HEO 13

Wolf lowered his gaze. The chill lingered where Silver’s fingertips had touched him. That cold, intense enough to feel like pain, spread throughout his entire body. Like being tapped by an ice fairy’s magic wand. From the tips of his hair to the soles of his feet, it eroded every corner of his body… Huh?

In the meantime, Silver had flopped down on the straw bale. Both Black Weasel and Silver seemed ready to fall asleep immediately. Wolf hurriedly reached out toward Silver.

“Hey…!”

“No bed. Just crash there and sleep.”

Silver pulled the blanket up to his chest and closed his eyes. A duet followed. Cool. Snore.

Wolf and Red Eagle hugged their blankets, unable to move a muscle. Dinner… You’re just going to sleep without feeding us? Aren’t you being a bit too heartless?

They were bodyguards whose only redeeming quality was their exceptional skill. Wolf resigned himself and spread the blanket on the straw.

“Your Highness, we need to sleep too.”

“Um, Wolf. Should I wake them and ask for food…?”

“They’re barbarians. Waking them will only make them furious at Your Highness.”

As Wolf lay down and covered himself with the blanket, Red Eagle also flopped down with a reluctant expression. He closed his eyes, but sleep eluded him. He was hungry, and he found himself inexplicably preoccupied with Silver, who lay right beside him. He had a hard day today. Was he sleeping well? What did he look like when he slept?

…….

…….

It wouldn’t hurt to peek, right?

Wolf quietly rolled onto his side. Silver’s sleeping face was right before his eyes. Up close, he was even more beautiful.

Wow, how can his skin be this perfect? His hair looks like a mess, but his skin is like a noblewoman bathing daily in a tub filled with rose petals. How can someone this beautiful be a slave to a contract killer…? Eek?

His heart nearly stopped. Silver had suddenly opened his eyes and was staring at Wolf. His Alice blue irises fixed on him. Goosebumps instantly covered Wolf’s forearm, like when a blade grazes your fingertip. He had been caught peeking. If only he’d squinted… No, now’s not the time for regrets. Damage control!

Wolf’s thoughts raced at breakneck speed. What should I do? What can I do? Keep my mouth shut and take the blame. No, that won’t do. I have to fix this. The shame is unbearable! I have to do something…!

Like a savior, the boarding house cat, Nun-gama (Close your eyes) came to mind. It was a cat named that because it slept with its eyes open. Ugh, this will have to do!

Feigning deep sleep, Wolf concentrated all his strength on his eyelids while snoring. To prevent any embarrassing incidents, he even pinched his thigh until it hurt. Rolling his eyes would be the end. Blinking would be truly, completely, the end. Sticking out his tongue like Nun-gama would make it more natural, but… he couldn’t possibly do that. He wanted to close his eyes! He knew he shouldn’t, but he wanted to! Silver, please, just get mad at me and punch me already! No need to hesitate… Oh, no!

Wolf’s left eyelid drooped. Like a door whose hinge had fallen off and crashed to the floor. Then his right eyelid followed, like a temple pillar shattering. Wolf gave up everything and waited for Silver’s fist.

Silence.

No matter how long he waited, nothing happened. Wolf slowly opened his eyes. Silver was simply expressionless. His eyes were open, but he looked strangely dreamy. He was even snoring softly. If his tongue had poked out just a bit, he’d have been indistinguishable from a sound sleeper with eyes closed. Silver… did he have a habit of sleeping with his eyes open?

Soon, Silver’s eyelids slowly lowered. The Alice blue color disappeared like a lamp going out.

Even after a long while, Silver didn’t open his eyes. Only then did Wolf exhale. His entire body was drenched in cold sweat. Not wanting to make the same mistake twice, he closed his eyes and counted sheep in his mind. One sheep, two sheep… forty-eight sheep… Anyway, if this matter ended safely, it would be over with Silver, right?

Wolf would return to Atania, while Silver would continue his blood-soaked adventures with Black Weasel. The latter didn’t seem likely to let Silver go easily. When he had said “I use him as an assistant for work,” Wolf had inwardly wondered, ‘What assistant?’ But after spending a day together, he understood perfectly.

Without Silver on today’s journey, Black Weasel would never have made it this far. Thanks to Silver keeping watch and rowing the ferry together, they could now sleep before a warm fireplace. Contract killer wasn’t a duty where one could claim to be skilled only at killing people.

His consciousness gradually faded. Had this hideout been built by Black Weasel and Silver alone? Silver must have been so exhausted… Doesn’t he want to run away… What? I’m thinking about Silver again… Why do I keep…

He felt suspicious of himself, so persistently immersed in thoughts of Silver. Even in his drowsy state, Wolf asked himself: ‘What do I want to do with Silver?’

The scene that came to mind… a field bursting with wildflowers. Wolf lay in the field with Silver while gazing up at the blue sky. They were about a foot apart.

His mood was light, his chest tingling. The scent of irises swirled on the wind. Silver looked at Wolf and smiled brightly. Wolf smiled too.

Beautiful.

Like this, forever…

Wolf’s consciousness faded.

* * *

“3! 3! 3!”

“Damn it, I lost again!”

“I won, so I’m drinking this round too.”

What… My ears hurt…

Strange voices swarmed like bees and chased away his sleep. Wolf buried his face deep into the straw bale while frowning in disgust. I hate foreign languages… What’s that clinking sound… And this savory meat smell… Meat? Meat!

Wolf’s eyes flew open. He sat upright and scanned his surroundings. Right beside him, Red Eagle sat motionless while staring at something. Where his gaze was fixed, a plate of steaming meat sat.

Food!

“Woooooah!”

Wolf instinctively flailed his arms and lunged for the meat. A hammer-like fist smacked him on the forehead.

[You little bastard! How dare you stick your snout in someone else’s snack! This is hard-earned spoils from my labor!]

Black Weasel cursed in Stoll as he waved his massive fist right in front of Wolf’s face. Red Eagle scrambled to grab Wolf’s shoulder.

“Wolf, are you alright?”

“I wish I was. What time is it?”

“No idea. My pocket watch broke. I woke up to their shouts. You slept through all their loud noise.”

“Huh?”

Wolf stared at Black Weasel and Silver. He gasped. Wh-what is this…?!

The faces of the two guards were as red as blood. If it weren’t for the overwhelming stench of alcohol pouring from their breath, he would’ve mistaken them having just returned from slaughtering a horde of pursuers. To make matters worse, Black Weasel and Silver were playing dice.

Drinking and gambling in a crisis like this? Is this acceptable?!

[6! 6! Silver, you’re broke!]

[I let you win once. I’m on a seven-win streak.]

[Don’t make me laugh!]

Wait, sir! Keep your voice down!

Now that he thought about it, the drinking and gambling weren’t the real problem. Black Weasel’s voice was so thunderous it sounded like it might echo out of the cave. Wolf’s temples were beaded with cold sweat. If you keep yelling like that, all the effort setting traps at the cave entrance will be for nothing, you crazy old man. More importantly, where did the alcohol come from?

The mystery was soon solved. Could it be… When he looked again, he saw wooden barrels stacked layer upon layer against one wall. To his disbelief, every single one was a liquor barrel. How could they stockpile so much alcohol without even bringing drinking water? He had been suspicious ever since they could not even remember Red Eagle’s name… These idiots!

In this situation, there was only one optimistic conclusion possible. Those guards were top-tier assassins, renowned throughout Stoll underworld for being able to easily take the lives of fifty men even while completely drunk. That must be why they were fearlessly shouting and enjoying their dice game.

Right?

[2! 2! Look, I won again!]

[Damn it!]

Black Weasel kept losing round after round at the dice game. Silver gulped down his drink.

[5! 5! I won!]

[Why am I the only one losing!]

Wolf closed his eyes then opened them. He strained his eyes repeatedly to look, but nothing changed. Black Weasel couldn’t even roll the dice properly, his hands were shaking. In that state, he wouldn’t be able to swing an axe, let alone walk a few steps before collapsing. Could he really trust those drunken fools and stay here like this?