Jean, the Darkness

第23話 Reason

Several weeks have passed since Jean and Sabadda rescued Sahim. The two train hard every day in various ways, and Zaid teaches them secret techniques. No matter how tough the training was, the two never complained. Sabadda and Jean never showed weakness to each other. It wasn't because they were being mean, it was because they didn't want to worry each other.

During their breaks, Sabadda's sisters would visit them and converse with them. As expected, Sabadda's sisters dote on Jean. They even envied Jean's bright skin.

"When will Sabrina marry into the Ameen family?"

When Sabadda asked, the girl named Sabrina looked down.

"The embroidery is not finished yet."

"When will it be finished?"

"..."

Sabrina sighed.

"Sabrina doesn't like embroidery."

When the other girl said this, Sabrina smiled bitterly.

"But Samarina isn’t done at all."

"But I'm more advanced than you, aren't I?"

When Samarina retorted, Sabadda laughed. He thought that even though they were twins, they had different hobbies and special skills. But they both hate embroidery.

"Sister Sabrina, please lend me a needle and a cloth."

Jean said suddenly, surprising Sabrina. Then she suddenly stood up and ran into the building. A few minutes later she returned with a cloth and a needle. Sabadda saw this and looked at Jean with interest.

"Amazing..."

Sabrina said and Jean just laughed.

"My sisters taught me this a long time ago."

Jean expertly embroidered the flower to complete it.

"It's easy and pretty if you do it this way."

"Hmmm. Make some leaves too."

"Okay. The color of the leaves is green."

"Got it."

Sabrina attached a green thread to another needle and handed it to Jean. Then Jean made some leaf embroidery.

"Amazing!"

Sabrina said, and Samarina was surprised too.

"Are Jean’s sisters good at embroidery?"

"Hmm, I don't know."

Jean tilted his head.

"But they are doing it daily, I think they might be good at it."

"Wow..."

"But I think, if you do it daily, even Sister Sabrina can make beautiful embroidery."

"Huh?"

When Sabrina was surprised, Sabadda laughed. Samarina also laughed and hugged Jean.

"I'll do my best too. Sabrina, let's compete to see who can finish first!"

"Yiks!"

When Sabadda heard their conversation, he started laughing. Before they noticed, the break time was over. Zaid appeared and saw them. Immediately, Sabrina and Samarina put away the cloth and thread, said hello, and returned to their house.

"Did you teach them embroidery, Jean?"

"No. I was showing them a little."

"Hahaha."

When Jean answered, Zaid just laughed. Although the marriage of the twins has been decided, neither of them has finished making cloth. Sabrina will marry into the Ameen family, and Samarina will marry into the Irshad family. Both families agree to wait for them, but Zaid doesn't know how long they will stay.

In Urda, the age of adulthood for women is 15, and for men is 17. When women reach adulthood, most women marry and go into their partner's family. Therefore, most women have finished making their embroideries by the age of 15. Except for Sabrina and Samarina...

"It would be a good idea to see those two once in a while, Jean. It'll probably be finished quickly."

"Yes, Father."

"If it isn't finished soon, the marriage proposal will be canceled."

Zaid said, and Jean tilted his head while waving to Samarina and Sabrina which sent him a wave from the balcony.

"Sabadda, you will become an adult next year. You will have to work soon. You should choose between 'front' or 'behind'."

"Yes, Father."

Sabadda nodded. Being 'front' means showing strength and ability, thus doing work like Safid and Sakir did. 'Behind' means jobs that fall under that table, such as bodyguards, or even assassins, like Zaad and Salam. In short, they are assassins. A spy like Sahim also falls under the category of behind-the-scenes work.

"I will give you an answer after thinking about it."

"Do it soon."

Sabadda said and Zaid nodded. And he looks at Jean with a smile.

"Now, let's start training."

"Yes, Father!"

When Zaid said this, Jean and Sabadda responded at the same time.

Since then, another few weeks have passed. Although Jahir finally returned, the situation remained tense. Jean and Sabadda met their mates for the first time in a long time and happily hugged each other, while Jahir was reporting to Jenal.

"I'm glad you weren't injured."

Amir said as he hugged Jean, and Jean nodded.

"I'm glad that Brother Amir is safe. Also, Brother Abu and Brother Saman are safe, too."

Jean said and they patted him on the head. When Amir and his friends returned to their tent with Sabadda after a long absence, the village's women happily welcomed them. Abu's older sister, Aina, also hugged Jean.

"Jean, I wanted to return your potted plant, but you never returned here."

"Ah, sorry."

"Okay, wait, I’ll bring it for you!"

Aina ran straight back to her own house. Amir nods when Sabadda says that since Jahir was not here, he has taken Jean and returned to his parent's house. That's better, Amir said.

When Sabadda told him about what happened in Nagaref Village, Amir, and his friends nodded silently and looked at Jean, who had received a potted plant from Aina in a distant place. While Jean and Aina were talking, Sabadda spoke in a low voice about the conversation with Sahim the other day. Then, Amir and his friends' faces became grim. Saman thought that Jean, laughing so hard while chatting with Aina, would not be able to hear the Sabaddas' conversation.

"We have to seriously hone our skills in the truest sense of the word."

"I agree."

Sabadda said and Abu nodded. Saman instinctively touched the wound on his chest. He resolved in his heart that if he were to be enslaved again, he would take as many enemies with him this time.

"Brother, look! It's a yellow flower!"

Jean laughed and showed his potted plants to Sabadda and the others.

"Wow, what a beautiful flower!"

Abu said and Saman also nodded. When they returned to the tent, they immediately unpacked their belongings. When Jean opened the box, there was nothing inside. Everything was brought to the Tareq family, Sabadda said with a wry smile.

"You can talk to the teacher later. I thought it would be fine if Jean continued training with Father or Teacher Jahir."

When Sabadda said this, Jean looked sad.

"No matter where you train, you're still my little brother."

Saman sensed Jean's feelings and said this, and Abu also nodded.

"So don't make that face."

Saman said and Jean just nodded.

"Is everyone here?"

It was Jahir who entered the tent. When everyone answered, Jahir smiled.

"Sabadda and Jean, I'm glad you're safe."

Jahir sat on the carpet in the middle of the tent, and Amir and his friends sat near him.

"I'll tell you the situation right away."

Jahir says this as he looks at Amir and the others who are nervous.

"The national army finally arrived at Nagaref village the other day. That's why we were able to return home."

Jahir sighed.

"Nagaref village has already been liberated, and the Tareq family's troops are now protecting it... However, the national army is full of idiots. They don't even say thank you, nor apologize for being late. They thought the support troops from Magraf and Ograt villages were weaker than themselves, so they chased us out of Nagaref."

"Huh?"

Sabadda and Jean were surprised at the same time.

"So the Tareq family's troops will be returning tonight."

Jahir sighed again.

"What's the head-chief said?"

"For now, we'll wait and see."

When Sabadda asked, Jahir answered honestly.

"When Mr. Salam was contacted, he went somewhere without saying anything."

"Where...?"

"..."

Sabadda asked, and Jahir remained silent for a moment.

"I don't know. But Mr. Jafar came, and then Mr. Salam and his unit went somewhere."

Since Jafar was originally part of Salam Squad, it wouldn't be surprising if he returned to Nagaref Village after safely transporting Sabadda and the others to Magraf Village.

However, no one knows why he returned to Nagaref village after being in Magraf village for several weeks.

Other than the head of the Tareq family.

Sabadda thought that Salam probably received orders from Zaid, the head of the family, and acted according to those orders.

"I'll report to my father later."

"Please do, Sabadda."

Jahir nodded.

"Finally, Jean."

"Yes, Teacher."

Jahir said, and Jean straightened up nervously.

"I would like to discuss it with Mr. Zaid later. You will follow the results of that discussion."

"Yes, Teacher."

Jean nervously replied, and Jahir nodded.

"So, Amir, Abu, and Saman pack up your belongings, take care of your weapons, and prepare dinner. Sabadda and Jean, go with me."

"Yes, Sir!"

The four of them responded in unison. Jean had no choice but to follow behind Jahir and Sabadda, holding a potted plant with nowhere to go. When they arrived at the Tareq house, the attendants came to greet them. After entrusting Jean to one of his attendants, Sabadda saw Zaid with Jahir. Jean went with the chamberlain to the courtyard, where he placed his potted plant.

"Welcome home, Mr. Jahir."

Zaid smiled and hugged Jahir, then motioned for Jahir to sit down. Sabadda stood and reported the events in Nagaref village to Zaid, then went outside at Zaid's direction.

"You weren’t surprised, Mr. Zaid, were you?"

Jahir said and Zaid just smiled.

"It’s probably like that."

Zaid signaled to the attendants who brought drinks. They silently handed drinks to Jahir and Zaid before leaving the room.

"...that king's subordinates are full of fools."

"Yes. They are arrogant."

Jahir nodded and sighed.

"If things continue like this, we are in danger. Although we were lucky with the Tux this time, if the Central Kingdom or the Perja Kingdom attack, we won't be able to stay safe."

Jahir said and Zaid nodded.

"Due to the drought in Tux, they came after a large oasis. The oasis in Nagaref village is large and close to the border with Tux. Just because they attacked Nagaref village and failed, they will not stop. They will come with a stronger force for the next attack.''

"Did Mr. Sahim say that?"

"Yes, he did."

Zaid nodded.

"Where is he now?"

"He is out running an errand."

"Do you know when he'll be back?"

"I have no idea."

Zaid shook his head.

"However, if there is something urgent, I can contact him."

Zaid said, and Jahir thought about it.

"Okay. I'll contact you later."

Jahir said as he drank his tea and thought for a while.

"This is a completely different story, but please tell me one thing. Mr. Zaid, what is your reason for adopting Jean?"

"Reason...Is it important?"

"Of course."

Jahir looks directly at Zaid. Zaid smiles and looks at Jahir.

"On the contrary, I would like to ask you, why are you worried about having Jean as my son?"

"Maybe it's just anxiety or something else. However, I feel responsible because his grandfather asked me to protect him."

"Responsibility..."

Zaid sighed.

"When I heard that Sabadda had made Jean his younger brother, it didn't interest me. However, when they returned from Ograt village, I heard from Safid that Jean had killed 10 bandits. When I heard that he had done that, I started researching him. He was only four years old, but he killed grown men. I thought that was a talent."

When Zaid said this, Jahir looked at Zaid with a complicated gaze.

"When I talked to him, he was a very determined child. Despite his status as a foreigner and a son of Yatim, he was a capable child. As Sabadda said, Jean is smart and well-spoken. The other sons accepted him, and I'm glad I made him my own."

“Did Mr. Zaad accept him, too?"

"Of course. I heard from the people around me that even the difficult Salam accepted Jean and caring him."

Zaid smiled.

"Not only my sons, but my daughters also love Jean. I don't know if you know this, but Jean is also good at embroidery."

"Huh?"

"Hahaha."

When Jahir was surprised, Zaid laughed.

"He's good at it. He's teaching Sabrina and Samarina how to embroider flowers. It was beautiful."

"I see... He has three older sisters, so they must have influenced him."

"Maybe. Besides, he's an interesting kid, and we have so much fun daily."

Zaid smiled.

"But Jean has to go back in two years. His grandfather said so."

"I know it."

Zaid nodded.

"That's why I wanted to make him the best assassin in no time. I admit you are amazing at your age, but from experience, I'm better than you. Besides, I'm the only one who can handle Jean. By having him train from morning till night, his abilities will approach those of Sabadda and others. Then you will feel a little easier to teach him, right?"

Zaid said, and Jahir thought about it. That's true, but...

"But Jean is my student."

"I understand that, too."

Zaid smiled.

"I wish he could stay here forever, but he won't be happy."

"Yes, I do think so."

Zaid said and Jahir nodded.

"In that case, let's do this. He stays here four days a week and stays with you the other three days. Of course, I'll allow him to go out with you if necessary."

"I see."

"At the same time, I want you to give priority to me when I have something to do."

"Hmm."

Jahir wondered if it was the same as before.

"Also, Jean is still young. Not only that, but I think you noticed that his body wasn't as strong as expected. Without strong poison, he wouldn't be able to kill someone with one shot. As an assassin, it’s a fatal weakness."

Zaid said and Jahir blinked.

"Really··."

"That's why, while in Urda, I want Jean to have a happy life as my child. Two years from now, I want to see him off as a worthy assassin."

"Did you ask him where he will be in two years?"

"Of course."

Zaid nodded.

"Jean, who learned assassination from a young age, must go to the battlefield. He has no choice, except to accept his fate. Besides, sooner or later he will go to the battlefield. It doesn't make any difference whether the battlefield in Urda or the battlefield in Archia. It would be better for him to deal with his father's enemy, the Ircandia Army. If he does that, I think the people around him will respect him."

"Hmm."

"And it would be difficult for him to live in the public eyes. I can assure you, that he is a man behind the scenes. Just like me."

Zaid looked straight at Jahir and spoke.

"I don't know if Mr. Jahir knows, but according to what I heard from Sahim and Jafar, in the village of Nagaref, he not only killed dozens of Tux's troops by himself but also rescued all the villagers, alone. He rescued Sahim safely. Not only that but on their way back here, he fought with 24 bandits and killed 10 of them by himself."

"..."

"A four-year-old child rescued and protected Sahim, who has no weapon. Then, he killed bandits. Sooner or later, his name will be heard in the underground world. As a result, there will be people who will try to get him."

"Yes, I think so."

"That's why it's safer here than in a tent. He'll be fine for about three days, but if he is in a tent for a week, you'll have no idea who's in and out."

"Surely··."

Jahir nodded.

"He will be able to sleep in peace here. He is currently staying in Sabadda's room, but I have already prepared a new room for him. When Mr. Jahir mentioned this to Jean, he immediately moved to that room. I’ll let Jean live there."

"Hmm. What will we do if the village moves?"

"Let's talk about it again then. I'm sure we can figure it out as Jean grows up."

"Hmm."

"For Jean's sake, as a father, I sincerely request this."

Zaid bowed and Jahir thought for a long time before he nodded.

"Understood. Thank you very much."