Brave Story - Miyuki Miyabe [137]
“I told you I was innocent. You should’ve listened to me.”
Kutz glared violently at Wataru, and took him back to the office where he had first been brought the day before. Now that he was a little more relaxed, he looked around to see that it was exactly like a sheriff’s office in a Western.
“Go back to the lodge where you were staying,” Kutz ordered him. “The innkeeper says he’s got all your stuff. And he says he’ll treat you to dinner as an apology. If that doesn’t do it for you, you can hit him a few times if you want. But don’t go overboard, or we’ll bring you in again on new charges. That’s all.”
Wataru was walking out the door when Kutz called after him. “You really are a Traveler, aren’t you?”
Wataru turned around.
“That pig-sticker of yours,” said Kutz, referring to Wataru’s Brave’s Sword. “The innkeeper told me he tried to pick it up, but it was too hot to handle. That one’s straight from the Goddess, it is. He was a bit taken aback.”
So the sword is safe.
“He was a little worried, seeing as how Travelers are sent here by the Goddess. He hoped he hadn’t got in your way.”
Kutz walked over to the desk and played with her whip that hung over the back of her chair. “So if you meet the Goddess, tell her I’m sorry, would you? And for the innkeeper, as well.”
“Fine.”
“Still, you’d be well advised to eat quickly and get out of Gasara right away. You’re free of suspicion, but we haven’t caught the killers. Things could get ugly here if you hang around too long.”
Wataru went out without saying anything. The sun was bright in his eyes, and the sky was perfectly clear. He made his way to the lodge, and the innkeeper came running out, apologizing profusely. The little woman herded Wataru into the back kitchen where he saw so much food he couldn’t imagine eating even half of it. As he sat down to gorge himself, the innkeeper brought him his sword, wrapped in a thick cloth.
“We’re sorry, boy,” he said, his shoulders hunched. “Here’s your sword.
Take a look at her. Nary a scratch, I guarantee it. I thought I could slice some of our meat with it, but I gave up that notion right quick.”
Wataru hung the sword at his waist. The innkeeper sat across from Wataru and went to grab a T-bone from the table. The little woman slapped his hand away.
“Still, I have to say I’m impressed,” the man said, rubbing his stinging hand. “Such a small kid like you, coming on over to our world. I guess there’s no age limit on the Porta Nectere, eh?”
“Have you never been to the other world?” Wataru asked.
The man shuddered. “Madness! Never!”
“Do you know anybody who has?”
“No, no. The other world is no place for we who live in Vision to tread lightly. The Goddess would never allow it, and even if we made it over, we’d be as good as the dead.”
The dead. Ghosts?
“It is a scary place, I’ll agree to that,” Wataru admitted.
“I knew it, I knew it!”
“We have burglaries and murders, and worse.”
“Do you now? That is scary. Then again, we’ve got our own bit of worrisome trouble here in Gasara, don’t we? If we don’t catch the criminals soon, I fear for business.”
“But last night—they didn’t actually kill anyone, did they?”
“No, but that poor kitkin’s back was ripped up something fierce.” The innkeeper said with a shudder. “Never should’ve let a girl stay alone in a cheap place like that.”
“A kitkin girl? The cat-girl!”
“Aye. Pretty thing too, with white fur. Poor girl.”
Something clicked inside Wataru. He put down his fork and stood. “Thank you for breakfast. I don’t think I can eat any more.”
“You sure? We really are sorry. If you’re heading out, I’ll make a lunch for you to take.”
“No, I’ll be staying