Long Time No See
A long time, huh?
Long time, huh?
"Wow, this is pretty interesting."
Aslan took a sip of his beer and wandered over to the street stall packed with rare beasts.
A small fox-like creature inside a cage made of iron bars stared blankly at him, its forehead bearing a glittering gem.
The innocent eyes in those small orbs seemed to catch even the rough edge of Aslan's heart, and he flashed a warm smile before sliding his finger into the cage to scratch under the creature's chin.
"Eek!"
The nameless beast suddenly bared its teeth with terrifying speed, lunging to bite his finger. Aslan startled and yanked his hand back.
"Sir, the Gem Fox is incredibly vicious. Be careful. Its bite force is strong enough to have chewed through several human fingers."
"Puhahaha, got the right answer on the monster taxonomy test? You didn't know that?"
"It wasn't in the exam scope."
Rai laughed, and Aslan scowled, gingerly rubbing the finger that had just been saved.
The Gem Fox clicked its tongue in disappointment and continued staring.
It still looked cute, but Aslan wasn't fooled anymore. He raised his middle finger instead.
Whether it understood the insult or not, the Gem Fox hissed viciously at Aslan's finger.
"You damn thing."
Aslan was locked in a staring contest with the animal when Rai, from behind, cracked up.
The surrounding merchants were shouting their wares in a noisy frenzy.
"Scrolls! Hot off the presses from the newly built Magic Tower!"
"Kuchenlan Kingdom traditional pastries! No one in the world can match this flavor!"
"Sachsen chocolate! Too precious for commoners—nobles are the only ones who get to taste it. Just twenty silvers! Miss it and you'll regret it!"
Every merchant was vying for customers with their sales pitches, and one in particular cut through the clamor directly into Rai's ears.
"Pine scent sachets! Thinly wrapped exterior, with only the inner bark of the wood itself inside. The fragrance is exquisite! Even the Duke of Sharif loved this pine scent!"
Enchanted by something, Rai approached the stall and started inspecting the sachets. Aslan, who had been staring down the Gem Fox, followed suit.
"What? So you have a taste for things that are kind of girly?"
"I thought you'd be better off without that smell. You'd stink up the house."
"What? I don't smell bad!"
"You didn't notice Sena covering her nose and stepping back whenever you came home from training?"
Aslan flushed and lifted his tunic to sniff his own armpit and other spots.
Since he was used to his scent by now, it didn't feel unpleasant, but just to be safe he checked everywhere. Rai, meanwhile, wandered around the various sachets.
They all smelled like pine, but some were cheap cloth-wrapped while others were fancy embroidered fabric.
After examining them all, Rai asked the quiet merchant quietly, "Is there any scent that smells cold?"
"Mint, you mean? I only handle pine, so no mint scent here."
"I see. Then what about something with a fresh scent?"
"None. Check the citrus ones elsewhere. You'll find them in Bel Federation or other Empire shops."
He sounded uninterested, as if the loud sales pitches earlier had been for someone else. Even though he'd been shouting about pine, Rai asking for different scents was suspicious, and the merchant's posture wasn't great either.
"This place only seems to sell pine. Why are you looking for something else?"
"Because pine won't get rid of my sweat smell."
Rai teased Aslan again and picked up one sachet, asking the price.
"Eight silvers."
"That's reasonable. The scent is good—I'll throw in an extra silver."
"Oh no, you really don't have to. Thank you. I should at least give you something too. This one's been around a while, so it's not on display, but the scent is still strong enough."
The shop owner offered him a cheap sachet from the pile as a bonus, telling him to sell a lot while walking the street.
Rai brought the sachet close to his nose and breathed it in. The material was surprisingly high quality, releasing a calming, subtle fragrance.
"I'm tired, so let's take a quick break and have some snacks."
"Should we try the street food?"
"No, let's find a tavern. Eating a big meal there is better than grazing on street food."
Rai and Aslan wandered the bustling street until they found an empty seat at a tavern.
Most tables were full, but the third one happened to have people leaving just then. They quickly claimed the table.
"Where are we?"
"Poop-stool. Order whatever you want."
As soon as he sat, Rai stood up, and Aslan asked where he was going. Rai grinned and tossed him a gold coin.
"Come back with a big feast."
"Just saying."
Excited about the rare chance to eat their fill after so long, Aslan didn't suspect anything and wondered what to order.
Rai left the tavern and slipped into a quiet back alley. He opened the sachet the merchant had given him as a bonus.
A note slipped out between the broken pine slivers.
After reading the message, Rai lit a small flame and burned the note, tossed the sachet aside, and returned to the street.
The normally expressionless Rai smirked.
Smelling the old Caylen Kingdom code for the first time in years brought back nostalgic memories.
The merchant who had boldly shouted that code in the heart of the Empire's territory for years was truly brave. After the kingdom fell, he had no choice but to keep it, but it was still a dangerous stunt.
Decoding the cipher on the note, Rai entered a maze of narrow alleys between buildings.
Outside was noisy, but the dirty back alleys felt dark and dreary, as if they had nothing to do with any festival.
Ignoring the hopeless vagrants who sat listlessly and stared at him with despairing eyes, Rai headed for the building the message pointed to.
"Clever of you to find such a musty place."
The building's entrance was hidden behind random planks and garbage piles.
Passing artificial-looking camouflage piles, Rai knocked on the old door.
No response came from the other side despite repeated knocking.
"Center of the earth. Ring of flames. Grand path."
Rai recited the old, unchanged code, then waited.
A hidden gaze from the back building brushed over him, but he ignored it. The door finally opened.
Dark without a single light, but Rai walked in calmly.
"Aren't you living too much like a rat? At least light a fire. You don't even have money to buy candles?"
Rai faced the darkness. From far away, a flame flickered.
The man holding the flame silently transferred it to a candle and approached Rai.
"First time seeing your face. What unit were you in?"
"It is an honor to meet with Lord Commander Elliot Trayer."
"Yeah, the commander who completely lost and ruined his country."
Rai formed a V with his fingers and wiggled them playfully, but the man just stared without reaction before leading him inside.
To guard against intruders, the interior corridors were cleverly twisted.
Since this wasn't meant to be a house, it must have been remodeled.
Rai guessed the man had been hiding in Legandia for longer than expected. He stepped through the door the man opened.
"Long time no see, boss."
The man sitting in the middle of the room recognized Rai and smiled.
His face was rough from many hardships. Pebbly skin, a randomly grown beard, and a long scar running from his forehead across his left eye to his cheek made his features harsh.
Unlike the man's reaction, Rai just blinked and stared.
"Who are you?"
"How much has it changed? I am Mikhail Shaia."
"... ... No way. You're kidding."
"It's true. Except for hair and eye color, the boss hasn't changed at all. Brown looks better on the boss, though. Red suits the boss's symbol better."
Rai stared hard at the man who introduced himself as Mikhail.
In Rai's memory, Mikhail had been a delicate youth.
He had been twenty when the Empire surrendered, so he wasn't exactly a boy, but he had been handsome enough to be envied.
The innocent Mikhail who had entered the unit last and been mocked or cherished by the others was gone, replaced by a terrifying Mikhail. Rai's surprise was understandable.
As Mikhail reached out a hand to the sofa, Rai sat down without looking away from his face.
"Your personality hasn't changed. You still don't look your age."
"Leaving aside the face, why is your voice like that?"
"I inhaled poison gas. My vocal cords were damaged. There's nothing wrong with my health, so don't worry."
It was too rough to be called a human voice, but Mikhail waved it off casually.
A man in the corner poured wine, and Rai looked at his face.
"Ah, I remember. You were the knight under Wyatt?"
"It is an honor that you remember."
The man bowed politely and stepped back.
Rai sipped the wine and scanned the faces of the people standing near the wall.
Half he knew, half he didn't.
As a commander, he couldn't remember every single soldier, but anyone here had proven their skill. If they had been knights in his old unit, even without names he knew their faces.
The unfamiliar faces all looked at him with eyes full of respect and youthful admiration.
"As expected, since you didn't know me when I surrendered. Those were the candidate students training at the academy back then."
Mikhail answered after reading Rai's expression.
He hadn't explained much, but it was enough.
They were knight candidates trained to force loyalty to the Caylen Kingdom and brainwash them.
Rai nodded and smiled faintly at Mikhail again.
"So, what do you want with me?"
"You suddenly drop that on me. I'm a bit hurt."
Mikhail gave a sad, bitter smile.
His true feelings were unclear, but the expression looked like real pain.
"It's obvious from your intentions."
"What are they?"
"You want to drag me into the resistance, don't you?"
At Rai's words, Mikhail nodded.
"Correct. If the boss comes, we can destroy the Empire and reclaim the Caylen Kingdom."
Mikhail's eyes burned with firm conviction as he spoke.
Rai looked at his face and smiled softly.
His features had changed a lot, but the sparkling eyes of someone dreaming remained the same.
But what he wanted would never happen.
"No. I'm not interested."
"... ... The boss said that... Surprising."
"Why? You know I hated the kingdom. The emperor granted my wish that it should collapse."
Rai laughed mockingly, and the respectful gazes around him turned icy.
"How long are you going to keep playing war? If you lose once, you should accept it."
"We will never kneel to those Empire dogs."
Mikhail ground his teeth. Unable to hold back his rage, the handle he gripped shattered.
Rai glanced at the scattered pieces and scratched his head with the hand resting on the sofa.
"Hmm? We have different opinions. And you know, to use people, you need a more attractive bait."
"Isn't the revival of the kingdom attractive enough?"
Mikhail glared with wide eyes.
Back then, innocent Mikhail had been easy to tease. Now he was consumed by anger and had changed into a human who felt like a stranger.
Expressing his regret over the years, Rai took another sip of wine.
"Revival for whom? Is there even one citizen who wants it?"
"The stubborn Caylen citizens who are being corrupted by the Empire will be enlightened when the boss appears."
"Stubborn... hahaha, hahaha."
Rai laughed without restraint, his laughter sounding deep and eerie from the depths of his chest.
The surrounding people tensed, hands moving toward their weapons as the unpleasant, dangerous laugh stretched on.
"What is so funny?"
Unlike the others, Mikhail remained calm and asked.
Rai's laughter cut off abruptly.
Meeting the indifferent eyes of the other man, Mikhail swallowed quietly.
"You sound just like the arrogant nobles of the kingdom."
"..."
"Those stubborn citizens are doing too well right now. Dammit, what does it matter if the Empire or the kingdom won? As long as they eat and live well, isn't that enough? Those idiots who can't forget their old days of showing off—who are they? Or should I say greedy ones?"
"We are sacrificing for the kingdom! Don't mock us!"
Mikhail shouted loudly, but his words didn't reach Rai.
"If you're so great, why not try convincing the kingdom citizens yourself?"
Rai stood up with nothing more to say and tipped his glass.
The wine flowed long and spilled onto the floor. He tossed the empty glass to the man who had refilled it.
"If you're going to use poison, don't drink expensive wine with a unique scent. You drinkers will notice right away."
At Rai's words, the man's face turned ashen.
But Rai turned and walked away as if uninterested.
"Tch, even trying to raise a kingdom with some incompetent weaklings who can't even use poison properly. Mercenaries passing by would do better."
Despite Rai's taunts, no one in the room answered.