When I Find You (3)
Inside the carriage leaving the convent.
There was a red-haired girl sitting quietly in a shaking carriage with tears threatening to fall from her big eyes.
The sight of him hugging less than a bundle of luggage to his chest was a sight that would arouse sympathy in anyone who saw it.
“Did you have a hard time there?”
“······so so.”
“Didn’t you feed me well? “Why is this already skinny kid so skinny?”
“······I just gave it to you.”
Zemina continued to avoid Vlad’s gaze while briefly answering the questions that came her way.
“Why are you doing that?”
“what······.”
“Why are you glancing at me like this?”
“······.”
Zemina could not easily make eye contact despite Vlad’s bruises.
It was a scene the girl had dreamed of for so long, but when she actually reached the situation, there was only an awkward atmosphere.
“Are you feeling awkward because we haven’t seen each other for only about half a year?”
Vlad was somewhat upset by Gemina’s subtle reaction, but it was something that could not be helped.
‘······You have changed so much.’
Even the parents who gave birth to them were unaware of the subtle emotions of an adolescent girl.
The subtle difference in emotions was partly the fault of Vlad, who arbitrarily deviated from what the girl knew.
‘He seems like a real nobleman.’
Zemina thought as she glanced at Vlad, who was looking at her with a sour look in his eyes.
His dark blonde hair, which was popular among the back alley prostitutes, had now even lost its luster and made him look extravagant. The clothes he was wearing, his armor, and everything else, showed off the appearance of a proud knight.
“······.”
My shabby self sitting in front of that shining image.
Zemina quickly grabbed the open end of her sleeve with her palm, hoping to catch Vlad’s gaze.
Even so, it won’t cover up all of the shabby appearance.
When we were rolling together in the back alley, we depended on each other with a rag-like blanket, but the sight of the boy now seemed to be far away, and Jemina became depressed.
I felt like I wouldn’t even be allowed to stand next to the boy anymore, so I just lowered my head into the bag I was holding.
“hey!”
“huh?”
Jemina raised her head at Vlad’s sudden call.
Jemina’s eyes widened as she felt something unidentified suddenly flying into her mouth that was open in a daze.
“Eat that and come to your senses. “I was so dazed earlier.”
“······.”
Jemina quietly put down her tongue as she felt the sweet taste spreading in her mouth.
“what’s this?”
“Caramel. “I got it from a driver I know.”
“How did you get this expensive thing? “You didn’t steal it, did you?”
“······Think for yourself.”
With those words, Vlad looks out the carriage window as if he doesn’t feel like talking anymore.
Zemina looked at Vlad’s indifferent profile and found something that the boy used to have.
It was like this back then too.
Even when she was struggling to survive each day, Vlad would sometimes grab a piece of bread for the girl from somewhere.
And then he clicked as if nothing had happened.
Just like now.
“Black…”
The salty taste of tears flowing down, the sweetness of caramel tasted for the first time.
As the taste of reunion spread across the tip of Asrai’s tongue, the girl dropped the teardrops she was clinging to.
“Why are you crying again? really.”
“You came too late!”
Seeing the girl finally letting go of the tears she had been holding back, Vlad just frowned in annoyance.
Jemina, who found the boy she knew in the changed appearance of Vlad, was only then able to shed tears with relief.
Even as time passes and the environment changes, there are some things that do not change.
Jemina was so happy about it.
※※※※
Some dock in a back alley.
In front of the slowly flowing river, Haven and Vlad were talking with a bottle of alcohol next to them.
“How can I not have one of those boats that is mine?”
“······.”
Ships flock to the dock to avoid the setting sun.
From small fishing boats to sailing ships responsible for Shoara’s logistics distribution.
Seeing the ships docking in the right size and order, Haven was not lamenting, but was lamenting.
“You know, right? “My original dream was to be a watchman.”
“I know.”
Haven was a clean-cut guy who always said what he said, but when he had alcohol in his mouth or had a boat in front of him, he showed a different side of himself.
And the blonde boy was the one who saw it the most.
“Now the watchman was wrong. “How can I climb the mast with these feet?”
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“······.”
In response to Haven’s words, Vlad picked up a stone and threw it toward the river.
Because he knew very well that he was one of the reasons why Haven’s dream was frustrated.
“So these days, I’m learning how to read maps and constellations. “When I think about it, being a watchman is very difficult.”
“······You haven’t changed.”
Vlad turned his head crookedly, looked at Haven, and started laughing.
The voices, Zayar, Josef, and even Jorge.
There were many people who gave the boy knowledge, skills, and direction in life, but perhaps the brown-haired man sitting next to him was his first teacher.
Haven’s attitude of constantly trying to find a breakthrough in life clearly had a great influence on the boy.
“So Marcela and Gemina are still there? “At the inn in the downtown area?”
“I can’t just leave the two of you alone with the blood-covered smile of a rose.”
“Well, you’ll have to take care of them both for the time being.”
“yes.”
Bordan, who was sorting out One-Armed Jack’s assets, handed Vlad an IOU related to the Rose Smile.
It was the right of the boy who was a legitimate avenger, but it was also what Josef wanted.
And the IOU was now returned to Marcela.
Because the boy did not forget the blessings of that day.
“Marcella continues to run the store?”
“Well, I don’t know.”
“Sometimes, I enjoyed drinking under your name.”
While listening to the old memories flowing from Haven’s mouth, Vlad took a sip from the whiskey bottle he was holding in his hand.
Seeing Vlad’s tantrums, Haven for no reason quenched his appetite.
“······Is that delicious? “Would you like to trade with me?”
“······It’s a joke, right?”
There was absolutely no reason to exchange expensive whiskey for cheap rum, but Vlad went out of his way to exchange the bottle.
Because Haven also owed something.
“Wow! “You can tell a good drink just by smelling it!”
“······The same goes for bad alcohol.”
Vlad smelled the fishy smell of cheap rum and gave a little pressure to the bottle cap.
“······.”
Even as summer approaches, Haven still covers her forearms with long sleeves.
Vlad rolled his tongue in his mouth as he looked at the scars that were visible when he held up the whiskey bottle.
The new scar on Haven’s arm was something he got in return for secretly launching a boat when the boy was trying to escape Shoara.
“······I didn’t manage to die.”
“I only killed half of it.”
Haven’s smile, illuminated by the twilight, seemed sad to Vlad without knowing why.
In a back alley where all they had to offer was their lives, Haven did his best for Vlad.
Haven, a gang member, hijacks the boss’s boat and floats it on the river.
If One-Armed Jack’s men who saw that scene hadn’t flocked to the dock, it might have been a member of another organization, not Otar, who blocked the boy.
The boy that day was no different from a debtor who borrowed favors here and there to earn his life.
“They say it’s amazing that a cripple can launch a boat by himself. My boss likes that. “That’s why I’m only half dead.”
“You like everything.”
“That’s why I lived. “Thanks to you, I can drink such good drinks.”
Vlad smiled quietly as he watched Haven gulping down the whiskey as if it were good medicine.
“What do you plan to do next? Are you going back to Sturma?”
“I’ll be here for a while. “It’s kind of on standby.”
“Oh, it looks good. What does a man who receives orders from a noble family look like? “You have achieved success.”
The boy ignored Haven’s words, dismissing them as the words of a drunk person, saying that Zemina would be sad if he left so soon, and that he should take her with him when he went up.
“In the meantime, I’m going to try and find some people here.”
“who?”
Vlad quenched his appetite as he watched the sun slowly setting on the west side of the river.
To some, it may have signaled the end of the day, but to the people in the back alleys, it signaled the beginning of the day.
“We need to find One-Armed Jack’s hidden assets and things that haven’t been recovered. “Money-grubbing people dig holes here and there.” “If that’s the case, it could be helpful.”
“Hehe. “That whiskey isn’t free.”
Haven stroked his staff as he looked at Vlad, who was smiling sinisterly at him.
The cane that the boy had sharpened today seemed trustworthy.
“And it looks like Marcella wants to find other prostitutes.”
“I guess everything has been sold out?”
“It must be here somewhere.”
“Hmm.”
Josef even wanted to dust off the one-armed jack hidden in the back alley.
And Madame Marcella wanted to find the prostitutes who had scattered because of her.
Gold coins and prostitutes.
In the footsteps of prostitutes sold by loan sharks, sparkling gold coins made from their tears will surely be engraved.
Between missions and requests, Vlad, Bayezid’s agent and knight of the last remaining courtesans, knew exactly what he had to do.
“I guess the two things have something in common.”
“Still, I think it’ll be a pain in the ass. “I did a quick search, but some of them didn’t show any traces at all.”
“who?”
“It’s Anna. “Besides him, there are a few more people.”
Vlad remembered the prostitute who had been beaten by a man who called himself a mercenary.
Since she had a lot of debt to begin with, I thought she would have been sold to a more difficult place, but I had no idea she would disappear without a trace like this.
“I see. “It’s a bit unusual that there’s no trace at all.”
Haven furrowed his eyebrows when he sensed that Vlad’s words were not empty words.
Back when One-Armed Jack was running the back alleys, he saw a lot of things that shouldn’t have happened.
“Call me if you need help. “The organization has shrunk these days, so it may not be of much help.” “Okay.”
Haven gave strength to his staff, managed to maintain his balance, and stood up.
Even though he was physically uncomfortable, the sight of Haven somehow accomplishing his work gave young Vlad a lot to think about.
“I’m going.”
“okay.”
Vlad waved one hand and looked at Haven as he returned to work.
The burning red dusk cast long shadows over Haven.
His shadow, which is even more staggering than before, is probably not simply due to being drunk.
“I have to pay you back.”
Josef had said.
When repaying a favor or a grudge, you should at least give it back twice as much.
Just one bottle of whiskey won’t be enough to repay Haven’s kindness.
“I guess I should stop by sometime.”
Vlad turned and started walking in the opposite direction that Haven had gone.
The boy heading towards the back alley remembered Joseph’s words well.
Life is a series of repayment and repayment.
And the boy knew that now it was his turn to pay.
The boy’s hair was flowing in the dim lights of the back alley.
The color was more vivid than anything else.
※※※※
In front of a shabby blacksmith shop full of mud.
An old blacksmith, who looked as unsightly as the shabby shop, was sitting there with an unmotivated look.
The only customers who come occasionally are mercenaries who come looking for rumors and unsophisticated back alley thugs.
“······.”
The old man, who had very little time left to live, was finally feeling despondent that his life was wasting away like this.
No matter where you are born in this world, everyone deserves to have at least one star in their heart.
However, getting the star it was holding into the night sky was another problem.
“······Should we close today?”
The old man, who had become increasingly unmotivated these days, stood up with a groan that was reminiscent of age.
The old man, who had been organizing the furniture for a while, stopped moving when he saw a nail stuck at the highest point of the blacksmith shop.
There was a sword hanging there.
And the old blacksmith remembered the boy who was looking at the sword.
Where is the unadorned sword containing his unfulfilled dream and what is it doing?
Are you getting along well with the boy?
“You must be doing well.”
The old man, who was well aware of the cruelty of the world, had already realized that his star might not shine brightly.
I just hoped to be floating in a better night sky than this muddy place.
“Is it closing already today?”
“okay. “Come later.”
“I can’t, I’m getting busy from now on.”
The old man burst into laughter at the voice coming from behind him.
You guys are busy.
You don’t need the sharp blade I make to stab the other person with the metal skewer you are holding.
“This sword needs some repairs. “It hasn’t been repaired for too long.”
“······what?”
The old man responded to the words coming from behind him.
The word I just heard clearly contained the word sword.
“Other blacksmiths say they can’t fix this. “The only way to fix it is inspiration.”
“······.”
The old blacksmith put down the tools he was holding and slowly looked back.
“oh······.”
Just by sitting still, a shining blond hair appeared in his cold eyes.
It was the color that he had thrown out into the world with the girl that day.
“No?”
“No, no, it doesn’t work. “Don’t be like that.”
The old man worked the bellows on the brazier as he saw the welcome guest who had been coming for the first time in a long time.
The old man’s passion was burning for the first time in a long time inside the brazier, which was breathing heavily as if it would go out at any time.
“Sit here.”
The old blacksmith, who gave the boy a seat, accepted the unadorned sword he had made with a careful gesture.
Grumbling-
“yes.”
The old blacksmith smiled as he looked at the sword with injuries here and there.
As a blacksmith, it was inevitable that I would always feel proud when I saw things being done to their full potential.
Especially if it was something you created yourself.
“Where did this scar come from?”
“That happened while dealing with a vampire goblin, but I wasn’t used to using a sword at the time, so I took it…”
“Then what about this?”
“That’s when we catch that death worm. I was like bait, but I scratched the ground. “To pull it out.”
Vlad kept talking as if he was making excuses as he watched the old blacksmith asking him various questions about the wound on his sword, but there was absolutely no need for him to do so.
“Small Goblin…Death Worm….”
The old man was not beating the boy, but was filled with emotion as he listened to the achievements of the sword he had created.
You were faithfully doing your part.
Unlike me, who is rotting here.
The blacksmith that day remembered the boy staring endlessly at the sword he had made.
However, today’s blacksmith was smiling as he looked at the scars on the sword that the boy had made.
“wait. “I’ll fix it.”
The old man quickly closed the store and began working solely for the boy.
In the middle of the back alley, the sound of the old man striking the hammer and the loud voice of the boy were echoing.
“So he hit the shield there. “I told you to say my name.”
“okay? and?”
The old blacksmith had a dream with those sounds.
The boy’s eyes looked at him and he saw himself standing in the sight of what the unadorned sword had done.
The old blacksmith smiled as he looked at the scenery visible among the sparks flying out.
