Black Weasel and Silver walked ahead as if nothing were wrong. They had rowed for hours, yet neither showed the slightest sign of fatigue. While Wolf and Red Eagle had been locked inside the crate, the two must have had time to eat properly.
After some deliberation, Wolf reached a decision.
Let’s ask if we can roast just one rabbit here before moving on. At this hour, even if smoke rises, the pursuers won’t notice. I’ll try to persuade them like that.
“Um…”
Wolf opened the mouth, then quickly shut it again.
Black Weasel and Silver were whispering in Stol language again. Every time they spoke Stol, curiosity flared up in Wolf. What are they talking about this time? A strategy meeting about shaking off pursuers? Or maybe some good news like “let’s roast some meat before we go.”
「Did you hear the prince whining about being hungry? Those Atania fools have completely ruined White Deer’s son.」
「Ice-Armored Beast, I’m bored. Let’s make a bet.」
「What do I get if you lose?」
「One rabbit.」
「Oh! Deal. What’s the bet?」
At last the conversation between Black Weasel and Silver stopped.
Wolf brightened and stepped closer, then suddenly froze and stepped back again. Black Weasel had abruptly raised one hand.
Was that a signal to get down?
Wolf immediately grabbed Red Eagle’s shoulder and shoved Red Eagle flat to the ground. After lying still for a moment, Wolf cautiously lifted the eyes.
A short distance away, Silver stood pressed tightly against a tree, staring somewhere into the darkness. One hand was inside the robe. Ready to draw and throw a dagger at any moment.
In the opposite direction, Black Weasel had also flattened against a tree, gripping an axe with both hands. The eyes scanning the darkness were vicious, like those of a starving wild dog.
Wolf pressed the face back into the dirt.
Did they sense the pursuers?
Time dragged on.
Strangely, there was no sound of footsteps, no movement at all. The forest was so quiet it almost seemed as if the pursuers had stuffed cotton into their shoe soles.
Wolf pressed an ear to the ground.
No matter how carefully someone moved, the vibration from footsteps touching the earth couldn’t be completely erased. That vibration had to be caught.
……
……
Nothing.
Wolf slowly lifted the head again. Black Weasel and Silver were still staring into the darkness, exactly as before. They looked like wild beasts with their fur bristling.
……
……
If I say “Hey, are you two scared of the wind right now?” in this atmosphere…
The old man’s axe will probably charge straight into my skull.
If I soften it and say “Um, I think you misheard the wind…”
Even then the axe will probably spin through the air toward me.
Better keep my mouth shut.
For all I know, those two can hear an owl yawning beyond the mountains.
Eventually Black Weasel straightened up. Silver lowered the hand and exhaled.
“It’s nothing. Just the wind.”
Ah… fuck…
Wolf rose with a hollow feeling and helped Red Eagle stand. Red Eagle’s face had gone pale, the legs trembling.
“W-Wolf… W-was that… r-really just the wind? If it wasn’t…”
“Calm down, Your Highness. It was definitely the wind. Uncle and Silver are guarding us, so we’re safe.”
Wolf tried to reassure Red Eagle.
Black Weasel slung the axe over one shoulder and turned.
“Let’s go.”
Silver followed after, then suddenly turned the head this way. The eyes slid up and down over Wolf and Red Eagle for a brief moment before turning away again.
Wolf felt offended immediately.
That brat… did Silver just laugh at us?
Why would—
No. Of course Silver laughed.
To that knife-wielding boy, the sight must have been ridiculous. If someone gave a thumbs-up or shouted admiration to two trembling idiots with their faces pressed into the dirt, that would be stranger.
Wolf’s shoulders drooped like the tail of a mule soaked by a sudden rain.
Ahead of the dispirited Wolf, Black Weasel and Silver began murmuring in Stol again.
「Silver, did the young masters piss themselves?」
「Tch. No. Neither of them did.」
「Then I win. That rabbit belongs to this master.」
What the hell are they muttering about now?
Laughing at us again, both of them?
Damn it. Why did the prince have to run away from home in the first place?
For the first time, Wolf felt resentment toward Red Eagle.
If Red Eagle had even a shred of self-awareness, talk of adventure would never again come out of the prince’s mouth. After all, this experience must have taught the lesson clearly enough.
Adventure wasn’t something just anyone could do.
Dragons and wizards were fantasies from cheap back-alley novels. In reality, true adventure meant murder and violence.
That hired killer striding through the darkness—and the young assistant beside the killer—those were the real adventurers.
And experienced ones at that.
Their tone might be flippant, and when they laughed loudly they even seemed like carefree pranksters, but when it came to their work they left no gaps.
The chill clinging to their appearance, like winter river water, was their true nature.
Someone that meticulous wouldn’t ignore even a trivial sound of wind.
In any case, asking “let’s stop and eat for a bit” felt impossible in this atmosphere. Even Red Eagle, who had been whining about hunger earlier, had shut the mouth completely.
Wolf squeezed the eyes shut and clutched the empty stomach.
Carrying a mountain of food on the shoulders and still starving.
This must be that “paradoxical situation” from literature exams.
How long had they walked?
Black Weasel and Silver suddenly stopped.
“We’re here.”
* * *
Wolf and Red Eagle looked around.
All they could see were steep mountain paths, trees, and bushes.
Black Weasel slammed the axe into the ground with a thud.
“All right, young masters! Don’t move. One wrong step and you’re dead.”
Wolf and Red Eagle hunched their shoulders together.
Nearby, Silver was looking down, pushing aside fallen leaves with the toe of a boot.
Only then did Wolf notice a nail sticking up among the thick pile of leaves. As Silver brushed more leaves aside, a wooden plank was revealed.
“Here.”
Silver covered the plank with leaves again and snapped the fingers.
Black Weasel slung the axe over the shoulder.
“From here on, you two walk single file right behind me. Stick close to my back. Don’t step sideways.”
At those words, Wolf placed Red Eagle behind Black Weasel.
“Stay right behind Uncle. I’ll guard behind Your Highness.”
“Sorry again, Wolf.”
Once again Silver followed at the very rear.
After only a few steps, Wolf tensed.
Every time a foot came down, the plank shifted.
A bridge disguised with leaves.
“Stop.”
Black Weasel halted in front of thick bushes.
Wolf looked around.
All hills.
The realization dawned.
There must be a cave hidden inside the bushes. Black Weasel and Silver had dug pits in front of the entrance, laid planks over them, then carefully disguised everything with fallen leaves.
At the bottom of those pits there were probably sharpened logs.
Except for this narrow bridge, the rest must be thin planks. Planks so fragile that an adult man with some weight would break through after only a few steps.
Wolf’s guess was correct.
Black Weasel pushed through the bushes and entered.
Inside was dark, but less cold than the biting wind outside.
As Wolf followed, the steps were counted silently.
From the entrance—five, six…
At eight steps, Black Weasel’s voice came.
“Stop.”
A door opened.
“Come in. Wait until the fire’s lit.”
Wolf stepped inside and froze.
It was so dark it felt like being dropped into an ink bottle.
All that could be heard were Black Weasel and Silver bustling around while talking in Stol, and the clack of flint striking.
Soon a spark ignited in one corner of the darkness.
The tiny flame, no bigger than a fingernail, quickly grew until it was the size of a jar, illuminating the surroundings.
Wolf dropped the food that had been weighing down the shoulders and looked around.
This wasn’t a cave.
“Thought it was a cave?”
Silver sneered, as if reading Wolf’s thoughts.
Silver crouched by the fireplace, stirring the firewood with a poker. The room warmed quickly.
The ceiling was rounded. The walls and floor were coated with plaster. On one side stood stacks of wooden water barrels, firewood, and chests. On both sides were wooden doors.
After the endless hardship of just one day, this gloomy hideout felt like an attic filled with old books and broken toys.
Wolf felt deeply moved.
Lady White Deer must have assigned extremely capable guards to her son.
Silver set the poker down.
“Well, it’s close enough. This is the entrance leading to the cave. The smoke from this fireplace goes into the cave too.”
A wide layer of straw had been spread before the fireplace.
Black Weasel flopped down onto it.
“Productive day. Let’s get some good sleep! Silver, blankets!”
Silver pulled blankets from a chest.
One was tossed toward Black Weasel, another handed to Red Eagle.
Then it was Wolf’s turn.
The moment Wolf took the blanket from Silver, a sharp jolt ran through the chest.
Something cold brushed the back of Wolf’s hand.
Silver was looking straight at Wolf.
In the firelight, Silver’s eyes had turned the color of rubies.