Huff. Huff.
"Move!"
"Oi!"
The kid ran without looking back, carelessly shoving every passerby in his path. He was panting, frantically looking all around. He then took a sudden sharp turn, squeezing himself between two houses.
The space was small, barely enough to fit his body.
It grew thinner with each step. He felt his chest tightening, and it was getting harder to breathe.
Shrkkk.
As he pressed through, he felt a sharp, stinging pain in his back. He could hear his clothes tearing but had no room to turn his head and see what had cut him.
"Pah!"
Emerging from the choking space, the kid took a deep breath.
He didn't dawdle, immediately and swiftly hiding behind the house. Calming his heart, he rubbed his chest, which hurt from being squeezed by the walls. He hadn't realized it would be so painful just to breathe in such tight quarters. Had he known, he wouldn't have even considered it.
Huff. Huff.
He peeked around the wall, hoping a certain someone hadn't found him. His heart pounded heavily in his chest as if trying to escape through his rib cage.
'Did I lose him?'
He had lost track of how long he had been running. His legs cramped, and his body had already run out of water to sweat. He wanted to rest. He had long since given up on escaping the Arcanist; each time he thought he was free, the man would appear right behind him like a ghost.
He was terrified. He knew that if that man wanted to hurt him, no one could do anything. He didn't want to be left at the Arcanist's mercy.
Fortunately, no one was on the other side of the alley. A speck of relief appeared in his heart. With a repressed sigh, he slammed his back against the wall, finally letting his trembling body rest.
"Hum... ha.... hu.... hu...."
He shut his eyes, accepting the warm rays of the sun caressing his face. His mouth was wide open, greedily gulping as much air as he could.
Unfortunately, his short peace ended abruptly. Through his closed eyelids, he sensed the sunlight suddenly dim. His heart dropped. He knew this feeling all too well. He knew something like this would happen.
He didn't need to open his eyes to know it wasn't a cloud blocking the sun. It was obviously a certain person.
Plop.
He then heard someone sit down right beside him.
"Not going to run anymore?"
"I... huff... don't... huff... know anything...," the kid spoke with great struggle.
"Kid, what's your name?"
"..."
"You should at least know your name, no? Or do you not know that, either?"
The kid felt helpless. He was too tired to speak. Mockingly, the man's voice was perfectly calm, without even a sign of fatigue. He felt stupid. He had wasted all his energy for nothing.
"...It wasn't me."
"I have a son, you know. He should be around your age."
"I said I don't know anything..."
"We were attacked by bandits," the man said in a low, regretful voice.
"..."
"I thought I was strong. I thought I could protect him. But I was powerless. Because of that, because of me, my son... he can't even wake up anymore."
Reaching the end of his sentence, his voice tightened. It sounded like a powerless shriek.
"I didn't know what to do... But the doctor said he could help. 'Give him time,' he said. So I did. I felt happy that there was a glimmer of hope. He spent days trying, but in the end, nothing came of it."
"I was happy when I saw he was still alive, only to be crushed to find him in a slumber. I was happy when I heard someone could help him, only to feel helpless in the end."
The voice chuckled bitterly.
"...Maybe fate pitied me. A noble suddenly appeared. He managed to find what was wrong with my son, and he even concocted elixirs that could cure him. When I found that the boy was finally getting better, I felt happiness. Again, I felt happiness. Stupid, am I not?"
"I-"
"But you see, because of something I didn't do, people are talking about kicking us out. They want us to leave, far away from this town. Even the thought of us being near the town terrifies them."
"...I am scared. I'm scared that I won't find anyone else who can help my son. I'm scared that those bandits are still out there. I'm scared the happiness this time won't last, once again."
The breaking voice then fell silent.
The kid had heard that kind of voice many times. It was familiar, like when his father said everything would be fine, or when he told him not to worry about money. It was the voice of a person trying to convince themselves that everything was going to be alright.
The kid finally opened his eyes. He turned to his side, looking at the man who had been pestering him all morning.
"Ah..."
The man looked calm. He was even smiling. But rather than happiness, sadness was portrayed in his slight smile.
"So, kid, can you please help me?"
Sontra stared at the kid. His eyes, though was in turmoil, gaze at the kid with such gentleness that the morning sky would envy.
The kid remained silent. However, his guilty face said more than enough. He was restless, and the contemplation was evident in his shaking eyes. Sontra waited patiently, knowing well that urging the kid would not help at all.
"I..."
The kid finally opened his mouth.
"It..."
He was scared. That was obvious to Sontra.
"...Elder."
Krkk.
Muttering a single word, the kid pushed himself up. His shoe dragged onto the sand ground as he ran off.
Sontra looked at the boy, who was still tired, staggering with each step he took. The clothes at the back of the kid had been torn, revealing a bloodied back. Sontra remained leaning against the wall, appearing to have no intention of chasing after the kid anymore.
"Elder, huh?"
He had gotten some of the information he needed.
Just like the kid did earlier, Sontra shut off his eyes, focusing all his attention on his mind.
While the information did not solve the entirety of the question, at least he knew where to start.
He stayed there for a while, thoroughly connecting every information and every clue that he knew.
Tap.
The rather calm and peaceful backyard was disturbed by the sound of something falling heavily onto the ground.
"Sontra."
Opening his eyes, Sontra found a man standing several feet away from him. He looked a little flustered, looking around as if he was searching for something. He also appeared tired, clearly evident in his goatee that was damp with sweats.
"Loik..."
"Where is the kid?"
"He is not here anymore."
"...I could tell that much," Loik said as he approached Sontra.
Plop.
Sitting down beside Sontra, Loik handed him a piece of paper.
"Are we not going after him? Or did he already tell you everything?" Loik asked, fidgeting.
"You are terrible at acting."
Wh-what are you talking about?"
Not sparing Loik another glance, Sontra looked at the barely readable handwriting on the paper. He didn't know if it was intentional, but if the goal was to make it as hard to read as possible, it had succeeded, greatly.
"..."
"...Do you think he was telling the truth?" Loik asked after a long silence.
Sontra tucked the paper inside his robe and looked at the restless man beside him. He was surprised. The silence between them had grown so prolonged that he was certain they wouldn't be conversing with words alone after this.
Well, he was happy that wasn't the case. With the conversation starting again, he was also satisfied he didn't need to play along with the 'I didn't hear anything' game.
"I'm not sure. He just mentioned the Elder. It could mean he acted on the Elder's orders, or it might mean the Elder knows who ordered the attack."
"The Elder would never do something to hurt someone. It must be something else."
"So you think he knows who put the kid up to attacking us? And he didn't tell you?"
"...I'm going to confront the Elder. There must be a reason why he kept quiet."
Loik was distressed. He wore the face of someone who had been betrayed. He clearly wanted an explanation from his father. He stood up, but not a second after his bottom left the ground, a firm hand pulled him back down.
"Calm down. We might be dealing with another Arcanist."
Hearing the word 'Arcanist,' caution flashed in Loik's eyes. He looked baffled, as if he hadn't considered the possibility at all. But it was natural to think it unthinkable for three Arcanists to be in such a small town at the same time.
However, Loik's expression changed as he realized it would make perfect sense if another Arcanist were involved.
"What should we do, then?"
"When did the attack happen?"
"A couple of hours after midnight. The man who saw the suspect was also the one who found the doctor."
"He found the doctor?"
"He said he tried to call for help when he saw the suspicious man, but not a minute after he left, he heard the doctor calling for help. He rushed back to see what was going on and found the doctor unconscious."
"So he wasn't at the scene when the attack happened. The witness didn't get a good look at the man, right?"
"Yeah, just that he was holding a flute and had black hair. There's no one like that in this town other than you... Maybe they used some kind of illusion?"
"The one who found the doctor... it was that child's father, wasn't it?"
Loik had spoken about the witness continuously, but it was clear he was avoiding identifying the person.
While Sontra could guess the witness's identity, he wanted to be sure, especially since he was lacking information.
"...He didn't want to be known, but yeah. Do you think it was him?" Loik asked hesitantly.
"No, he loves his son too much."
The image of that frail man appeared in his mind. He had been frightened just by looking at the two of them. Sontra knew that kind of person wouldn't do something so reckless.
"Who do you think is the most suspicious?" Sontra asked.
Loik fell silent, thinking for a moment before answering.
"There are a lot of people who want the Elder's position. So maybe one of them? It would also explain what happened at the plaza," Loik said hesitantly.
"But why would they attack the Doctor?"
"...Right. What about you? Anyone suspicious?"
"Haulz."
"Haulz? He's a noble, you know that right," Loik whispered.
"I am aware."
"It can't be him. I was with him when the doctor was attacked. And why would he attack the doctor?"
"You were with him?"
"Yeah? We were helping with the festival preparations."
Loik looked at Sontra as if he were stupid. He didn't know what Sontra found so surprising. They lived in the same town; it would be more concerning if he didn't get to know the newcomer.
"Don't look at me like that. I'm just glad you finally met him. Well, that clears him... What about the Elder? Where was he during that time?"
They went through several more people, trying to determine their next lead. Unfortunately, they got nowhere. In the end, all they had was the 'confession' from the kid.
"I should head back. I'm quite worried about my son."
"Ah, alright."
Seeing Sontra stand up, Loik did the same.
"Let's go," Loik said, dusting off his pants.
The two headed back toward the north side of town.
Perhaps each was lost in thought, or perhaps they didn't want to be overheard; they didn't talk at all on the way. Before they realized it, they had arrived at the town center.
"Don't worry too much. They're just worried."
Looking at the people in the town center staring daggers at Sontra, Loik tried to ease the tension. The town, contrary to a few days prior, was frighteningly gloomy. While decorations were everywhere, there was no festive atmosphere.
"..."
Nodding at the kind reassurance, Sontra looked around, noticing the center was more crowded than usual. Perhaps the preparations in the forest were nearly done, as each day saw an increasing number of people roaming the town during the day.
"There are quite a few hunters here."
"You noticed," Loik said unconcernedly.
"What is the situation in the forest?"
"It's bad. Only I can enter the deeper parts now. The rest can only stay on the outskirts, and the townsfolk..."
Everyone appeared to be on edge. Though the festival was approaching, its celebratory mood was nowhere to be felt. It was nothing like the lively town center of previous days.
Loik also looked worried.
"You should head back now."
Loik waved his hand, calling over one of the hunters. The man was alarmed but still trotted his horse hurriedly toward Loik.
Having left their horses at the Elder's house, the two were on their way to retrieve them. However, Loik must have felt it was unsuitable for Sontra to spend another minute in town. After a brief discussion, he successfully convinced the hunter to lend his horse to Sontra.
"I will visit the doctor. Maybe I can find something new."
"Alright, do tell me if you find anything," Sontra said as he mounted the horse.
"Be careful on your way back. And... no one is going to kick you out. I won't allow that."