Chapter 126 - <15>
Several days after Lef's ceremony, on a clear day during another break in the rainy season, the party prepared to depart.
They had decided to leave as soon as the weather cleared, so their preparations were long complete. Fortunately, Lef had offered to escort them to the border crossing from the Luciana Kingdom Federation back into the Yuresla Kingdom, so they didn't need maps or any cumbersome luggage.
Once they entered the Yuresla Kingdom, it was, to put it bluntly, like a backyard to Ritz and Edward. They needed no maps from that point on. Besides, their destination was Ciedena, Ritz’s homeland. The surrounding geography was so familiar that even Franz and Anna would recognize it.
Ritz dismounted and let out a heavy sigh. He had taken off his robe and was dressed in his usual attire, but his greatsword was still hidden in his luggage, and a scarf-like cloth was wrapped around the back of his head.
The thought that he, a non-spirit user, had managed to imitate one for several weeks made him want to cry at his own pathetic dedication.
Well, he had gained something from it.
He vaguely recalled the warmth and softness of Anna's body. Even though he'd been drunk, he had pulled her into an embrace brimming with affection, yet he was showered with gratitude for Anna's obliviousness to his feelings.
That night had been so blissful, he thought he might go crazy. He couldn't even count how many times he had stopped himself from telling Anna he loved her to her face. His only regret was that his indulgence had led him to vent his unnecessary complaints to her.
"What are you thinking about?"
Anna, who had been tending to the horse beside Ritz as he packed, peeked her head out from behind the animal. Since Lef's ceremony, she had been sticking close to Ritz, concerned about him having to keep up his act.
In her heart, it was likely just a sense of responsibility—I'm the one who suggested he play a spirit user, so I have to take responsibility—but he was still genuinely happy to have her by his side.
"Just thinking what a great day it is for our departure."
"Yeah. It really is!"
They both looked up at the sky. Though dotted with many torn-looking clouds, the sun was shining and it was warm.
"By the time we reach the Yuresla Kingdom, it'll already be summer."
Anna squinted her large, green eyes against the dazzling sunlight. The light of the sun dappled through the trees, falling on her emerald eyes and making them sparkle beautifully. Her expression was bright, filled more with joy than pensiveness.
Finding her smile so precious, he reached out and placed a hand on her head.
"It'll be summer, but my homeland is cool."
"Is it?"
"It is. It's at a higher altitude than Vishnu, you know."
"Oh, right!"
Remembering that her village was known for its highland vegetables, Anna nodded deeply several times in understanding. He burned the image of her expression into his memory.
He wanted to remember every little bit of Anna, he thought to himself. Her small gestures, her words, even the way she spoke. If he could remember it all so strongly and deeply that it would never fade, he could keep on living.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong."
He gave a vague reply, and Franz poked his head out of the hut. Ritz thought he was going to call them, but he just silently beckoned. He and Anna exchanged a look and returned to the hut.
Adlif was there. Lef, who had been helping them pack, was also made to sit primly beside his father.
When Ritz entered, Adlif bowed his head deeply. Ritz knew himself well enough to know he wasn't such a great person as to deserve such deference, so he asked him to stand.
"I'm humbled," Adlif said, then spoke.
"Everyone, I understand you wished to depart without the villagers knowing, but may we not see you off?"
It seemed Adlif had come to negotiate on behalf of the villagers. Ritz had indeed requested a quiet departure, but on second thought, they had stayed for three long weeks, so leaving without a word might be rude.
"We are all very grateful to you. I thought of offering some parting gift, but you said you didn't need anything, so we would like to at least see you off."
Everyone's gaze turned to Ritz. The idea of slipping away quietly had been his. He disliked grand farewells and tearful goodbyes and had always avoided them.
But was it necessary to be so stubborn in this situation?
He casually glanced at Anna standing next to him. Anna, who had been looking up at him just like Edward and Franz, tilted her head slightly as if to say, "What?"
Anna was the one who had interacted most closely with the villagers. Besides, she had regretted not being able to say a proper goodbye when they left the Royal Capital. For the first time, he decided to do something not for himself, but for Anna.
Ritz looked up, a smile on his face, and met Adlif's gaze directly. Then, in the calm tone he had grown so accustomed to over the past three weeks, he spoke.
"Is that so? In that case, I have no objection. Everyone has treated us with such warmth, and we are truly grateful."
"Then…"
"Yes. We would be honored to have you see us off."
As he smiled, Adlif’s face broke into a happy grin. Come to think of it, this Adlif looked to be in his fifties, but he was actually just shy of forty. He was barely ten years older than Anna. Perhaps that was why he seemed so youthful, but all the residents of this village were similarly pure and straightforward.
It was a strange thing. Did living longer inevitably mean that purity was lost and some sort of stagnation was born? Indeed, the Clan of Light whom they revered were, in Ritz's mind, a closed-off, discriminatory, and unpleasant race.
As Ritz was thinking such venomous thoughts behind his smile, Edward's next words brought him back to his senses. Edward had stopped Adlif, who was about to leave.
"Chieftain, I have something I wish to ask."
The large Adlif turned around nimbly.
"What is it, Your Majesty?"
"There is something I have yet to ask you about. Ritz, you said you saw a jewel set in a stone monument inside the cave?"
That was right. If they didn't hear the legend associated with it, they would never reach the place of Orphe, a.k.a. Artis Ozmand. They had set out on this journey to find it out; not asking would defeat the whole purpose.
"Yes, Your Majesty. That is correct."
With a deep nod, he took over the conversation from Edward and faced Adlif.
"Actually, Chieftain, I have seen that jewel set in the stone monument in the cave somewhere else before."
"Is that true?"
Adlif’s brown eyes widened in genuine surprise. Beside the solemnly nodding Ritz, Edward rejoined the conversation.
"I hear that each jewel has a legend passed down with it. I believe there may be some meaning to them. Chieftain, might you know the legend of that jewel?"
"...I do."
Adlif said, then took a deep breath.
"However, it is something of a teaching passed down to the chieftains of the Beastman race…"
"Oh?"
"I do not believe it to be of great importance."
"Could it be that only those who become chieftain may hear it?"
"No. I shall tell you."
Adlif took another breath and recited it, just as he had at the ceremony.
O new guardian of the clan, who has reached the sacred land.
Kneel before me, and offer your prayers to the earth.
I am the guardian of the spirit. I shall grant you the blessing of the earth.
O new one who leads the clan, kneel upon my earth and show me your face.
Offer a prayer. Then there shall be no boundary between me and you, and your heart shall be with mine.
I am in the place that connects the earth to the heavens, the king of the earth who watches all through shining eyes.
The first half was exactly the same as what they had seen in the cave. But more words had been added to the second half. Ritz noticed that Franz was diligently writing down Adlif's words on paper. It was best to have a flawless record for the future, so Franz's personality was extremely helpful in moments like this. Ritz was the type to get by as long as he remembered the general gist of things.
"Um, so if you show your face to that jewel and offer a prayer, that person's heart and the Spirit King's heart become one, so you can't keep secrets... is that it?"
Anna, who didn't know the words written in the cave, gave a simple, down-to-earth translation of the legend Adlif had chanted. Adlif nodded gravely at her.
"That is correct."
"Is that all there is to it?"
"Yes."
Would gathering information like this really lead them to Orphe? It was a mystery. He had thought it would be something a bit more meaningful.
"Well then, I shall be off to inform the villagers."
Adlif hurriedly left the hut.
"Can we really get to Master's place with this?"
Franz, who had apparently been thinking the same thing as Ritz, muttered as he reread the text he had just written.
"Who knows? But as long as that jewel is the one Orphe-san was talking about, that must be what it means."
Besides… it was also unnatural that the bottom of the lake where that jewel was had caved in while they were there. And according to Franz, there were traces left behind of someone using spirits to break the lakebed. Naturally, there wasn't a single spirit user in the village, so they didn't know who was responsible.
But it was certain that some kind of malice was at work. Otherwise, it made no sense for someone to break the bottom of the lake and cause a landslide to coincide with their visit.
A simple legend, but before Ritz and the others who sought it lay some kind of strange malice.
The king of the earth who watches all through shining eyes… huh.
Could it be that someone was watching them?
He considered the thought, but dismissed it himself. If that were the case, there was no way that he or Edward… especially himself, wouldn't have noticed a pursuer.
When Ritz, lost in thought, came back to his senses, Anna, Franz, and Lef were busily resuming their preparations. Edward, who had already finished packing his own things, was standing beside him.
"This journey may be more dangerous than we thought."
Edward murmured, perhaps thinking along the same lines. His voice was low, so the two younger members wouldn't hear. Naturally, he had also told Edward about the lakebed collapsing.
As Ritz nodded silently, Edward patted his shoulder lightly and picked up his luggage.
"You'd better protect what's precious to you yourself."
With that, Edward left. It was obvious who he was talking about. Anna, whose luggage had somehow increased since their arrival, was helping Franz organize his things with Lef. There was no way the current Ritz could bear to lose that cheerful, smiling face.
"...Of course."
He muttered, to no one in particular.
Receiving a grand send-off from the villagers, Ritz and his party left the village. They slowly and leisurely climbed up a similar-looking cliff, but in the opposite direction from when they arrived.
When they finally reached the top of the cliff, the forest of Red Valley, where they had spent nearly a month, spread out below them. The sky, though cloudy, was clear. It was a perfect day for a departure, a break in the rainy season.
Next to Franz, who was exhausted and struggling to mount his horse, Anna effortlessly mounted hers and settled into Ritz’s arms, looking up at him.
"They were good people, weren't they?"
"Yeah."
"I wonder if we'll see them again."
Anna muttered wistfully.
"…We will. We plan to come back again, after all."
"Huh?"
Anna’s eyes went wide.
"Why?"
"The cave I told you about before has already been mined out. So let's come here instead. It was really beautiful, so we'll ask Lef to show us the rock salt mine."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
"Yay! It's a promise, okay?"
"It's a promise."
If we do come back, it'll be just the two of us.
We'll return to the Royal Capital, leave Edward and Franz there, meet Joe, and then on the way to take you to Vishnu or to your yet unseen parents, we'll stop by.
It'll probably be our last time together, though.
He kept that part to himself.
"Okay then, let's depart with no regrets!"
As Anna said this full of energy, Franz groaned.
"…Wait for me…"
"Oh, come on, you're so pathetic."
It was the usual scene again, but for Ritz, it was an irreplaceable, precious sight. He had his friend, his high-maintenance little brother figure, and the woman he loved.
Ritz looked up and pictured the beautiful, yet deep and dark forest he still couldn't see in the distance.
For now, the journey would continue, with a cheerful Anna, a weakened Franz, and a nonchalant Edward, as they headed for Ritz’s homeland, the Ciedena Special Autonomous Region in the Yuresla Kingdom.