Unsettling Similarities

It wasn’t an exact match, just an ambiguously similar feeling. The kind of resemblance that might easily be a trick of the mind.

……Yet why did it leave such a foul taste?

Pressing his lips into a firm line, Raven examined the corpses a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠little longer. They were torn to shreds, but when he focused, they weren’t entirely devoid of information.

“……There are traces of orthodox martial training.”

The calluses on the hands and the developed musculature told the story.

Not the crude, haphazard swordsmanship of back-alley thugs, but the clean, properly structured arts that knights would learn.

“Well…… if politics or succession struggles are involved, it’s not entirely incomprehensible.”

The real question was who had killed them.

Had there been a traitor in their midst? The lack of any proper signs of resistance suggested they had either been ambushed or slain by someone overwhelmingly stronger.

‘As for anything that might hint at their identities…… naturally, there’s nothing.’

Rustle, rustle.

Without the slightest hesitation, Raven rifled through the corpses he found repulsive to touch, checking their clothes and belongings before letting out a deep sigh.

“No wheel tracks from carriages or hoofprints, and aside from footprints, there are no other traces around the bodies either…… I suppose I’ll have to stay on guard.”

This had been one of the things that felt off when he first found the child.

Even at the location where the boy had been discovered, there had been no traces whatsoever. If they had abandoned the child and fled because a Gate had opened, they should at least have been using horses or a carriage at the time.

‘Kidnapping a child and bringing him all the way here without using any means of transportation is practically impossible.’

Even the paths the “kidnappers” would likely have taken were suspiciously clean of any traces.

“……I’d rather keep it in sight than leave it somewhere I can’t see and feel uneasy about it.”

Having reached that conclusion, Raven curled one corner of his mouth upward.

“Besides, if I want to figure out their intentions, it’s easier to let myself fall into the trap, isn’t it?”

“At worst, all that happens is I die.”

Being unable to die was rather convenient at times like this. Since he had nothing to lose, he could afford to walk into traps without worry.

Even if he were captured and bound, he could simply die again and again until he found a way out.

The other side might even grow so disgusted by sharing the same air with an undying monster that they would tie stones to his body and throw him into the sea, off a cliff, or into a furnace. Or perhaps a more merciful death would appear on its own.

Either way, since he had to keep moving if he wanted to end his contract of immortality, Death wouldn’t simply stand by and watch. If he made use of that, escaping wouldn’t be difficult at all.

“……The kid’s probably waiting. He might have called for me by now.”

Time to head back.

After glancing up at the dark night sky for a moment, Raven turned away without any lingering attachment.

“Shh─.”

Perched in a tree, Deciever watched Raven as he made his way back to the inn.

Unlike usual, he was not alone. A single crow was firmly gripped in his hands.

“You really ought to break that habit of stalking people.”

Whispering words that would ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠reach no one while covering the black bird’s eyes and ears, Deciever silently observed until the investigation was complete and Raven began retracing his steps. Then, ever so faintly, the corner of his mouth lifted.

“I told you he was sharp.”

Perhaps it was because of me that he became even more so.

The thought made the sight strangely pleasing.

A peculiar emotion seeped into the laughter that had once been filled with mockery and mischief.

“Even while suspecting a trap, he still tries to keep his promise. I suppose that’s just like him.”

He had expected as much. Given who the other party was and the situation they were in, it was only natural. That was precisely why he had led things in this direction to begin with.

In any other circumstance, it might have been frustrating, but this time the beneficiary was who it was, so Deciever found it thoroughly delightful and tilted his head slightly.

“More importantly…… a ‘trap,’ huh.”

Was it a trap?

He himself didn’t particularly think so, but since he didn’t know what standards a human—or rather, his master—might apply, he couldn’t give a definite answer. If his master considered it a trap, then it would become one.

Most likely, he would interpret it as such.

However.

‘……Still, those ten years without Father were boring.’

Even so, he had no intention of changing his mind.

Rather, considering that the other had disappeared without a word for ten years, wasn’t this level of mischief rather tame?

‘Though I was the cause of that disappearance.’

Well then.

Just as he was about to leave with a grin, Deciever paused and glanced down at the Sculpted Soul he had been keeping captive all this time. ……As if he had never smiled at all, the expression vanished from his face.

‘Should I kill it?’

He didn’t like the way it clung to his father, nor did he like it for various other reasons. But……

If Dan died, “Didi” would obviously be the first to be suspected. After a brief moment of consideration, Deciever ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠tossed the Sculpted Soul into the air.

The crow, which had been flailing in sudden disorientation, belatedly regained its balance and looked back to find its captor. But the capricious being who always acted on a whim had already vanished without a trace.

Raven returned to the inn without incident and was about to open the door when he stopped short at the sight visible through the window.

“Ah……”

Whether it was the innkeeper’s meddling or something she had bought with her own money, Dan was sitting at a table near the entrance, mechanically spooning soup into his mouth while staring fixedly at the doorway. But that wasn’t what made Raven halt.

‘……A person who can’t even remember a single day.’

What caught his eye was the steaming bowl of soup placed on an otherwise empty table.

Raven looked once at the soup, then at the innkeeper’s back as she worked, waiting for a guest who had gone out for a walk without knowing anything.

Just as he was about to turn away on impulse, his gaze met Dan’s through the window.

“……”

“……”

Ever since he had sent the Guardian Spirit away for their conversation, Dan had disappeared at some point, but before that he had been monitoring everything through his Sculpted Soul. Perhaps that was why an intense gaze immediately latched onto Raven. A soft flutter—the sound of black wings dissolving into the night—brushed against his eardrums.

If that sound felt like shackles being fastened, as if to say it would follow him wherever he went, perhaps it was just his imagination.

After locking eyes with Dan for a moment, Raven let out a soft sigh.

‘Right. As long as I don’t eat, it’s fine.’

After ten peaceful years of barely moving, he had no intention of forcing food into his stomach now. That would be too cruel to his own body.

‘……Anyway, in a day…… no, not even a day. Once a little time passes, she’ll forget why she prepared soup for an empty seat.’

She would simply assume it was a sign of forgetfulness, feel a bit of concern, and clean it up. There was no need to worry.

Raven looked up and found the window of the room he had rented among the many others. He kicked off the ground, pushed off a tree once to gain height, and landed silently on the open windowsill.

──And immediately twisted his body to throw a dagger behind him.

Thud!

“……!”

The dagger flew in an instant, grazing the crow’s side before piercing the snake behind it and embedding itself in the tree.

It had clearly been aiming for the crow. Raven let out a low chuckle at the sight of the snake hanging limp in death and the crow alternating glances between it and him in confusion.

“Walking around with your heart exposed like that is bound to cause problems.”

If a Sculpted Soul died, so did its master. That was why most Sculpted Soul Masters kept their fragments close unless absolutely necessary.

Back when he had been living an ordinary life, there had been no need for the crow Sculpted Soul, and when he was captured and sold as a slave, he had to hide it instead. So it was understandable that he wasn’t used to keeping it nearby, but it was still astonishing that he had survived this long.

“I’m sure you know that a Sculpted Soul that lets its guard down is no different from the animal itself……”

The habit from his teaching days made him mutter without thinking, but he soon grew annoyed and shut his mouth. Like the tide receding, the smile disappeared from his face.

As he had said, Dan probably knew this as well. There was no need to lecture someone who wasn’t even his disciple.

“……I won’t be going anywhere until tomorrow morning…… no, until lunchtime, so you should rest as well.”

You’ve already pushed yourself too hard.

Whether it was because the direction of his words had suddenly changed or because he was trying to discern the sincerity of the offhanded remark, the crow stared at him. Paying no mind to the gaze, Raven turned away.

He had wanted to close the window, but since Didi might call from the next room, he left it open and threw himself onto the bed.

It was a little cold.

The search for the four association presidents’ master had grown even more aggressive.

Even after being confined to a windowless room with a meal slot in the door and becoming the center of strange rumors, they had stubbornly commissioned the two major information organizations that divided the continent.

After consolidating the individual requests they had each placed and adding more money to urge the search for “someone,” the heads of the information organizations had no choice.

“Assign more personnel.”

“We’re already short on manpower. There’s nowhere else to pull from……”

“Minimize taking on other jobs for the time being. Focus everything else on this.”

Starve, the overseer in charge of Esperanes’ central information network, spoke firmly.

“This request comes from the association presidents themselves.”

Whether their reasons for searching were good or bad, whether they intended to kill or imprison the target instead of simply finding them—these questions didn’t matter.

The clients were the very pinnacle of their respective fields, leaders respected even by an entire nation. Not one, but all of them had gathered to place and press this request.

“Their commission takes top priority.”

Esperanes’ information organization specialized in history and political analysis, making them weaker at locating individuals outside the political sphere. But the client was far too significant to abandon the task for such a reason.

After issuing orders and dismissing his subordinates, Starve lowered his head with a weary expression. Through strands of silver-purple hair that had come loose from their loose tie and hung like curtains, the document listing the physical description of the person they sought was visible.

‘We must find this person no matter what.’

The name he went by was “Raven.” Male.

Long black hair reaching down to his waist, eyes that shifted between gray and green, and a choker with a red gem around his neck.

‘If they’re gray, they’re gray, and if they’re green, they’re green. What does it mean that they shift between gray and green…… I don’t understand.’

Still, if he was handsome enough to occasionally use his looks as a weapon, the search shouldn’t be entirely impossible.

Of course, if those capable of throwing the entire continent into chaos if they so wished had failed to find him, there had to be a reason they had commissioned help.

They had to find him somehow.

‘At the very least, we can’t let others find him first.’

Especially if the other party was Aurell, the information organization that had grown large enough to pose a threat to them.

The mind of someone who was exhausted yet unable to rest worked busily. Placing the main cause of his current busyness at the center of his thoughts, he closed his eyes tightly before opening them again.

‘I heard they refused this request……’

Yet they were apparently searching for “Raven” themselves.

After turning down such a good opportunity, they were still looking for the target. There had to be some ulterior motive.

He already knew the reason they had given for refusing, but it couldn’t possibly be their true intention. Starve was certain of it.

So he would have to find out their true purpose while he was at it.

‘I’ll have to keep an eye on Aurell’s movements as well.’

For the sake of his own position.

Even now, there were complaints from above about how a fledgling information organization from the slums was eating into their influence.

Recently, news had arrived that they had lost yet another source of funding, so he couldn’t afford to lose this position just yet.

‘I hope we manage to find something.’

His purple eyes gleamed darkly.

The reply Edardo, head of Aurell—the information organization that had risen from the slums to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Esperanes’ network in just ten years—gave after hearing the details of the request.

In that sense.

He tilted his head leisurely.

He would accept the withdrawal of the individual requests they had placed earlier. However, he would refuse any further commissions.

At Edardo’s firm stance, Liv, Raven’s second disciple and president of the Sculpted Soul Masters Association, furrowed her brows and spoke sharply.

Despite having such distinctive features, the fact that even he had failed to identify this person was truly intriguing—and infuriating.

With that addition, Edardo curled his lips into a slight smile toward those marked with exclamation points above their heads and spoke firmly.

It meant he would simply tell them without any compensation.

For the association presidents, it was an action with no downside whatsoever. That was why three of the four accepted without complaint and ended the communication, while the remaining one, who harbored considerable dissatisfaction with Edardo’s attitude, had no choice but to grit her teeth and withdraw, knowing that she was the one in a hurry.

Of course, she didn’t withdraw quietly.

Edardo brushed off the sharp warning lightly and, the moment the communication ended, turned to his siblings.

“You all heard, so there’s no need for explanations.”

“……”

“Find him.”

His golden eyes flashed like a beast’s.

“Find him, and erase all traces.”