HEO 17

“It was three months ago that I took the duty of escorting the prince. A month later, I arrived in Morgan. That’s precisely when I heard about the ‘Blood Unity Assembly.’ Stoll is so vast that it takes at least a month for rumors to spread across the entire region.”

“So the latest information you received was actually about a month old?”

Black Weasel nodded at Red Eagle’s question.

“Exactly. Anyway, there were still two months left before the prince arrived in Morgan. The final payment was too hefty to just take the advance and walk away. I decided to wait and see how things developed, so I prepared this hideout.”

Black Weasel spread both hands wide and waved them.

“Now, I’ll tell you the latest. The prince’s elder brother is busy eliminating tribal chiefs right now. He’s killing those who stand in his way through war, and sparing those he can use through peace treaties. Three chiefs have already been killed. White Deer is still standing. But that’s all from a month ago.”

“In other words… there’s a possibility that within this past month, the situation could have flipped and Mother won.”

“Asking about the possibility? Even the prince thinks his mother’s chances of winning are low.”

Black Weasel retorted sarcastically. Red Eagle’s face paled.

“One question. If White Deer loses, will I kill the prince or spare him?”

“That…”

Red Eagle, whose voice trailed off, lowered his gaze.

“To be honest… I don’t know.”

“What! It’s not a difficult question, and you can’t answer it?”

Black Weasel bared his teeth and laughed.

“If White Deer wins, I bring the prince back and collect the rest of the payment. If she loses, I release the prince. End of story! Prince, you said you wanted to return to Atania, right? Pray every night that your half-brother’s blade severs your mother’s neck. Rest assured, no matter who wins or loses, the prince will not die. Uncle isn’t that scary of a person.”

Wolf stared at Black Weasel. When he grinned like a bear discovering a mountain of honey pots and said, ‘Uncle isn’t that scary,’… he really was scary.

Only two types of people know the face of a contract killer. Partners. And witnesses. If White Deer won, Red Eagle had monetary value as the client’s son. If White Deer lost, Red Eagle would merely become a witness who knew his face. Then, along with Red Eagle, Wolf would be killed too.

He absolutely must bring Silver to their side.

* * *

“But she’s still my mother. I can’t offer that kind of prayer. I must persuade her properly after facing her alive.”

Red Eagle’s voice was calm. Though he likely understood Black Weasel’s true intentions, just like Wolf, he wasn’t agitated. Wolf felt relieved. It was rare fortune to have a comrade in this crisis who was skilled in human relations, a true courtier.

[You talk a good game.]

Silver muttered in Stoll before plunging into the hot spring, submerging himself completely. Bubbles fizzed up to the surface.

“Right then, enough of this gloomy talk. Prince, what do you think of Stoll? You’ve only been here a few days, so you probably haven’t formed much of an opinion yet?”

Red Eagle smiled at Black Weasel’s question.

“Yes, sir. As you said, I haven’t been here long, so I haven’t sorted my thoughts yet. However, the natural scenery was beautiful.”

“Hmph, boring. What about the attendant?”

“Me? Um…”

Wolf trailed off, then snapped his fingers with an “Ah!”

“The ox that looked like a black bear! The rabbits were fascinating too. They were completely different from Atania rabbits.”

“What are Atania rabbits like?”

Silver poked his head out of the water and asked. Wolf gestured to explain.

“Their fur is this short. Stoll has lots of cold, cloudy days, so I guess that’s why the rabbit fur is long and curly. Do cats have long fur here too?”

“Of course.”

“Wow, really! That’s amazing!”

Wolf got excited.

“Cats in Atania mostly have short fur. Especially in Levenon, where winters are short, you only see long-haired cats in the palace. Stoll animals are fascinating. Human mutants were fascinating too, but…”

“Spruce and Birch?”

Black Weasel abruptly interrupted Wolf and asked back. Wolf was the one left bewildered.

“What trees is this? I’ve seen birch in storybooks.”

“Human variants, I mean. Males are Spruce, females are Birch. In Stoll, they’re called Nart and Reklivt.”

“Ah… So that’s what it was?”

Wolf found himself intrigued all over again.

“So that’s what they call them in Stoll. Giving tree names to human mutants… It’s mysterious.  Is there a special reason?”

“Nothing much. Both are common trees in Stoll, and they’re monoecious. Species where male and female flowers bloom together on the same tree.”

Black Weasel waved his index and middle fingers.

“They say mutants were originally called pumpkin and cucumber. Pumpkins and cucumbers usually bloom with separate male and female flowers, but sometimes they produce hermaphroditic flowers that seem to be both male and female.”

“Ah. I see.”

Logically, it made perfect sense, but…

“Then, at some point, they changed to Spruce and Birch. The reason… I’m not entirely sure myself, but wouldn’t it be unpleasant for the parents if their offspring were called pumpkin or cucumber?”

“Right. Pumpkin and cucumber are really not it.”

Wolf nodded vigorously. Black Weasel flicked a droplet clinging to his shoulder with his fingertip.

“But you’re not completely clueless about Stoll. You know about Birch and Spruce too.”

“Human mutants are famous even in Atania. All I know about Stoll comes from reading one dictionary-style book. Anyway, it’s my homeland, so I was curious.”

It was titled <The Great Dictionary of Stoll>, but in truth, it went beyond mere entries, dotting every page with negative annotations from the Atanian perspective. Among them, the one that made Wolf seethe anew was ‘Stolls are stupid.’ That prejudice, encountered even during his childhood growing up with Red Eagle in the palace, was more tiresome than the oatmeal he ate every morning.

“How absurd. Did that book also cover methods for identifying mutant traits?”

“No?”

Wolf’s eyes widened.

“It only said they identify them immediately after birth…. Do you know the specific method, sir?”

“I’m a Stoll, of course I know. Mutants have slightly lower body temperatures than normal infants. It’s a subtle difference, and those who detect it are called trait identifiers. Trait identifiers are usually sharp-fingered old priest elders.”

“By body temperature? But…”

“Yes, babies with low body temperatures for various reasons aren’t uncommon. Since mutants were said to be born extremely rarely from ancient times, most babies identified as mutants were likely just ordinary babies. But since those priests held positions of authority, the parents couldn’t protest. There were also quite a few cases where someone deliberately identified the child of a rival they held a grudge against as a mutant to exact revenge.”

The explanation from the local differed from the book Wolf had read while fighting back yawns. It was far more detailed and concrete. It stung the back of his head like discovering his expensive leather gloves, stolen months ago, lying carelessly on a desk while visiting a friend’s house. He wished he’d never heard this story.

“How could they… It’s unjust.”

Red Eagle interjected. His face was red as he seethed with anger.

“It’s like handing the power of life and death over countless babies to untrustworthy old men. Killing them simply for being mutants is unjust to begin with, but…”

“Prince. This is Stoll.”

Black Weasel interrupted the prince. Both Red Eagle and Wolf flinched.

“Killing mutants is a law established 145 years ago by the ‘Great’ Thorny Poison Spider King, with the consent of all Stoll’s tribal chiefs. Unjust? They hang even gods for speaking out. Shut your mouth if you don’t have the guts to fight the entire Stoll tribe.”

Silver, who had been listening silently until then, flicked water at Black Weasel with his fingertip.

[Those fools don’t know about Ash¹.]

[Well, the Ash mutants were already treated as a legend 150 years ago.]

Black Weasel pulled one corner of his mouth up in a smile.

[When it comes to Stoll, those book-learned young masters wouldn’t know. Even the natives of Stoll hardly know about Ash.]

1. Ash tree not ashes from fire ↩︎