HTWBB Chapter 2

Rietta gave Melian's soft hair a stroke and pulled out a carelessly folded paper.

Below the fairly useless information was a quite detailed drawing.

A necklace with dozens of diamonds surrounding it and an unknown black gem embedded in the very center. It was splendid, but the design seemed rather plain for a hidden treasure of the first emperor.

Rietta's eyes lingered on the jet-black gem for a while. Whether splendid or simple, the appearance didn't matter.

"Rietta, what is that?"

"Something Grace gave me. From now on, you need to find this place."

"Me? May I look at it too?"

Rietta handed over the only clue to Melian without hesitation. Since it was lined with puzzle-like words, pondering it alone wouldn't produce an answer anyway. Since Grace had attached the child specifically as a 'guide,' she also had some hopeful expectations.

Melian, holding the paper in his small hands, fell into thought with a rather serious expression. Rietta, who was watching, began eating the remaining food. It was a belated meal.

'The 9th Knights, they said.'

The middle-aged man who had just entered the inn predicted the knights would head to Helron. Rietta was quite skeptical of that opinion.

Other cities had many different routes that didn't require going through Helron. However, Luemmasa, surrounded by mountains on all sides, had only one entrance—the southern road connected to Helron.

Even if they had been encountered in the eastern forest, what were the chances 'that' 9th Knights would simply pass by Luemmasa?

Of the ten imperial knight orders, the ninth—the 9th Knights—officially moved under the pretext of guarding the capital's vicinity. But in reality, it wouldn't be wrong to see them as a group existing to capture lowlife criminals and treasure hunters.

Once they started work, they were famous for always bringing back visible results, whether people or objects, so there was no way they would just pass by this hotbed of treasure hunters.

Helron must have been a stop for maintenance before heading to Luemmasa.

"We need to solve this as quickly as possible and leave here."

"Yeeess."

Melian nodded. His words trailed off long as if he was concentrating. With a creaking door sound, moisture-laden air once again heavily swirled through the inn. Since rumors about the knights hadn't spread yet, there would be many visitors.

'Are you listening? A prince, no less!'

Rietta recalled the necklace again. A hidden relic left by the first emperor, Brynhildr, and a treasure said to contain supreme magical power with a legend passed down about it.

For some reason, the imperial family, which hadn't even tried to find it until now, had moved their heavy body. And they had put forward one of the heirs—a prince.

Grace said she couldn't reveal which prince the client was. She kept her mouth firmly shut, saying she had never seen good results from getting involved with the imperial family.

However, considering the emperor's circumstances of having numerous children yet not properly deciding on an heir, the range of princes who would be interested in a prestigious treasure narrowed considerably.

She could also guess the reason for seeking the necklace. Grace probably hadn't told Rietta the succession rank of the commissioning prince for the same thought. If Rietta's prediction was correct, it was a somewhat unexpected person.

"I think we should go first."

Rietta turned her gaze, which had been cast carelessly, to Melian.

"Where to?"

"Mount Tarun. That place is certain."

Mount Tarun was a mountain located at the northwestern edge of Luemmasa. It was too high to climb for fun and had such treacherous terrain that travelers didn't welcome it.

Among the villagers, it was also notorious for producing at least one missing person every year without fail.

"Why?"

"Look here—it says 'In that place closest to the sky with but a single step removed, I shall find my peace.' It must definitely be a higher location than others."

"I heard other hunters have searched that area."

"No."

Melian shook his head firmly.

"Because they wouldn't have searched the higher places."

"What?"

"Excuse me."

Rietta, who was about to ask for an explanation of the ambiguous words, immediately closed her mouth. The unfamiliar voice was very close. She had never closed her ears once during their conversation. To notice only when they came this close meant the owner of the voice had walked on the worn wooden floor without making a sound.

Rietta, who calculated the distance between the door and the table, slowly turned her head toward the one who had rudely interrupted. With a hood pulled low, only smoothly smiling lips were visible.

"May I join you? There's no suitable seat."

When the enchantingly ticklish voice continued, the entire inn was engulfed in silence.

Rietta didn't bother looking around at the inn, which was pitifully empty except for two tables. The current silence wasn't a reaction to the nonsense of treating empty seats as nonexistent.

The two travelers at the table across, the innkeeper, even the middle-aged man who hadn't yet dealt with his wet robe. Everyone was glancing this way as if entranced.

'The worst.'

Rietta finished her brief assessment. This man before her eyes was someone who drew far too much attention from those around him with minimal exposure. She put down the spoon she was holding.

"No."

"Thank you."

The man, who returned a polite greeting as an answer to the refusal, naturally sat in the chair across from her.

Then he showed Melian, who was looking him over with a strange expression, a smile similar to before. The boy made a disgusted face.

The man briefly turned his head to look around, then as if he'd forgotten, lightly brushed his sleeve without a single raindrop on it. The gathered gazes immediately scattered.

"It really is raining a lot."

The man spoke amidst the noise that began to be heard again. The innkeeper, who had been staring this way until just before, forgetting even the mopping she had been doing, was indifferently continuing her endless cleaning.

After briefly falling silent, Rietta pushed her portion of sausage toward Melian.

"It's that kind of region."

"Has it ever stopped?"

"Not at all since I arrived."

"Strange. More than half the year has rain."

As he said, Luemmasa's climate wasn't normal. Half was just a figure of speech—during winter, snow replaced rain. In reality, the sun came out for about two months, and the remaining days were literally a village submerged in rain.

No traveler came without knowing about this abnormal climate. The man watched Rietta, who didn't answer, for a moment, then continued speaking.

"There are many people even in a place like this. Most dislike damp spaces."

"Mister is here too."

Melian discontentedly tapped the table with the fork he was holding. The man's gaze slid to the child.

Melian, who had been looking down at the received sausage with a blank face, rebelliously met his eyes. Clear wariness seeped into his large golden eyes. The man chuckled.

"Pretty impudent for someone not fully grown."

"Must be nice being old, mister."

The man slightly lifted the hood he wore. His face still wasn't fully visible, but his lips twisted for a moment. Rietta pushed mashed potatoes into Melian's mouth, which had opened to say something more.

"What do you want to say?"

The hand gripping the robe dropped. As if his interest had quickly cooled, the man placed his arm on the table with a leisurely motion.

"For a travel destination, there's nothing to see."

"Just get to the point."

"Wouldn't it be good for pretending to be unable to bear daily boredom while coming to find something?"

The man playfully tapped the table with his carelessly placed hand, like Melian had done moments before.

"You seem to be searching for high places too."

"So?"

"Interested in treasure?"

Rietta pulled down Melian's hand, which was gripping his fork as if to break it.

"Everyone who comes here is like that."

Where did it start? He had clearly heard her conversation with Melian. He didn't seem to particularly intend to hide that fact either. Rietta tried to gauge this unidentified man's intentions.

Luemmasa was a place with clear purposes, so unless they were companions, people didn't talk even if faces became familiar. The unspoken rule was for each to attempt exploration without sharing their information and then return.

The man was blatantly ignoring all those customs and had specifically approached Rietta's table.

"Is that so?"

Despite the insincere answer, he nodded as if satisfied. Then, after briefly staring out the window, he stood up from his seat without regret.

The sound striking the window was growing louder, as if the rainfall had intensified. He thanked her for yielding the seat and, as if to leave, turned around, then suddenly bowed toward Rietta again.

"By the way, what are you?"

The man whispered in a lower voice to Rietta, who looked at him questioningly.

"You've been smelling of the sea since earlier."

The rain stopped as if it were a lie once five days passed, just as Melian had predicted. During that time, one more person visited the inn, and three left.

What remained until the end were only Rietta's party and a group of men who had entered around a similar time and settled in.

The suspicious man who had spoken incomprehensible words hadn't shown himself again after that. Since they wanted the same object, they might encounter each other by chance. However, Rietta thought it fortunate in many ways that he wasn't visible right now.

'He was an unpleasant person.'

When pointed out that his response had been excessive, Melian had said that. When asked what was unpleasant, he used the word 'foreign.' It was a word that described him better than anything else.

Unlike the past, it was an era when the number of dragons was decreasing, and accordingly, the number of different races naturally declined sharply, and the quality of magic dropped significantly. Magicians capable of diverting attention with a single gesture were few enough to count on one hand.

The nameless man who spoke of sea smells while asking about Rietta's identity was equally suspicious. In a mutually uncomfortable situation, not encountering each other was best.

"Where are you going?"

"I haven't decided on a place yet."

Rietta, who had given a perfunctory answer to the man who appeared to be the leader of the remaining group, picked up her bag. It was an appearance contrasting with theirs, whose luggage numbered several bags filled with all kinds of equipment.

The man examining Rietta's appearance pointed at her bag with eyes treating her as reckless.

"It seems a bit lacking wherever you're going."

"It's fine. I don't plan to overdo it."

"......Well, anyway, I wish you good fortune."

Rietta, who nodded, led Melian—who was yawning repeatedly, not fully awake—out of the inn. Though the weather had not a single cloud, puddles were everywhere from rain that had fallen until dawn.

By the time they reached the entrance of Mount Tarun around noon after detouring to avoid the group, the ground conditions hadn't changed much.

Rietta looked at the mud tangled with fallen leaves accumulated through winter and worried. Could a child who appeared to be about twelve really climb such a mountain?

"Melian, perhaps we should postpone it a day......"

"Let's hurry, Rietta!"

Melian smiled brightly while receiving sunlight that poured through the leaves in patches. It was the most lively appearance throughout before and after arriving in Luemmasa.

Rietta, who had put down her unnecessary worries, followed Melian and set foot on Mount Tarun. As rumored, the mountain was indeed high and deep. However, there were no dangerous paths that would cause accidents for first-time visitors, despite the notorious reputation.

Rietta silently watched Melian, who showed no signs of fatigue as time passed but overflowed with vitality.

'Here, a guide. Though he may look like this, he'll be useful.'

Only now did she understand the reason Grace had confidently attached him. Melian frequently looked back even while advancing without hesitation. When their eyes met, he invariably smiled before moving forward again.

Typically, paths frequented by residents had noticeable colored ribbons tied to branches or bushes. However, Rietta hadn't seen anything resembling a ribbon until now. He was definitely guiding her on the shortest route to the summit while avoiding excessively rough paths.

Rietta silently followed behind while reconsidering Brynhildr's will.

<An emperor is one who always lives with unfathomable depths beneath their feet. If my breath ends and my body crumbles, there would be nothing more welcome. That would truly be the moment of obtaining the freedom I have longed for all my life.>

<I am a single breeze, a bird, and also a cloud. A free soul cannot remain in one place. Born from earth and returning to sky, my final resting place shall be in between. In that place closest to heaven where even one step would take me there, I will find rest.>

Just as clues were left so it couldn't be easily found, the content seemed straightforward yet metaphorical, making the meaning ambiguous.

As numerous treasure hunters predicted, it didn't seem easy enough to hastily conclude it was a mountaintop or cliff.

However, that small boy going ahead had specified the location without much thought.