Chapter 24:
Gentle Wife
I SLUMPED IN A CORNER of the covered wagon tucked away in the corner of Zibil’s outer wall, out of sight of all but a few people.
By most standards, the results of my negotiations with the Company were a huge success. I made Branch Manager Spero promise not to interfere with Chotos’s Mana Tool Shop—or, indeed, all of Tibar. And I reminded him that if he broke his promise, I would return with even more vigorous protests.
I also received an exorbitant sum of money as compensation for the wagon grandpa. Several terrified employees shoved large bags of money, bulging with coins, into my hands. The bags were so heavy that Gol had to carry them. Given our prior conversation, the Company’s charity surprised me, but at least now the grandpa could live out the rest of his days in peace and leisure.
Well, I suppose the Company had dragged the grandpa into a horrible experience he had nothing to do with, so they owed him. He offered to split the money with Mr. Chotos and me, but because his wagon had suffered the most damages, I thought he should take it all. If he insisted later, I wanted him to split it between only himself and Mr. Chotos, as I had deprived Mr. Chotos of his own compensation with my failure to curb Gol’s misbehavior at his shop.
In any case, I mean it when I say my negotiations were wildly successful. I was disheartened for a different reason.
“Sorry, Ginem…” I said with a wince.
Ginem Bari lay covered in wounds within the wagon as Mr. Chotos administered first aid with that flashlight mana tool.
Just before the negotiations had settled, I released Spero and stood, at which point the grotesquerie of Spero’s body caught me off guard. Not only were his joints dislocated, but the bones in each of his shins and forearms were broken. Furthermore, all twenty fingers on both his hands and feet were twisted into spirals. On top of that, the nails on his fingers had been meticulously peeled away and—
No, let’s stop the description here. Ugh. Just remembering it makes me feel sick…
What exactly had happened to Spero? Had it been a ghastly otherworld phenomenon? It all left me far too frightened to ask, so I’d taken a few steps back. As I did, my heel bumped into something.
When I turned and looked down, I thought my eyeballs would pop out as I beheld an even more overwhelming horror, one that blew the abominable sight of the branch manager straight out of my head. The witness Ginem Bari lay at my feet, a pile of bloody scraps.
In a panic, I rushed to lift him in my arms and desperately called out to him, but he kept muttering in a weak, incoherent voice, “Help me… I’m sorry…”
He had experienced something truly horrid. My chest tightened. I had an idea of what had left Ginem Bari in such a sorry state. No—rather than an idea, I had no doubt. Logically, there was only one conclusion to draw. In the mere moments we had taken our eyes off Ginem Bari, our star witness, the vile Paisley Company had sent minions to assault him in order to destroy the evidence.
I had failed to protect the witness, even though we forced him to accompany us to the negotiations, which made him our responsibility. My body burned with guilt and remorse.
“Oh, woe is me. What a failure I am.” When I secretly covered my face, on the verge of tears in the corner of the wagon, Gol peered over at me in concern.
As Gol gazed at me with her gentle eyes, I weakened and spilled the contents of my heart to her. In the throes of regret, I needed to confess to someone—anyone. “Gol…Gol, I’m mortified. Because of my incompetence, I couldn’t stop the Paisley Company from brutalizing the witness.”
I couldn’t stand knowing that a defenseless person had been horrifically injured by senseless violence, and all on my account. Just talking about it brought more tears to my eyes.
In the past, whenever I got this sad, I would hug my dog and have a good cry. I let out a shaky sigh. “Such a cruel company of criminals should just poof and disappear…”
This thought had smoldered in the honest depths of my heart. When I finally released it, a gust of wind blew along the gray outer walls of Zibil. Gol’s long ears swayed faintly, as if she were trying to pick up some distant sound drifting along the wind.
My shoulders drooped as I stumbled further into my confession. “But you know, Gol… The worst person here has to be the one who didn’t properly protect the witness, the one who’s always spoiled by your kindheartedness: me. I…I just want to disappear.”
As I cried, Gol wiped my tears with her finger. She always stuck close to me and paid heed to everything I said. My partner couldn’t speak, but she was the world’s best listener.
“Thanks for listening to me,” I murmured. Having vented all my frustrations, I softly stroked Gol’s head.
Oh? Whenever I pet her like this, she usually fluttered her ears in delight like a dog wags its tail. This time, however, her reaction was minimal. She just stared at the tears streaking down my face, unmoving.
“All right!” I slapped my cheeks to motivate myself. You were a big help, partner. Talking with you about everything suddenly made me feel a lot better.
It was time to shift gears, and quickly. We could still help the grievously injured Ginem Bari. My ability to quickly switch gears is the one of which I’m proudest.
I raised my head and, with my usual enthusiasm, rejoined Mr. Chotos and the others. At this moment, I didn’t notice how Gol quietly disappeared from behind me.