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No, he's a member of the Kjerag Expedition, of which I am the captain.

...I see. I remember it now.

I'll take it.

H-Here you go, sir.

Ugh... it's heavy.

Who are you?

Have you forgotten me, Sage Edwards?

I am Weiss, captain of the Kjerag Expedition. This one here is Matterhorn, a warrior under my charge.

Ah, yes, I remember you.

Come and greet the sage, Matterhorn.

It's been a while, sir.

Very good, very good.

At first I thought you were hillmen coming from who-knows-where. Little could I imagine that you were heralds of Kjerag.

How is that son of mine, Chris, doing in Kjerag?

We came to deliver Chris's letter, sir.

Along with the gifts he prepared for his family.

So many things? My goodness. He shouldn't have.

(Softly) Whew—

(Whisper) Good work, Master.

(Whisper) Thanks.

Chris is doing very well in Kjerag. He is in line for a promotion to manager soon.

Please, go ahead and read the letter. It also explains why we're here.

I see. I know what you're here for.

Let's go inside.

May we count on you to convince the villagers, then?

It's no small business. There will be a lot to discuss.

But don't worry. With Chris's letter and your guarantee, I'm sure they'll come around.

Please feel free to let me know if our presence is warranted.

Very good, very good.

Do you remember now, Master?

Hard not to, after carrying so much all this way.

I wanted you to feel for yourself the importance of logistics.

Besides, I helped you carry half of it.

That day, I wanted to see what the outside was like, after my lessons.

So I hopped on one of the downhill transport carts, and dragged you along with me.

I was scared out of my wits.

It was actually Matterhorn whom I wanted to bring first.

But thinking again, I was sure he would try to stop me, so I turned to you.

What made you so sure I wouldn't try to stop you?

You never stopped anyone from doing anything stupid, even me.

Besides, you wanted to see the outside too, didn't you?

I told you to turn back when we descended the mountain and saw nothing but a barren plain.

You just wouldn't listen.

We were getting chewed out by Mother regardless. We might as well take a few more steps forward. Maybe there would be a surprise lying in wait for us.

We would've starved to death if I didn't steal some food from the kitchen before we left.

I was cursing you under my breath all the way.

I thought you were grateful to me for saving your life.

No one wants to starve in the wilderness.

Sure enough. I certainly don't.

That's why I began to regret it when we ran out of food.

Fortunately, we found this village. Old Edwards was sweeping snow from his door. His hair wasn't white yet.

Do you remember how he almost chased us away because he thought we were hillmen?

I do.

You whipped up the name of some expedition out of nowhere and said you were the captain.

Somehow, he believed you, invited us into his home, and treated us to warm cystymilk.

What were you thinking at the time?

The old master had told me that there were people with ill-intent towards Clan Silverash. I thought it inadvisable to say the name of the family.

It's always the leader who has the target on his back, which was why I said I was the captain.

I thought it was a genius idea at the time. Now it seems so childish.

It's alright. I thought it was a genius idea at the time too.

Otherwise, I wouldn't have claimed to be the bravest warrior under your banner.

Courier falls silent for some reason.

He turns to look in the direction of Kjerag.

When we got back, Madam punished us by making us eat outside.

That was the harshest punishment Mother ever gave me.

I still remember the tears in her eyes—

'If you want to be out in the ice and snow so much, you might as well eat in it!'

That was it.

It was Lady Enya who delivered our meals the first day, then Lady Ensia the second day.

On day three, the old master came out to eat with us together.

In the end, Madam let us back in.

Mother always treated you as her son, and I treated you as my brother.

I know.

And I know why you've come along.

Why?

You wanted to tell me that you'll never forget the ties that bind me and the Silverashes.

And you wanted to hear the answer from my heart, directly.

What's your answer?

My answer is—

That proposal was not the product of my arrogance.

It's something that only I can do.

Therefore...

I request a leave of absence from Kjerag, Master.

The company registration office is just ahead.

Courier clutches the documents in his hand tightly and gulps.

You look just like I did when I was brooding over whether to knock on the door of House Caster.

Were you afraid, at the time?

Afraid? I was excited, excited for the surprises that might lie behind the door.

I've done many bold things, and I believe there are many ways in which I can serve you.

But leaving Kjerag was the one thing that I never thought I would do.

Why?

I used to believe it was out of loyalty.

People say I'm lucky to have loyal lieutenants like Weiss and Matterhorn.

They don't realize I have no interest in blind loyalty, and it's not your loyalty that makes me trust you.

We happen to be of similar minds, and I happen to not have strayed from the path yet. That's all there is to it, isn't it?

Perhaps.

The Weiss I know isn't just a kind and gentle soul.

He watches everything and keeps it to himself. People believe he doesn't think for himself. Little do they know that he has long found the answer.

Do you know my answer?

All I know that we're still of similar minds on the matter.