Chapter 185 – Chapter 5: Deseo – 3
The carriage ticket that the gambler bet on was not fake.
When I went to the salesperson early in the morning and showed my ticket, I was able to get on the carriage I had reserved. Not only we but other carriages also left together. Most of the passengers were wealthy people. I wore cool and colorful clothes and headed to Deseo.
Marie and I remained silent. If I were to have any thoughts on this trip, I would say that I am glad that I was able to rest my feet a bit since I have walked a lot so far. That’s all. I didn’t really want to think about what fate lay ahead.
Other passengers were excited and talking as if they were going on a picnic, but we spent most of our time sleeping and contemplating.
By the time a day had passed. Finally arrived in Deseo.
The gates of Deseo were filled with countless people. As if the sea was overflowing. People are constantly crashing into the gate.
I had seen it once in Tia’s memories, so of course I knew there were a lot of people there. It is a huge crowd that far exceeds expectations.
I’m glad I came by carriage. If I had tried to pass through that gate on foot, waiting all day wouldn’t have been enough.
“Go in here.”
The Deseo soldier led us down a different path.
Those who came by horse-drawn carriage from Lawtonbahn had privileges. Just paying a lot of money to ride a carriage is considered sufficient in Deseo.
I knew it… It was like the idea of a city where everything is decided by ‘money’.
However, thanks to this, I was able to enter the city easily, so there were no major complaints.
“It’s finally here.”
It arrived cooler than expected.
Salt blowing in from the sea. Lots of people filling the streets. All kinds of things. Everything should be unfamiliar, but it feels really familiar and nostalgic.
I looked back at Marie. He held my hand tightly as if he was confused.
Her eyes were that of a girl facing a city so large that it could not even be compared to the ‘village’ she had seen so far.
If you’re not afraid… It must be a lie.
In this unimaginable scale and people. It’s natural to feel scared when you think about what might happen if you get lost.
Isn’t it amazing? We grew up seeing the large and majestic Dragonez Mountains. Those of us who have seen the amazing scenery countless times have dared to call ourselves courageous Brisdenians.
However, I am witnessing that that evaluation was the height of arrogance. If you are looking at Mari, her feet frozen in front of a tall ‘city’ created by humans, not nature.
… We automatically realize that we are just people from the countryside.
“Are you okay?”
“Ah yes. It’s okay.”
“Then let’s go.”
“Where?”
“Towards the dock. It is highly likely that he went there by boat. “I’ll have to check first.”
I thought about it while riding the carriage.
Tia and Posao went to Deseo. I don’t know why I headed to Deseo. However, considering what the two did in Deseo, common sense led us to believe that their purpose was not to settle here.
Maybe for Tia to leave the country altogether. To erase her own traces. Didn’t she try to go away?
It’s a vague guess. But if that’s really the case, it becomes even more difficult to keep up with Tia.
It’s still unclear.
Do sailors even know about Tia and Posao? In a short period of time, many people come and go from Deseo by boat, and it is difficult to expect to know exactly the names and appearances of the two people.
Still. But I…
As Tia chases after the memories she left behind, she must move forward.
Marie asked.
“Shall I find out the way to the dock?”
“No it’s okay. “I know the way.”
I was already used to it.
Although I have never been to Deseo before, I feel like I know the geography of this place like someone who has stayed for quite some time.
Where does this street meet? Where does the road lead? Where is what? All the memories come back vividly.
We went straight to the sea.
Like the gateway, there were an unusually large number of ships gathered at the dockside.
“Hurry, quickly!”
“Get down this way!”
Numerous people and goods come off the ship. It seemed like the workers didn’t even have time to rest for a moment. Nevertheless, there was a huge shortage of people, so there was a large sign asking for someone to work urgently for 10 gold per day.
It wasn’t easy to ask if I was looking for someone in this situation.
“Everyone looks busy.”
“Yes.”
I couldn’t help it. I decided to walk along the harbor to find someone who seemed experienced and had a lot of time.
As I continued walking like that, the closely anchored ships disappeared, and spacious and quiet warehouses appeared.
“There are few people here. Is it a warehouse?”
“Okay. The cargo that is loaded and unloaded from the ship is stored here. But I don’t think people here really know…”
That moment.
A strong sense of familiarity passed before my eyes.
“… !”
It was similar to the feeling I had when I discovered Tia and Posao’s house in Gordburg.
As if I had finally discovered a place that I had seen many times in my dreams but never existed. I turned my eyes to the scene that passed by.
It’s an ordinary warehouse. There is nothing particularly special about it.
But a strangely strong intuition was staring at that place.
What? What am I looking at?
Why is this place… Did you feel it was strange?
“Wait a minute.”
I walked slowly to the front of the warehouse. As we get closer, the memories become a little clearer. And as soon as I saw the old hammock tied to the tree, a face I had never seen before came to mind.
“Oppa Ritz?”
“… “I remembered.”
This is the warehouse of the rare goods dealer.
That damn warehouse that had the ‘Dienbus’ that Tia had been looking for so long.
Great. I thought so.
This is more of an instinct than a coincidence.
My earnest desire to find traces of Tia has led me to this point.
I don’t know much about the owner of this warehouse. However, I do remember that the man was a pretty big guy in Deseo.
Whether it was good or bad. He arranged a job for Tia, who was having trouble with money, and seemed to know everything that was going on here.
Then… That man may know Tia’s whereabouts.
I knocked hard on the warehouse door.
“Are you there!”
When Tia came to visit, she was sleeping with the warehouse door open.
Now the door is tightly closed and there is no sight.
“There’s no one there, so give up.”
The person who appeared on the other side explained indifferently.
“He suddenly disappeared a few days ago. No matter how much I call, it’s in vain.”
“Do you know when you will be back?”
“No one knows that. It has never disappeared before, but it suddenly disappeared. Anyway, just know that.”
The person who advised us went on his way again.
“…”
It’s strange.
Considering the merchant’s eccentric personality, I couldn’t understand why he would abandon the warehouse unless something happened to him.
A person who kept a warehouse full of the world’s rarest things and kept them… You left everything here?
“No. That can’t be possible.”
I concentrated my mind and recalled the memories stored here.
A few days ago. The warehouse owner was definitely here. After he went into the warehouse, he never came out again.
“It’s still here.”
Bang!
I lifted my leg and kicked the door hard.
It burst open, revealing the dark interior of the warehouse. The warehouse, which was full of all kinds of goods, was empty.
Rather than saying it was empty, it looked like robbers or thieves had taken only items that could make money. Because relatively useless-looking items were rolling around on the floor.
“Follow me carefully.”
“Yes.”
Following the traces left by the merchant, I walked deep into the warehouse. When I arrived in a dark place with almost no light, the flow of memories finally stopped.
“Here it is.”
There was a dirty carpet hanging on the wall. It seems that those who searched the warehouse did not even think about looking at these unsightly items.
Swish!
When I reached out and opened the carpet, a ‘hidden door’ appeared.
I took a deep breath and slowly opened the door. Another space without a ray of light slowly began to appear. I pushed the nervous Marie back, pulled out my rose saber, and moved forward.
Jeez. Jeopuk.
It’s like a cave. A sound echoes every time you walk.
That time when I managed to straighten my body, which had been contracted by tension, and looked ahead.
“Who are you? “The guy who came to my house.”
A low voice was heard in the darkness.
“…”
“Okay. What are you going to do to find me? Kill me?”
This voice was definitely that merchant.
“If you’re going to kill me, kill me quickly. “I’m sick of hiding here too.”
As I walked a few more steps, I saw a faint shadow sitting on the floor.
What on earth happened?
The merchant, who was originally short and thin, looked extremely thin and gaunt. And the increasingly strong smell of feces and the dried meat and seeds scattered around showed that he had been hiding in this warehouse for a very long time, barely surviving.
“Why… “Isn’t it like this?”
“Why are you doing this? Tsk tsk… Why are you curious about that? “Aren’t you here to kill me?”
“No.”
“Then what? Daejoint, who are you to say you came looking for me?”
He put the Rose Sabel back and answered briefly.
“… Dienbus.”
With that one word, he answered everything.
The merchant didn’t answer for a moment.
He soon started laughing. The sound of laughter, which was loud at first, gradually became tinged with madness and became difficult to hear.
The merchant, who had barely stopped laughing, asked out of breath.
“You also… Are you from a place called Brisden? ?”
“Okay.”
“Giggle… Damn… “This shitty village I’ve never heard of is following me all the way to hell.”
He strained his arms and tried to get up from his seat. However, his frail bones could not even support his body and he fell backwards.
The merchant asked while lying down on the floor, giving up on even getting up.
“Ha-what relationship do you have with that bitch?”
“I’m looking for Tia. “I thought you would know.”
“… Okay. Something like that. Giggling. You… “Did you eat that dienbus?”
“That’s right.”
“OK. I thought this day would come someday.”
The merchant folded his bushy beard and smiled broadly.
“Shit. “He didn’t mean to let that piglet live.”
“Are you talking about Posao?”
“Kyakyakyakyakya-!!”
A pitiful laugh that makes you spit. At the same time, eyes filled with madness flash.
“Okay!! Posao Modales!! “That crazy pig dared to kill me.”
Posao tried to kill this merchant?
“Why?”
“Well, I have to cover my mouth.”
“For helping Tia?”
“Giggle! You really don’t seem to know anything. Okay… My life was almost lost anyway, but it came to me at the right time. There young man. Open your ears and listen carefully.”
He looked up at me with his tired eyes and smiled.
“Posao, that pig…” “I killed the crown prince.”
