The Scarlet Arbitress: Contracts of Starlight and Shadow - The Cheerful Mercenary's Failure and Trust

The road to Rustwater stretched before them, and Meredith and Kess had been walking it for two days. Her deep chestnut waves, long and undulating, had grown somewhat dulled by the dust of travel. Meredith had changed into the garb of a peddler, donning a dark blue mantle that eschewed ostentation. It was a disguise to evade the eyes of the Covenant Magister Corps—the state-sanctioned organization that governed contractual magic. The contract mark on her left wrist—the innate pattern of her magical power—was wrapped in white cloth and hidden away. Beyond the hill beside the road, a small waystation town came into view. A settlement of some three hundred souls, it functioned as a relay point to Rustwater. Merchant houses lined the road, and beyond them a residential quarter spread out in a landscape that seemed designed to soothe the weariness of passing travelers. "A little further and we'll reach the town. That's the 'Silent Dove Inn,'" Meredith said. Her voice was composed, yet vigilance had not abandoned it. Her keen eyes, sharp with insight, never ceased their observation of the surrounding fields. "The Silent Dove Inn?" Kess, at her side, replied with evident interest. He remained as cheerful as ever. His bright chestnut short hair bounced as he gazed at the wildflowers beside the road, his jade-green eyes alight with curiosity. "The most reputable cheap lodging in this waystation town. Many travelers gather there, so information is abundant. And—" Meredith narrowed her eyes. "The innkeeper was once a magistrate. A woman of sealed lips." "I see. In other words, it's safe." "Precisely." They arrived at the waystation as evening fell. Dust stirred by the wind had turned crimson in the sunset's glow. Night was drawing near. The "Silent Dove Inn" was a modest two-story wooden structure. Simple yet clean, a lodging sign hung above its entrance. The dove depicted on that sign was indeed one that spoke nothing at all. The innkeeper, a woman of forty-eight named Naria Doon, carried the history of having once served as a magistrate. When her eyes met Meredith's, they seemed to perceive something—as though she knew the footsteps of those who fled endlessly from the Covenant Magister Corps. Yet she said nothing, merely showing them to their room. Meredith set down her belongings in the small second-floor chamber. From the window, the town's night lights were visible, twinkling like scattered stars. Kess announced he would "gather information" and departed. *Let nothing happen until he returns,* Meredith thought, standing by the window. The relic in her breast pocket was faintly warm. Two hours, perhaps, had passed. As Meredith gazed down upon the town from her window, suddenly a commotion erupted. Multiple men came running from a tavern. One of them was—Kess. "We've been found," Meredith murmured. Without hesitation, she seized her sword and descended the stairs. In the town's center, near a tavern called the "Broken Scale," Kess was being pursued by three men. Not contract enforcers—those direct officials of the Covenant Magister Corps—but private informants in the Corps' employ. Meredith darted into an alley. She reached Kess. "What did you do?" "I'm sorry. The drink got the better of me..." Kess's explanation was brief. It seemed he had attempted to inquire about the Covenant Magister Corps in the tavern, only to speak something too close to the truth. The informants' ears had caught it. "Run," Meredith commanded. The two of them raced through the alleyways. Kess repeated "I'm sorry" again and again, yet he followed Meredith. The pursuers had grown to four. Meredith's eye fell upon a fruit vendor's stall in the market. Kess understood. He overturned it with brute force. Apples scattered and rolled, blocking the pursuers' path. The next alley. Kess seized hanging laundry. White sheets danced through the air. Vision was stolen away. Yet Kess too became entangled. He fell with pitiful clumsiness. Meredith turned back and grasped the arm of the fallen Kess. With her strength, she pulled him to his feet and kept him running. "Are you truly a mercenary?" she asked. "Ugh... I'm sorry. I'm just unlucky in these situations." There was genuine remorse in Kess's voice. The rooftops. Meredith pulled Kess up onto the roof of a nearby house. The pursuers fell a moment behind. In that instant, the two moved to the next roof, then the next. Soon the pursuers vanished from sight. Beneath the moonlight, the two sat upon the roof. Meredith was catching her breath. Kess—unusually—wore a serious expression. "Listen, Meredith." His voice was small. The usual lightness was gone. "It's an old story. Back when I... was just the son of an ordinary merchant." Kess began to speak. "My father was a good man. A bit simple as a merchant, perhaps. He was a country person who couldn't even read." Meredith looked at his profile. Illuminated by moonlight, it seemed somehow more fragile than usual. "One day, he fell victim to contract fraud. By a merchant he had trusted. He lost everything. On that contract—" Kess's voice trembled. "It was written in small letters: 'All assets pledged as collateral.' My father couldn't read it. I was small then too, and I could do nothing." Meredith said nothing. To listen to his words was, at this moment, the most precious thing. "That's why I hate contracts so much. They're traps designed to destroy people. And yet—" Kess looked at Meredith. Something gleamed in his jade-green eyes. Not tears. Anger, perhaps, or something else entirely. "Until you appeared, I thought it was inevitable. That contracts were simply that way. A tool for the strong to exploit the weak. Something that would never disappear. But you—you shattered that contract." "Yes," Meredith answered. Her voice was quiet and composed. "That power carries a price. Each time, something is lost. But—" Meredith looked at his hand. "It is still worth doing." Kess nodded. The gesture seemed that of one who had resolved something. They returned to the inn. Naria gazed at them both. Her expression suggested understanding, yet she said nothing. She merely handed them the room key quietly. In the narrow second-floor chamber. Meredith and Kess sat back to back. Through the window, the town's night lights were visible. Silence flowed between them. "We'll keep watch through the night," Kess said. "Let us take turns resting. You must be tired as well," Meredith replied. Kess looked at her in surprise. "You're surprisingly kind," he said. Meredith turned her face away. Her cheeks had flushed, ever so slightly. "Don't speak such nonsense." Her voice was softer than usual. Feeling Kess's warmth against her back, Meredith became aware, for the first time, that she was beginning to trust this person as a "companion." She had thought this irresponsible, clumsy mercenary unworthy of trust. Yet now her feelings wavered. The sincerity within his failures. The deep wound hidden beneath his cheerfulness. And still, his resolve to move forward. The silver tattoo on Meredith's left wrist glowed faintly red. Beyond the window, the night deepened further. Come morning, the two would set out for Rustwater. But what awaited them in that harbor town—they did not yet know.

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Episode 4

Name: The Scarlet Arbitress: Contracts of Starlight and Shadow
Author: Novelia

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