Familiar Faces (3)
At the spot where Robin had arranged to meet Orphe, Tribo watched over Diana as she dozed against a tree, clutching her rabbit doll. From within his frame he drew out a single object.
It was obsidian—transparent black glass shot through with a violet sheen.
[Hmm…]
With a low hum, Tribo settled beside Diana. The moment his massive body leaned into the trunk, leaves showered down in a rustling cascade.
He watched the falling leaves for a long moment, then slotted the obsidian into the empty space at his side.
Click—
It seated itself as perfectly as a key into a lock, and the obsidian was absorbed into Tribo’s body.
Stored video record is now playing.
A recorded voice spilled from Tribo’s mouth. Moments later a screen unfolded before his eyes—one invisible to anyone nearby.
— Go…gma…
The resolution and audio quality were abysmal, yet—
— To the Gogmagog…
Tribo blinked his camera-lens eyes, and the image sharpened.
— I have a request for the Gogmagog race.
The figure filling the screen was a black-haired man of androgynous beauty. His sharp eyes and tightly sealed lips somehow called Orphe to mind.
— Keep the promise you made to watch over the Watchmen’s domain. You are not organic; I trust you will do it better than anyone.
The man’s words continued without pause.
— This will likely be my final record. I have shared a great deal of information until now, yet there are things I never managed to say—and things I could not say. I judged other matters more important, so I hope you will understand that part.
As he spoke, members of many races stood gathered around him.
— Our races, our cultures, even the worlds we lived in were different, yet we became one and fought for freedom.
A bee-like people, mammalian folk with bird beaks, tribes resembling hyenas and cheetahs, others like wild boars.
Lanterns in hand, they walked upright on two legs and lit the dark cave where the man stood.
— After countless sacrifices we destroyed the Watchmen’s bodies and won the war. For the sake of peace I reached an agreement with Erica Irgal and sealed a marriage alliance…
[Ah…]
Tribo raised both hands and clutched his head. He had been certain that seeing the man’s face would bring every memory flooding back; not a single one returned.
— …There is no way to return to our original world. Only the Watchmen can interfere with space-time, they say. Now even they have lost their focal points and mediums, and wander…
[No… no…]
Tribo’s flat, toneless cry did nothing to halt the man’s voice.
— …Delamion led the few remaining members of his kind and fled. Peace was an illusion. Everyone was exhausted by the massacres and betrayals that had filled the long war. We were not in our right minds; our judgments became irrational…
Boom!
An explosion shook the screen.
Rumble—
As the collapsing cave admitted light, countless corpses behind the man came into view. Judging by their appearance, they were pure humans, every one of them.
— …Even if storage capacity runs short, leave this footage. It contains only what is essential.
The man drew a gleaming golden sword and rose to his feet.
— My name is Kim Seong-hun. I am from Earth. I gained power by contracting with the being the Watchmen call the “Wrongly Summoned One.”
— I will kill the Queen, end the war, and put a stop to this entire tragedy.
With those words the recording ended.
“Orphe. These little shits are asleep?”
“Maybe they’re having a nice dream.”
Nice dream or not, sleeping by the roadside was still a public nuisance.
“Rise and shine.”
Clap-clap-clap-clap~!
“Whoa!”
[Ah…]
Only after I clapped did the two of them finally sit up.
“You’re a robot—you said you don’t sleep.”
[I was reviewing a record.]
“What kind of guy lies under a tree browsing Tree-Wiki?”
If he were a futuristic android, maybe he could get internet-addiction symptoms. The thought crossed my mind for a second.
[I was in a hurry. Did you find a house?]
“I did, but the landlord wants to meet us in person. Said he’s acquainted with the lord of Goldon.”
[I needed more time to think… this is a little annoying.]
I ignored Tribo’s muttering and checked on Diana.
“Haaahm~!”
The pocket-yokai yawned without a shred of manners, rabbit doll still hugged to her chest.
“So you bought it after all.”
I had meant to get her one in Evergreen Village, but there hadn’t been time.
Well, if Tribo bought it, problem solved.
[Before we go, a moment.]
“What?”
[I heard you received a necklace from Diana’s sister.]
Had I? I couldn’t even remember. I fished through my pockets, found nothing, and finally dug into my personal pack.
“Here it is. Been a long time since I saw this.”
A necklace set with a white gem. Whether it was even a real gem was debatable. Could just be a shiny rock, right?
I almost gave it a test nibble, then thought better of it. Biting a keepsake from Lamina’s parents felt wrong. I was a ninja of the Eastern Land of Propriety; I was sensitive about these things.
[May I examine it?]
“I don’t mind, but why?”
[I will search for its method of use.]
“You should’ve led with that.”
It was useless to me anyway, so I handed it over at once.
“Look it over thoroughly and give it back. If it’s nothing special, just give it to Diana.”
[Understood.]
“Shall we head out? Showing up too late would be rude.”
Tribo seemed to have nothing more to say, so we set off immediately.
“Unnie, I bought a doll. Look. It’s a fluffy one with really long ears. It’s exactly like the animal dolls Mom and Dad used to buy me. It’s so cute.”
We hadn’t even walked far when Diana started talking, glancing at me for cues. Leaving her with Tribo must have turned her into a chatterbox too.
“That’s an animal called a rabbit. People often keep them as pets.”
“Can you eat them too?”
“Well, yeah, but… did you get to eat lots of tasty things?”
“Yes. If you walk a little farther there’s a plaza, and I bought bread with yellow cream inside. It was moist and soft and delicious.”
“Good job.”
It was pure mother-and-daughter conversation.
“Mr. Tribo, how much of the money I gave you is left?”
Orphe, who had been watching Diana, turned the question on Tribo.
[I used all of it.]
“All of it? I gave you at least a week’s worth of food money…”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
This fucking bastard for real.
For the sake of the innocent citizens passing by, I restrained myself from turning Tribo into six equal pieces.
[I had to purchase important items. Things that may later benefit our entire party. It is a bit awkward here, so I will explain carefully when we have time.]
“If they don’t help, you’re dead. I’ll sell you for scrap.”
“All right. But from now on, please tell me first. We just bought a house and living expenses are tight.”
Chattering noisily as we walked, we arrived in no time.
“This is the place, but it looks like we’ll have to wait a bit.”
The mansion with its neatly tended garden already had guests ahead of us.
“Knights?”
Soldiers in brown armor stood in a line at the gate. Men and women mixed together, many of them sporting long scars across their faces. From the look of them, they were definitely the Chopped-Radish Knight Order.
“Not knights—Order Maintenance Forces under the Variable Sword King.”
“Variable Sword King? Keep the explanation short this time.”
Another unknown name. Peeling one layer only revealed more, like an onion.
“One of the Seven Sword Kings. He’s the one in charge of rebuilding Neo-Solitron. They say he wields all sorts of weapons, but there aren’t many rumors, so I don’t know the details.”
Orphe kept going.
“The Order Maintenance Forces are the military group he leads. They handle security in Neo-Solitron. He supposedly gathered mid- and small-scale mercenary bands himself and founded them.”
From that alone I still couldn’t tell if they were samurai or not. I decided to just watch for now.
— Then, Lady Amelia, we shall take our leave.
— Take care.
A man in the same armor as the Order Maintenance Forces opened the gate and stepped out.
He had an X-shaped scar across his cheek, as if he had just finished filming Rurouni Kenshin.
“Business is finished. Move out.”
At the scarred man’s—Himura Kenshin’s—order, the Order Maintenance Forces who had been eyeing us sidelong filed out of the mansion grounds.
“Excuse me. This is Orphe, who visited earlier. I have returned with my companions.”
“One moment, please.”
A man who looked like a butler adjusted his glasses a few times and disappeared inside.
With his splendidly groomed beard and narrow eyes, he somehow gave off a strong vibe.
“Yes. Please come in.”
He returned quickly, opened the door, and guided us along.
The place we arrived at was a kitchen larger than any inn room.
“Welcome. I am Amelia Hall, third daughter of the Hall family. If you helped my sister Joanna, then you have helped me as well.”
A blonde young woman who looked to be in her mid-twenties sat at the center of a table laden with every kind of dish.
“I heard you arrived today. You must be exhausted—please, come and eat.”
Amelia lifted her fork with a polished business smile.
Half-expecting caterpillar cuisine, I scanned the spread; thankfully there was none of that. I must have trauma now.
Orphe, who had at least received proper etiquette training, answered for us.
“Thank you very much. We haven’t had dinner yet, so this is perfect. We are grateful for your kindness.”
“Not at all. Everyone, please sit. I have many stories I would like to hear as well.”
After a rough introduction of our names and the reason Tribo could not eat—religious fasting—we all took our seats.
I had worried she might take offense at the refusal of her hospitality, but she brushed it off with easy good humor.
She seemed like a genuinely decent noble.
“I still can hardly believe Joanna wrote a letter of guarantee herself. She was always so shy around strangers.”
“She was an excellent person who knew how to make decisions in a crisis.”
“Soft-spoken people are often the strongest, aren’t they?”
Trusting Orphe to handle the polite back-and-forth, I shoveled a huge mouthful of food in.
She wouldn’t suddenly talk to me, right? Those theater-troupe bastards had stressed me out so much that I needed to eat like a maniac.
A glance sideways showed Diana matching my pace. That was reassuring. As long as I wasn’t the only one getting called out for bad manners, I was fine.
Knock-knock.
Someone rapped on the kitchen door the butler had closed behind him.
“Don’t be startled. It’s my attendant. She was brewing chamomile tea so I could serve you properly.”
Amelia elegantly brought her hands together and clapped twice—the perfect young-lady summons.
The door opened carefully, and a gray-haired maid entered carrying an elegant medieval-style teapot.
“Yes~! Chamomile te—”
The moment her eyes met mine, the maid froze solid.
Clang!
“5… 567!?”
I froze mid-bite, completely lost.
How the hell do you know that number?
Orphe tugged my sleeve, so I slowly turned my head toward her.
Her lips twitched and formed silent words.
Snake’s Tail. 555.
Who the hell is that?