Wolf & Parchment, Volume 3 Read online

  Col wondered if this was Saint Nex’s cloth, but Ilenia shook her head.

  “But I wonder how much treasure used to be in here?”

  Col murmured absently after a lap around the room. Habbot was terribly frightened, knowing that they must have suspected him of such thievery, but Col added that they were not planning on pressuring him.

  But Ilenia spoke frankly.

  “There was a long period of time when this cathedral sucked out all the vitality of Desarev. I think this is appropriate.”

  It looked as though once the original shelving was not enough, they just kept adding more and more.

  Greed was one of the seven deadly sins written about in the scripture.

  It was a truth that vexed him more than anything else.

  As he sighed in annoyance, Ilenia stood before Habbot and spoke.

  “Father. I have successfully bid on a permit of tax collection commissioned by the Desarev City Council, issued under the name of Heir Klevend, and have come to collect your tax. Under the authority of the council and the prince, I will now do so.”

  Habbot could not oppose the girl before him. His head drooped as he nodded.

  Ilenia immediately began to look for appropriate articles, but Col realized something.

  Where was Myuri?

  It was hard to see very far as the shelves stood in rows.

  Finally, in a place where the candlelight barely reached, he saw her crouched down, shuffling around. The white, fluffy robe she wore made her like a giant mold monster.

  “Myuri?”

  He called out to her, wondering what sort of tricks she was up to this time, and Myuri glanced back at him, then stood. She then slowly made her way toward him, then wrapped both her arms around his waist in an embrace.

  “Wh-what is it?”

  Surprised at the sudden move, he then realized that her tail was peeking out from her robe. She soon let go, and there was a dagger in her hand. She had not hugged him but wanted to get ahold of the dagger he typically carried with him.

  He watched her move about silently as she crouched down and, without a moment of hesitation, stuck the dagger into the floor.

  “Hey, Myuri, what—?”

  Before he could finish speaking, she pushed the haft of the dagger like a lever.

  Then, with a ka-klunk, the stone on the floor moved.

  “I knew it. This was the only stone that wasn’t properly in place. It was rattling.”

  She stuck the dagger once more into the crack in the stone floor and lifted it up from the same point. The stones covering the floor at their feet were about the same size as Myuri’s small feet and were just like bricks.

  She then pulled out another, then another, and continued to do so until a wooden door appeared.

  “I remember this from Mother and Father’s journey.”

  She grinned.

  “You hide the real thing, so you can relax even if someone exposes everything.”

  He could imagine that stubborn pair doing such a thing.

  But he had not imagined there would be yet another hiding spot in an already hidden room.

  “Miss Ilenia! Father!”

  Col called the two over, and they were both shocked.

  “I’m opening it.”

  Then, after pulling the door open, there was a moldy, dusty, drab cloth covering. He pulled it away, and there were a few shabby wooden boxes.

  They were all different sizes, but even the biggest could easily be held with two hands. The smallest could rest on the palm. Myuri must have been expecting a mountain of shimmering gems, so she looked disappointed. Habbot, too, seemed rather relieved that it was not a treasure.

  But Ilenia and Col were different.

  They were nervous, and there was obvious sweat dripping down his back.

  The true holy relics always looked shabby.

  “Miss Ilenia, this…”

  He called out to her, and she snapped to attention, then drew her face closer to the boxes as though she were about to stick her face into them.

  There was faint writing on the boxes, and it could have either been a curse on the insolent individuals who tried to touch it, or…

  Ilenia pulled out a long box from among them.

  Myuri immediately sneezed at the smell of mold and dust.

  As if she had forgotten to breathe, much less sneeze, Ilenia gingerly opened the lid to the box.

  Inside was a white cloth wrapped in parchment.

  “Here it is.”

  Her quiet voice was the only sound that echoed throughout the vault.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  The cloth of Saint Nex looked like a normal piece of fabric.

  It was rather thick and a bit hard and quite heavy besides. It was like wool of poor quality that had stiffened.

  Besides that, it just looked like a normal piece of cloth, and Col felt a little disappointed. How Habbot so readily agreed when Ilenia announced she would be taking this in place of taxes was likely due to how plain it looked.

  “I don’t think that will go for very much in the current market.”

  Ilenia told Habbot it was personally important to her.

  Habbot knew who Saint Nex was, and perhaps that was why he could not pick out how much it might be worth. Perhaps he thought that the hairs of a more notable saint or a fragment of the famed ark, which could have been in there as well, could fetch much more exorbitant prices.

  They carefully put the stone floor back in place and closed the secret entrance. He did not know what Habbot might do with these, but he at least had a night to think about it.

  When he saw them off, he still looked absent.

  “But it just looks like a regular cloth. Is this really it?”

  The wind was a bit strong as they descended along the stone staircase from the point. Just within arm’s distance above them as they staggered along, the seabirds glided through the air overhead. It was as if they were mocking the three who could not fly, and as Myuri sometimes raised her head to growl at them, this assumption seemed likely to be true.

  “They say that a relic’s value is in its box and certificate. And I am sure this box is genuine.”

  Overcome with relief, Ilenia would have broken into a full smile if she loosened up any more, and Col nodded.

  “I also saw the signature of a monastery I know. Its history was written down, as well.”

  “Indeed. But as for questioning whether the cloth is real or not…I think that’s only half right.”

  It was only at times such as this that Ilenia’s expression clouded.

  “This is the first time I’ve seen cloth like this, but it did not seem like it had been very well respected.”

  “Respected?”

  It had been properly placed and put away in a box.

  That was what Col thought, but Ilenia tilted her head, puzzled.

  “There was a cover over the boxes when we opened the wooden door, right? That cloth was the same as this.”

  They had put the cloth back over the rest of the relics as it had been when they opened it, but he had not imagined it would be the same kind of cloth.

  “Right…I would certainly think of it as regular fabric that way. But what do you mean that half of it is real?”

  “I think Myuri’s noticed why, as well.”

  Myuri, who had been unproductively staring at the birds, suddenly looked at them in surprise upon hearing her name.

  “Yeah?”

  “Do you think this cloth is a relic, too?”

  Col directed his question at Myuri, and she looked at the box in Ilenia’s arms, then shrugged.

  “I dunno. But I do know that it’s weird fabric.”

  Col furrowed his brows because he did not think so.

  “Weird?”

  “Yeah. I have no idea what it’s made of.”

  Not knowing what she meant, he looked at Ilenia.

  “It does not smell like any animal. Of course, nor like any plant.”

&nbs
p; There were several types of fabric. There was animal fur, plant product, then threads produced by insects.

  “I have heard a myth of clothes made from the silk of a spider that repented after listening to a saint’s lecture…”

  “I don’t know. At any rate, it only smells like the stones in that basement. It is entirely possible that it was once a common sort of fabric a long time ago, but hard to come by nowadays.”

  If both the wolf and sheep said so, then it was entirely possible.

  While he agreed somewhat that it must be Saint Nex’s cloth, something felt off.

  There were stories of water turning into wine by God’s miracles. But wine was wine. It was unlikely that it turned into wine that did not smell or taste of grapes, which he had never seen or heard of in his life.

  If there was a miracle of Saint Nex, would it turn into a fabric that was made from an unknown material?

  “No matter. As long as I have this box and the certificate, I can sell this to the prince.”

  Ilenia smiled a smile he had never seen before and said those words as she had done so a million times already.

  “Thank you.”

  A sheep girl who had even asked the migrant birds about the world beyond the sea.

  They had helped her move forward, and it almost felt as if that was good enough.

  “I will repay you.”

  “Then may I ask one thing?”

  Col was able to ask that because the world had not been very kind to him ever since he left Nyohhira.

  “If you meet someone from the royal family, could you ask them to please think earnestly about the question of faith?”

  A legendary bear lived at the edge of the sea, and the avatars of a wolf and a sheep stood before him. But the God written about in the scripture was nowhere to be found.

  He could not help but think about how ironic it was when he considered it, but Ilenia stared blankly at him for a different reason.

  “…Is that all?”

  She then looked at the wooden box she held tightly in her arms.

  “This cloth might bring about quite the amount of money, depending on how it would be used. It would not be difficult to make a shiny copper off it without directly selling it.”

  “Does earning the good favor of the prince second in line for the throne fall under one of those uses?”

  Opportunities such as those rarely if ever came to those born into this world.

  Ilenia smiled earnestly.

  “Certainly.”

  They say she was a broker who did honest trade.

  Even if the kingdom was in conflict with the Church for reasons other than faith, that did not mean that faith would completely disappear. If they kept at it, they could possibly bring back their ideal Church.

  At the very least, it was more realistic than creating a new country in a land at the end of the sea that no one has ever seen.

  “If that’s what you ask, then I have a better idea.”

  As those thoughts ran through his head, Ilenia spoke.

  “Why don’t you come with me? My cause will become more persuasive, and I believe your goals will be realized, too, Sir Col.”

  He was not that surprised, perhaps because it was a foregone conclusion.

  “And it would be reassuring to have someone to be the bridge between us and humans.”

  He felt a strong gaze on his cheek that came along with Ilenia’s invitation. It was, of course, Myuri.

  Her red eyes spoke eloquently—Stop doing what that blondie is telling you to do and let’s do what Ilenia wants.

  But he needed to remember what Hyland had said.

  She said that members of the royal family fought over one another’s rights and were killing each other. He was not as good-natured as to expect that the rest of them were as fervent in their faith as Hyland was.

  “I appreciate the offer, but I’ve already decided who I want to serve.”

  Ilenia looked disappointed, but when he saw her reaction, he had a different idea.

  “Why don’t you come with us, instead?”

  “Huh?”

  “The one I serve is dedicated to her faith and…might even understand those who are not human.”

  Myuri twisted her face when she heard him say that, but Hyland had obviously noticed Myuri’s true form. And when the kingdom sets off on their journey to the edge of the sea, Hyland could, at the very least, come along as well. Through her, they could also get involved in the kingdom’s plans.

  That was what he thought, but Ilenia smiled sadly.

  “That was the letter you showed at the cathedral, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “I know the name of Heir Hyland. She is a member of the royal family with a large territory, but she is not a legitimate heir. ‘Heir’ is in name only.”

  And on the contrary, Heir Klevend was second in line for the throne.

  “And by making the expedition to the new world successful, the prince plans to assume the throne…Or at the very least, I guess that he plans to call himself the king of the new world.”

  She meant that since they could not beat her, they should join her instead.

  But not every part of this story smoothed out nicely. Ilenia’s plan was missing the answer to a very important question they had to consider.

  “King of the new world? Does Heir Klevend understand nonhumans?”

  If they were to join the fleet under the prince’s command to go to the new world, then of course, the land would belong to the prince and the kingdom.

  Or would they rush farther inland upon landing and create a base there? As he thought about this and that, he realized the expression on Ilenia’s face.

  At that moment, he understood that he could never be like Autumn.

  “I think…it’ll go well.”

  She smiled weakly, and her head was tilted. What he felt from her was not fear. It was probably more accurate to call it a kind of envy.

  Ilenia was a sheep. But she was something else in sheep’s clothing.

  They were probably planning on hiding a number of nonhumans among the fleet, and either once they reach land or after they defeat the bear, they would rise in revolt. That very option itself was prompt and certain. They did not have the slightest notion of being honest.

  Should he not point out how evil that was?

  He thought and opened his mouth to speak, but Myuri tugged on his sleeve and stopped him.

  “My job is to protect Brother.”

  There was no mirth in her deep red eyes.

  He remembered Ilenia’s right hand, which had pounded the floor in the vault at the cathedral. Even if Myuri was capable enough to compete with her, she could lose if she protected him at the same time.

  “…I am ashamed at how powerless I am.”

  When he said that, Ilenia gave a troubled smile, then spoke lightly, brushing it all off.

  “If you don’t mind, why don’t we have dinner together tonight? I will send the message to the prince, but that is not enough to satisfy me. I want thank you properly.”

  “Oh no, we don’t need—”

  “I will pick out and prepare the finest mutton.”

  Ilenia said this calmly.

  It was her way of showing she was ready to cross the line.

  Different people might see that either as strength or as something to be cautious of.

  But she did seem a bit sad.

  “Myuri?”

  Col called to her with no other choice, and Myuri, stuck between her morals and appetite, returned to reality.

  “…Really, Ilenia?”

  Gisele the Black Sheep shrugged like a clever merchant.

  “Would you faint if I sold very warm wolf fur?”

  She spoke casually about always being on edge in the market. A wolf and a sheep had more in common than a wolf and a human did.

  Myuri immediately shrugged.

  “I’d probably just think it looked warm.”

  “It’s the sa
me for me. They look like kin, but we’re very different in the end. But of course, if you told me to eat some, I’d have to prepare myself mentally…”

  It was biases, assumptions, customs, even rules or faith that governed people, not logic.

  There were times they became burdens, times they were armor, and times they became weapons.

  At any rate, Myuri was in a deep place that he could not get to, and Ilenia was going down with her.

  “So you really wouldn’t be mad if I had some?”

  “Of course not. If I did, then I would not be able to live in this town.”

  Ilenia smiled and Myuri did so, too, as the tension in her finally eased.

  And there was no way she was not curious about a fellow nonhuman, who they rarely ever met.

  “And there’s a lot I want to ask, like about clothes made of sheep wool…”

  “Yes, of course.”

  Myuri’s face suddenly brightened, and she bounded toward Ilenia. The sight of the two walking side by side, talking, brought Col great relief.

  Though Myuri did have old friends back in the village, none of them knew what she really was. There were very few people she could talk openly with about being nonhuman.

  While it did not seem to bother her back in the village, that was not the case. Her timid friendliness with Ilenia was proof of that.

  Ilenia had big goals, and they might lead down a path that was different than theirs.

  But the world was not endlessly big, and they would both live for a very long time.

  Were they to become friends, nothing would make him happier than to become her older brother.

  “And then, Brother, he…”

  He thought he caught a part of their conversation when both Ilenia and Myuri, walking slightly ahead of them, looked back at him, then giggled. All he could do was drop his shoulders and sigh.

  The sky was clear and the sun was warm.

  May everything in this world be blessed, he prayed.

  They had an important engagement with Yosef and Autumn, so they parted with Ilenia at the harbor.