At that moment, I had thought about how I’d dragged Arbitrator D’Émori into this mess. How I’d tell her vague answers, and the number of requests I asked of her. At this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if she turned me in to the Royal Marshal or became fed up with me. She put up with us from the very moment we stepped onto the Koronese border, and I showed her the Kokmin’s red insigniaFaith's Charm. While I dug myself a deeper hole, I felt like my relationships with others had been strained, and I bore the sole responsibility to rectify them.
That night, I dodged that question by going over the limit of ‘three things’. She seemed disappointed, but chose not to pry any further. By the time I returned to the Biyu Residence, the regret had already gotten to me.
Three days left.
I’d gotten used to living in the Biyu Residence, peering through the bedroom drapes in order to bask in the sunlight from the window. I couldn’t believe that I was staying in the estate of an officer—almost as if this was a prison set up by Dantë. I exited the room.
Gayuo, the servant of the Biyus, stood at the end of the hallway, a sight I’ve noticed almost every morning. I didn’t know whether it was standard protocol, but I chose to ignore it and headed downstairs. His greeting echoed behind me. The old wood creaked beneath my feet as I kept my hands on the railing, awake enough without yawning or rubbing my eyes.
On the first floor, Kahokayo wasn’t in the parlor room. Yesterday she prepared breakfast, so I decided to go out. I didn’t want to bother Gayuo nor use their pantry. However, as soon as I began to walk back to the room to gather my things, Yodomi burst through the side door from the outside.
“Miss Biyu, this is urg—”
“...” We looked at each other in silence, with Yodomi still holding onto the doorknob. He gripped it to shut the door but I called out to him. “Miss Biyu isn’t here. Is something wrong?”
He looked at me and gave a stern expression. “Nevermind.”
Yodomi tried to close the door again only for me to catch it.
“Since there’s ‘nothing’ wrong, if you’re free, want to train with me at Arbitrator D’Émori’s house?” I invited him again like yesterday, surprised that he actually let me say my entire sentence. Yodomi paused with a sigh. “We have three days before I go to Baubau Arena. And I think we’d learn more about what we’ll be up against.”
“No. That duel is on you.” My brother finally managed to close the door as my fingers slipped. I scratched my head without a clue of just what he was pissed off about these days, although a few things came to mind. So I returned to the room, grabbed my rucksack and left the mansion.
Over the course of the week, we’d had no contact with Sorah and the others. I knew Dantë forbade them from entering Yubiyubi, and somehow he would know if they did. On the spectrum of Brevity Officers, Dantë was more sensible than Li Châtelier but less serious than Guiral. Even if it was a bluff, I had ideas for several contingencies.
Out on the city streets, I passed by Eseroso Café and went through the central business district. I hoped to bump into ‘someone’ along the way, given that Yubiyubi’s streets were less cluttered and maze-like. After buying a snack at a stall I stopped over by Baubau Arena and circled it at least once, before returning en route to the Biyu Residence.
However, my original plan today had changed. While walking down to the final junction before the residence, I noticed people hurrying away from someone. Once I neared the cause of the public disturbance, there was a feeble man in ragged clothes going up to random pedestrians. At first, I thought nothing of it and noted his non-demihuman appearance. I tried to flank the guy, but he waved around something familiar. It was the pen I’d given to a boy from that refugee camp—that shanty town back in the woods. For a Straniero to be in the city here…did something happen?
After he harassed another person I stopped him. His dull eyes lit up, as if he witnessed someone familiar again.
“Tu... sei l'uomo Wawacheno di prima! Per favore, è successa una cosa terribile nel campo!"
Granted, I couldn’t speak the language of the Stranieros. It was a language similar to Aweda, so I attempted to use the few words Sorah taught me.
“Monsu, aid?Sir, help?” my words came out a bit worse than I thought.
“Si, aiuto! Aiuto—” He frantically nodded with a violent cough before nearly collapsing to the floor. As I rushed to lift his shoulder, blood began seeping into my clothes. My eyes darted around for anyone. Anyone that could understand this guy…
“Someone! Can anyone speak this man’s language?!” I yelled in Koronese only for everyone to avoid the two of us. As expected, we were in a residential neighborhood. None would bat an eye at two foreigners who couldn’t even communicate properly. The demihumans looked as if disgusted, either by the man’s scrawny rags or me shouting for someone. Until I heard a familiar voice echo from somewhere. I turned my head and spotted her.
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A couple blocks down Kahokayo Biyu dashed from a corner and made her way through the busy street.
“Mister!… Is that you?...”
Perhaps she realized it would be dangerous to shout my name in public and refrained from saying it. I guided the Straniero man towards her, thankful that we found each other. Once we finally linked up I sat the man down on one of the park benches.
Kahokayo, sporting a white boater hat, took it off and knelt down in front of him. “I was just returning from a business trip. Is he from Il Campothe refugee camp? Goodness, he has a serious injury to his upper abdomen…”
“He was trying to talk to everyone about something…’una kosa teribire ne kanpo’.” I scratched my head and regurgitated a fragment of what he said. Kahokayo’s eyes blinked at me before she turned to the shocked man.
“Stai bene?” Kahokayo comforted him as she opened her chart, beginning to whisper a chant. Soon after the wounds on his chest began to glimmer with a golden glow, and dissipated once the bleeding stopped. She clenched her hands. “I sealed the wound, however the damage is already done. If only healing was my specialty…”
“Well, you’ve done what you can. I can’t believe that”—my brain put two and two together with what occurred this morning—”Nevermind, I think I know. Yodomi was going to contact you earlier today.”
“Yodomi?”
“Yeah. He said something was urgent. Figured it might be linked to this.”
“...” Kahokayo’s face went pale for a second. She stood up and asked the man directly, “Il campo è stato attaccato?”
He nodded as Kahokayo faced me with a determined look I’d never seen. From her face I knew that we were going back to that refugee camp. She was the type of person to help anyone in need, just like she did with us at finding Sorah’s family. Just like how she tended to the Straniero refugees. And no matter what excuse I make, Kahokayo would ignore them. Like her brother, she was serious in her pursuits.
“Let us take the Straniero to the residence for now, and set out for the city gates as soon as possible.”
“Yes ma’am,” I replied without hesitation.
After we brought the troubled man to the Biyu Residence, we hurried to exit Yubiyubi. Past the midday hustle and bustle we neared the closest entrance to the city where Yodomi couldn’t have gone far. Located on the northern end there were an unusual number of wagons stopped at the kiosks, with Koronese officers in gray uniforms interrogating the drivers and passengers. Some vehicles had sustained some damage to an axle or wheel. Goods of crops and hand-crafted commodities were lined on the stone ground for inspection, while other people sat on the floor waiting.
I covered my face from the warm sunlight as I turned my head looking around. “I don’t see him.”
“He must have departed already. Let me talk to the locals here first.”
As she stepped away to gain intel from them, I walked up to the overhanging arches of the gates and the security turret located on the lower level. This was the place where Arbitrator D’Émori was stationed.
From the scenes I’d witnessed with her and the Straniero refugees, I felt like I’d underestimated Koroné’s geopolitical status within this world. Living in ignorance invalidated the experiences during my time in Waqwaq, Great Zhou, and Kucha. Ignorance was something I despised, so I also wanted to unveil the truth behind the Biyu siblings.
Kahokayo returned, gesturing towards the forest outside the city. “The Court officer gave us clearance to leave.”
Hurrying under the arch we departed Yubiyubi in less than half an hour, pushing past the stalled caravans waiting to enter the city. By the time we made it past the congested traffic, I could see the lush lowland hills of the Koronese countryside. But north wasn’t the direction we were headed. We’d entered Yubiyubi from the east last time, so we agreed to cut our travel time by making a right off the major road. Devoid of human development, the animals of the oddly familiar forest erupted into a boisterous orchestra, as if conveying the urgency of our strides through their territory.
I couldn’t count the number of times I nearly tripped over a tree root or scraped my shoulder against a low-lying branch. My pace could barely remain toe to toe with Kahokayo, who’d been silent this entire time.
After listening to the sound of my own breath and Zhongji Ruidao rattling on my back, we stopped in our tracks to view the same cliff from when we’d neared Yubiyubi. Scouring the bottom, I managed to spot the silhouette of a man.
“There’s someone walking with…a boy?” I pointed, and Kahokayo’s gaze immediately locked onto the two.
“Yodomi and Rocco,” she replied with the real name of the Straniero. “Make haste.”
Minding the steep ledge, Kahokayo descended the slope of the cliff first while I followed. The rocks jiggled beneath my feet. The dirt dug into my fingernails as I hugged the side of the slope. Luckily all it took was a few meters downward and we reached the bottom.
“Hold it.”
We turned around in a panic. My hand reached for my sword and drew it halfway. Kahokayo raised her hands in a skill-casting position. Although we hadn’t done anything illegal yet my heart froze at the fact we’d been found by someone, even more so if it was Dantë or someone of authority. My eyes settled on the person that’d tracked us along the way.
A woman in a gray uniform, her face obscured by her hood, jumped down from the cliff in a single leap. Her impact to the ground rustled nothing but dust. Noticing our hostile reaction, she sighed and removed her hood, shaking her gray hair. She bore no demihuman traits nor animal ears.
“Relax. I’m Arbitrator D’ÉmoriRosentine d’Émori, and I believe there’s no need for further introduction.” The arbitrator placed a hand on her hip. “Long time no see…Kahokayo.”
Kahokayo’s pupils sharpened as her eyes avoided contact. She brought her hands to her side. “...Rosée.”