Editing Rakuin no Monshou:Volume5 Chapter3 (section)

=== Part 3 ===

Where Marilène invited the three was naturally not to her bedroom, but to a temple of the Dragon God faith.

Looking up at the high domed roof, now that the sun was sinking the top was swallowed by the shadows and could no longer be seen. After waiting for court ladies to light a number of candlesticks dotted around the temple, Marilène walked along the marble floor then knelt for a moment before the altar to offer a prayer.

"This also fits with that fortune-telling," Gilliam whispered stealthily. "A noblewoman, huh? Things sure aren't boring when you're around."

Orba silently stared at Marilène's back – she who was reviled in the city as a queen who had betrayed the country – and at the temple's interior. In this temple, there were none of the many images and statues found in Mephian temples. A dazzlingly gorgeous gold and silver band ran around the walls but apart from that there was nothing that attracted the eye.

"Now then, Dear Guests," Marilène turned around and gave them an inappropriately bewitching smile. "I did not idly help you. If I gave now you the order to relieve my boredom, what would you do? I hear there are gladiatorial ceremonies in Mephius. What if I told you to select a looser from within you and offer him up as a sacrifice before the altar?"

Shique bowed reverently,

"The one who gathered up our lives like flowers is the Lady Queen, the one who will discard our lives is also the Lady Queen. We will do as we are ordered."

"A man so admirable as to say such things is rarely seen," Marilène laughed, covering her lips with the back of her hand.

The priests brought cups of wine for the three of them. Marilène also took one.

"This is also a test of luck. Poison has been added to one of these. A deadly poison that was order from Salissa in the west. A few drops poured into wine are more than enough to kill several grown men. However, not all three of you have to drink. Won't one of you go first to drain your cup. Whether that man lives or dies, I will release all of you."

Shique and Gilliam exchanged looks. They couldn't guess what the queen’s real intentions were and so naturally their expressions were strained. After all, she was a woman who, when her husband had only just died in battle, had accepted a marriage proposal from a vassal who had been involved in rebellion.

Orba for his part stared fixedly at the contents of the cup he had been given. In the faint light that illuminated it, it was of course impossible to tell whether or not the wine was dark from poison.

"What’s wrong? Is it that Mephians prefer it to be gladiators after all?"

Marilène asked, spinning her wine cup in her hand. Her eyes sparkled, brimming with curiosity. Her expression was like that of a little girl as she played with the three men's lives.

Orba could see the mask and his own eyes reflected in the liquid. Their surroundings were so silent you could hear the sound of heartbeats.

''Thinking about it...'' Orba became lost in thought while staring into his own eyes. ''Thinking about it, for the past six years, my heart was only beating for the sake of killing Oubary''.

''Now that objective is gone, what on earth is my blood flowing for, what do I go to sleep for, what do I face the morning for?
''
Since leaving Mephius, he had become possessed by a strange sense of weariness.

Even if it was too far, even if it was too difficult, with revenge as a clear goal, Orba had been able to overcome any ordeal, no matter how harsh. No matter how impatient he had felt, he had been able to grit his teeth and look forward to that day. However now when he walked, there was nothing in the far distance that he had to aim for. No, even at a faltering pace, he could no longer take a single step forward.

''Am I obsessed with Oubary? Now that he's gone, I eat, shit, roll myself up in a blanket and sleep – is that kind of ordinary thing all I can do?''

In that bar in Helio, when he had heard the woman named Kay scream, what flashed through Orba's mind had been the image from more than six years earlier of his mother being grasped tightly by violent Garberan soldiers.

Black, muddy feelings had reared their head within Orba's breast. Viscous blood streamed towards the veins in his hands and feet. By the time he realised it, without understanding his own intentions, as though controlled by that black blood, Orba had knocked down the Red Hawks' soldier.

''How long am I going to...''

He had remained that boy who wandered about crying and screaming after leaving his native village.

"Orba!"

Shique and Gilliam cried together. Orba had tilted the wine cup towards him and swallowed its contents in one gulp.

"Oh!" Her eyes sparkling, Marilène emptied her own cup. "Those two can drink up too. This was just for fun. There was no poison from the start."

Having firmed their resolve, Shique and Gilliam poured the wine down their throats. It was alcohol of the finest quality, as different as could be expected from what was served in a rundown town district. There was no change to their condition either. It seemed to be confirmed that there was no poison.

After that, Marilène arranged for chairs for the three of them. They were asked a number of things about their home country of Mephius. Just as he had when they had previously been invited by Princess Esmena, Shique took charge of answering.

"Oh, so you were part of the Mephian gladiators that I have heard about," Marilène was comfortably leaning into a sofa. "That explains how you were able to knock down the Red Hawks' soldiers. I've been curious about this for a long time but are gladiators only men? Are there no women gladiators?"  

"There are no women that are called gladiators. However, several times a year, dozens of women who wish to regain their freedom may be made to fight in the arena. They grapple bare-handed and also practically half-naked."
"So they are made into a spectacle. But in order to gain their freedom, they are willing to be laughed at, made the objects of bets and to risk their lives fighting."

"As to that..."

"I would like to see it with my own eyes."  Marilène emptied her second cup of wine.

Orba hadn't said a word during this time but suddenly, Marilène got up and stood right before him.

"Interesting," she suddenly said. "You are not afraid of me. No, in the first place, you are not even interested. Your eyes look exactly as though you have lost someone you love."

Through the mask, Orba's eyes looked agitated.

"Were you planning to die from the start and were searching for a battlefield on which to do so?"

"I – You must be joking."

Orba answered in a hoarse voice. As he boyishly seemed about to turn away his masked gaze, Marilène suddenly smiled.

"That's the sort of man who has the devil's own luck and who doesn't die. That will do, you may leave now. It is splendid to be skilled and brave, but it would be good if you did not act rashly in the future."

At Marilène's prompting, the three of them left the temple. As they breathed in the night air, which one of them was it who sighed? Even for gladiators who had experienced countless scenes of carnage, that scene just now was somewhat different from what they were used to.

"You seem to be good at provoking women's displeasure."

Gilliam said with a half-serious expression, but Orba once again remained silent. In his mind however, Marilène's words resounded again and again.


When the three of them had left the premises of the royal court,

"Yo-oh!"

The one in front of the gate waving his hand was Talcott. Next to him was Stan. As Gilliam approached baring his teeth threateningly, Stan took an exaggerated leap backwards.

"You escaped by yourselves pretty quickly."

"Oi, oi. We only got dragged into your fight. You should be grateful for our backup, there's no reason to blame us."

In reality, they had assumed the role of spectators without giving backup, however the fight with the Red Hawks had undoubtedly been caused by Orba and the others. Gilliam stopped, still growling, and Talcott smiled complacently.

"But anyway, you lot. It's good that you've come back safely."

"The gentleman in the mask found favour with a noblewoman," Shique said and Talcott looked at him blankly. Then realising that Red Hawks mercenaries were looking at them venomously from inside the gate, he mockingly stuck out his tongue with a Beh.

"Serves those bastards right. Anyway, let's go that shop again. As a celebration for beating those Red Hawks into a fit. Since it looks like Stan got quite a lot from gambling, I'll treat you to a cup this time." Talcott spoke as though it was his own money.

"For now, I think we need to go and report to Duncan-dono."

"Leave it. For one thing, he won't have heard of your release yet. C'mon, let's go, let's go!"

Although Talcott had at first disliked Orba and the others, now that trouble had arisen with an even more dislikeable bunch, he seemed to regard them as comrades. In that regard, he was every bit as simple as Stan.

Orba didn't have any particular objection either and the five of them went back to Kay's shop. The tables and chairs had been broken during the scuffle, but Talcott offered a tip, saying that "I there's nothing else, then the floor is fine." Her hair tied back, Kay shook her head left and right.

"No, I can't take it. You saved me after all."

"That's good but I can't agree with you continuing on with the shop," said Shique. "That Red Hawks bunch might trash it again in revenge."

"If I did that, it would mean losing against them. This shop is the one thing I cannot hand over." Behind her adult-like smile, Kay's stubbornness flickered in and out of view.

In the end, since she wasn't doing business, Kay took part in the mercenaries’ modest banquet. Her younger brother Niels – who had a bad leg – also joined at the foot of the table after he had finished preparing some light snacks.

The topic of conversation jumped from this to that, but first Talcott had wanted to hear about how they had escaped from Greygun's underlings. After Shique and Gilliam had explained,

"Eh, so it was that beautiful queen," Talcott opened his eyes round. "But still, although I'm only looking at this from a distance, she really is a queen who has never known hardship. Do you think that even if Garda's army invaded, she alone would be spared because of her beauty?"

"Oh, I don't think that she has never known hardship," said Kay. Although she was young, she had since earlier been quaffing more drinks than the men.

"How's that? She's a country's queen, you know."

"Lady Marilène became a bride when she was only fourteen. Men are convinced that the trouble and suffering of a woman are trivial when she goes alone to be married in another land. And on top of that, to a man she had never even met and that she doesn't love in the slightest."

"Oh, come on, Sis! It's different than from commoners like us."

"Oh, did you just call me 'Sis'?"

''Fourteen?'' Thought Orba. A fourteen-year-old girl going alone to be married in another land. To a man she doesn't even love, that she has never even met.

''And on top of that, to a land that has been an enemy at war with her own country for ten years''.

For a while now, a face other than Marilène's had appeared in his mind and refused to leave. "Tsk," Orba clicked his tongue. Sure enough, he wasn't good with alcohol.

"Sorry, but I can't sympathise with the queen," Talcott continued on that topic. "According to what I've heard, right after King Elargon died in battle, a messenger from Cherik went to see her. I bet they had it in mind to instigate the rebellion and then capture Helio with Cherik's might."

"I've heard that too," nodded Niels, his face still bearing conspicuous acne scars. "The wrath of the Dragon Gods will surely descend upon that queen someday. Cherik won't be able to do as it pleases with our Helio."

"And what can you do about it, you idiot? It would be much better if you thought of a new menu to attract customers."

Kay's father had set up the shop but just when it was starting to get on track, he was drafted and had never returned. This wasn't in the battle against Garda's army but in the attack more than ten years ago by none other than Mephius.
Gilliam and the others looked uncomfortable at the talk about Mephius, but Kay shook her head,

"It's alright. There's a truce with Mephius, right? Since there's no more reason to fight, there's no use for quarrels and hatred. Niels however didn't get taken for a soldier against his will, he went off to fight without saying anything."

"Enough already with that. Don't scold me even in front of customers."

"What," Kay drunkenly picked a fight with her little brother. "You're acting cocky because we're in public. But you're usually crying and going Big Sister, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

Niels' face turned red. He opened his mouth wide as though to shout something but,

"Please stop."

Shique and Gilliam looked surprised. The one who had spoken was Orba.

"After all, he's a man. He wants to rise upwards with a sword and doesn't want to made fun of in public."

"That..." Kay pouted.

"He wants to help his sister who is a woman managing a shop alone."

As Orba continued, she kept silent. Niels, embarrassed, he deliberately left and brought back more alcohol. When he returned, Kay murmured "Oh, I see".

"I suppose he won't just stay 'my little brother' forever."

"Ho-oh," Gilliam slung a brawny arm around Orba's neck.

"What the – Don't touch me, you reek of alcohol."

"What, you always get cocky. It's different from back then! Tarkas isn't here to break up fights and no one's legs are tied with chains."

"Yeah, it was only thanks to that that you escaped death so many times."

"You!"

The two of them seemed about to break into a scuffle at any moment when, "Stop it!" Kay broke in with surprising vigour. The two men were taken aback by the sorrow hidden in her eyes.

"Go outside if you're going to fight. I won't tolerate this shop being wrecked any more than it already is!"

As she shouted that, Talcott and Shique burst out laughing.



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