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Chapter 03
The unexpected sight left me momentarily stunned. I had expected that fifteen years would have been hard on him, but I never imagined he would end up like this.
No—calm down. No matter what he looks like, he’s still my disciple. Even if he’s drooling and staining his beard with spit…
“Cesare, it’s me. Dane, your teacher. Do you recognize me?”
“Huh?”
Cesare looked at me with dull—no, murky eyes. Then he suddenly pulled me in and slung an arm over my shoulders.
“Oh, of course. I know you. How could I not recognize my teacher?”
He smiled, baring his fangs. Even after fifteen years, does he still recognize me? Cesare, reeking of alcohol, said,
“If I meet my teacher, I’ve gotta have a drink. You’ll buy it, right?”
…Did he actually recognize me?
I felt unsure. I needed to talk to him properly first. I helped Cesare steady himself.
“Get up first, Cesare. You seem very drunk.”
“I’m not drunk. I’m perfectly fine. Come on, let’s go inside.”
He staggered toward the Proun Whale Inn.
Another man blocked the entrance, the one Cesare had mistaken for himself.
“What kind of shame do you have, crawling back in here? No entry until you pay your tab!”
“Hah, damn it.”
He cursed under his breath, then turned back to me, grinning like a madman.
“Teacher. Pay my tab for me.”
Does he actually recognize me?
Suspicious, but I took out my coin pouch. The money I had taken from the brothel owner’s room was more than enough. I looked at the man Cesare had mistaken for himself and asked,
“How much is the debt?”
“Three million Bahts.”
…Had prices gone up that much in fifteen years?
Three million Bahts was roughly a common worker’s yearly salary. I handed over everything I had.
“This is all I have. I will bring the rest later.”
“Alright.”
The innkeeper seemed satisfied to get even this much. Cesare once again slung an arm over my shoulder.
“Damn, teacher’s loaded.”
“…Stop swearing.”
“Fine, fine. Let’s go drink inside.”
At midday?
The smell of alcohol had already been heavy since earlier. Something was clearly wrong…
Before I knew it, I was being dragged inside.
The first floor served as both dining hall and tavern. Cesare collapsed into a seat and called out to the innkeeper.
“A big bottle of brandy, and stew.”
The innkeeper looked at him like he was trash. Drinking again before even sobering up…
I stopped him.
“Cesare, stop drinking. You still seem hungover.”
“This is hair of the dog. Hair of the dog.”
Why is he speaking so casually?
But that wasn’t the issue. I needed to prove I was Dane. I showed him the necklace I was wearing.
A pearl-and-gold necklace shaped like acorns and leaves—symbol of Valanus.
“Cesare. Do you remember this? The Valanus necklace.”
“Hm?”
He glanced at it half-asleep, then lost interest and began dozing again, drooling.
What happened to my disciple?
Soon the innkeeper brought the stew and alcohol. Only then did Cesare suddenly lift his head.
“Oh, I was starving after throwing everything up.”
He devoured the stew like a beast. Earlier I thought he looked like a dog—now he looked more like a pig.
His hands trembled as he ate. A tremor?
After finishing the stew, he immediately poured himself a drink. His hands were shaking so much that he spilled it, then hurriedly brought the cup to his lips.
“Ahh… sweet. So sweet.”
He looked blissful as he drank. I took the bottle away so we could talk.
In an instant, Cesare’s eyes changed.
“Hey, what the hell?”
“Do not swear.”
“Then give me the bottle back.”
“Let’s talk first.”
I leaned back to avoid his grabbing hand. He glared at me, then irritably drank what was left in his cup.
“What. What do you want to say?”
“You don’t believe I’m Dane, do you?”
“Obviously.”
He laughed.
“My teacher died. How the hell is someone who died fifteen years ago back?”
“Look at my face. I’ve gotten a bit younger, but it’s still the same face.”
He stared at me for a while, then ordered another drink from the innkeeper. While waiting, he replied indifferently.
“Kind of similar? So what?”
“So what do you mean?”
“What are you trying to say? Even if you are my teacher, so what?”
So what…?
What did I actually want after finding the children again?
No, the answer was clear.
“I want to find the children and rebuild the Valanus Domus.”
If someone loses their family, they would want to rebuild it.
Just then, another bottle arrived. Cesare poured himself a drink.
“Oh, is that so? Good luck with that.”
“You must come back, Cesare.”
“Why me?”
“You are Valanus too. Let’s return home.”
At that, Cesare snorted and drank.
“Valanus? I’ve long forgotten that. Fifteen years ago, it was all destroyed, and I became an orphan. I left it all behind.”
“….”
“So rebuild it or whatever. Do it yourself. I’m not interested.”
He tried to drink again, so I took the bottle away.
Bang!
Cesare slammed the table.
“Hey, damn it! Stop messing around! You show up in the morning spouting nonsense and I listened, so why are you still going on?!”
“Cesare. Sit down.”
“Fuck off.”
He spat on the floor and stood up.
“You buy me one drink and act all high and mighty? Screw it. I’m out.”
He stormed upstairs.
The innkeeper stopped me.
“I don’t know your situation, but talk to him when he sobers up. He’s impossible when he’s drunk.”
“…Understood.”
Then he placed a bowl of stew in front of me.
“I don’t know what your relationship is with that alcoholic, but if you’re looking for a mercenary, find someone else. He’s rarely in his right mind.”
Alcoholic.
I remembered Cesare’s trembling hands.
So that was withdrawal…
I bit my lip.
“I’d like to ask something. What happened to Cesare after Valanus fell?”
The innkeeper sat down in Cesare’s seat.
“Everyone knows what happened to Valanus Domus. The children scattered everywhere. Cesare joined a mercenary group.”
A mercenary…
He had been afraid of fighting.
“He awakened his magic early and became a well-known mercenary. Came back a few years ago… but he was an alcoholic.”
So that’s what happened to him.
I rubbed my forehead.
I couldn’t really say anything. I had been absent for fifteen years—what right did I have to speak?
I needed to talk to him once he was sober.
For now, it was impossible.
I stood up.
“Please tell Cesare this: when he sobers up, come to Valanus Domus. And if he comes, I’ll pay him 500,000 Bahts.”
I dangled the money as bait.
My steps felt heavy.
What had Cesare lived through in these fifteen years?
The weight of my absence pressed down on my shoulders.
* * *
“Ugh… damn… my head…”
Cesare staggered as he got up from the bed. The sunset was already spilling through the window.
After drinking and passing out, he had slept far too long—and now he was hungry again.
He scratched his stomach and went downstairs. The innkeeper looked at him with disdain.
“You’re up?”
“Yeah. Give me whatever food you’ve got.”
He sat down, and the innkeeper tossed him bread and cheese. Cesare ate without complaint. The innkeeper spoke.
“About that guy who came this morning…”
“The morning? Ah, that lunatic.”
That lunatic who claimed to be Dane and said he had died and come back.
There were plenty of scammers who approached him, but this one was absurd beyond measure.
Still, he had gotten some free drinks, so he didn’t particularly mind.
“He said he’d stay at Valanus Domus and told you to come when you sobered up. Said he’d pay you 500,000 Bahts if you showed up.”
“500,000 Bahts?”
The number tempted him, but Cesare frowned.
He had learned to be suspicious of obvious generosity.
“Crazy bastard.”
Could he actually be his teacher?
No. Impossible. They just looked somewhat alike.
The innkeeper continued.
“Another Valanus Domus survivor, huh? You got scammed again, didn’t you?”
“Shut up.”
Cesare had spent years as a mercenary searching for Valanus survivors. He had paid for information, all of it fake, but he never gave up.
Then, after losing everything to someone who falsely claimed to be from Valanus…
He became more indifferent.
Alcohol filled the void.
“Damn it… why do scammers never stop?”
“You’ve got a filthy mouth. Anyway, you don’t seem like you’ll fall for it again.”
Fifteen years.
Yes, that much time had passed. He should forget Valanus and live his own life.
So why did that morning man keep lingering in his mind?
Maybe because he heard the name again after so long.
As he chewed his bread, someone entered the inn.
“Hey, Cesare. Are you sober now?”
It was a mercenary acquaintance.
Cesare drank some water.
“I’m always sober. What is it?”
“A big job came in. Last night some thugs broke into a brothel.”
A brothel.
Valanus Domus.
Come to think of it, that man said to go there, didn’t he?
“The brothel owner is gathering mercenaries. The pay is decent for an easy job.”
The mercenary grinned.
“Want to come? You need drink money, right?”
