“Hey! Look, look! That thing is huge! What is it?”
“It’s a windmill.”
“What’s it for?”
“It turns wheat into flour.”
“Why turn it into flour?”
“Flour can be kneaded into bread.”
“Why can’t it be eaten as it is?”
“Huh? Good question. Maybe because it’s tastier that way?”
Saya seemed satisfied with his answer, so Nagi let out a sigh. He was getting a little worn out by the never-ending questions. Every time she spotted something “curious” like this, she would ask him about it. What followed was a storm of whys. No matter how thoroughly he responded, her questions kept coming. When he finally managed to sate her curiosity, she would spot something else and repeat the process. What’s more, everything in sight was a mystery to her.
The only relief he had was that he didn’t have to walk. Nagi and Saya were being shaken about by an old cogwagon Keele had arranged for them. Nagi’s thoughts drifted back to when they’d first boarded the vehicle. Once the three of them had gotten out of the forest, the cogwagon Keele had waiting for them appeared. His next words had baffled them.
“You two take this and head off to the capital. I already told the driver the way.”
“The capital? Isn’t that the nobles’ headquarters?! The royal palace is there too!”
“I bet you’ve never been. The capital is big. Nobody’s got a grasp of every nook and cranny, trust me. A forest’s the best place to hide a tree, so the best place to hide is somewhere with a whole lotta people.”
Keele had been composed at the time, but Nagi couldn’t even believe that Cobalt truly existed. He had only ever heard rumors. Cobalt was an organization which raised the standard of revolt against nobility. However, there was no way the nobles were so lax that they’d allow such an organization to exist. If the gossip were to be believed, those who merely spread rumors of Cobalt were immediately arrested and imprisoned. Regardless, it was impossible to shut the mouths of the public and stop the rumors themselves. That was how a rural hunter like Nagi had gotten wind of them.
Some of the rumors were even more unthinkable. For example, one claimed that Cobalt wasn’t only rebelling against the nobles, but against the Sovereign himself. A commoner like Nagi had obviously never seen the Sovereign; it was rare enough for the nobles to meet him. To everyone who knew of him, the Sovereign was practically a phantasmic being.
The daily prayers offered up to the Intelligence, which had once existed in these lands, were carried out in the name of the Sovereign. He was the Intelligence’s chosen representative of humanity. Thus, the commoners revered the Sovereign despite their hatred of nobility. To Nagi, he was a force of nature much like water or wind. The mere thought of rebelling against him was unfathomable, yet Cobalt was apparently doing just that. It was also difficult for Nagi to believe that Cobalt, whose very existence was dubious to begin with, had its base in the capital.
“I don’t want to go to the royal palace,” Saya had protested.
Keele had laughed scornfully at this. “Of course we’re not going to the damn palace. Seems like you’ve never been to the capital. The palace is there in the center, but it’s just a small part of the whole city. The rest is way bigger and chock-fulla people. We’ll meet up and hide out there.”
“We...”
Nagi’s brother claimed to be a member of Cobalt. What exactly had happened to him after he vanished from the village? One part of Nagi wished to know, and another didn’t. In any case, he hadn’t had time to ask Keele any questions before they had parted ways.
“Nagi, you’re making a weird face,” Saya said, bringing Nagi’s mind back into the cogwagon. “What’re you thinking about?”
“Keele,” Nagi replied honestly. For some reason, he was unable to hide anything from her. “I thought he was dead.”
Even though he had really hated his brother, Nagi had done his best to make peace with his memories after Keele’s disappearance. But now that he was alive, Nagi’s heart was in disorder. Thinking back on it now, this was why Keele had been able to manipulate Nagi into taking on something as outrageous as stealing from the Garden.
“But he’s alive. I’m jealous.”
“Why?”
“I feel like I had a little brother. I don’t really remember him. He died a long, long time ago. I’ve been alone ever since then.”
“I heard it was normal for nobles not to have siblings.”
Nobles lived long lives and rarely had children. They required the Sovereign’s permission to do so. Thus, having more than one child in the family was uncommon. When he’d first learned of this, Nagi had been quite surprised there was someone even those haughty nobles had to obey.
“Commoners have it better because they’re not so lonely.”
“No way. We all die before we can accomplish anything in life.”
Nagi normally would’ve taken offense to Saya’s words, but he was gradually getting used to her eccentricities. Moreover, he was far too tired from all her queries to get heated about it.
“Is that because the nobles steal your lives away?”
Nagi suppressed the urge to comment on the fact that she didn’t know this basic truth. “We have a duty to offer them our blood. Blood is life. The more blood they steal, the shorter our lifespans. The nobles use that blood to make medicine, and they extend their own lives by drinking it.”
“Can’t you just stop offering them blood?”
“No, we can’t. Nobles are strong; disobeying them will just get us killed. It’s impossible to win against them.”
“But you won against a noble. Twice.”
“It’s because of the poison I got from Keele.”
Nagi pulled a bottle out of his bag. Keele had given him another one.
“So, as long as you have that, you don’t need to offer blood anymore?”
Their current reality wasn’t kind enough to permit such a thing. Keele had already scolded Nagi about wasting his last bottle; Halahala was invaluable, after all. The whole thing wasn’t meant to be used as a projectile even in the worst of times. But what if it was possible to acquire a large amount? A chill ran down Nagi’s spine just from imagining it.
A world without blood offerings.
The cogwagon came to a stop with a clatter. Before them, rows of citizens had their goods spread out over straw mats. It was one of many small marketplaces which dotted the sides of the road. Even in Strano Village, there were merchants who did business with passing travelers. The driver informed them that they would be taking a break here.
“Nagi, what is this place?”
“It’s a rest area. There are several places like this along the main roads. Let’s go buy some food.”
Nagi’s finances were doing fine. Keele had given him five bloodpence coins to cover travel expenses, which was quite the sum for Nagi. He couldn’t shake the feeling he was dancing in the palm of Keele’s hand, though.
The merchants were selling bread and smoked meat, so he went with that. There was some other junk being peddled alongside the food. It seemed like anything with even miniscule value was up for sale.
Nagi pulled out a bloodpence, which caused the woman selling the bread to make a troubled expression. “Do you have anything a little smaller? I don’t have enough change.”
“This is all I have.”
“Hrm, then how about buying this necklace while you’re at it? I’ll give you a discount.” She held up a stylish pendant. “Look, you put your lover’s blood in here. That’s how you swear your eternal love to each other. Seems it’s quite a fad among nobles. This one’s just a cheap little thing, though.”
To the people of this world, the giving and taking of blood was quite common, so such an idea came naturally to them. Nagi felt that frankly, this sales pitch sounded like it was meant to trick children. The necklace was probably worthless.
Saya, on the other hand, seemed to be of a different opinion. She hummed with interest, her eyes aglitter.
“My neighbor John bought it in the capital for his fiancée, but she ended up getting pregnant from another man while he was working away from home.” The merchant giggled.
“How pretty,” she murmured, staring at it with rapt attention.
Well, if she liked it so much, Nagi couldn’t help but buy it for her. There was nothing else he wanted here, and it would’ve been troublesome if he couldn’t buy bread. It also felt a bit thrilling to squander the money Keele had given him.
The two went back to the cogwagon to have their meal. The driver wasn’t back yet.
“This is bread.”
“I at least know that,” Saya replied, puffing out her cheeks. But as she sat on the edge of the wagon and took a bite, she looked quite surprised. “It’s so hard.”
“You think?”
Nagi chewed through the bread easily. There were far tougher breads out there that needed to be soaked in liquid before eating. This was actually quite fresh for bread, and it didn’t smell weird either. It was a good treat to satiate his hunger.
“Here, lend me that.”
Saya looked to be having a tough time with her bread, so he took it from her and split it apart by force. The crust was particularly hard, but the inside was still soft.
“Thank you.”
Saya began eating the light-brown bread by nibbling off bits from the inside. She reminded Nagi of the squirrels he often saw in the forest. Saya was wearing a brown hood deep over her head, hiding her silver hair. Upon realizing she actually did look like a large squirrel, he snorted.
“What’s so funny?”
“Nothing.”
“You’re lying. You’re definitely laughing.”
Seeing him stifle his laughter, Saya pouted once more. But that just made her look even more like a squirrel.
After finishing the bread, she moved on to nibbling the crust in small bites. Saya glared back at him when he stared, so Nagi focused on his own food. The smoked meat wasn’t bad either. It seemed to be venison. It was well salted, which his tired body was grateful for.
Once Saya was done eating, Nagi handed her the necklace.
“Thank you,” she said quietly. She lowered her head, put on the necklace, and let it dangle on her chest.
Nagi felt completely entranced by her actions and averted his gaze in a hurry.