The next day, Gray was standing in front of his master’s grave. He murmured softly, “Master, how are you? These days, I’m doing really well,” He kept speaking anything that came across his mind, including the ‘hot gossip’, “People are spreading gossip that I sold cyclops meats! Isn’t that ridiculous, master? I wonder what you would do if you’re still alive…”
“Had he been alive, of course he would’ve found the source and confronted them,” A chuckle was heard after an old man finished his sentence. The old man was on his 60s and he walked slowly with a cane. He was the mayor of the town, Mister Charles.
When he was young, he was part of the state’s independence movement. Fearlessly driving the enemies towards their defeat, soon he was granted a position as the mayor in a border town at 27 years old. In order to have a peace on this land, he urged the enemy’s king to sign a peace treaty. He was truly a man of honour! Gray always felt a great respect to him, but sadly, human could never defeat the flow of time. The person who used to be feared between two countries, right now, he’s only a bald and fat old man.
“Mister Charles,” Gray greeted him with a bow. Seeing that bow, Charles waved his hand and spoke, “No need to be so formal, child. Your master here always hates formality,” From Gray’s perspective, both of them were supposedly to be friends since they used to drink together. However, his master explained shortly that adult’s relationships were complicated and not all of them could be counted as friendships.
It had been quite some times since the last time they met, so they had small conversation about their lives. Charles’s voice became shaky, probably due to his old age and Gray’s heart couldn’t help, but ache for this man. Really, it was truly regrettable that even the greatest warrior would be left to high and dry.
Turned out, Charles rarely went outside these past months because his leg would hurt too much from walking. While shaking his head, he sighed, “This old man had requested the capital city to appoint a new mayor. It’s been 50 years ever since I was appointed as the mayor, I was too greedy. Your master had long advised me not to dwell in this position any longer, but I wouldn’t hear him… After all this position is my greatest achievement,” Hearing the news, Gray felt sad too, a new mayor meant that everything in the town would change soon. Even though he had mixed feelings, Gray chose to remain quiet and accompanied the mayor to his wife’s grave.
She died many years ago because of an attempt of assassination. Leaving a huge gap in his heart, Charles vowed not to remarried and to be reunited in the afterlife. Gently, Charles knelt and put down a beautiful flower in front of his wife’s grave. He stroked the grave and muttered some words while smiling. With Gray’s help, Charles got up and decided to go back. Since he didn’t have any activity, Gray offered to escort him. Walking side by side, the two of them attracted the townsfolks attentions. Along the way, people greeted the mayor with respect while glared at him angrily. How dare this cursed kid waking beside the mayor?! (◣_◢)
He could feel the stabbing from his back and decide to ignore it. “Now, they didn’t even try to hide their displeasure to you. How could your master rest in peace? I will find the source of the gossip and end this,” Charles sighed tiredly. Awkwardly, Gray said while scratching his head, “Thank you, mister. But I don’t want to bother you for a small issue like this. Don’t worry, the gossip will end by itself,” Charles waved his hand and spoke firmly, “This all happens because I used to think like that too. This time, I have to end this before I stepped down as the mayor,”
Hearing that, Gray felt his heart became warmer, his steps felt lighter, and the people’s glares didn’t stab him anymore. They finally arrived at the mayor’s manor. At the gate, the guards were saluting and opening the way. Naturally, Gray stopped at the gate and said his farewell. However, the mayor invited him in to have a dinner. Of course, Gray couldn’t refuse the offer and went in.
It’s been a long time since Gray had a proper dinner. Not wanting to embarrass himself, he awkwardly only put a small amount of foods on his plate. Charles probably noticed his behaviours, so with his unstable hand, he kept adding meats and vegetables on Gray’s plate. After they finished the dinner, Charles casually questioned, “Why don’t you ever sell your hunts for this old man?” Startled, Gray was dumbfounded, “Mister… Actually, I’ve never thought about that!” Hearing that, Charles was laughing out loud, “I remember how your master always had a headache because of you. You know, these past years, I always get yours from Ten and also many times he refuses to share it with me. From now on, bring your hunts to me first. This old man wants to have a revenge to that stingy chef.”
Like a parrot, Gray repeatedly apologizing and made a promise to bring the next hunts for Charles. With the support of his cane, the mayor sent him off with a big smile. It was already late at night so the streets were empty. With nobody around, Gray hummed a melody and thought, today was a great day! Or maybe not-
When he almost arrived at his house, he could hear a man banging his door and screaming his name. His heart couldn’t help, but beating faster. He ran as fast as he could towards the man. Apparently, he was the first butcher who chased him away yesterday. After seeing Gray, that man regained a little bit of his composure and knelt down immediately! Gray was shocked and panickily reached out to that man, “Uncle?! What’s wrong?? Don’t do this, don’t do this!! Get up and sit down first!”
With a hoarse voice, that man ignored him and begged, “This morning, my daughter was sick. We- we used all of our savings to get a doctor. The doctor said the only way to heal my daughter is to give her a medicine,” He chocked and continued, “But- but the price was too expensive!! My wife and I couldn’t borrow enough money, so the doctor said he was willing to mix the medicine as long as we can collect the herbs by ourselves,”
After hearing that much, Gray understand the direction of their conversation. Thus, with much difficulties, that man pleaded, “Please- please I beg you. I will do anything you ask! Please, save my daughter!!” He wanted to bow down, but blocked by Gray. Even thought that man was always harsh to him, his daughter didn’t have anything to do with it, so Gray assured him, “Uncle, I’ll try my best!”
A woman was stomping her foot angrily. The sounds could be heard clearly in the entire forest. She lost count on how many days she had entered the forest. She didn’t have much arrows left on her back and she couldn’t find the exit. Sometimes, she felt that she’s only circling around the same place and she’s tired of seeing animals and monsters.She wanted to immediately have a warm bath and sleep on the comfortable bed. If only she knew a teleportation spell, she would’ve gotten out from this damned forest long time ago. Even though she had an angry expression right now, one could still see her stunning figure. Her face was truly gorgeous with a pair of clear black eyes. She had a silver braided hair, flowed until her slender waist. Her distinct figure was too much out of place!Looking up, she could see that soon a downpour would fall. So, she fastened her pace in order to quickly find a place to rest. Out of the blue, she could hear a sh
“The exit way,” Sierra answered coldly.She always aimed for the main topic instead of idle talks. “Ah! Of course. I can tell you that tomorrow morning. Don’t worry,” Gray heaved a sigh of relief and stroked his chest. After that, Sierra decided to ask him a couple of questions. Turned out, she’d walked so far and already passed the border between The Kingdom of Bealaris and The State of Etherna.“If I may ask, what is your business here?” Gray asked her. He couldn’t help, but become really curious. It’s not a common thing to meet a mage, especially here in the border towns. His master used to tell him stories about mages.“I’m a traveller. This time, I was unlucky and got lost in the forest,” she said shortly. Gray could tell that she didn’t like talking too much, but after all, when would he get another chance like this? He couldn’t just shut his mouth and let his c
How could she forget about the most crucial part about the Water Bark?!She had completely overlooked the fact that Gray didn’t know how to control his energy flow at all. If he didn’t have any awareness about the energy flow, it meant he completely vulnerable. Sierra muttered some curses under her breath while running so fast. She stumbled over some roots in the dark and because of that, she impatiently opened her right palm and summoned a fire ball. It moved fluidly and floated above her head in order to light the way.The light illuminated a large area and helped Sierra to see clearly. Now, she didn’t have to worry about the roots and retraced her steps to the cave. It took half a day to the exit, then it meant it also required half a day in order to go back to the cave. She couldn’t help, but wonder what would welcome her if she arrived half a day later.She gritted her teeth and ran madly in the middle of the forest. Her braide
Gray couldn’t believe his ears, and rubbed his eyes to make sure that this was not an illusion. He kept looking at Sierra strangely, like wanting to confirm something on her. On the other hand, Sierra just casually sat on the river bank and took off her shoes. Because she was running for hours, now all of her toes were full with blisters and blood. She slowly soaked her feet on the river and let the water stream cleaned it for her. Later, she would treat it by applying an ointment. She didn’t have any changes in her expression, still the same cold and aloof appearance. Nevertheless, her actions were all seen by Gray and now, he felt so overwhelmed by various emotions. Sierra was completely unaware and just focusing on cleaning her feet. Out of nowhere, there was a loud wailing sound behind her back, similar to a wounded animal. She turned her head while frowning and saw the kid was crying so hard, he was even unable to breathe. She gritted her teeth and asked
In the morning, Gray stretched his body and tried to stand up. His body didn’t tremble like before, but his legs still had no power. In a short time, he was sweating and had to sit down again. Sierra just watched the whole struggle with uninterest while eating an apple on her hand.Then, she asked him lazily, “Do you really want to save her that badly?” Wiping his sweats, he answered resolutely, “Yes! I’ve already made a promise, and master always said that a man should never break his words, so I’m going to do my best to exit this forest today!” Sierra looked at his light hazel eyes, and couldn’t help, but feel a little bit of familiarity.Sierra walked around for a moment and found a long stick. She gave it to Gray and said, “Alright, if you say so. You better walk properly or I’m going to leave first.” She knew that kind of gaze, no matter how weak his legs were, Gray wouldn’t give up. Thus, she
“Oh man! Gray! Are you okay?!”Leon looked at his friend and finally felt relieved. He’s been searching for two days in the forest. Gray left without leaving a single message and hadn’t return for many days, thus ignoring all of the consequences, he just geared up and went into the forest. Sierra narrowed her eyes and asked Gray, “Hey, you know this new kid?”“Yes, Miss! Rest assured, he’s my only friend I mentioned before!”Hearing this, Sierra finally lowered her bow and continued to sit down silently. On the other hand, Leon was frozen still while looking at her. He wondered who was she and how Gray knew her. However, he knew that looking at a woman for too long was rude, and so he lowered his eyes and walked quickly to Gray’s side.He proceeded to examine his friend’s condition thoroughly. Except for his dirty appearance, Gray was pretty fine, so Leon exhaled a long breath and hit his f
Gray finally woke up around 9 a.m. He searched for his surroundings, but couldn’t find his friend, Leon. He was not fully awake yet, so he thoughtlessly greeted Sierra, “Guh mowning~” Just like before, Sierra didn’t want to wake him up, so she just waited patiently.Hearing Gray’s greeting, she couldn’t hide her surprise and looked at him with annoyance, “Am I your friend? Watch out how you greet me, kid.” After that cold scolding, Gray was so embarrassed, so he decided to wash his face with water. “Um- I haven’t fully awake before, Miss. And, I didn’t mean to disrespect you…”Seeing his sorry state, Sierra just brushed it off quickly, “Forget it. Now tell me, how’s your condition today? You’ve been sleeping for a pretty long time.”Gray decided to move his legs and body. He even stretched it a little to find out that his condition was quite good. He repo
Sierra sat down in the white, soft passenger seats. The interior items there were from the highest qualities and coloured in white and gold, but honestly, it didn’t match with Sierra’s taste. The owner looked like they loved to show off their wealth. In the end, she decided to ignore the owner’s awful taste and sit silently. Gray decided to sit in the driver seat along with Leon. From inside, Sierra could hear their conversation, even though they tried to concealed it. “Leon, how could you get your family’s carriage?” He asked in concern. “Hm? What do you mean? I’m the only heir, so naturally this carriage belongs to me too.” “Gosh, stop joking! Your mother won’t be happy with this!” Gray slapped his friend’s back. He already knew ever since he was a child, every parent in the town didn’t like him at all, especially Leon’s mother. Well, he didn’t blame her though… No one would like it, if their children hanged out too much with a strange, poor kid like him. T