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A Forgotten Promise – Part 02

Translator: Kell

“I have realized something important,” Zero suddenly said. “Festivals are when food stalls with rare delicacies are opened, correct?”

Albus stared at Zero blankly for a moment. “Well, yeah. It’s a festival organized by the Merchants Guild, after all. I’m told there will be plenty of food stalls and street vendors.”

“Very well. We depart for Fomicaum. It is a must.” Zero nodded firmly with unwavering conviction.

Her desires—or perhaps obsession, or passion—for food was astounding. Maybe her love for food just stood out because she was indifferent to many other things.

“I’m still recovering, though,” I said.

“You will be fine. Fomicaum is not that far, just the right distance to give your body some exercise. You can also protect the scared lass from whoever sent the letter.”

“That’s a good point.”

“I-I’m not scared!” Albus denied. “I don’t need a bodyguard—.”

Before she could finish her sentence, I grabbed her whole face. “You clearly need one, kid. Stop acting tough.”

Albus squirmed about in anger. I had no idea if she was mad at me for calling her a kid, or grabbing her face. Probably both.

“Stop treating me like a child! I’m the Chief Mage of Wenias!” She shook my hand off. “You can come, but don’t get in my way. We leave at sunset today. We’re taking a carriage, so meet me at the stables. If you’re late, I’m leaving you behind!” After saying all she wanted to say, she stomped away.

“What’s up with her?” I muttered.

Zero chuckled. “Did you see her face?”

“Her face?”

“The face of extreme joy. She was acting tough, but she was scared. She wanted you to go with her all along.”

“It sure didn’t look like it.”

“Do you wish to test her, then? Arrive later than the designated time. I am certain she will wait and eventually search for you.”

I frowned and shot Zero a reproachful look. “I can’t do something so immature to a kid. Think about it. Whether she actually leaves us behind or she comes looking for me, I’m the one who’ll feel awful.”

Zero laughed out loud. “I think so too. And that is what the lass likes about you. The same goes for me.”

“Can you be more specific?”

“It is a secret. Some virtues we lose sight of if we become aware of them. It is enough that others—that is, me—know about your merits.” She then climbed onto my shoulder.

I rose to my feet and went to my room to get ready for the trip.

The carriage moved at a leisurely pace along the twilit city streets.

Shaped like a four-wheeled box, the vehicle had two seats for two facing each other. As a kingdom that flourished as a nation of travelers, Wenias’s carriage technology was far more advanced than other countries. The carriages were comfortable to ride in, and thanks to the sturdy wooden car, there was no need to worry about the elements.

Zero was sitting next to me, looking out the window, and Albus was sitting in front of her. Since I was a big guy, I sat with my legs thrown over the empty seat in front of me.

Albus’s plan was to arrive at Fomicaum in the evening, stay overnight at an inn, and then participate in the festival the next day. Traveling at night was a bit risky, but we had no other choice if we wanted to make it to the festival in time.

If my memory served me right, however, Fomicaum was surrounded by walls, and its gates were supposed to close in the evening.

“Are we gonna camp outside the gate?” I asked.

“They said they’ll open it for me,” Albus replied, then regarded the letter for no reason.

“Are you that worried about it? If nothing comes to mind, it’s probably just a prank.”

“I think so too, but I feel this intense obsession from the whole letter. I can tell that the person who wrote it is furious.”

“How are you supposed to know the sender’s feelings?”

“You don’t, normally. But that shows just how strong their rage is.” Albus exhaled and stared at the letter, unable to hide her anxiety. “I wonder what they mean by promised item. Why can’t I remember an important promise? I can’t really look into it without knowing who the sender is, either.” She looked up at the ceiling. “I should’ve written down the item and their name.”

“Yeah,” I agreed.

“It must be something very precious,” Zero said. “There are some things in this world that are too precious to be spoken of. Things that would change the world if people learned of their existence.”

With a loud thud, the carriage rocked. The road was in a poor condition.

“Like the Grimoire of Zero that you wrote?” I asked.

“Yes, like the Grimoire of Zero that I wrote,” Zero replied in an unaffected tone, looking out the window. It was getting dark outside.

Albus glanced at Zero, then folded the letter, shoving it into her pocket. “If I promised to give something valuable, I’m sure I wouldn’t have forgotten it.”

“Then perhaps you never made such a promise in the first place,” Zero said. “The letter is indeed filled with extraordinary obsession, but it is possible that the sender is simply mistaken.”

“Maybe, but still…”

“Besides, you were the leader of the witches—the human’s enemies—until a few days ago,” I said. “There’s always a chance of someone holding a grudge against you even though you didn’t do anything to them. There will be a lot more misunderstandings and undue resentment in the future. Better get used to it now.”

“That’s easier said than done,” Albus said in a spiteful tone, sinking deeper into the cushion.

“By the way,” Zero said, whirling her head back to us, “something has been bothering me for a while now. It has been quite some time since the carriage went off the road to Fomicaum. Where are we headed?”

“…What?”

Albus and I leapt toward the window at the same time.

The sun had set, and it was completely dark. I couldn’t really see outside, but I could tell that the road we were on was not the well-maintained highway. The road was too narrow, and the carriage was rocking too much.

“What’s going on here, kid?! I thought we were going straight to Fomicaum!”

“H-How should I know?! Let me check with the driver—”

As soon as Albus stood up, the horse neighed loudly and the carriage suddenly stopped. The momentum rocked the vehicle, and Albus staggered, hitting her head hard on the wall before falling to her seat.

“Shit. We’re surrounded.”

“Bandits?”

“I’d very much prefer bandits, to be honest. Get under the seats, quick!”

It was an elaborate ambush, and the driver was in on it. It must be the letter’s sender. In which case, he would not do something absurd like setting the carriage on fire until he got what he wanted from Albus.

I pushed Albus into the space under the seat, grabbed my sword, and jumped out of the carriage.

“Don’t show yourself,” I said sharply. “There could be archers out there.” I closed the door behind me.

The lantern hanging from the carriage illuminated several shapes in the darkness. I sensed six people, but I could only see five, all of them armed. They were probably in the same line of work as me—mercenaries.

“A white Beastfallen. Just like the intel said. This one’s no pushover.”

“The more dreadful the information, the more accurate it is, I guess. Should we have gathered more people?”

I pricked up my ears. “Oh? You got intel on me, eh? That’s strange. I’m pretty sure only a few people in the castle know that I’m staying at the kid’s place.”

Since the driver was in on it, the assailants were probably aware of the goings-on inside the castle.

But I woke up four days ago, and I was only able to leave my room two days later. No one outside the castle could have known that I would be Albus’s bodyguard—which meant that the person who wrote the letter must be someone close to Albus, someone who held a considerable position.

A man with a sword at the ready spoke. “Hey, whitey.” His tone was friendly, but his guard was still up. “Let’s keep this civil, shall we? We don’t want to fight a Beastfallen if possible. All we want is for the Mage you’re guarding to hand over the item that they promised to our client.”

“See, that’s the problem,” I replied. “The Mage I’m guarding doesn’t remember anything about a promised item. Did your client tell you anything?”

No answer came. There was only a stifled laughter. A foolish question, it seemed.

Mercenaries were handy tools that did what the client ordered. Most of the time, they did what they were asked and received their pay without knowing what exactly they were doing or why. Sometimes all the order they would get is, “Attack this person here, and take the goods,” and they would finish the job without even knowing who the client was.

In other words, they didn’t know what their client wanted exactly. And since we couldn’t hand it over, a battle was inevitable if we wanted to get past this place.

I shouldered my blade. “Well, this is tricky. You want the goods, but we don’t have them. What now?”

“Get ‘im!” His answer was a shout that signaled the start of the fight.