IBVSM 111

Chapter 111

I led Arden by the sleeve and eventually arrived at—

“Wow, so this is where the market is held? No wonder there were so many people!”

It was a handmade crafts market being held on the opposite side of the river, across the bridge.

Along a narrow alleyway, small, charming stalls were packed closely together, with uniquely colored canopies hanging low above them. The market had apparently started when people who had moved to the capital from other regions began selling specialties from their hometowns, and it was filled with all sorts of distinctive goods.

“Wow. Is this somewhere you wanted to see?”

“Yes. I saw pictures of it in the newspaper. Have you ever been here?”

“No. I’ve passed by it before, but I’ve never actually stopped.”

“That’s great, then. We can look around together.”

I had suggested we look around together, but I wasn’t sure if anything here would catch Arden’s eye.

The crooked ceramic cups, colorful lace woven from leftover threads, and roughly polished gemstone accessories certainly couldn’t be considered high-end products like the ones handled by .

But, in a way, that was precisely why I had come here.

‘At least here, I can stop thinking about work for a little while.’

Since I was going to slack off anyway, I might as well do it properly.

There was nothing here that would want to purchase wholesale. They were handmade crafts with wildly inconsistent quality.

There was also nothing that would remind me of the temples or nobles. This was a place where outsiders and immigrants gathered.

That was why this exotic and rustic alley was such a perfect refuge.

For both Arden and me.

“Look at this. Isn’t it adorable?”

“What part of it is? To me, it merely looks like a cup with an improperly balanced handle. Perhaps I could understand if there were some sort of picture painted on it.”

“That’s what makes it cute! This clumsy shape! Cuteness is something you simply feel.”

“So you think clumsiness is cute.”

Arden repeated my words as though he were seriously trying to understand the charm of the cup whose handle had been attached at a diagonal angle.

But it seemed he was having quite a hard time.

“Then what about this? It’s a doll with only one eye, and even that eye has been attached crookedly. There’s neither symmetry nor balance.”

“No, this one’s kind of scary.”

“But earlier, you said those woolen socks were cute despite one ankle being noticeably longer and the patterns being mismatched. In terms of having a distorted form, this doll seems qualified as well.”

“Like I said, you just feel it.”

Arden was pondering the similarities between the woolen socks and the twisted-handled cup.

It was almost a little cute.

But I decided not to tell him that. It wasn’t just a matter of maintaining discipline within the trading company—I felt like it would only make Arden think even harder about it.

“Anyway, what are you going to do if you try to calculate the value of everything I say is cute?”

“You could think of them as souvenirs.”

“What kind of souvenir collection is this huge? And are you really going to buy me everything I say is cute? If you keep doing this, I might start having some bad ideas.”

“Bad ideas?”

“For example… Hmm. I think that giant golden calf over there is absolutely adorable! What would you do then?”

“……”

“You can’t buy that for me, can you? Right? Then we’d both end up feeling awkward, so…”

“No. I was thinking about how best to handle the gift tax. I have several options in mind. Pick whichever is most convenient for you.”

“Whaaat?!”

And yet, completely oblivious to my attempt at consideration, Arden continued teasing me.

‘…He is teasing me, right?’

There was a faint trace of amusement in his eyes, so it probably was a joke, but considering who I was dealing with, it was difficult to tell.

Watching me gape at him, Arden casually muttered,

“You said it was simply something you felt. You were right.”

Apparently, he had finally understood my theory of cuteness.

Though I had no idea what exactly had made him realize it.

He was probably talking about the golden calf, right?

It was cute, I suppose. Especially when I thought about how much it was probably worth.

‘No, that’s not what I meant.’

In any case, after considerable persuasion, I managed to settle for receiving just one modest souvenir instead of a huge shopping bag and a golden calf.

I had saved him money, so I had no idea why Arden looked like he was the one who had suffered a loss.

And what I chose was—

“Hmm. You picked a very classic souvenir.”

A keychain made by a girl who had come here with her mother and made them as a way to earn some pocket money.

There was one shaped like a starfish and seashell, and another shaped like an orca.

I gave the orca-shaped one to Arden, and he looked puzzled.

“Didn’t you buy both of them for yourself?”

“No. Souvenirs are supposed to be shared.”

“……I see. Thank you.”

“Yes, take good care of it…?”

As I said that, I suddenly realized something.

I had bought it with Arden’s money. Wasn’t I basically taking credit for giving him a gift with his own money?

Still, judging by the way he stared thoughtfully at the orca keychain I had handed him, he seemed to like it in his own way.

There weren’t many black-colored sea creatures, so I had debated between the sea cucumber and the orca. I was glad I had chosen the orca.

‘Looks like he doesn’t plan on putting it on his keys.’

Unlike me, who immediately attached the starfish keychain to the key to my residence, Arden merely put the orca keychain into his bag.

The souvenir shopping was over, but there were plenty of other things to see at the market besides handicrafts.

When I heard lively music, I followed the sound and found people playing an instrument I had never seen before.

It was a drum that looked like an upside-down gourd.

“It’s a traditional instrument of nomadic peoples. The drum is made from sheep hide.”

“Oh, then I suppose these people must be descendants of nomads. And the song they’re singing now must be a traditional nomadic folk song too, right?”

“Probably. As far as I know, it’s a song they used to sing while herding sheep in the desert.”

“That’s fascinating. Even though it’s been hundreds of years since the nomads settled in this land, their songs haven’t been forgotten and are still being passed down. …But how do you know all this?”

Does the head of an information guild really need to know nomadic songs too?

Thinking that, I listened to the song. It was in an unfamiliar language, but pleasant to hear.

‘Come to think of it, the lullaby Mother used to sing to me was in a language I’d never heard before, either.’

Could my mother have been an outsider?

‘…I should ask my father about that too when I meet him.’

My ‘request’ to find Ruben Grecia was still ongoing.

Not only Lennox, but several members of ’s tracking team had joined the search. Surprisingly, Thomas, who had once been a debt collector for the ‘Fangs,’ had joined as well.

After testifying about everything he knew regarding Vargas, he had apparently heard that someone had paid his bail under certain conditions.

That someone was, of course, Arden.

‘One way or another, Thomas knows Father well. Besides, finding people is literally part of Thomas’s job.’

I didn’t have any particular bad feelings toward Thomas.

My comparison point was Jack, who had tried to sell me off. More importantly, Thomas had been demoted and even sent to a labor camp after protesting over what had happened to my father.

‘It was a little unexpected. I never thought he’d go that far for me. Whenever he was in front of me, he always acted indifferent, like all that mattered was getting his money back.’

But apparently, from what I’d heard, Thomas had quietly protected me from the pressure of the ‘Fangs’ on numerous occasions.

He had mentioned having a daughter around my age.

‘Maybe that’s why.’

Father would probably be startled and try to run away if he saw Thomas, so he wouldn’t be able to take the lead in the search.

Still, he had plenty of experience, so he would probably be helpful.

‘…I’m kind of grateful.’

Lost in thought, I didn’t even notice that the nomads’ performance had ended.

The audience dispersed like the ebbing tide, and I was just about to be swept away by the crowd when—

“Ilian.”

Along with the brief call of my name, a firm hand wrapped around my shoulder.

My body was pulled toward him.

When I came to my senses, I was half leaning against Arden’s chest.

Arden had blocked the incoming crowd with his back, and his familiar scent suddenly filled my senses.

Amid the bustling noise, the half-step of space he had created around us was strangely quiet.

Perhaps that was why.

Thump. Thump.

I suddenly heard the sound of my heartbeat with startling clarity.

So did Arden’s slightly husky voice.

“Perhaps you were enjoying the song. You were so focused on it.”

The people passed us by.

In other words, the crowd that had almost crashed into me was already gone.

Even so, Arden didn’t loosen his grip on my shoulder.

His thumb lightly traced the rounded curve of my shoulder blade before slowly returning to its original position, repeating the motion.

It seemed he was trying to calm me down, perhaps because he thought I might have been startled.

But it did absolutely nothing to calm my heartbeat.

My mouth went dry.

I swallowed, then was just about to raise my head when—

Bwoooooo—

A huge ship’s horn suddenly sounded.

“Oh! Th-there’s a sightseeing boat!”

Thanks to that, I managed to escape from Arden’s arms under the pretense of looking at the sightseeing boat.

I practically bounced away from him and leaned against the stone wall as I stared at the boat.

Slow footsteps followed behind me.

“Would you like to ride it?”

“Yes. Isn’t it fascinating that there’s a sightseeing boat on the river? I’ve only ever ridden boats on the sea.”

I answered absentmindedly, since I really had been curious after seeing them in the newspaper.

Then I froze.

I suddenly remembered that Arden, who disliked an astonishing number of things, also disliked boats.

“But it’s okay! Boats are all pretty much the same, so—”

I was hurriedly continuing when—

“Then let’s ride it.”

“…What?”

“It might be just like any other boat, as you said. But it might also be special, mightn’t it?”

Arden seemed to think for a moment before looking at me and adding,

“The boat we ride together today.”

Then—

This time, Arden was the one who led me.

While holding my hand.