Ending Maker Chapter 40
Ending Maker Chapter 40
Chapter 10 — Honeymoon
Ten hours before Cordelia's letter was discovered in a guest room of the Count Hraesvelgr Household.
Cordelia set the sheet of stationery on the bed and pouted.
"But hey."
"Yeah."
"Why do I have to be the one to write it again?"
When they jumped from the middle of the Velkain Mountains, when she said she wanted to go with him to the Count Hraesvelgr Household, and now, when they were sneaking out together—not eloping for love, not exactly running away together either, but whatever this was.
"Well, about that."
"About that?"
Cordelia narrowed her eyes as she asked. Her look clearly said that if he didn't have a good reason, he had better prepare himself.
Yuder swallowed hard despite himself, then quickly put on a sly smile.
"Cordelia, try imagining it in your head. There's a beaker full of ink, and there's a glass rod."
"I imagined it."
"Good, now try putting the glass rod into the beaker and taking it out. What happens?"
"The glass rod... would turn black, right?"
Because it would be covered in ink.
"Right, now try putting it in and taking it out one more time. What happens?"
"It'd still be black, right?"
"Exactly."
"What does that have to do with—... Fuck."
"Look, one offense stands out when it's your first. But by the third or fourth time, it's all kind of..."
"You think you can talk your way out of anything, don't you?! Anything!"
Enraged, Cordelia began smacking Yuder's back over and over.
"Hey! That hurts! It really hurts!"
"I'm hitting you so it hurts, okay?"
SMACK! SMACK! Cordelia kept striking Yuder with sharp, satisfying slaps, then tried to kick him in the shin for good measure. Yuder was slightly faster.
WHACK!
Twenty-Four Gale Steps.
A whirlwind rose in an instant. Yuder's figure blurred, and Cordelia's kick hit only empty air.
"Hey! You're dodging that again, you cheater? And with a new technique, too?"
"Because it really hurts if I get hit, you know?"
Cordelia hit much harder than he had expected.
Yuder hastily took a defensive stance. Cordelia let out a deep sigh, planted both hands on her hips, and said:
"Anyway, I'm seriously dying of embarrassment."
"Still, I'm getting pretty used—no. Never mind. This isn't something I should get used to."
Yuder shrank back on his own. Cordelia sighed again, approached him, and asked:
"So what are we going to do now?"
Simply leaving the Count Hraesvelgr Household was not enough.
They needed to make a great many preparations before heading to Frost Anvil.
And the Yuder Cordelia knew was not a man who acted without a plan.
"First, we need supplies. Cold-weather gear is one thing, but to get out of Vedrfolnir safely, we also need a way over the walls, a horse for the two of us, and basic travel equipment."
It was sound reasoning.
But there was a problem.
"We don't have money."
The money brought from home had already been spent entirely on hiring mages in Langesthei.
They had also spent almost all the money Count Chase gave them on equipment before leaving Langesthei.
Moreover, money was not the only problem.
It was the middle of the night.
After sunset, only one part of Vedrfolnir remained open for business: the entertainment district, with its alcohol, gambling, and every other sort of nightlife.
Naturally, the entertainment district was not the place to buy travel supplies.
So what could they do?
Wait until morning?
That was also impossible.
Yuder and Cordelia had only a few hours left.
"So, come a little closer."
"There you go again. It's only the two of us here anyway."
"Well... still, for the mood."
"Honestly."
Cordelia grumbled, but soon stepped close to Yuder and leaned in to listen.
And a moment later.
A bright smile spread across Cordelia's face after she heard Yuder's whisper.
* * *
Mick was a professional con artist.
His specialty was marriage fraud.
His natural good looks and the polished gift of gab he had honed over years were perfectly suited to seducing naive young women and lonely widows.
And now his face was being ground into the floor beneath the foot of a girl more beautiful than any woman he had ever met.
"H-how did you know where I was...!"
"Talk to his victims—especially the red-haired Marybell—and you can pick up a clue about the neighborhood thugs who picked a pointless fight the day she first met Mick. One of them is Big. Search Vedrfolnir's back alleys and you can find him; work him over and he'll tell you something interesting about Mick. That alone won't reveal Mick's hideout, of course. Mick is slippery. But it isn't useless. Marriage scammers can't stay in one place for long, and Mick only recently came here from elsewhere. People like that need local help to settle into a city. Big tells you how to contact that local: Kaal. Kaal, not Kal. Work Kaal over and he'll tell you about Mick—where he came from and where he is now. But all of that takes too long, so I skipped it and came straight here."
Just listening to the explanation was enough to make one's head spin.
Cordelia apparently felt the same. Looking dizzy, she said:
"Yuder Wiki is weird."
"Anyway, the important thing is that you've been caught."
Yuder ignored Cordelia's comment, crouched in front of Mick with his head pinned to the floor, and continued.
"Catching Mick gives you two options. One is to throw him in jail. The other starts a linked quest. Vedrfolnir is a prosperous city, and prosperous cities attract plenty of criminals. One of them wants Mick—specifically as a gift for the head of Langesthei's thieves' guild."
"W-what?"
"Marybell is the youngest sister of the head of Langesthei's thieves' guild."
Mick's handsome face went pale at Yuder's bright smile. Cordelia immediately cast a paralysis spell, then said:
"Yuder."
"Hm?"
"You wanted to do that just now, didn't you?"
Rattling off the entire chain of clues that led to catching him.
"Well... maybe it's a habit."
"Hmm?"
"Anyway, we caught him. Let's go. We don't have much time."
They had to leave Vedrfolnir before dawn at the latest.
"Alright, let's go."
To the hideout of Fabian, one of Vedrfolnir's gang bosses.
The two of them moved a little faster.
* * *
Fabian was a successful transporter.
People, money, letters, drugs, dangerous goods—Fabian would transport almost anything for the right price.
And right now, 'Fabian,' dressed in sleepwear, was facing the beautiful boy and girl who had appeared in front of him.
"So, you'll give me Mick as a gift?"
"That's right, Fabian."
Yuder answered immediately, but his gaze was not on Fabian. It went past the hastily assembled subordinates in the living room and settled on the blonde woman by the window.
"Where are you looking..."
"No, never mind. It seems you already know."
The blonde woman smiled softly and rose. At her gesture, the fake Fabian—a potbellied middle-aged man—bowed once and stepped back.
The real Fabian.
A blonde beauty in her mid-twenties.
She was especially beautiful even among Vedrfolnir's cast and had been quite popular with players, but Yuder barely noticed her looks.
'Cordelia is much prettier.'
Yuder unconsciously compared her to Cordelia and kept his expression relaxed. The real Fabian gave a wry smile for some reason, held out both hands, and said:
"Fine, how do you know I'm the real Fabian?"
"It's a cliché. And our wiki is pretty awesome."
Cordelia stood with one foot on Mick and grinned as she answered. Fabian frowned as if she had no idea what that meant, then smiled in return.
"Heh, I think I know who you are too. No, should I say you're esteemed guests? Since you're the children of the Twelve Families."
"You know us?"
They had never met Fabian before.
Moreover, this was their first time in Vedrfolnir.
When Cordelia asked in surprise, Fabian shrugged and said.
"Yuder Bayel and Cordelia Chase. A peerlessly handsome boy with black hair and green eyes, and a peerlessly beautiful girl with red hair and blue eyes, so madly in love they can't bear to be apart. Seeing you in person, you're even prettier than the rumors. Honestly, wouldn't it be stranger if I didn't recognize you?"
If only one of them had appeared, she couldn't have been sure.
But an eye-catching beautiful boy and girl had appeared together, so naturally the rumored couple came to mind. Their hair and eye colors matched the stories too.
Cordelia looked pleased with herself at first, then her expression turned worried.
'Hey, what do we do?'
She wasn't worried that Fabian had recognized them. The real problem was that, if Fabian was right, people would recognize them wherever they went.
They were, after all, in the middle of sneaking away in the dead of night.
'Don't worry, we'll just disguise ourselves.'
Yuder answered her with his eyes as if it were no concern, then turned back to Fabian.
"Good. Since we know who each other are, this will be easy. Let's not drag things out. We give you Mick, and you give us what we need."
"What is it that the young master and young lady want?"
"A way over Vedrfolnir's walls before dawn, one sturdy horse for the two of us, basic travel supplies, and ordinary traveling clothes to change into. You're a transporter. You can arrange all of that, right?"
That was why, out of all the events in Vedrfolnir, Yuder had chosen the 'Marriage Scammer Mick' event.
Fabian alone could prepare everything Yuder needed both reliably and quickly.
"I can do it."
"Then do it."
"Well, fine. It's not like the children of the Twelve Families would be fleeing after committing a crime. Are the two of you off on a honeymoon trip or something?"
"No, we're not?"
"Yeah."
Cordelia and Yuder gave opposite answers at exactly the same time, making Fabian burst out laughing.
"How adorable."
Fabian alternated between Cordelia's bright red face and Yuder awkwardly clearing his throat, then nodded again.
"Good. I like you two, and the gift is solid. I'll get everything ready. Better to have children of the twelve houses owe me a favor than make enemies of them."
"It's not a favor? It's a trade?"
"Then let's call it a new friendship."
Fabian answered Cordelia's objection cheerfully, looked at her as though she were unbearably adorable, then turned to Yuder.
"Hey, she's so lovely—can I hug the young lady just once?"
"I don't mind, but my girl bites."
Cordelia growled at Yuder's sly answer as though asking what kind of bullshit that was. Fabian burst out laughing again.
"Ah, seriously. I like you so much. You're even better than the rumors."
When Fabian mentioned the rumors again, Cordelia asked with a displeased face.
"Hey, how exactly did the rumors spread?"
"That you're a hopelessly devoted lovebird couple who can't stand being apart for even a moment. Oh, and people say the young lady is much more aggressive about it than the young master. Is that true?"
Cordelia answered by giving Yuder an icy look. Yuder cleared his throat and said:
"Anyway, I'd like you to hurry."
"Alright, let's get started right away."
Fabian clapped once and signaled to her subordinates. Work began immediately.
Fabian and her people were professionals, after all.
"I'll guide you personally, as a special service."
Vedrfolnir was a trade city, and like most trade cities, many sections of the wall away from the main gate were relatively poorly guarded.
Fabian led Yuder and Cordelia to the edge of the city and out through a small hole in the wall concealed behind wooden crates.
"There's only one horse, but it's sturdy enough to carry both of you. The saddlebags have basic travel gear—a bedroll, water bottle, utensils, and so on. I also packed three days of food."
Sure enough, a large saddled horse and one of Fabian's subordinates waited beside a small hut outside the walls.
"I recommend the young lady sit in front."
"Why?"
Cordelia had already been wondering who should sit in front. She asked curiously, and Fabian answered with a bright smile.
"Because then you can be held by the young master, which is more romantic."
"I'll ride in the back."
"Hmm, that's good too. Because then the young lady has to hold on tight from behind."
"...Can't you just get us one more horse?"
"It's just wordplay. Don't let it get to you."
Yuder cut off the exchange and approached Fabian.
"It's a trade, but thanks for making it a good one."
"The young master and young lady seem like they'll be good trading partners."
As she had said, Fabian had nothing to gain by making enemies of children from the twelve houses.
Even so, Yuder liked Fabian, so he decided to do her one small favor.
"Fabian, come closer for a moment."
"The young lady is watching, you know?"
"Cut the nonsense."
Fabian smiled with her eyes and leaned closer. Yuder lowered his voice.
"Gilto is a traitor. He's secretly working with Batu to stab you in the back."
At Yuder's words, Fabian's eyes went wide.
Her eyes were full of the question How?, but Yuder didn't answer.
"Look into it. It'll be just as I said."
That was all. Yuder swung onto the horse and held out a hand to Cordelia.
"Ride in front."
"Hmph."
Cordelia gave an unnecessary huff, settled in front of Yuder, and Yuder took the reins.
As children of noble families, both Yuder and Cordelia knew how to ride.
Of course, Yuder had already known how to ride in his previous life as well.
"Then we'll be off. May luck always be with you."
"Not muscles?"
Yuder quickly urged the horse forward as if to drown out Cordelia's mutter.
Fabian watched the two leave with a stiff expression, then finally relaxed.
"They really are just like the rumors."
So the rumors about them being a dream couple were true.
Fabian shrugged and ordered her subordinates to investigate Gilto.