─ I failed. To connect Pielott with a shadow.
Arald was behind the wheel, and Frondier was lost in thought, recalling Selena’s words.
─ Why?
─ He adamantly refused.
According to Selena, she had originally intended to connect the shadow without Pielott’s knowledge.
Pielott was only suppressing his pride with humility, but he wasn’t originally a person of low self-esteem. Forcing a shadow connection on him would hurt his pride.
That’s why she tried to do it secretly, and even if she had asked Frondier, he probably would have told her to do so.
But he noticed.
‘…Selena’s shadow connection was noticed?’
Selena, at the top of the assassins. Of course, she might have been a little careless, but it was surprising that Pielott noticed.
Selena’s shadow connection was so skilled that it could be done with just the touch of her hair. If he felt something else from such a small contact, it meant that Pielott’s senses had become that sharp.
Selena thought Pielott would be angry, but he wasn’t.
Of course, he refused, but the reason for his refusal was different from what she expected.
“It’s a waste.”
“A waste?”
“Senior Selena is an important person in this operation. For you to stay by my side out of concern for me is a waste of manpower.”
“……Shadow transfer is instantaneous. I can come and go as I please, so you don’t have to worry about that.”
At Selena’s words, Pielott smiled and shook his head.
“If I were really in danger, Senior Selena wouldn’t be able to leave me behind.”
“……Then you’re prepared to be in danger…”
“We’re trying to prevent a war.”
Pielott picked up his scabbard. Click, he drew his sword slightly, looking at the sharply honed blade.
“Danger will come to us all, and it’s clear where Senior Selena needs to be at that time.”
“Pielott.”
“I don’t need a shadow.”
Pielott’s tone was gentle but firm.
If Selena forced a connection, it was as if he would really cut the connected shadow with that sword.
“Senior Frondier will be satisfied if I have that much resolve.”
…They had a conversation like this, and Selena relayed the gist of it to Frondier.
‘This kid…’
Frondier chuckled to himself.
It had already been a year and a half since Pielott became his disciple, unofficially.
From the moment they first met, he had decided to fix his ingrained nature…
‘What have I created?’
Frondier glanced at Pielott through the rearview mirror from the passenger seat.
Pielott was staring out the window quietly. His eyes, sunken and melancholic, scanned the scenery outside.
Perhaps Pielott was now more desperate than even Frondier.
Even now, looking outside with the eyes of a human being filled with so much determination,
“……Senior.”
Pielott spoke up.
“Ah, yeah?”
“I feel sick.”
“……What?”
“I was trying to hold it in while looking out the window, but I think I’m going to die.”
Frondier blinked for a moment.
“Hey! You complained about motion sickness on the ship, and now you’re doing it in the car?!”
“If we stop for a bit, I’ll feel better soon…”
“It’s been 10 minutes since we left! Are you going to make us stop every 10 minutes? That’s why I told you to take your medicine!”
“I was careless because I thought it would be better than seasickness…”
Pielott said with a more miserable face than before.
Frondier pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.
“Pielott, remember what I said on the ship?”
“What did you say?”
“You deal with your own motion sickness.”
Pielott closed his eyes tightly at Frondier’s words.
When he opened his eyes again, they were fixed on Arald.
“Mr. Arald.”
“W-What is it, Pielott?”
Arald tensed up at Pielott’s overly serious expression.
“I’ll take care of my motion sickness. But,”
“B-But?”
“If this car gets dirty, you’ll take care of it, right, Mr. Arald?”
Arald’s expression turned sour. He immediately looked at Frondier with pleading eyes.
A vein bulged on Frondier’s temple.
“Pielott, you’ve gotten quite cunning, haven’t you?”
“Let’s just say it’s wisdom squeezed out of a desperate situation.”
Frondier scratched his head in anguish.
It wasn’t that he was intentionally refusing to stop the car to torment Pielott.
But if he really stopped the car at this rate, they wouldn’t reach the capital no matter how much time passed. Moreover, there was no guarantee that the road conditions ahead would allow them to stop frequently.
“……10… 9….”
“You’re being really cheeky, aren’t you? Counting down like that?!”
“I’m just conveying the urgency of my situation in a clear and concise manner.”
Frondier let out a sigh, massaging his throbbing temples.
“This isn’t what it’s for.”
Frondier grabbed his necklace.
Swoosh.
Obsidian flowed out from him and spread out.
Pielott was surprised.
“…! I can’t throw up on Obsidian!”
“Who said anything about throwing up?!”
Obsidian flowed out the window. Then it positioned itself above the car.
“Pielott, get on top of the car. Obsidian will be spread out like a carpet, so get on top of it.”
“…You want me to go out the window and climb on top while the car is moving?”
“Can’t you do it?”
“Of course I can.”
Whoosh.
Pielott quickly got out the window and deftly climbed onto the roof of the car. As Frondier had said, Obsidian was spread out.
As he sat down on it, his motion sickness suddenly subsided. The impact and shaking from the car disappeared completely.
“Whoa! Senior! This is amazing!”
“Quiet!”
“You should have done this sooner!”
“Do you want to fly out the window for real?”
Frondier sighed once more.
Really, this wasn’t what it was intended for.
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