Chapter 73: Chapter 73: There are many secrets around the Hineni-man. But one of them smells of fives.

Hineni stands out by the river.

 

They’re outside on a walk today, before opening the guild. There’s no particular reason for this. It’s just that the weather was nice and it feels good to get outside of the house at least once a month.

 

The sun is shining brightly and spring birds adorn the trees, filling the world with a chorus that accompanies the babbling water. A person hums next to him as they walk. Hineni looks at Rhine, who is walking along a log with his arms out at his side, humming as he works on keeping his balance.

 

“Don’t fall in this time,” warns Hineni.

 

“It’s fine!” says Rhine, looking his way. “Besides, the water’s warmer now.”

 

Hineni raises an eyebrow. “Boy. That won’t help you if you can’t swim.”

 

“Guess I just won’t fall in then,” replies Rhine.

 

Another person jumps up onto the log behind him. “Pretty confident, aren’t we?” asks Sockel. Rhine blinks, looking over his shoulder at Sockel, who is making her approach, her hands outstretched. “- For someone with a price on his head.”

 

Rhine stands there for a moment, frozen. It is true that Sockel had once warned him to watch his back. However, a smug smile comes over his face and his posture loosens. “You’re not going to push me, Sockel,” he says, sounding bored as he looks back ahead of himself and keeps on walking along the long log. “You’d get in trouble, right?” he asks, looking over towards Hineni and the owl-god.

 

“A man relies on his own strength first, Rhine,” says Hineni. “Before he relies on the strength of others.”

 

“…Huh?” asks Rhine as a pair of hands grab him from behind.

 

“It’s over,” whispers Sockel into his ear.

 

Rhine lets out a terrified yelp, scrambling away as best as he can.

 

Hineni doesn’t bother stopping to watch them, while holding Obscura’s hand. The two of them keep on walking as two splashes ring out from the water behind them. It seems that Sockel has also died during her attempted assassination.

 

“Kids,” sighs Hineni, shaking his head.

 

“Who~” says Obscura. “Her Hi~ ne~ ni~ will be a fine father-man,” she hoots. “He will push their chicks from their nest to fly, yes?” she asks. “Motherly Obscura would not have the strength in her heart to do so.”

 

“Sure,” says Hineni. “I think I’m strong enough to push some kids off of a tree.”

 

Water splashes behind them.

 

“Sockel!” protests Rhine, flailing around and spitting water out, his long, blue hair stuck to his face. “You jerk!”

 

Sockel points at him, floating along with relative ease. “Learn to swim or die, twerp,” she says, taking the matter very casually. “Take your boots off.”

 

“I can’t!” protests Rhine, doing his best to stay above water.

 

Sockel sighs, watching him go under and vanish.

 

Hineni and Obscura stand there, looking at the elf drift by and presumably Rhine as well, somewhere beneath the surface.

 

“Sockel,” says Hineni. “Don’t let Rhine drown, or you’re going to lose your job.”

 

She rolls her eyes. “Hard ass.” A moment later, a pair of wet boots land in front of Hineni and she dives down beneath the water.

 

“Kids…” sighs Hineni, shaking his head again. He picks up Sockel’s boots and the two of them keep on walking.

 

“Kids,” hoots Obscura, so the word will have been said three times, as is proper. She rubs her head against his shoulder as they continue their walk, listening to the splashing coming alongside them.

 

---

 

“Why do I have to carry your shoes?” asks Hineni, two pairs of wet boots slung over his shoulder.

 

“Somebody has to,” replies Sockel. “This was your idea, after all.”

 

Hineni looks at the elf, bobbing in the water and holding Rhine beneath his arms as he kicks. “My idea was to go on a walk,” he replies.

 

Sockel nods. “And it’s a great time to teach this useless runt how to swim,” she explains. “What if we get attacked on the water by the frogs?” she asks.

 

“…Sockel,” says Hineni, looking at her. “On a sunny day, there isn’t a body of water anywhere within fifteen minutes of the guild.”

 

She nods, placing a hand on top of Rhine’s head. “That’s true. But are you forgetting that we keep this freak of nature in closed rooms for most of the day?” she asks. “What if he floods the place and the new walls and insulation don’t let the water drain out so fast?”

 

“Hey,” says Rhine, lifting his gaze to look up at Sockel’s fingers, that are draped over his forehead. “Now you’re just being mean, Sockel,” he argues.

 

— She pushes him down beneath the water and holds him there.

 

“It’s fine to teach him how to swim, but do you really have to bully him?” asks Hineni. “That’s frog behavior.”

 

“I’m not bullying him,” argues Sockel. “I’m toughening his dramatic, rich-boy ass up so that he can survive in our world,” she explains. “Look. Rhine’s soft, okay? In a real fight, he just isn’t going to make it.”

 

“He fought like a hero last time,” replies Hineni. “Bit Beni right in the leg.”

 

Sockel points at him with her free hand, still holding Rhine down beneath the water with the other. “He got knocked out,” she replies. “Between his creepy mom treating him like a pretty doll and you pretending he’s your spoiled, little brother, there isn’t a single challenging influence in his life,” she argues. “He needs to learn to survive.”

 

“- There won’t be any need for that if you don’t let him up,” replies Hineni, pointing at the bubbles coming up between the strands of blue hair floating atop the water.

 

Sockel blinks, letting Rhine resurface. He desperately gasps for air.

 

“You good?” asks Sockel.

 

“What was that for?!” he snaps, looking back her way angrily.

 

“Just a test,” replies the elf. “You passed. Congratulations. Keep kicking,” says Sockel, grabbing him beneath the arms again.

 

Rhine tilts his head, glaring at her in suspicion. “…Huh?”

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“Wanted to see if you’ve toughened up any. I’m taking you to the dungeon tomorrow, so that you can learn how to fight.”

 

He blinks. “REALLY?!” he asks excitedly. Sockel nods. Rhine turns his head towards Hineni with a hopeful expression.

 

On one hand, Sockel may have a point. Rhine is gifted with a powerful natural magical ability that can be augmented well with weapons, like with his staff. He works hard and has a fighting spirit. But he doesn’t really have much control over his power and it is true that he probably wouldn’t survive a real, gritty, to the death, fight with a lot of the types they need to be on the lookout for. If there’s anyone around that Hineni trusts to teach him about real survival in the city, it’s Sockel.

 

On the other hand, this sounds like a time-expensive process. Learning to fight, to swim and all sorts of things like that don’t just happen in an hour after work. It’s going to take days and weeks and months to really build a foundation of pragmatic life skills and Hineni needs Rhine in the forge full time, so that they can keep up with the military's orders.

 

But the excited pair of eyes looking his way easily breaks his will and he sighs, nodding. “It’s true,” relents Hineni and keeps on walking.

 

“Thanks, Sockel!” beams Rhine.

 

“Yeah, yeah,” replies Sockel. “Keep kicking. It’s all in the legs,” she explains. “Swimming is like kidnapping.”

 

Hineni sighs and feels a head nuzzling itself against his shoulder. He looks down at Obscura. “What can I say?” he asks. “The damn eyes get me every time,” he explains.

 

“It is true,” says Obscura. “The Hineni man will have a fancy dinner with his beloved tonight, yes?”

 

“- Dinner?” asks Hineni. “I don’t know. With Rhine out of the forge tomorrow, I need to do a lot of…”

 

— He looks down at her face, she’s staring up at him with wide, hopeful eyes, making an excited clicking noise with her mouth.

 

He sighs again. She’s caught on to his weakness. It was his mistake for telling her, he supposes. “Okay. Dinner sounds good,” he says. “But don’t abuse your new power.”

 

“Obscura will try, but she can not promise,” hoots the owl-god, squeezing his hand as they continue their walk.

 

---

 

“Seltsam,” asks Hineni, walking into the library, later that day.

 

“Yes? Hello,” replies a familiar voice from behind the shelves.

 

Hineni looks around the library. “I need a favor,” he says. “This is going to sound weird, but I need a list,” he says. “Of every animal and monster with five letters in its name.”

 

“Huh…? Uh…” The sound of some books being shuffled around comes from the other side of a shelf. “Sure, I can do that. I haven’t been sleeping much lately, so I have time, haha!” she says, forcing in an awkward laugh.

 

“Don’t sacrifice sleep for your work, Seltsam,” says Hineni. “It isn’t worth it. You’ll work better when you’re rested.”

 

“…D-Didn’t you come in here a few weeks ago without a shirt, in the middle of the night, for your work?”

 

“And look how that turned out,” replies Hineni. “- Where do you even sleep?” he asks, looking around the library. “Do you want a bed? We can afford to get you a bed.”

 

Something shuffles around. “Haha, no, th- that’s okay!” she says. “I usually just sleep in the corner, I like to make a nest, you know?” Hineni raises an eyebrow. “D- did that sound weird?” she asks. “I mean like, a pile out of books and blankets and stuff, haha!” says Seltsam. “Wouldn’t it be super weird If I meant like… a nest-nest? Crazy…” The girl lets out an awkward, far too long laugh. “…It’s very cozy…” she mutters quietly. “Do you think the owl-god would like it if you slept in a nest instead of a bed?”

 

He stares at the shelf for a moment.

 

“Sorry. That was weird too, wasn’t it?”

 

Hineni walks across the library to the door behind the reception. “Sockel,” he says, pulling it open. The elf looks back behind herself, her still damp hair tied back in a bun. A cookie is in between her mouth and her hand. “Order some unobtrusive furniture for Seltsam to set up in here.”

 

She replies with a thumbs-up and turns back forward as Hineni closes the door.

 

“…Thank you,” says Seltsam.

 

Hineni shakes his head. “No. Sorry for pressuring you,” he says. “But I don’t want my people sleeping on the floor,” he explains. “That’s where frogs sleep.”

 

“…It’s not on the floor…”

 

He rolls his eyes. “Or in a ‘nest’,” says Hineni. “So, the list —”

 

“Animals and monsters that have five letters. Got it,” says Seltsam. “And actually, frogs sleep on trees, in the water or underground, depending on what kind of… frog… they… are…” she finishes, slowing down and quieting near the end, perhaps because she saw his questioning expression.

 

He sure is learning a lot about frogs lately. Actually, why not. He’s learned about frogs twice now. One more tidbit sounds about right.

 

“Actually, while you’re digging, I need information on the frog-god,” he explains.

 

“The big-frog?” she asks.

 

Hineni nods. “Get me everything you can find,” he says. “The frogs have been quiet since last time. But that’s not going to last forever.”

 

“Sure thing,” replies Seltsam and she sets to her tasks.

 

---

 

Hineni roots around upstairs, in the room for rent, which is currently empty, as the last tenants left today. It needs to be cleaned up and the bed needs to be remade, so he volunteered to take care of it.

 

But that was just an excuse to get into the room.

 

Hineni looks down at the desk and slides away the mat, covering its surface. Beneath it are clawed crude words, etched into the wood by a sharp implement over and over. In the fake reality, where he was with the big-frog, Nekyia, he had carved these.

 

But if that really was fake, then who made these?

 

Or was it really not fake? Was it really just an alternate vision of a past that happened? He doesn’t know.

 

Hineni bends down, pulling the desk from the wall and lifts out a small journal that smells like water-lilies.

 

The man stands there, staring at it for a while, his thumb running over the cover.

 

Looking around himself to be sure that he is alone, he opens it up to look inside.

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