Not long after entering the town, Fabby saw a public well and stopped there to drink water. Edgar, on the other hand, went to an old man who was sitting on a rock and was chewing on some leaves. Before Edgar spoke, the old man gave him a glance and scanned him from top to bottom and then said, “Want something, lad?”
“How big is this town, sir?” asked Edgar, as softly and politely as he could.
“Big enough to breathe,” the old man sarcastically said. He surely didn’t like how the boy was being over polite, which came across as acting.
Just then a horse cart was passing by. The cart was being ridden by three horses with a lot of sparkling metal glaring at everyone as though pridefully begging to be looked upon. A couple of thieves hiding in a nearby tree jumped onto the road and blocked the cart’s path. One of the thieves stood like a rock, while the other hurriedly started beating the driver with a hoe.
Edgar was about to step forward, but the old man grabbed his arm and shook his head. “Don’t bother. You’ll only get hurt.”
Edgar knitted his brows as though he was irked by the old man’s words, and the old man reflexively let go of his hand. Edgar then scuttled toward the cart. “Hello, brothers!” He went to the thief who was beating the driver. “Stealing so publicly before sunset. You guys are either too stupid or too desperate.”
“Mind your business, kid!” the thief threw a punch at Edgar; however, before he knew it, a jab struck his face, broke his nose, and blurred his vision. He stumbled back and then collapsed to the side. As Edgar was helping the driver to get up, the second thief took out a knife and charged, but Edgar unsheathed one of the blades with his left hand, without even looking, and the thief immediately stopped and then turned his invisible tail and ran away.
“Be careful, brother,” Edgar patted the driver’s shoulder.
The driver was a blonde youth in his early twenties. He bowed deeply and said, “Thank you!”
“Take care of your bleeding,” saying that Edgar walked away.
The driver then realized that his lower lip was ruptured. The curtain of the cart moved just a bit, but whoever was inside wasn’t visible. A decent-sized sack of coins came out of the cart and fell next to Edgar, causing him to stop. However, after looking at the sack of coins, Edgar picked up the sack and tossed it back to the driver and then turned away and minded his business.
The driver ignored the thief that was lying on the road and pulled the reins. As the vehicle moved on, a gold coin flew out of the cart and fell on top of the unconscious thief.
Soon, the vehicle left their sight.
Edgar was still waiting for Fabby to finish washing her face, hands, and feet. She took extra time because the water in the well was cold. She just wanted her skin to soak more of that water.
“You could’ve died there, lad,” the old man cast a sideway glance at Edgar. “Don’t you want to breathe a few more years?”
“What good is breathing when the heart is small?” Edgar said, leaving the old man in a frozen expression.
Soon, Fabby came and patted Edgar’s head. “You did the right thing, Eddie. What good is life when the love in it is small? Only as good as any garden-variety fruit.” She put her arm around his shoulder, and they left together.
As they were leaving, Edgar waved at the old man once.
However, the old man looked bitter, and he didn’t wave back. After the siblings went enough distance, the old man looked around, no one was around. He quickly got off the rock and came to the unconscious thief, picked up the gold coin, spat the leafy paste in the thief’s face, and then left at his own slow pace.
A few minutes later.
The siblings entered a tavern. Their not-so-attractive clothes turned some eyes, but they didn’t mind it and occupied a corner table. The owner glanced at one of the waiters, as if telling him to kick them out.
As the waiter was coming, Edgar placed the sack on the table, and the jingling sound it made changed the gait of the waiter, and he wore a pleasant expression.
“Hello, sir and madam. Are you both perhaps warriors returning from an arduous journey?” he politely asked, wondering if the blades behind Edgar’s butt were just for show or not.
But they didn’t reply.
Since when did someone refer to them in such a manner? Both the siblings sat paused, surprised. Though they came across some people in the Tempting Woods, none of them showed etiquette, even the one who offered them a guarding job.
“Uh, what do we get in this shop?” asked Fabby, clearing her throat.
The waiter looked at her and stretched his lips. It was rare to come across a lady with a bald head. He put the menu sheet, made out of wood, on their table. “By the way, which monastery are you from, lady?”
“I’m not a monk,” replied Fabby, pulling the menu sheet closer by sliding it under her nail. The menu sheet was thin as a tree bark, so she could easily lift it with fingers and take a careful look.
“Oh, my apologies, then.”
“It’s okay.” After some checking, she ordered. “Two glasses of orange juice, and two plates of chicken rice.”
“Sure, madam. I’ll be right back,” after noting them down on leaves, the waiter left with a smile.
Fabby and Edgar then looked around. The atmosphere of being surrounded by people reminded them of their time on the Shushui mountain, because it was still fresh in their memories.
Fabby sighed and said, “I wonder what they are doing… back in the mountains.”
Edgar understood what she was talking about. He put his hand on her hand. “We are not strong enough to do as we please.”
“I know,” there was nothing more that she could say. If they had escaped with other slaves, then guard units would have been dispatched to find them. Given their current strength, they would’ve been easily caught and at worse have gotten killed. She didn’t feel like she did the right thing by abandoning those slaves, but then she was no more different than a rat back then. One wrong move, and she would be putting both her and her brother in danger. So, for now, regardless of how she felt, she could only swallow all those feelings back to where they had come from.
About five minutes later, the orders arrived.
As the waiter was serving, Edgar asked, “We want to join a guild. What’s the best guild around?”
The waiter smiled while doing his job, “Are you guys foreigners?”
The siblings were startled; however, they quickly covered their expressions.
“How did you know?” asked Edgar, a hint of fear rising in his eyes.
“I didn’t,” the waiter said and smiled cheekily. “I just guessed. There are no guilds in this kingdom. We only have schools and sects.”
“Eh?” Edgar couldn’t hide his surprise. Though he knew about sects, but still, no guilds? Neither he nor his sister knew about that. Well, given their past, their knowledge was quite limited. Even though Fabby knew better, she was still out of words.
“But foreigners like you can’t join the sects so easily,” the waiter tossed a bomb.
“Why?” Edgar couldn’t help but ask.
The waiter then put his hand forward, and Edgar immediately knew what it meant. As a slave, he had seen that gesture so many times. He took out a bronze coin and put it in the waiter’s palm.
“One bronze?” the waiter’s brows drew together as he looked at Edgar. “What am I? A beggar?”
Edgar was stunned, and so was his sister. He took out four more coins and put them in the same palm.
The waiter then smiled. “Thank you, Sir.”
“What’s the name of this looting town?”
“Orseya,” the waiter said cheekily. “Did you enter this place without even knowing that?”
Edgar simply stretched his lips with force. “Tell us about how to join a sect.”
“Yes, it’s simple. Foreigners have to live in this empire for a decade. Then they’ll be eligible to participate in the sects’ entrance exams.”
Edgar’s eyes narrowed to a slit. “Did you take five bronze pieces to say just that?”
“Please be patient, and hear me out, sir,” the waiter tucked the money away into his pockets. “That’s just one way. There are better ways where you don’t need to wait that long.” He leaned closer and whispered in his ear.
Edgar’s eyes lit up. “Oh, that’s better. Much better.”
“A recommendation from a well-known figure, huh…” Fabby was tapping her finger on her chin, while strolling down a street. “We don’t know anyone in this place. This could get tricky.” “Mm,” nodded Edgar. “Though he talked about impressing some masters of some sect, he also said that it’s very rare to come across them.” He was thinking back on how he spent five bronze for the food and five more for obtaining information. “So, I think we can only focus on the baronet of this town. Do you think we should go and meet him first?” “No, that’s risky and reckless,” Fabby slowly shook her head. “Rather than us going directly to the big fish, it’s better that we go through someone else.” “Someone else?” “Let’s find out who are the important families in the town,” she stretched
A girl in an orange dress, and a boy in a red shirt and blue pants were strolling in the streets, both looking pleased. The pants covered his ankles, where the socks that came with the dress covered hers. Edgar was holding a bag that had towels and some other simple goods, including their old ragged clothes. They just couldn’t throw those away. Even though they hadn’t bathed, they changed into new attire for obvious reasons. “I can’t believe you got a thirty percent discount,” Edgar was smiling like a child that had just won a competition. “He wasn’t raising it above twenty, but when you mentioned that you may bring some friends over in the future, he suddenly became willing to up the discount.” “Well, if you look at it from his perspective, not many are visiting his store compared to other stores,” Fabby didn’t
After the siblings came out of the manor and walked enough distance, Edgar asked, “Weren’t we supposed to get them to owe us? Why did you choose to come out like that?” “We shouldn’t appear as desperate, especially because of the symbol on our ankles,” replied Fabby, startling Edgar. “In times like these, patience is our best asset. If that woman is smart enough, then she will realize that it was her and not the slaves that were in the wrong. And if she is good enough, then it makes things easier for us when we meet her again.” “Sounds good, but why did you say that the white seeds are bad?” Edgar couldn’t help but ask. “Didn’t we also have white seeds back on Shushui?” “Well, did you see white seeds grow on plants, or did you see them afterward?” Edgar paused for a
Not far away from the inn they’ve rented, under a big tree, Edgar was practicing his sword skills, with eyes closed. The sky was gloomy, and the winds were picking up, resulting in as many floating leaves as he’d like. He was trying to cut as many leaves as he could. But he didn’t spend his entire time trying that challenge. He also practiced the basics such as simple thrusts and slashes, trying to keep his movements sharp and precise. He remembered his master’s words: “Fighting isn’t just swinging the fists and blades. Though raw strength and speed can win you battles over novices, a lot of little things matter when you fight against experts. From the way you move your feet and grip your sword to how you read the flow of the battle and put yourself in your opponent’s shoes so you can predict their next moves… These little things can be acquired best through
Weapons barely kept missing each other’s bodies. It didn’t seem like they were simply sparing anymore. Her attacks were mostly slices aimed not to pierce through to the bone but to cut the flesh with either edge of the blade. They weren’t just simple straightforward slices. Whenever she overextended her thrusts, intentionally or not, she transitioned into slices when extracting the blade. The control she had over her swords was definitely a class above Edgar. Most of the time, he was forced to defend himself, but every time he cleared the danger from the tip or the edge of her sword, he transitioned into slashing mode. His frequency of attacks were relatively slower but packed a punch and pushed the opponent back more often. As seconds passed by pretty fast, there was no clear sign as to who held the advantage du
Fabby was inside the room, looking bored. She pressed her hands against her belly, out of hunger. She wanted to buy something, but then having already spent so much for clothes, she simply didn’t have the luxury to eat multiple times a day.“Living in the woods is in a way better than living here. Though it had its dangers and nuisances, at least I didn’t starve there.“But then again..” she clutched the blanket, “here you have comfort.”A moment of silence passed.“The summer will end next month. There are still six weeks to go for the sect entrance exams… I hope we’ll be able to get into some sect safely.” She pulled the sock down and looked at the symbol on her ankle. It was a silver-colored nail in a
The event manager sent his underling over to Edgar. The underling was a physically disabled guy, with a knee bent badly, so his walk was off, yet he unhesitatingly showed off as he came to Edgar, with a hand always placed on his healthy knee. “If you want to wrestle without waiting in the line, then follow me.” Saying that he turned and walked away. Seeing this man, Edgar felt a sting in his leg, and he remembered his own past when he was a cripple. Though he didn’t walk as crazily as this fellow did, he still was incapable of walking as fast because it hurt a lot. Pressing his lips a little, he followed the underling and reached the small ring. Inside of it was a wooden pillar, with a red-haired fellow sitting on the other side. He looked like he was in his late teens. About three weeks later.With over 43 square kilometers in area, Orseya town wasn’t small by any means, yet about just twenty thousand people lived there. So, it was only natural that some streets would be empty intermittently, even during the daytime.Fabby had bought a wig as she believed it’d help in getting the recommendation.Having also bought sandals in the morning, Edgar and Fabby were taking them for a tour. Though Fabby asked for a test-walk, the shop owner didn’t agree, so she could only buy them. In the past three weeks, she never stepped out of the room, so she didn’t find the need to buy footwear, but now, she had to. The roads were hot, and unlike her brother, she could only walk on bare feet for so long.They were testing which sanWHIT 33 - BENEVOLENT ROYS