3. Mylne Town

After beating six enormous red-eyed sleuth bears, she tripped me down to the ground.

“It’s quite the honour,” I said, “to be eye to eye with the wielder of one of the strongest swords in history.”

She was still pointing it no more than a fingertip away from my face.

“We really should hurry and get some rest now. Tomorrow we will have plenty more walking to do.” She made her sword vanish into nothingness before stretching her hand out to help me get back on my feet.

“I’m sorry, uh, Princess. I guess I was all talk when I said you should run.”

“Please do not call me that. Just Hikari will do.” She looked at the corpses of the massive bears. “And please do not apologize for your bravery. You tried to protect me even though you were not equipped with the experience needed to tackle a battle of this level. I respect you for that.”

“Thank you. I guess I haven’t really introduced myself either, I am Leith.” I reached out my hand.
She seemed a little confused maybe they don’t shake hands in East-Twynne?

“I am pleased to meet you.” She shook my hand. At the touch of its coldness, I remembered shaking her hand earlier. Quite weird of me not to say my name…

We walked a little further away from the place we had turned into a battlefield. As she was getting the bonfire started, I asked her, “Uh, earlier my blades got slashed into shards… How do I get them back?”

I could only tell she was confused by the way she tilted her head sideways a little. “They should reappear once your magic stamina is replenished. Honestly, I am surprised that you are able to keep them out at all times.”

Magic stamina, huh… ‘How?’ I wondered. I hadn’t even thought of it like that, but could these blades also be mythical weapons…? Though they have to be rather weak if I could keep them out for two days…

We sat down next to the fire.

“Hmm, it is a little bothersome that the both of us are now without weapons. After I summon mine, it takes about a week or two before I can summon it again. We should tread carefully.”
“Right,” I nodded in agreement. “I’ve been meaning to ask, but this morning I thought you were a water-based mage, but you’re also a fire one?”

She hesitantly shook her head. “Not exactly. Other than my weapon and some minor spells, I am solely blessed with water magic. Which extends to healing and also a high form of ice magic. That is the reason why I can stand my ground in a fight.” She raised her eyes to the sky, “I was told that my fighting style is like a sharp sword made out of glass; very strong, yet easy to break, but my skill in healing makes me quite the competent fighter.”

I guess I was half right then. “Well, I’ll be in your care.”

“Likewise. Anyway,” she laid down on the ground, “let us get some rest.”

“Yeah. Good night.”

Not much later, the sudden sound of growling emerged from the shadows again. I couldn’t tell where from, but it sounded exactly like the sleuth bears earlier.

This is bad… really, really bad…

“H-Hikari…? What should we do?” I whispered.

She slowly raised her eyelids, her lips parted but no words came out of her mouth. How did she even fall asleep so quickly?

“There’s another bear, I think. What should I do?”

She pushed herself up. “There rests a single option… making a run for it.” Despite sleeping for barely a second she still seemed only half awake standing on both her feet. Or is she that tired… Either way, I felt it was my turn to return the favour.

Think, Leith… think…

They, like nearly all other monsters, fear fire. I shot at the bonfire, still burning, but too small to pose a threat to the colossal bear. I turned my eyes back to the forest and saw its red eyes gleaming through the shadows, low on the ground.

Quick… I felt my heart beating in my throat.

I had no magic and no weapon—

—Hang on a second… My blades shattered because my stamina needs to be replenished… but I’m not supposed to have any in the first place… And I’ve been able to hold them out for two days, which means that if stamina is used, it’s practically nothing… maybe, just maybe I could try summoning one of the two blades…

I closed my eyes. I drew a deep breath in, concentrated on the sensation of the blades on my back, then blew the air out of my lungs again. As I took another breath in, Hikari said, “The bear is here…”

Concentrate… a single blade… concentrate…

“Leith!”

I opened my eyes to a bear in full sprint, headed straight at me.

“Leave this one to me, I figured something out.”

All right, step one; I ran away from its path. It slid to halt, as I turned over my shoulder, I saw its nose glide over the grass and it began chasing me down once more… just as planned.

These bears are called sleuth bears for a reason. I don’t even think it can see any more than Hikari and I can, but it smells us from far away. All I need is one blade… One blade I deeply concentrated—and then I felt my back get that tad bit heavier. The blade, step two.

My plan wouldn’t have worked if this blade didn’t appear, nor if the bear went after Hikari instead, but again, just as I had planned, the bear followed the scent of my sweat. It’s not something to be proud of I suppose, but I tend to sweat a little more when I’m scared.

I ran with as many feints and zigzags as I could, since this bear is all speed, no acceleration. When I had finally won some ground over the titan of a monster, it was time to put the final step of my plan into action.

“Say goodbye to your nose, my friend,” I tried my own cool sounding line as I turned around facing the bear.

Its loud growls scared me to death, but I had to stick to my plan. As it neared, I ran head-on towards it as well. I raised my right hand in the air and saw the blade soaring next to me.
If I chicken out now, I’m done for…

Right when my stride was about to collide with the bear, I focused my eyes on its nose and slid underneath it’s paws. Once under the fur of the bear’s belly, I heard that sound from before—

—the sound of my blade shattering to pieces.

Just as planned. Well, not exactly, just as I had hoped for one might say. It howled in pain right before its bloody snout fell to the ground. “Hah! Take that!”

I ran off again. I know that even if it can’t smell me, it could still hear me. So I had to get back before it got up again. Well, that is if it gets up.

Once I saw the bonfire again, and no bears in sight, I felt a heavy weight dropped off my shoulders and a sense of relief wash over my body.

“You are even more clever than I was told.” Hikari’s voice suddenly said next to me.
I got a little flustered. “Not really, I just made use of the little power I possess.”

We were back at the bonfire.

“Well, anyway, it is time for us to really get some rest this time. Good night.”

“Yeah, good night.”

I took a last, quite long lasting glance at the open, starry night sky before closing my eyes. Though as soon as I closed them, I heard another sound of growling and instantly rocked my body up again. But this growling wasn’t a monster at all… I turned my head sideways and saw Hikari gently snoring.

This time we could actually get some decent rest.

* * *

Through the many forests that run around the province Dirtorain and along the Cagair Stream, a river that flows into the Lihyat Sea, we had reached the next spot where we’d spend the night. The next day, we were blessed with yet another dry walk, it hadn’t rained since the morning after I left the castle.

We made it through the Taffan mountains, where we had to put up a fight—one where we hardly broke a sweat—against Ballag Bats coming out of caves.

“So, where are the Taffan mountains?” she asked, right after we made it through the mountain range.

“…We’ve been walking through them all day.”

“I see.” She turned around, shooting a quick glance at what an East Twynnian would call hills. “Are these not hills?”

Just as I thought…

“West-Twynne is a lot flatter compared to the East, right? That’s why we call just about everything sticking above our heads mountains.”

“Right, got it.”

“This mountain range is pretty well known around these areas. Another reason they probably call it mountains is because of the myth of Taffar. Before this land was Twynne, tribes would bring offerings to Eirfinna, the goddess of mercy, begging for her forgiveness.”

“And what is the myth of Taffar?” Despite her ever-so cold tone and her unchanging expression, I’ve learned over these past few days that despite all that, she’s genuinely curious.

“A young boy, named Taffar, who took care of his family’s cattle in a small settlement got three of their four cows killed in an accident. He ran off with his last cow to the tip of the tallest mountain here. He prayed for Eirfinna’s forgiveness and pushed his last cow off the mountain as his offering. In tears, he made his way back down the mountain. At the bottom, he saw that not only his fourth cow was unharmed, five more cows were waiting for him.”

She slightly squinted her eyes and placed her fist over her chin. “So if I push you off the mountain, I could get myself a handful of Leiths…” She turned her eyes my way.

“Please don’t.”

As the days and nights went by, I had realised that even if it felt like these days would never come to an end, all of them would be days we’d eventually forget.

✦•······················•✦•······················•✦

“Anna, where are you headed?” A fellow merchant asked her.

They stood two streets away from Maganmur city’s centre, a distance from where you could already hear the fountain before it’s in sight—that is if it’s not busy. The merchant asked her, since Anna seemed to be headed the other way.

“Market’s openin’ right about now.”

“Hm? The wholesale market won’t be here for another two days. What market are you on about?”
“Art market. Needa hurry, it’s ‘bout to open!”

“Oh, I didn’t take you for one interested in art. There’s more to you than meets the eye, huh. As a fellow art connoisseur, I wish I could accompany you, but I have other business to attend to. Apologies.”

“The heck you yappin’ about? Imma buy what’s hot, sell it even hotter! See ya!”

The merchant sighed, “I guess money is the only thing on that girl’s mind… But I guess that’s what makes her the merchant she is…”

In an enthusiastic hurry, she ran through the streets headed to the main plaza, where every market in Maganmur is held. From a bird’s eye view it’s right behind the fountain, but you can’t enter the giant town hall from that side, you have to take the route around it. Some complain about it, others see it as an opportunity to take in the city’s beautiful architecture.

The buildings are less modern than most others in Eldiron, but that’s exactly what gives this city its historic, yet cozy look and feel. Not that that’s on Anna’s mind right now, she’s breezing through the streets so that she doesn’t miss out on any pieces that could earn her some money.

The first few vendors she came across drew and painted nature themed things such as the clear-watered lake right outside the Maganmur walls and the night sky behind the giant Uaigh Tree. One only Maganmur’s people would know by name.

The art was nice, but not anything that could sell for a lot more than what the vendors were asking for. Anna: not interested.

After spending quite a while at the market, she had doubts about this week’s spoils. The art market is bi-weekly, so she could stop by next time… but what if she misses out on the biggest piece of the year…

Right after deciding to stick around, she saw someone she was familiar with.

“…Aurora?”

She was kneeling down in front of a large painting, one that stuck a bit above her head. Anna slowly got closer to see what she was looking at.

Her eyes opened wide when she saw a painting of yet another familiar face.

“How much do you want for it?” Anna asked the vendor quite combatively.

“Such passion, I love it! It seems that a bidding war is about to unfold right in front of my eyes, how exciting!”

Anna looked at the one kneeled beside her. “How much are you offering?”

She fixed her glasses with both of her hands as she looked up. “I have not placed an offer. Still, I understand why you are interested in it. The sunset hugging the scene as Leigong’s statue dominates your field of view. The real brilliance of this piece, however, is this mysterious boy standing in front of the statue. Is it with admiration or frustration that the eyes, hidden from us, are looking at the statue one is ought to wonder. Don’t you think?” She rattled all those words without breaking eye contact, much less even blinking.

“You took the words right out of my mouth.” She couldn’t be pushy towards her. “So, how much do you want to pay for it?”

“I think I will let you have it. I was only admiring the art, I have no need for a collection of my own.”
The smile on Anna’s face spread from ear to ear. “Thank ya so much!” She turned to the vendor. “So, how much do ya want fer it?”

“Oh my… A piece made by me, the one and only Thiemo, deserves at least a hundred golden coins don’t you think?”

The glare in Anna’s eyes was enough for Thiemo to drop the act.

“Uh… how much are you willing to give?”

“If ya wanna take it there, I’ll start at copper coins!”

“Ten silvers.”

She opened her waist-pouch filled with golden coins. She threw him one, took the painting and yelled “Keep the change!”

The first thing she did was taking off her vest, place the painting sideways and cover the mysterious boy in the painting with her vest. Awkwardly holding the painting like that, she made a record breaking sprint towards her house.

Should I hide it… burn it… or should I—?

✦•······················•✦•······················•✦

On a rather sunny afternoon, Mylne’s windmill was in sight before we could see the rest of the village. It stood high on a hill after all—one not tall enough for us to call it a mountain.

“We made it,” she noted. “I reckon we could bargain for a place to stay until we head elsewhere.”
We really are feathers in the wind, huh…

“We’ve got no other choice, I suppose. Staying put for too long is never a good idea, but where will we head next?”

She seemed to be deep in thought for a second, but then said, “I think we should focus on how we will spend our time here first.”

“You’re right… For our next step, we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”

“Hm?”

I assumed her confusion stemmed from a language barrier… well we speak the same language as the East though, but perhaps she wasn’t familiar with the saying. “I meant that we’ll deal with our future plans when the time comes. First, like you said, we have to focus on getting a place to sleep.”

“Hm, I understand now.”

Once we made it through the trees blocking the view of the village, we walked through a wooden gate in which the town’s name “Mylne” was carved.

It was quiet, not because the people weren’t saying or doing anything, but because there were no people in sight.

Until someone suddenly started running towards us. It was a young boy with a pot on his head and wearing worn out tablecloth as a cape. Behind him ran quite a bit of cats.

“Intrudes! Intrudes! Me feline warrio’s, charge!”

Hikari got low to the ground and spread her arms wide. The cats that the little boy sent our way jumped onto her, not in a hostile way, but rather sharing one big hug.

“N-no! Me warrio’s! Gimme back me pals!”

I walked up to him and squatted down. Lowering my eyes to his level makes me appear a lot less intimidating. “We’re no intruders, you know,” I smiled, hoping that would calm him down.

A frail young lady walked out of the nearest house. She wore a dress that looked about as worn out as the boy’s cape, yet her blonde hair was long and neatly kept.

“Dennis! Leave the poor people alone!” She yelled as she rushed over. She must be his older sister. The way he shrieked upon hearing her voice was rather cute. “Now, apologise for being rude.”

The boy took the pot off his head in a gentlemanly manner and apologised. As he walked towards his sister, the cats followed along.

“Argh ‘m sorry mum… I’ll go home ‘gain.”

Mum… that’s his mother?! She hardly looked a day older than me… and the boy appeared to be at least five years old.

She bowed down in apology, “I’m terribly sorry, my son always tries acting like a hero…” She seemed to supress her accent, which makes sense since she followed up with, “You two seem to come from far away, or am I mistaken?”

I nodded. “I’m from Eldiron and she hails from the East.”

Her expression didn’t change much as she pinched her cheek and stretched it out a bit. She let go, still staring at the two of us, but then pinched it again.

“Eh-eeeeh?” This time she showed us a reaction falling more in line with my expectations, even exceeding them you could say. “T-the Prestige… in our small Mylne…!” A pause followed as she blinked at the two of us. “What are you doing all the way out here… if you don’t mind me asking?”

I thought of a way to phrase things without lying, but also not scaring this poor lady. “Uh, I fled the capital and she’s accompanying me,” I pointed the palm of my hand at Hikari.

“Oh, I see. You’re on the run” She nodded. “…Are you a criminal?”

I struck a thinking pose as I stared at the greyish sky. Am I a criminal? The lady held her two hands in front of her and took a teensy step backwards.

“He is not a criminal,” Hikari clarified, to which the lady sighed in relief. “We are simply looking for a place to stay where none of the army’s brigades will find us any time soon.”

“So you guys are criminals?!”

I thought she was my guardian angel, but she’s making it worse!

“We’re not criminals… The thing is…” I didn’t know whether I should say the entire truth, because she would surely be doubting my every word…

…But here goes nothing. “The thing is, the kingdom’s science directorate…” for a second, I didn’t find the words. “…They’re murderers,” my voice cracked. “They’re murderers,” I repeated. “Innocent… So many innocent people have been killed in their pursuit of immortality. I, I was—” My vision got blurry, “—next in line, I’m sure.” My voice faded out.

“No need to cry,” she said as she took a step forward.

Cry…? Oh.

She tightly clenched me in her arms. She is a mother after all…

As she gently stroked through the strands of my hair, she said, “That must have been so rough for you…”

The awkwardness of being pressed against her vanished at the sound of those words. A single tear filled with the imagery of my memories slid its way down the side of my nose. I recalled the cold basement, the chains attached to my limbs, the stench of death surrounding me every time I got woken up from a slumber…

I didn’t want to be seen crying, so I didn’t pull away. I didn’t want the shakiness of my voice to be heard, so I didn’t say another word. I simple let the tears flow out of my eyes.

* * *

“So there ya hav’ it, chief! These two are Prestige and they’re ready to give us a hand and some coins in return for a place to stay. Whaddya say?” Igreine, the young lady from before, asked the town’s head chief.

He wasn’t nearly as stoked to see us as Igreine earlier and gave it a lot of thought, but then said, “Alright. Under these conditions: if you work poorly, you’re out! If you eat too much, you’re out! If you sleep too long, you’re out! If you don’t rest at noon… I suppose that can be forgiven… but if any of ours don’t like you, you’re out as well!”

We better work our asses off…

“Understood.” I bowed. “We won’t disappoint you.”

“Yeah, yeah… get a move on,” he said quite rudely. “Igreine, bring them to the ‘mill.” He threw her a key.

“H-huh? Are you sure?” She asked.

“You get a move on, too!” Before we were out the door, he yelled, “That’s ten copper a night!”
Ten copper is about the price of a loaf of bread… with a single golden coin we could stay for 150 days.

As the three of us headed out of his house, Igreine’s humming made it easy to make out that she’s in a good mood.

“It looks like the chief likes the two of you!”

“You think so?” I highly doubt it…

“Uh-huh. His late parents lived in the house next to the windmill, he doesn’t let just anyone in. He’s not one to openly say how he feels about stuff, but you can trust me on this one,” she winked.

A bird soared low across the sky. I struggled with catching where exactly the sound it made came from, but simply following Hikari’s gaze, her eyes were locked onto it the second she heard the chirping noise. Then she asked, “There are so little people outside, and the chief said something about resting at noon… Are the people of Mylne resting now?”

Igreine nodded. “Yup! We wake up early in the morning for work then we eat breakfast before getting back to work—I am a rancher by the way, cool, right?” She forgot what she was saying for a second. “Uh… Oh yeah, and then we go to bed at noon and sleep until an hour or three before dinner. The only reason we do that is to skip out on lunch… there’s not enough food for all of us to be eating three meals…”

I knew that the further south you go, the poorer the people get, but I never thought that there were entire towns out there skipping out on lunch in solidarity every day.

“I see.” She didn’t say more than that.

When we had walked through houses scattered along the empty dirt paths we reached the windmill’s hill.

“Here it is.” She reached in her dress’s pocket and took out the key. “This will be your place for the time being. We haven’t cleaned there in a while… but I hope you’ll make it a nice home for you two…”

She was awkwardly grinning, probably trying to suggest that we’d clean it… which I was already set on doing.

“Thank you. We’ll take good care of it.”

“Great! Then I guess I’ll see you two at the town’s dinner?”

“The town’s dinner?” I parroted.

“Yup!” She turned around and pointed towards the circular space of emptiness that a couple of dirt paths lead to. “We all share dinner together at the heart of the village!”

“Alright, we’ll see you there.” I bowed again, to show her my gratitude.

I put the key into the door of the little house next to the windmill. When it unlocked, the door slowly creaked open.

“Hinokyu.” She casted an eastern fire spell, one that creates a small flickering light that lights up in similar fashion of a torch.

“Thanks!”

The place was dusty and the ceiling was covered with cobwebs, but all in all, it was a hundred times better than sleeping on the grass. Once we’ve cleaned this place, it’ll be a million times better.

She put away her fire spell once we found some curtains to open. We also opened the windows to let some fresh air blow through the rooms.

“Alright, let’s look for cleaning equipment now. I’ll check here. Oh, and open all the curtains and windows you see, please.”

“Hm, got it.”

The first door I opened led to the dining room with a wooden table and four chairs around it. On the other end of the room was yet another door. This one lead to the kitchen. I opened the curtains there, too.

When I left through the same door I came from, I heard Hikari say, “Found it.”

Through the hallway, I made my way over to her. The room she was in was the bedroom… one with—

“—Only one bed…”

“Hm?” She turned around and patted the bed. “This sort of bed is called a double bed. Two people can sleep in it.”

I couldn’t help but groan. “I’ll look for a couch to sleep in.”

“You seem troubled, but I am afraid I do not see what the problem is.”

“Of course you don’t… Let’s just start cleaning…”

* * *

We had finished cleaning once it was dark outside. Unlike the cities within the walls of Eldiron, this town is not lit at night. The one exception is the heart of the city where the town’s dinner is held. From up here on the hill, I saw about a hundred and fifty people in the centre and some people were heading towards or away from the centre with torches.

There’s about thirty two houses scattered around here, not counting the windmill, the one we’re in and not the ones that look like they’re solely meant for farming and keeping cattle.

So that would mean about five people live together in each house. Perhaps, not everyone attends the town’s dinner, so that means the total could be around two hundred people here… That would bump up the people per house to six or more, wouldn’t it…

I realised I hadn’t looked through the windows that faced the back of the house we’re staying in, so I walked around it to look what’s beyond the other side of the hill. It was hidden behind the houses and the very hill I’m standing on earlier, but the farming fields stretches out far beyond my eyes could see in the dark.

Hikari followed me around the house and stood at an arm’s length. “Hisenko.” A ball of fire, similar to the one she used earlier, flashed across the field. The difference between the two spells is that this one lingers in the air and is far brighter. Thanks to her spell, we could see the fields a lot better for a brief moment.

“The spring harvest is not far away.”

I know absolutely nothing about farming, so I was quite surprised to hear that she at least had some clue.

“I guess we’ll be helping out with that then.” I was getting kinda excited, this would be another first for me after all.

“Indeed, but for now, let us join them for dinner.”

I looked at her and saw the bangs that normally hang over her eye patch be half stuck underneath it. “Your hair is a little tangled, want me to fix it?”

“If you would be so kind.”

Using nothing other than my index finger, I lifted the hair from behind the eye patch’s band that goes across her face. As soon as I let go of her hair, the band came loose and it fell to the ground.
I picked it up for her. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—” The moment I tried handing it back, I saw her bare right eye for the first time. A scar ran through her eye, starting somewhere at the bottom of her forehead and going all the way down to her cheek. Her eyelid hung low and the visible part—as small as it may be—is entirely white.

Instinctively, at least I’m sure it was, I placed my hand on her cheek. The moment I realised I did, I quickly retreated it.

“Uhm… Is your eye fine?”

“Mhmm. It has been like this forever, so I do not mind it anymore.”

I hesitated with giving the eyepatch back, I didn’t want it to seem as if I was indirectly telling her to cover her eye up. She, however, didn’t hesitate to take it out of my hand.

“We do not want to scare the people, do we…” She said as she tied it behind her head again.
“I understand, but I don’t think it’s scary at all.”

She turned around, heading to the other side of the hill. “You saying that more than suffices.”
I followed in her steps. “Would you mind if I asked you how you got it?”

“I would not mind you asking.”

The way she answered me should’ve told me enough, but yet I asked, “How did you get your scar?”
“I am afraid I cannot tell you that.”

Her delivery was terrible, but I could tell she was trying to make a joke. I simply laughed it off and caught up to her.

Now, en route to the town’s dinner, I was in for yet another first.

Walking through the empty streets again, every now and again we’d come across some townsfolk who would give us a friendly greeting. Then we arrived at the heart of town.

“Oh! You made it!” Igreine was once again in a good mood.

Behind her stood Dennis who was clinging onto her dress.

The feline commander is quite the shy one…

“Good evening,” the two of us said quite in sync.

“I’ve saved seats for you two, follow me.”

While we followed her through the masses—all seated on logs, standing at high round tables or even sitting in a circle on the ground—Dennis kept shooting glances behind him whilst still clinging on to his mother.

“Good evening, hero.”

That seemed to have broken the ice a little since he showed me a big smile—one that’s missing a tooth.

Once seated at a table, next to Igreine and Dennis on one side and a family of four on the other, we were served stew in a clay bowl. It wasn’t much, but it filled the stomach quite nicely. It was tasty, too.

Today I visited a town in the south for the first time, talked to southerners for the first time as well, I had never seen the inside of a windmill before, but after snooping around with Hikari, I had yet another first to scrap off the list. This town dinner is no different. And right now, I’m in for yet another one.

“Bottoms up, m’pal!” Igreine’s husband said as he bumped his wooden tankard against mine.
“Have you never had such a beverage before?” Hikari asked me as if drinking alcohol was a natural occurrence for her.

“No, have you?”

She shook her head. “I have heard that it is bitter. Perhaps it is better to drink it with big gulps so that the bitter taste will not linger as often.”

“…Are you sure? I think you’ll get drunk that way…”

“Ah, what’s it matter anyway! Good beer keep ya warm, keep ya fired up.” He pointed his finger in the air as he struggled getting the words out. “…And enough beer keep ya… Uh… it put ya to sleep!”

“R-right…”

As I held the tankard to my mouth, I shot a last glance at Hikari who was downing it faster than a man returning from the desert would finish a cup of water.

I guess I’ll have a sip… Bleh… bitter.

“That hits the spot, don’t it!”

“Sure does,” I lied as I drank it sip by sip.

After talking to the husband for a tad bit, I had noticed that Hikari went quiet a while ago. I looked at her and saw her cheeks had turned a little reddish. It was hard to tell under the distant torch light.

“Hikari… are you drunk?”

“Me? Jue bu…”

Huh?

“This little could not get one drunk… Lee-suh…!” She was speaking gibberish.

When nighttime was upon us, I carried the ‘I swear I am not drunk’ Hikari on my back. Without a torch to light the way, and much less a Hikari to use a fire spell, I had to navigate my way back in the dark. Locating the hill isn’t difficult in the slightest, but making sure I don’t trip over the unevenness of the road is a different story.

I guess no matter what challenge is posed, the end’s what matters most. We made it home in one piece.

After a little struggle with unlocking the door, I managed to open it and bring Hikari to bed. She lied down with her legs hanging over the edge.

“Wait, hang on,” I said, right before she could swing them under the blanket. “We need to take your boots off first. And your robe, too.”

“O-ooh! Of course.”

Instead of taking it off herself, she pushed herself up and stretched out her arms, nonverbally suggesting that I take it off for her. With utmost care for her long hair, I slowly lifted it off her. I was hoping she’d take care of the boots herself, but when I put her robe away, she was already stretching one of her legs out.

“This is the first time you’re acting like a princess,” I sighed.

“Lee-suh!”

“Hm?” I was already kneeling down, taking off her left one.

 “Hikari is princess!”

“Sure, sure.” The boots were easier than the robe, I must admit. “There, all done. Get some rest now. Good night.”

She was already out like a light, not that falling asleep in a heartbeat is anything new. When I tucked her in, it made me realise that I also need a blanket on the couch. I opened the closet next to the bed and took a spare one out. As I closed the doors of the closet again, I felt her hand pulling me by my shirt.

“What’s wrong?”

“Grandma Lin… Where are you going?”

Is she a sleep talker…? I took her hand and placed it on the pillow. “Good night.”

* * *

The sound of chirping birds put together with the rustling of the curtains in the breeze woke me up early in the morning. I could tell it was early, since the sun seemed barely out. The first thing I did, after my signature big stretch, was hopping out of the couch and heading towards the bedroom. I knocked on the door and waited for a response from the other side of the wall. But none came. I knocked again and opened the door, assuming she was fast asleep.

Both the windows and curtains were open, light seeped its way into the room from every corner, but Hikari wasn’t here.

“Hikari?” I yelled out in the hall, getting no response.

I opened every door in the house, none of them with her on the other side.

I thought she must’ve headed to the town’s centre again, but I found it odd that she didn’t wake me up first.

I put the rest of my clothes on and headed out as well, only then I saw where she had actually been. Standing on the highest point of the hill, in the shadow casted by the windmill. Her dress waved in the wind until it laid still. I walked up to her and said, “Good morning.”

She seemed to have snapped out of her trance. “Oh, good morning.”

“Staring at the fields again?”

She shook her head as she walked past me down the hill, “The birds.”

I followed her lead.

To the right of the bottom of the hill was what you could call the entrance to the farm fields. A few steps in front of the fences stood a flagpole, although the flag wasn’t actually visible since it intertwined with a tree growing right beside it.

On the fields were quite a few people working. Some watering plants, others were weeding. I couldn’t really name each task going on over there, since I lack the knowledge concerning the basics of farming.

“Let us ask Igreine what our task is for the day.”

“Yeah, sounds good to me.”

We made our way towards the town hall, which is in one line of Igreine’s house, which would give us the highest odds of coming across her. Well, unless she’s already headed off to her ranch.
As we walked on the paths you could hardly call a road, next to the houses that an outsider like me could barely tell apart, we happened to run into Igreine, her husband and Dennis.

“Hey, if it ain’t the jolly two! Lead and Hickey!”

“C’mon, pops! It’s Leith and Hikari!”

“Oh, my bad, my bad.”

Igreine, with her hands on her hips, sighed out loud before greeting us, “Good morning you two.” She turned to her husband. “Dear, you need to work on rememberin’ people’s names! They’ll think of you as rude!”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. Anyway,” he turned to us, “what’re your plans for the day?”

“We don’t really know yet,” I said for us both. “We were looking for you, Igreine, to ask you what you wish us to do.”

“Hah! Just our luck, m’boy!” He gave his son a pat on the back. “We’re heading out to Mylne’s forest in a wee bit cos a mad load of wild boars is running riot. And we best get rid of ‘em quick, they’re known to screw like rabbits ‘n all over here…”

“Dear, please!”

“What should I say then, ‘humpin’?”

She closed her eyes and shook her head. “Please take these two in your care, I’m heading off to the ranch.”

“Will do, will do!”

“Dear, I was talking to Leith and Hikari.”

It was kinda amusing seeing the banter between the two. Dennis thought so too, considering his big smile.

“Well then, love, we’ll meet ya at dawn.” He said as he held out his hand along with a little bow. She slowly placed her hand in his, getting red and flustered as he kissed it.

“…Gods,” she whispered as she shyly averted her eyes.

Now it was getting embarrassing to watch. “Bleh!” Dennis thought so, too, as he stuck his tongue out.

The four of us made our way out of town, our next destination: Mylne’s forest to stop the wild boars from multiplying.

Two other men of Mylne stood at the forest’s entrance awaiting our arrival. At their feet lay three bows with twenty visible arrows, a spear, a sword and a short, sharp dagger.

“Great, ya made it, Leandre”

“Oh, yev brought Dennis, too,” the other one noted.

He proudly pointed behind him with his thumb at Hikari and I. “And these two Prestige. Born boar killers, I’ll tell ya. Got ‘em on board since rumor ‘ave it these two killed all boars on the way from Prestige land to Mylne.”

We hadn’t told anyone about killing anything, but I suppose he’s trying to oversell our qualities so that the other two wouldn’t find it bothersome having two strangers tag along.

“Good, good. An extra hand or two is always handy, ey!”

✦•······················•✦•······················•✦

“Your Majesty, if I may,” Aerion interrupted the silence at the round table in the Strategist’s Undercroft. In this room, the meetings over important causes are held before they’re presented to the senate. The fellow men orbiting the table were the king himself, Cian, two tacticians of the Fenrir Brigade and someone else from Cian’s camp.

“I’ve heard of mysterious reports over the last week. They first arose near and dear to our homes, but have allegedly spread all the way to the ends of the walls.” He looked each person in the eyes for a good second before he continued. “Purple blades.” Rocking his head back, he gulped down the last couple of sips left in his glass in one go. Right after, he smacked it across the room, shattering it to pieces bouncing off the wall.

The king looked him in the eyes, unable to calm him down.

Paired with a big slam on the table, he stood up and yelled, “We have one common enemy! One! Common! Enemy! And yet our knowledge is scattered. You know something,” he pointed at Cian, “You know something else,” he pointed at one of his fellow men of the brigade, “You know a little something, too. And you do, and Your Majesty, too.”

Cian raised his hand, trying to get a word in, but Aerion wouldn’t let him.

He continued. “Do you want to route him? Capture him? Kill him? Chase him out the land? I! Don’t! Know! Heck, all I know is that a certain kid you guys keep calling a monster is on the loose. You lot keep me in the dark, even now, when I am seated in the very Undercroft!” He held his hand to his chest, “I’ve shed blood for this country. I’ve put my life on the line for my people. I sacrifice my future for our people’s eternal peaceful present, and this is how I’m treated?”

“Aerion,” the king’s voice remained calm.

“Whaaaaaat Your Majesty?!” Aerion’s didn’t.

“You’re reckless. If we were to let you in on all the details, you would hop on your wyvern and try to seize the situation with your own two hands.”

“Then why am I here?”

“Patience, Aerion. Patience.”

Another silence fell upon them. Aerion is about as short tempered as one can be, but once he’s calmed down, you wouldn’t be able to hear him breathing. The silent wait was over once there was a knock followed by another against the heavy wooden door.

“It’s time,” Cian announced.

“I’m so sorry for being super late!” She had trouble opening the door, then struggled once more with closing it. “I’ve brought everything,” she said, looking at Cian.

“And you are?” Aerion asked.

“I am Rune—oh, grandmaster Rune.”