Chapter 3 - 1-3
"Hey, look, it's auspicious clouds!"
Nezumo shouted. He was hopping about, pointing at the sky.
Where did all that energy come from in such a spindly body? Manam thought gloomily.
"Can't you lot see it? Auspicious clouds!"
"Shut up, Nezumo!"
Persa yelled. Persa was having a hard time with a bad-tempered donkey.
"You stupid donkey. Don't you sit down. Move."
The Three Sages—Nezumo, Manam, and Persa—had finally set out this morning. They had given the hut and the pastureland to a shepherd living three miles away for next to nothing. Next to nothing, mind you.
When he suggested that there was something he wanted in exchange,
'Huh? You want the donkey and bread? Going on a journey? A journey to the afterlife? No? Then the donkey and bread, what? You want silver too? An exchange for the hut?'
To Manam's disbelief, the shepherd had been reluctant.
'I dunno. I don't really need the hut or the land anyway. It's a hassle. As for the donkey...'
"Hey, Manam."
Persa slammed the donkey's reins against the ground. Persa would slam just about anything if it was something that could be slammed.
"Couldn't we have exchanged it for something a bit better? This thing is..."
"Persa. I made an effort. I did my best."
In the end, their luggage consisted of a floor cloth, an iron pot, immediate food supplies, and a small amount of silver. Everything else had been left behind in that dilapidated hut.
Nezumo was about twenty paces ahead. He was currently kneeling on the ground, offering prayers to the auspicious clouds in a crazed voice.
"O Great God, most wondrous and divine! Hear our plea, most humbly, most humbly..."
He was writhing his body, praying to the auspicious clouds.
Persa continued to curse the donkey right behind him.
"I said walk! Are you a pig? Are you a pig?!"
Manam sighed.
For the time being, the three of them were heading toward the powerful northern nation of Siddim. In the city of Argis in Siddim, there was an observatory and accurate world maps. Ancient texts were also kept in good condition. They intended to thoroughly investigate the records of the red star, Luv-U, in Siddim, and measure where the king of the new era would be born.
After several days of camping out in the wild, Manam was forced to remember that they had trained their bodies differently from ordinary people. The old men had exerted their strong legs against the endless plains. They were small like three ants, yet sturdy.
Once, they were caught in the rain.
There was a hollow under a meager shrub where a person could sit, and the old men huddled together there.
"Reminds me of our training days," Manam said, and perhaps because they were caught in the same thought,
"Yeah, exactly," Persa said, and Nezumo laughed, "Ehehe." All three of them took only a nap's worth of sleep. Since their youth, they had begrudged sleep in order to watch the stars. Even now, they were grinning, accurately mapping out the star charts above the rain clouds in their heads.
Even after being out in the rain for a night, not a single one of them caught a cold. They moved forward with a sense of fulfillment.
After walking two more days, they became able to sense the scent of water veins, and at the same time, drew closer to the presence of people.
Eventually, a river appeared.
"If we follow this river, it'll lead to the sea, Raya," Persa spoke to the donkey. "The sea is huge. There are many people. We're going to a town. There, we'll board a ship."
The donkey continued to grumble as usual.
"However," Manam mentioned their immediate concern. "If we're boarding a ship, we'll need silver. Will what we have be enough?"
"What about the silver!"
Nezumo shrieked and began to tremble violently. "Even if it be the moon in the sky, or the bottom of the sea, we are going, we are going!"
"I have no desire to go to the bottom of the sea, but regardless, the silver..."
"More importantly, it's close, Siddim is close. Siddim."
"Siddim, ahhhh!" Nezumo wailed spasmodically.
Unable to say that it probably wasn't close, Manam silently shook his head.
At any rate, his heart was light. They were traveling from the edge of this land to a civilized nation.
He never thought he would be able to go to the country of Siddim again while still living. His chest felt a sweet numbness. Malfa City must surely be welcoming that beautiful spring.