Orb is Quiet, but Vermon is Unhappy (Ch4 - Part 2)

“What did you tell him exactly?”

Vermon asked Akinos for the third time while they spent the night on the latter’s balcony in the Imperial Palace.

Sitting cross-legged on the balcony floor, Vermon grasped the handle of his axe with one hand, holding it vertically at arm's length as he waited for a response from his friend.

Akinos, on the other hand, sat on the edge of the balcony fence with one leg hanging in the air. Unwilling to give his friend a quick answer, he directed his gaze to contemplate his friend’s famous weapon, Kinyongo[1], which was truly a distinguished axe, not only for the multitude of blood it had spilled but also for the beauty of its workmanship.

The axe was crafted with two distinct blades: one straight and pointed, the other broad and sickle-shaped. The straight blade served for stabbing adversaries, while the wide blade was employed to sever limbs or heads with a horizontal pull. Above these formidable blades glowed a golden, serrated tip, working as a spear. It bore the empire’s emblem, intricately engraved alongside the edges of the blades.

“Nothing important,” Akinos indifferently replied after a deliberate delay as he enjoyed teasing his friend.

“On the contrary, it is very important, Akinos. Since you have spoken to him, he has been very calm. He hadn’t even tried to escape with the window open, and after old Luba’s visit, he became calmer. He had not resisted for days and ate what cold food we gave him without complaint. He didn’t eat much due to his illness, but he showed a desire to recover. He even asked the servant to provide him with a quilt to protect him from the cold floor, but I did not permit it.”

Akinos watched his friend speak those words seriously without taking his eyes off the axe in his hand.

“I don’t understand it! Don’t you like it when he is quiet?” Akinos asked, “Isn’t that what you want?”

“He’s suspicious!”

Akinos sighed. “Don’t you know anything about his past?”

“I don’t care about his past, and I didn’t ask much about it when I found him,” Vermon looked at Akinos and asserted, “His present is what matters because now he belongs to me.”

“Yes, I almost forgot that there is no point in trying to get information from him because the seal of Uthus prevents him from speaking about his past, declaring his former identity, and pronouncing his real name. He is being restrained mentally and physically,” Akinos paused and casually asked, “Is he aware of that?”

“Not yet,” Vermon sneered as he imagined how shocked his slave would be when he discovered the ugly truth.

“But what if he is a noble?”

Vermon raised one eyebrow and smiled ironically. “A noble? And what would a noble do in a temple? —No, I don’t think so.”

Akinos continued fixing his eyes on his friend as he listened to him. “He was a hermit, a stubborn and hot-tempered one.”

Then, Vermon sat straight. “I admit he is very intelligent and knowledgeable, but I want to discipline him. I want to keep a tight rein on him because I do not trust him; perhaps he intends something after he recovers.”

“He won’t. Trust me,” Akinos confirmed in a low but confident tone. He then leaped off the fence and claimed one of the two seats in the center of the balcony, which were facing his friend.

* * *

“Won’t you tell me what happened between the two of you?” Vermon impatiently asked.

“No.”

Akinos smiled as he took a file out of his pocket and began filing the long nails of his right hand. He remembered his meeting with one of the Readers[1] of the Imperial Palace and asking her about Orb after giving her his description.

He conveyed her message to Orb word by word, even though he did not believe in riddles. The trick worked out and left its mark on Orb’s soul.

“Anyway, don’t hurt him. I’m sure he keeps a great secret, which we’ll only know in time.”

Vermon had previously told Akinos about his last trip to the Kingdom of Empamalangon in search of his family, and how on his way back, he found Orb in the Central Heights, hiding in a secret underground chamber of the Temple.

Vermon also clarified to his friend that Orb intended to die, succumbing to the plague and starvation without trying to get himself out of place or ask for help.

“Just keep your temper in check, Vermon. Don’t let him provoke you.”

Vermon waved his axe and said ferociously, “I’ll kill him if he provokes me!”

“What did I just tell you, Vermon!” Akinos frowned.

Vermon did not want to upset his friend and did not forget that he was the Crown Prince of Arkosia, who was worthy of obedience and respect.

“I mean, I’ll discipline him!” he hesitated.

“How are you going to discipline him?” Akinos asked, doubting his friend’s intentions.

“I will gouge out his damaged eyes!” Vermon exclaimed fervently as he clenched his hand forcefully.

“!”

“Er—I mean, I’ll lock him up.”

Akinos sighed. “He is already locked up, Vermon.”

Still holding his axe, Vermon murmured, “I will deprive him of food and drink until he becomes nothing but skin and bone.”

“He is already thin since you brought him from Empamalangon.”

“You are right. He has been so skinny since I found him in that temple,” Vermon paused momentarily, “What happened to him to do that to himself? I wonder,” he murmured.

“Oh? So, you are curious! Is there a need to hide it from me?” Akinos chuckled, “Do you regret marking him?”

“N—No,” Vermon averted his gaze, “I do not regret making him my slave.”

Akinos sighed audibly. “Why don’t you treat him well and test his reaction?” he suggested.

“How can I treat him well? He makes me want to beat and torture him,” Vermon’s eyes shone in excitement, “and I find it fun! Even as calm as he is now, I admit I am itching for a fight and would like to provoke him to beat him up! —I hate feeling bored. I hate being ignored!”

Akinos smiled in amusement. “So, toying with him is your way of disciplining him? Do you really know what you are doing?”

Vermon looked lost. “No,” he quietly replied, returning his axe to his belt.

Akinos stopped filing his nails. “Give him something,” he again suggested.

“Like what?” Vermon looked genuinely interested in his friend’s idea.

“Make him a cane instead of the one he broke the night he tried to escape.”

“Do I have to?”

“Ah, Vermon! You are hopeless!” Akinos began tapping the file in his hand on the arm of his seat, then said, “I am giving you a reason to stir him up.”

Vermon’s eyes widened slowly in excitement, then stood up.

“What a brilliant idea, Akinos!” Swept away with excitement, Vermon did not sound like he would stop talking, so he continued, “I still wanted to test his powers. Remember when I told you about the first time he attacked me? He manipulated water and formed it into a small yet so powerful aqua ball; it was so impressive even though he was sick,” Vermon chuckled, “I also wanted to know what the purpose of the cane is. If he is a Roaming Star, he doesn’t need it, right?”

* * *

There was a moment of silence before Akinos spoke. “Possessing the Roaming Star only gives your slave the ability to find his way no matter where he is, but it doesn’t give him a clear vision. In other words, your slave can know the directions but not see what is in front of him. He could stumble and fall if anything obstructs his way.”

“Indeed! I have seen that myself,” Vermon crossed his arms and went on, “Actually, Luba examined his eyes when he was unconscious days ago and confirmed his blindness in one eye. However, he suspected that the other is liable to suffer too, from eventual blindness.”

“That’s unfortunate. How does he feel about it?” Akinos was not genuinely interested.

“Ah, you are giving me another reason to stir him up,” Vermon smirked, turning to Akinos.

“That was not my intention. I assure you.”

Vermon did not seem to hear Akinos as he went on, “Can’t wait to see his pained face!”

Akinos watched his friend stretch his arms high, then looked around. “Akinos, where is your talkative hedgehog?” Vermon asked.

Akinos leaned back on his seat with his legs crossed as he spoke idly to his friend for the remainder of the meeting. “Jerboa[2] is not a hedgehog. How many times do I have to tell you? He is a Jerboa, a leaping rodent.”

“Whatever! He is a furball, isn’t he?”

“Yes, he is covered with fur, unlike hedgehogs.”

Vermon sighed impatiently; Akinos enjoyed teasing him. “He is being punished now. I kept him in the cage to hear less of his chatter; however, I have other plans for him!”

* * *

End of Chapter (4)