Arrival

The next few days passed without incident, and no sign of any enigmatic merchant. After a while, Levi and Aldrich had been permitted to walk around the house freely. Well, as freely as the eleventh replicant Juichiro, who was only a few steps behind them at all times, allowed.

They had nowhere to go anyway. As long as the princess was here, they would be too. Veliona was under much higher security since she was the centrepiece of Yuiitsu's plan.

Van Salvatorre, apparently having absolutely nothing better to do, had taken it upon himself to tutor Aldrich in some swordplay. Trying to talk his way out of it proved fruitless, so Aldrich decided to just go along with it.

Van Salvatorre used a Shinkoku style katana Yuiitsu had had on display in his house. Aldrich wondered how it felt compared to the usual longsword the knights used.

Of course, it was even harder to spar with him than his father, given his specific ability. Aldrich couldn't even touch him; by the time he had gotten a retaliatory sword swing out, he was already behind him. Or in front of him, or... It was making Aldrich a bit dizzy trying to keep up.

"Come on, surely you can react just a tiny bit faster." Van Salvatorre goaded. He smacked Aldrich on the rear with the butt of his katana. Aldrich whipped around, only to find him not there anymore.

He groaned in frustration. "Is there even a point to this? It isn't like everyone can teleport."

He turned to find Van Salvatorre's face just a few inches from his. He stumbled back a few steps. "True, I am special. But there are people fast enough that they seem to teleport."

Aldrich tried to take advantage of his being distracted and went in for a strike, but just like all his other attempts, he only hit air. A light shove from behind him caused him to topple over, right onto his face.

"Let's take a break." Salvatorre suggested, lowering his katana back into its sheath.

Aldrich turned over on the ground and wiped the dust from his face. "How much longer are we going to be kept here anyway? What if the guy really never comes?"

It had been over a week since they had been kidnapped and brought to the Shinkoku kingdom. And there was still no sign of the man. Yuiitsu's condition had also worsened quite a bit. He was no longer present during meals. Levi said he could often hear his loud coughs from his room though.

"He'll be here." Van Salvatorre replied. He sounded so sure about it that Aldrich wanted to ask why, but the man had already begun to walk back toward the building. "I need a drink."

Levi walked up and offered Aldrich a hand. He took it and allowed himself to be helped up.

"You were a bit closer this time." Levi commented.

Aldrich scoffed. "Yeah, right. You know I could hear your laughter from where you were standing. I'd like to see you try and land a hit."

"I usually leave the fighting to..." Levi's voice trailed off. He had a slightly sad look on his face.

"Still no answer from him?"

Levi shook his head. Maybe that was a good thing, Aldrich thought. If it had gone to sleep permanently, it would probably be much better for everyone. Even Levi, but he didn't seem to think so.

Aldrich placed a hand on his shoulder. "Maybe just give it a bit more time."

"Hey!" A loud whisper came from the building's entrance. Van Salvatorre had come back. "Jūro fell asleep, let's dip his hand in some warm water!"

×

Veliona gazed out the window of her room. She had spent most of the days she had been here doing that. The Shinkoku kingdom was quite beautiful. It had a different charm from Yves.

She could also see the open area where the son of the knight of roses sparred with the bounty hunter. Well, less sparred and more being knocked around repeatedly. His father, Sir Alastair, was quite the formidable fighter, or so she'd heard anyway. Him, not so much.

But what he lacked in skill, he certainly made up for in heart, she smiled to herself. Who knows, maybe he would actually succeed in becoming a great knight. Virtued or not.

If they ever made it back home at this rate, she sighed to herself. It had been a week already, for all they knew the merchant was halfway across the world right now.

She groaned loudly in frustration. She knew the man was dying, but even for a desperate plan, it was full of holes. She stomped over to the door, behind which stood one of Yuiitsu's replicants.

"This is stupid," she yelled as she banged on the door. "It's not like he's just going to suddenly show up on your doorstep."

"You're right," a voice came from behind her. She flipped around and pressed her back to the door. Across the room stood a familiar man. "Coming in from the window is way cooler."

The princess stared at him in a shocked silence. The room she was in was quite high up, how had he gotten in through the window?

Hasashi Saito walked forward and took a little bow, a wide grin on his face. "We meet again, princess. Sorry for the wait, I had some... other pressing matters to attend to."

"You... you actually came." She said, still a bit shocked.

"Well, it was quite a bit of work leading all of you to this outcome. Would be a waste if I didn't."

Veliona wanted to ask what he meant by that, but he had already moved past her, toward the door. She had been quite sure it was locked, but he opened it with ease. The replicant behind the door took a step back when he saw him.

"Excuse me, would you mind pointing me in the direction of your main body?" Saito asked. But after a few seconds of the guard's silence, he seemed to decide on something else. "Actually, never mind, I'll just follow the sound of his incessant coughing."

And with that, he continued down the hallway.

×

Hasashi Saito pulled back the shoji leading to Yuiitsu's room. In the middle sat the man, coughing up an excessive amount of blood into an already soaked cloth.

"Ah, here you are."

Yuiitsu lowered the cloth from his mouth upon seeing the man. "It's... it's you. Hasashi Saito."

Saito strolled into the room and closed the door after him. "That is one of my names, yes."

Yuiitsu struggled to get to his feet. "You are exactly like I have heard. That means you can help me, right? Stop my body's decay."

Saito appraised him. "Yes, I could, quite easily in fact. But sadly, I will not, I have spent far too much time weaving the threads to get us here."

Yuiitsu did not understand what the man was saying. "Wh-what do you mean?"

Saito stepped forward suddenly, his sharp gaze locked with Yuiitsu's. "What I'm saying, Hazashiro Yuiitsu, is that this is where you die. It is your fate."