# Chapter 93
Rite urgently wrapped his arms around Arden’s shoulders, pulling him into his embrace. The owner of the hand that had grabbed Arden looked at Rite with surprised eyes. Arden, who had been suddenly embraced by Rite, rolled his eyes to look into the alley.
The hand that had pulled him was rigid, as if it wasn’t human. It resembled the stiffness of a dead person’s body or Pini’s palm. Arden knew people with such hands.
“It’s Arden, isn’t it?”
‘And you call yourself human? Can you proudly call yourself a person with your own mouth?’
They were the same voice.
“…Suos?”
It had been 12 years since he’d actually heard that voice.
Rite, who had been holding Arden tightly and backing away, stopped moving. Just then, a horn sounded from the end of the alley.
“Hurry!”
Beyond the automatic carriage’s window, another face appeared. A man with unusually pale skin and light hazelnut-colored hair. Rite didn’t recognize any of these faces, but Arden seemed different.
At that moment, the sound of a whistle was heard again. There was no more time to delay. Arden escaped from Rite’s arms and grabbed his hand.
As soon as all three of them boarded, the automatic carriage hurriedly left the alley.
* * *
They seemed to have tumbled down to an entrance in the Third District’s underground. Without an artificial sun, the interior lit only by a few aether lamps and gas lamps was dark regardless of whether it was day or night. Those lamps emitted light 24 hours without rest, but they were insufficient to brightly illuminate the underground.
The underground visible through the carriage window was much more complex and disorganized than the surface. It was because things had been built as needed, without proper planning or design. The shape of a large clock tower in the center of the Third District’s underground was vaguely visible.
Arden, who had been looking outside, turned his head to examine the people in the carriage one by one. Rite, who was sitting close beside him on alert; Suos, sitting across from them; and Eden, who was in the driver’s seat, occasionally glancing at him.
It was the Eden whose name Arden had been borrowing. The owner of the name and a colleague he had been closest to during his time at the palace.
“I didn’t expect to meet like this.”
“Me neither. I heard a whistle sound, and when I looked, Arden was running.”
Suos shrugged as he spoke. Arden’s gaze moved to Suos’s arm. As Arden remembered, he was an experimental subject with the entire left arm and right leg replaced by machinery.
“At first, I thought the knights were chasing us. That’s why Suos-ssi went down to check briefly… Are you really being chased by the knights?”
Eden looked at Arden through the rearview mirror. Arden, who had been hesitating, avoided answering. It would be ridiculous to deny it when they obviously knew he had been exiled as a traitor.
“Who are they?”
In that silence, Rite asked bluntly. Rite was quite uncomfortable and displeased. He found it strange that these strangers acted like they knew Arden, and that Arden casually got into a stranger’s carriage.
“Ah… this is Eden. We used to work together.”
“Where?”
“…At the palace. He’s an engineer. And this is…”
Arden looked at Suos but couldn’t easily open his mouth. Watching this, Suos smiled and extended his hand to Rite.
“I’m Suos. I was also at the palace. Not as an engineer, but as an experimental subject.”
At Suos’s words, Arden’s complexion turned pale. He seemed too shaken to introduce Rite. He always trembled like that when stories from the past came up. It had been the same in the forest. Rite only looked down at Arden’s face, not responding to the handshake. Suos awkwardly withdrew his hand.
An ugly feeling that Rite hadn’t been able to shake off since Idelven began to rise within him. The Arden he had seen in Idelven was different from the Arden he had known.
A person with their own firm world. Someone who doesn’t easily let anyone in. Timid, seeking stability, and enduring even the most unjust situations. Someone who doesn’t know any clever tricks, making them stubborn and frustrating, but whose appearance keeps drawing attention. That was the Arden that Rite knew.
But in Idelven, it was different.
“It’s okay, Arden. You don’t need to make that face.”
“…I’m… sorry. Really.”
“How long are you going to keep saying that?”
No, it was just that I didn’t know. Rite quietly listened to their conversation. Even the reason for coming to the Winter Forest had been like that from the beginning. Arden might have been braver and more altruistic than Rite had thought. It might not have been because Rite was special that he fearlessly took in a monster.
As his thoughts reached this point, Rite put his stripped hat back on. It seemed like he couldn’t control anything right now.
“I decided not to think about it too deeply. After all, it was Arden-ssi who freed me.”
“…To say I freed you is…”
“If it hadn’t been for Arden-ssi, I would have died a long time ago.”
“…”
“But look. I got out of there, and I’m alive like this.”
Rite didn’t want to hear any more of their conversation. He didn’t want to see Arden bowing his head in helplessness, and he was also annoyed with Suos who acted as if Arden was special. Knowing he was being childish, he kept his mouth shut.
Arden, whom Rite had thought was special only to him, now seemed like a star in the night sky, shining brilliantly for everyone.
“I’m heading to Suos-ssi’s place, but what will Arden do?”
At Eden’s question, Rite tightly squeezed Arden’s hand. Arden looked at his held hand. He seemed to have calmed down a bit.
“I was planning to find lodging. If you drop us off somewhere convenient, we’ll find our own way.”
“Then you might as well come to our house. The inns around here don’t have the best clientele. The security is bad too. Well… there’s no place with good security in the Third District anyway.”
Rite didn’t really want to go. He much preferred finding separate accommodation and being alone with Arden. Being among people who shared a past he knew nothing about was unbearable.
“No, I couldn’t impose…”
“I agree with Suos-ssi’s opinion. I also have some things I’d like to discuss. Could you spare even just today? I’ve been wondering how to contact Arden anyway.”
Eden chimed in. Rite squeezed Arden’s hand once more. It was a hint that he didn’t want to go, but however Arden interpreted it, he nodded.
Rite leaned back against the seat and closed his eyes. Exhaling a silent sigh, he just caressed Arden’s hand.
Suos’s house was older and darker than the cabin in the Winter Forest. They tried lighting oil lamps, which were rarely used these days, to brighten the room, but it didn’t make much difference. The kitchen, sofa, and entrance were all in one space, with a small bathroom and bedroom attached separately.
“The bed isn’t wide, but two people can lie on it. If it’s too narrow, I’ll try to find a thick blanket to lay on the floor.”
Suos said apologetically with an awkward smile. He seemed embarrassed about bringing guests to such a small house.
“No, we can sleep on the sofa.”
Arden shook his head and put his bag down next to the sofa. Suos checked the kettle on top of the stove with his palm, then took out cups and poured the contents. Curious about what kind of tea it was since it was transparent, Rite took a sip. It was lukewarm water.
“The house is a bit small. But at least here, you don’t have to worry about thieves…”
“It’s fine. We’re the ones imposing.”
“With my body like this, it’s hard to earn a lot of money. Still, I found a pretty good job and have been doing it for 5 years. The salary is a bit low though.”
Suos had a hunched back, perhaps because he was using a cane that didn’t match his height, and he limped severely on his right leg. Nevertheless, his walking seemed stable.
“Your body…”
As Suos sat down on the sofa first, Arden followed and sat across from him, asking. Rite immediately took a seat beside Arden, as if they were tied together by a rope.
“It’s okay. It doesn’t hurt as much as when I was at the palace. Sometimes I wake up in pain, but if I massage it a bit, it gets better quickly.”
As soon as Suos finished his answer, Eden opened the front door and came in, apparently having finished parking. Like someone who had been there many times before, he comfortably hung his coat and sat down in an empty seat.
“May I ask what brings you all the way here?”
His upturned eyes were sharp. His tone was stiff, but he wasn’t accusatory. Whether he was originally like that or not, Arden seemed comfortable dealing with Eden.
“No, there’s nothing good to hear.”
“That’s alright.”
At Eden’s response, Arden tilted his head slightly. He didn’t understand what he meant. Seeing this, Eden added a more friendly explanation.
“I might soon be in the same situation as Arden.”
“…What?”
It was Eden who had dropped the bombshell statement, but his expression and voice were calm. Suos also looked at Eden as if it wasn’t a big deal.
“Arden. I’m thinking of setting things right, even now.”
Arden’s heart rate rose sharply. Even without hearing the details, he could somewhat anticipate what was coming.
“I mentioned that I was looking for a way to contact Arden, right? Seeing us meet like this, it seems God is helping us.”
Eden said with a slight smile. When his previously stern eyes curved, his impression became completely different. Arden remained tense and didn’t smile at all.
“There’s something I want to ask. Have you heard the rumor about a child being born who will kill the Emperor?”
Arden reflexively stopped himself from turning his head toward Rite.
