424 - Leonardo's Perspective - The King and the Black Wolf
We left Jean-Jacques and the Black Dog (Oscar) at the Koyornaharu shrine as lookouts. Jean-Jacques made a dissatisfied face, but when I said I wanted to station people who could restrain Jasper if he happened to cross paths and leave here with Tina, he accepted it. According to Jean-Jacques's report, Jasper seems to know everything about the space beyond the shrine. If we walked the passage using the route Jean-Jacques had investigated, there was a risk that Jasper, noticing our presence, would take a detour and we would miss each other. In fact, according to Jean-Jacques, the sled that had been propped up to hide the Koyornaharu shrine had apparently disappeared at some point. In the brief time Jean-Jacques had left the hidden passage, Jasper must have come back and taken the sled.
If we did run into him, I was confident I could take Tina back, but if he took a detour and vanished from sight, there would be nothing I could do. In that case, it would be more reliable to station people at the passage exit from the start.
...It's narrow. Would my body not fit?
I looked down at the Koyornaharu shrine that Jean-Jacques had found and compared it to my own shoulder width. I thought the entrance might be too impractical for me to use, but a strange confidence welled up from within my chest.
--A bit narrow, but it's not impossible to get through.
I could definitely get through. A confidence I had no reason to feel surged up, and I bent down to give it a try. The entrance looked like it was only a size that would be impossible for me to pass through, but surprisingly, I got inside quite easily.
...Was the entrance bigger than it looked?
Once I was inside the shrine, there was enough height to stretch my back. I straightened my hunched back and looked down at the entrance I had just passed through, and there it was, still looking too small for me to get through.
...No matter how I look at it, it doesn't seem like I could fit through, does it?
Well, whatever, I decided to think. It looked like a narrow entrance, but in reality, I had gotten through it. That was the truth.
I took about ten subordinates who had made it through the entrance and moved through the passage following the marks Jean-Jacques had left during his earlier infiltration. I moved while listening carefully for footsteps, but I didn't hear any footsteps that seemed to belong to Jasper.
...He's not here.
I peered through gaps in the stonework at the cell where Tina had reportedly been, but there was no sign of her inside. Instead, I could see the iron-barred door was slightly open. That meant Tina had either been taken out again for torture, or Jasper had taken her. Considering that the subordinates Jean-Jacques said he had sent ahead weren't here, they might have been chasing after the moved Tina.
There was no point staring at an empty cell, so I walked the passage leading into the Imperial castle. Jean-Jacques had told me it led to a storage-like room, and the room I came out into after opening the hidden door was indeed a storage room.
...It's strange that there are this many footprints.
I looked down at the floor just inside the storage room from the hidden passage. Countless black footprints that seemed to be Jasper's were left there. There were footprints heading toward the door, and footprints coming back toward the passage. There were also footprints wandering around the room as if searching for the hidden door, but this was a bit unnatural. Jasper had used the hidden passage to come out into this storage room. There should be no need for him to search for the hidden door now.
Thinking about it wouldn't help, so I pushed the excessive footprints to the back of my mind. To the bandits I brought with me and those I left with Jean-Jacques, I had ordered that if any commotion occurred inside the Imperial castle, they should start a disturbance from the front of the castle to divert the soldiers' attention. Still, it was better to avoid causing trouble when possible, so I moved carefully through the Imperial castle. Since a commotion would also be problematic, I moved through the castle prepared to silence any patrolling soldiers I encountered without argument, but strangely, I never ran into the soldiers who should definitely be there.
"...They're asleep."
Finding it too strange, I peeked into the soldiers' guard station to check, and six soldiers were asleep, slumped over the desk. I tried shaking their shoulders, but the soldiers didn't wake up.
"Boss. There's white powder at the bottom of the water pitcher..."
"Let me see."
I looked into the water pitcher they handed me, and indeed, I could see some white grains at the bottom of the water. It was easy to imagine it was some kind of drug, so I didn't do anything as foolish as tasting it. But I understood why the soldiers were asleep. Beside the sleeping soldiers slumped over the desk, an overturned cup with spilled water lay there. Likely, all of them had been put to sleep by this drug.
"I thought we might need to mix drugs into the water or knock people unconscious..."
"Someone's beaten us to it. Guess there's no work for us."
Come to think of it, I recalled Jasper. When Jasper had taken Tina from the Sedovara Church, he had used poison to outsmart Aaron and the Black Shiba (Kokumaro). He could probably drug the lax soldiers of the Zugall Empire into sleep.
"Things seem easier than I expected... But don't let your guard down. This is the Imperial castle. It should be the most heavily guarded place in the Empire."
"Hey, Boss."
Just to be safe, I also sent people to the cell where Tina hadn't been. There was a possibility that Tina had been returned to the cell, or simply moved to another one. I would not overlook even the smallest possibility, so I thought through various possibilities and eliminated them. If torture had been carried out as Jean-Jacques said, I didn't have the luxury of calmly planning to secure Tina's safety while retrieving her. Even if it involved some risk, I should think only of getting Tina back as quickly as possible.
...If it was Jasper who took Tina, where would he go?
If he was fleeing with Tina, his destination would be outside the Imperial castle. As for the hidden passage leading outside, since that was where we had come from, he must have chosen a different route. Otherwise, we should have run into each other long ago.
...Those footprints were a decoy for pursuers.
Now I understood the answer to those unnatural footprints left on the floor just outside the hidden passage. Those footprints were a trap to make pursuers think they had entered from here and escaped from here.
...Which means, Jasper won't return to that hidden passage.
With that in mind, I considered the route I would take if I managed to get Tina back. That hidden passage was unusable. In that case, I would choose a path without witnesses. There probably weren't any places inside the Imperial castle that were completely hidden from view, but there should be places where there were fewer eyes. For example, the back gate or the service gate used by servants.
...First, I'll circle around to the back of the Imperial castle.
"The pharmacist who was at Edgar's place threw something at the guard, and while the guard was sleeping, he took the girl and ran!"
As I advanced through the corridor toward the back of the Imperial castle, a subordinate who should have been watching Tina earlier came running. He must have noticed our entry afterward and come to report.
"He seemed to be heading for the back of the Imperial castle. He's probably planning to go outside through the service gate."
"The service gate, huh."
There's a bit of distance between the back gate and the service gate. Having his destination narrowed down like this was honestly helpful.
When I exited the Imperial castle building and went outside, I occasionally saw soldiers collapsed on the snow. Seeing the saliva and drool coming from their mouths, it probably wasn't Jasper who drugged them to sleep. I think my bandit subordinates knocked them out.
"Boss, over here!"
A subordinate who had tied up soldiers and left them on the ground called me from in front of the service gate. According to what the subordinate had heard from the soldiers, Jasper had apparently come pulling a sled, saying he had been "ordered to carry corpses outside the castle." The part about corpses was concerning, but Tina was probably on that sled. According to what they'd heard from the soldiers, the body was tightly wrapped in a blanket, and they hadn't confirmed what was inside the blanket. There was a possibility Tina was still alive.
A figure heading southeast was seen. This was the last sighting that seemed to be Jasper. If I let Jasper escape here, the search for Tina would go back to square one. Depending on Tina's condition as Jean-Jacques had described, if I didn't get her back here, there was a possibility I would never see her alive again.
After that, all I had to do was run southeast.
I heard my subordinate calling me, "Boss." But his voice was only meant to stop me, so I didn't stop and kept my legs moving. The highway, cleared of snow, was easy to run on, but it wouldn't leave footprints. If Jasper had fled with Tina, now was the time to chase.
...Times like this, I envy Oscar.
Running on four beast legs is faster than running on two human legs. Not just the difference in running speed, but beasts also have better noses than humans. I felt I could easily track the scent of a person who had just left.
--Then, please use my legs.
My king, a voice said, and at the same time my body became lighter. Whether it was my imagination or not, I felt my eye line had lowered, but my running speed increased dramatically.
--If you need a nose as well, please use it.
My king, said the voice that resounded directly in my head, and before I could think about whose it was, my nose caught the scent of medicinal herbs. I had never consciously smelled Jasper's scent, but I was certain that the person wearing this medicinal herb aroma was Jasper. Mixed in with the medicinal herb smell clinging to Jasper was a faint floral scent.
...Found you!
I don't know Jasper's smell, but I know this flower's scent. It was the scent of Enomena flowers, which occasionally wafted around Tina.
I finally found Tina, and I increased my running speed. I could no longer hear the footsteps of the subordinates who had been following me, but I didn't have the luxury to care about that.
I left the highway and dove into the snow-covered forest. The branches of low shrubs stretching sideways got in my way, but there was no need to avoid them.
--Please, go ahead.
--Brothers, our king is passing through.
My king, our king, voices came from somewhere, and the branches of the trees moved out of my way on their own. All I had to do was run straight, chasing Tina's scent. The inexplicable things happening around me were trivial compared to losing Tina. I could think about them later. Now was the only time I could get Tina back.
...I feel like I've become a wolf.
Using all four limbs, I kicked the snow and ran low through the forest. The moment I realized how wolf-like this was, I understood. The first voice was the voice of the Black Wolf I was wearing. The one who lent me four legs, the one who lent me a nose that could distinguish human scents, was the Black Wolf pelt I was wearing. It shouldn't be possible, but I couldn't think otherwise, so there was nothing I could do.
...The smell of humans increased.
Someone else was ahead besides Tina and Jasper. At the same time I noticed this, I broke through the forest.
...There.
Perhaps because I had run the shortest distance chasing Tina's scent, there was somewhat of a height difference between Jasper and me. It seemed I had climbed a small hill without realizing it. I spotted Jasper's figure at the bottom of the slope, and he was right around the center of a suspension bridge. It seemed he was trying to cross the bridge to get over a cliff.
...I can smell Tina.
The sled Jasper was pulling carried a bundle of blankets, and I was certain that was Tina. The scent of Enomena flowers was still drifting, and the size of the bundle wrapped in blankets was close to Tina's height. It was Tina, still the same height as when she was taken.
...Something's strange. Isn't he with his allies?
Jasper, who was near the center of the suspension bridge, appeared to be stopping there. In the direction he was looking, there were several men. If those men were Jasper's allies, he should just be joining them, but Jasper showed no sign of moving.
--Come.
Something was wrong. Tina was right there. To take Tina back from Jasper, I might need more hands. My subordinates couldn't keep up with my pace. In that case, there was only one being that could keep up with me.
--Come, Oscar. You're here. Tina, the one you're looking for, is here.
Lend me a hand, I called out in my heart. Under normal circumstances, it was a call I couldn't expect any effect from, but I was certain this would work now. This voice would surely reach the Black Dog. If the voice reached him, the Black Dog would surely come running here. And if the Black Dog acted, Jean-Jacques might notice something was wrong and come this way too.
...To get Tina back, I'd need to deal with Jasper and then the guys on the other side of the bridge too.
I called out to the Black Dog in my heart as I ran down the hill with the height difference. Whatever happened, I would get Tina back before the men on the other side of the bridge. That was all.
...I need hands.
This time, more than the beast's legs for running fast, I wanted arms to punch Jasper down. Arms to snatch Tina back. I needed both arms to firmly embrace Tina's small body.
--Then, use them freely.
Our king, a voice said, and my eye line returned to its original height. Before I knew it, I was running on two legs, charging across the suspension bridge toward Jasper.
"What now...?!"
The suspension bridge I had stepped onto with momentum swayed greatly. At the shaking, Jasper, who noticed me approaching from behind, turned around in surprise.
I didn't know if Jasper realized it was me.
Before Jasper could spit out any words, my fist sank into his cheek. I had no intention of going easy on him, and there was no need for it. Jasper, who took a fist that could knock out a bear, flew backward along with the rope he was using to pull the sled, and his hand let go as the sled caught on the bridge's rope. For a moment, the thought that Tina might fall off the bridge crossed my mind, but the mysterious certainty that had been continuing since earlier denied it.
As long as I was on it, this suspension bridge wouldn't fall from minor impact. Tina, who I had come to pick up, should return to me. Tina, returning to me, wouldn't fall from the bridge either, just like me.
That strange confidence welled up. In fact, the sled carrying Tina slid across the bridge after being pulled by Jasper, but even though Jasper fell off the bridge, the sled didn't fall.
"...Tina."
Ignoring the men at the far end of the suspension bridge, I first checked the bundle of blankets on the sled. When I untied the ropes securing it to the sled, I was able to open the blanket a little. Inside was Tina, as I thought. Wet hair plastered to her cheeks, breathing faintly in her sleep. She was probably drugged to sleep by Jasper.
"Sorry I'm late, Tina. I came to get you."
Let's go home together, I said, brushing away her wet hair. It couldn't be, but I felt Tina's mouth relax just slightly.
The fantasy elements that pop out every now and then.
Will fix typos and errors at a later date.