Chapter 3: Contract
ORI stared dumbfounded at Unen. “A…girl?”
Unen let loose the loudest, most exaggerated sigh, causing all the color to drain from Ori’s face. He continued to stand there like a stick in the mud, surprised at the sudden reveal, before recomposing himself and snapping to attention like a soldier in front of Unen. His gaze matched hers.
“I’m sorry.” For all the distress in his voice, his expression hadn’t changed much.
Why does he try so hard to keep his expression neutral? Unen found his expressionlessness curious, but accepted his apology.
“It’s fine, really. I’m used to it,” she admitted.
“Sorry,” Ori immediately apologized again.
“I said it’s fine.”
“Sorr—” He fumbled for words. “A-Ah, sorry. Err, not that, umm…”
Maintaining a controlled expression plays a large part in keeping a calm façade, along with curbing one’s gestures and tone of voice. Ori’s wild hand gestures and the panic evident in his flustered voice ruined the entire act.
Maybe he isn’t trying to keep his expression neutral to remain in control of the situation? Several people I know in Yezero are bad at expressing themselves. Mayhap Ori is like them and this rigid countenance of his is already unfiltered.
While Unen ruminated over the inconsequential details, Ori finally calmed down. Sucking in a deep breath, he exhaled and cleared his throat once.
“So I take it you learned mapmaking and surveying techniques from Hereh during his stay at the clinic?”
Unen replied cautiously, “I think you can say that was the case…indirectly.”
“Indirectly?”
“You don’t get it, do you?” Simon cut in. “He only stayed at the clinic right after the major earthquake hit. Do you seriously think there was time to teach or be taught mapmaking? Just so you know, everyone was working nonstop to tend to the mountain of patients, which increased ten times over with every passing day!” He stopped and clenched his fists. “But I was stuck in bed the whole time.” Simon bit his lip.
Irena smacked him in the back of the head. Simon shot her a bitter smile in return before turning back to Ori. “Three months after the earthquake, the man you’re looking for suddenly disappeared without a word. Nobody’s seen him since. At least not in the town of Yezero.”
“Then how did this map come to be…? What does she mean by indirectly?”
Simon sighed irritably at Ori’s rapid-fire questions. “Unen’s dad and my dad are old friends. That’s why we took Unen in when her parents died in the earthquake.” Simon stopped talking again and this time looked pointedly at Unen.
Unen gave him a small nod and squared her shoulders as she looked up at Ori. “Hereh disappeared and I was given his suddenly unoccupied room. After some time there, I ended up finding a folded book that had fallen into a crack between the bed and wall.”
Fire lit Ori’s eyes. “You learned from that book?” He expectantly leaned forward.
She nodded slowly. “Yeah. Surveying methods were written inside.”
“Where is that book now?”
“Milosh burned it, saying we had to get rid of it before it brought trouble.”
Just what kind of reaction was Ori going to have after learning what he was searching for had been burned? Unen answered his question while internally dreading his reaction, but the man himself simply said, “I see,” in response.
Simon took over the explanation again. “This suspicious duo barged into our home as soon as he had disappeared, threatening us with, ‘Where’s Hereh? No good will come to you or your family if you hide him.’ Maybe they’re in the same line of work as you? Due to that incident, Dad quickly destroyed the book to keep us from getting into any further trouble.” He paused to catch his breath and dropped his tone authoritatively. Then, emphasizing each of his next words as he locked eyes with Ori, he firmly summarized, “In other words, there isn’t anyone who matches the ‘Hereh’ you’re looking for here. Nor do we have anything to do with him.”
“That’s the end of this conversation,” Simon’s glare implied. The two young men silently held each other’s gaze without so much as a twitch.
Ori was the first to avert his eyes. He turned toward Unen, as if there hadn’t just been a confrontation, and asked yet another question. “Was there anything else written in that folded book?”
“Nothing aside from the stuff on maps.”
“Are you the only one who read it?”
“That’s right.”
Simon’s exasperated voice cut through Unen’s answer, “You’ve gotten more than enough out of us, haven’t you? Hereh isn’t here anymore. So, what now? Don’t tell me you’re going to lay into Unen next with something like, ‘You were never meant to possess that knowledge.’”
Ori said nothing. He merely stared silently at Unen.
“Who the hell do you think you are?” Simon bluntly asked, venom lacing his voice.
A deep sigh spilled from Ori’s lips. “Knowledge is power. And great, unnecessary power draws equally great disaster to it. Besides—”
“Oh, I know! I just got a great idea!” Irena interrupted, cheerfully clapping her hands together.
She had remained quietly listening until now, so her abrupt interruption startled Ori—and even Unen and Simon. Now the center of everyone’s attention, Irena sheepishly addressed Ori, “Listen, won’t you join me as Unen’s bodyguard? We just need you for three days.”
“Why the heck are you bringing that up now?!” Simon immediately shouted, before Ori could even react.
“Sorry, but he did just bring up how disaster follows talented people, so… Look, Simon, weren’t you the one who suggested that we find a guard in case we ran into a disaster?”
“This isn’t the time to be playing memory games!”
“I’m not playing around. Anyway, Ori, was it?” Irena pressed on with a storm-like fervor. “That sword at your waist isn’t just for decoration, right? You hid your presence completely when you eavesdropped on us. You’re no ordinary swordsman to be able to get this close without me noticing.”
Completely taken aback, Ori was rendered speechless. So his face muscles can move in surprise, Unen mentally noted.
“How long do you plan on skipping out on work, Simon?!” Milosh’s angry voice shot out from the clinic with impeccable timing.
Irena raised her eyebrows. “Did you hear that? Do you think you can just walk away after using up Simon’s precious time with your questions?” she charged, “Besides, if they hadn’t cooperated with you, you would’ve wasted days asking around town about the person you’re after. You finished your work in the shortest amount of time possible thanks to them, so don’t you think you should reward us for it?”
Simon was still against it. “Hang on there. Are you going to entrust your life to this suspicious guy? I’m against it.”
“Oh, but he can properly apologize when the time comes. That makes him a good man. And you can see for yourself how devoted he is to his work.”
Switching straight from surprise to exasperation, Ori knit his brow. Well, they were saying whatever they pleased about him right in front of his face, so it was no wonder that his expression would morph into a frown.
“Anyway, it’s just for three days.”
“It’s for three WHOLE days! You’ll be with this fishy man for three whole days…”
Unen sensed a change in the conversation’s trajectory and quietly sighed to herself. Inhaling until her lungs were full of air, she stepped aside to address Ori directly, as her friends were on the verge of launching into another of their lovers’ spats.
“Would you mind helping out if you’re free? I can’t pay much, but as you can see, I’m very small and powerless, and I can’t put the entire burden of guarding me on Irena.”
Plus, I might be able to hear the Murmurs if I’m with Ori.
The first time Unen had ever sensed the Murmurs was when she met Hereh. Murmurs only brushed against her ears when she was with him. After he disappeared, she heard the Murmurs faintly once again when the people who came searching for him stood in the clinic doorway.
And now, the voiceless voice she hadn’t heard once in the three years since had resurfaced with Ori’s appearance.
Unen fixed an imploring gaze on him, pleading silently. As things stood, he was her sole lead on Hereh. She hoped unraveling the puzzle around the Murmurs would give her an idea of where Hereh was.
Hereh’s warm hands had saved her life. His kind voice had taught her many things in the small snatches of time he took to help her. He had given her so much, yet she hadn’t even been able to tell him a basic thank you.
“…Fine. Three days, yeah? I’ll take on the job as your guard.” Glancing icily at Irena and Simon, who looked like they weren’t doing anything other than flirting at this point, Ori nodded firmly in Unen’s direction. “In return for all the time you saved me in regard to Hereh, my fee can just be the necessary expenses including food.”
“Thank you!” Unen really was grateful from the bottom of her heart.
It almost looked as though the corners of his lips turned up ever so slightly.