Chapter 179 - 3
After finishing a breakfast steeped in a thoroughly heavy atmosphere, Ritz and Edward set off to gather information. Franz watched them go, then saw Anna, whose forced cheerfulness was more strained than usual, return to her room before he went back to his own with a sigh.
He had been asked to stay behind, but that was just a pretext for Anna’s sake. His real job was to keep an eye on her. It was no surprise, either. The ever-placid Anna, who had never once had trouble sleeping since their journey began, had appeared with her eyes so swollen it was impossible to tell if she’d cried all night or hadn’t slept at all.
To be honest, the sight had shaken both Franz and Ritz. They had never seen such an expression on her face, never dreamed that Anna could look so haggard. This was, after all, the woman who, even on the brink of death, would wake up and cheerfully declare, “Ah, I’m starving.”
Edward, however, had accompanied this version of Anna with a calm expression, silently catching their eyes. It seemed to be a signal to ask no questions. Franz, deciding to follow his lead, focused on quietly finishing his meal as usual.
In contrast, it was Ritz who was desperately trying to suppress his agitation. For the first time, Franz saw Ritz drop his fork mid-meal and burn himself with hot green tea. But Anna seemed completely oblivious to Ritz’s distress.
While they were together, Ritz had interacted with Anna as normally as he could, but the moment he returned to his room, he lost all composure. He paced the room in silence like a bear, occasionally stopping to run his hands through his hair with a groan. Eventually, he had bowed his head and pleaded with Franz to keep a close watch on Anna.
On top of that, he wanted Franz to try and find out why she had been crying, which was a problem. That was Franz’s weakest area.
So, setting that aside, he agreed to watch over Anna. Franz was just as concerned about the situation. He had canceled his plans to go investigate with the others and ended up cooped up in his room.
Edward had instructed Anna not to go anywhere without Franz, so she likely wouldn’t venture out alone even if he wasn’t watching.
And so, Franz decided to use this sudden free time to review their journey so far.
He was now looking at a map spread across the table. It was a handwritten map of the Eneonea Continent, created with the help of a cartography expert during their snowbound winter in the city of Tashkur.
Franz, who had been buying up history books in every country they visited, had also collected maps from each nation. But the scales of those maps were all different, and their sizes varied. With the expert’s help, he had compiled them all onto a single large sheet of paper, standardized to the scale of the Yuresla Kingdom.
He had written down everything he could remember, and with the help of Edward, Ritz, and Anna, he had added detailed information about the towns and countries they had visited. In the locations of demi-human villages and cities, he had added even more specific details and attached notes on their legends.
This uniquely detailed world map still had a blank spot: the land of the Clan of Darkness. There were no maps or detailed information about this country.
He had marked the roads they had traveled with red ink. Looking at it now, he realized they had journeyed a considerable distance. There was another straight red line drawn in ink. It was the line he had added to show the direction the ‘Eye of the Spirit King’ in Tashkur had been pointing.
That mark pointed straight toward the center of the massive mountain range in the continent’s central region. ‘Center,’ though, was a relative term; since no one in this world knew the full extent of these mountains, it was impossible to say if it was truly the exact center. It just looked that way.
It was frustrating to think that if he had noticed this sooner, he could have pinpointed the location where several lines would intersect. But even if he knew the spot, he had no idea how they could possibly cross this mountain range.
“Are we really on the right path…?”
A murmur escaped his lips. He pulled a crumpled envelope from his pocket. On it, his name was written in a familiar hand. It was the letter from Orphe to Franz, found in the history book about King Edmond the Wise. He had taken it out and reread it so many times when he felt anxious that it had become quite dirty.
It only said that if he met all six races and heard their legends, he would reach Orphe’s location; there were no other hints. But he had learned something on his journey.
He learned that the location of his master Orphe—the junk-loving, domestically challenged slob also known as Artis Ozmand—was the same place where the Spirit Kings resided, the center of faith for all the races.
In other words, he could only conclude that Orphe was someone related to the Spirit Kings. A lifespan of over fifteen hundred years, a connection to the Spirit Kings… Franz still had no idea what Orphe’s true identity could be.
The existence of the Spirit Kings and the Goddess, which he had always considered mere superstition or legend, felt more and more real the further he traveled. There was even a race that spoke of the Spirit Kings’ revival, so perhaps they were still alive. If so, it wouldn’t be strange for someone connected to them to be alive as well.
For example… a servant…?
At that thought, Franz shook his head violently. There was no way that domestically incompetent man could be a servant. With a sigh, Franz flopped onto the bed. Through the window, he could see the summer sky and low clouds drifting slowly by. Though he couldn’t see it from this window, the massive mountain range was visible from this city as well.
Thinking of the mountains the Eye pointed to, Franz sighed. That range was far too high. He suddenly remembered how Orphe would sometimes look at the mountains with a lonely expression and sing a song. It was particularly memorable during the New Festival Month; every year at that time, instead of joining in the festivities like normal people, he would just quietly hum while looking at the mountains.
That melancholy melody, and those distant, lonely eyes. If he was singing while looking at the mountains, what meaning could it have held?
Watching the idyllic scenery, Franz rolled over and looked at the cloth bag on the bedside table. Inside was that gem.
Every demi-human holy site they had visited had one of the strange orbs like the ones in the Yuresla Kingdom’s crown and the ones Franz, Anna, and Ritz possessed. It was known to all the demi-human races as the ‘Eye of the Spirit King.’
If it was true that they all pointed in the exact same direction, what could possibly lie at the end of their gaze? No, before that, who was the person who could have sent the same stone monuments and Eyes to all the demi-human races, who have no contact with each other, and set them up to point in the same direction?
Could that have been Orphe?
There were still more questions. Why did Anna and Ritz have the same orb? If Orphe was the one who gave Franz his, it would make some sense. The orb maximized his fire powers and gave him control over the Fire Dragon. It could be seen as a parting gift for his inept disciple before his disappearance.
But how did Ritz and Anna come to possess their orbs? Anna had apparently had hers since birth. If Orphe gave her the orb, wouldn't that mean he had known Anna since she was born?
Could it be… Anna is Orphe's child…?
His imagination had taken a rather vulgar turn. Franz shook his head to clear the thought. He shouldn't demote his master to a father who couldn't even take responsibility for his own child. So, what other possibilities could he imagine?
One was that there was some connection between Anna’s parents and Orphe. Given her lifespan and abnormally strong spiritual power, Anna couldn't be purely human. But in all the demi-human lands they had visited so far, there were no demi-humans like Anna. The Soukai Clan they were about to meet might be close, but that raised the question of why she was abandoned in the Yuresla Kingdom.
And if she were a hybrid of some kind, what races would she be a mix of? Ritz’s father, Karl, had looked at Anna’s eyes and said she likely had the blood of the Clan of Light. Green eyes were certainly a trait of the Clan of Light.
But among the Clan of Light, besides Karl and Ritz, no one had left Ciedena in several hundred years. For a moment, he wondered if Anna was actually Ritz's child, but she was born over thirty years ago, and at that time, Ritz wasn't in the Yuresla Kingdom. He'd heard Ritz had left the country as a mercenary, seeking battlefields.
She wasn't of the Clan of Light, the Beastfolk weren't skilled with spirits, she didn't have the physical prowess of the Fire Clan, and children of mixed Birdfolk heritage had weak spiritual power. If Anna didn't share any characteristics with the Soukai Clan in this city, her identity would become even more of a mystery.
The only remaining possibility was the Clan of Darkness, but it seemed unlikely for someone with their blood to have red hair and green eyes. Wouldn't she have black hair like Ritz, who was half Clan of Darkness, or darker skin?
And the only person who knew the truth was Orphe. As he thought this and lay on his back again, a thought struck him and he sat up.
No, wait… Why does Kuchiba call Anna 'Princess'?
When Anna met Kuchiba, for some reason, he had called her ‘Princess’ or ‘Your Highness.’ Anna had said his tone wasn’t teasing or joking.
Did that mean she was related to the Clan of Darkness?
No, in the first place, why was Kuchiba, a member of the Clan of Darkness, obstructing their journey to meet Orphe? Why was he preventing them from learning the truth? And was the truth Kuchiba was trying to protect the same as the truth Orphe possessed?
An apostle of the god who protects the truth… That's what he had called himself. Was Orphe also an apostle of a god? What was this truth they were willing to ruthlessly take human lives to protect…?
With a sigh, Franz closed his eyelids. There was too little information, and his mind was in a state of confusion. At times like this, it was better to get some sleep and calm down.
Just as he was drifting off, he heard a hesitant knock. He considered ignoring it out of laziness, but the image of Anna’s haggard face and Ritz’s unsettled one flashed in his mind, and he shot up. If Anna, trying to be considerate of a napping Franz, went out alone and disappeared… he would never hear the end of it.
“What is it?”
He answered from in front of the door, and it slowly opened. As expected, it was Anna. She was peeking in with a sheepish look.
“Sorry. Did I wake you?”
“No. I wasn't sleeping.”
“Oh, good. I was thinking if you were asleep, I’d just head out quietly, but I thought that might be rude.”
He was glad she had called out. He really would have been in for it with Ritz.
“Well, I’m heading out then.”
“Huh?”
“It’s okay! I won’t get lost.”
Franz panicked as Anna casually said this and prepared to leave. She was supposed to have been told by Edward to go out with him, but she seemed to have no intention of doing so. But if he let her go, he was sure to face Ritz’s wrath.
“Wait. I’m coming too.”
“But you look sleepy.”
“I’m fine.”
He rushed back into the room and tucked his spear into his belt. With the situation in this city unknown, having his spear, even if he could only use weak fire magic, made a world of difference in his sense of security. He grabbed his bag and stepped out of the room.
“I feel kind of bad. Ed-san and the others worry too much. I’m not going to get lost.”
“It’s fine. There’s somewhere I want to go, too.”
“Really? Well, that’s good. Let’s go.”
Anna, dressed in her usual light attire, nimbly pushed herself off the wall she was leaning against. The swelling around her eyes had gone down a bit since morning, so maybe she’d managed to get a short nap.
The rarely seen pair set off from the inn together. This combination felt slightly unsettling. Perhaps Anna felt the same, as she looked at Franz and gave a weak grin.
“It feels kinda strange, just you and me, huh?”
“Yeah.”
Usually, for defensive and offensive purposes, Anna would team up with Ritz, and Franz with Edward. It was a matter of personality and the balance of offense and defense. That combination could handle various unexpected incidents, but right now, if something happened, they wouldn't be able to cope.
But given the current situation between Anna and Ritz, moving as a pair like before was probably impossible. The thought brought an involuntary sigh.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing…”
Franz mumbled in response to Anna’s concerned look. Tilting her head quizzically, Anna didn’t press further and changed the subject completely.
“Today, I just want to go for a walk. We haven’t done any proper sightseeing since we got to this city, right?”
“That’s true.”
“So let’s get your errand out of the way first. Then we can go sightseeing together, okay? And let’s get some lunch while we’re at it. We’re near the sea, so the fish has got to be delicious!”
“Ah. Yeah.”
Aside from some lingering puffiness around her eyes, she sounded like the usual Anna. He had intended to ask her why she had cried, but in this state, Franz couldn't bring himself to ask her anything.
Though Anna was often a bit ditzy and lacked common sense, she was also surprisingly stubborn. When she put up a perfect facade like this, Franz, who was inept at human relationships, was incapable of breaking through her iron wall of bright cheerfulness.
The only one who could probably break through was Ritz, but since the source of her worries was Ritz himself, he wouldn’t be able to ask her directly. So all Franz could do was hope for an opportunity to hear about it somewhere.
“So, where are you going?”
“A bookstore.”
“Oh, the usual!”
Anna, of course, knew that Franz visited a bookstore in every new country to buy history books. Sometimes he would buy tourist guides for the various towns at the same time. Thankfully, the bookstore was near the inn. He could pop in for a bit when he had time. Leaving Anna to wait, Franz entered the bookstore and browsed around.
He had recently learned that he couldn't judge the quality of a history book without reading a few of them. By reading several and objectively comparing the facts they presented, he could identify the one that pointed toward the most balanced version of the truth.
At first, he was conscious of Anna waiting outside, but he gradually became so engrossed that he forgot about her. He usually visited bookstores alone, so he tended to forget he had company when he got absorbed. Besides, the books in this country had an unusual construction. They were firmly bound with thick thread.
Having found a satisfactory book, Franz paid for it and finally remembered Anna. He had probably kept her waiting for quite a while. He hurried out of the store to find Anna leaning against a stone lantern, staring at the ground and singing something.
He recognized the melody and hesitated to call out to her. A melancholy melody… He thought it couldn't be, but when he heard the lyrics coming from Anna’s lips, he was certain. It was the song Constanze’s mother had sung, the song Constanze had sung.
My happiness is you and you alone…
I want nothing else but you…
Amidst the city's clamor, Anna’s voice, which usually sang nothing but strange songs or lullabies, carried the tune of a tragic love song, a youthful quality still in its tones. In such a peculiar situation, unthinkable until now, a shiver ran down his spine, and Franz stood frozen, unable to speak.
Could it be… no, not could it be, but has she found the answer to Kamala’s question about whether her love is that of family or romance? Anna noticed Franz, who was frozen in place.
“You done?”
“…That song just now…”
“Oh, you heard? How embarrassing. I’m so much worse than Constanze.”
“You can sing it.”
“Yeah. I mean, if I hear it over and over every day, even I can learn it. If you were listening, you should have said something… oh, I’m sorry! You hate this song, don't you?!”
“I don’t hate it. I’ve made my peace with it.”
“Oh, right. That’s true.”
“It’s just… it was unexpected to hear you sing it.”
For a moment, Anna looked at Franz as if she’d been struck in the chest, then she lowered her gaze slightly.
“Unexpected… you think?”
“Yeah. It’s not like the usual you.”
When Franz said that, Anna’s expression crumpled for a second, as if she were about to cry. Now is the only chance to break through her iron wall. He wasn't good with words, so he didn't know how much he could get out of her, but if he didn't ask now, he never would.
“Were you crying last night?”
She seemed to be debating how to answer, but then Anna looked up and met Franz’s gaze directly.
“I knew you’d be able to tell. I never knew that puffy eyes don’t go away unless you sleep.”
Anna said this with an embarrassed laugh, but it wasn't her usual cheerful one; it lacked energy. Unable to use the advanced conversational technique of subtly prompting her like Edward would, Franz decided to ask directly.
“It’s because of Ritz, isn't it? Or is it because of his ex-girlfriend?”
“Whoa… Franz, you really don't hold back. Just like Joe.”
“Are you trying to dodge the question?”
“…Yeah. Is it that obvious?”
“I overheard your conversation with Kamala back then.”
As he muttered this, Anna looked at Franz with a start.
“You haven’t said anything to Ritz, have you?”
“No. How could I? I can’t tell him you’re torn between seeing your love for him as family love or romantic love. If I said that… you’d be in a tough spot, wouldn't you?”
In his own way, Franz was being considerate. Anna and Ritz were his comrades, and he knew they both had things they didn't want the other to know. Seeing Franz fall silent, Anna gave a weak smile.
“I see… so you already know, Franz…”
She said this with an air of resignation and looked up at the sky. After leaning against the lantern and gazing up for a while, Anna turned to Franz and smiled.
“I don’t even know what’s what myself… And yet, it just hurts so much, it’s so heart-wrenching. I heard about Ritz’s past from Jin-san, and I thought I understood, but seeing it right in front of me… how do I put it… it’s a shock. Like… like being hit square in the head with a hammer.”
With that, Anna prompted Franz to start walking. Franz silently complied, and the two began to walk side by side. Anna’s words continued, almost like a monologue.
“Ritz has that personality, and seeing how he was back in Ciedena, you’d think I have to be there for him, right? But maybe I was wrong. Maybe I was the one who couldn’t be alone, so I just selfishly made him into someone who needed me.”
He didn't think that was true, but he couldn't put it into words. If she asked for evidence to back it up, he would have to tell her that Ritz loved her. That would surely be an unforgivable betrayal from Ritz’s perspective. As a comrade, and to some extent, a friend, he couldn't do that.
As he remained silent, Anna spoke again.
“At the orphanage, you know, everything is equal. Food, clothes, chores, even our relationship with Father. Everyone loves everyone, and there’s no ranking of who you like best. Until now, I thought that was normal, the one and only truth. So I thought I should love everyone, just as the Goddess loves all.”
They passed through the street and came out at the port. A pleasant sea breeze was blowing. They had taken a room near the port with the intention of crossing to the Trading Island. Sitting on a backless bench in a park-like area, Anna looked up at the sky.
“But after meeting Ritz, I realized that loving everyone equally doesn’t save me. Because I’m just ‘me’ within ‘everyone,’ I don’t have to be myself. Right?”
Anna’s logic was difficult. In Franz’s case, he was at the center, and everyone else was on the periphery. Everyone was an enemy, a threat that would bring him down. So he always kept himself coiled up, protecting himself. She had opened her heart in the exact opposite way.
When he just shook his head slightly without a word, Anna gave a soft smile. Perhaps she was speaking to herself, knowing that Franz wouldn't understand.
“I guess I wanted someone to see me for myself, not just as part of everyone. ‘I’m here,’ not just ‘everyone.’ And then I realized that what I really wanted was for someone to tell me I was their favorite.”
The sound of a steam whistle drifted from the distance, carried on the refreshing summer breeze. Unable to say anything, Franz simply sat down next to Anna. With a mature expression that Franz found difficult to handle, she stared straight at the horizon.
“When Ritz said he needed me, I felt like he had scooped me out from that big pile of ‘everyone else.’ That he needed me, and no one else. I was so, so happy. From that moment on, Ritz became my special person.”
“Can I ask you something?”
“What is it?”
“You love Ritz, don’t you?”
When he asked her directly, Anna smiled without hesitation.
“Yeah, I like him. I thought he was a good person from the moment I met him.”
“Oh, that kind of like?”
“Are there different directions for ‘like’?”
“Well…”
He didn't really get it. It seemed that for Anna, ‘like’ wasn't as simple as the relationship between a man and a woman that Franz knew. Or maybe all women were like this. As he tilted his head, Anna propped her elbows on her knees, rested her chin in her hands, and let out a small sigh.
“If he said he needed me, then I want him to look only at me. I’m greedy, so I want to tell him to look only at me. But Ritz kissed his old girlfriend, right? When I saw that, I was so disappointed. A kiss on the lips means you like that person the most, right?”
“…Yeah, I guess.”
“Then I’m not his favorite. People kiss at times like that, right?”
“…Don’t ask me…”
It sounded like a question for men in general, but it was no use asking Franz. He thought that in Ritz’s case, it was pretty much unavoidable, but he hesitated to say so here. Besides, didn’t the words ‘look only at me’ contradict her earlier statement about him being a ‘good person’?
In other words, if Ritz was a ‘good person’ to Anna, he was family. But if he was someone she wanted to look only at her, he was a lover. It was a complete contradiction. As Franz was left confused, Anna, who hadn’t been seeking an answer in the first place, sighed again.
“Saying he needed me, that we were partners… he meant we were comrades who could say anything to each other, like with Ed-san. That makes sense, doesn’t it? Ritz would definitely be happy to have a best friend like Ed-san to spend time with. When I think about it that way, I guess I lose to Ed-san. The only thing I have on him is my longer lifespan. Wait, then I can’t be number one in anything, can I?”
With that, Anna threw her legs out in front of her.
“Aah, I knew a day like this might come, but it’s no use getting shocked now. We promised from the start not to get attached if one of us found a lover.”
“You did?”
“Yeah. I made Ritz promise me that. That was a bit of a mistake, huh.”
Anna’s embarrassed smile showed that her iron-clad defenses were already back in place. It seemed unlikely he could press her any further. In the end, it was as if Anna had wrapped him around her little finger. It seemed that Anna, being thirteen years older, was more than a match for Franz. So he decided to offer just one piece of support for Ritz and ask no more.
“Anna.”
“What?”
“I don’t think Ritz is responsible for the kiss with Qiuzi-san. That was a sudden accident.”
“…Yeah. But it’s the same thing.”
“What is?”
“Because Ritz has someone he loves. The same thing will definitely happen again in the future.”
“…Huh?”
As far as Franz knew, Ritz might fool around with women, but that was just to satisfy his urges; there was only one woman he truly loved. And that one person was none other than Anna, standing right in front of him. After all, he’d said he was in love with her to the point of absurdity.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Yeah, sure.”
“Who told you that Ritz loves someone else?”
“Ritz himself.”
Impossible… Right now, Ritz was in a state where he could think of nothing but Anna. Noticing Franz’s skeptical look, Anna adopted a lecturing, older-sisterly expression and spoke quietly.
“It’s true. He said he has someone he loves so much that he can even understand how Kamala-san feels.”
…Isn’t that… you, Anna? But he couldn’t say that to her.
“Aah, I’m getting hungry! Let’s go eat some local food to make up for what we missed yesterday!”
Anna smiled her usual smile, though the swelling around her eyes hadn't completely faded. Franz sighed at Anna’s impenetrable iron wall. This was the limit of what he could do. He decided to be content with having managed to put even a small crack in that wall and get her to talk.
Besides, he was well aware that meddling in other people's love lives rarely led to anything good. From here on, he would leave it to the two of them. If that didn't work, Edward would probably do something about it. Franz silently decided to go along with Anna’s sightseeing, which she was now hyping up with an odd energy, probably to keep him from worrying.