Chapter 7: Chapter 7 – Pointed Mind

The Tolun Duchy fed directly into the Road of Promise, putting an end to that enormous line at its capital, Nervall. Contrary to Poles, Nervall was very spacious, with various plazas and grand avenues spreading through the city. A sea of people filled the streets, creating a torrent that ran from one direction to the other.

When we reached the sign saying “End of the Road”, I felt some resemblance of peace. Another day spent in this carriage wouldn’t have been good for me. Looking at the busy city, I wondered.

“Are we going right through here, or do we spend the night? It’s near evening already.”

Agham hadn’t considered that option before, and it led him to come up with some new ideas.

“Hm. I was originally planning on going straight home to Edel, but a drink or two couldn’t hurt, right?”

I just wanted to double-check things with him, but that backfired. And so, I was left to reluctantly accept his idea.

“…Yeah.”

This fueled Agham’s weird sort of enthusiasm again.

“Well, I know just the right place. You’ll be surprised.”

“Okay…?”

With zero expectations, I let Agham take me away from the broad midst and instead into a smaller alleyway. There was this weird sense of déjà vu I got from it. The building in question was rather inconspicuous, blending in with the rest of gray clay. No sign in front, nothing. The very definition of: What are we doing here, exactly?

But Agham was confident.

“Alright. Let’s go.”

Going through the door made me fearful of intruding upon some random family who might be living there. That was the kind of vibe I got from it.

However, taking even one step through the entrance was enough to wash away my doubts.

Looking up at the far-reaching ceiling, I saw it was a multi-level establishment, featuring a place to eat and drink at the bottom, something of a casino up above, and even more rooms above that. So many floors…From below, it was hard to tell just how big it all was. A place for just about anything, all-inclusive. And judging by the lack of customers, a private club at that.

The staff was human, but not. They had either silver or platinum blonde hair, giving off a very foreign vibe. Also, some of the staff’s ears were a bit longer than a human’s, with a pointy shape to them. The women were slim, but…mostly bigger in other places. Nevertheless, they were easy on the eyes, both men and women. Illeans, I think they were called.

“Welcome. How may I be able to assist you, dear Sirs?”

Greeting us was one of the waitresses. She, in particular, was a bit taller and…bigger than the others. That straight platinum blonde hair going down all the way to her back seemed to envelop her entire garb, and she wore some purple lipstick, matching the color of her droopy eyes.

Seeing the face next to me, she became very casual.

“Oh! Isn’t that Ain? I haven’t seen you in months! What happened in Casla? I’ve been worried. You were working there, right? Come on, tell me!”

That ounce of dignity and elegance I felt from her before got washed away immediately. She seemed like the annoying, nagging type. Agham was trying to get her off his case, too.

“Yeah, about that…Bea, could you arrange for some seats first? I’d feel bad for the other customers.”

Thankfully, with that, she calmed down a little.

“Oh, oh right. Please excuse me. Your favorite is still unoccupied. Let’s move there first.”

Apparently, Agham had his own favorite seat. And he was ecstatic hearing it was still free, as if he didn’t expect it.

“Perfect.”

Agham’s so-called favorite was a table far from the main hub and more in an isolated area, featuring a nice view from the window down onto the bustling streets of the city. Placed around the table were various decorations and plants from a kind of culture I had never seen before, but for some reason, they didn’t seem weird to me.

Different wooden statues of women and beasts, colorful crests, dwarf trees with differently shaped leaves growing from their branches…It wasn’t something you’d see just anywhere.

The seats were very comfortable, but I couldn’t make out what material they were made of. It should’ve been mostly wood, but it wasn’t quite like that. There was something else to it. Wanting to know more, I asked Agham.

“So, is this an Illean establishment? Looks quite nice.”

“Yep, it sure is. Thought you wouldn’t know, though. You don’t seem like someone who would travel a lot. I’m pretty sure I haven’t dropped the word “Illean” at any point, either.”

He sure didn’t. But he wasn’t my only source of information.

“Well, I just read it in the guide. From the descriptions in there, I figured that’s what it would have to be.”

Agham was a little confused.

“That book you carry with you?”

“Yes, exactly. There are all sorts of useful things written in there. I make sure to read from it whenever I can.”

He went into deep thought. It made me question whether I said anything out of the ordinary.

“Is that so…? I don’t remember it being that kind of story, but hey, all the better if it’s in there.”

The purple lady from before came back with a bottle of water and some glasses. As she poured some water in for us, she started with a polite question, but then followed it up with…

“May I have your order? Oh, what am I saying? Agham, you’re going to take the usual, right? And for your friend, what shall it be?”

 

Agham became stern with her.

“Bea, you’re going to someday bring this place to ruin, you know? You need to be a bit more reserved. Lenn will take the same as me.”

Like you’re one to talk, is what I thought. This place didn’t fit in with what I knew about Agham at all. Sure, he had his way around things, but to this extent? Laughable. He must really like dirty pants if he decided to wear them day in, day out. Though again, he stopped doing that some time ago.

Waitress Bea glanced over at me, before finishing her notes.

“Lenn, was it? Understood. Please wait for a little while, I’ll be right back.”

It didn’t kick in until a few moments later, but a part of me seriously got offended. Agham chose a meal for me before I got the chance to even say anything. That didn’t sit right with me, even if this was a private club. If there was a menu, I would’ve liked looking at it. But in this situation, lashing out wouldn’t do me any good. Unfortunately, I wasn’t in the kind of situation where I could comfortably do that. Instead, I asked Agham this.

“So, what are we getting?”

And received a pretty undetailed reply.

“The best food you can buy in here. Really.”

But maybe, maybe, I would get additional info out of him if I asked a second time. So, I dragged it out, hoping to get a better answer this time.

“That doesn’t tell me a lot…”

I only got a grin in response, as if to tell me: “Don’t worry, you’re going to love it.”

I hated that kind of thing. Even if it was Agham and his usual shtick, there would be only so many more times I can tolerate it. I want to know what I’m eating, period. I don’t want to know whether I’ll like it or not, that doesn’t tell me shit.

Honestly, I felt a bit on edge. Probably, that was it. I had some pent-up feelings, and I was a little tired. Again. Factor in what happened earlier in Poles, and…Man, I got to just eat something and go to bed. But that would wait until later. For a little while, I decided to distract myself.

“I’ve already made the mistake of not asking as soon as I could before, so, Agham: What’s this place called?”

“I’m not sure what you’re talking about, but it’s called Illtoss. Or rather, Illean Toss. But everyone calls it Illtoss.”

I wondered why Agham would only take me to places without any nameplates. Then again, the places he took me to were all superb. Still…

“Illean Toss? If you had told me right away, I wouldn’t have had to even guess anything. You know, about Illeans and stuff.”

“Well…yeah.”

“…”

“…”

I gave him a cold stare. Agham sure picked up on that, though.

“Alright, I’ll tone down the surprises a bit. I intended to up the kind of, like, “wow” factor for you. Really. Don’t worry, no more surprises for today.”

“…Thanks.”

The Illean waitress came back with some big plates before going back and forth to bring us some drinks. Among those was the whiskey Agham liked, the Weylan Whiskey.

“If there’s anything else you need, please call for me right away. Oh, and my shift ends in an hour, so if you can spare the time…Please?”

She put on puppy eyes, making me look away to the side. This was too much for me. I couldn’t deal with that kind of behavior at all. Luckily, Agham was used to it, and handled the situation as usual.

“Yeah, we have some time. Right, Lenn?”

As usual, huh…I kind of wanted to leave this place once we were done eating, but I wasn’t allowed to.

“…Right.”

What was I to do, really? Nothing. Let someone else dictate it all. Numb it down. That was how I got this far in the first place. The last thing I wanted to do was complain to Agham, no matter what my stupid brain was telling me.

I opened my dish to find some sort of T-Bone. It didn’t surprise me that Agham liked it, but more so that this establishment served it. A lump of meat didn’t carry that same air of royalty and luxury I assumed the place wanted to create.

On the other hand, it wasn’t a foreign dish, so I was able to enjoy it without any problems. And to add to that, eating a common dish in an exotic environment had its own allure.

As Agham munched down on his food, he asked.

“What’s up? You’re not going to eat?”

My eyes wandered around the room, fixating on anything but the meal in front of me, but Agham’s comment brought me back. As I was about to dig in myself, a word came to mind. I didn’t know the meaning, it just felt right to say.

“Meias.”

For a moment, Agham held still. Him eating was always so loud, it was hard not to notice. However, he quickly caught his bearings.  

“Hm? Ah, right. Meias.”

Agham clapped his hands a few times while keeping his eyes closed, before slowly moving his hands back to the knife and fork he just held. Then, the munching ensued once more. I engaged in some form of table manners I didn’t even know.

The T-Bone tasted better than I thought, though I wasn’t sure what to expect in the first place. After all, this was a high-class establishment. When we were done, Agham pulled up his bottle of Weylan’s and started pouring some in both of our glasses. I am not much of a drinker, but if push came to shove, I would simply let Agham drink my share, too.  

The whiskey had a way with him, and with it, he started to see me from different angles, too.

“Hey, Lenn. Actually, what’s up with that whole outfit of yours? You have that robe on, but that jacket underneath…never seen any of those before, to be honest. Is that custom-made?”

I looked down at my clothes, realizing that I never paid any attention to them. For some reason, no one, including myself, thought it to be a good idea to go and, you know, buy new clothes? Miraculously, they didn’t smell, even after being worn for the better part of a month, which was probably the reason no one questioned it, myself included.

“Oh, uh…Now that you mention it.”

My whole outfit screamed unimportant, with the cheap brown robe from the inn and some regular pants below a brown shirt. Brown, brown, brown. But there was one thing indeed. The jacket I wore was of a light green, with the pattern of a white butterfly on the right shoulder. This was what Agham referred to.

“I had that on since the day we first talked, but there isn’t much I can say about it.”

“It looks kind of Illean, like from the western islands. Well, you even know of some appropriate manners here. Guess what, maybe you’re half Illean?”

An absurd question, but was it, really?

“If I’m not even really aware of what I wear, maybe I wouldn’t notice my ears being a bit pointy, either.”

Of course, both of us were joking. At least, that’s what I wanted to believe. Yet, with nothing but Agham’s opinion to rely on, I wanted to try and confirm it.

“…I’d like to think of myself as fully human, but I’ll entertain the thought for now. However, do I look Illean to you in any way?”

His answer was short and insightful.

“Nah. Not at all.”

“Thought so.”

Bea came back when Agham had almost finished the whole bottle. Meanwhile, I was still working on my very first glass. The whiskey was good, excellent, it just wasn’t my thing. But I still planned on at least finishing that one glass. While she cleared the table, Bea remarked.

“Oh, wow. Agham Melian, as quick as always! Should I bring another?”

Agham, a little tipsy looking, shook his hands in front of her.

“Ah, no, no, it’s fine. We have a rough trip ahead. But if you could wrap one up for me, that’d be great.”

“Understood. Only a few little minutes to go, anyway. Ah, I’ve got something to talk to you about, so be ready, okay?”

She scratched her forehead a little. Whatever it was, it wasn’t trivial. Agham picked up on that, too.

“Yeah, yeah. We’ll be waiting.”

“Alright, see you later. Enjoy yourselves, you two.”

Bea left hastily, probably to get to some other customers she had neglected until now. From seeing her today, I at least got that kind of impression from her. Pondering over what she wanted, I tried asking Agham.

“Any idea what she was talking about? Something you know?”

“Well, kind of. If it’s from Bea, so you never really know, but it’s probably got to do with her job. It wouldn’t be the first time.”

For the first time ever, I saw Agham put out a sigh, making me more curious.

“Hm. Well, being a waitress comes with all sorts of problems. Even with only two weeks of experience, I can tell. And this place is just on another scale. It’s, like, high business.”

“You bet. Going through everything takes up a whole day. Though, Bea might just do it for us, if we were to stay any longer. But you don’t want that, right? I’m aware.”

Having a companion that can be thoughtful is something I appreciate a lot. My mood improved by a lot, knowing we were on the same basis.

“No comment. But yeah, this place is definitely interesting. I’ll mark it down.”

While she was gone, Agham told me a bit more about that waitress. Beamel Lorajor, key staff member of Illean Toss. Serves in all areas, from toilet cleaner to roulette dealer. Usually takes up the role of waitress. Pretty popular. Loves her gossip.

He said he never saw her without make-up before, so it was up to debate what her hair and eyes actually looked like. Purple eyes were seen on Illeans before, but apparently, they were quite rare. Purple…it reminded of something back in that house, something I didn’t want to remember.

All in all, he made Bea sound so mysterious. According to Agham, being careful around her was for the best. But I already thought: No, avoiding her altogether was much better. It was a good thing that we wouldn’t be spending the night.

She also had problems with overzealous fans before, so she used Agham to shoo a few ones away when she herself couldn’t, for policy’s sake. Wait…Oh, no.

It didn’t take long for Bea to return. She had trouble breathing, having picked up the pace to get here. My suspicions began to take form.

“Ah, I’m back. Hah…Now then, Ain.”

Agham prepared himself for what was to come. He already knew what it was about.

“What’s up?”

“If it doesn’t bother you too much, would you help me with, you know…that?”

Agham let out another big sigh.

“Did they come back? Or is it new ones?”

She started scratching her forehead again.

“They’re new ones. I’m sorry to bother you at this time, but…you know…”

Swinging his arms around a little, Agham said.

“No, it’s fine. This will only take a second.”

A brawl was about to happen in front of my eyes. That much, I could predict. And if Agham got injured in any form, it would hinder our progress a lot. I had to avoid that at all costs.

“Wait, Agham. What will? I’m not sure that I understand.”

“Oh, right. Lenn, we’ve got to implore some rather unsavory customers to kindly leave the premises, if you catch my point.”

Saying it out loud was too difficult, so I tried luring him into it. But it fell onto flat ears.

“…And how are we going to do that?”

“Exactly what I said. Ask them nicely. Usually works.”

“What?”

“Let me demonstrate.”

Agham stood up from his chair and calmly walked out of the room. Realizing what was about to happen, I stood up as well and quickly followed him, with Bea right behind me. Whatever was about to go down, it wasn’t good.

Out in the main lobby, there were three people spread out over one large table. One of them had a robe on, covering their face. It looked like one of the robes these assailants from Casla were wearing, but it was so generic, I couldn’t be sure. The other two were drunk, slouching over the coach. Their rough outfits made me look like good-for-nothing people, kind of like bandits.

I would have hesitated going anywhere near those people, but Agham walked straight up to them, and said this, surprisingly in Angal.

“Excuse me, sirs. Are you having a good time?”

One of the drunk guys replied to him, seemingly understanding what he said, but what came out of his mouth was so unrecognizable, I didn’t even know what language he was speaking. Despite that, he said a name I knew, at least I thought he did, and that was enough to know where the conversation was leading.

“W-W-… n’ lou? ‘Es Bea?”

From then on, it shifted into territory that was unknown to me. After all, whatever language they were speaking, I didn’t know. But given the context, I could figure what they were saying, to a degree. So, I’ll allow myself to improvise on translation. You can spare me the lip-syncing. It went probably went like this:

“Who the hell are you?”

“The name’s Agham Melian. I am a well-known patron of this humble establishment. It has come to my wholehearted attention that you were acting rather unknightly on multiple occasions towards one of the personnel, particularly to one such individual I have a connection to. I advise you to make haste and decamp, lest you shall squander the fair maiden’s labor.”

Thinking up words that Agham would never say was quite entertaining.

“Huh? What’d you say?”

“I’m trying to tell you to go and fuck off. You know, politely?”

“What’d you say, asshole!?”

It ended in a friendly tussle. Tomato sauce spilled on the floor next to me. Agham could really hold himself well in…cuddling. Actually, he was so good at it that his partner was pacified for a few seconds, rolling over on the floor after being caught in Agham’s arm.  Luckily, the man pulled himself up again. But then, he unfortunately tumbled over Agham’s arm again. Sometimes, being drunk can be a curse.

The second guy was only watching at first, but then joined in on the fun. But even with their combined efforts, Agham was just way more experienced in that game. Whenever he was about to be engaged by the two, he went out of his way to let them play with each other instead. The whole thing only lasted for about a minute. The third guy with the robe silently left in that time.

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When all was said and done, the leftover men reluctantly left the premises. Nice. Can I go now?

“Thanks, Ain! Reliable as always!”

After doing some exercise, Agham was breathing heavier than usual.

“*Huff* It’s nothing. Alright, Lenn, we’re done here. We might as well go on our own w- “

But the waitress had other plans, holding Agham’s arm.

“Oh, no, no, no, no. You can’t just leave! Listen, here.”

Bea handed us some weird colored tickets with a “1” smacked on top. It looked sketchy as hell. They looked like they were hand-drawn by her herself.

“You’ve earned it. All-inclusive for one night! Effective now, and only now!”

“N-now?”

God-damn it. I really didn’t want this to happen. Even Agham was caught off-guard. He really wanted to leave, too.

“Yeah, Bea, that’s a bit sudden. I don’t think we can-”

But she just wouldn’t let go.

“I insist! I didn’t even get to talk to you yet! Did you already forget? Come on!”

What a needy person…And didn’t they already have their talk, anyway? She was really going to wring anything she could out of Agham, wasn’t she…

But alas, we spent the night. Bea showed us around the whole building which took ages, as Agham already mentioned, before we would be led to our own separate rooms. This was the first time in forever I got a room for myself.

But it was only for one night, anyway, and I was too tired to really get a good look at my surroundings. As soon as I was left alone, I just went to sleep, only to be woken up the next morning by Agham, hunching over the bed. He was a bit too close for comfort. When looking at his face, he had deep shadows under his eyes.

“You good, sleepyhead? I’m jealous, really. Bea just dumped so many questions on me last night that I didn’t get a wink of rest. Be careful, the same might happen to you in the future.”

“…God, I better watch out for that.”

I took Agham’s stretched out hand and got pulled out of bed.

“Are you ready? It’s the last stretch.”

“Yeah. Let’s go.”

Since it was “all-inclusive”, as Bea so enthusiastically said, we did get some nice breakfast before our leave. And after that, a bidding farewell from the woman herself.  

“Be sure to visit again, Ain! And Lenn, too!”

We loaded up the carriage with all sorts of bottles Agham managed to get, including a full case of Weylan’s. Was that too much? Not to Agham, apparently. Then, we were finally on our way.

The only destination left in front of us was our goal, the Inmar Duchy. Navigating the streets of Nervall was no problem at all, since Agham knew the place in and out. Before I knew it, we were outside the city, entering the countryside. There was still this weird beeping sound from before to be heard while inside the carriage, but I already convinced myself it must’ve been my own ears.

Over the course of a few moments, I had already affixed my eyes to the gorgeous view of fields of golden wheat unfolding before us. Lush green forests, a bit of a downhill slope, then uphill again… Contrary to the Road of Promise, it was a nice change of pace. A faint, soothing breeze rested on my face as we followed along the stone pavement, facing towards the west.

Then suddenly, I felt a loud oomph coming from right next to me. It sounded like something had been thrown against the carriage. A look outside revealed that it was a bag full of some…brown mass. The stain quickly expanded on the white sheets of the wagon, evoking a horrible smell.

“Urgh. What the-Wait, is that what I think it is?”

However, the next thing to be thrown at me wasn’t dirt or shit.

Right beside me, a knife pierced through the wooden layer, sticking out halfway. If I hadn’t moved my head a little to escape the putrid smell of crap, I would have been a goner. Realizing what was happening, I cried out to the front.

“Huh?! Oh, shit! Attack! We’re being attacked, man!”

I looked to the back again. There were two men on the roadside, one with another brown bag in hand. They were the ones from Illtoss that Agham shooed away. As for the third guy, I couldn’t spot him. He was hiding somewhere, waiting to throw that extra knife I could definitely do without.

Agham quickly picked up the pace, letting the horses run wild. With incredible speed, we managed to escape the area. Neither of the men made any effort to chase us, so we escaped the danger pretty quickly.

When Agham was sure we had shaken them off, he decided to let us and the horses take some rest.

“Bunch of troublesome customers, eh?”

“Yeah, real-What do you mean? I just died there!”

Agham put on a puzzled face.

“But you’re here, though?”

I took a moment to catch my breath. I was breathing heavily ever since that knife got stuck in the back of the carriage. My body was still full of adrenaline, and my back fully soaked with cold sweat. This sort of situation wasn’t something I could just get used to all of a sudden.

Paranoia settled in me, and I needed to know if we were really safe.

“…Do you think we can just take on the rest of the route as according to plan?”

But Agham was being very calm about it, as usual.

“It shouldn’t be too much of an issue. They were just frustrated, those two. But you said, what, someone threw that knife at you, and it just landed itself perfectly next to you?”

“Please explain to me how a knife magically ends up in the back of a carriage if it WASN’T thrown there perfectly. I’m telling you, I died there. That’s not an exaggeration. If the shit wasn’t there-”

“The shit?”

“Ah- “

We checked the carriage, finding the huge, brown, smelling stain on the side. Confirming that it was indeed shit, we took a step back again.

“Well, true. That must’ve been quite the shock, too. Anyway, we’ve got to get that knife out of the wagon and clean up that shit. It’s best to split the work. Here, a towel. You know what to do.”

As if I didn’t expect that to happen.

“Me? Really? Of course, of course…”

While I reluctantly cleaned up the mass that had befallen the poor carriage, Agham worked on getting that knife out of its new socket. It laid very deep in there, impossible to just pull out.

“By the way. Isn’t this almost around the Inmar Duchy, anyway?”

“You’re pretty sharp. I made sure to put on some distance between us and those three, after all. It’s only about an hour from here. You could already count this area here as part of my neighborhood.”

With a loud noise, Agham miraculously pulled out the knife, throwing it into the carriage, alongside the other luggage. Meanwhile, I was about half done with my work, trying to hold my breath all the way. It was like all sorts of shit mixed into a horrifying mess.

“I see. *Huff* Okay. I’m glad to hear that.”

The beeping sound from before only grew louder when I went up close to clean off the dirt. It came from the carriage itself, and once again, it was really annoying. This time, I wanted to hear Agham’s opinion on it, too.

“Hey, Agham, do you also hear this beeping? Frankly, it’s been getting on my nerves for quite some time.”

But Agham didn’t know what I was talking about.

“A beeping sound? What do you mean? And from where?”

“The carriage. Not from the inside, but more like the outside. Just come and listen.”

Agham placed his ear on the carriage, carefully listening to the sounds around.

Beep, beep.

“You’re right. That’s strange. Not sure that I’ve ever heard that kind of sound before. Let me just check everything before we continue.”

“Yeah. I’ll leave it to you.”

While doing a thorough check-up, Agham discovered something strange.

“Hey, Lenn. Come look at this.”

“Huh?”

Agham was on the other side of the carriage. When I came up to him, he showed me something truly bizarre. Something that didn’t belong.

“What is that?”

“Yeah, I’m asking that myself, too.”

Agham was holding a tiny, blue fragment of…something. It was also the origin of the beeping sounds. If anything, it truly was out of the ordinary, made with materials I could not figure out. It didn’t look like it would even belong in this world. And yet, it was right here, in Agham’s hand.  Confused, he asked me.

“Any idea when this could’ve ended up in the wagon? You were at the back, after all.”

I racked my brain.

“The carriage could’ve been tampered with at any given moment during our trip. We let it rest during the night in Vermas, for example. Anyone could’ve stuck this on, right? Hm…wait, actually, no.”

I was met by an understandably bewildered look. After all, it was something only I could have noticed.

“I heard the beeping sounds since after leaving Casla. It wasn’t there when we were in Casla, but I started hearing the beeping when I woke up on our way to Vermas.”

“Oh, okay. So, then…”

“There’s only one possibility I can think of. Though, the fact that this beeping thing has this particular color only strengthens my guess.”

A blue fragment. It didn’t take long to think about the possibilities. Agham figured it out instantly, too.

“The brigade?”

“The brigade.”

I remembered Commander Martin’s face, and Agham added onto the confusion.

“And what would the brigade want to achieve with this? I have no idea.”

“I don’t know, but if it’s the brigade, that’s better than knowing nothing. Imagine if it was these black robe guys from Casla, instead. I would be fearing for my life constantly.”

“True, but isn’t that what you’re doing al- “

“Anyway. Let’s go. The carriage’s cleaned, the mystery solved…We can worry about that knife later. Wait, where…right. You already pulled it out.”

“Piece of cake.”

I mumbled to myself.

“You must be a gorilla or something…”

But it seemed I said something weird. Alas, I didn’t know what a gorilla even was.

“A gor-what? What are you talking about?”

Yeah, what…? I felt like I was close to remembering something, but I couldn’t quite get a hold of it. It was so familiar, yet…There was nothing I could do. The door wouldn’t open. It remained shut.

“Oh. Uh. Actually, I don’t know. It just felt right to say in that context. Don’t ask me why.”

“Okay…? Well, let’s just get a move on, like you said. It’s probably best for us to arrive as soon as we can. I’ve got some things to do once we’re there, too. I haven’t been home in ages.”

“Yeah, of course. Let’s go.”

With even more questions weighing on my mind, we went off to get to Agham’s place. The Inmar Duchy was a bit more rigid than the Tolun Duchy, featuring some rather steep hills as well. Also, from this distance, that one mountain was clearly visible.

“Oh…”

Mt. Duke. Huge, humongous. The name really fits it. It towers over the center of the whole continent, stretching across dozens, no, hundreds of miles. It was grand, layered, mysterious, captivating. For a moment, it made me forget my predicament.

The tip was surrounded by big clouds, covering the summit. With that kind of size, you could probably take an hour-long stroll on the top with no problems. Though, it did seem high up enough to die of asphyxiation.

“Agham, have you ever been to Mt. Duke?”

“Oh, yeah, tons of times. If you’re asking about the top, then of course, no. There’s no official records of anyone ever successfully climbing all the way to the top and down.”

“I see. That’s one fat mountain.”

“You bet. Getting to it is already too much of a hassle for many. The different mountain ranges circling around the thing are like walls to a castle. Even from here, it would take a whole week, if not more, to get to put a single finger on the duke itself.”

I looked at the mountain again, surrounded by an array of mountain ranges, as if ensnared by rings.

“That long? Damn. That’s already the length of a whole vacation.”

If it really took that long, then Agham had been pretty intent on going there for his trips. A whole week, if not more…That’s an adventure all on its own.

We arrived at a big house, almost like a villa. Its copper-like paint reminded me of Casla, but its gothic exterior made a very different impression. It definitely was more than I expected out of Agham. You could fit two families in there, easily.

“This is yours?”

“Not really, but yes.”

So, which is it…? I thought. But it was probably complicated.

The place had a sizeable yard with a detached barn. We pulled the supplies out of the carriage before storing it away. After that, Agham knocked on the entrance. However, no one answered.

“That’s weird…Lenn, what day is it today?”

“Well, I don’t even know what year it is…I don’t think you ever told me.”

“Right. I thought you knew that, at least. It’s 512. Also, it should be Moonday today. At least, I think so. Yeah, I just remembered.”

“Moonday…?”

That seemed familiar, but not quite.

“Oh. I guess we have to start from there. Anyway, come in. I have a key with me, so we don’t have to wait for someone.”

The inside of the house was rather dusty, it hadn’t been cleaned in a while. Also, the furniture was all over the place. Traces of people living here were there, but certainly not in a sanitary fashion. Well, I didn’t expect Agham to be the type that takes good care of things like that anyway. But apparently, he lived together with other people, too. With that in mind, I couldn’t paint a sympathetic picture of those other guys. Houses have to be kept clean.

“Let me guess. I’m going to clean this place up? Like, right now?”

Agham didn’t even think of it before, but he gratefully accepted, as I dug my own grave.

“Wait, really? That’d be a great help. Thanks. I’m glad to have you on board, Lenn!”

Yeah, that was my bad. I deserved that. I so deserved that one. I had to remind myself not to put any ideas into Agham’s head. But cleaning this place was something I would have done at some point, anyway.

“Who are you living with, again?”

“Ozekar should be here. He has his day off today.”

“Ozekar…?”

“He’s a Forn. In other words, big. And scary. But no need to be intimidated by him. He’s a good guy.”

“Okay... Could it be he’s the one responsible for the furniture lying around like this?”

“Hm. Maybe.”

The image I had of Forn was that of big, blueish guys. I hope I can get along with him. Or, you know, at least tolerate him. That was my thinking.

While I cleaned, Agham put away the heavier furniture, easing my work. And when Agham was done with his part, bringing the luggage from the carriage inside, he also came back with a blue letter in hand.

“Someone from the brigade just came and shoved this letter into my hands.”

We didn’t even spend an hour at this house, and they already knew where we were.

“That fast…? Boy, they’re meticulous. What’s it read?”

“I haven’t opened it yet. Let’s do it together. The living room is already done, right?”

It was the first room I cleaned.

“Yeah. Should be fine.”

The living room itself was gigantic, but only had modest space to offer. All the heavy furniture was being put in here for the time, after all. A bit sweaty, we took a seat on an old dinner table. Agham then unsealed the letter before reading it out loud.

<Dear Sir Melian.

First, we’d like to apologize for using less than ideal tactics to keep track of your whereabouts. Keeping the safety of Casla and my own mission in mind, I, as leading commander of the 2^nd division, had deemed it a necessary measure to gain further intel on your person at all costs. If possible, I would have liked to talk to you at length while you were still in the city, but unfortunately, that chance escaped us.

I find it, to speak frankly, astonishing. I did not think y- >

Agham stopped for a second.

“Okay, okay. Yep, just the usual niceties. That letter’s pretty long, so I’ll just skip the unnecessary parts.”

“…Sure.”

<We therefore request your assistance in the matter of locating remnants of the Black Mark to be found within the confines of the Inmar Duchy, specifically Edel and its surroundings. A temporary brigade station has been built in Edel specifically for this purpose. Should you gain intel pertaining to the Black Mark, we urge you to contact us immediately.

We thank you for your cooperation and look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,

Piles Martin, commander of the 2^nd division of the Blue Saint Brigade >

 

That name echoed in my mind.

“…The Black Mark…?”

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