Side Colors

by Isuna Hasekura

  Doing so would only elicit sad smiles of pity from them, he was sure.

  He kept the lead, sulking at having been left out of the conversation, when he realized that groves of bushes and stands of boulders were becoming more frequent.

  The landscape was beginning to shift from plains to scrub, and from the hilltops, the dark forms of trees were visible.

  The forest spread out ahead to their right, and far off in the distance, there was a small mountain visible.

  In contrast, the view to the left was all tall grass and thickets, and if he looked closely, he could see pools of water dotting the area. It was becoming a marshland.

  “’Tis a lovely view,” said Holo, standing beside Klass, and beside her was Aryes, who put her hand to her mouth, surprised.

  And now that she mentioned it, Klass realized that while they had climbed many hills, this was the first time they’d seen scenery like this.

  “Pretty great scenery, eh?” said Klass proudly, looking at a surprised Aryes—but Holo was between them, and she elbowed Klass.

  Ignoring Holo and Klass, Aryes looked off into the distance, taking in the view, then spoke in a hesitant voice.

  “Er, is…is that the sea?” she asked, pointing in the direction of the marsh.

  “No, that’s a swamp,” said Klass.

  “Swamp?”

  “It’s sort of like a pond. But it’s shallower and muddier.”

  Aryes nodded her understanding. A swamp meant there would be catfish, and Klass dearly wanted to catch one of the strange fish and show it to Aryes, just to see her reaction. Ignorant of this, Aryes continued. “So—” she asked, “is the sea anything like this?”

  “The sea is much, much bigger!”

  Klass had never actually seen the sea in person, but he’d heard about it. As he explained, he traced a great circle in the air with both arms, at which point Holo cut in.

  “And just how big is it?”

  “Wha—?” said Klass, at a loss for words. Aryes took her gaze from the swamp and looked at Klass questioningly.

  After fumbling for a moment for a reply, Klass repeated what he’d been told about the sea. “It’s so big that no matter which way you look—left, right, straight ahead—all you can see is the sea.”

  At this explanation, Aryes exhaled her wonderment, while Holo being Holo seemed to realize that Klass had never actually seen the sea. She grinned.

  Fortunately, though, Klass was asked no further questions on the subject, and Aryes smiled and said, “I hope we can see it soon.” Dazed by the sudden smile he was shown, Klass nodded vaguely only to be surprised by Holo maliciously stepping on his foot.

  “So, we’ll pass between the forest and the marsh. The town’s not far beyond, but…,” explained Holo, gnawing on some jerky as the trio then took their midday meal.

  Her explanation seemed to imply something unpleasant, so Klass asked her about it. “Is the road rough?”

  “No. When I came this way from the town, it was not so difficult. ’Tis much faster to cut through the forest—and more dangerous. What worries me is not the road, but what lies beyond it.”

  “Beyond it?”

  “Aye. To be frank, I mean the state of your coin purse.”

  Hearing this, Klass untied his bindle and thrust his hand into it, still chewing on a piece of jerky he’d gotten from Holo.

  In it was the money he’d received from travelers and other visitors to the mansion.

  After rummaging around, he finally produced five coins. All of them were smaller than the end of his thumb, and three of them were mostly black with spots of green; the other two were rusty and gray.

  They had been Klass’s most treasured possessions for a long time.

  “Oh ho, so this is your fortune, is it?” said Holo, mildly surprised. Klass nodded proudly.

  Living for a half year on these might be hard, but he was sure they’d be able to get by for three months at least.

  “Is this money?” asked Aryes, peering at the currency in Klass’s palm.

  “Sure is.”

  “I was taught that money is the root of all evil. But it’s nothing like what I thought.”

  Klass amused himself by wondering what she did think it was like.

  For a moment, he didn’t comprehend the words he heard next.

  “I’m not certain this will buy a piece of bread,” she said.

  There was a short pause; then Klass replied. “Huh?”

  “I don’t well understand the thing called money. I can quickly know the quality of a pelt, though, so ’tis hardly a burden, but…”

  As she spoke, Holo went through her own things just as Klass had and produced a small pouch.

  Untying the white and purple drawstring, she emptied the contents into her open palm.

  The shock that hit Klass when he saw them was no different from being struck on the head.

  “I think this bought a loaf of bread. With this silver one, you can buy a lot. What think you? I know not the details, but you can tell the difference between this and yours, can you not?”

  Klass understood so well it hurt.

  In the palm of Holo’s hand were large, thick coins carved with surprising intricacy.

  The ones that she said would buy a loaf of bread were a beautiful red-brown color while the ones that would buy many loaves were a bolder, dull white-silver color.

  “Just being in a town costs money, to say nothing of the bread you’ll need to buy to continue your travel. What do you imagine you’ll do?” said Holo, putting her own coins back in her pouch.

  The sound they made was not a light jingling, but rather a strong clink.

  Just as when he’d come to understand the vast size of the world, Klass felt his chest fill with an angry sadness.

  Holo was not in the wrong, and yet she seemed like a villain to him in that moment, and he tried to find words to hurl at her, but they would not come.

  Just as it seemed like his only reply to her would be tears, someone else interrupted.

  “Bread is the fruit of labor. If we work, we’ll be fine,” said Aryes, directing a smile at Klass.

  She was trying to be considerate of him.

  His face reddened, and he reconsidered their options, furiously rubbing the tears from his eyes. “Th-that’s right. If we work, we’ll be all right.”

  “Mm,” said Holo, nodding but not smiling. Flashing her fangs and biting off another piece of jerky, she continued. “What if a hard day’s work doesn’t buy you a day’s worth of food? What then?”

  “W-we’ll just work harder!” Klass was not totally confident, but he stole a glance at Aryes, who was nodding along with him. This gave him a bit of courage, and he looked back at Holo.

  “You’ll work harder, will you? Aye, and then the question becomes whether there’s work for you at all.”

  This was more of Holo’s banter. Klass guessed as much and opened his mouth to reply, but Holo cut him off.

  “There are scores of adults unable to find work in the town—do you think two children like you will go and have an easy time of it?”

  His mouth froze in the shape of a silent “Wha—?”

  “You’ve neither strength nor skill, and you know no one in the town. I hear things are different in the human world if you can read and write, but…”

  Klass, of course, could not read, but then he remembered that Aryes could.

  “You can read, right, Aryes?” he asked her, at which she gave a thin smile.

  Now there were no problems.

  But as soon as he thought as much, Holo sighed again. “So what will Klass do as Aryes is toiling away?”

  Klass felt as though a spear had pierced his chest.

  “Oh, I wouldn’t mind if Klass waited for me.”

  “Th-that’s right. I’ll wait.”

  Holo regarded Klass with a narrow-eyed gaze, and he bit his lower lip.

  He’d never be able to do anything so pathetic.

  “Still, I can�
�t imagine there are so many jobs that involve reading and writing.” Holo traced little circles in the air with her piece of jerky, then poked her cheek with the pointed, bitten-off end. Klass watched this, glaring at her quasi-mutinously and wondering why she was suddenly bringing this up.

  It was as though she was trying to tell him to give up the journey.

  “However, I’ve been thinking,” said Holo.

  Thinking what? Klass muttered inwardly.

  Holo turned her gaze of beautiful amber eyes off into the distance. “What would you say to turning back here?” While Klass was stricken with surprise and unable to reply, she brought her gaze back from the distance. “From here we could fetch some water from the marsh, and if you took my food, you could make it back. There’s no gain in forcing yourselves onward. And though you say you were driven from the mansion, you’re yet children. If you appeal to their emotions, I’m sure all would be well.”

  Klass understood her proposal all too well, but something about it filled him with such anger that he was unable to nod.

  Suddenly he realized what that was.

  It was his promise with Aryes.

  They were going to see the sea.

  “I can tell what you’re thinking, boy,” said Holo with a tired laugh. “If you continue with any goal or plan or destination, what will happen when your food runs out? When you have no money and no work? Will you beg? Will you sit on the roadside dressed in rags, covered in mud and filth?”

  Somehow he understood what Holo was saying. He knew that she was right.

  And yet he wanted desperately not to turn back.

  “You’re rather stubborn,” said Holo.

  Immediately thereafter, Aryes—who’d been quietly listening to Holo—spoke up. “I-I would also like to go and see the ocean. And see more of the world.”

  Klass looked to Aryes, feeling suddenly rescued.

  Holo regarded her through half-lidded eyes. “And?” was her only reply.

  “But I know little of the world. I cannot refute a single thing you’ve said, Miss Holo. And I’ve learned that the world is filled with all manner of suffering.”

  “Aye,” said Holo, nodding, satisfied.

  Klass could practically hear his own despondence.

  To think that their promise to journey through the world had been so dear—!

  But Aryes did not continue. She lowered her hood, fingering something around her neck.

  “Aryes?”

  Unmindful of Klass’s inquiry, Aryes finally grabbed hold of some kind of chain and pulled it free.

  From underneath her clothes emerged a stone as green as a quail’s egg.

  “Is—is that…,” murmured Klass, gazing at the stone that dangled from the chain as it glittered, catching beams of sunlight now and again.

  It looked exactly like something a noblewoman had worn upon being invited to the mansion by the lord.

  Word of it had reached even Klass, thanks to the talk of the older servants—particularly the women.

  It was a jewel—one so valuable it was said it could buy a whole village.

  “I’ve been told this is a very precious thing, so perhaps it could buy us some bread.”

  As soon as Klass heard these words, he faced Holo defiantly.

  His journey with Aryes was hardly impossible.

  He pictured Holo’s face at a loss for words at Klass’s imagined retort—but the expression that met his gaze was not what he expected.

  “Oh. So you were willing to part with that, then?”

  “Huh—?” Klass’s and Aryes’s voices rose in unison.

  “I took notice of it right away when we were sleeping…What, did you not realize it was there, boy?”

  Rocked by Holo’s question, Klass shook his head.

  He hadn’t noticed it at all.

  “You must’ve been distracted by the softness, eh?”

  “N-no, I wasn’t!” Klass yelled angrily in reply to Holo’s malicious question and smile.

  “Well, in any case, if you’re willing to part with that, you’ll be secure for a while.”

  “So—” Aryes began, but Holo interrupted her.

  “However, are you truly prepared to do that? Precious stones have special meaning, no matter the era or nation. If it’s a memento from someone, you may wish to rethink your decision.”

  “No, I don’t know who I received this from—only that the priest said that if someday I should find myself in trouble, it would help me. I think now that time has come.”

  Holo scratched the tip of her nose at Aryes’s answer, then spoke slowly, as though she was thinking carefully. “You say you don’t know who you got it from? It had something written in the setting. What was it?”

  “It’s my name.”

  Holo’s ears pricked up. “Just your name?”

  “No, my name and a short message. It says…‘I give this to Aryes, my daughter.’”

  Holo’s eyes widened, and she looked suddenly to Klass, her finger still touching her nose.

  “What?” asked Klass with his eyes. If it said, “To my daughter,” then that just meant it was a gift from a parent.

  “Aye. That is a valuable gem, indeed. Not something that just anyone could give to a child. Surely you understand all too well what that means.”

  A short “Ah—” escaped Klass’s lips.

  The unimaginable thought stuck in the base of his throat.

  Holo’s gaze once again fell upon him, as though he was such a fool she didn’t know how else to respond.

  Aryes was the only one simply listening to Holo’s words.

  “So who do you think gave such a thing to you?” Holo asked.

  “Huh? Er—” said Aryes. “God, I suppose.”

  Klass could clearly perceive Holo’s chuckle.

  “I’m sorry, I don’t see—” began Aryes.

  “Your god would hardly dirty his hands digging up gems. The one who gave that to you—”

  “—Was the lord of the mansion!” Klass blurted out, unable to restrain himself.

  Aryes’s eyes unfocused.

  “Aryes, you’re the lord’s—”

  Daughter.

  But it was such an absurd notion that despite the proof of it, he couldn’t say the words.

  In the resulting silence that suddenly fell, Aryes looked down at the green jewel and spoke, dazed. “Wha…? I…but…the lord of the mansion is…God?”

  “No! Aryes, you’re the lord’s daughter, and the lord is a human!”

  “But—”

  Klass had no idea what to say to the troubled Aryes, but as his tone grew more strident, Holo spoke quietly.

  “How does it go? ‘We are all of us God’s children’ or some such.”

  Aryes nodded firmly.

  “Aye.”

  Klass thought that was ridiculous.

  He was just about to loudly say as much when someone grabbed him by the nape of the neck.

  It was Holo—there was nobody else there.

  “Even I understand human manners. That is not something you should say just now.”

  Chided by Holo’s words, Klass cowered as though she’d scolded him.

  Holo said nothing more and released Klass, sighing as though at a loss.

  “As someone who’s lived her share of years, I don’t think that stone is something you should lose,” she said quietly.

  If Aryes was the lord’s daughter and that stone had been given to her by him, then now it would be her only memento.

  Even Klass didn’t want to continue their journey if they had to sell it to do so. He wondered if they really did have to turn back here.

  And if the revelation about Aryes’s father was true, then even if they did return to the mansion, they might not be able to simply resume their previous life.

  He now considered Holo’s proposal more rationally than before, his gaze on the ground.

  Their journey had been a short one, but he couldn’t claim it hadn’t been fun.

 
He felt a little bit better, thinking about it that way.

  Klass looked slowly up at Holo. “Miss Holo, I really think we—”

  Holo looked over her shoulder at him.

  It was a swift movement utterly out of the ordinary.

  Klass’s words stuck in his throat at the suddenness of it, and he gazed back at her.

  But Holo was not looking at Klass.

  Her gaze was fixed far behind him, back in the direction from which they’d come.

  “It never rains but pours, eh?” she murmured, standing.

  “M-Miss Holo…?” Aryes remained wordless, and Klass finally managed to call her name.

  Holo now looked back at Klass.

  Her face had no trace of a smile on it, and her fangs only emphasized the keen concentration of her expression.

  “Listen, you, did Antheo’s younger brother, the one who drove you away, strike you as a kind man?”

  Another sudden question.

  But this one Klass could answer immediately.

  “No.”

  “So what do you think a man who’d come to take his elder brother’s place would do if he found out there was already a directly related successor?”

  This question Klass could not answer right away.

  No—he didn’t want to answer it.

  The heir was always obvious.

  “You two have good fortune indeed to have escaped before they realized,” Holo murmured, smiling. “You’ve about as much charm as you have lesser points. What else does one need, I wonder?”

  Klass remembered Holo’s words from the previous night.

  His stomach burned as though he’d swallowed a red-hot piece of charcoal.

  “Aryes, stand up,” said Klass, gathering their things and readying the stick he used in place of a proper staff.

  “They’re still some distance away, but—curses—they’re not coming in peace. ’Tis bad enough we’re being followed, but it’ll be trouble indeed if we’re flanked.”

  Klass spared a moment to glance at Aryes. He then clenched his fist and looked at Holo.

  “So they’re cutting through the forest, eh? Come, you—”

  Klass nodded at the words. “Aryes—” he said.

  Aryes, as usual, did not seem to understand the situation; she held on to her emerald gem tightly.