Chapter 138 - 11
My body feels kind of sore, Anna thought as she woke up. She seemed to have been lying down, and she felt a gritty sensation on her cheek. When she opened her eyes, she saw the scenery of a room she had never seen before. Old, dusty furniture and something covered with a cloth were crammed in here and there. Was it a warehouse or something?
Returning her gaze to her immediate surroundings, she realized that the sensation she had felt on her cheek was the dust accumulated on the bed she was lying on.
Where on earth am I?
As she thought that and tried to sit up, she realized. Her hands and feet wouldn’t move. After wriggling desperately, she finally realized. It seemed she was tied up.
“Huh, why?”
She couldn’t help but mutter out loud, and something moved in the gap between the old furniture.
“Finally woke up, huh? You’re a heavy sleeper, little girl.”
She recognized the low, mocking voice.
“You’ve got no sense of urgency. You’re gonna sleep for two hours after being kidnapped? I question your sanity.”
Since her limbs wouldn’t move, she used her whole body to look in the direction of the voice, and there, as expected, was Jin. Jin was sitting on an old chair with his legs crossed, looking at Anna with a faint smile.
“Jin-san?”
Why was Jin here? The moment she thought that, she remembered. Anna and Franz had been led here by Jin.
They had taken their time, avoiding people’s eyes as they passed through the edge of the village, and the place Anna and the others had arrived at was an old house. A wooden plate hung at the entrance, with the words ‘First Generation Merite Family Memorial Hall’ on it.
While Anna was distracted by that, Jin opened the door and invited Franz into the memorial hall.
Just as she was about to peek inside to see what was there, she heard the sound of something falling from inside the memorial hall. It was a loud noise, like something heavy hitting various things as it fell.
“What happened?”
Thinking that the slightly uncoordinated Franz might have knocked something over, she casually peeked inside the door and saw Franz sitting on the floor, groaning in the darkness.
“What happened? Did you fall?”
If he was injured, she would treat him. As Anna took a step into the memorial hall, Franz raised his head and shouted.
“Don’t, don’t come in!”
“Huh?”
At the same time as Franz’s voice, the door was slammed shut. Surprised, she turned around to see Jin.
“Jin-san?”
Not understanding what was going on, she looked at Jin and saw his lips twist into a strange shape. She instinctively stepped back to Franz’s side and looked at his face. She gasped.
“You’re bleeding…”
Even in the dim light, she could clearly see the stream of blood flowing from the corner of his mouth.
“It’s nothing.”
Wiping the blood with one hand, Franz stared ahead with a cold gaze. Jin was there. The twist of his lips now clearly formed a smile. Seeing that, she understood. It was Jin who had done this.
“Why are you doing this?”
She glared at Jin in front of her and asked. This person was supposed to have been Ritz’s subordinate.
“Why? I’ve got no grudge against you kids, but you’re gonna get a taste of pain.”
With that, Jin took a step forward.
“Especially you. You seem to be that man’s favorite.”
Jin’s dark eyes stared at Anna. It was a creepy, clinging gaze, the likes of which she had never been subjected to before. It made her skin crawl.
“If you’re going to blame someone, blame your guardian.”
Jin, with a faint smile, approached step by step. Even the dull Anna could tell that Jin was serious about hurting Franz and Anna.
Jin was Ritz’s subordinate. That meant he was a front-line mercenary. If they fought head-on, Anna and Franz stood no chance. For now, the only thing they could do was run.
Anna thought of creating a Water Sphere to somehow make a chance to escape. Franz seemed to have the same idea, as he began to chant under his breath. But the next moment, with a stifled scream, Franz’s chanting stopped.
Startled, she turned to see a sharp, thin knife-like object stuck in Franz’s palm. Slowly returning her gaze, she saw that Jin was holding several of the same blades that were stuck in Franz’s palm.
“I’m well aware you’re spirit users. Unfortunately for me, I’m just a commoner, so I’m weak against spirits. But if you can’t call them, you’re just kids.”
Even if she were to release a Water Sphere in this situation, she wouldn’t be able to escape with Franz. If she escaped by herself, she didn’t know what would happen to Franz. What was the best thing to do?
Distracted by the groaning Franz, she glanced behind her for a moment, and Jin’s presence closed in right behind her.
“Sorry, but take a little nap, little miss.”
Jin whispered in a low voice right by her ear. A chill ran down her entire body. But the next moment, she felt an impact in her stomach, and Anna lost consciousness.
And when she woke up, she was here. So she must still be inside the memorial hall. He had said two hours just now, so it seemed she had been unconscious for about that long.
“What happened to Franz?”
Just before she lost consciousness, Franz had been injured and collapsed. If two hours had passed since then, she was worried sick about what had happened to him.
But Jin made a not-so-amused face.
“He’s still useful, so I haven’t killed him. The young master has to write a letter to his father, after all.”
A letter from Franz to Ville Lucina? It didn't make sense. They didn't get along.
“Well, I haven’t treated his wounds at all, and I beat him up even after you passed out, so he might not last long.”
“…That’s awful.”
Franz was still so young. He wanted to learn so much more, so it couldn't end here. Could she somehow save him? No matter what kind of injury he had, Anna had healing magic.
“How about you worry about yourself instead of your friend?”
Jin’s words were laced with a creepy laugh.
“No one’s coming to help you even if you scream, you know?”
“Worry about me? I’m not injured, though?”
Not understanding, she couldn’t help but ask back. Since she was just tied up and lying here, her situation was much better than Franz’s. The only thing that hurt was her stomach where she had been hit.
But at Anna’s question, Jin seemed to be at a loss for words. After a moment, he asked Anna with a completely dumbfounded face.
“You, you don’t feel you’re in danger in this situation?”
“Um… you mean because Jin-san has a knife and might kill me?”
“No, not that, but with a woman lying on a bed like this, and me threatening you like this…”
“Is it something… serious?”
“Well, it should be serious, for a woman… wait, why am I being drawn into your pace?”
Saying so irritably, Jin glared at her. It seemed she had angered him a little. She didn't really understand.
“What are you to that man?”
Jin spat out.
“That man?”
“Ritz Alster. The damn bastard who ruined everything for me.”
“Ruined…? Why?”
“He was my superior officer. But we’re mercenaries. We have the right to plunder the cities we occupy, take money and women, and do as we please, right? But he forbade it, like we were a regular army. I don’t get why I joined this profession where I can see blood and get money.”
“That’s…”
Because Ritz was a hero of Yuresla who had fought alongside Edward. There was no way someone who was with Edward would allow such a thing. But without even giving Anna a chance to say that, Jin muttered to himself.
“And yet, on the battlefield, he’s incredibly strong. His figure, dyed bright red with the blood of his enemies, running across the battlefield swinging that greatsword, was truly a red nightmare. There was no way someone like me could defy him. Everyone was afraid of him on the battlefield. That bastard was generous when he was off the battlefield, and we often drank on his tab. I thought he was a detestable guy, but there were many who were devoted to him.”
At Jin’s matter-of-fact words, Anna couldn’t even move.
A red nightmare, running across the battlefield dyed in blood. That was a side of Ritz Anna didn’t know, had never imagined.
Carefree, cheerful, loves alcohol, has a big appetite, is a good cook, likes children, can’t stand up to Edward, is always getting the better of by Patricia, gets scolded by Shasta and hangs his head, enjoys teasing Franz, and… is very kind to Anna.
That was the Ritz Anna knew. So she couldn’t imagine such a thing at all.
No, was it that she just hadn't tried to imagine it?
Anna knew he had fought in the civil war and was called Edward’s right-hand man. She knew he had fought on equal terms with the monsters during the drug incident.
That’s right, she knew. Without having gone through hell, he wouldn’t have that strength.
For some reason she didn’t understand herself, Anna trembled. Maybe she was scared.
But of what…?
“A guy like that just up and quit being a mercenary and disappeared. There was no one else who would use me, so I was given the pretense of looking for him and unceremoniously kicked out. To top it off, I thought I’d found a good way to make some money, but it was crushed by him and the kid who’s passed out below. After that incident, my salary was cut in half, and I’m being worked to the bone by a sassy little miss.”
Jin stood up from his chair irritably. Pacing, he approached and sat roughly on the bed. The old bed mattress let out a nasty creak.
“He’s in the way, he’s an eyesore, that man is!”
Jin shouted, and grabbed Anna’s collar as she lay there.
“What are you to that man? His daughter?”
“No… a companion.”
Her breath was short, but she answered desperately. She felt like she had to.
“Don’t lie to me! As if that bastard would make a face like that for a mere companion!”
He grabbed her collar even tighter. Her breathing was labored. She couldn't answer anymore. A high-pitched sound rang in her ears. Tinnitus. Am I going to die? Just as she thought that, Jin said something unexpected.
“I didn’t think that man had such tastes, but you’re that man’s lover, aren’t you?”
“…Huh?”
No way, I’m a child, he wouldn’t even consider me.
In the deep part of her heart, she heard the voice of someone else, not herself, murmuring so.
“That bastard, he does nothing but take from me. So I’ll take from him. This is revenge.”
Suddenly, Jin’s hand loosened, and she was thrown onto the bed. She gasped for air, breathing heavily and raggedly. She was saved somehow. She put a hand to her neck and realized that the ropes on her hands and feet had been cut at some point.
“Huh…?”
Am I being let go?
She thought so, but the next moment, she was pressed down onto the bed. Jin was on top of her.
“Huh?”
She didn’t understand what was happening. But she knew that something terrible was happening. Before her was Jin’s twisted, smiling face. She felt that same clinging gaze that she had found so creepy before.
“How does he dote on you?”
“Dote on me?”
It was true that Ritz doted on her. He was very kind. But it was clear from his tone that he wasn't asking about that.
“So much you can’t answer?”
“Um… what are you talking about?”
“What do you mean, what am I… you?”
“So, what are you going to do?”
She asked because she really didn’t know, but Jin, frowning in exasperation again, now had an even nastier smile.
“Well, well, Captain. You must have really cherished her.”
With a laugh that could be called a sneer, Jin caressed Anna’s cheek. Goosebumps erupted all over her body. She didn’t understand the meaning at all. She didn’t understand, but it was unpleasant, uncomfortable, and incredibly creepy. When she shook her head in refusal, Jin laughed happily.
“To think that womanizer would keep his hands off her. He never had a steady lover, just went from one to the next.”
“…No…”
“You don’t believe me? That’s the kind of man he is.”
I don't want to hear it. I've had enough.
She wanted to cover her ears, but she couldn’t because Jin was holding her down. But she had just realized that this was what it meant to know the past. Why Ritz hadn’t said anything… now she understood. Ritz hadn’t told her because he didn’t trust her.
He didn't want her to know.
And yet, she had made all sorts of assumptions and, in the worst possible situation, had heard what he probably least wanted her to know.
“Oh yeah, you wanted to hear about that bastard’s past, didn’t you? I was kind enough to tell you, so you can thank me.”
Jin’s hand came down to her neck. A primal fear welled up, and she let out a scream without thinking.
“No!”
“I told you, didn’t I? No one will come even if you scream. Your little companion is probably taking a nap downstairs by now.”
She could tell that Jin’s hands were filled with a twisted desire. Not knowing why he was doing this, she was confused.
“No! Stop! Ritz!”
She had called his name unconsciously. The name of the person who would surely not come, since she had left a note saying she would be back by dinner.
Even though she had done something so terrible as to snoop around for things he didn’t want known, even though she knew it was too convenient, she couldn’t think of anyone else who would save her but Ritz.
“Help me, Ritz!”
“Good, keep calling the captain like that. It’s refreshing.”
Jin’s hand tore off several buttons from her shirt. Her shirt was ripped open almost to her chest. As she froze in terror, there was a tremendous noise.
“Tch, they’re here already.”
Clicking his tongue, Jin got up. Relieved, her strength drained away. Jin jumped off the bed and peered beyond the door. Anna immediately tried to stand up and run, but was surprised. Her legs had given out. She couldn't stand up at all. This had never happened before.
Just as she managed to sit up to try to escape, she was caught in Jin’s arms. Before her eyes, the same knife he had thrown to injure Franz was held out, glinting dully.
“Come on! If you’re not here, I’ll get killed.”
An arm wrapped around her neck, tightening strongly. With that, Anna was dragged out the door by Jin.
Outside the door was a wide space. The ceiling was high, creating an open feeling. It was as large as a hall where many people could gather, but there was absolutely nothing in it. Dust had accumulated in the fireplace by the wall. It was clear even to Anna that it hadn't been used in a long time.
The light leaking from the skylight was still bright. Including the time she had been unconscious, it had only been about three hours since she had arrived in this village, so it was still before noon, Anna thought vaguely.
It felt like a terribly long time had passed.
In a corner of that hall was a staircase leading down. The tremendous noise had been coming repeatedly from the lower floor, but eventually, with an even louder noise, there was a violent sound of various things collapsing.
“He broke down the door. What strength.”
Jin muttered, a clear fear in his voice. So Anna was relieved. There was only one person Jin would be afraid of.
Eventually, a tall man came up the stairs with a leisurely gait. He was already holding his greatsword, unsheathed.
“Ritz…”
“Yo.”
Ritz raised a hand to Anna. Then he looked at her intently. His gaze slowly traveled over her entire body from her face. He seemed to be silently confirming her safety. But there was no relief or softness in his eyes. Anna saw a terrifying anger floating in Ritz’s calm, dark brown eyes.
She had never seen Ritz like this before, so Anna gasped. Perhaps because she had heard about Ritz’s past, she felt scared for the first time.
Behind him was Edward. Edward was lending his shoulder to a limp Franz.
“Ed-san! Is Franz okay?”
She couldn’t help but shout, and Edward smiled gently.
“He’s fine. Are you?”
“I’m okay!”
When Anna answered cheerfully, something glinted in front of her.
“Let’s end the reunion greetings there. Otherwise, my hand might slip, Captain.”
The knife that had passed in front of her was pressed coldly against her cheek.
“Jin, you bastard…”
Ritz muttered, staring at Jin. The next moment, a sharp pain ran through her cheek.
“Oops, my hand slipped because you moved.”
The pain gradually increased as if it were burning. By the time she realized she had been cut, Jin had casually brought the knife in front of Anna’s eyes. She could feel a lukewarm liquid trickling down her cheek. Blood.
“Let her go.”
Ritz said in a terrifyingly quiet tone.
“If you do it now… I’ll let you die peacefully.”
The words came out of Ritz’s mouth as if it were a matter of course, without him flinching at all.
“Heh heh, Captain, what if I don’t let her go?”
“…Didn’t I say? If you let her go, I’ll let you die peacefully.”
“You must be joking, Captain. I’m not ready to die yet.”
Even Anna could tell that their exchange was not a joke but serious. Ritz was serious about killing this man. There was no hesitation in Ritz’s eyes.
“Is this your woman?”
Jin said, choking Anna with his arm. Her breathing immediately became difficult.
“And what if she is?”
Ritz neither denied nor confirmed, but asked back coldly.
“The great mercenary captain, doting on her, aren’t you? Even after something like this…”
Jin’s hand suddenly grabbed Anna’s chest roughly.
“No!”
She couldn’t help but scream from the pain and disgust. But Ritz didn’t flinch and just stared at Jin.
“She doesn’t even know what a man wants to do. You’re not you right now.”
As if mocking Ritz, Jin let out a vulgar laugh.
“No matter how much you threaten me, as long as I have this woman as a hostage, you can’t do a damn thing.”
“You think so?”
“Yeah, that’s right. You’ve just been standing there since you got here. The old you would have had me cut in two and lying on the ground by now.”
She suddenly felt a lukewarm sensation on her cheek. A moment later, she realized that Jin had licked her wound with his tongue, as if enjoying Ritz’s reaction.
“No!”
She struggled desperately to shake him off, but the small Anna had no way of escaping. It was so disgusting and unpleasant that tears came to her eyes.
“Come on, Captain, show some emotion. Beg me, plead with me. ‘Don’t touch my woman anymore.’ If you just grovel before me, I’ll be satisfied.”
Franz’s eyes, as he leaned on Edward’s shoulder, were fixed on Jin with a strange glint. But Franz didn’t seem to be able to move. And Edward, too, had a thin sheen of sweat on his forehead and was biting his lip. Even Anna knew that if a hostage was taken, there was nothing they could do. She knew, so she felt sorry.
But she was scared. Help me.
But Ritz didn’t flinch at all. Am I going to be abandoned? Anna wondered anxiously. But Anna wasn’t the only one who was anxious. Jin, who had Anna in a headlock, let out an impatient cry.
“I’m holding your woman, you know? Grovel before me!”
“There’s no reason to.”
“What?”
“There’s no reason to grovel before someone like you.”
At Ritz’s calm words, Jin’s knife slowly moved to her throat. If she were cut with this, she would surely die.
“For now, let’s have you put your sword on the floor, Captain. Otherwise, I don’t know how my hand might slip this time.”
“I’ll concede that much.”
Ritz, who said that, looked straight at Anna for the first time.
“Anna.”
And with a gentle smile she had never seen since they began their journey together, he spoke to Anna in a low but incredibly sweet voice.
“Trust me, and don’t move, no matter what.”
“Ritz…”
“Don’t move a single step. Understand? Your answer?”
“Okay.”
“Good girl.”
Ritz, after confirming Anna’s reply, slowly bent down and knelt on the floor to place his greatsword on it. The moment he placed it, she saw Ritz quickly grab the rapier that Edward had been hiding.
“Ah!”
Faster than Jin could shout, Ritz’s figure disappeared from her sight.
By the time she realized he had jumped, Ritz’s black hair had brushed past her eyes.
“Damn it!”
The moment Jin shouted and released the knife from Anna, there was a thud and something fell to the floor.
“Aah?”
Right after Jin’s stunned voice, something erupted violently from where his arm had been.
A large amount of… blood.
Don’t look, don’t look.
Even as she thought that, her gaze naturally turned to what had fallen just moments ago.
And she saw the impossible.
Lying in a pool of blood was… a human arm, severed at the shoulder.
She gasped.
“Hey, Jin. Did the mercenary captain you feared ever let an enemy escape just because they had a hostage?”
Ritz, who had cleanly lopped off Jin’s arm with momentum and force, was crouched low on the spot without a single drop of blood on him, smiling leisurely.
An unusual light was in Ritz’s eyes.
“Or did I seem like a compassionate man who would kneel before a hostage?”
“Damn, damn it!”
To Jin, who had taken out a knife from his pocket with his remaining hand, Ritz said coldly, but with a smile.
“You knew this would happen, didn’t you? Right, Jin?”
“Don’t come closer…”
“You must have known, right? Since you were trying to lay a hand on my woman.”
“Don’t come!”
“You’ve touched my last nerve, you know?”
Though they were gentle words to hear, a cold fear lurked beneath them.
“If you come, I’ll…!”
As Jin raised the knife towards Anna’s face with a scream close to a terrified shriek, his upraised arm disappeared.
Twirling, it flew through the air and fell to the floor, still clutching the knife. Unable to look away, Anna stared at it.
The arm, having lost its owner, oozed blood and twitched faintly, as if searching for something.
“Ugh…”
It was disgusting. The smell of blood and the impossible body parts made her feel sick.
For a moment, her vision went dark.
When she came to, she had been gently pushed out of Jin’s arms and was sitting on the floor.
It was then that she realized Ritz was facing Jin, who had lost both arms.
“I’ll hear your last words, if you have any.”
Ritz calmly asked the delirious Jin. But there was no way the already delirious Jin could answer anything.
“That’s enough. I’ll put you out of your misery.”
With that, Ritz returned the rapier to Edward and picked up his greatsword with ease. From that movement, she knew. Ritz was going to finish Jin off.
No, she thought.
That’s absolutely not okay.
“So long, Jin.”
The moment Ritz slowly raised his greatsword, Anna screamed at the top of her lungs.
“Nooooo!”
Ritz’s sword stopped dead, inches from Jin’s neck.
“That’s enough! No more!”
“But this guy…”
“He’s already been punished! He’s lost his hands, he can’t do anything bad anymore!”
“Anna.”
“Please!”
Perhaps her desperate plea got through, as Ritz slowly lowered his greatsword.
“You’re too kind. After what he did to you.”
Saying so, Ritz approached Anna with a gentle smile. The maddening anger was gone from his eyes. Instead, there was the same gentle smile as always.
The same one reserved only for Anna…
“Let’s go home.”
With the greatsword in one hand, Ritz extended his other hand to Anna, who was still sitting on the floor. She hesitated for a moment before taking that large hand.
“What’s wrong? Ah, have your legs given out? My bad, for making you see something like this…”
Saying so, Ritz took Anna’s hand to help her up. At that moment, the cold eyes and smile he had fixed on Jin, and the blood-soaked image of Ritz she had heard about from Jin, overlapped with the Ritz before her.
A shudder of fear ran down her spine, and goosebumps covered her entire body. A tremor began to well up inside her.
“Nooo!”
She realized she had violently pushed Ritz’s hand away. Startled, she looked up and saw that she had unconsciously been backing away while still sitting, trying to get away from Ritz.
“Ah…”
Not understanding why she had done such a thing herself, she looked up at Ritz in a daze, and Ritz also had a dazed look on his face. Then his expression slowly twisted and changed.
Anna knew what to call that expression.
It was called… despair.
“Ah, Ritz… um…”
In an instant, her fear turned to regret. Not knowing what to do, she looked at Ritz, and he slowly withdrew the hand he had extended. She could see that hand being clenched tightly.
Even though Ritz had saved her. Even though he had been worried about her and had gotten angry at Jin for doing something scary and horrible to her.
And it was all because of Anna, who had tried to uncover Ritz’s past.
And yet, she had done something terrible. To the lonely and solitude-loving Ritz, she had done something irreversible. Even realizing that, she couldn’t do anything.
Eventually, Ritz’s expression changed from one of despair to a soft smile. A sad, lonely smile.
“Am I scary?”
“That’s not…”
“It’s fine. It’s only natural.”
“Ritz.”
“I knew from the beginning this would happen. I’m not qualified to be by your side.”
“Wh…at…?”
“I’m sorry. I… was taking advantage of you.”
“Huh…?”
“I misunderstood somewhere along the line.”
“What do you…”
“You’re not at fault for anything. It’s all my fault. Don’t worry about it.”
Usually, after something happened, Ritz would gently say, “Don’t worry about it,” and pat Anna’s head. That was normal, and it made her very happy, and his large hand always calmed her down.
But Ritz never reached out to Anna. His hand remained clenched, roughly shoved into his pocket.
After a moment, Ritz took a deep breath and, as if their previous exchange had never happened, gave Anna his usual cheerful smile. He placed a hand lightly on his hip and spoke to Anna in a slightly teasing tone.
“You’re the one who said to save Jin, you know? At the very least, you should use your healing magic to stop the bleeding. Depending on how you look at it, his current state is worse than being finished off.”
“Ritz…”
“That’s right, Franz first. He’s pretty seriously injured, so take care of him first. Jin can wait. He won’t die that easily.”
“Ritz.”
“Well, I haven’t lost it yet. Maybe Altman can get me a job with the Military Police. A specialist in rough stuff doesn’t sound bad, does it?”
“Ritz, um…”
“Well, it’s not my style, though.”
“But Ritz…”
“You, too, once you’re done, get a change of clothes from the villagers. If you walk around in such a sexy outfit, you’ll get attacked again. Oh, but no one would lay a hand on a kid, would they?”
“Ritz!”
Ritz, who had been ignoring Anna’s calls, twisted the corner of his mouth for a moment before stopping his words. And with a bright smile, he looked back at Anna.
“What is it, Anna?”
In his eyes, the warm feelings that had surely been there just moments ago were completely absent.
A perfectly, formally polite smile—
It was the same smile he had as a fellow traveler when Anna first met Ritz, a year ago.
A completely different kind of fear from before struck Anna. She knew firsthand that the relationship between them, which had been gradually growing closer, had been reset to a blank slate in an instant. A sense of unease, as if the ground beneath her feet had become uncertain, filled her chest.
Even though she absolutely didn't want to lose it, even though it was supposed to be so precious.
It was irreversible now.
From the stunned Anna, Ritz quickly moved away. And leaving Anna behind, he faced Edward. His broad back felt as if it were absolutely rejecting Anna.
Silently, Edward offered the sheath of the greatsword. Equally silently, Ritz accepted it. After resheathing the greatsword on his back, Ritz shrugged.
“Ed.”
“What is it?”
“Just as you said, I was naive.”
“…Is that so?”
“Yeah. I’m done.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure. But, sorry, I need some time. Can I leave the cleanup to you?”
“Leave it to me.”
She could hear their conversation, but she couldn't understand it at all. Now that Ritz had completely closed his heart to Anna, that was only natural.
“Anna, Franz, sorry. I’m heading back first, so come back after you’ve rested.”
“…Okay.”
“I’ll go call Dad and the others.”
Leaving those words behind, Ritz waved and disappeared downstairs. Anna couldn’t follow his back.