Chapter 6: We All Have No Other Choice
“Although you called it a transaction,”
“But if everything you said is true, then didn’t I have no choice from the very beginning?”
After a brief silence, Shiltina suddenly smiled.
She knew nothing about Deep Blue Port.
If she didn’t want to be crushed into dust in the aftermath of the Descent of the Evil God, then relying on the experience this young man had accumulated over tens of thousands of cycles was her only chance.
“Not just me, you’re the same.”
“If we fail this time, who knows when the next Night Traveler will enter this Nightworld Remnant again — it might be tens of thousands of cycles later, and who knows what changes may happen to the Nightworld in that time.”
“We all have no other choice.”
She pulled something from her bosom and tossed it to Rast.
“Rather than calling it a transaction, it’s more like you and I have long been grasshoppers tied to the same rope.”
“Let’s work together and struggle to survive.”
Pa-da—
Rast reached out and caught the object Shiltina had thrown.
It was a necklace, with a gem upon which a rose crest had been intricately carved — only, instead of scarlet, the petals shone with a metallic bronze luster.
Compared to when it had previously been worn by that now-dead masked woman, there was now a crack running right through the center of the bronze rose emblem.
Rast remembered that Shiltina also had a similar pendant, but the crest carved onto hers wasn’t a rose, but a laurel branch.
“A ceremonial crest exclusive to the secret organization 『Bronze Rose』.”
Shiltina said, “Though the ceremonial wear is already damaged, it still functions as proof of a Night Traveler.”
Rast picked up the pendant and examined it.
His gaze lingered for a moment on the hollow reverse side of the bronze rose crest.
He didn’t say anything, only put the pendant away.
“I’m going to make some preparations.”
Rast looked up at the wall clock above, then turned around and left after putting on the coat hanging by the door.
“Wait for me outside the store in an hour.”
...
At two in the morning, the lights of Deep Blue Port had gradually gone out.
The street outside the store was also eerily quiet, completely unlike the bustling scene a few hours ago.
Shiltina stood motionless in the chilly autumn night breeze, her slender figure cloaked in a hooded cape that reached her waist, like a silent statue.
Tick, tick.
She listened to the ticking of the pocket watch’s hands, silently counting the time.
When there were fifteen seconds left until the appointed hour, a voice suddenly rang in her ear.
“Your cloak looks good, fits better than the one I prepared for you.”
Shiltina turned to look beside her and found the hooded boy had somehow already appeared silently at her side.
Rast casually tossed the cloak in his hand aside.
“Well, that’s fair. Since we’re going to different Nightworlds for missions, essential tools for murder, arson, looting, and robbery like these can’t be missing.”
As he spoke, he suddenly raised his hand and waved toward the empty street.
The next moment, a carriage came around the corner of the street in the distance, turning into the one where Rast stood.
Then, without deviation, it stopped squarely in front of him.
“Outer district, No. 17, Loning Street.”
Rast climbed onto the carriage and deftly handed two bills and a box of cigars to the driver.
“Make it quick, brother.”
“My private detective and I have been tailing that cheating woman of mine for two and a half months. We finally caught her this time.”
“Once we catch them in the act, I’ll make sure those two adulterers pay the price.”
Even his voice had changed — no longer the clear tone Shiltina remembered, but deeper, hoarser, and rougher.
Like a middle-class man who worked hard to support his family, only to find himself cuckolded and barely suppressing his fury.
“No problem, brother.”
The coachman accepted the bills and cigars, and his previously sleepy eyes suddenly lit up with resolve.
“I swear on my career, I won’t let those scumbags get away.”
Snap—
A loud crack of the whip.
The horses, sluggish at first, accelerated instantly under the sting, charging straight into the night.
Feeling the aged carriage under her rattling at a speed beyond its theoretical limits, with even the wooden boards beginning to creak, Shiltina glanced at Rast.
This was the early morning, when most carriages refused passengers.
She had stood outside the store for over half an hour — this was the only carriage that had passed this street.
And yet Rast had managed to catch it perfectly, not a second too soon or too late.
During the ride, the two hardly spoke, with only Rast casually chatting with the coachman from time to time.
After all, Shiltina’s current identity was that of a private detective Rast had hired to catch a cheating spouse.
Her voice clearly didn’t fit that role, and she couldn’t mimic Rast’s false tone either.
Outside the window, the pitch-black scenery kept shifting.
Soon, the wide and tidy avenues of their previous district gave way to narrow alleys lined with low buildings.
The carriage turned another corner, and the outline of a street gradually emerged ahead.
“Let’s get off here.”
Rast spoke up, and the coachman immediately showed an understanding expression and pulled the carriage to a stop by the roadside.
“I get it. Since it’s a cheating case, you can’t make too much noise — wouldn’t want those two lovebirds to escape.”
He turned back and raised his eyebrows at Rast.
“Need a hand, brother? Your private detective here looks kinda frail. If those two scumbags get violent, she might not be much help.”
“Not to brag, but I used to run with a port gang in my youth. Holding the line for you is no problem.”
“If it weren’t for the wife birthing me a pair of twins and needing a steadier job, I wouldn’t be driving a carriage right now…”
The coachman’s words came to an abrupt halt, as though he suddenly remembered Rast’s role as the cuckold here.
He awkwardly added, “Sorry, didn’t mean to rub salt in the wound…”
“No worries.”
Rast waved it off, politely declining the offer of help.
“We can handle it. You go on back.”
“When this mess is over in a few days, I’ll treat you to a drink at the Golden Deer Hotel.”
Rast hopped off the carriage and walked toward Loning Street with the silent Shiltina.
“No wonder they say folks from the inner district are something else. I heard a single meal at the Golden Deer costs as much as I earn in a month.”
After the two disappeared into the night, the coachman suddenly came back to his senses and scratched his head in confusion.
“I didn’t even give him my address — how’s he gonna treat me to that drink?”