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eureka! part 6.
▶ Part 5
After everything, Tiir hadn't expected to ever come back to the site of their meeting. Walter had turned around to the broken door upon stating the truth of the Lady Fennes' recovery, now a good two weeks behind them, and promptly said—or, well, more like demanded—that they set sail to the manor. Tiir had been wary, even if Minato had agreed in the blink of an eye with Guriko trailing after him.
It turns out, however, that Minato's blind trust this time around rings true. He's always been a fair judge of character, if sometimes too fair, and he's correct to assume that Walter wouldn't bring them for a lame cause after sharing about the Lady of whom he'd spoken with such gentility. Of course, even Minato's blind trust hadn't foreseen the mess Walter and Guriko would make of the dining table in the ship, with Guriko having tried to shove eels at his face while Walter almost threw his chair at her (he just ripped one of the wooden armrests off in quiet rage). But that, Minato insists, is of the past and they're now on the soil of the Fennes House.
Tiir narrows his eyes suspiciously when Walter tells them to wait, docked at a remote site in the civilians' blind spot, and heads off on his own while avoiding the watch at the main gate. He can only guess Walter is evading capture (after all, he had abandoned his post as a servant or what have him in order to pursue Tiir for so long).
Tiir stands against the edge of their ship, with Guriko dangling on the rails just above him on the lookout for Walter. Minato is somewhere in the cabin, most likely tidying up the chaotic remains of a grown man and young girl's petty quarrel over eels.
An hour passes at the most when Guriko kicks out, nearly clocking Tiir in the back of the head as she shouts: "Redeem has returned!" A new nickname she has given Walter, after his sudden loss of hostility and negligence to ever say why. Sure enough, Walter steals his way over to the ship, empty-handed as ever, but stops just before Tiir to relay news.
"Set sail for the Tear of the Sea."
"What's this about?" asks Tiir, straightening and resting a hand against his side.
"I'll explain on the way," says Walter, and he takes hold of a rope to climb onto deck with practiced ease. Odd, for a mere noble servant.
Tiir sets Minato at the steering wheel, and they soon embark on the short journey to the Tear of the Sea, an obscure location that only Walter has heard of and has to point them toward. Tiir pulls him aside afterward, and brings him to the bow on the other end for a brief and friendlier-than-the-usual interrogation as Guriko takes to keeping Minato company.
"You've kept quiet for long enough, I think," says Tiir. "Why the sudden change?"
Despite the lack of subterfuge, Walter is not one to be taken by surprise and instead folds his arms, glancing Tiir in the eyes.
"I've already told you that a different ore saved the life of the Lady. The Tear of the Sea is where she found it."
"Shirley?"
"Her sister," Walter corrects.
"Then you're proposing that we look for another of this ore in a place none of us but you know of. The other two may have already taken a liking to you, but you'll have to forgive me for remaining distrustful."
"I don't need you to trust me. If you care about that girl, you'll do anything it takes to pursue her cure."
Tiir restrains a smirk from erupting, but with a slight bitter smile watches after Walter's retreating form just as Guriko meets him in the middle. For the rest of the trip to their destination, he doesn't question Walter—overtly, anyway, reserving only curious glances that keep their relationship still estranged as it has been for the past four months.
The night before their estimated arrival, however, Tiir asks: "The ore. What does it look like?"
"I don't know."
------
The Tear of the Sea is surrounded by a largely unused route, which makes this arrival by far the quietest since Tiir has started his quest some year or two back. Guriko suggests that the ore might be in the shallow waters and jumps in after tossing off her ragged shoes, though Minato chasing her to the rails about how she should shed some more to have dry clothes for later. Following suit, Walter removes his gloves, footwear, and scarf before diving into the water with all the grace of a swan.
Tiir breaths deeply, but elects to stay by the rails as he watches Guriko doggy paddle and Walter make large strokes.
"Are you all right, Tiir?" asks Minato, who knows precisely why Tiir has chosen to stay on the very dry, very solid deck.
"Of course. The water's shallow enough," Tiir says, "If necessary, I'll head to the center."
Sometime later, Guriko has taken to sunbathing with her stomach up while Walter returns to deck, sopping wet but apparently not caring, and reports the lack of anything ore-like. Tiir shrugs, then tosses a rope over the rail.
"Do you have something to say?" he asks when he catches Walter's stare. He grabs at the top of the rope, a foot set atop the railing.
"You can't swim," Walter says matter-of-factly, but with a look that borders on accusatory.
" . . . I know."
And with that, he jumps over the rail, grasping the rope to ensure a safe, if sodden, landing on the submerged sand. The water comes up to his knees. Tiir wades over to a sizable rock nearby, which he'd seen Walter swim past, and scales it to the other side. He notes the unusually smooth texture of the rocks, as if they've been untouched by water's erosion, when a pebble gives out under him and he slips to the bottom but with a quick twist falls feet first.
Looking to his left, then his right, the first thing he notices is the barest appearance of what looks like the entrance of an alcove, cleverly hidden behind pillars of stone that he sees past at his angle. He climbs the stony landscape to that corner, squeezing himself into the opening (he is rather skinny, and both Minato and Guriko have called this out).
The water level is much lower inside, as well as predictably darker. But tucked in the center and overwhelmed by sand is a soft blue glow, barely the size of an apple, which, upon closer inspection, is an almost translucent ore.
Tiir swallows, the beating of his anxious heart overtaking the roar of the waves against stone. With a warm hand, he parts the damp sand and takes hold of the Everlight.
▶ Part 7
After everything, Tiir hadn't expected to ever come back to the site of their meeting. Walter had turned around to the broken door upon stating the truth of the Lady Fennes' recovery, now a good two weeks behind them, and promptly said—or, well, more like demanded—that they set sail to the manor. Tiir had been wary, even if Minato had agreed in the blink of an eye with Guriko trailing after him.
It turns out, however, that Minato's blind trust this time around rings true. He's always been a fair judge of character, if sometimes too fair, and he's correct to assume that Walter wouldn't bring them for a lame cause after sharing about the Lady of whom he'd spoken with such gentility. Of course, even Minato's blind trust hadn't foreseen the mess Walter and Guriko would make of the dining table in the ship, with Guriko having tried to shove eels at his face while Walter almost threw his chair at her (he just ripped one of the wooden armrests off in quiet rage). But that, Minato insists, is of the past and they're now on the soil of the Fennes House.
Tiir narrows his eyes suspiciously when Walter tells them to wait, docked at a remote site in the civilians' blind spot, and heads off on his own while avoiding the watch at the main gate. He can only guess Walter is evading capture (after all, he had abandoned his post as a servant or what have him in order to pursue Tiir for so long).
Tiir stands against the edge of their ship, with Guriko dangling on the rails just above him on the lookout for Walter. Minato is somewhere in the cabin, most likely tidying up the chaotic remains of a grown man and young girl's petty quarrel over eels.
An hour passes at the most when Guriko kicks out, nearly clocking Tiir in the back of the head as she shouts: "Redeem has returned!" A new nickname she has given Walter, after his sudden loss of hostility and negligence to ever say why. Sure enough, Walter steals his way over to the ship, empty-handed as ever, but stops just before Tiir to relay news.
"Set sail for the Tear of the Sea."
"What's this about?" asks Tiir, straightening and resting a hand against his side.
"I'll explain on the way," says Walter, and he takes hold of a rope to climb onto deck with practiced ease. Odd, for a mere noble servant.
Tiir sets Minato at the steering wheel, and they soon embark on the short journey to the Tear of the Sea, an obscure location that only Walter has heard of and has to point them toward. Tiir pulls him aside afterward, and brings him to the bow on the other end for a brief and friendlier-than-the-usual interrogation as Guriko takes to keeping Minato company.
"You've kept quiet for long enough, I think," says Tiir. "Why the sudden change?"
Despite the lack of subterfuge, Walter is not one to be taken by surprise and instead folds his arms, glancing Tiir in the eyes.
"I've already told you that a different ore saved the life of the Lady. The Tear of the Sea is where she found it."
"Shirley?"
"Her sister," Walter corrects.
"Then you're proposing that we look for another of this ore in a place none of us but you know of. The other two may have already taken a liking to you, but you'll have to forgive me for remaining distrustful."
"I don't need you to trust me. If you care about that girl, you'll do anything it takes to pursue her cure."
Tiir restrains a smirk from erupting, but with a slight bitter smile watches after Walter's retreating form just as Guriko meets him in the middle. For the rest of the trip to their destination, he doesn't question Walter—overtly, anyway, reserving only curious glances that keep their relationship still estranged as it has been for the past four months.
The night before their estimated arrival, however, Tiir asks: "The ore. What does it look like?"
"I don't know."
------
The Tear of the Sea is surrounded by a largely unused route, which makes this arrival by far the quietest since Tiir has started his quest some year or two back. Guriko suggests that the ore might be in the shallow waters and jumps in after tossing off her ragged shoes, though Minato chasing her to the rails about how she should shed some more to have dry clothes for later. Following suit, Walter removes his gloves, footwear, and scarf before diving into the water with all the grace of a swan.
Tiir breaths deeply, but elects to stay by the rails as he watches Guriko doggy paddle and Walter make large strokes.
"Are you all right, Tiir?" asks Minato, who knows precisely why Tiir has chosen to stay on the very dry, very solid deck.
"Of course. The water's shallow enough," Tiir says, "If necessary, I'll head to the center."
Sometime later, Guriko has taken to sunbathing with her stomach up while Walter returns to deck, sopping wet but apparently not caring, and reports the lack of anything ore-like. Tiir shrugs, then tosses a rope over the rail.
"Do you have something to say?" he asks when he catches Walter's stare. He grabs at the top of the rope, a foot set atop the railing.
"You can't swim," Walter says matter-of-factly, but with a look that borders on accusatory.
" . . . I know."
And with that, he jumps over the rail, grasping the rope to ensure a safe, if sodden, landing on the submerged sand. The water comes up to his knees. Tiir wades over to a sizable rock nearby, which he'd seen Walter swim past, and scales it to the other side. He notes the unusually smooth texture of the rocks, as if they've been untouched by water's erosion, when a pebble gives out under him and he slips to the bottom but with a quick twist falls feet first.
Looking to his left, then his right, the first thing he notices is the barest appearance of what looks like the entrance of an alcove, cleverly hidden behind pillars of stone that he sees past at his angle. He climbs the stony landscape to that corner, squeezing himself into the opening (he is rather skinny, and both Minato and Guriko have called this out).
The water level is much lower inside, as well as predictably darker. But tucked in the center and overwhelmed by sand is a soft blue glow, barely the size of an apple, which, upon closer inspection, is an almost translucent ore.
Tiir swallows, the beating of his anxious heart overtaking the roar of the waves against stone. With a warm hand, he parts the damp sand and takes hold of the Everlight.
▶ Part 7