Hero’s Downfall Report

13 – The Eyeless Woman Who Sees Men (complete)

Lily was sitting, leaning against one of the columns. The thickness of the column was enough to cover a person. If Cain were to turn to the side, he would see Lily burying her face and suppressing her sobs, but he didn’t want to go that far.

Every time Lily felt her tears welling up, she took a deep breath. She was holding back her tears, not letting them flow freely.

Cain sat on the opposite side of the column from Lily, facing the sun. The sunlight poured down, as if trying to catch a glimpse of the crying woman, but the quick-witted clouds provided just enough cover.

It seemed that her crying had subsided a little.

“Have you had lunch?”

He already knew the answer, but he still had to ask.

“I looked around for a bit, and there are a lot of new places. They weren’t here when I graduated. I’ll go buy some food. Can you hold onto this for me?”

He lightly lifted his cane backward. There was a moment of silence, and Lily pulled the cane towards herself.

“And this too.”

Cain handed Lily her handkerchief. Without turning his body, he turned his arm behind the column.

“I washed it after taking it out, but the stubborn stains didn’t come off easily because it’s so white and clean.”

A sound somewhere between a click and a snap could be heard.

Feeling a little embarrassed, Cain stood up. The small square was close to the back gate, but instead of going that way and taking more time, he jumped over the fence. He had become better at physical activities than during his student days, so he easily cleared it.

After a while, Cain returned with a basket. It contained raisins, dried fruits, bread with nuts, a few cookies, and a leather flask with low-alcohol liquor and some cheese.

Lily was still in the same spot. She hadn’t moved at all, still hiding her body in the darkness. Cain gently placed the basket next to the column and sat facing the brighter side.

Leaning against the pillar, the two remained silent, consuming their meal without a word. Thankfully, the students who had found this place seemed to pretend not to see them, making way for them as if they hadn’t witnessed anything. After all, loners had more than one secret spot.

As the basket emptied, there was a comforting feeling in their stomachs. Perhaps it was because of the beer. Cain had explicitly asked for a low-alcohol one, but his face was flushed. Was it because of the sunlight, or was it because of what he was about to say?

“Hey. Thanks earlier. I couldn’t express my gratitude due to my lack of manners.”

“What happened? What are you talking about?”

“Godfrey.” Cain took another sip. “Back when we had a scuffle, I should’ve broken my ankle. But he stepped forward. I appreciate that.”

“…It was nothing.”

“It wasn’t nothing.” Cain picked up a small stone that had fallen to the ground and rolled it between his palms.

“I didn’t even know the proper rules for a duel.”

“You learned what you didn’t know. Being grateful for your character is being grateful.”

“I’m not sure.” Lily’s words were slow, and her tongue seemed slightly twisted. It seemed the beer wasn’t low-alcohol.

“I don’t know anything properly. I speak like a fool, startling others. Clueless, slow in action, and incompetent.”

“Who says such nonsense?”

“My father…” Lily’s words paused for a moment. “Earlier. In front of everyone.”

“What did you do?”

“I greeted them.”

“And?”

“That’s all I did.”

Cain recalled the whispers he had heard from students while searching for Lily. The murmurs he heard while looking for Lily. The commander of the White Blood Knights had shouted in the busiest square, they said.

Shame on the family. Stupid and useless. Raised a child like you, and my time is wasted. A cursed child like you should never have been born. That’s what he had shouted.

‘Old madman.’

So, the chief editor, after a long time, abruptly scolded his daughter, who came to greet him. It turned out that the daily weirdness was indeed true.

Lily seemed to be mumbling something, hesitating. Cain decided to wait. However, the anger boiling within him was unbearable.

“Hey, Miss.”

In the end, Cain picked up a stone and threw it. The stone hit the wall, shattering into pieces.

“No. Why are you so clueless? Incompetent? And, well, slow? Do you think a slow person can easily steal the security chief’s documents and escape? You should make sense.”

Amidst the hesitant sound, laughter burst out again.

“…Even if you say that, I won’t give it back.”

“You won.”

“What?”

“You won. I decided to retire, postponed it.”

A sound of inhaling sharply was heard. The sound of tapping on the chest was audible, perhaps from hurried drinking. But then came the words,

“Lies…”

It was a tone of disbelief.

“Not a lie. I think Chief Veneice is waiting at the east entrance. In my opinion, by now, he’s probably disguised as a postal carriage driver, drinking a lot and sleeping.

And I was going to tell you a bit later, but whether it’s a disguised retirement or a real one is determined by whether you submitted a secret retirement certificate to the Internal Affairs or not. Fortunately, I couldn’t submit mine. As Bum and Bom said, when taking on a dangerous mission, using a retirement cover is one of the standard procedures, so no one thinks it’s strange. How about it? Does it still sound like a lie?”

Behind the pillar, Lily reached out. Her hand gently rested on Cain’s back of the hand. Like caressing fragile pottery. Like holding onto a dream she didn’t want to break.

“Still sounds like a lie.”

“Then let’s go together to check. Whether it’s a lie or not. We’ll go to the chief, heading south. How about that?”

“South? Do you mean the southern region?”

“Yeah. Professor asked for a favor. It’s a bit, a difficult task. Seems like a dark job. If you feel it’s not right while going, you can turn back. If you’re not up for it…”

Lily emerged from the darkness. Her right hand covered her face, but her left arm was wrapped around Cain’s arm.

“I want to go.”

Cain turned his head in the opposite direction.

“Well then, let’s rest for a bit and go. Let’s sober up with some drinks.”

Cain rested his head against a warm pillar bathed in sunlight. It was difficult to see clearly, but Lily was likely in a similar position.

“Because of work.”

“Hmm?”

“Because of work, are you staying here for a while?”

It wasn’t the exact answer. What Cain wanted was an answer, a meaning. Understanding the work he had done so far. The answer to what significance his actions held.

But how could he explain that to Lily?

“Yes. I have one more thing to do.”

“Because of work, I see. Not because of me.”

Cain fell silent. Lily moved closer to his side.

“Still… still, thank you.”

“It’s nothing.”

A chuckle escaped. It seemed a bit lighter. Even if he didn’t know, her eyes were probably swollen. Cain looked up at the sky. It seemed like rain would come if he waited a little longer. When it gets dark, when it rains, it could serve as a suitable cover.

So, he could buy some time until then.

“Yeah. There’s nothing left because of you. But if you hadn’t insisted on not knowing where my apology was, we wouldn’t have had to go to the auxiliary building. If you had known the laws of dueling properly, you wouldn’t have been able to challenge Godfrey twice.

If we hadn’t bought time like this, we wouldn’t have had the honor of riding in the professor’s carriage. I wouldn’t have had to take on another job. This is all because of you. And you still think you’re useless?”

Lily’s fingers twitched on the back of Cain’s hand.

“I didn’t intend for it to be this way.”

“But that’s how it turned out.”

Shoulders and neck itched. It was because of Lily’s blonde hair brushing against them. What to do, pondered Cain. He tilted his shoulder. A pleasant weight settled on him, a feeling too burdensome, too pleasant for Cain, unauthorized and forbidden.

“So it seems more like a lie.”

It felt too close for comfort, Cain briefly thought. But soon enough, he thought, whatever, and decided to let it be. Both were exhausted, both were drunk. Asked for low-proof alcohol, but the foolish bartender likely misunderstood the order.

Instead, they became languid and drowsy, even with the approaching overcast sky.

“Thank you.”

“What’s there to be thankful for?”

“For accepting me as I am. For letting go of my shoulders. For indulging my forced nature.”

The sky darkened. A moist wind, laden with humidity, blew. The surroundings became damp in an instant. Cain silently counted to five. Five, and something would happen afterward.

“Thank you for listening to me. I appreciate it.”

Cain counted five more.

* * * * *

Sure enough, Minister Bernice had his feet up on the mail carriage bench, fast asleep. Barely, just before the downpour, they could wake the minister, and the three entered the carriage.

“We thought you were getting old waiting for us.”

Minister Bernice, despite his words, carried the scent of wine. He seemed quite satisfied after a satisfying meal.

“So, how much did you hear?”

Lily looked at Cain, and Cain nodded.

“Congratulations. Heard you’re getting remarried.”

“What nonsense. My wife is perfectly alive.”

“You heard wrong. Getting remarried, you say.”

Venice and Cain chuckled.

If Cain had uttered a single word of what he heard from Anna, Venice would have immediately issued a disfavor order. Anna’s story should also be kept a secret from Venice. The Security Bureau only concerns itself with security matters and turns a blind eye to everything else. That’s the principle.

Venice tapped on two wooden boxes laid on the floor. With some regret, it seemed like they could be used as beds if covered with cloth.

“Gear up, and the reading materials are in here. I, really. Having to carry the title of director and prepare for a kids’ outing… Do you know the way? Follow the Imperial Decree. Only use places designated by the Security Bureau for sleeping, resting, and the like.”

“Of course, we know.”

“Instead, you’ll have to drive to the final destination. It’s not under imperial jurisdiction there.”

It meant not to expose the fact that even a Security Bureau member was going to the Otranto Monastery.

However, Cain simultaneously wondered if this was a meaningful move. They were supposed to meet with the Pope’s people at the monastery. If the investigative team also mobilized, it would be a fairly significant move, and in that case, it couldn’t go unnoticed.

“And, Agent Lily.”

“Yes.”

Venice’s expression became serious.

“I know it’s still a learning process, but teach her through experience since it’s a real case. If it really doesn’t work, withdraw your body. An agent needs to temporarily withdraw, catch their breath, and then know how to strike back fiercely. That judgment can’t be replaced by anyone else. Even if you’re well-prepared, an agent can’t overcome every crisis. Let alone rushing in recklessly without being fully prepared. You understand because you’re an inspector.”

“I understand.”

Lily’s face showed determination. Venice reached out, and Lily shook hands with her.

“…I meant to ask for the bag.”

“…I apologize.”

Lily bowed deeply and handed Cain’s document bag to Venice. Venice opened the bag and carefully examined the documents.

“Why hasn’t this been used again?”

“I’ve been busy.”

“Sloppy guy… Here. It’s ink and a pen. Write as I dictate. You, Inma, can’t even memorize a retirement security oath for a supervisor, right?”

To be able to write that oath even with closed eyes, one would need to be at least a department head. Cain chuckled and wrote as dictated. The ink spread differently on the rough wooden plank compared to the upper part of the paper, but if you didn’t pay close attention, it wasn’t noticeable.

Thick raindrops hit the carriage’s wall. Venice, holding a bag, opened the door and ran through the narrow alley. Let’s wait for a moment; someone climbed onto the carriage. Probably a security bureau employee.

With a sound of “yurut,” the carriage slowly started moving.

Lightning flashed outside the window. Despite facing the headwind, the carriage seemed to speed up. The two horses galloped with a snort. Horses didn’t like getting wet in the rain either.

“Um, by the way, where are we going?”

Lily asked cautiously. Cain pondered for a moment about what to explain. His head was heavy, not functioning well. Too much had happened in one day.

“First, get some sleep.”

“What?”

“Until we reach the first city, it’s quite a journey. It’s dangerous if both of us are asleep. Since we’re disguised as a mail carriage, there’s a risk of street robbers attacking. So we have to take turns sleeping. Proper sleep is at the inn. Got it? Once we pass the first city, we’ll take the Imperial Central Road, which should be safer.”

Despite her confusion, Lily unfolded the rolled-up sleeping bag. It was made of wool leather and quite soft. Soon, Lily fell into a deep sleep. The road was bumpy, the wheels bounced, and the carriage was famous for causing bruises if ridden for a long time, but the six months of apprenticeship seemed to have some meaning.

After confirming that Lily was deeply asleep, Cain took out Anna’s documents from his embrace. There were no visible letters. It seemed to be written with ink that only revealed its content under the heat of a candle or close to fire.

Tired, but can’t sleep.

When Venice opened the prepared box, there were professional booklets about warriors. Among them were writings directly penned by the warriors about their adventures.

Even if they continued riding, it would take about a week. And books could be read anytime. Lily wriggled uncomfortably, and Cain covered her with a blanket.

‘Can I keep carrying her?’

Lily is strong. And strength in itself is a virtue. People may be lenient towards bending, but they can be harsh towards enduring. Perhaps Lily will endure until she’s worn out, standing tall until it’s irreparable. Before such a thing happens, she should be sent back.

A week later, they arrived at the blockade monastery. And not long after, they faced the shadow with a held-in inquisition.