Chapter 48 - Black Sky and Emma's Whereabouts
I looked down at the fallen black panther-kin woman. She was sprawled face down, but there was no mistaking her. It was Riley, the one who’d accosted us in Richelle. She seemed to have a wound on her abdomen. A trail of bloodied drag marks was visible on the ground.
She wasn't moving a muscle. Is she dead?
"There's another one over there."
I looked in the direction Cecily was pointing and saw three men lying on the ground. Weapons were scattered about. It looked like there had been a fight. A stab wound that looked fatal, a body twisted at an unnatural angle. These ones were undoubtedly dead. The stench of blood drifted on the damp air of the light rain. I fought back a wave of nausea, desperately trying not to retch. Fam, Mizuki, and a moment later, Aira, all ran over. I wanted to stop them, but the words wouldn't come out. Mizuki's face contorted as she covered her mouth with her hand. I was sure I was making a similar face.
"We met them in the dungeon... um, they're party members of Black Sky. If I recall, that's Riley, Freddy, and Noah. The other is a man I don't recognize. It doesn't seem to be Emma," Maira said. Was she unfazed by this gruesome scene? She knelt and placed her fingers on Riley's neck.
"…She seems to be alive," Maira announced.
"…Can we save her?" I asked.
"Hey! Are you an idiot? She tried to kill us! Weren't you the one all fired up about blasting them with a goddess summon if you found them?!" Cecily snapped.
"Yeah, but…"
Seeing her actually on the verge of death, I felt that while she brought this on herself, I couldn't just leave her here.
"My lord, I am also against it."
"So you're against it too, Fam?"
"Yes. I can forgive her for provoking me. But I cannot forgive the killing intent she aimed at you."
"Shouldn't you be less forgiving about her provoking you?"
Fam shook her head. Persuading her was going to be difficult.
"Sorry, but I'm not inclined to help her either," Aira said, seconding Fam.
"Mizuki, please. I need you on my side."
Mizuki nodded at my words.
"I understand how you feel, Mash. Even if she's an enemy, it feels wrong to abandon someone who's dying. Besides, if we help her, we might get information about the otherworld transferants."
That was my exact line of thinking. I was truly glad to have Mizuki with me.
"From my position, I want to help her. After we do, I will leave the final judgment to all of you," Maira stated.
"Hey, don't drag your problems into this," Avea interjected, having been watching us from a distance. The members of the Mateo Trading Company had also gathered and were starting to move the fallen trees blocking the road.
"Yeah, one of them is alive. I don't know if she'll make it, but I want to treat her and find out what happened."
"She's a thief or an adventurer. Folks like her should be prepared for this kind of outcome, so the golden rule is to leave them be. If you get involved in a situation like this, you'll end up earning someone's grudge or getting attacked out of nowhere. It's enough to just report it at the next settlement."
Avea's attitude felt blunt, but he likely saw this as a nuisance. This was the kind of thing that could happen when you lived a life of adventure.
"I know this black panther-kin. She's an adventurer named Riley, part of a party called Black Sky. Two of the men over there are her party members, too. I don't recognize the other one."
"…Well, fine. More importantly, we need to clear the road so the carriages can pass. It's raining. I want to get to today's destination before the road turns to mud. Give us a hand."
"Got it," I replied.
"But, Avea, what's your take on this situation?"
"You know them, don't you? Wouldn't you have a better idea?"
"No, she just picked a fight with me once. That's all. We don't know anything."
Avea shot me a suspicious look, but the truth was I had no idea what was going on.
"My assessment is, well, just as it looks. Those men over there fought each other. A bandit attack or a squabble between adventurers, something like that. The way the panther-kin and the trees were knocked down looks like the work of a monster, but I haven't heard any talk of giant monsters around here. It was probably a skill."
"A special skill?"
"Who knows. But like I said, if she's just a casual acquaintance, you're better off leaving her. I don't want this affecting the caravan."
Avea said it dismissively, clearly annoyed.
"You're used to this, huh."
"You're just too naive. I'm surprised you've survived this long."
"Well, I've always tried to live my life by getting involved in as little as possible."
"…That wasn't a compliment. I'll have to train you again."
Avea turned to help the Mateo Trading Company crew. As I watched him go, Beers clapped me on the shoulder.
"You were all split on whether to help her or not, right? I'll cast a vote for helping. I mean, I'm an outsider, but there's no point in party members arguing amongst themselves."
His voice was as high-pitched as ever, a stark contrast to his appearance.
We decided to carry the black panther-kin woman, Riley, to our carriage for treatment. Adding one or two more people would make it cramped, but it wasn't a problem. We got Claire's permission as well. After carrying Riley to the carriage and leaving her treatment to Maira and Aira, I went to help clear the fallen trees. One of the trees blocking the road was massive. We tried having the horses pull it, but it wouldn't budge. We had no choice but to start cutting it into smaller logs with a saw. It was a huge two-person saw, and Fam and I worked as a pair, pulling it back and forth. It was slow work, and the gradually intensifying rain made it miserable. But how did they even knock down a tree this big? I imagined a Goblin King or a Hecatoncheires. They might be able to create a scene like this. But then I recalled Aidan's special skill, Siege. A single blow from that technique would do it.
"My lord. Is there anyone you can't forgive?"
Fam asked. Of course there was. I'm no saint.
"There are. I don't know the exact number, but around five hundred."
"Isn't that too many? Can you really remember your anger and resentment for so many people?"
"No, actually, I don't know a single one of their names."
"Are they people from your original world?"
"I've forgotten about my original world… I don't want to remember it."
I answered with a distant look in my eyes. Fam stared into them. I wasn't hiding anything; it was all the truth.
"Then, what kind of people are they?"
"Is 'I don't want to answer' not an option?"
"It feels a little like a riddle. May I try to guess?"
It seemed I had to give her an answer after all.
"It's been a while. Fine, go ahead. Give it a shot. If you guess right, we'll have a three-day Fam Festival. I'll commission a nude statue of you and have a horse pull it around."
"The Fam Festival is embarrassing, so please cancel it immediately!"
"But I want to praise and boast about you."
"My naked body is not for public display! Please enjoy it by yourself, my lord!"
Fam fell silent. She seemed to be thinking. I thought she might have figured it out, but apparently not.
"…I don't know. But it doesn't seem to be anger or resentment for something done directly to you. And that number is just too high for only a month after you were transferred. It's also strange that I wouldn't have noticed, since I've been with you most of the time."
"Sharp. That's pretty much correct."
"If it's something you don't want to tell me, is it related to Mizuki?"
How did she arrive at that conclusion? I'd told her everything because she sees right through me even when I try to hide things.
"N-No, that's wrong. You're getting colder."
"Hmph, in that case, why are you hesitating?"
"W-Well, it's, uh, that thing. Anyway, Mizuki has nothing to do with it."
Fam fell silent again. The sound of the saw pulling back and forth filled the air.
"…I really don't know. Could you please tell me the answer?"
I didn't want to say it, but I'd rather not have her prying any further.
"…Well, there's a group of people who put a slave crest on a certain someone and threw them in a cell."
"No way… could it be that you were in love with Reed-san…?"
"Hey! What kind of misdirection is that?!"
"…I'm joking."
Fam replied.
"My lord," Fam started to say, but just then, the log broke. She fell silent. We had a horse pull the newly made log to the side of the road. Finally, the carriages could pass. The caravan resumed its journey.
The caravan pressed on through the rain and arrived at a settlement. It was a post town, with several stables and inns lining the main road, functioning as a relay point between Richelle and other towns. We could stay at an inn tonight, but summoning Racshell would probably be impossible. Thanks to Maira and Aira's healing, Riley's wounds had closed and she had recovered enough to speak. But she remained silent, not uttering a single word. And so, we gathered in the inn's dining hall for a meeting surrounding Riley. All the members of Levante were there, plus Riley. Mugs of ale were placed in front of Maira, Aira, Cecily, and Riley. Mizuki didn't seem to be in the mood for drinking today. And since I wasn't drinking, Fam wasn't either. The three of us had grape juice.
"…Hmph, what?"
Mizuki said as I stared at her mug. Her tone was clearly accusatory.
"Nothing. I'm not thinking anything. It's just your paranoia."
"Well, fine then…" Mizuki muttered, sounding sulky.
"So, what happened?" I asked, turning my gaze to Riley.
"…"
Riley didn't answer.
"…This is a pain. Maybe I should have just left you behind like Avea said."
It really was a pain, so I said it out loud. Maybe she'd get angry and talk back.
"Are you the one who really said to save me?" Riley finally spoke.
"Talk is cheap. Maira and Aira were the ones who actually saved you."
"I know that."
This wasn't getting anywhere. I wanted to just punch her in the face and throw her out of the inn. A joke, of course.
"By the way, how's your master, Emma, doing? And what about Emma's pets, Heka-chan and Ton-chan, was it? Their pranks went a little too far, so I lost my temper and had to discipline them. I hope she's not mad."
"…You knew?"
"Even an idiot would know!" Cecily shot back, apparently even more irritated than I was. Did she have some Kansai blood in her?
"Well, whatever. Let's just hand her over to the garrison. Emma's probably dead anyway."
"Did you see her?"
"Who knows."
"As long as I'm alive, my master is alive."
"Is it because of that slave crest? Are you set up to die with her if she dies?"
"That's right," Riley nodded. What a nasty business. Fine. I'll use this to trap her.
"In that case, you probably don't have long to live. It's a shame, now that you've recovered."
"Do you know what happened to my master?"
"Your story comes first."
Riley clicked her tongue. Then she began to speak.
"We were heading to Flucht to get ahead of your movements. There, we met Ito, a transferant like my master. Ito was leading a band of thieves. A fight broke out."
So they even knew the route we were taking to Migul.
"Why did you fight?"
"They were arguing about whether to kill you or not. My master insisted you should be killed, but Ito was against any trouble and warned her not to interfere."
He sounds like a decent guy for a thief. I wonder if Ito and Emma are transferants summoned by the same god, like Mizuki and me.
"It looks like you lost badly. How many enemies were there?"
"Six of them attacked us."
"Were they all human? Did Emma summon some kind of monster that could knock down trees?"
"That was Ito. He has a special skill that lets him transform his body into a dragon."
Riley's expression turned bitter. They must have been completely outmatched and utterly crushed. He sounded like a troublesome opponent, but at the same time, I had a feeling we could handle him.
"When and where did you and Emma meet?"
"About a year ago. My master bought me in the Imperial Capital."
"For how much?"
"One hundred and fifty gold coins."
"…"
That was more than a female warrior. Avea wasn't a slave, but I thought about the sense of security her presence brought to the caravan. Was Riley worth more than that? No, pricing a person in gold coins was wrong in the first place. I looked at Mizuki. She was looking at me, too. At the very least, Emma had enough money to buy Riley a year ago. It seemed not all transferants arrived in this world at the same time.
"That's my situation. Now give me information about my master."
"Sorry, but I don't have any. When we arrived, you were on the ground with Freddy, Noah, and another warrior-type guy we didn't know. You were the only one alive."
"You bastard! You tricked me."
"I did. What of it?" I shot back, defiant. I had no intention of apologizing.
"…"
I thought she would lash out, but instead, she just hung her head. Just then, Claire appeared. She saw me and came over.
"I've reported to the settlement's garrison."
I ordered a mug of ale for her. It arrived quickly, and she held the mug and drank about a third of it in one go.
"I'm exhausted…"
"Any information?"
"It seems no group of adventurers likely to cause trouble has passed through or stayed here."
"There were no side roads off the main highway."
Claire nodded. The road was a single path. The caravan and the settlement had effectively blocked any escape along the highway. That meant the ones who attacked Black Sky were either hiding somewhere in the forest or had slipped past us unnoticed.
"They probably didn't use the highway. Apparently, bandits have been appearing frequently on the road near the settlement lately. They think we were attacked by those bandits. It's unnatural, though, since the weapons weren't collected, which is unusual for bandits."
"Does Avea know?"
"He probably knows by now. I sent Mercedes to inform him."
I nodded. Since the entire caravan couldn't fit in one inn, we had to split up among several. The inn we were staying at was exclusively for the members of Levante.
"Also, it seems there will be heavy rain tomorrow. We'll decide based on the weather in the morning, but we may have to stay here."
"I see. How do you know about the heavy rain?"
"We have someone who can read the weather. Though they can be wrong sometimes."
Probably something like looking at the western sky and saying if it's a sunset, tomorrow will be clear. I turned back to Riley, who had been listening to our conversation in silence.
"Well, for today, have a drink, eat some food. I'll pay for your room, too."
I said to her.
Thank you for reading. To everyone who has liked, bookmarked, or rated this story, thank you very much. It encourages me. I'll do my best. Thank you for pointing out typos. It's a great help.