Chapter 86 - 7-12
While Sedias Thora was seeing visions of a wedding in the north, Hume Razor was at the bottom of a cliff in the Pale Mountains. He was searching for the corpse of Yugis Necrat. It was already the third day, and he had exhausted every possibility to the point where he could definitively assert that it was not there.
Perhaps because of the high altitude, the valley floor was only marked by vividly colored lichens, with very little grass. Even where plants grew, they did not grow tall enough to hide a body. It seemed as though a skeletal corpse should have been easy to find. And yet, it was not.
—Did animals carry the body away?
Or perhaps there was no corpse to begin with.
Suddenly, Hume felt a shock at the crown of his head. Thinking it might be a landslide, he looked up, and white objects began to scatter across the entire area. Giant hailstones had begun to fall.
—Mountain weather is brutal!
"Hey—!"
The voice of Godly Curier, who had been searching for the body in a distant spot, reached him.
"Did you find it—!"
"I haven't found it—!" Hume shouted back, cupping his palm to his mouth.
"Let's go back—!"
"Yeah—!"
Hume and Curier rushed to the spot where a rope had been dropped from the top of the cliff.
Curier, a knight renowned in the Kingdom of Siddim, climbed the cliff first, following the rope. The wandering swordsman Hume watched the knight's bouncing backside with his arms crossed, glaring. It wasn't that he had an interest in a man's backside; rather, because his eyesight was poor, he tended to strain his eyes and end up glaring.
After Curier, Hume also climbed the cliff. By the third day, he had grown accustomed to it, but the hail pouring down with enough force to crush rock was exhausting.
Once they returned to the path and wound up the rope, the two ran south along the mountain trail, protecting their heads with both hands.
Hume Razor was in his fifties with graying hair, and Godly Curier was around the same age. Adults around fifty had traveled all this way to search for a corpse. Furthermore, that corpse was not appearing.
It was an unreasonable ordeal. Curier had likely been hammered by society into believing that being an adult meant silently doing the things no one else wanted to do. Society had applied the same pressure to Hume, but Hume Razor possessed a skin thick enough not to be dented by the pressure of society.
"I don't like this." Without even thinking about what he didn't like, he simply complained.
"I imagine so," Curier replied. "But we're finished for today. All that's left is to have a drink and sleep."
"Now that sounds good." Hume's mood improved at the thought of alcohol. "Hmm. I like that."
Hume was a man who had lived his life this way. It was a cycle of boldly raising his voice in complaint, shouting, and finally being won over by alcohol. He didn't recall ever feeling dissatisfied with that life. He had thought he would simply die sloppily like this. He had never imagined that in the final stages of his life, he would be acting alongside a serious man like Curier. Perhaps—Hume thought vaguely.
—Perhaps there was a different kind of life?
It was a doubt directed at himself. Even while matching the serious daily routine of a serious man, he found that he wasn't particularly pained by it.
The two returned to Noz village.
They were staying at the village lodging.
The inside of the lodging was steamy with the breath of many people. There were lively voices. Pilgrims had secured their beds and were talking to those next to them about the sudden change in weather.
Hume and Curier also laid out their bedding in the large room.
"Boss, give me some pocket money." Hume held out his palm.
"Here." Curier tossed him the entire wallet. "Looking at you makes me feel pathetic myself. Why don't you try following my example and reading a book for once?"
Apparently, there were rare books donated by pilgrims, and Curier was absorbed in reading them.
"Hmph," Hume laughed through his nose. "I graduated from that at five."
"You say that, yet you beg for pocket money like a three-year-old."
"Aren't you drinking, Boss?"
"The tavern is your specialty. I'll leave it to you."
The lack of enthusiasm in the reply was disappointing. Hume headed alone to the only tavern in the village. The hail had already turned to rain. The tavern was a small building, and when Hume, with his bear-like build, entered, it seemed as though the interior of the shop grew darker.
As expected, a monk was at a table in the back of the shop. After ordering drinks and food from the owner, Hume sat at the monk's table. He had met this monk, Sivas-sensei, for the first time last night. Sivas-sensei was also a drinker, and he got along well with Hume.
"I'm intruding."
"Oh my. We meet again. I thought you would have descended the mountain long ago."
"It was painful to part with the venerable teacher," Hume said. "Besides, the business we have is around here."
"Ho..."
Pork and potato soup, bread, and alcohol were delivered to the table.
Hume began to eat. The food at this shop wasn't bad.
As questioned by the monk Sivas-sensei, Hume explained why they had come to this village.
As the conversation reached its core, Sivas-sensei's eyes began to wander.
"Wai—wait a moment—died around here? A young man?"
"That's right," Hume said, observing the monk with an indifferent face.
"May I ask the name of that young man?"
Hume and Curier had split up to conduct inquiries among the residents of Noz village.
'Do you know of anyone who died on the cliffs around here?'
They had asked around like that shortly after arriving in the village. Even then, he had felt a sense of the villagers hiding something in their behavior. However, no one had shown as much panic as this Sivas-sensei. Being a priest, he was likely honest at heart.
"The name was Yugis Necrat, I believe."
"Ah, I see. No, is that so... No, I don't know him."
Sivas-sensei looked down.
"Is that so. The venerable teacher is one who serves God; I would not think you would lie. What is the matter? You don't seem to be making progress with your drink."
Sivas-sensei drained his cup in one go and stood up. "I, well, it is almost time for my daily service, so while I apologize for the rudeness, I must be going."
"I should like to meet again."
Sivas-sensei hurried out of the shop.
Hume also stood up with a cup of alcohol in one hand and leaned over a table by the window where other customers were. He wanted to confirm Sivas-sensei's destination through the window.
"Excuse me..." The customers by the window were a pair of young men.
"Sorry. Where is that monk going?"
On behalf of the poor-sighted Hume, one of the young male customers looked out the window.
"It looks like the church."
"I see, I see."
Hume was impressed and patted the young pilgrim's shoulder. Since the monk's destination was the church, the world was well-arranged.
After clinking cups and drinking the alcohol with the young pilgrim, he went to the counter and paid the owner while praising the food. When he left the tavern, the rain had increased in intensity. He returned to the lodging while humming a tune.
"It seems it's the church."
"I thought it might be a place like that," Curier said, closing the book he had been reading with a knowing look. "Let's go see."
Running across the streets of Noz village, which were blurred by rain, Curier knocked on the church door.
The one who opened the door to greet them was the village's old priest.
"This is our first meeting, is it not," the priest said with a troubled face.
"Yes. I came to pay my respects, but I have been unable to meet..."
The old priest nodded. "What is your business?"
"I assume you have already heard from the villagers the reason why we came to this village?"
"You should have heard it from Sivas-sensei as well."
Hume Razor, who had arrived later, added.
"It is as you say. I know whom you are searching for. Because I did not wish to lie, I have been running away."
"I wish to meet him, Priest-sama," Curier said. "For that purpose, I have traveled from the Kingdom of Siddim in the north."
"What I wish to state is that this church is also a sanctuary."
"I understand, of course. I will not act violently. If necessary, I can leave my sword."
Curier looked back. Hume nodded obediently.
"Please tell him that we have come from Dint. I am called Godly Curier."
"I am Hume Razor."
I shall tell him, the old priest agreed, narrowing his eyes.
"Please come again tomorrow."
The priest closed the door, leaving the two behind in the rain.
"Why won't he let us meet immediately? It's not as if he's some big shot."
Hume's question might have been reasonable.
The two walked back to the lodging, drenched in rain.
"Yugis Necrat is the son of the traitor Urgil Necrat. He is a man who has earned the hatred of all Siddim. You could say his life is being targeted. They are being cautious."
"Even so, there's no point in running away. Why doesn't he defend himself?"
"He'll do so if necessary."
Upon returning to the lodging, the two went to the kitchen. A fire was lit in the cooking stove. They borrowed the space to dry their clothes.
"Tell me," Hume said with a displeased face. "What happens if we take that coward with us?"
"Don't make that face," Curier laughed. "We were told a man who should be alive was dead, and when we came to search for the corpse, he was actually alive. Isn't that interesting?"
"Interesting, my foot. I've wasted a ridiculous amount of time on a bastard whose life or death wasn't even clear."
"We'll just have him work that much more."
"What can he do?"
"He probably can't do much. Even so, if he returns, the east will awaken."
In eastern Siddim, the faction that had been united under Yugis was now operating in scattered groups across various locations. Just by Yugis returning alive, some kind of momentum might arise in the east.
Hume finally seemed to have digested something. "Should I keep watch so the bastard doesn't run away?"
"He won't run. On the contrary, if Yugis is a proper knight, it might be we who are being watched."
Hume looked around at the people working in the kitchen. One of the middle-aged women noticed Hume's gaze and,
"You warriors, would you like something to eat?"
she called out cheerfully.
"What a hopeless woman," Hume said, pulling up his belt and standing from the chair. "I just ate a while ago, you know? What do you intend to feed me? Honestly."
Mixing in among the working cooks, Hume began to sneak bites of food from the plates.
For Curier, there was something slightly enviable about the man called Hume Razor. The ability to lightly get up, mingle with people, and join in conversations could, ironically, be called this man's first-class virtue. There was a lightness hidden in Hume's attitude that made one feel that the world was too ridiculous to be approached with seriousness. Perhaps—Curier suddenly thought.
—Perhaps there was a way of living like this.
Curier and Hume often clashed because their opinions didn't align. But they had made it this far. Curier had likely been unknowingly saved by Hume's easygoing nature.
The next morning, as soon as Curier woke up, he sat up and looked around. It was just after sunrise, and the light streaming in from the south window was dazzling. According to Curier's prediction, Yugis Necrat should come to the lodging of his own accord.
Tilting his head to look at the wall behind him, he saw him.
A black-haired youth was sitting on the floor with his backside touching the ground.
Based on this single act, Curier gave Yugis a passing grade. If one makes a living of war as a knight, one should always be searching for the enemy's movements and thinking of how to surprise the enemy. Next to Yugis, a monk wearing a long robe was sitting in the same way, dozing off. It seemed to be a deterrent, intending to make it difficult to draw a sword in front of a member of the clergy. It could be called a shrewd measure.
"Are you Yugis Necrat?"
Curier shifted his position and faced the black-haired youth. His black hair was disheveled, but he had features that gave a sharp impression.
The youth nodded. "Yes."
"I thought you were dead. You've finally shown your face."
"My life is something I wish to cherish a little. I thought you were assassins from the Thora family," Yugis said. "Is it true that you are Godly Curier?"
"It is true."
"I heard you came from Dint."
"By relying on the connections of Princess Krisina of the Mcgillis family. Currently, I serve Lord Cloden of the Danforth family."
Yugis quickly lowered his face and rubbed his eyes once with his right sleeve.
Curier waited to see if he would say something. After a pause as if regulating his breathing, Yugis quietly raised his face. The area around his eyes was red.
"And that one is—"
"I am Hume Razor." Hume opened his eyes wide and sat up.
Looking at Yugis, "What happened to your arm?" Hume asked bluntly.
Yugis raised his left arm and swung the long sleeve that had nothing beyond the elbow.
"When I fell from the cliff, I suffered an injury where the bone protruded. It couldn't be helped, so they cut it off. It was quite abrupt."
"Does it hurt?" Hume asked as he stood up.
Prompted by that, Curier also stood, and Yugis stood up with considerable effort.
"It doesn't hurt that much anymore. I understand that you came here to call me back, is that correct?"
"Exactly. I understand that you will return with us, correct?" Curier asked.
"Yes. I ask for your kind assistance. I will go get my luggage."
Yugis took a cautious step forward. He moved the second step slowly with a sliding motion, finally moving forward. The next step was also cautious, and the following step again carried him forward slowly with a sliding motion.
Because it was so precarious, the pilgrims who had woken up all focused their attention on Yugis's gait. Yugis somehow reached the doorway and was swallowed by the light outside.
"We're going to need a horse," Hume said in an exasperated voice.
"No, Yugis will not ride."
Hearing the voice from behind, Curier looked back. Sivas-sensei was yawning.
"Yugis-kun also broke his leg. For the sake of recuperation, he spent a long time lying in bed. His muscles have wasted away. To be able to walk again, he'll have to push his body a little."
"But venerable teacher, traveling in that state is impossible," Hume said, crossing his arms.
"We were saying the same thing to try and stop him. And yet, you people arrived. He can't be stopped anymore."
Sivas-sensei gave a greeting as if bowing his small waist and walked toward the doorway.
"Can we really do anything by bringing that back?"
"Why do you think we can't?"
Curier asked Hume back while quickly folding the bedsheet.
"Why? He's one-armed and has that walk. Besides, he was crying."
"Do you not like it? Even at my age, I still cry."
"What a pathetic knight. I don't cry as long as I'm drinking."
The two went outside through the doorway. He shook the bedsheet to knock off the dust.
Yugis was still in the middle of crossing the path.
He was not alone. A young girl with brown hair and a strong-willed look was lending her shoulder to Yugis. Since they were pressed tightly together, Yugis was quite brazen. It wasn't just her; people had gathered on the path. They were villagers. There were probably around twenty of them. They seemed to have come to see Yugis off.
While clinging to the girl's soft skin, Yugis was moving forward, talking with the gathered villagers, occasionally mixing in a smile. The villagers all had uniformly worried expressions. They surrounded Yugis and moved slowly together.
"Maybe we can do something after all."
Godly Curier said to Hume.
Nobles likely possess a disposition to somehow, somehow, organize people who live separately.
The youth, who looked like a disabled person wearing shabby rags, was for some reason at the center of the people, bathing in the puzzled gazes of the pilgrims. At the very least, he seemed to have become an existence that attracted the interest of the villagers.
"Then, that man who offended the King of Tawaru has settled the foolishness of underestimating Kosa, has he?"
"Indeed."
"What was his name again?"
"Yugis, Yugis Necrat."
"That Yugis will never show his face before us again. Is that right?"
"I am saying so. In the first place, that one was a mere spy."
Inside one of the groups of tents standing by the "Dark Forest" in the southeastern part of the Kingdom of Siddim, in that dim tent, Marvel Boony was irritated by Mozu Wolf's persistence.
Mozu was checking the expression of Rivet, who was behind Marvel, as if wondering what part of Marvel's words was unsatisfactory. When Marvel looked back, Rivet had just nodded with a smile.
Marvel let out a conspicuous sigh and looked aside.
Although the area was filled with tents of the Kosa army, in truth, these tents were empty. At the Twin Forts, the southerners were strengthening their defenses along with prisoners, and beyond the Twin Forts, cavalry were patrolling the surroundings oppressively.
But most of the other infantry were spending their days on forest clearing work. The Kosa army was secretly planning the opening of a road. Many of the tents were unmanned.
If Chancellor Gilma Rigardie of the Kingdom of Siddim knew of this state of affairs, he would stomp his feet at his own short-sightedness in considering surrender. The Kosa army that occupied southeastern Siddim was like a papier-mâché figure. If pushed, it could only collapse.
"Mozu Wolf, your—your attitude toward me does not seem fair. I am not making unreasonable demands. I too am of the Wolf clan, a lineage sufficient to request an audience with the Great King, am I not? Furthermore, in Attaik—"
"Do not speak of that."
Mozu Wolf, whose black goatee was pointed sharply, spoke heavily.
"It cannot be made as if it never happened."
"That is so. I know of your achievements. I acknowledge them."
"Then—"
"The lineage of Sinkuk Wolf," Mozu's voice grew slightly rough. "Normally, you could not complain even if your head were cut off."
"You say that, but if so, you could just bind my hands and feet and thrust me before Geraha. If you want this head, let Geraha behead me."
"With that attitude, consider that you will never meet him in your life. The Great King is no longer your childhood friend."
Mozu said in a voice that felt like it contained freezing rain.
Marvel instinctively prostrated herself, pressing her forehead to the bedsheet.
Seeing the seriousness that flashed in Mozu's eyes, she was shaken.
"Please—please, I—I would never—"
"Marvel is," Rivet's voice suddenly sounded.
Marvel was driven by anger, but she did not break her prostrated posture.
"Marvel probably doesn't even know herself what she wants to say to the Great King. However, she would not do anything to hurt the Great King."
"Raise your face."
Mozu's voice sounded. Marvel remained prostrate without moving. A long time passed just like that, and Marvel timidly raised her face.
"The previous Kutai chief, Salakesh, was a flawless person. The one who continued to support that chief was my father, and the Great King's father, Zuft Wolf. The one who killed that Zuft and Chief Salakesh was your mother. Meira Wolf did that right before my eyes."
Marvel trembled. While trembling, she prostrated herself again. She could feel the blood draining from her face.
Her mother, Meira, had been such an existence. She had learned that after entering the Siddim Order of Nuns.
But this was the first time she had heard about the work her mother had actually performed.
"What about your father, Sinkuk? The one who unjustly slew Tenge Wolf, the brother the Great King loved and respected most in the world, was my cousin, your father Sinkuk."
"B—but, I would never—"
"That is so. You were not there. It is undoubtedly a story you had no part in. However. The Great King achieved justice by slaying that Sinkuk. With that justice, he gained the support of Kandasyata. I too intend to support the Great King, who achieved the vengeance of my father, for the rest of my life. What about you? Where is the reason you can join the justice of Kosa? For you, it would be strange if the Great King were not your arch-enemy."
"I, the Great King..."
"You won't say you love him, will you?"
The sharpness of Mozu's words whipped the high spirits with which Marvel had come here, making her completely meek. Marvel cursed her own ignorance and felt ashamed.
"Kohal," Mozu eventually said. "The talk up to here is my opinion. If you feel I am being mean to you, perhaps that is so. I have complex feelings toward your lineage. Along with that, I wanted you to understand the circumstances that make it impossible to let you meet the Great King easily. However, this is my opinion. I do not know for sure how the Great King thinks about you."
Kohal raised her face.
"The Great King will likely not judge you by your lineage, at least. That said, he will not trust you completely either. Kohal, do you still wish for an audience?"
"I want to meet him, no matter what."
"Then, I shall let you meet."
Marvel forgot to breathe for a while.
"Mozu, Mozu-sama! I am so grateful!" She exhaled the breath she had been holding.
"Before that, the matter of the Roma Church. I suspect that Sinkuk might have been enticed by the Roma Church through a woman called Meira. I do not trust the Roma Church. You—"
"I will apostatize."
"No, calm down. In the Kosa Empire, it is free to believe in any teaching. However, it would be problematic if you were to prioritize the orders of the church."
Mozu's gaze passed over Marvel's head and fell behind her.
Marvel looked back at Rivet.
"If you can forgive me, right here," Marvel said in a sinister voice.
The black woman was smiling sadly. "Marvel cannot apostatize, nor can she dispose of me. Because we are sisters."
"It would be problematic if Kohal were to follow the instructions of the church," Mozu said, stroking his black beard.
"Marvel is a woman who has not finished her training in the Order of Nuns. The church does not entrust any orders to such a woman. I shall swear it." Rivet pointed her index finger upward. "To the Tenshu-sama."
To Marvel's surprise, Mozu Wolf narrowed his eyes and nodded. "Very well. You called yourself a witness, yes?"
"Yes."
"Do nothing more than witness."
Mozu sighed and softened his expression. "Now, Kohal. From here on, I shall call you by your baptismal name. Marvel, I cannot leave you two in a battlefield full of men. Besides, if you are to have an audience with the Great King, you'll want some achievements."
"I'll do anything."
"Hmm. You know that there is a region called Ganlord to the north from here..."
"Then."
With that, Marvel stood up as if jumping from her cross-legged position, walked quickly to the entrance of the tent, and passed through the curtain.
Mozu also stood up, intending to see her off.
Fluttering her soiled nun's habit, Marvel ran between the groups of tents.
—What a foolish woman.
Watching the woman's retreating figure, Mozu Wolf thought.
It would be a nuisance if she became conceited just because she spent her childhood with the Great King. He is the Great King of Kosa, Geraha. The Great King no longer has the luxury of spending time on personal connections. He has become a public existence.
That said, the stealth skills said to be trained by the church are a waste. He would have to soothe and coax her into being useful.
"You don't intend to let her meet the Great King, do you?"
Rivet said, approaching the entrance.
"Not necessarily. If she knows her place." Mozu looked into Rivet's large eyes. "I have two requests for you."
"What are they?"
"I said that earlier, but just once. Just once, if that girl makes a mistake, please help her."
"Very well. Just once. And the other request?"
"Once you have finished witnessing, tell me what you witnessed."
"I understand. If you are alive, I shall come to tell you."
The tall Rivet bent her body and went outside. She looked back at Mozu.
"Marvel is quite a terrifying woman for all that. You should be sufficiently careful in how you handle her."
The beautiful black woman did not wait for Mozu's reply and walked away, dragging a long, lonely shadow.
Mozu Wolf returned inside the tent. He must not rely too much on Marvel. From here, it was a tightrope walk. About a hundred Kosa cavalry had gone out to scout Ganlord and had not returned. It seemed they had become prisoners. The movements in Ganlord were eerily silent.
The leaders of Siddim will surely notice this predicament soon.
Though it was somewhat of a strange tactic, bluffing was Mozu's specialty. Mozu Wolf intended to utilize anything for the sake of his strategy.
—If only the Great King were here.
If it were the Great King, he would have swept through Siddim like a prairie fire with only the current military force.
What was the difference between Mozu's war and the Great King's? Soldiers led by the Great King were strong just by that fact. It was as simple as that. Soldiers who had heard the Great King's booming voice on the battlefield said their bodies felt numb from the vibration. They said that voice made fear disappear.
That said, Mozu Wolf also had his own way of fighting.