Things didn't escalate the way Arsh thought. He was sure the man was going to try to lock him up somewhere. But he only followed him until they reached the inn. On the way back, the streets had grown even quieter, and there was no trace of the drunkards anymore. The soft clinking of the glass ointment bottles in the pouch Arsh was carrying, and the sound of his and Juan's footsteps, were the only things disturbing the perfect silence. They walked side by side for a while without speaking.
"Why are you following me? I told you I could go back on my own."
"I am not following you. I am working. If you're going to investigate something, you should do it at night. I'm just accompanying you while I'm at it."
Before leaving the old man's room, they had come to an agreement that Arsh wouldn't try to escape. Not because he wanted to, but because shortly after the old man's speech, he had been met with a subtle threat.
"I believe you won't escape. But I'm saying this just as a precaution. I will track you down. I have enough information about you—how you look, what your plan is, and your guard friend… Nesame, right?"
As he spoke, an unpleasant smile stretched across his face, his eyes gleaming with a dark aura. Faint purple lights seeped out from beneath his clothes.
"So, I'm kindly asking you… just don't try. I'm already busy."
Now, they were walking calmly side by side.
Juan had mentioned earlier that he used to deal with child abduction cases and searched for children like Arsh. But Arsh hadn't questioned that point too much.
"What exactly are you investigating?"
Juan looked at Arsh and let out a deep breath before speaking, as if trying to decide how to explain it.
"In recent years, many Kurshan children have been found in Symran. They were taken from Kurshan through illegal means and brought to Symran, used for various purposes. Recently, their numbers have been increasing. I can't say their situation is good. The measures taken by the military are becoming insufficient. The organization I belong to sent me to identify the network behind these cases. I guess this is the simplest way I can put it. We have been tracking them from Renham to this city for more than three months. But still, we haven't been able to catch them."
Renham was a city located east of Thage. Traveling there on horseback would take at least two weeks. However, over the past twenty years, the authorities in Symran had built a railway along the coast, stretching from east to west, to strengthen their control over the region. With this route, the journey could be completed in just a few days.
Juan explained that he was conducting the investigation with his team, that the old man they had just met was someone he had known as a child and was not part of his team, and then reminded him to use the ointments the old man had given him.
Arsh, however, was exhausted. He had arrived in Thage just that day, explored the city, found Nesame, and now had spent most of the night with this man without having had any rest. He listened quietly to Juan's explanations, only nodding occasionally to show he was listening.
When they finally reached the inn, he didn't dwell on anything and fell asleep almost immediately.
When he woke up, the sun had already risen. There wasn't much he could do today. He would wash up, have breakfast, and wander around the city until it was time to meet Nesame.
As he got out of bed, he noticed a piece of paper and small glass bottles on the table. It was another medicine sent by the old man. Juan had written a note and left these bottles for him when he sneaked into his room last night again.
"Glad you didn't escape. The old man said you should also take this. Treat your wound and don't show it. And old man said even if Siuni didn't kill you, infection can."
…
There was a bathhouse in the basement of the inn. He washed up and take care of the wound on his hand. After eating his meal, he took the medicine the old man had sent and stepped out of the inn.
The city was too chaotic. It was filled with an overwhelming mix of voices, colors, and smells. It was exhausting. Even though he wanted to find the people, it was difficult while wandering through the streets. Without Nesame, searching for them would have been nearly impossible.
He thought about Juan; how he conducted his investigations, what kinds of sources he had. It could be useful for him. Juan had said he worked for an official organization, so maybe he couldn't find the people through Nesame, but perhaps Juan could help him, just as he had said. He didn't have many options. This was a world foreign to him, and he would have to learn from others how to navigate it.
Although he wandered through the streets of the city, access to the areas where the Symrans lived was tightly controlled. After surveying his surroundings, Arsh returned to the inn with nothing to do.
In his room, he kept thinking about what Juan and the old man had told him about the Siunis the previous night. Will's notebook and the dagger were among the few belongings he had brought with him. He went through them carefully, examining every detail. However, the anticipation of the news Nesame would bring, though restless, made it difficult for him to focus his mind.
He went to the seating area at the inn's entrance and started waiting for Nesame. Toward late afternoon, Nesame appeared at the gate. When he saw Arsh, he waved and started walking toward him. Arsh impatiently tried to read Nesame's expression, hoping it would reveal whether he had brought the news he was waiting for. But there was no hopeful look on Nesame's face.
When he reached him, they greeted each other quickly and began talking. Nesame glanced around the area briefly before speaking in a slow, measured tone.
"There's no official record of the Symrans you mentioned. But I asked some friends working at the southern gate. About four days ago, around the time you guessed, a group matching your description entered the city. The Symran guards spoke with them briefly and let them pass without keeping any record. Unfortunately, brother, I couldn't find out their names or where they came from."
Arsh was disappointed. He had hoped that at least Nesame could find some record of where these men had come from. In order to maintain control over the city, records were usually kept for everyone entering or leaving —names, origins, reasons for coming, and routes. But his expectations had been misplaced; there was nothing, there was nothing.
"Brother Nesame, I think they've already left the city. Maybe we can find out where they headed from the port. Do you have anyone you know there?"
Most likely, Professor Millway had already found what he was looking for, so he probably had no plans to use the train station and stop at other Kurshan cities. The only option left was the port. However, even if they were returning to Symran, Arsh didn't know which city they headed to, and there were several islands and cities along the route of the ships.
On the other hand, it was possible to make guesses about the cities they might go to. Assuming they would head somewhere, the most reasonable approach was to narrow it down to three options. If he couldn't get any information from the port, he would have to decide whether to focus first on Tirsit, the capital where the king and government resided; Mikos, the country's most advanced center of arts and sciences; or, as a third possibility, Terma—a city almost as developed as Mikos, but primarily a hub for trade. He would most likely rule out the third option. Still, wandering around the big cities without knowing whether what he was looking for was there would waste both his time and money.
"I have a friend working as a laborer there. I'll ask him. He'll investigate. He's probably working right now. Before I go on my night shift, let's go to the port together. He usually hangs out at a tavern there in the evenings."
After arranging to meet Nesame again in a couple of hours, Arsh went up to his room.
When he entered, he was met with a scene similar to last night. At first, he was taken aback. But then he realized it was Juan. This time, however, instead of sitting on a chair in the dark room, he was lying on Arsh's bed, asleep in broad daylight.
'Why is this man lying on my bed?'
He grabbed his shoulder to wake him up but at that moment Juan grabbed his wrist.With a small shift of his arm, he slipped easily out of Juan's grasp. And got away from the bed.
Juan sat up on the bed with a smile, looking as if he were enjoying the situation.
"Not bad reflexes."
"And why are you sleeping in my bed?"
"I was going to take a break. I couldn't sleep yesterday because of you, you know. When I finally had some time to rest, I wanted to make sure you were still around. And this room isn't half bad."
It was just a tiny room—there was a table and a chair in the corner, a bed in the middle, and nothing else except for a small oil lamp on the bedside table. He had left his belongings in the corner without taking them out of the bag, and after last night's incident, he had hidden his dagger, notebook, and some of his money under the bed. Now, he was certain that had been the right decision. He decided to give up resting in his room.
"I'm going to eat. Will you come?"
"Your treat?"
"Are you trying to exploit a child?"