"I understand." Alfia put the Shikon back into the box and carried it up to the attic.
Before going up the stairs, she turned back and spoke in a low voice, "Don't make me wait too long..."
Although her voice was very soft, Rayleigh heard it clearly.
It was not easy for someone as indifferent as her to say something like that.
'Heh.'
"I'll go and come back quickly."
"..."
...
Early the next morning, Rayleigh arrived at the station inside the city and boarded a carriage.
Most of the people in the carriage were traveling merchants or people who had come to Orario to visit family.
There were eight people in the carriage.
Including Rayleigh, there were three men. The other five were all women.
The carriage left Orario
The women in the carriage began chatting, and before long they were laughing and smiling, becoming familiar with one another.
Perhaps because their circumstances were similar, they had many common topics.
Most of their conversation revolved around family.
Rayleigh turned his head and looked at Orario gradually growing smaller in the distance, and inwardly sighed, feeling as though he had returned to the time when he had first arrived in Orario.
Back then, he had been overwhelmed by the grandeur and magnificence of that city, and his emotions had been unbelievably excited.
But now, what he felt was the attachment and reluctance of leaving home.
Especially after going through the Great Feud.
His sense of belonging toward Orario had grown much stronger.
After the carriage had traveled for a while, Orario could no longer be seen even if he looked back.
Rayleigh took out a drawing board from his luggage, clipped a sheet of paper onto it, and began sketching lines across the page.
A young man dressed like a merchant beside him saw what he was doing and asked curiously.
"Are you a painter?"
Rayleigh turned his head and smiled slightly at him, then raised the drawing board in his hand and showed the chaotic lines to the other man.
"No. Not yet."
"Oh, so you're an apprentice."
"Something like that."
Rayleigh casually chatted with the people in the carriage, but the movements of his hands never stopped.
Two hours later, he was already able to accurately outline the contours of objects.
By evening, many sketched objects had appeared on his paper—apples, combs, bottles, rings, and the like.
The carriage stopped by the roadside, leaning against a large tree. The horses also took the chance to rest and began eating the wild grass by the road.
The driver took out a large pot, stacked a simple stone stove, and began trying to light a fire.
But the grass was somewhat damp, making it hard to get the fire going.
Seeing that, Rayleigh said to the driver, "Leave the fire to me. You can unload the ingredients."
"Oh, alright." The driver handed the firestone to Rayleigh, looking as though he had just been liberated.
After the driver left, Rayleigh pretended to strike the firestone, but in reality he used Kidō to create the flame.
Once the fire started, the moisture in the damp branches was quickly evaporated, and they began crackling.
Hearing that sound, the driver turned back in surprise.
"You got the fire going that quickly, Frieza-san right? That's amazing."
The others, who had been starting to grow irritated because the fire would not catch, also immediately relaxed.
With the fire lit, everyone gathered around and sat in a circle.
Frieza was his alias.
After all, the name Yōtōsai of the Hephaestus Familia was rather well-known.
He was not sure how widely it had spread, so he had used a false identity.
For that, he had even dyed his white hair red.
As for why red—it was simply because it looked cool!
There was no deeper reason.
A handsome white-haired boy, plus the sword at his waist, made it too easy for people to guess his real identity.
So this time, he only carried Sakanade.
All the other swords were being transported into the royal capital by Lulune for him.
"I'm at least a mercenary, so I'm quite skilled at this sort of thing." As he said that, Rayleigh also began getting into the role of a mercenary.
At dinner, one of the women asked him what kind of big scenes he had witnessed while working as a mercenary.
So he slipped into the role of a bard and started telling stories. Even after dinner, he kept talking for a full hour.
Because there was only one driver, he needed sleep and rest at night to keep up his energy.
He was just an ordinary man without Falna, so there was no way he could go several days without sleep.
And even if he could endure it, the horses also needed rest and sleep.
...
At a pace of fifty kilometers a day, by noon on the fifth day after departure, the Rakia Kingdom finally appeared before everyone's eyes.
"Sir, we've arrived at the Rakia Kingdom. You'll have to walk the rest of the way yourself. Otherwise the carriage will also have to undergo inspection, and every person will be questioned."
"Understood. Thank you." Rayleigh nodded to the other passengers in the carriage, then jumped down.
He was not wearing a Shihakushō since it was too conspicuous.
At that moment, he was wearing a white shirt, with a beige vest over it.
Simple protective gear covered his right knee, the half of his chest where his heart was, and his right shoulder.
Over that, he wore a linen-colored cloak and carried a simple cloth bag.
The only thing on him that looked valuable was the Zanpakutō at his waist.
To avoid arousing other people's greed, he had deliberately not polished the blade.
At the moment, Sakanade's blade was full of nicks, and even the handle wrapping looked dusty, making it look like a blunt sword on the verge of being worn out.
To anyone, he looked like nothing more than a travel-worn wandering mercenary.
Especially the armor—because of poverty, many mercenaries' defensive gear pursued maximum practicality.
There was no need to protect the entire chest. As long as the heart was not pierced, one could survive.
The right arm had to be protected properly, so that injury would not prevent one from gripping a weapon.
When Rayleigh arrived at the city gate, he discovered that he seemed to have hit "rush hour."
At the moment, around twenty people had gathered there, lining up to be inspected.
Rayleigh quietly walked to the back of the line and simply waited for his turn.
A full ten minutes passed, yet the line had only moved forward a little. Rayleigh was starting to get bored.
And just then, he felt someone bump into his shoulder.
Looking up, he saw a group of several burly men swaggering toward the city.
The guards at the gate all looked extremely respectful when they saw them, and let them all pass through without inspection.
Rayleigh glanced at the back of one of them.
'That emblem—there was no mistake.'
"So it's the Ares Familia." Rayleigh looked a couple more times, then withdrew his gaze.
Finally, it was his turn.
One of the gate guards looked him over. Seeing that he was dressed in ragged clothes, the man looked down on him a little.
But after noticing the sword at his waist, he still asked a few extra questions.
"Who are you, and what are you coming to Rakia for?"
"Wandering mercenary. Looking for lodging and work."
"A mercenary?" The guard sized him up a few times, then finally fixed his gaze on the sword and said.
"Draw your sword. Let me see it."
Rayleigh obediently drew Sakanade.
'Hm?' Seeing that the sword was as shabby as its owner, the guard snorted coldly.
"A third-rate bastard eh."
Rayleigh paid no attention to the mockery.
He simply sheathed the sword again, then took out a paintbrush and a sheet of music from his bag.
"I'm also a painter and I know a bit about performing."
The guard could not read sheet music, but what was on the drawing paper looked pretty good.
Even as someone who understood nothing about art, he still felt it was well drawn.
So he said, "A skinny guy like you... compared to being a mercenary, you'd do better putting your energy into painting! Alright, go on."