By Zephyria =======
“Hey, by the way, did you just lie about the ash tree to mess with me? I can’t believe a monster like that actually exists.”
“And you think the spruce and birch trees are believable?”
“Because plenty of people know about those. You’re the only person I’ve met in my entire life who knows about the ash tree.”
“You’ve only lived for seventeen years. Try living a bit longer.”
“Is being old something to be proud of?”
“Who are you calling old? You slave brat.”
“You are old. Most people your age are seeing their grandchildren.”
“You castrated bastard!”
“I’m not castrated!”
Black Weasel and Silver’s voices grew louder and louder. Watching them, Wolf felt suffocated. What are they even talking about now? Please, just chatter away in the Atania language!
Black Weasel and Silver sprang up, pointing fingers at each other.
“I said I’m not castrated! It’s just that I don’t get an erection every morning!”
“That’s proof that you are! Do you know how serious a problem it is not to get a morning wood at your age? When I was your age, a mountain stood tall on my sheets every morning!”
“I told you, I have no problem jerking off!”
“I didn’t see it with my own eyes, so why should I believe you?”
“You son of a bitch, why are you so interested in another man’s dick! Lifting the covers every morning to check! It’s creepy!”
“The fact that you still don’t know why I do that proves you’re an idiot!”
Even to Wolf, who was deaf to the Stohl language, it was crystal clear that Black Weasel and Silver were fighting. What would happen if he got whipped for talking back like that? Then again, since he was an assistant, maybe he wouldn’t be beaten.
“He called me an idiot again!”
Silver splashed water wildly at Black Weasel. Not to be outdone, Black Weasel splashed water back at Silver. If they were seven or eight-year-old kids, one would have laughed it off as a playful water fight. However, they were a contract killer in his 40s and a teenage swordsman assistant.
“If I’m an idiot, you’re an idiot too! You stupid old man!”
“You’re the only idiot here, you slave. Want an example? You can’t even do addition and subtraction.”
“I’m not becoming a merchant, so what’s the problem?”
“I guess you’re confident you’ll never get ripped off for the rest of your life?”
“Why would I get ripped off? I’m going to live my whole life without paying for anything, just like you.”
“An idiot saying idiotic things!”
The cycle of shouting, finger-pointing, and sprays of water continued. In the end, it was Black Weasel who backed down first.
“I’m going to see Director Erem. You take care of the morons while I’m gone. You’ll be in trouble if your surveillance is sloppy.”
“Fuck you!”
The slave boy flipped the middle finger at his master’s retreating back. Only after the sound of Black Weasel’s footsteps faded did Wolf speak in a tiny voice.
“Um, is it really okay to fight with the Master? What if you get whipped?”
“Mind your own business.”
“What does that mean? That you won’t get hit?”
“Dammit, are you afraid of getting hit? Whether he beats me or not!”
Silver huffed and immersed himself in the hot spring. Wolf was speechless. He had seemed stubborn and fearless from the first impression, but this was a bit… Unless the Master was some senile old man with poor memory, arguing with a broad-shouldered contract killer is only your loss, Silver.
Wolf quickly gathered his thoughts. Regardless, Silver had a huge fight with the Master. This meant the opportunity to get close to Silver had come sooner than expected.
It would be foolish to hesitate. Time to bake the bread.
However, Wolf had been snubbed by Silver a moment ago. Therefore, this time, he would put Red Eagle in the lead. To get close to Silver, Red Eagle, who had polished his conversational skills in the court, might be more suitable. The quick-witted and calm demeanor he showed while talking to Black Weasel also inspired confidence.
Wolf gave a subtle nod to Red Eagle. Red Eagle winked, as if saying, ‘Leave it to me.’ As expected, we are one body!
You know what I mean without me saying it, right? Keep it natural. Don’t make it too obvious that we’re saying ‘Join our side.’ If we reveal our true intentions from the start, it’ll only trigger Silver’s wariness.
“Silver, do you fight with the Master often?”
Red Eagle spoke in his characteristic gentle tone. Silver glanced at Red Eagle and then abruptly turned his head away. Wolf doubted his ears at the words that followed.
“You don’t get along with the Master, do you? Would it be rude to ask why you fought earlier? Often, talking it out helps release the anger. I want to be friends with you since we’re around the same age. If it’s uncomfortable, you can just pretend you didn’t hear me.”
It was like trying to bake bread by shoving flour directly into the oven and burning it to a crisp. His blatant intentions leaked through every single word. Above all, the final part—’pretend you didn’t hear me’—was just absurd. Hey, what if Silver actually pretends he didn’t hear you?
Just as expected! Silver closed his eyes as if to show he was ignoring him. Realizing his mistake, Red Eagle’s expression darkened rapidly. Because he had offered the useless kindness of ‘pretending not to hear,’ he couldn’t open his mouth further and just kept his head bowed. Let’s not be ‘one body,’ Prince.
Left with no choice, Wolf stepped in.
“Hey, does that uncle always act like that? I was terrified earlier. Even if you’re a slave, shouting at a kid who’s practically his youngest son… Ha! Are all Stohl adults like that uncle? That can’t be right, can it? He’s just exceptionally bad, right?”
He criticized Black Weasel with an angry voice. In Wolf’s experience, a boy who had been scolded by an adult didn’t want warm consolation, but unilateral support. Would Silver be any different? Please, don’t be different!
“I saw that you do an unbelievable amount of work. Rowing! Lookout! Cooking! Even bringing blankets! And that mountain of firewood over there—you did all that yourself, didn’t you? No matter how harsh Stohl is to slaves, this workload is excessive! Besides, you’re still young!”
Silver wasn’t much different from an Atania boy. The face that had been looking elsewhere slowly turned toward Wolf. Like a cat that stubbornly keeps its back to the person speaking while only twitching one ear.
“And he splashes water back just because you splashed him. I don’t know what you did wrong, Silver, but how big of a mistake could it be? Even if you did something wrong, that uncle is an adult who has lived at least twice as long as you. He should just laugh it off. If he’s an adult! An adult!”
Wolf raised his voice while splashing water with both hands. Finally, Silver slowly opened his eyes.
“I didn’t do anything wrong.”
Silver spoke while looking straight at Wolf.
“That Ice Armor Warrior fellow said something stupid, so I simply presented a logical opposing opinion. No, was it a rebuttal? A protest? Dammit, I’m confused.”
Silver narrowed his eyes and scratched his chin with his fingertip. Wolf clapped his hands with a “Wow!”
“Silver, you know how to distinguish between opposition, rebuttal, and protest? Even people in Atania get those confused; that’s amazing! Did you happen to live in Atania for a few years?”
“If I had, I wouldn’t have asked you how Atania rabbits are. I went there several times following the Ice Armor Warrior, but I never stayed for more than a week. I learned the Atania language by self-study. Three years? I practiced conversation with the Ice Armor Warrior. He said he lived in Atania for a few years a long time ago.”
“So that’s why your accents were the same. But, three years of self-study?”
It was hard to believe. He couldn’t even remember people’s names and acted weird, so Wolf thought he was dim-witted… Was I the truly stupid one?
Red Eagle also looked surprised.
“Silver, you’re impressive. To reach this level in just three years of self-study means you have a natural gift for languages.”
“I agree, Prince. If it were me, I don’t think I could distinguish between opposition, rebuttal, and protest even after thirty years. Silver… you must be really smart. Then the uncle must have gotten angry because he had nothing to say to your rebuttal, right?”
At Wolf’s words, Silver shook his head.
“Not really. He got angry at a single comment I made as a joke.”
“At one joke? Wow, how petty.”
“Exactly. It wasn’t even a big deal. I just asked if being old was something to be proud of.”
“That’s…”
It was like telling an ugly person, ‘Is being ugly something to be proud of?’
“Um, Silver. Isn’t it polite to tell old people they look young?”
“It wasn’t a lie, so what’s the big deal. That Ice Armor Warrior fellow sneered at me first, saying I’d ‘only lived for seventeen years.’ For me, asking if being old was a point of pride was perfectly reasonable.”
Wolf didn’t like Black Weasel, but he could not agree with this statement. Wolf and Red Eagle fell into a chilly silence. Silver added, sounding slightly flustered.
“You know, if you had understood the argument between me and the Ice Armor Warrior, you would have taken my side. What that guy meant was that I know nothing because I’ve only lived seventeen years. He ignored me just because I’m young, see?”
19 – Hell Execution Order