HEO 56

It was a stupid question, as expected.

Silver knew it too. Black Weasel was bad for him. He was reckless, impulsive, and the epitome of a lowlife in every way. Maybe that was why he’d stayed by his side all this time.

Because he and that bastard were no different. They understood each other too well.

Silver tore his gaze away from Wolf. He tossed the nearly burnt-out hallucinogenic herb into the brazier. The flames flickered in the cold winter wind.

Silence fell. It was a long while before a hesitant voice said.

[Um…… Silver, um…… do you not hate being with an old guy like him?]

It sounded strangely tremulous. Silver chuckled softly.

[Want me to be honest? It’s been fun a lot of the time. Especially when drinking or gambling.]

Wolf said nothing more. A stifling silence ensued, like the air in a long-abandoned attic. Silver glanced at him from the corner of his eye. Wolf stared into the fire without saying anything. His face was expressionless. Like a statue, devoid of any trace of emotion, filled only with emptiness. Is he like that because he was horrified by my answer?

Well, probably. How could a young master raised as a prince’s milk brother understand a lowly street dog? His answer, that with a few drinks and a little gambling money, he could happily mingle even with his mother’s enemy, must have been as revolting as rotten meat.

[Wolf, what about your father? Is he a good man?]

Silver asked impulsively. Only then did Wolf meet his gaze.

[Um… I never even saw my father’s face.]

[Bullshit.]

[It’s true. My mother divorced him and came to Atania. She must’ve hated him so much she never even taught me his name.]

This time, it didn’t sound like a lie either. Silver blinked.

[Really? I thought you grew up with a great dad…]

He’d believed it wholeheartedly, often comparing Wolf’s imaginary father to Black Weasel, envying him. It was a secret only Silver knew.

Wolf’s eyes widened.

[Me? Why?]

[Because you’re such a pain in the ass.]

[Thanks for the compliment. Hmm…]

Wolf trailed off as he gazed up at the night sky. A small smile appeared on his face. The flickering flames from the brazier dyed his pupils a deep crimson, like blood.

[Come to think of it, I did have a father. Severals.]

[Your mother must have been very active.]

[Well… not exactly. My fathers were on the streets. The neighborhood big brother who became a legend in the alleyways. The bookstore owner who turned a blind eye when I secretly pulled out anatomy books. The antique shop grandpa who nagged me whenever he saw me. They were all good fathers.]

Listening to this felt strange. Silver scrunched up his nose.

[You’re the prince’s foster brother, right? Didn’t you grow up together in the palace?]

[That was only until I was nine. After my mother passed away, I left the palace and lived in a boarding house. The prince sent me monthly living expenses.]

Silver was stunned. No father, and he lost his mother when he was only three years older than me…? He grew up harder than I did?

The living expenses sent by the prince would likely have been swallowed whole by the boarding house owner, his situation must have been poor. Silver couldn’t even imagine an adult man not touching the monthly allowance sent to a parentless child. The image of ragged, snotty-nosed Wolf licking his empty soup bowl came to mind. To grow up so bright and cheerful in that environment… Well, beggars do tend to be unusually cheerful.

[You must have had a tough time too.]

[In my own way. I sweated bullets hiding the fact I was a Stoll.]

[But for someone who grew up rough, you’re in pretty good shape?]

[Well, I eat a lot. Believe it or not, I’m a baker’s apprentice.]

[Ah, so that’s why…]

In Silver’s imagination, the snotty-nosed Wolf now held a big loaf of bread instead of a soup bowl. It was a relief he hadn’t starved, but why did a baker’s apprentice develop fighting skills? Who taught him combat techniques?

Should he ask? But if the answer was something like, ‘I honed them on my own to pass the time’… that answer felt likely, and his stomach twisted in knots at the thought.

[Silver.]

Wolf looked at Silver in the eyes. The latter froze. A sudden, piercing sensation surged through him. It was some kind of physiological sensation, tingling, prickling, chilling, that circled his entire body and then vanished abruptly. Though the time his body was overtaken was very brief, his breathing became uncontrollable.

Silver clutched the hem of his robe. What was that just now? He’d only met Wolf’s gaze, so why… Could this be what they call being “overwhelmed by an intense stare”? Did I just get intimidated by Wolf’s gaze?

The two boys looked at each other in silence for a moment. The winter wind carried a song. Its melody cut through their connection.

[Silver. So…]

Wolf spoke first, his voice cracked.

[That ‘good father’ type you mentioned, someone who’ll make you happy… there are more of them in the world than you think. You can find one too. It doesn’t have to be someone like that old man.]

Silver’s ears turned bright red. He’d been hit right where it hurt. Wolf had seen through his true desire for a ‘good father’. You clueless bastard! Couldn’t you just pretend you didn’t notice?

Wolf took Silver’s hand.

[I won’t say Atania is perfect. But I swear it’s less bad than Stoll. Let’s go Silver. Let’s go somewhere less dangerous for you. Somewhere less cold, somewhere you’ll get beaten less.]

The pulse in his wrist beat faster again. Silver looked away from Wolf.

Shit, I’m shaking. Why are you saying things that tickle?

The flickering firelight cast the two boys’ swaying shadows. Silver scraped his toes back and forth across the dirt floor. Wolf didn’t speak again. He was waiting for his answer. The atmosphere felt like he should respond.

But the words kept tangling in Silver’s throat. ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ fought each other, while ‘Stop it, this is too much!’ joined the fray. It’s too embarrassing to say! More than that, why should I entrust my future to Wolf?

Dammit, I don’t know!

Silver yanked his hand free from Wolf’s grasp.

[I’ll find my own path. I won’t waste the rest of my life, like you advised.]

[Silver.]

[Don’t bother.]

He didn’t want to see Wolf’s disappointed expression. Just as he looked down at the floor and quickly stood up, his belt pouch suddenly bulged and moved. Silver flinched, then realized something. Right, that!

The moment he opened the pouch, the mantis fairy popped its head out. Silver nearly screamed. He’d completely forgotten about it.

〔Where am I? It’s dark!〕

The mantis fairy fluttered up and circled around Silver. Silver forgot everything else as he stared at the fairy, mesmerized. Cute, so cute…!

Wolf jumped in fright.

[Silver, what do we do? We’re in big trouble!]

[Big trouble…? What…?]

[That fairy! The fairy is the big trouble!]

Wolf grabbed his head with both hands and rambled incoherently.

[What should we do? Should we stomp it to death? No, that’s too cruel! But if anyone sees it…!]

[Then, we should show it off…! Say we found this amazing bug by chance!]

Silver clenched both fists and shouted. Wolf’s mouth gaped.

[Silver! You’ll get burned at the stake!]

[What? There are cats with six toes and dogs born without a leg. What’s so special about a big mantis?]

[It is a big deal. It talks! The fact that a mantis can fly this high is suspicious!]

“Hmph, coward. Instead of worrying about my life, worry about your own…Eek??!]

[W-what, what, what is it, Silver?]

[You idiot! You moron!]

Silver smacked his forehead repeatedly with his palm. How could he have forgotten this! Wolf’s life! They’d even performed an exorcism ritual together just this morning!

[What’s wrong, Silver? Did you see an assassin? Or a group of beggars?]

Wolf hurriedly looked around. Just like Silver, he’d completely forgotten Black Weasel’s scheme while suffering under the skeleton evil spirit. That dark plot to kidnap Wolf, cut off his limbs, and torture him alongside the murderous old hag.