North x Northwest

“Anyway, we had to deal with a few smugglers while wondering how to get to Roahn. But who would’ve thought we would meet the Captain here?”

“This was absolutely reckless of you. Roahn is famous for having the tightest security among all imperial cities.”

“So we noticed… But what could we do? If you truly were dead, the least we wanted to do was to retrieve your body…”

“What nonsense…”

“When we were in prison, that was what bothered me the most. We thought that our Captain had been beheaded and your body wasn’t given proper burial. After all, those damn imperial bastards staked our heads in the South, so what would be stopping them from doing the same here in the Empire… Demons… On that damp floor, every night, every time I fell asleep, I had the same nightmare. I saw the Captain’s face, skewered through the teeth, looking at me…”

Glancing at Lil, Jericho muttered.

“…That’s right… What does it matter whether the Captain is a woman or not? What’s the big deal? You’re alive and well like this…”

“The fact that you keep commenting on it, makes it sound to me that it is a big deal.”

“…Oh, no.”

Jericho, who was scratching the back of his head in embarrassment, asked.

“But why, why did you trick us?”

“For the very reason you’re making such a big deal out of it.”

“No, I never thought that…”

“I guess we should stop talking about my identity. Your Captain was Lil Schweiz, not some random guy.”

Alain tapped Jericho on the shoulder. In fact, Alain didn’t look very confident either, but Jericho lowered his head as if he was being pushed away.

“That was rude of me.”

Along with the burning firewood, other sounds rose in the dawning silence; The sound of the wind seeping through the leaves, the sound of birds leaping from tree branches, and the sound of water flowing somewhere in the distance.

Lil spoke in the humid forest air.

“Just to tell you in advance, I’m not going back. I have work to do here.”

“What’s going on?”

“Regardless of the damages, the Navy has become furious and will turn the Ingres Sea upside down at any given time. War is on the horizon, but I’m trying to drag it out as long as possible.”

“How can the Captain alone achieve such an incredible undertaking?”

“I have the Admiral, so what can’t I do? I have to try everything.”

“..?”

Alain must’ve noticed her prevarication and narrowed his eyes at her.

“I can’t do it alone. But because there are people who think like me, I could start from there.”

“…”

Lil honestly thought that was true.

‘Me alone might not be anything special. But like Levi or Marie, there are people I could never have imagined existing in my previous life in the Empire. Maybe I lost hope too quickly in the past because I was young and narrow-minded. I thought that what I saw and experienced was everything that this damned world had to offer…’

So Lil couldn’t help but let herself be optimistic about the flow of time now.

‘The future doesn’t need to start out big. After all, didn’t Ed tell me that the farmer’s seed sprouted such a small will that one couldn’t have expected results in this huge Empire?’

“I can’t believe it, too, because actually, it’s also strange for me. I’m a really pessimistic person, but when I allow myself to say things like this, I feel as happy as a child…”

“Don’t mention it. Through the years, we all just agreed that the Captain’s personality would always be gloomy, like dark clouds without any rays of light.”

“It’s a shame we don’t have glasses. In times like this, we really could use a drink.”

Alain nodded and pretended to make a toast.

“To the Bell Rock and everyone who would gladly toast to that filthy character of yours.”

The three laughed at the same time.

Stories about the past flowed naturally. Alain, eventually, spoke with a red face even though he hadn’t had a single drop of alcohol and Jericho’s stories, on the other hand, were so exaggerated that the night wasn’t long enough to hear the end of it…

***

Lil forcefully woke up from her deep slumber. It was because Alain grabbed her arm and shook it.

“It’s dangerous here now that the day has come. You never know when the smugglers will break into an empty cabin. If the doctor is in good health, we should start moving and since our lives are on the line, it truly would be better for us to get going.”

Being blinded, Lil turned away from the sunlight pouring in from the shutters that Alain had opened. She stood up unsteadily, rubbing her tired eyes.

“Where do you think we should go? Reinforcements are on the way. It normally won’t take a day, but it’s a forest, so the paths may diverge… This is the cabin closest to the beach, right?”

Alain nodded his head.

“That’s right. In that case, it’s better to stay here than to wander outside.”

Jericho asked, wiping his nose.

“Captain. Do you have any cash?”

“…Are you kidding me? Didn’t I tell you I fell off a cliff?”

“I asked just in case… No matter who we meet, we can’t negotiate.”

“Okay, then we should quickly come up with another idea… It would be best if someone stood watch on the roof, though.”

Alain nodded and pointed at the ceiling before raising his index and middle finger.

“If you go up there, you will see two paths, one on the left and one on the right.”

Lil, who remembered the paths from when she first looked around the cabin, got up from her seat.

“Alain, stay to see if Ed wakes up and Jericho watch the sea from the door. I’ll guard the two paths from the roof.”

Lil accepted Alain’s gun.

“But Captain, how did you guys get wounded like this?”

“Are you now curious about that?”

“Well, seeing the doctor’s condition, it will be best to minimise our injuries. That’s why I can’t help but be curious about how this all happened.”

“Well, we got hurt somehow.”

“Did you accidentally fall off the cliff?”

Lil nodded half-heartedly and opened the front door.

The sea was visible between the sparse tree trunks, while the wind was calm and the sky was clear without a cloud. Despite the tranquil scenery, her mind was growing impatient. Lil quickly climbed the wall to get onto the roof, feeling the curves of the intertwined logs under her sole. After reaching the top, she lay down in a stable position for sniping.

The wind ruffled her hair. And although her forehead itched, she didn’t dare to move. She couldn’t afford the luxury as she had to stay focused…

***

Ed opened his eyes with a terrible thirst. The first thing he noticed was the sparse darkness, followed by the burning fireplace.

“I’m sorry, Doctor. It’s quite dark, isn’t it? I had to close the shutters.”

“Who…”

“Don’t be surprised. It’s me, Alain.”

Alerted by those words, Ed tried to turn his head. Of course, it didn’t rotate the way he wanted.

‘Where is Liloa? And how is Alain here?’

He forced his dry vocal cords to move.

“Lil… You wouldn’t have killed Lil…”

“Just drink some water.”

Alain, who supported Ed’s head, poured water into his mouth.

“You still have a fever. I guess I should hurry and find those herbs…”

Ed hoped that Alain would start explaining their current situation on his own without him having to say anything more. Luckily, Alain saw Ed’s twitching lips and gave him the answer he wanted.

“The Captain is on the roof. We’ll never know when the smugglers will strike. This forest… No, you would know better…”

“..?”

Ed asked with his eyes.

“As the Admiral.”

His throat fell dry again.

‘Why did Liloa think it was a good idea to leave me here alone with Alain?’

Ed tried to raise his upper body even if it was too much for him. He thought that would be better for his sanity. Unfortunately, the damp log hit his back again.

Alain spoke, supporting Ed.

“Don’t worry. Me and Jericho are only repaying our debt.”

“…”

“After you sent us off like that… I have never felt at ease. The only thing I thought about was to rescue our Captain and ensure he… No, she was safe.”

Ed asked, trying to catch his breath.

“Was the Bell Rock… shipwrecked? Why are you here?”

“Our mission was to retrieve the body if the Captain had died. At the Devito Harbour, you said it yourself, that the people who attacked the Captain were people even you don’t know.”

“You and Jericho?”

“That’s right. There were more than a hundred men who wanted to follow, but how could we possibly risk ourselves getting mobbed and killed in droves? So, in the end, only me and Jericho went back.”

Alain was about to wipe Ed’s face with a clean cloth. Ed, however, instinctively avoided the touch and was handed the cloth instead.

“This…”

“This is what I got from going back and forth to other cabins a few times. We’ve only seen smugglers once or twice, and they don’t move goods as systematically as we thought. Even though it’s imperial land, I never expected the system to be more shabby than Amiaeng.”

Ed struggled to wipe his face and neck without answering, it didn’t go as easily as he hoped. He then lifted the cloth that covered him like a blanket, the condition of his legs was no different.

As he looked around, he saw dusty furniture and a floor covered with dried grass. The shutters were closed, but his eyes were already accustomed to the darkness enough for him to know that he was in an environment in which it wouldn’t be strange if he were to become infected and die soon.

“Damn it.”

“So, how did you end up like this?”

“Didn’t the Captain explain?”

“I only heard you got hurt because of an accident.”

‘I guess she skipped that part. Well, she wouldn’t have been able to say that her brother caused all of this.’

Ed answered vaguely.

“It’s not much different from what happened on the Bell Rock.”

“Speaking of ‘on the Bell Rock’, Admiral, why on earth were you on our ship?”

“I can only tell you that it was completely unrelated to the Navy. Will you believe me this time?*”

“Honestly, it’s hard to believe, but I trust the Captain.”

– – – – –

Reference:

“… Will you believe me this time?” = Chapter 135 = When Ed was imprisoned on the Bell Rock, he pleaded to Alain that he was innocent and needed to speak to the Captain. Alain, however, didn’t believe him and refused to call Lil.