Ouka
OUKA screwed his face up bitterly as Dram loped toward Head Island. He was pissed off that he’d let his emotions get the better of him and stupidly challenged Eben. He was further annoyed by the fact that he had lost and was forced to retreat like a coward.
But his careless actions weren’t the only thing ticking him off right now. Lovel ranted and raved at him the entire time from Dram’s mouth.
“Lemme down, you jerk! Or stop! I’ll rip the teeth out of your Golem’s mouth!”
She’s got a lot of energy left in her despite that nasty battle.
Ouka sighed. “Pipe down, girlie. You’re not gonna end up in one piece if ya take a tumble at this speed.”
“I don’t need you to worry about me, geezer!”
“Geezer? I’m only thirty… Well, not that it matters. Anyways, I’ve got questions for you. Who’s that Jair guy?”
“Who knows? I only met him three days ago myself.”
“You only just met, huh…?” It sounded like a lie to him, but Ouka decided to set that aside for now. That wasn’t what he needed answers for just yet. “In any case, that Jair guy ain’t your friend, right?”
“He’s my enemy.”
“Looked like it. And he’s a dangerous enemy at that. Which is why you bothered to say all those mean things to that other boy, to try and get him to run away from the battle, yeah?”
Lovel’s expression went blank. She peered up at Ouka from Dram’s mouth. “What? You noticed?”
“It was pretty easy to tell from what I saw. Does that mean the boy’s important to you?”
“Pretty much, yeah… I’m the one who pulled him into this, and he’s still just a kid, after all,” Lovel meekly admitted.
Ouka’s first thought was that she was still a kid too, but he didn’t say it out loud. Instead, he put more pressure on her. “Wouldn’t you say it’s mostly your fault the Church’s after him too?”
“…Yeah. It’s my fault, because I’m the one who successfully activated Gandolf’s Engrave Incantations.”
“Then obediently turn yourself in. I’ll get the boy acquitted of all crimes if you do.”
“You will?” Lovel blinked at him.
Ouka continued with a smile, “This is a trade. I can reasonably say that if you don’t adhere to the Church’s investigation, that boy won’t be let off without payin’ a heavy price. How do ya want to proceed, girlie?”
“…You’re a crooked coward.” Lovel glared daggers at Ouka.
I’m being called a coward a lot lately, he thought for a second, but didn’t think it was worth letting it bother him.
“Think what you want, but it’s time to choose. The boy’s freedom? Or your freedom?”
“You’ve really left me no choice…I’ll cooperate. All I have to do is let you arrest me without a struggle, right?”
“Yup, yup. That’s the road that’ll lead to everyone’s happiness.” Ouka spotted the Church up ahead. He dismounted Dram and spoke into the speaking tube installed in the side of the gate. “I’m Ouka Baraki. Please summon Torah Lord Spinoza. Let him know I caught his suspect.”
They waited a short while in front of the iron gates, until it eventually opened and Spinoza, accompanied by a subordinate, stepped out.
“You’re as fast as I’d hoped, Ouka! Man, am I glad I left it to you!” Spinoza exclaimed, looking at Lovel.
Ouka responded with a grin, “Take this girlie away while you’ve got the chance. She’s a fighter, so watch out.”
Spinoza’s subordinate followed his instructions and seized both of Lovel’s arms. “Move,” he ordered her. Lovel obeyed and walked with him.
As she left, she glared over her shoulder at Ouka. “…You’d better keep your promise,” she warned.
“I will. I may not look the part, but I’m a man of honor.”
She disappeared beyond the gates never taking her doubtful glare off him.
Spinoza addressed Ouka once they were alone. “One down, one to go.”
“More like two to go.”
“Two? Isn’t it just one? The boy who Tamed an Alloy Golem.”
“Nope. There are two others with a cube, aside from Lovel. A schoolgirl from the Academy, and a young man with a questionable identity.”
“How’s that possible?! Why are the cubes popping up all over the place now, after all this time?”
Ouka raked his hand through his hair as he answered the bewildered Spinoza. “I dunno the reason, but the cubes are being leaked by a man named Jair. He’s a black-haired Golem Tamer in his late-teens.”
Spinoza’s cheek twitched. “Jair…? Yet another involved party? How did you find out?”
“Lovel brought him up. And I had the misfortune of meetin’ him myself.”
“Did you fight?”
“Yeah, but I lost bad… That guy’s mastered the cube. And to make matters worse, it happened to be the imitation black cube without a shell.”
Spinoza’s eyes went so wide that his whites bulged. He couldn’t believe his ears. “That’s impossible…! How can he control a cube without a shell?”
His shock wasn’t unwarranted. Their tests proved the black cube unusable, no matter what they tried. Ouka wasn’t alone with that understanding—Spinoza was fully aware of the facts too.
“I don’t know how either. But, whatever the case, we can’t let Jair wander about as he pleases.”
“Damn straight. The Church will cast a net to catch him too. He’s a black-haired Golem Tamer, right?”
“Right. He’s the main culprit. You don’t have to arrest the Alloy Golem boy.”
“Don’t be stupid. You think we’d leave him be? We’re the ones who will decide how to punish him.”
“Sorry, Spinoza, I made a deal with Lovel. In return for her cooperation with our investigation, we’re gonna acquit that boy Cliff.”
“WHAT?! Don’t make decisions for the Church!”
“It’s not that big of a deal. From what I gather, he was just dragged into the whole mess. His only crime would be illegally creating a Golem, but I’d say it’s been destroyed by now.”
Spinoza turned over what Ouka was asking of him in his head. After a slight pause, he exhaled a massive sigh. “Damn it, you’ve really tied my hands with this…! I’ll persuade the elders for you.”
“Now that’s the Spinoza I know and love. You catch on fast!”
“This is a special exception. Now’s not the time to expend resources on small-fry anyway… I have my men stationed at the boy’s hideout. Want me to take them off guard duty there?”
“Oh, I’ll go instead. I’ve got questions for the boy.”
“Sorry, take care of it for me then. The boy’s hideout is Shoulder Coast Station.”
Ouka nodded, hopped on Dram’s back, and left Torah Church’s grounds.
He traveled straight back to Chest Island, headed for the abandoned refinery. Though he planned to let Cliff know about his acquittal, his main motivation was his concern over Jair.
By the time he arrived at the refinery, he found it utterly demolished.
Was it destroyed by Eben…?
Eben and Jair were long gone. They had likely left the scene of the crime and vanished into the dark of night.
“…Don’t think you can escape me. This island’s my backyard.” Ouka’s lips pulled into a fierce sneer. He remounted Dram and set him galloping off to recommence his search for Jair.
Jair, Erie, and Lovel had drudged up Ouka’s past with those godforsaken cubes he never wanted to see again. And he was sure she never wanted to think about it again, either.
In that case, I’ll seal our past away. And I’ll do it with my own two hands, without leaving it to the Church.
Ouka made up his mind and hurried down the road leading to the railway station.