Vermillion Interlude 3 Part2

Part 2

Danah.

Certainly, an imposing name.

Upon hearing the man’s introduction, Pavel stopped moving.

His eyes nervously glanced at the battle-hardened war hammer in the corner of the room again.

「デンナー……"巨人"の『デンナー』？」

“Danah… Danah the Giant?”

Before Pavel could stop himself, the words spilled out of his mouth. The large man, Danah, just smiled without answering the question. 

「……すっすいません、自分は、パヴエルです」

“… Please excuse my rudeness, my name is Pavel.”

Pavel, who realized that he had been gawking at this superior specimen of humanity, quickly collected his thoughts and corrected his posture.

「……それと、こいつが、ラトランドです。口をやられてうまく喋れないのと、その、ちょっと頭がイカレちまったみたいで……」

“… And my partner here would be Ratrand. Unfortunately, he is currently unable to speak as he had injured his mouth… ”

“Ah, yes. I heard that in the report.”

Danah retrieved a doc.u.ment from one of the desk drawers and proceeded to examine it while stroking his beard.

「たしか、タアフの村の近く、だったな。弓使いの男に奇襲されて、モリセット隊は壊滅、モリセットの野郎も死亡、と……」

“So that was near Tahfu village. A single male archer attacked and destroyed the team you were part of, and that b.a.s.t.a.r.d killed Morrisette too… ”  

“That would be accurate.”

“Tell me the details.”

Intimidated by the serious face Danah was suddenly making, Pavel moistened his lips and began describing what had happened. He recounted how they attacked a couple of travelers, but had failed to take them down. And how afterwards, they got ambushed later at their own camp.

Danah listened intently, sometimes asking questions, and others, taking notes on a piece of paper.

「なるほど、な……モリセットの最期はどうだった？」

“I see… How were Morrisette’s last moments?”

“I’m sorry. I had fainted, and didn’t witness it.”

「……そうか、ならいい。気にするな」

“… Ah, don’t mind it too much.”

Nonetheless, Pavel felt apologetic after he saw a fleeting look of disappointment flash across Danah’s face.

「……そして、これが、」

“However, I do have something else… ”

Pavel gently took out something to dispel the awkwardness. It was an elongated object covered with a black cloth. Gingerly, Pavel set it on the desk.

Danah reached out and in a fluid motion stripped off its covering, revealing a dull silver blade.

―― It was a dagger, dirtied with blood.

「ハウンドウルフに刺さってたんで、多分、襲撃者の所持品かと……。逃げる途中で見つけたんで、回収しておきました」

“It was stuck in one of our Hound Wolves, likely the possession of the attacker. I found it while I was escaping.”

「……うむ。でかした」

“… I see.”

Danah held the dagger so that it caught the sunlight coming in from the window. When he dexterously manipulated the blade with his fingertips, Pavel could hear the whistling sound it made, cutting through the air.

Danah silently played with the dagger in his hand for a bit longer before raising his head to face Pavel again.

“Pavel, do you anything about magic?”

「えっ？　……いえ、ありません。精霊語で精霊にお願いして、奇跡が起こせるってこと以外は、特に……」

“Eh? No, not really. All I know is that you can ask the spirits in their language to create a miracle… ” 

“Ah. Also, had Morrisette instructed you to search the enemy for possessions?”

“Yes, the captain always told us we might find a clue that way.

“Excellent. Keep up the good work.”

At many moments during the conversation, Danah had a mysterious look on his face, as if he was he was in deep contemplation.

“―― Okay, that’ll be all. Thank you for your trouble reporting.” 

Danah stood up and clapped his hands. Immediately, the door to the room opened, and two maids, dressed in the same shade of black as the men from before, entered.

“Take them to their rooms and prepare some food. Oh, that guy over there has an injured mouth, so be mindful of that.

“Yes, Danah-sama”

The maids bowed respectfully and escorted the Pavel and Rat out of the room with a courteous, “this way please.”

“No, no, Danah-sama. We really couldn’t… ”

At the generous offer, Pavel’s eyes grew wide, and he tried to turn it down. However, Danah just laughed it off.

“Think of it like a vacation. This location is rather remote, but it’s a fine place to relax. And believe me. I’ll work you plenty once your wound heals.” (ED Joke: I think the bandits have better health coverage than I do, thank you Obama… )

(ED Note: line accounted for already)

At that, Pavel gave in and bowed with a confused expression. He and Rat were then escorted out of the room by the maids. 

After the door closed, only Danah and a pair of gleaming red eyes remained in the room.

Danah collapsed into the chair and threw his boots up on the office desk. 

「……どう思う、親・父・？」

“What do you think, father?” 

Danah announced, seemingly to no one in particular.

“Caaw!”

A cry answered Danah from the corner of the room. Its source was busy grooming itself and didn’t appreciate being interrupted.

“Father, don’t make fun of me.”

“Caaw! Caaw! Caaw! c.a.w.koo! Cuckoo! Cuckoooo!

The cries gradually gradually warped from an avian call to a humanoid imitation.

「……そうさの。かッかッ、まぁ、只者ではあるまいて」

“… Quit playing around. You haven’t gone deaf and senile yet.”

With a fluttering of its wings, the bird and flew from its perch in the shadows to the office desk, training its piercing red eyes on Danah.

A pitch-black raven. 

Except for its red eyes that burned with a silent fury, it looked just like a normal bird.

However, the raven suddenly began talking in a clear, full voice as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

「凡人ならば、モリセットの坊主に、奇襲された時点で『詰み』じゃろう。それをいなし、逆襲を仕掛け、なおかつ十人の隊を壊滅させたとなると……その力量を疑う余地はあるまい。問題はむしろ、」

“Any ordinary man could be considered dead once they’ve caught Morissette’s eye. To think that a person not only survived, but even counterattacked, all but wiping out ten men single handedly, is rather troubling. 

“Why would such an exceptional individual be in such a place?”

“Beats me.”

Danah looked at the doc.u.ments again. Scratching his head, he let out a deep sigh.

“Hear this. The perpetrators were a blond girl with a black outfit and a man with a bow; one of the Gra.s.sland people it seems. It’s strange how we haven’t heard of the man in particular since he’s that skilled.”

“Tahfu’s not by the sea too. It’s inland. The pair should’ve been a hot topic in a nearby town or village long before they met Morissette.”

“Argh… none of this makes sense, no matter how many times I look at it.” 

Danah through the doc.u.ments on the desk in frustration. On the papers were detailed descriptions of who had entered nearby towns and villages, compiled by their agents there.

「うむ。何者かの、作為を感じるの。不自然であるということは、そういうことじゃ。あくまで、魔術師としての勘じゃがの……」

“Yeah, I feel like someone’s at work behind the scenes here. That’s just my intuition as a magician…”

“Father’s intuition is nothing to scoff at. Did you find anything suspicious?”

“Isn’t Tahfu some backwaters territory? Where’s the nearest city?”

「ま、ウチの『客』じゃないデカい街といえば、サティナくらいのもんだしな……」

“Well, if it’s a big city you’re talking about, then it has to be Satnya… ”

For a while, both people were silent, thinking.

「……まあいい、すぐに分かることさ。親父、いつものように頼む」

“Oh, I understand now. It’s simple once you frame it that way. As expected of father.”

「相分あいわかった、鳥たちに探させよう……」

“So you understand now. Let’s have the birds search… ”

The bird spread it wings in front of the dagger. 

【 Barono de nigregaj, Stina.】

『Baron of Darkness, Stina.』

The raven’s eyes s.h.i.+ned,

【 Vi sercas la mastro... ekzercu!】

“Seek your master… go!”

The blade atop the table shook slightly in response.

「ふむ……」

“Oho… ” 

Images, from the eyes of a frog, chameleon, rabbit, and who knows what else flashed in the ravens’s glittering red eyes. However, none of those lasted long, and the point of view quickly settled on an Eagle heading east.

“―― There it is. Satnya.”

“So he is in Satyna. It’s only natural that he would be there after all. Since it’s a relatively wealthy city, there was no doubt that with his degree of skill, he’d be a mercenary hired by the lord.

「これは……妙じゃの。商人街かのう、何の変哲もない宿屋におるわい。ふぅむ、黒装束ではないが、金髪の女子も連れておる。背中を向けておるので本人の顔は見えぬが――」

“Wait, no… it flew further east. The man’s in the merchant town Kao, at a humble inn at that. She’s not wearing a black outfit, but there’s a blond girl with him too. He- ”

The raven spoke while peering through the eagle’s eyes. However, at the same time, the dagger on the desk began to vibrate, and the air in the room suddenly seemed heavier.

“What!?”

The raven’s voice was colored with surprise. Perhaps out of instinct, the bird quickly fluttered away from the dagger.

　―― Sinjoro ――

―― You, sir ――

In the room.

　―― Kion vi volas, huh ? ――

―― What do you want, huh? ――

An innocent, yet bewitching voice resounded.

Suddenly, a blast of wind rattled the window, shaking its very frame. Danah, who was attacked by some ominous premonition, threw himself on the floor.

The wind roared.

The window shattered, unable to withstand the wind pressure. Gla.s.s shards and fragments rained down everywhere, only to be picked up by a whirling vortex of wind that was forming in the room’s center.

“This is… !”

Danah clung to the desk to prevent himself from being blown away.

―― The dagger, which was left unattended, cracked as fissures traveled down its blade.

“W-wait!”

When he tried to approach the dagger, there was a whistling sound as the weapon launched itself as if it were thrown by an invisible hand.

“Father!”

“Never mind that! But… ”

When Danah looked up, he saw the dagger disintegrating like sand before his very eyes. The fine particles were being picked up and carried away by the wind.

　―― Gis la revido ――

―― See you later ―― 

The mysterious voice’s laughter rang out like a bell. In the dying vortex, Danah thought he saw a faint outline of a mischievous girl wearing a robe.

Then, as quickly as it had come, the vortex vanished.

「…………」

“ … ”

Danah, still in shock from what had transpired, tentatively looked around for the raven, which was lying in the corner of the room, its own feathers scattered around it.

「……親父、いったいどういうことだこりゃ」

“… Father, what’s the meaning of this? 

In the devastated room, Danah glared at the raven, frowning. However, the bird suddenly opened its beak,

「……かッ」

“Ku… ” 

The raven called out in a crazed voice.

“Ku, ku, ku… kukuku… khwahahahahah!!”

Enthusiastically, the birds began hopping around and beating its wings in a fervor.

“Kwahaha! She- no, it. It noticed my evil eye! Kakaka, a masterpiece! That thing’s a masterpiece!

「俺には面白くもなんともないんだが……どういうことだ」

“‘While it was scary as h.e.l.l, what was so interesting about it?

Grumbled Danah as he went about organizing the doc.u.ments. As he was working, the raven fluttered over and perched on Danah’s shoulder before declaring,

“That archer-san… he’s a magician.”

End of Part 2

Editor’s Notes: Dear G.o.d, this part was horrendous to edit. Machines are terrible with dealing with the raven and the blade, so I’ve had to manually dissect the sentences. Even still, a lot of it is a rough interpretation forcibly made to flow; the accuracy for a lot of the interjecting descriptions between dialogues are probably not accurate. As such, I don’t think it will affect your understanding of the story, so do put up with it. The editor note is just me complaining this time, but in the future I’ll have more relevant info… hopefully.

s.h.i.+nonomeResearchLabs, Editor