Replicant

After a while, the pain in Aldrich's face had dulled to a throb. He rested his head against the side of the carriage and continued to watch their captor.

He was an unusual individual, to say the least. Salvatorre met his stare, and a grin broke out on his face.

"You look like you have something to ask. Feel free; it's not like I have anything better to do."

He was unusually nonchalant for a man who had just kidnapped the crown princess of the most powerful kingdom. Aldrich decided to take him up on his offer. If he could learn more about his virtue, maybe he could figure out how to get around it.

"Earlier, how did you get behind me so fast?"

Salvatorre uncrossed his legs. "My virtue, Flicker, allows me to relocate my person wherever I choose instantly. It's quite handy."

So that was it, Aldrich realized. He could teleport. Simple, and yet highly effective.

"Of course, I can only relocate to places within my range of sight."

Aldrich blinked, and Salvatorre was no longer in his seat. He turned his head to find the man sitting on the carriage floor beside him.

"Pretty neat, isn't it?" He asked, a wide grin on his face. And then he was back in his seat again. "So, anything else you'd like to ask."

Aldrich had nothing, so the princess asked instead, "Who's this boss you're taking us to? And what does he want, because this is a lot of trouble to go through just to demand a ransom."

"You are quite astute, aren't you, princess?" Van Salvatorre appraised. "Now, his name I'm not at liberty to give out so easily. But you are right; this isn't about a ransom. It isn't about the king at all, in fact. My boss wants to have a word with the man you came into contact with while you studied in the Yumekawa region. Hasashi Saito, was it?"

That came as a complete surprise to the princess, judging from the shock on her face.

"Wait, who is that?" Aldrich asked.

"The merchant I got my dagger from," she answered in a small voice.

Van Salvatorre reached into his coat and brought out the dagger. He flipped it in his hand a few times before examining its blade. "Such exquisite craftsmanship. I'd expect nothing less from a forgemaster. Sharp enough to cut through space itself..."

Veliona interrupted. "What does he want with him?"

"That man is quite the elusive fellow. That's why I was hired, but even I couldn't sniff him out. So instead, I decided to lure him out instead."

"That doesn't answer my question," Veliona insisted.

Salvatorre slid the dagger back into his coat. "Sorry, but even I don't know why. Oh, would you look at that!"

Salvatorre poked his head out the carriage window. "I can just about make out the city from here."

He turned back to face them. "Okay, we're here."

Aldrich was confused for a second. The quiet of the open road was suddenly replaced with the familiar sounds of a city street. Van Salvatorre must have teleported them, Aldrich realized. He hadn't mentioned he could take people and objects along with him earlier.

"Welcome to the Shinkoku kingdom," Salvatorre announced, then added. "More specifically, the Yumekawa region."

After that, they continued on the road for a few more minutes until the sounds of the city faded into the distance. Van Salvatorre left his seat and opened the carriage door. Waiting outside were two men who, upon inspection, seemed to be completely identical.

From their close-cropped blonde hair and square-set jaws to even the clothes they were wearing. The only feature differentiating them was a number tattooed on their necks. One had eight, and the other ten.

"Hachiro, Jūro! So great to see you again," Van Salvatorre exclaimed, arms spread wide. "I'm sure you missed me just as much."

The one he called Jūro ignored his greeting. "Who are those two?"

Salvatorre dropped his head in mock sadness. "Always so mean to me. These two are friends of the princess'. They interrupted the plan so I had to improvise."

"And you decided to bring them here?" Hachiro berated.

Jūro stepped forward. "I say we just get rid of them now, save ourselves the trouble."

Van Salvatorre moved to block his path. "Woah there. While I'm fine with most jobs, I draw the line at killing innocent people. Especially children."

Aldrich was actually turning eighteen this year. But he doubted this was the right time to point that out.

"Just keep them in one of your rooms until it's done," Van Salvatorre suggested. "I'm sure you've got a lot of empty ones."

The two men didn't seem happy about it, but they decided to go along with his suggestion. They grabbed Levi and Aldrich and hauled them to their feet while Van Salvatorre escorted the princess out of the carriage.

×

Aldrich had never been to the Shinkoku kingdom before. But he had heard about the amazing architecture it had. The building they were led into was enormous, towering over the surrounding houses and gardens. It had a sloping roof with curved eaves, supported by thick wooden pillars.

The walls were made of white plaster, decorated with intricate paintings of dragons, flowers, and warriors. The entrance was guarded by two stone lions, their mouths open in a silent roar.

The interior was even more detailed, but Aldrich didn't have time to stop and admire it. Jūro shoved his shoulder, telling him to keep moving. They passed by a lot of men on the way who looked exactly like the other two. Once again, the only difference being the numbers on their necks.

"Okay, so that one over there is Kyūro, beside him is Rokuro, there's Mittsuro slacking off as usual. Love that guy." Van Salvatorre shared, like some kind of tour guide. "Then there's Shiro, Goro and of course, Jūichuro."

Van Salvattore put his arm around Hachiro's shoulder. "I named them all myself, pretty great right? A lot more personality than just numbers. Right Jūro?"

Jūro's only response was a deep scowl. They came to a stop in front of a large sliding door made out of some kind of paper. Hachiro shrugged off Van Salvatorre's arm and stepped forward.

He rose his arm to his chest and gave a little bow before speaking. "My lord, the bounty hunter has returned with the princess... and two others."

"I prefer the term 'retrieval specialist,'" Van Salvatorre added. Jūro's scowl deepened.

A man on the other side slid the paper door open. He had a two on his neck. Aldrich wondered if a lower number meant a higher status or something. On the floor of the room sat one more man in a grey yukata, he looked like all the others but older. His hair was longer as well.

He did not have a number on his neck as far as Aldrich could see.

"Efficient as always, Van Salvatorre," the man commented.

"Did you expect anything less, Yuiitsu? You know I always deliver," Van Salvatorre replied.

The man, Yuiitsu, turned towards the princess. "Welcome to my humble abode, princess. I hope your trip here was not too rough."

Veliona eyed him suspiciously. "I don't know what you want with the merchant, but I barely know him. He's not going to walk right in for someone he met only once."

Yuiitsu smiled graciously. "Oh, I disagree. I believe he finds you very important. Enough to give you that dagger after all. Speaking of, if you would, Van Salvatorre."

Van Salvatorre brought the dagger out of his coat and handed it to Niro, who then delivered it to Yuiitsu. Niro was the one with the two on his neck; Van Salvatorre had whispered to Aldrich and Levi. Yuiitsu's right hand.

"Exquisite," Yuiitsu said as he examined the dagger.

"The whole kingdom of Yves will be looking for me by now. The Orders will be marching here right now to rescue me," Veliona said in a high voice.

Yuiitsu pocketed the blade. "The relationship between Shinkoku and the Yves kingdom is already quite rocky. I suspect the king wouldn't do anything as rash as sending a battalion marching in here without proper warning."

Veliona had no comeback to that. So instead, she folded her arms and looked away.

"Please do try to relax, princess. I can assure you no harm will come to you or your companions," Yuiitsu said calmly. "As long as I get what I want. Now then, please show these three to their rooms for now."

Hachiro and Jūro nodded. But before they were led away, Levi, who had been silent the whole time, turned back to Yuiitsu to ask a question.

"All these men, they're not actual people, are they?"

Yuiitsu smiled. "While all my associates are a product of my virtue, Idle Replicant, they are as real as any other human being. We can talk more at a later time; I can tell you have some interesting secrets of your own, young man."

Levi gave the enigmatic man one more look before allowing himself to be led away.

×

They were taken to a room separate from the princess. Once there, Jūro shoved them in and then shut the door.

Aldrich paced around the room, trying to find a possible exit of some sort. Or at least something to use as a weapon. But the room was completely empty except for two padded mattresses on the ground, and the only window it had was barred.

Finally, he gave up and sat down on the ground beside Levi, letting out a loud sigh. "Rescuing the princess went so much better in my head."

A loud knock came from the other side of the wall on their right. They both backed up till they were right in front of it.

"Hey, can you guys hear me?" The voice whispered. It was Van Salvatorre. "I got Yuiitsu to let me use the room right next door to you. Now we're flatmates, isn't that great?"

Aldrich did not know exactly how to respond to that. But Van Salvatorre didn't wait for a response anyway.

"You two should get some rest for now. Let's talk tomorrow, alright?"

After that, the voice receded. Aldrich and Levi gave each other a short look. Levi shrugged. There didn't seem to be anything they could do right now, so they crawled onto the mattresses and laid down.