Raga of the Dry Branch - Chapter 2

2: I thought it was a dream (2)

Again, this time, the main character left the person next to him and walked away without hesitation. Perhaps, the end of the movie was that the protagonist just walks out.

Waiting for the screen to black out, but then the man who walked away came back.

And walked towards the one near the desk and hurriedly scribbled something on the white paper and took the paper in his hand.

He tossed it and walked out again.

He turned his back away from the office as the white paper fell behind him.

Two large letters were written on the white background.

What the hell is this?

After the movie was finished, another movie started.

3. Mahoren

First a kid, then a young man. And now it was an old man with a fine white beard and the extraordinary kind energy within, like the pope of a church.

Grey hair, white beard and silvery, grey eyes. Despite being an obvious looking old man he had no wrinkles on his face.

Besides, for some reason, he had the best physique when compared to the two characters before. And this man wasn’t some normal old man either.

The background was unusual.

More than anything else, it was that thing hanging on the wall. The White Night Staff, one of the weapon series called ‘Two Nights and Three Dawns’ by Jean Lujon Kalkiroze, a rare treasure from 200 years back, which could be equivalent to the budget of the empire, was hung on the wall like some ordinary ornament.

How could one even have the heart to do that? That in and of itself was shocking, but it seemed like the entire place was filled with glamorous stuff, better than the Imperial Palace.

The old man was seated on the sofa in a relaxed pose and in front was a white ivory table with delicate gold engravings.

The tilted posture was prominent. However, it seemed like he had a sense of relief on him.

But the next one was the same as before.

The old man noticed my presence and jumped up with his eyes wide. As if trying to calm his startled heart, he kept breathing slowly.

The old man, with a determined face to do something, removed the empire’s budget, no, the White Knight staff from the wall.

The secretary and the escort seemed to scream something in horror, but the old man didn’t care and he walked out.

The escort was left alone, and the movie ended as expected, and when I was about to take a break, the 4th one began to play.

… how long will these go? And now that I think about it, was this even a movie?

4. Shang-Lodihara

The moment the black screen lifted again, the first thing I saw was the pure blue sky. I thought that it was outside, but it wasn’t. shocking as it was, it was the transparent ceiling. A large room was visible under the voluminous dome-shaped ceiling.

However, there were those who didn’t suit that amazing space of white, blue and all the refreshing tones.

Black mask and black glasses. The colors of the rows of those who sat around a dimly lit round table and the energy around was brutal, like some dark town residents.

… was what I thought.

This was the stronghold of the assassination guild ‘Jugrener’, reputed to be the strongest and most evil in the continent. I had never seen it in person, but the moment I saw the badges on the collar, I knew. That was how famous this guild was.

The symbol had two daggers overlapped in the shape of an X, a goddess who wrapped her arms around her, and the two lilies on the bottom – only a few ignorant nobles wouldn’t recognize it. Even the children in the backstreets would know it. It was a symbol everyone had to avoid no matter what. Now the movie seems to have turned violent.

I learned something new about it today, even though I had no interest in it.

First, the identity of the real owner of the place.

Surrounding the table, men were seated giving out exuding energy, and there were a few who stood behind those men, but the real head was.

A beautiful woman sitting alone far from them, brushing her hair. That innocent looking woman owned this place.

With her wavy silver hair being brushed with her hand, and the smile, everything about her looked perfect. Everything made her look beautiful, that slender white face, thick pink lips, slightly drooping corners of her eyes, and the black dot right under her right eye.

She was such an elegant looking woman and an innocent beauty, no one would believe that she is the guild leader.

And the surprise didn’t end there.

What surprised me more was the room.

Chrom which was in the North Continent was far from Cheiva. There was a very famous tower there. It was the tower of the great sage Rocha-Lahadi, where famous scholars and knowledge seeking nobles often gathered.

[ The Tower of Knowledge ]

And unbelievably, this was at the top of such a tower. This huge 17-floor tower, also known as the Tower of Knowledge, was a world famous tourist attraction as a speciality of Chrom.

However, the most famous and dangerous assassination guild was also on top of the words best attraction.

What a polar clash!

Even if it was a dream, this setting was too much.

And in that hidden place, the guild leader declared something while receiving reports from her subordinates.

“Stop everything for the time being.”

The silver-haired beauty, who had her hair waving, smiled. And then it switched, the purple eyes stared at me. I don’t know why.

But a chill ran down my spine. This was a dream but the person was real.

And it was embarrassing!

5. Julius

The protagonist of the 5th movie, which I desperately hoped to be the last one I see… wait, why was everything dark?

As I looked around in shock, suddenly five, red, shining lights appeared.

As my vision gradually turned accustomed to the darkness, I began to see things. A red pointed circle painted on the floor, surrounded by unidentified men in black robes.

“It failed this time too…”

The main character seemed disappointed as he closed the book he was holding. He seemed to be the leader of this strange gathering, he alone had the gorgeous gold embroidery and unlike others, he had a larger robe.

Somehow, despite being perplexed, this protagonist seemed suspicious.

I waved my hand and then started to think. A kid who is a magician, a handsome blonde knight, a handsome old man who is a merchant or rich man and a beautiful assassin.

Right, that is what I saw till now. All of them were strong and capable enough to take the role of the protagonist.

But what is wrong with this fifth one? This one had to be special right? But this one seemed special in a different way. And I realized.

Finally it seemed like the boring movie was about to end.

Realizing that, I decided to watch this movie with a generous heart.

The people who failed this ritual didn’t know what to do, so they lit up the candles and began to talk.

They were talking if anything seemed weird, they talked among themselves and then looked at the papers in their hands.

Each one looked gloomy, but looking at them made me want to laugh. They seemed to be like occult enthusiasts, like what people call, mysterious, black magic users, spirit callers, what people usually talk about.

In the meantime, the protagonist still kept his hood on, and titled his head, and kept lamenting words gloomily, ‘Why doesn’t it appear, the King of Flies’, well they were trying to summon something.

But why the King of Flies?

… nasty.

Anyway, I just hope that I will open my eyes. Right, this movie will come to an end, right?

Was my wish coming true? Suddenly, the protagonist raised his head, which was bowed. However, because of the deeply pulled hood, I could not see if the man was looking at me or not.

Then came the words.

“No, it must have been a success…”

He patted the old book lovingly and began to leave.

Despite the movement being soundless, the other ones in the black robes too began to leave in unison.

The screen went dark and the movie ended.

No new screen began to play.

Now can I finally… rest in peace?

But then, there was something which bothered me a lot. The prickly feeling, as if something was scratching the backbone, started at the end of the last movie.

Right, because of that one word.

The summoning of King of Flies which had failed, and the words the man mumbled.

Didn’t he say that it was a success?

Then, then… was I the king of flies?

What, jerk!!! Does he want to die with me too!?

When the movies came to an end, I really thought that I would end too. It was because I began to lose consciousness at the end of the last movie. But then, nothing was easy with me.

I longed for the movie to end, but I was back in reality. I was still alive.

“Back to sleep.”

Judging by the dazed head and heavy body, it was definite that I slept for a long time, longer than I expected, but I still didn’t achieve my goal.

I drew the curtains to block the light and put the blanket around me

Knock. Knock.

“…”

Knock. Knock.

I definitely told the innkeeper to not disturb me till the end of the pay…

With a sigh, I opened the door and saw an employee smiling with an anxious face. And she looked at my complexion with those eyes.

“I made sure to say it before, I asked you to not come to me, and it hasn’t even been a day since I said it.”

The woman turned even paler at it, and spoke in a trembling voice.

“I-it has been a week…. Sir.”

What?

“You are saying a week passed?”

“Yes Yes!”

I thought I was delusional but I wasn’t.

Somehow, I did feel like I slept for a long time, my body was not strong enough…

“I see. But what?”

A day or a week, what was the reason to knock on my door?

She pushed away the hair on her face, and with her tired eyes she looked at me, unable to decide what to say. As I raised my brows, she spilled it.

“A, a different guest… came, told me to ask when you were coming down… since they know you, and I was asked to deliver this information…”

“They know me?”

“I-is it not true? But they were speaking as if they knew you.”

Who would know where I was staying here? No, even if someone knew, there was no one close to me to come here.