It will be our turn to order shortly.
In silence I accompanied Sion who fell silent, but it was getting tough slowly.
A while ago I met eyes with Lars who came to check on me, and signaled to him to pretend I"m a different person. I breathed with relief when I confirmed he went back to the inside of the shop after silently nodding.
When our turn came inside the shop, the employee who must"ve been informed by Lars understandingly guided us to a table in the back. I wryly smiled how he evidently chose the place out of consideration. I"m grateful. I"ll have to come again to thank him.

"Your order? What do you want?"

While pa.s.sing the menu to me Sion asked so.

"What about Sion?"
"I always choose the spicy original curry… It has a familiar taste, I don"t feel like eating anything else"
"…"

When he muttered the few words, my hands that were receiving the menu stopped.
Actually, the spicy original curry is exactly the same as what I used to make for Sion-senpai in my previous life.
My chest tightened from his line that said he wants to eat it.

"Lidi?"
"Ah, no… Let"s see… I"ll take the same thing"
"Is that so? It"s quite spicy though"
"I"m relatively fine with spicy things. Thanks"

After nodding to my words, Sion called for the employee.
Without any mistakes he ordered even my part.
Seeing him familiar like this made me think.

… s.h.i.+on-senpai remembers the taste of my curry.

Recalling his words just now, I felt deeply moved.
The curry I had always made for him.
Senpai didn"t say anything despite eating it, so actually I had no idea what he thought.
I thought he didn"t dislike it since he ate without leaving leftovers, however I never would have thought he"d remember it.

"… Lidi? What is the matter?"

In response to Senpai"s voice I smiled slightly. And shook my head just a little.

"No, it"s nothing… As a matter of fact, I also like the curry in this shop"

When I softly said that as if I was revealing a secret, Senpai opened his eyes wide with an Oh.

"A lady with your social status would go to such a place?"
"Yeah… A while ago I was brought here by His Highness during an inspection"

Come to think of it, I saw Senpai for the first time then.
What was Senpai doing at that time.

"… Is that so… Was it fun?"
"Of course, it was very fun"

Sure, we were attacked by a.s.sa.s.sins, but the date with Freed itself was very fun.
Enough that I would like to get invited again.
That"s why I nodded from the bottom of my heart, and with him saying Then that"s good, the conversation broke off.
Becoming somehow uneasy, I picked up the cup in front of me.
Drinking the ice water, I resolved myself.
I carefully started talking.

"Um, listen. I wonder if I could ask now?"

When I resolved myself and asked, Senpai"s face said that he was waiting for it.

"Oh, is it finally the main question. Very well, go ahead"
"Can I?"
"It was me who suggested we move here after all. I cannot promise that I will answer anything, but you can ask without hesitation"

Senpai urged me so in a soft voice.
At that answer I swallowed my saliva.
What should I ask.
Even so, I"ve already decided what I"ll ask first.

"… Then, I"ll ask… Sion, are you involved with Tarim?"

When I asked that unreservedly, Senpai made a slightly interested face.

"Oh. I"m just a singer. Why did the word Tarim appear?"
"Don"t answer a question with a question"
"I did say I will not answer everything, did I not? Well, fine. I will answer, so please tell me… What made you think that?"

Told that, I had no choice but to answer.
I reluctantly explained the reason.

"Your name… Éventail, isn"t it. It should certainly be the surname unique to Tarim… You have no scar, at a glance you are obviously not from Tarim, so it"s strange you call yourself with it. A foreigner who calls himself with a Tarim surname. I can"t think you aren"t an important person in such Tarim"

When I raised my face and pointed that out, Senpai smiled as if to praise my insight.

"… Very well. You pa.s.s. It seems His Highness the Crown Prince"s Princess Consort is not a mere decoration. I thought I had been fairly blatant, but strangely n.o.body, starting from Marquis Muller, had asked me that question until now. I never would have expected I would need to be cautious here"

I grew embarra.s.sed as Senpai laughed in relief that not every important person in Wilhelm is a fool.
… That stupid Marquis.
Every night he"s indulging himself in evening parties, so he didn"t notice such important information.
Even my Brother noticed Senpai was suspicious.
I felt like our country has been disgraced, still I fixed my gaze at Senpai.

"… Don"t look down on us. The people at the top should have properly noticed. More importantly, answer. Who are you?"
"Let"s see… you could say a wandering singer"
"That"s too suspicious. Tarim people never let outsiders call themselves with a name from their country. Their pure-blood doctrine is abnormal. And yet you were allowed to do that, you shouldn"t be a mere singer"
"Oh my… You"re really clever"

Senpai theatrically shrugged his shoulders.
He slowly crossed his legs.

"It"s simple. As you have guessed, I am not from Tarim. I was allowed to call myself like that thanks to a little achievement, that"s all. Ah, but, please don"t ask what country am I from, okay? I"m just a singer. I don"t want to be asked that"

Tarim isn"t such a sweet country to allow him to use a name for a little achievement.
His achievement absolutely must be considerable. And I have no doubt it has a military nature. Senpai"s knowledge can be put to a good use in military affairs. I know that simple fact.
Let"s think back on recent Tarim"s military achievements.
They"re stopped from going south every year by Freed, but unusually they had a streak of victories in skirmishes against their smaller clans.
… I think there"s no way he wasn"t involved.
But that"s not what"s important now.
What I want to know is why Sion is here.
Whether he is a threat to Freed. That"s the most important. There"s no meaning if I mess up the priority in a fl.u.s.ter.
Enduring the feeling of wanting to ask, I again met eyes with Sion.

"I see. Tarim isn"t such a sweet country though. And? Why has a person with a connection to Tarim come to Wilhelm?"
"Aah, you wanted to hear that"

Sion theatrically clapped his hands.
Every single gesture he does is theatrical. Even though he wasn"t like that in the past, I wanted to sigh at how long we hadn"t seen each other.

"It"s the truth that I"m a singer right now. As a matter of fact… I lost my job over there. Then I came here as a wandering singer"
"Lost… your… job…?"

It was so far apart from Senpai"s image, that my head couldn"t follow for a moment.
Lost his job? Did he say he lost his job.
Lost his job… as a tactician?

"Ha…?"

Senpai nodded with a very serious face to me who made a foolish voice.

"Yes, I did. So I thought I might as well look around the world. Coming here… was a coincidence"
"…"

That"s a lie.
I reflexively thought so. Senpai should"ve absolutely came to this country with some goal in mind.
After all, he said some time ago. "I have no more business in this country"
In other words, he should have had some business.
As I stared fixedly at Senpai without saying anything, eventually he breathed out troubledly.

"I give up… When I look at you, somehow I can"t help but remember my acquaintance. It makes me want to say the truth… To be honest, I came to this country because there was something I wanted to check. But it was a let-down. That"s why it"s enough"
"Something you wanted to check?"
"Yeah…"

Senpai narrowed his eyes as if remembering something. And looking at me, smiled regrettably.

"I will leave this country today. I don"t know where I will go next. But, I have a wish that I will spare no efforts to fulfill. I will fulfill it without fail. I swore so to myself"
"A wish…?"

When I tried asking what it is, the ordered curry was brought in.
Senpai seemed to notice he"d said too much, and while bitterly smiling forcibly changed the subject.

"Aah, it"s finally here. Today is my last curry… I"m grateful I don"t have to eat it alone, Lidi"
"Ah… yeah"

Feeling the aura that allowed no more questions, I held my tongue.
Following Sion, I picked up the spoon. The normal curry after a long time.
It was strange to eat it alongside Senpai.