Chapter 61 - Anna's Great Adventure <4>
Ⅴ
While Edward had finished eating several pieces of fruit and Ritz was dozing fitfully in bed, a hesitant knock came at the door.
"Come in."
'Excuse me.'
It was Annie who entered. When he looked up, he saw that her expression was clouded with worry.
"What is it?"
On behalf of Ritz, who could barely speak, Edward asked Annie.
'Um… It's about Anna…'
"Ah, we were just talking about where Anna might have gone."
'I see.'
Annie, a ghost, already had a poor complexion, but now it seemed to turn even paler. This was probably serious.
"…What is it?"
When Ritz asked with a pained breath, Annie's eyes widened as if she'd heard something unbelievable.
"What is it? What happened?"
Seeing Annie's unusual state, Edward interjected again. But Annie's eyes were wide open, fixed on Ritz, and she hadn't moved an inch.
'Ritz-san…'
"…Me?"
'Didn't you ask Anna to run an errand?!'
"Huh?"
Ritz had no idea what she was talking about.
"Me?"
'Yes.'
"To Anna?"
'That's right!'
"Why?"
'Don't you remember?!'
He had no memory of it at all. His head wasn't working properly, and he found himself turning to Edward for help like he used to.
"Ed…"
It was a bit galling to rely on him like a child, but he had no choice. He looked up at Edward with a slightly pleading glance, and for some reason, Edward smiled softly and patted his shoulder.
Even without words, he understood that Edward was telling him to leave it to him, and he felt a sense of relief.
"Ritz asked Anna to go shopping, is that right?"
'Yes. That's what I heard.'
Edward, having confirmed it with Annie, turned back to a bewildered Ritz. But since Ritz had no idea, he couldn't answer. He just shook his head silently, and Edward nodded again.
"It seems this one doesn't remember at all. Did you hear where she went?"
'Yes. She said she was going to the Cheerful Seaman Inn to buy cream stew…'
"The Cheerful Seaman Inn! Cough, cough!"
"What's wrong, Ritz?"
He couldn't help but shout, which sent him into a coughing fit. Edward, who didn't know the location of the shop, turned a questioning eye toward him.
"A place like that is, cough, dangerous, gah!"
"Hey, calm down, Ritz. Annie, did Anna leave a long time ago?"
'Yes. Just after noon.'
"More than three hours ago?!"
Ignoring Edward, who shouted with wide eyes, Ritz stood up. He stumbled and crashed into something, making an unexpectedly loud noise.
His footing was unsteady. He'd be better off drunk.
"…I'm going."
Stumbling, Ritz pulled his clothes out of the closet. His vision occasionally blurred white, but he told himself it was just his imagination.
"Wait, you're going in that state?"
Without looking back at Edward, who had hurried over to support him, Ritz got himself ready.
"Ritz!"
He was grabbed firmly by the shoulder, as if being scolded. But he couldn't back down now.
"Ed… it’s really, really bad."
"What is?"
As he continued to get ready, Edward seemed to understand from Ritz's demeanor that something terrible could be happening to Anna.
"The shop's location… it's on the border of the slums and the port."
"What did you say…?"
"I… got into a fight there yesterday…"
Ritz shook his head. The world was spinning. But he had to go. That shop might be in real trouble today. Those thugs he'd beaten last night had said something about coming back for revenge.
If she got caught up in that commotion, it would be a disaster.
"Those guys, for revenge…"
Seeing his grave face as he swayed, Edward let out a small sigh. A fight at the shop yesterday, coming back for revenge. That was all Edward needed to understand the situation. In any case, it was dangerous to go near that shop today.
Edward didn't know it, but on top of that, Ritz had brought back the hair ornament they had dropped.
If the man who came to retrieve it was causing another disturbance at the shop, Anna, with her strong sense of justice, would surely jump right into the middle of the trouble. That was the kind of person Anna was.
'I should have stopped her! Anna went shopping alone for the first time!'
"Her first time?"
Edward paled. But Ritz didn't even have the luxury to join that conversation. His mind was racing with the need to get there as quickly as possible, and he staggered toward the door.
He didn't have the strength to swing his greatsword, so he would have to make do with the cheap sword he'd had last night. It was still a sword, so it would be useful in a pinch.
"Wait, Ritz."
Calling out, Edward stood beside Ritz and quickly slipped his arms into the winter coat he'd been holding.
"I'm… going."
"There's no way you can handle this alone."
"But…"
The world was spinning in Ritz's vision. Through it, he saw Edward put on his hat.
"I'll go with you. You just guide me to the shop."
"Ed, you…?"
"That's right. Among us here, I'm the one who knows this city and can fight, right?"
It was true, there was no other option. With Ritz in his current state, he was more likely to be on the receiving end of a beating. Though he was getting on in years, Edward was a man skilled in martial arts.
"…I'm counting on you."
Once decided, there was no time to waste. Edward fastened his own sword, which had been resting at his side, to his waist and offered Ritz his shoulder.
"My bad."
"Don't worry about it at a time like this."
Just as they finally made it down the stairs to the first floor, the front door opened with perfect timing. It was Franz and Evans, who had been out.
"I'm back."
"We're back."
Franz came face-to-face with Ritz, who was struggling to stand despite swaying, and asked in confusion.
"Ritz… where are you going?"
"Just out for a bit…"
Then he saw Edward lending a shoulder to the shaky Ritz and his face grew even more perplexed.
"This doesn't look like 'just out for a bit,' does it?"
"Well…"
It was strange enough that Edward was here, but why were these two about to go out? He clearly couldn't grasp the situation.
It was Edward, not Ritz who was running on fumes, who answered Franz as he stared at them with a mix of confusion and suspicion.
"You're back at a good time. As it happens, Anna is lost."
"She is?"
At Edward's sudden words, Franz tilted his head.
"How did she get lost?"
"This one, delirious with fever, apparently told Anna some nonsense about wanting stew from his favorite shop. He doesn't seem to remember it himself, though."
"…So it seems."
Hearing that, Franz's face went pale. He felt so sorry and pathetic that his head ached.
Franz probably understood as well. Anna was the type to take even words spoken in a daze seriously. And since they were the words of a sick person, she would undoubtedly want to grant his wish.
"Then she definitely went to that shop."
Words mixed with a sigh escaped Franz's lips. His face instantly turned sullen, a look that seemed to hold the anger of, 'Why doesn't she consider her own safety?'
"The shop is apparently on the border between the slums and the port."
"That's dangerous…"
Franz, with his arms crossed, paled even further at Edward's next words.
"Anna hasn't been back since this afternoon."
"Is that true?"
"And to make matters worse, Ritz apparently got into a fight there last night. There's a chance Anna got caught up in the other party's revenge."
"…!"
Franz was speechless. He stared straight at Ritz, who couldn't help but look away.
It was the worst-case scenario. If those opponents had been looking for Ritz by name, Anna would undoubtedly say it.
'Ritz is my guardian.' He didn't want to think about what would happen next.
"I'm going too."
"No. There's something I need you to do, Franz."
Edward flatly rejected Franz's decision.
"But…"
"Have you ever been to the port or the slums?"
"No."
"What if you get lost too?"
"…"
He was right. A double search was tens of times more difficult than looking for a single missing person. Franz let the tension out of his shoulders and sighed.
"What should I do?"
"Go to the Inspectorate office, call for Kenny, and come to the shop with him later. Kenny should be able to find the place just by the name of the shop. Got it?"
"Yes. The name of the shop?"
"The Cheerful Seaman Inn."
His voice was hoarse, but since he was the only one who knew the correct name of the shop, he said it. Franz took a note.
"The Cheerful Seaman Inn, right? Understood."
"I'm counting on you."
As they were about to leave, Evans, who had been watching the events unfold in a daze, came over to Ritz's side.
"Wait a moment."
"…?"
Evans held his hand over Ritz's forehead and offered a prayer.
"O Light Spirit King, who governs hope and pride. Grant this one your protection!"
The foggy, unclear feeling in his head cleared up a bit. It was as if a light mist had been blown away.
"I cannot restore your physical strength, but I have restored your mental energy. You should at least be able to stand. This is all I can do, but please be careful."
"Thank you."
And so, the slightly precarious-looking duo of Ritz, who could now somehow walk on his own though still stumbling, and Edward, who was on the verge of old age, set out into the pub district as it sank into the evening twilight.
Ⅵ
Anna, completely unaware that everyone was worried about her, had finally reached the Cheerful Seaman Inn, guided by Joe.
"See, here it is. You wouldn't have made it on your own, right?"
"Yeah. I wouldn't have."
The shop, located after several twists and turns through narrow, winding dead ends, was too complex for Anna to figure out. The Royal Capital was truly something; she learned for the first time how much of a struggle it was just to find a single shop.
Annie was probably worried because she didn't know how vast this city was.
"Joe, about the way back…"
Having absolutely no confidence in her ability to get home from here, Anna turned to Joe with a smile. Joe nodded with a look that said, 'Can't be helped.'
"I'll walk you back."
"Thank you!"
Somehow, it felt like they were becoming real friends. If Ritz or Edward were here, they would surely say, 'Good for you for making a friend.'
Happy, she was thinking about that when she suddenly realized she was hungry.
"Hey Joe, are you hungry?"
"Huh?"
A considerable amount of time had passed since she had a light breakfast/lunch of bread. It was only natural that she'd be hungry. But Joe looked at Anna's suggestion with a bewildered expression.
"I'd like to eat something."
When she asked, Joe crossed his arms and stared at Anna with an exasperated look.
"Weren't you supposed to do your shopping and hurry back?"
"Yeah. That's true, but…"
Joe was right. But she was hungry. Seeing Anna sigh, Joe, perhaps thinking it was a lost cause, briskly opened the door to the Cheerful Seaman Inn.
"Hello!"
Joe, who had cheerfully opened the door, froze as if turned to stone.
"What is it?"
A rough-sounding man's voice came from inside.
"…The Ward Family…"
Joe whispered.
"What's wrong, Joe?"
Anna peered into the shop from behind the frozen Joe. Inside, there were several men, another man with injuries sitting on the floor, and the shop was a complete mess.
"This is awful!"
As Anna murmured, Joe quietly explained.
"They're the local thugs. Vile, petty criminals who show no mercy, not even to children."
"…So they're bad people."
Looking around, she spotted a man who clearly looked like he was in charge. From her experience on their journey so far, that was likely the leader.
She was thoroughly infuriated by the man who remained so calm after putting the shop through this, so Anna pointed a finger at him.
"Did you do this?"
"Ah, Anna! You idiot!"
From behind, Joe tried to cover Anna's mouth. Apparently, she had said something she shouldn't have in Joe's eyes, but as far as Anna was concerned, she hadn't done anything wrong.
The men stood up with smirks on their faces and slowly walked toward them.
"A cute customer, eh, boss?"
Suddenly, Joe pulled on Anna's arm. When she turned, Joe was in a panic. He was telling her to run.
But there was no way she could just abandon an injured person and run away. Anna shook off Joe's hand and stood her ground, glaring at the men.
"Anna, this is bad…"
Joe was anxiously pulling at her arm, but if she ran now, she would never be able to forgive herself. Helping people in trouble. That was Anna's creed.
"It's absolutely wrong to gang up on one person!"
Anna stood with her arms crossed at the entrance of the shop, like a guardian deity, and entered full-on lecture mode.
The gazes directed at her were not serious; the men were smirking faintly. It seemed they were toying with her.
Behind her, Joe was frozen, unable to even run.
"Oh? And what are you going to do about it?"
"Let the man go and get out! And you have to fix the shop!"
The men still looked at Anna with amusement and composure. From their perspective, Anna was a frail girl, nothing to be afraid of. But there was something Anna could do.
"And what if we say no, little missy?"
"I'll get angry!"
The shop filled with the men's vulgar laughter.
"I'm serious!"
"Well, well. What do we do, boss?"
One of the men turned and looked at the leader.
"First that big guy with the black hair yesterday, and now this little missy. There's really a lot of meddlers."
"Big guy with black hair…?"
Could the big guy with black hair being compared to her be someone she knew very well? Come to think of it, he had been out drinking yesterday too…
"By big guy with black hair, do you mean someone tall with his hair tied back in a little ponytail?"
At Anna's honest question, a stir went through the men.
"Yeah, that's him. You know him?"
Joe tapped Anna on the shoulder from behind, and she glanced back slightly. He seemed to want to say something, but he was whispering too quietly for her to understand.
"Hey, missy, do you know that man?"
Before she could ask Joe again, the man repeated his question, and Anna nodded.
"Yes, I know him."
The moment Anna answered calmly, the owner of the shop, who had been sitting silently, shouted.
"Missy, run!"
"Huh?"
"These guys are planning to kill him."
"!"
"Missy, just run!"
"You bastard!"
The leader tried to kick the shop owner, but the owner resisted desperately.
"Hurry up and run!"
"You and your big mouth. Grab that brat! We'll make her talk about where that man is!"
"Right!"
The men who had been standing all at once rushed towards Anna to capture her.
"Mister!"
Seeing the shop owner stagger to his feet, the shock of learning that Ritz was being targeted brought Anna back to her senses.
"What should I do?"
It was Joe who answered the words she had unintentionally muttered.
"You're a spirit user, aren't you!"
"That's right. O Water Spirit, grant me your protection."
At Joe's desperate words, Anna formed a mass of water in front of her. Since she had only been able to use the Water Dragon until now, she had been confused about what to do, but now she had this.
The sphere of water Anna created, made in a split second with no control, became about the size of the one that had knocked out Joe, filling both her hands.
"Crap, she's a spirit user!"
The men faltered at the sight of the water. They had probably never dealt with a spirit user before.
But the shop owner seemed just as surprised. Nevertheless, the owner was not a man to miss this chance, and he slowly began to move away from the men.
Noticing this, Anna shouted at the owner.
"Mister, run!"
"Right."
The owner leaped over the counter and threw open the back door. He tumbled outside and slammed the door shut. The man, finally noticing at the sound, clicked his tongue.
"Damn it, catch that girl! That'll be enough!"
At the leader's words, the men who had been standing there stunned came back to their senses, but it was too late.
Seeing the shop owner escape, Anna had raised the amply gathered sphere of water above her head. And without hesitation, she threw it at the men.
"Fly, Water Sphere!"
The sphere of water, as always, had zero control, but there was no place to run in the small shop. It would probably be a direct hit.
"Anna, let's just run for it!"
"Okay."
With no time to check, Anna was pulled by the hand by Joe and bolted from the shop.
With the angry shouts of the men at her back, Anna ran for her life. As she ran, a thought occurred to her. Why does Ritz have to be targeted?
Ⅶ
"What in the world…"
Though still unsteady, Ritz, who was able to walk thanks to Evans, and the energetic Edward arrived at the shop, only for Ritz to be struck dumb by the disastrous state of the place.
"The mess in the shop might be the work of human hands, but this massive amount of water is…"
"Yeah, probably Anna."
Ritz, who could finally speak again despite his hoarse, pained voice, found the owner inside the flooded shop, tending to his wounds while looking in a mirror.
"Old man."
The face that turned was covered in scratches. He'd clearly been through a rough time.
"Hey, kid."
"Did they come?"
"Yeah, they did."
So those men had come here after all. His bad feeling had been right. Since Ritz was the cause of it all, he apologized honestly.
"Sorry about that, old man."
"Don't worry about it. It ain't your fault. This kind of thing happens every day near the slums."
With that, the owner let out a hearty laugh, then winced as it stung his wounds. He seemed to be okay. Ritz asked about something else that had been bothering him.
"Their goal was that hair ornament, wasn't it?"
"…Yeah. The one you picked up."
"I knew it."
According to the shop owner, they were well-known ruffians in the area who called themselves the Ward Family.
But they were small-time crooks who didn't get involved in major crimes, and most people just shrugged their shoulders in annoyance. It seemed these guys were finally getting into the big-time underground business.
"Apparently, it's some kind of shady smuggling deal. And they need that hair ornament you picked up to do it."
"This?"
Ritz pulled out the hair ornament he had carelessly shoved into his coat yesterday.
"'This shall be the key that brings you wealth,' eh? Seems rather fitting for someone dabbling in smuggling."
Edward frowned as he looked at the pure gold object in Ritz's hand.
"Let me see that."
"Sure."
Edward stared intently at the object handed to him. He seemed to recognize it, but he couldn't quite remember what it was.
"It's something from after I returned to the Royal Capital, so it's recent, but…"
"What is this thing, Ed?"
"I can't recall."
"…Senile old man."
"What did you say? Say that again!"
The owner, watching their exchange, paused his first-aid with an exasperated look.
"You two, did you come here to perform a comedy routine?"
"Right."
Ritz, having gotten completely sidetracked, scratched his head. This was no time for that.
On behalf of Ritz, for whom speaking was difficult, Edward asked the owner.
"Master, did a red-haired girl come here?"
"She did. That young lady is the one who saved me."
Edward turned and looked at Ritz silently. Ritz nodded back. Just as he thought. This water was Anna's doing after all.
"She came to the shop just as I was getting beaten up."
"What bad timing…"
But Anna's bad timing wasn't anything new. For some reason, it was a characteristic of the creature known as Anna to always be doing the wrong thing at the wrong time.
Seeing the two of them sigh, the owner continued as if to confirm.
"Is that little lady an acquaintance of yours, kid?"
"She is."
"I knew it."
The owner sighed. His expression seemed complex, a mixture of exasperation and admiration.
"What do you mean, you knew it?"
"That little lady ran off with the Ward Family chasing her."
"Why is she being chased?"
The owner explained what had happened from the time Anna arrived at the shop until she fled. Just as he'd feared, Anna had revealed she was with Ritz and ended up being pursued.
Why couldn't Anna make the simple judgment that it's better to keep quiet when there's danger?
When Anna gets back, he might have to thoroughly teach her that lying and keeping silent to protect herself are two completely different things.
Being this reckless, she wouldn't have enough lives to spare. He couldn't always be there to help her, so he wished she would learn a little common sense.
"The little lady had a companion with her. I think it was a boy from around here; they seemed close."
"A boy?"
"Not a friend?"
"No, she doesn't have any in this city."
Ritz tilted his head. There was no way she had a friend in this city, especially in this area.
But this was no time to be thinking. The priority was to find Anna as soon as possible. If there was a boy with her at that time, he could ask him for details.
"Which way did they go?"
"I don't know. I escaped through the back door of the shop."
"…What do we do?"
He turned to see Edward looking outside the shop. He seemed to have found a clue.
"It's fine. For now, if we follow the wet ground, we should be able to manage."
Looking where he was told, the ground was quite wet. It seemed the Ward Family had been thoroughly drenched by Anna.
"Alright, let's go."
"Yeah."
Sighing at the outrageous turn of events, Ritz and Edward hurried along the wet path, carefully watching the ground.