Chapter 114 - 10-2
The Western Army in Aver City is currently in a position where they have fallen on their backs. They cannot move.
The attrition of soldiers has been severe, and it is taking time to reorganize.
The Western Army dug trenches around Aver City. They erected fences. They have also begun to gradually repair the city walls that the enemy army destroyed.
During this time, there was no movement from the enemy.
Occasionally, Kosa cavalry who seemed to be scouts would arrive and gaze at them from a distance.
—What is happening?
Yugis Nekrato scratched the severed surface of his left arm, which was throbbing with a sense of anxiety.
Why did the enemy occupy Aver City? Why did they destroy the walls and strip away its defensive capabilities? It was to prevent Aver from becoming a base for Siddim. Aver City is close to the royal capital and has a port. If the Kosa side continues the siege of the royal capital, this city would be an obstacle.
The Western Army had reclaimed that city.
If that were the case, the enemy would come to take it back. They shouldn't be able to leave it alone.
—Why aren't they moving?
Yugis broke into a cold sweat. He was trembling.
I must not fight against my own suspicions, Yugis told himself. I just need to remain composed.
There was the possibility that the Kosa side was also attempting to reorganize their troops. If they were supplementing personnel from the Kandasyata Plateau, it would take a corresponding amount of time. In fact, their scouts had detected such movements.
And yet, he couldn't feel confident. Yugis's intuition whispered another possibility.
—Has Geraha changed his strategy?
Changing a strategy is not that simple. If one moves deployed troops, it becomes necessary to review the supply routes.
However, these are the Kosa people's speeds. Because their movement speed by horse is fast, communications are delivered nimbly. Even if there were a change in strategy, it would spread to the entire army in the blink of an eye. Furthermore, regarding supplies, the Kosa people carry their tents. They can go anywhere. In their eccentricity, the Kosa people graze flocks of sheep even in enemy territory. They move meat that walks on its own feet.
Moreover, the heat is different.
There is no heat in the enemy's gaze directed toward the Western Army. If one were to ask if the enemy's heat had shifted toward the royal capital, that also seemed to be wrong. According to scouts, the siege army deployed around the royal capital appeared to be lax.
The destination of the enemy's passion is neither the West nor the royal capital. If so, there is only one destination: Brazm.
Yugis felt a chill. If the reserves of the army besieging Malfa City or something similar headed for Brazm, the Royal Army would fall into crisis. The surprise attack operation entrusted to Laicanel would end in a swing and a miss. Far from that, danger would extend to Laicanel himself.
Brazm is... no. It's impossible. Brazm is in equilibrium. Geraha himself created that form. He advanced this far upon that basis. To obsess over Brazm now would be a step backward. Geraha's aim should be Malfa City—
However, there was a giant hole in that deduction. If General Hilboro saw through that Brazm was the focal point, why would Geraha Wolf not see through it?
If Brazm were to be taken, Yugis would be in no position to be turning Aver into a fortress. He would have to immediately lead the entire army and rush to Brazm. Thinking of it that way made him feel as if he couldn't sit still.
—I don't know Geraha.
Yugis felt frustrated by that. He had boasted that he was the only one who could wage war against Kosa. It was undoubtedly a bluff to some extent to raise the Western Army. Even so, it would be a lie to say he had no pride. If he won against Kosa, he could show his loyalty to Princess Lucy. He could clear his father's dishonor. He could restore the East. He believed he could shoulder it. This war. He felt he had done everything he could.
And yet, he had not yet fully closed the distance with the man called Geraha.
The other side likely doesn't even know my name. That's fine. I want to fulfill the man called Geraha Wolf for my own sake. Kosa was an object of longing and a life goal for Yugis. Conquering the Great King who binds them must be the meaning of Yugis's birth. He was that arbitrarily invested.
I should go to the fields of Brazm. Yugis's thoughts were nearly decided. He didn't care if he abandoned Aver City.
—But.
This "but" made Yugis hesitate.
How many people died to acquire Aver City? If he said he would abandon Aver City and move forward, how many people would be convinced?
Yugis intended to evaluate Geraha to the highest degree. Even so, he still didn't understand Geraha. Geraha likely predicted even the anguish Yugis was feeling now. He probably concluded thus:
—The Western Army will not be able to move.
Exactly, a bullseye. However, if that's the case, Yugis thought,
—I still have a hand to play.
"Young Master!"
Yugis, who had been supervising the civil engineering work of soldiers digging trenches while mounted, looked back. It was Yugis's attendant, Dash.
"Young Master! The Commander-in-Chief is calling for you. You have a guest!"
He spoke with a noisy voice. Dash's horsemanship had improved completely, and he brought his horse close.
Yugis stared intently at his attendant.
"You're energetic. Aren't you?"
"Me? I'm always energetic, you know? Young Master, it's not permitted for you to have no energy. Look." Dash pointed his hand toward the youths engaged in work. "The Western folk are doing this much, you know? We can't afford to lose."
"What is this? Are you lecturing me?"
"If the West is working hard, the East should strive even more. Young Master, you've got to hold your ground here and prove that it's not just the West, but the East is working hard too. Carossa will truly be forgotten. Have you forgotten the Lord's regrets? If you're moping in a place like this, who knows when the family restoration will happen."
"That's true..."
Indeed, Yugis had to aim for the eastern end from here. He had to aim for Carossa. In the current situation, it seemed infinitely far, but it was certain that he had to go. If so, there was no time to be worrying. In the first place, it was doubtful if he was truly worrying.
—I was afraid.
Yugis realized. I was intimidated, and I was searching for reasons why I couldn't do it.
"Well said, Dash. It is exactly as you say. You and I are the last hopes remaining on this earth for Carossa."
"Your rhythm is coming back, Young Master. One more word."
"If the Carossa of the East dies, the justice of this country dies. Let's go, Dash."
"Yes, sir!"
Even forced energy was better than none. Yugis spurred his horse and headed toward the castle.
The one who greeted him at the stables was the monk, Gurt-sensei. He was a man with a tanned, sharp face. Although he wore the clothes of a monk, this man was a spy for the royal family.
"I was just thinking I wanted to see you."
Yugis spoke without greetings to Gurt-sensei, who was taking the bridle.
"That kind of introductory phrase makes me sense something bad," Gurt-sensei made a displeased face. "Is there something you want me to do?"
"It is something only you can do."
Yugis, with Dash's help, removed the horse gear and gave the monk a brief explanation.
"In other words, what is it?" Gurt-sensei's face remained displeased. "The city gates that you used every word to say 'do not open,' you now want me to open?"
"If we open the city gates, the enemy will—"
"A person who is the Prime Minister of a nation persuaded the reluctant royal capital defense force, you know? With what kind of face do you intend to overturn your previous words?"
"In my prediction, I believe His Excellency the Prime Minister used the expression 'for the time being' to persuade the royal capital defense force not to open the city gates. In other words, they will open someday."
"You're going to be killed by His Excellency the Prime Minister someday."
"Can't you just check the feeling? I want to know the atmosphere of the royal capital defense force."
"You shouldn't expect much. Yugis-sama is not popular within the castle. In the history of Siddim, I don't think there has been anyone spoken of as poorly as you."
"What about Her Highness Luchentin's popularity?"
"Well—she is fanatically supported, but do you intend to use the Princess's name?"
"No, I just asked because I was curious. Of course, I cannot make it in the form of a request from the Princess."
If he used Princess Lucy's name, this request would become a matter for King Siddim's judgment. The two were parent and child. It would not be good for it to become a conversation about whether His Majesty accepts or rejects a request from his daughter.
The royal capital defense force, while the main body is the Royal Army, is positionally a subordinate of the Imperial Guard, the First Army of Siddim. They can be called directly under His Majesty the King.
It should be settled strictly between Yugis and Prime Minister Gilma Rigardie.
"His Excellency the Prime Minister is the one who recommended me to the King's School. He has a responsibility for bringing me into the world. I think he will at least listen to me."
"Even if you're going to lean on an adult, there seems to be a slightly better way to put it."
What to do after opening the city gates.
Open the city gates of Malfa City and have the cavalry go out. He would have the cavalry of the royal capital defense force run straight toward Midheim. Since the Western Army would also provide support, it should be safe. The situation had changed from before. Midheim was already under the control of the Western Army. Incidentally, Sir Godly Curier was recruiting soldiers in that Midheim.
If Geraha Wolf still had lingering attachments to Malfa City, he would undoubtedly view the fact that the city gates opened even once as significant.
If not, it meant Geraha had changed his strategy and turned his eyes toward Brazm and the East. If that were clarified, the Western Army's behavior would be naturally decided. In Yugis's prediction, the probability of the latter was high. Even if he lured him by opening the city gates, Geraha might not even look.
This was something that couldn't be known without trying.
The reason the spy Gurt-sensei revisited the Western Army was that he had brought a guest.
He was said to be a mage. Last time, Gurt-sensei had brought a traveling performer. Yugis was impressed that he had so many acquaintances.
"He's a bit of an odd man, but mages are all like that."
"What on earth is such a person doing here?"
Yugis was driven by curiosity.
"To visit Ness Syllabus-sama."
It seemed he had already been guided to Ness's room. When he knocked on the door, the door opened from the inside, and Hume Razor showed his face. Hume was a man with a bear-like body and a stern face. Hume placed a finger against his lips.
Yugis entered the room quietly with Gurt-sensei. Dash followed behind. Sitting in a chair with his back turned toward them in the center of the room was Ness, whose golden hair was cut short. The beauty in male attire, Lucy, stood beside Ness.
The mage was by the window. While moving his hands slightly and frequently interlacing his fingers, he was chanting something. He was a tall man with black hair and a black mustache.
Soon, the sound of wings cutting through the air approached.
Surprisingly, a crow arrived. Though it was a window, it was small. The crow perched once on the window frame, then hopped on two legs and flew down to the room's floor. It cried "Ah, ah" twice in a voice that seemed to make fun of people.
The tall mage looked down at the crow with an extraordinary gaze.
Then, the mage lowered his face. From that face, two droplets of water fell in succession and scattered on the floor. He was shedding tears upon hearing the crow's voice. Strangely, no one present laughed at the mage's eccentric behavior. For some reason, they naturally understood that he had learned of some situation that should be grieved.
"One-Eyed Zarko has fallen,"
the mage said.
Yugis knew that name. He had heard he was the greatest mage in Siddim.
"He is the one I regarded as my master."
"I have also often heard stories of Zarko-sensei's activities," Princess Lucy said.
It was a voice that empathized with the other, like a nun's.
"That he was the sage most loved by the people of this country."
"Thank you, Your Highness. Zarko was a patriot. He worried about the future of this country. Ness's—" The mage turned his eyes toward the golden-haired knight. "Zarko believed that Ness Syllabus's illness was the curse of a certain mage. A formidable mage from the interior. However, there is a mage in Siddim with equal ability."
Alf Cedar. He was apparently the only disciple Zarko recognized.
Yugis had a memory of that name.
—Alf Cedar. Remember this name.
The one who had taught him that was Bishop Kabel Kofie of Siddim. Yugis had also heard that his life had been saved by this boy named Alf.
"Tarkas," the mustachioed mage spoke to the crow. "Please tell Alf about Zarko. Also, that it is necessary to respond urgently."
The crow hopped on both legs and circled the room. Looking up at Ness's face, the crow cried shrilly. Ness, perhaps afraid, pulled both legs up onto the chair and hugged his knees.
The crow spread its large wings, flew to the window, and fluttered away.
After seeing it off, the mage bowed to the Princess. "Our clan has ties with the Syllabus family of Karnain City. I hope to be of help in Ness Syllabus-sama's recovery."
"Yes... I see."
Princess Lucy seemed somewhat bewildered.
Yugis was the same. The connection between the mage, the crow, and Ness's condition was still not quite clear. As Gurt-sensei said, he must be an eccentric.
"How about it, since you're here—" Yugis met Princess Lucy's eyes.
"Yes, that's right. Please, for lunch," the Princess also agreed.
He couldn't let him leave while remaining a mystery.
The mage introduced himself as Laje Jink.
At the lunch table with the Princess, Gurt-sensei, and Hume, Laje-sensei revealed various things. That he was a political advisor to Saranti. That he was acquainted with Godly Curier, and so on. After acting in Delroy City, Laje was trapped in the royal capital. When the enemy siege began, Malfa City closed all its gates. Laje wandered the main streets seeking a way to get out. He was saved there by Gurt-sensei. The spy Gurt-sensei knew of a secret passage to get out of the royal capital.
"In Delroy, Yugis-sama, I searched for information on you. I am truly glad you are alive. Raslaf-sama would surely have been pleased."
"I also look forward to reuniting with him. And—it is such a strange story that I hesitate to put it into words, but" Yugis said. "The fact that I am alive may be thanks to the aforementioned Alf-sensei."
Yugis briefly told the story of how he almost died on the mountain pass of the Pale Mountains.
"I may owe a great debt to that Alf-sensei."
Laje-sensei smiled. "Do not let it concern you. Alf likely doesn't care about it either."
"Is Alf-sensei a humble person?"
"Haha, no way." Thinking he was being told a joke, Laje-sensei laughed. "Regardless of that, this war, of course, is not something that can be handled with magic. However, there is certainly an aspect where the enemy's magic works only on our side and acts disadvantageously. Correcting that is Zarko's dying wish."
Yugis didn't understand magic. If anything, Yugis valued Laje's background of traveling various places under special orders from Saranti. He wanted him to work for the Western Army. However, it wasn't an atmosphere where he could ask for that. Laje-sensei believed that subjugating the enemy's mages would lead to Ness's recovery.
"One last thing." Having finished the meal, Laje-sensei took a piece of paper from his breast pocket. "I was shown this sketch by Gurt-sensei. I have seen this woman depicted here."
It was a sketch of the woman who had set fire to Ganlord and caused a great fire.
Yugis had seen that sketch once. Come to think of it, he remembered that something had caught his attention at that time.
"Where I met her was a castle-manor called Hikage House in Belgau," Laje-sensei said. "She wore the clothes of a nun, and by her side was a foreigner—a tall, black woman nun."
Hearing that, Lucy stood up and moved behind Laje-sensei.
Yugis followed her.
The two of them stared at the sketch, their foreheads almost touching.
"This person is Sister Marvel," Princess Lucy said. "The black nun who was by her side was surely called Sister Rivet."
It was different from the name Yugis knew.
—Bikira.
It was similar. To the woman who assassinated Prince Sitris in Attaik.
Yugis casually looked toward Hume Razor.
Hume gave a small nod with downcast eyes.
The boy mage Alf Cedar set out on a new journey with the master archer Hemrik, and Cloden Danforth, who was about as short as Alf.
The journey from Carossa to the Dint territory was tiring, but it didn't take much time.
They entered the Dint territory at night.
"See ya, Alf," Hemrik suddenly said while walking the dark night road. "My house is this way."
"Hem-big brother, what are you gonna do with your bearded wife?" Alf said resentfully.
"Fuhehe. Nothin' much. I finish faster than a piss. Thinking about it makes me miss her. Young Lord, then tomorrow, first thing in the morning."
"Yeah."
Cloden Danforth raised his hand lightly.
Cloden was the son of a noble with protruding front teeth like a rat.
He was a common-like, sophisticated person. Alf had thought that country nobles were more arrogant. It seemed it was different in the East. Whether it was Udoh or Cloden, they had only as much dignity as a master carpenter.
That night, they were allowed to stay at a mansion called the Haimeiz House.
It was the residence of the lord. Alf, for the time being, hesitated.
"I'm fine with the stables, though?"
"Don't be stupid," Cloden Danforth said. "It'll bother the horses. Just come along. I'll give you some cheap booze, so drink that and sleep."
In this way, he was easygoing about everything. Despite being a noble, he quickly handled tasks like putting horses in the stables himself. Thinking it was a sad sight, Alf sighed.
"Young Lord, don't you have an attendant?"
"Attendants are only needed when wearing iron armor. I don't wear such things. A knight has to be able to do almost everything alone. You can't take a servant to the battlefield."
He seems to have a point, Alf thought pityingly, and didn't dig further.
"Come on, let's go. There's no time. I've got to see my daughter's face, and like Hemrik, I want to do something with my wife that takes longer than a piss."
"Gah, Young Lord, you have a wife?" Alf slightly raised his evaluation of Cloden internally. "Everyone's head is just full of dirty things, it's sickening."
The Danforth family was a large family. Cloden had many sisters. Because of the curse placed on the three elders, all the women looked like old people, but being surrounded by boisterous women and treated as a guest seemed enjoyable.
However, Alf was called into the private room of a large old man whom everyone called the Great Lord. He was Vizic Danforth, the lord of Dint. It seemed he would treat Alf as a guest, so to speak, a guest of the territory. It might be a region that values travelers. To be honest, it was a nuisance, but before he knew it, Alf was telling the taciturn lord about his travels. Thinking that he must want to hear about the Kosa people, Alf spoke about that part especially thoroughly.
"The Kosa people have a certain way of looking at things. It's certain and rigid. But you know, because of that," Alf became intoxicated after receiving good liquor. "Because of that, they're lonely people. I think I might have been able to get along with the Kosa people. Though we're quite different from them."
Count Vizic Danforth of Dint listened with interest until the end.
The next morning, Hemrik and Cloden appeared before Alf with refreshed faces.
It was an expression as if the accumulated frustration had been cleanly purified.
"It's really sickening," Alf sighed from early morning.
Descending from the Dwarf Mountains to Carossa, from Carossa to Dint, and from Dint back into the mountains of the Dwarf Mountains. The goal was Ganlord.
This steep mountain path was apparently a special road known only to the hunters of Dint.
Alf walked in the mountains for three days. Honestly, he thought he would wither away. After all, there was no road. He was made to climb and descend cliffs. After Hem-big brother noticed Alf's exhausted state, he made him drink water to an excessive degree, so he somehow survived.
"Big brother, just leave me behind."
"I get it, I get it."
Hem-big brother cared for Alf almost as if he were carrying him. He held the water flask to Alf's lips.
When Alf was exhausted, Cloden also stuck his chin out and lay spread-eagled.
"Hey Hem, water over here too, please."
"Fuhehe. I got it. You're both hopeless."
Only the hunter Hemrik, who wore a hood pointed like a single horn, was relaxed as if he had returned to his true hometown.
When they descended to a village at the edge of the Ganlord territory, both Alf and Cloden were covered in twigs and leaves, their faces looking gaunt. From there, it was easy. There were roads. They passed Famana City and followed the highway to Maslow City.
Alf was allowed to ride double on Cloden's horse.
In Famana City, there were five or six knights who had come to meet Cloden. Since they all called Cloden Young Lord, they might be knights of Dint. Hemrik also seemed unfamiliar with horses, so he was riding double on a knight's horse.
"Alf, pull in that tongue and keep your mouth shut. I'm going to speed up a bit,"
Cloden said. His expression had changed.
If they ran the horses at a fast pace for one day, they were already at Maslow City.
While clinging to Cloden's back, Alf opened the mouth he had been told to keep shut.
"Young Lord, are you really going to war?"
"Yeah."
This person was actually a high-ranking person, Alf revised his perception.
On the other hand, he realized that people with unremarkable faces, like Udoh and Cloden, were the ones supporting the war, and he became worried.
—Is this country going to be okay?
Maslow City is a metropolis that doesn't lose to Karnain City. It is a beautiful city surrounded by the green of the forest. At the stables near Ganlord Castle, Alf and Cloden dismounted.
"Listen, Alf,"
Cloden said at the parting.
"The things you saw, heard, and learned in Kandasyata, Dint, and Carossa—you mustn't talk about them from here on. There are quite a few secrets mixed in that we don't want the enemy to know."
"Young Lord, do you think I'm an idiot? I've dodged plenty of dangers too, you know?"
"Well, I don't think the Kosa people would take what you say seriously anyway... what are you going to do now?"
"I'll look for the mage I talked about before."
Cloden casually put his hand in his breast pocket. What he pulled out was a gold coin. He pressed it into Alf's hand.
"It's a parting gift, take it."
"Young Lord," Alf said, looking back and forth between the gold coin and Cloden's face. "You've got an interesting face to begin with, so a tragic expression doesn't suit you."
"Heh, I'll remember that."
"It's not exactly a thank you, but you'll live a long life, Young Lord. You have the face of someone who will spend their final years surrounded by grandchildren. See ya! Thanks!"
Stuffing the received gold coin into the breast of his long coat, Alf ran off. He ran because he felt the loneliness would show on his face.
Fortunately, without time to be depressed, he ran into Hemrik's horse, who had arrived late.
"Hem-big brother, let's look for an inn. I've got money, so it's fine."
Hemrik thanked the knight who had let him ride double politely and dismounted.
"Alf, I'm staying at the castle. This is where we part ways."
"Eh? Really?"
Hemrik also put his hand in his breast pocket. What he took out was a knife with a deer antler handle. On the handle, the figure of the snake god Meki was carved in low relief. Alf received it.
—A venomous snake kills a giant elephant with one bite.
Alf remembered a common saying in Siddim.
"Does this mean I should fulfill my mission?" Alf gripped the knife handle strongly.
"Fuhehe, it doesn't mean that specifically. I'm just lending it to you for a bit." Hemrik looked away with an embarrassed face. "I want to try a bet. I told you things have their own destiny, right?"
"Yeah."
"I want to test whether that knife returns to my hand or not."
As expected of big brother. He gives a stylish consideration. Alf became happy.
"Big brother, I promise, I'll definitely come back to see your face!"
"Take care."
"See ya, next time we meet, I'll be a man!"
Again, Alf ran away from the spot. Lately, partings have been painful and it's troubling.
Having become alone, he had no choice but to look for an inn. A shabby cheap inn was soon found. After negotiating the lodging fee, Alf asked for a bath to be prepared.
"It's impossible now. Tomorrow morning."
"That's fine. I'm counting on you."
It was a large room where travelers slept huddled together. Alf slept with a large sum of money against his skin.
The next morning, he was woken by the inn's servant. The bath was apparently ready. Since it was a cheap inn, he hadn't expected anything great. However, the bathtub, adjacent to the stables and enclosed by a wooden fence, was a splendid wooden one.
While he was naked and soaking in the tub, a young man suddenly entered the bathhouse. He was a tall man, with a sword hanging at his waist. He was a bit of a handsome man. Long bangs hid one of his eyes.
"Are you the one called Alf Cedar?"
"Wh-wait, who are you?"
"I was told by Cloden Danforth to look for you. I am Lucifont Nera. I'll borrow the water."
With that, he untied his sash on the spot, leaned his sword against the wooden fence, and instantly became naked. Dangling something slightly large between his legs right in front of Alf's eyes, the youth who introduced himself as Lucifont stepped over the tub and entered the same bath.
"I spent last night with a regular woman. I thought it would be bad if I still smelled of white powder even after the sun got high," he began to say such carefree things. "In the first place, one shouldn't welcome the morning with a woman of the night."
"What's with you? This is my bath."
"Don't be stingy, Alf-and-whatever. Your own grime, someone else's grime—grime is grime."
He tried to smooth things over by saying things that were half-understandable, half-not.
Lucifont Nera was apparently departing for Saranti.
"From there, I'll take a ship to Aver City. There, I'll have a meeting with the princess of this country. Apparently, she wants to hear in detail about the great fire of Maslow. Hmph, it means the military leadership has finally begun to turn their eyes to the East."
He was a man whose affectation was irritating, but Alf became interested. "Aver City... you mean the one next to Malfa?"
"Yeah. Cloden told me to invite you, so I searched for you by visiting inns. I don't know the circumstances, but Alf-and-whatever, do you want to come with me?"
"Brother, can you use a sword?"
"Well, better than average."
He didn't seem very reliable.
That said, Siddim was currently at war. One didn't know what might happen on the way.
"I'm in your care. I'm Alf."
From Maslow to Saranti, they headed northwest along the highway.
Lucifont was mounted, and Alf took the horse's bridle and walked the highway. Alf had never met a man as shallow as Lucifont.
When talking about the wonderfulness of women, Alf praised the loveliness of breasts.
"You understand nothing."
Hmph, Lucifont would laugh through his nose.
"A woman is, above all, the head. Nothing surpasses the bliss a clever woman gives to a man."
"Lucifont, what would someone like you know?"
"Breasts are just children's toys, that's all."
Besides that, he would say high-sounding things about tastes in food and liquor, speak arrogantly about paintings and poetry, and everything with a knowing face; he was insufferable.
There was only one time Lucifont spoke with a serious face.
"Just as you are searching for an old man, there is a woman I am searching for."
—The woman who turned Maslow into a sea of fire.
Apparently.
"I almost got killed back then, too. The scar on my back that you saw in the bath is from the death struggle of that time."
"What are you gonna do when you find that woman?"
Lucifont only furrowed his brows and shook his head while looking far away.
Alf and Lucifont arrived in Saranti amidst a sudden downpour of rain.
Saranti was in an uproar. Soldiers were running around the streets.
"It seems combat has begun in Brazm,"
Lucifont said, likely having heard the situation from one of the soldiers.
"Ships won't leave in this weather. You take a room at that inn and wait. It's a double room, okay? Order dinner and a bath. I'll go gather the details."
Saying so, he ran down the street blurred by water spray.
Alf did as he was told.
He was given a room on the second floor and waited for Lucifont while listening to the sound of rain alone. To kill time, he opened the window and gazed at the cityscape enveloped in rain.
Suddenly, he noticed several birds that looked like seabirds taking shelter from the rain under the eaves of the second-floor roof. Among the white birds, only one black bird was mixed in. It was a crow.
The crow stared at Alf and cried "Ah, ah" in a stupid voice.
Hearing that voice, Alf's knees gave way. He couldn't stand. He collapsed on the spot. Lukewarm tears streamed down his cheeks. Streak after streak, every time he blinked, they flowed down like the rain outside.
Alf sobbed. He wailed. He cried as if howling.
He cried with his face buried, and when he raised his face, the sky had grown dark.
When he realized it, a blanket had been placed over his shoulders. Lucifont was looking at Alf with a worried face. Lucifont said nothing. Youth and the strength of emotion kept Alf from sleeping. While being watched over by Lucifont, Alf continued to cry all night long.