Chapter 9: The Starboy Doesn’t Like The Taste At All

“M’lord. Are you sure… you’ll be alright?”

“Fret not, Axe. All my quests with Lamb and the other children of Widow’s Wall have prepared me for this very moment.”

“Those are… pretend, M’lord.”

“What is?”

“I said nothing, M’lord.”

“Very well. We shall now go our own separate ways. Thief, let’s go before you surrender yourself to the guards.”

“Huh?”

Axe bowed his head, watching as Enel turned around, flipping his red cape as he went without a care in the world.

“Young baron…” Axe whispered to himself, not seeing anything else but their young lord.

He stared at Enel’s bouncing hair for a few moments and remembered him strutting along the roads of Widow's Wall. He always had Lamb beside him, the two of them endearingly terrorizing Widow's Wall with their so-called quests.

"Even if your head reaches the sky, you remain..." Then, all of a sudden, the soft look in his eyes faded away. Without any delay, he quickly rushed to one of his horses and unlatched it from the rest of the cart.

“Old man?! Where are you going?!” The one he was transferring the Veilwood with gasped in surprise, moving to the side as Axe suddenly jumped onto his horse. “Old man?!”

Alas, screamed as he’d like, Axe wasn’t hearing him at all.

“Ha!” He kicked the horse, riding through town without a care if he’d hit anyone or not. He wasn’t seeing anything else at all. The calm expression that he’d had with Enel was now completely gone and replaced with nothing but dread. “Gods, no… I must… I must tell the baron at once! He must not… he mustn’t reach the war!”

And while Axe was riding for his life, Enel was casually strolling through the streets of Riverdown with his little thief.

“M’lord…” the thief weakly muttered. “What did you mean I should surrender myself to the guards?”

“You are a thief, correct?” Enel glanced down at him. “A thief must be punished accordingly.”

“B-but… I’m a child, M’lord.”

“Ah.” Enel looked ahead and nodded. “Then I suppose you will only be flogged several times. I remember when I was disciplined for breaking one of Father's vases—you do not have to worry, it did not hurt. Take the punishment, and the Sovereign will forgive you.”

“What the fuck is a Sovereign?”

“What was that?”

“I… I mean… mercy, M’lord.” The thief immediately bowed his head as Enel glanced at him.

“It is not up to me to show you mercy, Thief.” Enel sighed, waving him away as he focused on the other sights the town had to offer.

As soon as the thief saw him distracted, he quietly turned around and then ran… only for his face to bump into Enel’s stomach again.

“Where do you think you are going, Thief?” Enel placed his hand on the little boy’s shoulder. “You do not seek to be paid?”

“...Paid?” The thief’s eyes widened. “You’re going to pay me, M’lord?!”

“Of course.” Enel squinted, seemingly exhausted with the thief’s questions. “Do you not get paid upon doing service in this town?”

“I—”

"What is your name, Thief?"

"I'm... called Tiny by my friends, M'lord."

"The name suits you." Enel nodded. He was about to turn around, but something caught his eye enough to make him stop. "What... is that?"

The thief, Tiny, turned to look at what he was pointing at, then blinked several times in confusion. “Glazed grilled fish, M’lord…?”

“That is… fish?” Enel’s eyes glittered as they reflected the stall. “What does it taste like?”

“I… don’t know, M’lord. I… haven’t had it.”

“I see.” Enel slowly made his way to it, and the people who were in line all moved to the side as soon as they noticed the obvious noble approaching them, lowering their heads.

The one who reacted the most was the vendor, whose eyes glittered even more than Enel’s and quickly clasped his hands together in delight.

“M’lord!” The vendor raised his voice, even subtly shooing his other customers. “Would you like to try our grilled fish?! It is seasoned with salt, pepper, and sugar!”

The vendor grabbed one of the sticks from his stall that was on the smoker. And as soon as the scent hit Enel’s nose, the back of his neck tingled, and his entire body shivered.

He did not, of course, make it easy for the others to know that he’d never actually tasted those three together—no. He’d never even tasted salt and actual sugar in his life.

“Hm.” He took a step back, clearing his throat. “How much will this cost me?”

“Please, M’lord. You can have it!” The vendor nodded several times, offering the fish to him. “My only wish is you visit us more often! Please!”

“Very well. If you insist,” Enel said, even though he quickly snatched the skewer from the vendor without any hesitation at all. He was about to take a bite of the fish, but started looking around for something. He squinted through the crowd, trying to look between the stalls.

But after a while of searching for whatever it was he was looking for, he shrugged and placed the fish near his lips. But once again, he paused before taking a bite as he noticed everyone looking at him—even Tiny was drooling.
Enel slightly leaned away from them, taking a deep breath before finally taking a big bite of the fish.

“M-M’lord! It still has bones!”

“Hm?”

The vendor became scared for his life, staring in horror as Enel started chewing on the fish. He clasped his hair, wincing as he imagined himself being flogged, or worse, beheaded. But then, Enel didn’t really react at all.

If anything, there was just a hint of a squint in his eyes.

His eyebrows lowered, and without saying a word, he turned around.

“M’lord…?” The vendor blinked, his mouth slightly opened as he watched Enel walk away. Tiny was also confused, but he hurriedly followed Enel through the crowd. He didn’t seem to be particularly walking anywhere, but he was looking around.

“Are you looking for something, M’lord?” Tiny asked.

“Yes. Where are… the people living in the streets?” Enel continued to look around, leaning his head to peek between the stalls.

“Living—there are no people living in the streets here, M’lord.”

“What…?” Enel blinked, seemingly confused. “Widow’s Wall has… hm.”

He then looked at his fish, then looked at the thief. He stared at him for a moment before handing the skewer. “You can have it.”

“M’lord…?” Tiny was also confused, but his hands were already moving toward the fish. “You are giving it to me…?”

“Yes,” Enel nodded.

“You… didn’t like it, M’lord?” Tiny carefully snatched the fish away.

“It… does not suit my tastes.” Enel cleared his throat. “I was expecting it to taste the way it smelled. Now, take us to this caravan you speak of while you devour your food.”

“A-at once, M’lord!” Tiny raised his voice, more excited now as he walked ahead of Enel, all while carefully eating his food. Enel noticed him even touching his cheek, and he couldn’t understand how he liked it at all.

It tasted good at first... the burst of flavors he’d never experienced before bombarded the inside of his mouth—to the point it almost caused him to tilt his head. But what came after that was a sort of strange… strong taste.

Still, Tiny seemed to enjoy every bite. Perhaps… it just takes time to get used to?

Enel subtly stuck out his tongue, letting the air wash out the taste—but the taste didn’t linger that long in his mind, however, as he was once again distracted by everything else in the town.

He was used to there being a lot of people, but what he wasn’t used to was that everyone here seemed to move without pause. Widow’s Wall was completely different, most of the people there were… stagnant.

“Is… it always like this here?”

“What was that, M’lord?” Tiny glanced back, still happily eating his fish and plucking bones from his mouth.

“I asked if it is always like this here. People… moving.”

“I suppose so, M’lord?” Tiny shrugged. “...You’ve never been here, M’lord?”

“I have… never been anywhere,” Enel said, his eyes still watching the busy stalls. “My father promised to take me to the bigger cities once I become of age. If they are bigger than this, then I’m afraid I might get lost.”

“Become… of age?” Tiny eyes widened. “How old are you now, M’lord?”

“Three and ten.”

“I’m three and ten,” Tiny said, almost dropping his skewer.

“Then your name suits you even more.” Enel nodded, motioning for Tiny to continue walking. "You are blessed with meat all around you. Green forests within foot's journey. Hunt—and perhaps you will no longer be a thief."

“Are you… truly three and ten, M’lord?”

“Yes.” Enel shrugged. “Ah. Yes, I am a little taller than my peers. You could attest.”

“M’lord. You look like a knight.”

“...I do?” Enel squinted, a hint of a smile creeping on his face. He slightly hastened his pace, walking beside Tiny. “I am not. My father is a knight, but he lost his Breath from a hunting accident. That was when he met Mother.”

“Oh…” Tiny blinked, not expecting Enel to suddenly start his life story. “You mentioned Widow’s Wall, M’lord? That is the refugee city, M’lord?”

“Refugee—no?” Enel raised an eyebrow. “We are a proud stronghold city, defending the lands from the Veil of the Dark Forest.”

“I..." Feeling Enel's sudden change in tone, Tiny quickly lowered his voice. "I must have heard of a different city."

“You must have.” Enel nodded. But his steps soon slowed down, and he once again looked around before asking. “This city you speak of… what else are they saying about it?”

“That…” Tiny hesitated. “I heard that… it is a dying barony, M’lord. And that… the baron there is poorer than a peasant. But seeing you, M’lord—I was definitely thinking of a different city.”

“Hmn…” Enel nodded. “Where do you hear these things?”

“The duke's soldiers, M’lord. They say they can always get men from there since the city can’t offer anything else.” The thief looked disgusted, spitting out before clicking his tongue. "I can't imagine living in a place like that."

"What..." Enel's hand curled into a fist, and Tiny could have sworn he heard as if it was iron groaning.

"These soldiers," he... whispered. "Where are they?"