Chapter 8

As soon as he found out whats inside the sack, Lord Weller is shocked into silence. Even he couldnt have expected something like this would happen.

I really shouldnt have asked

He pulls his fringe upwards, his hand, calloused from his time with a sword, touching the scar on his right eyebrow. This is my first time seeing his how on earth could this be expression.

Josak, werent you with him? How could this happen?

Conrad glares at Josak hard, and the latter hides behind me,

You promised, Young Master, explain for me please.

Mn, anywayThis wasnt Gurriers decision, it was mine.

Before he hears me out completely, Conrad does something surprising.

He opens the sack to certain extent, stuffs something into Saraleguis mouth before he can make a sound, and then re-ties the part he opened tightly.

C-Conrad?

For someone like him, who was always steady in his actions and a supporter of human rights, this is really an unbelievable act of violence.

Im petrified because I thought he flew off the handle, but Conrad replies me with his usual good-looking, nice guy smile, only his eyes arent smiling.

Just pretend this never happened.

How can I? I was the one who asked Josak to do this, because Sara knows where Jason and Freddy are.

Even so, we cant let them know.

Conrad looks past my shoulder to Venera and her companions. A shadow flits across those silver-shining eyes.

He looks no different from Yelshi, and not many people know Yelshis older twin brother is here to visit. More importantly, if he remembers what they look like and this location, we may bring them trouble.

Hes right.

Maybe Yelshi heard of this underground city that was destroyed by the previous emperors before, but the current ruling party probably doesnt know the names and faces of the people here. Especially the ones helping from inside the city, theyre dead if Sara sees them. Not only wont they work as spies anymore, their very lives may be in danger.

If Hazels words are true, then the person who attacked Sara, isnt one of hers.

From the very start, most people thought the one sitting on the portable VIP seat is Yelshi. So the target wasnt Saralegui, but His Majesty Yelshi. This is a bona fide botched assassination attempt.

She and her protest companions never wished to solve this with violence. They cant imagine the countrys systems changing drastically just with an emperors death, so they would rather let the world know their suffering and wait for the interference of international forces. If there are people among them who want to resolve it with violence, they probably wouldnt send boats out to a paradise they never know they can reach, and instead would use the sheer numbers of the slaves and start an armed revolution.

Although it sounds bloody saying this, but farming tools can become weapons too.

Hazels explanation makes a lot of sense and sounds trustworthy, but after that reply she added an interesting line,

Looks like the target is either the older brother or the younger.

Im not sure either.

Weve returned to the underground passage Hazel brought us through yesterday, and by the time we walked about half of it and confirmed that our pursuers have been thrown off, we finally heave a sigh of relief. As for the three people who dodged the bullet by a hair, theyre hugged by each of their companions in turn, not at all bothering to hide their happy tears.

Although those two children arent here, we still wave away the disappointment in our minds and sincerely wish those who were saved, happy to have helped.

But at the same time it feels like we brought back a new fuse.

In that case, we just have to get the relevant information out of him, then leave him together the sack somewhere Really.

He sighs as he suggests the method that sounds like disposing non-burnable garbage,

Really, you guys actually kidnapped the king of a country, and stuffed him in a sack.

If it was Gnter, he would definitely have started squirting Gun-juices and howling left and right. A smile starts slowly at the edges of Conrads mouth, and he ends up laughing, forcing down the sound in his throat.

B-but youve gotten gutsier with these things, huh.

Dont laugh, Im very serious here.

Sorry, but

At the end he finally laughs out loud, bending over. I know its been a long time since he laughed like this, so happy I could make him laugh.

How could you. The one who stuffed him in there wasnt me, it was Gurrier, yknow!

Ah, you did push the blame onto Gurrier after all! But it sure feels good, doesnt it?

The spy narrows his eyes, seeking our agreement. After all since leaving Shou Shimaron, weve gone through all kinds of suffering tanks to Saralegui. If I listed them all, it would probably be more than a book. Just the way I was brought to Seisakoku, is no different from a large scale kidnapping. Although the idea of payback is a little against my morals, but I still want to act cool and say it in English.

Revenge.

Putting it that way seems more acceptable.

Finally getting his laughter under control with tremendous effort, Conrad pokes the sack as he says,

Those three never heard Jason and Freddys names before. They were all isolated in the facility nearest to the capital, it seems like they were brought here when the execution was suddenly decoded, so theyre not too clear about the people in the other facilities. But its not hard to imagine that the environments there are all terrible. As for what kind of situation theyre in I really cant say it.

What a hateful topic.

I poke at the sack too, as I nod my head in reply.

Just thinking about such little children staying in that kind of place makes me upset, hurts me. Theyre about the same age as Greta, after all. Although that daughter of mine did cause some trouble of her own.

Alright~~ Then shall we force this fella to spill it in place of his younger brother?

Josak kicks the sack until its a distance away. Now this is a little too much.

Dont be like that, thats too much. If you do that, its called abusing a prisoner of war. Putting aside the matters of Shou Shimaron for now, when it comes to Seisakoku, the responsibility isnt on Sara.

The childhood friends duo have perfectly matching looks of surprise,

Hes the guy who tried to kill you twice!

But he didnt get to kill me either time, did he?

Although if theres one there will always be another, maybe only God will know if he will succeed the third time. But its thanks to his failing twice, that reduced my low self-esteem by half. Saralegui, who received the highest quality education since young, studied how to be king, was born to be king, such a perfect young man actually couldnt manage to kill me, the normal high school student who likes baseball, twice.

It makes me think, the king of Shou Shimaron isnt all that impressive either, huh.

And it also proves that before tragedy strikes, no one can know if bad may turn to good by some factor.

The only thing I cant forgive him for is that incident with Lord von Bielefeld Yeah, give him a kick anyway.

Ill leave something like that to the older brother, then.

Having escaped from the city we have nowhere else to go, so we can only camp in the red room Hazel brought us to last night. Even though the floor of the underground city is cold and hard, its still enough for us to rest our battle-weary bodies. After all were fugitives from another country, as long as we have a dry place to escape the elements, we should be grateful for their hospitality.

Thankfully its warmer underground than the windy surface at night, and we dont have to worry about soldiers spotting us even if we start a fire here. All that theyll see is little wisps of smoke from the ventilation opening quite a distance away.

After we borrowed a piece of cloth they call a sleeping bag but looks more like a carpet, the three of us lie down around the fire. Since the possibility of us being found by the soldiers is really slim, theres no need to stand guard. For a life on the run, this is a pretty good start.

When I hear two sets rhythmic breathing beside me and confirm that Conrad and Josak are both asleep, I try my best not to wake them, moving away from where Im supposed to sleep stealthily. Tiptoeing to the sack, Saralegui must be asleep inside, since the sack isnt budging at all.

Saralegui?

Carefully I open the sack. Who would have thought Conrad tied it pretty tightly, too.

Sorry, you must be freezing, huh.

I keep the sack open to the barest minimum, then stuff something that looks like a dusty carpet inside. As someone who was raised in a palace, I bet he cant stand this kind of thing, so Ill take this chance to add a common folk experience to his royal education. Although this has nothing to do with me, who grew up in Japan: population around one million

At the same time I took the thing stuffed in his mouth out. Hazel and the others have gone back to their respective rooms, so I dont have to worry about them finding out whats in the sack. And no matter how loud he yells, the sound wouldnt reach the surface.

Pwha, ha

ShhQuiet, the other two are asleep.

I put my finger on my lips. When I approach him with the torch, Saralegui is hugging his knees tiredly, curled up like a fetus. Out of pity, I pull down the sack and free his top half.

Saralegui

Your men are just too much.

The boy king straightens up his body, putting his thin arms on his waist.

Kicked me real hard.

I apologize for that. But we dont have a good impression of you, you should know that, right?

But, that was really too much.

He doesnt take his own actions into account at all, just kept repeating too much again, then reaching out his fair fingers to pull the hair out of his face. His previously immaculate hair is all over the place. I ask him if he needs his glasses, then only I remember that his glasses arent for correcting his vision.

Ill get you back into the city as soon as possible, well, to be precise Ill leave you somewhere near the palace, maybe even the exact middle of the fountain. Dont worry, youll be found really soon. After all, a guest suddenly disappeared, and hes the Emperors own older brother, too, so that should have caused a commotion. For all we know, there are already a bunch of search parties on the streets looking for you.

Really?

The boy king of Shou Shimaron cocks his head, looking lost. If it was someone who didnt know his true nature, theres probably a seventy percent chance his actions would awaken their maternal instinct, and that goes for men and women too.

Even if I am a guest, I was also nearly assassinated yknow?

You dont know whos after you?

Whenever he shakes his head, that almost-white golden hair will sway at will.

I dont know, Im not that well-known in this country. I really cant figure out who would try to assassinate me with a long-range attack that has a low success rate. If it was a political enemy from my own country, though, I could name a few right now.

But something like this sure is depressing

Thats right, Saralegui was just attacked at the war port named after him. And that man was one of his confidantes, too, even known once as the Shou Shimaron kings loyal dog. Back then Wolfram was wearing his hooded cape, and nearly died in his place. Just thinking of that moment makes me shudder in fear.

Maybe the person they want to kill isnt me.

Eh

That should make more sense, Yuuri. This is Yelshis country, not mine. Thats why the person who should logically be at that square and that event, is that emperor younger of mine. Besides, no one knows that I swapped places with him, and the two of us look like we were cast from the same mold anyway. Even you, who is so close to me, if I didnt say anything, you cant tell the difference either, right?

Me, c-close to you?

Im shocked speechless. So in Saraleguis dictionary, a relationship of cruelly killing and hating each other is interpreted as closeness? What a hard to understand dictionary.

But he noticed that he may have become his brothers scapegoat. After all, Saralegui is an egotist, so its impossible that he never thought of that possibility.

Who would have thought that even Yelshi, with the way he is, has more than a few enemies himself But its no wonder. After all, he is the leader of a country Since he has so much land and so many people, if there are friends who admire him, there would surely also be enemies with something against him. Yuuri, the same goes for you, right?

Eh? About that, Idont really knowmaybe, probably

He suddenly throws the question at me catching me off guard. More than once, Saralegui has talked to me on the conditions that were both kings. Its just that his position is way too different from mine, in most situations Im unable to be honest and agree. Even the simple fact that I have to be aware of danger from my political enemies is still something really far away for the me right now.

On the contrary, the people I consider dangerous, are Shou Shimaron and its leader.

And the person who currently tops my Danger! People to Pay Special Attention to list, is standing right in front of me, half his body in a sack. Japan No, most countries have a make full use of what you have saying, right? If I can fully make use of this pretty boy king, who looks and thinks so differently from me, to solve all the problems, then itd be worth letting Josak carrying him all over the place.

Youre right now thinking of how to use me, arent you?

Once again, Im lost for words.

Those who are good at strategizing must also be able to sense other peoples thoughts. For some reason, Saralegui asks me this question happily, but maybe its the torchlight reddening his face, causing me to misunderstand.

You are planning to use my safe return as a condition, and rewrite that contract, arent you?

How can I use you as a hostage?

Dont you want to use me as a hostage?

His expression is one of sincere surprise. Is he someone who will follow obediently when his life is treated as an object? Or is he used to situations like this, having been raised since young as a crown prince?

I always thought you caught me to get hold of the Seisakoku Emperors weakness! And there I was hoping I could see your expression of shock and panic when Yelshi unexpectedly rejects you heartlessly at close range too!

What are you saying!? And after I saved you? No matter what you think, technically I still saved you, you know Wait, you said Ill be rejected? You are the current emperors own older brother, how can he heartlessly reject me?

I have never heard of such a strange kidnapping. Of course, this isnt a kidnapping.

Of course he can. Especially if Mother interferes, the chances of them leaving me to die are exceptionally high. Because Mother detests me, if I were saved, it would actually go against her hopes.

He smiles as he says she may even feel this is a good way to get rid of a problem, not in the slightest bit lonely.

She wants to see you in trouble? How can that be, youre her son!

Yuuri, in this world, there are still parents who treat their children heartlessly, and vice versa. That applies perfectly well to us.

I sag my shoulders, giving up on persuading him. Just as the muscles on my neck relax, theres a cramping pain.

A relationship begotten by holding someone hostage wont last long.

Is that so? If it was me, I would make it well worth it. Oh, dear

He touches my right hand. Instinctively I want to pull back, but cant because he holds on to with surprising strength. Saralegui grabs my pinky and holds it up against the firelight,

I gave this to you, you still havent taken it off? And I thought you chopped off your finger ages ago.

Dont be full of yourself, thats my finger youre talking about.

The fingernail, manicured until it looks like a cherry-colored shell, reaches out lightly for the intricate ring of the same color, as though wanting to confirm the surface with rose vines and quite a few suns carved into it. Goosebumps start rising on the inner side of my arm.

Do you know what kind of thoughts Mother put into this ring?

How would I know, its not like I can read the words carved inside, For all I know therell be a mechanism that shoots out a poisonous needle when I come close to figuring what it means. So I say what I normally saw on Moms mail order catalogs. Although this is different from those long-distance romances, but the emotions behind it should be the same. And though this sounds really clichd, its still very moving.

Could it be even though were apart, our hearts are still together?

Yuuri, youre really very cute!

Saralegui suddenly hugs me. He was always a teenage boy with an obsession with skin contact, and even though he has a perfect target in his little brother now, it seems he still cant change his habit of hugging others. Behind the campfire theres the clanging of metal. Its probably Conrad or Josak, or maybe the both of them putting their hands on their swords at the same time. He obviously heard them, but he still purposely hugs my neck, saying quietly by my ear,

Thats a curse, yknow!

All that waits there, is a door of endless darkness.

On it is what Mother said. Its a warning for me to never again approach this country, this continent, its an extremely powerful curse.

And you made me wear this kind of ring!

I push Saralegui away hurriedly, pulling my right hand back.

Thats why I told you to take it off.

You Someone like you

I swallow the words that almost left my mouth, I really shouldnt have saved you back then. I saved him back then with a purpose, didnt I? In the interests of a calm conversation with him, I stay a fixed distance away from him, and sit down.

Just like I said, I didnt catch you to hold you hostage; neither do I want to ambush Shou Shimaron while their king is away; I dont even want you to take you out of the equation, and talk straight to Yelshi. I need to tell you all of the above. I only want to ask you one thing.

He cocks his head, his expression saying What~ is it?, his uncombed hair sticking to his slender chin.

Tell me about the two girls, Jason and Freddy. I heard that they werent held at a facility near the capital, right? So that you could to me

I simply cant understand what he would have those thoughts.

So you could lure me out?

Thats right.

You overheard on the boat?

Uh-huh. Because you seemed very concerned about those girls, so I thought that you would show up once you heard their names, and this is faster, more practical that sending out search parties for you. And in reality its exactly as I thought.

Aah, dammit!

One must be careful in life. Not only must we always observe our surroundings, we must also be careful to never bring attention to ourselves, thats the smartest means of survival. As for me, even my mind is always moving at top speed, and thats the secret behind me being an eternal benchwarmer.

Its just that everything went too smoothly, which took some of the fun out of things, but still, Im very grateful to those girls who I only know by name.

Please show your appreciation in your actions! I want to save them. Yelshi should know which facility theyre in, right? Please tell me! You just have to tell me the location, Ill get them out of there. This time Ill go there myself. Those two must be held in some facility, its just that we missed it.

I didnt ask for too many details.

Maybe taken aback by my attitude, Saralegui backs away from me almost imperceptibly,

Yelshis men mentioned once, children and healthy young people are mostly sent to the furthest north of the continent, the facility on the other side of the desert. Because the natural environment there is harsh, even the fittest young men cant escape. But rumor has it that the horseback tribes in that area will take those with strong houjutsu by force, and then use them as cheap labor. How scary~

I cant tell what scary means anymore, and who the real enemy is.

I remember Hazel mentioned the horseback tribes before too. Not only do they have land given to them by the emperor, they even use protecting the tombs as an excuse to ignore orders from the central government. Its hard to believe that even Seisakoku, the country people call stable as a rock, doesnt have full authority over all their land. Once I go deep into it, I find that everyone has their own problems.

Since those two are healthy and still children, and they have strong houjutsu too, theres a high chance they were sent to the other end of the desert, the northern part of the continent.

The places Hazel pointed out to us did include a facility in the north. I remember the term horseback tribes also came up at that point. Besides that, didnt she say something else was really important? Something about tombs. Once a treasure hunter, she flew here from Earth, and ironically, found herself in the royal mausoleum or something

She said she came with a Box.

Its in the same direction, huh.

What? Same direction as what?

Nothing, Sara. Sara, thanks for telling me all this, now I can go look for those two children, thank you so much.

To avoid him getting any more suspicious, I hastily thank him. Because no matter what, I must not let him know anything about the Boxes. Its way too dangerous to let any Boxes in this land in the hands of the Shou Shimaron king, since he once made a terrifying mistake. Although that was the result of Maxines own actions, but the superior has to bear responsibility for his mens mistakes. I cannot guarantee the same thing wont happen again.

Are you cold? I can bring my carpet

Just as Im about to say and lend it to you, I cant help but stop my actions and my words. Because there seems to be a ruckus in the distance. Its a bit like the loud and firm sound of army boots on dry land. In other words, theyre footprints.

Seems like someone infiltrated the underground tunnels, and its not just a couple of them either, but enough to make the ground shake with sound and tremble.

Con

Before I make a sound, those two are already on their feet with their swords in their hands, and immediately light up the torches. Im extremely certain they were awake from the start.

Is it the pursuers?

If it is, who are they pursuing?

The death roll prisoners that were rescued arent here, and the mastermind Venera as well as translator Ajira have long since returned to their respective bases.

So the highest likelihood would be theyre after the kidnappers who took Saralegui. In this case, those kidnappers would naturally be us.

You have a transmitter on you!?

Transmitter? What is that? A new crop from your country?

Looks like Saralegui doesnt have anyone like the Poison Lady with him. Shou Shimaron is not a country that would invent meaningless things.

Ahh~~ Now what do we do? We didnt kidnap him, itd be better to say we saved him. Although it was a bit much to stuff him in a sack, but we had no intention of holding him for ransom or holding him hostage!

I grab my hair forcefully, pacing nervously between them. Josak on the other hand has his sword out and ready for a while now, while Conrad is carefully listening to the footsteps, trying to estimate how many of them are there.

All we can do now is get ready for a face-on confrontation.

Just hold on a sec, Gurrier, this is a misunderstanding, you know? Weve been wrongfully accused, right!? I dont want us to have any casualties, but Ill feel bad if they get hurt too, okay!? So thats why Im reacting like this, looking desperately for the best excuse!

How about I go talk to them?

Sara finally cant stand it anymore, and raises a hand.

Just bring me to the person in charge, and Ill help you guys explain that this is not a kidnapping, hows that?

H-how are you going to explain?

Saralegui replies nonchalantly,

Ill just go out on my own. Im afraid theyll barge in and cause danger, so you guys just stay in this room. Then at least my movements wont be restricted like a hostage, and its better than sitting here in a sack, right?

It makes sense when he puts it that way, but its still hard to believe anything he says. Its very likely that hell throw his arms around the enemy leader as soon as hes out there and cry, I was kidnapped, and the way they treated me was so scary, so scaryQuick, the kidnappers are hiding in this room, quickly go and catch them. And then hand us over to them. Dont say its not possible, in fact there should be a fifty percent chance of this happening.

Even so, I still use all my strength to pull open the stone door, and then shove hard on Saraleguis back. Harboring thoughts like Ill definitely be cheated again, I sigh and close the door with Josaks help. And in the end--

Open the door! Open the door, Yuuri, Im begging you! Open the door now!

I hear Sarleguis scream, who knows what happened behind the door. He seems to be kicking the thick stone door, which wont budge no matter how you knock on it.

Open the door, please open the door and let me in!

No way. How many more times do you want to trick me before youre happy? Hurry up and explain to them, tell them we didnt kidnap you!

No! These people arent here to save me! Open the door, hurry up and open the door and let me in! Im begging you, Yuuri, Ill be killed! Ive been played by his acting so many times. No matter how realistic hes acting, I cant believe him at all. Once I open this stone door, Seisakoku soldiers will rush in like an avalanche, take defenseless old me first, then use me as a hostage so that Conrad and Josak cannot resist, finally

Ill be killed, Yuuri!

Im taken aback by the desperation in Saras voice, turning around to look at my left and right protectors. One of them says its still best to not let him in, and the other is expressionless.

The one with the poker face is Conrad, his finger on his chin as he mutters,

The soldiers would kill the Shou Shimaron king without hesitation, the current Emperors own older brother Saralegui this country, what on earth

And as a result I never heard what he said at the end, putting my all into pushing the stone door open, because weak little Saralegui could never open it on his own. I open the door just wide enough for someone to come in, and then reach out to grab Saraleguis slender white arm.

Hurry!

An odor like sulfur floats in through the cracks, exactly like the smell from earlier in the day. From the looks of things, the things chasing after us so relentlessly are more than likely the same as the ones from earlier, living things that dont exist in this world.

What did you see!?

Maybe the trauma was too much, because Saraleguis eyes are wide and his bloodless lips shaking. But annoyingly, once he holds his throat and catches his breath, he immediately turns back into regular Saralegui.

Those arent humans. Those things approaching us step by step, none of them are human. Although theyre walking on their two legs, but how do I say this?

Their bodies are rotting?

Yes, thats it!

The moment we have to meet that new species we dont even want to look at, is waiting for us.