SWY 78

Back then, Lestel hadn’t revealed the reason he’d run away, so he couldn’t say anything. But now that Sharhan knew everything, there was no reason to hide it anymore. So Lestel spoke plainly.

“A ruin?”

“I was lured there by a rumor that someone like you had been spotted. I got into a fight with some thugs and ended up getting pushed into a pit. Back then, I’d stormed out and was wandering the Empire alone, without anyone by my side. It’s laughable, but once I was out on my own, I realized I was nothing more than a hothouse flower. No wonder I got tricked by bastards like that.”

“…”

“Anyway, I fell into a pit deeper than I was tall, with nothing to climb out on. It was surrounded by wasteland, so no matter how much I shouted, no one came. That was… a bleak time.”

His tone was calm, but Sharhan could easily imagine how grim and hopeless it must’ve been. His face darkened. He’d thought Lestel was safe and well at the Academy, but it turned out he’d left and put himself through hell. Sharhan’s chest ached.

‘All because of me.’

He clenched his teeth, then relaxed, and asked in a trembling voice.

“So why’d you run off without a plan…? How did you get out?”

“I was probably trapped for three days. I yelled and tried to climb out any way I could, and while I was fumbling around, I noticed something odd about the ground. It felt like there was space underneath. So I dug like crazy with my sword, and found a coffin. It had the sun symbol of the Sun God carved into it, so it must’ve been a Sun God temple. When I opened it, there were a lot of artifacts inside.”

Back during the ancient empire, there had been many temples dedicated to various gods. But after the war with the monsters, most were destroyed, and belief in gods faded. Now, almost no citizens of the empire worshipped them.

“So then?”

“I found the artifacts, but I still couldn’t get out. I was despairing when Simon happened to pass by and rescued me. We took the artifacts and founded Black Pearl together. I made him the head of the branch in Verden, but honestly, you could say we’re co-leaders. I didn’t insist on being the sole head just because I found the artifacts. With money, I could hire people, got in touch with Yuel, and that’s how I tracked you down.”

“Of course Simon’s special to you.”

“Yeah, you could say that. Which is why I wanted to ask, how about bringing Simon with us to Serman?”

“Fine by me.”

There was no reason to say no if Lestel wanted to bring someone important to him. Lestel smiled, satisfied with Sharhan’s easy answer.

“Thanks.”

“No need to thank me. He seemed capable. It’s not a bad thing to have a skilled person join our group.”

“But honey, are you crying?”

“W-who’s crying?”

“Your eyes look red.”

“It’s from yawning!”

Sharhan, who had gotten misty-eyed thinking about what Lestel went through, rubbed at his eyes in denial.

“Looks like you were crying.”

“I said no, you lunatic! And if you had found Iris in Serman, you would have known I would come back, and you would have waited quietly. Why did you run off like that? You’ve lived your whole life like a pampered noble, and you didn’t even hesitate.”

“I couldn’t just sit and wait.”

“Why not?!”

“I felt like… if I didn’t find you right away, I might lose you forever.”

“I told you I wasn’t running away. I planned to come back once I’d made enough money. You think I’d just leave Iris behind?”

“Fine, let’s say you weren’t running. But if I hadn’t come for you, would you have looked for me when you returned?”

“…I don’t know.”

Lestel stroked Sharhan’s face as he mumbled.

“If you’d learned the truth, you might have run for good. I had to find you before that happened.”

“What are you–”

Knock knock.

“Lord Sharhan, Lord Lestel, are you awake?”

The voice beyond the door was Derry’s. When Sharhan opened the door, he saw Derry looking noticeably better than the day before.

“We’re up.”

“Did you sleep well?”

“Yeah. You look better too. How’s Ras?”

Seeing Derry’s brighter complexion, Sharhan figured Ras must’ve survived.

“The doctor checked him last night. He’ll need a lot of rest, but he’s going to live.”

Just as he expected. Sharhan let out a breath of relief.

“That’s good. Where is he now?”

“He took his medicine and went back to sleep. Lord Yuel, Lady Elieas, and Lord Abel are waiting in the dining hall. They said they have a lot to discuss over breakfast.”

“Alright. Let’s go.”

Sharhan had a lot of questions too, and he was starving. He followed Derry’s lead alongside Lestel.

“We had dinner in the dining hall last night. Since you two were asleep, I ate alone.”

Maybe he was embarrassed to admit it, but when asked how he knew the way, Derry shyly said he’d already had dinner. As he opened the door to the dining room, Yuel, dressed in flamboyant clothes bright enough to hurt the eyes, waved cheerfully. Abel, who looked noticeably healthier after food and rest, gave a nod in greeting.

“Handsome merchant, did you sleep well? And did the lady too?”

Sharhan instinctively reached for a sword at his hip, then clicked his tongue when he remembered he wasn’t armed. Yuel saw it and chuckled, realizing he would’ve been attacked if Sharhan had had his sword.

“I like feisty ladies.”

“Cut it out, Yuel.”

The one to stop him was Elieas. She sat up straight and greeted them as she stood.

“Did you sleep well? Please, take a seat. Breakfast is ready.”

On the table were dried meat soup, hard rye bread, roasted potatoes, sugared fruit, and even wine. Given the state of the world, it was a lavish spread.

“It’s wine that bastard Delos had been hoarding. Let’s enjoy it for once.”

Yuel raised his glass. The others did the same and took sips. The rare taste of wine tingled as it went down their throats. Sharhan drank a couple mouthfuls before setting his glass down.

Getting drunk in a world like this was foolish. Everyone seemed to agree, and after just wetting their throats, they all began eating in earnest.

Sharhan, who hadn’t eaten all day yesterday and had burned through his stamina, devoured the food. He didn’t even refuse when Lestel passed him potatoes or bread.

Once the hunger had eased a bit, Yuel opened the conversation.

“Merchant and lady–ah, sorry, force of habit. Anyway, I know I apologized yesterday, but let me do it properly. You suffered because of the drug my master made.”

“Is your master alright?”

“The old man’s fine. Weak, sure, but he won’t die. He’s fast asleep now.”

“Why did he even make a paralyzing drug like that?”

Lestel’s voice was cold. Remembering what happened, he felt like kicking Yuel in place of his master to vent his anger.

“Why are you looking at me like that? You look like you’re about to hit me.”

Yuel, ever perceptive, flinched as if ready to bolt.

“You’re right. Honestly, I feel like half-killing you to make things fair. You like fairness, don’t you? One moment I black out, next thing I know, I’m in a prison. Before I’m even fully conscious, I’m dragged into an arena swarming with corpses. And worst of all…”

Sharhan wasn’t there. He couldn’t even go looking. His body hadn’t recovered from the drug yet. All he could do was think, and that had been unbearable. If he hadn’t heard Sharhan’s voice in the arena, he might’ve lost his mind.

Lestel glared at Yuel with killing intent. Terrified, Yuel shrank back and forced a smile.

“Sorry, sorry. I won’t even charge you for saving your life. And as for why my master was forced to make that drug, it was to capture survivors, centered around your Verden branch leader.”

“I heard Simon settled in my estate and began gathering survivors.”

“With food stores and growing numbers, it must’ve looked like a prime target to the Delos faction. But they weren’t the only ones, other groups were eyeing it too. The Blue Deer from west of the wall tried to take it but got wiped out. They attacked the City Hall next and were annihilated. After that, Delos realized the central area wouldn’t go down easy, so they kidnapped my master. The idiot had been bragging that he was developing a delayed-paralysis drug. It was nearly complete. With that, you could subdue people easily.”

“So they forced him to finish it. And my group ended up ingesting it by accident and got brought here.”

“See? Smart as always.”

“…”

Yuel, who had burst out laughing, went quiet under Lestel’s icy glare and took a sip of wine before speaking again.

“Anyway, thanks to you coming back, I could rescue my master. I’m grateful.”

“What do you mean, thanks to me?”

“There’s no way I could’ve gone up against Delos with just my men. I had to save my master as his disciple, but I wasn’t about to send all my people to their deaths. So I decided to team up with the central faction or the City Hall and attack Delos. But to convince them, I needed leverage. Then, conveniently, you showed up in Verden, and got captured. I was just about to send word to propose rescuing you and my master together, and then…”

Snapping his fingers for dramatic effect, Yuel continued.

“The City Hall contacted me first. Said they wanted to absorb Central and asked me to act as a go-between. I’ve got some ties there, so I brought up your name and suggested we work together to rescue you. They agreed. So we attacked Delos, rescued you and the old man.”

Lestel turned to look at Elieas, remembering she’d said there was something she wanted to talk about yesterday.

“Did you join forces with Yuel to attack this place because you wanted me to convince Simon?”