Gun of Ashes

”Does that mean we’ve been used?”

Bola was a bit disgruntled too; he asked in a low voice.

”Not really. He didn’t actually do anything—His Majesty just stated the facts. Everything will unfold exactly as he predicted... but I still hate this. Looking down from on high, so damn self-righteous. Even if, to be fair, his achievements do give him reason to be proud.”

Lorenzo’s expression was full of disgust. He hated those aloof types; he always wanted to drag them down into the muddy puddles and grind their faces into the filth with his heel.

Hebdo kept silent. As a King, none of this had been in his calculations; he felt his current position was a little awkward.

”So what are you going to do?”

Blue Jade asked curiously. She actually had high expectations for Lorenzo; this interesting great detective always came up with some strange way of solving a problem when he hit a dead end.

”What else can we do? Stick to the original plan.”

Lorenzo said casually, then strode forward, a cordial smile on his face as he went to greet the Vikings.

...

The bonfire burned, coughing up black smoke that climbed along the chimney, rising into the ashen sky. The light washed over their faces, a blazing red glow like blood.

”So, when exactly can we meet Lord Willgardson?”

Lorenzo sat in a chair and asked the deputy who had come to receive them.

It was a rather poor excuse for a meeting. Lorenzo not only failed to see Froki, he didn’t even see Galron. The one who greeted him was merely Galron’s deputy.

The news he brought was more or less what Lorenzo already knew: Froki was gravely ill, bedridden; Galron was busy handling internal affairs, with no time to spare for them.

As for trade and such, things had become much simpler. Galron was governing in Froki’s stead, so as long as Galron nodded, it would go through. Judging from the deputy’s attitude, as long as Selyu’s demands weren’t too excessive, Galron would agree without hesitation, because Ice Bay was in too deep a mess right now—he simply had no strength left for anything else.

Thinking of all that, Lorenzo no longer knew how to view Ragnar, King of the Ice Sea. Ragnar knew perfectly well what was happening here, yet did not reach out a hand. The reason was simple: this was Froki’s domain, and he had no right to interfere. So he just let the situation ferment, slowly, until it exploded.

Lorenzo had already guessed the ending: Ragnar would definitely be the final winner. All of this was for the Ideal Country in his head. Even so, all Lorenzo felt toward him was a chill and a quiet dread.

He was too much like those others—monsters devoured by ambition.

Lorenzo had seen far too many such monsters; in fact, he could count himself among them.

”I’m not sure when my lord will recover, but that won’t affect the signing of our previous agreements. As soon as Lord Galron has the time, he’ll attend to these matters at once. For now, please rest here for a few days to recover from your journey.”

The deputy said to Lorenzo with a smile.

”As for the maintenance on the Morning Glow Advance, we’re already starting to coordinate that. Ice Bay Shipyard will give it priority.”

That, it seemed, was the one piece of good news.

Once Lorenzo and the others were settled, the deputies left, and the group was left alone in the room.

You look at me, I look at you; their gazes crossed back and forth several times, and they fell into a strange, quiet stalemate.

”Lorenzo, what do you think we should do?”

Blue Jade asked. It was obvious everything was sliding in a bad direction. Froki was crucial to this trip; there had long been a spot reserved for him on the Iron Armor ship heading to the Silent Sea.

”Froki... do you think he’s alive right now, or dead?”

Lorenzo murmured for a moment, then asked the question.

”If he’s dead, then is Galron covering up the news of his death? But that doesn’t really add up. Once Froki dies, the cause is lost; no matter how Galron tries to cover it, he gains nothing... So maybe Froki is still alive, just living a fate worse than death.”

”What do you mean?” Bola looked over at Lorenzo.

”It’s simple. All matters in Ice Bay have been handed over to Galron. Over the years, you could even say Galron’s prestige has surpassed Froki’s. But none of this is his; it all belongs to Froki. The moment Froki dies, or stops caring about the sea, everything gets taken back. If I were Galron, I’d keep Froki alive to ensure the continuity of power, but I wouldn’t let him live too comfortably, to prevent him from meddling with my authority.”

Lorenzo thought of those sordid schemes and curled his lips into an evil smile.

”Like turning Froki into a vegetable or something.”

”What if... Galron is truly loyal to Froki? Maybe Froki really is sick?” Selyu felt there were holes in Lorenzo’s theory. ”Judging from the Lord’s and the King’s covetous attitude toward Ice Bay, if Galron ’lusted for power,’ he should’ve been turned long ago, not waited until now.”

”Maybe they’re not lying to us. Maybe Froki really is ill.”

Bola spoke up. He also felt Lorenzo’s dark imaginings were a bit unrealistic. Or rather, there was something wrong with Lorenzo himself—his mind was always tainted by some fathomless darkness.

”Then what kind of illness could bring Froki down? He’s roamed the seas for decades—duels of life and death, the roaring ocean, unknown lands—none of that stopped him, yet some pointless little disease took him out?”

Hebdo was puzzled too. Everyone knew of Froki’s great achievements at sea, and they all understood how strong this man’s body was.

”Maybe because he’s old now. We’re all just mortals—one well-placed bullet is enough to take our lives,” Lorenzo said with a cheerful grin. ”We’re all papier-mâché, fall apart at a touch.”

The conversation stalled. Bola almost opened his mouth, but shut it again.

Mortals were indeed fragile, but in this room there were not only mortals, but also a certain respected Pseudo-God, even if this Pseudo-God always insisted on treating himself as a mortal.

”But it could indeed be some disease that took Froki’s health. My guess is that right now he’s probably chained up somewhere, craving blood and flesh, drooling with greed.”

Lorenzo’s face grew serious; there was the ring of steel in his voice.

”Erosion is a kind of epidemic too.”

Their expressions shifted slightly. Judging by the timeline, Froki had most likely already turned into a bloodthirsty Demon. That would also explain why Galron kept shielding Froki: once exposed, Froki would be doomed, and Galron, utterly loyal to him, could only drag things out, buying whatever time he could.

”He ran into a Demon?”

Blue Jade spoke softly. Then her eyes went cold. The others fell silent as well, glancing at one another and reading the same thought in each other’s eyes.

Froki had gone deeper into the Silent Sea again.

”No... that’s not very likely. To explore the Land of No Wind he’d need massive supplies, and his last return to Ice Bay was half a year ago. He doesn’t have enough resources to support an expedition.”

Bola cut in. He had studied this enemy of his extensively; judging by the situation at the time, Froki had no strength to set sail.

”That thing?”

Bola stared at Lorenzo, fear glinting in his eyes.

”Unlikely. If something like that made a move, it wouldn’t leave Froki alive. It might even wipe out the whole region he was in while it was at it.”

Bola was referring to the Silencer. Lorenzo understood exactly. Before coming to the Viking realms, Lorenzo had been extremely anxious. From Bola’s description, Froki was definitely on the Silencer’s kill-list; Lorenzo had been worried the man would already be dead by the time he arrived, cut down by a Silencer before they ever met.

But it wasn’t that bad. Things weren’t that bad yet.

Lorenzo didn’t care in the slightest whether Froki lived or died. His real abilities had always been hidden; no one knew them.

As long as Froki still had one last breath, it was enough—even if he’d turned into a Demon.

As long as Lorenzo could invade his Gap, Froki would no longer have any secrets.

”Let’s go, Bola.”

Lorenzo suddenly stood, picking up the cane lying to one side.

”Go where?”

”Aren’t you curious about the Vikings’ ’Lower City District’?”

Lorenzo pushed open the door and spoke to the people behind him.

”Those Lord’s spies hiding in Ice Bay—they definitely know more than we do.”