Guiche suddenly spat out the stew. Everyone stared slack jawed at Siesta.
“I-It was a joke! I made it from a wild rabbit. I caught it with a trap.”
Siesta went on to explain how she had set up traps to catch rabbits and partridges, and collected herbs and vegetables for the stew, while everyone else was hunting for treasure.
“Don’t scare me like that. But, you’re really handy, being able to make something so nice from things in a forest.” Said Kirche in a relieved tone.
“It comes from living in a village,” said Siesta shyly.
“What’s this stew called? The herbs you’ve used are quite different from usual. I’ve never even seen some of these vegetables.” Said Kirche while spinning one of the vegetables on her fork.
“It’s a stew that’s made in my village, called Yosenabe.” Explained Siesta while stirring the pot.
“My father taught me how to make it. From edible wild plants, roots of plants… My father learned it from my grandfather. It’s a specialty in my village.”
Thanks to the delicious food, they felt more relaxed. Ten days had passed since they had left the school. As Saito gazed up at the sky, he wondered what Louise was doing.
“Is it good, Saito?”
Next to him, Siesta smiled warmly. Stuffing his mouth full with stew, he smiled back. Siesta’s smile, the taste of the stew, they both reminded him of something. He had no idea how long he had been away but Saito remembered his own world.
After dinner, Kirche spread out the map again.
“Let’s just give up and return to school,” urged Guiche, but Kirche did not budge.
“Just one more. One more.”
As if she was obsessed, Kirche’s eyes gleamed over the maps. Picking one map, she placed it on the ground.
“Ok this one! If this one is also a hoax we’re going back to school!”
“What’s the treasure?”
Arms crossed, Kirche replied, “Dragon’s Raiment.”
Siesta, who was eating stew after everyone had finished, choked slightly on her food.
“R-Really?”
“What about it? Do you know something about it? It’s close to a village called Tarbes. Now where’s Tarbes…”
Siesta replied quickly, “It’s in the direction of La Rochelle. There’s a big field… It’s my home town.”
The next morning, whilst they were riding the wind dragon, Siesta explained to everyone. There wasn’t much to tell. There was a temple near the village and in that temple there was something called the Dragon’s Raiment.
“Why is it called ‘Dragon’s Raiment’?”
“Apparently you can fly when you put it on,” said Siesta, weakly.
“Fly? So it’s a wind type item?”
“It’s really not that important of a thing…” said Siesta, looking troubled.
“Why?”
“It’s a hoax. It’s one of those ‘treasures’ you can find anywhere. It’s all just the name. Yet the locals are grateful… they decorate the temple, worship it…”
“Really?”
Siesta then proceeded to say nervously.
“Actually… the owner of it was my grandfather. One day, my grandfather appeared in the village. Apparently he told everyone that he came from the east with the Dragon's Raiment.”
“Wow…”
“But no one believed him. Everyone says that my grandfather was weird.”
“Why?”
“Someone told him to fly with it, but he told them it couldn’t. He made a lot of excuses, but no one had a reason to believe him. After that, he said that it ‘couldn’t fly anymore’ and settled down in the village. He worked really hard, and gave his money to nobles, asking them to put a spell of permanence on the ‘Dragon's Raiment’. He treated it with a lot of care.”
“What a strange person. It must have been hard on your family?”
“No, apart from the Dragon's Raiment, he was a nice, hard working person. Everyone liked him.”
“It’s something famous within the village right? Just like that Yosenabe… Then we can’t take it back with us.”
“But… It’s like our family property… If Saito wanted to, I could ask my dad to show you it,” Siesta said in a troubled voice.
Just as Saito thought hoaxes are useless anyway, Kirche remarked, “Even if it is a hoax, there are ways to sell hoaxes. There are many people with different tastes in this world.”
“You’re a horrible woman.” Guiche said, shocked.
The wind dragon flapped its wings, headed towards Tarbes.
Meanwhile at school, Louise was still skipping lessons. She didn’t want to meet anyone in her current mood. She only left her room to eat in the dining hall and when she went to take a bath. She knew that Saito was living in a tent in the Vestri courtyard so she went down there a few days ago to see how he was doing, but no one was there. When she asked Montmorency, who was passing by, she found out that Saito, Guiche, Kirche and Tabitha had been skipping lessons to go treasure hunting. The teachers were apparently mad and were going to make them clean the whole auditorium when they got back. She felt even sadder when she thought about how much fun they must be having. She felt as though she was the only one being left out.
Louise cried in her bed again. Whenever she saw the empty haystack, tears would come to her eyes. A knock came from the door. The door opened with a clank as soon as Louise replied that it wasn’t locked. The school headmaster Old Osman was at the door, which surprised Louise. Louise quickly put on her gown and got off her bed.
“How have you been feeling?”
Feeling down, Louise replied, “I’m sorry I’ve made you worry. It’s really nothing. I just don’t feel very well…”
Osman pulled out a chair and sat down.
“You’ve rested for quite a long time. I was worried, but it seems you’re alright.”
Louise nodded, and sat down on a chair. With a weary face, she stared out the window.
“Have you finished the edict?”
Louise gasped and hung her head. With a sorry expression, she shook her head.
“Seems like you haven’t from the looks of it.”
“I’m sorry.”
“There’s still two weeks. Think about it slowly. It’s your important friend’s wedding after all. Make sure you choose your words carefully.”
Louise nodded. She was ashamed that she had forgotten about the edict because she was so absorbed with her own thoughts. “I’m terrible aren’t I. She considers me as a friend, and even gave me the role of being the maiden.”
Osman stood up.
“By the way, where’s that familiar of yours?”
She averted her eyes and kept silent. Osman smiled.
“Did you two have a fight?”
“When you’re young, you fight about trivial things. It’s because young people don't know how to compromise. Sometimes, these cracks will develop into something irreparable. You should be careful.”
Laughing, Osman left the room. After the door shut behind him, Louise whispered, “It’s not something small…”
Louise went to her desk. She ignored everything else and opened the Founder’s Prayer Book. And as if clearing her thoughts, she closed her eyes. She concentrated, trying to think of an edict. I must think of a great edict for Henrietta.
Louise kept her eyes closed. Eh? There was a bright light. Suddenly she could see letters on the pages. Louise’s eyes froze. However, in the next moment, they faded from the pages like mist. What was that? She thought, while looking at the pages.
I can’t see it anymore. My eyes are probably just tired, she thought.
“It’s all Saito’s fault” she whispered.
Chapter Seven: Dragon's Raiment
Saito’s eyes went round at the sight of the “Dragon’s Raiment”. They were in the temple built close to Tarbes, Siesta’s hometown. That was where the “Dragon’s Raiment” lay. Actually it would be more correct to say that the temple had been built to cover the Dragon’s Raiment. The shape which Siesta’s grandfather had built the temple into made Saito nostalgic. The temple was built in the corner of a field. Its door was made by logs joined together, and its walls were made from planks and mortar instead of stone. On top of an area of the wooden floor that was painted dark green lay the Dragon’s Raiment. Perhaps it was due to the permanence spell… but there were no signs of rusting. It was as if it had just been made.