The Father and Son descended the stairs, getting passed by sailors, rushing to catch the early fish.
At the bottom of the stairs, Kanah looked towards the reception and saw a man in place of Geneva.
Kanah smiled as he turned towards the door. 'She must have gone home to get some rest.'
The two then exited the inn and came across the same busy and lively harbour as they saw yesterday, merchants arguing with sailors about the import and export of goods.
In the distance, the people surrounded the news board as the details of Commander Alber's funeral were shared with the public, asking them to gather and pay their tribute to the fallen Hero.
Peter turned his head slightly to the right, looking at the harbour in front of them.
"I will cover the southern half of the eastern harbour, you go and cover the northern harbour before attending the funeral, after that, cover the northern half of the eastern harbour."
Kanah nodded. "Yes, Father."
They split up as Peter walked across the street to talk to the captain of the ship that was docked in front of the inn.
Kanah travelled a bit further north and looked back to see if his father was out of sight.
Once he was sure, he crossed the road and jumped into the sea.
Landing on the water, he began running towards the western end of the northern harbour.
He was running slower as he passed several ships with the crew looking at him and waving, and he waved back at them as he carried on.
Soon, he came close to the end of the breakwater, which stemmed from the intersection between the western and northern harbours. It curved towards the south as it reached further into the sea, separating the military-oriented western harbour and the commercially active northern harbour.
A soldier patrolling the wall saw him. "Good morning, brave soldier."
"Good morning, Kanah, may I ask what you are doing?"
"You know me as well?" "I do as does everyone in the city, and so will the world. You made the front page of the Daily Adventure and the other local newspapers."
Kanah stopped in the middle of the water, looking up at the soldier. "I see, another reason to get out of town fast. Thank you for giving me this information in advance, Mister…?"
"Alan."
He nodded. "Thank you, Mr. Alan. Have a nice day."
"You too."
Continuing his run, he made it to the northern harbour and jumped up the harbour walls.
If the eastern harbour was busy and loud, the northern harbour was chaos incarnate.
Due to it being at the centre of the city, it saw the most footfall.
Kanah looked at the nearest ship and saw a swarm of merchants surrounding the sailor, bargaining for different goods.
He shrugged his shoulders and approached the merchant standing at the far end of the crowd.
A hand landed on his shoulder. "What are you waiting for, young man? Get in the crowd and push your way through if you want to talk to the sailor."
Kanah turned his head to look at the man while gesturing towards the crowd. "I want to talk to the captain. Besides, I cannot push these people out of the way; they were here before me."
The man stepped forward and faced Kanah. "I am the captain of this ship, young man. What can I do for you?"
Kanah fully turned towards the man and bowed slightly, "I wanted to know if you could give me and my family a passage through the ocean towards the Solara Kingdom."
The captain sighed as he gritted his teeth. "I would have, but we are travelling to Haringdom and have already taken the advance. I am deeply sorry, I could not be of service to you."
"It is nothing to be sad about, you have your work and going to Solara is a big detour."
The captain looked at Kanah, turning towards the next ship and yelled. "Phillip, I have someone who wants to talk to you."
A frown formed on Kanah's face as he looked at the captain.
"What are you doing?" The captain chuckled.
"You need a ship, I have started a chain, and each captain will get you an audience with the next, until you find one willing to take you to Solara. This is the least I can do to repay the man who saved this city and our ships; I would have lost my way of making a living if these ships had never been fixed."
"Thank you, Captain. May the winds be kind on your voyage."
Kanah then moved to the next ship as Captain Phillip disembarked his ship.
.
.
.
.
Seven hours later, Kanah arrived at the eastern end of the fifty-four kilometre long northern harbour, having just finished his talk with the captain of the last ship on the northern harbour.
'Not a single one was going to Solara, and not a single one was available for hire. I could have borrowed a gold coin from Uncle Galreid to pay the rent. But all of them have already signed a contract.'
He was looking at the cloudy sky. "Looks like rain will fall, I just hope it is after the funeral."
"You got an invite as well?"
Approaching from behind, Shin jumped on Kanah's back, tugging at his cloak. "Did you sleep well, Hero? What are you doing here?"
Kanah balanced himself as he looked at Shin on his back. "Oh, I slept like a child. What about you, Shorty?"
Shin jumped off, pointing at Kanah. "I am only five-ten and you are only six feet tall, you do not have the right to call me short."
"Meh."
Puffing his cheeks, Shin crossed his arms and turned his head away, closing his eyes. Kanah laughed. "Aww, come on, I was joking. You were talking about the invitation. Did you also get one?"
Shin nodded. "Hert came by this morning and invited me, he must have come by you too."
Pulling out a letter from his pocket, Kanah held it forward. "He came to deliver this letter from Aurelia."
"A letter from the princess, what does it say?"
Kanah looked down at it. "I don't know, haven't read it yet. I was busy ship hunting."
Shin shook Kanah's shoulder. "Read it right now."
"Alright, let me read it."
Kanah opened the envelope and pulled the letter out.
"My dearest, Kanah.
I was overfilled with joy when I received your letter.
I, too, miss you with all my heart; there isn't a moment where I have to remember you, because you do not leave my mind for a moment.
I miss the embrace of your arms and the way you dance.
As I am aware, you would have seen in the newspaper, there was an attack on Father, but it was a fake attempt to frame Uncle.
Luckily, Raghav saw through it and helped punish Prime Minister Vaughn and also helped wake Vonreid.
He is so noble and kind, you two share so many similarities other than physical appearance. He is kind like you, strong like you.
He is strong enough to be gentle with everyone around him.
I must admit, he does not make me laugh the way you do; in fact, he does not make me laugh at all.
Raghav's serious, but his presence is as comforting and gentle, his smile is as warm as yours. I have not seen him dance, but one night I heard him singing in his room.
Kanah, I hope this letter reached you before you leave for Solara. I just want you to be strong without me and take care of your family. Please do not write back before leaving, because then I would want to write back, but I will be unable to.
So rest assured, I look forward to our marriage when you return.
Love, Aurelia."
Kanah smiled as he placed the letter in his pocket.
"What did it say?"
"She just expressed her love and affection for me."
Shin frowned. "I saw Raghav in there a couple of times. Are you sure she was talking about you?"
He placed a hand on Shin's shoulder as he nodded. "She is talking about me. Even the lines about Raghav were for me."
Backing off, Shin raised his hands beside his head. "Hey, as long as you are cool with it."
He then checked the time on his watch. "It is 12:56. Should we head to the funeral site?"
"We should, let's take the rooftops. We can circle close to the centre of the northern harbour and drop down in an alley."
"Alright, boss."
The two walked into a nearby alley and walked up the walls of the building, reaching the roof.
They began running from rooftop to rooftop, leaping over roads as the people walked below them, unaware of what went over their heads.
In thirty-five minutes, they were on the rooftop of the building at the corner of the road opposite the funeral site.
Nearly the entire northern harbour and many nearby roads had been closed due to the gathering of millions.
They had gathered, spreading uphill on the road in front of the site and spreading both east and west on the harbour road. Some were even looking out of the windows of the buildings.
A small podium was placed for a speech near the edge of the coastline.
Behind the podium was a wooden platform with a track extending towards the open sea, as many ships were moved out of the harbour to give a clear view of the sea.
Kanah looked around until he spotted Hert, standing on the left side of the podium next to a tent.
"There." He pointed towards the tent as Shin followed. "How do we get there?
As he backed off from the edge of the roof, Kanah looked at Shin.
"You throw me over your head, I pull you in the air, and we both fly across."
Shin nodded, standing with his feet spread wide and both of his hands in front of his body. Kanah rushed forward, placing his foot on Shin's hands as Shin threw him over his head towards the tent.
As he was flung through the air, Kanah sent out Mana ropes tying around Shin's torso and yanked him off his feet.
The two flew through the air, flipping as they corrected themselves mid-flight, then landed on the mast of a ship and slid down.
Shin landed on the deck of the ship and shook Kanah. "That was fucking epic, I can't believe we made it."
Kanah laughed, placing a hand on his chest. "Can't believe that worked. I was almost sure we would fall either face-first on the pavement or in the sea."
The smile on Shin's face faded as he blinked blankly at Kanah. "You're fucking with me, right?"
The laughter died down as Kanah stood straight. "Of course, we would have been fine either way, whether it was the pavement or sea, we would have landed on our feet."
The two of them stood there for a moment, mentally preparing themselves for the meeting.
"Let's go."
Kanah led Shin off the ship and behind the tent, away from the eyes of the public.
At the edge of the tent, Kanah leaned out, whispering. "Sir, Hert!"
Hert looked around, confused. "Over here, behind you."
He then turned towards the sound and saw Kanah hiding behind the tent. "You are early, Sir Kanah." He then pulled open the front of the tent from nearby Kanah, shielding him from the public and granting them entrance.
Inside, they were greeted by the corpse of Commander Alber on ice. He was dressed in his military attire and added fake legs to give the impression that his body was whole.
Behind it was The Duke of the West, Galreid. He looked at the two, a smile appearing on his solemn face.
He moved around the body and hugged Kanah. "Oh my boy, how have you been?"
Kanah embraced the man, closing his eyes. "I have been well, just like you, Uncle."
The two parted as Kanah gestured towards Shin. "This is my friend Shin, he helped me out a lot, including last night, when Serna attacked."
Galreid looked at Kanah. "Did you learn anything last night as to why a mythical beast attacked this city?
Kanah nodded. "I did. Someone was controlling her through a mechanical device that was receiving signals. I stopped her by cancelling out the signals and then removed the device from her brain. I have it with me and plan on using it to learn more."
"If you need anything, any resources, ask me."
"I will, Uncle. But right now I am here for something else."
He then looked past Galreid and saw Mrs. Qwil, a short black-haired woman, and her twenty-four year old black-haired and thin son entering the tent from the other side.
"Of course, I will give you some space to talk to them."
Galreid stepped out of the tent, leaving Kanah, Shin, Mrs. Qwil and her son alone with the body.
Mrs. Qwil looked down at her husband's body and covered her mouth with a handkerchief.
The son stood there silent, his eyes studying the body before him. Shin moved forward, his hands fidgeting. "I…I am sorry for your loss."
"There is nothing to be sorry about." Shin was taken aback by the response.
Kanah moved forward, standing opposite Mrs. Qwil. "Mam, it was an honour to stand by your husband, I have seen only a few people as selfless as him. I speak the truth, that yesterday night, in this city of thirty-five million people, there was none braver than him."
Mrs. Qwil took a deep breath as she tore her gaze from her husband and towards Kanah. "I know that, I just have one question, what were his last words?"
Standing straight, Kanah held his hands behind his back. "He mistook me for Raghav and said that no death could be better than to die in my arms and said 'Raghav.' As he drew his final breath."
A smile appeared on her face. "That is indeed the best death one could ask for. He always used to tell me that one day a hero named Raghav would come, and I never believed it. But he insisted that The One has shown him the path to freedom. That the path is through Raghav."
Her son placed a hand on her shoulder, comforting her. "I am not hurt by or sad about his passing. I am glad that he found the freedom, which only the blessed few receive."
"Thank you for being there for him in his last moments, and I hope neither of you blames yourself for it; neither I nor he would want that for you."
Kanah smiled gently as Shin looked away. "Thank you, Ma'am. We will keep that in mind."
She smiled as Galreid entered the tent. "Are we ready?"
Mrs. Qwil nodded as she held her son's hand. "We are."
Kanah then looked at Shin, gesturing towards the back end of the tent as the two of them bowed slightly and left without saying a word.
They covered their head and faces with the hood of their cloaks, slipping into the crowd and making their way through towards the central road going uphill and entered an alley on the left side of the road, climbing the building and crouching on the edge of the roof.
Down at the podium stood Galreid.
He took hold of a microphone on the podium and spoke into it, enhancing his voice with Mana, letting it read far and wide without hurting the people nearby.
"Yesterday, for the first time since its inception several centuries ago, this city faced total annihilation at the hands of a mythical beast.
Today, this city stands stronger, having overcome such a disaster; it was thanks to our soldiers and the adventurers that no civilian lives were lost, and it was thanks to Kanah and an Unknown Adventurer who stepped up and kept the beast at bay and defeated it."
Kanah looked at Shin. "Unknown Adventurer?"
Shin nodded. "I asked them to keep my name hidden."
They then turned back towards the podium.
"However, one man did lay down his life to protect others. He was none other than the Commander of the Military Forces in Marne, Alber Qwil.
He showed no fear, no hesitation, only courage and strength, choosing to protect others, leaving himself vulnerable, and as such, met his untimely demise at the age of Forty.
To honour his memory, A statue will be erected right here at the intersection of the North-bound road and the Northern Harbour road. A go-around will be created with his statue at the centre of it for all who come to this city to bear witness to its hero.
And from this day forth, this bay is to be remembered as The Bay of Alber."
The crowd appreciated the gesture and applauded as Galreid raised his hand, calming the people down. He then stepped aside.
Then the funeral truly began.
Albert's body was carried out onto the platform behind the podium and rested on a neatly stacked pyre of wood.
His son took out the cotton from his ears, nose and mouth, grabbing purified butter sticks and mixing them with dried cow dung and coating his body in the paste.
Then he embedded camphor pills in the paste and finally covered the rest of the body with more wood.
Backing off, he grabbed a pot of water, placing it over his shoulder and circling the pyre in a clockwise motion, starting at the feet.
He poured a continuous stream of water behind him, and once he reached the feet, he turned around and let the pot fall behind him and shatter into pieces.
A man then handed him a stick with a cloth, soaked in oil, tied around the tip to help make it burn.
He took the stick and started setting fire to the pyre at different points, first at his feet, his head and the sides.
Once the fire had become self-sustaining, he threw the stick in the fire and immediately broke down, falling to his knees as he cried and wailed, being held by Galreid and some soldiers.
Shin sighed. "Guess reality finally caught up to him."
Kanah lowered his eyes and stood up in silence, looking at the rising fire.
Once the entire pyre was engulfed, the platform tilted and slid on the track extending into the sea. The platform floated on the water as the pyre burned.
As his body was put to rest.