The Watchers
"From what I've heard, the Queen and the girl in the song have never met even once. So there's no way she could have been rude to Her Majesty, right?"
"Oh, is that so? Hmm... Then how do you suppose our Queen came to know of the girl's existence?"
"Perhaps the prince simply gushed to his mother about the fun things that happened each day, like children love to do."
"Oho... I suppose that could well be it."
"Yes. And besides, the girl never knew the prince was a prince. At least, so I've heard. His mouth stayed firmly shut about it. When the two of them met, they simply played like any ordinary commoner children would."
"But surely, being a prince, his appearance and bearing would have set him apart?"
"Then perhaps he changed into commoner's clothes before meeting her. Messed up his hair a little, too. And pretended not to know the things he knew."
"My, my. Why ever would he do that?"
"Because he worried she'd feel pressured if she knew his true rank? From the prince's side of things, it must have pained him to see her so flustered. He simply wanted them to be genuine with each other."
"Hoo... I see. That's a very reasonable reading."
Carlyle stroked his chin and nodded along. The corners of his mouth curled up ever so slightly.
"And does the lady have a mother at home? I trust she is being a devoted child to her?"
For some reason, the way he asked with those bright, shrewd eyes rubbed me the wrong way.
Something about it felt sinister.
Wait, why was I even having this conversation with a complete stranger?
Maru cleared his throat and straightened up in his seat.
"I'd rather not talk about my family. I'll be going now. Thank you for the song."
He glanced at the female bard seated at the descending end of the row. Ever since her song had ended, she had been watching him with expectant eyes.
Is she asking for money?
Instead, he simply flashed a smile and thanked her for the lovely song. He was a beggar — he had no coin for tips.
Afterward, Maru sat with his arms crossed and his eyes closed.
What might Mother be doing right now?
It was a journey made restless by a song that had stirred up his heart for no good reason.
The smell of salt rode in on the breeze.
The traveling carriage, having finally arrived at Keyburton Port, passed the farmhouses and deposited its passengers in the middle of the market district. The moment Maru stepped down, he gazed into the distance with a bright smile.
Beyond the timber-built buildings, a teal sea stretched out vast and endless. And he could see countless ships.
"Fresh fish caught this very mornin', so tasty the husbands die lovin' it! Come get 'em while they're flappin' fresh!"
The market, bustling with hawkers' cries and throngs of people, was thick with the smell of salt and damp air. He had only just arrived, and already his skin was turning sticky.
Maru shouldered his pack and set off.
But then Carlyle's group followed after him.
"Where might you be headed now, sir?"
"Wherever my feet take me."
"Did you not say your companions were waiting for you?"
Maru flinched and stopped in his tracks.
"Why are you following me?"
"Heh heh. Well then, sir, if you have the time, we would love to treat you to a meal. A very expensive one, at that."
"Not interested. Go your way, I'll go mine."
"S-Sir!"
Maru left without so much as a backward glance.
Before long, he arrived at the wharf. Dozens of ships lay at anchor there. He headed for the spot where sailors were rolling barrels of ale across the planks.
"I'd like to speak with the captain. Do you know where I might find him?"
"Go on up the gangplank. He's the one wearin' the captain's hat."
"Thank you."
He crossed the plank connecting the dock to the ship and stepped onto the deck. He asked the captain to take him to Leviathan Island — and the captain stared at him as though he were some kind of lunatic.
"Tryin' to get yourself killed, are ya?"
"Sorry? Surely not."
"There's a dragon whelp livin' out there. And the island's crawlin' with dangerous monsters besides. You want me to sail you to your death? If dyin's what you're after, go by yourself."
He was politely refused. Leviathan Island was known throughout these parts as an extraordinarily dangerous place. He went on to the next ship's captain, then another, and another — every one of them turned him away flat.
"Who are you tryin' to send to an early grave?"
"I'll pay you double. Just take me there once."
"No! I don't gamble with my life!"
"What seems to be the trouble here?"
A voice suddenly cut in from beside him. He looked up — it was Carlyle again.
"Captain, what is this gentleman saying to you?"
"Nothin' much — just wants me to ferry him to Leviathan, is all. Man's gone clean mad, I reckon. If anyone here knows him, talk some sense into the lad. He's young, but a man shouldn't throw his weight around like this, honest to the gods."
Shaking his head at what a strange fellow he'd had to deal with, the captain trudged off.
Carlyle stared at Maru with wide, startled eyes.
"Y-you mean to go to Leviathan Island?"
"What of it? Any problem?"
Maru brushed past him and kept walking. There were only a handful of ships left worth asking.
He clicked his tongue, and Carlyle came trailing after him like an itch he couldn't scratch.
"The life your parents gave you must be cherished! Why would you go to such a place?"
"Why do you keep following me around? Do I know you?"
"N-no. We're hardly acquainted. Ahem!"
"Then stop following me."
Maru walked briskly past Carlyle and left him behind. From the rear, Carlyle kept shouting that the island was dangerous, that he mustn't go. Why would a total stranger carry on like that?
Maru couldn't make heads or tails of it.
"Hey, I hear you're looking to get to Leviathan Island?"
He'd been wandering the wharf for a while, and word had apparently already gotten around. A young man about his own age came up and struck up a conversation — arms covered in tattoos, skin bronzed dark by the sun.
"My boat'll take you. How much are you offering?"
"How much will it take?"
"Just dropping you off, right?"
"It'd be nice if you came back for me, too."
"When?"
"Before sunset?"
"Hmm. Ten times the usual fare."
"Three times."
"Ten. Sailing to Leviathan Island is forbidden by territorial law. We'd be smuggling you there in secret. And I won't be the only one helping — there are others involved, and I have to pay their shares too. This isn't just money for me."
The energetic young man held out an open palm. Maru deliberated for a moment, then fished out his wallet and handed over two silver coins.
"That's the deposit. I won't haggle — in exchange, we'll split the rest three ways: on the way there, when we arrive, and when you come to pick me up."
The young man thumped him on the shoulder with a grin.
"Welcome aboard, friend. My boat's that one there. We need to prep for departure, so see you in thirty minutes. If anyone asks where you're headed, say you're going along to help with the fishing. Ours is a fishing boat — we catch the fish that end up on the lord's table."
The vessel the young man pointed to was a fishing boat smaller than the galleys the other captains had owned. Five young men his own age were aboard the square-rigged craft, all of them stripped to the waist, busily hauling crates of fish down to the dock.
"Long and flat, isn't she."
It rather reminded him of a Viking longship.
Maru watched the young man head back to his boat for a moment, then turned away. He should hit the market and pick up some food.
What should I buy?
He'd need to prepare for the chance of being stranded on the island, too. With that thought, he was browsing his way through the crowded market when — the instant he passed a shabby-looking inn — someone appeared from behind, clamped a hand over Maru's mouth, and dragged him straight inside the building.
Their strength was overwhelming — he couldn't resist at all.
"Mmph! Mmph!"
"Shut the door, quick!"
BANG!
CLACK!
The inn's lobby was dim, its curtains drawn. Two of the men dragged a chair over.
"Tie him to the chair!"
Three men pounced and swiftly bound Maru with rope. Trussed tight to the chair, Maru looked around the room. He counted five familiar faces. They seemed to have rented out the entire building — there was no one else present.
He looked up at the middle-aged man who appeared to be their leader.
"What is the meaning of this, Carlyle?"
"Forgive us."
Carlyle dropped to one knee and pressed his head to the floor. At once, the three men and the woman standing behind him also fell to their knees and bowed their heads. The woman was the bard from before.
"We are, in truth, a unit operating under orders to monitor Your Highness's movements. In the course of our duty, circumstances became so urgent that we dared commit a grave discourtesy. We beg Your Highness's forgiveness."
"Please forgive us!"
Ah. So they're Mother's people.
Maru bit his lower lip. He looked from one of them to another, then spoke quietly.
"Faces I don't recall seeing at the palace. Regardless — untie me, please."
"Her Majesty gave us strict orders: if during our watch Your Highness should part ways with the Hero's party, we were to bring you back to the palace at once. Taken together with everything we have observed, Your Highness has indeed broken from the Hero's party, and was even preparing to enter a dangerous island alone — so we were forced to act, and to judge quickly. We beg you to understand."
"So what do you intend to do? Drag me back to my mother as I am?"
"We lowly servants seek only to ensure Your Highness's safety. We will serve you devotedly so that you may return home at the earliest opportunity. Her Majesty the Queen misses you dearly. We implore you — come with us."
"......"
Maru held his silence, sunk deep in thought, before finally speaking.
"Fine. Let's go back."
"Ohh! You will come with us, Your Highness?"
"Yes. I've grown weary of life abroad anyway. It's time I went home. First, untie these ropes."
Carlyle clasped his hands together in delight. The others' faces brightened as well.
"Someone untie him at once!"
"Yes, sir!"
The ropes binding Maru came loose. He rose from the chair, thumping his stiff, aching limbs with his fists.
"Do you happen to have any clothes prepared? These reek — I can't wear them another moment."
Carlyle stepped forward with a smile.
"Of course we do. Those garments look far beneath your station. Go along with Jamila straight away and change into something proper. She'll look after you with the utmost care."
Maru looked at the female bard called Jamila. She wore the kind, gentle smile of a lady-in-waiting, as though that had been her role all along.
The two of them went together into a nearby room, carrying fresh clothes.
Before long, Jamila screamed.
"The prince — he's gone!"
Carlyle bolted into the room in a panic. The curtains billowed in the wind; the window stood flung wide open.
"What were you doing with your eyes open?!"
"He said it would be uncomfortable to change in front of me, so he would change behind the curtain and asked me to turn my back, and so I—!"
"You fool!"
Carlyle immediately rushed out of the inn with his subordinates on his heels. In the distance, they spotted Maru sprinting for his life.
"Stop right there, Your Highness!"
There was one thing Maru had learned during his time traveling with the Hero's party.
His skill at all manner of cooking? His skill at building fires? His knack for keeping his companions' moods up?
All wrong.
It was his skill at running away from monsters.
He was so quick and nimble that even Carlyle and his subordinates — men with fairly well-trained bodies — struggled to close the distance.
"Heeey~! Over here! Over here!"
When Maru staggered breathless onto the wharf, the tattooed young man was waving cheerfully — the preparations, as it happened, were already complete. Maru hurried aboard.
"Push off, now! *Hah* — *hah* —!"
"You being chased or something? What's the rush?"
"Your Highness! Stop! Stop right there!"
The tattooed young man spotted Carlyle's group charging toward them and broke into a wide grin.
"Off to a dangerous island AND being chased by people. You really know how to live."
He and his crewmates swiftly raised the anchor, took their seats, and began pulling at the oars. The boat drew steadily away from the dock. By the time Carlyle reached the water's edge, it was already too late — there was nothing to be done about a boat out at sea.
Standing at the dock's railing, he roared at the top of his lungs.
"Your Highness! Your Highneeeess! That island is dangerous! Your Highneeeeeeess!"
"Carlyle! Tell my mother for me! I don't know how long it will take, but when my journey is over, I will come home for certain! Tell her I miss her very much, too!"
Maru waved with a beaming smile, then turned to face the bow. Six young men were rowing in perfect unison, the boat slicing through the waves and surging ahead. The sea breeze was refreshing. He stretched his arms toward the sky and spread his palms. Sunlight spilled between his fingers, dazzling bright.
What... what did I just hear?
"He says he's leaving the kingdom."
"Do not put such terrible words in your mouth! What could you possibly lack? What is it you want? I'll grant you anything — tell me, quickly!"
"I lack nothing. You have given me more love than I could ever deserve, Mother. Everything is more than satisfactory. I have simply found a purpose for my life. For the time being, I intend to travel with that girl."
"No! The world outside is dangerous!"
"I know. But wouldn't it be good for me to accomplish something while I'm young, for the sake of my future?"
"You are destined to be king one day! What if your body comes to harm? How could you be so careless?"
"It would be a great medal to me. I want to build achievements worthy of standing beside your magnificent legacy, Mother. To the people, a capable prince who earned glory on the battlefield would look far grander than one shut away inside the castle under your protection every day."
"I have no need of a capable son! The boy you are now is enough! I refuse to lose you too!"
"Well, I do. I want to defeat the Demon King alongside that girl. The prince felled the Demon King — an achievement I would never be ashamed of, even on my deathbed."
"Then so be it! You need achievements? Then we shall go to war with our neighbor this very instant. They bear us old grudges anyway, so it works out nicely. We'll proclaim far and wide that you commanded the campaign to victory. Leave the fighting to me — your mother was once called the Goddess of War, you know."
"If you do that, I really will run away from home. And never come back for the rest of my life. Don't you dare."
Pulled from the depths of old memories, Maru withdrew the hand he'd been reaching through empty air. The teal sea spread out open and boundless before him. Far in the distance, his destination — Leviathan Island — was faintly visible.
"It won't take long, Mother. Don't you worry."