Brave Story - Miyuki Miyabe [119]
Wataru woke early the next morning. He was starving.
He stepped outside to find smoke rising from the Hut of Sorrow, as it had the night before. Master Lau was already up and eating at the table, tears streaming down his cheeks.
“G-good morning,” he sniffled.
“Good morning.”
“Come here and sit. You slept so well last night I didn’t wake you for supper. You must be famished. Here, eat.”
Wataru felt like he was on the brink of starvation. There was round bread with a crunchy crust, and tea that smelled of peppermint. There was a yellow fruit that looked something like an apple, but it was far more rich and sweet tasting. Everything was delicious.
“Food for the road,” the Wayfinder said, passing Wataru a bulging bag of simple cloth. “There’s enough for your lunch in there, but that is all I can give you. After this, you’re on your own.”
On my own? For a moment, he didn’t understand what the Wayfinder meant. Wait, so I have to get my own food and find a place to stay? What did the characters in Saga do, anyway? In all the games he had played, save for some event scenes, he had never seen a character eat. And money to stay at an inn was easy to come by—if you could kill monsters.
Suddenly, Wataru felt very alone. He had never been on a trip by himself before. Once, he had gotten on the express train to visit his grandmother in Chiba, but even then his mom had gone with him all the way to Tokyo Station, and Uncle Lou had been waiting for him at the ticket gate when he arrived.
“That’s right. But don’t you worry. Stay on the path, and you’ll reach the town of Gasara a little after noon. Gasara is a lively place, and a center of trade—the largest in these parts. All you need do is ask around, and I’m sure you’ll find work.”
Work. Right.
“Um, can’t I kill monsters to get money or something?”
Wayfinder Lau opened his eyes wide. “Are you mad?”
Something told Wataru that his travels here would be quite different from adventuring in the world of Saga. He felt defeated, and sat slumped at the table until Wayfinder Lau prodded him to his feet.
“The way out of the woods is there. Good travels to you.”
Wataru walked off with hesitant steps, looking back again and again at Wayfinder Lau. The old wizard stood in the village clearing, thoughtfully rubbing his chin as he watched Wataru leave.
“Well, Lord Wayfinder, I suppose I shall leave too,” came the sweet-sounding voice of a girl. The old man brushed back his robes and looked down.
“I’m not down there, silly,” the voice said with a laugh that sounded like the tinkling of tiny bells.
The Wayfinder grunted. Still looking down, he said, “Well, Lady Onba, you certainly seem to have taken to our young traveler. Not that I can fathom why you’d do such a thing.”
“But he’s so cute, so young. All Travelers should be cute, I think,” the lilting, enchanting voice said. It was the same voice that had spoken to Wataru in his room—the one he called a fairy.
“The other Traveler, that Mitsuru, he’s a handsome lad, no?” Wayfinder Lau said, then quickly clapped a hand over his own mouth.
“Hmph,” the sweet voice said, pouting. (Or at least it sounded like she was pouting.) “Really, Lord Wayfinder. You needn’t be concerned about that anymore.”
“Erm, yes, well, my apologies all the same. But, Lady Onba,” Wayfinder Lau added quietly, “feelings aside, it does not do to intervene too deeply in Travelers’ affairs. You wouldn’t want to incur the Goddess’s wrath again, would you?”
“Oh, that trollop can thunder and fume all she likes! I’ll do as I please, as I always have. I’d reconsider my unwavering support of her too, if I were you, Lord Wayfinder.”
The old man lowered his head and said nothing. He stood there motionless for a while before realizing that Lady Onba had departed—most likely to follow Wataru.
“Dear, dear…” the Wayfinder muttered under his breath. His face was dark. “I knew only trouble would come from Lady Onba’s delvings into the other world.”
Wayfinder Lau walked over to the window and looked out. As one, the birds of the forest resumed their song, as though