Chapter 6. No bad intentions. (2)
The sky was getting darker little by little.
After looking at it for a moment, I heard a clicking sound.
‘I feel like I’m just wasting the money that a child saved up.’
Since this is all about living anyway, old Calian will not be very angry.
Anyway, I had to go back to the other side of the river because I had gotten the sword, which was my top priority. Because of this, Kalian turned back the way he came and headed towards the bridge.
We quickly arrived at the bridge over the Senue River.
However, at the entrance to the bridge, people dressed in black saw Calian approaching from afar and stood in the way.
Raven, seeing them, slowed down and stopped.
“Raven, what’s wrong?”
Because Raven was so good at finding her way, Calian was lost in thought about where to go next. That’s why I raised my head only after Raven stopped.
Only then did Kalyan also see the people dressed in black.
A wary look appeared on Kalian’s face.
Fortunately, it was not a big robber who took over the royal capital of the capital city. Calian, who had been wondering for a moment how to use the weapon he had just bought, looked ahead with relief.
The person standing in front approached Calian.
“I’m sorry for recklessly blocking the road.”
The black clothes he was wearing were mourning clothes.
Perhaps because she cried a lot, her voice was so hoarse that it was barely audible. Nevertheless, the man spoke about the situation in a very polite manner.
“A dead person is passing by right now. So, if it’s not urgent, I’d like to ask if you could wait for a moment.”
When I heard those words, I turned my head to look at the Seigne River and saw red Anneusia flowers with small candle lights floating down the river. I saw several people gathered in the distance where flowers were starting to fall.
Calian, who understood what kind of situation this was, opened his mouth.
“Is it a funeral ceremony?”
“Yes, I am. I’m sorry.”
Calian readily got off Raven’s back and answered.
“There’s no reason to interrupt the dead man’s steps. It’s nothing to be sorry about.”
As Calian said, what he was seeing was Kairis’ funeral ceremony. The intention was that those who remembered the dead gathered at the riverside closest to the deceased’s house and floated candles to illuminate the final journey of life.
However, there is a popular saying that if a living person passes over flower petals while they are floating in the river, the dead will try to follow the living and get lost. That’s why I asked them not to cross the bridge for a short period of time.
Calian looked at this solemn figure that he happened to see for a moment.
The Senyu has always been a river that flows quietly.
Therefore, the Annerusia flowers flowed down quietly, without fluttering. The wind was calm and the candle flame did not move.
Calian opened his mouth without realizing it.
“I hope you will pass in peace. May your soul rest in peace.”
“thank you.”
It was a voice full of sincerity. As if stopping was not enough, the man got off his horse and bowed his head once more as a sign of gratitude for praying for his soul to rest in peace.
‘I wonder if you placed Sinastar on my grave. Or maybe he turned the axis of time before that.’
The man opened his mouth to Calian, who was thinking for a moment about the Secretia custom of placing cynasta, which blooms a second time in the moonlight, on the grave.
“Now get back on the road.”
Before I knew it, Annelucia seemed to have passed under the bridge.
Calian nodded and climbed onto Raven’s back.
The man who had looked up at Calian on his horse in gratitude to guess which family he belonged to shrugged his shoulders and hurriedly got out of the way.
The magic lanterns installed in the royal capital were bright, so what was hidden behind the deep hood was clearly visible.
Calian, who noticed that the man recognized who he was, spoke quietly.
“I hope you don’t remember it.”
“…… All right.”
The man lowered his head and Calian slowly crossed the bridge.
After a while, the man raised his head and looked at Calian’s back for a long time. Then, another group of people dressed in black approached the man and asked:
“Arsene. Why? Do you know someone?”
The man, Arsene Hertz, shook his head and said.
“No. I just think he’s a good person.”
Meanwhile, a candle that was far away was fluttering softly.
* * *
Before I knew it, the sun had completely set and darkness had fallen.
Kalian knew that from now on, unlike the blacksmith shop, he could visit the place at any time, so he was looking around with a more relaxed mind.
“It’s really all Cispanian.”
– The capital city of Kairisis seems to be where Sispanian followers live. There are Sispanians everywhere.
I remembered the story told by Sejak, nicknamed ‘Blue Warbler,’ who safely returned from his mission to Kairis.
Yesterday at the concert hall, we talked about Hatsuara and Sispanian, but the names written on the sign that Kalian could see were all plastered with Sispanian.
A hotel called ‘Sispanian’s Sweet Sleep’, a cafe called ‘Sispanian’s Relaxation’, and even a restaurant called ‘Sispanian’s Meal’.
Calian muttered as if he was tired.
“Aren’t you putting too much effort into it? I don’t think a meal from a dragon will taste good.”
Then, after seeing a bar called ‘Sispanian’s Deep Smell of Alcohol’ in a corner, I felt that most of the store names were starting to look normal, and I laughed helplessly.
After going a little further, I saw a sign pointing to ‘Naerangsha’ Street. This was where the second destination was. Kalian saw this and his face suddenly became tense. Then, fiddling with his knife, he entered Naeransha Street.
There was a market west of Kairisis.
Because it was night, most stores were closed, and only restaurants, bars, and cafes that were open until late at night were lit. However, since none of them were where Calian had intended, Calian passed in front of them without hesitation.
“Two, three, four… Is this here?”
After passing through the three alleys of the West Market and entering the fourth, I saw a lone, illuminated store on a dark street. The bird cages of various sizes and shapes lined up in front of the door were eye-catching, and Kalian, who saw what was written on the sign, nodded as if he had found the right destination.
– Naerangsha Bird Store (Jeonseo-gu Rental) If it were a place that simply sold pet birds, it would have been strange to open at this time, but it made sense because of the information about Jeonseo-gu Rental next to it. People who want to spread news will come to you at any time of the day or night.
However, I don’t know if it was because the store building was small or because it was late, but it seemed like there was no one to listen to. Additionally, there was no place to tether horses.
“What should I do?”
Calian got off Raven’s back and stood there for a moment in embarrassment.
In any case, Calian knew best that Raven would not go anywhere else without a wealthy owner who would comfortably take care of her, so he was not worried about Raven. The only thing I was worried about was that someone might try to steal Raven. Of course, I wasn’t worried about Raven, but about someone unlucky enough to get hit by a crazy horse.
In the end, Calian put the reins on Raven’s saddle as if there was nothing he could do.
“Wait. Don’t cause any trouble.”
Raven purred as if she understood Calian’s words. Then he quietly walked to the side of the store and stood. As the black horse entered the shadow of the dark building, only the white fur on its right front ankle was particularly visible.
Calian turned around, leaving Raven where she was.
After that, I pulled the hood down tightly so as not to reveal my face, then opened the store door and entered.
– A rattle.
A bell rang, a little louder than Jan’s, to signal the arrival of a guest. Then, perhaps because the bell had woken them up, the birds in the store began chirping all at once. It felt like I was in a forest rather than a corner of the market.
‘It’s a bigger place than it looks from the outside.’
I saw many different types of birdcages and the birds living in them. From a pet bird that looks smaller than Calian’s fist to a falcon that can be used for hunting right now.
In fact, it was difficult to find a bird that was not there.
The store owner, who was wearing a monocle and giving bird feed, stood up when he saw Calian. And then,
“Do you want Jeon Seo-gu?”
A dark night.
Instead of being wary of the stranger who entered the new store with his face covered in a black robe, he asked this.
Calian turned toward the particularly quiet cage without answering.
The two white pet birds inside were asleep, leaning on each other. There was no doubt that it was a pair of birds, but Calian knew that they were very well made fake birds.
A small voice came out of Calian’s mouth.
“These birds don’t wake up.”
It didn’t matter that my voice was young, but I was worried that it might show that I was nervous, but fortunately, my calm voice echoed throughout the store. The owner answered.
“I sleep a lot.”
It was the same answer Bern remembered.
From that point on, a conversation ensued in which the words to be exchanged had already been decided.
“It looks like it came from far away, right? It looks very tired.”
“… So you’re not supposed to sleep like that?”
I could feel the owner being silent for a moment and examining Kalian. Since there was nothing noticeable on the outside anyway, Calian lowered his gaze, being careful not to reveal the color of his eyes.
“Hagisa. Come to think of it, there seems to be no better place for a tired bird to rest for a while.”
“I’m glad you saw it that way.”
After speaking indifferently, the owner took off the monocle he was wearing and wiped it with his sleeve. Then he put it back on and asked.
“What are you looking for?”
The answer from now on was important.
If I gave the wrong answer or showed any suspicious behavior, my head would be blown off.
“I need some bird feed.”
“Yes. They also sell bird seed here.”
As the two people continued their conversation, the birds that had been chirping for a while seemed to have fallen asleep again. Before I knew it, the inside of the store had become so quiet that I could even hear the sound of clothes rubbing against each other.
“however.”
The owner walked and stood behind Kalian. There was no sound of moving. It was obvious even without looking that there would be a razor-colored sword in the arms of such an owner.
The owner watched Calian’s back for a long time without saying a word. Calian’s own breathing could be heard softly in his ears, and the thick air put pressure on his lungs. A cold feeling came over my entire body.
‘Living.’
The owner’s voice continued in suffocating tension.
“I don’t remember selling a bird to anyone recently. I guess it was a customer I hadn’t seen before.”
This was not a fixed question.
Calian had to think and answer on his own.
Immediately a sound of laughter came out of Calian’s mouth.
“They just left the nest and came to look for food, so there’s no way they were sold here.”
The owner’s feet approaching Calian stopped.
“Do you know where the bird came from?”
The set question was asked again. Calian answered without hesitation.
“They say it came with the southeast wind.”
“Then whose bird is that?”
Calian slowly turned around and faced his owner.
The lips visible from under the deep hood were drawn in a long curved line. And the final answer came out between those lips.
“Bird of Nevilard.”
Devlan, King of Secretia. Nevilad was a title created by mixing the spellings of Devlan’s name.
So, Kalyan is now.
He became the first Kairis prince to obtain information on Kairis from the base of the Secretia Sejaks hiding in Kairis.
