Wolf & Parchment, Volume 3

by Isuna Hasekura

  He looked down at his own clothes, and Myuri, standing beside him, stared straight at him.

  At least he did not look like a priest.

  “There is power in fame, and there are many who try to use that power.”

  “Thank you for the warning.”

  “Oh, of course.”

  There were still many things Col did not know about the world, and he thought it would be best to take Yosef’s advice to heart.

  That being said, the thought of someone of using him did not sound like something that would happen in real life. How could he be used in the first place? He would be glad to interpret theological works for anyone. They only had to ask.

  “Anyway, I’ll be dropping by the trading house tonight, so why don’t we have a drink together with Sir Sligh? My favorite distillery is in this town, you know.”

  As Yosef spoke, men stood lined up behind him, waiting for his attention.

  Col felt bad for interrupting his work.

  “Yes, I look forward to it.”

  Col gave his reply and left with Myuri.

  When they traveled through the harbor at the beginning of their visit, simply walking forward had been difficult. Now that he understood the flow of people, it was not much trouble.

  Myuri was looking around restlessly, so Col had to ask.

  “Have you spotted anything odd?”

  Then, after a brief look of surprise, she raised her eyebrows slightly.

  “I’m just making sure there aren’t any bad guys coming after you.”

  It was his job as the adult male to protect the young girl. Despite that, he could not find anything to say back to the irritated Myuri.

  “It’s dangerous out there, so don’t get separated from me. Okay, Brother?”

  At times like these, Col did not know who was leading whom.

  But he no longer found himself exasperated, nor did he call her cheeky anymore.

  “I’m counting on you.”

  A smile suddenly burst across Myuri’s face, with all her teeth showing.

  “Leave it to me!”

  She was in such high spirits that it seemed her ears and tail would pop out at any moment, but she suddenly stopped in the middle of the crowded harbor, staring straight up.

  Col followed the girl’s gaze up to the sky, wondering if an angel had somehow fallen from the heavens.

  “Hey, Brother, I wanna go there!”

  She extended her arm and pointed to the large cathedral on the cape, housing a fire that lit the way for ships lost at sea, as well as a flame for the faith of the people.

  CHAPTER TWO

  On the road from the harbor to the cathedral on the point, Myuri’s spirits grew higher and higher.

  “Hurry up, Brother, hurry!”

  The girl, a stranger to fatigue, flew up the stone steps on the hill. The steps had been placed on soft grass and seemed as if they were sinking into the ground, perhaps because they had been used for hundreds of years. There was an indent on all of them, a reminder that many people had walked up these steps with great enthusiasm.

  However, at the moment they could not see a single soul walking up these steps, and the beggars loitering around the foot of the cape told them that the townspeople did not make the climb anymore, not since the kingdom started fighting with the Church. In the past, the beggars made good money appealing to the faith of believers as they passed by.

  Col did not know how they were making ends meet now, but they all sat around a pot and were drinking soup filled with a little leftover fish, so it seemed they were not worried about their meals.

  He gave them a little copper, then chased after Myuri who had rushed ahead.

  Of course, she was not rushing because she had suddenly discovered a pious heart.

  Even halfway up the hill, he could see both the entirety of Desarev and the wide-open sea after turning around.

  There was no doubt it was too much to resist for the mountain-raised Myuri.

  “Be sure not to fall from the cliff!”

  He called out to her, but of course, she would not heed his warning. She ran up the stone steps so close to the edge of the cliff that he broke out into a sweat, then looked down at the town below.

  Right around the time he started to curse his lack of physical strength, they finally arrived at the cathedral at the apex of the cape.

  There were a few wooden buildings standing before the magnificent cathedral, almost as if a little town that had sprouted around a castle’s gates. There were outdoor stoves and stone groundwork for where tables and chairs once sat; visitors could have had a bite to eat or a rest after a visit to the cathedral.

  But there were no traces of the stove being lit recently, nor did he spot any tables or chairs, and shutters covered the entrances to all the buildings.

  The world around the cathedral was dreadfully quiet and devoid of life.

  “Broootheeer! Look at this view!!”

  On the other hand, Myuri, who wasn’t the least bit interested in the Cathedral, was incredibly excited about the panorama she could see from the top. While she had shown more interest toward the cathedral back in Atiph, it was likely that she saw both simply as large stone structures.

  He could not help but smile at her broad generalization and decisiveness.

  That being said, he did not think the townspeople were all like Myuri, and the cathedral was deserted for exactly the reasons Sligh mentioned. The path to the top could be seen from every part of town, so anyone making the climb would immediately become the subject of gossip.

  Col and Myuri were outsiders, so he did not think it would be a problem, and since the fire in the lighthouse never went out, someone had to be regularly coming and going to tend it. Wondering if they might be able to learn something about this region, he walked over to the closed doors, where he saw—

  “Notices?”

  There were numerous bills plastered all over the cathedral doors. It was cheap paper made not from parchment but from old rags. They were plastered on with such density they looked like designs from far away.

  Large cathedrals and churches had various distinctive features depending on the area they were in. Wondering if there was some sort of history behind the bills, he took a closer look, and a chill ran down his spine.

  SWINDLERS! GO TO HELL!

  Beside it, there were other papers that said, PLEASE RETURN MY ASSETS and REPENT! Letters filled with criticism and anger covered the doors. They rustled solemnly in the wind, carrying an atmosphere that was the complete opposite of the lively town center.

  Sligh had sounded as though he resented the Church’s tyranny, so these papers must have been plastered here when the relationship between the kingdom and the Church grew intense. And if he looked closely, Col saw that they had all faded and seemed as if they were about to crumble away.

  He did also consider that perhaps the people posted them here not out of anger but duty as a member of the town.

  The cathedral doors were closed shut, with no signs of people.

  Visitors did not seem welcome with a sight like this anyhow.

  He gave up and returned to Myuri’s side, who was gazing out over the scenery.

  “Look, Brother! The world is so big!”

  Myuri noticed him and spoke before a wide-open ocean. Deep in the mountains of Nyohhira, the views from the summit of any peak only went so far.

  But before them, there was a vast, never-ending sea.

  He faced west, the complete opposite side of the mainland. As they were returning from the north on Yosef’s ship, Col recalled that Yosef had yelled out not to drift west.

  Beyond the horizon, where the sky and sea melded together, was an endless ocean.

  An unfamiliar sense of dread crept into him when he let his thoughts linger on that. Or perhaps, he felt as if he had caught a glimpse of the abyss that belonged only to the God that created this world.

  As he stared out over the water, a sudden gust of wind blew from below. />
  Being small and light, Myuri almost fell over, and Col rushed to hold her in place.

  “Are you all right?”

  “Ah-ha-ha! It’s so windy! It’s nice how the wind touches the ocean!”

  She likely had not even considered what would happen if she was blown off the side of the cliff. Myuri cackled in excitement, then slipped out of his arms.

  Then, as though she finally noticed that there was a building here at the apex of the cape, she stared up blankly.

  “Hey, Brother, is that a church, too?”

  “…”

  It would be quite the struggle to awaken her faith.

  “Yes. It’s a cathedral. I’ve heard there’s a lighthouse at the top; can you see it?”

  “Where they always keep a fire going, right? I heard a lot about legends of the lighthouse from that old man Yosef.”

  Yosef was from the northern islands and a merchant of the seas. He also enjoyed stories and apparently told Myuri many adventurous tales from these waters.

  “I can’t believe they built that in a place like this.”

  “It is a product of faith.”

  Myuri bared her teeth in a grimace when he said that. She then spun around to take in the sights.

  “But I really like how a place like this exists.”

  There was a bit of a dour mood to the place, but the current weather was enjoyable and refreshing.

  The atmosphere was very fitting for the energetic Myuri.

  As Col thought about all that, his right hand suddenly grew warm.

  When he looked down, he saw she was holding it.

  “I’d like to get married in a place like this. What do you think, Brother?”

  She wore a big smile on her face. He looked at her—she was being surprisingly feminine—then up at the cathedral, out to sea, and finally back at her.

  “I do think it’s a nice place.”

  “Sheesh, stop pretending like it’s not your business!”

  He found himself at a loss as she grew offended when he finally realized what she meant.

  Thinking it impossible, he tried to change the subject, but he was too late.

  “You’re the one I love, Brother. Who else would I get married to?”

  She did not sound suspicious. She wasn’t trying to trick him or feign ignorance. This was a cathedral on the top of a cape, surrounded by sheer cliffs. Maybe she had only seemed to be running about innocently but had actually come here with this intention in the first place.

  Col knew that idea was not so far-fetched when he saw her calm, questioning eyes.

  “Don’t you think we sort of sealed the deal with everything that was going on in the northern islands, Brother?”

  She spoke clearly with a razor focus.

  “No, that was not…”

  He could not bear to meet her steady gaze, sharply aware of his debt to her.

  Myuri loved him not as her older brother but as a man.

  At first, he thought it was simply because he was the closest male, but she had followed her heart and literally threw herself in danger’s way for him. Myuri was serious.

  But he had not given her a definite answer. While he kept saying he could not reciprocate her affection, he did not try to force their journey to an end. Myuri was a smart girl; if he had truly rejected her and tried to put an end to their travels, she would have backed off.

  He could not do that because he had some reservations.

  “Or is it that you hate me?”

  She suddenly looked up at him with sad eyes, and his head began to hurt. Even if she was actually sad, he could tell right away that she had worked out how guilty he would feel once he saw her expression.

  Little by little, she was destroying the obstacles that stood in her way, forcing him into a corner.

  Myuri’s mother, Holo the Wisewolf, had personally taught her how to hunt.

  “Brother?”

  He had no choice but to answer her unrelenting questions.

  “…If I had to choose, I would say I like you.”

  “Then make me your bride.”

  There was no negotiation, nothing. She pulled him in with all her strength and bit into him.

  He was impressed, in a way, by her brazenness, but his answer would always be the same.

  “I cannot…”

  “Why?!”

  When he took a step back, she advanced a step toward him.

  It seemed she had not brought up the subject since they left the north simply because she was looking for the right opportunity.

  “What do you mean, why? We are—”

  “Not related by blood.”

  She spoke decisively.

  “And you’re not a priest yet, either. So that’s not a problem.”

  She had already anticipated his excuses.

  “But I may be one…soon…”

  “I heard we can just get divorced when that happens.”

  He wanted to scream—Who put these unnecessary ideas in her head?!

  Myuri did not look away even for a moment. Silence descended, and the wind howled.

  Then a sadness that she could no longer hold back began to reveal itself from beneath her angry expression. Col spoke up, flustered.

  “Wait. Don’t jump to such conclusions—”

  “But if I don’t, you’ll just end up dragging your feet forever!”

  He wanted to say that was not true, but he was aware that he lacked resolve. More importantly, he had learned since leaving Nyohhira that it was impossible to know when something might happen. Recalling how he felt when he fell into the cold darkness of the sea and coming to the conclusion that he would die, he shivered.

  He did not want to die while the matter with Myuri remained undecided.

  But even disregarding that, he could not help but ask—

  “You don’t want to stay the way as we are now?”

  She looked up to him as her big brother, and he channeled all his love into her while thinking of her as his little sister.

  That arrangement had gone well thus far, and he felt it would be fine in the future as well.

  “Let me just say this, but supposing on the off chance that we do get married, I will not listen to every whim or demand you have, you know? To say nothing of becoming a husband and wife that—”

  “I know! Brother, you dummy!”

  She grew angry, but Col found it hard to believe her words.

  But did she really understand? Things would be completely different if their relationship became a romantic one. There lay the reason why he could not entirely accept Myuri’s feelings.

  Regardless of how cute he thought she was, he found it incredibly immoral to take a little girl he knew since birth, who idolized and respected him, and look at her that way. He was racked with guilt from simply imagining it, but even though she had probably noticed his anguish, Myuri still spoke confidently.

  “As long as it’s Brother, I can deal with anything that happens!”

  It was Col who flushed when he heard her masculine and confident declaration.

  But Col could just not see her behavior as something that was born of a man and a woman whose mutual love eventually blossomed. No matter how he thought about it, he believed that she did not mind having him because he had been by her side ever since she was born. In fact, she acted just like she used to when she was little. He realized that he never noticed how she felt because the way she acted never changed.

  Indeed—Myuri was the same as she was when she was his little sister.

  His little sister was asking him to see her as a woman, leaving Col at a loss.

  “What is it you don’t like about me, Brother?”

  There was no ruse or negotiation; she asked because she truly wanted to know.

  It was not that he did not like her. If there were a man to take her as his wife, he would be the happiest man in the world.

  So it was not about whether he liked her or not, but something else entirely.

>   “It is not what I don’t like about you…I cannot suddenly change how I look at you. Apples are apples, not grapes.”

  “But, Brother, I really—”

  It was that moment she began to argue back.

  “I know.”

  He cut her off early. He knew at this rate it would never be cleared up. But trying to resolve this problem now was most definitely not a good thing.

  “I owe you so much for what you did in the northern islands. It is not something I can easily repay, but I want to do everything I can for you.”

  She made an uncomfortable and grouchy face before responding.

  “…But I don’t want you to like me…for a reason like that…”

  Needless to say, he also did not want to love someone only for the benefits they offered. To do that would be rude to Myuri.

  What he wanted to say was different.

  “Of course not. But I would like to earn your cooperation for all my efforts.”

  “Cooperation?”

  She asked back, puzzled.

  “Yes. Right now, I…Erm, you are so much my little sister to me that I don’t think I could change the way I see you. So…”

  “So I should stop being your little sister?”

  Myuri asked curiously. She looked at him doubtfully, wondering if it was another one of his foxy tricks.

  “But then…what should I do? Act more ladylike?”

  He did want that but not for that reason.

  “This is more, ah, in general. Think about it this way. It’s like how you address me.”

  “Address?”

  “Even if we were to be involved romantically, it would be strange for you to continue calling me ‘Brother,’ wouldn’t it?”

  “Huh? Oh yeah…umm, hmm…”

  “But I cannot imagine what you might call me instead. That is because I have never heard you call me anything besides Brother. So I cannot imagine myself as anything but your older brother.”

  It was the same as when he had suddenly been called a cardinal by the townspeople and how uncomfortable that made him feel. A person’s title was like the clothes they wore, representing their place and status.

  That was exactly how it was for Col. It was similar to how his clothes never seemed to suit him regardless of what outfit he wore. He felt as if he could be nothing more than brother when he stood next to her.