"I didn't think he'd run away. Abel, now you've done it."

Abel's father, Zele, sat back while he said so.

When I woke up, there is no sign of Abel.

The inside of the village is in an uproar searching but still couldn't find him.

There's not a piece of single sighting news.

I thought that he might have been involved in some kind of incident because he didn't leave any letters, but I'm sure he was against the marriage because of the timing.

In addition, the mysterious junk that Abel called the Ortem Trolley is also gone.

There were traces of a pushcart-like thing that had been moved in some parts of the village, which led to the exit of the village.

Abel must have left the village during the night.

The traces are not so solidly left.

If he already left the village, it will be difficult to find them.

If you don't know where you're going, you can't follow it.

Zele let out a deep sigh and then watched his daughter, Gizel, through the gap between his fingers.

When he heard that Abel had escaped, he had been wary that Gizel would go on a rampage, but there was no sign of it.

Gizel is lonely, but not distraught.

Zele was relieved, but he felt something that didn't add up.

In rebellion against his own marriage, the brother he loved so much ran away at night.

I'm sure there are a lot of things to think about.

You never know when it's going to explode if you keep bottling it up.

I'm afraid to provoke her now, but if there's something she's hiding, it's better to make her throw up what she knows.

"Gizel, I'm sorry. I can't believe that Abel……"

"Father, um…… If brother comes home, please don't blame him."

"Hmm?"

"My brother isn't a very strong-willed person. Something happened a little bit and I think he was surprised. Maybe he will come back sooner than you think. At that time, don't ask any question, and welcome him back."

"It can't be that way. Abel had broken the rules and left the village. It's also been attracting a lot of attention, such as running away before the marriage… I wonder what those around me will think if they don't find fault with it. No, I don't know what the other families are already thinking…"

Zele thought of speaking at length, but he loses under the stare of Gizel's eyes.

Gizel is the biggest victim this time. And that girl is asking to forgive him, so it may be strange that he would kick himself because she wants him to forgive her.

"well… we'll do that if he returns. If he returns by himself, that is."

"I'm sure he'll return."

If Gizel is thinking positively, we should refrain from watering it down.

However, with such a firm declaration makes us want to question the basis for it.

"… However, well, Abel left with his own will. Will he return that easily."

"First of all, brother doesn't have any physical strength. He has no lasting patience or perseverance when it comes to anything but magic. He may not be able to withstand the changes in their environment and come back. If you want, he might break down on the way and come back. I'm sure he'll have wounds all over her body then, so let's give him a warm welcome.

I don't want to pursue where he'll be hurt."

" Hmmm…… That's true, well, that might be true."

Zele was at a loss to answer for a moment, as his assessment was much worse than he had expected.

I thought that she might have feelings for her brother, who had abandoned her and run away, but Gizel's expression was no more than her sister's concern for her brother.

"… If early, let's see. He may come back before sunset."

Somehow, she sounded so certain about it.

Maybe there is a reason for this.

"If he doesn't come back by tomorrow…… I would like my brother to return on his own if possible, but I will look up the map and pick him up from here. If you go to the Chieftain's house, you may also find the map that brother used as a reference for his night escape. Once you know that, you'll see where he's going. I have an idea of what kind of places my brother would like to go."

The map isn't that accurate.

The scale varies greatly depending on the person who wrote it and the time period.

Depending on which map you look at, your impression of where it's close and where it's far away also changes.

Conversely, once you know which map Abel consulted, it's certainly not difficult to narrow down where he's going.

Gizel is well versed in Abel's tastes.

"But it is the law of the village that one should not go out without knowing…"

"I don't care about the law! I don't know what will happen to my brother if we leave him outside! Brother, he's not very strong mentally!"

"This law is heavier than the others. It has been said that if a Marren tribe were to leave the village without thinking, they would surely regret it."

In fact, they said, there has been a young man who has left the Marren village in the last few years.

However, the young man had returned within a month.

He used to be an imposing and energetic man, but when he came back, he had become suspicious and was also shaking.

Ever since that one incident, it has been rumored that those who break the law will be cursed.

"It's just a superstition. If he might come back soon, I wouldn't be able to chase him down for making too much of a fuss. Even if you hurry to catch up with him, you won't be able to catch up with him if you don't know the direction. But if we've waited all day and he's not back, then we should go find him!"

"However, I can't say certainly even if we could narrow it down. It will take dozens of days to find him. If you go to that much trouble…"

"… But, but!"

Gizel, who hadn't shown any signs of being distraught since Abel disappeared, finally came here with tears in her eyes.

I know that Zele is stubborn himself.

However, the search is not something that can be taken lightly.

It's out of line and a complete family feud. There's no way we can ask others to help us.

If there's a good chance he will come back naturally, as it stands, I'd have to bet on it.

Gizel would not be convinced.

But this, I'm not going to let it pass.

"………I understand. Yes, that's right. I said something I didn't understand."

"Huh?"

… is what I think, but she easily backs down.

But I wonder why. I have a bad feeling about this.

Giselle stood up quickly and turned to leave the room.

"Wa-, wait Gizel! Don't tell me you consider to leave the village to follow behind!"

"No, I'm not as good at magic as my brother, nor do I have anything else I'm good at. I don't even know the common sense of other places. If I go out there, I'll be back soon enough."

"…Well, that's also true."

It is true that Abel can forcefully push through anything with his magic, so he may be able to live outside as well.

But Gizel is not like that.

She seems to know that, so she won't do anything reckless.

"I have some business to attend to, so if you'll excuse me."

After saying that, Gizel bowed her head and walked out of the room.