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Book 1 Part 2 Chapter 2.4

Chapter 2.4

Yuri tilted his palm, and several coins fell into the jar with a clinking sound. Swallowing up the coins with its gaping mouth, the jar made a small but heavy sound in its stomach. Yuri stood still, listening intently. In the past, it had always made a high-pitched sound, but now it was different. 

The jar was the size of a child’s torso. It sat there enshrined on the ground, unmoving. 

On the other side of the jar, Jiri stood there, silently watching. But when the last coin fell into the jar, she opened her mouth. 

“You’re the last one, Yuri. That’s all for this week.”

Yuri peered into the jar, staring at its contents intently. Jiri came closer and peered inside as well. 

“You’ve saved up quite a bit. Honestly, I’m surprised. I didn’t think you guys would work so hard to gather this much. You have my respect.” 

But the boy nodded so slightly that his black hair only swayed a little. Jiri waited for a while to see if Yuri would say anything more, but eventually she gave a slight shrug of her shoulders.

“Alright, go and rest for today. You still have work tomorrow, right?” 

Yuri raised his head to look at Jiri. 

“Aunt Jiri, we only need just a little more. Just a little more, right?” 

His gaze looked like he was begging for help. Like he was telling her to say yes. Jiri met that gaze without averting her eyes, but her words said something different. 

“Go on. You should get some rest.” 

Her voice was filled with sympathy and kindness, something rarely heard from her.

For a while, Yuri stared at Jiri. But eventually he turned his face away and left the room. The door closed, leaving Jiri alone in the room with the jar. She looked at the jar again. 

At first, each time a coin was thrown inside, the jar would make a harsh, clattering sound that grated the ear. Empty vessels echoed well, after all. But now it was so full that you could see the coins piled up inside if you peeked into it.

For the past few months, beginning with Yuri and Flynn, the children of the lower quarter had worked their bodies to the bone, and this was the collective fruit of their endeavours. 

There was no lie in what Jiri had said to Yuri. Flynn was one thing, but not counting Yuri, even if it was to save Norein, she hadn’t expected the other children to persist this long. Or maybe some of them had given up, but had been stopped, and then supported by their friends — like a microcosm of the lower quarter. 

Every week, when they were paid, the boys would each come and put their own earnings into the jar and leave. No one was ever absent. 

Evidently, she’d underestimated those kids. Jiri thought that with a quiet sense of pride. 

These precious funds were more than just mere pocket change they’d earned. The boys had entrusted this money to the most reliable person in the lower quarter, in other words, Jiri. Grandma Jiri will protect our money without fail, even if the Imperial Knights raid her house. That’s what the boys all thought. And Jiri responded to that trust. Every week, the jar would swallow up their money, and Jiri would hide it in a place only she knew until it was time to bring it out again. 

But. Even now, their most important goal remained unfulfilled. The panacea continued to be out of their reach. That, too, was an undeniable reality. 

Jiri stared at the jar. There was no expression on her face, but in her eyes, various thoughts and emotions intertwined together. 

Eventually she slowly rose to her feet, looked at the ceiling, and closed her eyes. 

****

“Damn it.” 

He thrust out his fist, and a hard sound rang out from the wall. Pain shot through and ran down his arm. 

Yuri gritted his teeth and slowly lowered his arm. 

Everyone’s efforts were steadily accumulating and manifesting in the form of the earnings in the jar. In truth, he never expected to save up this much money in such a short period of time. And yet it wasn’t enough to obtain a panacea bottle. They were still in short supply, but more than that, the prices hadn’t stopped rising. 

If the price had been like in the past, before this series of disturbing events had occurred, they would already have enough money to buy several bottles. But now, what they had wasn’t enough to save Norein. 

Somewhere out there, someone was cheating the system. Yuri didn’t know if it was one person, or a bunch of people, but because that someone always existed, a life that could be saved was now unable to be saved. 

It was unfair. But that was how the world worked. 

Yuri thought of his friends. 

He hadn’t exchanged many words with Flynn lately. There weren’t many opportunities to talk because they were both busy with work, but even when they ran into each other occasionally, Flynn was constantly absent-minded, and didn’t talk much. 

Yuri couldn’t blame him. 

Even though the person in question would never say it out aloud, Flynn was most likely — no, he had to be — the most anxious out of all of them. How long can Norein hold on for? Yuri had heard that she rarely even woke up these days. Helplessness, impatience and distress. Yuri felt like he could feel Flynn’s anguish as if it were his own. 

No — Yuri mentally shook his head. That was most likely overreaching. How could someone who had never known their mother imagine what it was like to lose one, and feel the fear that came with it? But that thought evoked a pain similar to a small ache in his chest. 

There were other things to worry about, too. By now, Jareth and the other children should have learned the price of the panacea. This was to be expected, but the thought that their efforts might never be enough must have had a considerable effect on the boys’ motivation and enthusiasm. Inwardly, Yuri was anxious. How long can everyone remain united like they are right now?

What did Jiri think about all this? At the very least, he was pretty sure she didn’t think things were proceeding smoothly. That’s why she didn’t answer his previous question. Instead of lying to him. 

Yuri wanted to sleep. Sleep, and escape the feeling that they were headed straight towards a dead end. But he was sure his sleep would also be filled with dreams of drowning in a swamp. Of being trapped and unable to break free, somehow managing to stay afloat by struggling, but eventually running out of strength and slowly sinking into its depths ——

****

“Then you really can’t?” 

At Flynn’s question, the merchant put a hand to his head apologetically. 

“Yeah. Can’t do anything if our supply is delayed.” 

The merchant gestured with his chin to the loading dock in front of them. Before there had been enough wooden boxes and packages to form a mountain, but now there were only a handful of packages left. A bunch of adults — carriers — just hung about the dock doing nothing, as if they had too much free time on their hands. 

Flynn wasn’t surprised to find that there was no work. This wasn’t the first time this had happened. He had already visited several merchants he used to work for, and they had all said the same thing. 

The uneasy atmosphere swirling in the imperial like an eddy had finally started to affect the boys’ work opportunities. Monsters appeared on highways as a common occurrence, and the number of caravans transporting goods between cities had drastically decreased. The Imperial Knights were supposed to escort these caravans, but there was a shortage due to most of their troops being away from the imperial capital, and the mercenaries that would fill in for them were busy protecting their own bases. The circulation of goods between the imperial capital and other cities was experiencing delays, and as a result business within the imperial capital was tapering off. 

Everyone was talking about the monsters. Species that lived in the forest would appear in the grasslands. Monsters would appear in places where they normally wouldn’t be. Monsters that usually acted alone were now forming packs. Monsters would attack whether or not you had escorts. 

It was as if the beings known as ‘monsters’ had begun to behave differently from what was previously known, but no one knew why. The only thing these changes had in common was that it meant the dangers ‘outside’ had increased significantly. Along with the halting of circulation of goods, news coming from the other places had become scarce, and the people huddled up in fear inside the barriers. 

“I wonder how long this will continue…… If this drags on, I may have to close down my business. Sorry about that. I know you came all the way here.” 

“No, it’s fine. Well, if you’ll excuse me.” 

With a slight now, Flynn left. The merchant had treated him like a normal person. It was the extensive result of the boys’ hard work for these past few months, but that didn’t mean they could find work. It couldn’t be helped. Flynn’s steps were heavy. 

Yuri and the other children were waiting just a short distance away.

“Looks like this one was a bust too.” 

“Yeah. ……Same as everyone else?” 

The boys all nodded dejectedly. They were aware of the current situation, but they didn’t expect all of them to be unable to find work. Though the rumours had been spreading for a while now, they had earned the trust of the people from the ‘other side of the wall’, and had worked hard to maintain it. So it came especially as a shock for them when that was suddenly all taken away. 

There were jobs that were still high in demand, but most of them were dangerous and thus too much for the young boys to handle. Furthermore, pretty much everyone from the citizens’ quarter had heard about the boys’ reputations and come to believe in them. The boys had already visited all of their potential employers, and there were none left to find. 

There was nothing more they could do. In silent agreement, Yuri and the other boys began trudging back to the lower quarter. At least there was work to be done there, even if the wages wouldn’t be as high as they wanted it to be. 

At this rate, there won’t be much money to put into the jar this week. Yuri’s heart sank. But it must be even harder on Flynn. We have no choice but to do what we can. Yuri walked as quickly as he could. 

****

A whistling sound cut through the air. It was a sound that would cause you to instinctively duck down. In fact, that was what the boys did. At the same time, the walls of a nearby house emitted a short, hard sound. 

“Watch out!”

At Flynn’s sharp cry, the boys managed to scramble to the side of the road, even as they stumbled down the slope to the lower quarter. 

Yuri looked in the direction of the sound and saw an arrow sticking out of the wall. As if guided by it, several other arrows came flying, accompanied by the same, ear-piercing sound. The arrows mostly hit the walls and ground at haphazard angles, either sticking in or bouncing off the surfaces. 

“Take cover and hide!” 

Following Flynn’s lead, the other children hurriedly ducked for cover behind nearby barrels and wooden crates. Yuri also followed suit, and turned to look at the top of the slope. The arrows had come flying from there, but he couldn’t see who had shot them. 

Are we the targets? Yuri wondered, but he was pretty sure that wasn’t the case. But then who, or what are they shooting at?

Suddenly, a shadow fell over the street. It wasn’t an arrow. The moment he reflectively looked up, he saw something hop over the other side of a building’s roof — and vanish. Was it a bird or a cat that had been surprised by the arrows? No, that wasn’t it. The shadow was vague in shape, but Yuri recognised that vagueness. 

Involuntarily, he opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, there was a loud sound from the top of the slope. He couldn’t see anything because the path was curved, but it sounded like hollow metal striking each other, or hitting the ground. It was the familiar sound of armour — in other words, knights. 

Everyone else seemed to have realised that as well. They were already tense, but now they stiffened up even further. They stared at each other uneasily, and looked towards the slope. 

The sound got closer and closer, until finally what appeared from the corner of the street was as they had imagined. Knights. This was the first time Yuri had seen such a large number of knights since that day when he saw the knights leave the imperial capital not long ago. 

There were more than a dozen knights, clad in armour and rushing down the slope with a ferocity unlike anything he’d ever seen before. Of all things, they were holding crossbows in their hands. 

So those were where the arrows came from. And as Yuri expected, it looked like their target wasn’t him and the others. Though he was convinced of that, at the same time he was worried. Although he had never touched one before, he knew what a crossbow was. It was in the training manual Flynn had. Since it was a manual for swords, it only had a rough outline for crossbows, but Yuri had read it anyway — thanks to what he had learned from Norein. 

According to the manual, it was a weapon that fired arrows using a spring mechanism. Though it wasn’t a blastia, it had much more power and range than a hand-strung bow. Apparently it was so powerful that at short range it could even pierce through armour. Naturally, if any of the boys were shot, they would go down without any resistance. But Yuri noticed something else. 

The knights were still a distance away, but Yuri could tell they looked different from usual. They were giving off a terribly savage and violent aura, and they looked to put it in one word — murderous. And extremely so, too.

The knights were often arrogant and violent to the lower quarter residents to begin with. Was the thing they were chasing after really that important? Or were they simply influenced by the disturbing atmosphere surrounding the imperial capital? 

Either way, right now the situation was extremely dangerous. The Imperial Knights had to know that there were people in the lower quarter area. Despite that, they had fired their arrows without caring if their arrows hit anyone by accident, and even now they were rushing towards their direction at a ferocious pace. 

Should they reveal themselves while they had the chance? But there was no guarantee the knights wouldn’t shoot at them on reflex the moment they exposed themselves. Yuri didn’t feel like making such a gamble. Not to mention, he couldn’t force that on his friends. 

His eyes met Flynn’s. Flynn was staring at him from the shadow of a building across the street. Seeing the intense concern in his eyes, Yuri realised Flynn was thinking the same thing. 

As expected of Flynn, he thought, but there was no time. Yuri looked around. There were gaps between the houses. They were too narrow to be called roads, but they didn’t seem impossible to pass through — that is, if you were a child. 

The boys were scattered on either side of the street. Launching pebbles at their feet, Yuri drew his friends’ attention and pointed at the gaps near each of them. They understood quickly, and one by one they slipped between the buildings and disappeared. 

Good. We’re all familiar with this area, and this way knights can’t get at us either. Yuri watched the last boy disappear into a gap like a rabbit down a hole and nodded. Only Flynn remained. 

There were gaps near both of them. But Yuri suddenly jumped out into the middle of the street. Keeping his waist low, he crossed the street in one go. Flynn’s eyes widened. 

Several arrows tore through the space where he had been seconds ago. Yuri dived and rolled over, almost crashing into Flynn. 

“What are you doing?!” 

“There’s something I’m curious about.”

Yuri gave Flynn a sidelong glance and plunged into a gap in a nearby building. Confused, Flynn followed behind him. 

The gap was darker and narrower than it looked, but like he remembered, it wasn’t a dead end. The two of them crossed through the gap to the other side, and immediately hid so the knights wouldn’t spot them. 

But the knights had fired arrows at them, which meant they alread knew what Yuri — or whatever it was that tipped them off — looked like. They were only one street away, so the chances of getting spotted again were high. Before that could happen, Flynn started running — and stopped. 

“Yuri!?”

The black-haired boy was crouching down in the alleyway, staring fixedly at a point on the ground.

Flynn approached him with a dubious look on his face, but when he realised what Yuri was looking at, he frowned. 

“Blood…? Whose blood is that…?” 

“The person they’re chasing after.” 

Saying that, Yuri lifted his head and looked towards the bottom of the slope. He had seen a shadow on the roof of a building. Yuri had intentionally jumped over to Flynn’s side of the street because the building was on Flynn’s side. 

“They’re hurt.” 

Still facing the bottom of the slope, Yuri stood up. Flynn must have recognised the look in his eyes, because he gave Yuri a reproachful look. 

“What are you going to do?”

“Chase after them.”

He had been unsure on what exactly to do until Flynn asked him, but thanks to that his decision was clear. Naturally, Flynn looked confused. 

“Why?” 

“Because it’s most likely that guy.” 

“‘That guy’?”

“The ‘Dark Wings’.”

Saying that, Yuri broke into a run. 

But soon after, another set of footsteps followed him from behind. 

“…I’m coming too.”

Yuri was surprised, but hid it. Instead, his lips curved into a smile.

It was a hopeless chase. The only clue they had was the bloodstain they had found at the beginning. They had guessed that the thief was headed in the direction of the lower quarter and headed there for now. But they also had to be wary of the intruding knights, and they couldn’t rule out the possibility that the person was hiding somewhere along the way. 

The owner of the bloodstain was most likely moving across the rooftops. They might be able to find more traces if they climbed up the building, but then it would be their turn to get spotted by the knights. The knights before hadn’t asked questions before shooting, and the two of them were reluctant to expose themselves to those crossbows.

“Yuri, that wall over there.” 

Despite Flynn saying that, Yuri didn’t know what he was pointing at at first. It was only when he got closer and strained his eyes that he finally spotted it. There were indeed traces of dark red stains on the wall. 

“You have sharp eyes.” 

Yuri said, inwardly relieved at the discovery of the new trail. 

Flynn gazed at the bloodstain, and tracked the direction of where it had dripped from to over his head. 

“The blood fell from above. They’re still moving across the rooftops.”

“Do you know which way they’re headed?” 

“The fact that they’re running along the rooftops…  means they're always running parallel to the streets. I can’t say for sure, but most likely they’re still heading for the lower quarter. 

“That’s enough for me. Let’s go.” 

****

Their target was slowly getting cornered. All of the knights were excited by this realisation. The thief had stolen from the royal quarter in broad daylight. If they could catch him, they’d clearly reap a glorious reward. 

And although the Empire was governed by a council of nobles, nowadays that same council was in a state of political tension with the Imperial Knights. The nobles relied on their own security for their mansions, so by capturing the thief who had broken through these defences and gotten away, the knights could show off their superiority. On the other hand, there was no excuse if they let the thief get away. 

Due to large-scale expeditions being carried out, the number of knights in the imperial capital was lower than ever before. Although they were the Imperial Knights, the amount of knowledge that a knight possessed of what was going on outside the imperial capital wasn’t that much different from that of a commoner in the citizens’ quarter. 

Such various circumstances were intertwined together beneath their excitement of the hunt. 

Their reason wasn’t necessarily simple — and yet maybe it was simple after all. 

Unease. 

The crossbows that the knights were holding were made purely for combat. They wouldn’t let the thief get away. They would capture him — even if it meant they had to kill him. 

****

“Not good, hide!”

At Flynn’s words, Yuri quickly ducked into a nearby shadow. Immediately after, the knights appeared as if out of thin air, holding crossbows in hand. They passed by the two of them without noticing, yelling angrily as they did so. 

The two of them held their breath and waited for the sound of armour and footsteps to recede. If anything, they were in luck. After all, they hadn’t seen any bloodstains for a while, and were starting to worry if they’d lost sight of the thief. 

But the knights were moving strangely as well. They had been heading straight for the centre of Fountain Alley for a while now, but now they were headed for a different direction. Judging from their pace they didn’t seem to have completely lost sight of the thief. Then did that mean their target had changed course? 

“We should just follow them.” 

There was the worry that the knights would beat them to it, but it was better than losing sight of the thief. 

The two of them nodded to each other, then quietly stepped out of the shadows and resumed their pursuit. 

Come to think of it, it was times like this that they should have their sword with them. Yuri suddenly had that thought as they hurried on ahead. They had gone through all that training, but when it mattered the most, they didn’t have a weapon on hand. How ironic. 

Of course, the threat they were facing right now wasn’t like the monsters they’d encountered before. No matter how much he disliked them, the knights were still humans. He’d never seriously thought of fighting them. 

Oh well. Yuri thought about it rationally. They would only have one sword anyways, and any hatchets he could use were all in the fields far away. 

The two of them followed the knights, taking care not to get caught while not losing sight of them. Suddenly, they stopped. It sounded like the distance between them and knights had suddenly grown shorter. They carefully moved closer and took a peek. 

Yuri knew what he was going to see even before he looked. It was a sight he was familiar with now. Beyond the rows of broken down and slanted eaves of houses, and separated by a street. A stretch of buildings, abruptly devoid of colour. 

“The Grey Alleyways…” Flynn spoke on behalf of Yuri’s thoughts. “So this is where he escaped to.” 

Up ahead, the knights were reorganising themselves. 

So when Yuri had seen the knights here the last time, they had been chasing after the ‘Dark Wings’ after all. Back then they had clearly hesitated to go in. This time, they were aware of where the thief had ended up and had stopped for a moment, but it looked like they had no intention of giving up. 

Yuri was reminded of that uncle. Was that strange knight still somewhere in the imperial capital? Or was he far away from the imperial capital, fighting monsters or whatever enemy it was? The thought of such a person fighting anyone or anything felt strange. Of course, he couldn't say for sure if that uncle was among the knights right in front of them. 

Unlike the last time, the knights didn’t split up, but advanced as a unit into the Grey Alleyways. Such a large group of knights were dangerous, but they were louder, and thus it was less likely that the thief would run into them. The boys signalled to each other with their eyes and quietly resumed moving forward. 

To be honest, Yuri didn’t really understand why he was doing this. There was Norein’s medicine costs, and the lack of work, and the manual work in the lower quarter that he’d been exempted from for so long. He had plenty of other things he had to worry about, so why was he courting danger with the Imperial Knights and challenging the Grey Alleyways again? 

Was it because he had witnessed the ‘Dark Wings’ spectacularly escape from him the last time? Was that why he was chasing after them? What was he planning to do after he chased them down? In the first place, there was no guarantee that the target they were currently chasing was the ‘Dark Wings’. 

—No. With the way those knights were acting, to Yuri at least, that was sufficient proof that they were up against the ‘Dark Wings’.

However, right now, what was preoccupying Yuri’s mind was rather the bloodstains they had found several times before. No matter who it was, they were being chased down by knights and they were injured. The realisation was driving him forward, even if he didn’t realise it himself. 

He had the feeling he couldn’t just leave them alone. 

But then what about Flynn? Taking care not to make any sound as he ran, Yuri cast him a doubtful glance. If anything, Flynn was critical of the ‘Dark Wings’. It’s not like he was going to cooperate with the knights, so why was he following Yuri? Was it that he couldn’t leave them alone? And who exactly? 

The ‘River Escapade’ came to mind. Back then too, Flynn had followed along despite his reproach. They’d pushed the heavy cart together, fought together, and — laughed. 

Oh, right. He was like that. It had felt so natural that he hadn't been conscious of it until he suddenly was, and then he felt embarrassed. 

He glanced furtively at Flynn. The golden-haired boy was walking with the same serious expression on his face. 

For some reason Yuri felt a small sense of relief at that as he quickened his pace. 

****

“He’s not here either.” 

“Dammit, where did he go!?”

The knights hurled insults upon hearing the voices of their comrades in the nearby buildings. They had gotten worked up because of the hunt and bravely ventured into the grey labyrinth, but couldn’t find their quarry. They were suffering from a backlash from their enthusiasm, and the knights were on the verge of exploding in frustration. 

They would slash their swords or shoot their arrows at walls in place of markers, peer down streets at random, and even break down the doors of houses to search inside, and repeat. But there were an infinite number of streets and houses to investigate in this labyrinth, or so it felt like. The knights desperately continued to search while resisting the sense of futility creeping up on them. 

“He has to be somewhere nearby. Search harder!” 

There was a reason why the knights hadn’t gone any further into the labyrinth. Of course there was the fact that they were reluctant to expand their search area, but more importantly, they had found a bloodstain nearby. Confronted with this concrete evidence, the knights grew excited and did a thorough search of the area, but so far their efforts had yielded nothing. 

“How long are they going to keep at it?” 

Yuri murmured as he watched them run about from his hiding spot. 

“That’s how desperate they are. We won’t be getting away lightly if they find us.” 

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” 

The two of them were hiding near where the knights had come from. The knights had found the bloodstain up ahead, so it was unlikely they’d come all the way back here to search for the thief, but it was best to be cautious.

“Come out, ‘Dark Wings’! You’re under arrest! Come out!” 

The knights’ yells echoed uselessly through the streets. Of course, there was no response. In a fit of anger, some of them swung their crossbows and fired their arrows at the walls. One of them nearly hit a fellow knight, and they were given a thorough scolding. 

Even so, no matter how long Yuri and Flynn waited, the knights showed no signs of cooling down from their enthusiasm or losing their drive. Seemingly unsatisfied, they searched the same places two or three more times. But eventually, they concluded that they must have investigated this place thoroughly enough, and gathered together before proceeding deeper into the labyrinth. 

Yuri and Flynn moved forward until they reached the area that the knights had been rampaging through just a few moments ago. They had originally planned to wait until the knights had spotted the thief before taking a detour around to get ahead of them. But the knights had were making a huge fuss about the evidence they found in the area, so the two of them stayed close by and continued to watch them, and missed their chance to move. 

“I guess they weren’t here after all.” 

Yuri looked down at the ground. The bloodstain the knights had found had long been trampled all over, so there was no way to verify it. 

“Like I thought, it’s better to get ahead of them… Flynn?” 

There was no response. Yuri turned to look, and saw that the golden-haired boy had his back facing Yuri, and was staring intently at something with a thoughtful expression on his face. 

“What’s wrong? Did you find something?” 

Instead of answering, Flynn turned his head, looking left and right, before returning his gaze to the wall in front of him. It was a grey wall, no different from the other walls around them. 

“……It’s gone.” 

“What?” 

Flynn tilted his head in confusion, and started muttering to himself. He suddenly raised his hand and touched the wall, running his fingers along its rough surface.

“It should have been here. If I remember correctly…” 

As he muttered that, he walked sideways along the wall. Then abruptly, his figure fell forward, and in the next moment he disappeared. 

“Flynn!” 

In an instant, Yuri was all alone. Forgetting about the knights, he raised his voice and yelled without thinking. 

What in the world just happened? Yuri  stood where Flynn had just been. He hadn’t gotten a good look, but it had looked like Flynn had been sucked into the wall. 

The wall? Come to think of it, he had the feeling Flynn had been touching the wall. No matter how he looked at it, it looked just like a wall. Quietly, he raised his hand. Then, licking his lips, he thrust out his hand. 

His eyes widened. The wall conveyed no hardness whatsoever, and his hand was buried in the wall from the wrist down. 

In a panic, he jerked back his hand and confirmed there were no problems with it. He tried it again, but the result was the same. 

Yuri was convinced. He didn’t understand how, but somehow this wall didn’t exist. 

In which case…

So as not to hesitate, Yuri dove towards the wall in one go. Sure enough, there was no sensation at all — not. 

His face collided with something soft. Yuri panicked and stopped, blinking. 

In front of him was a familiar-looking back. Flynn was standing frozen in front of the entrance to a narrow street. Yuri had bumped into his back. 

He turned around to look and saw only a wall where he had been. It stood there solidly, as if he hadn’t just passed through it. But it had to be an illusion. 

Despite the spectacular collision, Flynn didn’t even turn around, and just stood there in silence. Noticing this, Yuri peeked over Flynn’s shoulder. His eyes widened, even more than when he had touched the wall earlier. 

They were in an extremely small and narrow passageway, sandwiched between two buildings and ending in a dead-end. And sitting down and leaning against that wall in the back, was someone familiar. 

They were wearing several layers of dark, baggy clothing. They had slumped down weakly, legs pointing in their direction. There was a different cloth tied tightly around one of their legs, damp — with blood. The cloth couldn’t staunch the blood, and it seeped out and splattered onto the ground in a spine-chilling pattern. He couldn’t see the wound, but it didn’t seem like a minor injury. 

They had come this far carrying this injury. And they had done it not by running through the streets, but by jumping from roof to roof. Even the young boy could tell that was an incredible feat worthy of admiration. 

But they must have pushed themselves quite a bit. They looked exhausted, and their shoulders were shaking as they breathed raggedly. 

The ‘Dark Wings’.

But what surprised Yuri the most was something else. Despite the many layers they wore, their hood was askew, and the cloth covering their mouth was loose. With their face half-exposed, they stared back at the two boys. Yuri recognised those eyes, and that face. 

No. Impossible. Yuri felt himself inhale sharply. 

“Grandma Jiri.” 

****

“Ah man, my cover’s been blown. And by you two of all people… I must be getting old. I wish I could stay young forever.” 

It felt strange to hear a familiar voice coming from a figure that looked so different from their usual self. Especially since the image Yuri had of the thief in his mind was different from the actual person. 

“I pushed myself just a little harder than usual, and this is the result. Serves me right. Haaah.”  

Perhaps because of her injury and her fatigue, Jiri seemed more talkative than usual. 

Yuri still couldn’t shake off his confusion, so he kept quiet and listened. The mysterious thief that targeted only nobles and the rich. The legendary chivalrous thief who distributed their loot to the poor. And the Jiri who devoted herself to washing clothes and cooking at ‘My Home’. The Jiri who tended to the fields alongside Hanks — the thief he thought was so far away from him, was actually right by his side all along — he was so shocked that he couldn’t think straight. 

“So you really are Aunt Jiri. But then why—”

It was Flynn who had opened his mouth, but Jiri raised a hand to stop him from continuing.

“Sorry, but let’s leave that for later. We have to leave before the knights come back. Apologies in advance, but I’ll need you to lend me a hand. Yuri, check if the coast outside is clear.” 

She tried to stand up and grimaced from the pain in her wound. Flynn rushed over to support her. 

Various thoughts were finally beginning to converge in Yuri’s head. Grandma Jiri was the ‘Dark Wings’. He was surprised at first, but when he thought about it, it would be just like her to do something like this. What in the world did she steal, or try to steal? Since the knights had gotten so worked up over it, it must have been something big. Something important. Something like—

“Yuri.”

Yuri gave a start at that voice. It was a voice that pierced all the way to his bones, demanding that he respond immediately or suffer a fist flying his way. When he turned to look he saw Jiri and Flynn looking back at him. 

Yuri hurried back to the wall he had previously walked through. No matter how many times he looked at it, he only saw a wall. He brought his face close to the wall until he was touching it — or not. His face went through the wall, and the view of the streets outside appeared right in front of his eyes. From an outsider’s perspective, it must have looked like a boy’s face had sprouted from the wall. 

Yuri quickly looked left and right, checking for any signs of activity. He couldn’t hear a single sound. The knights must have advanced quite far in, or at least moved to a different block. 

He pulled his head back and looked back at Jiri and Flynn. 

“It looks like we’re in the clear.” 

Jiri nodded, and then put her hand in her pocket and made some kind of groping motion. 

Flynn let out a surprised yelp. When Yuri turned around, the wall had disappeared, leaving behind only the entrance to their alleyway. 

“Was that… your doing, Aunt Jiri? What kind of—”

“It’s a holo blastia.” 

“……A blastia!?!?” 

“Let’s go.” 

At Flynn’s urging, Jiri gritted her teeth and started walking. With every step she took, a pained breath escaped from her mouth. She stopped right in front of the gaping Yuri. Had she reached the limits of her endurance? But Flynn had a puzzled look on his face. 

Jiri turned to look at Yuri. There was a familiar expression on her face, one he didn’t want to see. 

“I haven’t forgotten how you called me Grandma just now.” 

****

Fortunately the three of them made it out of the Grey Alleyways without running into any of the knights. Jiri and Flynn led the way, having memorised the way back. 

After leaving the Grey Alleyway, they had to be on the lookout for not just the knights, but the residents of the lower quarter as well — after all, the world’s greatest and most notorious thief was walking around in broad daylight — but luckily, there was no signs that anyone had seen them. 

Yuri had a mountain of questions he wanted to ask her, but he didn’t. At any rate they had to move quickly, and either way Jiri was in pain and bleeding, and had no energy to spare. 

Even then they would stop from time to time to let Jiri rest, and check to see if they had left any trail of bloodstains behind them, and if there were, erase them to the best of their ability so they wouldn’t be found. They couldn’t say for sure if they had missed anything, and they didn’t know whether they had done a perfect job of erasing the traces that did exist. But in any case they had to avoid being tracked down later. 

They were headed towards Hanks’ and Jiri’s house. Jiri had instructed them to do so. In other words, once they got there, she would be able to treat her injury, and he would have all the time in the world to ask what he wanted to know. 

…Is what he thought, but when they finally reached her house, Jiri opened the front door a crack and slipped in. She immediately swung the door close, leaving only a small gap so they could only see her face. 

“Well, I was somehow saved. You have my thanks. I’m sure you already know this, but don’t tell anyone what you saw today.” 

“Aun—” 

“Got it?” 

“…G-Got it.” 

Yuri instinctively tried to speak up, but Jiri completely shut him out, and in front of their eyes, the door slammed shut. He had wanted to say something, but he couldn’t find the right words. Come to think of it, Flynn hadn’t spoken much, or at all. What did he think about all of this? Just as Yuri opened his mouth to speak — the door opened again. 

Jiri suddenly poked her head out. She raised an eyebrow and looked down at Yuri. It was so unbefitting of the current situation, he couldn’t tell what she was thinking. 

Out of nowhere her fist swung down and struck the top of Yuri’s head. Sparks flew across his vision. 

“Agh!??” 

“That’s for calling me a grandma. I told you I didn’t forget.” 

With that, the door closed again, and didn’t open again. 

****

It seemed Jiri’s injuries were quite serious after all. Although she hid it by wearing clothing with long hems, to Yuri and Flynn who knew the situation, it was clear she walked while favouring one leg. She walked slowly, not to mention it looked like she wouldn’t be able to run for quite a while. 

Still, the sight of Jiri working in the plaza the next day as if nothing had happened left Yuri and Flynn at a loss for words. They’d thought she’d been bed-ridden and unable to move for at least a few days. 

“Won’t your wound reopen?” 

When Yuri murmured that, Jiri shut him up with a look and prevented him from saying anything further. He started to be more careful after that as well. 

It felt strange knowing that the ‘Dark Wings’ was right before his eyes, and on the contrary, the fact that he knew the truth made him feel a certain sense of superiority. But if he let it slip carelessly and it reached the knights’ ears, it would spell a disaster. Yuri understood that much. 

He tried to find a time when no one was around to ask her his questions, but whenever he did some adult would always show up and ruin the opportunity. As Hanks’ wife, Jiri was often sought out for advice. Even though he understood that, he felt frustrated and impatient. 

So Yuri went to the only other person he could talk to about this.

“If it weren’t for Grandma’s injury, we could have asked her to steal the panacea from that noble the other day.” 

The situation hadn’t changed; there weren’t many jobs in the citizens’ quarter that paid well, and on the other hand Norein’s condition wasn’t looking good. The great thief, the ‘Dark Wings’ could probably steal one — as long as they didn’t make a mistake like the last time. 

If possible he would have liked to obtain the medicine with their own efforts, but the situation was dire. They didn’t have the luxury of choice. 

But Flynn showed no reaction to Yuri’s words. He stayed silent, as if he was depressed about something. 

“Oii, Flynn?” 

The lack of response made Yuri feel concerned. Flynn had a unique obsession with the knights — even as a child, he had taken an admonishing attitude towards the negligent knights. Yuri didn’t think it was possible, but was Flynn perhaps…

As if sensing Yuri’s thoughts, Flynn looked up at him.

“I’m not going to say it.” 

Those words made Yuri feel awkward. But even so, there was something helpless, and unconfident about the way Flynn spoke. 

“I won’t say it. But… I don’t know if the situation can carry on like this.” 

“Hey, but Grandma’s doing what she’s doing for everyone’s sake, right?” 

Flynn lifted his head to look at him. In the depth of his eyes swirled a whirlpool of confusion. 

“……I don’t know. I really don’t know.” 

Flynn stared at Yuri. Why can’t I think the same way you do? Those eyes of his seemed to look pleadingly at Yuri. Yuri didn’t know how to respond to him. 

Flynn lowered his eyes. 

“Either way, it’s as you said. We have to do something about the medicine.” 

“……Yeah. Let’s go to the citizens’ quarter again. There might be work available.” 

Neither of them believed Yuri’s words, but they both nodded anyway. It was as if they both wanted to escape from this topic of conversation. 

Prev | Index | Next

[delicatemusickingdom]

So someone mentioned that the word is probably a corruption of Graphics, which, makes sense. I'll put it as Holo for now and if it makes more sense for it to be Graphics down the line, I'll change it.

So there's a new blastia type in the novel, called 投映魔導器(グラプスブラスティア). I don't think there's any mention of it in the game as far as I know. Anyone have any idea how to romanize this?

Context: The blastia projects extremely real-looking illusions/holograms.

It's most likely a reference to a real word like the other blastia like bodhi and hoplon are, but I have no idea what it is. Grapus? Glapus? Glapurse?

[delicatemusickingdom]

So there's a new blastia type in the novel, called 投映魔導器(グラプスブラスティア). I don't think there's any mention of it in the game as far as I know. Anyone have any idea how to romanize this?

Context: The blastia projects extremely real-looking illusions/holograms.

It's most likely a reference to a real word like the other blastia like bodhi and hoplon are, but I have no idea what it is. Grapus? Glapus? Glapurse?

[delicatemusickingdom]

Book 1 Part 2 Chapter 2.3

Chapter 2.3

“Is here okay?” 

“Hm? Ahh, yeah, that’s right. There is fine. Gently now, gently.” 

Flynn nodded at the merchant’s reply, and carefully lowered the packages in his arms onto the ground. Sweat dripped down his face, and he let out a sigh. His back was stiff, and he heard it crack as he stretched. These packages would normally be carried by someone who was an adult. He may be over ten years old already, but carrying a number of these really took a toll on his body. 

Despite the warning, the merchant didn’t even look at Flynn as he said it. There was no threat in his voice, either. In fact, his lack of interest showed how much he trusted Flynn. That was what Flynn realised, with a small amount of satisfaction. 

Of course, he couldn’t let his guard down. It had taken a lot of sweat and tears to win this trust. But it would only take a little bit of carelessness to let all that effort go to waste. 

Besides, this trust didn’t belong to him alone. Flynn took that to heart once again. Right now, even at this very moment, everyone was sweating as much as he was, abusing their youthful bodies to the hardest. 

There was no time to rest. He still had more packages to carry. Flynn rallied himself and headed back to where the others were going back and forth. 

****

It was Yuri who had been the first to bring it up again. 

That day, Flynn had set off to the ‘other side of the wall’. He didn’t have any particular goal in mind. He just hadn’t been able to sit still in the lower quarter with nothing to do.

Ever since that rainy night, Norein’s condition hadn’t taken a sudden turn for the worse, but she had shown no signs of recovery either, and her situation continued to fluctuate.  

He didn’t neglect his sword training, and took part in manual work without fail, but his heart began to sink. From time to time, when his mother’s condition took a turn for the better, he would exchange words with her. He did his best to avoid any topic related to her illness, and of course that rainy night, but Norein seemed to have a sort of farsightedness about her, and that pained Flynn. 

It had been a long time since the ‘classroom’ had returned to being just another corner of the plaza. At the beginning, there had been no shortage of people. ‘Will there be a class today?’ ‘Is today the day?’ But by the time Norein had been bedridden for a month, you could no longer see any students or student hopefuls there, and the only indication that the ‘classroom’ had ever existed was a faint, blackened charcoal stain on the wall. 

Perhaps out of consideration for Flynn, gradually, the number of people — although there were exceptions like Hanks and Jiri — who asked about Norein’s condition became sparse, and that became a new norm in the everyday life of the lower quarter. 

Training, and manual work. And caring for his mother as well. With the help of the people around him, he was never truly destitute, but that was how Flynn lived now. 

Or maybe he just wanted to get away from all of that, even if just for a moment. Or maybe he was searching for something unknown even to himself to find a way out. Feeling depressed, his mind lacked clarity, and he wouldn’t be able to answer the question right away. 

“Where are you going?” 

“……Yuri.” 

Leaning against a building facing the street, Yuri stood there with his arms crossed. 

“Over there is the ‘other side of the wall’, you know.” 

Gazing in the direction Flynn was heading towards, Yuri turned his eyes back to Flynn. He had a probing look in his eyes, as if to say, You’re not going to make an idiot out of yourself again, are you?

“……It doesn’t really matter where I’m going.”

Flynn said and began to walk away. As he passed in front of Yuri, Yuri moved away from the wall and started to walk as well. 

“Don’t follow me.” 

“I’ll go wherever I want to.”

Flynn turned around and looked at Yuri, and for a moment he looked like he wanted to say something, but in the end he didn’t say anything, and turned his back on Yuri. After that, Yuri followed him in silence. 

The two of them climbed up the long slope and passed through the castle gates into the citizens’ quarter. As usual, the market was incredibly crowded, and Flynn grimaced slightly. Nothing had changed since the time when he lived here — even though his mother was suffering in the lower quarter now. 

In Yuri’s eyes, the market looked no different from usual. 

But as they walked further in, the two of them sensed something like a shadow within the bustling activity all around them. Merchants calling out, busy-looking people running about doing errands for the nobles, and customers examining their wares — there was nothing out of the ordinary. Despite that, the two of them had the impression that the people all around them were feeling uneasy, and were only suppressing it. 

“It seems it’s finally reached the highway.”  

“I saw. It’s supposed to be a type that only exists in the north.” 

“They say the knights are shorthanded, so mercenaries are in high demand.” 

As they passed by, they didn’t even have to strain their ears to hear the disturbing tone in the casual conversations. Monsters. Attacks. Battles. 

“I heard Asuko’s wife is done for. It’s got to be that illness.” 

“I heard even nobles have died.”

“The nobles are keeping all the healers and medicine to themselves.”

“If we could at least figure out how to prevent it——”

Illness. Treatment. Death.

“The last time I got word from my son was almost a month ago.” 

“It has a terrifying cry. Did you hear?” 

“They say they’re strengthening the northern fort.”

“I’m not kidding. I’m talking double of what they had last month—”

The fragmentary words didn’t mean much on their own. But as a whole, they hinted at a much bigger, unknown movement, casting an ominous shadow over the peoples’ hearts.

Despite hearing so much, Flynn walked ahead without looking back, and behind him Yuri followed. 

Flynn didn’t listen or look at anything, and just made his way through the crowd. 

But as he passed through the many streets, before he knew it, his eyes began to wander, in search of a single thing.

Suddenly his gaze focused on a single point and stopped moving. As soon as he realised what he’d seen, he forgot about Yuri and headed straight in that direction. 

Up ahead was a single store. It wasn’t like the majority of stores in the marketplace. Its stone-built appearance made it clear that it didn’t do business with commoners, but nobles. 

Fortunately, there were no guards at the entrance to keep the children of the lower quarter away. Flynn approached the shop as if drawn in. 

Both sides of the shop’s doors were lined with glass, so the display shelves inside could be seen from the streets outside. The shelves were crammed full of various accessories decorated with precious metals and gemstones, but Flynn’s gaze passed by all of them to focus on a single item. 

It was a small glass bottle. Although it had a grape-like decoration on its metal fittings, most of the bottle was bare, and it was made of colourless glass. The liquid that filled its insides was semi-transparent, and emitted a faint bluish-white light. Flynn recognised that glow. 

A panacea. Before, it would have been sold in a non-transparent container befitting that of medicine, but now it was packaged like perfume and sold like this — as if to match its rising price. 

Although it was only one bottle, he was still surprised to find a miracle potion said to be in short supply all over the imperial capital being sold in a place like this. But the price tag attached to it was enough to strip away any illusions Flynn might have had. Its numbers were large enough to make all the surrounding jewellery look like children’s toys in comparison. If he had that much money, how many people in the lower quarter could that feed, and for how long? 

The only way to save his mother’s life was right in front of his eyes. Despite being only an arm’s length away, behind the thin sheet of glass, the bottle felt terribly far away. 

As he stood there helplessly, a person who looked to be a shop assistant suddenly appeared from the back of the shop. They politely took away the glass bottle and retreated to the back again. They didn’t show any signs of noticing Flynn’s presence. 

Before long, the door to the store opened. A wealthy-looking man passed by the shop assistant holding the door open and stepped out onto the street. He carried a package in one of his hands, holding it carefully like it was something precious. 

The man noticed Flynn. He saw that Flynn was a child from the lower quarter, and for a moment he grimaced — but when he saw how Flynn looked at his package, his eyes lit up in understanding, and he radiated a twisted sense of joy from his entire body as he leisurely walked away. 

The path the man was on headed towards the royal quarter. Flynn gazed vacantly at the figure walking down that path. 

Suddenly, the man’s — noble’s — head pitched forward violently, as if it had been struck by an invisible bolt of lightning. The man clutched the back of his head and looked around in a flurry. He noticed Flynn still staring at him, and must have thought it was Flynn’s doing, because he started running back towards Flynn with a furious look on his face. His head tilted as if he’d been shot, again. This time it was to the side. 

The man looked like he had no idea what was going on, and shielded himself as he looked around frantically. But it wasn’t long before he must have decided he didn’t want to go through any more trouble, and left in a great hurry.

Flynn glared at the bushes on the side of the street. The second time it happened, he had realised what was going on. After making sure no one was around, he walked quickly towards the bushes. 

“Yuri.”

“Oops, I guess you found me out.” 

At the same time the voice came from the bushes, a head of black hair popped out from inside. 

“That guy was surprisingly insistent on protecting his stuff. Didn’t think he had it in him.” 

Yuri said as he looked in the direction of the royal quarter where the man had disappeared. In his hand were several hard-looking nuts. 

“What were you thinking?” 

“It’s because he did something unnecessary. He looked at you with a really nasty smile on his face.” 

“He’s a noble. What if he got injured?” 

“I didn’t throw it that hard. Anyway, the thing he bought, was it that thing? The panacea.” 

At those words, Flynn’s head, which had begun to heat up, lost all its steam in one go. He replied in a faint voice.

“Yeah.” 

“So there’s still a store that sells them.” 

Flynn shook his head. 

“It seems like that was the only one. But it’s fine. There’s no way I could have bought it anyway.” 

When Flynn spoke, it was as if he wasn’t speaking to Yuri, but rather more to himself. 

“Then don’t give up.”

Yuri’s voice became a little sharper. He remembered the sight of Flynn lying in that muddy water under the rain. Even though you did all that. 

“There’s no guarantee that was the last one. Maybe another one will appear in another store.” 

Flynn’s voice rose to meet Yuri’s challenging tone as he answered back. 

“Don’t make it sound so simple. I saw the price tag. It was really… really a lot of money. Even more than last I heard. It’s different from the time when we bought the sword!” 

“Then just work and earn some money!” 

“How?! There’s no way I can earn that much money!” 

“I’ll help too.” 

Yuri said decisively, his black hair swaying. He didn’t have the slightest idea how he was going to do it, but he said it anyway. 

Flynn blinked in amazement. 

“Help… No, this is my family’s problem, I can’t let you do that.” 

Yuri angrily put his hands on his hip and closed in on Flynn, who flinched and took half a step back. 

“Hey, listen here. I want Teacher Norein to get better too.” 

“Yuri. But…”

“You really are stubborn when it comes to things like this. But we all have to help each other out. That’s how the lower quarter does things. Grandpa Hanks said so.” 

Just because you can do anything doesn’t mean you should do everything on your own, Yuri added in his mind. It’s not like I’m taking advantage of his weakness or anything — probably. 

But Flynn hung his head. Yuri grabbed his arm.

“Let’s go.” 

“……Go where?” 

Without answering, and still holding onto Flynn’s arm, Yuri took off running. 

****

“Gran- Aunt Jiri.” 

Sensing the glare on him, Yuri hastily corrected himself. 

“I have a request.” 

“A request? You’re asking me? What is it, say it.” 

Don’t assume I’ll grant your request just because I’m hearing you out. The implication behind Jiri’s words set the tone for the conversation. Yuri swallowed his saliva. He carefully spoke the words he’d been thinking in his head out aloud. 

“I want you to excuse the both of us from our manual work for a while.” 

Jiri raised an eyebrow and stared at Yuri. She glanced at Flynn standing behind him, but quickly returned her gaze to Yuri. Her gaze was pressuring, almost physically so, but Yuri met it head on. 

A few seconds passed. Then suddenly, Yuri felt the pressure ease. 

Jiri sat down in her chair. Wordlessly, she motioned her head slightly, urging him to continue. 

Yuri wasn’t particularly adept at talking things out logically, but he did his best to explain. About the panacea, and its price, and about wanting to earn enough money for it. Jiri sat there and listened without saying a single word. 

Flynn stood behind Yuri and stayed silent. Yuri had persuaded Flynn to let him be the one to negotiate with Jiri — of course, Flynn hadn’t agreed easily, and was still dissatisfied even this very instant. But when Yuri told him that he knew Jiri better than Flynn did, he had reluctantly given in. 

After he finished speaking, Yuri held his tongue and observed Jiri’s reaction. Jiri let out a small sigh and stood up. 

“I’ve heard about the price of the panacea bottles too. It costs a ridiculous amount of money even now, and it’s only going to keep on rising. Do you think the both of you can earn enough money on your own?” 

It was a question he had expected. And there was only one answer to that. 

“I don’t know. But I can’t leave Teacher Norein like that without doing anything.” 

“Please, Aunt Jiri.” 

Without thinking, Flynn opened his mouth and bowed his head. 

Jiri looked back and forth between the two of them. Was she trying to gauge how serious they were? Yuri put all of his strength into his gaze as he stared back at her-

“It’s only natural that you’d want to do whatever you can to save your mother. Same for you wanting to help out. Both of you, make sure you see it through.” 

“Grandpa.” 

At some point, Hanks had appeared at the doorway. He exuded the same aura of calmness with an air of sincerity hidden within that Yuri had seen so many times before. 

Jiri glanced at her husband. Her eyes looked like she wanted to say something, but in the end she returned her gaze to the two of them without saying anything, and let out a short sigh. 

“Well, it’s like what he said. Go ahead and do whatever you want until you’re satisfied. We’ll take care of Norein like we always have been. But listen here.”

Jiri’s voice wasn’t stern, but nonetheless, Yuri and Flynn stiffened up. 

“We can’t do much about the money, any more than we already have. Even if we try gathering some from everyone, we’ll only have a little to spare. Any more than that, and we’ll all starve to death before winter passes. We can’t let that happen. Even if it sounds harsh, that’s how it is. Do you understand? You guys will have to do it on your own.” 

And someone else would have to do the manual work they were getting out of. The two of them nodded. 

“Yes, Aunt Jiri.” 

“Yeah, I know, I know.” 

“Good luck.” 

With Hanks cheering them on, the two of them dashed outside. The sooner they got to work, the better. 

****

The two of them set off for the citizens’ district again. If they wanted to earn money, they had to go to a place where there were jobs. 

However, when faced with the crowd of people in the marketplace beyond the castle gates, the two of them came to a stop. The people there all came and went, busy with their own things to do. Their thorough indifference left no room for the two of them, and it looked like there was no chance of them accepting even a fragment of the determination possessed by the two of them. 

They had come all the way here full of energy, but they suddenly felt just how grim the battle they were about to take on was.

Yuri’s mouth twisted in displeasure. We can’t afford to back down here. We haven’t even started yet. 

“……First, let’s look for a job.” 

Flynn nodded silently. But how would they find one? Neither of them had been hired to work in the citizens’ district before, and what little experience they had was from following the instructions of the adults from the lower quarter. They had to earn a large amount of money as quickly as possible, but they had to come up with a way to get a job on their own. 

With that being said, they had no choice but to try it out on their own. We’ll visit the nearby merchants one by one. The two of them stepped forth from the castle gates. 

“Ah! There they are. Heeeey!”

They heard a familiar voice from behind them, down the slope. They turned around and saw several boys running towards them. 

“It’s Jareth and the others. What are they doing out here?” 

Yuri tilted his head. Meanwhile, the boys continued to run, panting, until they reached Yuri and Flynn. 

“What’s wrong, you guys?” 

“Grand… ma… told…” 

“What?” 

“Grandma Jiri told us all about it.” 

The boys said as they caught their breaths.

“You’re going to earn money to pay for Teacher Norein’s medicine, right? Grandma Jiri told us to help you out.” 

“We know some more people who can help out, so some of us split up to look for them.”

Yuri and Flynn looked at each other. As the boys’ words started to sink in, confusion spread across Flynn’s face. 

“Everyone… But why…?” 

In response the boys all opened their mouths and spoke in their usual innocent tones. 

“I mean, as friends we gotta help each other out.”

“Yeah, those are the rules of the lower quarter.” 

“Plus, we gotta repay what we owe you.”

“We’ll earn the money faster if everyone pitches in, right?” 

Jareth scratched his head in embarrassment. 

“Besides, I got bored of Teacher’s lessons and left halfway through, but after thinking about it, I guess I do still want to be able to read books properly.” 

Unmistakably, they all shared a bond. The bond of companions who weathered joys and sorrows together, the bond of the residents of the lower quarter. 

“Everyone… Thank you. But I have no way of repaying all of you…” 

At a loss for words, Flynn eventually said. 

“Don’t say that!” 

“We’re friends, aren’t we?” 

“Let’s go! I know a place where my old man used to work. He said they were pretty friendly for a person on the ‘other side of the wall’. Let’s go there first.”

Without waiting for a response from Yuri and Flynn, Jareth and the other boys raised their spirits and, passing through the castle gates, went on ahead. 

“Grandma Jiri really is cool. Let’s go too, or else we’ll lose sight of them.” 

Flynn nodded and started walking. For a moment he thought he saw Flynn’s eyes glimmering with tears — but it must have been his imagination. 

As they walked, Yuri suddenly remembered something and stopped. 

“Oh right, I completely forgot to ask.” 

Flynn, who had been walking ahead of him, turned around. 

“How much does the medicine cost now?” 

Flynn stared intently at Yuri. Then, making a somewhat awkward face, he approached Yuri and whispered into his ear. 

Yuri’s face twitched. 

“……Let’s keep this from the others for a while.” 

****

The children in the lower quarter were always fighting against poverty. They’d fight to survive, overcoming this sturdy ‘enemy’, and laugh while doing so. Grieving over the aftermath and worrying about the future were the adults’ jobs. It was never fun to be scorned at by the people on the ‘other side of the wall’, but once they returned to the lower quarter, even such occurrences would become nothing more than a topic of conversation. The nobles and knights were a different topic altogether, but in the end, wealthier or not, all of the residents in the citizens’ quarter were commoners just like them. Public order was upheld in the citizens’ district, so there wasn’t much of a threat in terms of danger. 

Still, the boys chose to knock on the door of an employer that, as far as they knew, offered the best combination of safety and high wages. In the first place, there weren’t many jobs fit for children, but among those, they chose the one that looked like they required the most amount of manual labour. Jobs that people didn’t want to do were paid that much higher.  

At first, the merchant had expressed his reluctance to hire them, seeing them as children from the filthy lower quarters. But when faced with the young boys’ persistence and eagerness, he half-heartedly gave in and decided to hire them. 

Like many others, the merchant also had a considerably prejudiced view towards the lower quarter. In terms of business, he’s never had clients from the lower quarter before, so it was natural for him to adopt the prevailing public opinion on the lower quarter people. 

The merchant had intended to fire them or hand them over to the knights immediately if there were any problems. To his surprise, he found the boys to be extremely diligent in their work, and they didn’t complain at all, even if the labour was tough. 

The boys did make mistakes sometimes, but after two weeks, the merchant barely remembered that the boys hailed from the lower quarter. When a fellow merchant mentioned it to him one day, he felt incredibly surprised to realise he’d forgotten about it. 

So there are honest kids in the lower quarter too. The merchant, who had a simple nature at heart, came to think this way. He also shared this with his fellow merchants. 

While some saw him as a soft-hearted fool, there were others who took an interest in his story. Thanks to him, once the boys were done with their jobs and received their wages — the merchant had paid them properly — and when it was time to leave, they were able to find their next job quickly. 

****

One month passed, then two months. 

Yuri and the other boys were now working for merchants all over the place. The boys would climb up the slope early in the morning, and come back down late in the evening — even the people in the lower quarter were familiar with their schedule. When the boys returned, they would scarf down the meal cooked by Jiri and fall asleep like logs. 

The sight of Yuri and Flynn training with their sword was long gone, too. Their sword was tucked away Flynn’s house. 

The boys’ savings were steadily increasing. But they were in a literal race to the death against Norein’s illness, and her situation could change at any time. And the price of the panacea continued to climb higher than the boys could save. With the unsettling rumours spreading throughout the imperial capital in hushed whispers, and this mysterious illness that the doctors were racking their brains over, it was only natural that the price wouldn’t decrease, but rather keep increasing. 

Then one day, Yuri and Flynn came to a stop in the middle of their work. They were in one of the parks scattered throughout the citizens’ quarter, which, until recently, had been full of trees and carpets of grass. 

But now the place had been mercilessly dug up, exposing the stonework beneath the soil and turning it into a large trench. On top of the stonework were what looked to be two metal rods that stretched from one end of the trench to the other. One end led to the centre of the capital, and the other led to the top of the castle wall. 

“What’s this?” 

Yuri peered into the trench. 

“You there! You’re in the way!” 

He looked in the direction of the yelling and saw a knight waving his hands in irritation. The knight wasn’t alone, and several other knights were him. 

Yuri quickly backed away from the trench, but his eyes were drawn to the thing on the other side of the knights that was slowly approaching. 

It was something that looked like a house or a huge machine. It slid over the ditch without a sound, slowly approaching the two boys. On top of the intricately assembled metal parts, a thick, rod-shaped part stuck out and upwards at an angle. He couldn’t tell if it was a decoration or part of the machine. 

It looked like it rode on top of the metal rods in the trench, using it like wheels to move about. It gave off a terribly old-fashioned impression as a whole. Not only knights, but also people in various outfits accompanied it as it moved. 

“Hoplon blastia…..” 

“Hop… what now?” 

At Flynn’s unfamiliar words, Yuri couldn’t help but ask back. 

“Hoplon blastia. It’s an incredibly powerful blastia that can apparently even attack at long distances. Even so, I didn’t expect it to be this big.” 

In front of the boys’ eyes, the giant machine passed by them and stopped in a position halfway over the castle walls. The people accompanying the blastia that weren’t knights immediately surrounded it like ants swarming around a fruit, and started tinkering with the machine. 

After that, nothing else seemed to happen, so Yuri and Flynn went back to work. 

But on that evening, on the way back to the lower quarter after work, Flynn spoke up. 

“Yuri, look.” 

At that, Yuri turned around and found himself at a loss for words. Perched on top of the walls of the imperial capital overlooking the lower quarter were many of the giant machines they’d seen earlier this afternoon. Lined up at regular intervals like needles, they radiated a silent threat.

They were clearly devices made to fight something. Something powerful.  

“……What’s going to happen?” 

“I don’t know. But it looks like it’s going to be something big.” 

It reminded them of the many disturbing rumours they’d heard in the marketplace. They had no idea how the rumours were related to this, but they had a feeling they were all connected somehow. 

The abnormality didn’t stop there, however. One day, a large number of knights appeared in the lower quarter. At first, the residents of the lower quarter were panic-stricken, thinking a large-scale raid was about to occur. But the Imperial Knights on that day were different. 

The knights came from the quarters and passed through the castle gates and into the lower quarters. They marched in an orderly formation, walking through the lower quarters without sparing its residents a single glance. They seemed to make up an entire unit, and one by one they carried their swords, or raised their spears or pikes as they marched along. A person that looked to be a commander rode on horseback, and carts loaded with supplies trailed alongside the unit. 

There were some units that weren’t wearing helmets, and judging from the atmosphere, both nobles and commoners alike had been deployed. 

Were they carrying out a sortie? There was no mistaking the tension in the air, different from that of a simple march. 

There was no doubt about it — they were going to war. It was unclear who exactly they were going to fight, but this was, without a doubt, the extension of the series of disturbing rumours in the imperial capital. Be it the boys or the adults, it was the first time they had seen so many knights at once. It had to be the same for the residents in the citizens’ quarter. 

I wonder if the uncle from the other day or the unit that delivered the monster meat are among them. Yuri strained his eyes, but he couldn’t recognise anyone. 

But at the very least, one thing was certain. Whatever was happening, it was something terrible. And it was sure to drive the price of the panacea up, and never down. 

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[delicatemusickingdom]

Book 1 Part 2 Chapter 2.2

Chapter 2.2

The rain splattered noisily onto the stone pavement. The sun had long since set, but heavy, stone-like dark clouds lay in between the star-filled sky and the earth, making the night feel especially heavy and gloomy. 

Even the barrier rings covering the imperial capital were dim and hazy due to the falling rain, and light they cast on the ground was unusually weak and unreliable. 

There were street lamps — lux blastia — placed at regular intervals along the street. The lights from these lamps reflected haphazardly off the raindrops, floating in the middle of the darkness like human souls. 

A small figure was running through the deserted citizens’ quarter on this rainy night. Under daylight, his golden hair was reminiscent of the early summer sun, but it was now drenched with rain, giving off an appearance of wheat mowed down by a storm. It was Flynn. 

After the doctor left, Hanks and the others withdrew, and the boy was left alone. He stood by his mother’s side, watching her breathe painfully in her sleep. He could sense the rain falling outside, but he didn’t even turn his head to look at it. 

With no one to talk to, Flynn contemplated the doctor’s words over and over again. He could hear it echoing repeatedly in his mind, even without needing to be conscious of it. About the healer, and about the panacea. 

He didn’t have any money. He didn’t have the means to invite a healer or purchase the medicine. Jiri had interrupted the doctor before he could finish his sentence, but Flynn wasn’t so imperceptive that he couldn’t guess what awaited her if her condition continued as it was. 

He didn’t want to think about what would happen. He absolutely didn’t want to think about what would happen.  

Instead, he thought about healers. The healers of the Imperial Knights. The healers who supported the knights who exposed themselves to many different kinds of dangers. The Imperial Knights. 

Flynn shook his head, but then he caught sight of his mother’s sleeping face. Her breaths were shallow, and her brows were furrowed faintly. 

The boy stood up. His eyes were filled with determination, and his fists were clenched tightly. He stepped back, and, so as not to wake his mother, carefully opened the creaky front door and slipped out through the gap. He was greeted with the sound of rain falling onto his entire body, but he ignored it and ran in the darkness. 

The rain was strong, and in the blink of an eye, Flynn was drenched. The uneven ground of the lower quarter, painted over by the shadows of the night, tried to snare the boy’s feet. He didn’t care in the slightest. There were no street lamps in the lower quarter, nor did he have a lantern in his hand, but Flynn continued to run, relying on his memory to light the way. He kept running, and ran upwards. Up the slope. To the other side of the castle walls, to the city he had once lived in. 

Eventually he passed through the wide open castle gates and arrived at the citizens’ quarter, but Flynn didn’t stop running. He passed by large and magnificently-built houses incomparable to those in the lower quarter despite belonging to commoners, and headed for a single building. 

The building stood out even in the darkness of the night. More than its size or opulence, it stood out because of its solemn and imposing form.  Brilliant light filtered through the long vertical windows, highlighting the rustic nature of the stonework. Despite the glowing lux blastia, bonfires had purposely been lit on both sides of the main gate, as if to protest against the rain pouring down from the heavens. 

Although it was in the middle of the city, inside the castle walls, it looked like a small fort at first glance — just as the boy remembered it. It was a building not for living in, but for barricading yourself in. 

Flynn stopped in front of it. For a moment, he glared at it defiantly through the rain dripping from his fringe, and then started walking again. He didn’t stop at the main gate, but at a door a little distance away. There was no bonfire at this door, and it stood quietly in the middle of the night. It looked like a side door. 

Flynn took a deep breath, and placed his hand on the metal ring fastened to the wooden door as a door knocker. 

Just as he gathered all of his strength in his hand to knock, lightning flashed. The brilliant light dazzled his eyes, and at the same time, he saw his silhouette and his identical shadow clearly outlined on the door. 

Seeing the afterimage burned into his eyes, for a moment Flynn paused, as if realising what he was about to do. But he soon regained his composure and tried to knock on the door again. 

But a hand pierced through the rain and darkness and grabbed the wrist that held onto the metal ring. Before he had time to be surprised, Flynn’s hand had already been wrenched from the metal ring. There was another flash of lightning. And then, the following thunder shook the entire area. 

“Yuri!?” 

The brief flash of light had highlighted that familiar black hair. Seeing that, Flynn raised his voice. 

“……What do you think you’re doing?” 

Despite being a question, it wasn’t looking for an answer. Both Yuri, who had asked the question, and Flynn, to whom the question was directed at, were fully aware of it. They also knew that this wasn’t a chance encounter. 

Yuri had come after him. The doctor’s words, and the reaction Flynn had shown. That was more than enough reason. 

For a few moments, Flynn stared at Yuri, before he shook off the grip on his wrist and took a step back. Between them, the rain and darkness of the night streamed down. 

“Don’t get in my way.” 

His voice was drowned out by the sound of the rain. Yuri took a step forward, his drenched bangs and shadows hiding the expression on his face. 

“If it weren’t for you doing something stupid like barging into the Imperial Knights’ quarters in the middle of the night, I would have already gone home.” 

Although he feigned his usual banter, Yuri was aware that he had been unconsciously building up strength in his clenched fists. The rain dripping down his hair and causing it to stick to the back of his neck felt disgusting. 

“Get out of the way.” 

Flynn’s reply was as cold and stubborn as the rain. It was as if the atmosphere between them had suddenly reverted back to years ago. Back to when they had first exchanged words. 

“There are healers in the Imperial Knights. If I can get one to come with me, they can heal my mother.” 

“And you really think they’d listen to you? Just what kind of people do you think they are?” 

At those words, Flynn glared sharply at Yuri. The flash of lightning added to the dramatic effect. 

“I know that better than you do.”

Saying that as if to reject him, Flynn stepped forward. He pushed away the person standing between him and the door. He didn’t even look at Yuri. 

“Are you serious?” 

Yuri grabbed his shoulder, but Flynn shook him off roughly. Then a hand reached out and grabbed the metal ring, and Flynn stiffened. He had expected Yuri to lunge at him. 

But the one was holding onto the metal ring was Yuri. Not Flynn.

Yuri stood there by his side, with his hand reached out. Flynn looked at him dubiously. 

“Yuri……?”

“Geez. I really didn’t want to, though.” 

The black-haired boy didn’t even look in Flynn’s direction as the corners of his mouth twisted in irritation. It was as if he was saying, It’s a bad habit of mine to go along with idiots. 

There was a low rumble of thunder in the distance, almost like a sentence. 

Flynn’s mouth tightened, and he turned his attention back to the door. He reached out once more and grabbed the metal ring. 

The two of them knocked on the door.

****

To be honest, Yuri’s expectations were somewhat high. The company that had delivered the monster meat, and the uncle. Even if they weren’t the people who came to greet them, he hoped that whoever came to the door would be similar. 

As for the healer, he figured it would be a difficult task. Even if they were lucky enough for a healer to be in the quarters, he couldn’t think of how to appeal to them to make them go to the lower quarter, and for free, too. 

Even so, there was a one in a million chance. Even if they just listened to what Flynn had to say, if that satisfied Flynn somewhat, then the effort wouldn’t have been for nothing. 

When they knocked on the door, a dull, heavy sound echoed, different from the thunder rumbling overhead. But there was no response, even after waiting for a while. Maybe whoever was inside just happened not to hear it. Or maybe the sound had been drowned out by the thunder. Wordlessly, the two of them gave each other a small nod, and slammed the metal ring against the door again. 

Abruptly, the door was flung open violently. As they leaped backwards to avoid being hit, the boys already realised what that meant — they had lost their bet.  

The door opened, and light poured out, along with a raucous noise that rivalled even the thunderstorm. Accompanying that was a stinging stench in the air. It was the smell of alcohol. 

A man stood there alone, under the rotten yellow light. Although he was dressed in knightly garb, he was a drunkard, nothing more, nothing less. He was scowling and looked to be in a bad mood, as if someone had thrown water all over and ruined his party. Those dull and hazy eyes of his caught sight of the two boys standing in the rain. 

“……Wha-? Just now…… Was that you two?” 

The knight spoke as if it was too much trouble to even open his mouth. His head, which stuck out of the doorway, was drenched with rain, and he looked up at the rainy skies begrudgingly, before withdrawing a little. 

It’s completely pointless. It’s not even worth considering. Yuri touched Flynn’s arm, urging him. It’s useless. Let’s withdraw before things get even more troublesome. 

But Flynn took a step forward. He looked straight at the drunken man and spoke. 

“……You’re drinking in the middle of your night shift?” 

Despite the fog in his head, the knight didn’t miss the accusation in those words. His eyes stared down at that head of golden hair. 

A muffled and unpleasant sound echoed out. 

Yuri’s eyes widened, and in the same moment Flynn’s body was blown backwards. The boy’s body fell into a puddle, sending up a splash of water. He lay there, curling into himself and clutching his stomach. He was trembling slightly, as if desperately trying to endure the pain. 

Yuri looked at the knight as he ran towards Flynn. He was just in time to see the knight slowly lower his leg, after having suddenly lashed out to kick the boy. 

It was hard to see clearly because of the backlight, but it looked like the knight had no expression on his face. I just happened to catch sight of a pebble lying on the side of the road, and so I kicked it. It was the same as that. Casual, and indifferent. 

“What’s wrong? What are you doing?” 

A voice came from behind the knight, and Yuri saw several of the knight’s friends peeking over his shoulder. They were definitely knights, but he couldn’t make out any of their faces. As he gazed at those shadowy figures, he found himself praying without thinking. Please let the uncle not be one of those people. Please let the uncle and that caring group of knights not be mixed up with them. I’m begging you. 

Under Yuri’s hand, Flynn’s body trembled. Unable to bear it any longer, he threw up. 

As if he had been waiting for that, the very first knight who had come to the door turned around and looked back into the room. 

“It’s nothing, just a gutter rat.” 

As he spoke, his figure seemed to melt into the light. The door slammed shut, more violently than when it had opened. It sounded much more like thunder. Through the door, there was a sound of something breaking, followed by vulgar laughter. 

After that, nothing. Yuri and Flynn were left alone in the darkness outside. 

After a while, Flynn got up silently. He didn’t even refuse when Yuri lent him a hand to stand up. 

****

The rain continued to fall as the two of them went back the way they came. The whole journey back, neither of them spoke a single word. As they trudged through down the road, they were pelted by night rain, making them feel completely cold and miserable physically and mentally. 

The whole time, Yuri was biting the corner of his lip. He didn’t loosen his jaw even if it hurt, as if he was punishing himself. 

It had ended just as he had predicted. In a way, everything that had happened was within his expectations. But that was exactly why he felt hurt. He was reminded of the naivety of the illusions he harboured. And more than anything, he was confronted with the reality that he had harboured such illusions in the first place. 

Yeah, Yuri thought bitterly. That’s a knight, all right. The ‘knights’ I know are supposed to be like that. Not friendly, and not kind. Only methodical violence. No, sometimes, they weren’t even methodical about it. Just as I witnessed it tonight. 

What is Flynn thinking at this very moment? For Flynn, who has a different connection, and grudge against the knights. 

There was a soundless flash of lightning, and branding the surroundings were in light and darkness. Yuri tried to take a peek at Flynn’s face, but the momentary light was too brief for him to take a good look. 

Since he didn’t know, Yuri could only speculate. Maybe he had anticipated everything, but couldn’t sit still, and had to give it a try — for his mother’s sake. He must have been aware of what Yuri warned him about from the very beginning. 

If that really was the case, then I’m a total idiot, Yuri thought. Trying to act all wise by warning someone who already knew what he was getting into, and then even going along with him as if I understood. I thought I’d watch over him even if it was a hassle. But he never needed me in the first place.  

With nothing to say to Flynn, Yuri kept quiet and continued to walk.

Flynn was also in extremely low spirits. He didn’t feel like exchanging words with Yuri, so he just walked. 

Just as Yuri had guessed, Flynn had been prepared for this eventuality. He knew it, but still couldn’t help but feel disappointed. But just because he had anticipated it didn’t diminish the pain he felt.  

He felt indignant and saddened by the misfortune that had befallen his mother and himself. Of all the actions he had taken in the midst of that despair, the only thing he hadn’t foreseen was Yuri. In the end, Yuri’s presence hadn’t affected the outcome in the slightest, but even so, he was secretly grateful for the concern that Yuri had shown through his actions, and that he was not alone on this dark trip back home. 

Neither of them knew what the other was thinking, nor did they have a way of putting what they felt into words. And so they continued walking. Silently. 

The two parted ways at a fork in the road in the lower quarter. One led to Flynn’s house, and the other led to ‘My Home’. Without saying parting words to each other, Yuri stood there for a while, and watched Flynn’s back as he disappeared into the rain. 

He was suddenly aware of the coldness of the rain. Of Teacher Norein’s illness. 

His body shivering, Yuri looked up at the dark skies. 

Uncle, if things are going to change, please hurry it up.

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[delicatemusickingdom]

Hello! First of all thank you sooo much for the translation of the novel, your work is so much appreciated you have no idea :") Secondly I wanted to ask what "Eddies" meant in the title? Is it a name? Sorry English is not my first language ;u;

No problem! Eddy, or eddies (the plural form), means whirlpool or vortex. The original chapter of the title is 戦渦 (specifically these kanji, I have checked it quite a number of times because it seems to be quite an obscure term) (you can try checking the meaning yourself if my explanation doesn't make much sense!), which translates literally to 'war whirlpool'. I considered other variations like Whirlpool/Vortex/Chaos/Ravages of War, but Eddies has a plural that fits nicely.

Looking up the meaning gives varied results as it doesn't look like a common term, but I think the meaning is close to the chaos that occurs during a war that you get caught in.

I haven't finished the chapter yet, so there may be some hidden meaning to this term that will come up later which can explain its meaning. But as of right now it's just continued Flynn suffering hours (TM). If anything else clicks as I read the chapter, or if anyone has a better translation + link to source of meaning, I may change it!

[delicatemusickingdom]

Hello! First of all thank you sooo much for the translation of the novel, your work is so much appreciated you have no idea :") Secondly I wanted to ask what "Eddies" meant in the title? Is it a name? Sorry English is not my first language ;u;

No problem! Eddy, or eddies (the plural form), means whirlpool or vortex. The original chapter of the title is 戦渦 (specifically these kanji, I have checked it quite a number of times because it seems to be quite an obscure term) (you can try checking the meaning yourself if my explanation doesn't make much sense!), which translates literally to 'war whirlpool'. I considered other variations like Whirlpool/Vortex/Chaos/Ravages of War, but Eddies has a plural that fits nicely.

Looking up the meaning gives varied results as it doesn't look like a common term, but I think the meaning is close to the chaos that occurs during a war that you get caught in.

I haven't finished the chapter yet, so there may be some hidden meaning to this term that will come up later which can explain its meaning. But as of right now it's just continued Flynn suffering hours (TM). If anything else clicks as I read the chapter, or if anyone has a better translation + link to source of meaning, I may change it!

[delicatemusickingdom]

Book 1 Part 2 Chapter 2.1

Chapter 2: Eddies of War

The seasons cycled once more. Just like the unchanging summer heat and winter cold, everyday life in the lower quarter remained unchanged. 

Be it working in the fields, fetching water, or even travelling to the ‘other side of the wall’ for work — the battle against poverty continued with no end in sight. Norein’s lessons, too, and Yuri and Flynn’s sword training as well. 

“Daaah!”

“Too slow!” 

“Not yet!” 

Metal clashed with metal, sending sparks flying. Those sounds rang out in intermittent, yet sometimes regular intervals, like bizarre-sounding music. 

“Haa!” 

Someone exhaled sharply, and an incredibly sharp and forceful sound rang out, followed by a continuous rattling, grating sound. All that remained was the sound of two people breathing heavily.

Yuri stared sullenly at the hatchet that had fallen to the ground. It had been in his hand moments ago, but now all he felt in his hand was numbness from the impact. 

“What did I tell you? If you swing it around too much, you’ll only leave yourself wide open.” 

Flynn spoke as he relaxed his stance. He was using their sword, as usual. 

“……It was supposed to chain together a bit more smoothly.” 

Yuri grumbled as he picked up the hatchet. It had once been too big for his child-sized hand, but now he found it much easier to handle. 

On the days when he didn’t have ownership of the sword, Yuri would often train using the hatchet he borrowed from the shed in the fields as a replacement. It was to make up for not being able to use the sword, but at the same time, he felt strangely familiar using it — after all, he had killed his first monster with a hatchet. Wielding it was quite different from wielding a sword, and he’d almost hacked himself with it more than once, but somehow he’d managed to make it this far without incurring any serious injuries. 

Of course, Flynn wasn’t going to keep quiet about this. There was nothing more dangerous than watching from the side, and the training manual — which, thanks to Norein, not only Flynn, but also now Yuri could read a large portion of it on his own — wrote instructions based on the premise that the reader would be using a sword, not an axe. Flynn couldn’t stomach seeing Yuri, who was barely more than an amateur, change the written instructions as he pleased to suit his own style.

Yuri’s handling of the axe was, to put it mildly, ingenious. To the swordless Yuri, the axe’s centre of gravity, which was different from that of the sword, gave him new ideas. To compensate for his current lack of strength, he learned to utilise the weight of the weapon itself. These moves were fundamentally different from that of chopping a tree or splitting firewood. And then Yuri tried to apply the knowledge gained from using the axe to the sword. 

“That’s not swordplay, but acrobatics!” 

But despite Flynn’s repeated warnings, it was clear that Yuri had made considerable progress with his own fighting style in his own way. Flynn couldn’t deny that, which annoyed him even more. The road to hell is paved with good intentions, which is why they should cut off all ties……wasn’t an option — after all, he still felt indebted to Yuri for buying the sword. Which meant he had to use his own strength to teach Yuri the rashness of his actions, which led to the confrontation moments ago. But Yuri showed no signs of having learnt his lesson. 

When they sparred against each other, most of the time, Flynn would emerge as the victor. Despite that, Yuri never showed signs of giving up, and often found something to reflect on. He had felt his progress in his own way, and in the first place, he was doing this in order to defeat Flynn. In a sense, he had already factored in losing to Flynn in these bouts. 

Flynn never attempted to wield an axe unless it was for his manual work, and so such clashes between the different weapons were limited to the days when the sword belonged to Flynn.

There was something that the two of themselves hadn’t realised. It took a certain amount of skill for them to be able to spar seriously without injuring both sides. Without realising it, at some point the two of them had attained that level of skill. And the people who used to be terribly afraid at the sight of them sparring were now long gone. 

****

When Norein wasn’t teaching or they didn’t have their manual work to do, Yuri and Flynn usually spent their time training, or playing with Jareth and the other boys like the children they were. Lately they’d been tasked by Jiri and the other adults to take care of the younger lower quarter children — some of which, of course, had no relatives. Despite his grumbling, Yuri was good at taking care of them, and the little ones were sensitive enough to see through him. As for Flynn, he was popular with them from the very beginning. Yuri was the only one unused to this amiable side of Flynn’s. 

Most of the time, when they had something to do, and when they had nothing else to do, the two of them could often be seen together, and most of the time they would be quarrelling with each other. 

“You’re only ever awfully on edge when you’re with Yuri, yet you two are always together.” 

“Y’know, you act pretty mature, Yuri, but when it comes to Flynn, you always get so worked up.” 

The adults and children all said the same thing, albeit using different words. Things like, the two of them are always together, or the two of them are such good friends. And the two of them in question would, upon hearing that, made their displeasure known on their faces. 

In any case, without any incident-like incidents occurring, the days passed by peacefully.

Ever since his pursuit of the mysterious ‘Dark Wings’, Yuri hadn't gone near the Grey Alleyways. Now that he had a clear idea of what kind of place it was, he had no reason to challenge it out of some sense of courage. It would be different if the ‘Dark Wings’ showed up again, but he’d only hear the occasional rumours of thieves, and most of the time they were stories from the ‘other side of the wall’. 

He hadn’t seen the knight uncle he’d met back then ever since either. Knights would come to visit the lower quarter from time to time, but Yuri never saw any familiar faces among them. Maybe if he could look under their helmets he could recognise them, but obviously there was no way to check them one by one. 

Once, a company of knights had come to the lower quarter carrying something in a cart. They looked slightly different from the usual knights, and had provided them with monsters they’d hunted from the ‘outside’ to use as food. The residents were puzzled at first, but gradually lowered their guard when they saw that the knights strangely lacked any arrogance in their attitudes, and even called out to them to see them off as they left. 

Regardless of who they were, the sight of the knights reminded Yuri of the uncle’s words. Maybe something is changing, just like the uncle said. He didn’t really understand it, but it was in a good way. It didn’t seem like a bad sign. Even Jiri, who had a bitter way of looking at things, had honestly expressed her gratitude. 

“What good people. It’s a shame to just leave them as knights.” 

Many of the adults wished the knights would visit again, but that never came to pass. Yuri didn’t feel particularly disappointed. After all, the lower quarter was a huge area. If those knights were like Yuri thought, by now they were most likely distributing gifts in the same way to the other districts. And in the end, it was the same as receiving charity. Yuri couldn’t bring himself to wait for the knights’ return while filled with anticipation in exchange for his pride. 

There were knights like that too. For the time being, that was enough for Yuri. 

Peaceful days. 

As long as this continued, everyone would be able to live peacefully without needing to be happy. Those were the days. 

****

“Is Teacher Norein still not feeling any better?” 

Yuri asked one day, when the break from lessons had entered their second week. 

“Yes…… Her fever won’t go down. She doesn’t have much of an appetite either……”

Flynn answered weakly. His usual cheerfulness had completely disappeared. 

When Norein had first arrived in the lower quarter, her body and mind had been severely weakened. But after finding her reason to live as a reading and writing teacher, it looked as though she had regained her health. And then several years passed, so he thought her recovery must be genuine. Even though she sometimes fell ill, at most it was a cold, and her condition had never been this serious before. That was why Flynn was so worried about his mother’s illness this time. 

“Hanks said he’s going to call a doctor. According to him, there are some doctors who are willing to visit the lower quarter.” 

Flynn managed to regain a bit of his composure and said. 

“Huh, I didn’t know there were doctors like that. Guess that’s a relief.” 

“But because that’s the kind of doctor he is, he’s incredibly busy, so we have to wait for our turn. We don’t know when he’s coming.” 

“What the heck? What if she gets even sicker in the meantime?!” 

“……” 

Flynn bit his lip and hung his head. He looked like he was suppressing the feelings in his heart. Yuri couldn’t bear to look at him like that. 

“……My bad.”

Even though they’d honed their sword skills, the two boys were as powerless as ever. 

****

Despite the boys’ anxiousness, the doctor came to visit a few days later. He arrived at the bottom of the hill at dusk, and was, like their reputation said, not so arrogant for a person from the ‘other side of the wall’. They could sense hints of condescension in his demeanour towards them, but in the first place, having a doctor visit the lower quarter was unprecedented. This much could be tolerated. 

Still, Jiri didn’t forget to warn them beforehand. 

“Listen here. It’s incredibly rare for a doctor to come all the way here on foot to heal someone. Don’t do anything unnecessary and don’t make him angry.” 

With those words ingrained in their mind, the adults and children went to welcome the doctor. Hanks and the other adults showed the doctor their hospitality in the lower quarter way as they guided him to Flynn’s house. Yuri, and the other people who had attended Norein’s lessons, or were close to Flynn and Norein, followed along. 

Norein could hardly get up to welcome the doctor, and could only lie in bed, taking in laboured breaths.

Flynn stood by his mother’s side, accompanied by Jiri. The others had to wait outside the room until the medical examination was over. 

The moment the doctor saw Norein, the expression behind his glasses clouded over. He took out some equipment from his bag and asked the people around her some simple questions, but the medical examination itself was short. For the people who had been waiting impatiently for his arrival, they felt a bit indignant. 

****

“……So, Doctor, how is her condition?” 

Hanks asked. He had come inside after being informed that the examination was over. Behind him, Yuri and the others also followed him into the room. 

The doctor didn’t take his eyes off Norein, and his expression remained grim. 

“It’s unfortunate, but this is beyond my ability.” 

“!!!” 

Flynn’s eyes widened and he lunged forward, but a firm hand grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back. When he looked back, he saw the stone-like expression on Jiri’s face. It was inscrutable. 

“Could you please explain a little more, Doctor?” 

The doctor didn’t look overwhelmed by the pressure, but he still took off his glasses and wiped them nervously. He put them back on, and then, as if he’d recited it beforehand, began to speak. 

“It’s a rumour among my colleagues in the same profession, but a strange illness has been spreading throughout the imperial capital for the past month or two. You can’t find anything wrong, but the whole body continues to weaken. Eventually…”

“Are you saying she has this same illness?” 

The doctor nodded at Jiri’s interrupting words. 

“…This is just a rumour, but according to a mage, there has been a strange disturbance in the aer in the entire imperial capital lately. Aer is the source of life after all, and it coincided with the time the illness started to spread. Some say that the illness is the result of people who are sensitive reacting to that change, but there’s no way to know for sure.” 

The aer that the doctor spoke of was the power that was the source of everything that shaped this world, and its existence in itself was power in the purest form. Although it was an indispensable power for blastia and magic, it was a word far removed from the everyday life of the residents of the lower quarter, and in fact didn’t provide them with any understanding at all. 

“So can you heal her, Doctor?” 

Still firmly pinned down, Flynn couldn’t take it anymore and cried out. The doctor glanced in his direction, but he must have sensed the relationship between the boy and the patient, because he returned the boy’s gaze uneasily. 

“So far, I’ve never heard of a case of a patient recovering naturally on their own. Without a high-level healer, or a panacea…”

Healers. They had the power to cure illnesses and heal injuries with the help of blastia. Apparently the most skilled healers could even revive the dead. But it was common knowledge that they were small in number, and most of them were either registered as members of the Imperial Knights or went door to door taking nobles as their customers. The lower quarter already had trouble finding a decent doctor with what little money they had scraped together — to them, the monsters roaming outside was a more realistic presence. 

“Then Doctor, please give us a panacea bottle. we’ll find a way to pay you back somehow.” 

It was expensive, but as they were sold in stores, panacea bottles were more common than healers. But at Hank’s words, the doctor shook his head

“There are no panacea bottles. As its name suggests, it is true a panacea can cure this illness. But right now, even if you searched all over the imperial capital, it will be extremely difficult to obtain the medicine.” 

As soon as the strange illness started to spread, the moment people learned that it was the only cure other than seeking a healer that demanded exorbitant fees, the nobles and the rich had rushed to buy up the panacea bottles even before the illness had developed into an outbreak. As a result, the panacea bottles weren’t just out of stock but also scarce in supply, and their prices had only continued to skyrocket. 

“Rumour has it that there are some people who are even buying up the stock of panacea bottles that come into the imperial capital from outside to raise their prices. Thanks to that, a lot of ordinary doctors like me have our hands tied. It’s been a month since I used up the last of my stock. If I’d known, I would have prescribed the medicine more prudently.” 

The doctor’s voice was filled with anger. At the very least, he seemed to have enough professional ethics to be angry at this obstruction of medical treatment, more so than his reluctance to reveal his powerlessness to the residents of the lower city. That being said, it didn’t change the fact that he couldn’t help Norein. 

In the end, the doctor took the medical fees and left. It was money that the residents of the lower quarter had pooled together, and even though the doctor’s visit hadn’t helped Norein’s condition at all, it still had to be paid. Though there were some people who lamented Norein’s inability to receive treatment, no one lamented that the money had been wasted. That was how the people in the lower quarter lived. 

Nobody brought up the possibility of the Imperial authorities acting. If the government regulated the speculative hoarding and tried to encourage an increased production of medicine, the situation might improve. But those same authorities were definitely the ones currently monopolising the panacea bottles, keeping the medicine tucked away in their pockets. That was what authority was. This was also common knowledge in the lower quarter. 

Even though he didn’t know the details, Yuri still understood. Whenever the word ‘noble’ or ‘rich’ came up, it meant you were helpless to do anything about it. Just like the knights, it was all a part of this great, big unfairness. He was angry, but at the same time, he was also used to it. 

There was one person who didn’t understand, and didn’t try to understand. Someone who, despite living in the lower quarter as one of them, wasn’t as used to letting go of his anger as the other residents. 

And that was Flynn.

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[delicatemusickingdom]

Hi I’m the read more anon and I’m dropping by to say thank you!! And also that I’m glad you make the fandom a more active place with your work 🎉

[delicatemusickingdom]

Book 1 Part 2 Chapter 1.3

Chapter 1.3

The opportunity came unexpectedly quickly. 

It happened about a month after the Imperial Knights’ raid. On that day, Yuri wasn’t doing anything in particular, just wandering around the plaza. 

“The ‘Dark Wings’ has appeared again!” 

The one who had shouted it excitedly was not an adult but a child. Another child would hear that shout and start to run as well, crying out as if they had seen it themselves. Rumours quickly spread throughout the lower quarter like a message spreading through a battlefield. Yuri wasn’t sure how much of what he had heard was just hearsay, but that wasn’t important right now.

The ‘Dark Wings’ had appeared. What's more, they had done so in broad daylight.  

“Hey Yuri, where are you going?!” 

Noticing how obviously Yuri had reacted to the voice, Hanks called out in an attempt to stop him, but it was too late. By that time, the figure with the fluttering black hair had run off, slowly becoming smaller in the distance. 

I’m glad it didn’t happen during Teacher Norein’s class. Yuri thought as he ran. And would they have let me go if it was during my manual work? If Grandma Jiri had been there, probably not. Either way, neither Norein nor Jiri are within sight. I’m in luck today.  

He caught one of the children who were yelling out repeatedly and questioned them. 

“Hey, is it true the ‘Dark Wings’ has appeared? Where are they? Give me the name of the place.” 

As he expected, the child didn’t know anything beyond what they were yelling out. He confirmed who they had heard it from, then started running again. The second person had also learnt the information by hearsay. The third person had slightly better information. 

“I didn’t see it, but a bunch of the Imperial Knights came running here, one after another. They were shouting all kinds of things, like ‘It’s the ‘Dark Wings’!’ and stuff like that.” 

The information was a little unreliable, but after hearing where they’d seen the knights, Yuri started running in that direction. 

It was unavoidable that he’d be spotted by the knights and draw attention to himself, but since they were in the middle of a hunt, surely he didn’t need to worry about that. When the same thing had occurred the last time, the knights hadn’t spared a glance towards the boys from the lower quarter.  

When he recalled the time from back then, he instinctively thought to look for Flynn, but soon changed his mind. That guy viewed the ‘Dark Wings’ as an enemy. It was out of the question to ask him to follow Yuri. 

First of all, if he tried to search for Flynn — who’d mostly likely be swinging his sword in front of his house. Today was his turn to use the sword — he might miss out on this golden opportunity. It’s better if I go alone. 

As he thought about various things, Yuri felt a strange sense of déjà vu. No, it’s obvious the streets would be familiar to me. But still—?

Oh, I get it. 

Yuri understood immediately after seeing the scene that lay before him. The familiar row of drab-looking houses, devoid of any colour. The Gray Alleyways. 

Yuri slowed down his pace and looked around. If the ‘Dark Wings’ escaped into that grey-white labyrinth once again, then there was no doubt the Imperial Knights would be at a standstill right in front of it. Even when it wasn’t nighttime, the Grey Alleyways was confusing enough as it was. Yuri didn’t think the knights would easily step foot into the area, even for fame and achievement. 

As expected, when he arrived he could see the knights pacing back and forth in front of the district. They were moving around in a hurry, barking something at each other. 

But to his surprise, the knights split into groups and entered the Grey Alleyways through several streets that served as entrances. Were they emboldened by the sunlight? Or did they see this as their one and only opportunity to capture this sworn enemy of theirs? But they were incredibly cautious, and looked rather reluctant to proceed deeper in. Were they scared of the ‘Dark Wings’, or the district that was the source of all kinds of shady rumours?

Do they seriously think they can catch the thief with that kind of resolve? Their opponent is the ‘Dark Wings’, you know? Though he didn’t know much about the thief either, Yuri smiled bitterly. 

Regardless, assuming the ‘Dark Wings’ was inside the Grey Alleyways, with the knights acting like that, it was looking more and more possible for Yuri to meet with the thief without any disturbance, if he did it right. It didn’t seem that difficult to sneak inside without getting caught and interrogated by the knights. 

The question was, did he really want to go inside? That was the Grey Alleyways. This would be his third time, and even if it was currently daytime, he didn’t really feel like the conditions were more advantageous as compared to before. He didn’t have charcoal with him to use as a marker. He came this far because of momentum, but he wondered what Grandma Jiri and the other adults would do to him if he ended up causing another disastrous day for them. 

Should I turn back? The moment his common sense whispered that, Flynn’s face came to mind. The argument they had — the chivalrous thief — criminal — 

Yuri stepped forward. He didn’t know if the ‘Dark Wings’ was really inside or not, and even if they did, maybe they had already passed through the labyrinth and gone somewhere else. There were a mountain of other things he was worried about, but he didn’t dare think about them right now. 

If things start looking dangerous, I’ll just turn and head back. Yeah, if things start looking dangerous I’ll head back right away.

He pretended not to notice that he had also thought the same way the last two times he had been here. 

****

In the labyrinth at night, the darkness was the first thing that hindered your way. Because there was no such darkness in the labyrinth at day, the labyrinth itself became easy to perceive. However, deceptions can still arise from being able to perceive things. It wasn’t a given that the sunlight would always help. 

Yuri silently stepped out from one of the streets, quickly catching up to the knights ahead of him. They were probably intentionally rattling their armour loudly as they moved to raise their own morale. With all that noise, even the one being chased would easily notice it, but thanks to that, Yuri didn’t have to worry about the knights hearing the sound of his footsteps.  

The knights didn’t seem to be familiar with the district, and as they advanced, every few steps they would check their surroundings. At the next fork, Yuri stopped following the knights and chose the other path. The idea was to quickly overtake the knights and catch up to the ‘Dark Wings’. 

He had felt a little more at ease while he could still see the knights, but once he was alone he no longer felt that way. After all, without any markings, he had to memorise the way back all on his own. Even if it meant missing the ‘Dark Wings’, he had to avoid that disaster at any cost. 

Still, now that it was his third time here, while the labyrinth was as dangerous as ever, he had ceased to be bothered by the numerous shady rumours surrounding it. Now Yuri only paid attention to the labyrinth’s real threat  as he progressed cautiously.

The sound of clanking armour had already faded away. He couldn’t spend too much time here. Yuri quickened his pace. 

Then suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he saw something move. The moment he turned his head in that direction, he thought he saw a vague black shape disappear — as if sucked into — around the corner. 

Thought? No, there’s no mistaking it, I did see something. Like a bolt of lightning, Yuri dashed towards it. 

Forgetting his prior caution, he ran straight ahead and turned around the corner. For a moment, he saw it — just as it disappeared around the next corner. It had only been a moment, but because he had been looking for it, this time he recognised it more clearly than before. It was black and covered in cloth, but there was no mistaking it — it was a human foot. 

Yuri ran. As he ran, he became convinced that the person he was chasing was the ‘Dark Wings’. It was definitely not one of the monsters featured in the rumours of the Grey Alleyways. 

He turned around another corner. Again, it disappeared around the corner ahead. Isn’t the distance between us shorter than before? I’m not sure. It might just be my imagination. But I won’t lose sight of it.

He was chasing down a great thief that even the knights hadn’t managed to find despite working as a group. That thought made his heart flutter in excitement. Him, all alone. And in the Grey Alleyways, too. 

—— In the Grey Alleyways? 

Yuri felt as if a cold vice had gripped his heart. Ignoring the true meaning behind that sensation, Yuri stomped on the ground as he ran. 

The next corner ahead is the closest I’ve ever been. I saw them disappear around it. I’ll definitely get even closer to it this time. The ‘Dark Wings’, the legendary chivalrous thief, and the great thief beyond the knights’ reach. I’ll catch you, and then— 

Driven by his impatience, Yuri turned around the corner. 

He came to a sudden stop as if he'd crashed into a pole. His eyes widened and his mouth dropped open. 

Yuri was looking at an ashen-grey street identical to the ones he had passed through before. A street pressed in by buildings on both sides. The sky that peeked out from above, between the towering walls, like a narrow river. That scenery was no different from what he had seen so far. But — it was a dead end.  

Ahead of Yuri, the road ran straight into a building, like colliding and breaking into pieces, and cut off there. There were no doors or stairs. Not even windows. Surrounded on all three sides by cold, merciless walls, the road stopped there in a dead end. 

Yuri looked up as if praying for help, but all he could see were flat and smooth walls that impassively extended up towards the sky, with nothing that could be used as footholds. 

It looked impossible to climb unless someone dropped down a rope from above. And even if that were the case, he didn’t think anyone would be able to climb over the walls in such a short period of time. 

He couldn’t see anyone. Not even a shadow peering down from above. The ‘Dark Wings’ — or at the very least, the thing that he thought was the ‘Dark Wings’ — had suddenly disappeared, leaving behind a single boy stunned and alone in the middle of the labyrinth. 

As he panted heavily, the emotions he had forcibly pushed aside earlier came flooding back into him. Where am I? 

Yuri turned to look behind him. Although it wasn’t a dead it, it was an ashen-grey street that looked no different from where he was a few moments ago.

Where and how did he come here? He was so intent on chasing down the thief, he neglected to pay attention to his route. Yuri turned his focus inwards, desperately trying to retrace his memories. Inside, though, his heart was a mess of emotions. 

Should I look for the marks I made the last time I was here? No — more importantly, was that really the ‘Dark Wings’? Maybe it was something else, like a monster that lurked in the Grey Alleyways, that lured in anyone who came inside deeper into the labyrinth and then devouring it —

“Stop it.” 

He intentionally spoke out aloud in an exasperated tone. No matter how panicked I am, this and that are totally different issues. Yuri shoved aside the gossip that had resurfaced in his memory, as if chiding it. 

Thanks to that, he regained his composure. What he was facing a real crisis. If he became overwhelmed by these kinds of strange emotions, he’d end up being unable to make rational judgments. That was the one thing he needed to avoid. 

He inhaled slowly and calmed himself down. Then, he began carefully recalling his memories as he walked. 

Once again, he recalled the scene where the figure had disappeared around the corner. But this time, he focused on his surroundings. The figure and the scenery would tell him which direction he had turned. Which corner is that? Right, it was where that broken pot was. The next one? It’s in the direction of that crack in the wall —

Once he calmed down, Yuri was surprised to find that he had unexpectedly remembered quite a lot of details. He had thought the labyrinth had the same repetitive scenery for miles, but there were surprisingly a lot of differences everywhere, and the place was full of landmarks. It was a good indication — at least, he prayed that it was so, and not his own wishful thinking. 

Yuri continued walking while praying he was on the right path. When he finally made it back to a place he recognised as the place he had carefully memorised before, he let out a sigh of relief from the bottom of his heart. 

I did it. I really did it. I came back. Looking back, there was nothing special about the clues he had used to get back. He thought it was strange, but thinking about it, it was most likely a matter of perspective and awareness. Like, if he decided everything looked the same, then he wouldn’t be able to see what was really in front of him, that kind of thing. It was, as usual, a troublesome place where he couldn’t let his guard down, but nothing more. Just logic and the knowledge he already had was enough — provided he didn’t lose his composure, that is. 

I see, Yuri thought. So this is what Flynn was looking at. 

Before he knew it, the Grey Alleyways had ceased to be a scary place. 

That figure had most likely been the ‘Dark Wings’. He didn’t know how they had vanished, but they must have confounded the knights in the same way. He hadn’t been able to meet that, but the thought that he had been able to touch upon a part of their power gave Yuri a certain amount of satisfaction. 

The only thing that’s left is to go home quickly. Without realising it, his footsteps had grown lighter. 

“Well, this is troubling.” 

Yuri suddenly heard a voice say from around the corner. Instinctively, he stopped in his tracks. He held his breath, and quietly approached the corner, and peeked around to see what was happening. 

A knight was there. He must have been chasing the ‘Dark Wings’. But something was a little off. The knights had been moving in groups, but he was clearly the only one around, and he was slumped down on the ground. He had taken off his helmet, and it was lying careless on the ground next to him. 

For a labyrinth rumoured to be inescapable once you enter it, I sure often run into people in it. Yuri thought, feeling somewhat doubtful about the whole thing. 

“Heeeeey, is anyone there—?”

The knight raised his voice and called out casually. His voice echoed faintly and, as if it had been sucked into the streets, disappeared. The knight and Yuri strained their ears for a reply. But even after waiting for a while, there was no response, nor was there a sound of clanking armour. 

“No use, huh…”

It looked like he had been separated from his friends and gotten lost. 

He’s acting all frightened, and he’s blocking my way. Serves him right. Feeling a little exasperated, Yuri started walking away to find a detour around. His legs suddenly stopped as if they had been caught by something. He looked back at the knight again. The knight was just sitting there, unmoving.  

What is that knight going to do?

Yuri thought to himself. He could save the knight by telling them the way, or letting them follow him. But as a resident of the lower quarter, he was reluctant to have anything to do with the knights — let alone save one of them. Besides, if he let the knight be, if they were lucky, they would probably be able to get out of the labyrinth on their own, or reunite with their friends and escape that way. 

‘If’, that is — and if they didn’t? 

Knights. Yuri looked at the man’s face again. It was the face of an adult who looked tired and half-resigned to his fate. Strangely enough, it wasn’t so different from what the people in the lower quarter looked like. It was easy to forget, but behind that intimidating and expressionless helmet that Yuri was used to seeing was a human face. 

The violent acts of the group of knights who had visited the lower quarter the other day. They had destroyed many of the residents’ things for no reason. And it wasn’t just that time. Time and time again, the knights have tormented the residents of the lower quarter and brought suffering to the people. 

Was that knight part of the group that had barged into the lower quarter and wrecked the place, doing as they pleased? If he was, so what? And if he wasn’t, then what? 

“Listen well. Those knights are only a small portion of a much larger power at play.”

Yuri felt like he heard a voice admonishing him. 

‘Only a small portion’. Only a man. Someone who could collapse and die in the streets. Just a man. 

If he ignored the man and went on his way, what would happen? The moment he imagined abandoning the man and going home, the image of the man trapped in the labyrinth while suffering from hunger and thirst surfaced in his mind. 

Numerous thoughts appeared and swirled around in his mind, making him feel fed up. Fed up as he was, he knew that in the end, he had no choice but to follow as they dictated. Geez, fine. Good grief. 

“Hey, uncle.” 

Hearing a voice suddenly call out to him — a boy’s voice at that — the knight was so surprised he almost jumped from where he was sitting. He hurriedly got up, looking around while his hand rested on the sword attached to his hip. 

Even when Yuri appeared, the knight stared intently at him, as if trying to determine if he was an illusion or someone suspicious. Eventually, looking satisfied, he let go of his sword and, as if a thread had been cut, slumped down on the ground again. 

“You surprised me. To think there was someone in a place like this. I was told no one lived around here.” 

Hearing his unexpectedly friendly tone, Yuri lowered his guard a little. 

“I don’t live here. I live in Fountain Alley.” 

“Fountain…? Aaah, in the lower quarter.” 

The knight looked puzzled for a moment upon hearing the name Fountain Alley, but soon nodded in understanding. 

“Still, a kid from the lower quarter, huh? Why are you here? There are a lot of scary rumours about this place, you know.” 

“……This place is like our playground.” 

Yuri chose his words carefully as he answered. He wanted to end the conversation quickly and start moving. 

“I see. The kids from the lower quarter sure have a lot of guts.” 

The knight smiled. To Yuri’s confusion once again, he couldn’t detect any malice or sarcasm in the knight’s words. 

“Hey uncle, are you lost, by any chance?” 

As he said it, he wondered if he was being too direct. Would the knight feel like he was losing face and get angry? But the knight only nodded awkwardly and scratched his head. 

“Well, it’s pretty embarrassing, but you’re right. I came here on a mission, but after getting separated from my friends, I became completely lost. To be honest, I was starting to think I was going to die like this, stranded and alone.” 

He picked up his helmet and stood up. Then, as if he was gauging Yuri’s expression, spoke. 

“Are you on your way home, kid? If you don’t mind, I’d really appreciate it if I could accompany you until we get out of this district.” 

“Isn’t anyone going to come look for you?” 

“I wonder about that. Maybe so, if I was someone important, but unfortunately I’m just a lowly underling.” 

Saying that, the knight let out a laugh. So there are also eccentric knights like this. How can he belittle himself in front of a child from the lower quarter? Yuri gave him a small shrug. 

“If you want to follow me, uncle, I don’t mind.”

Saying that, Yuri started walking, as if he had come to a concession with his grudge against the knights as a whole. 

“Ohh, thank you, thank you. I owe you one.” 

Behind him, Yuri heard the sound of someone standing up in a panic, followed by the loud sound of clanking footsteps. At least it I don’t need to be worried about him suddenly drawing his sword and slashing me. 

****

As they headed towards the exit of the Grey Alleyways, the knight continued talking without stopping. Maybe he couldn’t bear even the briefest moment of silence, or he wanted to endear himself even a little bit more to the boy from the lower quarter who was his literal lifeline. 

Yuri didn’t actively engage in conversation, only nodding or chiming in occasionally, but the knight didn’t seem to mind. 

He really is a strange knight. He isn’t interested in me or prying into my affairs by asking me questions, and apart from how he’s dressed, he doesn’t seem like a knight at all. In fact, he could pass off as a lower quarter resident that was accustomed to wearing armour. Yuri had had a superficial impression of the knights up until now, but now he felt it change slightly. Although a small part of him still raised objections to that. 

“Hey kid, you’ve heard of the ‘Dark Wings’, right?” 

The knight spoke, without any reservation or care put into his words. Yuri almost burst out laughing. He’s even chattering about his mission? I mean, it’s not much of a secret, but still —

“Despite being a thief, he’s quite skilled, that one. He’s brought a lot of grief to quite a lot of very important and high-class people. We came here because we were chasing him. You said you were playing around here, right? Maybe you did see him.” 

Hearing that, Yuri felt his heart beat faster, but the knight didn’t seem to expect an answer. Taking the boy’s silence as denial, he continued talking. 

“We already have a ton of records related to the ‘Dark Wings’. Enough to make a small list of the things he’s stolen. Of course, these records weren’t written just yesterday. The ‘Dark Wings’ has been around for a long time.” 

According to the knight, the oldest record of the Imperial Knights mentioning the ‘Dark Wings’ dated back to roughly more than three hundred years ago. The range of his secret activities extended over many cities and continents, and he would disappear for years, or even decades, only to suddenly resume his activities. 

“I don’t think the ‘Dark Wings’ is an organised group, or anything like that.” 

After talking about the records for a while, the knight began to develop his own theory. 

“Depending on the times, he could be an individual, or an organisation, but what’s more, his methods of operation are too varied. Of course, all organisations change given enough time, but even considering that their actions vary too much. Most likely, the ‘Dark Wings’ is a name for the people who take it for themselves whenever they want to be called as such. ……Wait a minute. Doesn’t that mean if we catch him, another ‘Dark Wings’ will eventually appear somewhere else? …..Good grief.” 

The knight looked up at the sky after saying that, but quickly pulled himself together and began speaking again. 

“Well, in any case, I’m sure the real first ‘Dark Wings’ did exist, but there’s no way of confirming that now.” 

“Isn’t it recorded in the oldest record?” 

Yuri said, feeling a little uneasy at how carelessly the knight was acting while speaking about such matters. He hoped the information he was being given wasn’t so secretive that he would need to be silenced after this. 

But it seemed the knight was satisfied enough that the other party had displayed an interest in the conversation. He shook his head, grinning widely like he was suppressing a laugh. 

“You think so, right? But that’s probably not the case. If you look at the records, you’ll see traces where quite a number of them have been altered afterwards. Most likely, someone from a later era thought the same way and changed all records of thieves to the ‘Dark Wings’. And by doing that, they made the crimes look like the work of a single thief or thieves’ guild…… Oops, forget I said that.” 

In other words, when a thief performs a deed worthy of being noted down in the records, their name will be erased and they simply become the ‘Dark Wings’. Yuri understood but also didn’t quite understand the logic behind it, but admitted that there was something fascinating about the idea of there being various ‘Dark Wings’ in various eras. 

That figure on that moonlit night. That figure that had disappeared around the corner. That was it. That was the current era’s ‘Dark Wings’. It was as if he had brushed against the edge of something big enough to transcend time itself. The boy felt his heart pounding. 

****

“You really saved me. Here’s a token of appreciation from me.” 

The knight looked visibly relieved as he held out his hand face-up to Yuri. In his palm were several coins. 

It didn’t look like the knight from the ‘other side of the wall’ was any more familiar with the Grey Alleyways than Fountain Alley or the lower quarter, but at least from here you could see the upper layers of the imperial capital in the distance. Even if he didn’t know the way, if he kept looking in that direction while heading uphill, there was no doubt he’d eventually reach the citizens’ quarter. 

“……I don’t need it.” 

Yuri had instinctively reached out, but midway through, he pulled back his hand and said as such to the knight. That way of thinking — that he had saved the knight for a reward — had touched a nerve in him. 

The knight seemed to have read his thoughts from his reaction. 

“Sorry. I didn’t mean it that way.” 

The man lowered his hand, regret evident in his tone. Yuri pretended not to notice and looked around. They were in a slightly open street facing the Grey Alleyways. A while back, there were knights going back and forth through this street. 

How long has it been since then? It feels like it’s been hours, but it also feels like it’s only been an hour. He could get a rough estimate if he lifted his head to look at the position of the sun in the sky, but Yuri didn’t dare to, savouring the taste of the question on his tongue instead. 

They were the only two people on the street. If they walked further down the street, they would most likely meet other residents of the lower quarter, but at this moment, it was only Yuri and the knight. 

“You’ve really been abandoned, huh, uncle?” 

The knight shrugged at Yuri’s words. 

“The ‘other side of the wall’ have their own issues, kid.” 

Yuri didn’t understand the meaning behind those curt words, but despite that he could still sense that it was there. 

“But that’s probably going to change from now on.” The knight’s voice was suddenly filled with passion. “The current Commandant is trying to change all sorts of old customs and traditions. Of course, he’s not going to be able to change everything all at once, but still.” 

Yuri realised the knight was staring at him. The knight was telling him something serious, and important. When Yuri returned the gaze without making light of his words, the knight nodded vigorously and broke into a smile. 

“When that day comes — someday it will — let’s meet up again, kid. I’m sure we’ll be able to talk about more things then.” 

More than you already are? Inwardly, Yuri smiled wryly, but it was true that he felt a little bit of hope and anticipation for the future. 

‘Someday’. When will that be? And what and how will things change? Yuri couldn’t imagine it, but he smiled back at the knight anyway. 

“Sure thing. Until then, make sure to stay alive and well, uncle.” 

Those were their parting words. The uncle nodded one last time, and then waved his hand and left. 

Yuri felt that the promises they exchanged had a meaning to it. He didn’t understand it now, but he was sure it would all become clear when the time was right.

Suddenly he realised that even until the end, they’d hadn’t asked for each other’s names. But the knight’s figure was slowly disappearing into the distance towards the castle walls, and it was already too far away to call out to him. 

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[delicatemusickingdom]

Book 1 Part 2 Chapter 1.2

Chapter 1.2

A month passed, then half a year, then a year. 

Norein’s lessons continued. Though her students kept changing, there was never a shortage of them. Though rudimentary, being able to read and write gave the residents of the lower quarter a certain sense of pride and self-confidence. There were many of those who were originally uninterested but were influenced by the change they saw in the people around them and joined her classes. 

The plaza’s lectures have become a usual part of the residents’ daily life in the lower quarter. 

“See you tomorrow, Teacher Norein!”

There was no one who didn’t know her name, not even the children. Before that, they had only known her as the golden-haired mother, or ‘Flynn’s mother’ at best, but now they were familiar enough with her to address her as such. ‘Teacher Norein’. Whether they were in class or not, be they children or adults, they all called her that. Even if she was still prone to falling ill, she was their teacher. She had come to be recognised as such. 

Flynn was Flynn, and he played and worked together with the other children. No one called him ‘the blond guy’, much less the ‘newcomer’. To the younger children he was Big Bro Flynn, a gentle and dependable existence. 

He looked happy. His previous trademark passive stubbornness had vanished, replaced by a cheerfulness that befitted his golden hair. Everyone thought that was his true nature, and it looked to be true. 

Both Norein and Flynn treated the residents as their neighbours and friends. They were able to do that. Similarly, the residents treated them as one of their own. After a year, the mother and son had finally become part of the lower quarter. They were no longer foreign strangers. Though occasionally they would reveal their difference in values and practices, people only saw it as one of their quirks. 

Though Flynn could get easily along with anyone no matter who they were, his attitude towards Yuri remained the same. He never stopped fighting with Yuri — not just about their sword, but also over even the most trivial of matters. Yet, for some reason, it had never led to the point where they would truly sever their relationship with each other. No matter how much they swore or cursed at each other, the next day they would act as if nothing had happened and do things with each other again. There were times when they stood shoulder-to-shoulder without exchanging a single word. It was as if they shared a common secret that bound them together, and though the people around them often puzzled over it, for the two of them it just felt natural to be that way. 

After a year of practice, Yuri had somehow managed to reach a certain level of mastery in reading and writing. He still struggled with difficult words, but if it was a book whose contents were simple enough, he could read it without issue. It was a decent result considering he was still a child, but he wasn’t satisfied with it. 

The training manual in Flynn’s possession. Yuri’s goal was to be able to read it with ease. If he asked Flynn, there wouldn’t be anything he wouldn’t be able to understand, but if possible, he wanted to read it on his own, without needing any help. Because it was all so he could surpass Flynn. 

In any case, Yuri and Flynn both learned and worked hard together. Especially regarding their sword skills — by being good rivals for each other, they had made rapid progress despite not having a master to teach them. 

There were some among the adults who didn’t like the idea of such young children swinging around a real sword, even if it was for learning purposes, but Jiri and Hanks didn’t make any particular effort to stop them. 

“Because it seems like they’re thinking about it in their own way.” 

Jiri would say that to anyone who went out of their way to inform her, without even glancing their way. 

“In which case, no matter what happens, they’ll end up learning something out of it.” 

In this way the sight of the black-haired and golden-haired boys swinging their swords ceased to attract any special attention, and became a part of everyday life. 

Jareth and the others didn’t share the passion of the two boys. They didn’t have any swords they could swing around in the first place, and they had learnt to have a little bit of caution in their own way. What remained the same was their tendency to run to Yuri whenever anything happened. Except instead of just Yuri, they now had Flynn as an option too. 

Although they felt like they had improved thanks to their training, neither Yuri nor Flynn dared to actually put it to the test. They didn’t have a particular desire to show off, let alone travel to the ‘outside’ to test their skills. 

They still remembered the day of the ‘River Escapade’. The scolding voice that had rained down upon them in the evening glow of the sunset still echoed clearly in their memories. That voice was both a question, and a warning. Although they didn’t have a clear reason for it, the two of them couldn’t bring themselves to defy that voice. 

So while they were itching to try out their sword on something, they had yet to find a use for it. 

****

“The ‘Dark Wings’ made an appearance again.”

“Them again? I did think we haven’t heard about them in a while.” 

“I wonder if those on the ‘other side of the wall’ are making a huge fuss about it.” 

Hearing the ramblings of the adults as he passed by, Yuri lifted his head.

The topic had already moved on to something else, and the person who had mentioned it didn’t pay it any heed. However, a certain scene started to take shape in Yuri’s mind. It was over a year ago, on a moonlit night. A mysterious shadow, standing on the pitch-black rooftops, with the moon and the light of the barrier rings at their back. 

Even though he had never really been able to remember anything before, the image was incredibly fresh in his mind. 

The thief, the ‘Dark Wings’.

From the children to the adults, there was hardly anyone in the lower quarter who didn’t know that name. It was most likely the same on the ‘other side of the wall’. 

Their identity — obviously — and even their gender were unknown, but this mysterious person had a reputation as an exclusively chivalrous thief. It was said that they would sneak into impregnable and heavily guarded mansions, rob them of all their wealth, and use some mysterious means to deliver them to the poor. 

Yuri had no idea exactly how the riches would be delivered, and he had not heard of anyone actually receiving such charity. In the first place, accepting such stolen goods — especially items that clearly belonged to nobles or things that obviously looked like precious treasures — was practically the same as inviting the knights to bring you in for questioning. 

But the person really existed. Yuri had seen with his own eyes how the knights’ faces had paled, and how they had chased after the figure. So perhaps not all rumours were lies. 

In any case, the ‘Dark Wings’ only targeted the nobles and the rich. Seeing the disgusting people from the ‘other side of the wall’ in a panic, and the normally arrogant knights being thrown into confusion because of this person — felt refreshing. Regardless of who the ‘Dark Wings’ truly were, Yuri had a good impression of them. Most of the people in the lower quarter felt the same way. 

But if the person was not a complete fantasy, then there was bound to be a good deal of repercussions. It happened on the same day Yuri had overheard the rumour of the reappearance of the ‘Dark Wings’. 

****

The commotion came in the form of the Imperial Knights. The knights marched into the lower quarter with weapons in hand and armour clanking noisily. When they reached the plaza, they divided into groups of two or three and started interrogating the residents at random, and broke into their houses as well. Apparently they thought that there was a possibility that the thief in question was hiding in the vicinity. 

Doors were broken down and furniture were overturned. But the residents didn’t raise a single protest, and quietly endured it. They knew that was the best way to weather this storm. Even Jiri remained silent, only watching with fire in her eyes as her dishes were swept from her cupboard and smashed onto the floor. 

The children were hidden behind the adults. Most of them did it out of fear of the knights’ violence, but a large number of them were half-forced to do so to prevent them from doing anything stupid for the sake of trying to act smart. They had been gathered at the plaza, surrounded by a ring of adults and told to stay still. 

Yuri was one of them. At that moment, he was standing behind Hanks, who stood still and imposingly like an impenetrable wall, staring at the doorway through which the knights had disappeared into with a piercing gaze. 

That was not ‘My Home’, where Yuri and the other children lived. It was the house of another lower quarter resident. Though right now, the other knights were most likely raiding ‘My Home’. The scene right in front of him wasn’t something that only happened to one particular house, but to all other houses as well. 

He couldn’t see Flynn, but he had to be at home by his mother’s side. 

Occasionally they would be able to hear sounds of what was happening inside; sounds of something falling to the ground, or at times, sounds of something shattering into pieces. Each time the adults and children would stiffen, but no one dared to speak, and they stood still and continued to wait patiently. 

This was not the first time something like this had happened. Though it wasn’t a common occurrence, it was beyond a doubt a disaster in their eyes. And as Yuri and the other children matured, their resentment only grew stronger. 

“But man, this house really is filthy. How can you even live in a place like this?” 

“Yeah. In a place like this, it’s a waste of time no matter how long we search. Let’s go on to the next one. I want to finish this quickly and head back.” 

The knights came out, brushing the dust off their armour. When he heard their words, Yuri unconsciously took a step forward.  

“Ya better not.” 

A quiet but clear voice stopped him in his tracks. It was Hanks. He was staring straight ahead without looking back, but his words were clearly aimed at Yuri. 

“Listen well. Those knights are only a small portion of a much larger power at play.” 

Hank’s voice sounded like a prayer echoing from a faraway world. Meanwhile, the knights entered the neighbouring house and started doing the same things they had done to the previous house. 

“Sure, if things go well, we might be able to defeat those guys. It’s most likely possible. But once we do that, the next time it will be those people with an even larger power that will be our enemies. And they’re definitely more than we can handle.” 

But — but. Yuri gritted his teeth. Do we have to put up with this forever? This humiliation? 

“We have nowhere else to live but here, so we have to endure it as much as we can, and convince ourselves this is nothing.” 

The last part sounded like he was talking to himself. It was the tone of his voice. Was Hanks suppressing his own anger even as he tried to soothe Yuri and the others? As he tried to sneak a peek at the elderly man’s face, Yuri was suddenly aware of the gazes on him. The other children, who had sensed his threatening aura, were staring at him anxiously. 

Their eyes were filled with fear — fear of more chaos, and more violence. 

Without a sound, Yuri clicked his tongue. Relaxing his body, he dropped to the ground and sat down. The knights came out. They discussed the same things as before, and went into another house. 

Everyone in the plaza watched silently, as if they had all been turned into stone statues. Silently, they all raised their voices, but they never reached the knights’ ears. 

Yuri also cried out, with a silent voice. To the knights, to the people on the ‘other side of the wall’, and to ‘those with an even larger power’. 

I won’t forget. He vowed as he gnashed his teeth. I will never forget. I will never think this is ‘normal’. My anger will never cease to exist. 

****

After going around and wrecking places for a while, the Imperial Knights withdrew. Without giving any explanation to the residents, they reassembled, did a roll call, gave orders, and left in a march that was even more disorder than when they first arrived. 

They left behind the houses that were in disarray, and the residents that had to deal with the aftermath. 

He didn’t know if the knights were seriously searching for the thief or any clues that could lead them to catch the thief, or they were just doing it superficially just to show their superiors they were following orders. Or maybe they were just blowing off steam. This was because not all houses were subject to such thorough inspection, and the criteria for it was exceedingly vague even to an outsider. Of course, for the residents whose houses had been wrecked both inside and outside, there wasn’t such a big difference. 

In any case the knights had been motivated to come here because of the aforementioned ‘Dark Wings’. After this incident, Yuri was put in a dilemma, torn between thinking that the lower quarter had suffered because of that thief, thinking that it was the fault of the knights who had actually performed the deed in violence, and his original sympathy towards the ‘Dark Wings’. Facts and reason clashed with emotions within him such as desire, leaving him unsure as to how to reconcile them. 

The adults’ reactions were varied, with some, like Hanks, seeing it as only a pretext for the knights’ raid, while others openly criticised the ‘Dark Wings’. 

“I don’t like it either.” 

Flynn also said clearly. 

“Of course, I don’t think the Imperial Knights’ method of doing things is right. But that doesn’t mean we should excuse the wrongdoings of thieves, either.” 

Even though Yuri was confused and had his doubts, he couldn’t help but speak up when faced with Flynn’s rebuttal. 

“The ‘Dark Wings’ are stealing to give to the poor. In that case wouldn’t they be our ally?” 

“And because of that my house is now in a mess. I’m sure everyone else’s houses are the same.” 

“It was the knights who wrecked them, not the ‘Dark Wings’.” 

“And that did that because the ‘Dark Wings’ did something. Besides, a thief is a thief. It’s natural for a criminal to be hunted down.” 

“You…!” 

After that, their usual quarrel and break up ensued. But as the scars left behind by the knights were still fresh and on display, it was difficult for Yuri to refute any further. 

“Who exactly is the ‘Dark Wings’...?”

In the end, Yuri knew little beyond the rumours. Although he had seen the real person with his own eyes, it didn’t mean anything special. 

Is there any way to confirm it? How? I want to meet them again. And then, I’ll ask them directly. 

That idea naturally took shape in his mind. Yuri decided he would wait for an opportunity to do so. 

But, with that being said, he had no idea what he wanted to ask them. 

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[delicatemusickingdom]

So.... does have anyone have any idea what Norein is writing here? From the text I can make out reads to 'ny__meis' with the third letter looking like another 'n', or the unlikelier 'h' and 'r', and the fourth looking like an 'a', 'b', 'i', 'l'... etc. And we know it's left to right because of the second picture, where Yuri is writing his own name (Yuri Lowell)!

My crack theory is that she's writing her own name here, to mirror Yuri, which would finally give us the 'official' romanization of her name -- that 'y' could be an 'o'! probably! -- but alas. I don't think her name is spelled that way lol.

[delicatemusickingdom]

Book 1 Part 2 Chapter 1.1

Chapter 1: Learning

“Pl… Please… fetch… my… Uh…”

“Book—?” 

“Book for me.” 

The voice stumbled over the words, but gently prompted by the hints given, they managed to finish the sentence without faltering. 

“Okay, good job!”

Yuri sat down, looking not altogether unpleased with the praise he had received. 

They were in a corner of Fountain Alley’s plaza. Around ten people sat on the open ground in front of an old-deserted house. Some sat directly on the ground, while others sat on reasonably-sized buckets or falling-apart wooden chairs that they had brought from somewhere else. 

The people there were as diverse as their seats — there were both men and women, and old and young alike. All of them, however, were sitting facing the wall of the nearby building. Written on the wall were letters in black lines.

A woman stood alone next to the letters. Combined with the thinness of the letter’s lines, she exuded a refined elegance that didn’t suit the lower quarter. Her name was Norein Scifo. Occasionally she would cough weakly, and use the charcoal in her hand to write letters on the wall. 

She was a teacher. All students were welcome. Anyone in the lower quarter could attend her classes if they wanted to. Whenever the residents were interested, had some free time from work, or just simply wanted to kill time, they would take a seat in a corner of the ‘classroom’ and listen in. 

Her lessons mainly taught how to read and write simple words. There were never any schools in the poor lower quarter, and there were few families who could afford sending their children to school in the citizens' quarter on the ‘other side of the wall’. Most of the adults were unable to read or write, and even if they did, they had never thought of teaching it to anyone else. 

Though often influenced by Norein’s condition — and the weather — her classes were usually held every day. While he couldn’t say he’d attended all of them, Yuri was a regular presence at her classes. 

Him, and one more person — Norein’s son, Flynn. Despite not really needing them, he often showed up to her classes, though not as often as Yuri did. Those who came late could usually see the black-haired and golden-haired boys sitting nearly side by side in front of the teacher Norein. 

“Okay, let’s all read it together again.” 

As Norein pointed at the letters, everyone raised their voices in unison. Many of them were uncertain of the words, faltering in places like Yuri had, but even so, there was a certain sort of excitement seen in their expressions. The excitement of being able to touch something that had been inaccessible to them until now. 

While everyone else paid attention to the wall, only Flynn watched his mother, with mixed feelings in his heart. He had already mastered the basics of reading and writing, and at this level of content, he could follow her lessons without much concentration needed. 

Flynn looked at the expression on his mother’s face and acknowledged the gentle smile she now wore. It was something he hadn’t seen ever since they were driven out of the citizens' quarter, or more accurately, ever since the incident that had triggered it. 

Ever since that day, the world had become a cold and cruel place to the mother and son. His mother had wilted like a flower suddenly thrown into winter. Flynn had witnessed it happen but couldn’t do anything to help, and had ended up feeling irritated and frustrated. 

But then, like the sun shining through a gap in the thick clouds and illuminating the earth, a turning point occurred. 

Flynn sneaked a glance at Yuri, who sat beside him reciting in a loud, stuttering voice. Every time he looked at this eccentric — That’s my line, he could almost hear the boy saying — boy, he would always feel a strange sensation wash over him. 

There were still a lot of things Flynn didn’t know about Yuri, and occasionally, Yuri would do seemingly thoughtless things that made it hard to believe the person in question possessed any common sense. 

Even so, Flynn couldn’t deny when they worked together, sometimes, that led to unexpected breakthroughs in situations. Though Flynn could say with absolute certainty that Yuri hadn’t meant to. 

This time too, it was Flynn who had brought it up, but Yuri was the one who had served as the catalyst. 

Who exactly are you? Flynn asked silently. But most likely, the person in question didn’t have an answer to that question either. He was sure of it. The moment he thought that, he couldn’t help but feel a strange sense of gratification. 

Shaking his golden hair slightly, the boy concealed the smile starting to appear on his face. 

****

——Going back to a few weeks ago. 

Ever since that day, Yuri and Flynn, who had unexpectedly ended up co-owning a sword, began dedicating their free time to training. That being said, it wasn’t like they had anyone to teach them. Rather than training, what the two of them did could better be described as self-taught. 

In Yuri’s case, he had to start with the basics, so it was safe to say his teacher was Flynn to some extent. However, this teacher-student relationship was fraught with difficulties from the very beginning. 

“You’re doing it again! The centre of your stance is off! Straighten your back!” 

“I am doing it. It’s like this, right?!”

“That’s not it, your back!” 

“And I’m telling you I know that!”

Determined to improve, he had bowed his head and begged Flynn to teach him, but if he was constantly receiving negative criticisms from someone his age, it’s not like he could remain calm forever. On the other hand, it wasn’t as if Flynn had any particular skill for teaching. Differences in personality and skill aside, at the end of the day, both of them were still children lacking in discipline. 

“It’s over. I give up. I’m done for today.” 

Out of patience, Yuri tossed away his sword. Making no attempt to conceal his irritation, Flynn yelled at him.

“Don’t handle it so roughly! The sword doesn’t only belong to you!” 

The fed-up Yuri looked away without answering. Despite that, when Flynn picked up the sword and began to do practice swings, he slowly started to feel restless, until in the end, he spoke. 

“Give it back. I still want to practise.” 

“I thought you said you were done for the day?”

“I changed my mind, so give it back!”  

Ownership of the sword changes every day. But if the person gives up their rights, the other person can use it on the same day. That was the deal the two of them made. 

Naturally, just because they give up their rights to use the sword on that day doesn’t mean they can use it on the next. If they gave up the rights without using it until they were satisfied, then the next day they’d have to endure feeling pent-up and stifled for the whole day. Yuri had experienced that more than once. Each time, he would swear to himself that he would never again abandon his sword halfway through training, but after listening to Flynn’s nagging, he would repeat the incident all over again. Which led to their current exchange. 

If Flynn had to say, Yuri lacked not only patience but obedience as well — to a devastating extent. 

No matter how much he taught Yuri, for some reason, not only would Yuri not follow his exact teachings, but he would also try to add on his own interpretations. It was only after he had tested enough of this and that, and was satisfied with it, that he would follow the original teachings. It was unavoidable that the process took a lot of time. More than anything, his attitude of questioning every single detail of what their ancestors had built upon and passed down felt irrelevant to Flynn — but despite that, once he was satisfied with it, his speed at absorbing it was something Flynn was forced to admit was remarkable. 

Even though he didn’t say it out aloud, that wasn’t the only problem Flynn had with the sword. He had no qualms about sharing a sword that was once solely his. In fact, he was even grateful for the help in pooling together what little money they had and spending it all for the sake of buying a single sword. 

The problem was having time for his own training. When he didn’t have the rights to use the sword, he had to teach Yuri — at his request — swordsmanship. Though he’d be lying if he said he didn’t feel any regret every time they argued, it couldn’t be helped, because that was the promise he made when they bought the sword. Even when he did have the rights to use the sword, it didn’t mean he could necessarily do as he pleased. 

That was because as soon as Flynn started training, Yuri would immediately come up to him and bombard him with questions like ‘Why did you move like that?’ and ‘Why is your grip like that?’. 

At first, Flynn had been touched by his enthusiasm and answered him, but after a while he found it was getting in the way of his training. 

Those thoughts only grew stronger. Even though he’d finally gotten back his sword, he couldn’t hope to improve if this continued. 

Of course, Yuri had no ulterior motives. He simply wanted to catch up to Flynn as soon as possible. His single-minded pursuit meant that if he saw something he didn’t know or understand, he would greedily strive to master it. 

Flynn knew that Yuri wasn’t doing it out of maliciousness, and thus couldn’t refuse him, and continued to nurture his progress. Of course, if actually doing it was as easy as the rationale behind it, then they wouldn’t be having so much trouble right now. Naturally his words became more and more harsh, and because of that now it was Yuri’s turn to be unamused. He didn’t think he was making any mistakes, and instead was being criticised more harshly than necessary, which made him feel even more dissatisfied. 

They had finally obtained a sword, and in truth, due to their training, they had gotten better than they thought they had. But at this rate, they would be hastening not just the destruction of their sword, but also their relationship and everything in between. 

What changed all that, was thanks to a single book. 

****

On that day, Flynn had ownership of the sword. For once, there was no sign of Yuri, and Flynn could swing his sword to his heart’s content in front of his house. He would reflect upon the instructions he had once been given, and repeat them over and over again, to confirm that his body had really memorised them. 

For him, this was akin to a ritual of sorts, that allowed him to regain the bond he had lost, or perhaps to prevent him from forgetting those memories. 

His mother hadn’t been feeling well lately, and even now was in the house, resting. When he had confessed to her about getting back his sword, Norein had said nothing, only showing an expression that he couldn’t tell was sad or smiling. 

She knew. As he swung his sword, Flynn thought. That there was no way her son could have gotten back the sword on his own. Flynn had only told her that he had properly paid money to buy it back, and his mother had accepted it without prying any further.  

Flynn continued swinging his sword single-mindedly. 

Eventually, when he was convinced that the fundamentals were firmly ingrained within him, Flynn picked up a book from on top of the barrel next to him that served as a makeshift table. 

The simple binding was dirty and worn, but not to the point that the text was unreadable. Rather than being treated poorly, it was the result of many hands having flipped through the pages for a long time. 

Flynn also handled the book with much more care than with his sword. Careful not to let the sweat dripping down his face fall onto the pages, he slowly opened it and searched for the page he was looking for. 

Many of the pages had illustrations drawn on them in addition to text — illustrations of a person in armour holding a sword in different stances. 

Flynn’s finger stopped on a certain page. He traced the words with his fingertips as he read them. He stared at the numerous illustrations on the page until his gaze could almost bore a hole into them. Then, with that page open, he put the book back on the barrel and picked up the sword again. 

He closed his eyes and pictured in his mind the illustration he had just seen. He slowly changed his posture until it overlapped with the image in his mind. If not the same, then as similar as possible. Once he was satisfied, for a while he would stand still in that position, before moving onto the stance shown in the next illustration. 

Try out the stance, memorise it in mind and body, and once satisfied, swiftly repeat them as a series of movements. Over and over again. 

The feedback from his body was good. He could feel the movements becoming ingrained into his body. If he continued this for a few more rounds, he felt like he might be able to grasp something—

“Is that the basis for your swordsmanship?” 

The sudden voice interrupted his thoughts. The light almost within his reach faded away. 

He was so close. He had almost reached it, but it had slipped away at the last moment. The opportunity was lost. Panting and drenched in sweat, Flynn turned and shot Yuri a glare. 

At some point during his training, Yuri had arrived. Completely oblivious to what was going through Flynn’s mind, without even looking at Flynn, the black-haired boy’s gaze was fixed on the book on top of the barrel. 

“……It’s a training manual for swordsmanship.” 

There were so many things he wanted to say, but Flynn only managed to get out that much, shoulders heaving as he gasped for air. 

Yuri got closer and peered at the book. Flynn felt the pit of his stomach grow hot. Though he knew Yuri didn’t mean any harm, even now, he couldn’t quite get used to how the residents of the lower quarter could occasionally act bluntly and tactlessly. 

“That’s important to me.” 

Flynn murmured, and Yuri must have sensed something, because he pulled back his outstretched hand. But his eyes remained glued to the book, refusing to look away, like a hungry beast staring down a feast placed in front of it. 

“Hey, does that mean if I read this, I’ll be able to master swordsmanship like you? And learn even more amazing techniques—”

“It doesn't do something as convenient as that.” 

Feeling as if his pride had been hurt, Flynn couldn’t help but raise his voice and say. 

“Well, I guess that’s true.” 

Yuri readily shrugged his shoulders. 

“Just listening to you talk doesn’t help me at all. But if I practise according to what’s written here, I’ll be able to get by somehow, right?” 

“……At least, that’s what I believe.” 

It might just be possible. Flynn’s voice lowered as he remembered he was on the verge of realising a part of that just a moments ago. 

When he’d lost his previous way of life, he had lost many things, but this book was one of the few possessions he couldn’t bear to part with. It felt painful to let go of the sword, but he told himself that he’d be able to obtain one again someday. But the book was different. This book was the teaching itself. The sword was a vessel. But what was written in the book held a soul that must be kept within. Of the person who gave it to him, and then sacrificed himself. 

If I have this, I can get closer to him. No matter how it looked to others, to Flynn, that was his truth. 

“Hey, let’s make it so I can read this too.” 

Not picking up on Flynn’s thoughts in the slightest, Yuri said. 

He says it so easily. He doesn’t even know how much respect I have for the knowledge written in this book. He doesn’t even know how symbolic this book is to me. Even though he knew it was due to ignorance, Flynn couldn’t hold back his anger. 

First of all, Yuri. He has both a strong interest and a lack of patience. No matter how much he reads, will he be able to continue practising patiently until he masters the techniques?

Recalling the arguments they had during training, and the interruptions during his own sword practice, and all the other numerous exchanges they’ve had until now, Flynn felt like he had been put in an incredibly unfair situation. Mix in the painful memories of the hardships he had gone through before he’d met Yuri, and he felt ready to explode. 

Suddenly, something inside of him seized the reins within him. Like calming a rampaging horse or whispering to a restless spirit, it spoke. Calm down. Calm yourself. Don’t let your emotions get the better of you. That, too, was a lesson Flynn had once been taught, a lesson almost as precious to him as his sword techniques. 

Flynn took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly. As if he was expelling his violent emotions with it. His irritation didn’t completely subside, so naturally his voice was filled with barbs as he spoke. 

“You can read it if you want to,” the golden-haired boy said curtly. “But if you damage anything, I will never forgive you.” 

“Um, even if you say that…” 

Yuri said as he scratched the back of his black-haired head. The irritation came back. What? Are you saying that’s not enough for you? 

“……I, can’t read.”

“Ah……”

The unexpected words left Flynn speechless. In the place where he used to live, it was only natural for even commoners to be able to read and write. In fact, if they couldn’t, you could say it would be a terrible hindrance to their daily life. 

But here, in the lower quarter. 

Flynn looked at the training manual just sitting there. Then he thought about the various books and texts he had come into contact with. To think that they couldn’t read any of that. To think that they had been kept from being able to access anything written in there. 

Once again Flynn was shocked at the way of life in the lower quarter. As for Yuri, after seeing Flynn’s reaction, he started to look a little embarrassed. 

Flynn suddenly felt ashamed of himself. 

“But… I’ve never taught anyone to read or write.” 

“You’re teaching me how to use a sword. It’s pretty much the same, right?” 

Yuri said nonchalantly. That easygoing demeanour of his made Flynn feel like he had been rescued. That being said, what should he do? 

“Hey, please?” 

“I can’t do something like that so easily…” 

Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind. 

“……Mother.” 

“Mother? Yours?” 

Flynn nodded slowly, as if confirming his own idea. 

“She even teaches me from time to time. My mother might be able to teach you.” 

Now it was Yuri’s turn to wince. It had been a long time since then, but the memory of Flynn’s mother’s attitude towards him on the day he had first confronted Flynn was still fresh in his memory. He still remembered how the atmosphere back then was by no means friendly. 

The training manual on the barrel caught his eye. Hidden in there were the secret techniques for swordsmanship. If I can read it, I can catch up to Flynn that much quicker. If I can read it— 

Yuri turned back to Flynn. 

“I understand. I’ll be counting on you.” 

“Okay, but not today. Mother isn’t feeling well, and right now she’s asleep.”

“Sure. As long as she can teach me, I have no complaints.” 

As if feeling refreshed, Yuri smiled. 

“I’ll go back for today. I hope your mother feels better soon.”

As if he could hurry up and master the contents of the training manual, Yuri waved his hand and left with an incredible lightness in his steps. 

Flynn was left alone again. He looked in the direction of the leaving Yuri, and then in the direction of the house where his mother was. Does Yuri really intend to study? Will Mother accept? He had no idea. 

Did he make a hasty promise without considering the condition his mother was in? His mind was now filled with such concerns. 

He caught sight of the still-open training manual. It was then he realised he had been gripping his sword the whole time. Its blade gleamed brightly, as if protesting that Flynn had forgotten all about its existence.

Flynn shook his head, also shaking off the thoughts swirling inside his heart. Let’s not think about that right now. Just for now. Recalling the illustration drawn in the training manual once again, the boy readied his sword and swung it fiercely, as if to sever away all of his doubts. 

****

Hasty or not, once he gave it, Flynn had no intention of breaking his promise. It had taken a while for Norein to recover, but surprisingly Yuri hadn’t tried to rush him, and Flynn was grateful for that. 

Eventually his mother managed to recover and Flynn asked her about the matter of reading and writing. At first, Norein had listened to him with a somewhat dubious look on her face, but after he was done and was nervously gauging her reaction, she spoke. 

“Alright, let’s give it a try. I don’t know if it will go as well as when I taught you, but this if your first request since we came here. Besides…” 

Norein paused, and smiled gently at her son. 

“This is for the sake of the first friend you made here.” 

Friend. He had thought it to himself, but hearing it so clearly from someone else’s mouth, and it was his mother’s, no less, made him feel embarrassed. Forgetting his surprise at his mother’s quick acceptance of his request, Flynn felt his cheeks grow hot. 

In any case, it looked like he was going to be able to fulfil his promise. Now all Yuri has to do is — wait a minute. Will he be attending school here? On the days when he doesn’t have ownership rights to the sword? In other words, I’ll be seeing him not only during training but also at my house every day? That in itself was something to think about.

However, things unfolded in a manner even more unexpected than Flynn had anticipated. 

A few days after Flynn told Yuri that his mother had agreed, there was a soft knock on his house’s front door, as gentle as a fallen leaf. When he opened it he saw an elderly man standing there alone, with a gentle face along with his hunched back. 

“……Mister Hanks?” 

“Oh, Flynn, you look well. I have something to discuss with your mother, is she free to talk right now?” 

****

“Everyone… I, um…” 

Holding a hand to her chest, Norein said, looking lost in thought. In front of her Hanks stood there, nodding his head.

“There are a lot of people in the lower quarter who can’t read or write, but there aren’t a lot of people who are good enough to teach it. It’d be a great help if you would teach them.” 

Yuri was supposed to be her only student, but in a short period of time the conversation had taken an unexpected turn. Perhaps because Yuri looked unusually happy, or because he seemed so far from his usual composed self — Jiri and the other adults had thought he was up to his usual sinister schemes and grilled him until he confessed. At first Yuri had been evasive tried to avoid answering, but in the end he had cracked and told them everything. 

Now knowing that this had all started because of the sword, Jiri had only frowned slightly and said nothing more. In fact, she was secretly surprised. She had never thought that Yuri of all people would say he wanted to study. 

But Hanks, who had also been listening, had another idea. A teacher had appeared in the lower quarter. Why should she only have one student? 

“Of course, I have no intention of asking you to do it for free. It’s a respected job, after all. I intend to keep that in mind.” 

Thus, Norein became a teacher in the lower quarter, and taught all who desired to learn. She had no textbooks or formal training, but her experience in teaching her son proved to be useful. 

Flynn had objected to it, worried it would worsen her health, but Norein had decided all on her own to step out of her house. The classroom was in a corner of the plaza in the centre of Fountain Alley. In place of a textbook, she would use charcoal to write letters on the building’s wall. After class, the students for the day would clean the walls. Tuition fees were paid in small change and food. 

Most of the students were adults. Like Hanks said, it was rare for anyone in the lower quarter to be able to read and write. Flynn was once again made aware that this place was fundamentally different from the place he had lived before. 

Jareth and the other children were not among the people who came to learn. Most of them showed up out of curiosity, but soon got bored and left, until Yuri was the only one that remained. The only time Yuri was generally only absent when his manual work coincided with the lesson timings.

Of course, even Yuri wasn’t able to maintain his concentration all of the time — just as Flynn had predicted. There were times where he felt like he couldn’t keep up with the lessons, or felt the lessons were becoming too monotonous, and would keep away for a while. But he would always come back to class — for two main reasons. 

He still hadn’t gotten tired of sword training, which meant that whether he liked it or not, he would still see Flynn swinging his sword with the training manual by his side. Each time, a feeling similar to impatience would be revived in him. 

Besides, when all was said and done, the reason Norein had come all the way to the plaza at the risk of her health was originally because of Yuri’s request. He couldn’t forget that and abandon her lessons. 

With Yuri now fully devoted to his lessons,  on the days when Flynn had the sword, he was able to swing his sword undisturbed and to his heart’s content. As he threw himself into his training all alone, more than once, he’d experience a large breakthrough and unthinkingly cry out in joy. 

However, gradually, the thought that this result had only been possible because he had pushed Yuri onto his mother started to occupy his mind. Ever since the incident that had led them to move to the lower quarter, his mother had become incredibly frail in both mind and body. Yet day after day, she would go out to the plaza, saying it was her job. 

Guilty and worried, Flynn headed towards the plaza. 

But when he arrived, his eyes widened. He was his mother standing there, passionately delivering a lecture. She still looked thin and fragile as ever, but he could definitely feel the aura of determination and vigour emanating from her. It wasn’t comparable to before, but still, it was the first time since their move to the lower quarter that he had seen a light in her eyes. 

This was something beyond comprehension to the young Flynn, but Norein’s change was not without reason. 

Before coming to the lower quarter, she had lived a comfortable, not to say wealthy life. Then one day, she had been kicked out and left with almost nothing to her name, and no one around her willing to lend her a helping hand. Norein’s mind and body had suffered a huge blow, and poverty had taken an even bigger toll on her. 

Poverty was only one of the factors. The people of the lower quarter had done all they could to help the mother and son who had nothing on them and no means of making a living. Housing and food became a source of inner conflict, and Norein was tormented by it. To put it simply, she had no choice but to rely on the charity of others around her to survive. Even though she had nothing to offer in return. If she was alone, she would have chosen to starve to death. But even as she argued that this was for her son’s sake, her miserable state remained unchanged, and that tormented her and drove her to illness. 

But right now, even if it was a small thing, the people around her needed her, and even thanked her for it. Even though it was incredibly tiring for her to travel from her house to the plaza every day, she had regained her reason to live. And, a little bit of her pride, too. 

Surprised and touched by his mother’s liveliness, and as if he had been guided to, Flynn joined in on the lessons. He could sense something else present in her lessons — something different from just learning how to read and write. 

Noticing Flynn’s nosy presence, Yuri made space next to him. At first, Flynn had felt uncomfortable sitting right in front of his mother, but after a while he had gotten used to it. 

His mother didn’t make any particular sign that she had noticed him, but she seemed somewhat happy. 

****

And so, Flynn once again became his mother’s student. Since he had already learned most of the basic fundamentals of reading and writing, he rarely had the opportunity to learn anything new. But occasionally he would come to the plaza and read out aloud the words written on the wall with Yuri. Sometimes he would help his mother, writing the letters in  charcoal while everyone watched. 

Although her voice remained soft, his mother continued to conduct her lectures smoothly, and Yuri — for the most part — continued to learn enthusiastically. 

It had been a completely unexpected turn of events, but maybe this was for the best. Thinking in a corner of his mind what kind of training he should do after this, Flynn returned his attention to the lesson in front of him. 

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[delicatemusickingdom]

Soooo... just curious, but what is everyone's take on how Flynn's mother's name is supposed to romanised? Norein, Noraine, Norraine, NORAIN (which is obviously short for November Rain, the stando), or something else?

[delicatemusickingdom]

Book 1 Part 2 Intermission

Part 2: Intermission

The girl closed her eyes and savoured the story told just moments ago. In her mind, she could vividly picture the lively figures of the two boys, as if she had met them before. 

Of course, it was only her imagination. However, as she listened to the stories of their past and looked at them now, she felt a sense of wonder, and at the same time, an inexplicable sense of understanding. Aah, so that’s why. 

In any case, this is how Yuri and Flynn, who were now like each other’s shadows, met and became friends. Though they were only children, they had already experienced so many tumultuous events. Even if that was true, these two were a little bit different. Despite coming from a background that couldn’t be called ordinary, the girl couldn’t help but think that. 

“Having said that, we sure were carefree kids back then.”

The girl was stunned by Yuri’s words. Really? That was called being carefree? But if she thought about it, the story she had been told had only covered a year since they met. There was still more than ten years in the gap between then and now. 

She wasn’t the type of person who would pry into every detail of someone else’s past — though it was a bit too late for that realisation. The girl was aware of the need for discretion, but still asked Yuri and Flynn about the days that followed that first year anyway. 

“After that, huh…?” 

Feeling as though Flynn’s voice had grown more solemn, the girl panicked. She hurriedly added that if it was something unpleasant, she wouldn’t pry into it further. 

But Flynn was quick to show her his usual bright smile and shook his head gently. 

“No, it’s nothing. It was a long time ago. Besides, if we’re going to talk about ourselves, it’s not something we can avoid. Isn’t that right, Yuri? 

“If you’re fine with it, then it’s not my business to say otherwise.”

Yuri shrugged his shoulders as if it was someone else’s affairs they were talking about. He said that, but once the story started, he was definitely going to chime in again of his own accord. 

Although she claimed she had no intention of prying, as soon as the opportunity to listen to their story arose once again, the girl clenched her fists tightly against her chest, breathing heavily as she prepared herself. She would listen to every word without letting a single one escape from her ears. 

Looking at her, Yuri and Flynn exchanged glances, wry smiles on their faces. 

“If we’re talking about afterwards, it has to be that. The ‘Great War’.”

“Aren’t you skipping ahead too far? Starting with the lessons would be better.” 

Together, the two of them recalled their memories, and once again began to narrate. 

Prev | Index | Next

[delicatemusickingdom]

Book 1 Part 1 Chapter 3.4

Chapter 3.4

Summer was in full swing. The sunlight was strong, and the shadows casted were thick. 

Not only was it humid and unpleasant in the lower quarter, but it also meant danger. Increased humidity and high temperatures meant food went bad easily. Based on their many past experiences with the plague, the residents of the lower quarter have — not just during this season — tried to maintain cleanliness in the lower quarter as much as possible. It was unpleasant work, almost proportionately so to the effort spent, but it had to be done anyway. 

Fortunately, they had water. It had happened not long after the ‘River Escapade’ incident. Without any warning — just like before when it had been cut off — the waterfall had started to flow again. The lower quarter was once again able to obtain safe, clear water — and with it came back the job of fetching water. 

‘River Escapade’. That was what Yuri and the other boys called that incident. Jareth and the others seemed to like the somewhat cryptic phrasing, but Yuri could only hear the irony and thus the appropriateness of the name.

Since then, they hadn’t gone ‘outside’, or encountered any incidents worthy of mentioning. 

The only thing that had changed since then was Flynn. Yuri had begun to see Flynn in places outside of the vicinity of his house. He didn’t know if it was because Flynn just happened to be heading in his direction, or it was only because of their visits to his house before that Flynn had started to avoid being seen. When Yuri did see him, he was usually in the middle of an errand, so the only words they managed to exchange were casual greetings. Even so, there was a certain sort of ease to him, something that was never there before. 

Even though Jareth and the other boys weren’t that friendly that they would ask Flynn to hang out with them, they would still call out to him whenever they saw him on the streets. It hadn’t been worth the risk, but there was no doubt that Flynn had won them over by putting his life on the line for them. 

Other than that, the days should have returned to how they were before — but Yuri was different. 

What Jiri had told him, what lay beyond those words — it had to be there — lingered in his heart for a long time, swirling in an endless vortex. The vortex was chaotic, and all sorts of things were swirling inside, but no matter how hard he strained his eyes, he couldn’t discern anything concrete in it. The feeling of seeing something within reach, but not being able to touch it was frustrating, and it irritated Yuri.

What should I do?

What did I lack? —Why did I do what I did?

I can ignore this, and continue to live my life as I’ve always been — but I don’t want to. I don’t know why. But I have a feeling that I'd be doing something wrong if I did that. 

I don’t know what I want to do, but I have a strong feeling of needing to do something.

What do I need to be able to do something?

Strength. 

What is strength? I don’t know. 

He remembered the time he had challenged the demonic wolves. Those eyes. Those fangs. Fear. Pain. Death. 

Back then, all he had in his hand was a tiny axe. It had been lost along with the monsters — and he had gotten a harsh scolding for that later — but even using something like that, he had been able to defeat them. 

Before he knew it, the image in his mind had changed from an axe in his hand to a stick. The monster’s fur turned golden, and its appearance changed from a wolf to a boy. 

Flynn. Come to think of it, that may have been the first time I’d ever confronted someone with such seriousness. And the first time I’d ever felt such a sense of defeat. 

Neither memory felt anything close to the elation of victory. 

Strength. 

Is that how it is? It doesn’t seem that simple, but still, I feel like I should start there first. 

As if waking from a dream, Yuri began walking aimlessly. He left the streets and headed for the towering castle walls. The gentle slope suddenly became steeper, extending straight to the top of the castle walls. 

Let’s head for the ‘other side of the wall’. To the citizens’ quarter. The market. 

****

In this world called Terca Lumireis, its one and only ruler was the ‘Empire’. Zaphias was its capital, and in other words, it served as the heart of commercial distribution. 

The imperial capital is separated into three layers. The widest part of the middle layer was right in the heart of the heart of the citizens' quarter’s market, where people came and went the most. From permanent shops to street stalls, it had shops in all kinds of shapes and sizes, selling all kinds of — technically legal —  goods. It was rumoured that you could sometimes obtain goods normally regulated by the authorities, like blastia

Yuri had arrived at one of those marketplaces. There were passersby who openly grimaced when they saw he was a child from the lower quarter, and some of them even spoke in a sarcastic tone loud enough for him to hear, but he was used to it and ignored them. What he had to be careful of was attracting too much attention to himself and having that be used as a pretext for a fight. In the unlikely event a fight did break out, he’d be at a disadvantage, and the knights would come running to crack down on such disturbances. It went without saying whose side they would take in the matter.

Eventually Yuri arrived in the place he was looking for. You’d think the place would be filled with energetic calls from stallowners, but there were some who didn’t feel up to it and just sat there silently. But even though they conducted themselves differently, the goods they dealt with were all the same — weapons. Some blades were polished and gleamed with a keen edge, some were rusty and chipped. Like the stall owners, the variety was diverse, yet all they sold were weapons. This was how it was like in this corner of the marketplace. 

Even if the residents here abhorred his presence, Yuri had taken a liking to this place. He’d often stop by here whenever he had errands to do in the citizens’ quarter. When he looked at weapons, he’d always feel an indescribable, unexplainable sense of euphoria — though in that regard, Jareth and the other boys were pretty much the same.  

But today, Yuri’s attitude was different from the previous times he had come to browse. He looked carefully at each and every sword that caught his eye. When he was lucky enough not to be rejected, he’d even pick them up and give them a few swings. After visiting several stalls in this manner, Yuri noticed something familiar in the crowd. On the opposite side of the bustling street, he could catch glimpses of golden hair in the crowd from time to time — there was no mistaking it. It was Flynn. 

Did he come here with the same purpose in mind? Yuri weaved his way through the crowd, chasing after him. Flynn ran from the main street into one of the more deserted side streets. Unlike the crowded main street, there were less people here, and the sunlight was poor. Though this was a corner of the citizens’ quarter, Yuri knew that in a place like this, the people and goods involved were bound to be somewhat shady. What is he doing in a place like this?

After turning a few corners, Flynn stopped in front of a lone street vendor. Then, with an intent gaze, he stared at the wares lined up for sale. No, he wasn’t looking at them with such a gentle gaze. His gaze was boring intently into a single item. He showed no signs of noticing the approaching Yuri. What kind of lucky find did he stumble upon? Curious, Yuri followed Flynn’s gaze, and tilted his head. 

It was indeed a sword. However, it was quite small, and in comparison to the other swords lined up around it, it looked like a toy. Additionally, its making was crude. Even an amateur like Yuri could tell its value was insignificant. But Flynn was staring at it silently. 

“Hey you, you’re getting in the way of my business. If you’re not going to buy anything, scram. You’re an eyesore.” 

The disgruntled voice of the street vendor brought Yuri back to his senses. But Flynn continued to stand there, entranced. 

“Flynn, hey, Flynn—”

Startled by Yuri’s voice, Flynn looked up. He looked surprised to see Yuri standing right beside him. 

“Yu…ri?

Sensing the street vendor’s growing irritation, Yuri grabbed Flynn — who was still in a daze, by the arm and dragged him away. He forcibly pulled him away from the stall, only letting go after they were a short distance away. 

“That hurt.” 

Yuri felt exasperated seeing Flynn frown. 

“Hey. Don’t space out in a place like that if you don’t intend to buy anything. If you’re not careful they’ll call the knights on you.” 

Perhaps in response to the word ‘knight’, for a moment, that same grim look flitted across Flynn’s face, before vanishing right away. It was replaced by a gloomy expression. 

“You’re… right. It’s as you say.” 

In the face of that terribly meek and unexpected response, Yuri was so surprised he was at a loss for words. 

“I don’t know what’s going on, but you were looking at it quite intently. Did you really like that sword that much?” 

“……y sword.” 

Flynn’s murmur was so quiet Yuri had to ask him again. 

“What did you say?” 

“That’s my sword.” 

For a moment, Yuri didn’t understand what Flynn was talking about, and looked back and forth between the street vendor’s and Flynn’s face. But Flynn looked serious. It was the same serious expression that he occasionally showed on his face. 

“I’m not lying. That is my sword, or to be more accurate, that was my sword.” 

The story was simple. When they left the citizens’ quarter, Flynn and his mother had no choice but to part with many of their belongings. He wasn’t sure where or how it came into circulation, but that sword was one of those very items. 

And it seemed to be a very important item to Flynn, too. His expression, voice, eyes, all conveyed that. So it was a lucky find for him. I see. 

“I just happened to see it last week when I was passing by. I couldn’t believe it myself, but… There’s no mistaking it. That’s the sword I was given.” 

As for who exactly had given it to Flynn, Yuri decided not to ask. He had noticed that the sword had a similar design to the ones the knights carried around. Its small size was probably because it was made to order for a child. 

It may have been a coincidence at first, but Flynn had probably visited this stall many times after he’d found the sword — it was a miracle that he hadn’t been chased away until now. 

“So?”

“Huh?”

“Are you satisfied with just looking at it?” 

“……”

Flynn silently hung his head. Seeing that, Yuri sighed. 

“How much is it?” 

“One hundred forty.” 

He was clearly being overcharged. Yuri didn’t know much about weapons, but after seeing items from other stores and their prices, he didn’t think the sword was worth that much. It was most likely harassment because Flynn was a child from the lower quarter.  

“I only have seventy. That merchant will be there for the rest of the week, but he’ll be going to another city after that. It’s impossible to save up the rest of the money before then.” 

“Then you can’t give up. It’s important to you, right?” 

“……” 

Silence again. 

Strength. Sword. Money. 

Various factors intertwined and connected together in Yuri’s head, giving rise to a single answer — a very simple one. 

Good grief. I’m about to start something strange again. 

“……Wait here for a bit.” 

Sensing something different in Yuri’s tone, Flynn gave him a dubious look. 

“Hey, don’t tell me you’re going to steal…” 

“Idiot. If I really did that here, I wouldn't get away lightly. Just listen to me and wait here.” 

After saying that, without waiting for a reply, Yuri broke into a run. Even as he stepped out into the main street, he took advantage of his child’s physique to slip through the intermingling crowd without once slowing down. 

In the blink of an eye he had reached the outskirts of the citizens’ quarter, where the gate set in the castle walls was. From there, he ran down the long, downhill slope that stretched towards the lower quarter, not stopping by the side a single time. 

He ran like the wind, through the streets, without looking left or right. The people he passed by called out to him, curious as to why he was going so fast, but he didn’t have time to spare and just ran. And ran. 

He finally arrived at ‘My Home’. He immediately went inside and went straight for the shelf where he placed all his belongings. Ignoring the items on the shelf, he stuck his fingers into the gap behind it. He put more force into it, and the shelf moved a little, leaving a fist-sized gap between it and the wall. He stuck his hand in and quickly pulled it back out. In his hand was a small pouch covered in dust. 

After confirming its weight, Yuri gave a small nod. 

“Alright.” 

Yuri gripped his bag tightly and turned around, heading back with the same speed as when he’d come here. 

****

Enduring the piercing glares directed at him as a child from the lower quarter, Flynn waited in the marketplace alone, just as Yuri told him to. 

Just how far did he go? And what exactly did he leave to do? 

He turned around and looked through the crowd of people, his eyes landing on the street vendor from before. Even if this was a back street that people hardly visited, he was still worried that the sword would be sold while he wasn’t looking. Even though he didn’t have the money to buy it, he couldn’t help but be interested in it. 

This might be the last time I ever see it. I don't care if the owner treats me rudely, so let’s look at it one more time—

With that thought in mind, he started to move. But just then, a head of familiar black hair appeared around the corner in front of him. The person was breathing heavily, shoulders heaving, and they looked as if they were going collapse at any moment. 

“Yuri, where in the world did you…”

“Sorry, to, keep, you, waiting.” 

Yuri’s chest heaved up and down as he spoke. He was clearly out of breath. He opened the pouch in his hand and peered into it. Okay, this should be enough to make it work. 

“Now, give me, all of, your money.”

Yuri gasped for air as he spoke in a tone that brooked no questions. Flynn obeyed him without thinking, dropping all the coins he had into Yuri’s outstretched palm. 

Yuri took the coins and put them in his pouch. The sound of metal striking metal echoed softly. 

“Let’s go.” 

“Go? Where?” 

But Yuri had already started walking. Flynn hurriedly chased after him. 

For the second time that day, the two of them stood in front of the street vendor. Just like Flynn had seen, the vendor hadn’t sold anything since then, let alone the sword. Perhaps because of that, the shopkeeper looked even more disgruntled than before. When he saw that the boys from the lower quarter were here again, he gave them a very annoyed look. 

“You guys again? I don’t entertain window shoppers. When people like you loiter around, decent customers won’t want to get close.” 

Apparently he was hinting that it was Yuri and Flynn’s fault that he wasn’t able to sell anything. Yuri ignored him and crouched down in front of the row of wares. He pointed at the sword. 

“Hey, uncle, you’re selling this for a hundred and forty?” 

“Hm? Ah, yeah, I guess so. Yeah, that’s right, a hundred forty. No discounts, not even one Gald less. Go on, shoo, don’t touch my merchandise with your dirty hands.” 

The vendor spoke curtly and waved his hand like he was driving away a fly. 

“We’re buying it.” 

“What?” 

“Here you go, one hundred and forty Gald!” 

Saying that, Yuri took his pouch and spilled its contents everywhere. Coins of various sizes flew into the air all at once. 

The moment the shocked vendor’s eyes were drawn to the spectacle, Yuri grabbed the sword. 

“Catch, Flynn—” 

Yuri threw the sword at Flynn. Flynn instinctively caught it before he noticed what it was, and his eyes widened. 

“Huh?” 

“Hm, wha-? H-Hey, you!”

Flynn and the vendor’s cries were drowned out by the ringing sound of coins falling onto the ground. 

At the same moment, Yuri started to run. Flynn’s gaze darted back and forth between Yuri’s back, the vendor, and the coins. His eyes met the vendor’s. Unconsciously, he tightened his grip on the sword held in his arms. 

“……!”

Flynn shut his eyes tightly. 

And in the next moment, dashed away at lightning speed. 

“Wha- Hey! Get back here…!”

Should I collect the money scattered before me, or should I chase them? The confused vendor froze in a half-standing, half-sitting position, unable to move. Should I call out that they’re thieves? But no matter how he looked at it, the sum of the money scattered in front of him didn’t total a hundred and forty, but at least two hundred. 

While the vendor was in disarray, the two boys — one in black, and the other in gold — had already turned around the corner and disappeared from view. 

****

“What… were… you… thinking…!” 

As he was trying to catch his breath, Flynn said to Yuri.

“You…got…your sword…back…didn’t you…?” 

Yuri was also sweating and panting as he said that. 

“I never… wanted… to get it back… like this…! In this…thief-like…way!”

“What…do you…mean…? We…paid for it…properly. Enough…that there was…spare change.” 

Realising that there was no point arguing when they were like this, the two of them stopped talking for a while until their breathing calmed down. 

The two of them had returned to the lower quarter. They had run straight from the citizens’ quarter without stopping at all. Yuri, who had now gone back and forth twice, had fallen onto the ground and was unable to get up. 

“I didn’t wish for any of this.” 

After a long pause, Flynn finally said. His eyes never left the sword in his hand, but he was looking at it like it was a curse he was trying to escape from. 

“You wanted to get it back, right? Just be honest and be happy.” 

“I didn’t wish for this.” 

Flynn stood motionless as he repeated himself. 

“……That you’re giving it to me out of pity this way…” 

That hit a nerve in him. Yuri stood up and walked over to Flynn. He slammed a fist into Flynn’s chest. 

“I~diot.”

“Wha…”

“Who said I’m giving it to you? You and I pooled our money together to buy it. In that case, this sword isn’t yours.” 

“It’s ours.” 

Flynn had a confused look on his face. He desperately tried to understand the meaning behind Yuri’s words. But Yuri looked at Flynn and spoke straightforwardly. 

“You, and I, will take turns using it. Any complaints?” 

“Yuri……” 

Yuri lifted his fist from Flynn’s chest and gripped the hilt of the sword. Flynn was holding onto its scabbard, so the sword came out easily. Although it was simple and child-sized, its make was that of a fine sword. Yuri held up the sword, with its tip facing skywards. The blade gleamed in the sunlight. 

“I want to become stronger. I’ll become stronger and stronger, until I can deal with all of my matters all on my own. I don’t fully understand it yet, but at the very least, I want to be able to do the things I want to do.” 

Staring at the blade’s tip, words that sounded like a solemn oath escaped Yuri’s mouth. He was surprised by his own words, but once they started flowing out he found he couldn’t stop. A sword alone isn’t enough.

Yuri’s gaze landed on Flynn. 

“That’s why I need your help.” 

“My…help?” 

Flynn looked stunned. It looked as if he was questioning, What kind of help can I even offer?

Yuri spoke slowly, as if savouring each and every word. 

“……Your swordsmanship, teach it to me.” 

A look of surprise appeared on Flynn’s face, and he froze, motionless. 

“Please.” 

There’s no way I can back out now. As he injected even more force into those words, he held out the sword to Flynn. 

Flynn stared at the sword and didn’t reply. Was he doubting my true intentions? As usual, I can’t read his thoughts from that stiff expression of his. Yuri held his breath and waited.  

Suddenly, Flynn stretched out his hand. He firmly grabbed the sword that was offered to him. 

As he held it in a stance in both hands, he felt a surprising amount of familiarity. Of course it was. As the memories came flooding back, Flynn thought to himself. My sword. This sword that was once mine. And now, for the second time.

The tip of the blade emitted a particularly strong gleam, the light sharp and pure. Flynn closed his eyes, and then opened them. His eyes were looking straight at Yuri.

In the next moment a smile spread across his face like the melting of snow. 

“I understand. This is our sword.”

“Then the deal is sealed.” 

Yuri smiled as he said that. 

From the moment he had picked up the sword and offered it to Flynn, Yuri was aware of it. He understood a portion of the feelings that had been swirling inside of him. He had realised it after speaking those words earlier. 

I want to win against him. I was frustrated when I lost to him. 

He’s an amazing person. I want to be strong enough to beat him.

This was his answer to Jiri’s words. Yuri didn’t know if this was the right answer or not. But he had a feeling that it would connect somehow, someday, or perhaps even somewhere. That was fine for now. I’ll become stronger. As strong as him. And then I’ll be able to do — the things I set out to do. 

It felt somewhat strange, seeking guidance from the very person he wanted to surpass, but Yuri’s heart felt clear and bright. 

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[delicatemusickingdom]

Any chance you could use a Read More in your fanfics? I follow the tales of vesperia tag so content appears on my dash and whenever your chapters show up I have to scroll a very long way to pass them. I don’t want to block u cuz I like seeing your content but it’s grown kinda tiring for me so I figured I’d ask first

Ok 👍

Yeah sorry for littering the tag with fanfic anon I'll try better next time 😔