A Flaw

When he woke again, it was beneath an unfamiliar ceiling. The convulsions in his body were still going on—not only had they failed to weaken, they had grown worse. It seemed that from now on, he could only allocate points somewhere safe.

Perhaps because his body was still weak, his five senses had been severely dulled. Everyone in his field of vision looked blurry, as though separated from him by a layer of misty water. He could not see them clearly.

The voices by his ears sounded like the chirping of insects, buzzing incessantly, yet he could not make out any details. It left him unbearably itchy inside.

"Water."

After sweeping his gaze around, Heka discovered that the three or four people there had not noticed he had woken up at all, as though they had merely come there for a chat. He could only make the request himself.

"Boss, you're awake."

The smallest figure was the first to rush over, but someone behind him promptly pulled him back.

"Let him rest. He probably got poisoned. We've already given him the medicine, but he's still weak."

The next voice was like the tolling of a bell, making Heka's head buzz. It took him quite a while to recover.

After waiting for a moment, Heka slowly opened his eyes. Strong light streamed in through the distant window curtains, casting a ring of gradient-colored halos before his eyes.

Heka shifted his arm lightly, and a wave of numbness followed, as though he had slept on that arm all night.

"All right, all right. Let the patient rest."

The man who had first pulled Tuft of Hair away put the hat in his hand onto his head. After giving himself a quick adjustment, he turned and left. He was probably the doctor hired by the Black Mountain Merchants. Sure enough, those people from the Black Mountain Merchants were a bunch of misers.

Heka could understand them, though. Skipping the line for treatment probably cost ten silver coins, while waiting in line cost at least three. Tuft of Hair's treatment must have cost even more, since the lump on his head was not a traditional injury, but a pathological growth that had been there for a long time.

Treating that thing was much harder than simply neutralizing poison or healing a wound. If Heka had been in their position, he would not have wanted to spend so much money on someone who was going to die in the end anyway.

After being pushed aside by the adults, Tuft of Hair ran over to the water trough. Once the doctor had been sent out amid a chorus of noisy chatter, he finally returned to his boss's side.

"Water."

Tuft of Hair handed over the ladle. He still remembered that after his boss's last battle, he had not only eaten enough to stretch his belly several times over, but had also drunk a great deal of water before wrapping himself up and smoking for a while.

To be honest, Tuft of Hair had been a little afraid that his boss would cook himself inside the blankets. After all, smoke had been pouring from the man's head at the time.

This time seemed much better. At least he was not smoking, and his eyes had not turned red.

Heka took small sips until he finished the water. His stomach naturally began to growl. Perhaps because he had replenished himself sufficiently last time, this increase in strength had only left him hungry. He no longer felt the terrifying sensation that he might digest even himself.

Heka narrowed his eyes. They had not yet adapted to the light outside, but the haziness had receded somewhat. He could now make out the faces of the people standing around him.

He was not particularly surprised to see Deko there. After all, the man was effectively his supervisor, and it was only natural for him to come here, heart in his mouth, after such an accident.

But Heka was honestly surprised to see Riel here as well. Riel was the helmsman of the Black Mountain Merchants, and most of the time he was constantly rushing from one thing to another. Could he really have waited here? Or had Heka simply woken up at an opportune moment, just when Riel had come to inspect the injured?

But none of that mattered right now. Heka shifted his gaze to Tuft of Hair, who was about to be squeezed out again. Only his thigh was bandaged, and perhaps because he had been treated in time, the boy's complexion looked fairly good.

Heka cleared his throat, then took the boy's hand. With eyes that still held a trace of daze, he looked at him.

"I heard that only people who know each other's names can find one another in the kingdom of God after death.

"Let's introduce ourselves again. I'm afraid I'll forget your name.

"My name is Heka."

Before Heka could finish, Tuft of Hair had already clasped his hand tightly. Then tears as large as beans fell from the boy's eyes, which bore little in the way of eyelashes, and landed on Heka's palm, cool against his skin.

"My name is—I'm Martin."

At last, he had managed to ask Martin's name without any awkwardness. Heka smiled in satisfaction, then patted Martin on the shoulder.

"Since the lump's been taken care of, you don't need to call yourself Tuft of Hair anymore. From now on, I'll call you by your name."

"You're not going to die for the time being. That's what the doctor said."

Deko's brows drew together. This kid always gave him the slippery feeling of someone with far too many tricks up his sleeve.

"Really?" Heka's eyes immediately lit up.

"Could it be that you forgot your friend's name and staged all this just so you could ask for it?"

Deko had made the worst possible guess about Heka's intentions, while Heka immediately answered with an innocent expression.

"Since you're awake, we'll set out tomorrow. You have to create some value, after all. Otherwise, we might as well hand you over to the Blood Sparrow."

Seeing the kid drag the conversation further and further off course, Riel tapped a finger against his sword hilt. He then signaled with his eyes for the two people beside him to take Tuft of Hair away. He wanted to speak with Heka alone.

"I understand. Everyone has put so much into me, so I have to give something back. It's just that I'm far too weak right now. Can you give me some time to recover? Three days?"

"Two."

Riel watched as Martin was escorted away under the pretext of letting Heka rest, then ended the argument with his final offer.

"I need food. The people going into the sewers won't be able to protect me completely, either. At the very least, give me a suit of chainmail."

Riel merely waved away Heka's first request. The man who had not yet fully left immediately understood the gesture. After leaving the small room, he headed toward the kitchen in the distance.

It was not mealtime yet, but since the boss had asked for food, any time could be mealtime.

"There's no chainmail, but there is a shortsword. I saw your fight. Beautiful swordsmanship."

Riel fixed his eyes on Heka's, seemingly trying to discover something within them. Unfortunately, he appeared not to have found what he had been hoping for.

"But I still didn't save Mr. Carpenter." Heka's expression dimmed slightly. Riel nodded, then left the room.

Inside the room, Heka lowered his eyes. His clash with the people from the Blood Sparrow had been a fight to the death, and it had left behind quite a few flaws.

For example, there was the dwarf. Heka was not certain whether the other Black Mountain warrior had survived. If he had, then there was no way to conceal the fact that Heka had killed the dwarf Podoli. Or rather, even if the other man had died, that still would not cover it up.

After all, the Blood Sparrow's ranger had left in a hurry and had only had time to carry away the heavily wounded half-orc. The dwarf's corpse was still lying in the street.

The Black Mountain Merchants could not possibly fail to bring back the corpse. Once they examined the wound, they would be able to rule out the members of the guard unit.

As for Thirl, he specialized in throwing knives, not in close-quarters use of shortswords and daggers. His melee weapon was a flail. In the eyes of an expert, the wounds caused by throwing knives and daggers were completely different.

The only good news was that the arrow lodged in the half-orc had been taken away. That arrow had pierced deeply, leaving Heka at least a little room to argue that the dagger had been looted from an enemy, and that he had killed the dwarf through an incredible stroke of luck.