Chapter 047
Susan brought Emma out through the east gate.
The meeting spot where they were supposed to meet Ran was a secluded entrance blending from the fields into the forest. It seemed that time outside passed more quickly—by now, the sky had already grown dim.
"It's cold."
Emma muttered, then breathed into her cupped hands. Seeing this, Susan hugged her.
Nestled in her arms, Emma's eyelids drooped softly.
'So warm.'
The face of her mother, which she had decided to forget for a while, kept coming to mind.
She forced herself to erase it. She'd long since realized that no matter how much she prayed to God, her dead mother and father would never return. The more she longed for them, the more painful it became.
So she forced her eyes wide open. That's when she heard a sound of someone approaching.
Rustle.
The brush shook. Emma stretched her neck and looked in that direction.
"Mister?"
There was no reply. Rather, it seemed as though the person hid their presence even more upon hearing her voice.
Emma swallowed hard. She'd experienced all kinds of things so far, which had made her, for a child, unusually perceptive. Goosebumps crawled up her arms.
"Wh-who are you?"
Only then did Susan sense that something was off. Emma was trembling.
A man parted the bushes and revealed his face.
"Help me, I—I'm not a bad person."
Emma and Susan squinted their eyes, staring at him.
Even at a glance, the man looked uncomfortable. It seemed he couldn't stand up. He didn't even try to hide how much pain he was in.
"I didn't mean to startle you. Pl-please believe me."
As Susan moved as if to approach him, Emma grabbed her.
"Who are you, mister? Why are you there?"
"I—I am..."
The man managed to speak.
His name was Kayle, a freelance mercenary, but he said he had been attacked by remnant Liberation Army soldiers nearby and couldn't really move.
After barely introducing himself, the man raised both hands to show them.
"See, I don't have any weapons."
"S-so what exactly do you want us to do for you?"
Kayle let out a groan and clutched his stomach. Hanging his head, he discreetly tore off the Holy Church insignia attached to his clothes.
He dragged himself out, pulling his legs along the ground with only his upper body raised.
"There's a small village nearby called Hafshill. Just take me there. Pl-please."
Susan glanced at Emma, her lips trembling too much to be read.
Emma, holding onto Susan's hem, took small steps backward.
'That's a Special Unit uniform.'
She'd seen it so many times, it looked familiar.
From Zima, she'd learned the subtle differences between the uniforms of regular Special Unit members and inquisitors.
Kayle was definitely an inquisitor.
'He deliberately hid the Holy Church insignia.'
He must have realized they were demons. The intent to hide his purpose and approach them was even more suspicious.
Regardless of who he was or what his intentions were, Emma knew she was someone who absolutely shouldn't draw attention.
Kayle exhaled deeply.
"Hoo, fine. I'll be honest. I was an inquisitor."
He confessed with a face full of helplessness.
"I wasn't trying to hide it for some other reason. It doesn't matter now. Please believe me. I was attacked by those bastards too."
Kayle grimaced. The shame of spilling his story to even a child washed over him.
Still, he had to survive, no matter what. He didn't want to be animal feed while still alive.
Resolutely, he opened the mouth he'd kept tightly shut.
"It may be pointless to say this now, but... I don't have any real feelings about demons. I didn't even know much about this job when I started. M-my mother is ill. She needs a lot of money. I had no choice."
With difficulty, kayle straightened his body, revealing his viciously damaged form in a fit of desperation.
Susan covered her mouth with her hand. Emma, startled, reeled back.
"Kh-hup!"
Unable to stand long, kayle fell back down.
Even though it was just for a moment, the sight of his exposed intestines and his torn, dangling ankle burned itself vividly into Susan's and Emma's memories.
"? Help me. Please."
He must have thought that in this condition he couldn't possibly harm them.
Kayle was almost sincere.
Being taken to Hafshill with the help of this woman and child—whom he presumed to be mother and daughter—was the best option for now. Secure survival first, then think about the rest later.
'Is the woman a widow? Maybe I could assume the role of breadwinner and get a new identity. If push comes to shove, I can use their ransom as starter money.'
Two people wandering outside the city at night must have their own stories, surely.
A sliver of hope appeared.
'?!'
The moment he sensed another presence, kayle shoved his hand into his chest. Before he could draw his dagger, someone leaped onto his back and pinned his neck forcefully.
Thud! Thud!
His face was slammed into the ground several times. Kayle couldn't move a muscle—not just due to his injuries, but because of the overwhelming strength that made resistance unthinkable.
"Sp-spare me?"
His mind was a blur. His vision flashed as blood gushed from his nose.
With half his face crushed into the dirt, kayle rolled his eye to look at his attacker.
'Mad dog!'
Ran twisted his fingers in Kayle's hair and laid him out so he could see straight ahead.
After seeing the miserable state of Kayle's body, Ran didn't do anything more. He tilted his head.
"Inquisitor?"
"N-no, it's not like that! I want out of this bullshit too!"
Ran didn't even glance at the raging Kayle, instead turning to check Emma and Susan.
Once he saw that nothing had happened to them, he knelt to meet Kayle's gaze.
"What happened to you?"
To be asked that by the very cause of this mess infuriated Kayle even more. Tears streamed down his blood-caked face.
"? Ha, you bastard. Th-this is all because of you and your friends. You damn traitors."
"Did those two do this to you?"
Kayle recalled the horrific memories.
The two rampaging traitors had slaughtered countless others before finally quieting down.
Captain Tessa of the Special Unit looked down at the two once they had collapsed side by side. Suddenly, she pointed her sword at the inquisitors.
'Eliminate the remaining inquisitors.'
That was all.
"I barely escaped with my life. And even that's hanging by a thread now."
Kayle coughed up blood. Ran looked down on him without a word.
"What the hell, huh? Why did we have to get lumped in with you and called traitors?"
Ran straightened up. He turned away from Kayle, urging Emma and Susan to leave.
"Wh-where are you going! Take me with you! Ran! Ran!"
Emma looked back. Kayle, crying, crawled after them on his knees.
"Don't look."
Ran said, and lifted Susan's arm to wrap Emma in an embrace.
He then walked back to Kayle.
Step, step.
Seeing Ran approach, kayle felt oddly relieved.
What's done was done. Blaming him now wouldn't change anything.
"Those two. What were they like?"
"? What?"
"How did they die?"
Kayle's pupils trembled as he recalled the deaths of the two traitors.
"I've never seen monsters like that. They flailed desperately until the very end before collapsing."
"... I see."
"Are you satisfied? I won't ask you anything else, so can we be done now?"
Crunch!
Kayle's body went limp. Ran gently lowered his head to the ground.
This wasn't just for revenge for Corbinian and Eden. He knew firsthand that leaving some things unfinished would only bring greater disaster down the road.
'Rest in peace.'
He simply hoped that there would be fewer encounters like this on the journey ahead.
* * *
As on the first night they met, Ran and Susan faced each other beneath the dark sky.
Ran hung his head and covered his face with both hands.
His shoulders shook.
Susan rose on tiptoe to hug Ran.
In Susan's arms, Ran sobbed and spoke.
Thank you for everything. I'll pray for you always. Sorry that this is all I can say.
It was the first time Ran had ever said goodbye to anyone.
* * *
The Next Day.
Ran carried Emma on his back. The distance was far too great for a child to walk.
They could have stopped somewhere nearby to get a horse, but now wasn't the time for that. Villages near the capital would surely have received the wanted notice by now.
The horse they'd crossed the drawbridge with had finally collapsed after taking an arrow to the thigh. Ran had clumsily popped his dislocated shoulder back into place since falling off, so the pain still lingered.
"Mister, where are we going now?"
With Emma resting her head on his shoulder, he couldn't show any sign of discomfort.
"I'll ask someone I trust to watch over you for a while."
"Who?"
"He's a traveling merchant, and a demon. Just like you."
"Can't I just stay with you?"
"That'd be too dangerous. Don't worry too much—I'll come get you soon."
"... Liar."
Ran still had more he was awkward about than skilled at. He didn't even know how to comfort a child.
So they walked on in silence for another half a day.
Their ceaseless steps stopped in the middle of a wide-open plain.
Whoo-woo-woo.
The wind whistled sharply past their ears. The barren wasteland beneath their feet was gray as ashes.
"Is someone supposed to be here?"
Emma asked timidly. Riding on a broad back, she'd dozed off and now, as she awoke, everything around her seemed unfamiliar.
'Was Ran mister a mage too?'
Maybe, like Court Mage Nelga, she'd been brought to another world while she slept.
Thump-thump, thump-thump.
A lone horse kicked up dust on the horizon and galloped towards them. The stillness made the earth's tremor almost palpable underfoot.
Emma's eyes widened.
The rider wore luxurious ornaments like a noble.
"Whistle, you managed to be right on time, inquisitor."
"You really kept your word, Marmel."
"You want to know how a pauper from the slums came this far? Credit. Trust and credit."
Marmel dismounted. As tall as Ran, he bent down to meet Emma's eyes.
"So you're the one, the kid who'll be my ward."
He ruffled her hair. Emma glanced at Ran, then asked Marmel,
"What's a ward?"
"Oh, 'ward' is something nobles say... It basically means you'll be a family-like companion. If you're going to work with me, you'll have to learn some tough basics, kid."
Marmel hoisted Emma up and placed her on the horse.
Ran watched in silence for a moment, then spoke softly.
"Thank you, Marmel."
"Thank me? It's business, really. Ah, honestly, if you hadn't shown up by today, I was going to call it off."
"Please. I'll make sure to keep my promise too."
Marmel pursed his lips. He wanted to ask what had prompted Ran to go so far for this child—after all, what business would a demon child and an inquisitor have together except as mortal enemies?
'A wandering black-market merchant and a little kid—it's a mismatch, honestly.'
Ran might even ask an unexpected question in return.
Isn't the real reason you agreed to look after her not just about the money?
So Marmel decided not to ask. He didn't want to hear an embarrassing answer.
"All right, we're off. See you again."
The two receded into the distance.
Ran stood there, hand raised, until Emma was the first to look away.
The wind blew again.
"... You can come out now."
A response came from behind Ran. The space twisted as if transparent paper were being crumpled, and, all at once, a person stepped forth from the warped center.
Sensing the presence, Ran turned around.
A young mage stood before him.
"You're not an ordinary human, are you? Who are you?"
Nelga furrowed his brow at the oddly phrased question.
"You don't know who I am?"
"Should I?"
"Not necessarily, but... the one responsible for the Imperial City you infiltrated? That's me."
Ran tilted his head. He roughly understood the situation and looked behind Nelga.
"So, did you come alone?"
There's a saying that the more skilled the mage, the less empathy and social skill they have.
Nelga believed that, at least in part, it was true. He acknowledged it in himself.
He asked Ran,
"Are you a mage by any chance?"
"Me? Not at all."
Both men frowned.
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】