Episode 6 : The Wilderness of the Barbarians - Part 4

And before them was the wilderness of Nosferus.

"Guin-- hey, Guin."

 The raft hit a rock and was wrecked, and on the other side of the river, the White Knights of Arvon kept shouting for them to come back. A shot from the crossbow, intended as a warning, pierced the rock right next to them. Soaking wet, they scrambled to the shore of Nosferus and ran without looking.

 At last the exhausted twins fell to their knees, and Guin and the others stopped, but by then the sun had already set on the river, and even if it hadn't, it would have been too late to go on.

"Guin-- please, rest. I can't take another step."

 Linda, panting, did not have time to finish what she had said before she slumped limply against a small rock. Remus, too, slumped down at her feet.

 Guin and Istvan looked at each other, but Guin didn't know, and the Valakian mercenary, breathing heavily, sat there without waiting for a nod.

"Don't worry. No one's going to be chasing us across the Kess River at night."

 Gasping for breath, he grabbed the vacha fruit from the leather bag on his waist and put it in his mouth. All the flour and dried meat, which he called gati, were soaked in the poisonous water of the Kesu River.

"Let's build a fire."

 Istvan said. Guin made a show of trying to stop him, but the mercenary..,

"I'm fine. First of all, are you going to cower in the wilderness of Nosferus in the dark of night without a light?"

 And Guin approved of it, for it was a good saying. They gathered up the dead moss from around them and made a fire. When they gathered around the fire, they felt relieved at last.

"Oh, dear--"

 The Red Mercenary, who is the first to say anything, chews on his vachaça fruit and says.

"The raft's gone to hell, and the Gora soldiers are chasing us... now we've ruined everything we set out to do."

 Linda rubbed shoulders with Remus and pulled Suni close to her, staring anxiously into the fire. As she wrapped her hands around Suni's small, hairy body, she felt a sense of comfort. And as he gazed at the mythical leopard-headed half of Guin, illuminated by the fire, he felt some comfort from the anxiety that gnawed at his heart over his present helpless state.

"There's no going back to Gora now. We don't even have a raft. But there's no way we're crossing No Man's Land on foot without any gear. Oh, well... there's nothing else to say but thank you for Yarn's hospitality.

 Or do you have something to say to me, Leopard?"

"Not that there aren't."

 Guin replied taciturnly. He thought for a moment,

"Rather, there's nothing we can do about it if we keep talking about it. As long as we can't go back, we have to move forward."

"Huh?"

 Istvan made a loud noise and seemed to be trying to make fun of Guin, but suddenly,

"Whoa."

 He shouted and swiped something off his face.

"What's wrong?"

"It's a friggin' doll, a bunch of angel hair. Came flying at me, stuck me in the face."

"You'd better be careful. They're harmless, but in large numbers they can get in through the nose and choke you. It's the most common species of Nosferus."

"You know a lot."

 Istvan said hatefully,

"Well, I suppose you're right. You're probably just happy to be back where you came from."

"How would Guin know that Nosferus is his birthplace?"

 Linda's mad at me.

"All monsters are Nosferatu."

 was the mercenary's irresponsible reply.

"It doesn't matter. Anyway, we gotta move on, right? Let's hear your thoughts. Where are we going to go in the middle of no-man's-land with not much to eat? Canaan?"

"It's the only way."

"Do you know how many tadds it is to the Canaan Mountains?"

"Maybe."

"If you pass over Canaan, you will find the great jungle of Ross and the Ross River. Beyond that, past many mysterious eastern nations, you will finally reach Cheironia. Do you understand that?"

"I don't have a choice."

"Well, that's a journey that would probably take a year on foot. What about food during that time? We could eat the id of Nosferus. Or maybe we'll just eat this skinny little Shem to keep us going for the time being."

"Well!"

 Linda raised her willow eyebrows and hugged Suni. She was so angry that her words choked in her throat.

"Eat Su-ni"? You savage! You're such a beast!"

"Don't they eat monkeys in your country of birth? In Valakia, monkeys were always roasted on festival days."

 Istvan's dark eyes glittered.

 Linda, realizing that she was being teased, drew back her pretty lips in a stubborn manner and fell silent. Suni was looking at the humans with an expression that seemed to indicate whether she knew what was being said or not, when she suddenly struggled out of Linda's arms and turned to Guin and began to chirp in a fearful manner.

 Guin listened gravely to the high-pitched, chirping voice, but then, with a hint of excitement, he spoke back in Shem's language. Sun-hee became more and more excited.

"Hey, what's going on? What the hell is that monkey talking about, Guin?"

"You can't call Suni a monkey--!"

 Linda said indignantly, but Guin stopped her with his hand and replied.

"Suni says. She owes him a debt of gratitude for saving her life. It would not be good for her to wander around Nosferus like this, so she asks that we stop at her tribal village and thank her, and then the young men of Rak will guide her wherever she wishes, safely through Shem's territory."

"Well, Suni!"

 Linda bites the little ape girl's neck. Suni makes a squeaking sound. She's happy to see Linda's appreciation.

"You want us to stay here and be monkeys' guests?"

 Istvan wrinkled his nose and shouted.

"To the village of Sal. I've never heard such a masterful joke on the fiery tongue of Dole!"

"Maa! You dare to speak the Doll's name so carelessly! And you forget where you are! This is Nosferus, the very heart of Dole. And you want us to be part of your carelessness?"

"How can a man make a living on the battlefield if he's afraid of the doll? In Valachia, dolls were cursed in the gambling parlors every day."

"Well!"

 Beyond indignation, the eyes of Linda and Remus were round with real fear. Linda gently cuts the sign of Janus.

"With you in tow, even the safest journey is unlikely to be a successful one."

"Let me tell you something. I am Istvan of Valyria, the warrior known as the Red Mercenary, but I have another name for myself. It's called... the Man Who Brings Misfortune."

 Istvan seemed to be good at it.

"That's really true."

 Remus says. Istvan chuckles,

"So, look, on my way, a nobleman's son got into a fight with me and was killed, a pretentious noblewoman found out about my affair with her and was thrown out of her house, and finally, the castle of Staphorus was even destroyed. And I, the one who brought misfortune to the land, can always, at any time, miraculously, slip through a crisis in the nick of time. Only I am always able to avoid the disaster I bring. Even I sometimes think that this is a superpower. Anyway, because I am, my protector is not Janus or old Yarn, but maybe Doll. There's nothing more reassuring to have on your side."

"Don't you dare sell your soul now! I'm not going to play with dolls. ..."

 Fearful, Remus starts to warn him. But sooner than that, Linda opened her mouth.

 Guin, Istvan, and Remus suddenly stared in horror. Linda's appearance had changed.

 Illuminated by the fire, the girl's half-face was strangely transformed, as if she were someone other than Linda.

 The face of the princess of Paro, who was born a small queen with dignity and pride, but who had not yet lost her innocence and youthfulness, had a dark and mysterious coolness, as if she were a priestess in the temple of Janus, and her eyes were darkened and seemed to reveal the dark wisdom of thousands of years. Her eyes were dark and seemed to glimpse the dark wisdom of thousands of years. The three of them listened with bated breath.

 Linda raised her hand in a gentle gesture. She pointed straight at the chest of the Valakian warrior with a grave and divine gesture that was so different from her normal gesture.

"Now..."

 She said it in a faint, mature voice that didn't sound like her.

"Now you know. Every plague does not miss the messenger who carries it because he is the messenger. You will see that the plague is always near and it returns to you. When the lion's star, which is strong enough to eliminate the star of your misfortune, is victorious, your star will disappear, and only then will you be at peace. Nakahara will be troubled by the misfortunes he carries through his endless travels, which will only disappear when his star is extinguished.

 He will know that the star of calamity has not omitted his messenger, nor any of his people."

 Linda stopped talking as if something had disturbed her. Her white eyelids suddenly fluttered down over her open eyes, and she relaxed and leaned against Remus.

"What the--"