The Guardian's Name
Raven, who had received two rooms for free as an apology for being forgotten, sat Didi on one arm and jingled the keys as he climbed the stairs.
He had to add a few words to secure the room he had been lying in before leaving, just in case the innkeeper was surprised by its disheveled state and thought, “I’ve never given this to anyone else.”
“Could I use room 202 for one of them? It’s the room I got when I first met you, sister.”
“Oh my…! Of course! I’ll lend you 202 and 203. Let’s see… where are the keys…?”
“……Isn’t that key over there in the corner of the counter?”
“Huh…? Why is this here…?”
“Looks like it got pushed back after I set it down for a moment.”
“Is that so? Look at my head. I’ve been forgetting things a lot lately.”
“Still, forgetting me was a bit much, sister.”
“Aigoo, I said I’m sorry! That’s why I gave you two rooms.”
“That’s true. Thanks.”
It was easy. All he had to do was smile gently, and everything went as he wanted.
Of course, Dan’s horrified stare came as a bonus, but what did it matter? Raven shamelessly lifted his chin.
If you’re jealous, you do it too.
Though he probably couldn’t even if he wanted to.
The good thing about not being remembered was that he could do anything crazy and it would be fine. No one would remember anyway, so all he had to do was forget himself.
A message from the Guardian Spirit lamenting that his attempt to boost Raven’s self-esteem had only produced side effects instead arrived, but Raven simply grinned and ignored it.
And then, back to reality.
Just as his steps, which had easily found the two rooms, came to a halt, a small voice spoke up, as if testing the waters.
“Um… Lord Raven.”
A call that pulled his mind out of pointless thoughts.
Raven immediately lowered his head.
“What?”
“One room would have been enough……”
“……Even if she’s young, it doesn’t make sense for a noble young lady to sleep in the same room as a strange adult man, does it…?”
A child whose speech carried the mark of education couldn’t possibly not know this. Had culture changed so quickly?
“But… it would be a burden. After receiving help, I can’t cause more trouble here……”
“Ah, it’s fine. How is this a burden?”
I’m the one who caused all the trouble.
The face of the innkeeper, who had looked genuinely apologetic, came to mind.
After a brief silence, Raven ruffled Didi’s hair, set her down, and handed her the key to room 203.
“They said they’d prepare bathwater, so wash up and rest. I’ll leave the window open, so if anything happens, call me from your room. I’ll come.”
“Yes, thank you. And……”
“Hm?”
“There’s something I really need to tell you… It’s, well……”
The child seemed uneasy that things were being wrapped up before she could even get to the main point.
The whole way here, the child had only watched for the right moment to speak and now suddenly reached out and grabbed Raven’s clothes tightly. With a slightly trembling voice full of urgency, the child spoke to the man whose expression had become unreadable.
“Please help me……”
It was a request made with nothing but pure desperation, without any calculation or roundabout persuasion.
……If things continued like this, they would part ways as soon as dawn broke. The child probably knew that once they reached the inn, Raven could simply leave her with the innkeeper and go.
The child’s instincts were sharp. The child had realized that Raven would not look after her. And that had indeed been his intention.
However.
Ah, this.
It was such a childish request.
It would have been better if the child had been shameless about it, but faced with that weak voice that reminded him that no matter how noble the child acted, she was still just a child, Raven froze in place.
“I-I know it’s shameless. You saved my life, and thanks to you I can stay at the inn. I know it’s wrong to ask for more.”
“……”
“But I have to go to the capital. Since you’re so strong, you could safely take me there.”
“……What about contacting your family?”
“I can’t trust them. It’s also difficult to receive help.”
“……”
“I’ll definitely repay you. So……”
“Enough.”
Haa. It felt like he had been hooked. Without realizing it, he pressed a hand to his forehead.
“You won’t tell me the details even if I ask, right?”
“……I’m sorry.”
“Fine. I’m not curious anyway.”
Since he had already planned to go to the capital, it wasn’t a big problem. He wasn’t so incompetent that he couldn’t protect one child’s life on the road.
However, he had intended to stop by the Elven Territory first……
He lowered his hand and looked at the child.
“Is it urgent?”
“Well… yes.”
“Alright.”
Of course it was. Otherwise, the child wouldn’t have asked such a suspicious stranger in the first place.
Well… the child was just as suspicious.
……A victim of the Gate and a child.
Conditions he couldn’t simply brush off just because it was troublesome or because the child seemed suspicious. The child’s special circumstances were too strong, and Raven let out a sigh.
……Let’s think positively. It would have been difficult to shake off Dan and go to the Elven Territory right now anyway……
……The Guardian Spirit didn’t seem to agree.
Raven pretended not to notice and turned to open the door.
Once inside, he closed the door and sat on the edge of the bed. His gaze, sweeping over the familiar room, settled calmly.
“It’s a bit late for someone as smart as you to ask that…. Well, as you know, there are several reasons.”
For one, he wanted the child to forget him.
Even though he had accepted the request, it would be beneficial if the person involved forgot. Since this was an inn, even if the child forgot him, she would naturally contact the right place and return. Considering that every inn served as a kind of communication network, there was nothing to worry about.
Beyond these small reasons, however.
“But what bothers me most is……”
“Exactly.”
You knew it too.
It was just as the spirit said. The timing was too coincidental.
“Ever since what happened with my youngest disciple, I’ve developed a bit of a suspicion problem.”
The situation felt contrived. Dan had been verified through the major event of “sister’s death,” but “Didi” had not. To confirm that, he had to get separate rooms.
Raven swept back his long, flowing hair with one hand, tied it low, and muttered.
“Doesn’t Didi’s way of speaking sound too stiff for a noble young lady? If she were the heir of a martial family, maybe, but it’s strangely familiar.”
It bothered him.
“Besides, on the way here I smelled something familiar. At first I thought it was an illusion because it mixed with the scent of monster blood, but……”
That sickeningly familiar smell of blood.
Even after leaving the area where they had fought monsters, the scent had only grown stronger. It couldn’t be an illusion. The direction was clearly different from the scent coming from his own wounds, so what remained was obvious.
No civilian would wander around at night without valuing their life.
“It seems the ones who kidnapped Didi are dead.”
He would need to check the bodies to be sure, but if his guess was right, then at least the kidnapping itself was true.
He had planned to verify this part properly anyway. If she had really been kidnapped, a carriage or horse would have been used, and there would be traces of an abandoned carriage, wheel marks, or hoof prints on the ground.
“Checking the bodies is much easier than finding living people to question, so it doesn’t really matter, but the problem is……”
“Right. That’s what’s strange.”
The monsters that had poured out had all been dealt with by the Guardian Spirit before they could go far.
Even Didi, who had been right in front of the Gate, was safe, so how could those who had already fled far away die to monsters? It didn’t make sense.
“Why did they die?”
—No.
“Who killed them?”
Was it a wild beast whose presence he hadn’t sensed, or was it someone else?
“For now, I’m trying to think it was a monster we missed……”
But his gut told him otherwise.
Still, as long as there was even the slightest possibility that it was a missed monster, confirmation was necessary.
After tilting his head in thought for a moment, Raven soon stood up and approached the window. His light murmur continued.
“Well, before that, I need to figure out if they’re the ones I think they are.”
So let’s move.
He placed one foot on the windowsill. Just as he was about to jump without hesitation, his eyes met those of a crow outside the window, staring wide-eyed, and he stopped.
“……”
“……”
Even though it was just a bird, its sharp gaze seemed to say, “I knew you’d do this.”
Raven, who had been locked in a staring contest with the crow, quietly lowered the leg he had hooked over the windowsill. There was no point in trying to shake it off now, and since he planned to return soon, there was no need to start a tiring chase.
This persistent stalker……
Deliberately taking off his outer coat, he tossed it onto the bed. There had to be evidence that he would return, or the crow would come after him personally. As for the Sculpted Soul… he had given up on that a long time ago.
Since he had been caught, it was better to walk out the door openly rather than sneak around suspiciously. Raven turned and opened the door.
“……Oh?”
And he came face to face with someone he hadn’t expected.
Bright green eyes blinked with faint surprise. After a moment, a gentle smile bloomed across her face, centered around her curved eyes.
Raven crossed his arms and leaned his upper body against the doorframe. Tilting his head leisurely, he asked softly to the equally surprised woman.
“Do you need something, sister?”
“Oh, goodness. I was surprised when the door suddenly opened……. It’s nothing much, I just came to tell you to eat. It’s late, but you haven’t eaten yet, have you?”
“……Ah, food.”
Come to think of it, he usually ate at regular times.
Then the child must be hungry too. He hadn’t thought about that because he himself didn’t eat.
“I’ll eat later. Could you look after the child in the next room instead of me?”
“I was going to call her anyway… Where are you going?”
“Just a short walk. I have some things to think about.”
“If you’re too late, it’ll get cold and taste bad……”
“It’ll only be a moment, just a moment. I’ll be right back, don’t worry.”
Then I’ll ask you to do that.
Raven smiled and started to turn… then stopped and looked back at her.
“Just in case, let me ask… Are there any dangerous wild animals around here?”
“No? If there were, I would have warned you first.”
“I thought so. Then I’ll really be going.”
He turned and crossed the hallway. Leaving behind the voice calling the child for a meal, he kicked off the ground the moment he stepped outside.
As expected, the crow followed above his head.
∗ ∗ ∗
……Really persistent.
Raven glanced upward.
It didn’t matter whether the Sculpted Soul followed or not, but it was a bit troublesome if it overheard his conversation with the Guardian Spirit.
After walking for about ten minutes, he finally stopped and looked up. Waving his hand at the crow, the black bird, which had been watching him while flapping its wings, flew far enough away that its sound couldn’t be heard.
If it didn’t listen, I was going to force it away.
Its instincts aren’t bad, after all.
Snort. Raven chuckled lightly, then composed his expression and called the Guardian Spirit. His calm voice scattered into the night air.
“Brother. We have something to talk about, don’t we?”
[……]
“I think it’s time to ask the question I’ve been putting off……”
A hint about the name.
Since he had already made a slip of the tongue regarding this matter and received the Guardian Spirit’s anger and silence in return, Raven sharpened all his senses before getting to the main point and asked another question first.
“You’re not still angry, are you?”
Even though the spirit had personally come to save him and had spoken normally afterward.
“……You said you didn’t hate me.”
When the silence seemed to stretch a little longer, impatient words reflexively slipped out. Raven quickly shut his mouth.
This wasn’t something the current him should say. He had made a mistake.
While doubting the Guardian Spirit, he still wished for the spirit to remain friendly—there was nothing more ridiculous than that. The quick-witted Guardian Spirit couldn’t possibly miss the wary attitude that had unconsciously leaked out.
He had nothing to say even if he was mocked. A sneer formed on his lips.
I really am a selfish bastard.
Come to think of it, he hadn’t said the most important thing either.
I must be getting old. How could he have forgotten this? Scolding himself inwardly, he opened his mouth.
A belated apology slipped out.
“I’m sorry.”
There were no other embellishments. Leaving the rest to the Guardian Spirit, Raven resumed the steps he had stopped.
[……]
“……”
Silence flowed.
As if at a loss for words, the Guardian Spirit, who had been blankly staring at Raven from the space of the dead, let out a belated sigh. The response, a beat late, fell upon the one watching for a reaction.
[I’m sorry too.]
“What…? Ancestor… No, why would you……”
[Because I didn’t realize that I hadn’t earned your complete trust. In that situation, my silence must have become fear for you.]
That was why he hadn’t called the Guardian Spirit even in dangerous situations.
If the Guardian Spirit didn’t respond even in danger, he would truly feel abandoned. If he had been certain that the Guardian Spirit would never abandon him no matter what, such a thing wouldn’t have happened.
In the end, my actions silenced your mouth.
It was my fault for not realizing that death had sprouted the seeds of doubt. No, it was wrong from the beginning to notice it unconsciously and act complacent, thinking it would be fine. The Guardian Spirit wiped his face in dismay.
[I still have a long way to go.]
“No……”
[You asked if I was angry? I wasn’t. What right do I have to be angry at you?]
“……”
[……As an apology, I’ll tell you now.]
There was no need to ask what it was about.
[The clue to my identity, my name, that you were curious about.]