Chapter 74 - 6-13
Bishop Kabe Kofie of Siddim stepped outside the monastery early that morning to head to the privy.
Though dawn had only just broken, the previous night's snow had already been cleared, and a path to the outdoor privy had been made. The monks are early risers. How admirable, Bishop Kofie thought.
On his way, he passed by the stables.
He hadn't noticed it on his way out, but as Bishop Kofie returned from relieving himself, he noticed.
Buried in the piled fodder of the stables, a boy was sleeping. The morning sun illuminated his sleeping face, which suggested a landscape of happy dreams. It had been a night where it wouldn't have been strange for him to freeze to death if things had gone poorly; he was quite carefree.
Bishop Kofie walked under the roof of the stables, struggling through snow that seemed to reach his knees.
The boy opened his eyes without the Bishop needing to wake him.
"Good morning."
"Good mornin'. Priest-sama."
The boy crawled out from the pile of straw with sleep-befuddled eyes. He yawned, tears pooling in his eyes.
Bishop Kofie thought he was a street urchin.
However, the boy's clothing was the long robe often worn by students. He seemed to be a traveling student.
"No, I am not a priest. Why are you sleeping in a place like this?"
"Why, what do you mean, Priest-sama?" the boy said while brushing off straw scraps. "Geez, look how much it's piled up, even though it's early spring. I've come this far south, and it still piles up this much?"
"So it seems. Are you a Siddimite?"
"I'm a thoroughbred Siddimite, Priest-sama."
"You look as though this is your first journey. Also, I am not a priest."
He is the Bishop of Siddim.
Before he could correct him, the boy spoke while staring at Bishop Kofie's face. "Priest-sama, you should be humble. You're going to become incredibly important soon."
"Do you read faces?"
Bishop Kofie burst out laughing. If he became any more important, he would have no choice but to become an Archbishop. He had never even considered such a terrifying thing.
"You certainly can give a strange compliment. The youth of today are quite reliable. More importantly, let us go inside. The monastery provides meals to any traveler. This is unseasonable snow. It will likely melt by noon."
"The thing is, they won't let me in. Priest-sama, please put in a good word for me. For some reason, things are different south of Siddim. I was born in Karnain, you know? And yet, when they hear I'm a mage, the church folks make faces like they've drunk sour wine."
"I see, a mage."
Magic and the Roma Church could be said to be in a relationship where they cannot both look up to the same heaven.
In particular, His Eminence Archbishop Kyle VIII hates magic and sorcery. On the surface, Bishop Kofie also criticizes magic.
—Someday, it must be wiped out.
He also thinks this.
It is not because he dislikes it emotionally. It is simply something he must do as a mission of a Roma Church adherent.
If anything, Bishop Kofie's true feeling was that those who lose themselves in occultism are quite cute. For the Bishop, the Church is a mission. It is absolute. However, the Bishop cannot help but feel an attachment to people who sincerely accept these kinds of childlike superstitions. Superstition is human foolishness, and foolishness is human karma, and Bishop Kofie has a disposition where he cannot help but tease such things.
"How foolish. In times like that, you should just say you're a student."
The boy's grayish eyes sparkled. "As expected, it's different when it's someone like you, Priest-sama. That's a clever trick; I'll do that from now on."
"Wait a moment. I'll bring you some breakfast."
Bishop Kofie stood up lightly and headed for the dining hall.
It had been a long time since he had enjoyed himself.
Bishop Kofie had lost friends such as Paishal Anavis, Laiel Gilmond, and Urgil Necrat almost all at once. He tries not to be conscious of that. If he thought about it, he became depressed and felt loneliness. They were laypeople and warriors. It felt as though he alone had been left behind.
He and those men had different goals.
The aim of Bishop Kofie and the Church is the abolition of the Siddim royal family. If he had happened to reveal that goal to those three, for example, old man Gilmond would have drawn his sword.
Still, perhaps they could have continued an adult relationship where they utilized each other unexpectedly.
The East was good. Everyone had spirit. The time he spent plotting with those fellows might have been the most enjoyable time of his life.
Having lost them, Bishop Kofie immersed himself in the Church. He distanced himself from the secular world.
But now, having encountered a carefree boy who is like a lump of worldly desires, the Bishop of Siddim is joyfully carrying food. A bad habit had peeked through. A bad habit of mocking the rashness of fools, and a bad habit of being moved by the nobility that fools sometimes glimpse.
The boy is sitting on the floor of the stable.
Kofie sat down beside him.
"Bread, eggs, and water."
"You're eating here too, Priest-sama? You're strange."
The egg dish is a taste without ingenuity. The boy is eating greedily.
"Your name?"
"Alf Cedar."
"Where are you going?"
"South."
"To do what?"
"I wonder if Priest-sama knows about a red star called Luv Oo?"
Unexpected words flew out from an unexpected person, and Bishop Kofie was startled.
—A mage.
He thought that might be the truth.
"They say it's a star that heralds something. My teacher said so. That it has the power to change the human world. There are old men plotting wretched things using that power."
"I have met them. Probably."
"The old men? No way."
"They go by the names Manam, Persa, and Nezumo. I have met them in the capital, Malfa City. And you?"
—To stop the old men's plotting.
Alf says. Since he had already finished the bread, Bishop Kofie gave him his own portion. Alf directed a smile toward him without saying thank you.
"They are not the kind of old men who listen to what they're told."
"I get that feeling too. If it comes to that, I'll take them down. I might end up killing them."
"How not peaceful." The Bishop couldn't help but laugh. "But it will be impossible. They are not mere old men. They won't be taken down."
"Geez, Priest-sama. My magic is stronger. I know that. It's just, there are three of them, right? That's the troublesome part."
"Why not try them one by one, in order?"
"You think so too, Priest-sama? But if I subjugate the first one, the remaining two will start being careful, right? That's why it's no good."
It seems he is serious.
Bishop Kofie narrowed his eyes. "Who is your teacher?"
"One-Eyed Zarko, and Master Dancour of Argis."
"I heard that One-Eyed Zarko does not take disciples."
"He gave me training."
He does not look like he is lying.
Bishop Kofie thought while stroking his chin.
"Alf. How about traveling together until Kindary? If you are with me, you can sleep under the roof of the monastery. For I am the Bishop of Siddim."
Alf Cedar's eyes widened, but he immediately burst out laughing. "I said you'd become important, but Bishop-sama, you're too greedy. You're an interesting Priest-sama."
Bishop Kofie laughed along with him. He decided not to correct him.
Bishop Kofie has been asked by Archbishop Kyle VIII to eliminate the three old men, Manam and the others. If this boy is truly Zarko's disciple,
—He might be useful for something.
Bishop Kofie is contemplating.
When heading south from the north, one travels by carriage through the gentle plains of the west. There are forest roads, towns, and rural areas.
The Bishop taught the boy a bit of the western tongue. Alf was clever. He remembered what he was taught in one go and soon became able to converse with western farmers and such. His intellect was such that it seemed a waste to only have him learn magic.
Despite the high rank of General Representative of the Church of the Siddim Kingdom, Bishop Kofie's party is small. Four monks, one boy as an attendant, and three guards. The guards are Holy Knights operated with the support of the Church. One of the guards is always scouting ahead, so he does not show his face often.
Every time Alf calls Bishop Kofie "Priest-sama," everyone makes a displeased face. Because he has told them "You must not reprimand Alf," everyone is enduring it.
The irritated appearance of the monks and the attendant is also amusing to Bishop Kofie.
"Alf-kun." The attendant boy is one year younger than Alf. "Don't you think it's strange? The clothes of the person you call 'Priest-sama' are far too splendid. Have you ever seen a priest like that?"
"I get it." Alf is walking beside the carriage, shoulder to shoulder with the attendant. "It's this, right?"
"What's that?"
When the Bishop looked, Alf had curled his fingers into the shape of a coin.
"Money, money. He's got it, right?"
"You're an idiot. That's not it, geez!"
Alf seems to have a talkative nature, and he is always talking about something with the attendant who is close to him in age. When the attendant prepares meals and such, Alf helps of his own accord. In that regard, he has the lightness of a layperson, which is also a beautiful thing.
Alf seems to hold a certain respect for the Roma Church.
"I'm from Karnain City, after all. I respect the monks."
The attendant snorts. "I bet you do."
"What I think is most great is this, this."
"What's that?"
When the Bishop looked, Alf was making an obscene combination of fingers.
"Women, women. They don't do it, right? I can't imitate that."
"You are quite—"
Alf shakes his head. "Just like everyone here, I'm still pure. But when I go to the south, I'll offer my virginity to a dark-skinned beauty who is liberated in sex. Northern women are no good, acting all high and mighty. Under the scorching sun of Koroi. The skin of a southern beauty shining like honey—"
"Stop it, I don't want to hear it."
Alf became somewhat serious when the conversation turned to magic. He likely believes that magic is the only thing worthy of being discussed seriously.
"You, if you're a mage, show me some magic."
"Yeah." Alf responds to the attendant boy. "When the time comes. Recently, I've come to understand that magic won't work unless that time comes."
"When is that time?"
"I don't know. I'll tell you when the time comes."
The attendant is smirking. He likely does not believe Alf's story.
However, surprisingly, that time came. Alf actually showed them by using magic.
To enter the holy land of Kindary from the west, one must pass through a difficult area. The Pale Mountains. However, thanks to the efforts of previous pilgrims and the cooperation of the locals, the mountain paths are well-maintained. They are enough for a small carriage to pass through.
Although they aim for a low ridge of the mountain range, the slope of the road is not gentle.
"Heave-ho, do your best. Heave-ho, there, there."
Bishop Kofie of Siddim does not get out of the carriage, only calling out encouragements.
The rest of the party, other than the Bishop, pushed the carriage with full energy, facing the uphill climb.
Alf is also pushing the carriage, but every time he hears Bishop Kofie's calls, he suppresses a laugh. It seems something amusing is happening.
"Heave-ho, there, good, good, do your best."
Eventually, Alf burst out laughing. "Priest-sama, don't make me laugh. My strength is draining away."
From then on, it was a harmonious affair.
Every time the Bishop let out a call, the other monks and the attendant would be drawn into laughing as well.
The only one who was serious was the monk serving as the driver. Even if it is maintained, it is a road forcibly created on a steep mountain slope. If the handling of the horses is mistaken, it is a straight plunge down the cliff.
They reach the ridge right around noon.
Looking back, one can overlook the relentlessly vast western land composed of forests and rural areas. Perhaps steam is rising from the damp earth, as it is misty and beautiful.
Looking forward, the entire field of vision is the deep blue sea. There isn't a single cloud here.
The Bishop looked at Alf's profile.
The boy was speechless. It is likely his first time seeing the sea.
If they take lunch here, the rest is downhill.
Shortly after departing, Alf let out a cry of "Ah!"
"Stop the carriage!"
It was a sharp voice that seemed to echo.
The driver pulled the reins and the carriage stopped, and the accompanying monks also stopped.
Everyone turned back to look at Alf.
"What is it?" the Bishop asked.
"I hear something..." Alf's voice is urgent. "Someone is there! Arsius, the time has come, I'll show you magic!"
The attendant is blank-faced, having had his name called.
Alf closed his eyes and chanted something that sounded like a spell in a low voice. He moved his hands to make complex signs, and while keeping his eyes closed, he walked toward the cliff. He fell straight off the cliff.
His heart pounding, Bishop Kofie got out of the carriage and peered down from the edge of the cliff. The attendant Arsius is gripping the Bishop's clothes, fearing the Bishop might fall.
Alf was in an unexpectedly close place. He is standing on a rock protruding from the cliff.
Then, as if on a whim, Alf jumped again. He landed on the rock below, but the rock he used as a foothold wobbled from the impact. Alf jumped again. Jumping from rock to rock, he finally descended to the valley floor using only his two feet, without using his hands once. It is a valley floor with dirty remaining snow.
To descend this height unscathed could be called miraculous.
However, when this is called magic, there is a sense of incongruity. Rather than magic, it is more like a kind of acrobatics. It is not impossible for a nimble person.
Ignoring the Bishop's dissatisfaction, Alf cupped his hand by his mouth and shouted.
"Hey! There's someone here! Drop a rope!"
Everyone moved hurriedly. It seemed there was an injured person who had lost their footing.
When one of the guards dropped a rope, Alf likely tied himself and the injured person. He waved his hand, sending a signal to the top of the cliff.
Even Bishop Kofie, at this moment, helped pull up the injured person.
One of the Holy Knights gave appropriate directions while peering down the cliff.
"Pull slowly. Pull, pull, okay, stop. Now, Alf is avoiding a rock... okay, let's pull. Slowly."
It was like that.
It must have been quite heavy labor, but the Bishop and the monks are excited. They felt no fatigue. As soon as they pulled the two up, everyone cast aside the rope and gathered around the injured person.
He is a youth with tanned black hair. Though thin, he is muscular and seems to have physical strength. He is not wearing a jacket or a cloak. The shirt and trousers were southern ones. Although there was a scabbard at his waist, the essential sword was missing. And above all, the youth is breathing.
"He has fractures in his leg and arm. This is bad," one of the guards said. "He has bruises all over his body. The bleeding has stopped. —There are no large wounds on the head."
The guards propped up the youth's body and gave him water.
Then, the youth opened his eyes.
Bishop Kofie shuddered.
—Yugis?
He looks similar. No, there is no mistake. He has a unsightly scruffy beard, but the eyes are the same.
He had met the son of Urgil Necrat twice or three times. The first time was at Adaberta Castle in Kraff, and Yugis was still a child. He had also seen him in his grown form. He had been at the head of a procession heading for a large-scale hunt in the East.
Yugis let his pupils wander, then closed his eyes again.
—Why do we meet?
In a place like this, at this timing, why did they meet?
Bishop Kofie's feelings were deeply shaken.
It is as if it were magic. It is as if he had been put under a spell.
Bishop Kofie looked back at Alf. Alf is rubbing his own wrist.
"Alf—are you alright?"
"I'm totally fine."
"You read faces, didn't you? Tell me. Why is this man—"
"Faces or whatever, it's as you can see. It's pitiful, but this person will die soon. The death-face is showing."
Bishop Kofie's assessment was different.
"I will not let that happen. Everyone hurry, we must not let this man die. Milan, Kaitas, go ahead. Have Noz Village accept the injured. Take my clothing chest and exchange it for gold coins. We will bring this man back to life!"
Noz Village is a remote village on the south side of the Pale Mountains. Despite being a poor-looking region, the Bishop's guards vigorously gathered four doctors.
They are there if you look for them.
Four people surrounded the injured man carried into the church. Of the four, at least two doctors seemed to have nothing to do.
"How is it?" when Bishop Kofie asked,
"There should be no danger to his life,"
was the reply.
The Bishop felt a sense of relief.
Three of the four doctors bowed deeply to the Bishop of Siddim and left. Feeling that he had made too much of a fuss, Bishop Kofie felt a bit awkward.
They stayed one night at the church of Noz Village that day.
The next morning, he visited the room where Yugis was lying with the village priest. Doctor Reich, who had stayed behind, looked back at them.
"There is no problem. He woke up last night and ate a little porridge. His fever is high, but if he remains quiet, he will head toward recovery."
"I am in your debt, Doctor Reich," Bishop Kofie said. "I must go to Kindary now. I intend to visit here again on my way back, but until then, I want you to keep this youth in this church."
"Even without worrying, this patient cannot move for a while."
Bishop Kofie decided to leave a large amount of gold coins at the church. He is the son of a friend who met a tragic death. That son was also thought to have died. Bishop Kofie wanted to do everything he could for him.
Leaving him in their care, the party departed.
The injured man seems likely to be saved. When the Bishop announced this, everyone's expressions brightened.
"Alf, it seems your physiognomy is not to be relied upon."
"Stop it, Priest-sama. If that big brother is safe, I'm happy too."
"Why did you notice him?"
"I'm often told I have a good intuition."
If it is blamed on a sixth sense, Bishop Kofie has no choice but to remain silent.
—Why did I meet the son of Urgil Necrat?
The Bishop tilted his head. It simply didn't sit right with him.
He felt that it should not be dismissed as a coincidence.
It was about four months before Bishop Kofie tilted his head.
After saying farewell to Petu and the others, Yugis Necrat had been sniffing around the surroundings of Koroi.
Small cities and villages are dotted around Koroi. Yugis wandered through those cities and villages. He intended to make them bases to observe the war between the Kosa army and the Koroi army.
The towns and villages around Koroi had few people. Everyone had likely fled to some canyon. In the worst cases, there were villages where people like bandits had settled in.
There were those who remained in the towns and villages. There were many armed men. Yugis was frequently suspected of his identity by them. When he said he was a mercenary from Attaik, while not welcomed, he was no longer treated so harshly.
From the men who remained, Yugis was told the identity of the soldiers in yellow uniforms.
"Those are the Tawaru tribe. They're from around the northern plains nations. The tattooed ones aren't from around here. Apparently, they came from the East. What a lot of trouble to go through. I can only be amazed."
"By the East, you mean..."
"Byo, or around there. They're called Mukuri people."
Yugis could only blink his eyes.
Fortunately, he was able to see the Kosa army's war twice.
Both times, he peeked while hiding on a slightly elevated hill.
On the hill, besides Yugis, a dozen or so southerners had gathered. Whether they intended to simply sightsee or had the purpose of being spies like Yugis, he did not know.
In the first engagement, the Kosa army's cavalry fled. They were being chased around by Koroi's heavy cavalry. Because Kosa fled, the Koroi infantry had no choice but to pursue. Just as he began to feel sorry for the infantry who were being made to run, another Kosa army from far away arrived at tremendous speed and broke through the Koroi infantry from the side.
Kosa's light cavalry also use spears when they charge. They are spears that look lightweight.
The second engagement was large-scale, and there must have been forty or fifty spectators.
In that war, the Kosa army could only move inch by inch. The Koroi army is positioned in a narrow pass sandwiched between rocky mountains on both sides. The Kosa army repeatedly alternated between charges and bow-and-arrow attacks, pressing forward from the front toward that position.
It was a plain attack with nothing remarkable about it. Yugis was impressed by the leadership of the Kosa army. The casualty rate of the soldiers must have been quite high. Still, they did not stop the attack. They continued to attack, alternating the vanguard and the rearguard. They did not even attempt to climb the rocky mountains to strike the enemy's rear. It seems Kosa people can also fight a war of brute force.
In the end, the Koroi army gave up first.
Yugis noted the points he noticed on paper. The papers increased to over a hundred sheets and had already become a bundle.
While sniffing around for where the third battlefield would be, Yugis came across information about Koroi's surrender. He clicked his tongue instinctively.
—I wanted to see it one more time.
The thinking habits of Geraha Wolf of the Kosa army. He felt that he was on the verge of seeing it. It was a vague flash of inspiration that disappeared when pursued. It was a frustrating intuition that did not go well even when he tried to capture it in words.
He was angry at his own immaturity.
—Should I stay a bit longer?
Though he thought as far as that, Yugis decided. Though it couldn't be called sufficient, he should return to Siddim.
Having heard that the major ports were blocked by the yellow-uniformed Tawaru soldiers, he decided to go by land for the time being. This was not easy.
Even Yugis understood that he couldn't return on foot.
In a village by the banks of Koroi, he bought a horse and a full set of tack.
However, that horse collapsed in just about a week. It seemed to be the rainy season, with rain day after day. Pushing the horse to run through that was a mistake. Yugis was in a hurry. He did a pitiful thing to the horse.
Carrying his luggage on his back, Yugis began to walk.
It is the shore of a lake called the Mirror Sea. If he follows the edge of the lake, he will reach a river. If he goes downstream on that river, it is the Farsa Sea. If there is a port, he will find a ship going west. If he reaches the west, there will certainly be ships to the Northern Inland Sea.
The rainy season soon ended.
The hot sun returned.
Every time he found people fishing in the Mirror Sea, Yugis asked if they could take him on their boat. Not once did anyone take him. In the first place, the Enagamo language did not communicate.
When he reached a river whose name he didn't know, there were boats there too.
Yugis paid money with gestures and was taken on. After boarding, he realized that this was not a boat heading downstream, but a ferry boat carrying people to the opposite shore.
Yugis had no choice but to spend nights in the wild and walk downstream.
There were poor villages occasionally, and Yugis bought food with Koroi currency and walked relentlessly.
His body smelled of sweat, his appearance was tattered, and he had grown a beard. While walking, he fainted once, and from then on, he made sure to take breaks under the blazing sun. No matter how much time passed, the sea did not come into view.
Every time he found a boat floating on the river, he asked in the local language. "Where are you heading?"
He had managed to memorize only those words.
Every boatman pointed to the opposite shore. Just as he was about to despair, he found a thin old man loading luggage onto a small boat. Yugis asked his usual question.
The old man pointed downstream.
Yugis was surprised. In the direction the old man pointed, there was a city with a forest of buildings, and beyond that, the sea was visible. He had come right next to the sea.
After waving to the old man, Yugis walked forward with vigor.
He could only pray that what he was seeing was not an illusion. The city was certainly there.
However, the port was empty.
Yugis clung to a man nearby.
The Enagamo language communicated with that man. According to the man, not only from Koroi, but ships from the west had also stopped coming. He said that trade with Koroi might have been prohibited.
"Please, no matter what, no matter what, to some port in the west..."
"Even if you say that..."
"Please—"
"There are ships going to Futsuria."
Futsuria is the neighboring continent. It is on the other side of the Farsa Sea. He had no business in such a place.
However, after hearing the man's explanation, hope sprouted in Yugis.
The Farsa Sea is a narrow inland sea. It is not far to Futsuria. First, cross the sea heading south and go to the Farsa Sea coast of the Futsuria continent. From the port there, cross the sea again heading north, and by following small islands, it seems one can reach the Nerea Peninsula.
The Nerea Peninsula is within the sphere of the Roma Church. After all, the holy land of Kindary is in the northern part of the peninsula. If it is within the sphere of the Roma Church, it felt to Yugis as if he had already returned to his hometown.
Yugis crossed the sea smoothly, stepped onto the land of Futsuria once, and immediately boarded a small sailing ship bound for the Nerea Peninsula. He began to feel some leeway in his mind. On the sea, he thought mostly about the speed of the ship. Rather than the sailing speed of a sailing ship, it was the speed of gliding over the sea and going as if in a straight line to the destination.
For Yugis, whose memory of moving on foot sluggishly was vivid, the ship journey was fast, like a joke.
—It's probably faster than a horse.
Thinking that, he felt something eerie about the fact that the Kosa army had seized the port of Koroi. Kosa people are likely a people who know the value of speed more than anyone. If so, there is no way they wouldn't notice the advantage of ships.
Landing on the southern tip of the Nerea Peninsula, Yugis immediately searched for a ship bound for Kindary. At that time, he no longer even thought about walking to Kindary in the northern part of the peninsula. A ship heading for the holy land was easily found. He asked the crew if there were ships going west, but it seemed the western nations had prohibited the entry and exit of all kinds of ships. It was said that ships from the western nations had stopped coming to the Nerea Peninsula as well.
After arriving in Kindary, he had to forget the comfortable time he felt on the ship. If he crosses the Pale Mountains, it is the west. He can no longer use ships.
Yugis, who was not particularly devout, headed north without even looking at the magnificent architectural groups of the Roma Church's holy land, Kindary. He climbed the foot of the Pale Mountains and stayed one night at a pilgrim lodging facility in Noz Village, located halfway up the mountain. At that time, he had no way of knowing that he would end up living in this village for several months, and he passed through without emotion to challenge the Pale Mountains.
Though he was slightly disappointed to reach the top of the ridge in just half a day, Yugis was in a good mood, aided by the fair weather. Several groups of pilgrims were resting at the summit, and the Siddim language could be heard. Yugis was enchanted by the nostalgia of his mother tongue.
However, among the mother tongue he heard with his back turned, Yugis grew tense upon hearing the name Sedeas Thora.
"But Sedeas Thora will blame us. We haven't seen the war even once. Far from it, we haven't even seen a Kosa person."
"That's fine. It'll be okay. If we write the stories we heard from others in detail, the paper will be filled. Anyway, the thickness of the paper is what's important."
"Don't be so timid, Mathias."
"What do you have to say, when you can't even lift your face before Sedeas. Even if the paper is thick, if the content is thin, Sedeas Thora will be furious."
"Are you dissatisfied with my decision? If we hadn't taken the ship then, we might still be trapped in Koroi, you know?"
"We held out in Koroi until the end. Other cowards returned home using various reasons, but we worked hard until just before Koroi surrendered. Sedeas will evaluate us."
—Sedeas Thora's reconnaissance, then.
Yugis bitterly remembered his own position.
If he returns to Siddim, Yugis is the son of a man suspected of being a traitor. He is a fugitive who fled from Malfa City. If found, he will likely be sentenced to death.
Having finished eating the bread of his lunch, Yugis stood up.
"Young man, you dropped your wallet."
Being called from behind, it was a mistake to run his eyes over the ground searching for his wallet.
"Is he a Siddimite after all? You were listening to our conversation."
"Hey, look this way."
"State your name."
The men stood up one after another, harboring bloodlust. They approached while putting their hands on the hilts of the swords extending from their waists. The six men surrounded Yugis.
"This guy is a Necrat!" one shouted. "It's Yugis Necrat."
A fat man who seemed to be the captain of the reconnaissance unit said, "Lova, stay here and keep watch. Mathias, are you sure?"
"No mistake. It's been a while, Necrat. I'm Mathias of the Third Army."
"I don't know someone like you," Yugis said out of necessity.
"Alright, Necrat. Clasp your hands behind your head. If you stay quiet, we won't do anything bad to you."
Yugis did not resist and did as he was told.
His sword was taken, and his cloak was taken. Perhaps because there were eyes at the summit, Yugis was pushed in the back and forced to return the way he came.
When they descended to a place that was a blind spot of the mountain path, the fat captain laughed.
"We picked up an unexpected souvenir. Sedeas will be pleased."
"No, Riccart. We don't need that guy. Look at this."
Looking back, a red-haired man was rummaging through Yugis's luggage. He had taken out the records of the Kosa people that Yugis had been writing.
"Stop it! Don't touch that!"
Yugis spoke loudly. Instantly, the tips of three swords pointed toward him.
"Get back! Get back! Stay there. Stand on the edge of the cliff."
Mathias's eyes were narrowed.
Captain Riccart examined Yugis's records with the red-haired man and looked up. His face had become the face of someone who had witnessed something unbelievable.
"Did you write this?"
"Yes. It's mine."
"Did you think you could use this to enter the service of the Thora family?"
"It's for Siddim. Don't kill me. Inside my head, there is information I haven't written down yet."
"This is enough," Riccart stood up with a heavy air.
He approached while looking at Yugis's face.
"Be glad that you can take responsibility for your father's great crime."
Riccart grabbed Yugis's neck with a fat, round hand. Yugis panicked. He hadn't yet prepared himself to die. He wanted to say that, but the captain pressed his throat, heaven and earth flipped, and before he knew it, he was in the air.
However, Yugis survived. At that time, the fact that the remaining snow at the bottom of the valley was still thick might have had an influence.
Without knowing it, he had been carried to Noz Village. He received thorough treatment from a doctor named Reich. Though, during the surgery on his left arm, he thought he might as well have died.
"This arm is already festering. I'll cut it off from the elbow."
Doctor Reich declared while lining up a small knife and a saw on the desk.
Strings were already wound several times around Yugis's left upper arm, and the blood flow was stopped. The doctor began to cut the left arm briskly with the small knife.
"How pathetic! At least let it be said that I was injured fighting the Kosa people!"
"Just faint. It's going to be tremendous pain."
When told that, he felt as if he felt tremendous pain, and Yugis easily fainted. He thought later that doctors are great.