Rattle.
"Sigh, my back..."
Massaging his sore back after working for hours, Marvin carefully controlled the reins of his horse with his other hand. Looking up, he saw the sun had long since retired, giving the stage to the bright moon in the sky.
With only the stars and moon as his source of light, he drove his caravan back home.
Marvin was tired. Due to an unfortunate chain of events, he had been forced to stay in the forest, helping out for much longer than usual. All he could think about was his comfortable bed and a cold bath. He could not wait to enjoy them thoroughly.
"Hm?"
As he got close to his house, he noticed a light seeping out from one of the windows on the bottom floor. A little taken aback, he pulled a round object from his robe.
"...It's way past midnight."
From where the light was coming from, Marvin knew that someone was in the guest room, and that someone could only be Sontra. While he was curious, he was more concerned about why Sontra was still up at that hour.
That had not happened before.
After a brief moment of thought, Marvin concluded that something must have happened. Normally, he would return to a pitch-black house with no sign of anyone being awake.
'Is he waiting for me?'
"Hyah!"
He urged the horses on, afraid that it might be something important. While he was still unsure of the reason, if Sontra was truly waiting for him, he knew it must be significant, so important that it could not wait until morning, which was only a couple of hours away.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
He knocked on the door before rushing inside. Taking off his shoes rather hurriedly, he headed to the first room on his right. Sure enough, Sontra was there. The young man with black eyes and hair was staring into the wavering flame of a candle. He slowly turned around.
"Marvin, you're back," Sontra greeted with a slight smile.
"I am... Is everything alright? Why are you still up at this hour?"
"No, it is nothing. I was just thinking about something," Sontra said calmly.
Hearing the usual calmness in Sontra's voice, Marvin's heart eased. Truthfully, he had had enough unfortunate events for one day. He was glad that his bad luck had not followed him home. Nevertheless, he still felt that something was going on. Even if Sontra did not seem disturbed, he could tell it weighed heavily on his mind.
"Is it something you want to talk about? I can listen if you want."
Sontra looked at Marvin with a soft smile before looking back at the candle.
"It is nothing worth sharing."
"Are you sure?"
"I am."
In the dimly lit, cold room, the lone candle flickered, tirelessly providing warmth to the two men. Between them, the calming music from the town accompanied their silence, easing the quiet awkwardness that had begun to build.
"What about you? Was everything fine? You returned fairly late today," Sontra said.
"...Everything was fine. They just needed some helping hands today."
"That's good to hear... Anyway, don't let me hold you up. I'll stay down here for a bit."
Marvin, knowing it was not good to press someone who did not wish to talk, chose to excuse himself.
"If you say so. I'll head up first. Goodnight."
"Goodnight, and thank you, Marvin."
Returning Marvin's slight nod, Sontra watched as he left the room. His eyes went to the green boxes filling the corners, his gaze still deep in thought. From the towering stacks, he could tell it would take Marvin at least a week to transport all of them.
Fuh.
Sontra blew out the candle, which was already half-burned. His eyes then went to the closed wooden window, where a sliver of moonlight had escaped into the room, providing a faint light.
'...Still here.'
He could feel the presence of several people around the house.
That afternoon, while he was checking on the child, he had felt people watching Marvin's house. He initially thought they might be burglars coveting a merchant's wealth. However, his mind quickly changed once he recognized some of the presences.
They were the hunters he had seen the prior morning.
Gazing through the tiny cracks in the wall, he noticed that the presences were not the same as before. Strangely, the townsfolk were taking turns watching the house. While he still had no clear idea why they were there, he knew they were not after Marvin.
'Did they realize already?'
With so little to go on, he could only act clueless. He felt it was best not to acknowledge them for the time being. With Marvin safely home, he had no more reason to stay downstairs. Soon, he retreated to his room.
Morning arrived shortly after.
Having slept only a couple of hours, Marvin was still feeling lethargic. As usual, he fought off laziness by reminding himself that money doesn't grow on trees. Preparing to leave, he chewed on hard bread as he brought the caravan out from the shed.
"Marvin."
"Ye- Mister Loik?"
"Good morning."
"Good morning..."
Perhaps he was too busy dragging the caravan out, but Marvin had not noticed Loik standing behind him for a while. Greeting him, Marvin saw that Loik's expression was not good; he looked troubled.
"Marvin, is Sontra here? I need to talk to him."
"Sontra...? Did something happen?"
"No, nothing bad happened. I just have a message to relay."
Although curious, Marvin did not pry, believing it was not proper to interfere in something that might not be his concern.
Following Loik's request, Marvin informed Sontra, who was checking on the child, about the situation.
"Sorry, did I disturb you?"
"No, it's fine. I heard you were looking for me?"
"It's a message from the Elder..." Loik said hesitantly.
"..."
"The Elder wishes for you, along with your son, to stay in the town. At least until the end of the Music Festival."
"May I know why?" Sontra asked after a pause, his face showing confusion.
"You see..."
According to Loik, the doctor had reported to the Elder that the child's condition might be more severe than initially thought. Thus, the Elder believed it would be easier for the doctor to monitor him if they stayed somewhere closer.
Hence, the Elder invited them to stay in his house, as it was the closest to the doctor's place. The Elder said there was plenty of room available and there was no need to worry about accommodation. If Sontra agreed, the Elder even promised to send some men to help with the relocation.
"I appreciate the Elder's kindness, but I'm afraid I must refuse."
Sontra did not take much time to decide. He politely refused.
"Can you tell me why?"
"I apologize, but the two of us prefer somewhere quiet and, most importantly, undisturbed. Could you please extend my apologies to the Elder?"
"Of course..." Loik said with a relieved sigh.
He then recalled the strange conversation he had with the Elder the previous day. Right after he returned from the forest, the Elder had suddenly called out to him, asking him to convince Sontra to move to the town.
"Loik, watch over those two patients."
"Fa-Elder, what are you talking about? Sontra is a good man. There should be nothing to worry about."
"No. Watch over them, keep them safe."
"...Safe? From whom?"
"I am unsure, but I have had a dream, the same dream time and time again."
"Huh?"
"No need to ask any more questions, just do as I said. Watch over them in secret."
"...No."
After that, they had argued. Loik did not want to risk offending another Arcanist for something as feeble as a dream. Furthermore, he was sure he could not escape the senses of the black-haired man, let alone watch him silently. He had no clear idea how strong the other person was, but if what Marvin described was true, Loik was certain it was not worth the risk.
"Loik?"
"Y-yeah? Sorry, I dozed off."
"Can you help relay what I said to the Elder? Again, I am thankful for his thoughtfulness, but I must refuse his kind gesture."
"Of course, no problem," Loik said with his usual grin.
"Thank you. I apologize for the trouble."
"No, don't sweat it. But that aside, can you help me with something?"
The two talked for a bit more before bidding farewell. Contrary to when he had arrived, Loik looked more cheerful as he left. His movements were light, as if he was happy that Sontra had refused the Elder's offer.
Creak.
"Is everything all right?"
As soon as Sontra entered the house, Marvin, who was standing right on the other side of the door, asked with concern.
"Loik asked for my help in the town. We are going to meet there at noon."
Loik had said that he needed Sontra's help with something in town. According to him, it was something only the two of them could do. Curious, Sontra had agreed.
"Are you not pushing yourself too much?"
"It's nothing. Come on, I will help you with the boxes."
Looking at Marvin, Sontra could see that he was ready to leave, though a little later than the previous day. Just as before, the two loaded the boxes of textiles into the caravan. However, Sontra did not follow Marvin to the forest that day, which strangely made Marvin a little too happy.
"I will be off now. Please take a horse from the shed when you head to town. I might return a little late today, too."
"I understand. Please be careful on your way."
After sending Marvin off, Sontra waited for noon to arrive. In the meantime, he looked after his son, trying a few other methods to awaken him. Unfortunately, it was to no avail. Too preoccupied, he lost track of time, and noon arrived before he realized.
With Marvin's permission, Sontra took a horse from the shed beside the house. The light brown horse he picked was not aggressive and was easy for him to handle. After securing the house and setting up some precautionary measures, Sontra trotted toward the town.
***
"Is this it?"
Following Loik's instructions, Sontra met him on the Hunter Plaza, located on the east side of the town. In front of them, countless stones of myriad colors were laid on the ground. While it was hard to notice under the blazing sun, some of the stones emitted a faint light from their surfaces.
"Sorry, but only the two of us can sort them out. Usually I do this alone, but there are too many of them this year."
'So it's about sorting Beast Cores.'
The help Loik had mentioned, the one that only the two of them could do, was to sort the cores of Beasts. The job was not hard, requiring only the examination of the Arcana inside the cores and sorting them by grade. However, looking at the cores stacked like a mountain, Sontra understood Loik's predicament.