The Designated Soul
Death had taken issue with Raven finding any kind of sanctuary, so he had named the next soul to be reaped as someone close to him. In the end, it was Raven’s own fault for letting himself grow attached to anyone.
“What?! Was that a death threat?!”
“No, I mean… thank you.”
“How exactly am I supposed to interpret that as gratitude?”
“I don’t know.”
Which meant they should part ways the moment they reached the capital.
Once the boy vanished from his sight, he would forget Raven soon enough. Just as it had always been. They could simply return to a connection that had never existed in the first place.
Raven had no intention of repeating the same mistake.
“……I am curious about the captain’s stories, though. Those anecdotes with that person—would you consider telling me more…?”
“Of course not.”
……He had been the first person who ever made Raven beg Death. The first fool who forced Raven to his knees before that absolute being. The first madman who made him clutch at Death’s coattails and plead.
Please don’t do this. Can’t you reap his soul yourself? Why does it have to be my hand, and why does it have to be him of all people?
He remembered weeping as he begged.
“It’s not exactly a pleasant memory.”
Raven still remembered exactly what Death had said that day.
Feigning affection, the entity had cupped his cheeks with both hands, lifted his face, and smiled.
"This is the price of your immortality."
"……!"
⟨ Fulfill the contract, ■■. ⟩
It had been nothing more than a passing bond.
The idiot who smiled at the stranger beside him every time he woke up and suggested they eat together.
The madman who, when a loud voice pointed at him shouting that he was an ill omen who needed to be killed, turned his blade on the speaker instead.
The fool who fabricated weaknesses that didn’t exist in order to earn trust, and who never once abandoned or betrayed him.
……And into the heart of the one who had done all that for him, Raven had been forced to drive a knife.
“……Anyway, aren’t you going to sleep? It’s nighttime.”
“Oh, was I allowed to? I thought you might abandon me the moment I closed my eyes.”
“I hadn’t considered it, but that’s not a bad idea.”
Raven changed the subject with a soft laugh.
It was a joke, but Dan—the most persistent stalker of them all—was already dozing off, and the mercenary before him didn’t seem heartless enough to abandon a child. It really did feel like he could leave both of them behind.
……Maybe he should actually try it once. As he debated whether to knock the man unconscious, Eckhart put on a wronged expression.
“I lit the fire and grilled meat for you. Don’t you think that’s a bit harsh?”
“Well……”
“Or is it because of the guest?”
“……!”
For an instant, Raven’s lips pressed into a rigid line.
It lasted only a moment, but Eckhart caught it clearly and muttered as if he had expected nothing less.
“So the guest wasn’t invited by the captain after all.”
“……Correct. And I doubt you invited them either.”
He had tried to settle the matter quietly on his own.
As expected, the man was surprisingly sharp. In a case like this, one could only call it self-inflicted trouble.
Raven quietly turned his head toward a certain spot. Eckhart’s gaze followed the same direction.
“So, who are you?”
“……My apologies.”
Now certain they had been discovered, the other party slowly emerged from behind the tree.
“We are part of the slave liberation movement. We knew it was rude, but we had no other way to approach you, Sir Raven, so we were forced to resort to this discourtesy.”
“So it was me they wanted……. Why me?”
“We wish to recruit you.”
“What…? You people too? Why?”
Bewilderment mixed with doubt rose on Raven’s face.
Eckhart made sense—he had seen things firsthand. But what could that organization possibly know about him? They had never even crossed paths—.
Ah. Perhaps.
“……You followed Dan and saw me.”
The only recent event that could have created contact between him and the slave liberation activists was the one involving Dan.
An escaped slave. Right afterward, if the activists had moved to raid the slave traders and secure the safety of those who fled, they could easily have traced Dan’s footsteps and spotted him.
Come to think of it, he had felt a gaze back then as well. When he moved to help Dan and met the boy’s older sister, that gaze had vanished. They must have withdrawn, reassured at the time.
Whether it was fortunate or unfortunate that they had not witnessed him killing her, he couldn’t say.
“Yes, that’s correct. Our leader saw you that day and strongly desires to bring you in as a comrade.”
“I appreciate the kind regard, but—”
“You may or may not already know this, but the association presidents are searching for you. If you lend us your strength, we will promise not only silence regarding that matter, but support beyond it.”
……It seemed it had been unfortunate.
It would have been simpler if they had seen him kill Dan’s sister and come charging at him, calling him trash.
Just because their tone was polite, they thought that was enough. Raven’s eyebrows twitched at the veiled threat.
“‘Association presidents’?”
“Yes. The Awakener Association president, the Fighter Association president, the Sculpted Soul Master Association president, the Shaman Association president. Nearly every major figure is looking for you.”
……He thought he had heard an association name that should never have been spoken.
Why was the name of the organization he had personally eradicated appearing here? The sensation of twisting that president’s neck was still vivid in his palm.
His lips twisted on their own.
“……The Sculpted Soul Master Association president. That part is rather interesting.”
“Then……”
“But I refuse.”
He had already seen the wanted poster.
The big shots were looking for him? So what.
He had been curious who was searching for him so desperately. Thanks to this, his curiosity was satisfied, so he would overlook the earlier veiled threat. Considering how unpleasant it had felt, the other side should be grateful for even that much.
“I’ve refused clearly, so you’ll leave obediently, yes? Making me your enemy can’t be your goal.”
“……We apologize for disturbing you so late at night.”
It seemed they weren’t entirely thoughtless. Despite a dissatisfied expression, the other party withdrew without resistance, and silence descended once more.
In the quiet, Eckhart rolled his eyes awkwardly before scratching his head.
“Association presidents… You were an even bigger figure than I imagined.”
“So, aren’t you going to sleep?”
“Shouldn’t the captain be the one sleeping?”
You must be tired.
As always, he obediently followed the abruptly changed topic and studied Raven.
“You don’t seem to rest at all……”
“I don’t need to sleep.”
“Where does someone like that even exist?”
“Right here.”
To Raven, sleep was not a necessity but a preference.
Something he did or skipped according to mood. In short, it didn’t matter if he never slept at all.
“So take the night watch or whatever and go to sleep quickly. That way I won’t abandon you.”
“Your jokes sound entirely too sincere.”
“…….”
“……Captain?”
It is a joke, right? You’re not serious?
Afraid of waking the child, Eckhart kept his voice low as he muttered, then suddenly let out a deep sigh and sat down across from Raven.
“From the look of you, Captain, it seems you won’t be sleeping tonight……”
“…….”
“How about telling some old stories?”
“……Isn’t the person being asked usually the one who offers to tell them?”
It was so brazen he had almost gone along with it.
“As I told you last time, I’m curious about the captain’s stories.”
“……You really are needlessly persistent.”
“I can be quite persistent when I want to be.”
“I don’t understand it.”
What did he hope to gain by learning Raven’s past?
Ah. Perhaps. Raven, who had been watching Eckhart with a crooked gaze, suddenly curved one corner of his mouth upward.
“Why? Are you curious about my connection to the association presidents? Planning to report me?”
“I told you I won’t. You even handed me your weakness—why say something so terrifying?”
“……Right. I did that.”
The sudden appearance of an association he thought he had erased had distracted him and made him forget for a moment.
The expression vanished from Raven’s face. He closed his mouth, lifted his head to the sky, and soon let out a faint, sigh-like laugh.
“Nice weather.”
They were going to part anyway. He was someone who would forget him cleanly. There was no harm in saying whatever he wanted.
So this was merely a whim.
“Where should I begin?”
“……!”
Because he had heard the unexpected association name again. Because the bond would be severed anyway. Because the sky, thick with stars, was truly beautiful.
Thus, the loosened Raven opened his mouth to the fool who had said anything would be fine.
The moon that had illuminated the night slipped away, and the sun revealed its face.
After breaking camp and setting off once more, Eckhart followed behind Raven with a haggard expression. It wasn’t simply because he had stayed up all night.
“What kind of stories were those……”
“I remember only telling heartwarming ones.”
“They were heartwarming, sure. The problem is that every last one ended with ‘but then I killed them’!”
Stories of receiving help, stories of giving help, stories of altruistic people—Raven had indeed shared only warm tales.
So why did every single one conclude with him killing those people?
“Are you some infamous serial killer? You don’t look the part.”
“Think whatever you like.”
Leaving Eckhart to wrestle with whether he should be on guard or not, Raven continued walking with an indifferent face. He could feel Dan’s gaze watching them from afar.
The boy had probably heard everything as well. From some point during the long night of storytelling, that intense gaze had returned. Identifying its owner as a Sculpted Soul was not difficult.
“Are there no stories where you didn’t kill anyone?”
“Hmm……”
“……Did that question really require this much thought?”
“……Fifteen years ago? No, around twenty. I once saved some children. I taught them the sword.”
It had probably been an illegal fighting arena that forced children of about ten years old to risk their lives in matches.
They weren’t victims of a Gate, but he had saved them because they were children. Even if they hadn’t been children, the sight would have sickened him too much to ignore. In any case.
They must have grown into thoroughly creepy adults by now.
He had no idea how the homeless children rescued from such a barren environment had turned out. He couldn’t take them with him, so he had handed over a large number of mana stones to a place that promised to do anything for money and left them there.
I chose that option because they didn’t seem to have completely rotten humanity.
There weren’t many places willing to accept children overflowing with murderous intent, and since the fighting arena was located in a shady area, decent choices had been scarce.
Still, after revealing himself as a shaman and extracting a promise that they would take full responsibility and raise the children properly until adulthood, they at least would not have laid a hand on them directly.
It is well known that promises made to shamans are not to be taken lightly, and if made, must absolutely be kept…….
Besides, he had even taught the children the sword so that if they were mistreated, they could simply kill their abusers.
He had prepared as much as he could. In most cases, it should have been fine.
Of course, only in ‘most cases.’
As a shaman he could only block direct harm, the sword lessons had been brief, and ultimately they had been physically immature minors. He had no way of knowing what became of them. Perhaps some had died before reaching adulthood.
While thinking in such dry terms, Raven knew that speaking it aloud would only cause another commotion, so he swallowed the rest and continued.
“If they trained diligently, they may have become quite capable.”
“Our mercenary group’s candidate list just got longer. ……Wait, twenty years ago? Captain, exactly how old are you?!”
“Older than you imagine.”
With a soft laugh, he glanced down at Didi, who sat obediently on his arm.
……After the small disturbance, the child had fallen asleep, so the postponed issue had finally surfaced.
“More importantly, the wanted poster makes passing through the gate difficult.”
“Ah…! I could never ask my benefactor to take such a risk! If you escort me near the gate, I’ll handle the rest myself.”
“Leave getting inside to me, Captain.”
“Good. Then that’s settled.”
After parting with these two, he would secretly scale the castle wall and enter. Dan could manage on his own.
Now that the answer had been given, Raven quickened his steps toward the castle gate that had begun to appear in the distance.
.
.
.
“Thank you for everything, Sir Raven. I will never forget this kindness!”
“Yeah.”
“It was a short journey, but I enjoyed it, Captain. I’ll take full responsibility for the child and deliver him safely to his guardian, so don’t worry.”
“…….”
“Why won’t you answer me?!”
“I got so sick of your voice the entire way here… I heard you, so hurry up and disappear.”
When they were nearly there, on a cliff overlooking the clearly visible castle gate, Raven handed Didi to Eckhart and waved his hand roughly with somewhat chilled eyes. Eckhart, who held the child with surprising stability, whined for a moment before Raven clenched his fist. The man immediately took the hint and scurried away.
“W-well then, I’ll really be going.”
“…….”
“Ah, but Captain.”
“What now.”
“When will you join our mercenary group….”
“I said I won’t.”
“Yes, sir.”
Should he really kick this one?
No, no. Since this would be the last time, there was no need to be harsh. If he were alone it might be different, but the man was carrying a child.
Forcing his tensed fist to relax, Raven gave a nod that clearly meant hurry up and go.
Eckhart bowed politely, glanced at Dan—who looked as if he wanted to follow Raven—then turned without another word and descended the path. From the edge of the cliff, Raven watched the two as they drew closer to the castle gate.
……Then I should get going as well.
He could kill time somewhere suitable and cross the wall after dark.
Raven turned away cleanly.
But before he could even leave the cliff—
“Kyaaaak!!”
A sharp scream that pierced his eardrums caught his ankle.
“It’s a Gate!”
“……!”
At the shout that followed, Raven’s head snapped around.