TMBIPYMEN Chapter 7

"Aren't you tired?"

When Yustar asked, Layla stared at him from beneath her deeply pulled hood. Her pair of red eyes seemed to say, 'Are you seriously asking me that right now?'

"Of course I'm tired."

At Layla's words, Yustar smiled apologetically.

"I'd like to move quickly too, but that magical artifact we used needs recharging. We only need to get to where the portal is, but it's farther than I thought. It's been too long since I've been here—I've lost my sense of the distance."

"Portal?"

When Layla asked back in a bewildered voice, Yustar stared at her as if to ask what was wrong.

"It's a spatial transportation device. Don't tell me you didn't know about this either?"

This time it was Layla's turn to gaze silently at Yustar. After blinking twice, Yustar momentarily looked flustered and said:

"Um... I wasn't trying to look down on you."

Layla's shoulders moved slightly. Whatever... Yustar raised his eyebrows slightly as if he could hear her indifferent voice.

"I have heard of portals. But I've never actually seen one. What do they look like? Do they look like terrifying boxes? Do they have teeth so normal people can't even approach them?"

Yustar laughed softly.

"No, they're not terrifying. Probably not."

"Where is this portal thing anyway? And where are we going on it? What are we going to do there?"

At the flood of questions, Yustar fell into thought with a pensive expression for a moment.

After spending the night near the forest and walking for half a day without rest, Layla had barely said a word. She had simply walked in silence, wearing the hood Yustar had given her to hide her conspicuous hair and eyes.

Perhaps because of that? Yustar didn't find it bothersome when Layla poured out questions like a child. After all, whatever she poured out—questions or anything else—he would handle it all...

Yustar touched his chin with his fingertips and looked down at Layla.

"Miss Layla, have you heard of 'Tentinella'?"

Layla immediately shook her head.

"No, I've never heard of it. What is it?"

As if this wasn't the answer he expected, Yustar looked at Layla with bewildered eyes for a moment before speaking.

"You really haven't heard of it even once?"

Then Layla's steps stopped.

After looking around to confirm the deserted road, she suddenly pulled off her hood and shook her head roughly like a wet cat. Perhaps because the weather had warmed up, keeping the hood on the whole time had made her head uncomfortably hot.

Layla said,

"Look, Ridgecarse is a remote village. It's not the kind of place where news from everywhere flies in swiftly like swallows. What was fashionable in the cities ten years ago is the latest trend in Ridgecarse. It's... an isolated place. Do you understand?"

Yustar made a short sound. "Hmm." Layla watched his reaction for a moment before adding,

"I don't mean geographically isolated. It's not like that..."

"I understand what you mean. And I agree with you. It's even surprising that this is the first time a Sink has appeared in that village. I wouldn't have found it strange if it had happened two or three more times. Of course, if that had happened, by the time I arrived there wouldn't have been anything left that could be called a village."

Though his tone was calm, it was a statement that became chilling the moment you thought about its meaning. According to his words, Ridgecarse was a village where it wouldn't be strange if it became ruins at any moment, swept up in all kinds of bizarre incidents arising from sinks.

On the other hand, the sinkhole that appeared for the first time could be just the beginning.

What would have happened if Yustar hadn't appeared at such a timely moment? Layla imagined herself alone in an empty village teeming with ghosts and shuddered.

Without saying who would go first, both of them started walking again. It felt like they were stepping into silence, one foot at a time. If someone had seen them, they might have thought they were pilgrims under a vow of silence and a strangely dressed wandering poet...

Layla spoke again.

"So are you going to tell me... where we're going or not?"

"Ah, right. Um... To be precise, we're currently heading to the Tentinella First Branch."

"You still haven't explained what this Tentinella thing is."

A small groan escaped. Yustar knew well that he had little talent for explanation or persuasion.

Moreover, his companion was none other than Layla Chrysrad, the very person he had been searching for so desperately...

If she harbored even the slightest uncomfortable suspicion, or if she changed her mind and said she wanted to leave for somewhere else, it would be nothing short of a disaster for Yustar.

'Of course, that will never happen.'

Yustar thought. Then suddenly, realizing that the witches of old had the ability to read hearts from the breath of those nearby, he cautiously watched for her reaction.

But he couldn't sense anything from Layla. She was simply waiting for him to continue explaining about 'Tentinella.'

"Tentinella is... a knightly order. His Majesty the King's special knightly order. While general knightly orders exist to prepare for wars with foreign enemies, Tentinella fights against something more... special."

Layla quickly grasped the identity of the 'special things' Yustar was talking about.

"You mean things like ghosts."

"That's right. It's good that you understand quickly. Ghosts, or sometimes even monsters. What comes out of Sinks isn't necessarily only ghosts."

"Black holes... to use your term, those Sinks—do they appear anywhere? Suddenly? Like earthquakes or landslides?"

Yustar nodded slowly and said,

"They're similar. Natural disasters, such as earthquakes, landslides, and tsunamis, are similar to Sinks. First, something triggers it, and energy accumulates at the center of the trigger. When the energy has gathered to the point that it cannot accumulate any more, the ground splits, mountains collapse, or waves crash onto the shore. Sinks are the same. The only difference is whether or not there are warning signs that can predict their occurrence."

"So Sinks... are suddenly created when some kind of energy accumulates, and no one can predict it in advance. And Tentinella exists to deal with what comes out of those Sinks... those ominous things that only I can see."

"That's right. His Venerable Majesty the King established Tentinella to protect his subjects from Sinks and all the ominous and hideous entities and phenomena that arise from them."

Layla, who had been listening to Yustar's words with careful and prudent attention, summarized his story in one sentence.

"So you're a knight belonging to that Tentinella."

Her red eyes gazed silently at Yustar. She looked as innocent as a child asking 'Am I right?'—but the special ability rippling beyond that was like a complex and vast maze.

"That's correct."

Yustar answered briefly with a slight smile.

The remote road where no wandering travelers, distant merchant wagons, or even weary peddlers passed felt as if it would never end.

Before setting out on the road in earnest, they had shared the dry bread Yustar had with him, but that alone wasn't enough. Layla suddenly felt unbearable hunger and slightly furrowed her brow. Right then Yustar said,

"Are you hungry?"

Layla whipped her head around and asked with a suspicious expression,

"How did you know?"

"Because it's about that time. Look at the sky. The sun has already tilted westward. We've run out of supplies too, so we'd better find a place to stay around here tonight. We should reach the portal by tomorrow, and then you won't have to walk on sore feet anymore."

If they had to walk this much tomorrow too, it wasn't particularly good news.

But reminding herself once more that a destination did exist made her legs feel a bit lighter. Layla, walking with her hood hanging down like a long cloak, suddenly asked another question as if just remembering,

"Can anyone use that portal?"

Yustar said,

"Of course not, only people with special authorization. But you can obtain temporary qualification, so don't worry. I have that level of authority."

"You're not just a regular knight? Are you something like the captain of the knightly order?"

This time too, he didn't answer and just smiled. Layla was keeping count of the answers Yustar subtly brushed aside, one by one, but he was surely unaware of that fact.

She had braced herself for another night sleeping outdoors since he said they should find a place to sleep nearby, but the remote forest path that had seemed like it would go on forever suddenly ended out of nowhere, and a village bustling with people appeared.

Though it wasn't particularly large, to Layla's eyes—having never left the area around her home in her entire life—it was no different from a dizzying metropolis.

Upon entering the village, Layla instinctively pulled her hood down deep to cover even her eyes, and as if that weren't enough, she lowered her head to avoid making eye contact with anyone. This created another problem—she couldn't walk properly and kept stumbling.

"You don't need to go that far."

Yustar tried to reassure her, but Layla was immovable.

No one in the Sierrow Kingdom was born with black hair. Nor with eyes red as pomegranate seeds. Layla's appearance itself was 'something not human.'

Layla herself knew better than anyone that her hair and eyes alone could frighten people and create an ominous, gloomy atmosphere.

"You won't be able to walk properly like that. If you trip and your hood comes off, it'll cause an even bigger commotion... Do you still dislike it? Hmm... Then there's no choice."

Layla, shaking her head beneath the hood, was like a stubborn child.

Yustar cast a strange look that was half sympathetic and half amused, then carefully wrapped his hand around her shoulder. He felt Layla's body flinch beneath the hood.

"Lean on me as you walk. At least then you won't fall."

"I'm not that hopeless."

Low laughter burst from Yustar's mouth.

"I swear I've never once thought of you that way. And I never will. Now then, let's find a room for us to stay in. Conveniently, there are inns gathered over there."

He pointed somewhere with his finger. Layla sneakily raised her gaze from beneath the hood, but when a man carrying milk jugs passed by her with plodding footsteps, she dropped her head again.

At least Yustar's hand holding her shoulder was one anchor to hold onto.