15
On the cold, hard ground, Subaru shifted the angle of his bottom to ease the pain.
As he rubbed his knees together to combat the cold of the cave, he wondered what time it was. Perhaps because there’d been signs of sunset when they were outside earlier, he assumed it was pitch-black outside by then.
A gust of wind would blow through the cave now and again, echoing off the walls like the moans of lost spirits or ghouls. If not for the dimly reflective lanterns on the walls and the sound of people talking, this place could be easily mistaken as a dimension detached from the living and the dead.
“Between the moaning winds and the daytime chill, nobody round these parts would even shit near a place like this. Perfect place to hide a fortune.”
The bearded man reinforced Subaru’s impressions with his little remark as he leaned against the wall, a savage smirk on his face. Though his language and tone were coarse, his attempt to engage his captives in conversation showed that he was a thoughtful and logical man. He leaned his unmasked, bearded face closer to Subaru and Liliana.
“I heard it’s not a good idea for a kidnapper to let his captives see his face,” Subaru argued.
“Yeah, sorry you got caught up in this, son. It’d just be a pain if you made a ruckus, y’know? Don’t hate me. It’s on you for being with that girl in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“Uh, no, I’m gonna hate you guys. Don’t put this on me.”
“Fair is fair.” The bearded man laughed from his belly. He seemed amused by his talkative hostage.
Subaru thought the guy had a lot of nerve to laugh at a time like this. After all—
“Cut the high-and-mighty bullshit! Are you trying to make us angry?!”
From deep within the cave, a furious roar cut through the air and bounced off the walls. The voice was filled with intimidation, anger, and threat. The anger in it was genuine. To anyone who heard the voice, it was clear that its outraged owner might burst in and unleash their violent wrath onto everyone present. And yet—
“Nooo! I refuse! My songs are only sung in a fun way befitting of them. I will not sing for any other purpose! Don’t mock a bard, or you’ll be sorryyy!”
The rebuttal was packed with so much rage that it was clear their conversation was not very productive. The girl refused the demand with every fiber of her being, reflecting how highly she thought of her profession.
“This is going nowhere…” The bearded man scratched his short mop of hair. Subaru couldn’t agree more. Both sides had a line they wouldn’t cross, and there was no bridge in sight to bring them together.
After several hours of Liliana’s caustic cries, the dispute had carried on even after they arrived at the cave in question. The White Dragon’s Scale was a small group consisting of about ten men, including the bearded man. The bearded man watching over Subaru seemed to be the group’s leader. Since he showed himself to be somewhat of a moderate, Subaru and Liliana had avoided abuse up until then.
But many of the group’s members favored a more radical approach. The man exchanging choice words with Liliana now was one of them—a young man with short brown hair and a boyish voice. The young man had a bandage on his nose. The wound underneath was probably the main reason for his stubbornness.
“He got that busted nose the first time we visited your little mansion. The blue-haired lady gave that to him. Smashed his nose like she enjoyed it. That’s part of why he’s so pissed,” the bearded man explained.
Subaru replied with an understanding “Ahhh,” and had nothing but sympathy for the man. There were three other people besides the broken-nosed man who were angry they had also become Rem’s victims.
“But, Liliana’s being just as stubborn…too stubborn,” Subaru muttered. “Her devotion to her profession is admirable but… Is it really that important? Is it really worth dying for?”
Despite the relentless onslaught of abuse from the men, Liliana swore she would never bend to their will. Just when Subaru had pegged her as a flimsy airhead, she had to go and show some inflexible grit and conviction in herself. He could imagine nobody more annoying and difficult to handle than her in that moment.
“Yeah…you bet it’s important. There’s gotta be something out there worth sacrificing your life for…”
Surprisingly, the one who agreed with Liliana’s declaration was none other than the bearded man. When Subaru shot him a dubious look, the bearded man cast a restless glance deep into the cave and said, “Living is easy if all ya do is eat, sleep, and breathe—anybody can do that. But if you want to do something with your life…well, that’s when you start to find some things you can’t compromise on.”
“Noble words coming from you, my guy. Wasn’t there some reason you had to finish the job fast?”
“The other guys do, yeah. But me… That reason doesn’t exist anymore. The reason I’m still here is because I wanted to prove that there’s more to my life than just eating, sleeping, and breathing.”
The bearded man lowered his eyes, picked up a nearby bottle of liquor, and took a swig. He wiped the trickle of liquor roughly off his face with his sleeve, and as he looked into the darkness of the cave, there was an emptiness in his eyes.
Subaru didn’t know his backstory, and he wasn’t going to ask for it. The man probably wouldn’t tell him anyway. But the more time that passed, the harder this would be for everyone involved.
“Hey, bearded gentleman… Sorry, but could you maybe loosen my ropes a little?”
“Don’t get the wrong idea, boy. We want to resolve this peacefully so we ain’t thrashing you, but we ain’t setting you free, either. If you even dream about scramming, things’ll get messy.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know. I promise I won’t run away. You can keep my hands tied. Just let me walk deeper into the cave. I wanna talk some things over with Liliana.”
The bearded man looked at Subaru and mused over the proposition for a while. Then he sighed and said, “Yeah, it’s a stalemate otherwise… Fine. It’s always easier to convince a person if you get her friend to do it. It’s better for all of us.”
The bearded man untied Subaru’s feet. Finally free to move again, he stretched out his stiff limbs, letting the blood flow through them before standing up.
“You come with me, okay? Nothing good will come of staying here drinking.”
Gesturing over his shoulder at the man with his chin, Subaru began to head deeper into the cave, his hands still bound. As he walked, the cold breeze rustling his hair, Subaru squinted his eyes shut in the light of the ragmite. Then he cautiously opened his eyes into the light and saw it.
“So this is it…the stupid metia that’s unlocked by a song.”
Before Subaru’s eyes stood a black wall blocking the path deeper into the cave. The wall obstructing the stone passageway had geometric carvings on it, and in the center, a blue crystal was embedded. The wall itself seemed to be made of a material similar to iron, but it was a little too black and a little too mysteriously imposing for that.
“It’s rigged to move only when certain conditions are met,” the bearded man explained. “It doesn’t always have to be a song, but this door is rigged to open only when this girl here sings the song.”
“Are you sure Liliana has to sing it?” Subaru asked.
“It won’t open if anybody else sings it. Our traitor had her sing into the metia and used that to put the magic seal on this cave. That’s why only the girl’s song can open it.”
Hearing the bearded man’s explanation, Subaru approached the metia again. And before the black wall was Liliana, who was now completely uncooperative, and the men in white, furiously trying to get her to sing.
“This is bullshit—we’re so close! Just sing a tiny bit, and it’ll all be over!”
“I refuse. And I can’t abide by my music being mocked even a tiny bit. The muse has spoken. I present you with my new song—‘Your Heart—Unlike Your Clothes—is Pitch-Black.’”
“Shut up, you pigheaded idiot! Don’t provoke them!” Subaru barked at Liliana, who was ignoring the men as they kept threatening her. Startled by the entrance of a third party, Liliana opened one eye and looked up at Subaru.
“Oh—what’s up, chore boy? Did we get to the part where they mercilessly torture you in front of me to get me to talk? Well, sorry, but even if Chore Boy turns into a lump of meat, I’m not budging.”
“Stop that, it’s no fun for me. Besides, if these guys get desperate, you’ll be in much worse shape than me as a girl. You understand what I’m getting at, right? I hope you do.”
“Wh-what are you fantashizing, you shicko? Sh-shtop it, you shtupid dog…!”
Her face bright red, Liliana showed embarrassment over the conversation’s dark twist, which she’d mostly brought on herself. Sighing at her lack of foresight, Subaru looked back at the mercenaries.
“I sympathize with your problem, but you realize she won’t listen to you, right? I hate to say this, but she won’t compromise on her principles, even if you hurt her bad.”
Hearing Subaru’s frustrated plea, the men exchanged uncomfortable glances.
“And you—you won’t sing no matter what. No matter how badly these guys want you to sing, you’re not singing.”
“Chore boy.” Liliana looked at Subaru with a meaningful look in her eyes. “If my song is needed, then I will sing. But it’s not my song these men want; it’s the results of my song. I would never sing for such a reason. Even if they slash my throat and rip my tongue out, I won’t sing.”
“So you won’t even sing if your life depends on it?”
“Not even if my life depends on it, no. If I bend my principles for fear of my life once, then my pride will be cracked, and it can be easily broken again and again. And once it’s full of cracks, my pride will be invisible to everybody. And when I look in the mirror, I’ll have to see myself without any pride—and I’d rather die.”
With that final word, Liliana bit her lip. It was the expression of someone who knew that her declaration would likely enrage her captors. She had an unbending dedication to her career. Simply put, this was Liliana’s way of life.
Subaru had lost count how many times he’d heaved a frustrated sigh because of her obstinacy. “If you don’t sing, my life is also in danger.” He stared intently at her. “Doesn’t that change anything?”
But Liliana only agonized silently in reply, her eyes darting around for a moment in conflict. Subaru grinned widely in resignation. If this was a girl who was willing to throw someone else under the bus to protect her ego, Subaru could have gladly ditched her to save himself.
But in that moment of conflict, she considered surrendering her pride, and that was enough to convince Subaru.
“You heard the lady. She won’t sing. I won’t make her sing, either.”
“Hey, that’s not…”
That’s not what you promised—the bearded man’s astonished eyes finished. He sensed the mood from the other men had also grown even more precarious.
“Chore boy…why…?”
“If you don’t want to sing, then don’t. I’m siding with you, that’s all,” he answered, standing protectively between Liliana and the menacing stares of the men. Liliana’s voice trembled behind him. Hearing this, Subaru knew he’d made the right decision. Turning back to the men, he said, “Her song is not a tool to be used. If you heard her sing just once, you’d understand.”
“Boy, stop joking around if you know what’s good for—”
“If she doesn’t wanna sing, then I don’t want to make her sing, either! I hate to admit it, but her songs are awesome! Anybody who hears her sing knows it. And I don’t wanna make her sing in vain—I won’t let you force her!”
As the men raked him with their eyes, Subaru stood protectively in front of Liliana with a defiant declaration.
The bearded man nervously looked at his companions. All the men in white aside from him saw Subaru’s declaration as a point of no return. As they marched forward, tension shot through the air.
“Chore boy…!” Liliana cried at Subaru, her lips quivering over the malice in the men’s eyes. There was a catch in her voice, sounding so close to guilt—
The mercenaries leaned forward, ready to pounce at the bard. “Hey, guys, let’s teach this asshole a lesson and make this little birdie sing by force—”
“I have a proposal!”
“Huh?”
Subaru’s loud voice brought their menacing postures to a clumsy halt. As the men stumbled to catch their balance, Subaru leaned in toward their upturned faces and said, “Let’s bypass that metia and get that fortune another way.”
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