「……」
Sofia and Erin slowly made their way toward the communal cemetery.
Partway there, Sofia suddenly shuddered.
Erin tilted her head curiously.
"What's wrong?"
"No, it's just..."
Sofia looked back over her shoulder.
Beyond her gaze lay the town.
Aisha, Snow, and Licorice.
And Fate should be waiting there as well.
They should be waiting for her, and yet...
For some reason, she felt a fear that she would never see them again.
"...It's nothing."
It's just my imagination.
She was probably thinking such things because they were approaching enemy territory and she was tense.
Having reached that conclusion, Sofia continued onward.
"We're almost at the hideout."
Lena, walking at the front, spoke casually.
Even though they could run into enemies at any moment, she seemed completely unconcerned.
Perhaps she believed that if they encountered an enemy, she could simply cut them down.
Or perhaps she believed there was no one who could pose a threat to her.
Most likely, it was both.
"..."
"Erin?"
Sofia suddenly noticed that Erin looked unwell.
Her beautifully composed face was slightly pale.
And although only a little, she was sweating despite the cold night.
"Is something wrong? Could it be that you're not feeling well...?"
"Ah, no..."
A bitter expression crossed Erin's face.
After a moment of hesitation, she quietly spoke.
"Actually... it's rather embarrassing to admit, but I'm not very good with darkness."
"Really...?"
The unexpected confession made Sofia widen her eyes in surprise.
Erin was a member of the Special Knights.
An elite among elites.
And yet, she was saying that she was afraid of the dark.
Lena, who was walking ahead, also seemed puzzled and asked with a tilted head.
"Are you scared of ghosts or something? If so, I kind of get it. After reading a horror novel, I can't even go to the bathroom by myself."
"No, I'm not afraid of ghosts. To begin with, ghosts don't exist."
"There are monsters called ghosts, though."
"But those aren't ghosts. Ghosts do not exist."
Was she denying it so stubbornly because she was a realist?
Or because she was actually afraid?
It was oddly difficult to tell.
"It's just that... I'm simply not good with darkness."
"Why is that?"
"...A long time ago, I got caught up in a terrorist incident."
As though recalling those days, Erin's expression darkened.
Not only was it gloomy, but a faint trace of fear could also be seen.
"Back then, I wasn't living in the royal capital but in a rural province... and a terrorist incident occurred there. People dissatisfied with the local lord rioted, causing great damage to the town."
"Stuff like that is such a nuisance."
"You're hardly one to talk... So, what happened?"
"I was at home when someone's magic struck directly, causing the house to collapse."
Erin wrapped her arms around herself.
Her hands were trembling.
"The house collapsed, and I was nearly crushed beneath the rubble... but by some stroke of luck, the debris piled up in a way that left me with only broken bones. However..."
"...You were trapped?"
"Yes. I couldn't escape on my own, and because the town had become like a battlefield, no rescue ever came... I was trapped there for about three days."
"I see..."
Perhaps Erin didn't want shallow sympathy.
Even so, Sofia couldn't help but feel sympathy for her.
It was that painful a story.
"Ever since then, I've had trouble with dark places... It's rather pathetic, really."
"That's not true...!"
"Yeah, yeah, it's nothing to be embarrassed about."
Unexpectedly, Lena stepped in to support her.
"Everyone has something they're bad at. Whether you're a Special Knight or whatever, I think it's only natural. As for me, I'm not very good with human warmth."
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