HEO 55

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Silver looked up at the night sky as he rowed. The moon was climbing over the mountain ridge. Since it had been dusk when he was dragged away by the skeleton wraiths, roughly the time it takes for a single candle to burn down had passed.

That nightmare, which felt as if a thousand years had gone by just thinking about it, had actually been contained within the span of a single candle. It was a moment where he understood the feeling of an ant watching a human’s boot descend upon it.

Silence flowed. Not only the Prince and the Attendant, who were staring blankly at the night sky, but even Black Weasel, who was rowing, seemed somehow out of sync. Had their sensory compasses broken after being suddenly thrown from hell into a wine cellar? Was this truly reality? Or was it a hallucination cast by the skeleton wraiths? Was this, too, a ‘task’? Should he laugh? Should he cry? What should he even say?

Suddenly, Black Weasel broke the silence.

“I didn’t get a reward.”

That single sentence felt like being drenched in cold water. Silver was speechless.

“Did you actually believe those skeleton bastards? You survived, isn’t that enough? What more do you want?”

“I thought he’d at least hand over a lump of gold.”

Wolf stared intently at him again. Silver rowed the oars violently.

「The Ice Armor Warrior grumbled because he didn’t get a reward. What a lunatic!」

「Ah… a reward. I forgot about that.」

Wolf narrowed his eyes.

「But Silver, didn’t the voice say something before you passed out? Don’t you remember?」

「That ‘I have kept my promise’ whatever? Those damn skeleton bastards only opened the door once we tried to push it open.」

「Right. They mocked people until the very end.」

Wolf fell silent and lowered his head. Silence descended once more. Only the sound of the small boat cutting through the current continued. Black Weasel, Wolf, Red Eagle, and Silver—all looked in different directions.

The scene looked like a masquerade play. No one seemed willing to speak of ‘that incident’ anymore; rather, they seemed to want to believe it had never happened in the first place. One thing was certain. That incident had to be forgotten. Absolutely.

He wondered if it would be easily forgotten. In truth, it felt as if the Jester might appear in mid-air at any moment. The wind brushing against his skin was certainly real, yet a sense of alienation remained, as if he were floating inside a crude, undried oil painting. Silver gripped the oars tightly.

Stop whining. Out of all those unlucky people, you’re one of the ones who survived. You’re enjoying a luck that’s hard to find in a lifetime.

Around the time the moon passed the zenith, lights flickered in the distance. It was the river port. As the pier drew near, Black Weasel suddenly spoke.

「Everyone, just think of it as having fought a war. About 200 people died in the skeleton wraith den, right? That amount of casualties is common when tribes fight. We simply survived.」

No one opened their mouth. Black Weasel added nothing more and continued to row.

This river port was quite large. Dozens of ships were docked densely along the pier. The rabble gathered at the waterfront numbered well over a hundred. Each of them was cleverly disguised as disabled, sprawling on the ground, drinking and smoking hallucination herbs while chatting loudly. There was even a woman wearing an eye patch. Her face was different.

“Oh? Ohhh!”

“Customers! Customers!”

The rabble, having spotted prey, rushed over. Silver took the opportunity to sneakily swipe a piece of hallucination herb. He barely managed to make it to the inn, breaking through the ironclad encirclement of beggars, pickpockets, and muggers. The first-floor tavern was as quiet as a forest covered in frost. Only a few drunks sleeping with their faces buried in tables were visible here and there.

Black Weasel took two rooms and headed upstairs. The four of them, without a word, split into pairs and entered their respective rooms.

As soon as the door closed, a sharp slap echoed, and intense pain surged through his cheek. Silver’s head snapped to the side, and he couldn’t move. His mind went blank.

What? Did that Ice Armor Warrior… slap me?

“Why did you hit me!”

As soon as he shouted, another large hand flew toward his cheek. Silver almost collapsed.

“Why?”

Black Weasel said as he withdrew his hand. The grey eyes glaring at Silver were as sharp as a beast’s fangs.

“I hit you because you disobeyed me, you slave piece of trash. I told you to stick close to me!”

“That was…!”

“Ah, you thought the Attendant had some deep reasoning? Hmph, doesn’t it sound ridiculous even to you? You know it, right? We were played by those skeletons from start to finish.”

Silver couldn’t find the words to retort. Black Weasel pulled a whip from his belt.

“I warned you, didn’t I? I can tolerate trickery, but I won’t forgive anyone interfering with my work. You interfered with my work twice. Just take seven hits. Take off your clothes and turn around.”

It didn’t sound like a joke. Silver was appalled.

“Hey! I never interfered with your work. I just disobeyed you.”

“This brat is trying to play tricks again!”

Black Weasel lashed the whip against the floor. Wood splinters flew in all directions. Not even a day after being brought back to life, he was on the verge of dying again. Silver backed away, waving both hands.

“Calm down, you bastard! I’m not playing tricks. I’m saying that’s one thing and this is another.”

“Shut your mouth and show me your back!”

The whip whistled through the air. By a hair’s breadth, Silver twisted his body to avoid it. Black Weasel swung the whip repeatedly.

“Tell me! There’s a separate reason you ran to that Attendant in such a desperate situation, isn’t there? Did you smell grilled salmon? Or maybe the scent of savory cheese? What scent did you catch!”

“Am I a dog?”

Silver headbutted Black Weasel. He kicked open the door and bolted out of the room. It felt as if barbed wire was tightening around his heart.

When he came to his senses, he was in front of the inn. The laughter and nonsensical curses of the rabble clung to him like pine resin stepped on by a boot. The sounds carried by the wind were unnecessarily clear.

He felt a presence behind him.

「Silver.」

It was Wolf. Silver didn’t look back.

「The sound of the fighting reached our room.」

「…Don’t meddle. Go back.」

Silver pulled his hood down to the bridge of his nose and walked away aimlessly. The mark of Black Weasel’s palm must have remained on his cheek. He didn’t want Wolf to see it.

「Silver. It’s cold, where are you going?」

Annoyingly, Wolf followed him. After walking for a while, a stable appeared in the darkness. In front of the sleeping horses, several braziers cast light, melting the chill. Silver took out the hallucination herb and lit it using a brazier. He took a deep drag and slumped onto the ground. He wanted to fall fast asleep here and be found as a frozen corpse.

Why did I run around so much just to survive?

It’s the same here as it was there. No matter where I am, I’m just dog shit.

「Silver. What is that?」

Wolf sat down beside Silver. Silver smoked the hallucination herb in silence.

「Listen, Silver.」

Wolf spoke hesitantly.

「I might have heard wrong, but just in case. Did… Uncle hit you?」

Silver didn’t respond.

「Did he hit you?」

Anger seeped into Wolf’s voice. Silver let out a hollow laugh, exhaling the smoke of the hallucination herb.

「What does it matter? I guess in Atania, masters don’t hit their slaves?」

「No.」

「Liar.」

「No, it’s true. In Atania, corporal punishment for slaves is forbidden. It’s been that way for a long time.」

It didn’t sound like a lie. The hallucination herb in Silver’s fingertips crackled, dropping clumps of grey ash.

「Then… how do you make them work? Slaves only work when they’re beaten.」

「You pay them. You set a condition that they’ll be freed as commoners after working for a certain period. Their status is a slave, but in reality, they’re servants who work for just the cost of their meals.」

「There was such a way…」

「You didn’t know? Anyway, Silver. Like I said before, let’s definitely go to Atania together.」

Wolf took Silver’s hand. It was warm.

「Our current life… it’s a life gained by a miracle. We shouldn’t waste it. You thought so too, right?」

Silver couldn’t open his mouth. The pulse in his wrist quickened like a torrent.

You thought so too, right?

I didn’t think that.

「When we were on the boat, I doubted if this was a dream, so I secretly pinched my arm several times. But… I didn’t feel happy. For a while, maybe until the day I die, I think I’ll be haunted by nightmares. I’ll become afraid of the night.」

This was also a thought he hadn’t managed to have. Fuck, I won’t be able to sleep without alcohol from now on.

Wolf squeezed Silver’s hand tightly.

「Silver, don’t be conflicted. I don’t know everything about what kind of person Uncle is. But I can affirm this. You must not be with Uncle.」

「Why?」

When he reflexively asked, Wolf fell silent. Under that staring gaze, Silver’s mood soured. Though it might not have been intentional, Wolf was repeatedly branding him. How thoughtless Silver was. How recklessly he had lived. How stupid the question he just asked was.

「Because…」

Wolf said weakly, casting his eyes down. He slowly let go of Silver’s hand.

「He’s a harmful person to you. First of all, he’s your mother’s enemy.」

56 – Hell Execution Order