Elaine just stood there, blinking, for a moment.
Ash had spoken first, but for some reason he’d avoided making eye contact with her. Although it was an unexpected offer, she would of course be happy to spend a little more time with him. When Elaine accepted, her face bright, he pulled the string in the room and conveyed his request to the innkeeper.
Soon enough food for two was served in Ash’s room. Elaine and Ash sat across from each other at the wooden table and began eating.
As always, Elaine enjoyed the meal without any pretense. She looked cheerful even though their meal was nothing fancy since food was scarce in this area. Come to think of it, she happily ate whatever she was given. The way she stuffed her cheeks and made them bulge resembled a squirrel, and it was quite…
‘I think it’s cute…’
Ash froze in shock at his thoughts. He realized he’d been staring at her the whole time.
When he looked down, he saw a plate that hadn’t been touched at all. Elaine, who happened to notice his plate as well, asked curiously.
“Your Grace? Did you lose your appetite?”
He shook his head stiffly.
“No. I was just… thinking about something else for a moment…”
He forced his gaze away from her, tilting his head, and moving the spoon.
He wasn’t even sure what the food tasted like. Even though he’d asked her to eat with him, he couldn’t concentrate on the meal at all. Even as he mechanically scooped up his soup, his attention was on her, not the food. He didn’t know why he was acting that way either. It just happened after realizing he liked her. Without realizing it, he made attempts to see her more frequently.
He resisted the urge to rub his face. The good news was that he rarely showed his emotions on his face.
Elaine, not knowing what he was thinking about, looked at him anxiously.
‘I’m sure he has a lot on his mind about Walter.’
Still, in a cold region like this, you had to eat well. Elaine worriedly pushed more food in his direction. Ash obediently ate the food she offered him, which was rare.
Normally, he would have said something to her out of annoyance, but that wasn’t the case today. Elaine felt a little puzzled, but she was satisfied that he’d finished his meal.
Eventually, Elaine returned to her room, took off her clothes that were dirty from their long journey, and washed herself. When she was finished, she looked out the window and saw it was already dark outside. Most of the restaurant’s customers had already left, so downstairs became quiet. She looked at the clock and realized that it would soon be time to go to bed.
Suddenly, she thought of Ash.
‘He had a nightmare a few days ago.’
As she thought about him having a nightmare, she also recalled what’d happened when she woke him up. She felt her cheeks heat up as the scene replayed in her mind.
‘Not this again.’
She shook her head to clear her thoughts.
‘Would he sleep better if he drank something warm?’
She didn’t have any of the tea with her that she’d given to Ash to aid in sleeping, but maybe drinking some warm honey tea would help. Before Ash falls asleep, she should ask the innkeeper for a favor.
She put down the towel she was drying her hair with and opened the door.
“You ungrateful bastard!”
A loud shout was heard from downstairs.
“We took you, an orphan, in, fed you and gave you a place to sleep, and now you do something shameful like this?!”
The voices were coming from the kitchen downstairs. It was the innkeepers voice. A high-pitched shout rang throughout the quiet inn. Ash must have heard it as well, he’d also left his room. They went straight downstairs to where the noise was coming from. There they saw the faces of the owner and his wife turning red in anger.
A boy was sitting at their feet. Eyes blazing.
‘That boy…?’
Elaine opened her eyes wide when she saw the child. He was familiar. Earlier that day they’d seen him. He was the child being bullied by the village boys.
“You must have no fear! How dare you touch my money?!”
The male owner grunted and kicked the boy. The bag of money that Ash and Elaine had handed over was lying on the dirty kitchen floor. Gold coins spilled out of the untied pouch, rolling around.
The boy shouted.
“You stole my money! Who took my pendant in the first place? The money made from selling that is mine!”
“Who stole from you? I received that pendant in return for all the money I spent raising you! You were smart and useful, so I gave you a job, but you didn’t show any gratitude…!”
“Why should I show you gratitude! You pay me next to nothing and work me half to death!”
“This guy keeps pissing me off…!”
The man frowned and raised his hand. He looked like it was a reflexive gesture, there was no hesitation in his actions. The boy closed his eyes tightly. The moment the palm the size of a pot lid was about to hit the boy’s cheek, a slender hand grabbed the man’s wrist.
“What was that all about?”
Elaine asked in a calmly. Ash slowly approached and spoke in a low voice.
“I thought you said you were the one who picked up the pendant?”
Ash’s cold gaze turned to the owners.
A little while ago, the boy said that the owner and his wife had taken the pendant from him. So, the couple’s statement that they picked up the pendant was a lie. The couple’s faces turned pale when they discovered them standing there. They began to sweat profusely and quickly began making excuses.
“Ah, Sir! Well, that’s not it, it’s just a misunderstanding!”
“What am I misunderstanding?”
“Everything that kid said is a lie. You can’t believe him!”
“That is for me to judge.”
Ash spoke coldly and looked down at the boy. He bent down on one knee and held out the pendant in front of him.
“Did you say this was yours?”
The boy saw the pendant and suddenly raised his upper body.
“Yes, it’s mine! Why did you buy it from them?”
The boy seemed to recognize them. He must have seen a glimpse of them as he was running away from the village boys. At that time, they’d been wearing hoods. Moreover, it would be difficult to remember since he only saw them in passing while running away.
“It’s mine. I picked it up on Ghost Mountain 10 years ago!”
“They also said they picked this up at Ghost Mountain.”
“It’s a lie. When they took it away, they asked me where I got it from. They’re just repeating what they heard from me!”
The boy bit his lip in frustration.
He’d had nothing growing up. If he couldn’t prove what he’d said, here and now, not only will the gold be taken away, but he wouldn’t be able to avoid retaliation from the owner and his wife.
“It’s true. I even remember the face of the pendant’s original owner!”
“Didn’t you just say that you found this 10 years ago?”
“You may not believe it, but once I see something, I never forget it. I remember everything I saw that day. Everything about that person, including his appearance and features!”
It’d happened 10 years ago, the boy couldn’t have been more than four or five years old at the time. But he said he remembered everything?
It was an absurd statement. The boy also looked like he knew it would sound ridiculous. Nevertheless, his face was serious. Ash spoke.
“If what you say is true, prove it. Then I will give you this money.”
“But, Sir!”
When he pointed to the money bag and spoke, the owner and his wife jumped up in protest. Elaine stopped them as they hurriedly tried to grab the money. They flinched and backed away from her cold gaze.
The gold coins given to them were a huge amount. It was enough money for a commoner to spend several years just living and eating.
The payment they’d received had included not only the price of the pendant but also the answers to their questions, information about Walter was important to them. Even the smallest piece of information was priceless, and the couple had lied in exchange for a huge sum of money.
Ignoring the nervous glances of the owner and his wife, Ash asked a question.
“What did the person you saw look like?”
Purple eyes stared at the boy as if they were gazing deep into his soul. The boy answered confidently without hesitation.
“Bright blonde hair and light blue eyes. He was a very tall man. About as tall as the fifth shelf over there. He was wearing a sword, and…”
“…”
“On the back of his right hand, there were two scars.”
The boys last statement proved his claims. Elaine looked at him in surprise. Walter had already disappeared so long ago. What the boy had told them was something he’d never have known unless he’d seen the man himself.
The corners of Ash’s mouth tilted upward as he stared at the boy.
“That’s correct.”
Finally, 10 years after Walter disappeared, they’d found something.
* * *
Hunched over, the boy devoured the food laid out on the table. Elaine and Ash were sitting opposite, watching him.
They’d left and gone to another inn in town. After the commotion, Elaine and Ash left the original inn with the boy and moved their supplies here. Even if they were already settled in, it was uncomfortable for both of them to stay there still and it was not a suitable place for the boy to speak freely.
As they were trying to have a conversation at the new inn, the boy’s stomach suddenly started growling. It seemed like filling the child’s stomach would have to come first, so they ordered him a large plate of food.
How long had it been since he’d been given a proper meal? How was he even able to eat that much? Elaine, looking at the boy with concern and quietly spoke.
“By the way…… what’s your name?”
The boy swallowed what he was chewing before answering.
“Jody, it’s Jody.”
“Alright, Jody. Eat slowly.”
After speaking, Jody chewed his food a little more thoroughly. After a while, once the dishes were completely cleared, Jody wiped his mouth with his loose sleeve.
“Now, you can ask me anything.”
He spoke in a brave voice. When his stomach was full, the color returned to his thin cheeks. His eyes sparkled, determined to pay for his meal with whatever information he could offer.
“You said you were looking for someone, right?”
“That’s right.”
Ash took over the conversation.
“You said earlier that you’ve seen the owner of the pendant. How do you know him?”
They’d confirmed earlier that Jody was speaking the truth. Maybe they’d be able to find a clue as to Walter’s purpose for coming here, or his current whereabouts.
Jody rubbed the bridge of his nose as if recalling a memory.
“It’s a complicated story… The reason I saw the man was because of Charon.”
“Charon?”
“He used to live in this town, ……though he’s not here anymore.”
Jody added in a mutter, clenching his fists as if recalling a bad memory.
“I don’t know why you’re looking for this man, Walter, but I think he’s the reason Charon is missing.”
“What do you mean?”
“It happened after that man came.”
At Elaine’s question, Jody looked like he was lost in thought, staring blankly into space, it appeared to be another bad memory because he looked sad. This might be a long story. The boy’s lips opened slowly.
In the middle of the night, a young voice spoke in a room lit by pale yellow candle light. It was a story that the boy had kept buried deep in his memory for a long time.
