Chapter 9: CH 8

Sitting crookedly in her seat, Bay scratched his dull blond hair, which was like a stiff broom, and glanced at me with his pale green eyes. A heavy mahogany desk was before him, and various documents were neatly organized on it.

“I came here to stow away to Neutral Country Kei.”

“It’ll be 100 gold for both of you.”

“No. It’ll only be me. This is my escort.”

“Aha. Then, it’s 60 gold for one person. I give a discount for two.”

What kind of discount was that? I shook my head and asked, “When is the earliest date possible?”

Bay took out a bunch of paper, put saliva on his finger, and started flipping through the paper. Then, he pulled out the paperwork and sighed. “Are you in a hurry? If you had come yesterday, you could have left immediately. Now there’s no ship to leave for another week. There’s only one in a week, which will depart at 8 PM from Rowal Wharf. It will dock at Tehran Island before heading to Neutral Country Kei. The duration of the voyage is about two months. Will this work for you?”

It took five hours from here to Rowal Wharf.

“If you are in a hurry, there’s one that leaves Vale Port in three days.”

Vale Port was a port located to the south. You couldn’t reach there even if you rode a carriage all day from here. It wasn’t a very good place because I didn’t know when Kid would come. Kid might cut me off on my way to the port.

“I’ll depart from Rowal Wharf. How much does it cost with a forged ID together?”

“150 gold. The machine for counterfeiting IDs is not that expensive.”

150 gold was a year’s cost of living for a commoner family of four. But considering it was the price of life, I wonder if that was reasonable.

Well, it wasn’t my money, so it didn’t matter if it was cheap or expensive.

I took some jewels out of my pocket. It might be worth more than 150 gold, but I was just going to pay it all because I wanted to give Kid a little revenge with this.

‘I’m going to take your fortune little by little.’

I was sorry for Seniel, but I wanted to think it was a bargain.

Bay looked at the jewels with a cylindrical metal jeweler to see if they were fake.

“I think I bought more than 150 gold. It should be enough.”

“Yes, I think so. Then please wait a moment. I’ll bring in a good machine and forge it right away.”

This was the largest of the brokers, so the division of labor was good. After waiting patiently, Bay came back with a plausible ID.

The ID had a face similar to mine and a random name.

“When you arrive at the port, we will have someone on our side to meet you. It’s an ugly, bearded man, and he’ll take care of you if you tell him you’re from Bay’s Teahouse, so follow him. It will be a very comfortable and safe stowaway.”

I nodded and got up from my seat. Ezette stood behind me and followed me out.

***

After leaving the teahouse, she didn’t say anything until we left the street. I knew she was taciturn, but I hadn’t expected her to be this quiet.

Was she too lazy to please high-ranking people?

When I was about to say that if she kept this a secret, I’d give her a good reward—

“… Are you betraying God’s will?” —Ezette suddenly spoke of God’s will. Why had she, who thought there was no such thing as fate, asked that? It was ominous.

Soon after, Ezette apologized, realizing she had asked me a silly question. “I apologize.”

“No, it’s okay.” I glanced at Ezette. Why had you asked such a question, though? I took my eyes off her and looked forward again.

“I have to do this if I want to live,” I spoke meaningfully. It was a phrase that Ezette often used in the novel.

She beautifully threatened the High Priest and fearlessly wore the necklace to pretend to be her brother despite the risk of being killed if anyone ever found out.

There was no response from Ezette. After a while, she said, “I will support you.”

I pretended not to, but I’d been nervous because I feared that my judgment of Ezette would be wrong. I wiped my sweat-drenched palms on my robe, exhaling a sigh of relief.

‘What a relief.’

Perhaps the only person in this world who could support me was Ezette. She was the only one who could be on my side. She could even be a safety shield on the day of the stowaway.

When I realized she was completely on my side, the tension eased.

A deflated laugh leaked out of me. I hadn’t intended to, but I wanted to mess with her and threw a mean joke, “Can a paladin support someone who wants to betray God’s will?”

“I did not support betraying God’s will.” What was she talking about? Then why? “But if you take it that way. Then, so be it.”

What was with this pun?

We got off Rodwald Street and said our farewells.

“Thank you for today. Please keep this a secret. And can we meet again in a week? I will send you the time and place by mail. I can just send a reward, but I’d rather do it myself.”

I had to meet you in person and give you the evidence.

“You must be busy. You don’t have to do that.”

“Are you rejecting my favor? Or are you telling me to wait alone at the appointed place and leave a lot of money there?”

Ezette let out a shallow sigh at my stubborn tone. “I will go.”

“Great. Go ahead, then. It was fun.” I left Rodwald Street and into another street. With a week left until my escape, I was thinking of buying something to defend myself. I needed something to protect me from Kid besides tying my hair tight and taking off my earrings and necklace to keep from being caught.

“…”

“Why aren’t you going?”

Ezette kept hovering around me, wondering if I was strange as I headed into another street.

“Where is your carriage?”

“I’m going back in a horse-drawn carriage, but I have no intention of returning to the mansion right now.”

I didn’t know when I would return home, so I sent my carriage back and planned to use a horse-drawn carriage on the street.

Ezette looked at me suspiciously and asked bitterly, “Then where are you going again this time?”

“I’ll go to a safe place this time, so don’t worry and go.”

“I should not be held responsible first if anything happens.” Like the main character in the novel, she was quite candid.

It was a lucky day for me to meet Ezette, but it seemed like Ezette ran out of luck to have met me. I scratched my cheek as I looked at her, who looked tired. “I’m going to buy a self-defense tool. Just a little further from here, on that street. It’s safe there, so I don’t think anything will happen.”

Following Vivi’s memory, that street was a street frequented by students, including young children. Nothing could happen.

However, Ezette did not back down obediently. “I’ll escort you.”

I couldn’t break her stubbornness. She didn’t have to do that, and I was sorry to bother her like this. I just wanted to tell her to go, but looking at those eyes, I didn’t think she’d ever listen.

‘If I say I don’t care about such a thing, she’ll be less obedient.’

If it weren’t for the fact that this was a society with a certain class system, Ezette wouldn’t have wanted to escort me to this extent.

Our heroine was already busy and pitiful.

‘… I’m sorry. I’ll just buy it and go quickly.’

“… I see. Then, I’m sorry for bothering you.”

***

As a paladin, Ezette was a very good adviser in choosing defense equipment.

“It’s not obvious from the outside, and it’s flexible, so it’s good for activities.”

Our kind heroine. So meticulous even though she must be bothered.

“For artifacts that can block melee attacks,  I prefer rings to necklaces.”

After I turned all the jewels I took from Seniel’s mansion into gold coins, I quickly bought the goods. I bought some protective gear that looked like soft armor, and I also bought artifacts.

There was also a thing that looked like an electric shock machine, so I bought it with a lot of money. It wasn’t exactly electricity. It was just a shock attack based on holy power. It was said that when used, it shot a strong force at people and stunned them.

‘Does holy power attack work for Kid?’

Ezette explained that it was a self-defense tool that worked even for priests, but it wasn’t clear if it would work for Kid.

Seizing the opportunity to make the Kid electric barbecue, I said my heartfelt thanks to Ezette. “I had a good purchase, thanks to you. I’m always indebted to you. Here. It’s a small gift.”

Ezette had been glancing at the bookstore the whole time. I recalled a description of Ezette staring at the book cover whenever she thought of her brother in the novel.

I’d tried to buy her armor and weapons, but she’d refused, so I had no choice but to choose a book of poetry.

Sure enough, Ezette looked down at the collection of poems blankly. Her stern impression seemed to loosen slightly.

Seeing her silently staring at the cover of the book of poetry, I became a little embarrassed and spat out a few words as a goodbye. “You’ve been looking at the book, so I bought it because I thought you liked it. If not, just use it as decoration. I’ll make sure to pay you back next week. Thank you. I must go now.”

Without waiting for her response, I climbed into the horse-drawn carriage I had hailed earlier. Ezette raised her head belatedly. I waved goodbye from the carriage.

I thought she was trying to say something, but I couldn’t hear it because the carriage departed soon.

As soon as I sat on the hard wooden chair, fatigue immediately came.

‘Is he going to appear tonight?’

I shouldn’t relax. It was time to go back to hell.

***

Blue eyes stared intently at the moving carriage. As the carriage disappeared from view, she suddenly felt that today was like a lie. It didn’t feel real. If she hadn’t had the book in her hand, she might have said she was finally crazy.

Ezette lowered her gaze and looked at the collection of poems again.

‘Have I been looking at it for that long?’

Even she didn’t know where the end of her gaze was headed. It was so funny that a woman who had known her for less than a few hours quickly noticed her behavior.

‘Vivi Jezlein, was it?’

Now that she was married, it was Vivi McCourt.

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She was not very good at remembering people. She could force the memory into her head if she wanted to, but she didn’t really want to. For her, meeting people, living, and things like that didn’t matter.

If the woman hadn’t acted unusually at her ceremony, she wouldn’t have recognized her today, let alone escorted her.

As usual yesterday, she guarded the temple with empty eyes. Her position was in the front, rightmost corner of the Great Hall. She just stood there indifferently in an immobile posture, looking at the day’s main characters.

High Priest Seniel didn’t leave an impression because he was a person she knew well. She only thought he had looked particularly anxious and precarious then, but nothing was unusual.

She turned and looked at the pink-haired woman. The woman, who had entered nervously, suddenly looked at the officiator with a hopeful face.

‘Is fate that good?’

Fate? What the fuck was that?

She was too tired to love her fate.

It was her fate to be born poor, raised by a vain mother and a gambler father, and to hear lamentations about her family every day.

Her fate was to bury her younger brothers by hand. One because of poverty and one because of the plague.

She wasn’t even welcomed by her fellow Imperial Order of the Holy Knights and had to live alone.

Her head throbbed as she thought of this, but there was no answer to her question. She then turned and stared into space. The time for prayer had come.

The solemn scenery of the temple was captured in her eyes.

She didn’t pray. She just kept an eye on those who were praying.

‘Why don’t you pray?’

Most people, or anyone but her, prayed.

Therefore, the scene unfolding before her now was very strange.

Today’s bride, who looked happy when she’d just entered, was nervous and weeping as if her personality had changed.

Luckily, she didn’t seem to notice her.

‘What are you trying to do?’

Are you trying to run away?

The main character of the day rolled up the hem of her dress as quietly as possible with trembling hands. Then she took a deep breath and turned her body back.

She unknowingly cheered her on. She didn’t know what was happening or why she was doing that. But the bride’s mere attempt to disobey God’s words as she didn’t pray aroused her subtle support.

As she took one step, Ezette swallowed her breath unconsciously.

“Cough.”

Unfortunately, the opportunity passed in vain. The woman pretended nothing was wrong and arranged her dress.

Somehow, Ezette couldn’t take her eyes off her even after her attempt to escape.

Because she was beautiful? Because the pure white dress fit her? No. It was because she why the woman kept tearing up.

But that was it.

‘She’s a curious thing, but she must’ve led a better life than mine.’

Her reason to disobey the vision must’ve been something as light as not wanting to leave her hometown.

Ezette’s interest in the woman disappeared for an instant as she thought that. For love was the language of the full.

After a day, she’d even forgotten that she’d been curious about her. Even if she’d known she would encounter her again on such a shabby street, nothing would’ve changed.

But somehow, unlike yesterday, the woman’s bright eyes caught her attention.

‘She’s smuggling herself.’

She was leaving alone and seemed happy to reject fate.

Ezette’s curiosity was aroused, but she immediately turned it off.

‘She’s just someone who’s leaving in a week.’

It was time to get back to reality. To the reality of a lot of debt, with only enemies around her, and no one to help.

She turned her back, holding the book of poetry.