After easily passing through the gates of Puzzle Town, the carriage with the golden turtle of the Hanityuz family on the door, following the advice of the deputy butler Hans, proceeded to the local tavern.
- It's smaller than the city of Western.
— That's right. Small.
Cale nodded at On and Hong's words and looked behind the carriage.
"He's not going to follow me into town, right?"
The black child, after thinking about it, decided that he would probably try to stay away from people. He didn't know yet that not all of them were evil. Although it was people who saved him too...
And cats...
According to Choi Han, the black dragon followed them at a fair distance before coming closer in the early morning and dropping off food before running away.
— Isn't it cute? The dragon seems like a little child who hasn't lost his innocence even after living such a terrible life.
"... Not really".
That's what Cale was thinking when Choi Han spoke to him with such satisfaction on his face. If this guy saw this dragon destroy a mountain, he wouldn't say things like "cute" to describe the dragon.
The blue eyes once again pierced the swordsman, who froze under the intense gaze.
"What now? I didn't call dragons monsters!"
- Stupid Choi Han, I'm not cute! Dragons are not cute!
- Sorry, dragon-nim...
Cale didn't know why the dragon was doing this, even though he said he hated humans. It was truly beyond Cale's comprehension. It was completely contrary to what he expected.
Eruhaben also thought that this was highly unusual behavior for dragons. Especially for this particular one. Perhaps the dragon's innate curiosity played a role. And also the fact that Cale was the first human who did not harm him. From the point of view of an inexperienced hatchling, this was the safest object to observe.
Since it was still young, Cale thought that the dragon would stay away from the Marquis's territory and create its own lair to develop its strength. Cale hoped that after it became stronger, the dragon would destroy the Marquis's property before the war on the continent began.
— It must be admitted that this is not an entirely unfounded thought...
This would be useful in the sense that it would help keep the Hanityuz territory in peace for a longer period of time.
- Just like this one...
— How far ahead does he think?
- It's not so much a plan as a logical conclusion. If the dragon destroys the marquis's property and, probably, the marquis himself, then the county will lose one evil neighbor.
— Tsk!
Cale clicked his tongue, and the kittens, who had been looking excitedly out the window, flinched before coming over to him. It seemed as if they had seen something strange outside, because they began to speak.
- Every house has a stone tower standing in front of it.
- Very strange.
Cale simply replied casually:
- This is the city of Stone Towers.
The town of Puzzle was famous for its ancient ruins with many stone towers, but it was also famous for the fact that in front of each house there were small stone towers.
The people of this town made a small recess outside their windows to build small stone towers. They were not really called stone towers because they were made of more than ten stone blocks, but the stone towers were made in different shapes based on the personalities of the owners of the houses.
Alberu remembered this funny custom. Even though the Kingdom of Roan did not have an official state religion, the town still stood out with its strange towers.
That's why it was only natural that the luxurious inn where Cale stayed had a stone tower in front of the entrance.
— Are we going to stop here?
Hans quickly answered Cale's question as they followed the innkeeper:
"Yes, sir," Hans seemed very excited to be walking with the kittens in his arms. "We have reserved a room for Choi Han-nim for two days, and we have also agreed that we will pay for the rest of the guests depending on how many days we spend here."
Ron flinched slightly at Hans' words before quickly falling behind the group with the magic box in his hands. Hans continued speaking.
Even the butler himself couldn't understand the strange reaction. What had him so upset? That Choi Han was leaving, and he had to escort the young master to the capital? But from what he had seen, he and his son weren't particularly attached to the black-haired teenager.
— We arrived right before the Stone Tower Festival, so the room wasn't that expensive.
Stone Tower Festival. Puzzle Town was currently busy preparing for the Stone Tower Festival that was scheduled to take place next week. Cale simply said what he was thinking without thinking.
- It doesn't look like there are many stones here, but the stone towers are quite interesting. Very strange.
- I know the reason for this.
— Yes?
Cale glanced at Hans, who responded to his muttering.
— There is a sad but touching story that has been passed down from generation to generation.
- Stop right now if she plans to drag on.
Eruhaben, remembering something, said:
— I think I heard something about this, a long time ago.
The Crown Prince looked at the ancient dragon and explained:
— The Stone Towers Festival is quite a popular event. Every year a lot of tourists flock there, even from other countries. Everyone wants to build their own tower and make a wish. I haven't been there myself, but I've heard that the festival is quite beautiful. Although few people know the history of the towers' appearance. It's a funny local custom.
- If I were you, I'd listen to her more carefully. There's more to this story than you might think.No one expected to hear the voice of the God of Death during the fragment. Usually he made himself known either before or after. The reaction to Cale's ability to use a needle and thread in road conditions does not count. Also, he did not particularly interfere with what they paid attention to and what they ignored. He simply provided information, and they had to think for themselves. In principle, he told them this from the very beginning. And here there was a direct hint that they better not miss this information.
Glancing up, everyone turned back to the screen, now fully focused.
Cale really wasn't interested in it at all. However, Hans continued to speak, probably because he decided that the story wasn't very long. The group that entered Cale's room watched as the owner who had seen them off left the room. Everyone present wanted to hear Hans's story.
- This story, well, this legend is about what happened in ancient times.
— Ancient times?
The Crown Prince prepared a piece of paper.
*Plop*
The innkeeper closed the door behind him, and only Cale's group remained in his chambers. Cale noticed the words "ancient times."
- Yes, ancient times.
- Continue.
The cat children in Hans's arms wagged their tails as if they were also interested in the story and looked at him. Ron simply poured a cup of lemonade from the bottle he carried with his magic box and handed it to Cale.
"He even carries it with him!"
The young man picked up a cup of lemonade and sat down on the sofa, crossing his legs, and with a gesture of his chin indicated to Hans that he should continue. He asked Hans not to hurry and to tell everything in detail.
- Hm... This city supposedly fell into disfavor with God in the past.
— Fell into disgrace?
Cale knew nothing about this story.
- This is the first time I hear about this.
- That's because the young master didn't study history.
— ...You seem to enjoy talking to me lately. Are you going to continue talking like that? Hmm?
Hans quickly turned away from Cale.
"It is only natural for a great butler to inform his master of things that he does not know," Hans began to talk about ancient times, "I do not know why this city fell into disfavor with God, but it seems to have led to some of the people in the city gathering together and building stone towers. It seemed that this was done in a desire to worship, to turn to the God who had abandoned them."
— Did it work?
Hans answered Cale's question sternly:
- No.
God did not hear them.
- Apparently, none of the prayers reached his ears. That is why today there is not a single temple in the city of Puzzle.
— I have no reason to worship a God who abandoned me. Is that it?
- Ding-ding-ding! Our young master is truly smart and has no need for training at all.
- ... Do you want to get punched?
- Heh... He's getting bolder and bolder!
- Not a single bottle was harmed yet. The young master is not as scary as he thought.
Hans turned away from Cale to look at the distant mountain and continued speaking:
- Hm. In any case, instead of temples, they have stone towers. The stone towers represent the promise that people made after all this. This promise was only for people, they made it to each other and to themselves.
- What promise?
Hans began to explain the strange rule that the inhabitants of Puzzle Town followed.
- The man who fulfills his wish destroys his stone tower.
Cale started to smile:
- What an interesting city.
Although Alberu wrote down the information like a good, diligent crown prince who cares about his country and wants to save it, he still didn't miss how Cale was building a tower of gold coins at that moment.
"Aahhhh...This is driving me crazy!!"
— Really? Since they were abandoned by their God, they had to achieve everything on their own. The act of destroying their stone towers was a way of "overcoming differences."
Cale really enjoyed the act of destroying the stone towers. Then he remembered the many stone towers in front of the houses.
— Stone towers are not created to turn to God for help.
- That's right. It's more of a representation of their own determination.
Such a stone tower had great significance, even if you were never destined to destroy it.
- Perhaps this God had no intention of fulfilling their wishes in the end.
- Yes, you are right. Although it is sad that people were abandoned, this story also gives people hope.
- It's really very sad.
Rosalyn was very upset for some reason. She didn't quite understand why. As a mage, she didn't really believe in the Gods. Well, she didn't worship them. It was hard not to believe in them when you were literally in the power of one right now. She believed in mana and her powers. But for ordinary people, it was probably very difficult to lose their God.
Meanwhile, Cale, to whom Hans was responding, threw out indifferent words:
- Look down.
- I'm sorry?
Seeing Hans' confusion, Cale pointed his finger somewhere in Hans' chest area:
— It looks like the kittens are angry.
- What?
Hans looked down and gasped, his eyes wide. The kittens were clearly angry. The golden eyes that looked at Hans were filled with anger.
- Aiya! Why are our sweet kittens so angry? Should I give you more jerky?
While Deputy Butler Hans tried to understand the reason for the discontent of his little furry masters, Choi Han thought that, despite the rather cool attitude of their "guardian", the children clearly felt quite comfortable. They were clearly well fed, which was more due to Hans than Cale. The ginger kitten, Hong, preferred to sleep on Cale's lap or next to him during the journey, rather than in the "place of honor". And they also had no problem complaining about the injustice of the whole world and a particular deputy butler.
Well, anyway, it's better than starving on the streets.
*Tuk-tuk*
It seemed that On was angry, because she started to tap the floor with her paw, and Hong tapped the floor with his tail. They were angry that Hans had lied to them about the Stone Tower, but the deputy butler seemed to have misunderstood them.
- Aiya, our precious kittens. I'll go get some tasty snacks! Young Master, can I find something for them?
- You can do whatever you want.
- I'll be back very quickly.
Hans said he would hurry back, but before he ran off like a gust of swift wind, the deputy butler made sure that the things he had brought for Cale were neatly put back in their places.
- He is a really efficient guy.
— Despite my obsession...
- It's still amazing.
— Oh yes…
- Ron, you can rest too.
The old man was still in his chambers. He walked up to Cale and started smiling.
"I have a bad feeling about this."
"Don't look at him! Turn away!"
Cale really hated the old man's smile. It made the boy feel even more uncomfortable than usual. Ron walked over to Cale's couch and spoke.
— Choi Han is really leaving in two days?
— Yes.
Cale suddenly smiled at the idea that came to his mind, then asked:
- What? You don't want to let him go? Or do you want to go with him?
"Come on! This is your chance to get rid of him! We believe in you!"
Ron's soft smile grew even wider.
- Why should I leave you and go somewhere else, young master? I like being around you.
These words sent a chill down Cale's spine.
"I get the feeling that your double is not quite willing to follow the 'original' plot, Mr. Ron."
- Ho-ho-ho, who knows why?
"Kale, hold on!"
"It's just very sad that Choi Han-nim won't be coming to the capital with us. I'll need to talk to him as much as possible before that young man leaves. Bikros might be sad to see him go."
Cale's expression slightly improved when he heard Ron's last words. He didn't really pay attention to it because it was unpleasant, but it seemed like some level of friendship had already developed between Ron, Choi Han, and Bikros.
Even a small child did not believe the old butler's words.
Meanwhile, the aforementioned trio grimaced at the phrase "some level of friendship." In that world, there was even less of that "friendship" than in their own.
Choi Han was quite hard to understand, but if he really hated someone, he wouldn't even talk to that being. Cale thought about his plan and began to smile evilly as he replied:
- Well, you can see each other again in the capital, because you will all end up there one way or another.
"The three of you could leave this kingdom altogether and go to Rosalyn's homeland. What do you think about that? Wonderful, right?"
- Why three of us?
- What do you mean, Miss Rosalyn?
— Earlier, Cale said that Choi Han would meet me and Lok on the way to the capital. But now he says that the three of them, plus me as the fourth, will go to the Kingdom of Brek. Where did Lok disappear to in this equation?
The teenager quickly tensed. If he really was the only survivor of the blue wolf tribe, then he had nowhere to go. He had to go with them.
- There is a possibility that at the time of Choi Han and Lock's first meeting with the tribe, everything was fine. Cale never said at what point Lock was left alone. There were many reasons why he could have gone with Choi Han. After the incident in the capital, he could have returned home and only then joined for good.
It was a very shaky theory. Everyone understood it, but they tried to somehow encourage the child. The previous reaction was completely unhealthy.
Cale didn't say the last words out loud, but when he started grinning, Ron started smiling even brighter too.
"I'm looking forward to the time when we all meet Choi Han-nim in the capital. This old man's wish is for everyone to arrive there safely."
- Mr. Ron...
"Yes, Miss Rosalyn?"
- You hope that Choi Han won't reach the capital safely, right?
- Hooo...Who knows...Who knows...
Choi Han really wanted to hit the old man, but it was useless here.Cale didn't believe what Ron was saying. "I can't wait" or "I hope everyone gets there safely." That type of emotion just wasn't something that could be felt by such a mean old man.
- Aiya... Young master, this servant is not alien to the feeling of hope.
"So you're not denying Rosalyn's words, are you?"
The kittens snorted as well, looking at Ron. He and Hong were annoyed that Ron was constantly trying to teach them the killing skills they had already learned from Cale.
— I wonder if they complained to Cale about it?
— Do you really think he would risk doing anything about it?
— Doesn't it bother you who exactly they learned these skills from?
Now that was a really interesting observation.
The obstinate "students" had already finished complaining to Cale about Hans, although the former showed no signs of caring.
The kittens finally let their anger out and Cale ignored them, looking out the window.
Cale looked towards a cave located near Puzzle City. This cave hid a half-ruined stone tower where the Living Heart was hidden. There should be a small house in this cave.
"Didn't it say there that a man lived to be one hundred and fifty years old?"
It was the power that the ancient being left behind after his natural death from old age. The dead man considered his power a curse. Cale stood up, adjusted his clothes a little, and opened the door.
— Oh!
Hans was right outside the door. Seeing the deputy butler, who had just returned with his hands full of goodies, Cale spoke up:
Rosaleen, being the lover of chaos that she was, couldn't help but remark with undisguised malice:
- I wonder what will happen to the deputy butler when he finds out that everyone but him gave these children "goodies"?
Vitira laughed out loud as she imagined this picture.
- Let's go and look at the stone tower.
The kittens' ears began to twitch. Cale smirked inwardly as he watched the kittens run towards him so happily, as if they had never been angry, and then he chose the humans to accompany him on his walk.
- Only Choi Han will go with me. Oh, take On and Hong with you.
- And I will go?
Choi Han was surprised. He was really interested in seeing the stone towers, but he didn't expect Cale to take him along.
- He's probably trying to get rid of Mr. Ron.
— Fu-fu-fu…
A man who died at the age of one hundred and fifty wanted to finish a stone tower in this cave to collect the wind in it.
"Last time it was a tree, now it's the wind?"
In the center of the cave, a hurricane reigned, which seemed to come from nowhere. The old man spent more than a hundred years trying to build a stone tower in the "eye of the storm". However, he failed.
Well, the old man always tore down his stone tower when it seemed like it was about to be completed. He did this over and over again until he died one day after he had once again reached halfway through his construction.
The Crown Prince carefully wrote down the information he had received. He didn't know why, though. They just needed to know how to get it. It wasn't like they really needed to know how people lived in ancient times. Although it was interesting to learn something unexpected about the Forest of Darkness.
What wish did this ancient man make? Cale didn't care. He just planned to take a good look at the structure while they were inspecting the stone towers today.
"If I decide to build one, I think I can make it more attractive."
Since he had to do it anyway, he was going to do it well. Cale also had to pay attention to some people in the ruins of the stone tower. Just in case.
A little later, Cale, both kittens, Choi Han, and Hans arrived at the entrance to the ruins of the stone tower. They did not take the carriage, which would clearly indicate the Hanityuz family, and Cale put on his hat, using the excuse that he did not like the bright sunlight.
"They are indeed still here."
— How could he know that these people would be there on that particular day?
"I think it's a lucky guess. If young Master Taylor and Miss Cage were looking for clues about the location of the stone tower they needed, the most logical place to look for them would be where there are most of them. And Cale seemed to have just come to look at the towers. He might not have been looking for them.
The young man was able to easily spot the people he was looking for once the group entered the ruins, Cale moving stealthily behind Choi Han and Hans.
- So, you were looking after all...
- Maybe just not actively. If he wants to give them "another hope," he needs to at least know what they look like.
At some distance away were a casually dressed man and woman. The man was in a wheelchair and the woman was pushing a wheelchair and heading towards the entrance to the ruins, which was also the exit.
They didn't notice Cale's furtive glance and calmly left the ruins. The man turned slightly to the woman and asked:
Everyone became curious.
Usually the narration was from Cale's point of view and rarely shifted to other people. The exceptions were the Count, Bylos and Bikros when he was spying on the market. So they would hear something interesting.
— Why did you decide to come here today?
— I don't know if it was a message from God or just complete nonsense, but I had the same dream as a couple of days ago. It said that I needed to come here. My dream said that our future benefactor would appear if we came to the ruins. The strange thing is that even God doesn't know how this benefactor will act, except that he will come to these ruins today.
— Is there a person that even God cannot predict?
- Who knows? Half of what God says is crap. Total nonsense.
Ten very strange glances rose to the ceiling. It showed no signs of life. But it did not throw lumps of fog. Was it very offended?
The woman with short brown hair spoke with irritation.
- Bullshit? These are the words of the Lord God. Besides, isn't it a secret that you hear messages from the Lord?
The man who answered was the Marquis of Stane's eldest son, Taylor Stane.
— It doesn't look like there are priests in Puzzle City. And who will take care of God's words? Does the Lord feed us? How can there be a benefactor for people like us? It's absolutely impossible. I'm hungry, so let's go eat.
Perhaps Rosaleen's teachings about cats weren't just for them.
And judging by Cage's words, she no longer really believed in a happy ending.
The woman who looked so annoyed was Taylor's close friend, Cage, the woman who would eventually be called the Mad Priestess. Taylor responded to Cage with a serious expression:
- Cage, I suddenly want to drink beer.
- Really? And I want smoked pork.
They looked at each other with serious expressions. Taylor pointed his finger forward and said seriously to the woman:
- What a wonderful combination. Let's go! Push! It will be my pleasure!
- Aiya! Your pleasure?! This priestess will do everything possible to accompany you in this pleasure!
They started laughing as they moved away.
Vitira found these people quite funny and cheerful. She could hardly imagine that what they heard from Cale could happen to such a positive person.
And then she remembered her little brother. Paseton had always been a nice, positive guy on the outside, but underneath that shell he was hiding how hard it was for him, a half-breed, to live among pure-blooded whales. It was weighing heavily on him.
So who knows what they are hiding under those smiles.
However, trying to throw the bad thoughts out of her
latest information, does Young Master Taylor look like Old Young Master Cale?
He pretended not to hear her, with a majestic smile on his face.
"Now that I'm sure it's them, I just have to make sure I can avoid them."
Since they didn't know who this young man was, Cale just had to make sure to avoid them in the future.
Of course, he planned to give them new hope anonymously. That was what he learned from the dragon.
The dragon fluttered his wings with pride. The strange man had learned from him. That meant he was a smart dragon. He already knew it, but extra confirmation was always nice.
"If their God doesn't do anything and decides not to reveal me to them, then there's no way these two will recognize me."
There was no way for these two people to know Cale's identity. Wasn't that great? He had to do everything anonymously. Cale stepped into the ruins, feeling a massive weight lifted from his chest.
He saw people praying all over the area.
At that moment, Hans carefully approached Cale and whispered in his ear:
— I just saw the eldest son of the Marquis of Stan's family.
— ... How do you know about this man?
Cale was truly surprised. Hans smiled, pointing to his eyes:
- Almost all the information about the nobles is stored in my head. I saw someone being pushed in a wheelchair. It was strange that there was only one person with him, but I saw a red comb on the wheelchair.
Choi Han, recalling his recent thoughts about buying information, couldn't help but think:
"Why did you buy anything when your own butler candidate already knows everything?"
He understood the nobility less and less in general.
- Hans.
— Yes, sir.
- You are better than you seem at first glance.
- T-thank you?
Ron was also a little proud of his former protégé. The guy would be of great use.
"When he learns not to blab too much in front of cats, that is."
Such frivolity spoiled the picture a little.
Hans shrugged his shoulders with a satisfied expression when he heard the master's peculiar praise. He then asked Cale:
— What are you planning to do?
Cale felt the left side of his face warm up and looked in that direction. Choi Han was looking at him. Cale shook his head and answered them both.
- Just ignore them.
"Why should we ignore them?" Mary asked.
"If he wants to help them anonymously, then the less they see him, the more likely they are to not reveal his identity. The best option for him would be if they remained completely unknown to him."
— It's still a big question how he was going to pull this off. Not in a suit, pff... of a secret organization.
Recalling the origins of the suit's design, there were a few more chuckles.
"I guess we'll see. He's been pretty good at keeping things quiet up until now."
— …
- Conditionally quiet. No one suspects him of anything yet.
Both of his companions nodded without saying anything. Only then did their tour begin. Looking back, Cale was shocked by the sight of the ruins of a stone tower.
- It's just...
Cale seemed confused.
- She looks worse than I expected.
Cale couldn't understand the ancient sense of style. He expected a pile of rubble, but the ruins contained stone towers of all kinds.
Remembering the Crown Prince's words about the beauty of the festival, everyone looked in his direction.