CHAPTER TWO In the end, and after a considerably rubbish go at it, Col and Myuri handed the reins of the monastery over to Sharon and then made their way to Rausbourne. Canaan’s ship docked at the building Eve had made her base on the second day. This was preferred, since they would have drawn attention going to the manor Hyland was borrowing. After the young clergyman met with the mystery visitor in the cathedral, he finally convened with the others. “He is genuine.” It was not often one could see someone of the clergy look so tense and pale. The tension was overwhelming even for Myuri—she looked between Col and Eve, waiting for what he might say next. “His incense burner has several hidden patterns on it. He is without a doubt a real secret messenger.” What those words meant was that the ecumenical council was not a plot cooked up by someone within the kingdom. Something big was about to happen within the Church. “Does that mean the Church is gonna declare him a heretic?” Eve, who was present for the conversation, pointed to Col and asked. “Both Brother Clark and Archbishop Yagine thought the same. However, I firmly believe there are those like me within the Church who want to stand up against it. If not, then there would be no reason that news of the council would leak ahead of time.” Klevend had the same idea. The flush of excitement was returning to his cheeks. “I believe that the cardinals, including the pope, saw how the kingdom came together through the jousting tournament, and was spurred on by a sense of impending crisis. That is why they introduced the possibility of holding the ecumenical council.” The council was a great meeting that was held, at most, once a century, and decided the entire direction of the Church. In the last one, held eighty years prior, it was recorded that there was profound discussion as to what meaning there was in killing pagans when viewed through the lens of the Church’s philanthropic spirit. While that served as a way to reconcile God’s teachings with reality, it also served to command those who were uncooperative—the weaker-willed members of the congregation who insisted on making peace with the enemy in the face of looming defeat against the pagans. Any and all voices of dissent had been swept aside as a result of the council’s decision, uniting the Church to fight until the very end. And now, the Church was once again facing a great challenge. “But this is our chance!” Canaan planted his hands on the table with such force that it made an audible sound. “This is, in fact, a perfect opportunity for us!” The truth of the matter was that the Church was considering its very last resort—the ecumenical council—and that someone within the organization wanted to inform the kingdom of this. The clergy were in more disarray than first thought, and perhaps even less of a monolith than they anticipated. But as Myuri’s breathing grew faster in response to Canaan’s excitement, Col could not find it within himself to share their eagerness. There was more than one reason for that, of course. “I do not mean to deny your assertions, Archivist Canaan,” Col began, carefully weaving his words together. “Even if the incense burner the messenger had was the genuine article, that does not necessarily mean their intentions are genuine.” Though Myuri could not hide her displeasure at the cold douse of water his words were, Canaan remained calm. “Of course. Please leave all manner of verification in that regard to me.” Documents flowed like blood through the Curia, and Canaan’s job was to manage all of them single-handedly. “There is another reason I cannot side with your views, Archivist Canaan. And that is because…” Col faltered, but he decided he needed to say this. “I cannot imagine myself ever being invited to the ecumenical council.” No matter how much renown he had, there were plenty of other notable people in the world. There were even high-ranking clergy members who were members of royal courts, who watched over every aspect of the spiritual lives of royalty. When all was said and done, it was not more than a handful of months ago that Col had been chopping firewood, making candles, and minding a particularly rowdy child in the remote bathhouses of Nyohhira. He had only managed to make a bit of a name for himself because he had been quick-witted enough to take advantage of some chaos, because he had a bit of luck, and because he had had the help of Myuri and all the others they had met along the way. If he were to attend an official meeting of true men and women of the cloth, it would be his skill that would be tested. And that skill did not come from the depth of one’s faith. Those who would be attending the council would be those who handled the day-to-day management of the behemoth that was the Church, and those who had plenty of real-world experience. “Come ooon, Brother…” But Myuri, who feared absolutely nothing in the world, was already sick of her brother’s complaining—she did not hear it as a careful interpretation of the situation. And just when he firmly decided that his apprehension was appropriate, he noticed the expression on Canaan’s face was even more firm than Myuri’s. “It seems I have something to tell you, Master Col.” “What?” “There is only one God. All those on earth are His children.” Col did not quite understand what he meant, and Eve laughed, her shoulders shuddering as she did so. “Your humility is indeed a virtuous quality of yours,” Canaan continued. “However, I believe your estimation of yourself is a bit too low. Now is the time to see precisely how powerful you are!” “………” Unable to comprehend what that meant, Col unwittingly glanced at Myuri and Eve in a plea for help. But the two wolves only looked on, eyes gleaming, knowing something funny was about to happen. He gave up and turned to Canaan again, and God’s faithful lamb spoke with a vigor matching that a wolf. “Why not join me on an educational excursion?” “…I’m sorry?” “Whilst on the ship, I was thinking about what we should do if you were participating in the ecumenical council. And that is when I struck on an idea, and we have just seen now the birth of another important reason.” This boy worked at the heart of faith itself, and had even been called a child prodigy. He also had a great sense of adventure; enough to venture into the kingdom with a reckless plan, not caring that it involved the revival of technology the Church had deemed too dangerous and sealed away. He had once even suggested that Col should pursue sainthood. When Canaan spoke again, his expression was a lot like Myuri’s. “If you do not believe in your own skill, then you simply need only to test it yourself. For example, why not take a trip to an academic city, where the greatest scholars of the world gather? Debate with the professors there and see what you are capable of!” If Canaan were to sit silently, he was the very picture of a budding clergyman, but it seemed his true essence was more similar to Myuri’s. “I am sure of it! The sharpened point of your spear of logic will knock down all those scholars, one after another! And once you pull them back up again as your allies, you need only have them march alongside you to the Holy See and stand by your side at the council! Even if you cannot face unreasonable attacks on your own, they will not find you such easy prey when you march in with a great number of theologians on your side, even in the pope’s own ecumenical council. Numbers are crucial in battle, too!” From the way Canaan spoke loudly, Col could tell that even this very well-behaved boy had been deeply affected by the jousting tournament. Along with him was Eve, who was clearly enjoying this, and Myuri, who loved anything and everything related to battle. Col was the only one who could not keep up. “Brother! He said this is war!” A war of words, at least. Col looked to the most curious wolf in the pack and felt he had no choice but to draw a taut smile over his face. Considering how Canaan crossed the sea with not much more than a reckless plan, Col found it unsurprising that when he peeled back his outermost, innocent layers, he found a surge of boiling-hot blood. Col managed to avoid the proposal by simply saying he needed to think about it. Once dinner was finished, Myuri and Canaan spent the evening with Eve’s staff, poring over a map of the world on the first floor of the warehouse-turned-mansion, which the merchant was presently renting. They were likely engrossed in talk about the Twilight Cardinal’s knight errantry on the way to the ecumenical council, as well as how they would recruit more people to their side. Col ultimately could not muster the will to join them. Luckily, Le Roi had returned just at that moment from an errand, so seeking an impartial opinion, he detailed the proposal to the bookseller who promptly agreed with a clap of his hands. “That’s a brilliant idea!” “Mister Le Roi!” Col exclaimed reproachfully. The bookseller held up his hands to soothe him. “You must understand, Master Col. Archivist Canaan has not brought up the idea to you thoughtlessly, much less because he thinks the idea is funny. It is, in fact, a terribly sensible idea.” Exactly what about it is sensible? The protest bubbled in his throat, but Col pushed it back down. He decided to wait and hear what else Le Roi had to say. “What few theologians remain in the kingdom vouch for the quality of your translation of the scripture—as do I, of course. You are not as unproven as you think you are.” Col instinctively wanted to deny the compliment, but he held his tongue. “If you cannot take our appraisals at face value, then it is perfectly reasonable that you should debate the worldly scholars yourself. You know what they say—know thy enemy, know thyself, and thou shalt fight a hundred battles without loss. There is obvious danger in overestimating yourself, but the same can be said of belittling yourself too much. If you can more accurately grasp the range of your capabilities, Master Col, then you will be able to overcome even more than you can now. If you misunderstand your strengths, you will only lose opportunities.” “………” Col’s need to say something was likely written all over his face. Le Roi gave a deep, belly-shaking laugh, and with an expression that reminded Col of their time traveling together as a child, he said, “Then let’s set aside the more difficult topics for now. Exchanging knowledge with the professors will be a great opportunity to learn, at the very least. What do you think?” It would indeed be a great opportunity to learn. All the protests that threatened to leave Col’s mouth quickly slunk back down his throat. “And when I heard of the talk of academic cities, it came to me. I suppose one could say that the fog that has persisted over these past few days has finally cleared.” Col was still not entirely convinced, but he urged Le Roi to continue with a look. “I speak of the new continent. I told you we would not be enough were we to pursue ancient imperial knowledge on it alone, but giants gather at academic cities.” That, too, was true. Col nodded, and Le Roi nodded in turn. “And there’s also the paper needed for printing the scripture.” “You mean…purchasing it?” “Precisely. I was hoping to send a letter from the harbor to my associates, but paper is running low everywhere. However, academic cities are places of learning, and with learning comes paper.” “…Would an academic city have good stocks of paper?” “There is no other city where so many booksellers gather, though they are a bit of a different breed than yours truly. I doubt there is any other city in the world where so many people can read and write. You can throw a stone in any direction and hit a scribe.” “That…does make sense.” “And academic cities are mostly located on the mainland. That would certainly satisfy that energetic young lady’s desire for adventure.” Le Roi was talking about Myuri, of course. She was currently downstairs staring hard at the map like a dog being presented with a bone. Turning down Canaan’s idea would mean hurting Myuri’s sense of adventure as well. And that would most certainly come with its own exhausting troubles. “If I recall correctly, Master Col,” Le Roi said, pulling Col’s attention up from the dreaming boys and girls below them. “I heard you studied theology at the academic city of Aquent, didn’t you?” The reason his expression tensed upon hearing that was not because the candlelight flickered as the door opened. He glanced at Eve, who entered with mugs of wine in hand, then spoke with a sigh. “To be honest…the reason Archivist Canaan’s suggestion bothers me is partially because of my past experience in that city.” “Oh?” Le Roi took the alcohol from Eve, and Col also took a mug for himself on her urging and took a sip. This was an unusual occasion. The reason Col decided to take the drink was because he needed something to numb the pain of recalling his own harsh childhood. He had indeed ventured to an academic city as a child so that he could learn Church law. However— “It is a complete lie that these academic cities are fonts of knowledge and faith…Well, perhaps that is overstating things, but you must be aware, Mister Le Roi, that the only thing beautiful about them is their facade.” The bookseller, who dealt in banned texts without hesitation, looked neutrally at Col—a very merchantlike thing to do. “That I cannot deny.” “I wonder if Archivist Canaan is unaware of what things are really like there.” Canaan was picturing Col debating with renowned theological scholars, honing one another’s intellect and heightening Col’s understanding of his position as the Twilight Cardinal. Or perhaps he was picturing the ecumenical council, where the pope was hoping to orchestrate the Twilight Cardinal’s downfall, only for the man himself to appear with all the scholars he had won over at his back. But Col himself could not accept these visions of Canaan’s. He was worried not so much about the professors arguing against him, but whether or not such a rosy situation would ever come to pass in the first place. Scholars who were nothing but book smart were not the only ones in those cities. “That said, it is not a bad place to go to procure paper. And it’s an ideal location to find information on the desert nations and investigate whatever is left of ancient imperial knowledge. Would you be willing to accept at least that half of Archivist Canaan’s proposal?” “………” A bitter expression crossed Col’s face and Le Roi laughed again. “Ha-ha-ha! I understand there will be plenty of people you may not mesh very well with in academic cities, Master Col. But we will also find worldly, scholarly adventurers, willing to be flexible if it means seizing opportunities. If the ecumenical council is truly going to be held, then it would not be a terrible idea to recruit some of them—they will be sensitive to power of all types, and above all, they will be eloquent.” They would be coming into contact with these people for more practical reasons than the pursuit of truth. Hearing that, Col recalled he had very recently learned that someone like Heir Klevend, whose praises and criticisms were extreme in either direction, could be a reliable ally depending on the situation. It stood to reason the wild sages who made their base in the academic cities could also be of aid. “And I believe some travel will be a good idea. Whether it be the conflict with the Church, or pursuing information on the new continent, there is only so much we can do here in the kingdom.” They would have to seek new paths if they wanted to see new sights. Col felt as though he had heard a bard sing a similar line before. It rang true in a way that Myuri would appreciate. Eve, who had been quietly listening in the whole time, spoke as her clothes softly rustled. “If you’re that scared of bad people, do you need me to come along and protect you?” Col thought he could see the shadow of a wolf behind her with the way the candlelight illuminated her face. Perhaps she had seen a lucrative business opportunity in the once-in-a-century council. “…I am aware of the expression of a chaperone wolf.” Eve chuckled and sipped her wine. And if he was genuinely worried about so-called bad people, well, he already had a reliable wolf at his side. “People often say things are not as difficult as they seem. You should at least go. You may find it isn’t quite what you expected once you get there,” Eve said. Those were the words of a merchant who had crossed many seas. “May God guide the Twilight Cardinal in his travels.” Eve and Le Roi lifted their mugs in a toast, ignoring the very subject of their toast. Col sighed deeply, brought his own mug to his lips as though expressing his dissatisfaction for the world, then stood. “I will discuss this matter with Heir Hyland as well.” Both Le Roi and Eve already knew what the outcome would be, but they offered him very grown-up smiles, letting him do as he pleased. Col felt suddenly exhausted as he made his way down the dim corridor and down the stairs toward the room he was staying in. As he reached the landing, he saw Myuri coming up the stairs at the same time. “Brother!” He could tell they had not run into each other coincidentally; judging by the way ink was smudged on her cheeks and fingers, Myuri had been waiting for his footsteps before rushing up to greet him. She unfurled a hand-drawn map, ink still wet. “Where are we going?” On the map were several academic cities, locations and names marked—Canaan and Eve’s staff had likely told her about them. Without anyone else around, she had her wolf ears and tail out, and her tail whipped back and forth as though she had found a treasure map. “Canaan said that a city called Aquent is the closest, and it’s a really well-known academic city, so we should probably go there.” Col let Myuri babble on with the map in her hands as he opened the door to their room, leading the daydreaming girl in with a hand at her back. This room was not a guest room at an inn, but storage space for Eve’s products, so the room was packed tight once they settled down to sleep. And that meant Col had nowhere to separate himself from Myuri, whose body was running hot with excitement. Col placed the lit candleholder atop a stack of crates, reached to open a window, and found faint relief in the influx of outside air. “Hey, are you listening to me?” Myuri asked reproachfully. He sat in what little space he could; Myuri was so close that his knees practically touched her. “No. I am not. It’s late. I’m going to sleep.” He put out the candle, and the room was suffused with faint moonlight. He used it to guide him to his folded blankets. He spread one across the floor, and the other he placed over his feet. Myuri gave a grunt of frustration, but quickly kicked off her shoes and stuck her feet under the same blanket. But as Col lay down to sleep, she only attached herself to him with her gaze. “…What is it?” he asked. A tour across the mainland, an adventure to the desert, and now the academic cities—new adventures were falling onto Myuri’s lap one after another. Col thought that perhaps her excitement was keeping her up, but her expression suggested that was not it. She emitted a sigh that almost could’ve been mistaken for clearing her throat, pulled her feet from out under the blanket, and adjusted how she sat. “Look at me, Brother.” “I am looking at you.” “No, look at me.” “………” This felt a bit different than her usual selfish requests, so Col give her his full attention. “Canaan told me about a lot of stuff.” Col glanced at the map, laying flat on a nearby crate so the ink could dry, and he could easily picture that. But it seemed as though what Myuri wanted to say was not quite related to the map. “He said your translation was incredible.” Myuri’s red eyes, inherited from her mother, gleamed in the dim room. “He just kept talking and talking about you. I probably would’ve kicked his butt if he were a girl.” He had a feeling Myuri had said something similar before; Hyland, too, had mentioned Canaan doing his best to stay composed in Col’s presence. “He said that no matter what academic city on the map you decide to invade, you’d win. And he said it with such passion that his cheeks went all red.” Col pictured in his mind Canaan standing with Myuri as he marked the cities and their names on the map and spoke as though reciting a war epic. “I think the compliments were a little too much, though.” She drew up her shoulders in objection—she must have felt he was intruding on her territory. She abruptly looked away and pursed her lips. It was only after she seemingly put her words together that she looked back at him. And when she did, he flinched—her eyes were so, so earnest. “Listen to me, Brother. No one wants you to be as awesome as you can be more than I do.” “………” His little sister was very strict with him and often regarded him a fool, so perhaps Canaan’s behavior had struck a nerve. He immediately felt ashamed of himself for thinking that when he saw just how red her cheeks were, visible even in the faint moonlight. She was harsh with him precisely because she expected so much from him. “Oh, Myuri…” He sighed. Despite how he always struggled to get her to act more feminine, it was times like these that she was more like a young lady than anyone else he knew. He had simply thought the primary reason she had gone through the trouble of documenting every academic city on the map was because she was thrilled to experience new lands, new cities, and new adventures. But all he had to do was remember why no matter how powerful the knight in her stories was, she never traveled alone. She always had a foolish, yet alert and undoubtedly brave, priest by her side. “I was a boy once, too.” Col poked Myuri’s cheek and then drew back his hand, like a bird taking flight. “It is not as though I completely lack confidence.” In fact, he had dreamed plenty of times of speaking with renowned scholars on equal terms, helping one another to deepen their insight. “Those with excellent scholarship came to the bathhouse in Nyohhira on many occasions. And whenever they would compliment me, I presume it was more than just empty flattery.” Myuri still stared hard at him. It was like she knew a little mouse was hiding behind the thin veil. “But when it comes to dealing with people in the academic cities…and places like them…I have a very hard time. Not for logical reasons, but for reasons that run much deeper.” Col reached for the blanket, neatly unfolded it, and pulled it over his lap. He peeled back Myuri’s half of the blanket, and she hesitantly stuck her feet under it. “Academic cities are unbelievable places, filled to the brim with ambition. I went through merciless ordeals in one when I was a child. And that is why I don’t like them. It’s much like a dog who once touched a hot stove and then refuses to ever go near one again.” Myuri stared at Col for a moment longer before averting her eyes and drawing up her shoulders. “Maybe dogs are like that, but you’re a little sheep that never learns its lesson, Brother.” Her fluffy tail thumped against his leg. “And I’m the kind of wolf where once I bite into something, I never let go.” Myuri was trying to cheer him up in her own way. That was because— “You are a knight.” And knights never forgot their duty. It was the perfect profession for a loyal wolf, and there were few things in the world that could be as reliable. And this silver wolf was looking straight at him, urging him on to a new path. He knew exactly what he needed to do. “I was the one who proclaimed we would not stop, wasn’t I?” This conflict with the Church was clearly reaching a climax. If this talk about the ecumenical council was real, then what waited ahead of them was either peace or war. When they stood at the once-in-a-century crossroads, the Church would have no choice but to acknowledge this. “Then are we going on a new journey to one of these cities?” Myuri pulled the blanket up to her lap and looked up at Col, eyes shining. She looked less like a reliable silver wolf and more like a curious little pup—both were a part of Myuri’s essence. “Let’s get some sleep. We will need to save our strength for our journey.” That was his answer. Once he pulled up the blanket and laid down, Myuri quickly and delightfully followed suit, but her gaze suddenly flitted to the sword leaning against the wall. She slowly reached out and turned the sword around. “What is it?” Col asked. “Nothing,” she said, then clung tight to him. She thumped her tail against the ground wildly, unable to contain her excitement about going on a new journey. Perhaps the reason she had turned her sword around was because she did not want the wolf on her knight’s crest looking at her while she acted like an excitable child. Things that would most certainly bring down the mood were waiting for them at their destination. But there was a very clear reason why Col slept so soundly that night. Col sent a letter to Hyland detailing Canaan’s opinions on the secret messenger who paid the cathedral a surprise visit, as well as a proposal on what to do next. At the same time, Canaan boarded his ship again to look further into the ecumenical council back at the Holy See. On their parting, Canaan said, “When you decide which academic city you’ll be going to, please let me know through the designated communication channels.” Despite how meek he looked, he was just as pushy as Myuri was. Several days after Canaan’s departure, a surprisingly quick reply came from Hyland. It read: Tell me how much of an escort you’ll need. Now that it was clear there was no evidence of a courtly plot, Hyland, too, had determined that going to an academic city would align with several of their goals, no matter what happened with the ecumenical council. In reality, regardless of whether the council was held or not, it was very likely that visiting one of these cities would help them resolve a number of their problems. The only thing left to worry about was Col’s proofreading work on the parts of the scripture he was supposed to hand over to Jean for printing. However, he had heard that when Sharon learned about the plan from Clark, she thought in silence for a moment before shoving a thick bundle of translated scripture into his arms. And so Col would be relying on Clark and his knowledge to handle the proofreading in his absence. Plus, Clark mentioned asking Archbishop Yagine for help in checking as well, so Col had no reservations. As a result, preparations for the journey proceeded with surprising speed. A week after Canaan departed, Col and Myuri found themselves standing in a harbor town across the strait from the Kingdom of Winfiel. “Oooh! We’re traveling!” Once Myuri stepped off the ship, she stretched her arms high into the air and shouted. A small fleet of fishing boats had just docked. Seabirds swarmed overhead, and merchants clamored as they approached to purchase fish. Myuri was only a small part of the lively scenery. The weather had not been all that great, so Col felt a bit sick from the rocking of the ship. He inhaled deeply, as though downing something sour. “Come on, Brother! How long are you going to drag your feet for?!” “I am not dragging my feet, I am seasi—” “Oh, look, look! There’s a troupe of performers putting on a play over there! Whoa, is that a target for sword practice over there?!” “S-stop, Myuri, I—!” She pulled on his sleeve, and it felt like that bitter thing he had just swallowed was threatening to work its way back up. “Come now, you two! Don’t stray too far!” Le Roi, who was their guide, waved at them from the other side of the crowd. Col managed to suppress his nausea. After adjusting his pack, he grabbed the back of Myuri’s collar—she had gotten far too excited entering the town—and followed after Le Roi. There were several well-known academic cities scattered across the vast mainland. Some were places that developed after a local ruler interested in scholarship gave a town special privileges, while others were originally small communities that became a destination for those who wished to study and put distance between themselves and secular power. Though their histories and roles differed, all the places considered academic cities often had a few things in common. One was that the percentage of the population who could read and write was higher compared with other towns and cities. Another was that there were many people who came to these places to study, which meant they were very tolerant of travelers and outsiders. The last similarity was the root of what Col found most abhorrent. “Ambition? Is that different from just being adventurous?” On the way to Aquent, Col had told Myuri a few stories here and there about the academic city, and what she had latched onto the most was that word—ambition. After leaving Rausbourne and making landfall at the port city on the mainland, they boarded a ship filling itself with people and goods before departing for another port farther south. Even the most difficult journeys over land were made in the blink of an eye on a ship. On the fourth day of travel, they already found themselves gazing from the deck of their ship out over the famous mountain range that separated the north from the south. When Myuri was told that snow did not fall in this region of the world, not even in winter, she was shocked. After stopping at their seventh or eighth port, they started following a river on horseback as they headed inland. Before long, the river met a canal that diverted the water south. There, they boarded a riverboat. Their journey was apparently following the exact same path that woolen goods took after being exported from the Winfiel Kingdom—several packaged woolen sacks embroidered with the logo of Eve’s company sat on the same riverboat. It was impossible to tell if Eve believed having someone she could trust traveling with her goods meant that she could have them guard against theft for free. What was certain was that the reason they were able to hitch a ride on the cargo ship for free was all that wool cargo. And Myuri was pleased they did not need to worry about pillows or bedding. At that very moment, she was snuggled in sacks stuffed with wool, munching on dried raspberries as she weaseled stories of the nearing academic city out of Col. In the meanwhile, Le Roi had boarded the boat in front of them, and he, too, had comfortably nestled his larger frame into the cargo. “Yes. Ambition. I believe I’ve told you many times the story of when I met your mother and father.” “Yeah. Mother and Father were on a riverboat just like this one when they picked up a sniveling baby.” She spoke as though she was talking about a lost little child, but she was not far off the mark. “The very reason I had been sitting by the river on the verge of tears was because I’d had such an awful experience in the academic city of Aquent. And that was because I had been ignorant of the ambitious spirit that inhabited the city.” “………” Myuri stared hard at Col for a moment as she continued to pop raspberries in her mouth. “Do you need me to bite the people who bullied you?” That sounded very much like something the girl who served as the leader of all the children in Nyohhira might say. “I appreciate the sentiment. But I believe most of the people involved at the time would be gone now.” “What…?” The hand minding the raspberries froze. Someone who had been raised in a village that had little to no change in population over the years could only arrive at one conclusion. “Plague…?” Most people in the world tended to live their entire lives in one place—only a fraction ever left home to travel abroad. As unsophisticated as she seemed at times, Myuri was always appropriately sensitive to darker topics. Col reached out to pat her head. “An academic city is a lot more like these rivers than you might imagine,” he said. Myuri tilted her head. “The flow of the river never ceases, yet the water in the river is never the same.” An ancient philosopher once wrote that poem. Myuri did not quite understand what that meant, but she grasped it was not a sad thing like she had imagined. She reached over the edge of the boat to drag her fingers, sticky from the fruit, over the surface of the river. “But a lot of people come and go from Nyohhira, too.” “Yet the guests who do come are not very different year to year, and those who own the bathhouses and work in the village are almost always the same.” Even the bards who could be considered wanderers visited Nyohhira regularly every year, like migratory birds. “The number of people who come and go through academic cities is much, much higher. It’s a torrent.” When he opened the door to his memories, he stumbled upon a flash of scenery in the back of his mind, illuminating like a bolt of lightning in a nighttime storm. “Those who go to these places are confident, ambitious people who have willingly given themselves over to the torrent, hoping to venture to new lands, or…” He looked at Myuri, and the sharp girl narrowed her eyes teasingly. “Stupid little boys who don’t know anything about the world?” “Yes. I truly knew nothing of the world. It was almost a miracle that I managed to get to Aquent safely. You know I left on that journey not knowing how far it would be, or how I would get there.” When he said that, Myuri closed the bag of raspberries and sat up. “The village you were born in wasn’t as remote as Nyohhira, but still rural, right?” “It was, yes. I left on my journey with only a few dirtied silvers in my hand, not even sure how to put them to use, believing that I would be saving the village from danger.” “You were more reckless than I am.” As the very one who had attempted to hold back Myuri when she whined about journeying with him, that comment stung his ears. “I arrived with God’s protection and the help of the kind people I met along the way, but what was waiting for me was not the city of tranquility and education I thought it would be.” Col paused to look at Myuri; the errand boy’s outfit she wore for travel and the sword she had fixed to her hip made the rambunctious girl so much more suited for the city than he had been. “Instead, I found a city where all the clamor and violence were steeped in ambition.” Myuri’s red eyes blinked, and she tilted her head curiously at him. “Really? But Canaan told me it’s full of people who love books and enjoy thinking about complicated things, like you.” “That applies to Mister Le Roi, too, you know.” The rambunctious girl stretched her skinny neck. “And the city is…well, it’s young.” “Young?” “Those passing through are mostly boys or young men. Many of them come from rich families, and so they live away from their annoying families and the prying eyes of their parents while still receiving a healthy allowance.” Myuri’s eyes grew distant as she stared into space. She was likely picturing what things would be like were it not for her nagging brother or the watchful eye of her mother wolf who she could never defy. Though she likely first thought of fun and lively festivals, what Col was picturing were the frenzied parties of vicious young men who found confidence in the untethered feelings that came from knowing no one would reprimand them for their actions. “Those who are from neighboring regions form cliques, go to taverns every night, and get very loud. They then go out into the streets, and if they happen to run into some fellow from a rival clique, they curse and swear and throw rocks. Then the fighting begins.” Col did not miss how, despite her widened eyes, the corners of her mouth were pulled upward slightly in a smile. “This is not the same as play war in the villages, which I know you are thinking of. This is much more insidious, and truly awful.” Col sighed deeply and looked out over the river. “And the professors who teach in the academic cities are the ones that instruct these packs of stray dogs. They are, you could say…” He looked at his palm and clenched his fist. “…the veteran mercenaries in the world of academia.” Col doubted that verbally explaining it appropriately conveyed what they were like, but Myuri understood from his countenance that they were not just regular folk. Canaan was very smart, but he came from a family of clergy—the type that produced popes. People like him had no need to mingle with the stray dogs at an academic city for their lessons, so Col would not be surprised if he genuinely thought it was simply a place for those who earnestly wished to hone their minds. And even if Canaan had heard of the evils in the city, he likely thought it nothing more than a few youths cutting loose. In contrast, Le Roi knew perfectly well what these cities were actually like and had not refuted Col’s worries. And this was the same man who did not so much as flinch when Myuri leaped at him to play with him. “What worries me about Archivist Canaan’s plan isn’t… It isn’t the lack of self-confidence the rest of you mention, like it has been before. The thought of associating with those packs of strays and their leaders weighs heavily on me.” These were the sons of great merchants who had accumulated their wealth in one generation and believed that all their problems could be solved with money, or the prodigal sons of nobility, whose sordid lifestyles had become too much for their parents to handle and were sent away on the prayer that they would at least learn a thing or two. Among them were a few children from poor families, who wanted to excel in academics for decent reasons. And then there were their professors, their teachers who, in their quest to achieve status and influence, armed themselves with facts and logic. A famous saint once said that if there really were such thing as a witch’s cauldron, it would look exactly the same as a university town. And when he considered the Church’s ecumenical council, Col could already imagine it would be a place where the most ruthlessly ambitious people of all would gather, and he doubted he could hold a candle to any of them. He was just a sheep with his head in the clouds, one who only saw half of one half of the world. “But there are several practical reasons why we must go to Aquent, and so we go.” He gave a tired little sigh after saying this, because he could predict what would happen at their destination. He knew it would only bring back painful memories once they reached the city. And he knew that the rambunctious girl in front of him would not heed his warnings; she only found them fascinating. The girl was clearly suited for that type of place. Myuri had been in a good mood since leaving Rausbourne, thanks to the promise of a new journey’s beginning. And he knew that even if he told her to behave herself once they arrived in the violently bustling city of Aquent, she would not listen. As he considered the problems on his plate, Col’s brow stayed in deep furrows with Myuri occupying a good half of his mind. This was because Col had a duty to see that she grew up into a proper young lady. And after some time, Aquent came into view. If he wanted to rein her in, then he would have to show her his tricks now. “However, the reason I made this decision was out of a sense of obligation as a participant in the conflict between the Church and Winfiel. If the ecumenical council is held and if I am summoned to attend, then I will have to follow my faith and go.” Myuri looked at him, confused, unsure about the reason behind the sudden topic change, but her large red eyes waited patiently for him to continue. “We need to admonish the Church’s tyranny for the sake of Winfiel Kingdom—no, for the sake of a righteous world. And for that, Archivist Canaan’s plan of collecting allies to bring along with us, as opposed to shouting myself hoarse at the council, is in fact the correct strategy.” Myuri loved all things war; she nodded eagerly. “Additionally, for the purpose of investigating the new continent, it is correct to assume that an academic city is the most likely place to find someone who is an expert on the ancient empire or the desert nations.” Myuri had heard plenty about that from Le Roi. “We may also be able to secure some paper for printing the scripture there. It’s not an exaggeration when I say we have plenty of reasons to go. However, considering how hesitant I was due to my past experiences, I would say the reason I managed to take this step was because of you.” “Me?” She stared wide-eyed at him. “There are scores of stray dogs and their pack leaders in these academic cities. When I was young, they treated me terribly, and if I’m being honest, they still scare me. But now, I have a wolf with me—you. That means I don’t need to fear the strays anymore. Isn’t that right?” Myuri had firmly rejected Hyland’s offer of an escort on this journey. Col personally believed the watchful eye of an escort would probably make it very difficult for Myuri to use her strength as a wolf, and so he had not disagreed. Of course, Myuri had insisted that her escort alone was enough, simply because of her pride as a knight. In the end, with Le Roi’s help, Hyland eventually gave in. And all that meant what Col had just said held extra significance. Beneath Myuri’s coat, her wolf ears and tail flicked excitedly. Seeing his chance, Col said, “Please, do not leave my side.” And the rambunctious girl immediately interpreted it as, Do not leave my side. This is not to make sure you do not get lost, but so that you can help your poor brother. Though she always grew furious when treated like a child, this time her eyes gleamed almost tearfully at such a direct call for help. “Okay, leave it to me!” “Good. I’m counting on you.” Col watched as her ears and tail flicked about beneath her cloak in open elation. This had gone rather well. If he was nervous about her getting swallowed up by the vortex of corruption and bad influences in the city, then all he had to do was honestly tell her that he wanted her to stay by his side. He felt like he had read a fable like this once. Meanwhile, Myuri was exhilarated by what was to come. “It’s a knight’s job to protect the weak!” The longer he looked at her, the stronger it aroused a strange unease in him, but he considered this much better than being physically tied together by string. With a small, wry smile at Myuri’s dedication, Col leaned over to put the final touch on his work with a whisper in her ear. “It is critical that my guard doesn’t stand out. Keep your voice down and put your ears and tail away.” “Oh.” Myuri immediately did as she was told and went expressionless. But like grease oozing from meat, a grin spread across her face. Though this was exasperating in its own way, Col was still relieved that at least one of his worries had been sorted out. In all honesty, Col did not remember very well how he had managed to get all the way to Aquent as a child. Captains let him board their boats out of the kindness of their hearts, or friendly merchant caravans let him ride in their carts, or he simply walked straight south as he threw the words “academic city” at any passersby, hoping for directions. What surprised him when he arrived was that there were a surprising number of reckless boys. He had occasionally heard from priests that there were many who had lost their homes—be it to war, poverty, or plague—but the cleverest boys would receive financial support from their local churches and study at these academic cities in order to find success in life. But no one would teach a penniless boy who wandered into the city without any connections for free. When these boys struggled to feed themselves, a kind older boy would appear and offer him food, a bed, knowledge on how to survive, and would even teach him how to read and write. As they settled in, thankful for the presence of such kind people, they would one day be asked to carry out a strange job. They were dressed in tattered clothes, wooden splints tied to an arm or a leg, mud lathered over their faces, and made to go from house to house. It was, in essence, a scam. They would go around, pretending to be destitute while asking for handouts. Then the older boys who had acted kind would suddenly transform into demons, punching and kicking the victim while taking all the money he managed to collect that day, leaving him with only a few coins and a piece of bread. Boys with nowhere else to go often suddenly found themselves on the lowest rungs of a gang of crooks. There were mutually contradictory meanings hidden in the words “wandering student.” Part of it identified a young person who dreamed of social success and worked hard on their studies, but it also signified someone who wandered from place to place wearing the thinnest guise of a student, scamming people as they went to make ends meet. “Ah… This brings back memories.” They had been on the road for a total of one week after leaving the Kingdom of Winfiel. On the map, they had traveled even farther south than Pasloe, the town in which Myuri’s parents met. Myuri seemed genuinely impressed that the land kept on going and going, no matter how far they traveled by sea and river. At last, they arrived in Aquent. Where a normal city would ask them at the gates whether they were bringing in expensive items or determining if they were criminals, they were instead asked if they could read and write. Since the city was always overflowing with people who claimed to be students, these questions managed to keep out some people. But there were also some sharp-eyed older students lurking about, looking for an opportunity to catch the very young students kept outside the walls and make them their underlings with sweet, honeyed words. As Col watched on with a kind face, several boys approached, some young enough to peer up at him like he was a savior, and he had to fight the urge to take each of them by the hand. “Master Col.” Le Roi spoke with such a calm tone, one that Col rarely ever heard, and it drew him back to the present. “If you ever feel like it, you could build an abbey that takes in the lambs who lose their way on the roads. We would have to prepare properly for such an undertaking.” They could not save everyone from all the world’s ails. Though he was worried about their futures, Col peeled his gaze away from the boys, passed through the city walls, and set foot into the academic city of Aquent once more. “Whoa… What is this smell…?” Though Myuri always grew excited the moment she saw a lively city, this time she scrunched her face and pressed a hand to her nose. “What smell?” Both Col and Le Roi sniffed the air, but all they could smell was that particular dusty scent that came with lively cities, the smell of grilling meat from the outdoor food stalls, and the stench of manure left by horses and livestock on the streets. Col did not think the smell much different than that of Rausbourne’s, but Le Roi spoke up. He had a different idea. “Ah. Could it be the musk of men?” “Huh?” “University towns are overwhelmingly male. When I escorted a nun from a convent who came to buy books for learning, I remember she had the very same reaction. And when I paid a visit to the convent myself, I thought the same thing.” Myuri stared in surprise at him. She looked back and forth between Le Roi and some passersby, then finally looked to Col and leaned in close. “…Brother smells nice, though.” Le Roi chuckled suggestively. Col pushed Myuri away with as much calm as he could muster. “More importantly, we should find an inn. One where those who drink debate how to spell the longest word in the world.” Myuri frowned while Le Roi beamed with delight. They eventually found a room in an inn that Le Roi was familiar with, and they decided that their cover would be booksellers’ apprentices. It was unlikely their cover would be blown, considering they both could read and write and knew a thing or two about books. They put all their things in their rooms, washed the dirt off their feet with the cold well water, then reconvened at the quiet tavern on the first floor. “Now, the first thing we need to do is finish our errands before we meet up with Archivist Canaan.” Their most pressing issue was buying paper. Everything related to the new continent came second. They could hold off on jousting with scholars until Canaan showed up. “I will take care of the paper buying. There are several papermakers here that I have connections with.” “Then should Brother and I look up stuff on the new continent or find books on the desert? Is there a big library here like there is in Rausbourne?” “No. It’s best if you visit the bookstores instead.” “You mean they’d sell the books we’re looking for there?” The expression on Myuri’s face suggested she thought that finding those books would make them terribly valuable. “There are mountains and mountains of old books at the bookstores, often used as grammar books,” Le Roi went on to explain. “Not even the shop owner will know every book in the store; you may be lucky.” Myuri twitched her nose; she had likely imagined the warring smells of mold and dust. “And there are many, many bookstores here. Even general stores will keep books in stock. It will be hard work just going around and asking. I will help once I’ve purchased the paper, of course… Ah, why don’t you work your way from the western side of the city first, Master Col?” “I don’t mind at all.” “How are we gonna find people who speak the desert language?” “That search will begin with a visit to the professors’ guild. Those who wish to gather students and teach them need the guild’s permission, so they will have a roster.” Myuri nodded with great interest at discovering the existence of a new sort of guild. But the intelligent girl suddenly looked up and to Col. “But wait, then shouldn’t we go to the guild first and go to the bookstores later?” Col and Le Roi turned to look at her as the red eyes of the wisewolf’s daughter rounded. “If there are people here who know a lot about the desert, then wouldn’t they know where to find the books we need?” Bread belonged to a bakery; meat belonged to a butcher. She was correct. But there was one complicated twist. “Do you remember when I told you about the packs of wild dogs in the city?” Col asked. The wolf girl peered up at him with wide, innocent eyes. It was Le Roi who continued. “If the professor you find at the guild is honest, then that would be a good plan. But you would be in trouble if they are a quick-witted person.” “………” The only daughter of the talented merchant and the wisewolf thought deeply for a moment, then swiftly arrived at the answer. “Because they’d buy the book first, then sell it to us for a really high price?” “Precisely. Books only pass through our lives once. And this city is full of people just like that.” Myuri blinked, then looked at Col. She had apparently assumed that everyone in this city was an eccentric who liked books and wanted to excel at academics—people just like her foolish and overly earnest brother. But it seemed she finally understood that most of the people in the city were more like Le Roi or Eve. “And that is why we will be going to the guild last.” “Aha,” she breathed in understanding, finally seeing precisely what sort of trouble her brother had gotten into in the past. “Then should we act stupid at the bookstores?” “And like you don’t have much money.” Myuri giggled and turned to Col. “I think Brother gets more excited than I ever do when he looks at books, so maybe I shouldn’t be with him.” He could not argue with that, but he could put it another way. “I am only looking, not touching, because some flowers grow on peaks too high to reach.” “Flowers?” Myuri murmured. Someone had left a wax-coated board on a table nearby—not uncommon, as this was an inn where many booksellers gathered—so he spelled it out for her. After staring at the new turn of phrase for a moment, she lifted her head. “Then we just have to go flower picking!” she cried innocently. Col had to scold her—no girl should be speaking in such a loud voice. This was a city where many people came alone from places Col had never heard of. This was a city where it was not unusual to find boys playing cards in the taverns during the daytime. And this was also a city where one could see young men listening intently to elderly, bearded professors in disheveled brown robes giving lectures on logic as they sat on scattered straw on the ground beneath the eaves of company trading houses. Aquent was a vulgar, corrupt city, yet it was also undoubtedly filled with intellectual passion—it was not uncommon to see all sorts of people wandering about, and that meant the city was perfect for Col and Myuri. As they went from bookstore to bookstore, they spotted several boys around Myuri’s age wearing swords at their hips. Some were clearly children of noble families, and some were poor-looking boys, which made Col question what that sword was, in fact, used for. He was more than certain Myuri would be thrilled to be in a city that was unlike any other they had visited thus far, but she was surprisingly quiet. Col wondered if his trick had worked better than he thought, but the real reason became clear when he was flipping through a copy of a well-known grammar reference book outside one of the shops. “Watch your wallet, Brother.” There were so many pickpockets and petty thieves that she had no time to get excited. “You were right when you said they were like packs of stray dogs. The streets that cross each city block are definitely lines in their territory.” Col had little understanding of this, but apparently Myuri could tell simply by looking at the boys standing on the street corners, or the boys absently petting actual stray dogs on the sides of the roads. But while Myuri was on such high alert, to the point where she had not asked for a single skewer of meat, Col was enjoying Aquent quite a bit despite how hesitant he had been to come back in Rausbourne. And that was because there were stacks upon stacks of grammar textbooks and rhetoric reference books in the front of all the shops. This was an inconceivable sight in even the second biggest city in the Kingdom of Winfiel. At the fifth or sixth shop they visited, Col noticed someone was giving a lecture on a commentary on the scripture in the alleyway beside the shop, by the well set back from the street. Part of his attention was stolen by all the familiar words he heard whispered, and another part of him was engrossed in the bundle of papers in hand—he was terribly excited. Myuri made sure her sigh was loud enough for him to hear. “You’re like a kid, Brother.” Eve had told them they would most certainly find hidden treasures if they went, but he genuinely could not refute that he was more entranced by this city than Myuri. “It’s fine, though. I’ll protect you. You can read as much as you want.” When they had first started on this journey, Myuri would grasp his hand, even cling to his arm whenever she had the chance, but now she stood with her arms crossed, shoulders back, and legs apart to keep people away. Though she was not tall, and her shoulders were not broad by any means, she looked exactly like a little knight. “No, I would appreciate it if you scolded me a bit more.” When he said that, she looked at him flatly, then chuckled. But if he was allowed to offer an excuse, the reason he had been so engrossed in the books was to deliberately draw people’s attention. “What sort of book are you looking for?” It was the shopkeeper of store seven or eight that finally talked to them. “Has nothing surprised you yet? I’ve been watching you pore fervently over every single book.” He was about the same age as Le Roi. Col shrugged. “He doesn’t care, so long as it’s a book,” Myuri replied with exasperation, and the bookseller smiled. “I’m sorry, this just brings me back,” Col said. His awful acting most certainly made him seem more bashful than anything else. But what he said was true. The book before him, for example, was but a rough bundle of paper, scarcely worthy of being called a book, and had been copied in a terribly idiosyncratic hand that reminded him of how Myuri used to write. But the margins were blackened from fingerprints, which meant it had passed through many hands before reaching here. When Col held it for himself, memories of a time past came flooding back to him. He smiled vaguely as he recalled both painful and happy memories, and the bookseller gave him a look of surprise. “Were you a student?” “A wandering one, yes.” The bookseller lifted his head slightly, then nodded in understanding. “Then perhaps my father smacked your hands when you were a child to chase you away.” There were a great many young, wandering students who would steal bundles of paper and sell them off, either because they were desperate for food, or because the older boys controlling them ordered them to do so. “The city seems no different than it was when I was last here.” “But the faces keep changing. Of all the long-standing booksellers in the area, only us and the guy across from us remain.” Myuri was rather surprised to hear that. In Nyohhira, her hometown, the people who ran the bathhouses, stables, and even the riverboats always stayed the same. She had perhaps never even considered that a store could close down. “I…suppose that means the textbook betting is still hale and hearty.” Glancing at the shops along the street, it was apparent that many customers were fervently snatching up books that weren’t even bound, fetching very high prices despite their obviously poor make. And that was unnatural. As Col spoke while gazing out over the books lined along the busy street, a familiarity gleamed in the bookseller’s eye. “The way you speak makes it sound like you suffered at the hands of textbook gambling, too.” Teaching via oral instruction was generally the most accepted method in academia, but using books where those teachings were written down was also unavoidable. And the greediest people always caused chaos in places where there was demand. “I did. I ran away with a great debt landed on my shoulders, and it was her parents who eventually took me in.” The bookseller looked to Myuri, who drew up her shoulders at suddenly being brought up in the conversation, and he gave a small smile before sighing, tired. “Must have been God’s will, then. Sounds like He does his work sometimes after all.” A member of the clergy would be shocked to hear anyone say that, but it was not unusual to see fledgling students up and vanish out of the blue. “Then are you a private tutor, making his triumphant return? Or a priest from a private chapel? What sort of book are you looking for?” It seemed the bookseller noticed Col was familiar with how things worked in the city. The reason he had acted so deliberately passionate about the books as he went around and looked at them was to lower the guard of the greedy booksellers. “In truth, we’re looking for texts on the desert nations.” “Oh?” “It would be even better if you had fairy tales or something of the sort.” The bookseller looked between them with a knowing eye. He must have thought Myuri to be a child of a long-distance trader. It was common practice for them to send an educated blood relative to a faraway place and have them act as their proxy in business. And it was normal to use storybooks as grammar textbooks. “The desert, hmm? There was a rather well-known scholar on the desert in this city once.” The bookseller pulled a rather thick notebook out from under the counter and began flipping through it. It was unlike the books lined up out front. It was an index of valuable books, those bound in leather, with pages of parchment, the kind bound to the shelves with chains. “Old age took him quite a while ago. His collection circulated the city for a while afterward, but I haven’t seen any of them for some time—a professor from another city must have picked it clean.” “Were no copies made?” “I haven’t seen any. In cities like these, books that have no hope of becoming textbooks hold no worth—you should know this.” “………” Col was not the only one who fell silent; the wolf girl, too, was quiet in the face of yet another topic she did not understand. “Would you like me to use what connections I have to ask the other booksellers in other academic cities? We’d probably—no, we’d definitely find something that way.” An encounter with a book was once in a lifetime. Even if copies could be made of a text, it took an awful amount of time and effort in order to make them—they were all hand copied, after all. And so books were a type of product for which prices could easily surge if the demand was there. The violent fluctuation of prices easily lent itself to gambling—one could build up an entire lifetime of savings in a single night, or just as easily lose everything. And since there was a constant need for books as textbooks in this city, everyone was always keeping an eye out for chances to gamble. Even butchers and bakers took part in the gambling, and it was normal for shops to shut down once they lost a bet. Thus, books in a university town were like birds—they came close, then almost immediately flew off. Requesting a book from a distant academic city would mean being charged mercilessly high prices. It was purely out of the goodness of his heart that the bookseller warned them of this ahead of time, and it was because of the bookseller’s dependability and honesty that this particular establishment had managed to survive for so long. “Please tell me if you manage to find any of those books still remaining in the city. I don’t mind if they have a bit of…personality.” The bookseller squared his shoulders and nodded. Myuri, bored of the adult conversation and their meaningful looks, had been amusing herself by flipping through sheaves of paper out front, and had finally reached the end of her patience. Not minding the number of people around her, she spoke up in a loud, loud voice. “Excuse me, do you have any stories about knights in battle?” The two adults turned to look at the girl dressed in boy’s clothing. “Hmm? Do you mean chronicles?” “Something like a war epic, even.” Though she looked like a company errand boy, a sword rested on her hip. The bookseller gave Col’s clothes a quick once over, perhaps guessing how much he had paid for it. “And would you prefer land battles, or naval battles?” He was a masterful merchant—Myuri immediately latched onto the bait she had not ever considered was an option. “Naval battles?! Like fights at sea?!” “Hmm? Have you come from the north?” the bookseller asked pompously. Myuri’s eyes went wide and snapped to Col. Their clothes alone said that they were not from the south, but his guess seemed like magic to Myuri, who was not familiar with the ins and outs of travel. “When we think of big knight battles in this region, we always think of naval combat. If you head a bit farther south from here, you will find a calm and warm ocean, unlike the waters of the north. When the knights of the ancient empire set forth, dreaming of world domination, they set sail from the glittering jewel that is the ocean.” Myuri’s eyes glittered like jewels themselves. The bookseller then brought out a book not from among those lined up out front, but from inside the store. It was properly bound. “If you’ll be gazing out across those waters yourself, then you should at least know the stories that took place on them. And here! This is The Ramad War Epic, tale of the Battle of Ramad, said to be the biggest battle in the history of imperial times. Ramad was a country of knights, and as legend would have it, they held out against the ancient empire until the bitter end, astonishingly facing an army of ten thousand with just five hundred soldiers.” Myuri was so excited that Col was convinced her ears and tail would pop out at any moment. “Ah, but that’s right. I forgot something very important.” “Hmm?” The bookseller briefly opened the book, closed it, then patted himself on the cheek. “See, these are all being used as grammar books at the moment, and they’re all written in the ancient imperial language. Can you read the script?” “………” Myuri turned to look at Col, and Col shook his head. Her face fell in disappointment, but the bookseller grinned. “Worry not! The ancient imperial script is essentially the same as the modern script of the Church! So you can learn the basics with the Shradin Prayer Book, then learn emotional expression through imperial poets in the Tolan Book of Pentameter Poetry, and that should make reading books from the imperial age a walk in the park!” Myuri was simple when it came to things like this—she was fully prepared to do just that. She tugged on Col’s sleeve and pointed to the thick books in the shopkeeper’s hand. Booksellers were more or less all like Le Roi. “I can teach her the script of the Church. However, it is much more difficult than the vernacular.” She had been tied to a chair and forced to learn to read and write. She remembered what that was like. A look of realization crossed her face. “You’re a tough customer, mister.” “Hmm?” Myuri looked at Col, then to the bookseller. The bookseller suppressed a laugh. “Many words are spelled the same, yes, but the grammar is very different. The meaning of the words have changed over a long period of time, so she would need dedicated study before she could start to read books from the imperial era.” Perhaps the bookseller thought he could sell ignorant tourists freshly arrived from the northern countryside books at a high price, or perhaps it had been a little game to amuse himself. That must be why, Col thought, when he realized the way the bookseller was looking at him. Though there was a smile on his face, it did not reach his eyes. “So you’re the real deal.” “Huh?” The bookseller gestured for Col to come closer while he leaned in and whispered, “Why not work for me?” Myuri looked up suspiciously at the adults huddled together. “I won’t let you trick my brother,” she said, putting her hand on the hilt of her sword. The bookseller grinned. “If it goes well, then I’ll give you both books for free.” Myuri’s eyes narrowed with a “Hmm…” and she turned to look at Col, troubled. “I can’t agree to transcription work.” “Don’t be ridiculous. You think that work is enough to earn you those books? You know exactly what makes money in this city.” He grinned. Col had originally thought that the honesty of the establishment had lent to its longevity, but when he saw that poised smile he was genuinely astonished at how naive he had been just moments earlier. His assumption was far too innocent—the reason this store had survived was because it was exceptionally cunning in an already cutthroat city. “The textbook market?” Bingo. The bookseller nodded. “To tell you the truth, this city is currently embroiled in a major uproar. The textbook selection has been seriously delayed, and it’s resulted in an unbelievably massive gambling scene. I’m having a terribly hard time gathering information, because everyone already knows my face. But you arrived yesterday, if not today. You could do it for me. And you seem to be looking for books on the desert nations. This opportunity might be just the lifesaver you need.” This city was a spring of knowledge and academics. “What do you think? Why don’t you at least hear out my proposal?” And what lay sparkling at the bottom of the spring was greed and gold. “The textbook market,” Myuri murmured, ripping three pieces of pork from her skewer at once and stuffing her cheeks full. It was like she was trying to swallow the word itself. “That’s all…you talked about…Brother…” “Do not talk with your mouth full,” Col scolded. Myuri prioritized her appetite and bit into the meat. Unlike the Kingdom of Winfiel, which tended to sell primarily mutton, Aquent had rows of stalls that sold pork, beef, and even rabbit and chicken—she was delighted to eat something that was not mutton for the first time in a long time. After leaving the bookstore, whose owner was just as hard to pin down as Le Roi was, they came to the stalls at the central square to have lunch. But Col did not bother peeling his hardboiled eggs; he slowly spun one on the table with a finger. “But Brother,” Myuri began, licking her forefinger and thumb, taking a break after downing a portion of the meat. “If what that shady man says is true, then it’d line up with our goals. We don’t really have a reason to turn him down, do we?” “Well, you are correct, in a sense.” What Myuri was talking about was likely the two books presented to them as reward, but that was not all. What the bookseller had proposed to them was essentially a tailor-made coincidence. “So when a book gets chosen as a textbook here, everyone suddenly wants it, which means it suddenly gets super expensive overnight, right? But they haven’t picked any new textbooks in ages, which means the booksellers are all getting antsy. And the reason no new textbooks are being chosen is because there are two student gangs fighting in the city. Is that right?” She reached out to pluck a few of the eggs Col was playing with and used them as stand-ins for the two warring gangs and the booksellers watching on. “And then, one of the leaders of the gangs happens to the very last pupil of that scholar from the desert lands who died.” At that point, she smacked one of the eggs against the table, peeled the shell, and popped it into her mouth. “And then the bookstore guy told us to play nice with that leader and get info on the textbooks out of them, right? Since we’re looking for information on the desert, that leader is the only one in Aquent who knows anything. So we should pretend to want to learn from them. The bookstore guy said it’s—I remember! He called it a lifesaver!” Myuri was proud to have used a phrase she just recently learned; she began to peel her second egg. “…It sounds much too good to be true.” The plain boiled eggs were too bland for her, so she produced a little pouch of salt from her belt and carefully sprinkled some over it. She had seen Le Roi do this once—a habit he had doubtlessly picked up on his travels—and was eager to do the same.
Chapter 103
64 min read