CHAPTER THREE

After talking with the people in the trading house, Col and Myuri had breakfast and went out to town.

Myuri had wanted to go outside, and Col had also wanted to get all the alcohol from last night out of his system and think things over again with a clear head.

He also had some things he wanted to ask Myuri.

“Do we really want to create our own country that badly?”

At the end of the day, he was having trouble deciding how to treat Ilenia because it was a problem that had very much to do with Myuri.

He wished that a correct faith for God would spread throughout the world, but if Myuri’s happiness was on the line, then he would likely choose Myuri when all was said and done. If he said that out loud to her, her ears and tail would stand up straight and set ablaze unhealthy fantasies, so he never did, but it was how he truly felt.

He was confident that how he prayed for her happiness was on par with that of her father, Lawrence.

“Hmm…”

She gazed off into the distance as she reconsidered the idea, munching on fish bones that she got from a food stall; they had been sprinkled with flour and fried in oil.

“It’d be nice if there was one.”

Myuri’s answer came after a brief moment of hesitation, then she kicked a pebble by her foot and looked at Col.

“But it’s really, really far away, right? So I dunno.”

It was a hollow sentiment for a girl who loved adventure.

“Because even if you come with me, that doesn’t mean everyone I know will come, too, right?”

It sounded like a joke in the beginning, but the second half betrayed her true feelings.

“That makes me sad. It would make me want to go home to Nyohhira.”

There was a time in her life when all she wanted was to leave the village, but that did not make her a wanderer.

He could imagine her being satisfied enough after wandering around the world to her heart’s content, then going home.

But Ilenia’s plans were the complete opposite.

“I sympathize with her. I’d want a place like that.”

She stopped eating and looked down to her feet. It was a weak sight for a girl who was typically never afraid to stand up to anything.

She was a dreamer, but that did not mean she always had her head in the clouds. Rather, she was much more aware of the reality surrounding them and understood how outrageous Ilenia’s plan sounded.

Her reasons for supporting Ilenia’s plans did not seem to be all that simple.

The first reason was that she was attracted by adventure. And she honestly sympathized with her. Or it could be that she felt a sort of kinship with her, and maybe that was the biggest reason.

“So…um, to be honest, I can’t force you, and if you’re worried about me, then don’t think too much about it, okay?”

She looked up, and she seemed a bit embarrassed.

It seemed she felt ashamed that the blood had rushed to her head after hearing the story about the Moon-Hunting Bear.

“It’s waiting for us, and it’s something that even Mother is no match for, right? I hate to admit it, but I guess I should listen to you.”

She was mischievous and always selfish, and Col often found himself sighing, wishing she would quickly grow up, but whenever he caught glimpses of her mature decisions, he felt a bit sad.

Even he found himself annoyed with how selfish it sounded, but as Myuri started to munch on her snack again, a bit of youth returned to her face.

“Are you surprised by how much I know?”

When she spoke, she tilted her head mischievously.

The gap between this teenage girl’s looks and what was going on inside her head was exceptionally large.

There was a bit of fish bone stuck to the corner of her mouth, and he could not do much else besides give her a tired smile.

“You are a smart girl.”

“I won’t mind if you fall in love with me, you know.”

She narrowed her eyes and defiantly showed him a dauntless smile.

He chuckled and patted her on the head, and she blew a raspberry at him.

“Well, that’s how I feel. I don’t know what Ilenia thinks, though.”

She tossed the last of the fried bone into her mouth, wiped her hands, and jerked her chin to a street corner like a frivolous girl.

“So why not ask her?”

He turned around, and there before him was Ilenia, carrying a bag stuffed with wool under her arm, negotiating with another merchant. Desarev was a big town, but there were only so many places one could carry out trade.

Ilenia and the merchant spoke amicably and at last exchanged a handshake. The merchant fastened a scrap of cloth to the bag with wire and wrote something on it with charcoal. Ilenia must have succeeded in her purchase.

She naturally seemed like a merchant of Desarev as he watched her. She did not seem like a sheep deity, nor did she seem as though she had outrageous dreams.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Ilenia turned on her heel and headed straight for them.

She had been aware of them long before he even noticed her.

“Your work seems to be going well.”

As Col greeted her, Ilenia looked back the way she came, smiling bitterly.

“Not really. He’s a tough one. He always asks for such outrageous prices.”

All skilled merchants would say something like that. Amused, he got straight to the topic at hand.

“By the way, do you mind if we take up some of your time?”

Ilenia’s eyes suddenly glistened.

“Is this about my request to you?”

“Yes.”

Then a troubled smile quickly crossed her face.

“I’d much rather convince you myself. Of course I have time.”

I see, Col thought.

“We might end up standing for a while, so why don’t we go to the market stalls?”

That was not so much out of consideration for himself but for Myuri.

The hungry wolf took the bait quite readily.

And so, the three of them set off for the market together.

As usual, the market was filled with people. Every place that had put out simple tables and chairs for eating and drinking were all full. But when Ilenia called out to the master of one shop, he brought out a chair and table set for them from the back, and Col realized firsthand how great an influence she held as a merchant.

And as he could not start drinking so early in the day, Col went to order warm goat’s milk with honey and ginger—a staple in colder regions—and Ilenia picked out some light fare for them in the market.

“Chestnuts?”

Myuri looked on with intense curiosity at the pile of large, slimy-looking, shining black chestnuts piled on a leaf before her nose.

“They smell like alcohol.”

“They’re boiled in the local liquor of choice as well as honey. Please try one if you’ve never had one.”

With a bright smile on her face, Myuri quickly reached out and brought one to her mouth.

“Mmm!”

She hummed, her expression full of happiness.

“I’m glad you like them.”

After coaxing Myuri, Ilenia changed the subject.

“And to the topic at hand.”

“I wish to hear your reasons.”

“My reasons?”

When Ilenia tilted her head, she looked the same age as Myuri.

“Why you are so drawn to the land at the end of the sea.”

When they had discussed it on the ship, she did mention things that sounded like reasons.

However, they sounded superficial and not terribly steeped in logic. He had been cautious, likely because throughout all the absurdities of the story, he had not been able to sense her true motives.

It was such a daring story that even Myuri had not carried on with the expected do it, absolutely do it, do it now. For Ilenia to be ready for this meant that there must be bigger reasons behind it.

“You seem to be faring quite well in the world now even without going through such lengths.”

It looked as though she had many acquaintances in town, and just like Myuri said, to leave to a far-off land would be to leave all her relationships behind.

Perhaps he had such a hard time swallowing her tale because he had not seen anything regarding that.

“You mean, I’m getting along well with the townspeople?”

“You might even have many close friends.”

He would give up if she responded, For the great cause of the nonhumans.

But Ilenia did not seem to be that much of a heroic type.

“That…may be so…”

Her head drooped slightly in response to his question.

It was not Col that she looked to with big, round, soft eyes but Myuri.

“Myuri, how old are you?”

Upon hearing this, Myuri understood right away what she was trying to ask.

“…My mother is some hundreds of years old, but I’m not.”

She wanted to say that she was as old as she looked, and Ilenia quickly grasped that.

Divine beings lived for a long time.

And they were not human.

“That is essentially the reason why. All my friends, everyone I’ve loved and anyone who has loved me, will be swallowed up by the flow of time. Of course, I am not quite that old enough yet, however.”

She spoke sheepishly, either because she was a girl embarrassed that she was older than she looked, or a nonhuman embarrassed that she was much too young.

Either way, Myuri paused and looked at Ilenia with a sincere gaze.

“And sometimes I hate it so much.”

“…You do?”

Ilenia nodded in response to Col’s question while staring at her hands.

“I take pride in how I’ve built up such a good reputation as a broker. Quite a number of trading firms depend on me.”

He had heard about that, too.

“It might be because I have good judgment since I am a sheep, but I like to think it’s because I honestly and earnestly worked my hardest.”

If that were the case, then her dreams, which put all her hard work on the line, seemed especially odd.

Was there something she did not like about how well her work was going?

He watched her as she carefully chose her words, and she lifted her head.

Rather than strength, her expression showed a certain weakness which made her seem like she was going to cry.

“I am not in this to get rich. I only have to work enough to feed myself. But I end up working more. And I hate it.”

As though trying to cast off something that clung to her, Ilenia shook her head.

The smile she wore when she looked up at him again was incredibly sad.

“I work only so that I may belong to the flock known as merchants. But at the end of the day, I’m alone. While I can distract myself from my loneliness in a group of people, it doesn’t go away. I don’t age, so I have to change my base of operations every once in a while. Emotionally, I’ve set sail for the edge of the sea countless times. I start over from scratch in a land where no one knows me. But…”

Ilenia paused to breathe after the words tumbled out of her mouth, then spoke.

“…a country of our own would be different.”

It sounded like she was confessing her sins. Her gaze dropped lifelessly, and she fell silent, still staring at her hands.

Myuri sat beside him, her eyes brimming with tears as she looked back and forth between Ilenia and Col.

Ilenia was a sheep, and she was meant to live with a flock. To blend in well with the human world and to live happily doing so were two completely different problems.

Simple words of comfort would only have the opposite effect, and he stood on the side of humans, who represented the majority of this world.

After several moments, he finally spoke up.

“Do you know the story of a sheep named Huskins?”

He was the avatar of a sheep with golden wool who lived in the Winfiel Kingdom and once appeared in the kingdom’s founding myth. This sheep by the name of Huskins snuck onto the land of a great monastery, and by becoming a shepherd himself, he gathered fellow sheep and created a home for them.

Ilenia wiped her eyes, raised her head, and smiled.

“Of course. But our ways of thinking are different. I think what Huskins is doing is a wonderful thing, but there are some words that I just cannot forget.”

She spoke as though she was renouncing her faith.

“Don’t look for a place to run. Find a place you can head toward with hope. Then, no matter what you do, whether it be trade or not, you can live on in strength.”

“…”

“Those were the words of a human, who not only knew what I truly was but also taught me how to broker wool—the merchant I respect the most.”

Col simply stared at her wordlessly because her expression as she spoke was that of such beauty.

Perhaps it was the expression of one in love.

When they were gathering information on her, one merchant had mentioned she was the kind to fall in love with her employer.

She had met a wonderful person.

“People like us are constantly looking for escape in the world of today. We hold our breath, change our form, and give up many things. While I do want to be saved, first and foremost, I want to show our people the possibilities that are completely separate from what Huskins has accomplished.”

Col was overwhelmed by her words. Myuri, too, was shivering slightly, her eyes wide open.

Sitting before them on the other side of the table was a strong sheep, her hooves planted firmly on the ground.

“Of course, I do have some worries and there have been some troubles, and there are very few people like you who will listen to my story. Huskins and I parted on a very sour note. He said, even if the new land really existed, what would you do if the Moon-Hunting Bear was there?”

She glossed over it with a bitter smile, but Col was surprised she had not been crushed after a fellow sheep, not to mention the legendary Huskins, had said such a thing to her.

And he, too, had wondered the same thing.

“…What do you plan to do?”

Ilenia responded with confidence.

“I’ll decide when we get there.”

It could be called recklessness. But the legend of the Moon-Hunting Bear happened so long ago, and the reason for the war was still unknown. In a way, her lack of a plan could also be considered a foregone conclusion.

What impressed him was how boldly and without hesitation she spoke. Her lack of a plan was not the result of carelessness. She must have come to such a conclusion after thinking long and hard.

She had a strength unlike those who possessed fangs and claws and feasted on meat.

In that moment, Col felt like he understood why believers were called lambs.

They slowly continue forward, one step after the other, persevering through any storm or hardship.

“So what did you think of my sob story?”

Ilenia suddenly spoke in a friendly tone.

He felt as though he had suddenly woken up from a dream, but he could not imagine that what she spoke about was entirely nonsense. On the other hand, Ilenia herself knew that her dreams were close to absurdity. Despite that, she was still conflicted over her desire to go forward with it, and he had caught a glimpse of that.

“It would be much too much to ask you to help me in every aspect. So I was hoping you would just help me move forward, even just one step.”

She would press on even if he refused.

It made him feel like he wanted to help.

“Of course, I won’t rush you. You are traveling with your own goals in mind, and getting involved in tax collecting might only get you wrapped up in some bothersome political conflict.”

Ilenia stood from her chair and placed some copper coins on the table.

“I am going back to work. If we keep talking, I might actually make up a story for you.”

She wore a playful smile on her face, but their conversation was surely headed in that direction. She was a strong girl, so perhaps she could not stand the weakness she showed by telling her story.

Col stared off in the direction the strong sheep girl disappeared in and sat still for a while.

He finally snapped back to reality when he was pinched on his cheek.

“Brother, you dummy.”

Myuri was pouting.

“No crushing on her.”

It was not her typical comment on how he looked at women.

Her fingers pinched his cheek lightly perhaps because she truly was worried.

“I am not as soft as you think I am.”

When he said that, her expression quickly reverted to her usual one, which seemed to say, “Sure you aren’t.”

She then leaned over and clung to him, speaking softly.

“I want to help her, even a little bit.”

Don’t look for a place to run. Find a place you can head toward with hope.

Col had left Nyohhira because he thought he could change the world and because he believed he could fight against the powerful organization that was the Church. Did he have an absolute plan for victory? Of course not.

Not responding to Myuri, he reached out for the last chestnut.

He popped it in his mouth, where a deep, smoky sweetness spread throughout.

After their conversation with Ilenia, they returned to the trading house, where they found people waiting before the entrance.

At first, Col thought they had come to pray, but they turned out to be sailors working on Yosef’s ship.

Their complexions were all pale, but it was hard to discern exactly what they wanted. At the very least, he knew they wanted him at the ship, so he followed.

There, the pier was crowded with people, and not a single person was on deck.

As he wondered what the commotion was about, Yosef spotted them, and he looked like he had finally found his salvation.

“Oh, Sir Col!”

“Mr. Yosef, what’s going on?”

Yosef placed a hand to his chest, as though calming his excitement, then pointed to the ship.

“It’s Lord Autumn.”

Col gulped. Not just because Autumn had actually showed up but now he also knew why Yosef and the others were so frantic.

They must have been wondering why and how Autumn came here. His awe-inspiring presence rivaled that of the pope himself.

Col felt bad he could not give the details, but Yosef urged him on and he quickly went inside the ship.

It was like heading into a beast’s cage, and he was not necessarily wrong.

He opened the door to the captain’s quarters, and there was Autumn dressed in rags.

“Do you need something?”

His question came without any sort of pretense or greeting. Col must have imagined how unhappy he looked.

“…Um, I hope you don’t mind.”

He commented unwittingly. Autumn might have made it safely, but after not being able to find him, he found a familiar ship and asked them to find him.

The entire crew was from the islands, and they most certainly had been stunned.

“Mind what? You are the one who called me.”

“That’s true…”

There were many assumptions the crew must have made after seeing Autumn suddenly appear, when he should have been in the north, but the man himself did not seem to mind at all.

“It’s a miracle of the Black-Mother.”

His response seemed slightly annoyed. Since the islanders concentrated their faith onto him, they must have broadly thought most things were solved by those miracles and believed that she was watching over him. Appearances were important.

“I can accept that, but…My apologies, this was something I wanted to speak with you about face-to-face.”

“Mm.”

It was hard to tell what he was thinking behind the long hair that nearly consumed his head and face.

As he stroked his beard, there came a noise that sounded out of place in the captain’s quarters.

It was Myuri’s stomach, and Autumn blinked in surprise.

“Do you plan to eat me?”

“N-no!”

Though she had just eaten some chestnuts, it was almost noon, and they had not been around buying snacks. Not only that, but sitting next to Autumn was a plate of various foods, perhaps given by Yosef and the others out of his consideration.

“Eat as much as you like. I don’t mind a bite or two.”

Sitting there was fresh bread and several cheeses.

Autumn himself reached out for a piece of bread, so Myuri, after glancing at Col, eagerly took a piece for herself.

“And? I imagine you’re here because of the storm the other day, but why have you called me? Do you want me to take you to Rausbourne on my back?”

As Autumn used his fingers to delicately subtract small bites of bread from his piece, Myuri bit straight into hers and responded.

“We met a sheep.”

Myuri spoke with her mouth full, and from behind his long bangs, Autumn turned to look at her with his deep, ocean-blue eyes.

“A sheep?”

“She works for a trading firm from a distant southern country and is brokering wool here in the kingdom. We met her, and she is the embodiment of a sheep. We were conversing with her just now.”

“Mm.”

“Yeah, that’s the kind of sheep we met. She said there’s a bear at the edge of the sea.”

There was another glimmer of a dangerous fire in her red eyes, but it quickly vanished.

“A bear…at the edge of the sea. I see.”

He placed the bread he had just begun to eat back down, and his beard wavered with a sigh.

“Now I can see what she told you. And so you call me.”

“You must know the story. It’s…”

“A new world at the edge of the sea and the Moon-Hunting Bear that guards it. But why would a sheep speak of this?”

“She wants to build a country just for nonhumans in the new world.”

It almost sounded as if it could become reality when they were speaking with Ilenia, but when Col spoke about it with his own mouth and attempted to explain to someone else, he once again heard how ridiculous it sounded.

Autumn’s eyes, too, were the same as when he could not accept the reality of the northern islands and indulged himself in easy ideals. You are getting carried away in such fantasies again.

But Autumn closed his eyes and shrugged.

“I, too, have heard rumors from birds that come to the north on their passage. There are those who are eagerly searching the far reaches of the seas. I see, so that was a sheep’s plan.”

A migratory bird resting its wings on a giant whale, floating in the sea, and having a chat.

The image felt like one from a fairy tale, and when Col imagined Ilenia listening to a bird talk about what lay beyond the sea, his heart suddenly clenched.

A sheep could not fly, or swim, or run fast for a long time like a wolf.

And yet, she was taking one step at a time toward her extraordinary vision.

“If the legends are true, however, then the bear will not welcome newcomers. What does she plan to do about that?”

“She said she would decide when she gets there.”

Though it had been terribly convincing when he heard Ilenia say it, her plan suddenly sounded incredibly stupid when he said it.

Autumn, of course, thought of something and looked at Myuri. There was a silent exchange between them, and in the end, he simply shrugged his shoulders.

“There is not much I can say about the existence of the new land. The passing birds are the same. But as far as I know, I can tell you the sea stretches out to a vast ocean to the west of here, and it is endlessly deep—a barren, lightless world. On the other hand…”

Autumn continued.

“It is true that the Moon-Hunting Bear headed west.”

Myuri held her breath, and Col was shocked.

Could it be that Ilenia’s theory was correct?

“There are clear footprints left at the bottom of the ocean. They were so big it took me a hundred years to realize they were footprints. For a while, I thought it was just how the land was formed.”

Autumn stared off distantly as he spoke. This was not something Col could easily imagine.

Myuri must have been able to, though, since her eyes were wide open as she tightly gripped the bread.

But her excitement did not stem from getting one step closer to exacting her revenge, rather, learning of giant footprints at the bottom of the sea was awakening her sense of adventure; Col was rather relieved.

“I have never seen an animal bigger than myself, but if those were his feet, then I see how it could have ended an era.”

“You…you didn’t follow the footprints?”

Myuri braced herself and pressed him with questions, and Autumn blinked.

He then answered slowly.

“I had no reason to.”

It was a natural answer.

“So you would say no if I asked you to do it now, right?”

She gulped. She was almost about to say it.

“There are several reasons for it, but the biggest is that even I don’t know if I would come back.”

Autumn swam in one night what took them three days on a ship.

And surely, that was not the extent of his strength.

Such a man did not even know if he could return after going.

He sighed because he knew she would not be satisfied until he explained.

“There are currents throughout the ocean. To go west, you must first go south, then ride the strong current that goes west. At that point, there is no need to swim, as the current will carry you.”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“The currents are the same as a hill. If you go down, you must come up. Not to mention that even if you wanted to rest, below you is an abyss that drains the light and does not give it back. There is nothing to hold on to. As long as you float, you will drift in the currents. Going forward two steps will only bring you back three, and you will never return home.”

If he said it, then it must be true.

But there was something that struck Col as odd.

“If that is the case, then was the story about a ship that came back from the new world a lie?”

When he asked, Autumn frowned.

“I can’t say that. Because there is a current that flows out from the west to the north of here.”

Myuri tilted her head, but a thought occurred to Col as he looked at the round bread, acting as a plate for the food spread out on it.

If there really was an edge to the sea, then the currents would have to eventually run into it, and if they were to continue…

“It’s going in a circle.”

A majestic current tirelessly going round and round the gigantic lake that was the sea.

If that were the case, then it was impossible to leave and never come back.

“But I don’t know if it’s going in a circle. It may be that in just one small part of the sea, the current is flowing east. There are several places like that, thanks to the landforms at the bottom of the ocean. Are you asking an elder to take on such a dangerous journey?”

He shot down the question Myuri was about to ask before she could.

He closed his mouth, as if realizing he had said too much. When he closed his eyes, it did not seem to be simple silence but rather deep contemplation, and he finally spoke with purpose.

“But humans are not like me. It is possible they could have used the wind.”

“The wind…Technology that would allow a ship to move forward against the wind.”

Autumn was the avatar of a whale, the soul of the faith that supported the northern islands, and he was also the leader of the pirates who controlled trade on the seas.

“Yes. The wind blows without any influence from the currents, and there are some seasons where it will always blow in the same direction. They might be able to return if they use the wind well. Humans have knowledge and technology. They overcame the things we could not accomplish, and they now dominate this world. I could not make a ship like this.”

He gazed about the room as he spoke.

There was honest respect in his eyes.

“Our power is nothing before this technology. The sick and young can simply sleep here and cross the ocean. It is truly a miracle. Prayer is nothing next to this.”

Autumn, the leader of the people of the islands, dressed in his monk clothes, smiled behind his beard.

When Col thought about how crude he looked, Autumn looked off into the distance.

“Technology…Yes, technology. But could it?”

He murmured almost incoherently, and Col noted how his profile looked like a painting he had seen once. It was a painting of a monk who had felt God’s light from beyond his window as he worked. Autumn’s eyes were wide open, just like the monk who had risen from his chair to look out the window.

The man who had gone to such desperate lengths to unify the northern islands spoke at last.

“The sheep is planning to kill the bear. In order to live in the land where it dwells, that is her only option.”

Impossible—the word caught in Col’s throat, and Autumn looked at him.

“Miracles are often close companions of the impossible.”

He then mentioned that human technology itself could bring about miracles.

Ilenia had the power to blend in and live among humans. She had the skill to turn the workings of human society into her own strength. And on top of that, the way she spoke of her dreams.

That must have been where her strange persuasiveness came from.

How confident she was when she stated that they would decide when they got there.

It might have meant that while she did not mind an offering of peace, she was prepared for the alternative.

She was embarrassed by her own weakness as a sheep. She almost seemed as though she was pained by her nature to depend on a flock to live.

But she was not giving in. She had the courage to stand up to something big.

“That being said, it is not logical for a sheep to hunt a bear. You called me in order to receive my counsel, because while you don’t entirely believe it, you cannot ignore it, right?”

That was exactly it.

Autumn gave a slight sigh and looked down at the toes of his crossed legs.

“Even I, one who makes his home in the ocean, would back away from such a grand journey west to the edge of the sea. Especially if it means happening across the bear. I cannot readily recommend you assist her.”

His words were unexpected, and Col studied his face.

“Why don’t you take care of her, as long as she’s on land?”

He had not imagined that Autumn would say such a thing to them. As Col sat, shocked, the expression behind Autumn’s beard hardened.

“She might be at a dead end, like me.”

His hard expression might have been to cover his embarrassment.

He unified the people of the northern islands in a way that chipped away at him.

He himself was aware that it was not sustainable.

Autumn, too, was not human, and though their species were different, he must have considered her a compatriot.

Or perhaps he appreciated the courage it took for her to stand up to a legend.

“Are we finished here? I am tired from swimming all night.”

Though he seemed the sort to have nothing to do with such a simple word as tired, Col had no choice but to believe him.

He had heard enough of what he wanted to hear anyway.

“Thank you so much.”

He gave his thanks, and after nudging Myuri, they stood. There must also be a mountain of work to do on the ship to get ready for departure. It would be rude to keep the room to themselves.

“I will be in town for a while. Call for me if you need anything.”

They had a strong ally. He thanked Autumn again and left the captain’s room.

Yosef seemed a bit jealous, but of course, he could not talk about what they had discussed.

He thanked him, too, crossed the pier, and left the harbor.

“What are you going to do, Brother?”

It was not so much a question of what he was going to do but what he wanted to do. In the end, they could not confirm some of the more extreme parts of Ilenia’s story.

What was certain was her strength and the fact that there was a limit to how much one could accomplish alone. And it went beyond saying how wonderful it was for someone to lend a hand.

He took a deep breath and returned Myuri’s gaze.

“Right now, I cannot support heading west beyond the sea.”

When he spoke, her face suddenly lit up.

“But…we’re helping Ilenia, right?”

She had stopped calling her a “sheep” and now called her by name.

“At the very least, collecting taxes aligns with my principles.”

Myuri seemed to understand, of course, that was not the only reason.

She happily drew closer to him and intertwined her fingers with his.

“I like that about you.”

When Col only offered a shrug in response to her carefree comment, her grin grew wider.

The world Ilenia spoke of, however, was completely different compared to the one he had envisioned. There might be another reality that he did not want to see waiting for them as they moved forward.

“May God protect us.”

He murmured, and Myuri looked up at him, smiling.

“I’m here with you, so you don’t have to worry.”

“…”

He ended up smiling in return instead of admonishing her.

It was quite impressive how she did not fear God.

Once their conversation with Autumn was over, they went to see Ilenia.

Col had not entirely believed everything she spoke of, such as what she claimed about the kingdom’s intentions.

However, he understood that her plan was not just a simple idea, that there was a meticulousness about it. When he imagined her standing up to something so big, even he shivered a little. And he remembered what Autumn had said:

“She might be at a dead end, like me.”

If he could not offer help to those in trouble, then faith was meaningless.

“She said the sign had a ship on it, right?”

Similar businesses clustered together in any city, so by gathering what they heard from the stalls, they had arrived on the inn street. It was chaotic, lively, and full of energy. People passing one another on the street did not look at each other not because they were rude, but because of the possibility that they did not speak the same language or because their thoughts were consumed by preparations they needed to make for the journey ahead.

Either way, there was a unique air about it.

It was like a gathering place for stray cats.

“Found it!”

Myuri pointed to a rusting copper sign featuring a ship that hung from the eaves of a nearby building. The round sign went well with the design of the ship’s bow poking out from beneath it.

They opened the door, and the cowbell rung lazily. The tavern was flourishing despite how early it was, and almost every seat was taken. At any other tavern in town, they would all turn their heads to look them up and down, but no one paid them any mind.

They slipped through the gaps between the tables, heading farther in, and they spoke to the owner who was flipping through the account book.

“Ilenia Gisele? Oh, Gisele the Black Sheep, huh? She just came back in. Her room’s the one in the back on the third floor.”

The owner did not lift his face from the book. Col was startled for a moment when he heard “Black Sheep,” but that hair of hers certainly did remind him of a black sheep. He thought about simply leaving her a message, but things would go much quicker if they could meet in person. He thanked the owner and they headed upstairs. There were several open doors along the hallway, and he could hear the cheerful sounds of chatting and melodies of instruments.

Ilenia’s room was the last at the end of the corridor, and they knew it was hers right away.

Mountains of scrap cloth and balls of wool peeked out from the boxes and sacks piled up beside her door, and there were even sheep horns decorating the top of the doorframe.

“…”

Myuri, who had been sensitive about eating mutton after meeting Ilenia for the first time, stared up at the horns in awe.

“It might be a spell.”

When she leaned forward to knock, the doorknob moved.

“…I’m sorry to bother you again.”

Ilenia stared at them from the other side of the door.

“Can I expect good things from you this time?”

She then showed them a joking smile and opened the door for them.

It was not just Myuri who held her breath at the sight of the room. It was so full of things there was almost no place to step, and nearly all of it was wool and wicker chests that were also packed full of wool.

“I’m sorry it’s so messy. Shall we go outside instead?”

“No, this is all right.”

Col stepped inside and felt as if he had entered a house made entirely of sheep’s wool.

“There are so many different kinds.”

Myuri murmured as she looked around the room, slack-jawed, and Ilenia smiled happily.

“There is wool from every kind of sheep that is raised in the kingdom.”

Upon closer inspection, there were different colors and all different lengths, and it did not look as though they all came from the same kind of sheep.

As Col stared about absently, he spotted a pile of soft, pitch-black wool in the corner.

Even an amateur like himself could see it had a beautiful sheen and looked very warm.

“This sort is absolutely wonderful.”

He stroked the loose bits that were sticking out, but Myuri suddenly slapped his hand away.

When he stared at her in surprise, she gave him a look.

Ilenia shrank in the corner of the room, as if trying to disappear, her face completely red.

“Oh, this—”

It was Ilenia’s wool.

“O-oh no, I’m glad you like it…”

She showed a tough smile, cleared her throat, and spoke in a suddenly serious tone.

“It’s free anyhow, and I just can’t seem to get rid of it.”

“Well, now.”

As Col responded, Myuri sighed loudly, noting that there were some things even he did not understand.

Nothing would get done like this, Col thought to himself as he regained his composure.

“Er, well, we’ve done some investigating on our own.”

Ilenia stood up straight. He noticed that those beautiful horns had appeared on the sides of her head. When Myuri saw that, her ears and tail appeared. Perhaps it was like when fellow merchants removed their hats when greeting one another or when nobles removed their gloves in the company of another noble.

“We even heard about you listening to the stories of a passing bird.”

He said that much, and she seemed to immediately know how they tried to gather evidence on her story.

“All things considered…”

Her hair puffed in anticipation.

“Yes. We will help you.”

The moment he said those words, tears fell from her eyes.

When Col realized that, he became flustered, adding on to his response. He did not want her to expect too much.

“But there are still many things I am unsure of. So for now, I’ll just be collecting taxes.”

“No…No. That’s more than enough.”

Ilenia wiped her eyes, lifted her head, and smiled bravely.

“Thank you so much. I think…it was God’s will that I met you two.”

She was not human and did not believe in the God humans spoke of. It was likely just a way for her to show her appreciation, but perhaps there were no other words for her to express it. The way she gripped Myuri’s hands in gratitude with both of her own in did not seem forced.

This was probably the first time they faced Ilenia’s story head-on.

“Okay, Brother, now’s the time to be useful!”

Myuri spoke after a weight had clearly been lifted off her chest.

He could never act as shamefully as he did in the northern islands again.

Once he decided to do something, he had to give it his all.

“So when shall we set off to collect?”

Ilenia hurriedly wiped her eyes and spoke in a mercantile manner.

“Anytime.”

The sooner the better.

Col responded.

“Well then, Miss Ilenia the wool broker, I have one request.”

“Ask away.”

She pulled her chin in, and her fluffy black hair waved softly.

Much like how a person’s words and behavior reflected their personality, the clothes a person wore was, in a way, like a language.

Though Col had no command over the language of merchants or artisans, he had confidence in the realm of faith.

They all stood in Ilenia’s room, and both Myuri and Ilenia wore vague smiles.

“Wow…You look like a grumpy person.”

“How strange. And you just looked like an honest but slightly unreliable young master from a trading company.”

It seemed they were perceiving the very image he wanted to give off.

He wore a coarse coat that Ilenia picked out for him. It was of a rough make, the threads not properly woven together, so the fluffed wool was stiff and itchy, and it hurt his skin. It was heavy and not warm at all. A monk living in the wilderness who believes in self-flagellation and desires rigorous trials of the soul would probably wear something like this.

It was meant to be worn directly over the skin, to endure against the discomfort that might drive him mad, but that was too much.

It was perfect simply worn over his clothes as a coat.

“I think it’s your spirit that doesn’t make you look totally miserable. It’s crazy how much you look like a completely stubborn, reckless young man.”

Myuri, who was not even half his age, gave her critical review as if she knew what she was talking about. Her outfit, by the by, was the complete opposite of his—she wore a soft, warm woolen robe that the color of fresh milk. If she wore her hood up and smiled, she looked like a perfectly noble, submissive, and obedient nun.

“I’ve heard the minstrels sing of me as the Twilight Cardinal, and I imagine he would wear something like this if such a man really existed.”

It was a familiar field to him, and his imagination looked back on what he knew.

Though he had thought of it as a joke when Sligh first mentioned it to him, judging by how the people in the trading house responded to him, he saw that rumors about him were really standing on their own. And so he would use that impression of himself to the fullest.

“I don’t think we’ll be kicked out with you dressed like that.”

“Whatever the reason, I think it was odd that the father was acting so violent in the first place.”

He spoke vexedly, but Ilenia only smiled. Such a quality made her naturally capable at working as a merchant.

“Well then, shall we go?”

The rumors that would spread if he wore this outfit into town would only cause him problems, so he quickly changed and they set off.

As they spoke along the way, Ilenia mentioned that the tax-collecting permit she possessed had cost fifty gold lumione, the world’s most well-known gold coin. A family could live modestly for a month with one gold lumione. Ilenia the wool broker should have a great amount of money.

On the other hand, that might have been absolutely no money to the cathedral under normal circumstances. However, it was the third year after their revenue stopped coming in, and since they did not know how long this would last, it was not an amount they could pay so easily.

“Large firms that spend all their time with deals costing huge sums of money could use their political power to collect the taxes. But companies here in town are different. They will without a doubt earn the cathedral’s hate. If you consider that, in the small chance that the Church gains the advantage in their fight with the kingdom, it is not worth the risk. That might be the biggest reason why tax collection isn’t going so well.”

“But is it not an inconvenience for—”

He only realized it when he began to speak.

“Right, because I’m an outsider. I only have to worry about until I move to the next base.”

Myuri stepped on his foot.

While he thought it would be rude to ask, there was still something he wondered about.

“But every time you move to a new place, do you have to begin your trade anew?”

He had heard Ilenia was a broker fulfilling the requests of a number of trading firms. If that were the case, then when she changed her residence, she had to build up trust from scratch. He could not imagine how much work that would be.

“On the surface, yes, but the one who introduced me to this work knows what I really am. So that is how I get my business.”

For nonhumans to live in the human world, they either needed to be blessed with resourcefulness or blessed with a partner who understood them. Ilenia, of course, had resourcefulness, but she had the latter first.

“You met a wonderful person.”

When Col said that, Ilenia smiled like a young girl. This smile was probably why Myuri, who would immediately begin to growl before Hyland, did not do the same with Ilenia.

It was just like that of a girl in love.

“Well, I would not be so sure about that.”

“Huh?”

“They’re the sort to risk literally anything for money, and I’m sure it didn’t really matter if I was a sheep or not, because if I were taught how to broker wool, it would just bring in a lot of money.”

There were actually merchants like that.

The foolhardy man who married the avatar of a giant wolf named Holo the Wisewolf was a traveling merchant, too.

“Of course, it’s thanks to them that I’ve managed to somehow survive in the human world. It was also with their help that I won the bid for this permit. No amount of thanks would ever be enough. But…”

Ilenia hesitated and gave a troubled smile.

“Lately, whenever we meet, all I hear is complaints about how young I look…”

Money could not buy youth.

Her words made her seem as though she was speaking fondly of a lover.

“One of my dreams is to make so much money that that person can be young again.”

He felt a certain earnestness from her profile. One of the reasons Ilenia must have had to escape the human world was because she dwelled on their eventual parting.

But she decided not to wallow in self-pity and instead chose hope.

They looked up at the cathedral when they reached the bottom of the cape—this would be their first test.

“Let’s go.”

At Ilenia’s enthusiastic call, Col took a great step forward.

Once they reached the top of the long stone staircase, Col changed behind one of the buildings at the empty square.

Looking down at the harbor from the top, they could see many small ships floating offshore from the port. Seabirds swarmed around them, so they must have been fishing ships.

“Do the priests here live in the cathedral?”

He was suddenly curious as Ilenia pulled the rolled parchment from her breast pocket.

“I heard they used to live in beautiful mansions in town, but once the conflict between the kingdom and the Church grew worse, they started to hole themselves up in the cathedral.”

“Because…they felt like they were in danger when they moved about town?”

“That might be it, but they might have been more afraid that the city council would take over the cathedral if they were gone.”

When she said that, he recalled how wrathful the priest looked when he kicked Ilenia out.

He understood that it came from a certain kind of fear, like a wounded beast.

“Does the priest manage the light in the lighthouse, too?”

“There used to be a lightkeeper who did, but now I think so. While religious activities are banned, maintaining the light at the lighthouse isn’t. The critics in town say that by keeping the light burning, they’re praying the pope’s army will come save them from the mainland.”

Such rumors were a relief to those who had been directly persecuted.

“But they probably truly want to make sure that the townspeople don’t get inside, and use the lighthouse fire as an excuse.”

The cathedral doors in any town were always open as a place for people in trouble to search for help.

But now, those doors had been shut tightly in distrust.

“The front entrance must be bolted shut, so let’s go to the back entrance.”

They rounded the cathedral, and there were several seabirds gathered there, perhaps since the building blocked the wind.

They did not fly off as they got closer, but not particularly because the animals understood one another.

“They’re used to people, thanks to the harbor. They attack me sometimes when I eat here.”

As though they understood her explanation, the seabirds gave a shrill cry.

Then they passed under a rusted, grated window, and as they neared the edge of the point, the back door finally appeared. It was a rustic metal entrance, and there was an observation window on it.

Ilenia stood at the entryway, took a deep breath, then pounded on the metal door with her open palm.

“Father! Father! We are here from the Desarev City Council!”

Her unrestrained loud voice and the sound of her knocking on the door drove all the seabirds away.

She continued to knock and repeated herself.

“Father! By the council, there has been a notice issued under royal decree! If you do not open this door, it will be considered rebellion against the city!”

They were ominous words, but the logic was sound.

And not before long, the observation window slid open.

“Father, as you know, a notice of the collection of tax has been issued by the city council.”

The gray eyes on the other side of the window were filled with the light of hatred.

“And here you are again, did you not learn your lesson? The taxes mean nothing. Since when was the kingdom God’s administrator?”

“I am not here to deprive you of the assets you have collected in heaven. I simply wish to return to the king the coins that bear his image.”

It was a common expression used in loaning and tax collection, and of course, the priest did not waver.

“There is no justice in taxes without just cause, and this is just the same as robbery. God will doubtless punish the king for his hubris.”

“If you think so, then why don’t you try paying taxes once? If that truly is an immoral act, then God would surely show you the truth.”

The priest’s eyes widened and glared at her. Ilenia held the clear advantage when it came to arguing, but there was a metal door between them, and she could not just pry it open and walk away with the money.

“Silence!”

The priest put his hand on the window.

“Wait.”

Col cut in, and the cover to the window stopped. The priest finally realized that there had been other people with Ilenia.

“Wh-what is it?”

For a second, it sounded as if he was going to yell, but when he saw how Col was dressed, it came out a whimper.

According to Sligh, the majority of priests in the kingdom fled to the mainland.

The priest’s face seemed oddly tense, perhaps because he was trying his hardest to bite back the relief of seeing a fellow holy man in enemy land.

Col deliberately wore clothes such as this to emphasize his dignity, as well as rouse the priest’s sense of camaraderie.

“I have heard of what is happening in this town from this Ilenia Gisele. I am Tote Col. I have come to see if there is anything I may be of assistance with.”

The priest’s eyes darted to Col, almost like a flinch, then he looked back to Ilenia.

“This man has come from the port town of Atiph. I’m sure you’ve heard the rumors, Father.”

At that moment, the priest gasped. The stories about Atiph as the starting point for the renewal of the Church must have reached here. It was said that many people from churches and monasteries, who had stockpiled their wealth, were going to Hyland seeking mediation.

If he were guilty, then he was not someone he would want to welcome readily.

“N-no, this is the Twilight Cardinal?”

It sounded as if Col’s other name really was spreading.

Feeling an odd tiredness to that reality, he answered.

“God knows who I am. However, I wish for you to take a look at this.”

He produced from his pocket a letter from Hyland. It was what summoned them to Rausbourne, and it clearly had Hyland’s signature and seal on it.

She always left them very precise letters to use in times like these when something happened.

As he opened the letter for the priest, he spoke.

“After meeting with the hermit Lord Autumn in the northern islands, we were headed toward Rausbourne, but due to the storm, we stopped by here. I believe that there was some meaning in this.”

The priest stared intently at the letter spread before him, and it was unclear if he was listening or not.

Someone who ran a cathedral in the kingdom would absolutely know that Hyland’s name held extraordinary meaning.

“I pray that repose comes to this town as soon as possible. It has been a long three years, and the people’s souls have gone without solace.”

That not only applied to the townspeople but to this priest as well.

Anyone would grow depressed living holed up in the cathedral, fearing that, at any moment, soldiers sent by the council or crazed citizens might rush in.

“How about it? As an outsider to this community, I believe I may be of use to both sides.”

He had not come to set fire to the cathedral. Perhaps that had gotten across to the priest, or maybe, should he refuse someone who looked like a priest who had earned a noble’s favor, he was worried he would lose his credibility.

The priest slowly closed his eyes and stepped back from the window.

There came the sound of metal unlocking.

“Please come in. I have no intentions of chasing away a servant of God.”

The metal door opened.

After a nod, Col entered. As Ilenia tried to enter after Myuri, she was cut off.

She looked at him from behind the priest, but from what he could tell by what he saw yesterday, the priest clearly did not trust her.

“Miss Ilenia, I will listen to what he has to say.”

She was about to say something but nodded obediently instead.

“Very well.”

The priest closed the door and locked it.

The passageway suddenly grew dark, and the smell of mold tickled his nose. He could even see dust dancing about in the sliver of light filtering through the crack in the door.

Myuri, with her keen wolf’s nose, sneezed.

“Come this way.”

There were hollows in the stone wall at regular intervals, and there were candelabra with the design of two angles holding up the bobeche, but it looked as though there had not been any candles there for a long time.

The cathedral was so quiet that it almost seemed as if the sound of the birds crying outside could be heard more clearly inside.

“Please, this way. This is the warmest room at this time of day.”

They were brought into a room with a long table. There was a great amount of stained glass used on the wall beside them, and large tapestries of numerous angels hung from the walls; it was too much for a messroom.

Perhaps this is where the priests and owners of the cathedral would manage the place and hold meetings.

Looking at it from a strict perspective, he could say it was luxuriously decorated, but his honest opinion was that it looked abandoned.

“Would you like something to drink? We don’t have much…”

“No, thank you.”

The priest, standing under the light filtering through the glass, looked terribly haggard. Autumn, too, had seemed particularly worn-down, but it seemed as though there was nothing to fill out the priest on the inside.

He would not be surprised if he peeled back the priest’s clothes to find nothing at all.

“Well, then…”

The elderly priest lowered himself into a chair, his hands on his knees.

“What will happen to me—I mean, this cathedral?”

The threatening attitude he had worn before Ilenia was nowhere to be seen.

Instead, the man suddenly covered his face with his hands and began to sob.