Chapter 34

The next morning, John tapped on the key. The key pointed to the southeast. Unfortunately, Kastoria was too large for the two of them to walk to the southeast end. Once again, the situation at hand forced them to ask Isak, who conveniently arrived at the inn in the morning to drop off some crates filled with meat, to take them there.

After arriving near the third wall, John tapped on the key. He and Leyla both hoped the key would change directions, facing back toward the city.

“So, is it in this place?”

“No.”

Unfortunately, the key still pointed to the southeast, giving them only one choice. To continue their journey southeast. Until they reached the place. John tapped the key again, letting it fall back down.

“Southeast? To which town?” Isak asked.

John checked the map. The same map had accompanied their entire journey. There were several more towns and villages in the southeast of this country. Beyond, there was a different country, only a small portion of which appeared in Leyla’s map. So far, all the chairs have been within this kingdom, so they hopefully wouldn't need to concern themselves with crossing the border.

He pointed at the town two-thirds of the way to the border. It should be far enough that Isak wouldn't accompany them-

“Oh, sure, I got a delivery to that place.”

John and Leyla stared at each other.

“We can resupply here,” Isak pointed at a town on the map. “Prices should be cheaper here.”

Even with the little time they spent in Kastoria, John could already tell that prices in the capital were very different.

“So we can depart now?”

“Yes. We'll reach the town by nighttime.”

Good news. No camping in the wilderness. Camping might be cheaper, but anyone would prefer an inn room. Hopefully, it wouldn't be expensive.

“Hop on board.”

They already brought all their stuff with them, so they could immediately depart.

“What kind of stuff are you transporting anyway?” John asked as they made their way toward the town. The crates on the carriage looked different from the ones from before. These ones were smaller, and there were fewer of them, giving them a bit more space.

“Eh… things…”

“Is it a secret?” Leyla asked.

“No, but I just transport whatever needs to be transported. Food, furniture, and building materials sometimes. Maybe you can call me a quest boy.”

A quest boy. He had never heard that term before. Does that mean every time they met, he was on some kind of quest? A kind of errand, maybe?

“This?” Leyla pointed to one of the crates.

“Apples. Not too exciting, is it?”

“That's not what I expected…” she murmured.

For someone who kept coincidentally running into them, John expected something more. Something more exciting. Things like gold and silver. Secret documents, even.

Well, even if he brought that, not like he'll tell us.

Leyla could grab Isak's stuff and teleport them away. While he might be able to find them again, they hadn't been serious about avoiding him. Who knows how far they could go if they were serious about playing cat and mouse?

Still, if he really did bring such important items with him, he wouldn’t have offered to take us.

John didn’t see any reason why Isak would risk it. If it were John, then John wouldn’t risk his belongings to satisfy his own curiosity.

“By the way, have you heard about the news?”

John narrowed his eyes. Isak sat at the front, his head facing the road, so he couldn’t see his expression. Still, John had a bad feeling about this.

“What news?” He took the bait. Isak spoke in a fairly loud voice, so John couldn’t just ignore him. If he pretended not to hear, Isak would just ask again.

“About Count Karejo.”

“What about him?” He feigned ignorance. Leyla followed his lead, not saying anything that might spoil the conversation they had heard earlier.

“There’s something mysterious about him. He had been dealing in some shady business for several years now.”

“Are you supposed to talk about this?” Leyla asked. John doubted she was concerned about getting in trouble. She could teleport, after all. If their enemies surrounded her, she could take both herself and John into safety. No. She already knew the answer to her question.

“No one’s hearing anyway, and you two aren’t exactly fans of him, are you?”

“Not really.”

It was hard to be a fan when the count gave them such a terrible first impression. He didn’t even acknowledge their presence. They would also side with Ellie, as Ellie was the one who helped them.

“Would his downfall excite you?”

“We don’t care,” Leyla answered. “It’s none of our business.”

“I guess you’re right. We commoners should stay out of their way.”

Commoners. For some reason, something didn’t feel right with that word. It applied to John and Leyla, outworlders who had no roots in this world. But that didn’t seem to be the case with Isak. Was Isak really a regular commoner? It might be, considering his job.

Leyla must have noticed something as well, as she came closer and whispered, “Is he really one?”

Isak shouldn’t be able to hear. It wasn’t exactly confidential, either. If he noticed, John could just say that he didn’t feel like one. Jokingly say that Isak felt like a noble, maybe someone from the countryside. A true commoner wouldn’t be angered for being confused with a noble.

Looks-wise, Isak looked just like a regular person.

Nobles wore fancy clothes; Isak wore a regular shirt. Nobles had luxurious carriages; Isak’s looked old. Nobles had escorts; Isak traveled by himself. Nobles had a lot of money and power, but that didn’t seem to be the case for Isak. Based on what he could see, Isak was a regular person like them.

But something felt amiss, and he couldn’t ignore that feeling.

•••

“He’s a fake.”

That night, before they went to bed, Leyla told John her opinion.

“... What made you say that?”

John tried paying attention, but he failed to notice anything. It was like looking for a needle in a haystack. He knew that needle was there, but he couldn’t see it.

“We laikaat have better senses compared to normal humans. The carriage? Sure, it looked old, but there were faint smells of paint. His clothes looked clean despite traveling vast distances, yet they smelled weird, as if they had been perfumed. Isak didn’t need escorts because no one would think of him as someone important. He did teach you magic, so maybe he had his own defenses. Oh, and a noble going undercover would naturally not bring any money.”

“I see…” John hadn’t noticed any of the things Leyla said, but he couldn’t deny that he too felt something was not right. Leyla laid out all the things in front of him. Now that he knew, he should be able to spot those differences when they continue their journey tomorrow.

“But… Let’s assume he really is a noble, or someone powerful… Why is he so casual with us?”

“Because he wanted us to be on his side.” Leyla put a finger on her chin. “I don’t know why he wants us-”

“Teleport? He did see you using teleportation.”

“... That might be one of the reasons. Can he not use teleportation himself?”

He rode a carriage, but that could be a pretense. If he kept ending up in the same place as John and Leyla, there was a chance he could use the spell. How would he keep up otherwise? If he waited for information every time, surely he would fall behind.

“He tried mentioning the count a couple of times… Is there a chance he's trying to rope us into his politics? If yes, then is he on the count's side or against him?”

John didn't like the idea. He and Leyla did try to remain neutral throughout the trip, but they couldn't fully hide their dislike of the count. Some of it showed despite their best efforts.

“We should confront him tomorrow,” John suggested. If Isak really is their enemy, then they shouldn't stay around him any longer.

“What should we ask? You're not expecting us to walk up to him and ask if he's a noble, are you?”

“Of course not.”

If John did that, Isak would reply no, or he would simply laugh it off.

They began discussing plans until midnight.