Chapter 4 - Part 8 (Book 1 - Fantasy World)

Bethany took a moment to think about what they needed to do. She turned her head to look out the door and watch the number of people on the street grow from what it was.

On top of the chaos, a sense of dread began thickening in the air as villagers pushed each other and merchants used their bodyguards as battering rams.

Though Bethany had the desire to run, for some reason, there was a growing sense of security that stemmed out of a void of nothingness, irrational and unjustifiable. With this feeling of comfort that she couldn't explain, Bethany told the maid, "I know that things are getting chaotic, but being inside will be safer."

The maid's eyes slowly widened as she listened to Bethany's words -- which flowed against common sense. She glanced towards where the villagers rushed past the inn like a violent rapid of mindless fear and panic.

"I know. It looks bad." Bethany gently took the maid's hands in her own, hoping that her strange feelings would transfer to the woman. "Out there is more dangerous than it is inside here. Even if we needed to run, the odds we escape Leaf Village without getting injured are low. I do not plan on stopping you if you want to flee. But at least wait until things become safer." Bethany looked into the maid's eyes. She wanted to see if the maid understood the situation clearly without falling into blind emotions.

Jerkily, the maid nodded. "Thank you, miss. I'm just so scared." Her body began to shiver in fright.

Bethany pulled the woman close and gave her a gentle hug.

"Things will be fine," Bethany whispered into the maid's ear.

The maid nodded into Bethany's shoulders.

Bethany felt warmth from the tears from the maid. Feeling how afraid the woman was, Bethany hoped that her feelings weren't fanciful and based on something real.

Sensing that the maid had recovered enough, Bethany let her go.

A wet trail of tears and red eyes was revealed on the woman's face. But compared to before, her body stood straighter and trembled less. The maid's face reddened, and she used her apron to wipe away the tears, "I'm sorry, miss." She chuckled, "I'll get back to work. Thank you."

Bethany nodded, "Tell the others what I said. No one is under any obligation to stay, so if you feel the need to handle your affairs, then go. When things pass, all of you are more than welcome to return."

The maid smiled and bowed to Bethany before heading back to her station, likely to tell the others what was discussed.

Bethany sighed, running a hand through her hair. It was an act that would've been unthinkable for her, but the action helped to reassure her own emotions about what was happening.

Returning to her station, Bethany turned her head to look at the stairs that led up to the top floor, where the young noble was staying. She thought about sending one of the maids to inform the noble of the situation.

"I suspect he already knows what is happening, considering his driver is likely outside, parked next to the other carriages. The driver would see the villagers stampeding past the inn and rush in to tell their master." Despite everything pointing to the contrary, Bethany wondered why she didn't feel as worried.

Footsteps coming down the stairs made Bethany's heart beat slightly faster, making her look to see who it was. But the feeling evaporated when she found out that it was several merchants and their families. Mentally sighing, she tried to listen to what they were talking about.

"What are we going to do?" One of the merchants with blonde hair asked another merchant who was older than him.

"We can't do anything at the moment. There are too many panicking people out there." He answered. Pausing, he then said, "Send out the boys to make sure our wagons and inventory are safe. The moment things clear up, we'll leave."

The blonde merchant shadily looked around, "What about the others?" He said in a hushed voice. "I mean, we've already betrayed Tom and his family."

"Keep your voice down!" The older merchant hissed, glancing around.

Bethany was thankful for the portable partition between the main lobby area and the hallway that led to the dining area and first-level rooms.

The merchants knew Bethany was stationed behind the counter, but they likely didn't think she was experienced enough to listen in on conversations without alerting the guest. It was something she trained herself to be able to accomplish -- to better serve those that entered the inn. Another benefit was how she could learn what happened outside of Leaf Village.

Bethany thought back to a few times when she was able to advise guests on what routes were safe and which were crawling with bandits or monsters.

The owner would often congratulate Bethany on how she was able to continue to draw in repeating guests just because of her professional mindset and keeping the guest a priority.

"The fact that Lunar Empire soldiers disguised as bandits and the Empire invading Leaf Village isn't a coincidence..." The older merchant continued to talk with the other merchants in a low voice.

Bethany's eyes widened in alarm, finding out that the invasion wasn't the only thing the Empire had participated in within the Kingdom's borders. Taking a deep breath to contain the whirlwind of thoughts, she tried to put everything together.

As she stood there, the family of merchants flashed through her mind like a bolt of lightning.

Bethany closed her slightly gaping mouth once she put things together.

Closing her eyes, Bethany searched through the day's memories back to when the young noble entered with his entourage. Words echoed and faded in the fog of what she remembered.

Though the young lord never said the name of the merchant in his entourage, Bethany felt like something was off the more she thought about it.

From her experience, merchants would travel with other merchants or with guards to protect them, and sometimes their families as well, while they traveled between locations. But merchants never traveled with the nobility outside of unusual circumstances.

Now, Bethany overheard how the group of merchants had betrayed one of their own, attacked by soldiers disguised as bandits, and hours before a merchant arrived alongside a noble.

Additionally, this all occurred on the same day that the Lunar Empire invaded the Kingdom.

Bethany gently chewed on her lower lip as she mulled over all the information, despite how unusual they were. Deep down, she felt there were events slowly coming together, orchestrated by something beyond her comprehension -- an unknowable force.

A shiver traveled through her body, remembering the penetrating eldritch eyes of the young noble. Her body reacted to the memories of his eyes in ways that she'd never experienced before as a woman.