Chapter 195 - <2>
A rickety covered wagon, its future uncertain, travels through the dry wilderness.
Gazing at the vast scene before him—a landscape of rocks and distant conifer forests illuminated by the blazing orange of the setting sun—Franz let out a small sigh.
"Pointlessly vast…"
"Hm? Did you say something?"
"Nothing."
After being seen off by Qiuzi and Luan, they had left the port of Suien in the Tarnien Republic. Several days later, in early July, they arrived in the frontline city of Shujun.
In Shujun, where Anna and Franz were forbidden from wandering alone, Ritz acquired black-market passports and procured a dilapidated covered wagon. As Franz stared dumbfounded at the vehicle, wondering if it could even move, Ritz, with his usual odd confidence, declared, "Well, it's a bit rough, but it'll do," without explaining why they needed a wagon in the first place.
While Ritz worked enthusiastically on repairs, it was Edward, as usual, who explained the situation. Though, as always, it was in the form of a riddle: "If we were to enter a Zeum city right after leaving this one, do you think we'd be welcomed?" Having gained some experience on their journey, Franz understood.
Even with black-market passports, there was no way travelers from Tarnien, a nation at war with Zeum, would be allowed to enter the Divine Kingdom so easily. This was especially true since the closest city to Shujun was on Zeum's front line.
As Franz figured this out, and Anna pried for details from Edward, Edward explained that they would use this worn-out wagon to traverse a region teeming with wild beasts that few people ever crossed, heading for the Main Temple of Darkness, the capital of the Zeum Divine Kingdom.
Large swaths of this country were uninhabited, and once you left a city, wildlife was apparently abundant. Therefore, traveling through unused roads and cutting across the wilderness was, by common sense, unthinkable.
The story was famous even in Shujun: without exceptional skill and mental fortitude, it was impossible to survive the beast attacks and reach a city through the wilderness. It was said this was why the battlefield had remained in a stalemate for nearly a hundred years. Since they couldn't attack the country by crossing the wilderness from Shujun, their only option was to continue fighting head-on in that city.
Naturally, they would have to pass through several towns for supplies and information, but the idea was that reaching a city far from the front lines by crossing the wilderness would be the safest route. Ritz was too well-known on the front lines, and the vigilance against unfamiliar foreigners would be even stricter there.
But the difference between Ritz's definition of 'safe' and the common-sense one was like the distance between a mountaintop and the bottom of the sea. Plagued with anxiety and wondering if this was truly a good idea, Franz fell silent. Edward smiled serenely at him.
"I should think resisting beasts is easier than being hunted and killed by people."
When put that way, Franz had no choice but to agree. It wasn't just Anna; Franz, too, disliked unleashing spirits on people, even in self-defense, and hated seeing people die before his eyes. That being the case, he understood that their only option was to travel through the unpopulated wilderness.
It took over half a month to repair the wagon, load it with a large amount of supplies—considering they wouldn't be able to get food along the way—and leave Shujun. Which meant it was now August, the hottest month in the Yuresla Kingdom.
But the wind in the wilderness was cool. In this region, it got cold enough to need a jacket at night. The Zeum Divine Kingdom, located far to the north of the Yuresla Kingdom across the mountain range, had very long winters and short summers. And even those short summers were never intensely hot.
"What's with you? You've been sighing this whole time."
Ritz glanced over from his position driving the wagon. His long black hair was the same as always, but his skin color was different. Ritz now had brown skin and, for all intents and purposes, looked like a member of the Clan of Darkness. This was another part of their Zeum countermeasures; he was pretending to be the Clan of Darkness member listed on the passport he'd bought from the black-market dealer.
The Clan of Darkness disguise actually suited him surprisingly well. When Anna saw Ritz with his whole body dyed brown with a drug that was said to last a week, she was left momentarily speechless. Franz, too, had been at a loss for words. In this form, Ritz bore an uncanny resemblance to Kuchiba. Even Ritz himself had just given a wry smile as he looked at his reflection in the mirror.
But this Ritz was still the same, smiling at him with the same teasing tone as always.
"I told you before, you'll scare away your good fortune."
"…What good fortune is there in this situation?"
"Hmm, not getting eaten by a wild beast?"
That wasn't good fortune by any stretch. In fact, ever since leaving Shujun, they'd been on the verge of being attacked at night by packs of wolves far larger than the silver foxes of Yuresla, or by grizzly bears, so sleeping outside the wagon was out of the question. When it was too dangerous, they sometimes drove through the night and slept during the day.
For that reason, while Ritz drove the wagon like this, Edward was sleeping. Since only those two could handle the wagon, they took turns resting. Anna and Franz were tasked with helping whichever of the two was awake.
Last night, Anna had stayed up with Edward, so now Franz was sitting on the driver's bench next to Ritz, keeping a lookout ahead.
"Still… I can't get used to your hair."
When Ritz said this with a chuckle, Franz reflexively touched his bangs. The hair he pinched was red. Unlike Ritz, who had dyed his skin, Franz had his hair dyed. And it was red, just like Anna's.
"It's not like I'm doing this by choice."
"Well, you'll have to put up with it while we're in this country. I'm like this, and Ed's like that."
Edward, too, had had his hair dyed. His was now a reddish tea-brown. This meant that only Anna remained as she was.
There was, of course, a reason for this. The people of the Zeum Divine Kingdom, much like those in nearby Tarnien, generally had black hair and yellowish skin, but being much farther north than Tarnien, many had fair skin like the people of Yuresla.
But blonde hair was nonexistent.
Of course, with criminals, political offenders, and the poor seeking asylum from other countries, there was some variation in hair color, but it was safe to say there were no refugees from Yuresla, which was currently stable.
That meant a person with naturally blond hair—a rarity even in Yuresla—would be nowhere to be found, making them stand out to an extreme degree.
But standing out on this journey was a major problem, especially since their plan was to storm the Main Temple of Darkness, the very heart of this nation.
"Still, you and Anna as siblings…"
Ritz, who had been content with chuckles until now, finally burst out laughing as if it were the funniest thing in the world.
"You don't see many pairs of siblings who are such polar opposites."
"I told you, it's not by choice."
Feeling a bit annoyed, Franz fell into a sullen silence. That's right. The passports Ritz had bought from the black-market dealer weren't forgeries but authentic ones from people who had fled Zeum. Ritz's, of course, belonged to a member of the Clan of Darkness who had defected to another country. As for the other three, he had bought passports for people of matching ages, and the combination turned out to be a grandfather and his two grandchildren.
The passports, like those in Yuresla and other countries, didn't list hair color or physical characteristics. So, to match Anna, who had a hair color that wasn't out of place in this country, Franz and Edward had their hair dyed accordingly.
In other words, the group was now the Kiaran Family, being taken to the Main Temple by a Mr. Shiou of the Clan of Darkness. They would have to use those names once they entered a city, which seemed like it would require some care.
He looked up and saw the sky gradually deepening into darkness. The sun would set soon. He didn't want to admit it, but the sunsets in this country were breathtakingly beautiful. But perhaps the twilight seemed beautiful because it enveloped the darkness that this country supposedly revered. And that darkness, in turn, would bring the night, a night where he would have to stay on high alert, fearing the arrival of wild beasts.
They had been repeating this every night for a week since leaving the city, and he was exhausted to the bone, but getting depressed over this wouldn't get them to the Main Temple of Darkness.
Kuchiba was waiting for them at the Main Temple of Darkness, holding some truth about Orphe and Anna. He didn't know what it was, but he had decided to find out, so he couldn't afford to complain. He wanted to be a person who could see through what he had decided to do. Otherwise, he would be no different from when he started this journey.
And there was the matter of the intercontinental network he had proposed to Ritz. That was also a massive project to execute. To manage that as well, he would need immense mental strength.
For that, he had to become stronger.
As he continued to mull things over in silence, the setting sun sank even lower. He let out a small sigh, and Ritz suddenly asked him something. He hadn't caught it, so he looked at him and asked.
"What?"
"Aren't you hungry?"
"…"
Ritz truly was a man who remained unchanged, no matter the situation. Even when he and Anna had a complete falling out, he hadn't lost his appetite and had eaten normally. Sighing deeply, Ritz clapped Franz lightly on the shoulder.
"Eat when you can. That's the golden rule."
"I know."
"So, how about you call for a break?"
"What about you, Ritz?"
Usually, they would stop the wagon and all four of them would eat together, but Ritz just smiled and shook his head.
"According to the map the passport guy gave me as a bonus, we're close to a town. We're all getting tired, so we want to get there tonight, right?"
Unable to form words, he just nodded deeply, and Ritz gave a wry smile.
"Can't say for sure if the black-market dealer's map is reliable, so don't get your hopes down if there's no town."
Even if the probability was low, just having the possibility was enough to make him happy. The feeling that hope was more welcome than certainty was something he had first learned after setting out on this journey. In any case, though it was a mystery whether he could sleep peacefully in the land of darkness, he longed for a good night's sleep.
After sitting on the cushionless driver's bench for so long amidst the terrible jolting of the old road that had all but turned into a beast trail, his back and bottom ached. It was better than when he'd first started practicing riding, but just sitting was incredibly draining.
"Well, I'll go ahead."
"Yeah."
Even if he said meal, it was just hard bread that could only be cut with a special serrated knife, salted meat, and canned goods. But it was also a fact that he wouldn't last physically if he didn't eat. He still had no appetite, but as he was about to stand up, patting his aching back, Anna poked her head out from between the curtains of the entrance from the driver's bench.
"Hey, aren't you guys getting hungry?"
"…"
Anna's internal clock was precise. This was another thing that hadn't changed since they started their journey. Ritz and Anna, despite their completely different personalities, ways of thinking, and lifestyles, were strangely similar in these aspects. For their internal clocks to be working normally even in this situation… these two really weren't normal.
"Huh? Did I say something weird?"
As she peered at his face, Franz sighed deeply. Ritz answered in his stead.
"We were just talking about that. You've got devil's ears."
"Hey! I don't have devil's ears. I didn't hear you."
"Then you've got a damn good nose."
"Hey, stop talking about me like I'm a bear!"
It was as if the uproar in Suien had never happened; these two were the same as ever. If there had been some kind of resolution in Suien, you'd think their relationship would have changed, but they were so surprisingly like the two from before the Tashkur incident that Franz felt a sense of relief, even as he found it baffling.
Perhaps noticing Franz's exasperated gaze, Ritz furrowed his brow slightly.
"What's with that look?"
"I just thought you'd be a little more, you know…"
He shrugged. Ritz seemed to understand his meaning and muttered with a wry smile, in a voice too low for Anna to hear.
"She's a tough one, in many ways."
"…Right."
"Huh? What is? What are you talking about?"
"Man talk. C'mon, time to eat, right?"
Easily deflecting Anna's inquiry, Ritz smiled and ushered Anna and Franz into the back of the wagon.
"What are you going to do, Ritz?"
"Hmm? Well, I'll just grab something I can eat with one hand…"
Ritz began to say in a light tone, but then suddenly cut himself off.
"What's wrong?"
Even when Anna asked, he didn't reply for a moment, sensing something. A feeling of tension instantly ran through the air. The next moment, Franz's ears also caught the familiar sound of a wolf's distant howl. And it was very close.
"Ed!"
Ritz called out sharply to Edward, who was inside the wagon. Edward poked his head out and nodded.
"That's quite a number."
"Yeah. Did you see them?"
"Through a gap in the canvas."
The blood drained from his face at their conversation. There was nothing in front of the driver's bench.
"I'm gonna floor it. Make sure these two don't fall out."
"Leave it to me."
As the words left Edward's mouth, Ritz grabbed Franz by the scruff of his neck and threw him into the wagon. At the same time, Edward pulled Anna in, and she tumbled into the back.
"What? What's going on?"
Before Anna, wide-eyed at the sudden turn of events, could even get up, the wagon, which had been moving at a leisurely pace, suddenly accelerated.
"Whoa!"
He was violently thrown backward and stumbled, letting out an involuntary cry. The flap at the back of the wagon was slightly open; if he rolled that far, he'd fall out. He grabbed onto the built-in bench to steady himself and looked up to see Anna doing the same.
"What happened?"
Even when she asked in confusion, Franz, who had been forcibly thrown into the wagon, didn't know either. Wolves getting close was a regular occurrence, but they had never panicked like this before.
He shook his head silently, and Anna looked at Edward. Despite the terrifyingly bumpy situation, Edward was sitting on the rear side of the bench, calmly looking outside through a small opening in the flap.
"Ed-san, what in the world happened?"
"Wolves."
"The usual wolves?"
"That's right. It's just that…"
Edward turned around and smiled calmly.
"There's an awful lot of them."
"What?!"
That's not something you say with a smile! Franz screamed internally. While being repeatedly slammed onto the seat by the violently shaking wagon, he stretched his neck from his sitting position to peer outside through the gap Edward had opened.
Anna crawled across the floor and, held by Edward, peeked outside.
In that instant, what jumped into view were countless pairs of glowing red lights.
"Wow… It's beautiful."
His mind, which had momentarily shut down at Anna's idyllic comment, now kicked into high gear.
"Th-th-this…"
He tried to ask Edward as he backed away, but the words wouldn't come out properly. But Edward answered with a smile tinged with a hint of tension.
"The eyes of wolves. A number far greater than anything we've seen before."
"There are so many!"
Finally realizing the situation, Anna turned uncharacteristically pale. Having grown up in the mountains, Anna knew the terror of wolves all too well. Her hometown of Vishnu was said to occasionally have silver foxes, so it was only natural.
"Indeed. That's why Ritz is pushing the horses like this."
"C-can we get away?"
His voice trembled. But in contrast to Franz, Edward calmly crossed his arms.
"If they were to attack all at once, we might not stand a chance."
"D-d-don't say that so calmly!"
"Panicking will only hasten your demise. Calm down."
"How can I be calm in this situation?!"
When he couldn't help but shout, Anna, for a change, agreed with him.
"That's right, Ed-san! At this rate, we're going to be the wolves' dinner before we get to eat ours!"
"You're talking about food at a time like this?!"
"Because it's dinnertime!"
"You don't need to think about food when your life is in danger!"
"Not eating is a crisis too!"
Just as he was starting to lose track of his own argument, the cool and collected Edward intervened, sighing and lightly pressing his temple.
"…Both of you, calm down. You'll really end up on the wolves' dinner table."
"I don't want to!"
Again, for a change, his opinion matched Anna's.
"Then let's increase our chances of survival. Franz, can you produce a flame?"
"Huh?"
"Beasts are weak to fire. This is a self-evident truth. Can you shoot a flame at the wolves from here?"
"…"
He couldn't speak, just gasped. To produce a ball of fire while the wagon was shaking this much… If he missed his aim by even a little, the wagon would go up in flames. Then they would be nicely roasted and become delicious food for the wolves.
Because of his earlier exchange with Anna, this ominous thought crossed his mind, and he shook his head vigorously.
"Sara-chan's here, so I can make a Fireball, but to aim while we're shaking this much…"
As his words trailed off, Edward clapped him on the shoulder.
"You don't need to aim specifically. If you release a large ball of fire near the exit, they might get scared and stop chasing the wagon."
"But if it hits the wagon…"
"As long as it's a little away from the wagon, it won't catch fire. After all, Ritz is going at full speed."
He glanced at Edward, who nodded with a gentle smile.
"I will support you so you don't fall. Will you give it a try?"
Edward never ordered him to do anything. He just presented him with a choice. That's why he couldn't make excuses, but this time, the conclusion was immediate.
After traveling all the way from Yuresla to Zeum for over a year, he refused to be eaten here.
"I'll do it."
Steeling his resolve, he gripped his staff of flame and, despite stumbling from the severe shaking, stood up. He looked at Sara-chan's lamp, which was hanging in the wagon and swaying violently. Noticing his gaze, Sara-chan chirped happily. He prayed in his heart for her to lend him her strength and braced himself.
But as expected, it was difficult for Franz, with his level of physical coordination, to aim straight.
Noticing Franz's anxious and aimless gaze, Edward opened the flap at the back of the wagon wide, tied it open, sat down next to Franz, and held his waist. With his feet stabilized, his upper body became steady.
"Here I go."
Muttering to no one in particular, Franz took a deep breath to calm his nerves and stared at the countless glowing red eyes ahead. He sharpened his senses and waited for the right moment.
Just as he thought, Now! and thrust his hand forward, a huge wolf suddenly appeared right in front of him. Because the flap was open, it had put its paws on the wagon bed, trying to get in.
"U-ah…"
He couldn't speak, frozen by surprise and terror.
Letting out a low growl, the wolf looked straight into Franz's eyes. His body froze at the sight of its eyes, gleaming with the joy of finding its prey. His heart pounded violently in his ears.
It was hard to breathe.
The wolf's thick foreleg, struggling to climb onto the wagon bed, took another step forward. It was trying to get in.
He could sense that Edward, who was supporting his waist, was unable to draw the sword at his side. He likely knew that moving now would be dangerous, and more importantly, if he let go, Franz would stumble straight toward the wolf.
Ritz, the only one skilled enough to get them out of this situation, was currently desperately driving the wagon. It was a desperate situation.
The palm of his hand, where he had been channeling fire, was getting hot. Because he had cut off the spell halfway, the fire's power had started to gather. But if he used it now, he would undoubtedly burn the wagon down with them inside. He knew that, he knew, but he wanted to eliminate the enemy before him out of fear.
What should I do? What can I do?
As cold sweat trickled down his face, something flew past him with incredible speed.
It crashed into the front of the wolf's face with a hard, loud thud, and the wolf let out a yelp and fell off.
Still reeling, he turned around to see Anna holding a loaf of preserved bread high in both hands. What had driven the wolf away was that hard bread.
"Franz, hurry!"
Anna shouted, still holding the bread. He looked back to see wolves, one after another, trying to jump onto the wagon's entrance just as the first one had. It was only a matter of time before they got in.
"Hurry!"
At Anna's earnest cry, Franz stared straight ahead. If he didn't do what he could now, he would regret it. Franz knew that well.
"I'm going!"
When he said so clearly, Edward supported his waist firmly. He gathered the power of fire in his palm again. The power reconverged with surprising speed.
Stumbling, he went to the opening where the wolf was trying to jump in and unleashed the power welling up from his entire body at the wolves.
"Go! Fireball!"
A ball of fire, far larger than he had imagined, burst from his hand.
"Whoa…"
At Anna's cry of admiration, he followed the path of the fireball and saw it fly, spinning, into the midst of the wolf pack.
And then it burst with a loud explosion.
"…Flame Arrow…?"
It was supposed to be a Fireball, but that explosion was unmistakably a Flame Arrow. It seemed they had mixed on the brink of disaster. This could be useful. He would try to remember the current situation and do it again.
"Don't let your guard down! More are coming."
Edward's words brought him back to his senses. The fireball had no effect on the wolf pack in front of where it had landed. He had to do more.
"Please!"
When he asked, Edward nodded.
"I'm counting on you as well."
Supported by him, he frantically and repeatedly launched fireballs. After a few tries, he got the hang of it and was able to consistently unleash a new technique, a combination of Fireball and Flame Arrow. The power of this technique was more than enough.
Any wolves that tried to climb into the opening were surprised by Anna's hard bread and fell off. At this rate, could they hold out… Just as he thought that, a much larger pack of wolves approached from behind, chasing them at a speed that was no match for the other wolves.
"This is not good. It seems the pack leader has shown up."
"What…"
He trembled at Edward's words. An even stronger enemy was coming, and he wasn't in a situation where he could attack any more than this.
As he shivered with anxiety, the leader's pack caught up to the wagon. Trembling with an inescapable fear, he launched fireballs and flame arrows again and again, but there was no sign they were backing down.
Eventually, the largest wolf caught up to the wagon and bit into the opening.
The old wagon's bed creaked as if it were about to be crushed. He couldn't use a fireball when it was this close.
Even as Anna, who had given up on the bread, desperately fought back with her water spheres, getting soaked in the process, the wolf didn't stop trying to climb into the wagon.
At this rate, we'll be eaten…!
Both of the large wolf's forepaws were on the wagon bed, and it opened its huge, red mouth.
It's no use, he thought, shutting his eyes tightly. In that instant, the wolf let out a single yelp and fell from the wagon bed.
"Huh…?"
At the same time, Anna let out a small cry of pain.
"Ouch…"
But unable to take his eyes off the wolf pack, Franz kept watching them. An bizarre scene was unfolding there.
"What is… this?"
He muttered involuntarily.
The wolves, which had been chasing them so relentlessly until now, were completely still at the spot where the largest wolf had fallen. While they looked at them resentfully and howled, they didn't take a single step closer.
"…Mm, a barrier… maybe."
At the murmur, he turned to see Anna, who had been crouching, looking up at him while lightly pressing her head.
"A barrier?"
"My adoptive father uses them to drive away silver foxes. But this one seems really strong."
Mindful of Anna, Edward had Franz sit down before letting go. Then, unfazed by the violent shaking, he went to the driver's bench. The speed immediately dropped, and the wagon's shaking lessened. He must have told Ritz they had escaped the danger.
Edward didn't come back right away. Franz looked at Anna, who had taken her hand from her head and was taking a light breath. Noticing his gaze, she smiled as brightly as ever.
"It seems to be subsiding. It's for keeping wild beasts away, so there's only a part of it, huh?"
"…Are you okay?"
"Yeah. I was just surprised because I suddenly got dizzy and my head hurt."
"You did well to notice it was a barrier."
"Yeah. A long time ago, before I got used to my adoptive father's barriers, I apparently used to complain that my head hurt all the time. I don't remember it, though."
"I see."
"Yeah."
Even though they were both spirit users, it seemed Anna could sense things dozens of times better than he could. He was sometimes envious, but not at times like these. Thinking that, Franz secretly sighed, wondering if he wasn't cut out to be a spirit user.
A little later, Edward poked his head through the flap from the driver's bench. He was smiling.
"A town."
"A town?!"
Next to Anna, who cried out in genuine surprise, Franz let out a small sigh of relief. It seemed the black-market dealer's map had been accurate, after all.
"We were saved."
"Yeah."
Franz nodded from the bottom of his heart. If the barrier had been a little farther away, they might have really been eaten. Next to him, Anna nodded deeply.
"Oh, right, so that's why there's a barrier."
"Exactly. It must have been to protect the town from wild beasts."
"Then it's no wonder it was so powerful. Those wolves were so dangerous."
Convinced, Anna looked back and forth between Franz and Edward and beamed.
"So we can have a delicious dinner tonight!"
Despite having had such a terrifying experience, Anna's mind had already snapped back to food. Franz was genuinely amazed.
Smiling at Franz, Edward offered him the driver's seat next to Ritz. Edward knew that Franz, who had been a frog in a well, had recently been thinking that he wanted to see various cities.
Ignoring Anna's protests that she wanted to see more outside, he took the seat and looked ahead.
The thought of finally being able to sleep in a bed was a welcome one.