Small City Wayford
"I'm so glad you're safe, Lord Hwanin."
Brillit, dressed in neat trousers, entered alongside Isilite and bowed deeply in greeting.
"……."
Hwanin offered only a small, silent smile and a nod. Isilite, for her part, pouted her lips as she propped her greatsword against the wall and pointed out,
"What are you talking about? Did you really think Master would run into trouble in a mere third-grade labyrinth?"
"Of course not."
"Then what?"
Brillit shot Isilite a brief look of mild exasperation before turning her gaze back to Hwanin.
Lord Hwanin seems to have understood, so that's enough.
"What do you mean……."
Isilite watched with a sulky expression as Brillit ignored her and walked toward her master. She pouted again while unfastening her armor, glancing sidelong at Brillit, who took a seat at the front after receiving Hwanin's permission.
Master seems to have grasped the meaning of that odd remark. What was it about?
"On behalf of Lady Anplind, who is filling in for Lord Susa during his absence, I deliver this message. Lord Susa left Wayford for four days due to the Lianarin Trading Company incident that occurred last night, and he expressed deep regret that he cannot accept Lord Hwanin's dinner invitation."
"Four days—that matches the minimum estimated duration I gave for the labyrinth expedition."
"Yes. Lord Susa also planned to return on that day when he departed. But…… are you truly all right?"
"No problems at all. Still, Miss Brillit, you somehow knew this matter involved me."
"On the dawn of the day Lord Hwanin entered, Lord Susa and I were also at the labyrinth barracks. We were there to prepare goods."
Hm?
Isilite, methodically arranging the equipment while listening to the conversation, felt a ticklish sensation in her head as pieces began to connect.
Glad you're safe. ▷ They knew something would happen in the labyrinth. ▷ They witnessed Master and me entering the labyrinth.
……They knew we went in with Lady Baek Ryeogang?
What? So last night's events—they already knew it was connected to Master, and that's why they came to say they were glad?
Of course, Isilite had no way of knowing how Susa had discerned Lady Baek Ryeogang's identity. Knowing the cause and effect, she simply skipped over the process. She wanted to ask directly and confirm, but interrupting a conversation with her master was an absolute taboo for a maid. Swallowing her curiosity, Isilite prepared tea, set it before Hwanin and Brillit, and stood quietly to one side.
Brillit was inwardly astonished by Isilite's demeanor, yet she kept her expression carefully neutral.
Light brown hair neatly tied in a ponytail. A spotless white blouse and a leather corset rising to the waist. Below that, long legs neatly sheathed in dark gray trousers. The composed young lady standing half-lidded beside Hwanin bore not the slightest resemblance to the tomboy Isilite Brillit remembered.
So a person can change this much.
On her way to find Lord Hwanin at Lady Anplind's request, Brillit had been walking ahead when a swordswoman had casually said, "Hey," and tapped her shoulder. At the time she had wondered if the woman was in her right mind. Touching a stranger and acting familiar—either she had no manners or her eyesight was poor. Who would have thought that woman was Isilite?
"Regrettably, I cannot wait until Miss Susa returns. If the opportunity arises, let us arrange another meeting next time."
Brillit, who had been lost in thought, quickly collected herself at Hwanin's words and replied,
"Yes. I will convey that to Lady Anplind."
"Please wish Miss Susa and Miss Anplind good health until our next meeting……."
Hwanin trailed off mid-sentence. Both Brillit and Isilite widened their eyes. Never before had the ever-composed Hwanin broken off his words like this.
"……Miss Brillit."
"Yes."
"How much do you trust me?"
"Equally with Lord Susa and Lady Anplind."
Hwanin gave a small nod at the model answer, then offered earnest advice.
"Please tell them it would be wise to keep leaving Wayford in mind."
She had expected something important, but leave the city? Brillit's mouth worked soundlessly at the unimaginable suggestion before she managed to ask,
"M-may I ask the reason……?"
"I have never seen other cities, so I cannot give a clear answer. But in this city alone I have found five potential Honjae. Counting the souls I have yet to discover, there may be more than twenty."
"……!!"
"……!"
"I have heard that another Soul Master will visit this city eventually, but no one knows when that will be."
In his heart he wished he could remain long enough to send every such soul to peace, but circumstances forced him to leave Wayford; he offered the words as a kind of excuse.
Brillit pondered with a truly grave expression, then rose and bowed to Hwanin.
"I will be sure to inform Lord Susa."
"I leave it to you."
Even as her mind whirled with the serious matter, Brillit's gaze was drawn to the Emergency Food sitting beside Hwanin—already grown again in the short time since she last saw it.
Isilite, and the Emergency Food as well……. Does everyone who travels with Lord Hwanin—human or animal—undergo such great change?
With that thought she was about to leave the guest room when Isilite caught her arm.
"Wait a moment…… I need to talk."
"……About what?"
"Just—come with me for a second."
"……?"
Brillit followed the slightly flushed Isilite, only to lose control of her expression at the words that followed.
"Th-thank you. Being able to serve Master is all thanks to you and Lord Susa. I'm truly grateful."
"Uh, uh."
"I don't think I'll have time to greet Lord Susa, so please tell him thank you as well."
"……All right."
Hwanin listened to Isilite holding Brillit and speaking those words while he gazed out the window at the blue sky.
Ielkata was gone, and there was no telling when Hyen-Zod might appear again. Nearly all the wandering souls in the city had been pacified, and women from whom he could absorb spiritual energy were no longer easy to obtain. Having experienced the labyrinth as well, there was nothing left for him to do in Wayford.
Staying longer would only waste time.
If Lesim had not said he would visit today, Hwanin would already have left after seeing the Lianarin Trading Company shattered and the Skin-peeling Clan's leader hanged—convinced there would be no further repercussions.
"……."
Thinking of the Skin-peeling Clan members hanging before the administrative office, his gaze drifted to the soul orbs he had collected from them.
Remaining maintenance time for the orbs: roughly twenty-eight hours.
If I necromance a human soul, I might see effects different from beasts or spirits.
He wanted to run a few experiments on humans…….
Had Lesim and Baek Ryeogang not been present, he would have used the attacking Skin-peeling Clan members for human experimentation. But he had not, and there was no guarantee of another chance.
Hwanin naturally imagined conducting such experiments on people from the back alleys of the common district.
"……."
Then his expression grew serious.
For a moment he had not been seeing people as people, and the realization left him unsettled.
Is this the aftermath of killing?
Not one or two—four on the first day alone, more than twenty on the last. He had felt nothing while killing them. Only the brief observation that they were easier to deal with than heteromorphs.
And only now did he recognize that as a serious problem.
Even now, a careless thought filled his head: what did it matter if he killed a few wastes of space who contributed nothing to society?
No.
Whatever other reasons there might be, whether in this world or on Earth, living without trouble meant keeping murder as far away as possible—it simply cost less. Yet forbidding killing outright could land him in trouble of his own. The human refuse and the Skin-peeling Clan's attack made that clear enough.
Click.
"Goodbye."
"Take care."
He looked over at Isilite exchanging farewells with Brillit, their conversation finished.
……Leaving the judgment of whether to kill or not to Isilite would be foolish.
He needed a companion. At the very least, a "normal" companion who could make that judgment in his place.
Lesim arrived well after midday.
"Through an internal collaborator, we have captured or killed on the spot all twenty-six professionals belonging to the Skin-peeling Clan and the Lianarin Trading Company, along with one hundred sixty-nine staff and organization members suspected in this attack plan. Among them, the seven ringleaders—including Asiah Rudan, leader of the Skin-peeling Clan and principal culprit of this incident—have been hanged, and the remaining nineteen have been ordered transferred to the border region of the Evil Faction."
As for the unawakened ordinary people, those without guilt (mostly from the trading company side) would be released after investigation; the rest were confirmed for forced labor in the underground mines.
"By internal collaborator, do you mean the Inung-jok woman who was the chief officer of the Lianarin Trading Company?"
"You know of her?"
"Yes. She came offering two hundred gold coins for the Emergency Food. A mild refusal would not have convinced her, so I refused firmly and she left frightened. From that, I judged there was no need to worry about repercussions."
"I see……. So that was why she dropped to her knees and begged for mercy the moment she saw you."
At Lesim's brief mutter, Hwanin quickly pieced together the circumstances from the previous night's events, what he had seen before the administrative office, and everything that had unfolded.
Aldjin Bere had the materials on the Lianarin Trading Company and the Skin-peeling Clan from the beginning. And he used this opportunity to swallow both the clan and the company.
Even with the cooperation of Ifrivel and Aldtis, gathering operational intelligence in a mere four hours would have been impossible. Thus Hwanin was certain: Aldjin Bere had been targeting the Lianarin Trading Company from the start.
"……Lord Hwanin seems to have grasped the entire situation."
"Lord Aldjin Bere already held the materials on the clan and the company from the outset, I take it."
"……Yes. He was extremely furious that the young lady had been attacked, yet he coolly commanded the forces, freezing the Lianarin Trading Company in an instant and raiding the Skin-peeling Clan's residences and facilities. No matter how one looked at it, it was the work of someone who had long since obtained the information. I am curious as to the reason."
Looking into his teacup with a slightly darkened face, like a boy who had glimpsed the filthy world of adults, Lesim listened as Hwanin spoke in a low voice.
"Lianarin is one of Wayford's three major large trading companies. Swallowing such a place would allow the Bere family's direct trading company—still only mid-sized—to grow significantly."
According to the knowledge Hwanin had gathered, among Wayford's twelve trading companies was one directly under the Bere family. The problem was that it was mid-sized, not large. Merging Lianarin into the direct company would make Aldjin Bere's purse far richer.
"Ah. So he had been gathering materials all along so that he could swallow them whole the moment something like this occurred……."
"Of course there is no doubt he was enraged that his blood relative was attacked. But behind the scenes he calculated coolly and moved in the direction that benefited the family. As city lord, with many household members and citizens under his responsibility, I believe such action was only proper."
Hwanin took a self-protective stance, making clear he had no intention of opposing Wayford's current noble house and that he agreed with its intent. Lesim did not mind.
"……You are right, Lord Hwanin. The Lianarin Trading Company outwardly claimed to be an ordinary business, but in reality it was a foothold for the Skin-peeling Clan to advance into the light. The seeds of crime must be uprooted early……."
To the still young and pure Inrang-jok man, Aldjin Bere's act of using the attack on his kin as a pretext to satisfy his own greed was a type he could not understand. Yet he recognized that he must understand and accept it. He himself lived in such a world.
Lesim continued the rest of the explanation with a somewhat deflated air.
"The Skin-peeling Clan and the Lianarin Trading Company have been completely destroyed. In particular, even the ordinary clan members of the Skin-peeling Clan have been rounded up, so nothing will trouble Lord Hwanin from now on. Likewise, thanks to the young lady speaking well of the matter, the focus of this incident has concentrated on the city's underworld organization attempting to attack and abduct a noble young lady. The illegal acts the Skin-peeling Clan previously committed are gradually coming to the surface as well, so Lord Hwanin will not receive any bothersome attention in the future."
"Please convey my thanks to the young lady for her consideration."
"Yes. I will be sure to do so. And…… I also thank you."
The content of what he was thankful for was missing, but Hwanin grasped it without difficulty and answered quietly.
"There is nothing for you to thank me for, Miss Lesim. I merely escorted the young lady according to the contract, and the fact that she became brighter and more proactive in the process is a change she herself created."
That figure who saw through his concerns and showed consideration. Lesim truly felt regret. If only this man were a noble, the name of a Soul Master of noble birth would create even a small possibility of connection with the young lady. And if he were joined with her that way, the young lady could live a happy life.
"……Even so, I cannot help but thank you."
A futile thought.
No matter that he was a Soul Master with outstanding martial skill, a sixth-class noble house was strictly treated as quasi-true-bone. Would such a house accept a blood tie with a Soul Master who was a dimensional wanderer?
Lesim could assert with certainty that they would not.
The value of a Soul Master was exceptional, yet that did not mean they would accept him as a family member. They could maintain sufficiently close relations through patronage and the like; there was no reason to take an outsider's blood into the family.
Sixth-class and above nobles joined with nobles. Eighth-class and above true-bone joined only with true-bone. Tenth-class sacred-bone joined only with sacred-bone whose blood continued the line. It was an unwritten law that had continued from the distant past.
The family would never stand by and watch other blood mix in.
In the worst case, they might purge the young lady and even attempt to kill Lord Hwanin, the object of her affection.
Even if Hwanin were appointed a first- or second-class noble by sacred-clan decree, it would require his own dreadful yet passionate effort to back it up—and the Hwanin Lesim had observed was a personality far removed from passion.
Young lady…….
She must already have sensed it as well. That was why she had looked so listless after entering the castle.
"Then I shall take my leave."
"Farewell. Let us meet again if the chance arises."
"Haha……. If you ever visit Praber, please seek out the Drinje family. We will welcome you with hospitality."
"I will be sure to visit."
After shaking hands with Hwanin and stepping outside, Lesim looked up at the cloudless blue sky, his depressed heart over the young lady's worries showing plainly on his face.
Damnably blue.
"Lady Ielkata."
"Lady Baek Ryeogang."
In a small garden where tiny birds chirped and unknown flowers bloomed in profusion, Ielkata—who had been barely managing to continue her meditation—turned to look at the noble young lady who had arrived leading a storm of events.
"I'm sorry. Did I interrupt your meditation?"
"Not at all. Shamefully, I was merely wasting time, unable to cast off my distracting thoughts."
At the gentle smile of the Floe-race Soul Master as she answered, Baek Ryeogang felt the faint outline of a certain man and softly sat down beside her.
"……."
"……."
Chirp-chirp-chirp—tweet-tweet.
Chirp-chirp.
The little birds that had come to the garden alighted on the two women's shoulders and heads, singing. The sight of Baek Ryeogang—who carried the deep blood of the rare bluebird even among the bird-kin—and Ielkata of the forest race sitting side by side in the pretty garden, playing with the small birds, captured the gazes of every passing servant, maid, and knight.
A masterpiece painting.
If I could preserve that scene in a picture, I'd pay any sum…….
Baek Ryeogang watched the little bird frolicking on her palm, then stole a sidelong glance at the quietly seated Ielkata.
Clad in pure white garments like a wedding dress, a small tiara upon her head, Ielkata was a peerless beauty the likes of which Baek Ryeogang had seen only a few times in her life. Baek Ryeogang herself, in a dress designed with blue tones mixed with white, was a beauty in no way inferior—yet one fact made her heart ache.
When she first entered Wayford Castle and met Ielkata, Baek Ryeogang had held no goodwill toward her. From Hwanin's brief explanation alone, she had thought Ielkata had stolen the credit for Hwanin's exploits.
But the truth had been different.
The moment she was summoned to the castle, Ielkata had honestly revealed that another Soul Master besides herself resided in the city, and that it was he who had purified the wandering souls.
"That person, who even purifies Honjae, is one who quietly performs acts of virtue while avoiding the eyes of others. If the city lord shows interest, he will feel burdened and withdraw, so I recommend watching only from afar."
"Personally I would very much like to meet him once……. But since the young lady of the Elwidris family speaks so, I cannot help but comply."
"If fate connects them, they will meet someday. One who is fated to have ties with Lord Aldjin Bere will surely meet him again later."
And when Baek Ryeogang learned that Ielkata had used her influence to divert Aldjin Bere's interest away from that person, she had felt goodwill toward her.
"He is…… something like my beloved."
After growing close to Ielkata—who remained until the soul knights of the Spirit City arrived—Baek Ryeogang heard her confession and felt jealousy. The words spoken by a beauty who could captivate even other women, her cheeks faintly flushed, were the experience Baek Ryeogang herself had so desperately longed for.
Flutter.
"……."
Watching the colorful little bird leave her palm, Baek Ryeogang quietly exhaled the sigh rising in her chest.
At the sight of a girl fallen into a love she herself could not control, Ielkata smiled faintly and opened her mouth.
"Lady Baek Ryeogang."
"……?"
"I envy you, Lady Baek Ryeogang."
"I envy you more, Lady Ielkata……?"
Turning to speak, Baek Ryeogang trailed off at the sight of Ielkata's eyes, which shone as though gold and silver had seeped into them.
What…… is that phenomenon? Baek Ryeogang blinked, and Ielkata reached out with a gentle face to caress her cheek tenderly.
"The bond between myself and that person is so thin that it cannot continue thereafter. But……."
But? Does that mean I am different? Could those eyes of Lady Ielkata be the power of foresight?
She had heard of it. In families that inherited the blood of the ancient Floe race, people who foresaw the future were sometimes born. Was that family Elwidris?
Baek Ryeogang waited with a pounding heart for Ielkata's next words, yet the moment the woman's complexion darkened slightly and she took her hand, a faint fear made her chest feel heavy.
"……You have two fates."
"One is a fate of continuing a peaceful, ordinary life both as yourself and as a family, obtaining happiness as a woman."
"The other is a long, painful, cold, and exhausting path of hardship and thorns. Whether what lies at its end is the happiness you desire—none can know."
"You need only choose which one."
"……."
"Then that fate will become yours."
Baek Ryeogang remained as if entranced by those gold-and-silver eyes for a long while, recovering her senses only when Lesim arrived around sunset.
"L-Lady Ielkata is……?"
"She has departed with the soul knights."
"Ah……."
"Are you all right? You look dizzy."
"Mm. I'm fine. I'm fine……."
Answering Lesim's worried question in a daze, Baek Ryeogang looked up at the sky burning red as if the world were on fire and placed a hand over her heart.
My fate…….