The Epic of the Discarded Son-Chapter 56: Diary 5

8/9/3024

"I made it. After crossing the sea in a tiny boat one of the villagers was kind enough to lend me. They all seemed way too excited to see me off. They also all happened to be carrying anything that even vaguely resembled a weapon—kitchen knives, the things they used to chop vegetables, sticks, brooms, one very determined grandmother with a rolling pin."

At the bottom of the page, there was a small drawing. The villagers on the shore, a chaotic mob of people holding their handmade weapons, and Rei sitting in a boat, cheerfully waving goodbye at them like he had absolutely no idea what was happening.

"That doesn’t look like they were waving him goodbye," Nora said slowly. "That looks like they were getting rid of a problem."

Rei’s thing with girls.

Shiro knew exactly what that drawing meant.

He shrugged instead.

"It’s a Rei thing. He had this weird habit of stargazing. At night. Without clothes. For some reason it always ended with him running for his life. Also without clothes."

"What?" Nora asked, squinting at him.

Shiro sighed. He really didn’t want to explain Rei’s side quests. Not now. Not ever.

He scratched the back of his neck.

"It’s nothing interesting, honestly. He used to tell me how he’d stargaze with a lot of women. And kiss a lot of them too. Usually in that order."

Nora’s face lit up.

Not the good kind of lit up.

Definitely not the oh, that’s cute kind.

The other kind.

She lifted her head off his shoulder, slowly, deliberately, and looked him dead in the eyes.

"You better not pick up any of that habit."

Her voice wasn’t soft. It wasn’t cute. It was deep and low and rumbling with the kind of barely-controlled rage that sounded like it was coming through clenched teeth.

Shiro didn’t know why—there was no logical reason for his body to react this fast—but he shook his head rapidly. Very rapidly. Like his life depended on it.

The next page was long. And it was dated about a month later—like Rei had spent the whole month trying to figure out wherever he’d ended up.

9/10/3024

"This place is different. It’s not an island—or, technically, it is, but it’s the size of a dozen islands smashed together into one big colony. Or at least that’s what the new map I got calls it. Everything out here is massive. Way bigger than home. Way, WAY bigger. And it’s not just the size—everything else is different too."

"Also, I’m a foreigner now. First time. Strong dislike. Would not recommend. And every single time someone asks me where I’m from, I tell them the same thing: I’m from Kurohana Village. And every single time, they look at me like I’ve lost my mind. Tell me the place doesn’t exist. Call me crazy. Then walk away. And the worst part? It’s not even on the map. Anywhere. I’ve checked twice."

"And that’s not even the worst part."

"The worst part is the bastards in those dumb green uniforms who won’t let me cross the border. So there I was, sitting outside the checkpoint, trying to figure out a way to sneak in—when a woman—"

Nora flipped the page.

"Hey! I wasn’t done reading!"

"You are such a slow reader," she groaned.

"It’s nothing much anyway. The woman helps him across the border."

"Yeah, but how does he do it?"

Nora sighed. "He charms her. Smooth talking, good looks, the whole package. You know—classic Rei."

"Oh. That’s actually a good skill to have."

And that earned him a death glare. The kind of death glare that usually came with a weapon attached to it.

’Never mind. Terrible skill. Worst skill. I take it back.’

9/18/3024

"The food here is incredible. Especially the curries. There are so many different kinds—spicy ones, mild ones, some that taste like someone poured the sun into a bowl—and I can’t stop eating them. I may actually eat myself to death out here. If I do, bury me with seconds."

Shiro smiled softly.

’This one’s short. Guess he just needed to tell somebody about the food.’

Memories flooded him.

And Nora—always too attuned to him for her own good—noticed right away. She looked up at his face, waiting.

"Oh," Shiro said quietly. "The day he guided me out of the dark... he told me we were going to eat curry together. Until our stomachs exploded."

A small, crooked smile.

"But—"

The word hung there, unfinished. He didn’t try to rescue it.

Nora’s hand slid around his side. Slow. Steady. No words. She just flipped the page for him, quietly, like she was closing a door he wasn’t ready to walk through.

9/29/3024

"STATUS UPDATE: I almost got married to a princess. Accidentally."

"I’ve been walking and eating non-stop for days now, and I still can’t find her. The woman who got me across the border. Turns out she’s—and I cannot stress this enough—insane. She decided about ten minutes after meeting me that she was in love with me, which would’ve been flattering if she hadn’t also casually mentioned that her father is the leader of this entire country. So whatever she wants, she gets. Which apparently included me."

"I had to run. Fast. In the middle of the night. Without most of my stuff."

"Somehow I made it to a different nation nearby. It’s surrounded by the same country I escaped from, which is weird, but it has its own people and its own culture and—most importantly—its own food. Which is somehow even better than the curries. I didn’t think that was possible. I stand corrected."

"Also, something strange—there are no monsters here. Anywhere. No corrupted beasts. No attacks. Just people. Living their lives. Fearlessly. Like the idea of being eaten by something with too many teeth isn’t a daily concern out here. I don’t know how to feel about this. Relaxed? Suspicious? Both?"

Shiro turned to the next page, and the way it was written made his stomach drop before he’d read a single word.

The handwriting was wrong. Not the loose, confident scrawl from all the other entries. This was pressed into the page hard enough to leave grooves—the kind of writing you did when your hand was angry and your head was full and you were trying not to let either one show.

"12/02/3024"

"Scratch everything I said before. This place doesn’t need corrupted beasts. It already has people, and they’re worse than any monster I’ve ever fought. At least the beasts back home are honest about wanting to kill you. The people here smile while they do it. The worst part? Everyone just... lets it happen."