Answer Me, Please

Shika is from the northern Katan tribe.
Five years ago, when there was a great battle between the Katans and the Quats, he was the only blood of the chieftain who survived in a ruined village.

Everyone said that Shika, who might be the spawn of revenge, should be killed, but Rashid liked the child’s extraordinary fighting spirit and talent.
So he was kept alive.

It was in the last battle against the Katans that Shika’s abilities really shined.
Shika, who has the appearance of the Katans and is fluent in their language, easily managed to hide behind enemy lines and play the role of a spy.

Now, no one can ignore Shika and treat him as a stranger.
However, it was clear that Shika had struggled to adapt over the previous years.

“You know, Rigaina is like a doll made of sugar and gold thread.
I have never seen a woman as beautiful as her in my life.
I understand that Krell has his eyes on her.”

At Shika’s words, Rashid recalled the woman’s appearance.
The expression ‘made of sugar and gold threat’ is not an exaggeration.
She certainly has a striking appearance.

Her wavy hair shines like pure gold, and her white skin is clear, almost transparent.
On top of that, her large green eyes have an exceptionally innocent light, which made him feel strange.

Since she is the daughter of the Basque chieftain, he thought she would be like a fierce female fox, but it turned out that he had caught a baby roe deer.

“…she definitely doesn’t look like a doll.”

She looked like someone born and raised in a greenhouse.
She didn’t know how to ride a horse alone, and it was clear that she had never eaten rabbit meat before.

Originally, it is natural for the Ardennes to learn how to hunt on horseback from an early age, regardless of gender, but the woman did not even know the basics even though she is an adult.

He knew the Basques had long since embraced the Kingdom’s culture and abandoned their traditions and customs.
At least, the formality of marriage is all of the old customs they still have.

Maybe she became like that because she grew up in such an environment.
I guess that’s why.
But how could she not know anything? She didn’t even seem to know what her father had done in the past.

“Aha, I see.
Riga fell in love at first sight, right?”

Suddenly, Shika from the side was excited and started babbling.

“I knew that.
I knew something was up when you said you’d make her your wife.
When you brought her, you wanted to have her, right? Right?”

Rashid sighed lightly.
“Shika, why are you curious about that?”

“Of course I have to.
Because my life belongs to Riga.”

Shika gazed at Rashid with his eyes shining fervently.

“I told you.
Since you saved my life, I will give mine to you, Riga.
So I have a right to be involved in your life.”

“That’s a strange logic I’ve never heard of before.”

“Ah, don’t keep changing the subject and answer first.
You fell in love at first sight, right? When exactly did you fall in love? Huh?”

Rashid recalled the first time he met the woman last night.
The first thing that made him know where she was was a shining lantern.

 

Following the bright light that illuminates the darkness, he saw two women there.

Among them, the one holding the lantern was a small, slender woman.
Her veil hid her face from view, but the bridal dress she was wearing convinced him that she was the woman he would take.

Originally, he had intended to search every inch of the tent if the bride was not found, but there was no need to.
The woman was standing there as if she wanted to be taken.

While she openly revealed her presence as a bride, her words claiming that she was not one were so preposterous they made people laugh.

At first, he was confused as to whether she was naive enough to think others would believe such a lie, or whether she was cunning and used to lying, but it soon became clear.

Her clumsy lie was quickly exposed, and the woman was pitifully depressed.
She then curled up in a corner of the tent and sniffled incessantly, but soon became quiet.

Hearing the sound of her regular breathing, Rashid got up from his seat.
It was less than half an hour after their conversation.
Under these circumstances, it was hard to believe that she had fallen asleep so quickly.

He drew closer to see if she was acting – trying to run away, but she was really defenseless and deeply asleep.

“It’s ridiculous.”

Muttering to himself, he stretched out his hand toward the woman. She might catch a cold if she was left here, he thought.
This may hinder his movement.
Because taking a healthy woman and a sick one are two different things.

The moment Rashid lifted her up, she gave a soft ‘ugh’ groan.
He stiffened up as he thought she was about to wake up.

Before she went to sleep, she had shown strong distrust, saying she didn’t know what he would do to her.
This was a situation worth misunderstanding if she woke up now.

But instead of opening her eyes, the woman stretched out her arms and wrapped them around his neck.
She then buried her face deep in his chest.

“…ha!”

Rashid laughed bitterly.
He had no idea whether the woman had any sense of wary or not.
Even after the woman lay down on the blanket, she hardly tried to separate from him.
Rashid was able to relax his stiff body only when he managed to separate himself from the woman, trying hard not to wake her up.

Surprisingly, the woman slept soundly until morning.
She has very good adaptability. Is this really a woman who was kidnapped by an unknown man last night?

And the woman woke up late in the morning and made a fuss about whether they slept in the same place.

 

Recalling last night’s event, Rashid sighed quietly. Perhaps it is fortunate that she is a woman who can’t do anything.
Such a timid woman at least won’t cause trouble.

“Love at first sight is something that happens at your age,” he said.

“Wow, you sound like an old man.
Anyone who hears it will know that Riga is a grandfather.”

“By the way, where did Krell go? I haven’t seen him since before.”

Everyone is here, but only Krell isn’t.
At Rashid’s question, Shika looked around.

He replied bluntly, “He must be playing around somewhere, complaining that Riga didn’t give him Rigaina.”

“Shika.”

“Oh, okay.
I’ll stop.
But Riga, I really don’t like him.
He always complains about you as if his place had been taken over by you.”

Rashid murmured quietly, “If I hadn’t been born, Krell would have been the chieftain.”

Krell is his uncle’s son and a cousin to him.
Had it not been for Rashid’s presence, the position of the next chieftain would have most likely passed to him.

No, in fact, he almost could have been.

“By the way, there didn’t seem to be many monsters around here, but the number suddenly increased.”

At Shika’s words, Rashid suddenly realized one thing.
Come to think of it, this area was a place where monsters did not usually appear.
In areas close to the borders of the Kingdom of Lisa, the frequency of appearances of monsters is low.
It is rare for so many of them to appear together.

“Riga!”

Then an urgent voice rang out.
Those who had left first, as the vanguard, were running back to him.
The look of bewilderment was clear on their faces.

“Oh no! We couldn’t find Rigaina!”

And when he arrived at the camp, as they said, she was nowhere to be found.

 

***

 

The forest at night is dark.
The sound of her light breathing dissipated into the cold air.
Only the dim moonlight shining through the clouds illuminated Rosetta’s path ahead.

Rosetta ran and ran through the bushes, ignoring the scratches on her limbs.
Every time a monster’s cry resonated loudly in the distance, Rosetta startled and shuddered.

What if that monster comes this way? Wouldn’t it have been better to just stay there? If I’ve done something too reckless, I better go back now…

It wasn’t just the monsters.
The cries of what seemed to be a large beast also echoed throughout the darkness.

How many chances to escape safely from this forest?

Rosetta was constantly conflicted in her mind while running.
In fact, she was not at all sure about her decision.
Come to think of it, she never had the experience of making a decision like this on her own.
She always followed someone else’s opinion.

“Please, please, help me, God Elheim.”

She prayed to God.
They say that the hand of salvation comes to those who call God’s name in a desperate moment.
But now, no matter how much she invoked God’s name, nothing changed. 

Rosetta closed her eyes tightly. Maybe this is God’s punishment for me for being unfaithful.

In a kingdom where belief in the heavenly god Elheim is absolute, Rosetta is free from the strict temple discipline.
The King and Queen, who were by nature merciful to their youngest daughter, were lenient to Rosetta in that matter as well.
They said there was no need to study difficult and boring theology, so they removed it from the class list, and even if she skipped worship services, she never got scolded.

Except for one time, when she recklessly entered a place she should never be in and got a huge scolding.

She had once sneaked into the basement of a shrine inside the palace while playing hide-and-seek with her ladies-in-waiting.
It is a place only allowed to the King and the heir to the throne among the royal family and is always tightly guarded.
However, the guards’ vigilance loosened for a moment for the young princess, who monopolized the love of the royal family.

Rosetta avoided the eyes of the guards and secretly opened the door and descended the stairs leading to the basement.
Inwardly she was very happy because her maids would never find her hiding here.

And what Rosetta saw there was—

-rustling.

At that moment, an unfamiliar sound interrupted her thoughts.