Chapter 77. Listen to me for a moment (1)
It reminded me of Astricia Street.
Clean, large buildings filling the wide boulevard, small fountains and flower pots placed here and there, luxurious shops, and even, well-paved granite sidewalks. Even magic lanterns that brighten the night.
Because everything was similar to Astrisha.
The difference is that while Astrisha has more cafes, the main street of Shurinz has more bars and souvenir shops as well as clothing stores and jewelry stores.
Therefore, even though there was not much time left until dawn, I was still thinking about Astricia Street as I walked among the brightly lit bars and restaurants.
“It reminds me of Latran.”
But Aila, who was walking next to me, seemed to think differently.
It is now the estate of Marquis Allan Manasil, but he said it reminds him of how it was once the estate of Count Hale Latran.
“Because there were a lot of bars there too.”
but.
There weren’t many places open until this hour, but there were many bars. On a night when there was heavy rain that could not even be described as pouring down, this is where Calian first met Eila while he was rushing to find out about Count Latran, who was buying and selling new items. Wasn’t that a bar too?
“I remember.”
Kirie, who was thinking about that time, nodded before opening her mouth. And he gave a short answer to Aila, who spoke first.
“I think it rained at that time. Is that right?”
“Yes. A lot of people have come.”
That’s because Aila warned us that in a noisy tourist spot like this, if you look around without saying a word, you might catch the attention of people running away, so you should pretend to be friendly and talk to them.
Aren’t the knights of Count Aprin and the Margrave of Schrinz already searching the entire castle? Of course, the fact of the lord’s disappearance and the existence of Zeon had to be kept secret, so they put forward the justification that they were looking for a wanted criminal hiding in the castle.
In any case, since they were scouring the entire castle like that, they would be very wary if someone was hiding, so they said that they shouldn’t go around advertising like, ‘We’re looking for a suspicious woman who ran away from the villa and hid in the crowd.’
“It’s funny when I think about it. It’s so different from then to now. I was really scared of the prince when I first saw him that day.”
“Is that so.”
“I don’t think it was?”
“You were a little sharper than you are now.”
If Chase had heard this story, he would probably have said what nonsense it was, since Calian was as gentle as ever then and now, but Aila and Kyrie didn’t know about the Bern days.
Anyway, after these brief words exchanged, the two closed their mouths as if they had made a promise. I said that proper conversation was necessary, not that chatting was necessary.
Kirie listens to hear the sound of the fugitive breathing heavily after running all the way from the villa. Aila looks as if she is checking to see if there is a good bar with a good atmosphere, and is scanning every alley and gap in the building where she can hide.
A person who was good at finding people and a person who was good at hiding from people kept moving like that.
“Is the Margrave of Shurinz a trustworthy person?”
Then, Kyrie asked this question.
Eila turned her head at these words and looked up at Kirie’s face, which was much higher than me, and answered.
“I’m from Secretia.”
“I know. But I think I know something.”
“Why? Because it’s Sejak?”
“Didn’t you say you’ve been here before? I asked because I thought you probably didn’t visit without knowing what kind of person the lord was.”
Ayla slightly shrugged her shoulders and answered.
“Is there anyone you can trust? Still, I don’t think he’s someone who would send an assassin to the villa or throw a knife at the crown prince. That’s what I thought when I investigated it.”
“Is that so.”
“Are you afraid the prince will be deceived?”
“You’re not the kind of person who would otherwise have doubts.”
“Well, I’m really good at trusting anyone.”
Is it just believing?
It would be enough to just believe in his ability, but since he also believes in his ability without any doubt, he is a person who entrusts his life to a hairpin thrown by someone else, so what else do I need to say?
Aila chuckled as she remembered the incident in which she believed the lie that there were no more magical bullets and had her hidden swordsmanship skills revealed during a fight with Aela in Latran Territory. Now I know that a person who is so good at recognizing other people’s lies means that he believed the words of his enemy, Eila, more strongly than his own judgment.
“Anyway, he’s a strange person.”
After completing her evaluation in short words, Aila continued to look around. Likewise, Kirie, who had been concentrating on the sound, suddenly stopped.
She knew that, but Aila didn’t ask why she stopped. This is why I saw the back of a person going into a dark alley without a magic lantern behind a closed souvenir shop.
Short brown hair can be seen underneath the hood that covers the face, and brown pants can be seen between the loose hem of the robe. After confirming that, Eila naturally turned her gaze elsewhere and said.
“I think it’s him.”
I said it as if I was guessing, but I can guarantee it.
The shirt worn under that robe would be black, and the hand hidden under the robe would be holding a black bag.
“I’ll go. I might not, so keep looking here.”
Those were Kyrie’s words.
Kirie, who spoke without taking her eyes off the guy, hurriedly ran away without waiting for Aila’s answer.
I did not see Eila, who was looking at the back, turning back towards the path she had walked along.
– Crack, tap! Crash!
As soon as I entered the alley, I heard irregular footsteps and heavy breathing. If you leave the vicinity of the villa, where there is nowhere to hide, you will have run non-stop to this street you will encounter for the first time, so your feet will be disheveled and you will be out of breath.
– Taaat!
Kyrie kicked his foot.
And he pulled out his gray sword from its sheath.
The guy who turned his head slightly to check on Kirie increased his speed. Then, turning here and there, I continued into the complex alleys behind the colorful streets. If you were running straight, you would have caught it a long time ago, but as you run while turning here and there, the distance is not easily narrowed.
To the right, to the left, to the left again.
After that, go to the right, squeeze through the gap in the building so narrow that your shoulder will get stuck, and turn left. As if it were a squirrel, it changed direction in an instant and continued to follow the running guy.
Eventually, I came to a dead end.
“... Ah. You’re persistent.”
The woman stopped only after turning her back to the wall at the end of the alley and spoke out of breath, as if she was going to fall over at any moment. On the other hand, Kirie, who didn’t look like she was struggling, took a shot at the guy.
The guy who was watching it swallowed dry saliva.
And then he extended his hand towards Kyrie.
Unsure whether it was memorization, German paper spreading through the air, or money, Kirie held her breath and slowly closed her sword.
At that moment
– click.
“I have a tattoo of a flowering tree branch on my forearm.”
The warrior who was trying to pull out frowned.
It was not because I finally knew where my once healthy shoulder was stuck, but because I realized what Calian had said.
The tattoo Calian was talking about was not the warrior’s, and the warrior knew who the tattoo was, and he understood what it meant to have features coming out of Calian’s mouth that you would not know unless you rolled up the arm yourself.
A woman who was running away from the villa was caught. Kalyan.
“Didn’t you say that he had nothing to do with this?”
“They said he was someone I paid money to hire.”
I thought I knew what was in my sleeve.
Calian whispered as if to himself and looked at the warrior.
“If you run away, that guy will die. Even if you don’t answer my question, I’ll kill that guy. I don’t have a hobby of threatening other people with their lives, but I’ve seen and learned a lot and tried a lot, so I’m really good at it. And you, too, will hold on to my brother’s life. “You tried to call me out. Is there anything I can’t do?”
“... I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
– Tuk.
Calian threw something in front of the warrior.
The warrior who saw this fell silent once again, and Calian continued speaking as if it didn’t matter.
“She said she had magic bullets. So my knights who were coming back to the villa looked around, and they found something like this hidden on the ground along the way she ran away. If you step on it, it will explode.”
Magic bullet.
There were probably a dozen or so magic bullets, but they were all already dismantled.
“You knew that if you attacked my brother, I would chase you. Even when I threw a magic bullet outside the window, you didn’t know that I would follow that woman. That woman that you paid money to do, had nothing to do with you. But when I didn’t go, you came looking for me yourself. . Of course, with that face.”
Calian took a step closer to the warrior and opened his mouth.
“Where is the margrave?”
A thin voice flowed out.
* * *
I aimed at Kalian.
It was something that happened all the time, so I didn’t really care.
But they targeted Alan. He didn’t send someone to beat Alan, but he sent Alan’s dead son. He called out Calian and targeted Lemain and Slayman. He aimed at Planz and threw a magic bullet into the room where Randel and Euria were together. If Kirie and Aela weren’t already on the lord’s side of the castle, they would have died after stepping on the magic bullet placed on the floor. That didn’t work either, so I went to see Calian myself.
With Chase’s face on.
When I found out about that, my anger subsided.
I was angry when I saw Serenti in front of me, but now that things have happened, my anger has subsided.
“There is a place near Yeongju Castle that makes and sells leather armor. There is a warehouse that tanners use in common, and it is kept in the basement.”
So I listened to him with a calm mind.
“Were you planning on putting the blame on the Margrave?”
“...... okay.”
It’s not a lie.
“You said you didn’t know the person who gave you the portrait.”
“I do not know.”
It’s not a lie.
“If you were going to call me out, you should have thrown me a memorized card. Why did you throw it in the wrong place?”
“I heard that only then will you catch up.”
“To whom?”
“A letter delivered with the portrait. It was written along with it.”
“Who sent the letter?”
“I don’t know. This is the first time I’ve received an order like that.”
It’s not a lie.
Calian’s red sword piercing the warrior’s shoulder turned black. Calian, who had closed his eyes for a moment to calm down the anger that had risen for no reason, looked at the warrior. And when something opens its mouth.
“Calian.”
A low voice came from behind.
The pounding feeling of life and fear subsided in an instant.
Calian, who looked back with a disapproving look on his face, opened his mouth.
“Didn’t I tell you not to walk around like that?”
“I didn’t.”
Pea, who had wandered over to where Calian was with Kyrie, who had returned with a woman with a cut off finger, gave a short answer.
Calian nodded, laughing at the fact that the biggest worry in my life was worrying about my younger brother, but he still answered with more than three letters.
okay. It’s my fault for not telling you to come out.
Since it was confirmed that there was no danger, Kirie must have brought him out.
“Please go back in.”
“you.”
“I have something to check.”
The smell of blood is strong.
The smell of Calian’s blood has diminished. Instead, the smell of blood from a warrior hanging on a rock with one of his shoulders pierced was overwhelming. Plantz, who knew at least as well as Calian who was hanging the warrior like that and why, opened his mouth.
“I think I already told you where the margrave is. We’ll do the rest later.”
It seems that the warrior’s answer was received through Kyrie.
Calian let out a short sigh and shook his head.
“Please stay inside.”
“I came to take your brother.”
“I know.”
Planz, who knew he would be stubborn, took out what was in his hand. Then he held it out to Calian and said.
“And I think this is more urgent.”
Calian turned his head.
Arsene brought it in haste just now.
A piece of the axis of time was in his hand.