10
Chapter 10 Wizard Yurik
The two brothers entered the inn room. Yurik, barely done unpacking, sat side by side with his brother Luke at the table.
"I stopped by home yesterday. Yeri filled me in on the general situation."
"How was Yeri doing? Did the little one grow up well too?"
"Yeah, both of them are doing well. Yeri said she got married to Daik not long ago."
Luke smiled, visibly relieved.
"That's wonderful. Daik is a fine man."
"He really is."
Soon, the innkeeper's daughter came in carrying two bowls of food. As she set them down, she stole a quick glance at Yurik's face, said enjoy your meal, and promptly left the room.
"How have you been, all this time?"
"Oh, you know. Getting by, doing this and that."
While Luke briefly looked down at the food bowl, Yurik let his gaze drift over his brother's face and frame with a pitying eye.
Just by the look of him, it was plain to see how hard a life Luke had been living all this time. The younger brother felt his nose sting.
"Yurik, how about you? What about your mentor? Did you learn magic well?"
"…Yeah. I learned it well. I'm a mage now. I've even gone independent."
"Really? I'm so proud of you. Truly. I always knew you could do it. Haha!"
Luke was genuinely delighted, as if it were his own achievement, that his younger brother had returned as a mage.
"I brought loads of drawings too. I haven't seen the whole world yet, but I drew a lot of the place where I lived. My mentor, my companions too."
Yurik quickly ran to where his bag was and pulled out a thick stack of drawings. He held them out to Luke, who looked through them one by one with warm, careful eyes.
What a wonderful place, what wonderful people—what a fine way to grow up. Luke's eyes reddened. He tried not to cry, but soon fat tears dropped down one after another.
How desperately the kind younger brother must have wanted to show this to his brother.
"Thank you, Yurik. Truly…. It must have been so hard, learning magic?"
"No, it was genuinely fun. Magic was just as fun as drawing."
"Then I'm truly relieved. I was worried I might have sent you somewhere difficult. They say there are plenty of eccentric people among mages."
"Where I was was nothing like that. Everyone adored and cherished me so much. More than I deserved."
Then Yurik reached into his bag and pulled out one more thing, handing it to Luke.
It was the very figurine that Luke had once quietly slipped into Yurik's bag long ago. Worn smooth and glossy from being handled so often—a wooden carving of three siblings sitting side by side.
"I think it's better if you hold onto this now."
Those happy childhood days.
Luke received it and ran his fingers over it warmly for a long while, smiling.
"……I had forgotten about it. Thank you, Yurik."
"I'm the one who should be thankful, brother. If you hadn't pushed me forward, I never would have become this. You're the one who made me who I am."
Yurik wrapped his arms around Luke's shoulders.
"Come away with me. From now on, I'll take care of you."
"Yurik……."
Luke patted Yurik's back gently, just like he used to when they were little. It was something the older brother had done for the younger one often, long ago. In that warmth and tenderness, Yurik felt as though he were nestled in a parent's embrace.
"It's alright. I'm going to stay here."
"What do you mean? Why…? What will you do by staying here? Is it because of your leg, brother? If that's it, it's really fine. We can just move a little slower. Something like that is nothing. And I've made medicine to ease the pain too."
At his younger brother's consideration and kindness, the older brother shook his head slowly with a gentle smile.
"No…, that's not the reason."
"Then what?"
Luke's gaze drifted to somewhere far away.
"There are children here who need me to look after them. If I leave, those children will have a very hard time. They might even die."
At that, Yurik could say nothing at all.
"Your heart means everything to me, Yurik. But I have to stay here."
The younger brother hung his head low for a long time at his brother's words. But in the end, he raised it again with a smiling face.
Yurik knew Luke's character far too well. His brother could not leave those children behind.
"Alright…, I understand. If that is your wish."
Luke gripped Yurik's shoulders firmly. As if passing his hope and will over to him.
"In return, just travel the world and draw me many more pictures. That's enough for me. Meet good people, learn more magic, become a greater person. That's all I need. That's enough for me."
"……Okay, I will. I promise I will. Let's keep eating. Everything will get cold."
But the food had already gone nearly cold. Even so, they ate happily.
After finishing the meal, Yurik handed over the leather pouch he had meant to give Luke.
"What's this?"
"Open it."
Inside were coins packed to the brim. Not just silver coins—nearly half were gold coins mixed in.
—!
It was far beyond a handful of copper coins, and the moment Luke saw it, a chill ran down his spine. The sum was too large—far too large. He knew well that too much money could invite misfortune instead.
"I can't accept this, Yurik. This isn't money I deserve."
"This is your share. Please take it."
"No, Yurik. I'm sorry, but I have no power to protect money like this. Just look at the state of me."
"Then what would you like me to do, brother? I really want to help you. If I do, it feels like I'll carry a little less weight on my heart when I leave."
Luke bowed his head low and fell into thought. After a long while of gathering his thoughts, he spoke.
"Then……, could you help me get a job? Help me work for myself?"
"Of course. Doing what?"
"If it's possible, I'd like to open a small shop. So I can earn my own keep and still help the children."
It was a good idea. Yurik thought too that rather than shoving such a large sum of money at him, it would be better to lay the groundwork for his brother to live on his own. As his brother had said, too much money could bring trouble.
"That's a wonderful idea. Let's do that then. I'll help you."
Luke said that a single stable large enough for about three or four horses would be plenty. He wanted to make a living using the knowledge he had built up over the years caring for horses.
"There are more merchant caravans passing between the central and southern regions than you'd think. The stables at the inns alone can barely hold all the livestock."
Having spent years managing horses for caravans at the inn, Luke had a sharp eye for what the market needed.
"Understood. I'll look into it."
And so, from the next day onward, Yurik combed through the city thoroughly. The rental costs in the center were too steep even for the money he had, but once he moved to the outskirts, there were quite a few vacant spots.
Of course, he wasn't the only one to have thought of building a separate horse stable—there were a few such places visible on the outskirts. But when he spoke to the owners, it turned out the earnings were far too poor for the effort, and most ended up closing shop quickly.
— You need an inn attached to it to make proper money selling food and handling people. On its own, you're barely scraping by.
But Luke seemed content with even that much.
"I'm not expecting to earn a lot anyway. Yurik, I have no savings, no connections. Any other trade would probably be the same. As long as I don't go hungry and can sleep in peace, that's enough for me."
Yurik took his brother's view to heart and in the end acquired one of the stables that had been on the verge of closing. A fairly spacious stable that could hold up to eight horses. Next to it was a small sleeping quarters, so living there would pose no great difficulty.
Luke seemed deeply moved to finally have a place of his own.
"Thank you, Yurik. Thank you. Really."
"Don't thank me. I'm the more thankful one, brother."
The two brothers embraced warmly in front of their very first shop.
But contrary to their expectations, the business flourished remarkably.
— Mister, I want that place!
— They take the best care of horses here!
The children whom Luke had helped brought their caravans there. If there was no room for a horse, they went to the shop next door.
The kindness a brother had shown returns back to him.
— Kids, come eat!
And the brother takes what returns to him and gives it back to everyone.
Yurik smiled warmly as he watched his brother laughing and mingling with the children.
And he drew that scene. As beautifully as anything in the world.
* * *
Luke seemed to have settled in well enough now, so Yurik slowly began making preparations to leave.
"Looks like you're about to head off."
"Yeah, I should be moving on soon."
"Me and the kids, we all loved your magic so much…. We'll miss you dearly."
Of course, it pained Yurik to part from Luke too… but even so, it was time to go.
"I'll come back with lots of pictures and stories, brother."
"I'll be looking forward to it."
As Yurik had quite a few things to think over, he sent Luke on ahead and walked alone down the plaza road in quiet.
Over the cobblestones glowing red in the setting sun, the footsteps of passersby heading somewhere or other were brisk and busy.
Where will I go now.
He thought. Not as Yurik the younger brother, but as Yurik the mage.
And so the mage walked up and stood before the hero's statue installed at the center of the plaza.
As he quietly gazed up at it, someone slipped up beside him.
Two men. Their dress was ordinary, but their eyes and bearing were somehow out of the ordinary.
"You are Mage Yurik, are you not?"
Having already shown his magic here and there on various occasions, the fact that he was a mage was hardly a secret.
"…Who are you?"
The mage's expression turned serious.
"The Iron Cross Knights."
The Iron Cross Knights.
Yurik recalled that they were the knightly order of the baron's castle.
"What business do the knights have with me…?"
"There is someone who wishes to meet you."
"Me?"
"That is correct. Will you follow us?"
"Before that, may I first be told who this person is?"
The man raised his palm and pointed toward Baron Grozia's Castle, positioned at the center of the city.
"The most noble person in this city."
'The most noble person in Grozia would be….'
The lord of the city of Grozia and the baron's castle.
Baron Rebek.
He had sought out Mage Yurik.