By Zephyria =======
The beef jerky he was chewing suddenly felt as gritty as sand. Dammit, he’d stripped everything away. Did that uncle just count every single mole on his body?
Black Weasel and the Captain glared at each other. A wind swept between the two men. The scent of blood, which had been stagnant in the thick fog, suddenly wafted through the air.
Eventually, the Captain stroked his beard with the back of his hand.
“If it had just been you, wolf-skin, and the black robe, I would have killed you already. It would have been obvious which chieftain sent the mercenaries. But with those two idiots added in, it seems like there’s some kind of story here.”
“Yes, there is a story. I will tell you everything once we meet the next royal couple. If you’re curious, please let us meet them immediately.”
“Ha, you’re asking me to arrange a meeting with the ‘heartless’ Prince Bronze-beaked Hawk? You’ve got some nerve.”
The Captain let out a scoff of disbelief. Only then did Silver learn the name of Red Eagle’s half-brother. Bronze-beaked Hawk. The name alone evoked the image of a cold-faced, handsome warrior.
“You aren’t planning to arrange the meeting, are you? Otherwise, you would have already taken my head with your axe.”
“Be grateful for my curiosity. I’m only keeping you alive because I’m curious about your objective.”
Just then, the footsteps of warriors echoed from all directions. All the returning warriors shook their heads.
“We searched every inch, but there were no survivors. Even the infants…”
The Captain groaned at the warriors’ report. He didn’t look particularly surprised, as if he had expected the result.
“We’ll have to recover the bodies tomorrow morning. You lot go to the nearby river port and bring people here to manage the livestock. Bring a priest as well.”
“Yes. We will depart immediately.”
“Let’s head back.”
The Captain turned around. The hem of his worn-out robe fluttered. The warriors walked toward the pier. At the end of the procession, Wolf, Red Eagle, and Silver followed side by side.
With every step, frost crunched beneath their boots. The crows that had been covering the corpses spread their black wings and fluttered away, hiding in the darkness. From the roofs of old houses, cats looked down at them with glowing eyes.
Before he knew it, the pier faintly came into view in the distance. Suddenly, a thought intruded into Silver’s mind.
It’s almost the end with Wolf.
The final moment had finally arrived right before his eyes. As soon as he recognized the parting, unknown emotions rushed in haphazardly, like the rabble at the pier. Silver unhesitatingly kicked the crowd of beggars away. This isn’t some summer fishing spot for snot-nosed kids. Focus.
Silver gently brushed the pouch on his belt with his fingertips. There were many things in this small pouch. A cute mantis fairy. Flint, a talisman, and silver coins. Thread and a needle. And one other dangerous glass bottle. Tonight, he would pour this down the Ice Armor Warrior’s throat…
The pier drew closer. The river flowed with a black current. About a dozen warriors loitered in front of a warship moored tightly against the pier.
Suddenly, the Captain spun around. He raised one hand lightly. Instantly, the warriors stepped aside to both sides. A path opened between the Captain and Black Weasel. Silence. A staring contest.
The Captain was the first to speak.
“You lot. Are you the contractors hired by White Deer?”
“Yes.”
Black Weasel answered immediately. He sounded like someone who had waited all night just to say those words.
“If my guess is correct, you are the heartless Prince Bronze-beaked Hawk. The one who will soon ascend the throne, and already a great warrior.”
Silver instinctively scraped the ground with his boot and stepped back. They say even a blunt axe can split a bone once. As rare as watching a solar eclipse, Black Weasel occasionally managed to catch people off guard.
Bronze-beaked Hawk laughed.
“I must have dropped too many feathers on the road. Or perhaps your eyes are just keen.”
“It’s half and half. Your Highness revealed yourself with dignity, and I simply read the atmosphere.”
“I can’t just trust you blindly. Prove that you are White Deer’s people.”
“Tell Lady White Deer: ‘The moon has disappeared’.”
“Is that the code? By the way, is that fellow White Deer’s son?”
Bronze-beaked Hawk pointed toward Wolf with a glance. Wolf was staring down at his own toes. Silver suppressed a smirk. Honestly, if anyone were asked which of those two boys looked like White Deer’s son, they would point to Wolf.
“No. The one on the left, who is grieving this tragedy as if it were his own, is Lady White Deer’s son.”
At Black Weasel’s explanation, Bronze-beaked Hawk’s eyes widened. Unaware that they were talking about him, Red Eagle was simply sobbing and clutching the hem of Wolf’s robe as if it were a lifeline.
“…My.”
Bronze-beaked Hawk’s voice dropped.
“The Levenon bastards have tamed a man of the Stohl royal family like a rabbit in a cage. White Deer will be disappointed.”
“He is a wonderful Atanian.”
“Right. I should send him back quickly.”
Bronze-beaked Hawk turned away with a faint smile.
“The Levenon royal family is a rare marriage prospect. White Deer will be happy to take her son back.”
Bronze-beaked Hawk seemed to be the happiest person of all. If his young half-brother had been a dangerous wolf-like fellow, he might have intended to strangle him to death on the spot. It seemed Red Eagle’s true lifeline wasn’t the hem of Wolf’s robe, but the tears that burst forth whenever he faced a crisis.
Congrats. All that’s left is to hurry back to your home country.
Bronze-beaked Hawk raised both arms.
“White Deer! Your Hawk has brought welcome news!”
A person lingering near the docking area stopped and looked back. It was a middle-aged woman draped in animal skins that looked like rags. Her sideburns were cleanly shaved. Her cheeks were covered in healed sword scars that looked like fan ribs. The ‘mother’ Red Eagle had worked so hard to imagine probably didn’t look like this.
“Welcome news? From you?”
White Deer strode forward, flipping the middle finger at her husband. Now that Silver looked closer, she was missing a finger. Compared to her soaring reputation, the sword scars on her cheeks and a single missing finger were rather cheap receipts proving her skill.
Bronze-beaked Hawk whispered something in her ear. White Deer’s furrowed brow soon distorted into a terrifying expression. Her gaze flew toward Red Eagle. Like a horse trader inspecting a foal, her eyes scanned the hand clutching Wolf’s robe and the terrified face.
Then, White Deer turned abruptly and stepped onto the planks. Thump, thump—her anger was fully revealed in her heavy footsteps. Bronze-beaked Hawk looked back and beckoned with his hand.
“I’ll let you sleep on the warship as well. The mother-son reunion shall take place on the ship.”
At those words, Silver had an intuition. I’m fucked.
“However, while staying on the warship, leave your tools with us. People of your sort cannot be trusted.”
He was really fucked.
* * *
The warriors surrounded Black Weasel and Silver. Dozens of axes encircled them like a fence. Wolf and Red Eagle watched from behind the warriors. Their faces were as white as the fat of a freshly slaughtered beast. Why don’t you worry about your own futures?
“You. Take off that robe and put your hands up.”
Silver threw off his robe. The moment it hit the ground with a thud, the daggers packed densely inside the robe were revealed. The warriors all flinched simultaneously.
“Huh, what is this, a hedgehog’s spines?”
“How does a kid have this many tools…”
“Do you even know how to throw these?”
The warriors murmured as they scanned Silver. It was true that because of his appearance, almost everyone treated Silver as a ‘kid.’ And a kid who couldn’t fight, at that.
“What about you? Take off that wolf skin and put your hands up!”
“Ah, yes! Yes!”
Black Weasel hurriedly shed the wolf skin and raised both arms. The warriors did not back off easily. They took off his shoes and shook out the soles. They reached under his clothes, groping his body in a way that felt disgusting. For some reason, they made him open his mouth wide and checked his tongue. And finally, the moment Silver feared most arrived.
“Open your belt pouch and empty it.”
A warrior held an axe close to Silver’s Adam’s apple. Resigned, Silver held the belt pouch upside down and shook it feebly toward the ground.
“Gah! What is this!”
65 – Hell Execution Order