The boy and the pirates

 
 
 ☆
 
 
 Over the next three days, I trained magic power manipulation with Theo.
 
 Surprisingly, Theo had quite a talent for it, being able to gather magic power in the intended place in his body by the second day, and by the third day, he was able to restrain the 『waves』 during seizures to some extent.
 
 And then, on the third night.
 
 I prepared for the midnight seizure, came to Theo’s room a little early, and the two of us drank tea together.
 
 
 
 “Hey, Theo.”
 
 I put down the teacup, and began talking with Theo.
 
 “Hm?”
 
 Theo, seated on the other side of the round table by the window, looked up.
 
 “I’ll see how much of the 『waves』 are suppressed in tonight’s seizure, thinking I’ll start the treatment tomorrow, but what do you think?”
 
 “——— Got it. That’s fine. This thing, I want it gone quickly.”
 
 Saying so, he looked at his own chest with a disgusted expression.
 He sighed, haah, and said this.
 
 “Come to think of it, Letty never asked why I have this thing implanted in me.”
 
 Those words startled me.
 
 Actually, there’s a reason why I haven’t asked Theo about the spider up till now.
 
 The first is that, it’s a sensitive problem in various ways.
 In terms of politics, and in terms of Theo’s mental state.
 
 And then the second is that, because he spoke to me about it before the redo, I know a little bit about it.
 
 Even with just the information I have now, I’ll be able to somehow deal with the spider.
 
 That’s why I didn’t want to expressly open old scars, and remind him of something unpleasant.
 
 
 
 “I thought it’d be an unpleasant memory for you… Do you mind if I ask?”
 
 “……”
 
 When I asked, Theo raised his head and looked hard at me, then eventually nodded resolutely.^[1]
 
 “It’s fine if it’s Letty. Or rather, I want you to hear it.”
 
 “… understood. I’ll listen. ——— Tell me. What happened to you?”
 
 Theo folded his arms and lowered his gaze again, and then began telling me of what happened that day.
 
 
 ☆
 
 
 “That day, I was aboard one of our merchant group’s ships. Though being aboard a ship isn’t that unusual in itself. I’ve been at sea since as long as I can remember, to the point that I don’t even know just how many times I’ve gone to and fro on the Heielland route. ——— It’s just, that voyage was special to me. A long-distance voyage to the Trinard Archipelago, which is in the Grand Western Sea^[2]. In my Family, we undergo an ocean navigation experience once we turn twelve. Well, it’s kind of like a rite of passage.”
 
 Saying so, Theo walked over to the office desk^[3], and after the rustling of pen on paper, came back with that paper and handed it to me.
 
 It was a map of the area, with Theo’s native country Elarion Kingdom’s metropolis Elan Island as the reference point.
 
 “The island on the rightmost edge is Elan Island, and the harbour right above it here is Marmaldia. And then, on the left edge… in other words, all the way west, the Trinard Archipelago shows up in the very centre of the Grand Western Sea.”
 
 “When you say Trinard, is that the Grand Western Sea’s relay point? ——— If I’m not mistaken, there was also the north-western 『Empire』, and the southern continent’s Avelia Peninsula, huh.”
 
 When I asked while pointing at the map, Theo looked at me with wide eyes.
 
 “I’m surprised. As a Lady of Heielland, why is it that you know that?”
 
 “W-, well, it’s just by chance. Hahahahaha…”
 
 I laughed like that, deceiving him.^[4]
 This knowledge too, of course, is a result of the prince consort training from before the redo.
 
 “Well, if you know that, then it’ll be easier to talk about it. The assignment given to me by my Family, was to lead a merchant fleet of four ships to Trinard’s main island and sell the cargo^[5], do bulk purchases and return. Of course, it was with someone called an instructor sent along to look after me though.”
 
 Theo lowered his gaze when he said so.
 
 
 
 “The voyage was doing alright. We arrived at the Trinard main island after four weeks, sold the cargo, and departed after buying the western continent’s products in bulk. Everything went well up till then…. only up till that point, though.”
 
 With his head hung down, Theo went silent for a while.
 
 From this point onwards, it must’ve been a painful memory for him.
 Till Theo opened his mouth again. I waited quietly.
 
 And then, Theo began talking about that time.
 
 “… it happened two days after departure. The sky was clear. The sea was also calm, and we headed east while looking out at the archipelago’s islands. Then suddenly, two medium-sized ships appeared from the left side of the island’s lee, and blocked our path.”
 
 “——— Pirates?”
 
 When I asked, Theo silently nodded.
 
 “We managed to steer clear of them, but, those guys, they shot fireballs at our sails like idiots. Numerous ships surrounded us when our sails burned down and we were helpless.”
 
 “You mean the whole fleet was surrounded?”
 
 “Right. Though they were medium-sized ships, I think there were five of them. ——— After that, it happened in a split second. We were boarded from both sides and entered close-combat… other than myself, everyone was killed.”
 
 Saying so, Theo pressed down on his eyes with his fingers.
 
 Most likely, they must have been dear to him.
 Theo held back his tears for a while, then eventually raised his head.
 
 
 
 “In the end, the ship was taken over by the pirates and I was captured. I clearly remember up til being moved to the pirate ship, and thrown into the ship’s hold. However, my memory from then on is vague… I think they probably put something in my food. Locked up in the ship’s dark hold, I was swayed about by the ship for days on end ——— till one day when I was suddenly taken out of the ship’s hold.”
 
 There, Theo took a single deep breath, then breathed out.
 
 “They put a burlap sack over my head, then carried me underarm off the ship like that. It also felt like we boarded a carriage. After that, I was brought inside a brick building, and tied onto a cold table. Then guys dressed in pure white appeared, and implanted this spider into me.”
 
 I then noticed that Theo’s hands, placed atop his knees, were shaking.
 I got up from my seat and went before him, kneeled down and placed my own hand on top of his shaking hand.
 
 “Letty…”
 
 “It’s alright. There’s no one here that would hurt you.”
 
 We stayed like that for a while, then eventually, the shaking stopped.
 
 “Thank you. I’m fine now.”
 
 When Theo said this, I nodded, and returned to my seat.
 
 
 
 “After that I boarded a ship again and voyaged for countless days. In a daze, as usual. I barely remember anything at all, except that I writhed about on the floor each time the seizures occurred. Then the next time I regained my awareness, I was in the bed of my own room. Apparently I’d been abandoned on the beach of my homeland and collapsed, and was then found by a local fisherman who reported it to the knights order.”
 
 Having said that much, 『Haaaah』, Theo let out a huge sigh.
 
 “This, is the circumstances in which this spider was implanted in me.”
 
 “——— Thank you. For telling me.”
 
 “Because it’s Letty, I wanted you to hear it.”
 
 saying so, Theo smiled awkwardly.
 
 I nodded, and pondered for a while.
 
 To be honest, what Theo told me just now was new to me.
 
 Before the redo, he only told me the main points, skipping over the fine details.
 
 On top of that, there was something that became clear to me this time.
 
 
 
 I lifted my head, and looked hard at Theo.
 
 “?”
 
 The wounded boy tilted his head.
 
 “Hey, Theo. What you said just now… do you think the pirates’ attack was a coincidence?”
 
 “——— no, it’s not a coincidence. I think they had an eye on us at Trinard’s main island. Our merchant fleet was loaded with quite an amount of products, and those pirates blocked our path as though they were aiming for us.”
 
 Theo shook his head.
 To him, I said———
 
 “That’s wrong.”
 
 “Huh?”
 
 I then spoke to the boy, who stared this way with a surprised expression.
 
 “Their aim was you, Theo. And most likely, from the very beginning.”