HEO 14

[Ugh, losing all the time is no fun! Let’s stop.]

Black Weasel tossed aside the dice and slowly turned this way. Almost simultaneously, Red Eagle and Wolf slumped their shoulders. Black Weasel lifted a cup to his mouth while staring at them before suddenly winking one eye. It was creepy.

[What about those women? Pretty! My type!]

[This bastard’s dead drunk.]

[Did you bring them, Silver? Hey, ladies! Pretty as wildflowers!]

[Where’d you leave your eyes? Do they look like women to you?]

[They’re women! They’re wearing skirts!]

[Those aren’t skirts, they’re blankets, you bastard.]

The blond barbarians pointed at them with red faces while shouting. Wolf and Red Eagle exchanged awkward glances. What? It sounds like they’re talking about us… but they can’t be praising us as pretty, right?

Black Weasel, who had been chatting with Silver for a while, slammed his hand down on the floor.

[You there, the woman on the left! Sing! Sing!]

“Bingapsu wants you to sing for him.”

Silver burped and translated. Wolf gaped in shock.

“What nonsense…? This gentleman is a prince of Stoll, the prospective son-in-law of the Levenon royal family! How dare you demand to someone destined to be the husband of Levenon’s next king to serve you drinks!”

His voice rose in fury. Red Eagle urgently waved a hand toward Wolf. The latter shook his head resolutely.

“Your Highness, don’t stop me. They are hired by Lady White Deer. You have the right to refuse to serve them.”

“Wolf, face reality. Our lives are in their hands. Especially yours… Did you forget my warning?”

Wolf hesitated briefly at Red Eagle’s plea.

“Then we’ll use the next best option. I’ll sing in the prince’s place. Don’t worry. That old man won’t remember who sang once he sobers up.”

“Who does this bastard think he’s fooling!”

Black Weasel suddenly shouted in Atanian.

“I remember everything even after I sober up! Left is Red Eagle! Right is Wolf! And right now, I’m not wearing any underwear!”

Eek?!

Wolf flinched when Black Weasel suddenly and precisely called out their names and the unwanted bonus information. Was that guy pretending to be dumb? True to his years as a seasoned assassin, he was several moves ahead. Thinking lightly of him just because he drank a little in a crisis was a bad judgment.

“Woman on the left! You’re more my type! Sing now!”

“…You saw that? He’s not in his right mind. It’s fine if I sing.”

Just as Wolf steeled himself to stand, Silver raised his head.

“I’m perfectly sane! Prince, stand up! Let’s hear the song of Levenon’s next king’s husband!”

This can’t be!

[Woman! Sing!]

“Prince! Sing!”

The contract killer and his assistant urged him in unison. Caught between a rock and a hard place, Red Eagle finally rose.

“She dances like an elegant butterfly…”

[Ha ha ha! This wine tastes great!]

“Well done! Keep it up!”

Black Weasel and Silver clapped along to the song. Wolf stared at the drinking scene. Something was wrong.

Those two were colder than anyone when they arrived here. How could they turn into different people in just a few hours, not even a day?

Silver glanced at Wolf and raised his cup.

“You, servant! Come here. Have a drink.”

“No, I’m fine.”

With pursuers likely to burst in at any moment, at least one person had to stay sober. Silver’s face turned even redder.

“What’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing’s wrong… I mean, I’m fine…”

“Dammit! I don’t even want to hear that nonsense!”

Now Silver’s Atanian speech was slurring too.

“Drink it now, you punk!”

[Drink it, woman!]

Even Black Weasel joined in, bellowing orders. Wolf had no choice but to take the cup. It was as wide as a soup bowl. If all this alcohol went into his empty stomach…

“Down it in one go. All at once!”

Silver pounded the floor. Wolf offered a desperate prayer to the gods for his survival, then closed his eyes and gulped the liquor down. By the time he’d barely emptied it to the bottom, the world spun before his eyes.

“Snacks! We’re out of snacks! Silver! Snacks!”

“Attendant, Bingapsu’s drinking snacks. Those barrels over there, take one from the isolated spot. Fetch it from there.”

Silver said this while gulping down his drink. It was gibberish, yet he strangely understood the meaning. Wolf, feeling like he was wandering through a dream, shuffled clumsily like a cub.

A little way from the towering pile of barrels stood a single wooden one. The moment he lifted the lid to peek inside.

Thump!

Thump!

Thump!

His heart pounded like a drum. Wolf froze, lid still raised. He was unable to move. Through his shaking vision, the snack blurred into focus. That…… somehow…… looks like something he saw a lot near the drainage ditch of the local market……

Stop. Stop! Don’t think about it too deeply!

Wolf abruptly halted his thoughts. He pulled the focus completely out of his eyes, took three or four snacks out of the wooden barrel, and muttered to himself as he walked back. This is a rabbit. It must be a rabbit…

“The best! Dried round mice are the ultimate snack!”

Black Weasel crunched away at the ‘mouse’-like creature. Wolf stared down at the floor with eyes as empty as a gambler who’d lost his entire fortune. No way… It was too round for a mouse… It must be a hedgehog with its quills removed…

“Princess, you too! Chug it! Chug it!”

“Woman! You drink too! Haha! Good girl!”

Next was Red Eagle’s turn. In front of the prince gulping down alcohol, the guards cheered with raised fists.

“Ugh, I’m dissy…”

Red Eagle slurred incoherently and collapsed. Wolf also gasped for breath as he lay sprawled. Black Weasel and Silver seemed multiplied into dozens.

His consciousness gradually faded. As if a thin veil had settled over his face, his vision blurred. Within the hazy sight, Silver suddenly jumped to his feet.

[Why did you kill my mom?!]

Silver clenched both fists and screamed. Black Weasel poured liquor into his cup and glanced up at Silver.

[This bastard is at it again.]

[Why did you kill her?!]

[I killed her because they paid me. Why? How many times do I have to say it?]

[Who hired you to do it?!]

[I don’t know. I said I don’t know, damn it!]

[You know the middleman! Tell me the middleman who gave you the job!]

[I can’t do that. There’s professional ethics.]

Stop talking. Stop…

Wolf’s eyes closed. A sudden thought occurred to him just before consciousness faded. The prince and I… will we make it back to Atania alive?

* * *

Wolf.

Wolf. Wake up.

From somewhere far away, someone kept calling. Wolf. Wolf!

“Wolf!”

Red Eagle shook Wolf. The latter opened his bleary eyes and sat up.

“Wolf! You’re alive!”

Red Eagle hugged Wolf tightly, he then started crying. Wolf looked around with half-open eyes. Black Weasel and Silver were nowhere to be seen. And then…

Memories slowly returned. The drunken stupor caused by those dim-witted guards. The strong liquor forced down his empty stomach. The next moment, Wolf’s eyes flew open. Red Eagle’s face and clothes were covered in blood.

“Your Highness! Are you all right? Did the pursuers…!”

“No, Wolf. This is from butchering meat.”

“Huh?”

“A baby goat and a rabbit. I bled them and salted the meat. Since you wouldn’t wake up no matter how much I tried, I stepped in to help Silver instead. Turns out it wasn’t as gross as I thought, it was fun. Guess I’ve finally found my calling.”

Wolf was speechless. Red Eagle patted his chest.

“I was worried sick you’d die from acute alcohol poisoning. I am so glad you’re conscious. Here.”

Red Eagle held out a tray laden with roasted meat.

“Silver and I prepared this rabbit meat. Eat up.”

“Excuse me. Did you eat, Your Highness? What about those madmen?”

Wolf shoved meat into his mouth as he asked. Red Eagle nodded.

“Besides this, we only had jerky, barley porridge, and dried fruit, but it was edible. Those two are practicing deeper inside the cave. Anyway, Wolf, you…”

Red Eagle closed his mouth and glanced toward the cave entrance. His next words were barely audible.