Marie the Shadow

First Time in the New City

“Marie, you sleep in here and I sleep in your front bedroom. We are of different gender and cannot sleep together," Miryu said.

"But I'm afraid. What if someone came to kill me? I can't fight and don't have a weapon,” Marie reasoned.

"Don't be afraid, this is a hotel. What is certain is that security here is guaranteed. Moreover, you are in a special room with full security.” Miryu closed the bedroom door tightly and disappeared from Marie's sight.

Memories of family continued to haunt that night. Because of that, she couldn't sleep well. The girl turned around but still couldn't move to dreamland. She also closed her eyes and moved the lantern behind a table so that the room was pitch black. It wasn't sleepiness that overtook Marie's body, instead she remembered running away and falling into a ravine. The lantern was put back on the table. The room became bright again.

From time to time, Marie looked outside. A little light illuminates the village. This made her even more confident about her safety there. She lay back down on the bed again. But still it is difficult to change the girl.

The sun was already shining a little higher. But Marie was only able to open her eyes as a result of staying up all night. She opened the door. One by one, the stairs were descended until the girl set foot on the bottom floor. She held her stomach begging for rations to be filled.

 “Marie, usually you wake up early. Why are you late waking up?” asked Miryu.

“I was afraid that someone would kill me. I haven't had a chance to take revenge yet,” said Marie, her eyes darting to the right and left.

"Don't worry, I'm an important person. As long as we can get out of Jan Nolen and enter the Centuro Telavea area, we will be safe,” Miryu said.

"Then let's go before the kingdom of Jan Nolen catches me." Marie grabbed Miryu's hand but was unable to move an inch.

"There's no need to rush, the wagon has just arrived and will leave in an hour.”

Miryu brought a few slices of bread to the girl. Marie took the first bite. The bad taste made her forced to swallow. She couldn't be heartless to vomit bread in front of someone who had helped him while in the forest. The girl devoured the bread quickly without caring about the taste. He even had nausea.

“Marie, bread tastes bland if you don't mix it with fried meat or milk. No one will be able to eat it without a companion," said Miryu. A glass of milk is offered.

Marie suppressed her saliva at Miryu's words. Then he grabbed a glass of milk and directly inserted it into the body. The girl could only feel the pleasure of the food.

When breakfast time was over, Miryu took Marie out of the hotel. There should not be a six-legged animal in the middle. The animal is up to more than two and a half meters long and reaches six meters long, not counting the red feathered tail. On top of the animals, there are several weapons to defend themselves. On the left and right there is a symbol of peace and no one can attack it. At the back there are two wagons side by side. The carriage in front is devoted to transporting goods.

"Mister, what animal is that?" asked Marie.

“Rhino maximus, an animal that can only be subdued by dual class, tamer and tanker. Therefore, the owner is allowed anywhere with the guarantee that no one will attack him. There are a lot of animals in the Highland Kingdom but few can control them,” Miryu replied.

"Oh, I just found out there's a Highland Kindom." Marie was slightly taken aback by the answer of the man at the side.

Miryu invited Marie to board the passenger carriage. But the girl began to rise by releasing her hand grip and slightly to move away. She even listened to Meong.

"Marie, why don't you want to go up?" Miryu, who was already in the wagon carriage asked.

“Mister, this vehicle is not suitable for me. I'm just a poor slave who doesn't have any money. I'm just a reguler village girl. Let me follow behind with Meong,” Marie reasoned.

 “Girl, up ahead there are Jan Nolen's troops. It's okay if you don't want to go up and Jan Nolen's troops will respond," Miryu said.

Marie's heart was confused. Between being together with Meong with the risk of being caught or feeling uncomfortable due to Miryu's offer, but there is a possibility of surviving the royal army of Jan Nolan. A difficult decision to make. With a very heavy heart, she chose to get into a carriage more than four meters long. Her eyes turned out to see the behavior of Meong, who was left alone.

This is the first time Marie has gone through a long journey. She always goes down when the others are also down. But the girl did not move far from the wagon. If forced to stay away due to special needs, Marie immediately returned to the carriage.

Marie had been in the carriage for two weeks. The long journey ends in a large lakeside town where more than half the country is a lake. He descended following Miryu's footsteps. Every step Miryu made, it must be Marie. They arrived at a house.

“Knock knock knock,” the door trembled as it was hit by Miryu's hand. It didn't take long for two guardians to come and open the door.

“Sir, I am surprised at your return. The news that I was with you was raided by Jan Nolen's troops and you were declared dead," said a guard in a sad tone.

“You guys don't worry, I can still live thanks to this girl. Introducing, her name is Marie. She's from Hidden Stone," said Miryu.

The two guardians in the house looked very strong. Because there was still fear, Marie could only lower her head as she continued to follow Miryu's path.

Without Marie knowing, she had arrived inside Miryu's house. A very luxurious and comfortable chair served as a place to rest after more than two weeks on the streets.

Everyone in the house was noticed. Some people cry with joy because the head of the Loven family is still healthy. Not infrequently, some children also jump with joy.

“Darling, how much money did you spend on buying that girl? From the clothes worn, it seems that the price is very expensive,” asked a woman who was the same age as Miryu.

“The price is worth my life,” Miryu replied.

"It means?" The wife was confused by Miryu's words.

A gesture made. Of course, Marie came and stood beside the man who had brought her this far.

“My wife, her name is Marie. She's the one who saved me," said Miryu.

A slightly more mature man stepped forward and held Marie's body. He raised the little girl's hand.

Her face was shaken in disbelief. "Father, you must be joking right," he said.

"So what?"  Miryu asked back.

“This little girl can't possibly save someone else. You can't even save yourself," the boy said.

“Miryu, tell me who she is? Maybe you have a special mission." The wife began to be suspicious of her husband.

"You're right dear, I have a special mission, which is to bring this child to Yuva University. While waiting for the university to open, Marie is staying here for a while,” the head of the family said.

“Sweet girl, welcome to the Loven family. My name is Erina,” said Miryu's wife with a bit of compulsion. He gave a signal, so the boy let go of the girl's hand.

"Oh sorry, my name is Jackson. I'm the eldest here," the man said while paying his respects.

Marie was ushered into a room by Erina and Jackson. The room was closed and locked tightly. A mana knife was taken by Jackson and aimed directly at the neck of the girl who had just arrived.