Chapter 22

  The Magpie

  The Pauli family’s carriage carried Dan away from Newcastle, crossing the border back into Artheris.

  Rafinya’s expression grew noticeably gloomier.

  Dan rolled his eyes and looked out at the familiar roadside.

  Sigh… finally over.

  Thud.

  Her ears twitched. Rafinya glanced up at the carriage roof—thinking it was probably just a fruit dropping on top—then looked back down, unconcerned.

  But Dan figured… it was probably Roma.

  Got hit by a branch again, that idiot.

  When he saw the boundary wall of the academy district, he spoke up.

  “Stop here, please.”

  “We haven’t reached—”

  “You can go ahead. I’ll get off here. Thanks for the ride, Rafinya.”

  “....”

  Dan stepped down from the carriage and swept his gaze across the open fields. The sound of the carriage wheels faded into the distance. He took a brown notebook from his bag and walked into the middle of the straw field. Tilting his head upward, he gazed at the stars and galaxies draped across the night sky.

  Dan knelt down, one knee raised.

  His eyes stayed fixed on the heavens as he marked the positions of stars on his paper, trying to connect them into constellations.

  He had once lifted a film camera toward the sky and taken a shot—only for the photo to come out completely dark, showing nothing at all. Tristina had told him it was because the celestial bodies were too far for light to reach the lens.

  And that had sparked the prince’s next question:

  What exactly is light reflection?

  But that was a matter for another time. For now, this had become his new hobby—something to sit beside his main goal: searching for L.U.C.A., the common ancestor of all life.

  Stargazing.

  Because aside from seeking the ancestor of this world, said to be sleeping beneath the sea, the secrets above the sky were also among the prince’s greatest questions.

  Where did we come from?

  How did the world come to be?

  But just as he was sketching, he heard footsteps approaching…

  And the one who had come back for him—

  was Rafinya Saint Pauli.

  Her face was set in a frown, searching for some kind of answer in what he was doing. Maybe her unspoken question was “Why? What’s the point of this?” But then again, he didn’t really know.

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  “I told you, you could just head into the city first.”

  Rafinya didn’t reply.

  He guessed she just couldn’t help herself—she must’ve jumped off and followed him about ten minutes after he left.

  She didn't answer the question — she asked him back.

  "Because of this, right? That's why you're close with the TAs."

  "I don't understand what you're trying to ask."

  Dan erased a pencil mark and drew it again.

  "If you're going to follow me, I'm telling you now it'll be a while. Go do something else."

  "Why do you have to look at the stars? How does that relate to what you're searching for?"

  "I don't know. I just like it."

  "Explain it, right now!"

  "Hey, Rafinya."

  Dan paused his drawing for a moment and rolled his eyes back at her.

  "I have a little trick: when you ask someone for something, you must ask politely, not order them."

  Rafinya made an 'ugh' sound as if something was stuck in her throat... she swallowed it, then slowly softened her words; her tone immediately improved, becoming cute.

  "Why do you want to find the origin point? What will you gain from knowing it?"

  Dan didn't answer at once. He sketched the latitude of the stars until a plough-shaped constellation emerged.

  "Just because I want to know. It's nothing special."

  "But you're obsessed with it. How can it be nothing special? You're so obsessed you ignore the talents you have."

  "Rafinya, you have a purpose in living. It's no wonder you don't understand it."

  Dan turned to look at her, offering a faint smile.

  "Why are you chasing to become the strongest knight?"

  "Because I want to be like Casca."

  "And when you become like Casca, then what?"

  "What do you mean..."

  "If, say, you become as skilled as Casca—what then? What will you get?"

  "...get what? Obviously... I'd—"

  "Praise, right?"

  "..."

  "You want to push yourself up beside Casca for recognition. You want acceptance, don't you?"

  Rafinya exhaled slowly...

  "I will make my family greater than it has ever been... what's wrong with that?"

  "I'm not saying it's wrong."

  Dan shrugged.

  "I'm not judging. Everyone wants their family to be great. I know. I even envy you — the more you win, the more praise you receive."

  Rafinya looked puzzled at his last sentence; what did he mean?

  His gaze turned away from her.

  "Do you know, Rafinya, on the other side of the ocean, the Diablo people — the more they fight and win, the greater the risks. The more they win, the more they're despised, not praised."

  "That's obvious. They're demons." she said.

  "And as long as those demons are over there... an army is necessary. If they invade, you won't have this straw field to stargaze on. Wake up! The world isn't ready for you to sit and watch the stars yet!"

  "...But why would they invade us?"

  Rafinya fell silent. She stared at the red look in Dan's eyes... She felt the atmosphere change, but still — why would she turn against this young man?

  "Why would they invade us?"

  "Well... is there any reason demons would come and kill you? They don't need money; they have resources... I still can't figure out why demons would come attack us the way people fear. Tell me — what's the reason?"

  "You can't reason with demons."

  "Demons are just another form of life. You know the Luminus soldiers killed them in war before; demons can die, which means they're not inherently superior to us, right?"

  "What you say may be true... demons can die, so they're not so superior. But there is one demon... the demon that made me become who I am today."

  Rafinya clenched her fist.

  "The Red Demon."

  He knew that code name well.

  It was the codename Luminus used to call Fury.

  "If I'm strong enough to kill the Red Demon... humanity will be freed from fear and I will surpass every hero who has ever existed..."

  "...so why do you want to kill him?"

  "Don't you see? How many has he murdered? How many lives of the people were lost because of that one being!"

  "Luminus once raised forces to raid their island eighty years ago... they wiped them out too — how is that different?"

  "Because they're demons!"

  "Can you give me a better reason? By your logic, demons kill Luminus people because they're Luminus."

  "If you side so much with them, then go live with them."

  "If Luminus thought like that, I wouldn't be surprised if other countries switched sides."

  "I don't care about dirty politics."

  "Fitting of a soldier."

  A pause fell over their conversation.

  "Don't you want praise?"

  "Praise can't fill me up."

  "But it helps indirectly."

  "I'm satisfied with Casca as my sponsor; that's enough." he said.

  "Food, a bed, and clean water—give me just that and I can live."

  "How modest."

  "Aiming too high and falling hurts, you know, Rafinya."

  "So that's why you're in Anfield?"

  "...."

  "....."

  "What? What are you saying?"

  Huh?

  "Mrs.Casca arranged a place for me to stay."

  "And before that?... in the forest, right?"

  "It was cold and full of wild animals. Why would I stay there?"

  "Your smell gives you away."

  "The smell of what?"

  "Never mind. I'm going."

  Rafinya narrowed her eyes and turned away.

  "I won't bother you anymore."

  Then Rafinya walked off, leaving him stunned for a long while, quite a long time.

  Roma stepped out from his side.

  "She has gone, Your Majesty."

  Roma followed and saw Rafinya pass through the city wall.

  "...Just now... that kid... was he bluffing or threatening?"

  Roma looked back and forth.

  "We will kill her, right? Then I'll tell Livramen—"

  "No, damn it, no."