The next day, Anya spent the day in the inn’s bedroom.
“Mistress. I made the stew thin so it’s easy to swallow. It was difficult to procure fruit, but fortunately we had dried figs preserved from summer, so our cook displayed his skills.”
The innkeeper brought dinner. On the tray was a tart made from fruit that was rarely seen in Tildyen. The owner rubbed his hands together and his eyes gleamed like a dog waiting for praise.
“My wife says that when her body hurts, eating sweet dessert gives her strength. Ah, of course, noble aristocrats like yourself have other methods…”
Every time he smiled faintly, his yellow teeth were clearly visible. The sanitary conditions here were not very excellent. Nevertheless, seeing this crude tart made his heart swell.
“Th-thank you. I’ll e-eat well.”
Though he had no appetite, Anya forced the dinner into his mouth. The innkeeper was still standing beside him with gleaming eyes. Anya forced the corners of his mouth up.
“It’s, it’s delicious.”
Only then did he hum a tune softly and leave the room. Quiet darkness arrived immediately. Before he knew it, the day had completely set. As soon as the owner left, Anya took his hand off the spoon. He felt bad for him, but his appetite had immediately dropped. Instead, he didn’t forget the tart and put it in his mouth all at once. Chewing it thoroughly, he lit the candle on the nightstand.
Evernight, Riario, and Karen seemed to be running late. Well, since the weather was ominous, they would have no choice but to cling to the work until late to finish it quickly.
He wished he could have been of help to them…
Anya held the candlestick and walked to the window. In the distance, the Beriela Mountain Range could be seen. The snowy mountain covered in snow all year round showed off its presence, especially white in the darkness. A giant wall was being erected in front of it.
Anya bit his lips tightly.
“Is this the place?”
“Yeah. Mom said those people are staying here.”
“But will they meet us?”
“I don’t know… but anyway…”
Murmuring voices were heard from outside the window. It was similar to the chattering of young children. Anya opened the window and looked down. A fierce wind swept past his long hair, which resembled a wheat field.
“Oh? Hello!”
They were the kids he had seen near the Wall the day before yesterday. They still waved their hands toward Anya with grimy faces.
“Sir Mage, Sir Mage. We brought you a gift.”
The tallest child among them, Joel, jumped up vigorously. Ronan awkwardly raised the corners of his lips and shook the bottle he was holding against his chest.
Evernight had ordered him not to go out, but it would be fine as long as he didn’t leave the inn. Let’s just go see those kids for a moment at the door. Anya quickly put on the robe he had hung up and went out the door.
* * *
“It’s milk squeezed from the goat we’ve been cherishing and raising.”
Ronan held out one bottle. When he opened the stopper, a fragrant and savory milk smell spread. He could see one person behind them gulp down their saliva. Anya smiled and handed it back to the children.
“I’m, I’m fine. I c-can drink m-milk here too.”
Anya knew this milk was precious food for these children. Yet they had brought it. To express gratitude. Who among the people in the world had ever expressed gratitude to this half-wit Anya?
“It’s to thank you for helping us back then. Please accept it.”
Though Anya flatly refused, the children were stubborn. They said so even while smacking their lips.
‘Hmm, what should I do?’
Isn’t there a good way? After some thought, Anya returned to the inn and got a few cups from the owner.
“Th-then let’s share it.”
Drinking it inside the inn seemed like Evernight would find out. He turned the corner and came to a place where the snowy wind reached less, but it was dark and smelled foul. Anya himself didn’t really mind, but he didn’t want to waste the precious gift the children had given him in a place like this.
‘I guess it would be better to take them to the inn. Even if Lord Evernight gets angry… it can’t be helped.’
It was the moment he made that resolution.
“Sir Mage, Sir Mage. How about going to our house to drink it?”
It was Ronan. Joel grabbed the end of Ronan’s clothes and shook them, but Ronan didn’t care and said so quietly.
“We also have meat pie that Mom baked today. Mom probably won’t come until the middle of the night anyway, so it’s fine.”
Just then, with the snow and wind blowing, the children kept sniffling. The fingertips holding the bottle were tinged blue. There was no need to think further.
“Y-yes. That would be g-good…”
“I suppose my warning is laughable?”
Anya and the children were so surprised they let out silent screams. As the cloud-covered moon revealed itself, a dark figure leaning against the corner wall was revealed.
“L-Lord Evernight…!”
Anya covered his mouth with his hand, making an expression of shock. The kids scattered to both sides in unison and bowed to him. The young baby fat subject to gravity sagged downward, but they couldn’t hide their expressions filled with respect.
“What are these?”
Joel lifted his head so quickly that it made a sound.
“H-hello, Duke. We’re Joel living in Northernmost, this is Ronan. This is…”
Evernight raised his hand to stop them. He found someone’s chattering extremely bothersome. Joel immediately shut his mouth tight like a well-trained soldier.
“What were you doing here with my companion?”
Companion? He said companion. The children exchanged glances with each other. They knew it, but seeing the two of them standing side by side made their faces burn for no reason. Seeing Joel’s cheeks turn bright red, Anya also hung his head low in embarrassment. Ronan pushed aside Joel, who couldn’t say anything, and stepped forward.
“Milk, we came to bring you milk!”
Milk. The corner of Evernight’s mouth rose crookedly. Beside him, Anya shook his head violently in silent protest. No, don’t say it. But these children were too naive to read such an atmosphere.
“Why did you come all the way here to bring milk?”
“The mage…”
“Mage?”
“Yes. The mage helped us with magic.”
His blue eyes, tinged with interest, turned to Anya as if demanding an explanation.
“N-not today, but th-the day before yesterday.”
Anya turned away from him. Ah, this time I might really get hit. Or he might tell me to go back to Tildyen alone. Extreme anxiety swallowed Anya.
Evernight knelt down to meet Ronan’s eyes. Thinking what a windfall this was, Ronan twisted his whole body back and forth.
“Don’t put vain ideas into my companion’s head.”
He lightly touched Ronan’s forehead with his index finger. Ronan stared blankly up at Evernight getting up with his mouth hanging open.
“He’s a sick person, so it won’t be good to be exposed to the cold wind.”
Only then did the children make a fuss and beg for forgiveness. He was definitely doing this on purpose. Anya stared at Evernight in disbelief. He put his arm around Anya’s shoulder and led him toward the inn.
“Damn it, every time I take my eyes off you, you cause trouble.”
He whispered through his teeth with a grin. Their backs looked exactly like a couple with good marital harmony.
However, Evernight did not anticipate the foolishness and persistence of these Northernmost brats. The Northernmost kids stood there watching with enraptured expressions until they became dots and disappeared.
* * *
Northernmost. A territory of Tildyen and the last village of the empire. At the same time, it was the starting point where the Wall began. No one knew how long the Wall had existed. They were all born with the Wall already there—the people here all said so.
Guard the Wall until you die.
It was an imperial command like a heavenly mandate that had continued for hundreds of years. After Clyst I died and the 2nd succeeded him, and the 3rd succeeded him… until the current Emperor Luksus took the imperial throne, that heavenly mandate was not modified in the slightest. So children born here were born with an inescapable destiny wrapped around their umbilical cord from birth.
They could just run away. At some point, someone had tried that too. However, the people of Northernmost soon learned. It was because of the severed heads stuck on top of the Northernmost castle walls. The owners of those heads were precisely those who had attempted escape.
If they were lucky, they fell into slavery. Of course, since the Emperor’s whims were quite severe, occasionally there were those who succeeded in escaping.
But even they, as they grew old, returned to Northernmost. Like salmon that must return to the place where they were born, they felt an irresistible, intense instinct to return home. That might perhaps be a nice-sounding excuse. The truth was that those from Tildyen, let alone those from Northernmost, had a hard time living while being treated like people in other places.
They just lived like that, sometimes miserably, somehow managing. Until one day the Emperor threw a tantrum.
“One, two,…”
Evernight could not break Anya’s stubbornness about training in the inn’s back garden. Instead, leaving behind only the terrifying words that if he collapsed again, he would send him back to Tildyen alone, he left the inn early in the morning with the others.
Anya’s training pattern was no different from before. Since there had been no new learning after the honor duel, it was always the same posture. Anya threw the thick wooden stick he had picked up near the inn on the ground. He stayed up every night, swept up in a tremendous desire to become stronger. He couldn’t even sleep due to impatience. Perhaps it was because of Evernight beside the bed.
