studiobondurri Chapter 182 : Chapter 182
Chapter 182 : Chapter 182
Translator: AkazaTL Pr/Ed: Sol IX
***
Antoine.
One of the very few cities in Perry, the western region of the Southern Continent. Travelers called this city the oasis of the western Perry desert, or the only resting place for travelers.
Of course, it had a more famous name.
The City of Stars.
Antoine was a rare city, for while most of the Southern Continent belonged either to the Order of the Sun or the Order of the Cross, this place was inhabited by those who served the ‘Goddess of the Stars.’
As followers of the ‘Goddess of the Stars,’ who loved forgiveness and harmony, they were all known for their gentleness, and the Primordial Observatory built in Antoine by the priests of the Order of the Star remained the city’s landmark.
In the Primordial Observatory, the beautiful priests of the stars would let their hair—dark as the night sky—fall behind them as they danced and sang.
The Song of Stars, performed beneath the Milky Way, was said to be so beautiful that anyone who saw it could never forget it.
“Until not long ago, the priests used to sing there. Many young girls watched their songs and dreamed of shining beautifully like them, and many young boys and men secretly fell in love with them. The Primordial Observatory and the priests of the stars were the symbol of this city. I, too, when I was young, looked at the observatory and the stars and nurtured dreams.”
The old woman. When I entered Antoine, she had asked if I was a traveler and then kindly began guiding me through the city. She looked at the Primordial Observatory and smiled faintly. Tears gathered in the wrinkles of her eyes.
“But now, we will never see that scene again. No one will be able to dream while looking at the stars. No one will smile at the stars. Stars and dreams will exist only in the memories of the old. The small and the fragile will recall not dreams but fear when they look at the stars.”
The Primordial Observatory.
The building, standing atop heaps of sand, was stained with filth. Contrary to the old woman’s introduction, the observatory had been horribly mutilated.
At its peak, countless women’s corpses hung by the neck, swaying. On their blackened, rotting bodies was the priestly robe marked with a pentagram, but over the pentagram, a red cross had been painted in blood.
The ones hanged at the observatory were the priests of the stars. And the beautiful hair that had once captured the admiration of countless young girls was nowhere to be seen.
The dead priests of the stars had no hair. It hadn’t been cut with scissors—it looked ripped out by force. Their scalps were grotesquely peeled and rotting black. While crows cried around the tower, a red cross shone atop the Primordial Observatory.
“Traveler, once you wet your throat and catch your breath, leave this city quickly. By those who follow a twisted faith, the oasis dried up, the resting place was trampled, and the City of Stars has lost its light. There is no need to remain in this cursed city.”
The old woman gave a sorrowful smile. Then she patted my shoulder once and pulled out a small pouch from her garments— a waterskin. Its contents were lukewarm.
“……Thank you.”
“No need for thanks.”
“Why are you being so kind to me?”
“Because the City of Stars survived this barren desert thanks to travelers. The small and fragile lived thanks to travelers’ water and food, endured the sandstorms with travelers’ help, and everyone here grew up listening to travelers’ stories and dreaming through them.”
“……”
“Antoine shows kindness to all guests. That is also the will of the stars.”
The old woman slowly turned around.
“Come. I’ll show you a decent inn and shops where you can get what you need.”
“Ah, yes.”
“We must hurry. Before the ones carrying crosses return.”
The ones carrying crosses. It was not hard to guess who she meant.
‘The Order of the Cross.’
Those bastards really didn’t leave a single place untouched.
“Some people may be a bit on edge. But please don’t judge them too harshly. They’re all good people—just people who experienced too many tragedies.”
“I understand.”
“They once welcomed all travelers and loved travelers. Now they fear outsiders, but…”
As the old woman said, the people of Antoine all looked at me warily when they saw my unfamiliar appearance. Some stopped talking mid-sentence the moment I appeared. But this level of nervousness didn’t even come close to what I considered “sensitive.”
‘If this is all, they’re all still kind.’
They needed to experience the Iron Kingdom’s definition of “nervousness” to truly understand. In Cherville of the Iron Kingdom, if someone walked alone, “kind-hearted” robbers would appear, worried that you might feel lonely, and take everything you had.
Out of concern for the weight, they would also take your life. Very kind. If you looked weak, you received the gift of mockery and violence. As for guards? The citizens of the Iron Kingdom, trained in violence since childhood, could perfectly commit violence without being noticed by the guards. Some guards even bet money on who would win…
“Ah, mister. Mister.”
Just as I thought that, someone suddenly grabbed my ankle. When I turned my head, no one was there—then I looked down. Only then did I see her. A middle-aged woman. Tangled hair, filthy face, lifeless eyes, ragged clothes—she looked like a beggar from a slum.
“I have… a favor—”
“Hey, get away from him!”
She trembled and tried to say something, but before she could finish, the old woman tore her away from me.
The middle-aged woman, weak as she was, was easily pushed aside by the frail old lady.
“……You were startled, right? Don’t mind it too much.”
“Ah, it’s fine. But who is she…?”
“……Someone you need not concern yourself with. A poor child.”
Someone not to be concerned with. But the old woman’s expression looked painfully sad.
The people walking by also sent sympathetic glances at the middle-aged woman crawling on the ground. She seemed oblivious even to those looks, focusing only on the dirt beneath her.
‘A poor person with no need for concern, huh.’
The old woman kindly explained the locations of inns and shops—what each shop sold and what was worth buying. But her explanations did not enter my ears. I kept looking at the middle-aged woman, who still sat where I left her.
I didn’t need to concern myself with her.
That was true. Everyone had their own story, and whatever story she had, I had no obligation to get involved—especially as an outsider, practically a traveler.
However.
‘I found it.’
If she was connected to my sword, that was different.
‘The needle stopped on her and hasn’t moved an inch.’
The Golden Star. The brilliant needle resembles a compass engraved on my wrist. It shone faintly as it pointed at the middle-aged woman crawling on the ground. Without a doubt.
‘……But why is the needle that shows the sword’s location pointing at a person?’
What I had seen on the scale of the Golden Star had clearly been a blade. Even the first time I received the sword’s location in my mind, the Golden Star had pointed not to a person but to a blade. So why was it pointing so clearly at a person now?
The reason was unknown. I would have to find out. While I stared at her, the woman grabbed at the ankles of passing people, saying the same thing she had said to me. With my strength limited and even my senses dulled, I had to get quite close to hear her clearly. And what I heard was puzzling.
“I have a favor… Please, draw me just one sheep.”
What the hell did that mean?
***
After kindly showing me around Antoine, the old woman left. The City of Stars was smaller than I expected. Well, it would be stranger if a city built in the middle of a desert were large.
Antoine was closer to a village than a city, and in size, it was smaller than the Karavan territory. Perhaps even smaller than the Karavan territory after it developed with Hailyn’s help. In any case, despite being called a “city,” its small scale gave it certain advantages.
“The woman crawling on the ground…? Ah, you mean Priest Frey.”
Just like the Karavan territory, in small places, everyone knew each other’s stories.
The old Karavan territory even knew how many calves were born to the cow next door, which young men and women were dating, and who had been quarreling at home.
This city probably wasn’t quite at that level, but similar. And the story of that “middle-aged woman” clearly wasn’t ordinary. Even the passersby seemed to know about her. With that much awareness, it wasn’t hard to ask anyone about her. I approached a drunk. I bought him a few drinks, and he quickly started talking.
“Priest? She used to be a priest?”
“Yes, she was. She’s broken now, but in her days she was the most beautiful among the priests of the stars. She was the star of Antoine—the brightest star! Men, of course, and even women adored Priest Frey. She was so beautiful that you couldn’t even feel jealous toward her.”
“But then… why…?”
“Hmm… should I really say this?”
The man scratched his chin, thinking. Then another person at the table spoke up.
“Say it! How many beers did this young man buy for you?”
“No matter how hard things are, can’t we at least answer a traveler’s question? He even treated us to drinks.”
“And this young man doesn’t look dangerous either. Crossed the desert with that body, too. If we can’t satisfy a young traveler’s curiosity, we aren’t Antoine people.”
“……”
Hmm. It had been extremely difficult crossing the desert with this body, so I couldn’t deny that.
“A long time ago, something strange happened.”
“Strange?”
“Since Priest Frey was so beautiful, countless men courted her. But she refused all of them, saying she served the Goddess. Everyone stepped back in tears… except one. No matter how many times she refused, he never gave up. And strangely enough, unlike the others who courted her, he was very young—far too young and small to confess love to Priest Frey.”
“A boy…?”
“Yes, that boy. He never revealed his name, but he did have a nickname. A very unique one… what was it again? Do you remember?”
The men at the table groaned and held their heads. After a moment of struggling, someone suddenly remembered.
“The Little Prince.”
***
The sun set, and the moon rose.
The dark night sky was embroidered with stars beautiful as flowing rivers. The middle-aged woman, Frey, counted the glittering stars with a faint smile. Then she found one star that shone unusually bright. She stopped counting and stared only at that radiant star—as if she didn’t want to miss even a second of it.
While Frey looked up at the star, a young priestess in oversized priestly robes came running awkwardly.
“Priest! Priest Frey! What are you doing out here?”
“Ah……”
“Come on, let’s go. Why do you sit here every single day? It’s cold and lonely when you’re by yourself.”
“Being among people doesn’t change loneliness.”
Still staring at the star, Frey said something the young girl could not understand.
“The stars are beautiful.”
“Priest!”
“Because of an invisible flower.”
While the priestess tugged on Frey’s arm, Frey turned away from the sky. With a bright smile, she looked to her side. There, crouched beside her, was a small boy unseen by any eyes but hers. The boy grinned innocently as he looked at Frey.
『Go back for today, my flower.』
Frey still did not know the boy’s name. What she knew was not his actual name, but the nickname by which the world had once called him.
『I’ll see you again tomorrow.』
Thus, even now, Frey called the boy not by a name, but by that nickname.
『Don’t worry about leaving me alone. Waiting is happiness too.』
The Little Prince.
『If you come at 4 in the afternoon, I begin to be happy from 3.』