Vermillion

Chapter 23.1

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Next morning.

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The caravan departed a little later than planned… again.

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Needless to say, it was due to Pierre’s carriage. The village blacksmith had repaired it to working condition again, and the problem was fixed, but it took up a lot of time.

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“If anything happens again, I’m going on without you.” Holland had threatened angrily.

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The carriage wheels rolled along with a clatter.

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Riding Saskue, Kei was, for some reason or another, stationed next to Pierre’s carriage.

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“Iya~, I’m reassured now that Kei’s here.”

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Pierre had a huge smile on his face as he held the reins of the carriage, the gloom from being scolded by Holland nowhere to be seen. He was a thin man in his late twenties, a young peddler fresh out of apprenticeship. However, despite being a full fledged merchant, Kei had different impression of Pierre compared to that of Holland and the other merchants. Perhaps it was because he had just started business and lacked capital, or that he had a poor physique.

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“If anything else comes up, please lend me your assistance! I’ll be counting on you, Kei!”

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“… That’s great.”

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To Pierre’s enthusiasm, Kei unintentionally let out a small sigh to himself.

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It short, he had been reassigned.

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Yesterday, Pierre seemed to have been impressed by Kei’s strength and had petitioned Holland to have him stationed by his carriage in the event of an emergency. Holland, who had no reason to refuse, easily agreed.

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In the first place, Kei and Aileen were the surplus forces on the caravan who weren’t necessarily needed. They were originally just travelers tagging along, and only received the role of escort where they earned a salary through their connection to the Cornwall Institution.

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Thus, from Holland’s perspective, Kei’s location was not really important. Where he was could be moved around at will.

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(??Well, I suppose this is fine, but… )

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“Mu~,” Kei had a troubled expression. He eyed a scene a dozen meters or so away.

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Aileen was riding Suzuka?with a blond young man walking alongside on foot.

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(… You don’t have to be that aggressive!)

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Naturally, the young man was Alexei.

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Even though he was a warrior and a member of the caravan, Alexei was not an escort. Thus, he had no special obligations in exchange for not getting a salary. At best, he would help defend when the caravan was attacked, but besides that, he could do whatever he wanted as long as it did not disturb anyone else.

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Presently, he was cheerfully talking to Aileen while carefreely taking slow, elongated strides with his hands behind his head.

?? ???, ?? ????????

?So, did you know??

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?About what??

?????? ?? ??? ????????? …?

?When he was little… ?

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Snippets of the conversation could be heard, carried over by the wind, though Kei couldn’t understand any of it as naturally, it was in Russian. Such had been the case the entire morning.

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“ … ”

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Kei felt himself becoming restless. It was clear that Aileen was simply talking to someone in Russian, but nonetheless, he couldn’t help but feel irritated over it. Perhaps it was because he didn’t understand the contents of the conversation, or maybe it was the fact that Alexei was talking to Aileen in an overly-familiar manner?

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Or…

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“… Fuu~”

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Kei let out a small sigh.

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How was he supposed to deal with this feeling springing forth from the bottom of his chest? Kei fretted over this question lonelily atop his mount.

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Or rather, he was engaged in observing the Russian-speaking pair in parallel.

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It was readily evident that Alexei occupied most of the conversation. Aileen was basically just fielding the answers.

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“What’s up, Kei-kun. You don’t look that well.”

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Someone inquired vaguely from the side.

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It was Pierre, who was looking worriedly at Kei.

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“… Nothing.”

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For just a moment, Kei had the urge to retort “it’s your fault!” but kept that to himself. Instead, Kei fervently shook his head and gestured with his hands in denial.

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“There’s nothing of the sort. I’m perfectly normal.”

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“Is that so?”

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“Yeah.”

???????????????????????”???????????????????”

Kei suddenly recalled Alexei’s words from last night: “I’m an acquaintance of Mr. Pierre’s.”

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“… Ah, that’s right Pierre. There’s something I wanted to ask you.”

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“Hm? What is it? Feel free to ask me anything on your mind.”

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As Pierre answered with a laugh, Kei thought to himself that the merchant really wasn’t that bad a guy.

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“Last night, Alexei said that you were acquaintances. How’d you get to meet him?”

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“Oh, Alexei? He’s my lifesaver.”

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“Your lifesaver?”

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An unexpected answer kita~. Pierre had distant eyes as he began recounting his story while stroking his incipient stubble. (ED Note: The “kita~” ?literally “it has come/arrived”? is a meme, something along the lines of “a wild pikachu appeared!” There’s an “omg” or “aaah!” factor associated with it.)

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“Ah, that was two years ago, when I was still an apprentice. I had been riding on my master’s carriage, just east of the Morula river, when we were attacked by bandits.”

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“Oho.”

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“It was a sneak attack. They sniped us with bows from the back, so one of the escorts died instantly and the other was wounded… There was no choice but for my master and the other apprentices, myself included, to fight too.”

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Pierre lifted the tarp of the carriage to reveal a short bow placed just behind the carriage bench.

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“Our master, the injured escort, and the other apprentices… we were prepared to put up a fight, but there were a lot of enemies. Seven, no, I think there were eight of them, and they all looked strong on top of that. Just as I was just about to give up, he appeared!”

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Pierre theatrically threw up the reins, facing the heavens.

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“This boy comes darting across from the other side of the road like a flying arrow… It was him! At the time, he was shorter and more childish than he is now, but he was still really strong. Like a mantis, he killed five of the bandits in an instant, and the rest fled with their tails between their legs.”

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“My, that’s… certainly impressive.”

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The words that came from Kei’s mouth were undoubtedly heartfelt. Currently, Alexei looked about eighteen years old. Two years ago, he would’ve been roughly sixteen. Judging from the story, he seemed to have won from the momentum of his surprise attack, but nevertheless, taking down five grown men was no easy feat by any stretch of the word.

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“It seems he can’t be made light of,” thought Kei with sharp look as Pierre continued.

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“That scene left such a strong impression on me that it was burned in my mind: I can still remember it to this day. Man, he was really strong… Master held a feast for him as thanks in the next village, but I, as an apprentice, couldn’t do anything. I had sworn to myself then that the next time we met, I’d thank him properly. And just the other day, I ran across Alexei in the city ?would you believe that??and here we are now.”

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It would seem that “the next time” was just a few days ago, in Satyna.

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“I see, but… what a coincidence. It’s not everyday that a skilled, sword-bearing stranger saves your life in the middle of nowhere… ”

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“It’s not just you. I can’t help but think that way myself.”

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“But, he’s one of the Snowfield people, right? Why would he be in such a remote place by himself?”

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Leaning towards Kei, Pierre answers secretively,

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“It seems that he was on a training journey… some sort of coming of age ceremony for the Snowfield tribe if you will. Apparently, he has a Crest, an emblem given only to a clan’s finest warriors.”

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“… Ho.”

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Kei’s voice tensed when he heard Pierre mention Crests.

????????????DEMONDAL?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

Crests were a secret art created by the Snowfield people, at least according to the background story of Demondal. It was a kind of magic that borrow the power of spirits in order to seal the soul of a beast within a person’s body, greatly strengthening them in the process.

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In order for players to obtain it, it was necessary to visit the homes of the Snowfield people and complete tough trials imposed by the elders, though the difficulty could be reduced though purchasable items. Kei likely suspected the mechanics and the content of the trial to be the same in this world as in-game.

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Although, it was unknown whether the trials were open to outsiders here.

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Anyhow, through a combination of in-game purchases and outright grinding, Kei managed to get three of such emblems: “Sight Enhancement,” “Body Enhancement,” and “Muscle Strength Enhancement.”

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In PvP battles, the possession of a Crest makes for a huge difference in ability. That would explain how Alexei, who at the time was not even an adult yet, had been able to single handedly subdue multiple bandits. “Strength Enhancement” or “Body Enhancement”?it’s likely that he a strength boosting Crest engraved on him.

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“Snowfield warriors who earn a Crest seem to wander around the country for two years in order to polish their skills. After we parted ways two years ago, they usually head east towards the mining city of Garon where they would fight against monsters and uncivilized tribes along the frontier… Oh, also?”

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Just from recalling the thought, Pierre broke into a smile.

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“In Alexei’s case, he’s also out looking for a mate to introduce some fresh blood into the clan.”

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“… Ho?.”

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The atmosphere became chilly at Kei’s response.

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“Hey, hey, what’s wrong Kei?”

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On the opposite side of the carriage, Dagmar, who had been silently listening to the conversation on his own horse, piped up to tease Kei.

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“Are you concerned your bride is being snatched away?”

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Dagmar addressed Kei with an amused expression while glancing towards the carriage ahead.

????????????your wife?????????????????????????????

Following Dagmar’s line of sight, only after a pause did Kei realize that “his wife” that Dagmar was referring to was in fact Aileen.

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“That’s not the case, you know.”

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While shaking his head, a mysterious smile crept up Dagmar’s face, as saying “really?” in response to Kei hurried reply. Seeing Dagmar’s disconcerting expression, Kei let out a cough to calm himself down.

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“Anyhow, she’s neither my wife, nor my lover. We were never in a relationship to begin with. Per-i-od.”

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“Heh?”

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Dagmar’s tone was practically dripping with doubt.

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“… But you’re sleeping in them same tent as that girl, aren’t you?”

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“Well~, you’re not wrong.”

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Having been called out by Dagmar, Kei wore a sober expression.

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Last night, Kei and Aileen had indeed slept in the same tent.

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As Kei had fallen asleep early due to the night shift, he was never consciously aware of the fact that actually in the same tent as Aileen, but it was true nonetheless that they had slept close together in some semblance of a bed.

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But the logic behind their cohabitation was disappointingly utilitarian. For one, two people together are safer than one. Furthermore, they didn’t have the quantity of luggage necessary to justify a second tent, nor the actual tent for that matter. There were other reasons too, but the baseline was that the thought of “it’s inappropriate to sleep together” had never crossed Kei’s mind before. They had been sleeping in the same room in the inn the whole time, what difference did it make now?

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“It’s true we’ve been sleeping in the same tent but… you see… there wasn’t no ‘contact’ or anything, you know?”

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“Are you serious?”

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“Yeah”

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Seeing Kei’s hesitant response, Dagmar and Pierre looked at each with an incomprehensible expression on their face. Eventually, Dagmar seemed to have an epiphany as he exclaimed,

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“I see… so you’re into men. In that case, I’ll call you gay instead of Kei.”

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“No, that’s not right!”