The Arrow of Destiny Cuts Through the Night

#13

The quill pen fell to the floor, but there was no sign of picking it up again. Kain, sitting in the guest chair across from the owner, gestured towards the quill pen that had dropped at his feet. However, the owner merely stared at him with his mouth agape, unable to close it.

“Do I have to pick up the pen for you? This is quite poor hospitality.”

Kain grumbled as he picked up the quill pen from the floor with his fingers. He had paid 5 gillen for the consultation fee, yet the reaction was the same as those he encountered on the street.

Feeling as if he had been led on a wild goose chase, Kain furrowed his brow.

“Who on earth is this person that everyone looks at me like that just hearing the name?”

Their faces were as pale as if they had seen a ghost.

As Kain tossed the quill pen to the owner, he finally shouted.

“Who is it?!”

It was a loud voice.

“There is no one with that name on this continent! No, there shouldn’t be!”

“What do you mean by that?”

Kain frowned.

It couldn’t be true that no one existed. That name was the destined partner bestowed upon him by the Galia Tree, and the Galia Tree never made mistakes.

The moment the name was mentioned, everyone realized that its owner was human. The naming conventions of humans, not elves, were at play, and there was no elf named ‘Jersian Del Claude’ in the Fiokhim Mountains.

‘To take a human as a partner, the goddess is being quite unreasonable.’

Kain recalled the face of his mother, who had wept tears like jewels.

The owner, confirming that Kain was staring at him blankly, nodded repeatedly and continued to mutter to himself.

“Goodness… So, you must not have known you’re an outsider from another continent. The name you just mentioned… it marks someone as a traitor in itself.”

“Traitor?”

One of Kain’s eyebrows raised.

“I’m not interested in such things. I’m just… looking for one person.”

He wanted to avoid escalating the situation. Meeting the human designated by the Galia Tree was his only concern.

For some reason, the humans on the street seemed to panic and hurriedly leave as soon as they heard that name.

“So! There is no one in the world with that name. There are only eight people with the name ‘Claude’.”

The private investigator slammed his hand on the desk in frustration as he explained to Kain.

“Do you still not understand? ‘Claude’ is a title reserved for royalty, and only those with succession rights among the royals can have that name. I may not know much else, but I know the royal family tree like the back of my hand, and I can tell you the names of the eight people who currently hold the title of Claude right now.”

“…Was that name so significant?”

He understood that royalty among humans was akin to the rulers of elves, the Lord family. He had just wanted to meet them face to face, but it seemed it might be more difficult than he thought. Kain’s gaze slowly sank.

“And among them, the person you mentioned, ‘Jersian Del Claude’… does not exist. I can assure you of that. If the person you’re looking for is another ‘Jersian,’ I can tell you their location immediately.”

The name engraved in his mind was ‘Jersian Del Claude.’ He had confirmed it with his own eyes several times. It was already a word deeply imprinted in his mind.

“…That can’t be.”

Something was wrong.

It could be that the goddess of fate had made a mistake, or perhaps all humans were mistaken.

Kain fervently hoped for the latter.

“…Who is the other Jersian you mentioned?”

“Who else could there be? The famous youngest son of the Gerold family, Jersian Gerold.”

“…Jersian Gerold.”

Kain repeated the owner’s words like a parrot.

Except for the royal surname ‘Claude,’ the rest of the names were the same… but to Kain, they sounded completely different.

Could he truly be the destined partner chosen by the Galia Tree? But the name engraved in his mind was definitely ‘Jersian Del Claude.’

“Is there any chance his name is actually ‘Jersian Del Claude’?”

“…Huh…”

The private investigator looked at Kain in disbelief.

He glanced away for a moment, sighed heavily, and then jumped up from his seat. He began to pace around the dimly lit reception room.

“…”

Seeing the owner’s face so serious, it seemed better to leave him be. Kain leaned back deeply into the sofa and simply watched him.

The man walked to the window and opened it just a crack to check outside. After not finding anything unusual, he sighed in relief and returned to his seat with a thud.

“…Do you realize how terrifying a thing you just said is?”

He frowned irritably and pulled out a new cigarette from beside the table. Without even having time to roll it, he spoke with the cigarette in his mouth.

“You’re insane. If you want to die, just die quietly on your own. Don’t drag innocent people into this!”

He spoke in a voice as low as possible, as if someone might be listening.

“Don’t you know there’s no place where the Emperor’s ears don’t reach?!”

“The Emperor? What could a small private investigator like this do… Alright, alright.”

Kain mumbled to himself, but after catching the owner’s sharp gaze, he reluctantly nodded.

“So, the conclusion is that there is no one with that name?”

“That’s what I’m saying. I don’t know how many times I have to say there’s no such person.”

“…I see.”

Tsk, Kain clicked his tongue in disappointment. He had thought it would be easy to resolve once he came down to the human realm. Meeting his partner was turning out to be much more difficult than he had initially imagined.

With only a name to go on, and if that information was useless, he had no idea how he would find him in this vast continent.

“The consultation fee of 5 gillen ends here.”

The owner continued as he lit his cigarette, looking thoughtful in front of Kain.

“If you want to know where Jersian Gerold is right now, I’ll take a separate commission.”

His tone was one of clear refusal regarding any other possibilities.

Kain’s eyes sharpened as he rested his chin on one hand.

“Forget it. He’s not the person I’m looking for.”

“That’s unfortunate.”

“I’m the one who’s unfortunate.”

Kain said this as he rose from the sofa. The owner, pausing his cigarette, reached out and rang the bell placed at the edge of the desk. Ding- With a clear sound, the person who had first guided Kain into the reception room appeared.

“No need to see me off.”

Kain waved his hand dismissively, pulling his robe further down over his face. The owner nodded and said,

“Understood. You look disappointed, but next time, bring proper information. I’ll solve it as soon as I receive the commission.”

As Kain walked toward the door, he waved his arm in a gesture of farewell.

Internally, he thought, ‘Of course, that’s how it is,’ but he didn’t voice it, not wanting to argue with that man.

‘So what should I do now?’

Kain opened the door and squinted in the sunlight as he thought.

For now, he needed to stay here a bit longer to sort out his thoughts.

Having extended his stay at the inn, where he had been half voluntarily, half involuntarily, Kain lay down on the bed and tried to sleep.

*  * *

That night.

‘Someone is outside the window.’

Kain thought this and hastily threw on the robe he had hung on the nightstand. He needed to conceal his identity for now.

As he lay back down on the bed with the robe pulled over his head, he heard a sound.

Click- Swoosh.

It was the sound of the window being opened from the outside.

Soon, a presence that could only be detected by listening very carefully approached the bed slowly. In the dark room, Kain’s emerald eyes, reminiscent of fresh dew, sparkled.

A figure clad entirely in black, wearing a mask, stood right next to the bed.

“…!”

He froze upon meeting Kain’s awake gaze. However, despite his appearance, he seemed quite experienced, as he quickly drew a conclusion and swiftly moved the sword he held in his hand.

A sharp wind brushed against Kain’s chin.

“Your master has called for you. If you don’t want to die, just follow quietly.”

He felt the sharp edge of the sword against his bare neck.

Kain glanced at the dagger below his neck and twisted one side of his lips in a sneer.

“…That’s quite an aggressive invitation.”

“I told you to follow quietly.”

For now, it seemed he had to heed the intruder’s words.

Kain rose from the bed with a nonchalant expression. Immediately, he felt the sharp tip of the sword pressing against him. It was a signal to walk. Kain obediently followed the direction the man led him, asking,

“Who is your master— Ugh.”

“Shut up.”

The blade pressed in deeper.

He probably had a wound now.

He was telling him not to ask questions. Kain furrowed his brow but moved his body nonetheless.

Yes, he would find out where this man was leading him.