"They might have shaken us off..."
"Seems that way. There are no more magic power reactions heading this way."
Both of them confirmed that the pursuers—including Chris—had lost track of them to the last person.
Only then did Katia finally sit down on the spot, breathing heavily.
"A-Are you okay?"
"...I'm fine... Just give me a moment to catch my breath..."
Bloodline Magic users had greater physical abilities than ordinary people.
Even so, a full sprint like that must have been grueling for a fifteen-year-old girl.
Doing as she asked, Ermes kept watch on their surroundings while waiting, and after a while, Katia let out a deep breath and got to her feet.
And at last, the two were finally in a situation where they could talk face to face at a calm pace.
"...You're El, right? Really truly."
"Y-Yes."
Once more, Ermes looked at Katia head-on, calmly this time.
(...She's beautiful.)
He couldn't help but think it—From Ermes's perspective, Katia had grown into a stunning young woman.
The deep violet hair that still shone despite the grime from their flight, the radiant eyes, the slender yet well-defined nose, and the small, shapely lips. All of it combined with her exquisite features and balanced figure to make her look like a top-quality doll.
It might be rude to compare, but even standing beside his mentor Rose, Katia wouldn't look the least bit inferior.
This beautiful girl—so beautiful that he'd been momentarily transfixed—took a deep breath.
"You—YOU IDIOT!!"
Her very first words were a full-force scolding directed right at Ermes.
"Huh?"
"'Huh' isn't going to cut it! Five years without a single word—what have you been doing!? After that day, I went to the Frenbreed estate, but you'd already been expelled, and nobody knew where you'd gone! They all turned me away, and I had no leads at all!"
"...That's because I was cut off from the family, with nowhere to go and no one to rely on..."
He tried to calm Katia down by explaining that it had been impossible for anyone to find him in that situation, but.
"'Nowhere to go and no one to rely on'? Don't be ridiculous."
It seemed he'd struck an even deeper nerve—Katia closed the distance and brought her face right up to his.
"I was here."
"...I was right here the whole time. So why—why didn't you come to me for help back then!?"
The words she'd most wanted to say, she hurled straight at Ermes.
"——"
"All you had to do was ask the Trackia family for help! If you had, there were so many things we could have done! But instead, I had no idea where you went after that, and every time I heard anything, it was just stories about what happens to expelled nobles' children—I was so—I—!"
As she scolded him, her emotions gradually began to bleed through.
(...Ah.)
"How scared I was thinking you might be dead, how I kept thinking 'if only he'd done this'—how much—regret I've been carrying! ...I... was..."
And before she knew it, as if she could hold back no longer, large drops of tears spilled from her eyes.
To hide her expression, Katia pressed her forehead against Ermes's chest.
"...I'm so glad you're alive. ...I was worried about you... so much...!"
"...Yes. I'm sorry."
Even if he could go back to the day of his expulsion five years ago, he wouldn't have been able to ask her for help, just as she said. He'd been far too deep in despair to even think clearly, and he hadn't wanted to lean so pathetically on the one person who believed in him and encouraged him.
But if she'd been worrying about him this much, he should have at least found a way to get in touch somehow. Reflecting on this, Ermes placed his hand on the shoulder of Katia, who was sobbing against his chest.
"Since you came to find me properly, I'll forgive you. ...Also, thank you for saving me."
Her words echoed softly, her ears flushed red.
"...So, El. What are you doing now, and where?"
Eventually, after her emotions had settled...
Perhaps still a bit embarrassed—Katia's cheeks were flushed as she turned her face away while questioning him.
"You're in the Royal Capital, which means you must have some kind of livelihood set up. Where are you living? How are you making ends meet?"
"Huh? Oh, well, you see..."
Ah, so she'd apparently mistaken him for someone already living in the Royal Capital.
To clear up that misunderstanding, he briefly explained everything that had happened so far, including the fact that he'd only just arrived in the Royal Capital today.
"...Wait, what?"
She showed an expression of surprise that exceeded even what he'd imagined.
"S-So you just arrived in the Royal Capital, and you don't have a place to live or a job lined up?"
"That's about the size of it."
"Do you have any prospects at least?"
"I have a few ideas, but nothing concrete."
Hearing Ermes's answers, Katia's expression gradually shifted from shock to—somehow—anticipation.
"Ah, but don't worry about that. I'm fairly confident in my magic, so I'm sure I'll be able to find some kind of wo—"
"EL!!"
"Y-Yes?!"
His name was called out at full volume, and he reflexively yelled back at the top of his lungs.
Paying him no mind, Katia grabbed Ermes's shoulder with a firm grip and brought her face even closer than before.
"Then this time, you're coming to my place! I'm going to hire you!"
"...Excuse me?!"
With cheeks flushed from a different kind of excitement than before, he was met with an unexpected proposal.
◆
In truth, Katia's proposal was more than welcome.
Ermes's goal was to see as many examples of Bloodline Magic as possible and refine his own magic.
Since his magic, the "Primal Inscription," was a magic that reproduced other magic, the benefit of witnessing superior magic was immeasurably clear.
To that end, the best course of action would be to establish connections with some noble family—ideally a high-ranking one.
At first, though, Ermes was hesitant.
He thought she'd made this proposal out of concern for him, since his livelihood was so uncertain, and he didn't feel right accepting such generosity.
So when Ermes said he'd manage to set up a livelihood on his own, Katia fired back:
"You're too naive, El. The Royal Capital is a dangerous place. A sheltered boy like you would get picked up by the wrong people in no time."
"Besides, you were famous as a child, so there are still plenty of people who remember you. You never know when some noble might decide to pick a fight with you."
"I'm not just saying this out of pity—your magic earlier was incredible. I want to secure a talent like you while you're still a free agent. So don't be polite about it."
All of her reasons were perfectly logical, yet she rattled them off at an almost comically rapid pace.
"...Also..."
And finally,
"It's been so long since we were reunited as childhood friends. ...Is it really so terrible that I'd want to spend more time together?"
Hearing those words—spoken softly as she averted her gaze—Ermes decided to accept her offer.
And so, after a brief jostling ride in a carriage that happened to be passing nearby, they arrived at the Trackia family estate in the heart of the Royal Capital.
He'd visited a few times during childhood, but seeing it again now...
(...It's enormous.)
His own family, the Frenbreeds, were a prestigious house in their own right and had a reasonably spacious compound, but the estate of a duchy was on an entirely different scale.
Moreover, unlike the Frenbreed estate, which was simply large for the sake of being large, every corner of this place was meticulously maintained—there was even an air of refinement about it.
While Ermes was taking in the Trackia estate with such thoughts, the gates slowly opened and someone came rushing out.
"KATIA!"
The girl who came running over, calling the name of the young woman beside him, was a woman in her mid-twenties dressed in a maid's uniform.
"Where have you been!? You were gone so long I was worried sick—and look at your clothes, they're filthy! What on earth happened—no, before that, are you hurt—and who is this boy next to you!?"
"...Leila, firing all those questions at once isn't helping. I'll answer one at a time, so calm down first."
It seemed this woman, who appeared to be Katia's attendant, was named Leila.
Worriedly pressing a hand to her body, then gasping at Katia's appearance, then noticing Ermes and gasping again—Leila was quite busy, and Katia stopped her with both hands.
"I'm sorry for being late. We ran into a bit of trouble. The dirty clothes are related to that, but I'm not seriously hurt. And this is Ermes—the former Ermes von Frenbreed. Leila, you should have met him a few times when we were children."
"Huh?"
Or had they? Ermes dug through his memories.
...Now that she mentioned it, he vaguely recalled a maid who used to come pick up Katia when she visited. Could that have been her?
"Oh, you used to play with Lady Katia all the time!"
At the same moment, Leila seemed to remember as well, clapping her hands together.
"Ermes, you say—then you're the one who was expelled from the Frenbreed family for Incompatibility... You're still alive."
"!"
That murmur made Ermes stiffen slightly.
Katia's earlier warning about nobles who might try to pick fights with him, combined with the verbal abuse his brother Chris had hurled at him using similar words.
He braced himself for another barrage of heartless comments—but.
"...That's wonderful news...!"
Contrary to his expectations, Leila's face lit up with heartfelt relief.
"No matter that they said he lacked Bloodline Magic, throwing out a family member—and such a small child, no less—that was something I grieved over back then... But if you're alive, that's all that matters."
From her smile, it was perfectly clear that there wasn't a trace of falsehood in her words.
"Don't worry, El."
Katia added with a gentle smile.
"Unlike the Frenbreeds, our family—servants included—would never look down on you because of what happened in the past. ...Welcome to the Trackia family."
He was truly glad he had followed her words.
It was there that Ermes finally, truly thought so from the bottom of his heart.