Chapter 108
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 92
Chapter Title: A Call from the Capital
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The road at Westmore is blocked...
I recalled what the coachman heading to the capital had said—that he’d turned back because the road at Westmore was blocked.
This was something I'd heard right before the world ended.
[Can’t stay long… *crackle*—have to go… I can’t let them find me. *crackle*—We can’t get out from here, but on your side… Westmore… *crackle*—there might be a way to break through… *crackle-crackle*—don’t you think?]
“What’s the situation there? Who are ‘they’? Are you really okay?”
[Ah, it’s a bit clearer now. Can you hear me? As far as anyone here knows, I’m dead. Someone is trying to kill me.]
“What?”
Ethan asked in surprise.
Hearing that, I thought of the soldiers who’d impersonated the royal army and come to abduct Ethan.
The Lancaster siblings, both facing threats to their lives…
[Don’t worry too much. His Highness Theodore is a very capable man. And there’s one last thing I want to ask you, brother…]
The connection seemed to improve, and the voice on the other end became a little clearer.
Aurora sounded nervous, her voice trailing off as she hesitated. Both Ethan and I tensed up, waiting for her next words.
[Brother, are you really… you know… with Cherry Sinclair?]
“…What?”
“What?”
I was so flustered that I forgot to keep my voice down and blurted out the question right along with Ethan.
Harrison, who had been watching us quietly, shook his head.
[Huh? What was that? I just heard a woman’s voice. Is that Cherry Sinclair? Oh my goodness!]
“You misheard. And there’s nothing going on with Cherry Sinclair.”
Ethan’s reply was firm. So firm, in fact, that I felt a pang of disappointment.
I mean, it’s true that there’s nothing between us, but still…
Aurora’s voice over the receiver sounded completely serious. Genuinely.
Ethan glanced at me, then sighed and pressed a hand to his forehead, as if lost in thought.
[Oh, right. I can’t talk for long. I think I’m about to be discovered. I have to move.]
“What? Discovered? By whom?”
[When you get to the capital, come to Graydon Castle. There’s a dead tree by the eastern wall, you see? If you dig underneath it, you’ll find a door. Go down through there, and you’ll find stairs leading into the castle. We’re all staying in the chamberlain’s building.]
“Who exactly is going to discover you…?”
[Oh, but you haven’t seen Father, have you? I’m so worried about whether he’s still alive.]
“I haven’t seen him either. But knowing him, I’m sure he’s alive.”
[I honestly thought so too. He has a villainous streak, so I didn’t think he’d die easily. You’re like Father in that way, brother—you have that villainous air about you. I knew you’d be alive.]
“Hey. Do you hear yourself right now…? No, forget it. More importantly, who is going to discover you…?”
[Oh, brother, I really have to go now. I’m hanging up. And hey, make sure to bring Cherry Sinclair. You wouldn’t be so ungentlemanly as to leave a lady behind, would you?]
“Hey. Aurora. Hello? Hello?”
*Beep. Beep. Beep.*
The line went dead.
“Damn it, she just says whatever she wants and hangs up…”
Ethan stared at the receiver in disbelief, letting out a hollow laugh. But despite his words, I could see the relief on his face.
Aurora really was talkative. Incredibly so. On top of that, she didn’t listen much to others and tended to just say her piece, so it felt like you could easily get swept away by her in a conversation.
“What’s the situation in the capital?”
Harrison, who had been watching us quietly, asked. Only then did Ethan properly set down the receiver and turn to face Harrison and me.
“It seems the road at Westmore is blocked, so people can’t get out of the capital.”
At Ethan’s words, Harrison’s expression immediately turned grave.
It made sense. The capital, Benton, was an excellent fortress, but also an isolated city.
Aside from the massive, rugged Rubelt Mountains guarding its north, the city was surrounded on its other three sides by the Reed River.
Three large bridges spanned the Reed River. One led to the port on the western sea, while the other two both led to Westmore.
In other words, Westmore was the main artery into the capital, Benton.
Just then, Harrison spoke up.
“I came from Westmore, and they were indeed controlling the roads from that point on. I’m not sure what’s happening, but I suspect some trouble has broken out there.”
Hearing this, Ethan propped his chin on his hand, lost in thought.
“This reminds me of that urban legend incident in Westmore.”
he muttered, still deep in thought.
Only then did I remember the Westmore urban legend incident Knox had told me about.
Human screams and animalistic cries were supposedly heard every night from a mansion in Westmore. But there were no witnesses.
The mansion where the strange sounds were said to be coming from was, in fact, completely empty.
I mulled it over for a moment before voicing a question.
“Do you think those animal sounds could have been made by these damned monsters?”
“I don’t know.”
Harrison shook his head. Ethan, who had been quietly lost in his own thoughts, looked up as if he had made a decision and spoke declaratively.
“The only way to know for sure is to go there ourselves.”
“Are you leaving?”
Finally?
I was about to try and persuade him to stay. It was a little disappointing. Still, Aurora herself had called, so what could I do? It couldn’t be helped. I quickly pushed the thought aside and looked at Ethan.
In response to my question, Ethan glanced down at me. Unlike me, his expression was complex. He opened his mouth as if to say something.
Just then, the door to the underground jail burst open. It was Amy.
“Starlight! Emergency, emergency!”
Amy rushed into the police station, making a scene.
“I went hunting with Vanilla, and we had some time left, so we decided to try digging at the entrance to the underground passage. And what do you know? We barely dug at all before it opened up!”
So there really was a passage there. After hearing Amy’s report, Harrison said to me,
“I need to manage things here, so please go and explore the underground passage with Sir Ethan. Sir Ethan, you’re not leaving today, are you?”
Ethan nodded.
“The sun is setting. It would be best to just pack a few things today.”
“What, the old geezer is leaving? For the capital?”
Amy looked up at Ethan with wide eyes. A grin spread across his face as he asked her,
“Why? Going to miss me?”
“Nope. You’ll be back anyway.”
“What? You don’t know that.”
“Nope. You’ll be back.”
“What makes you so sure?”
“Because Starlight is here.”
Huh? What was that supposed to mean? I didn’t understand her last comment, so I just stared at her.
Amy, in turn, looked at us as if she couldn’t understand our confusion. She pointed a finger back and forth between me and Ethan and asked,
“Aren’t you two a team?”
“I wanted to be, but Miss Cherry here rejected my request to be partners.”
Ethan said, gesturing toward me with a nod of his head. He had his arms crossed. When our eyes met, he let out a chuckle.
Lately, Ethan seems to laugh whenever he looks at my face. It’s like he’s itching to pick a fight for fun.
In any case, Ethan had never asked me to be his partner. He’d only expressed a wish that he could have scouted me as a fellow officer before the apocalypse.
But saying that now would only prolong the conversation, so I answered as firmly as I could.
“What’s the point of having a partner in times like these? Besides, I have very specific requirements for a partner.”
A brief silence followed my last statement.
Ethan looked surprised, as if it was an unexpected response, while Amy quickly drew closer, all ears. Harrison pretended to be uninterested, but I could tell he was also curious about what I would say next.
“And what might those requirements be?”
Ethan asked. I shrugged and answered nonchalantly.
“They have to be able to pluck a star from the sky.”
That’s the bare minimum to be Cherry Sinclair’s partner. Of course, I didn’t mean it literally. It was a metaphor.
Silence fell once more. The expressions on everyone’s faces were nearly identical. *What kind of nonsense is this?*
But I was completely serious. After a long moment of silence, Ethan spoke.
“What is it with these damned stars…? As I thought, you’re not normal either, Miss Cherry.”
“You’re one to talk, Sir Ethan.”
“Hah… Just stop, both of you, and get going.”
Harrison gestured at us with a weary expression. The motion might as well have been telling us to get lost. He seemed thoroughly fed up.