Chapter 36 : The Mad Dog of the Shantytown

“Whew…….”

Jack, letting out a heavy sigh before he knew it, forced his heavy legs to move accordingly.

He was out investigating the area where the vagrant children of the Capital lived, under orders from Tollin.

The sorrow from his colleagues' deaths and the sense of betrayal toward the traitors.

The conflicting emotions threw Jack's mind into chaos.

Among those captured were comrades he had lived under the same roof with, fighting back-to-back.

All that time made him sad, but at the same time, the thought that it was all a lie made him shudder.

What bewildered him most was the reaction of those imprisoned.

They obediently admitted to breaking the formation that was escorting the Little Duke's carriage and deserting their posts.

All 5 of them.

They confessed to having done such a thing with peaceful faces.

When asked about who was behind it, they likewise said they knew nothing.

Under any pressure, they spoke in unison, as if reciting a predetermined answer.

Until, finally, Tollin's resolute order to begin the Torture was given.

And, as if they had been waiting, the 5 of them passed away on the same day, at the same hour, showing the same symptoms.

Without even giving Jack time to prepare himself mentally.

Jack scratched his head roughly, his steps heavy with the frustration welling up in his chest again.

Thinking about it again, it seemed like a good thing that he had received this mission.

It would be a chance to calm his mind by focusing on something else and organize his thoughts objectively.

Jack shook off his stirring emotions and approached the shack that looked like it would collapse at any moment.

It was the house with the blue roof that the beggar, who seemed to have claimed a spot on the roadside, had told him might have a child in it.

The paint was almost all peeled off, leaving only about two hands' worth of blue, but still.

Jack knocked on the door cautiously.

Knock knock.

There was no answer.

Once more, he put all his effort into knocking again, trying not to break the door that looked like it would fall apart at any moment, patched up who knows how many times.

Knock knock knock.

“……I, ……might be.”

A faint sign of presence, hard to believe it belonged to an adult, and a small voice carried over from beyond the door.

Jack lowered the hand he had raised to knock again and put his ear close to the door.

Silence returned, but he was certain there was someone inside.

And that it was a very small child.

Usually, men of Jack's age might find children difficult, but fortunately, he had recently been guarding the Little Duke and had spoken with the child several times.

Confident that he could persuade the children without difficulty, Jack cleared his throat with an 'ahem' to avoid frightening them and steadied his voice.

“Ahem, I'm not a strange person. I heard that young children were living in an old, dangerous place, so I came to check.”

Even at Jack’s calm words, no sound came from inside.

Figuring they were still scared, Jack raised both hands and continued speaking.

“I'm here to help, so you don't need to be afraid.”

There were several things Jack overlooked here, the first of which was his appearance.

The intimidation from a large man wearing a black robe to hide his identity was not the kind of thing that disappeared just by raising his hands slightly.

He didn't quite realize that the Little Duke, whom he dismissed as just a child he saw every day, didn't get scared or feel intimidated by him because he was the Little Duke of the Piteos Ducal Family.

The second was…….

“You ruffian!!! What's your business here!! You idiot!!! Thief!!!”

That a child far more ruffian-like than any ruffian lived around here.

“No, calm down!”

Jack tried hard to answer while dodging the not-so-small stones and trash flying at him, but it wasn't easy as he was flustered by the unexpected and surprisingly fierce attack.

“Wait, why are you suddenly doing this? I'm not here to bother you.”

Jack, having completely regained his composure, calmly spoke to the child shaking a Crude stone from a distance.

It was a mystery how that skinny arm could shake so powerfully.

“Can't hear you! Come over here and yap if you want!!”

Jack frowned at the rough language coming from the child's mouth.

Shaking his head, he ignored the child and turned his body back to the door, when a stone of a truly unignorable size flew at the back of his head.

Pak!

If that had hit me, I really would have died, wouldn't I?

Jack was horrified after checking the size of the stone that had narrowly grazed his head and fallen.

Where did that skinny kid get the strength to throw a Crude stone like this.

As Jack stood bewildered, the child shouted at him again.

“Can't catch me, old man?! You beggar, come to the Shantytown to beg!!!”

The words 'old man' lodged in the ears of Jack, who was already self-conscious about his age, and he snapped and moved his feet.

What's with that kid, attacking so crazily?

To answer his question, the opponent was known among the children as Mad Dog, or 'Mad Dog Seya'.

This was the brat who would empty Jack's mind, which had been clogged with anguish for a while, and fill it with a completely new kind of frustration.

***

“Whew.”

Jack gasped for breath.

That was a really hard chase.

It was really close.

……I almost caught him.

Jack laughed self-deprecatingly at himself, finding he had come to his senses standing in a dead-end alley.

Failing to catch one little kid, it was a disgrace he couldn't even mention his name as the Captain of the Knight Order of the Piteos family.

The child was quick, but not uncatchably fast.

Somehow, just when he thought he had him, the kid would disappear from his sight, and when he thought he had him again, he'd disappear; this repeated several times.

At first, he just planned to catch him, give him a warning, and try to get friendly with the kid who seemed to live in this area to ask about the local geography.

But the near-misses continued, and perhaps because the kid ran better than expected, he ended up chasing the kid seriously before he knew it.

Of course, it was also true that he got a little ticked off by the words the kid spat at him, like ‘old man’ or ‘old fogey’ or ‘bearded bastard’.

And when he came to his senses, he was at a dead end in an alley, and the child was gone.

Jack looked up at the sky.

The sun, which had been in the center of the sky, was already setting.

Just how long did I run?

While running for nearly half a day, the cumbersome Robe had long since been taken off and tied around his waist, and the clothes clinging to him as the sweat from his whole body cooled were even stained with salt.

No, more than anything, he was worried about what to report to Tollin when he returned.

What should he say?

I have returned, Tollin.

It was just as you predicted, Tollin.

I did not see any very young children.

Then, I went to a place said to have a young child, where I ended up playing tag with some brat, lost him, and returned when it got dark.

……This time, he might really be forced to leave the Ducal family for a dishonorable reason.

It was all thanks to that ill-mannered brat.

Jack vowed to give that infuriating kid a good flick on the head next time he caught him, and moved his steps, which were even heavier than when he arrived.

***

Quite a lot of time had passed since I was possessed by the book.

I had met various characters and even had the precious experience of seeing scenes from the book right before my eyes.

I had seen all sorts of things until now, but even if I left this place, that sight would probably remain in my memory for a long, long time.

Cellos Abalan, squatting in front of the 7th Prince's Palace.

On my way back from the Ducal family, I spotted the red presence, changed direction, and settled on a tree near the Castle entrance, watching the 8th Prince brat, who was grimacing and repeatedly sitting down and standing up in front of the castle gate.

The kid uncharacteristically glanced at my Office window, then started walking away, only to clutch his head and return.

He's quite busy.

Seeing the kid, who had turned his back with an air of never returning, waiting like that, he must have been scared by last night's commotion.

It's not like he had anyone else to talk to.

He was busy enough just worrying himself sick that his other siblings might find out his secret at any moment, and it would take even greater courage to go to someone who could actually help.

In any case, I also had business at the 8th Prince's Palace, so I spread my wings to greet the kid.

***

“Did you come to my castle yesterday?”

The 8th Prince asked me with a very serious face, using polite language without stuttering, perhaps more used to it than our last meeting.

“If you're already going senile at your age, older brother will be quite sad. You were the one who came to my castle yesterday.”

“…….”

At my calm reply, the kid narrowed his eyes and looked at me.

But soon, finding nothing in my expressionless face, he clicked his tongue and turned his head.

“Are you here to confirm that? Did Older brother appear in your dream last night instead of a ghost?”

“Of course not!! Yo!”

“Then what? You must have a reason for thinking that.”

The kid, who had glared at me in anger, hesitated for a moment at my question, then took a small pouch from inside his chest.

The way he took it out so preciously was serious, making it a little funny, but I didn't provoke him by laughing, sensing he'd clam up completely if I did.

“That ghost came again yesterday. Unlike ‘someone’s’ words that it couldn't cause physical harm, it tried to open the door and come in.”

He didn't forget to glare at me once, emphasizing that ‘someone’.

“Then suddenly, with a crow's caw, it disappeared. But in its place…….”

Cellos fumbled and took what was in the pouch, placing it on the table.

“This was there.”

It was…… a small, shining Acorn.

***

Silence fell between me and the 8th Prince, the brown nut between us.

“Squeak?”

What broke it was the original owner of that baffling nut, who had approached, spotted the Acorn, and poked its head onto the tabletop.

Really helpful.

It seemed to have been very startled last night, looking like it had spat out an Acorn stored in its cheek pouch while screaming.

It was my fault for not checking, busy chasing Igo Crisa.

In any case, I didn't think the kid would figure anything out from this, so I tilted my head and asked.

“It's an Acorn?”

The kid couldn't lift his head, even at my question, as if deeply ashamed that the thing he'd so carefully presented was just a small Acorn.

“Acorns aren't exactly rare in autumn.”

“I also happened to spot a squirrel right outside Older brother…… niiim's room,”

The kid continued, wary of the squirrel that couldn't take its eyes off the Acorn.

“And the only place in the Imperial Palace with an Acorn Tree is here.”

The kid shifted his gaze to the old Acorn Tree visible outside my Office window.

He was right.

The 7th Prince's Palace, having no capacity to care about landscaping, doesn't bring in beautiful trees from all over the Empire to decorate like other places.

An old gardener just barely keeps it from being messy.

Nowhere else in the Imperial Palace grows a common Acorn Tree.

The one here probably wasn't planted intentionally either, just grew naturally and was left alone because it was bothersome.

The 8th Prince, who must have asked around to find this place, was still looking at the tree branches swaying in the wind.

“That's quite a valid thought.”

At my answer, he looked at me as if asking, 'Really?'.

“But are you aware that even if this is the only Acorn Tree, Acorns can be found in every warehouse in the Imperial Palace?”

Though they probably wouldn't stack up lowly Acorns in the Imperial warehouses where all sorts of precious things are offered as tribute, so maybe not as many as here, right next to the tree.

The 8th Prince's face crumpled.

“I know. I just... just in case. I just came to ask.”

Well, that makes sense.

The very night he consulted me, he found out the being he feared could actually touch him. He must have wanted to grasp at straws.

That's why he even brought this worthless Acorn, saved so carefully.

“Do something about this thing.”

Annoyed by the squirrel that looked ready to pounce on the Acorn, the kid hurriedly stuffed the nut back into his pouch.

A squirrel and an Acorn…….

“Come to think of it, something comes to mind.”

A light of hope dawned in Cellos's eyes.