Epilogue by Isuna Hasekura

Author:Isuna Hasekura [Hasekura, Isuna]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Fantasy
Publisher: Yen On
Published: 2017-05-23T00:00:00+00:00

Though by good fortune he had reached it while having lost his way, truly this was the house of the devil.

The story of a merchant who wasted his profits on a daily basis was not an amusing one.

Furthermore, having set eyes upon it amid a plain that continued seemingly for all eternity, even though he thought it an ill omen, it simply could not have been helped.

The bare hill appearing smack in the middle of the plain had posts sticking out of it like the spines of a sea urchin. The grand, dignified stone fort at the summit of the hill gave off an atmosphere like an execution ground straight out of hell where the sins of man would be judged.

The feeling that a demon or Grim Reaper might show up at any moment was not based upon that atmosphere alone.

Having cut food down to the minimum to reduce traveling expenses, his last provisions had run out the night before. Horses could live off eating the poor, wild grasses while on the road, but men could not. Though he could choose to sacrifice his horse as a last resort, it would bring about bankruptcy, which meant much the same as death to a merchant.

Finally, he had received divine punishment for being too obsessed with turning a profit.

The circumstances were more than sufficient to make a man think that way.

Aided by his empty stomach, Lawrence was on the verge of losing his spirit and giving up.

However, it was an all too realistic welcoming ceremony that suddenly brought Lawrence back to his senses.

He heard a high-pitched sound, making him think that a large insect had buzzed past his ear. After, a sound like the shaking of wood instantly alerted him to just what had flown at him.

Lawrence instantly leaped down from the driver’s seat and hid under his horse.

Someone had shot an arrow at him.

“I’m a traveling merchant who got lost! Just a traveling merchant!”

And even after yelling with all his strength, two more arrows thrust into the earth. They neatly avoided the horse, one falling to the left, one to the right; the shooter must have been rather skilled.

Whether as a result of Lawrence’s shouts or not, no other arrows came flying, or perhaps the shooter was simply waiting for him to stick his head up before shooting again. Thinking of that, Lawrence stayed put for a while; finally, he heard the sound of footsteps. It seemed he had not been shot at from the fort; the shooter was apparently hidden on some slope somewhere.

When Lawrence, pathetically between the legs of his horse, looked in the direction of the sound, he saw the silhouette of a man.

The man stood still and spoke.

“A traveling merchant, you say?”

The voice was rather coarse; even if it was for show, Lawrence thought the man had to have been fairly old.

As Lawrence answered yes, the man swiftly crouched down.

The man, as small and aged as his voice had made him seem, had a very frank look about him.

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