Side Colors III

by Isuna Hasekura

  Then, I noticed a presence and looked to see another person coming down the stairs. From his dress, I could tell that he was another bandit, who’d come down to see what the commotion was. He noticed me, too, and our eyes met.

  But then he saw the blood dripping from my snout, gave a shriek, and fled back up the stairs. However, I have an advantage when attacking from below. Three steps brought me to the base of the stairs, and two more were all it took for me to close the distance and put my jaws around the man’s foot. He stumbled at the top of the stairs, kicking wildly and screaming an unearthly howl. I couldn’t help but let go of his foot.

  That was fortunate, though, because the man then fell right down the stairs. His right leg and left arm were bent in strange directions, but he seemed to be alive.

  I looked down at the man from the upper landing and noticed that the inside of the inn had fallen silent. My ears told me that the other building was still burning, and my nose told me that it would not be long before this building burned as well. I was worried that there were more bandits, but I was more concerned with my master’s safety than I was in such certainty. I ran down the stairs but stopped at the inn’s exit.

  Someone was just entering—it was the human who’d first caught sight of me. He was a bearded man, clad in cumbersome-looking long-sleeved robes, and his right side was soaked in blood. He was pale, too, but surely not just because of the wound.

  “Ooh…Ugh…What calamity has happened here…”

  The man cast his eyes over the terrible state of the inn and fell to his knees. They were wearing the same sort of clothing as he was, so perhaps the three figures on the floor had been his comrades.

  I slipped past him, and upon coming outside, I saw my master, clasping her staff uncertainly. The moment she saw me, she came running and embraced me.

  “I’m so glad you’re safe!”

  It would have been strange for her to be so concerned with my safety given that she was the one who’d set me upon the bandits, but it was just my master’s personality to be this way. I looked past her and saw that the man who’d been stabbed with a sword already had a cloth covering him.

  “Is that all the bandits?” my master asked, releasing me once she’d held me close and reassured herself.

  With no way to answer, I merely barked once. But she got her response from the man who’d staggered into the inn moments earlier. “There were three bandits in all…”

  “So there’s one more?” asked my master, but the man shook his head.

  Counting the one who’d fallen down the stairs, that made three. Would that my master could’ve seen my incredibly display of bravery, I thought, looking up at her.

  “Oh God, we thank thee for this small blessing…,” the man had the nerve to say.

  It was I who brought him such good fortune, I and my master!

  If she hadn’t stroked my head, I’m quite certain I would’ve barked my irritation.

  The bearded man’s name was Giuseppe Ozenstein. He was the bishop of a church three weeks’ walk west of here.

  I felt some frustration at having saved someone so useless, but my master did not share my opinion. Despite all the suffering she’d endured at the hands of the Church, when this Giuseppe fellow introduced himself, she knelt and bowed her head.

  Master, this is unseemly!

  “Look up, please. You are verily an angel sent by God.”

  If the bearded Giuseppe had treated my master forcefully, I was fully prepared to respond appropriately, but it did not seem that such force would be used. My fangs stayed hidden for the nonce.

  Giuseppe seemed several times my master’s age and was deeply grateful to her.

  “No, not at all…Anyway, it’s much more thanks to Enek than me.”

  “Ah, quite right. So he’s called Enek, is he? Truly, I owe you my life.”

  The wound in his side was surprisingly deep, and though she’d tried to stem the bleeding, it was not surprising that her skill was not up to the task. Giuseppe’s face was pale as paper, but his grateful smile to me was so clearly genuine that it felt good to see.

  As a knight, it was my duty to accept such gratitude.

  “Still, the test God has given me is terribly heavy…”

  Save for a single young man, all of Guiseppe’s comrades were killed. And even the young man had a bad wound on his head and was unconscious. My master did the best she could to treat him, but only God knew whether he would recover.

  “And the other people in the inn, were they…?” My master had bound the bandits I’d defeated and tied them to the fence that encircled the inn.

  “No…this place was empty. We had come to borrow a stable and pass the night, but the bandits seemed to be waiting for that. But…oh, how terrible they were, these pagan men!”

  “…You mean, their arrowhead amulets?”

  “So you noticed, did you? That’s right. They’re descended from the sorcerers who still practice their dark arts in the eastern mountains. They were waiting for us to sleep. The three men they killed were mercenaries I’d hired as travel guards. They were quick and brave and tried to protect us, but were unequal to the task…”

  Then I noticed something.

  Two of the men who’d fallen near the building’s door, despite being dressed the same way the old man was, smelled distinctly like me—that is to say, men ready to fight.

  “But I cannot abandon my journey here. I must…press on,” said Giuseppe firmly before a coughing fit stopped him.

  I had a bad feeling about this.

  I quivered, a quiet whimper in my throat, but my master seemed not to hear it. She made a sympathetic face, then extended her hand to Giuseppe. “What is your destination?” she asked.

  Master! Never in all my life had I been so vexed by my inability to use human words. Were we not on our way to the town of Kuskov so that my master could make her dreams come true? And did not misfortune befall travelers constantly, laying them low on the roadside every day? Thus, it was folly to put the goals of others before one’s own goals—there would be no end of it!

  Though I sat there obediently, I watched Giuseppe and my master alike very closely as such worries chased themselves through my mind.

  Giuseppe coughed. “My apologies. My destination was…”

  Once she heard it, there would be no way for her to resist helping. I felt as though I had to do something, anything, but I could not shut the man’s mouth.

  Giuseppe quietly finished his statement. “…Kuskov.”

  “Huh?”

  My ears pricked up, and I looked at my master, who seemed likewise surprised.

  “Are you familiar with it? It is a town beset by plague, without God’s teachings or guidance; a town suffering in darkness.”

  “Y-yes. We were on our way there ourselves.”

  “Oh!” Giuseppe’s face showed evidence of deep shock, and then, like all Church men do when praying to their God, he closed his eyes. I wagged my tail in amusement, for what Giuseppe said next was precisely what I had expected. “This must be God’s will…though it cannot but pain me to say so. Might I ask you to hear this one request of a servant of God?”

  I looked first at Giuseppe’s face, then back to my master’s. She was looking at him very seriously, as though ready to be given some important mission.

  Even if I could have used human words, it would have been impossible to stop her.

  “Yes, anything.”

  At these words, Giuseppe closed his eyes again and spoke. “Would you escort us to Kuskov?”

  My master gave a firm nod and took Giuseppe’s hand.

  A bit weary of my master’s excessive kindness, I sat down, facing the inn as it burned to the ground.

  “I see. So you’re heading to Kuskov to become a crafter…”

  “Yes. I got word about the town from traveling merchants.”

  “Ah, I see. I should think it would require a great deal of courage to journey all the way to Kuskov…but please excus
e my rudeness—you clearly posses a great measure of bravery and righteousness.”

  Giuseppe was riding his horse. The young man was still unconscious and had been placed on the stout little mule they’d brought with them as a pack animal.

  “No, in truth I’m terrified, but…it’s a dream I was sure I could never reach, so now that I have this chance…” My master spoke rather bashfully because it was the truth.

  “Your dream, eh? It’s true one needs hopes and dreams in order to face danger. You have nothing to be ashamed of.” Atop his horse, Giuseppe smiled kindly, and my master looked up at him with respect in her eyes.

  I was not terribly amused by any of this.

  “I, too, am making for Kuskov in service of a dream of sorts. When the plague came, all of God’s servants were called to heaven, and none remained to light candles anew. So we decided to come, to serve as lamps for those trembling in the darkness.”

  “I see…”

  “I began this journey ready to face any horror in that town, but I never thought the horrors would begin while my journey was not yet over.” He spoke not with sadness but rather exhaustion. A tired smile was on his face, which I found somehow reassuring.

  I remembered that when this man had thought his life was at its end, he did not beg or plead for it, nor did he panic. He only looked to the heavens and prayed.

  I could not forgive the Church, but I respected anyone so dedicated to their profession. On that count, this Giuseppe could not be such a bad human.

  “As you can see, I am nothing more than a humble bishop, and I cannot give you anything of worth in return for your aid. But I would very much like to do what I can.”

  “Oh no, you needn’t—” said my master hastily, but Giuseppe only gave an indulgently stubborn smile.

  “I very nearly lost my life at the hands and blades of those men. You saved me, even as I was on my way to bring aid to those waiting in the darkness for God’s light. It is a thing heavy with import, and I hope you’ll at least allow me to repay the actions of your brave friend.”

  “You mean…Enek?”

  I, too, did not expect this, and I looked up to see an honest smile directed at me from Giuseppe, which took me still further by surprise. Being an animal, the only person I expected such smiles from was my master herself.

  “God made this world and all things in it. Humans and all other things are the same in God’s eyes. Thus, I feel it only right to give names to the blades of grass, show kindness to horses and birds alike, and to properly honor those who show such noble bravery.”

  I looked up at my master, and she looked down at me. Then both of us looked to Giuseppe, whereupon the wounded bishop smiled happily and continued on.

  “When we arrive in Kuskov, I, Giuseppe Ozenstein, in the name of God, will confer upon the noble Enek the title of Knight of the Church.”

  I had not the faintest notion of what that meant, but if I was being dubbed a knight, I had no cause to refuse.

  I looked at my master, who seemed surprised and at a loss for words.

  “And of course, I’d like to show you some appreciation, too,” said Giuseppe, as he looked abruptly down the road as though suddenly having realized something.

  The moon was just then peeking out from between a gap in the clouds, and at the end of our gazes lay a town—Kuskov, our destination.

  It seemed we wouldn’t have had to camp, nor would Giuseppe and his fellows have needed to stay in that inn, if we’d but pressed on just a bit farther.

  The world is a strangely fated place.

  When I looked up at the pained smile that Giuseppe and my master were sharing, I knew they were thinking the same thing.

  The town of Kuskov was a sufficiently grand place to be surrounded by a stone wall. It was nothing to be compared with Ruvinheigen, of course, but still secure enough for it to be far from certain that they’d open their gates for midnight visitors.

  But that was soon revealed for the groundless worry that it was.

  When Giuseppe the bishop identified himself at the gates, the watchman’s haste was a thing to behold. It was as though he’d glimpsed his own salvation.

  He hardly could’ve hurried more even if the town was being besieged by an enemy’s army, and as he made his great fuss, even before the door opened, my master—who wasn’t especially assertive at the best of times—quailed before the commotion that seemed to be brewing on the other side of it.

  If the town was so desperate for the bishop’s visit, then there was no doubt they’d welcome his savior with the same enthusiasm.

  My master’s face told eloquently of her worries. When there finally sounded a horn blast from inside the town, she seemed unable to endure it any further. She looked up at Giuseppe, who rubbed his face and cleared his throat atop his horse, attempting to hide his own wounded condition.

  “E-er, if you please…”

  “Yes, my child?”

  “Er, that is, I have a favor to ask…”

  Giuseppe’s face was that of a shepherd leading his flock. “What is that?” he asked. Men of the Church often hid their blackness beneath such expressions, but it seemed to encourage my master, who continued.

  “Would you introduce us as merely your followers, please…?”

  “That’s…,” began Giuseppe, blinking in surprise, but then he nodded slowly. He didn’t seem to be a fool at least.

  As we heard the sound of the bar being lifted hastily on the other side of the door, Giuseppe, still on his horse, leaned toward my master and spoke to her in a loud whisper. “It gives me great pleasure to see you living so faithfully by God’s word. Courage and modesty are rarely seen together. I shall honor your request. But neither God nor I shall forget to whom we owe thanks.”

  Slowly the door opened, and from behind it came torchlight so bright it nearly hurt our eyes. Giuseppe straightened, and my master watched him like a lamb hoping to be saved.

  I couldn’t help but regard Giuseppe’s skill and poise as somewhat suspicious, but when he gave me a glance and a small nod, I couldn’t stop my tail from wagging.

  Every rule had its exceptions.

  “Now then,” said Giuseppe, smiling like a child entrusted with a secret as the door came fully open. The hour being what it was, the people lined up beyond the door were dressed in whatever they’d been wearing, many of them seemingly having woken just minutes earlier—some of the girls were still combing their hair.

  From out of the gathered crowd, pushing his way out from between two men, came a well-dressed fellow holding a spear. He was probably on lookout duty, though he looked very young for it. From the redness in the corners of his eyes, he’d very clearly been sleeping until moments ago.

  But his hair was curly and flyaway, and from the fluttering leather cloak over his shoulders, the pointed toes of his boots, and his confident stride, he had the feeling of a leader about him, too.

  To show my respect I sat and put my front paws closely together, my chest thrust out, as I could tell he was doing his utmost to appear worthy of it. There was no questioning his desire to heal the town. But it was an extremely heavy burden.

  I couldn’t imagine that this youngster had arrived in this position ready to shoulder it. Plague took the elderly first, after all.

  “My name is Tory lon Kuskov Careca. I represent the Kuskov Disaster Council. In God’s name, we welcome you to our town.”

  His voice was youthful. Giuseppe knew the town’s circumstances as well as we did and was probably thinking the same thing we were. He responded with a greeting more formal than he’d used with us.

  “My apologies for remaining on my horse. We have received the letter the blessed town of Kuskov sent seeking the light of God’s holy candle. God has not abandoned you. Though my power is weak, God’s is great. Be at peace. Beginning today, yea in this very hour, God’s light will surely return to this town.”

  His voice carried well. All assembled lent their ears to him, and after Giuseppe finished spe
aking, there was utter and complete silence.

  Then, like a rising wave, the cheer was quiet at first but finished in a great roar, as though he had just delivered news of a long war finally at an end.

  “You must be tired, Bishop. You and your companion should rest yourselves tonight…,” said the lengthily named Careca, approaching Giuseppe. As he did so, he seemed to finally notice. “Bishop, you look unwell…”

  “Care for this one before me, if you would,” said Giuseppe, indicating behind him, whereupon Careca seemed to notice the mule for the first time.

  His almost girlish features froze in dismay. “Someone! Help me treat him!” cried Careca, and the happily chattering crowd again fell silent as they finally realized why the bishop would be arriving in their town at such a late hour. Visitors who came knocking on their doors having narrowly escaped bandits in the night were not so very rare, after all.

  Even my master and I had encountered such people while tending our flocks. The bishop was helped down from his horse by the many people who quickly rushed to his side, and he quietly explained the extent of his injuries.

  Those who attended to the man on the mule seemed to have battlefield experience. No sooner had they seen his wounds than they began giving instructions to the women.

  As for us, Giuseppe honored his promise and explained our presence as he said he would. Careca contented himself to give us only brief thanks.

  Given that I’d fought so bravely and driven so much danger off, this was a bit unsatisfying, but Giuseppe would hardly forget the debt he owed us, and most importantly my master understood. My master patted gave my head a hearty rub. “Let’s try to stay out of the way,” she said, and we moved over to the side of the entrance to the town.

  Given all this fuss, if my master were to tell the truth of how she came to the bishop’s rescue, no doubt her dream of becoming a seamstress would easily come true.