HEO 55

Silver rowed while gazing up at the night sky. The moon crawled over the mountain ridge. It had been around sunset when he was dragged away by the skeleton, meaning roughly the time it takes to burn a single candle had passed.

That nightmare, the very thought of which drove him mad, felt like a thousand years had passed, but in reality, it could fit in a single candle. At that moment, he understood how an ant watching a human’s shoe swoop down on it felt.

Silence fell. Not only the prince and his servant, who were staring absentmindedly at the night sky, but even Black Weasel rowing the oars was adrift. Had their sensory compasses been destroyed by being thrown from hell into a wine cellar? Was this real? Or a hallucination conjured by the skeleton? Was this too a ‘task’? Should they laugh? Should they cry? What should they say?

Suddenly, Black Weasel broke the silence.

“I didn’t get compensation.”

That single sentence felt like a bucket of cold water dumped over them. Silver was flabbergasted.

“Did you believe that skeleton bastard? Surviving is enough, what more do you want?”

“I thought it would at least hand over a gold nugget.”

Wolf stared at him again. Silver rowed roughly.

[Bingapsu is complaining about not getting his compensation. That lunatic!]

[Ah… The compensation. I’d forgotten about that.]

Wolf narrowed his eyes.

[But Silver, what did it say before you passed out? Do you remember?]

[Something about ‘I kept my promise’? That damn skeleton bastard only opened the door when we tried to push it open.]

[Right. It mocked people until the very end.]

Wolf shut his mouth and lowered his head. Silence fell once more. Only the sound of the ferry cutting through the water continued. Black Weasel, Wolf, Red Eagle, and Silver all looked in different directions.

The whole scene felt like a masquerade. No one was willing to speak of ‘that incident’ anymore, or rather, they wanted to believe it had never happened. One thing was certain. That incident had to be forgotten.

Whether they could easily forget it was doubtful. In fact, it felt as if the clown might appear in midair at any moment. The wind blowing against their skin was real, but the strange feeling of floating through a crude oil painting that hadn’t yet dried remained. Silver gripped the oar tightly.

Stop whining. You survived among all those unlucky souls who got caught. You’re enjoying a stroke of luck few ever get in a lifetime.

As the moon passed its zenith, lights flickered in the distance. It was the river harbor. When the pier loomed close, Black Weasel suddenly spoke.

[Just think of it as a war. About 200 died in that skeleton’s lair? Casualties like that are common when tribes fight. We just happened to survive.]

No one spoke. Black Weasel added nothing more and simply rowed on.

This river harbor was quite large. Dozens of ships were moored along the wharf. The riffraffs huddled on the waterfront easily exceeded a hundred. Each cleverly disguised as a disabled person, they sprawled on the ground, drinking alcohol and sniffing hallucinogenic herbs while chattering. There was even a woman wearing an eye patch. Her face was different.

“Oh? Ooh!”

“Customers! Customers!”

The riffraff who had spotted prey, rushed over in a flurry. Silver seized the opportunity to snatch a hallucinogenic herb. They barely managed to break through the airtight encirclement of beggars, pickpockets, and thugs and make it into an inn.  The first-floor tavern was as quiet as a frost-covered forest. Only a few drunkards sleeping with their faces buried in tables were scattered around.

Black Weasel booked two rooms and headed upstairs. The four men said nothing. They split into pairs and entered their respective rooms.

The moment the door closed, a loud slap echoed, followed by searing pain in his cheek. Silver couldn’t move, his head turned to the side. His mind went blank.

What? That bastard Bingapsu… slapped me?

“Why did you hit me?!”

The shout was met by another hand flying toward his cheek. Silver nearly fell over.

“Why?”

Black Weasel withdrew his hand as he spoke. His gray eyes, glaring at Silver, were sharp as animal fangs.

“I hit you because you disobeyed me, you slave. I told you to stick close to me!”

“But that…”

“Ah, you thought the servant had some plan? Hmph, doesn’t that sound ridiculous even to you? We were played like fools by that skeleton bastard from start to finish.”

Silver couldn’t find a retort. Black Weasel pulled a whip from his belt.

“Didn’t I warn you? I can tolerate trickery, but I won’t forgive interfering with my work. You’ve interfered twice now. You’ll take exactly seven lashes. Strip and turn around.”

It didn’t sound like a joke. Silver was stunned.

“Hey. I never interfered with your work. I just disobeyed your orders.”

“This bastard is scheming again!”

Black Weasel slammed the whip down on the floor. Wood splinters flew everywhere. Less than a day after being revived, he was facing death again. Silver stepped back while waving his hands.

“Calm down, you bastard! I’m not scheming. I’m just saying that’s one thing and this is another.”

“Shut your mouth and turn your back!”

The whip swung down. Silver twisted his body at the last second to dodge it. Black Weasel swung the whip again.

“Tell me! There must be a reason you kept running to him in that critical situation. Did you smell something like grilled salmon? Or maybe a rich cheese smell? What did you smell?”

“Am I a dog?”

Silver rammed his head into Black Weasel. He kicked the door and ran from the room. It felt like barbed wire was tightening around his heart.

When he came to his senses, he was in front of the inn. The laughter of the drunken crowd and the incoherent curses clung to him like pine resin stuck to boots. The sound carried on the wind was unnecessarily clear.

Someone approached from behind.

[Silver.]

It was Wolf. Silver didn’t turn around.

[We could hear you arguing all the way in our room.]

[…Mind your own business. Go back.]

Silver pulled his hood down to his nose and walked away. Black Weasel’s palm print must still be on his cheek. He didn’t want Wolf to see it.

[Silver. Where are you going in this cold?]

Annoying Wolf trailed after him. After walking a while, the stables appeared in the darkness. Several braziers scattered light, melting the cold before the sleeping horses. Silver pulled out a hallucinogenic herb and lit it over the brazier. He took a drag and plopped down on the floor. He wanted to fall into a deep sleep here and be found as a frozen corpse.

Why did I run around like that just to survive?

It’s the same everywhere. I’m worthless no matter where I am.

[Silver. What’s that?]

Wolf sat down beside Silver. The latter silently inhaled the hallucinogenic herb.

[Hey, Silver.]

Wolf hesitated before speaking.

[I might have misheard, but just in case. Did that man… hit you?]

Silver didn’t respond.

[Did he hit you?]

The anger in Wolf’s voice was evident. Silver exhaled the hallucinogenic herb smoke and chuckled.

[So what? I guess in Atania, masters don’t beat their slaves?]

[Yes.]

[Bullshit.]

[No, it’s true. Corporal punishment of slaves is banned in Atania. It’s been that way for ages.]

It didn’t sound like a lie. The hallucinogenic herb rustled between Silver’s fingertips, scattering a clump of gray ash.

[Then… how do you make them work? Slaves need a beating to get them to work, right?]

[They pay them. They set the condition that after working for a certain period, they’ll be freed as commoners. They’re only slaves in name; in reality, they’re servants who work for just enough to cover their food.]

[So that’s how it works…]

[You didn’t know? Anyway, Silver. Like I said before, we absolutely have to go to Atania together.]

Wolf took Silver’s hand. It was warm.

[Our lives now… they’re lives we got by some miracle. We can’t waste them carelessly. You thought that too, right?]

Silver couldn’t speak. The pulse in his wrist quickened like a torrent.

You thought that too, right?

I didn’t think that.

[When we were on the ferry… I doubted if this was real, so I secretly pinched my arm several times. But… I didn’t feel happy. For a while now, maybe even until the day I die, I think I’ll be haunted by nightmares. I’ll start fearing the night.]

This too was a thought he hadn’t managed to have. Fuck, I won’t be able to sleep without alcohol from now on.

Wolf squeezed Silver’s hand.

[Silver, don’t struggle. I don’t know everything about that man. But I can assure you of this: you shouldn’t be with him.]

[Why?]

The thoughtless question rendered Wolf silent. Silver’s mood became gloomy under his gaze. It wasn’t intentional, but Wolf was stamping his mark on him again. How thoughtless Silver was. How recklessly he’d lived. How stupid that single question had been.

[Because…]

Wolf lowered his eyes and spoke listlessly. His hand slipped from Silver’s.

[He’s harmful to you. First of all, he’s your mother’s enemy.]