Asclepius

“Then, I take it you want to give the sacred waters a try?” Xax asked.

“…yes…” I answered.

“It would be quite dangerous and irresponsible to send you by yourself,” Xax said, already planning the trip. “Gyorn, Braun is it alright if you two accompany him?”

“Of course,” said Braun.

“No problem,” said Gyorn.

“…thank you…” I said, bowing my head.

“Father…” said Anna, appearing in the room out of nowhere. “May I please accompany them?”

“Absolutely not,” said Xax with a smile.

“But father! Please… The guards don’t know who I am… They won’t do anything to me,” she said, “I have never seen the city before…”

“It doesn’t matter, you will be accompanying someone they definitely know,” said Xax. “I don’t want anything to happen to you,” he added seriously.

His position was understandable. No one would willingly let their daughter enter a dangerous environment.

“But please… Braun and Gyorn are coming too, I will be fine!” she pleaded.

He was thinking.

“Anna, it will be your first time up there… you don’t know how dangerous the city can get…” he reasoned with her.

“Honestly, I am against it too,” said Gyorn.

“What? Uncle Gyo—"

“But. We will be taking a different route this time, so maybe it’s fine?” Gyorn asked.

Xax couldn’t believe Gyorn was indulging Anna’s ridiculous request. He massaged his face, thinking hard.

“Braun… what do you think?” Xax asked. “You practically live in the city compared to all of us.”

“…if we don’t stray from our route, with a big if, it should be fine, sire,” said Braun truthfully, “though I am still a little concerned about the Zepsis members…”

“Doesn’t look like you get to go after all, Anna,” Xax concluded.

“We will remain vigilant, father! Please…”

“…”

“Please… I will not cause them any trouble…” she begged.

He had a conflicted look on his face; there was definitely an internal struggle going on in his head as he decided what to do.

“Braun, Gyorn, Zenzo… please look after her,” he said, giving up.

“Yes, sire.”

“Yeah.”

“…yes.”

Anna thanked Xax and he bid us a safe trip.

We left for the exit of the hideout. This would be my first time seeing it.

It felt so long ago that I was under suspicion of breaking into Aireven… I almost forgot about it.

We arrived at the rusty gate which was covered up with an old rag.

This was the entrance?

How were these guys not discovered yet?

As we climbed out of the gate into a tunnel, I glanced at the entrance.

A dead end?

The gate was gone. Or rather it was still there, but it had the perfect camouflage.

“…where did you guys find that rag?” I asked, impressed at how effective it was.

“Oh? You can appreciate its wonders too, Zenzo?” asked Braun. “All me,” he said.

“What the hell are you talking about, Braun... I found that old ass rag,” said Gyorn.

“I bought it at the market! You were down here digging while I carried it all the way here and installed it!” he yelled, appalled at Gyorn’s gall.

“Seems like someone has holes in his memory, you did install it though,” said Gyorn.

“Gyorn, you bastard…” replied Braun. “Fine, let’s ask broth—” he glanced at Anna out of the corner of his eye, “Sire, later.”

“Haha, stop it you two, who cares about that anyway,” said Anna. “Also, you can say it in front of me uncle Braun. I’ve heard you call my father ‘brother’ a million times already.”

Braun was visibly shocked.

“Wha— what terrible indiscretion on my part…” said Braun.

“You said it…” taunted Gyorn, successfully as Braun glared at him.

We exited the drainage system and started walking in our cloaks. But I wasn’t too sure about this getup. We stuck out like sore thumbs.

“…are you sure this is alright?” I asked Braun and Gyorn, “I think we attract more attention with these than we do without them.”

“Whatever you do, don’t take it off,” warned Gyorn, “while you are partially right about us, everyone will know who you are in seconds,” he said, pointing at the nearby wall with my wanted poster on it.

“Taking the cloak off will only help Anna and Braun because they aren’t criminals,” he explained, “wear it for now, at least that way you won’t be apprehended right away…”

“…what?” I asked, “…Braun isn’t a criminal?”

“No, that’s why I get to go up to the surface so often,” Braun said. “I don’t have a wanted poster like you, Gyorn, and brother do.”

While we were on the subject, I suddenly remembered that I am very much desired by the world government.

“…you guys said I have the largest bounty on our continent… how much is that exactly?” I asked.

“Dunno what you will do with that information, but its 120 billion yul,” said Braun.

“WHAT?” exclaimed Anna in shock. “But he didn’t even do anything!”

“Yeah, well a lot of things don’t get an explanation in this world. Especially true for this place, which is why we didn’t want to bring you here. This town is as cursed as it gets…” said Braun, feeling a wave of distastefulness wash over him.

She looked at me pitifully, wanting to say something but stopping midway.

“…is that a lot?” I asked.

“You don’t know…?” Braun asked, frowning slightly.

“…me and grandpa were poor, and he was the one who always dealt with money…” I said.

“It’s enough to buy yourself an entire city in Acolatum,” said Gyorn.

He certainly made it easy to understand.

I continued walking silently, thinking about the abnormal sum of money my capture was apparently worth.

Was I this hated and detested by the government?

…

We were now moving along the edge of the city and heading to a cliff not too far away. The sacred waters were half-a-day’s walk away from that point onwards according to Xax.

As we tediously climbed the slope, we saw old ruins of a massive construction that used to stand here.

Gyorn seemed to notice that I was interestedly observing them.

“The palace ruins. Xax’s home, if you could even call it that…” he said firmly, “got demolished after Acolatum forsake their monarchy.”

“Also, Xax hasn’t told any of this to Anna, so don’t tell her either,” Gyorn whispered.

I nodded and resumed my observation of what had remained of a King’s legacy.

This was the place he was talking about. The place that abandoned him. The place that evoked a feeling of paramountcy as it overlooked the entire metropolis from an elevated position.

I would even say that it captured a majestic view, if the city wasn’t a cursed heap of garbage.

I gave it one last disdainful glance, and we started walking into the mouth of a forest.

Night fell upon us.

“It is dangerous to tread through the forest at this time, let’s camp out here for today,” said Braun.

“Agreed,” said Gyorn, setting down our supplies and other things he was carrying.

They quickly started preparing everything for our overnight stay.

As if my reflexes kicked in, my hands were already assembling a fire pit.

It was so effortless after a lot of repetition, I could do it with my eyes closed…

Tears rolling down my face, I sobbed in silence as quietly as possible, so none of them would hear…

As I lit the fire, I felt a hand rest gently on my head.

It was Gyorn.

“Looks like you’ve done your fair share of fire pits…”

…

“He must’ve been a great man…” he muttered.

At that moment, I couldn’t contain it anymore, I started crying out loud.

The cheerful conversation Braun and Anna were in the middle of, stopped, and they looked at me, achingly, unable to do anything but let me cry in silence.

That night, I cried until I went to sleep, right next to the fire pit.

I woke up relieved, as if some of the burden I was carrying had left my shoulders.

My sleep was peaceful and I was glad to be outside to see the morning for the first time since my stay in the underground city.

Anna and Braun were still sleeping, but Gyorn was already preparing some breakfast; with the same calm, serious expression he always carried.

He noticed I was awake and gestured for me to come over.

“All my life, I have been used to being underground,” he said as I sat down next to him. “I feel a lot safer and more at home in the mines, than I do out here on the surface.”

“…Xax mentioned he used to work in the mines with you…” I said to him.

“Oh, that? Yeah, after the man who was looking after him and Braun, Kryterius, died, they didn’t have anywhere to go. They had no money, no shelter, no food, nothing,” he said.

“He looked like a praying mantis,” he recalled fondly, breaking his usual character and laughing a little bit. “In the beginning, he was weak, but he had an unbreakable spirit. He was a quick learner and worked diligently, harder than others… all so he could sustain his little brother.”

“You know what he asked me on the first day of work?” he asked.

“…what?”

“When are we going to have lunch?” Gyorn laughed.

I couldn’t help but smile a little.

Unbeknownst to me, Gyorn saw it and was lighthearted that I still had enough willpower in my life to show emotion.

He continued telling me about their past, how he and Braun got into an altercation at the Neverian market, and how they got to where they are today with their hideout.

Before Braun and Anna woke up, I made a promise with Gyorn, asking him to teach me how to fight.

Once everyone was awake and fed, we moved on to the final stretch of our journey to the sacred waters.

My life, that became devoid of all colors, gradually started feeling saturated again.