Patrol Corps. Congratulations!”

“Hahaha. It’s not finalized yet, and I don’t know how many years it will be before I become the commander. But thank you.”

As she was laughing with Seiryuu, who scratched his hair in embarrassment, she was again pulled by the puffy-faced Abby.

“Sister.”

“Oh, sorry. By the way, I said that I’m not Sister.”

“Are you two good friends with Sister?”

“Please, will you listen to me?”

Abby’s innocent question made both Seiryuu and Leidyrune stop at the same time. Perhaps they were offended, Sheila hastily corrected them.

“They’re my seniors. Both of them are caring and respectable seniors. And, really, let’s stop with the ‘Sister’.”

“I mean, these big brothers were so far away, but they noticed you, didn’t they? They were running because they were worried about you, weren’t they?”

She was sure that the girl had no bad intentions, but she’d like to end this topic quickly. Seiryuu and Leidyrune were standing still with a difficult look on their faces.

Even though they might be seen as a nuisance because they were creating traffic in the streets, the people of the city were keeping their distance because of Leidyrune, who clearly looked like a noble.

“Um, putting Seiryuu-senpai aside, I would never misunderstand that Leidyrune-senpai was worried about me. It’s just something a child says, so if you could just tolerate it…..”

“If you say that, doesn’t it sound like I’m a cold-hearted person?”

It seemed that Sheila’s remarks were more offensive than Abby’s. Questioned in a pressing tone, her eyes widened.

“Then, were you worried about me?”

“…. That’s right. Because my junior looked troubled.”

There was a subtle pause, so maybe he didn’t really mean it, but he didn’t deny that he had rushed over. Since she was actually saved, Sheila should thank him.

“Thank you very much. I knew it, Leidyrune-senpai is very kind.”

‘Despite appearances.’

When she laughed, swallowing the part that might be considered rude, his purple eyes shook just slightly.

“…. Only you would describe me as kind.”

While she was gazing at him in a puzzled manner, a group of men in armor appeared. They were members of a patrolling corps who were making their rounds and came to check on the fact that the crowd around Leidyrune, a high-ranking noble, was causing a bit of a commotion. Sheila didn’t notice at all.

She took the opportunity to inform them of Abby’s presence, and they told her that her parents had come to the military post looking for her. Sheila felt relieved and left Abby in the care of the patrolman.

Waving back at the girl as she walked away, she looked up at Seiryuu, who was waving next to her.

“What a relief, right, Seiryuu-senpai?”

“Ah, yes, it’s a relief…. By the way, Sheila, you can call me by my name. I’m sure it’s a hassle to call me “senpai” every time.”

Sheila blinked her eyes at the sudden offer.

“Is that okay?”

“I don’t mind.”

Seiryuu looked down at Sheila with a warm smile. If he felt familiar and close with her, she was honestly glad.

“Then, I will take your word for it. But if I am assigned to the same Patrol Corps as my senior, I will properly call you Commander.”

“I haven’t even graduated yet, what are you talking about?”

As they were joking around, she suddenly felt someone staring at her. When she turned around, Leidyrune was arrogantly looking down at Sheila as usual. Although he was expressionless, his eyes seemed to be saying something.

“…. What’s wrong?”

“…. Nothing. Never mind.”

Leidyrune’s gaze was quickly averted. He was clearly suspicious, but Sheila didn’t pursue the matter further.

“Even so, if you get lost just by walking a little, is it unsafe in the royal capital?”

That was something that had been bothering her for a while. It was possible for a child who was preoccupied with something to leave their parents’ sight, but the area where Abby was found in was filled with tobacco shops and drug stores, and she didn’t think there was anything that would attract a child’s attention.

Seiryuu was quick to deny this.

“No, the security of the capital is thoroughly protected. Patrolmen walked every corner of the city every hour, and besides that, there should always be soldiers in disguise watching over the city at all times.”

As someone who had been unofficially assigned to the Patrol Corps, he probably didn’t want to think that there was an oversight. She felt sorry for him, but something kept nagging at her.

“The security is good. Soldiers are patrolling. But she still got lost….”

“You don’t get to say that!”

“Ow!”

Sheila screamed as her head was suddenly pressed down with tremendous force. She immediately looked up to see what was going on and saw the angry face of Zechs, who was out of breath.

“Zechs! Cody!”

“I’m glad we finally found you! We came to the plaza thinking that the Patrol Corps might’ve found you, but I didn’t expect to find you here with Seiryuu-senpai and Leidyrune-senpai.”

Apparently, they too decided to rely on the Patrol Corps instead of searching blindly.

Cody had finished greeting his seniors politely, but she wanted him to pull off Zechs’ arm, which was holding her tightly. Sheila’s head was in an emergency.

“I didn’t get to see Arin-chan because you got separated from us! What are you going to do about it?! Give me the money for the cookies you wasted! You’ll pay for it!”

It would be impossible to go to the diner now, as the time was almost up. He seemed angry that his plan had been foiled because Sheila got lost.

Unlike usual, Cody smiled wryly behind Zechs, apparently not intending to stop his friend.

“It may be hard to understand, but Zechs was also very worried. Of course, I was too. You should take his scolding as a learning experience.”

Realizing that she couldn’t expect help, the words “you deserved it” continued to fly around in Sheila’s head throughout the preaching.