The night’s bustle in the small town gradually subsided.
Konehl-Ghervil lay on her bed, idly flipping a gold coin to stave off boredom.
After the adolescent, who had posed a barrage of inexplicable questions, finally departed, another ill-mannered individual connected, launching into a tirade of condemnation.
They declared that ‘an outsider treated her better than her own kin,’ that she ‘constantly clung to family rules that would ruin familial bonds,’ and that she ‘failed to consider the feelings of her relatives.’
Konehl-Ghervil easily guessed that Govet-Ghervil had been eavesdropping on her conversation with Dr. Callan.
She felt no inclination to retort, a faint sense of relief, if anything, washing over her.
This was a good omen.
There was no need to worry about their interactions outside.
After listening to her babble for a while, Govet-Ghervil, finding it tiresome, left with a parting shot: ‘Don’t wander around at night, and always take that unlucky brat with you no matter what you do.’
Finally, silence descended upon her mind, allowing her to truly rest.
Having closed her eyes to meditate until the latter half of the night, she absolutely refused to lie down any longer.
The bed was too hard.
Tossing and turning, she found it impossible to sleep comfortably.
The mattress was stuffed with licorice and shredded wool, emitting a smoky, herbal scent.
With such a scent permeating the air, it was difficult to clear her mind.
Lighting a candle, she rummaged around the room for a while, eventually discovering a dip pen, ink, a carving knife, and several animal bones in a wall cabinet by the bed.
Such cabinets were typically used to store valuables.
If her guess was correct, these items had been left behind by a previous guest.
Borrowing the pen and ink, Konehl-Ghervil lit the oil lamp and settled at the table to practice her habit of writing a diary.
She wrote for nearly three hours before remembering that everything in this accursed place was illusory and could not be taken out.
Nevertheless, she decided it was a good way to pass the time.
Occasionally, fractured sounds or items falling to the floor drifted from the adjacent room, likely indicating Esli was engaged in her so-called knightly training once more.
Being someone who barely needed sleep in reality, Esli probably hadn’t yet realized her inability to fall asleep.
As she returned the pen and ink, Konehl-Ghervil’s hands itched, and she couldn’t resist picking up one of the animal bones to examine it.
Measuring 2.5 to 3 centimeters in diameter and 13 to 15 centimeters in length, it had been polished and cut, its shape suggesting it was half a sheep’s shin bone.
Who would leave such an object here?
What purpose could a bone serve?
A flurry of questions surfaced in her mind.
Illuminating it with the oil lamp, she observed a thin line circling one end, about a quarter of the way down.
This half-bone was pieced together.
Though it felt impolite, she resolved to open it and see.
Twisting along the fine line, it came apart with ease.
The bone’s interior was hollowed out, revealing a rolled piece of coarse paper within.
She extracted the paper and replaced the bone.
Unfurling it, she found a single sentence written in Fentish:
“Beware those who pursue me.”
Was this a warning?
A warning left for whom?
Could it be…
Her heart tightened.
She carefully put the items back and closed the cabinet.
Opening her room door, she peered out, scanning the deserted hallway, then gently knocked on the adjacent door.
The person who answered held a solid ice ball in their hand.
They crushed it, only for it to continually re-form.
Esli was currently engaged in her ‘ice ball crushing’ exercise.
“You… always this bored?”
Entering the room, Konehl-Ghervil whispered, holding up the oil lamp.
Watching Esli effortlessly crush the ice ball, Konehl-Ghervil surmised that crushing a human head would likely pose no challenge for her.
‘Why is it that there isn’t a single normal person around me?’
“You found me out!”
Esli, oblivious to Konehl-Ghervil’s underlying meaning, replied,
“Because protecting you often means facing my own kind.”
“Do you find humans insufficient?”
“No, I don’t wish to harm humans.
A knight’s duty is to protect humanity; a knight who cannot use their strength for the right purpose is meaningless.” Esli looked at her with earnest eyes.
Konehl-Ghervil paused, slightly taken aback.
Such a realization was rare for a knight in a feudal kingdom.
Yet, another thought, one that might dampen Esli’s spirits, came to her.
“The human heart isn’t necessarily better than the mist or the evil seeds.”
She walked past Esli and crouched by the wall.
“Don’t burden yourself.
This world is an illusion; no one truly dies, except us, the outsiders.”
“Konehl-Ghervil, you speak in such a profound manner.
Do you say the same to the Goddess’s followers?”
Esli crouched beside her, voluntarily taking the oil lamp to provide light.
“Please call me Govet-Ghervil,” she reminded.
“I never participate in church activities.”
“How can that be, you are a nun from the abbey!”
‘This person has such high moral awareness, yet why are they so stubborn in other matters?’
Konehl-Ghervil glanced at her, deciding not to explain, and opened the wall cabinet.
As expected, it was empty.
Not every room contained such a prank.
This one was specifically left for her.
Pursuit…
She could only connect it to last night’s farcical chase.
Assuming the bone was left by the madman.
‘Those who pursue me’… were they the men initially ridiculed, or was it Mayor Genipa-Berber?
Perhaps she should consider it from a different angle.
The message was conveyed with the intent of revealing identity.
If he didn’t want to expose himself, he could have simply warned, ‘Beware of whom,’ without adding ‘me.’
So, was the madman merely feigning madness?
He might have guessed or directly recognized her and Esli’s identities, wanting to warn them while also seeking an opportunity for a private meeting.
Someone with a certain standing in The Order might recognize them, much like Dr. Schmidt, who had suspected Esli’s status as a novice knight upon their first encounter.
Considering this, the madman’s infiltration of the inn must have occurred when he first hid in the date palm grove, during the time Sali went to inform Mayor Genipa-Berber.
Esli had happened to be out searching for her then.
He seized the chance to hide the animal bone, then lured the old man away, creating the ‘pursuit.’
It wasn’t necessarily so; it could also encompass all the members involved in last night’s chase.
Taking out the paper, she relayed her series of conjectures to Esli, who, half-understanding, inquired,
“Why didn’t he tell us directly? Why use such a secretive method?”
“There are too many reasons: to mislead, to avoid exposure, a lack of trust in us, and so on.”
“If he had told us directly, given the circumstances, who would have believed a madman’s words?”
“I see… Are you going to look for him?”
“I haven’t decided yet.
It’s also possible he’ll come looking for us.
There’s no need to rush.”
After a brief, casual chat, Konehl-Ghervil returned to her room.
There was at least another hour until dawn.
The local desert residents rose early, and many were already setting up their stalls or heading out to herd.
The oasis was not far; the area behind the date palm grove belonged to the oasis.
Deciding to take the initiative, she planned to visit the oasis.
The men had given up their pursuit once he fled into the grove.
This suggested that, subconsciously, they believed they couldn’t catch him there.
Conversely, it made it highly probable that the grove served as his ‘stronghold.’
Just as she was gathering her belongings to leave,
****
*Thump-thump-thump.*
A knock sounded at the door.
“I apologize for the intrusion, is Sister Govet-Ghervil in?”
The voice inquired again,
“And Knight Esli.”
“Sali, why are you here? Are your injuries healed?”
“They don’t hinder normal movement.”
Esli opened the door first, with Konehl-Ghervil following closely behind.
“Good morning, Dr. Sali.”
Sali was very enthusiastic, bringing warm goat’s milk, salty milk tea, peeled cactus fruits, dried meat, and a few roasted corn cobs for breakfast.
After polite greetings and breakfast, Sali stated his purpose.
“I apologize for the Mayor’s rudeness last night.”
“It’s nothing worth dwelling on; I had forgotten all about it until you mentioned it,” Konehl-Ghervil said playfully.
“He sent you?” Esli, uncharacteristically, thought deeper. “Making people run errands so early.”
“Would the two of you be willing to meet with the Mayor again?” Sali did not answer directly, biting his lip, his expression somewhat troubled.
“I have no problem with it,” Esli waved her hand.
“As for me…”
Konehl-Ghervil drained the last of the warm goat’s milk in her hand.
“Only for Dr. Sali’s sake.”