Chapter 198 - <5>
She had thought she wasn't tired, but it seemed exhaustion had been building up without her realizing it. Anna, unusually, overslept and was woken up by her roommate, Edward. She was deeply impressed that Edward, despite the situation, had woken up normally and was going about his day as usual.
She let out a secret sigh, realizing she must have been unknowingly tense about the wolves. In any case, it was a relief that everyone was safe.
They all ate the breakfast-slash-lunch that Ritz had ordered in advance in their room. After persuading a grumpy Franz, who insisted it was better not to go out, to let them go, it was already noon by the time they stepped outside the inn.
As usual, it was Anna and Ritz who went out. Franz was apparently going to take another nap at the inn, and Edward, despite his appearance suggesting otherwise, had said, "I'm a bit tired, so I'll rest." On their way out, Ritz explained that Edward had stayed behind because leaving Franz alone to mind the inn would make it impossible to respond to any unforeseen circumstances. Anna felt a little guilty, but she couldn't resist the temptation of seeing a new city in the Zeum Divine Kingdom, a place she would rarely get to visit.
She took a deep breath of the cool, clear air, even though it was still summer. How wonderful it was to be in an environment where she didn't have to be on guard for wolf attacks.
As they began to walk, the city was larger than she had expected.
Faced with the cityscape spreading before her, Anna let out a big sigh.
"It's completely different from Yuresla…"
A reply came to her near-soliloquy.
"Well, the climate is completely different."
"The climate?"
She turned to see Ritz, wrapped in a summer hooded cape with the hood pulled down low, nodding. She had felt a sense of unfamiliarity with his Clan of Darkness appearance at first, but she had grown completely used to it recently.
"Right. It's much colder here. After all, snow starts falling in autumn."
"Colder than Vishnu?"
When she brought up her hometown, which was in a highland area of the Yuresla Kingdom and classified as a fairly cold region, Ritz chuckled lightly.
"Of course. It's midsummer in Yuresla right now, but here, summer is already about to end."
"Wow…"
Anna, who knew the cold of her hometown's winters, couldn't help but let out a big sigh. She couldn't imagine it being any colder than that.
Despite being in such a harsh environment, the buildings in this city were somehow charming and beautiful.
They had arrived in this city yesterday, but it was already late at night, and she had fallen fast asleep without going anywhere, so she hadn't noticed. This city resembled Tarnien, yet was slightly different. The buildings, constructed on solid stone foundations, were wooden, just like in Suien, but she could feel their sturdiness just by looking at them.
All of the buildings had large, triangular roofs. Or rather, it might be more accurate to say that for a two-story building, the second floor was almost entirely made of the roof.
"I wonder why the roofs are so pointed. The second floor must be cramped, right?"
As she looked up, Ritz touched his chin lightly and murmured.
"Who knows… Maybe it's because of the snow."
"The snow?"
"If it's cold in winter, there must be a lot of snow, right? So maybe it's to prevent them from collapsing under the weight of the snow."
"I see."
It was true that buildings sometimes collapsed under the weight of snow in Vishnu. But those were mostly wooden structures like farm equipment sheds or barns; the residential houses, made of brick and plaster, were never damaged.
"Then why don't they make them stronger with bricks?"
"Probably because there isn't a large amount of clay to fire bricks."
"How do you know that?"
"You saw the places we passed through, right? A wilderness of conifers and open land."
"Yeah."
"The stones in the wilderness are irregular, so building a house with stone masonry would be a lot of work. And if there are that many wild beasts, digging clay from the mountains would be an ordeal too. In that case, it's much easier to build a wooden house using the nearby conifers."
"Oh, I see."
The inn had been built in the same way. When she had discreetly pushed against it with some force, she had felt with her palm that it was made of surprisingly hard wood. She remembered Ritz, who was visiting this country for the first time, had taught her that it was likely made from the abundant conifers in this country as he had carefully examined the building.
"You know a lot, Ritz. Is this the wisdom of age?"
When she looked up at him, impressed and sighing, Ritz gave a wry smile.
"When you put it that way, it makes me feel like an old man…"
Remembering that Ritz was surprisingly sensitive about being so much older than her, she panicked for a moment, but before he could notice, she switched her panic to a smile.
"Hehe. Sorry."
She hung on Ritz's arm through his robe and looked up, and he poked her with a soft smile.
"You're trying to smooth things over."
It seemed he had noticed. As she wondered what to do, Ritz's large hand came to rest on her head and patted it lightly. She looked up to see him with his usual bright expression. Even without words, she knew Ritz was telling her not to worry about it.
"Now, when we get to where there are a lot of people, try not to talk to me too cheerfully. You never know who's watching where, so it's better to play our fake roles properly."
"Okay."
"Don't slip up. Something always happens because of something you say."
She couldn't help but chuckle at his worried tone. Anna wasn't the only troublemaker. Only he himself was unaware that Edward and Franz treated him on the same level as Anna.
"What is it?"
"It's nothing. Let's go."
"…Alright."
Anna walked right behind the departing Ritz, never straying from arm's reach. Usually, her position was such that Ritz was there when she turned around, but Ritz's consideration was that this position was correct for an ordinary person with circumstances and a member of the Clan of Darkness.
Though he was completely hidden by a robe pulled over his head, Ritz was carrying his greatsword on his back as usual. He was prepared to counterattack immediately if something happened.
From the inn at the town's entrance, they walked slowly, without exchanging words, but not awkwardly either. It seemed the fast-walking Ritz was matching her pace.
Ritz was quite considerate of Anna in ways she didn't notice. It was only recently that she had come to realize this.
She rarely walked while looking at Ritz's back, so she gazed at the back in front of her with a somewhat strange feeling.
Ritz's back was, among those she knew, large and broad. It might not be able to compete with the beastman Lef's, but for Anna, it was the most reassuring large back.
But if she had been walking in this position in Suien, before they had made up, she would have been anxious. Looking back now, the feelings for Qiuzi that had been smoldering inside her in Suien had been pure jealousy, and out of jealousy and confusion, she had been unable to talk honestly with Ritz.
The misunderstanding between them, which had started with Anna's assumptions, had become so twisted that Anna had suffered, and of course, Ritz had suffered too. She never wanted to feel that way again.
But it was also a fact that thanks to that misunderstanding, they had come to see each other's feelings, in a way.
A single kiss.
That was the only thing that had changed, yet it was a fresh and strange sensation. It was too simple to think that she understood something just from that, but she had been able to change her thinking to believe that maybe that was okay.
At that moment, she felt that Ritz, who had been an out-of-reach adult for Anna, might be within her reach. There was no reason she could explain if asked why.
It might be an assumption, but even if their upbringings and the places they had lived were different, if they could stand on the same starting line, they might be able to see the future together. She thought so. Whether an adult or a child, a person is a person.
She could think so calmly probably because Ritz hadn't demanded an answer on the spot. Ritz had also postponed his own answer for the future. That was likely Ritz's kindness.
Honestly, when he had said they would compare answers in Sears, she had been truly relieved. And in that moment, the answer had come to her.
There would surely never be another person besides Ritz who would try to gently envelop her after she had caused such a commotion. Her most important person, the person she loved most, was him.
She was sure that when the journey was over and she returned home, she would be able to say to Anton with confidence, "I've found someone more important than you, adoptive father." Perhaps because she had the confidence that her own heart would not waver, she had gained some peace of mind.
Anna's assumptions and misunderstandings had begun with her wish to know Kamala's words. Kamala's death had been so shocking that she had arbitrarily prepared a conclusion and assumed it. Kamala's heart belonged only to Kamala, her own heart belonged only to her, and the person Anna loved was not Barat, but Ritz.
It was surely okay for there to be many kinds of love. I love my adoptive father, I love my village of Vishnu where I grew up, I love my companions, I love the queen and the others too, I love my friends.
And among all that love, she loved Ritz the most.
It had been a painful experience, but even so, she had never thought of killing the person her loved one loved and then herself, like Kamala.
She thought it was probably because she had so much love. She couldn't sacrifice the people she loved for the sake of the person she loved. She couldn't imagine laying a hand on someone when she knew it would sadden the person she loved.
In the end, Anna was greedy. She wanted all the people she loved to be happy, and she absolutely didn't want to make them sad.
And among them, she wanted Ritz, who was in front of her, to be happy. Or rather, she wanted to make him happy. And she wanted to be happy together with him. He was the only person she could think of in that way.
Strangely, spending time with Ritz felt like something that had been missing in her life until now was being filled.
But sometimes, a prick of anxiety would pierce her chest.
Kuchiba's words.
He had said that Anna was the princess of all the higher races. He had also said that she would know it when she reached the holy land of the Clan of Darkness.
But what did it mean to be the princess of all the higher races?
The higher races Kuchiba referred to were probably the clans that governed the six great spirits of light, earth, fire, wind, water, and darkness, which she had heard about from the water miko. She could understand that much. But she didn't understand being the princess of all those races. From her travels so far, she had learned that each race had its own separate beliefs and cultures, and there was absolutely no interaction between the races.
Among such demi-human races, Ritz, who had parents from two different races, was probably a unique and rare existence. But since Ritz was of mixed blood, he was naturally a person related to the races of light and darkness, and had no connection to the other races.
In that case, who on earth were Anna's parents, who were related to all the races, and what on earth was she? It was unthinkable that she was of mixed blood from all the races; that would be impossible.
But then what was she? The thought of it was frightening. If she was not of mixed blood and not a demi-human, then what kind of creature was she? She was probably a human, that much was certain. But she couldn't imagine being an existence called the princess of the higher races.
In the first place, did people who were neither demi-human nor human exist on this continent?
The moment she thought that, the face of Orphe, Franz's carefree master and the person who likely knew the purpose of their journey, popped into her head. Orphe had said that he had lived for an incredibly long time. Yet he still looked no older than his thirties.
Could it be that she was of the same race as Orphe? In other words, was Orphe her relative?
If so, then Anna was… a mysterious human who would live for an even longer time than Ritz, who wouldn't age. Or was there some other troublesome reason, some overly complicated parental issue, or some other kind of existence she was?
She realized her shoulders were tense. She released the tension with a sigh. The more she thought about it, the more confusing it became.
Basically, Anna was Anna, and she was the type to act before thinking, but this was something she couldn't help but think about.
Yes, precisely because she now had someone important to her.
She gazed at the back of Ritz's head as he walked in front of her. It was Anna who had cut the lingering ties of the future that had been a burden to Ritz. So she wanted to face the future together, to make Ritz happy. But what if she, who was thinking that, turned out to be a burden to Ritz? What should she do then?
What if she was neither human nor demi-human, but some other creature, and was told that she couldn't be with Ritz? What would happen then? If that happened, would she end up causing pain to the most important person she loved most?
Suddenly, some kind of cloth was thrown over her, and Anna was so surprised she stopped in her tracks. The cloth enveloped her with a rustle. A moment later, she realized that Ritz had wrapped her in his thin robe.
"Is something wrong?"
She asked without thinking, and Ritz let out a small sigh.
"What's wrong with you?"
"Huh?"
"That looks like it hurts a bit."
"Ah…"
She realized she had been biting her finger, which she had lightly brought to her lips. When she let go of her finger, there were marks from her front teeth.
"Wow, it looks like a rabbit's front teeth."
When she said what she saw without thinking, Ritz lightly pressed his forehead and groaned.
"Hey now."
"But it's my front teeth."
"That's not it! I'm asking you what's wrong."
Ritz said this in a whisper and gestured with his chin for her to walk. She nodded slightly and walked with his hand gently placed on her shoulder inside the robe.
"I was thinking about something."
"Hmm, what kind of something?"
"Like, what kind of creature I am."
"Huh?"
She had been honest, but Ritz gave her a very suspicious look. She didn't know how to explain, and as she was desperately trying to think of words that would explain it properly in her head, Ritz muttered with a look of incomprehension.
"Well, you're… a person, I guess."
"That's true, but…"
"At least you're not a rabbit or a goat."
She knew from those words that he was teasing her.
"Hey! That's not it, I'm serious!"
When she puffed out her cheeks and complained, he smiled softly.
"I know. Tell me about it."
Ritz's expression, directed only at her, was so gentle that lately, just looking at it made her face feel hot. Embarrassed by this, she cleared her throat lightly.
"Like, what kind of person am I? I'm not like any of the demi-human races, and they say that if you're of mixed blood, your power usually weakens, right? But my spiritual power doesn't seem to have weakened. So maybe I'm some kind of mysterious person of unknown origin. See, if you were a mysterious person yourself, you'd be a little scared of yourself, right?"
She said all this in a rush and looked up at Ritz. Ritz looked ahead and gave a small nod.
"Less scared and more… uneasy, I guess."
"Right, right? So I was thinking about what Kuchiba said and stuff."
After saying that, Anna fell silent. Ritz was also quiet. She hadn't expected a reply, so the silence wasn't uncomfortable. Just saying it out loud had made her feel a little better. It was probably not good to keep things bottled up.
After a little while, Ritz murmured.
"As long as you are you, I don't care what you are."
"Huh?"
"I'm a half-breed myself, so I'm not in a position to say anything, but, hey!"
As his words ended, the hand on her shoulder messed up her hair.
"Hey, stop it! I just tied it up!"
"Don't worry about it."
"I do worry. I'm a girl."
She complained as she fixed her hair with her fingers and looked up at Ritz. Ritz was looking down at Anna with a smile.
"If you're tired, should we go back to the inn?"
"No. I want to do some sightseeing while we're here."
"I agree. It's not often we get to come to Zeum."
"Yeah! It's a waste, isn't it? Franz, being a shut-in."
"Right?"
The words themselves were lighthearted, but their appearance was that of two people murmuring to each other. Perhaps Ritz had put Anna inside his cloak because it was easier to talk this way. Even in a whisper, they could hear each other's words clearly.
Fortunately, they didn't seem to be attracting any attention from the people around them. Since the robe covering her head hid her hair color, Ritz, who was pretending to be a member of the Clan of Darkness, might look at a glance like an immigrant from another town with dark skin.
If that was really the case, Anna wouldn't have to act like a prisoner either. That would be a real relief.
As they walked through the town, her initial tension gradually eased. It seemed to be the same for Ritz, who was still wearing his hood. After a while, when they reached the town market, their whispers turned into normal conversation. At that point, Anna could come out of the robe and walk normally beside him. It was a little disappointing in a way, but also a little embarrassing, so this was fine.
At the market, they snacked on something like lingonberries in a cup and wandered around the town sightseeing. The town, with its few tall buildings and many triangular roofs, was quite a sight. The people coming and going, and the people in the market, were no different from those in other towns.
Looking at that alone, one could think that this Zeum Divine Kingdom, feared by other nations, was just a normal country. The only thing different was that among the humans, there were occasionally members of the Giant Clan and the Goblin Clan.
Anna, who had only caught a glimpse of a Giant when her wagon was inspected at the town entrance, was excited to see a Giant up close and the Goblin Clan for the first time.
Unlike the Clan of Darkness, the white-skinned Giants were large and had a leisurely impression, and were a common sight in the town. They all had small heads, and their facial features were also smaller overall than humans. What was distinctive were their large, dark eyes, which were set further apart than a human's. Their faces somehow reminded her of fish.
In comparison, the Goblin Clan was small and seemed hasty. She noticed them negotiating with the market merchants in slightly high-pitched voices. Other than being barefoot, their clothing and appearance were not much different from the townspeople, but the one thing that was different was their height. The adult members of the Goblin Clan were not even as tall as Anna. Their hair was a bright red, curly and frizzy.
After being warned by Ritz that staring would arouse suspicion, she pretended to look at other things while observing and came to understand one thing.
The townspeople were quite polite to the Giant and Goblin Clans. It wasn't that the Giants or Goblins were being arrogant or violent. But the townspeople treated them as their superiors as a matter of course.
"I wonder if in this town, the Giant Clan and the Goblin Clan are more important than humans."
When she asked, Ritz, who had been casually eating lingonberries from her cup, nodded.
"Probably. In this country, humans are at the bottom, then the Giant and Goblin Clans, and at the top is the Clan of Darkness."
"So the Clan of Darkness is like the autonomous lord?"
"I don't think there are that few of them, but it's probably close to that."
"I see… But why?"
She understood, but she wasn't quite convinced and tilted her head.
"Why what?"
"Why is it that only this country has no special autonomous regions, and the Clan of Darkness rules? In other countries, the demi-human races are protected, but they don't have power over the state. But here it's the complete opposite, isn't it?"
As she tilted her head and looked up at Ritz, Ritz rubbed his nose thoughtfully. After a moment, he looked up as if he had remembered something.
"Come to think of it, I've heard a story like this. That humans who tried to exert power over the special autonomous regions incurred the wrath of the goddess and were judged. And the only country that received that judgment was this Zeum."
"The goddess's wrath? The goddess destroyed the country?"
"No, I don't think she destroyed it. After all, the Zeum Divine Kingdom is right here."
"But she destroyed the human country, didn't she?"
She couldn't accept it, as it was so different from the image of the goddess she had held as an object of faith until now. The goddess was supposed to be a being who loved all equally.
Perhaps noticing Anna's confusion, Ritz gave a wry smile.
"It's a legend. No one knows why Zeum has this system, or why there are no special autonomous regions, so people say what they like."
"Is… that so?"
"Yeah."
"Do you really think so?"
"…You asking me won't help."
With a truly troubled look, Ritz then clapped his hands as if he had an idea.
"You can ask Orphe-san that when we see him. He's lived for fifteen hundred years, he must know something."
That was certainly true. They were going to the Main Temple of Darkness to find out where Orphe was, so they could ask him when they went to see him. Orphe probably knew everything. After all, he was in a place that brought all the demi-human races together.
"You're right."
She couldn't help but feel it was a bit too convenient to seek all the answers from Orphe, but after traveling this far, if they could finally reach that place, it should be okay to ask a lot of questions.
Just as Anna came to terms with this, something bumped into her foot with a thud. She looked to see what it was and found it was a bright red apple.
"An apple?"
She bent down and picked it up. As she looked around, she saw small, shiny, bright red glows rolling in every direction on the ground, as if jewels had been scattered across it.
"Wow… It's beautiful."
She couldn't help but let out a cry of admiration at the sight she had never seen before. The apples spreading across the colorless road colored the ground brilliantly. Since the roads in this town were not paved with stone but with packed earth, there were few bumps, and the apples rolled freely in any direction they pleased.
"What are you saying so leisurely?"
As he said that, Ritz bent down and picked up an apple.
"Apples don't just spring up from nowhere, so don't just pick them up and eat them."
"Oh."
She hid the apple and gave a sheepish smile, and Ritz gave a wry smile. She had been polishing the apple on her skirt without thinking because it looked so delicious, but she reluctantly held it properly.
"You would have eaten it if I hadn't said anything, right?"
"That's not true…"
While smiling sheepishly, she looked around to change the subject and noticed a handcart had overturned a little ways ahead, and a woman who had presumably been carrying the apples was standing there, stunned, with both hands to her mouth.
It was a good thing she hadn't eaten it; these apples belonged to that woman.
"Oh no, I have to pick them up."
She immediately left Ritz's side and began to gather the apples. The bright red, jewel-like apples were smaller than the ones she had seen in Yuresla and were as beautiful as if they were fake. Since they were so beautiful, it would be a pity if they got bruised.
Anna, who had grown up in an orphanage with an orchard, thought this as she lightly lifted her skirt and filled it with the apples she picked up. It was much faster than carrying them one by one.
"I'll put these in here!"
As she ran cheerfully to the woman and put the apples in the handcart, a large figure peeked out from the other side of the handcart. She froze without thinking.
It was a Giant with a large axe on his back.
"I-I'm so sorry!"
The woman, who had come to her senses, bowed her head to the Giant.
"I'm sorry. I didn't notice…"
At the woman's near-tearful words, the Giant nodded slowly.
"Yeah. I was in a hurry too, I didn't notice."
As he said that, the Giant picked up a few apples at his feet and placed them in the handcart.
"I'm big, so I don't pay attention to what's at my feet. I didn't think I'd trip."
It seemed this Giant had tripped over the woman's handcart and fallen. Anna was surprised by the incredible situation caused by his size. But the woman involved just bowed her head even lower.
"I'm so sorry!"
"It's fine, it's fine. I'm the one who should be sorry. I wonder if I ruined the apples."
The Giant said this apologetically in a gentle tone. She had had a frightening impression of Giants, but she was relieved to find that he was a kind person.
As she turned her back to the Giant and the woman to pick up more apples, a drawling voice stopped her.
"You there, miss, wait a moment."
"What is it?"
She turned around cheerfully to see the Giant's face, his previous gentle expression gone, replaced by a terrifyingly blank one. She instinctively backed away, and in an instant, someone pulled her by the arm and held her.
It was Ritz.
While holding Anna with one arm, his other hand was on his sword.
"You're the girl who called herself Natalia Kiaran, aren't you?"
"…Yes."
As she nodded in the terrifyingly tense atmosphere, the Giant nodded deeply and slowly approached. She could feel the tension from Ritz's hand. Eventually, the Giant stood in front of them. He was close enough to touch, but she couldn't tell what he was thinking from his expression.
"Shiou-sama, I've been looking for you."
"Do you need something?"
Ritz asked, half-convinced his act would no longer work. Listening beside him, her knees trembled slightly with tension.
"Yes. I do."
The Giant fumbled inside his clothing and took out a cloth bag, hiding it from their view. Unable to read what he was about to do, Anna froze, unable to move.
It seemed to be the same for Ritz, who continued his act as a member of the Clan of Darkness while radiating a faint tension.
"I'm sorry, but could you take off that hood?"
"…Fine."
Ritz took off his hood, showing his distrust at the unexpected request. His black hair and face were exposed.
"Is this sufficient?"
"Yes. That helps."
As his words ended, the Giant threw some kind of liquid at Ritz's face.
"Whoa!"
Ritz instinctively shielded his face with his non-dominant hand, but the amount of liquid in the Giant's large palm was more than he had expected, and he couldn't block it all. A moment later, Ritz let out a groan of pain.
A foul smell rose along with a puff of white smoke.
"Ritz?!"
She called his name without thinking, and Ritz groaned in pain.
"…Idiot."
"Ah…"
She remembered she was supposed to use his fake name, but it was too late. As she panicked, Ritz lowered his arm. His face was blistered in places and looked red and raw all over. The brown pigment that had colored his face had mostly washed off, revealing not brown skin but red, but normal-colored skin.
The special drug that was supposed to last a week had melted away in an instant. The Giant, who had been intently studying Ritz's face, nodded slowly several times.
"Ah, I thought so. You're the intruder."
They'd been found out. She stood frozen before the expressionless Giant.
"There's an order out to find an impostor Guardian-sama, you see."
His small eyes glanced at Anna, then shifted to Ritz.
"Sorry for this after you helped pick up the apples, but orders are orders."
The Giant said this leisurely, then tilted his head and took out his axe with a sound.
"Will you die for me?"
Before his words had even finished, Anna was lifted into Ritz's arms, his face partly burned.
"Run!"
"O-okay."
Without a moment to breathe, Ritz turned on his heel and ran.
"You can't escape. Everyone's after you."
Stunned by the situation, she looked up to see Ritz's face, red and raw, right next to hers. It was a terrible burn. She wanted to heal him, but there was no time for that now.
A delayed feeling of terror crept up on her. The horror of the words spoken made her cling to Ritz's neck. She didn't know what to do. The Giant had tried to kill Anna and Ritz as casually as if they were insects, without any hesitation.
They had been pursued and nearly killed on their journey before, but never had they been so easily targeted for death for a reason she couldn't understand, simply because of an order.
She wanted to protest that they hadn't done anything, that they just wanted to see the clan's holy land, but she understood, in a way, that that was their side of the story, and that Kuchiba and his Clan of Darkness had a completely different logic.
Would Franz and the others back at the inn be okay? The thought made her anxiety grow even stronger.