MaruMA:Gaiden03:Chapter 4

The Name of the Star

"I wish you could tell me the name of that star."

As he heard the request, he worried that he didn't know how to respond. Finally, he decided to stay silent and wait for the other to continue speaking. It turned out that Yuuri became embarrassed, and, suspecting that he had said something wrong, he started to explain.

"It's nothing. I just wanted to know; it's not because I wanted to chat up a girl while stargazing... Ah, no, I really do want to hang out with a girl, but it's not because I'm going on a date with anyone... Ah, so it's not like I'm going out of my way to impress someone. But pizza and gyoza isn't a good joke, right? So...I'm sorry..."

"For what?"

"If you were really going to make a pizza and gyoza joke, then I should apologize."

Conrad endured and came back with a smiling face, pretending to look very hurt.

"I never intended to speak of any pizza."

It was just like this. In order to tell him the names of the constellations, the two of them sat out on the balcony, their heads tilted up to look at the winter sky at night.

"That's the Little Red Room, that's the Big Tiger, that's the Winter Vegetable."

"W-why are they all such strange names..."

Yuuri's eyes followed Conrad's finger, committing the hand's movements to memory. The names of those stars, far from leaving a beautiful impression, were rather headache-inducing.

"Do you see that yellow constellation over there? That's the Thunder Mouse. Legend says that there was a small mouse who obtained the strength of the Thunder God and utterly defeated a giant cat. And then there are, there are those three lines of red light. Do you see them?"

"Where?"

Conrad grabbed Yuuri's right hand, which had been laying on the balcony, and used it to show him the stars' positions.

"It's just in front of your finger. That's the Boxing Squirrel constellation."

"Boxing Squirrel?"

"Yes. The legend goes that the monkey who ruled the forest was cruel to a squirrel, but one day, the squirrel's boxing ability awakened, and the squirrel utterly defeated its formidable opponent..."

"Wait a minute. Conrad, don't you think that too many of these legends involve something being utterly defeated?"

This question struck a chord with Conrad.

So he lowered his head and looked straight forward. He saw only Yuuri looking back with eyes wide and mouth half opened. His expression looked as if a child were asking, "Why is the sky blue?"

At that time, his own expression must have been like that, too?

"It must be at this time, sitting under this tree, and facing the north sky."

Suzanna Julia von Wincott stretched her legs out on the nearly withered, yellow winter grass, her back leaning against the trunk of the old tree. Lifting her arm up to an altitude which she could not see, she carefully surveyed the angle. It should be straight ahead and to the right, at a distance of about two fists.

"There's a horseshoe-shaped constellation over there, right? From that position, slant upward, and in the middle of a very faint cluster of light, there's one star that shines especially brightly. That star is called the Lone Fox Star."

Can you see it? Conrad quickly swallowed the words he was about to blurt out, but she was clever and could sense it. She narrowed her sky blue eyes in a smile, and lightly bumped the shoulder of the friend sitting beside her.

"Of course I can't see. But I really wanted to know the name of the star and its position, so I asked my father to describe it to me in detail. It was just at this time of day, at this same place. Don't you believe me? My mother and younger brother both know about it, too, so I definitely wouldn't have accepted it if I were excluded just because I couldn't see."

In this world, it was absolutely incredible that there would be an extremely gentle lady who could show such an unyielding side.

"Actually, it's quite troublesome at night. It's so dark out, without even a single ray of light or shadow; I really can't tell where anything is. Although I can rely on my memory of places during the day, just now I accidentally stepped on some horse excrement. But it's nothing. Soon, it will return to nature."

This woman, who doesn't even care that she stepped on horse dung...

Lord Weller couldn't help but pinch his nose, but to no avail. Completely disregarding her condition, she continued to explain the origins of the constellations. Then, with the index finger of her right hand, she would point out its position without fail.

"Then... Right, it should be at this angle. Are there three lines of red light?"

"Yes."

"That's the Boxing Squirrel constellation. Legend says that the monkey who ruled the forest was cruel to a squirrel, but one day, the squirrel's inner boxing ability awakened, and the squirrel utterly defeated its formidable opponent..."

"Wait a minute. Don't you think that, since you've started, too many of the stories have had something being utterly defeated?"

"Well? Don't you think they're very happy? Are there people who don't like such crowd-pleasing tales? I actually really enjoy stories where the weak and the poor overcome evil."

"...I had no idea you were such a passionate woman."

"Is this considered passionate? My brother is even more serious about it than I am. Uh...now, it's probably in that area?"

At last, she pointed straight up into the sky to a light that was either white or blue, the color being difficult to distinguish.

"I'm sure you know this one. I think the military academy must have explained it; that star never moves."

"Yes, that's what I was taught."

"Whether out at sea, in the wilderness, or in the desert, soldiers can seek out that star. As long as you lift your head and look toward that powerful light, you can get your bearings and find your way back."

Conrad followed her actions, tilting his head to gaze up at the far away blue-white light that had always been there, unchanged since before the founding of their country, and that had never ceased to shine.

"How is it that the stars are able to shine? If we were to encounter that star in the sky, I wonder how much courage we would gain? I really want to see - see how it shines. But that's a dream that I will never be able to realize."

As Suzanna Julia said these words, there was no sadness or envy in her eyes, but only curiosity. Though she said she would never be able to realize those desires, it was also as if she hadn't even had the slightest thought of giving up.

Conrad grabbed Suzanna Julia's hand, and slowly placed it on his own knee.

"Open your hand."

"What?"

Placing a finger in the center of her delicate palm, he tapped it in time with the twinkling of the star.

A strong pulse, a weak pulse. Repeated again, a strong pulse, a weak pulse.

Julia broke out into a smile, and said to the sky which she could not see, "So that's how powerful its light is!"

"Don't forget. Whether in the wilderness or in the desert, that star will always be in the sky."

She suddenly lowered her head, lightly grasping Conrad's finger.

"You must come back."

"That's the equivalent of the North Star on Earth."

As soon as he mentioned that the star's position never changes, Yuuri proudly said, "It never moves because it's located above the North Pole. Uh...it should be aligned with the planet's axis of rotation, right?"

"That's how it is. No matter what world, there are stars that play the same roles."

"Things would be difficult without that star. For a long time, it's been a guide for travelers and navigators. And so? What's the name of the North Star here?"

It was the first time Conrad had ever been asked this question, and it was only then that he realized he did not know the star's name. No, perhaps it wasn't just that he didn't know. Of the people in this country, no one had a proper name for it.

Everyone had admired the star and depended on it, but not once had they called it by its name.

"Come on! Don't put on an act; just tell me--! I have to tell Greta about it!"

Lord Weller had no choice but to again suppress the words that he wanted to say. If he had said, "I want to name it after you," his master would definitely have been too surprised to speak.

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