Chapter 5: Chapter 5 – Hands on Back

Agham was right next to me lying on the floor. He must’ve fallen from the coach at some point, too. The smell of freshly baked bread was hanging in the air. I could hear faint sounds coming from the kitchen, probably made by Maya.

With a big yawn, I stood up. My back hurt, but not too much. Trying not to step on Agham while he was still sleeping, I made my way down the hallway.

To no surprise, Maya was there, in the kitchen, preparing breakfast. With a still sleepy voice, I greeted her.

“Good morning…”

“Ah. Good morning, Lenn! Slept well, didn’t you?”

Maya was already full of energy first thing in the morning. I really had to start learning from her. One of these days, I would have her tell me her secret, that, hopefully, was more than just psyching yourself up.

“Yeah, I really needed it. Did something happen while I was down?”

She showed me a huge grin. It looked like her lips were stretched so far, they were about to go well above and beyond her face.

“Well, last night I got to talk at length with Turvi. She told me all sorts of stories from her time in the brigade. It was so exciting! I feel like I have just made a new friend! And a girl at that, do you hear me? My first!”

Maya apparently didn’t have that many friends, but she cared more about it than I initially assumed. Well, good for her.

It really was good, since it meant that even if we left the city, Maya would still be protected by the brigade. That, or at least by her new friend. The forming of such a relationship was just what I needed.

The realization, combined with that smile of hers, made me giggle for a second, though not in an innocent-looking way. I made sure to cover my mouth with one hand, to hide my rather unpleasant visage from Maya. Everything came together just fine. In order not to seem too creepy, I tried regaining my composure, and getting on with the conversation.

“Well, that’s great. Now we can also go to the restaurant without worry. After all, Turvi has our backs. I just hope Miss Tallier isn’t too angry…”

This raised an eyebrow on Maya’s face.

“Duh, of course she is. But that’s why we’re going to work all the harder today! Right?”

“…Right.”

Honestly, I was sure I couldn’t find any way to work harder than I already did. So, it would come down to overtime, huh…At least, that was what I came up with. And I really didn’t want to deal with it.

Turvi soon joined us in the kitchen, having already put on her uniform and looking just like the first time I saw her. She didn’t seem to have slept badly, either. And when we went to the living room to prepare a table to eat at, Agham was eventually forced to wake up, too.

The breakfast was delicious, perfectly utilizing everything that was still left in the storage. Obviously, that meant that we soon would have to get new food, too, on top of the fact we all had a full day of work in front of us. 

Maya and I were going to be busy as is, and Agham still had “loose ends to tie up”, as he would say. He made it sound scarier than it probably was. Besides everyone else, the only ones left were Maya’s mom and Turvi. Asking Maya’s mom to go fetch something from outside the house was a tall order, so Turvi was the only choice for this job.

Naturally, she wasn’t thrilled about this idea, given her mission. But Maya was able to convince her. Though, calling it that sounds inappropriate. The conversation went kind of like this:

“Pretty please, Turvi. You’re the only one we can ask.”

“No, sorry. This really isn’t something I can just do. It’s not part of my mission, and I can’t just leave you guys alone like that.”

“But if you don’t do it, my mom’s probably going to die.”

Even the oh-so serious Turvi was getting startled for a second.

“W-what?”

“She needs to regularly take in some meals and medicine. If we ignore her for the better part of a day, I don’t think- “

Maya didn’t have to say any more than that for Turvi to change her tune.

“Okay, okay. I understand. This does fall under my duties, after all. Got it. Make me a list, then.”

I wouldn’t go as far as to say she guilt-tripped her, but that certainly went into a moral gray zone. Still, it worked out, and Maya was right, after all. Her mom was definitely in that kind of condition.

I didn’t doubt that Maya’s intentions were pure, but there were a ton of other things she could’ve said to make Turvi go shopping for us. She just had to go right for the throat.  

Nevertheless, Turvi agreed, and so, Maya and I went to go see Miss Tallier. While we both arrived at my usual time of 8:00 a.m., Maya herself usually didn’t come until noon. Coming in early might’ve been part of her apology, but unfortunately, I couldn’t be in the same position.  

As for me, well…I didn’t really prepare anything myself. But I was prepared for anything Miss Tallier might have in store for me, instead.

At the front door, we were swiftly stopped. Miss Tallier stood right behind the entrance, blocking the path. Crossed arms, sharp glare…Yep, that was her. And she was pissed, too. Really, really pissed.

“You have some nerve…”

Her glare got so sharp, I felt like I was getting stabbed just from her looking at me. My instincts told me to run, if anything. It took a few seconds of building up my determination before I could try saying something in response. But as soon as my words were going to come out, Maya stole the opening.

“I’m really sorry, Sofia. I am to blame for this. For all the time that the restaurant has lost…I will make sure to make up for it.”

Maya didn’t even include me in there. She forgot, didn’t she? And now I was left with bread crumbs, left to fend for myself with what little vocabulary I could still use. Naturally, what came out of my mouth wasn’t very pleasing to the ears.

“…Y-yeah. Please. Allow me to work my share, too. And really, Maya isn’t to blame for this at all. It’s me and Agham. We were the ones who roped her in with this.”

Miss Tallier didn’t seem impressed either way.

“Hmpf.”

She made a brisk turn towards the kitchen, only to disappear into it. Maya and I both came to the conclusion that this was her way of letting us in, and so, we did, preparing for work. I didn’t think we would be let off this easily, but surely, something else would come for us later on.

First off was cleaning duty, the main thing I was responsible for, really. With another pair of hands at my side, this process didn’t take very long. Somewhere in my heart, it still pained me to think that I would clean an entire room, just for it to be dirtied a few hours later. I really liked cleaning, but it always sparked those kinds of conflicting feelings inside of me.  

Obviously, within just one or two days of zero business, not much would change in an establishment like this. The only thing I could notice was miniscule amounts of dust that piled up on some of the furniture, something that was so normal I almost disregarded it.

However, this was Miss Tallier’s restaurant. It wouldn’t be itself if there was even a tiny speck of dust to be found. With that in mind, I quickly moved to dispose of any dust I could find. It took me several hours to confirm everything was clean enough for Miss Tallier’s standards, and it was a role that I really wanted to do alone.

Meanwhile, Maya was in the kitchen, seemingly talking to the chef herself.

With a tiny break in between before the first customers would arrive, I still had a question I wanted to ask Miss Tallier. It would be hard to depart from this city without getting to know that. That was something to be sure of.

She wouldn’t have her break around this time, so I had to go into the kitchen while she was still in the middle of work. A daunting task, if one thought about what I was caught in already. But it felt wrong to go and try another day. That, and the fact there was the possibility of not having another day to spend time together like this in the first place.

It was possible that Agham would move the day of the arrangement up or down on the calendar, depending on the situation.

The kitchen room was hot and steamy. Miss Tallier was cooking up a new experiment. What she worked on honestly didn’t look that much better from what I’d seen the first time around, but it kind of had a good smell around it. So, it was an improvement, after all. She also seemed to have nearly finished that dish, making this the perfect time to ask.  

“Excuse me, chef.”

“…What?”

“I don’t know if you were aware, but within the next few days, I’ll go and leave the city with the Agham.”

Miss Tallier didn’t turn around for me. She was still looking at her experiment, making sure she didn’t mess anything up.

“Yes. Is that all?”

“There is something I wanted to know. Something you never told me.”

“What?”

It really sounded dumb since I had been working at the restaurant for quite some time already. Yet, I never heard it being said or mentioned otherwise, not even once. It wasn’t on the menu, either. So, before I would leave, I just needed to know. What I wanted to know was…

“The restaurant’s name. Doesn’t it have one? In the end, there was never a nameplate or anything…”

“…”

Miss Tallier didn’t respond. At first, she seemed to have no intention of answering. But I also triggered some kind of response in her. I only saw her from behind, but I could tell she was kind of…frozen?

“Miss Tallier?”

As she snapped back to life, she had only this to say.

“…Kermos.”

“Ker- what?”

“It’s Kermos. The name. Now get back to work.”

Kermos. Was it a place, a person, or maybe a feeling, perhaps? It could mean anything. But it was a good name to remember.

Miss Tallier proceeded to then kick me out of the kitchen. My break ended just like that.

It ended up being just another normal, busy day to get through. Many customers came and went, but the number of people sitting on the tables never spilled over the number of available seats. To me, it was like a breath of fresh, yet at the same time, old air. Maya did her usual shtick and I did my own, whatever that was. Nothing else happened. End of story…?

Turvi picked us up on our way home. Apparently, after she was done with shopping and cramming everything into the house, she immediately came out to scout the nearby area and circle in between the restaurant and Maya’s house. But alas, nothing happened, and no suspicious people showed up.

We all went back to the house, running into Agham right before the door. For some reason, we all ended up coming back at the same time. What followed was an evening similar to the previous one. We discussed our plans for the future and such. I was too tired to really make it until nighttime and just slept my fatigue away. About anything else, I wouldn’t know. It felt like I missed something along the way, but I could no longer remember it.

…

Only two days until departure. At least, that was what Agham said.

The next day, Turvi spent more time around the restaurant. Following her introduction to Miss Tallier, she was forced to eat all sorts of experiments the chef still had in store. She tried to wiggle herself out of it, but the chef didn’t take no for an answer.

Well, she wasn’t the only one. We all had to go along with it, making sure that nothing would be left over. I just happened to get mishaps more often than the other two, by some miracle. Still, Turvi even had to leave the restaurant in the middle of it. Her palette was more sensitive than mine. When all was said and done, I ate the most out of the three of us.

Over time, I could feel Turvi starting to open up more to others. Telling me stories of how she once fought off wild beasts to protect someone’s carriage, intervening in smuggling, even child trafficking…Not the most pleasant experiences one could go through, but heroic acts.  I was positive that at this point, Maya was way more knowledgeable about her than me, but maybe that was for the best. She will need that knowledge more than me in the future.

There were still so many things in Casla I wanted to look into, but seeing that I was going to leave soon, I had to pack them away, too. This was the time to sort out my priorities.

I was somewhat prepared to leave the city, and Agham was going to leave even without me, but a part of me didn’t want to leave. Everything still felt so…unresolved. Even so, thinking about it or not, time just relentlessly pushed forward.

It wasn’t long until the final day would come.

Miss Tallier’s attitude remained unchanged, ordering me around with as little words and subtlety as one could express. And as always, the kitchen was rumbling. On the other hand, Maya wasn’t feeling too happy, which affected her work as a waitress as well.

Her smile wavered. Maya’s hands shook a little more than usual when carrying plates. She didn’t seem enthusiastic at all. Her change in attitude was small enough not to get noticed by the customers, but I kept a good look at her. Well, it could also be that they just didn’t want to call Maya out on it. They all knew what kind of things she was going through.

At the end of what would be my last day at the restaurant, I took the chance to go and look after every nook and cranny of the place I had been working in. I was the one who cleaned everything, after all. So, before I left, I took to cleaning once again, the task I would usually fulfill the morning after. Maya volunteered to help, too.

Miss Tallier, having finished her own work, stepped out of the kitchen and took a seat towards the huge window with a cup of black tea in hand. Saying nothing, she watched us perform until, eventually, we were all done.

Dripping with sweat, Maya and I dropped to our knees. Both of us worked through the entire day. We were just sitting on the floor, trying to get some rest. Merely standing up was too much of a hassle to go through. But when I looked towards the seat Miss Tallier sat in just a second ago, I noticed she wasn’t there anymore.

From the counter, towels were thrown straight in our faces.

“Good work.”

I wiped the sweat off my face, then took a glance towards the counter. What I saw was something I really wasn’t used to. It was an out-of-place scenery.

A smile. And not just anyone’s.

Miss Tallier was standing at the counter, slightly smiling. It made her otherwise cold and sharp eyes look warm and round. What stood before me was an entirely different person from what I knew. Even Maya had a reaction to that.  

“Sofia?”

Welling up inside of me were confusing emotions, emotions I didn’t know how to deal with. And as I thought about it, this was the first time I got complimented by Miss Tallier, too. I couldn’t stop myself from spurting out my confusion outright.

“…Wow. Who are you, again?”

And it was such a mood-killer, Miss Tallier’s expression turned right around to her usual self. It was the one time I got to see Miss Tallier smile, and I just had to ruin it. But there was no time to add something, anything, to salvage that situation, as Miss Tallier moved on to the next topic.

“Now then…”

Miss Tallier grabbed some coins from the counter and then went up to us.

“Your pay, overtime included.”

The amount I was given was hefty. Maya instantly noticed the difference between my pay and hers, but didn’t seem surprised by it. She just seemed glad to get more money than usual herself.

“But…That’s-“

“The proper pay. Don’t think about it too much.”

With us getting our pay for the day, the final act would rise. The part where I said my farewells. I stood up straight, then bowed deeply towards Miss Tallier as I said these words.

“Miss Tallier. I cannot thank you enough for taking me in. While it may have not been as long as a lifetime, I learned so much from this experience. About the business that is a restaurant, about you and Maya, about me…This is a debt I won’t ever be able to repay. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. That, and I hope to work under you again in the future. Farewell, and see you again someday, at 8:00 sharp.”

Miss Tallier wasn’t the type to get sentimental, but I heard a hint of shaking from her voice.

“…You didn’t have to say that last part.”

A new chapter in my life was about to unfold. I left the restaurant with Maya, greeting Turvi, who kept watch outside. I had almost once again forgotten the danger of me being in this place. My mind constantly sought peace. I didn’t want to think all the time. So, maybe this was perfectly natural, after all.

But with next to no time left, I still had to confirm my trust in Turvi, one last time, to see if Maya was in good hands. Once everyone got comfy at Maya’s home, I took my chance and got Turvi to come and talk to me outside.

Visibly confused by me dragging her out like that, she asked.

“What is it, now?”

From her perspective, there was nothing to talk about. I wasn’t sure as to how to best initiate that kind of conversation, but since Turvi didn’t have any problems with me being blunt, it was best to come straight to the point.

“Alright. Turvi, do you like Maya?”

Maybe too straight to the point.

“…”

Turvi was visibly grossed out. Her stare kind of hurt, especially since it came from those glowing eyes. I worded that awkwardly.  

“Uhh…I mean, like, as friends or something.”

That was probably better, but still not enough.

“…What are you even trying to say?”

Hm. Well, yeah. What WAS I trying to say? All I wanted to do was make sure Maya was safe in Turvi’s hands. The Brigade itself didn’t have any interest in Maya as an individual. At most, she would be under observation because of recent events if Turvi told her boss. But even that would only happen if Turvi cared enough about Maya, right?

“Okay. Let me phrase it this way. I don’t want anything to happen to Maya or the restaurant for that matter, so would it be alright for you to keep an eye on them even outside your mission? Maybe even ask your commander if that’s okay?”

This time, she got it.

“Oh, that. I have already arranged it to be this way.”

WHAT? WHEN? HOW? Well, whatever. It confirmed my trust in her, and that was all I searched for.  

“I guess I worried over nothing. Thanks, Turvi.”

“It’s nothing. If you go and get yourself killed outside Casla, that’s none of my concern.”

“…Right.”

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She could be…oddly cold at times, even colder than one would expect. But with that out of the way, there truly wasn’t anything left for me to worry about. The two of us went back inside.

I planned sleeping a bit before the arranged time would come, but those plans were shattered right in front of me. Maya, who was spending some time with her mother upstairs, came down to us in the living room with some playing cards, among other things.

“Alright, everyone. Let’s commemorate Agham’s and Lenn’s departure with a little farewell party!”

Turvi obviously wasn’t too pleased, but Agham was definitely in the mood.

“What now…”

“Oh, nice going!”

As for me…I just didn’t care anymore. I wanted to enjoy myself as much as Maya did. And also, take my mind off everything else.

We played card games I didn’t know the rules of, tested out drinks Maya personally made and let Agham tell us some stories he knew from old times, like him rescuing a drunk stranger from a wild herd of stampeding cows. Stampeding cows? Yeah. Big cows. The night only became more bizarre as it went on. Even Turvi gave up at some time and joined in on the fun. It truly was a great experience.

We partied until it was just before the time of the arrangement. I hadn’t gotten to read about the trade route we were going to embark on yet, but I was in good spirits regardless. I could just read the guide somewhere later on. Turvi said that tonight, the brigade would be keeping an extra watchful eye on the city, so there was no need to worry about an attack. Also…

“Safe travels.”

A little goodbye from her.

Before Agham and I departed, Maya still had her own farewells to say. As Agham loaded up the carriage, the two of us stood around at the house’s entrance.

“Lenn, it’s been great with you around. I-I hope we see each other again soon!”

Maya really wasn’t good at handling this kind of stuff, much more so than Miss Tallier. Then again, neither was I.

“Y-yeah, let’s meet each other again soon. Thank you for everything.”

An awkward moment of silence ensued. We were both just staring towards the bottom. What was even going on, I wondered. Were farewells this hard? It’s only been a few weeks, damn it.

From the distance, Agham shouted towards me.

“Hey, Lenn! We’ve got to hurry! You coming?”

“Y-yeah, I’ll be right there!”

It was about that time.

“Alright. Well then…”

“…Yeah…”

The situation itself didn’t feel resolved, but I had to go nonetheless. I turned my back on the house that took care of me and left together with Agham, vanishing into the night. Maya didn’t stop waving her hand towards me until I lost sight of her. This was how it ended, for now.

All the while, pain took root in my chest, pain that just wouldn’t go away.

It felt like the first time I ever rode in a carriage. Normally, you would have to worry about getting motion sickness, but I didn’t feel any of that whatsoever. Agham was on the reins, and I was in the back, alongside the luggage.

We quickly arrived at the main street, a place well-known to me at this point, but desolate at this time. It felt a bit odd, seeing an otherwise lively place in that state. We met up with Agham’s acquaintance, who I could only describe as a shady hooded figure, who had readied our carriage and with Agham’s money in hand, quickly left our sight.

The carriage was filled with all sorts of supplies, including food, but also weapons. A sword, a bow, some knives, shields…It made me think we were going to war. But bandits or something like that showing up wasn’t outside the realm of possibility, so those were probably for that. Better safe than sorry.

Taking a closer look, I found all kinds of things. Spare clothing included for the both of us. Agham thought of everything. The same guy who wore dirty pants all the time. Oh, but he didn’t seem to wear any dirty clothes since coming to Maya’s house…or was that just my imagination?

However, there were more pressing issues that had to be addressed.

“Alright, Agham. You said it’s half a day until we reach that town called Vermas. By the way, the guide I read called it a village, but I guess that’s beside the point. Are you sure you can even do anything in this darkness? Even the main street isn’t all that lit up.”

“No problem. Just leave it to me. Oh, but if you get sick, promptly hop out of the carriage. I didn’t have the chance to plan for that. Actually, some extra bags would be nice, though! Great thinking, Lenn!”

Typical Agham behavior.

The empty main street was easily put behind us in just a few minutes. From there, we passed through many small alleys, until, finally, we could see the still far-away border of the city in the form of a long wall stretching beyond farmland.

The silent lying city, the dark corners…Frankly speaking, I couldn’t relax at all. It just made me feel incredibly uneasy. Though, previous incidents were a big part of it.  

We approached the border slowly, but surely. As nothing was happening, my mind began feeling numb as well. Somewhere along the way, the fatigue from a long workday and an after-party got a hold of me. My sense of awareness can only last so long. Being on edge consumes a lot of energy, too.

Agham had a firm grip on the reins, so I was reassured sleeping for a while would be fine.

My thoughts were beginning to drift away as I closed my eyes. But as soon as I did, something came to me. For just a moment, I could think clearly. Just to confirm my suspicions, I tried asking Agham about it.

“Agham…Is- “

“Ssshhh.”

But Agham, with a finger pressing against his mouth, signaled me to keep quiet. Why?

I didn’t see anything. There wasn’t anyone around as far as my eyes could reach. So, was it something that I couldn’t see, instead? Then…Maybe I had to listen.

At first, there was nothing. Utter silence. But then, I heard a sound. Something that sounded off.

There was something that could be heard in the distance. It was hard to tell what exactly it was, but the sounds it made only increased. It came from behind, and it grew closer.

“I have a bad feeling about this…”

A razor-like sound was quickly approaching the carriage. Agham made the horses go faster, but it was only a matter of time before whatever it was would catch up. And if Agham was determined not to engage with whatever it was, it was bound to be dangerous.

I peeked another look outside. A few spots in the city got lit up, shining red. From those directions, I heard awful sounds. Blades clashing, arrows being unleashed, grunting and screaming…Even though I couldn’t see it, listening to those sounds alone made me aware of the horror.

What the hell was happening? A riot? An attack? By whom? And most importantly…where? Surely not there too, right?

“Agham…You sure we can’t go b- “

“Do you really think we’re in a position where we can do that? We’re getting the hell out of here, right now!”

“But the others- “

“They’ve got the brigade! That’ll do the trick. Don’t even think about others right now! If you spot someone, tell me! This isn’t our place to go down!”

“Well, about that…”

Right behind me, just behind the carriage, was a person wearing a black robe trying to get on. It was unbelievable how a human could move as fast as a carriage at full speed. The razor-like sounds must’ve come from them, specifically, from…their shoes? Small razors put on the soles rotated and gouged into the ground with every move, letting them move like running on ice.

However, the ground they were treading on was pure stone. Just how sharp were these blades to work like that? They were leaving huge marks in their wake. I didn’t want to end up as mincemeat, so I called out to Agham.  

“We have a little problem on the backside!”

In response, Agham only had this to say.

“Then use what you have!”

Use what you have…? As I desperately searched through the supplies, the sight of numerous weapons greeted me. Out of all of them, one in particular stood out. A saber with a chipped blade. It looked useful against razors, so I chose that one, quickly disregarding the other options.

Meanwhile, the person in black had already grabbed onto the back of the carriage, propelling themselves into the wagon, the sharpened blades on their feet in front, coming towards me.

The shape and touch of what I held felt oddly familiar. Despite this, the execution of my next moves went anything but smoothly.

I tried to block the razors by putting the saber in between them, but the black robe person had already created such momentum that it made me fling to the other side of the carriage, crashing against the wooden bars. It made me feel all dizzy. Still, I held the saber all the while.

The assailant continued his pursuit. This time, since there was a distance between us, it was throwing knives. As they were readied, I discarded the blade, then grabbed a nearby blanket to try and save both me and Agham from their attack, since Agham was just behind me in that position.

But instead of deciding to throw them, the assailant decided to tackle me alongside my improvised line of defense instead. With subtle technique, I was quickly subdued and pinned to the ground, then they moved onto trying to throw their knives at Agham.

However, the assailant was interrupted by Agham himself, who made the horses go and drag along the carriage in a zigzag fashion, making them go off-balance. Freed from submission, I grabbed the nearby saber and threw it towards the assailant with what remaining strength I had. The assailant’s left side was caught in the fangs of the chipped blade, slightly gouging into his flesh, the saber not wanting to let go of its target. This made them scream out in pain.

“Argghh…!”

The unknown assailant quickly removed the blade from his body and then proceeded to stumble back towards the back end of the carriage, dropping out of it headfirst. After a few seconds, I was able to move as well, but they were already gone. Whoever they were, their escape was successful.

The carriage had a few bloodstains on it, with a big one towards the middle, where the assailant was caught in the blade. The mountain of supplies was all tipped over, leaving an unsavory mess. I was still breathing heavily, letting out a few sighs here and then. If Agham hadn’t had the idea of making the horses go wild, we would’ve died.

Agham, wanting to get a read of the situation, called out to me.  

“Are you okay back there!?”

“Yeah, yeah. They’re gone.”

I sunk into my knees. All of this was so exhausting, I didn’t even find the strength to shout. But Agham was able to hear it regardless.

He continued to rush through the city, now actually making me feel sick. That, on top of the fact I had blood all around me, I thought of just throwing up.  

The fighting outside didn’t halt at all. It only intensified with time, but I grew more accustomed to it.  In the distance, I could even see a blue uniform fighting another one of those crazy razor-walking guys. Turvi was probably fighting around this time, too.

If she died, Maya would, too…Those kinds of thoughts started occupying my head.

Reaching the outskirts of Casla, we reached the passing gate. If we crossed this, we would officially be out of Casla and on our way to the Zenar Region… And looking back, I only saw flames and chaos behind me, in the city. What would it look like tomorrow? I wouldn’t be there to see it. 

“Halt!”

A voice came from outside the gate. What came forward was a person I had seen before. Commander Martin, with a few other brigade members in tow, blocked our way forward.

“Commander Martin? What brings you here?”

The commander stepped forward towards the carriage, and I got out of it to greet him halfway. If he saw that blood, it would throw some unnecessary questions around, is the conclusion I came to.  Meanwhile, Agham didn’t let go of the reins, waiting for his opportunity to press forward.

“Mister Lenn? Ah, that’s right. Wasn’t around today the time you left?”

He was much calmer than I thought. Behind me, Casla was burning, and he was here, of all places.

“That’s right. I was hoping you would let us pass, Sir. And more importantly, I’m confused as to why you’re here. The city is in chaos. Aren’t you going to personally involve yourself?”

Commander Martin only gave me a stern look in response. After a short pause, he explained.

“We’re discerning the threat and whether the organization involved plans to leave the city after committing their most utterly heinous deeds. It is only natural that we would try and block their way of escape, to enact justice. I have full confidence in the prowess of my brethren, and I trust you do so as well. It is not without reason that I complied in lending you one of my most trusted members.”

There was no sweat coming from him this time. Rather, he was too relaxed. Frightfully relaxed. I had expected him to sweat even more, faced with this state of affairs, not less.

Someone who would be nervous and sweat all the time when involved in the most run-of-mill activities, but be as cold as ice when facing a great menace. Was this the commander Turvi put her confidence in?

“I see. Well, you do know of my intentions, Sir. Isn’t it too much to ask you to let us through? In a way, we’re on our escape from this city. We’ve already been attacked ourselves during this tumult. They’re attacking people indiscriminately.”

“I am indeed aware of that. After a short inspection of your carriage, we can let you through with no problems. I wish you good luck and fair travels.”

With a swift flick of his fingers, Commander Martin ordered two of his people to go and inspect the carriage. I was already thinking of ways to explain the bloodstains, while Agham became increasingly restless. Maybe he had hidden something within the supplies that I wasn’t yet aware of?

“Commander. We found blood spots on the carriage. They were primarily found in the back. Looks very fresh. Most likely only minutes old.”

 Commander Martin returned a big nod. Responding to it, one of the subordinates slammed his hand against one side of the carriage, while the other checked the wheels. Of course, this wasn’t very pleasant to go through for Agham, but he was quickly interrupted by the commander.

“Hey, what are you- “

“Hmmm. Mister Lenn, you said you were attacked on your way here?”

Alright, here we go…This was the hardest part of it all. This part would determine our fate.

“Yes, Sir.”

“And this blood belongs to whom…?”

“The assailant, Sir. It was from an open wound I had inflicted on them with the saber found within the carriage. You should be able to confirm that blood is still dripping from there.”

“I see…”

Commander Martin flicked his fingers again, but this time in a slightly different way. His subordinates laid off the carriage and returned to his side. And then…

“Alright. You are free to proceed, Mister Lenn. Today, we will once and for all ensure that Casla will never look like this again. If you ever get into any contact with the Blue Saint Brigade in other regions, please send them my regards. Goodbye.”

“Goodbye, Sir. I pray for your success.”

Commander Martin made his subordinates lower the gate, and then, we passed through its enormous opening. Surely, with a towering gate like this alongside that huge stone wall, it would be hard to imagine people getting out of the city without his permission.

With the gate behind us, we officially did it. We left Casla. I woke up in it, and I left it while it was in shambles.

Agham was still annoyed by Commander Martin’s subordinates’ behavior, but I was just glad the commander let us through at all. If I were in his position, I wouldn’t have let anyone through, period.

Commander Martin really was a good guy, after all. I truly wished him all the best in this battle. And so that he may finish it quickly, too. I was still worrying myself to death over Maya and Turvi. Not to mention Miss Tallier…I really didn’t even know where she lived in the first place. That was another thing that just happened to escape me.  

Then again, the people in black would probably run from her, not the other way around.

But having the city behind me, huh…The road in front of us was just a big, straight line full of weeds and stones. Half a day until we reach Vermas…I was still worrying about people coming after us. The possibility was very high.

“Lenn, you should probably get some rest. If anything happens, I’ll wake you up. We’ll just go in shifts.”

“…S-Shifts? You mean I would be in charge of the carriage? I’ve never held on to any reins, I think.”

I was surprised at myself for being shy about small stuff like that, having faced do-or-die situations every other day. But either way, Agham was there to encourage me.

“Don’t worry about small stuff like that. It’s easy, I tell you. The horses can still go for a long time. You’ll just have to hold the reins in the same position for as long as you can. Just…don’t let your arms fall asleep before you do.”

Wait…

“Isn’t falling asleep yourself even worse in this situation…?”

“Oh…Well, I guess you’re right. My bad! Haha!”

He was really making it hard to sleep. But Agham’s weirdly placed positivity helped me keep calm. It was something I really needed at that moment. Calm.  

Even so, the moment I didn’t focus on anything…that anything became nothing. My eyes were closed before I realized, before I could even try and stop them.

As such, I still wound up in a deep sleep, despite the supplies hanging all around and over me or the blood on my clothes or the ground I was sitting on.

May I at least wake up in Vermas, wherever or whatever it really is, hopefully, were the last words coming to mind.  

 

-End of Chapter 5-

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