North x Northwest

Ed’s rehabilitation session was completed in less than two hours. Lil was sceptical at first, but as she walked with him, she found him getting accustomed to his ebony cane very easily. The cane supported his body perfectly as if he was familiar with having an injured leg. However, since one of his arms was broken and wrapped with a bandage and a leather belt, its movements were restricted. So, the problem and therefore the real challenge was that Ed was left with no other free hand.

“In case of an attack, can you defend yourself?”

As if he found it ridiculous that he was even asked something like that, Ed snorted.

“With this.”

Lil watched the cane he was waving in front of him.

‘Does he mean to use it like a spear or something?’

Nonetheless, it was clear that her worries were unfounded when she recalled the scars covering every inch of his body. She had always heard that Admiral Retiro had led and survived numerous naval battles, but to her, those abstract rumours had lacked vivid sentiment before.

Lil stared at Ed’s back as he was going down the stairs.

‘Now, after watching closely from the side, I finally understand. His physicality and incredible mental strength are tightly intertwined like weft and warp, contributing to his overall vitality. His resilience is simply incomparable to anyone else’s.’

After they went out the front door of the mansion, they rode down to Smuggler’s Forest. It was a sunny day without a speck of fog and their horse’s hooves crunched on the dry leaves. Alain and Jericho followed Lil and Ed. Since Jericho didn’t actually know how to ride a horse properly, Alain had to ride a bigger one, so that Jericho could sit behind him. Jericho explained that he rode a horse without any hesitation purely on instinct just so they could sprint out of the forest, but now that he’s come to his senses, he couldn’t ride one till his life depended on it.

Alain steered his horse beside Lil. When she looked behind him, she spotted Jericho leaning on Alain’s back and holding his waist tightly.

“If you just help us with this, we’ll be able to quickly send you on a boat from the next city. Ed is also in the clear now, so we’ll leave town as soon as we finish our business here.”

“But what’s with the forest? I heard that that nobleman from the Northern Continent had searched the entire area already. So why are we going back?”

“Linhardt Retiro.”

“Oh, Mr. Linhardt? Come to think of it, they have the same last name? They must be family, right?”

Lil corrected the title again.

“Sir Retiro.”

“…S… Sir Retiro?”

As Jericho stammered and repeated Lil, Alain shouted while sitting in front of him.

“No, you bastard! What usable thing can you do if you can’t even pronounce his title right? Sir Retiro! Come on, repeat after me!”

Jericho looked at Lil as if asking why this damn old man was being harsh on him like this. But Lil agreed with Alain and shook her head strictly.

“You’re already standing out. To avoid suspicion and disguise your identities, it’s best to learn the imperial nobles’ titles.”

‘It’s not even an exaggeration. There are no Southerners roaming freely in the Empire’s lands. For now, the soldiers and villagers are still a bit puzzled when Alain doesn’t show any signs of hesitation as he speaks directly to Ed. But the longer they stay, the more suspicious they will be.’

Lil intended to have them return safely from the next port, Simena.

Unable to resist Alain’s urging, Jericho began practising in earnest.

“…Sir Retiro… Sir Retiro…”

Ed, who was far in the front for a while, slowed down until he rode shoulder-to-shoulder with them and spoke up.

“First, let’s go to the cabin you were trying to take us to.”

“Why there?”

“Linhardt said that the ship escaped, but by that time, some yachts had probably already been sent to the beach with unloaded cargo. Then, in a situation where the Imperial Army was in pursuit, it wouldn’t have been possible for them to reload the cargo that had already been unloaded. So, how do you think they handled it?”

“They must’ve burned it.”

“But according to the soldiers who came down to investigate, there were no signs of anything being set on fire.”

“So that’s why you want to go to that cabin? Well, come to think of it, those cabins aren’t hidden from plain sight for no reason… The trees get denser on both sides of the coast. We couldn’t even find where they were for the first day or two…”

“But what are you trying to do by looking for smugglers?”

“Insurance.”

“…Insurance?”

Lil intervened for Ed.

“Ah, there are so many people who want to kill me and Ed. We collected a lot of grudges together, so it can’t hurt to gather some insurance here and there.”

Alain, with an expression of understanding, nodded.

“Well, considering all the things you’ve done… Ahem! Hmm! I just heard the rumours…”

Lil laughed upon hearing Alain belatedly remembering the rumours surrounding Admiral Retiro, which he had long forgotten. Her laughter was so loud that small surrounding animals ran away in order to avoid them.

Lil, who soon felt pain in her stomach and clutched it, answered.

“Don’t worry. Collecting scalps is not one of his hobbies.”

“Ahem! Hmm! Still, the man-eating fish…”

“He also said he never raised anything like that.”

Instead of Alain, it was now Jericho who replied with a mixture of relief and joy.

“That’s a relief. Actually, I didn’t fully believe it either. If it was true, then it’s not something a human being could do. That’s just crazy.”

At those words, the three of them, except for Ed, nodded at the same time. As they continued to talk about trivial things, they made their way through the forest.

‘Just a few days ago, when we were struggling to get out of this place, the scenery was extremely gloomy, but today it’s just refreshing. Even the sound of the waves is pleasant to be heard from afar.’

Alain pulled the reins at an angle.

“To the right here. Where the trees are a little more dense.”

Under Alain’s guidance, they found a few cabins, but unfortunately they were all empty. There were no traces of a fire or of anyone moving cargo.

After inspecting the last one, Alain turned his horse around and spoke.

“This leaves us with one last cabin to search.”

As the group didn’t find the results they were looking for, the atmosphere became a bit more downcast than before. Feeling a sudden thirst, Lil took the water bottle from her saddle to drink. Afterwards, she spoke lightly, worried that Alain or Jericho felt an unnecessary sense of responsibility.

“…We don’t really need insurance. It’s something we can do without, right? It’ll work out somehow. Still, I can’t believe you actually remembered all these places. Even if we didn’t find anything, it was a great help especially since we’re running out of time…”

“We understand the seriousness of the situation, so you don’t need to appease us. We know that much. We saw for ourselves how the doctor’s life was hanging by a thread that day. If Jericho hadn’t brought the herbs, he wouldn’t have been able to walk that far…”

Lil nodded.

“You’re right.”

Ed also looked back at Alain as if he suddenly remembered something.

“Now that I think about it, I didn’t even get to say thank you for helping me.”

“What? You don’t have to. People from the same boat help each other…”

“Oh my! No need to say things like that, Doctor…”

“…”

Jericho waved his hand politely.

“…Whenever I remember that… time*, I feel nothing but terrible and ashamed… Although the situation was complicated, I’m just sincerely sorry about what happened.”

Of course, no one among them didn’t know to which incident he was refereeing. Alain just nodded in agreement, unable to open his mouth.

Not long after the group moved in silence, Alain stopped.

“This is the only one left.”

“Here?”

After cutting through the forest, they found themselves in front of a coastal cliff. Geographically, it seemed to be the northern end of the forest.

“Look over there, Captain.”

“Where?”

Alain moved his horse along the cliff with Lil following close behind him, craning her head. At first glance, it seemed like one side of the forest was blocked by a gigantic iron wall, but upon closer inspection, that wasn’t the case. A long time ago, when the sea level was much higher, a gap was formed and smoothed out by the waves. The arched gap acted like a door in the yellowish stone wall. It was large enough for about three to four people to enter and exit the forest simultaneously and continue on the other side.

Lil looked up at the high cliff.

“How did you find this place?”

– – – – –

Reference:

“…Whenever I remember that… time, I feel nothing but terrible and ashamed… Although the situation was complicated, I’m just sincerely sorry about what happened.” = Chapter 134 = Jericho is referring to the moment they dumped Ed’s lifeless beat-up body into the sea after he was attacked by Courant.