Chapter 2

Theo Kay was pacing restlessly inside the tent.

Even though the sun was high in the sky, and the thick tent fabric blocked most of the sunlight, the temperature inside had risen considerably.

However, Theo Kay neither opened a window nor lifted the curtain at the entrance. Instead, he was walking in circles, tracing the patterns on the carpet with his feet.

---Is it not here yet? Has it not been found yet?

Sweat trickled down his forehead, and his proud mustache was disheveled and had lost its luster.

Theo Kay had been with King Tenug, the founder of the York Zai Kingdom, even before he established the country, and had helped him.

When Tenug founded the kingdom, he was 31 years old, while Theo Kay was still a young man in his teens. However, recognizing Theo Kay's exceptional political abilities, Tenug appointed him as the chancellor in his mid-20s.

The young and ambitious country quickly swallowed up over a dozen surrounding tribes and two small countries, rising rapidly to become a major power controlling half of Zaharia.

Tenug was a hero. At least, to Theo Kay and the people of York Zai.

Tenug possessed a robust body and a strong spirit befitting a hero, and he remained the strong king of York Zai until he died in the bed of his 48-year-younger concubine at the age of 71.

However, the son of a hero is not always a hero.

Ioh, who succeeded Tenug at the age of 46, was simply a man of gentle heart.

If he had been born as a commoner, he could have lived a happy life as a good person.

Unfortunately, Ioh was Tenug's son. It was impossible for a kind and good man to rule a country that had grown rapidly in a short time and was still unstable.

As a result, the country declined in just four years.

If Ioh had been a fool who did not notice the country's dire state or a man who became arrogant after becoming king and neglected the country, it might have been better. But he was not such a person. He lamented his own incompetence, could not bear the pressure, and withered away, eventually falling ill and passing away unexpectedly.

His reign lasted only four years and a few days, and he was just 50 years old.

Worse still, Ioh had no son.

Naturally, there was a dispute over the succession. A conflict over the throne was about to break out among Ioh's two sons-in-law and the sons of Tenug from different mothers. It could be said that this was the eve of the conflict.

Fools!

Theo Kay could not believe their foolishness.

If a civil war broke out, the discontented elements of the tribes and countries under their control would also rise up. He could clearly see the future of the country being torn apart.

One day, while continuing to reject invitations from various factions to join their side, Theo Kay remembered a servant girl he had expelled from the palace in the past.

Although she was a laundry maid, for some reason, she met 14-year-old Ioh and, incredibly, had a relationship with him.

By the time Theo Kay found out, she was already pregnant.

A child born to a woman of no status, and Ioh was not even an adult.

Theo Kay gave the woman money and expelled her from the castle.

He then told Ioh that the woman had willingly accepted the severance pay, aborted the child, and left.

But that was not the truth. The woman did not abort the child.

She clung to Theo Kay, crying. She did not desire power or wealth; she just loved Ioh and had a child with him. She would not cause trouble for Ioh or anyone else. She just wanted to give birth to the child.

Unable to lay a hand on the woman, who was crying and protecting her belly, Theo Kay made her promise never to come forward and to live far away, and then let her go.

If the child was a boy, Theo Kay thought.

A boy born to a woman he had expelled from the palace.

He knew it was too much to hope for, but he had no other options left.

Thus, Theo Kay tracked down the woman and confirmed that the child she had given birth to was a boy.

Unfortunately or fortunately, the woman had died 10 years ago. Hearing that the prince who carried Ioh's blood was working as part of a caravan crossing the desert, Theo Kay secretly sent soldiers.

However, when the soldiers found the caravan, they had been attacked by bandits, and their bodies were being buried in the sand.

When Theo Kay received the news, he began to plan his escape with his family.

However, no matter how much they dug through the sand, they could not find a body that matched the description. Only the bodies of middle-aged men were found, and the body of the 35-year-old prince was never discovered.

Theo Kay felt like thanking the gods.

However, the situation was dire, and time was limited. Moreover, the only clue left was the ear ornament granted by Ioh. The blue stone ear ornament, which the prince had inherited from his mother and had worn constantly for the past 10 years, should still be dangling from his ear unless it had been stolen by the bandits.

Theo Kay prayed. He prayed earnestly.

When he opened his eyes after closing them and continuing his silent prayer, he could not believe what he saw.

"......Again? Please, spare me......"

Then he doubted his ears.

"......Woman...... What are you doing?"

It was a strange, very strange scene.

A part of the tent's interior had changed as if cut out in a square, and inside it, a woman with honey-colored skin was standing, almost naked, holding a light pink object dripping with bubbles.

"I'm cleaning the bathtub."

"Cleaning the bathtub? Is this a bathroom?"

"Yes, it's a bathroom. So, what are you doing? You don't seem to be in distress."

"I'm not in distress, but...... What is this? Are you a sorceress?"

Theo Kay realized his voice was trembling as he asked.

"Huh? Sorcery? I can't use that. Did you do it?"

"Nonsense!"

The woman shuddered at his sudden outburst.

The woman, who seemed to be cowering, suddenly narrowed her eyes in the next moment.

"Hey! Don't shout. I don't understand this either! Last night, I thought a man in distress appeared, and today, it's a middle-aged man with a big belly. What's going on......"

Her initial boldness quickly faded, and she looked confused, her brows furrowed, and on the verge of tears. Theo Kay panicked. He was generally weak against women's tears.

"S-Sorry...... I was a bit on edge. I apologize."

Wiping her face with her bare, thin arms, the woman pursed her lips tightly.

Relieved that she was not about to cry, Theo Kay sighed.

"But, what is this......"

The more he looked, the more bizarre and mysterious the scene became.

A space had appeared in the crimson tent, extending from his waist to the top of his head, like a painting floating in the air.

However, the figures in the painting were moving and speaking. Moreover, it was a strangely dressed woman.

Theo Kay stared at the woman intently.

Her light-colored skin reminded him of people from the north, but her face was unusually flat.

Her attire was also quite peculiar. A pale blue cloth covered only her chest and waist, with thin straps on her shoulders. Her legs were completely bare from the thighs down. Yet, the woman stood calmly, without any sign of embarrassment.

"Hey, are you also short of water or something?"

"......Water? I'm not particularly short of water......"

Theo Kay furrowed his brow. Why did the woman think he was short of water? He tilted his head in confusion.

"Have you experienced something like this before? You said 'again' earlier, didn't you?"

If his memory served him correctly, that was the woman's first words.

The woman had experienced something similar before. And the person she encountered was in distress and short of water.

Theo Kay felt a flutter in his stomach.

"What kind of person was it! Did they have a blue ear ornament!?"

It felt as if he was being guided by a thin thread.

Theo Kay leaned forward and gripped the silver frame surrounding the square space.

"Y-Yes, they did."

Indeed!!

The man who had never believed in the gods changed his beliefs 180 degrees in that instant.

"Oh, gods! I am grateful. What material was the ear ornament made of? What shape was it? Please describe it in detail."

"Sure, but......"

The woman leaned back, raising her arms to show her palms, as if trying to calm Theo Kay's excitement.

"Describe it, but...... I don't want you to get angry."

The woman averted her eyes from him, as if she had something to hide.

"What's wrong?"

The woman reached into a transparent, square shelf attached to the wall and gently handed something to Theo Kay.

"Is this!?"

Theo Kay's eyes widened.

The ear ornament was exactly what he had been searching for. It was the Lipse ear ornament, passed down from Tenug to Ioh's mother, then to Ioh, and finally to his beloved daughter and her child.

However, the ear ornament was only half its original size.

"Oh, oh, what has happened?"

Theo Kay closed his eyes as he took the ear ornament from the woman.

The cut on the ear ornament was more beautiful than anything he had ever seen. The person who cut it must have been highly skilled. If such a person was in the bandit group......

Theo Kay deduced the prince's death and collapsed to his knees.

His hope was lost.

"Sorry. I didn't realize it would upset you this much. It wasn't intentional. I didn't know what was going on either. Who would have thought that if I took the ear ornament out of the bathroom, it would disappear?"

"......What?"

Theo Kay was at a loss for words at the woman's statement.

"It disappeared. When I tried to leave the bathroom with the ear ornament, only the part that went beyond the door disappeared! Don't ask 'Why?' I don't know either."

The woman defended herself desperately, her voice tinged with anxiety. It was a hard-to-believe story, but she did not seem to be lying.

"Disappeared......"

If the story was true, it was good news for Theo Kay.

"Then, the person wearing this ear ornament is safe, right?"

Theo Kay swallowed hard.

"Yes, he seemed fine despite being in distress."

"Really!?"

Leaning out of the window, Theo Kay intimidated the woman, who took a half-step back and nodded silently.

"Where did the person go?"

"Where...... Oh, I think he said he was going to the oasis city cluster in the east. We met in Zaharia. He said he had crossed the desert, though it looked more like a wasteland. But sand was coming in through the window, so he might have just crossed the desert."

"Did he have a raba?"

"Raba? What's that?"

Theo Kay did not answer the woman's question.

From her reaction, he deduced that the person did not have a raba. If he had, her reaction would have been different.

A map of Zaharia flashed through Theo Kay's mind. Zaharia was vast. No merchant caravan would walk during the day without sufficient water and food. If the person had walked only at night from where the bandits attacked, he should have crossed the desert in 3-4 days. From there, he would have reached a major trade route within a day. If he asked for help on the trade route, where many caravans passed, he should be approaching the oasis city cluster by now.

"Daughter! I thank you. Thanks to you, the lives of the innocent people living in this country may be saved. No, I will save them."

"H-Huh...... That's a noble cause. Um, good luck."

The woman's mouth twitched in confusion.

It was understandable that she did not know the situation on Theo Kay's side. Theo Kay looked at the ear ornament in his hand and then at the woman.

"I am Theo Kay, the chancellor of the York Zai Kingdom. Will you give me this ear ornament? I will offer any reward you desire."

The clue to the prince he had finally found. Theo Kay could not bear the thought of losing this ray of hope.

"Sure, I'll give it to you. I got it in exchange for water, after all."

Theo Kay braced himself, expecting a huge reward, but the woman readily agreed.

"Then, what do you want in return? Gold? Gems?"

When Theo Kay said this, the woman frowned and sighed.

"Right, it's not good to take something for free...... Hmm, then, how about a pebble from around here?"

Theo Kay was more astonished than impressed. What a desireless woman.

"Is that enough? I can offer you a position in the country, commensurate with your contribution."

Her lack of desire was almost unsettling.

"Huh? I don't need that."

Theo Kay's eyes widened in disbelief. He could not believe what he had just heard. The status of the great kingdom of York Zai had been dismissed as "that." The woman seemed like an ordinary person with a different skin color, but perhaps she was a sorceress. Theo Kay suddenly found the woman frightening.

"Then, I will go and get a pebble right away. Please wait."

Wanting to complete the transaction before the woman changed her mind, Theo Kay hurried out of the tent.

The giant sun of the Onse month, said to be created by the breath of the goddess Shawa, was mercilessly scorching the ground.

Theo Kay picked up a pebble, heated by the sun, wrapped it in a cloth from his pocket, and returned to where the woman was waiting.

"Is this okay?"

He unwrapped the cloth to show the pebble.

The woman nodded in satisfaction at the reddish-brown, glossy stone.

"Sure."

"Wait!"

Theo Kay hastily stopped the woman as she reached out casually.

"What?"

"Are you touching a flint with bare hands? I won't be responsible if you get burned."

"Flint?"

The woman tilted her head. Theo Kay was taken aback. How could she not know what flint was?

"The stones burned by the sun of Shawa in the Onse month become flint. You said this is a bathroom. Fill it with water and sink this stone. For a bath of that size, one stone should be just right for the temperature."

"Really!? Wow, that's convenient."

The woman's eyes lit up.

"What does 'It will save on gas' mean?" The woman's joy was so great that Theo Kay wondered if there was a reason behind it, even for a sorceress.

"Then, the exchange is complete. I thank you, sorceress."

Theo Kay folded his arms in a bow.

"Wait, hold on."

Theo Kay's face stiffened at the woman's sudden plea to stop.

Was the flint not enough as compensation?

"I have a question."

It seemed true that sorceresses often desired information.

Theo Kay braced himself, wondering what kind of secret she would ask about.

"When did the person you're looking for start wearing the ear ornament?"

"Huh?"

He could not help but let out a surprised sound.

"I was told that he has been wearing it for ten years since his mother passed away......"

Indeed, the mind of a sorceress was incomprehensible. What could she do with the information about when the ear ornament was first worn?

Theo Kay realized that sorceresses were a different kind of being.