Chapter 19 — Debt

And once he had thought all this through, Viscount Andrew seemed only then to belatedly register a detail Gao Yang had mentioned earlier. "Wait—just now you said... a dragon appeared near here?!"

"That's right. A blue dragon. No idea where it flew in from, but in the end it headed northwest..." Gao Yang nodded, then took the opportunity to tell the other man everything that had happened in the Cecil domain. "...And that is how it stands."

"Aberrants... monsters of the magic tide era... and a dragon... my God..." Viscount Andrew's brows seemed ready to knit themselves into a knot, and the faint flush upon his pale face drained away entirely. "What on earth has become of this world..."

"What has become of the world is for the scholars and His Majesty to consider. What we must do is deliver word of what happened here to Saint Sunil as quickly as possible," Heidi cut in. "The situation is already grave."

"I have already dispatched a courier to report the attack on the Cecil domain," Viscount Andrew said. "He set out on a fast horse; by now he should be halfway there."

It seemed this Viscount Andrew was in fact quite capable of practical action. Not only had he taken in the refugees from the neighboring domain, he had at once sent a courier to report to the king—which, among border nobles of this era, ought to count as excellence. Yet Heidi had no choice but to press further. "Viscount Andrew, that is not enough. Matters have grown grave enough that Rebecca must personally meet with His Majesty. And the Grand Duke of Cecil, having awakened from his long sleep, must also go to the capital. We are grateful for your aid to the Cecil family, but we still require more help."

At Heidi's words, Andrew lowered his eyelids slightly, as though pondering. Then he rose and, hands clasped behind his back, paced back and forth before the long table.

"What do you all need? Fast horses? Supplies? An escort?"

"All of it," Rebecca said, summoning her courage. "And we must ask you to continue looking after the people of the Cecil domain for a while longer, until we return from the capital and have a new domain in which to settle them..."

"And that is precisely the crux of the matter," Viscount Andrew said, raising a hand to cut Rebecca off. "As it happens, I was just coming to this very point: I have been doing my utmost to help my neighbor, and I am quite willing to be a generous man—but I am nothing more than a mere viscount. How much can I possibly have to feed all those refugees?"

Gao Yang picked up the black tea before him, now somewhat cooled, and took a sip, thinking to himself that the viscount had finally come to the "real business."

Rebecca spoke with some impatience. "Sir Philip carried a sum of gold and silver with him when he broke through—that should be enough to..."

"Of course, I know of that gold and silver," Viscount Andrew cut Rebecca off once more. "Rest assured, I am not the sort to take advantage of another's misfortune. But medicine and food both cost money. I believe I mentioned it earlier? By the time that brave knight reached Tansang Town he was covered in wounds, and the soldiers and common folk he brought with him were nearly all injured as well. To treat them I used the finest medicines in my domain and summoned the finest priests. These things are costly—that gold and silver is only barely enough."

Rebecca's eyes went wide.

"Of course, I must emphasize once again, I will not take advantage of another's misfortune," Viscount Andrew continued. "So I will keep sheltering those refugees and provide you with whatever help I can. I merely wish to confirm one thing: after I have done all this, will the Cecil family still have the means to repay this debt?"