“It’s careless for all three of us to bathe at once. What if something happens?” said Fremy.
“It doesn’t worry me. One can still battle nude. Being seen weakens nothing,” Mora said as she scooped water in her hands to wash off the grime. “You must be surprised, Rolonia, to be suddenly thrust into such a situation.”
“Y-yes. I really…don’t know what I should do. I still can’t believe that there’s an impostor among the Braves of the Six Flowers.”
“I feel the same. When you arrived, I thought my heart would stop,” Mora said with a smile.
“I don’t get you, either, Rolonia,” Fremy said suddenly.
Rolonia, who had still been working on her armor, jumped in surprise. “Oh! Um! What?”
“At first, you were even scared of a deer, but then when we ran into the enemy, you were ranting and raving on some kind of rampage. Which one is the real you?”
Mora replied for Rolonia. “The timid and indecisive Rolonia is the ‘real’ one. All that howling is, well…a sort of ritual for her.”
Fremy didn’t seem to understand, tilting her head in puzzlement. “Let me ask you something, Rolonia. Who do you suspect?”
That made Rolonia wince. “I don’t know. It doesn’t seem like any of you are the enemy.”
Fremy glared at her. “If I were you, the first person I’d doubt would be me. I’m the daughter of a fiend and the Brave-killer. I even killed someone you know—Athlay. And I’m a warrior raised by Tgurneu. How could you not suspect me, considering all of that?”
“I…”
“What are you scheming?” Fremy demanded.
Unable to stand it any longer, Mora interrupted. “Enough, Fremy. She has no schemes. Rolonia has never had the disposition for distrust.”
“I’m sure.”
“You might attempt to be less callous. Your attitude will only isolate you,” said Mora.
Fremy looked away. “This is the only way I can deal with people.”
“Fremy, I—” Rolonia began. “I did think that you might be the seventh. But Addy and Lady Mora both trust you, so I stopped doubting you.”
“…I see.”
“Are you close with Addy?”
Fremy did not reply; instead she began to get dressed. In moments, her slim figure was covered in black leather. “‘Addy,’ hmm? You two are pretty close, yourselves,” she commented, and with her gun in hand, left the cave.
Mora thought Fremy was like a hedgehog: cautious of all that drew near and always afraid of something. The only way she could interact with people was by turning her weakness into hostility. Perhaps it was not Rolonia who was the truly cowardly and timid one, but Fremy.
Apparently more nervous than she’d seemed, Rolonia sighed in relief and resumed taking off her armor.
“You’re in a rough position, Rolonia. It seems she’s not at all fond of you.”
“Yes, it looks like it.” The girl seemed embarrassed as she smiled. “But I’m relieved, too. She seems to be a much better person than I first assumed.”
What about our conversation just now could have made her think that? wondered Mora. “What you said reminds me—I wasn’t aware you and Adlet knew each other. The world is small indeed.”
“Oh, yes. I just never got the chance to talk about it.”
“Hmm. Do you have feelings for him?”
Rolonia’s hands paused in their task once more. “Um, well, uh, I don’t know.” Her reply was so funny, Mora couldn’t help but smile. “I don’t think so. Probably not, I suppose. I don’t think it’s that I like him.”
“I think that is for the best. Adlet is a reliable man, but also a tremendous fool. I’m sure it would be endless trouble were you to fall for him.”
“You think so? He doesn’t really seem that way to me, but…hmm.”
These youngsters are so carefree, thought Mora. Even in the direst of situations, they could still manage to think of romance. She found that charming. As for her, while she chatted of such trivial things, Shenira was never far from her thoughts—not for one instant.
Evening approached, and they had all finished bathing and doing maintenance on their weapons and tools. The seven sat down in a circle in front of the cave—it was time for a discussion.
“Have you calmed down, Adlet?” asked Mora.
Adlet, sitting in the center of the group, nodded. Mora was continually amazed at how tenacious he was. She could hardly believe he was flesh and blood.
“So anyway, what’s the situation?” he asked. “Is Tgurneu nearby?”
With the help of the Spirit of Mountains, Mora determined there was no change in the situation around them. “There’s no sign of Tgurneu,” she said.
Adlet paused to think. “Two hundred, huh? That’s odd. That’s not really a full crowd. It’s way too few to be trapping us here.”
“There are likely more just outside the mountain. We’d probably lose in a head-on clash.”
“Even if we couldn’t win, we could still run. If Tgurneu wasn’t here, those numbers wouldn’t be scary at all,” said Adlet.
“If Tgurneu wasn’t here,” Fremy emphasized.
“First, I want to ask you guys something. Do any of you have a clue as to who the seventh might be? Not just suspicion toward someone or something fishy one of you did—I need a definitive lead.” Mora had nothing. None of them replied. “Could you describe to me in detail how you escaped Tgurneu? I was unconscious, so I don’t know anything about it.”
Mora and Hans took turns explaining how they’d fought to get here. Once they finished the story, Adlet’s expression turned somber as he pressed one hand to his forehead. “I don’t know. From what you’ve described, every single one of us had the chance to kill one another.” Mora nodded. If Fremy was the traitor, Mora would be dead.
“If Goldof or Rolonia had backstabbed us, I might’ve been in a pickle,” said Hans. “Even if I’d gotten away, I don’t neow if I could’ve saved you and Chamo, too. And if the kid was the enemy, I would’ve gotten killed.”
“Hmm…and if it was the catboy, Chamo’d be dead,” Chamo added.
“Why isn’t the seventh doing anything? What’s their goal?” Adlet agonized over the quandary.
