A Wandering Ronin

A Man With Brown Cape

Sagard, is a city that is still under the reign of the Mondu Kingdom. Almost all of the buildings are made of wood. Certainly not ordinary wood. But the best wood ever in Gatara. At the gate which is also made of wood, every four o'clock in the morning, the officers open the door. Because, the door is also an economic turnaround. When we pass through the door, we will be greeted by a neatly arranged market. Want to buy anything, everything is here.

On a scorching day, there was a man wearing a brown cape that covered his entire body up to half his calf, wearing a straw hat, and he could faintly see he was carrying a katana sword from under his cape. The man walked slowly through the wide open gate. He walked past the multitudes of people in and out of town. Some also use horse-drawn carriages to transport goods.

Arriving in the middle of the market, the man stopped at a fruit seller. The merchant with a fat body and thick mustache in brightly colored clothes greeted him.

“Welcome to Sagard. A city full of the beauty of wood carving. Every night, there will be twinkling lights all over the city. You'll like it hahaha," said the merchant.

But the man in the brown cape didn't respond, which made the merchant stop laughing.

"So what do you want to buy, sir?" asked the merchant then.

The man in the brown cape tossed his cloak and tossed a coin. The merchant swiftly caught the coin.

"One silver coin is enough to buy two fruits," said the merchant as he put the coin in his trouser pocket.

Without saying a word, the man in the brown cape took two apples and walked back down the street to the market. Until he arrived at a simple inn. Where the roof is made of thatch. He entered and headed for the female receptionist.

"There are still vacant rooms," the female clerk said.

The black robed man was speechless. Like he did before. He threw some coins on the table. The receptionist saw that there were five coins.

“For one night and one portion of breakfast," she said, handing him the room key.

The man in the brown cape immediately took the key and went into the room to rest. In the room, he took off his robes, showing his muscular build, his skin was white, his hair was slightly wavy when he took off his hat. His katana sword tucked in his right waist he put in the corner of the room. He immediately lay down on the bed and rested.

***

In the evening, the brown caped man went out to a simple bar. There were lots of men drinking there. Not a few are also accompanied by comfort women. But the brown caped man didn't care. He casually walked over and sat in front of the bar. He lowered his head so the bartender couldn't see his face because of the hat.

"What would you like to order, sir?" asked the bartender.

"Food and a glass of water," replied the man in the brown robe in a soft voice.

A big man, his muscles look very well trained, with rather long hair, who was sitting in the corner with the comfort women laughing at the answer of the man in the brown cape.

"Ha ha ha! Going to a bar just drinking water?” teased the big man.

The brown caped man was silent. When the food came, he immediately ate it. Meanwhile, the burly man was annoyed that he was being ignored. He then stood up and walked over to the brown caped man.

"Hey, when you talk to me, you should answer or reply," he said, bringing his face closer and his eyes bulging.

"Sorry, I have nothing to do with you," replied the brown-caped man.

"Apparently you don't know who I am yet."

Instantly the people in the bar laughed.

"Break him Bedro," said one of the men.

"Looks like he's new. Must be told how to behave in this city!” another man shouted from a distance.

Bedro looked down and said, “Hey, you hear them? You already know who I am, huh?”

The brown-caped man paid no heed. He continued to eat and drink water. Bedro was getting annoyed because he had been ignored. With emotion, Bedro grabbed the brown caped man's food and threw it on the floor. Everyone was silent because they knew if Bedro was angry, it would be terrible. Even the bartender ran away in fright,

“I say once again. When spoken to, you should answer,” Bedro pounded the table so that everyone was shocked.

But the brown caped man remained calm. He even finished his water. Bedro was getting more and more emotional. He was about to hit the brown-caped man with his right hand. But for some reason, the man in the brown cape dodged by lowering his body and then quickly, he turned around and got back on his feet and was now behind Bedro.

Everyone was stunned at the brown-caped man's speed.

"He dodged very quickly," said one of the men.

Bedro turned his body to the right while his right fist clenched in hopes of hitting the man in the brown cape. But the brown caped man easily jumped back. Bedro ran and threw a punch with his right hand right at the left cheek of the brown caped man. Quickly the man in the brown cape lowered his head and drew his katana so that the tip of the hilt of the katana hit Bedro's stomach. Instantly Bedro was thrown backwards with his back hitting the floor. He was in pain and even his mouth was bleeding.

Everyone at the bar was silent. The brown caped man calmly walked over to where he ate earlier and put down some coins. He turned and walked outside. The silent people were terrified as the brown-caped man walked past them.

"Ho... horrible," said one of the people when the brown-caped man had left.

***

The next morning, news of Bedro's defeat spread among the criminals of the city of Sagard. In fact, he was teased by his group mates. Bedro, who had been brave and always won, lost badly with just one attack. In a building the group of criminals gathered, they made fun of Bedro.

The building with three floors is located in the northern corner of the city which is notorious for slums. Made of wood but not brittle even though it is old. Termites can't even eat it. Meanwhile the group leader just sat quietly with his eyes closed when almost all the members made fun of Bedri.

“Boss Gardi, how is it? Your favorite minion lost with just one hit on the bar last night? Hahaha," said one member while laughing with satisfaction.

Gardi is still silent. His slightly dark skin made him even more fearful. His eyes were sharp, his hair was flowing red, his chin was sharp, and his body was big and sturdy. He always carries his main weapon, which is an iron rod that has sharp thorns.

"Where is he now?" Gardi asked, opening his eyes.

"He's in the hospital. The wound is quite severe," answered one member.

"Not him. But the man in the robe."

"According to our spies, he's still at the inn near the market."

"When will he come out?"

"This afternoon."

***

The brown caped man came out of the inn. He walked out to the gate through the market. There were two men who followed him secretly from behind. Surely the brown-robed man knew he was being followed. So he walked south of the gate to a hill covered with grass. The hill was about fifty meters high. On top of the hill, there was nothing but scattered boulders.

After walking down the path, he came to the top of the hill. There, Gardi was sitting cross-legged on the biggest rock with his eyes closed. His spiked wand lay to his right.

"I think my men will find it difficult to direct you here," said Bedro. He opened his eyes, picked up his spiked stick then jumped up and stood about five meters in front of the brown caped man.

"Before leaving this city, it seems that there is a problem that I must resolve," the brown-caped man replied.

"Name?"

The brown caped man was astonished.

"What's your name?" asked Gardi again.

"Ran," replied the brown-caped man briefly.

"Ran? You don't seem like an ordinary person."

“I am a ronin looking for a person named Garun.”

"I've never heard of that name."

Guard ready. He gripped his spiked stick tightly. Then he dashed off as fast as the wind and swung his spiked stick at Ran. But Ran quickly drew his katana and held Gardi's spiked stick.

"It turns out you're pretty good too," Gardi said with a grin.

"Let's get this over with so I can leave this town in peace," Ran replied.

They then prepared with their respective moves to defeat each other.

To be continued...