Chapter 656: Night (2)
"Dad!"
The child walking alongside the man through the forest shouted.
An innocent, guileless voice.
Just by that sound alone, one could tell how loved the child was.
The child, as if proving this, dashed energetically ahead, pressing one hand above his eyebrows like a visor.
“Dad! Look over there! It’s a village!”
“Really?”
“Of course! Definitely!”
In response to the man’s question, the child placed both hands on his waist and snorted with pride.
The man, in turn, naturally placed a hand on the child’s head, patting him, and then mimicked his gesture by placing a hand above his own eyebrows.
“That’s not a village, it’s a city.”
“It’s tiny, though.”
“It’s a small city… Looks like your eyesight’s gotten better.”
“Heh, naturally… Do you think they’ll have work there?”
“Maybe. Where people gather, there’s always work.”
“There’s always work!”
The child repeated the man’s words exactly. Just this scene alone made it clear how much the child adored him.
“But even if there isn’t, it’s fine.”
“Why?”
“If there’s no work, we can just rest a while.”
“You’re not out of money, are you?”
“You rascal! Why would we be out of money?”
“Because you always give people discounts when you work!”
“You silly thing. It’s only right to help each other in hard times. In any case, we have plenty of money.”
“Then, can you buy me some candy?”
“Of course. Absolutely.”
“Hooray! Let’s go!”
After a brief exchange, the man and the child walked toward the distant city.
And Oliver observed them silently.
He was astonished that the Piper had a child, and equally surprised to see him smiling.
Although traces of a smile lingered on the man’s face, it was somehow hard to imagine him smiling, as though a dead person might never return to life.
But there he was, with a smile more natural than anyone’s in the past.
To keep witnessing this incredible sight, Oliver followed behind the Piper and the child.
The father and son walked for a long while before finally arriving in the city, where they managed to meet with the mayor after a brief but impressive introduction.
“So, you’re saying you can get rid of every last rat that’s troubling this city?”
“Yes, not a single one will be left. I promise.”
“I promise!” the child interjected, raising one hand as he joined in the Piper’s conversation with the mayor. The mayor looked at the child and asked,
“…Is he your son?”
“Yes.”
“I’ve heard rumors—a rat-catcher traveling with his son.”
“Then perhaps you’ve also heard about my skills?”
“There’s also word that you’re a black magician.”
“Black magic was originally developed to help humans. It can treat illnesses and handle the deceased.”
“That may be true, but it’s also true that it has a poor reputation. If word spreads that black magic was used, it could pose a bit of a risk.”
“If you don’t wish to hire me, you’re free not to.”
“…”
“But if you’re willing to pay to offset the risk, I’m prepared to accept the job.”
“Then, how about half the payment… Could you offer a fifty-percent discount?”
“Very well.”
“…Are you serious?”
“Yes, because it’s only right to help each other in difficult times.”
Taken aback by the Piper’s immediate agreement, the mayor asked again. In response, the Piper answered simply, then promptly went out to the town square and took out his flute.
The melody that had echoed through Landa now resounded across the entire city.
A cheerful and lively tune, yet tinged with sorrow, a peculiar and otherworldly sound.
Only this time, there was no gloomy sadness to mar the music; it was far more beautiful and natural.
Drawn by the captivating sound, the city’s inhabitants gradually poked their heads out to watch the Piper, and soon, rats hidden throughout the city began pouring out.
“Rats! Rats!”
People were horrified by the tide of rats surging through the streets.
Continuing to play his flute, the Piper walked toward the riverbank near the city, leading the rats to their watery demise.
All eyes in the city turned to him, entranced by the astonishing sight.
“What kind of magic is this?”
“It’s merely a simple skill.”
“They’re all gone! All the rats are gone!”
“I promised, didn’t I?”
“And that flute… It was a beautiful sound.”
“Thank you for saying so.”
And if the adults were amazed, the children were no different.
“Wow! Is that your dad?”
“Of course!”
“How did he do that?”
“Because he’s my dad!”
“Can you play the flute too?”
“Of course! Here’s my flute!”
“Do you really travel every day?”
“Yup! Every single day!”
“Does your dad take on students?”
“I don’t know!”
“Hey, make me his student! I want to learn too!”
“Don’t you already have a dad? And a pretty mom, too?”
The Piper responded to the adults’ compliments with humility, while his son stood proudly, as befits a child.
But that pride was short-lived.
“Here’s the promised payment.”
“Thank you, Mayor.”
The mayor handed over the agreed payment, but without delay, the Piper turned to leave.
Despite the mayor’s attempt to stop him.
“Isn’t life as a wanderer difficult? If you wish, why not settle here? With your flute skills and talent for handling rats, you could live comfortably here.”
“I appreciate the offer, but I must respectfully decline. I’d like to keep traveling with my son.”
The Piper patted the child’s head, then set off again on their journey.
Spring arrived.
“Dad, look, a butterfly.”
“Don’t touch it with your bare hands; it could go blind.”
“Really?!”
“I’m kidding.”
“Dad!”
And then summer came.
“Hah… Hah… Why’s it so hot in summer?”
“Because the sun gets closer.”
“Really?!”
“I’m kidding.”
“Daaaad!”
Autumn arrived.
“Dad, look at all these acorns! They’re all shiny and big!”
“Why are you collecting acorns?”
“Because they’re here.”
And winter, too.
“Dad, I’m cold.”
“How about a nice warm hug? Is that better?”
“Yeah, much warmer!”
“Are you tired?”
“Nope! Traveling with you is fun!”
Without stopping, they kept on traveling.
During their journey, the Piper and his child saw countless sights.
The spectacle of stars adorning the sky, a river dyed silver, fields of golden wheat, various animals in the forest, and even a wandering theater troupe they met by chance.
Not everything they saw was beautiful and wondrous, though.
“Dad, look over there!”
While walking, the child suddenly pointed ahead.
It was quite a distance away, making it hard for an ordinary person to see what lay ahead, but both the Piper and the child, along with Oliver who trailed behind them, could see it.
“Someone’s lying on the road!”
It was a corpse.
They’d been killed by sword and arrow. Most likely victims of roadside bandits.
The Piper instinctively covered the child’s eyes.
“Is that what it means to die?”
The child gently pulled the Piper’s hand away with his small hands and asked.
At the unexpected question, the Piper hesitated briefly before answering.
“…Yes. Where did you hear about death?”
“Back in the village. They said someone’s dad died. He was sick… What does dying mean?”
“…That, right there.”
After a moment’s contemplation, the Piper led the child forward.
As expected, several bodies lay on the road, presumably the victims of bandits.
“They’re lying there?”
“Sleeping forever, never to wake again.”
“Forever?”
“Forever. It means they’ll never rise again. So, they don’t breathe, don’t move, don’t eat, and they can’t talk anymore.”
“But I like all those things…”
“That’s why death is so sad.”
Finishing his explanation, the Piper took out a shovel from his cloak.
It was just an ordinary shovel, with no special features, and he chose a suitable spot off the road and began digging.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m going to bury them.”
“Why?”
“Do you like sleeping with a blanket on? Or without one?”
“With one.”
“Exactly that.”
“Oh… Let me help!”
Perhaps understanding something in the Piper’s words, the child eagerly dug with a small trowel the Piper handed him.
Thanks to his help, in a short time, several graves deep enough to hold the bodies were ready, and the Piper began moving them.
“Son, stop.”
“Huh?”
The Piper stopped the child from retrieving a wooden doll from the chest of one of the bodies. That person had also appeared to have a child.
Seeing his father’s usual smiling face turn stern, the child hesitated.
The Piper knelt down, meeting the child’s eyes as he knelt in front of him.
“You don’t touch the belongings of the dead. That’s stealing.”
“But they’re dead, right? Asleep forever… They don’t need it anymore, do they?”
“Just because they’re sleeping forever doesn’t mean they’re unaware. They may not be here, but they’re watching us from somewhere else.”
“Where?”
Genuinely curious, the child asked, prompting the Piper to point up at the sky.
“From the land of the sky.”
“The land of the sky…?”
The child tilted his head back, gazing up at the sky.
“Like Mom?”
“Yes… Mom is also watching over us from the land of the sky, and so are the others who’ve died here.”
“…”
“So, what would it be called if you took something that belonged to someone watching from the land of the sky?”
The child thought for a moment.
“Stealing…”
“And would it be right to do that?”
“No.”
“Exactly.”
The Piper patted the child’s head before standing up again.
Then, he carefully buried the bodies and offered a brief prayer.
“Heavenly Father, today your child has come to meet you. Please take pity on us and show mercy, granting rest and peace to our departed brother… Mahala.”
“…Mahala.”
The child echoed the prayer after him.
The Piper and the child then set out on the road again, with Oliver silently following behind.
As the Piper’s name became widely known,
His well-known name led to envy,
Envy bred rumors,
Rumors bred fear and greed,
And eventually, that fear and greed came down upon the Piper.
...
Outside the reach of Landa’s administrative authority lay districts Y and Z, and among those remaining areas, District W was the worst slum.
Originally, District X held that title, but since it had been redeveloped, District W naturally inherited the “honor” of being the worst slum. Ironically, however, this district housed one of the most honest and well-run welfare centers in all of Landa.
The center was called the “Poor Brothers” and was neither a pseudo-welfare corporation nor a tax evasion outlet for the wealthy.
It was a genuine welfare organization, dedicated to helping those in true need.
Everyday evidence of its sincerity could be found in its daily free meal services, low-cost temporary lodgings, and a job center set up in collaboration with the Redevelopment Coalition.
As a result, the center’s operating budget was tight… Or it should have been, but that wasn’t quite the case.
In a rare move, the City of Landa provided substantial funding to support it.
This was unusual for a city known for stingy welfare budgeting, and according to some, this was only possible because the head of this welfare center happened to have influential connections with a bigwig known for working over 18 hours a day. (Apparently, six hours of sleep sufficed.)
Ah, what a daunting and terrifying thought!
Thanks to this, even the opportunistic “hyenas” lurking about for something to leech off dared not touch this welfare center.
A smooth road indeed.
Yet, on closer inspection, it wasn’t all smooth sailing.
To prove this point, a frustrated sigh drifted out of the welfare center office.
And that sigh came from none other than Kent, the very person who had founded and was running the center.
“Hm… So, you couldn’t find anything?”
“No, sir, I’m sorry.”
A shabby man replied. At first glance, he appeared to be a beggar, and indeed he was one—but not just any beggar.
This man served as one branch of the extensive information network among the Poor Brothers, constructed by Kent.
A wide range of information from across a district would make its way to him.
“So, not even you could find anything… Seems this is no small affair.”
What Kent referred to was the ongoing district shutdowns in Landa City.
The Piper’s attack had left an unprecedented and exceptional mark on all of Landa, and even with a considerable amount of time having passed, the damage was yet to be fully repaired.
This was due to Landa’s sheer size, which meant that despite all efforts toward recovery, remote and dangerous areas inevitably became lower priorities.
And now, those areas were being shut down by the city of Landa and the Tower of Magic. But the reason remained unclear.
“What could the reason possibly be? I’d bet it’s something like a disease, right? With black magic, rats, and corpses lying about, disease seems likely.”
“But even the Pater Church has joined in.”
“Well, maybe they’re worried something like zombies might show up?”
“Couldn’t the Landa Defense Department and the Tower’s magicians take care of something like that? Landa City, which usually avoids outside intervention, wouldn’t turn to the Pater Church just for that. And most importantly…”
Kent paused, emphasizing the core of the matter.
“…Would they really go to such lengths just to control information about something that trivial?”
The beggar couldn’t argue against Kent’s point, so he tried approaching the issue from a different angle.
“Still… does digging into this really help?”
“…”
“Landa City’s trying so hard to keep it a secret, after all. And since opening the welfare center, you’ve been stepping back from intelligence work. It’s dangerous.”
Indeed, Kent had sacrificed an arm to establish the welfare center, and since then, he’d been gradually disentangling himself from the information network run by beggars.
It was a matter of choosing priorities.
Continuing his intelligence work would allow him to exert some influence in the underworld, but it would also expose him to danger and challenges.
Kent’s lost arm was proof of that danger.
When he was alone with his group of beggars, he could take that risk, but now that he was running a welfare center, he could no longer afford it.
Gathering intelligence had been a way to support the destitute. Now, with the welfare center as a better means, the cons outweighed the pros.
One misstep, and he could lose the center. So, Kent had been working to gradually grant independence to the beggar network without causing chaos.
The beggar who understood this spoke in a low voice.
“I don’t understand why you’re so focused on this matter.”
“…You’re right. Stop the investigation.”
“Oh, no, sir! I didn’t mean it like that…”
Startled by Kent’s abrupt decision, the beggar looked flustered.
“It’s not as if I’m doing this because I’m annoyed. You’re right. I ordered this investigation for selfish reasons. I confused personal matters with work. There’s no need to keep investigating.”
Kent meant what he said.
The reason he had initiated the investigation was because of none other than Oliver.
The Piper, and the discovery of the closed district, were first brought to light by Mari, a woman with ties to the Redevelopment Coalition.
Naturally, that made Kent think of Oliver, which led him to push forward with the investigation, hoping he might uncover something in case that boy was in danger.
But after hearing his subordinate’s advice, Kent immediately reversed his decision.
As he himself had said, he should separate business and personal matters. And above all, that boy probably wouldn’t want him digging into this, either.
This was the right thing to do.
“It’s fine. You’re dismissed.”
“Oh… Yes, sir.”
The beggar felt a mix of relief and regret as he departed, ultimately relieved that he had spoken up.
Kent resumed the welfare center’s work after the beggar left.
Though taxing, endless, and even dull, Kent quietly continued, thinking of it as a way to atone for past sins.
And yet, after hearing that Oliver had left Landa to assist the Archpriest, it became difficult for him to concentrate, like a thorn stuck under his nail.
The funny thing was, since the Piper’s rampage, he had more meetings than ever.
And speak of the devil, another visitor arrived just then.
Beep—
[Director.]
“What’s going on?”
[You have a visitor.]
“I thought I’d mentioned that today’s schedule is full?”
[Well… It’s not just any visitor.]
Kent tilted his head in curiosity.
Occasionally, distinguished guests did visit the center, but they all scheduled appointments. As for the rest, they weren’t the sort he’d call distinguished.
So who was this unannounced, noteworthy guest?
Not wanting to trouble his secretary any further, Kent decided to let them in.
The secretary responded and promptly showed the visitor in, allowing Kent to quickly understand the meaning behind her words.
“Greetings. A pleasure to meet you.”
It was none other than the Archmage of the Tower of Magic, Archive Merlin.