Asteria and the three men finally arrived safely in a village. The place was neither too small nor too big, it looked very peaceful with children occasionally laughing and running around, though their eyes also occasionally being cast over Asteria's figure full of curiosity.
She had attracted a lot of gazes from the villagers nearby. Asteria indeed stood out too much from the group, however, as it was her personality, she just ignored it."What happened?" A blonde-haired girl approached the four, bringing some pots made from terracotta as she walked over. She helped them to untie the meat hanging over the three's bodies and bringing it into the animal skin spread on top of the ground as to not to get it dirty.The girl then just realized that the fourth member didn't look like a hunter at all and completely unfamiliar. She frowned and looked at the shorter middle-aged man with annoyance. "Uncle Han, do you kidnap an innocent girl again? How many tiAsteria rubbed her temples, feeling the frustration that had been building up to hit her like the waves of an ocean. She sank to the floor, hugging none but herself. Having experience those upleasant events lately caused her to feel slight fatigue.Uncle Han's answer had crushed her expectation. Indeed, the higher one expects something they yearn the most, the harder the fall once they fail."City of Citrus, the capital of Razor Kingdom. Most people must've already known about this one." Uncle Han mumbled. "Let me remember more ... ah, yes, Ceilla city and Lunar city. Those are the names of big cities that tribe leaders mostly know about."Asteria sighed and smiled to hide her disappointment. This place seemed so secluded that she couldn't help but doubt if Uncle Han's conjecture about those cities being the biggest were true. They seemed as if they had never left too far from this village anyway.Annie looked concerned as soon as she saw
Asteria had been trying hard to adapt to this place. At the same time, she had distracted herself with other things so that the thought of going home, was shoved into the back of her mind. She didn't intend to forget. She just didn't want to feel burdened. Perhaps, going with the flow a little wouldn't hurt.She had been feeling more relaxed lately. Her stay here was very enjoyable, especially Annie was very kind. She didn't want to freeload off her, so Asteria tried to help Annie or Uncle Han with anything within her capabilities.There was a river near the village; that river was probably the reason why the ancestors of the village chose this place back then.At first, Asteria was quite shy of bathing so publicly in front of everyone."No, no. It's not like that." Annie laughed so hard that tears were coming out of her eyes. She bent her body slightly with both hands on the knees, her body was shaking due to laughter.Asteria didn't
Asteria and Annie departed in the early morning when the sun hadn't even risen yet. Breathing in the fresh and relaxing air, combined with the humid atmosphere, it gave off a slightly cold feeling.The animal skin made into clothes that Asteria wore right now helped her fend off against the low temperature. She walked alongside Annie, who seemed to be nimble as she jumped around the sticking out low branches of trees.The grass was pretty high, just as expected in this kind of forest. Mosses grew unhindered, adding the color of green into the scenery. Dew dotted the leaves, though it caused slippery when one stepped above the mosses.Asteria had never taken a proper look at this situation. The sun was still hiding, but the sky had gradually brightened. So, she still managed to see everything clearly.As someone who had been living so long in the city with air pollution, she enjoyed it living here."The journey might take several
It was a huge wolf with red eyes staring et them greedily that almost slit Asteria's throat with its sharp nails. Asteria was breathing quite hard as she tried to recover herself.Asteria was quite shaken that she had just almost gotten her throat slit. She took a deep breath trying to calm herself. This is not the time to panic. After slightly calming down, Asteria looked at Annie who had dragged her on time.The wolf seemed annoyed that its prey had escaped and let out an angry growl.Asteria looked at Annie apologetically, but she found out that the girl currently wasn't looking at her. Instead, she was staring at the wolf with great wariness and unconcealed hostility.Asteria stood up. Her skin was bleeding slightly as she looked at the wolf with caution.The wolf jumped again and the two dodge on each side. Asteria was a bit slower and it caused her to receive another wound. Luckily that the wound wasn't deep.As
Asteria woke up with pain in her head as if someone was hammering it hard. She brought her hands over her head and put some pressure from her fingers to the scalp, hoping to ease the pain.She thought she had died, again.The wound and some scratch
It alarmed Asteria that she retracted her hands back in shock. It was almost as if electricity had struck her, but somehow this one gave a weird, pleasant feeling. She stared at the man in wonder. Was he struck by lightning before falling down? But what was with this blood? Looked like he got bitten by some kind of wild beasts, judged by the wound on his neck.The man still didn’t react, and Asteria wondered if he was dead. She wanted to confirm again, but she was concerned about that weird feeling. She analyzed the man to see if he was still alive. Asteria was sure that his skin was warm earlier, so she concluded he was still alive.The sight of red coating his neck and dripped into the ground also contributed to her worries. His wound seemed to be quite a severe one, and it seemed he was still losing blood. His wound looked fresh, as if it was caused not too long ago.Asteria winced slightly. With gritted teeth, she finally decided
The man’s eyes flickered with something. He seemed to be doubtful; as slight confusion swirled in his eyes. Asteria’s body jolted as their eyes met and the man retracted his gaze. A frown made its way to Asteria’s face. She looked unsure.“Scram.” One simple word was said. Asteria’s eyes were wide open as she witnessed the silver wolves backed away, running as fast as they could with their tails tucked between their legs.Is he that powerful? Asteria glanced at him, checking his figure before she scolded herself inwardly. Then, her eyes briefly scanned his neck only to find that it had been completely healed. Asteria was astonished.“Sir?” She asked him after seeing that the wolves had left. The man glanced at Asteria and said nothing. He walked away, causing Asteria to feel worried. If this man was going to go just like that, what’s she going to do then?“Sir, you should c
In the chilly night, the girl curled slightly, hugging herself. Her eyebrow creased as her body shuddered due to the cold. Asher looked up from his sitting position, staring at the girl across. The fire had long ago died down, leaving the dust and black charcoal blown by the wind that it somehow had smeared on her feet.She was leaning against a tree while shivering. Human, Asher thought. His eyes didn't leave her figure. Only then he did look away as she stirred, her hands rubbing her eyes. No sound came, and Asher realized that she wasn't awake at all.Asher contemplated for a while. He stood up, walking away.Meanwhile, Asteria frowned slightly in her sleep. She felt so cold that she thought her entire body had been freezing over. Her mind felt clouded.Even when her eyes had opened slightly, she couldn't focus on anything at all. Perhaps, winter had come sooner than she expected. At this rate, if she didn't find a shelter soon, whether it wolves or co