The moon shone on four incomplete skeletons lying in the yard. Most of them were slender and coated in a yellowish substance. Miss Cardell had a bandage wrapped around her waist, her face pale from the blood loss. She looked at the skeletons a few times with a confused expression. “We killed the monster, so why can’t I remember them? I can’t remember their names. Only Tom’s.”
“The notebook didn’t mention it.” Roy pursed his lips. “But I think the memory erasure can’t be reversed, not even after the monster’s death. The traces can only be fixed if the would-be victim is still alive, like Tom.” The pentagram on Roy’s sleeve had fixed itself.
Cardell shook her head, unhappy about the results.
“At least we saved Tom,” Roy said. “And the children will never be harmed by the monster again.”
Something bizarre had happened after they’d taken out the skeletons. An hour after that, the hole on the hornbeam had closed, and when Roy sprinkled salt on it, he couldn’t summon the hole anymore. It was as if the hornbeam lost all its magic.
Roy had a feeling the space the childhunter lived in didn’t exist in the tree, but was instead another dimension. The power needed to maintain it slowly dissipated after its death, making it impossible to find. Roy wanted to go back and cut off the monster’s tongue. Auckes said it’s valuable. Well, no chance for that now.
“Did you find anything?” Vivien came out from the house, looking fatigued and crestfallen. The brother she’d been searching for during the last two years was dead, and she couldn’t even remember him. All the work she’d done looked to have been in vain. “Can you identify them?”
“I don’t think so. The memory erasure is irreversible.” When Roy noticed the despondent look Vivien was giving, he consoled her. “Vivien, he’s released from his pain. Perhaps he’s now in prophet Lebioda’s kingdom. We avenged him, and we, uh, found his bones. At least he can rest in peace now. Be at peace.”
Vivien covered her face, took a deep breath, and wiped her tears away. “I guessed he’d already passed when I saw the notes. I just couldn’t accept it. You’re right, Roy. He must be in prophet Lebioda’s kingdom now. I’ll find a good spot for him to have his eternal rest.”
A short while of silence later, Roy said, “Let’s change the topic. How’s Tom doing?”
Her eyes shone at the mention of the survivor. “He had a hot shower, and I rubbed some salve on him. Then, he went to sleep. He’s lucky to have escaped with only a few scratches and a bite on the neck, and he didn’t even remember the kidnap. All he remembered was he went to sleep, and when he woke up, he saw you guys and the childhunter. He’ll be having nightmares for a few days, but otherwise, he’s okay.”
“That’s great.” Roy looked up at the sky. “Let’s talk about everything else tomorrow. I should be going back now.”
Cardell stopped him. “Wait, Roy. Where did you get the bomb used to kill the childhunter?”
Roy noticed the yearning in her eyes, and he understood that Miss Cardell was trying to get her hands on Dancing Star. “That’s an alchemy bomb made by a witcher. Only those acknowledged by witchers can use it,” he said, lying. “It’s something my teacher gave to me so I could protect myself. I only had one. Can’t use it anymore.”
“Is that so?” Cardell looked disappointed.
***
Roy found Toya beside the pond when he came back to the watermill. She was staring at her reflection in the water, looking forlorn and lonely. Roy thought she would’ve been eaten if she’d been in the House of Cardell.
Roy sat beside her. “Sorry for being late.”
Toya trembled, and she looked pleasantly surprised. “I-it’s fine. I can understand.” Her voice was trembling with excitement. “You have your job in the market. It must’ve been busy today too.” Even though she said that, Toya was actually terrified. She was worried the last few weeks had just been her imagination. When she noticed Roy wasn’t home on time that day, her fear got the better of her, and she despaired, but luckily, it was just a scare. He came back. My friend’s real. Her whole body relaxed as she felt relieved.
Roy shook his head. “It wasn’t because of the job. There was a bizarre incident in the House of Cardell. It’s related to the topic of magic I told you about last time, and also the neglected kids. Do you want to hear it?”
“Sure.”
***
Roy ended his meditation at four the next morning and disposed of the baldy’s corpse before going to Aldersberg’s marketplace. The herb booth he’d worked at for the last few weeks stood there, and he had a score to settle with the owner. But when he squeezed through the throng, he saw that the place was deserted. Neither Tross nor the booth could be found. It was nothing but a vacant spot.
Frustrated, he went to Emil for answers, but he didn’t expect them to be that shocking.
“Tross? I thought he told you about it. He left Aldersberg with his family and his money after yesterday’s business.”
“He left with his family? He’s been here for more than ten years, and he’s giving it all up just like that?” Is he afraid of me? But I’m just a young man. Impossible.
Emil looked surprised. “What? He hasn’t been running this business for ten years, Roy. Who told you that? He’s just been here for two months or so. Not even that much longer than you’ve been working, but his business was booming, so I wonder why he uprooted.”
Who is that guy, then? Is Tross a professional scammer? Roy pondered on the matter for a long time, but all he could remember was Tross’ cunning smile, and a shiver crept up on him. Fine, he can leave if he wants to. Since he couldn’t work at a nonexistent booth, he spent more time in the morning working at the poultry booth. After killing the monster under the tree, his EXP bar was 820/1000, a hundred and eighty points shy of leveling up to level 3. If he could kill more chickens, maybe he could level up in a week.
***
The House of Cardell was as peaceful as ever that afternoon. The children were still frolicking under the hornbeam, oblivious to the fact the lonely boy who’d been watching them at the classroom’s doorstep had returned. Perhaps they never even realized that he was gone. The children who were neglected stayed neglected. Nothing had changed.
“Join them, Tom.” Roy patted his head. “You managed to escape from a scary monster and claw your way back from hell. There’s nothing to be scared of. You’ll have to fight for it if you want more attention and friends. Looking on like a fool won’t cut it. Just fight anyone who’ll try to bully you.” Roy shoved the surprised boy to the group of children and watched as he blushed while clumsily greeting the others.
Cardell came up to him quietly. She wasn’t looking too well, and the wound from the night before would keep her down for a while. Nobody knew about the hornbeam’s hole and the monster under it, for she had kept it a secret. The dead children couldn’t be remembered, nor could their traces be recovered. There was no point in making the matter public, for it would invite nothing but suspicion and trouble.
“Vivien and I buried the remains in the nearby cemetery this morning.” Cardell paused. “And also, Roy, since you helped the school out and found the remains of Vivien’s brother, as well as the children, you have my thanks. I know how witchers work, so you’ll have your reward. How does a hundred crowns sound?”
A hundred crowns wasn’t enough to cover the cost of Dancing Star, but that was all the school could afford. “That won’t be enough.” As Roy looked at the frolicking children in the yard, something tugged at his heartstrings. “I’ll exchange it for a meal.”
“Then take this, Roy.” Vivien came up to him quietly and took off her silver necklace. “It’ll bring you luck and blessing from the gods. I just know it.” She placed it around his neck and gave him a look of gratitude.
