Even though he belonged to a bounty hunter group, Shun doesn't get dragged into the rough stuff. Their fighting power was sufficient without him. So Shun faced numbers every day, contributed to spoiling Sui, and served as a taste tester of Carl's new dishes.
It was a very peaceful day.
Shun actually hadn't seen Craig for about a week since he had spoken to him outside of the carriage. Apparently, he regularly takes several consecutive days off. At first, Shun had thought that he had a chronic disease, but according to Dian, the way he replenished his magical powers was special.
It seemed that the different atmosphere around Craig that Shun had felt was due to the increase and decrease of his magical powers.
Shun wondered if "replenishing magic" was actually related to women for a moment, considering how Gin was acting, thrusting his elbow into Evan, who was holding some ice cream.
The hand that was moving his pen stopped when he recalled the conversation.
Woman... Was it the heroine? No, Shun shook his head. The constant threat of kabedons had not subsided. Then another woman?
Shun wondered what kind of woman Craig would choose. She had to have been a beautiful woman that Shun hadn't seen before.
"...I wouldn't say it's a digital calculator, but I'd like to have an auxiliary one to use on the tabletop."
If Craig had a lover, then it would probably take a while for him to form a bond with the heroine, so Shun forced his thoughts back to the work at hand and left it alone.
While rubbing away the stiffness in his shoulders, he saw a mass of metal that had become an ornament next to him. There were some devices that could help with calculation. It was right to put that in past tense.
They were machines that were as large as household printers, and the gears on the surface of it were arranged in an orderly fashion. They were no longer used because no one knew how to use it, and then one or two parts that were used by Gin were taken to repair weapons. Now it was mostly just ignored.
Shun had thought about getting a new calculator, but the same type that he had seen on the market was rather expensive. It wasn't a very good purchase, considering how cost effective it would be when he took his time to use it and the fact that its multiplication and division wasn't accurate into account. As a bookkeeper, that was a bit of a problem.
They would have to figure out another way. Not only would it help with Shun's stiff shoulders, but also Craig's feelings towards him would improve from him showing off his usefulness. With that, mediating between Craig and the heroine would become easier.
"What's wrong? Are you getting tired of all the numbers?"
"I'm not tired of it. Why do you all ask the same question?" Gin, who had arrived earlier from his work, teased Shun while looking at the account book. So Shun responded with a bored expression. He always replied that he wasn't tired of it, but he was getting a little bored of it like today's Gin.
"Well, nevermind that. I want you to make something."
If Shun asked for this at the royal palace, he would be met with suspicion, and it would be troublesome. He also couldn't go to the market alone, and since Shun already looked naïve in the first place, he felt like he would be charged an exorbitant price for this. In which case, there was no one else for him to hire other than Gin, who was entrusted with the dexterous work of weapon crafting and repair.
"I don't like it because it looks troublesome." As soon as Gin saw Shun's drawing of the completed project, he declared this. Why with such a handsome face?
"Please! There's no one but Gin. That's right! I'll thank you and buy you a meal!"
"You can make it." Evan, who had entered the living room, was clutching a large amount of homemade cookies and holding one heart-shaped one in his mouth.
"I have to make dozens of cookies of the same shape, you know."
Gin sulkily held up the fluttering drawing of the finished product in his hand for Evan to see. Evan took a disinterested glance at it, and then tossed a star-shaped cookie into his mouth. He was growing up.
"It's partly your fault that it's so hard to calculate that Shun needs it."
"Ugh."
Evan's righteous theory left Gin at a loss for words. It seemed he still felt guilty about the books. However, Gin was now grumbling and muttering at the picture.
Evan and Shun's eyes met from over Gin. Evan pointed at Gin and patted the back of his other hand with his hand. Huh? Shun scrutinized him and looked closely at him, and this time he knelt down and fluttered his palm as if he was praising someone. Oh, I see.
"You are the only one I can ask. I don't know anyone who has the skill to make this better than you."
"What? Really?"
Gin was shaken by Shun's exaggerated compliments. Looking back, Evan was now eating a bear-shaped cookie with an unconcerned look, but his eyes were shining.
"You're just as I expected you to be. You already know the work process and the time it would take, just by looking at my poorly done drawing. You're a master, master! Gin, no, master artisan!"
"Well, if that's the case."
After these words, Gin finally clapped his heart as if to say, "leave it to me". Evan raised his thumb as Gin wrote a note next to Shun's request. Shun responded with the same gesture.
Gin was easy to convince when flattered. Shun was going to remember that.
At any rate, Shun was very grateful that he was making it for him. After that he visited Gin's worship frequently, and as he progressed, Shun made sure to praise him.
"You've already gotten this much done? You're the best craftsman in town! In even the royal capital!"
"This smooth form! It's like a fine piece of art. It's like a box full of jewels!"
It was like a TV gourmet commentator had possessed him.
"...what on earth are they doing?"
After a week or so, Craig had returned, and Shun praised Gin like this under Craig and Dian's curious eyes and Evan's amused and helpless expression.
＊＊＊
Two more weeks passed.
In the afternoon when the work that had become dramatically easier had ended, Craig and Dian, who had been absent all the morning, entered the living room. All of the guild members were called in today. The atmosphere around the two made everyone tense.
Craig looked around at them and said, "I know where he is."
The "he", he was referring to, was Zaz. Roy and the other group members had been looking for him ever since the fraud was discovered. Even Gin's usual, dandy atmosphere disappeared, and Shun, who was standing a little further away from everyone else, stood up a little straighter. It was like a military ceremony in a movie.
"He's in another guild now."
There were countless people who came from rural towns supported only by their own dreams and legs. They had all worked together to make another guild like the Dawn Fog. Zaz's new work place seemed to be quite large.
Additionally, this guild seemed to be a cause for concern for the security forces, who had issued a bounty of fifty thousand for them. Until now, they hadn't bothered with the other guild because it wasn't very cost-effective, but when one of them had gone to talk to the guild about Zaz, they had been turned away and insulted. Though the Dawn Fog was usually — a self-proclaimed — mild mannered guild, they could not be silent.
"I'll have you pay me back exactly what you owe me."
Craig's low declaration was followed by the echo of the men's brave, war cries. Additionally, it made the earth feel like it was rumbling, and an electric current ran through Shun's body. Now, Shun realized that they were warriors too, even as they chatted and ate cookies with him. At the same time, he felt a bit sorrowful about his own weakness and inability to help them.
Shun ran up to Craig, who was preparing his horse outside of the castle for the long trip without a bow and arrows or shield.
"Sorry for disturbing you before you leave, but are you all right?"
Once a month, Craig needed to replenish his magical powers. It was about the time for him to take that vacation again. There was a shadow on his face even; just as there was a month ago.
Craig looked back at Shun in surprise. However, he laughed, showing his canine teeth as he did, which was rare for him, perhaps in an attempt to reassure Shun, who seemed overly worried.
"I'm just a little tired. I'll take a rest after it's all settled."
No one else had noticed Craig's condition except perhaps Dian. It was true that his brisk movements were the same as usual, and there was no way he could be the head of the Dawn Fog unless he could tell whether he would be a burden to himself and the others.
"Be careful."
"Ok."
He left Craig, who jumped easily onto his horse.
"I'll bring you more bounties than you can count."
"The books will soon be full, and Shun will be very busy."
With Evan and Gin taking the lead, they all left while saying similar happy and foreboding lines.
The living room felt very spacious. Come to think of it, it was the first time Shun was left to look after the castle alone.
He sat at his desk in a somewhat unsettled mood. He took out his secret weapon that Gin had made — the abacus — from the drawer. While waiting for them to bring back their countless winnings, Shun tried to work through the pile of ledgers from last year with a particularly heavy one in hand.
"Is this two...? No, it's sixty-seven, so that's a five."
It seemed that the person in charge at the time was at quite an old age. Shun had also heard that he was a former merchant, but his handwriting is much more beautiful than the one he had been working on before. The reason he was rewriting these was because it was written so masterfully that no one could decipher it.
As Shun continued to work silently, he suddenly felt hungry. When he looked around, the sun was shining through the empty living room. He suddenly recalled that Carl had baked him a pie. He took a plate out of the kitchen cupboard and took a breather in the dining room while preparing some kalia(1). Its white steam gives off a fragrant scent.
1. In case you don't remember, this is the drink that's similar to coffee.
The apple pie had a crispy crust and was juicy and sweet inside, and it soothed his anxiety. Craig's condition was worrisome, but the Dawn Fog that was full of fierce men surely wouldn't be injured much.
"Now that my brain has been nourished, let's give it another go."
Shun suddenly felt motivated when he stretched out his arms in front of himself. He was about to return to his seat with the cup after washing the emptied plate, when he suddenly noticed a book lying in the middle of the sofa.
It was Craig who read there. What kind of book was he reading?
"It's not curiosity. It's just tidying up."
The title of the book that he had picked up with a lame excuse was was debossed into the brown, leather cover. It was titled, "Strategic Formation", something Shun would usually never be seen with.
Shun looked over the introduction and had no idea what to say. He gently closed the book. It would be impossible for Shun to bond with Craig over this topic. If only he had read something that was about the beauty of the Fibonacci sequence, then they could have talked about it.
I put the book back in the gaping hole in the shelves, which were lined up in an orderly fashion, and it fit neatly into place. I looked at the army of books, remembering something my ex-supervisor had told me about people who were tidy being good at their jobs. I happed to find something that stuck out at the end.
Amongst all of the uniform books, there was a single, thin book that had a protruding back cover, perhaps because of its size. Craig had said that he could read the books as he wished, so Shun picked it up.
When Shun flipped it over to see the cover, he saw an illustration of a wolf with magnificent, silver hair roaring at the sky. A delicate touch had been used to paint the cover, and the ink made each strand of his hair shine. Surprisingly, a wolf in full-color and beautiful eyes appeared when several pieces of parchment were unrolled. The wolf had descended on a pale world of ice and snow, looking up sadly at the dead trees. The font was larger on the pages than in the previous book.
This was a book from the Wolf Country. Shun was convinced. After his conversation with Dian the other day, Shun had researched it and found out that most of the books published in the Butterfly Country only described wolves as harmful and demonic animals. Wolves were inscribed into people's minds as an enemy to defeat, just as the number thirteen was considered ominous in Christianity.
Shun looked at the illustrations in the book. The people of the Butterfly Country would never accept such a brave and beautiful looking wolf.
A book from the country where Craig was born. Shun was intrigued. He settled down on the sofa and rolled up the cover.
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TL Note: Let me know if you like the footnotes like that, and I'll keep tossing them in that way. I had more energy this week, so here's a Friday chapter. See ya'll next Wednesday!