The House of the Witch and the Giant
"A bracelet...?"
At Blow's words, Skadi thought back over the way Herbena had looked just moments ago.
When she saluted, when she pinned her hair up, when she lifted an arm to cast — that black bracelet had definitely been there.
Blow held out his own bracelet to the slightly dazed Skadi and went on.
"I think Herbena's got something in mind. Saluting just to show off a bracelet doesn't suit her at all."
"Even so. That's a stretch."
"Something's definitely going on. But from where I was standing, she still looked like she had room to breathe."
"If that's what you saw, then I suppose that's what it was."
"If it were truly dangerous, she would've found some way to say so. Don't worry too much."
Having settled her, Blow drew a slow breath and looked down at his own right wrist.
Had Herbena been carrying a second bracelet? He didn't remember her ever saying she'd made two.
A spare, maybe, in case he lost his?
Whatever it was, it wasn't what mattered right now.
Once this was over, he'd have to ask her what had happened.
He was still turning it over, index finger tracing along his jaw, when Skadi — seated beside him — let her shoulders sink with a sigh.
"I see."
"What?"
"It's just... lately it feels like everyone has so much on their mind except me. Like I'm the only one who isn't thinking about anything."
"Skadi, is this because you couldn't make it to yesterday's meeting and now you're—"
"No! Ugh, fine, I'm sure there's a reason for all of it! Um-haha...!!"
She waved him off, forcing an awkward smile.
Quietly sorry for her, Blow cleared his throat and asked in an easy voice.
"Skadi. Want to go back to the estate and have a drink?"
"No... not in a situation like this. What would we even..."
"I'm not talking about getting drunk. Just enough to clear the air. Honestly, seeing Herbena just now shook me too."
"Blow..."
"I might be forcing myself to keep it together right now."
"......"
"My head's a mess, and it's been a while since you and I drank together. That's all. We always drank when we were happy, and when we were sad, didn't we? Maybe my head's worse because we stopped."
He smiled at her as he said it.
Looking at him, Skadi felt a sudden sting behind her nose. She blinked it away and smiled back.
"All right! A little shouldn't hurt!"
"Yeah. Tonight even I get to whine a bit."
As if he actually would. He's always this gentle with me — how am I supposed to not fall for him? I showed it again. To Blow. But I like it when he talks to me like that.
"When we get to the estate I'll have them put out something to eat!! Let's drink in the guest room!!"
"Sure. Tell them not to go overboard, though. It's late."
"Okay."
Then Blow gave her shoulder a careful pat.
Startled, Skadi took this moment — the moment he was looking only at her — and set it slowly, carefully, into her memory.
A short while later, they returned to the estate.
Jane came running out in a rush to greet them. Finding no sign of Herbena, who ought to have been at their backs, she let out a deep sigh and pinched her brow.
"Herbena..."
"Said she had something to do. That she wouldn't be coming."
"Something to do? Does that girl even have her head on straight?"
"She did look a little scattered. But I think she's got a reason."
"......"
"Jane. You're angry."
"Honestly, I truly cannot understand it. I mean that. This time..."
If Jane was saying that much, she was furious to the very top of her head.
"Don't take it too hard. It looked like she had a reason."
"I only hope it's a reason I can accept."
"Anyway, Skadi and I were about to have a quick drink. Want to join?"
"Right now?"
"Yeah. Not much else to do at this hour."
"Then I might as well have a drink and give you the report while I'm at it. I'll just speak with Melo first."
"Right — how's Melo?"
"About as you'd expect, I think. She says she misses Liz. I can't tell whether she's only pretending to be fine..."
"It's not something a kid should have to go through. I feel awful about it."
"She does like the meals at the estate, though."
"Small mercies, then."
"Well of course! Do you have any idea how much trouble my father went to!!"
Skadi slipped brightly into the talk, and with that they reached the guest room.
A little later a plate heaped with cheese and sausage was set on the table, and Skadi — beaming — watched the foam climb in a beer glass that was modest by her standards.
"Skadi, isn't that a little small for you?"
"And what, am I supposed to drink like a brute every single time?"
"So you knew it was crude."
"I knew you ate a lot. That much, yes."
"Skadi, where's your kitchen, anyway? I've walked through a few times and I still can't find it."
"Our estate is a little... like that..."
She glanced at him, oddly wary of his reaction. Blow could only tilt his head — and just then Jane came in, took her seat, and spoke with a faint sigh.
"The potion subscription seems to be running better than we expected. The people who stayed behind have been working hard."
"Good. Nothing going on at Hills or Red Forest?"
"They say it feels like the calm before a storm. A few of the students came by to ask if everything was all right."
Talk of her and the Dusk Block brought the children there to mind, and Blow turned to Jane.
"That reminds me. What about the Dusk Block kids and the potatoes?"
"Shall I have a word with someone?"
"Yeah. Tell Cunsai. Ask him to look after them, if he can."
"I will."
"Did you get in touch with Karlfeld?"
"Yes. I contacted him on account of Liz, actually. He said the goods will be made as usual."
"Good. Worst case, we just take my name off it. Lucky we weren't in too deep."
"For now he said he would watch how things develop. And Lady Megan said she would stay in Eastpol a little longer and come up once the situation settles."
"She's really been through it."
"At this rate the servants are going to think Lady Megan's act is the real thing."
"If it's Megan, I'm not too worried."
"She did say, very firmly, that no one was to worry about her."
"All right... shall we have that drink?"
The three of them had just touched their beers together when the door slid open and Melo peeked inside.
"Young maaaster..."
"Melo, you're still up?"
"I didn't work today, so I'm wide awake! Young master! I brought a present..."
"A present?"
What she held out was Hills-style roasted potatoes. The sight was so familiar that, for a moment, everyone in the room lost their words.
"Young master, Hans is here too. May he come in with me?"
"Of course. Get in here."
Melo came in with the potatoes and settled on Blow's knee. Hans took the seat beside Jane. Looking at the two of them, Blow let out a short laugh.
"In a way, the people in this room are the founding members in the truest sense. Aren't we?"
"That's true. Lady Megan only came up a little later."
"Should I... should I excuse myself? Haha."
Skadi said it while watching his face, and Blow shook his head.
"What are you talking about? You were the shop's very first VIP. You were coming around even before Megan."
"Was I?"
"You were."
"That's right. Though Sister Herbena isn't here..."
A silence fell at Melo's words. Hans, reading the room, cleared his throat.
"Ah! Let's start with the potatoes! They're best before they cool!"
"Right. These yours, Melo?"
"Yes! Because you said you were having a drink!!"
She answered brightly on purpose. Blow stroked her hair and leaned in, whispering in a gentle voice.
"Thank you, Melo. For being so grown-up about this."
"...I talked to Mom earlier."
"Romang?"
"Yes. I told her I was doing well at the hotel, and she was so happy. She said the neighborhood finally had something to brag about. I wasn't in Caipol for very long, but every wonderful, fun thing I got to experience — all of it was thanks to you, young master."
"......"
"I think of all of it as a gift you gave me. I'm young, and I still don't know anything, but even so, even so..."
Melo lifted the roasted potatoes toward him and forced the corners of her mouth up.
"I can make you something this delicious."
Her words left the room solemn. Whatever thoughts passed through them, Jane's lips moved, and so did Hans's. Tears welled in Melo's eyes.
Blow drew her into a tight hug from behind so they wouldn't fall, and spoke softly.
"Don't worry too much. It'll be all right."
"It will! It'll be all right!"
"Of course it will!!"
Everyone nodded along with him. Seeing that, Melo lifted her head, rubbed at her eyes, and brought a roasted potato to her mouth with a bright smile.
A softness she knew by heart, and a saltiness passing through it.
Blow whispered one more thing.
"It's good. Same as always."
Deep in the night, as one day gave way to the next, in the estate at the very heart of the Dusk Block.
Unlike the near-black gray that blanketed the rest of the district, its outer walls were painted ivory — a color that did not belong there at all.
In the last room on the first floor, the so-called rulers of the back alleys — Black Bear Rich and Razor Gron — were holding a meeting with only a handful of their closest men.
Then the door opened, and a blonde woman in a robe stepped between them. She smiled, looking from one to the other.
"Both of you. It's about time you headed out."
"......"
"Quickly, please."
"Ahem..."
Only after she pressed them a second time did the two men rise. Even as they got to their feet and made for the door, they glared at each other, still locked in a contest of nerves. The blonde woman slipped between them, linked her arms through theirs, and cooed.
"I told you tonight isn't that kind of night."
"That's true, but..."
"She's right."
After One-Armed Jackson had been dragged off by Rachel and his organization fell to pieces, the back alleys had been undergoing a shift that their rulers found anything but welcome.
By rights the two of them should have carved up Jackson's share between them. Instead Blow Deblique had appeared out of nowhere and swallowed the whole of it.
That alone was cause enough for lament, and then the boy — still wet behind the ears — declared he would not even collect taxes. Overnight, their position grew worse still, because among the merchants under their influence the grumbling against them kept growing louder.
But perhaps they were not meant to die just yet. This time, something truly fatal had befallen that same Blow Deblique.
A few days ago, this woman had come to them and told them exactly what would happen.
"First the two of you join hands, and then you think about what comes after. Isn't that all there is to it?"
"And who the hell are you supposed to be? Some bone a dog dragged in?"
"You don't have to trust me. The message is what matters. And when the time comes? We won't even need you all that much. The crowd will handle it on their own."
"Then why are you talking to us?"
"The most important reason is to remove any variables we can't predict. The second is that I would like to build a good relationship with the two rulers of the back alleys. If you truly cannot bring yourselves to trust me, you need only stand back and watch."
"And what exactly are you planning to do?"
"We are going to have the crowd burn Hills and Red Forest."
"What?"
"And before that, we are going to drag that Blow Deblique down into the dirt."
When they first heard it, Rich and Gron had burst out laughing and treated her like a madwoman.
And yet, in only a few days, Blow had been dragged down into the dirt, and unrest had begun to stir through the Dusk Block.
"...How in the world did you do it?"
"Only one piece of our plan. I merely fanned a fire that was already burning."
"Our?"
"Don't try to learn the details."
Coming to trust her words as if she were a prophet, Rich and Gron followed her out of the estate. From far off, the faint sound of angry voices began to reach their ears.
"Drag Blow out!!"
Hearing the shout, the blonde woman wore a strange smile, and neither Rich nor Gron could do anything but swallow dryly.
"Would you like to come along? Or would you rather stay here?"
"We'll come."
"Things being what they are, we ought to."
Deeper into the Dusk Block, dozens of torches came into view, burning bright and on the move.
"Show them the strength of Caipol's citizens — our strength!"
"Burn the whole lot of it to the ground!!"
Watching them heave with madness beneath the torches, Rich stroked his beard and could only mutter.
"See? You shouldn't have made such a show of yourself, Blow Deblique."
They took their place at the tail of the crowd bound for Hills and set foot in Jackson's old territory. At last, ahead of the foremost torches, Hills and Red Forest came into view.
"There!!"
"Come out!! Blow Deblique!!"
The crowd's voices hit their peak. The torches danced. And then—
"Hahaha..."
A chilling laugh, as if it fell from the sky itself, sank into every ear, and all at once every movement stopped.
"Th-the roof. Look at the roof."
"What... what is that?"
At those words, every gaze snapped upward. What they saw made them flinch.
A cold night washed in moonlight. Two witches sat perched on the roof of Hills, breathing smoke from long pipes.
And below them, in front of Hills, barbarians stared the crowd down with faces steeped in killing intent — the kind of stare that turned a man's knees to water just from meeting it.