Chapter 183 - 7
Ever since they moved into Qiuzi’s boarding house, Anna had been in a bad mood… but only when she was alone with Ritz.
Tailing Anna as she left the boarding house to buy laundry soap, Ritz let out a secret sigh.
He knew he was thoroughly despised, so no matter what he did or thought, there was no solution. Yet he still found himself watching Anna, wondering if there was anything he could do, only to end up dejected. He was stuck in a loop.
If she would just tell him why she hated him so much, he could respond accordingly, but Anna would only make a vague expression and refuse to talk. And now, perhaps because they were renting a room at Qiuzi’s boarding house, she had clammed up even more than before.
For more than a week since moving in, they hadn’t even been able to exchange light banter. The days just kept dragging on.
The only way to break this suffocating stalemate was for the situation to change, but in the meantime, not a single meeting had been held between the Soukai Clan and the Suien Commercial Guild. It seemed both sides were waiting for the other to make a move.
No movement meant that Ritz and the others were bored out of their minds. They couldn't get a job if they didn't know how long they would be working, so they inevitably spent a lot of time with Qiuzi and the other residents of the boarding house.
Franz, lost in thought about something, rarely came out of his room. Edward was too old for the young boarders to feel comfortable with, so it was mainly Ritz and Anna who interacted with them.
In this environment, Anna found herself a job: managing the common areas of the boarding house. With time on her hands, Anna would sweep the entrance, hallways, and stairs, looking just like the building’s caretaker. It seemed that since they were being allowed to stay in an empty room for next to nothing, all because Ritz was an acquaintance, she wanted to repay the favor.
Qiuzi, the actual caretaker, was pleased with this. But Anna still maintained a subtle distance from Qiuzi, so she probably had mixed feelings about helping out. He could only guess, which made him feel a bit pathetic.
He was also a little worried about Anna acting as the caretaker. Most of the boarders were young men aspiring to be mercenaries or boys with jobs in the city. As they left for work, Anna would see them off with a smile while sweeping. It seemed they were all soothed by that smile.
Anna’s reputation among the boarders was extremely high, and she was already on her way to becoming an idol among them, who were used to the petite women of this country. The boarders recognized Anna as being of a certain age.
To Edward and Franz, who were from Yuresla, it was difficult to tell the age of people from Tarnien or Sarnia. Tarnien in particular was a country of smaller people, and if someone had a baby face, it seemed impossible to read their age. Even Ritz, who was used to it, was sometimes confused.
Conversely, for the people of Tarnien, the age of people from Yuresla would be very difficult to read. Naturally, Tarnien people could distinguish their own countrymen. As a result, perhaps, Anna’s treatment was different depending on the country, even if she looked like a child in Yuresla.
In other words, to the young men of this country, Anna was of an age where she could very well be a lover.
The thought made him quite anxious and quite irritated. In this situation, if he wasn't careful, one of the young men might snatch Anna away. But whether he was irritated or not, she already hated him, so there was nothing to be snatched away in the first place.
It was only now that Ritz realized he viewed the world from a much older perspective. He recognized men who looked his own age as ‘youngsters’ and felt that men Edward’s age were his contemporaries, so of course he would.
That was why he had been so relaxed about the young-looking Anna, thinking that since she was a child, no one would make a pass at her. And he had been overconfident, thinking Anna was so dense she wouldn’t notice if someone had feelings for her.
Even to Ritz, Anna looked incredibly cute cleaning with an apron on and a broom in her hands. Which meant to the young men living here, she must be scoring very high points.
After dinner, they would gather in the common room and surround Anna, who was also killing time, and pepper her with questions without reservation. Mixed in with questions about her journey were attempts to find out if she had a lover and what her type was, so they couldn't be underestimated.
Whether she knew what they were asking or not, Anna would give off-the-wall answers and make the boarders laugh. Anna maintained her inherent cheerfulness in front of Qiuzi and the other boarders.
Still, there were times when she was confused by questions she didn’t understand. At those times, Edward, reading a newspaper in the corner of the room, would subtly lend a hand. There was no room for Ritz to intervene there either. He was always surrounded by a few aspiring mercenaries and couldn't move. As expected, his name was quite famous so close to the battlefield.
But even Anna, who maintained such cheerfulness in front of others, would have the air between her and Ritz turn cold the moment they were alone. If the interaction between the boarders and Anna was a spring breeze, the wind blowing between Ritz and Anna was a blizzard. Perhaps finding it awkward, Anna would quickly return to her room with a smile.
At that point, Ritz had no choice but to trudge back to his own room. He couldn’t maintain the persona of a perfect guardian, nor could he talk to her head-on. He had never thought he was such a pathetic man. No, perhaps because he was a pathetic man, he had been able to live this long with sweet delusions of ‘someone will understand someday’ or ‘there’s someone who gets me.’
But Anna had also undergone a big change. Compared to previous cities, she had started going out more often, giving reasons like shopping or going for a walk. When he discreetly asked Edward, he learned that she was getting tired of putting on a brave face and wanted to clear her head by walking outside a bit.
Knowing that Kuchiba might be nearby, someone always had to accompany her on these walks. As long as they didn’t know what Kuchiba was planning, she needed a guard.
Until now, either Edward or Franz had gone with her, but after a week of just going for walks every day, Franz had grown tired of the monotony and started to show his annoyance.
Ritz had been making excuses to get out of it, but today, Edward had finally given him a semi-order: “This is a chance for you two to talk, so you should accompany Anna on her walk for once.” And so, for the first time, he was to be her escort.
At first, in front of Edward and Franz, Anna had smiled and politely refused to have Ritz accompany her, but after being persuaded by Edward, she had allowed him to come along with extreme reluctance. Though she had been cheerful until they left the boarding house, where there were people watching, she was now completely silent.
As usual, the air between them was frozen.
Going to buy soap was just an excuse; she probably just wanted to go for a walk to clear her head. Thinking that having Ritz, the person she was most cautious around, tag along must be a heavy burden for Anna, she suddenly turned around.
“I’m really fine. You can go back.”
It was a smile, but a perfectly forced one. A smile like that, unlike her usual carefree one, was strangely mature, so he could tell right away. It was an expression he knew only because he had been watching her for so long. A simple “I’m here because I want to be with you” would have been easy to say, but what came out of his mouth were twisted words.
“I know I’m a nuisance, but it’s the situation, so it can’t be helped.”
“I didn’t say you were a nuisance.”
Anna’s tone dropped a notch. The smile she had been wearing was now just a trace on her lips.
“If you don’t want to, you can go back. I’ll be fine on my own.”
“I didn’t say I didn’t want to.”
“Your face says you do. Well, see you later then.”
Turning forward again, Anna started walking briskly. Raised in the mountains and having built up her stamina on their journey to match Ritz’s, her pace was fast. Naturally, Ritz was no slouch either. He caught up to the almost-power-walking Anna and walked right behind her.
“Wouldn’t you be more useful helping out at Qiuzi-san’s shop?”
Anna muttered under her breath with a sharp tone as she walked. He had no words to reply.
Ritz had been helping out at Qiuzi’s shop for the past few days. Knowing that Ritz was back, his mercenary comrades and retired former mercenaries would come to her shop, and it had become an easy place for Ritz to be without having to think too deeply. That’s why, when night fell, he would hang out at Qiuzi’s shop, which stayed open late into the night.
Helping out was just a pretext; the truth was he was just drinking and complaining. Of course, he couldn't drink for free, so he did help out a little with the cooking. But Luan was an extremely skilled cook, so there was very little for Ritz to do.
“This is kind of like work too, isn’t it?”
He couldn’t find the right words, so he just said what came to mind. He knew it was a mistake, but once he’d said it, he couldn’t take it back. As expected, Anna’s expression stiffened, and then she gave a small nod with a strained face.
“…You’re right. Looking after me is your job as my guardian.”
“Well… yeah.”
“Then you can go back to your beloved Qiuzi-san’s place. I’m perfectly fine.”
“Why do you think I love Qiuzi?”
“If you didn’t, you wouldn’t be at her shop every day, spending hours with her.”
“That’s because I’m helping out.”
He knew he was making excuses that wouldn't hold up, but he couldn't find any other words. The lighthearted banter that came so easily when talking to women in the pleasure districts completely failed him in front of Anna. All that came out were pathetic, excuse-like words, and he felt utterly miserable.
Anna walked with a practiced gait, turning from the back alleys, crossing the main street, and entering another narrow lane. On either side of the lane were shops selling various daily goods. The items on display, a mix of local products and imported goods from other countries, seemed just the kind of thing Anna would like.
Glancing at the bargain items displayed in front of the shops, Anna muttered.
“Ritz, you were kissing Qiuzi-san, weren’t you?”
He flinched at the sudden change of topic.
“A kiss on the lips is a kiss for the one you love most. That’s what my foster father taught me. So the most important person to Ritz is Qiuzi-san.”
“That was just a spur-of-the-moment thing!”
“I wonder. It didn’t look that way to me.”
Without slowing down, Anna peered into the shop windows as she walked. Her expression was still completely unreadable. Are you Franz now? he wanted to retort, but the atmosphere was not one where such a jab would land.
“Qiuzi-san said it. That maybe she still loves Ritz. And Ritz, for not resisting.”
“…”
What are you telling someone who takes everything at face value, Qiuzi? he thought, but it seemed any further denial from Ritz would be useless. He knew from being by her side that Anna was actually very stubborn.
“My protection is a job, right? Then maybe I’ll ask the boys who are training to be mercenaries. They’ve been asking me to go out with them a lot lately.”
He couldn't help but feel a sting of anger. If any other woman had said that, he would have thought it was a tactic to make him jealous, but when Anna said it, it had no other meaning.
In other words, was she saying, ‘Other people are far more trustworthy’? It was true that there was probably nothing more unpleasant than being protected by someone you disliked. In other words, Anna was implicitly trying to tell him that she could no longer trust him.
The bond of trust that had been right in front of him just a few months ago was now gone, as if it had never existed. The thought was not just empty, but unbearably sad. But it would be strange to cling to Anna and tell her not to say such things.
“So what if I am? I’m an untrustworthy man. My bad.”
His tone became sharp without him realizing it. He was angry at himself for not being able to cover up the emptiness inside him. A part of his mind was telling him, ‘You’re not a kid, calm down,’ but he still couldn’t hide his irritation.
“It’s easier to ask someone who’s willing to go with me than to force someone who doesn’t want to.”
“I didn’t say I didn’t want to.”
“I can tell from your attitude. Besides, you’re the type who doesn’t do jobs you don’t like, right?”
Just as Ritz knew Anna, Anna knew Ritz. From their relationship so far, she could probably make that much of a guess.
“Then it’s fine, you can go back. I’ll ask someone else next time.”
“Yeah, I’m sure you will. The young guys are better than an old man like me, right?”
“…What are you talking about?”
Frowning, Anna turned around for the first time. Her large green eyes were wavering in confusion. She really didn’t seem to understand. So Ritz looked back at her, his words laced with sarcasm.
“I’m saying that the young guys can get along with you and have fun better than a twisted, old man like me.”
“I don’t understand what you mean.”
“I’m saying that if I’m here, I’ll get in the way of you getting friendly with the young guys.”
“What’s that… you’re acting like a child.”
Anna said this in a remarkably mature tone. Just that one sentence made him feel as if he’d been abandoned. He knew that the best course of action was to avoid being disliked any further, but feeling this way infuriated him, and he couldn’t help but yell.
“So what if I am! I’m an old man, an idiot, and a kid!”
“I didn’t say that!”
“It’s the same as saying it!”
“How did it come to this! You’re the one who’s reluctantly here with me!”
“I said I’m not here reluctantly!”
“Then what is it!?”
He managed to swallow the words “because I love you” and brought up a pretext instead.
“I was asked to protect you, so it’s a job!”
“And you’re saying that’s why you’re reluctant!”
As they were shouting at each other, the low laughter of a man could be heard from somewhere.
“You’re always treating people like children, but…”
“Shut up for a second.”
He reflexively shot back as he always did, and the angry Anna stood with her arms crossed, glaring up at Ritz.
“What’s with that tone!?”
It seemed she hadn’t heard the voice at all.
“I said shut up! There’s someone here.”
“Huh?”
Surprised into silence, Anna also looked around. Ritz scanned their surroundings.
They had continued walking while shouting at each other, so for a moment he wasn’t sure where they were, but it was certain they had entered a back alley. Unlike the shopping street from before, there wasn’t a single person around.
The sound of a man’s suppressed laughter was heard again. It wasn’t his imagination. Ritz tried to pinpoint the source of the voice.
In the next moment, killing intent rained down from above and in front of them.
He instantly pulled Anna behind him and drew his greatsword. A moment later, whatever had been thrown at them was deflected by his greatsword with a spray of sparks and fell to the ground.
It was a handful of dully gleaming knives.
“What… is this?”
As Anna muttered in a daze, sheltered by Ritz, the presence from before made its move.
Looking in that direction, he saw a man sitting on a roof. The man’s face was dark against the backlight, but he could see his lips curl into a smile.
“As expected of the man called the Bloodstained Nightmare. Your skills haven’t dulled.”
The man slowly stood up on the roof. Though it was still bright daylight, the man stood there clad head to toe in black, as if cloaked in darkness.
“It seems your skills are at least sufficient to fulfill your role as a knight protecting the princess.”
With that, the man landed with a weightless grace, descending to the sunlit ground. Black hair, brown skin, and facial features similar to his own…
“…Kuchiba…”
Anna whispered painfully, clutching the hem of Ritz’s clothes.
“That’s him?”
“Yeah.”
He kept his greatsword at the ready, watching the man who was closing the distance with the silent steps of a cat. The man then spread his hands wide with an air of composure, signaling that he had no intention of attacking.
But there was no way he could trust that. Ignoring Ritz, who kept his sword drawn, the man took a few steps toward Anna and stopped.
“It is an honor to meet you again, Princess.”
Calling her that, Kuchiba placed a hand on his chest and bowed deeply.
“I am glad to see you are well.”
Kuchiba silently waited for Anna’s response. A faint smile on his lips, a cruel expression, an arrogant attitude…
He was told they looked alike, but he couldn't see it. Did he unconsciously make such a cold expression himself?
“So you still haven’t given up and intend to press on.”
“That’s right.”
At Anna’s firm reply, Kuchiba showed a gentle smile.
“You are a kind person. Despite being afraid.”
“…I’m not afraid.”
“Oh, but you are. You are afraid of people getting hurt. But at the same time, you are strong. You intend to save the people I hurt and move forward. You are of a different class than that failure over there.”
Kuchiba’s gaze turned directly toward him. A cold, piercing stare fixed on Ritz. For a moment, he felt like he was looking in a mirror. Kuchiba certainly did resemble him.
“Ritz is not a failure.”
Anna’s voice, defending him, brought him back to his senses.
“The princess is too kind. To defend the very person you were just fighting with.”
“You were watching?”
“I was watching, yes. I was waiting, Princess. For you and the failure to be alone.”
With that, Kuchiba raised a hand slightly. A small darkness was born there. The darkness writhed like a snake, coiling around him.
“Shall I relieve you of your displeasure, Princess?”
“Huh?”
“O darkness that governs a peaceful demise.”
At Kuchiba’s whispered words, the small darkness grew enormous. It instantly transformed into a countless swarm of snakes that lunged at them, blocking out even the sunlight.
“Damn it!”
He instinctively tried to block with his sword, but a sword was useless against dark spirit magic. He violently scattered the darkness that was coiling around him.
The darkness he cut away dissipated into the air with no resistance.
I can cut it… he thought, but in the next moment, the darkness began to reform. No matter how many times he repeated it, the darkness writhed, trying to entangle his sword.
This was endless. But it was enough if he could just buy time for Anna to escape.
The moment he thought that, a sphere of water shot out from behind him. It was a sphere more powerful than any he had ever seen before, and it spun at high speed like a vortex, colliding violently with the snake of darkness, entangling it. A fierce spray of water erupted.
“Anna, run!”
Ritz yelled, seeing a momentary opening, but Anna glared back at him.
“You’re the one who should run, Ritz! You can’t win against spirit magic!”
She had a point. But he couldn't back down now.
“Then I’ll just take out the source!”
“Ritz!”
He charged fiercely at Kuchiba, who was standing calmly in front of them. Kuchiba was cut in half with no resistance at all.
“You’re a violent one, aren’t you?”
With those words of contempt, the form that had been Kuchiba vanished.
“An illusion…!”
“You finally realized?”
“Tch!”
He thrust his sword in the direction of the voice, and the figure there split in two again and vanished. As he searched for the real presence, another knife flew at him.
He reflexively knocked it away, and the attacker, Kuchiba, smiled as he leaped nimbly into the air. It seemed he was real this time.
“There you are!”
The moment he lowered his stance and readied his sword, a strong wind blew through the alley with a rustling sound. Sand and hair were whipped up violently, and he instinctively shielded his face. In that instant, Kuchiba vanished.
“You look pathetic without a little more composure.”
When he looked up, Kuchiba was on the roof. He had been lifted by the wind.
“Wind spirits!”
“What?”
Ritz was at a loss for words at his incredible agility. He was like an acrobat. Kuchiba did a flip, landed on the roof, and looked down at them with a smile.
“Unfortunately, I am what you would call a priest. I am not suited for fighting you.”
Kuchiba smiled faintly as if telling a joke. The way he threw those knives was not like any priest he had ever seen. But if he were a warrior, he wouldn't have such powerful spirit magic.
He couldn't grasp this man’s true identity at all. Before the bewildered Ritz, Kuchiba sat down leisurely on the roof.
“If you were also Moegi’s son, you should have been able to use this much power, but I suppose it can’t be helped with a half-blood.”
Ritz froze at Kuchiba’s words.
“…Moegi?”
A name he didn't recognize.
“You don’t even know your mother’s name?”
Kuchiba looked down at him mockingly.
“My mother’s name is Ciela. You must have the wrong person.”
“So she received a Yuresla-style name. Was it Karl Alster who named her?”
A chill ran down his spine at Kuchiba’s eerie words. He didn't recognize the name Moegi, but Karl was indeed his father. He sensed Anna's presence right behind him, but he couldn't take his eyes off Kuchiba.
“It seems she couldn’t live with her real name. It’s only natural, given the possibility of assassins being sent after her.”
“What do you mean?”
He could feel the fear in his own voice. A part of him knew it was better not to ask, but he couldn't stop himself.
“Moegi was one of the candidates for high priest to protect the holy land of Zeum, yet she abandoned it.”
Ritz was at a loss for words at the shock. He had thought it was strange for a woman from the land of darkness to be alone in the Ciedena Forest of the Yuresla Kingdom, but he had never imagined she was a high priest candidate of Zeum.
But seeing Ciela’s extraordinary spirit power, it made sense. Personality aside, she was certainly no ordinary wielder of power.
“By the time we finally found her, she was with Karl. I never thought she would cross the mountain range alone and arrive in the Yuresla Kingdom alive. The spirits that followed her must have protected her.”
Kuchiba spoke matter-of-factly.
“Then why didn’t you send assassins after her?”
The Clan of Darkness had a specialized unit for assassinations. But as far as he could remember, his life with his parents had been peaceful, always cheerful and calm. There was no atmosphere of fearing assassins.
“It’s simple. Those who become high priest candidates are already the property of the god. When we asked the god for her disposition, we received the order, ‘That is fate. Do not lay a hand on her.’ That is why Moegi was fortunate enough not to be pursued. And that is why you are still alive today, Ritz Alster.”
He instinctively backed away from the faint smile. He had thought about why he had been brought into this world by the Goddess. But he had never imagined that his life or death had been determined by the existence of the god claimed by Zeum.
The child of a high priest candidate of Zeum… and yet, he couldn’t use spirits. It was because Kuchiba knew this that he had called Ritz a failure.
“Then are you that high priest?”
Suppressing his turmoil, he looked up at Kuchiba, who smiled.
“That is correct. The current supreme leader of Zeum is I. If you had been born in Zeum, you would have held a respectable position. A pity.”
“What do you mean?”
“The high priest is born from the proud clan that traces its lineage back to the Dark Spirit King since the founding of Zeum. In other words, those who are nominated as candidates for high priest are of the same blood…”
He was stunned by the meaning of those words. In other words, Ciela and Kuchiba were related by blood. Which meant that Kuchiba and Ritz were also related by blood.
“It seems you’ve realized, my cute little failure. Yes, Moegi is my twin sister. Which means you are my nephew.”
Uncle and nephew… no wonder they looked alike. As Ritz stood there, speechless, Anna’s nails dug into his back.
“Ritz, pull yourself together.”
“Ah, yeah…”
When he finally came to his senses, Kuchiba laughed out loud.
“The holy land of the Clan of Darkness in Zeum is the land where your mother was born and raised. In other words, the land you are aiming for is your mother’s homeland. Now that you have come this far, it is no longer anything but fate. I shall watch from there to see if you can protect the princess and reach it.”
Kuchiba stood up without a sound.
“Before that, a present for you bored travelers. You must be tired of waiting, aren't you? To start a war and maintain the balance of the world… that is also our job.”
“Wait, Kuchiba!”
He couldn't help but shout, and the turning Kuchiba showed a cruel smile.
“The princess is of a different class than a failure like you. For your own sake, you must protect her to the end. And… for the sake of my god as well.”
As Kuchiba turned his back to disappear, Anna stepped forward and called out to him, her voice firm as she asked.
“Why does your god know about me?”
“As I said before, there are things you are happier not knowing. Princess, you are trying to know them. And you have finally come this far. This is the last place you can turn back. From here on, once you enter Zeum, you cannot turn back.”
Kuchiba answered, cruel yet somehow modest, but Anna stubbornly refused.
“I don’t care! I came to know the truth!”
“…You are a strong person. I wish you good fortune, Princess.”
“Wait!”
Ignoring Anna’s almost-scream, Kuchiba leaped from the building with a flutter. When they went to where he would have landed, Kuchiba was nowhere to be seen.
A great sigh escaped him. When he got that gem, it had said, ‘Find the meaning of your life.’ If the gem was the eye of the Spirit King, perhaps the Spirit King, knowing Ritz’s position, had spoken to him.
You are a heretic wherever you go, know your place… was that it?
“Um, Ritz…”
“Sorry. I can’t think right now.”
“But…”
“If you have something to say, save it for later. I’m a little tired.”
“…Yeah.”
Who was he, what was he living for? The answer to that question was growing more and more distant. He didn’t know where the answer was, or if his life even had any meaning anymore.
At a time like this, he wanted Anna’s warmth, like before. Before, Anna would have encouraged him, hugged him, and patted his head to comfort him. Even while saying he wasn’t a kid, he had cherished that warmth.
Even when he was holding Anna, it felt like he was being enveloped by her; that gentle sensation had allowed Ritz to feel that it was okay for him to be here. Those warm arms had made Ritz feel that he was alive.
But now, Anna’s hands were just clenched tightly in distress. Even if they were just the words of a dreamer, an idealist, to be told, “It’s okay,” “I’ll always be with you,” how much of a salvation had that been? Now that he had lost it, he was realizing the magnitude of what he had lost, the warmth.
He had thought he had been permitted to live, by Anna and by the world.
He still didn’t know what had triggered it, but the deep bond of trust, those gentle times, were gone. Seeing Anna avert her gaze, he knew that much was certain. The past, when he had been depressed about being disliked, seemed bright in comparison.
It wasn’t that he was disliked; he had lost all hope for the future that had been right in front of him. On top of that, he had been branded a heretic. In the end, Ritz was a heretic. It was a mistake for him, who harbored darkness, to seek the light.
And Anna was someone loved by everyone. He shouldn’t have reached out to her. He shouldn’t have wished to be loved.
If this was his true nature, and he had been abandoned by the precious Anna, then it felt like there was nowhere left to go. Perhaps the life of a mercenary, burning through his life, was what suited him after all.
“We’re going back, Anna. Something is about to happen.”
…No, Kuchiba was about to make something happen.
He spoke to Anna in a voice that was hard even to his own ears, and she looked at his face with a complex expression before nodding.