Kisa blinked in surprise.
“…Missing, you say?”
It was unexpected news.
“Yes, his whereabouts have been unknown for some time now.”
After saying this, Brother Vishius soon noticed Kisa’s serious expression and waved his hands frantically.
“You don’t need to worry too much! It’s not like he got involved in something dangerous or anything like that—he just ran away because he was afraid of being punished!”
“Punished for what?”
“Ah, well. That is…”
“I suppose I have no choice,” the monk muttered before sighing deeply and revealing the truth.
“It appears Cobi stole several medicines from the pharmacy here and sold them for personal profit. He had stolen quite a lot over time.”
“So he ran away after being caught?”
“Yes. Given the extent of his actions, the monastery decided to give Cobi a chance to turn himself in rather than reporting him immediately, but he disappeared right after that.”
“I see. I didn’t know about this.”
“It’s not exactly pleasant news, so I imagine Brother Hillan chose not to mention it.”
“Oh, does Seyard know about this too?”
Kisa’s eyes widened as she realized she had started using a casual form of address for Seyard, following Brother Vishius’s example.
“Yes, he does. It happened while Brother Hillan was still here—a little over half a year ago. At the time, Brother Emil asked Brother Hillan if he knew where Cobi might have gone, but he didn’t know either.”
He said “Ah” and then explained who Brother Emil was.
“He’s the one who manages the monastery’s pharmacy. He’s very knowledgeable about pharmacology. Almost all the medicines from the pharmacy are made by him.”
“I see. Seyard must have been quite disappointed. I heard he was close enough with this Cobi person that they often went to Bonzmos together.”
“How could he not be? I think his mood became much more subdued around that time. Although he didn’t show it much outwardly, he must have been deeply hurt. My goodness, Brother Emil didn’t understand this and even accused Brother Hillan of knowing Cobi’s whereabouts but hiding it…”
Seeming to realize he had said too much, Brother Vishius abruptly stopped speaking.
“It’s nothing. Please don’t worry about it.”
But how could one not be concerned after hearing such a thing? Kisa immediately pressed further.
“Was there conflict between Brother Emil and Seyard because of this incident?”
Brother Vishius looked troubled, but finding it difficult to take back what he had already brought up, he eventually spoke.
“I wouldn’t particularly call it conflict. It’s just that he was someone who didn’t particularly care for Brother Hillan to begin with, and upset about having medicines stolen, he probably said it in the heat of the moment.”
“So Brother Emil didn’t think highly of Seyard.”
“Ugh, there wasn’t any specific conflict, so really, don’t worry about it. The truth is, Brother Hillan wasn’t very monk-like in many ways, so quite a few of the more conservative people here didn’t view him favorably. But that was all, and Brother Hillan spent his time at the monastery without any particular problems.”
Indeed, Seyard appeared to have merely stayed at the monastery without particularly considering himself a monk.
Besides, he had even frequented gambling establishments—something the other monks would have found difficult to approve of.
This young monk standing before her must be somewhat unusual.
“But you seem to like Seyard, Brother Vishius.”
“Well, he didn’t come here of his own volition in the first place. How could we force him to adopt a monk’s attitude?”
After scratching his head at Kisa’s comment, he resumed walking, offering to guide her to the next location.
The next place the two people—or rather three, counting Lily who followed quietly in line with her role as an attendant—headed to was the pharmacy that had just been mentioned in their conversation.
“It’s a shame. Brother Emil, who is in charge of the pharmacy, is currently away, so we can’t go inside. The pharmacy contains dangerous medicines, so he’s very strict about keeping it locked. Still, we can see a bit of the interior through the window.”
As he had said, peering through the glass window revealed a glimpse of the dark pharmacy interior.
While examining the medicine bottles filling the shelves, herbs drying by the window, and various equipment apparently used for producing medicines, Kisa asked:
“Where has Brother Emil gone?”
“Every year around this time, he visits small villages in the surrounding area. He distributes medicine to places without proper physicians, and even treats minor illnesses or wounds himself.”
“Wow, he sounds like an admirable person.”
“Yes, despite being somewhat timid, he’s a person worth emulating. Although, he completely lacks flexibility, which is why he was always complaining about Brother Hillan.”
Since they couldn’t enter anyway, and the pharmacy was merely an intermediate stop on the way to the dormitory, the three people left relatively quickly.
However, given that herbs were a local specialty, Brother Vishius seemed to take pride in the pharmacy and couldn’t hide his disappointment.
“If you had come during our open week, you could have seen inside.”
“If I have reason to visit again, I’ll try to time it accordingly.”
Exchanging such conversation with the young monk, Kisa continued walking toward the dormitory where the monks ate, slept, and lived.
When the three arrived, the dormitory was completely empty.
According to Brother Vishius, monks typically carried out their assigned roles in various places when it wasn’t time for meals or sleep.
But exceptions seemed to exist everywhere—when they entered the dormitory, someone called out to Brother Vishius.
“Hey, how’s the tour going?”
He was a middle-aged monk with a stout build and sun-tanned, bronze skin.
“Ah, Brother Besano.”
Thanks to Brother Vishius, Kisa realized this new figure was that unusual monk who determined whether people were lying by grabbing their wrists.
If nothing else, the fact that he approached Brother Vishius first was already unusual.
She had encountered several monks so far, but they had merely glanced at her without making any effort to acknowledge her presence.
The cause was undoubtedly Kisa, who as an outsider and a woman, had stepped into a prohibited area for females.
Strictly speaking, the unusual one was Brother Vishius, who had been sociable with Kisa from the beginning, not them.
Ah, add one more to the list. Brother Besano, who smiled at Kisa, also seemed to be an unusual person.
“I’ve heard about this, but it seems Hillan has captured the heart of a truly beautiful woman. I am Besano.”
Brother Vishius, standing next to her, added:
“This is the monk I mentioned who once had all of his shoes hidden.”
“What? You even told her about that?”
“It wasn’t me. She already knew from Brother Hillan.”
“Really? I’m surprised that Hillan would share such stories.”
“Why is that surprising?”
Before she knew it, Kisa had joined the conversation, only to realize she hadn’t even introduced herself yet.
“Pleased to meet you, Brother Besano. I am Kisa Vansfelt, Duke Hillan’s fiancée. I apologize for my sudden question.”
Brother Besano waved off Kisa’s apology.
“No, it’s fine. You were asking why I found it surprising, correct?”
“Yes, I was curious.”
“To be honest, I didn’t expect Hillan, who dislikes me, to mention me to his beloved fiancée.”
Before Kisa could respond, Brother Vishius objected as if the statement was absurd.
“When did Brother Hillan ever dislike you, Brother Besano?”
“He never showed it openly, but whenever I approached him, he would quietly slip away.”
“That wasn’t unique to Brother Hillan. You frequently grab people’s wrists and interrogate them like some inquisitor—who would want to be around that? Not to mention how meddlesome you can be.”
“My, Brother Vishius. You’ve gained some seniority and now you say whatever you please?”
Watching the two monks argue back and forth, Kisa’s lips unconsciously relaxed into a smile.
“This is just my opinion, but I don’t think the Duke disliked you, Brother Besano. When he introduced your story to me, he spoke as if recalling pleasant memories.”
Brother Besano seemed embarrassed by Kisa’s words and gave an awkward smile.
“I’m glad to hear that. It seems Hillan has become much calmer without my knowing. In the past, how should I put it, he seemed like he was going through adolescence.”
“Adolescence?”
“Yes, although outwardly he was composed in everything, I felt that inside he seemed somehow unstable.”
Come to think of it, Seyard had also described his past self as rebellious. He had mentioned causing a lot of trouble.
Just as Kisa was considering asking them specifically what kind of trouble he had caused, Brother Besano’s words caught her attention.
“If you’re curious about what Hillan was like here, you should ask Brother Makkio. He was Hillan’s mentor at one time.”
“Is that so? I’m hearing this for the first time.”
“Well, it makes sense that Hillan wouldn’t have mentioned it. Unlike with me, where the relationship was merely uncomfortable, he and Brother Makkio really didn’t get along. Eventually, they stopped acknowledging each other altogether.”
This, too, was information Kisa was hearing for the first time.
