Wolf & Parchment: New Theory Spice & Wolf, Vol. 8, page 19
“But more importantly,” Col said, “they mentioned heretics, didn’t they?”
Though he had not been able to see well what they wore, they had been on the lookout from the report of one person or another.
“Do you mean that you’ve been found out, Master Col?”
That was the first thing he thought of, too. If Aquent’s church was corrupt, then the Twilight Cardinal was nothing more than an unwanted guest, and capturing him would give the Church a surprise victory.
But that group seemed a little inadequate if that was truly their task, and their raid felt awfully unofficial. That their voices sounded so young also stuck with him.
“Either way, this means that both the inn and the Green Gourd are under watch. I believe we should separate ourselves from the city for the meanwhile.”
“B-but what about Myuri and the others?”
If Myuri were to be captured, then Col, too, would meet a similar fate, no matter how much he struggled. Luckily, despite how Le Roi was debilitated from his hangover, he had a powerful guard at his side, so they did not need to worry about them.
“If we leave the books there, then they will certainly figure out we’ve escaped an enemy attack.”
If they follow the scent and come here, then they could follow right after them.
If worse came to worst, then all he had to do was give a message to one of the birds helping Sharon, who were doubtlessly silently watching them.
“We should leave the chapel for the time being. They may come back.”
Canaan nodded, his face visibly pale even in the dark, but together they quickly returned the books back to their hiding spot beneath the floor and left the chapel.
It was dark, Col’s hand just barely visible to himself. With his left hand, he grasped Canaan’s, and with his right, he groped through the darkness.
Canaan swallowed his nerves, holding back several of his hiccups, and his steps were unsteady; he held on to Col so tightly it almost hurt his hand. He recalled how Hyland mentioned that Canaan had been putting up quite a front before.
Now, Col was the opposite. It was thanks to Canaan that Col was able to remain calm, much like how responsibility forced people to mature quicker. And much in the same way, he could easily imagine a certain knight walking before him, and that gave him the strength to shove aside any feelings of weakness.
He pressed forward, feet digging firmly into the ground as he walked so that the imaginary Myuri in front of him would not laugh at him, all while letting the gears in his mind turn, wondering what this commotion was all about.
First, that meant the little boy who brought the message from Myuri and Lutia was being manipulated. His initial assumption was that the local church had discovered he was the Twilight Cardinal, but he had a feeling that people who were primarily worried about being exposed for their corruption would have chosen a slightly different method.
Once that thought crossed his mind, they came to the well at the far end of the alleyway. It was a little wider here—in the daytime, women would come here to draw water, and the elderly would come here to bask in the sun.
Since this was a slightly open space, Col figured there might be people on watch here, so observed from the shadows. And as he did so, a couple possibilities suddenly came to mind.
Perhaps this was a scheme concocted by the southern eagles.
Maybe one of Lutia’s boys had betrayed her and secretly told them she had someone on her side wanting to dismantle the southern eagles’ special interests. Upon receiving the report, they decided they must be a heretic of some sort, and decided to pressure them to make sure they would not stay in the city.
If that were the case, then it made sense to Col that they would send a paltry, inexperienced force into the chapel without even surrounding the building to ensure their target could not escape from a window, and without bothering to even think about someone hiding under the floorboards.
And if that were true, then Myuri would be surprisingly ignorant of this plan, and was likely still busy putting together her strategy at the Green Gourd. Then perhaps it would be a good idea to head there first to check on her. Once she and Lutia were aware of the situation, they could easily turn things in their favor.
As Col stood in the shadows, thinking, Canaan poked him in the shoulder. He looked at him with uneasy eyes, silently asking him what was wrong. Col smiled back in reassurance, poked his head out from the shadows to check the space, then gestured for them to go. They were fortunate the moon was not out, and there was no one else wandering the streets.
Just as he began to think about which way led back to the Green Gourd, he suddenly heard footsteps from behind, and all his hair stood on end.
Just as he tugged on Canaan’s hand, thinking it was a pursuer, he realized there was only one set of footsteps, and the way they hit the ground sounded familiar. The voice he heard confirmed it.
“Brother?!”
It was Myuri—she had likely followed their scent here.
“Myuri!” he called.
From the darkness emerged the small, silver figure, and she leaped right into his chest.
“Don’t tell me you managed to escape on your own?” she said, pressing her face into his chest.
Col could not help but check to see if her ears and tail had suddenly popped out, and he was embarrassed she was doing this in front of Canaan.
“I’ve done my fair share of traveling, too.”
As he lifted his arms to hug her in return, he realized his left hand was still firmly holding Canaan’s.
Suspicious that her brother was not hugging her back, Myuri lifted her head. She narrowed her eyes when she saw their hands entwined.
“More importantly, what about Miss Lutia? Has there been an attack on the Green Gourd, too?” Col asked, and Myuri snapped back to reality.
“Oh, uh, no… Well, I mean, I don’t know about right now.” Myuri stepped back from Col and chose her words. “When I got back to the inn, I heard that you apparently got a message from us.”
Myuri was sharp. That alone was enough for her to sniff out that someone was plotting something.
“Is the inn being watched?” Col asked.
Myuri shook her head.
It seemed whoever was doing this did not have the people to carry out a large-scale surprise attack.
“Then let’s inform Miss Lutia of the situation back at the Green Gourd. This is most certainly a plot concocted by the southern eagles. Unfortunately…I believe there may be a traitor among her people.”
Myuri’s eyes went wide.
“I believe someone may have leaked the operation to save the kids.”
With Lutia taking command, it was unlikely they would be beaten back by a simple ambush, but the boys in captivity might have been moved, and the operation would end in failure.
“A…a traitor among Lutia’s people…”
Myuri groaned, as though in some excuse, but Col patted her head to let her know that she need not say anymore. Because this girl knew just how much Lutia cared for her people, and just how hard she was working.
“Is Mister Le Roi and the guard still back at the inn?”
Col could not predict how reckless the southern eagles might get, so he could not make the decision on his own as to whether it was safe to remain in the inn or go somewhere else. But the reason he wanted to meet up with them again was because Canaan, much gloomier now than he was earlier in the day, might find a little relief having a bodyguard he was familiar with by their side.
But when he asked this question, Myuri looked as though she was desperately trying to think of an answer.
“Myuri?” he asked.
“Huh? Oh, uh, yeah.”
Though she seemed more carefree than in the other times they had encountered danger, a part of her attitude did not seem like Myuri at all, and Col even thought she was lacking a bit of her typical composure.
But not a moment later, she returned to her usual self and said, “I told them to leave the inn before more trouble showed up. Canaan’s guard was there, and I figured old man Le Roi could get through this anyway.”
Col nodded, and he felt a tug on his hand. Though Canaan was still uneasy, a degree of strength had returned to his gaze.
“I-in that case,” Canaan began. “I believe we will be able to meet up with them at our emergency rendezvous. Just on the way to the western highway.”
This thorough preparedness likely came from how he used to work under the same roof as the inquisitors. Col looked to Myuri to see the scales in her mind tipping, and she opened her mouth like a ringing bell.
“Then should I take you both to where Canaan’s guard and old man Le Roi are?”
“Should we not make contact with Miss Lutia first?” Col asked.
Myuri shrugged. “Lutia has a good hold over the strays in the city.” And she gave him an awkward wink.
That must mean that when she had gone to the inn and found out they had been falsely summoned by a young messenger, she had given the message to one of the dogs.
After reviewing the situation once more, Col determined he had overlooked nothing.
“Very well. Take us to where we need to go.”
“I sure will!”
Myuri was enthusiastic in situations like this, which meant she was very reliable.
A few students putting on a tough act with their little attacks were nothing to her.
“We’ll be enjoying this adventure for a little longer, Archivist.”
Col was not entirely sure if he managed to give him a good smile, but Canaan took great efforts to return the gesture. Col squeezed his hand to reassure him further.
“You’ll be fine because I’m here!” Myuri said suddenly, sour. She looked at Col and Canaan’s clasped hands, then promptly grabbed Col’s other hand even more tightly, as if she was snatching up the last item a street vendor had for sale.
Even in Aquent, where students were causing a ruckus all night long, there were plenty of streets that were totally silent in the night. Myuri cleverly made her way down these roads, pressing forward as she guided the two totally lost lambs.
The reason Col felt less fear than he had anticipated was either because avoiding an attack of his own power had given him confidence, or because he had experienced this plenty of times before, or because he had his reliable knight with him.
It was likely all of the above. And when he was aware of his calm that came precisely from the tension, he understood, for the very first time, why Myuri would be so obsessed with this feeling. One could never experience tension and elation like this in the deep mountains of Nyohhira.
He and Canaan followed Myuri as she led them down dark alleys. And nothing felt so good as the freeing feeling they experienced as they arrived at the wide-open farm fields.
He thought about how he could no longer laugh at Myuri for how much she whined about going to the desert. Considering how excited he was feeling at this very moment, he could only imagine how he would feel seeing the sights of an unfamiliar land beyond the horizon.
“Okay, we’re here,” Myuri said casually, straightening out her slumped shoulders. The road leading to the western highway, typically crowded with travelers and nearby farmers and students in the daytime, was only occupied by two other figures.
Both had unique silhouettes—of course, they were Canaan’s guard and Le Roi.
“Are you all right?!” Canaan’s guard rushed to them and grasped both of Canaan’s shoulders, almost as though he was about to lift him up. He looked him over, making sure he was unharmed. It was funny to see Canaan look a bit annoyed, much like Myuri would be, as he was fussed over.
“You are quite the seasoned traveler at this point, Master Col,” Le Roi laughed, his belly shaking.
“It’s not something I wished for,” Col replied. “But I’m glad to see everyone safe.”
“Nothing happened on our end,” Le Roi said. “That you were the only ones unfortunate enough to be attacked means it must have been the students from the south who planned all of this.”
Le Roi seemed to have come to the same conclusion, and the situation as it was seemed to be like a nighttime stroll for him. Perhaps he had managed to avoid the bloodcurdling attacks by inquisitors in the same easygoing way.
“What shall we do about our lodgings for the night? If this is the work of the students from the south, then it’s very likely their goal was to chase us out of the city. I believe any tavern or inn outside of the city walls should be no problem.”
“A good point…”
Col agreed, but he knew that they could be in deep trouble if they let down their guard.
And perhaps the first order of business was to get a clear grasp on the situation.
With that thought in mind, his eyes roamed in search of Myuri, only to find her standing apart from them, alone.
“Hmm?”
Perhaps she was standing alert of their surroundings, but there was something…lonely about her.
And he felt like something was missing from her silhouette.
He wondered why for a moment, and he thought that perhaps her mind was distant because of her worry for Lutia. Because it was clear there was a traitor among Lutia’s ranks, despite how hard she was working to keep the pack together.
Myuri’s kind spirit was doubtlessly pained by this fact.
“Myuri,” he called for her. He almost thought he saw her wolf ears, currently hidden, stand on end. “We’ll be all right. Please go back to Miss Lutia.”
If she were really busy with the operation to save the kids, then there was a possibility the messages from the strays were going astray somehow.
“Or would you like me to go?” Col asked. He was offering to take up the role of informing Lutia about the fake message and the attack. Doing so would also mean having to inform her of a traitor among her ranks, and he was certain that would not be a pleasant job.
But Myuri shook her head, took a deep breath, and said, “I’ll go. You’ll just get lost and end up captured.”
Despite her spiteful words, there was still no spirit in her tone.
Col thought that perhaps he should insist, force her to stand down, but Myuri was a proud wolf.
Being kind was not enough to show love for her.
“The problem Miss Lutia has is one that we can help with, even if we are not in the city. Please tell her that, and that while we may be leaving the city, we will never forget her.”
Even if there was a traitor hiding among her boys, Col knew he and his allies could help her. Lutia was a wolf that would not easily give in, much like Myuri.
Myuri, in her faint gloom, looked at Col with eyes wide in surprise.
Perhaps she thought that he would say something overprotective to her again, much in the way Canaan’s guard would to Canaan.
His smile and nod told her that he trusted her, and Myuri smiled in relief.
Perhaps the reason she seemed so uneasy was because when they had to leave the city in order to prepare for the great climax in their fight with the Church that was the ecumenical council, they might forget the wolf fighting her own battle in a distant city of learning. But Col would never do such a thing.
And so Col made a slight jab in order to reassure her.
“Also, you may absolutely not rip into the southern students simply because you are tired of them.”
Her reddish eyes rested on him, and she gave him a small, tense smile.
“I know.”
She then whirled around and dashed away through the nighttime city.
Though she did not seem to be entirely herself yet, there was nothing else Col could do for her.
As he watched her go, he felt a tap on his shoulder.
“Don’t lose heart, Master Col,” Le Roi said in his consideration. “Miss Lutia deals with a very deep-rooted problem.”
Vested interests, exploitation of the weak, abuse of the system, greed.
This was not a problem limited to Aquent. These things were layered like sediment and stuck fast to the modern Church as well.
“Let us go, then. The night is still cold,” Le Roi patted Col’s shoulder again.
Col turned around to see Canaan and his guard looking at him with concern. He thought the ones they should really be worrying about were Myuri, who would be returning to a city full of the enemy, and Lutia, who was fighting injustice even now.
It seemed he was not suited to being a dignified veteran priest.
But he did not feel particularly broken up about that. While everyone else began to readjust their bags, Col looked toward Myuri as she walked away.
Though he did feel the urge to rush after her, he knew he would be no help following her, and he told himself that he let her go for the sake of her own maturation.
He turned around once more, shaking off his worry, and he reached for his and Myuri’s bags that Le Roi had brought from the inn. And that was when he noticed something strange.
No—Myuri’s things alone should not be all that strange, yet that was all he could describe it as.
“Why is this…here…?”
A thought from a moment ago suddenly came back to him. He recalled how lonely Myuri had looked as she stood a short distance away from them, staring at the heart of the city.
The reason he had felt like something was missing from her silhouette was not because of her expression. Something that should have been there was gone.
“Master Col?” Canaan called, rucksack on his back.
Col had no energy to respond with a smile this time. Instead, he pulled open Myuri’s sack.
The first thing he noticed were the knight tales she was always so busy writing. Then he saw the quills Hyland had given her, and then the leather pouch meant for her other writing implements. Beneath that she had her disguises, another small pouch stuffed full of candied sweets Hyland had also given her—her bag was an accurate representation of what normally filled her head, a mix of real and imaginary adventures.
But what he found at the very bottom of the bag, as though shoved down deep to hide it, evoked a feeling of doubt so intense that he could feel the sweat beading on his head.
