Chapter 174: Slaves of the World

Rein and Yusuke left the bar, exiting back out into the city lit with glowstone lamps across the nighttime streets, mellow and quiet in an atmosphere of calming nightlife. Yusuke stretched his body while yawning loudly, while Rein looked up to the sky, feeling droplets of water hit his face as he did so. Yusuke's stretch was interrupted as he noticed the water battering on his trenchcoat.

"Oh man, the rain's really coming down now, huh? We should find a place to stay and leave tomorrow," Yusuke suggested.

"It's fine. We can sleep in the carriage," Rein ignored Yusuke's suggestion and continued towards the carriage that Kasia set up for them at the north exit of the city.

Yusuke scratched the back of his head, then let out a breath of acceptance and followed Rein.

"You sure are needy, aren't ya kid?" Yusuke whispered under his breath.

The 2 reached the small, yet comfortable-looking carriage at the north of the city. Drawn by horses instead of tigers, this carriage would be slower than the usual ones provided by the guild, so Rein did not want to waste any time.

"Hey, kid. Do you even know where you're going?" Yusuke stopped Rein as he was about to enter the carriage.

"Yes. The town of Haka, north northeast from here," Rein informed. "Considering they went north, and they have Lillia with them, I think that's the most probable place they could've went," he deduced, to which Yusuke went into a thinking pose.

"Haka, huh? That's where that ghost incident happened a month ago, right?" Yusuke asked, which surprised Rein slightly.

"So you heard about that," Rein sounded, an impressed tone in his voice.

"I'm well versed with the events occurring around the continent," Yusuke boasted. "But I'm telling you now, there's no way they went there," he warned, which made Rein furrow his eyebrows.

"Why not?"

"All of the smaller towns and villages are out of the question, at least the ones under Orthlys rule," Yusuke hopped up on the back of the carriage and leaned into it, resting his head on his arms as he spoke to Rein. "They've been completely occupied, and all who enter and leave are monitored. They're starting to do it in bigger cities now too, but since it's much harder to manage, they still haven't been able to implement it," he explained as he shuffled deeper into the carriage.

"That being said, you were right that we should leave Stogue as soon as possible before they start doing that here. It's better that we're out in the wilderness once these rules are fully enforced."

"I see…" Rein began thinking, also intrigued by how much Yusuke knew, but put that at the back of his mind for the time being. "So where do you suggest then?" He inquired.

Yusuke sleepily yawned and turned on his side.

"Dunno. I guess we could try Kanirah and Tuwalmura first," he arbitrarily suggested, to which Rein agreed to as he hopped to the front seat and set the carriage in motion.

As they rid along the bumpy, dark roads, silence filled the surroundings. Rein sat at the front seat while Yusuke slept in the back, when suddenly, Yusuke spoke out.

"You should get some sleep too, Rein," he suggested, offering to stand watch so the kid could get some rest.

"No. Even if I tried, I doubt I'd be able to get a wink of sleep," he claimed, making Yusuke sit up and look at the back of Rein's head with a raised eyebrow, a look of concern washing over him. "What do you know," Rein continued the talk, catching Yusuke's attention.

"Hm?" Yusuke sounded.

"You mentioned curses, and it seems like you know principal Julianne pretty well. You understand that I'm still suspicious of you, right?"

"Ah… Yeah, I guess I dropped that without any explanation, huh?" Yusuke scratched the back of his red hair, the took a breath. "I'm actually a member of the holy church of Silwin. Just a lowly wandering priest though. I was around the area when the attack happened, so I decided to investigate a bit. That should explain why I know about the curses, right? I also know about those glowing accessories on your body too," he added, this revelation making Rein turn back at the man with widened eyes.

"The church? So does that mean…"

"Hey, hey! Don't go lumping me in with the higher-ups! Just because I'm a wandering priest doesn't mean I agree with their ideals. I just travel the continent teaching kids about the goddess," Yusuke defended himself, making Rein breath a sigh of relief.

"Alright then, I believe you. Now explain how you know principal Julianne," Rein moved on.

"Oh, we've known each other since we were in school. I attended Ranger academy with her and adventured with her and some other people," he revealed.

"He attended Ranger academy with the principal..?" Rein thought. "But if that's the case, then he should know Leona too. I probably shouldn't mention that I'm from Lifah, so that he doesn't connect the dots," Rein concluded, before recomposing himself and asking the next question.

"So do you and the principal still keep in touch?" Rein asked.

"Oh, not really. Even though she's my lover, we haven't spoken in a while," Yusuke casually dropped, with Rein unable to keep his stone-cold face anymore.

"Your lover?" He raised an eyebrow and his voice at once.

"Well, yeah. Or at least I think we're still dating. We don't really talk all that often, but we never broke up. Maybe she's moved on already and I'm just clinging to something that doesn't exist. That's one of the reasons I'm joining you. So I can find her."

"It doesn't really sound like you love her all that much," Rein remarked, making Yusuke wear a face he didn't expect, one that he hadn't seen from him yet.

"It really doesn't, huh? Well, I do. It's just that this cruel world doesn't leave its slaves any room for love," a deep, melancholic expression washed over him, his eyes becoming devoid and empty for a brief moment. "Anyways, I'm gonna get a bit more sleep. Wake me up in the morning."