Chapter 4 “Return Trip”

“Finally…morning.” I stood up after I threw some more wood into the weakening fire. Since the air is still cold, I need to maintain the fire until we are ready to move. After rubbing my eyes a bit, I glanced at the remains of last night supper, which I have to say was prepared very difficult due to the absence of any tool. Because of that, my late night cooking session left out a…very messy leftover. That was the most I could do with only a sharpened stone I found near me.

I looked at the two and they were still asleep. I find it very difficult to wake them up, but I need to do it if we want to return to the town. Thankfully, we are not far from the main road. But we are still a bit far from the town. I don’t want to camp outside again without any proper preparation like that again. And I think the girls could use a proper meal and rest to regain their strength.

“Uhm…hello?” I walked toward them and found the scene of the two sleeping together very adorable. I don’t know how old they are. Chances are they are around my age. But I could be wrong. Just as wrong as when I thought Ris is a boy. Thankfully they are covered by my large overcoat, preventing me from seeing something I shouldn’t. “Girls…wake up. It’s morning.”

No reaction. Sheesh. This is a hard job. I guess voice alone is not enough, eh? With that in mind, I crouched down near them and reached onto their shoulder.

“Hey, wake up. It’s morning.” I shook their shoulder gently, avoiding startling them in the process. “Lin, Ris, come on. Wake up. It’s already mo–WOOOAAAHHH!!!” My body stiffened as an object was pushed onto my neck after a slight swishing sound. “W-W-Wait a minute! I-It’s me! Zin! Zin!”

“…H-Huh? O-Oh…” Lin who was pushing the tip of the knife onto the surface of my skin blinked a few times. “Z-Zin?”

“Y-Yes, it’s me, Zin!” My response came out stuttering as I felt the cold steel on my skin. “M-Ms. L-Lin, c-can you…please…”

“H-Huh? O-Oh, s-sorry about that.” She retracted the knife from my neck. I let out a breath of relieve. This girl really is dangerous! Scary! “What is it?” asked Lin as she rubbed her eyes and let out a small yawn. If not for her previous dangerous act, I will say that her yawn looked quite cute. But then again…no, better not say it. Zin, value your life.

“…It’s morning.” So you were not full awake yet? And yet you can react like that even in a half-awake state? Scary! Very scary!

“Huh?...” She looked around and noticed the light that slowly filled the whole area. “O-Oh, r-right. Let me wake Ris up.”

“…Okay. I’ll be there.” I then moved away from the two, not wanting to be in any possible danger.

“Oh my…what a terrible thing to happen.”

“It is a miracle that you are save, lad.”

“I couldn’t agree more, sir. It was…such a scary thing to see.” I shook my head several times after saying that. “But…is it really all right for us to ride your wagon there, sir? I know that I was the one that ask…but it just felt…”

“No, no, no! Not a single word, young man!” The middle-aged woman that sat next to the middle-aged man quickly cut my words. “We will help you even if you didn’t ask us in the first place.”

“It is an honor to be able to help someone in trouble, lad. Listen to the fair lady beside me.”

“Why you, calling me a fair lady~” A short giggle came from the middle-aged woman. “You and your sweet words.”

“I might be old, but the flame of love for you is still raging on inside me! For me, you are and will always be a fair lady!” A loud laughter came from the man as he proclaimed his love for his dear wife.

As the two went into their own world, I could only let a wry smile. Can you at least mind the time and place, please?

“Young man, just sit back there and accompany those sisters of yours. I’m sure that they will be bored just by themselves.”

“Thank you, ma’am. Once again let me thank you for your assistance.” I lowered my head to them.

“Got it, lad.” The man then gave me thumbs up. “Take it easy, lad, or you might stress out your sister too.”

“Okay, sir.” I then moved onto the rear most part of the wagon where my two ‘sisters’ remained.

“Sisters?” Lin questioned me with a low voice as I get near them with a bit of a frown as she asked that.

“It is easier to explain.” I sat near them. “Avoid making things complicated or we might have to walk back to the town.”

“I’m impressed, Zin. You don’t look like to be the clever type.” Uwaaah, Lin really is a blunt girl. And from the looks Ris gave her, it seemed that she didn’t really approve her opinion. Or at least in voicing her opinion out loud.

“Well…although a bit unhappy at that compliment, let me thank you for the compliment.”

“You’re welcome.”

“When you have met a lot of people, you will learn to read the situation and make the best of every situation.” I then leaned back onto the railing. “I guarantee that.”

“Hmm…is that so?”

“It is so. I can assure you. But enough about me, I want to know what you will do next,” I said as I gestured toward them. “I will not ask you about your back story or anything. But I want to know what you want to do after we arrived at the town.”

“For now, I think we will–“

“Wait.” Lin tapped her sister shoulder, stopping her from continuing. “Why do you want to know?”

“…Hmm…you’re right. I guess I should give my reason, yes?” Lin nodded while Ris looked at me with a rather mixed expression. “I guess…I’m just curious. And I want to help…if possible.”

“Why? Why help us?”

“You aren’t one who trust people easily, aren’t you, Lin?” I grinned at her, which earned me a sharp glare from her. “That’s not bad attitude at all. Really…not a bad one at all…Really…not bad at all.” Damn…bad memories resurfaced in my mind.

“Zin?”

“H-Hah? O-Oh, yes. The question.” I let out an awkward laugh. It seemed that that my momentary slip of mind has reflected on my face. “My reason for helping you…I guess because I feel slightly responsible for almost…you know.” I decided not to say ‘it’ out loud. “And I just feel like helping you.”

“…” Lin just looked at me in silence. From her gaze, I could somehow felt that she is anything but convinced. Ris glance moved several times from me and Lin. After a while, she just looked at her sister. I guess something bad had happened in the past that made her find it hard to trust someone. Moreover, trusting a stranger like me that almost endanger her and her sister.

“Still don’t want to believe me, I see.” I let out a small groan as I scratched the back of my head. At first Lin tried to argue about that, but she backed down immediately. “Then how about this? Do you know the name of the town we’re heading to at the moment?”

“T-Town? Uhm…” Lin closed her eyes and stayed silence for a while. After that, she opened her eyes and looked at her twin. “Ris?”

“I…don’t know.”

“As expected.” Lin pouted, but I ignored it and I let out a cough before starting my explanation. “The town we’re heading is called Vilinda. Ever heard of it?”

“…No.”

“Well, it is a small town that serves as a travel town between the port city of Metze on the west and the inland cities on the east. It also serves as a merchant town that collected a lot of commodities the surrounding villages and settlements produced that will be bought and delivered to Metze for export or to the inland cities for domestic consumption. It is a small yet crowded city due to its role in the trading route.”

“Ah…okay.”

“You can get a lot of merchandise a lot cheaper compare to when it already reached the big cities. Exotic fruits, gems, and rare metal ores that came from the dwarfen-managed mountains outside the forest are the three major commodities in the town. Because of the two of the three commodities from before, metalworking is another important industry of the town. You can get metal wares and also small weapons made for a much cheaper price. And if you patron one of those dwarf blacksmith often, you can get a bit better stuff than just the ordinary craftsmanship level of your everyday blacksmith.”

“Wow…you know a lot.” I smiled at Ris’ compliment.

“That is because I lived there.”

“So? Your point is?” The unconvinced Lin asked.

“My point is this. As a travel town that also served as a merchant town, it is a dangerous place for newcomer. Without proper knowledge of the town, you will be an easy prey for the many scumbags in there. If you got it easy, you will only lose your money. If a bit more unfortunate, you’ll become a slave. The worst is either raped or, as one might expect, murdered.” I paused to see the reaction they gave. Ris’ face paled and Lin clenched into a tight fist. It seems they have seen my point. “While you’re there, allow me to be your guide. I don’t know if you have any friend there. But you can consider me as one.”

“How can we trust you?” Lin immediately threw that question. This time, Ris looked at me without showing a single sign of disagreeing with her twin. “If what you said is true, then you might be one of those people for all we know. How can be so sure that we can trust you?”

“Before I give my answer, let me make it clear first that whatever I say will not be worth anything if you don’t give me chance. That is a fact because I can’t read your mind and neither of you, or at least that’s what I guess.” Because if they can, then they can see that I have no ill will. “But if you want to know, I can give several reasons.”

“And those are?”

“I am not abandoning you when I found you on the wagon. I also didn’t abandon you when the two of you asleep there. Both are easy for me to do, but I choose not to.” I paused for a while to sort my emotion. I felt…quite terrible. It was as if I tried to put some kind of guilt into their mind. Honestly, it felt sickeningly terrible for me. But since I felt some kind obligation to make amend for my mistake, I have to do what I can for now. I just hope that in the near future, I can make those two trust me honestly. “And if that is not enough, my last argument is on the object on your hand, Lin.”

“Huh? The knife?” She pulled out the knife.

“That is a memento from a very important person that sacrifice everything to let me live. Its value is… as same as my life.”

“E-Eh?” The two widened their eyes at my statement. “This knife?”

“Y-You’re lying!”

“IT’S NOT A LIE!” I raised my voice and also hit the wagon’s side. I was surprised by my own action and immediately looked at the owner of the wagon. I felt relieved that they didn’t seem to notice my outburst. Or maybe they pretended not to. If that is the case, I’m grateful for that. As the two girls in front of me looked at me with a slightly shocked expression, I lowered my head. “S-Sorry. It’s not a lie. It is…not something that I can even think of lying.”

“…Then…why are you lending it to me so easily?” Lin, clearly still tried to stay firm to her opinion, asked that with a bit of hesitation.

“…I entrusted that as a sign that I trust you. You might have…killed me, but you brought me back. I am grateful for that. As a sign of my gratitude and trust, I entrusted my most precious tool to you. And also the chance to kill me again if you still view me as a threat.” I let out a heavy sigh before continuing. “I want that knife back after we get into town. But! I will not ask it back before I buy you a replacement.”

For a few moments, the girls just looked at each other without saying anything. From their looks, I could guess that they are in the middle of considering my offer. I am actually a bit hurt that they didn’t immediately accept it. But that pain quickly gone away as I realized that after what they’ve gone through, the need of being extra careful for everything is a must.

“I know that it is hard to believe a stranger’s words.”

“…Zin…”

“You don’t have to look at me that way, Ris. I’m sure that is for the best.” I looked around to check for our estimated position. “Judging from what I remembered about this place, we still have some time before arriving at our destination. Take your time and talk it out with each other. In the mean time I’ll take a short nap.” I then lowered my hat to the point that it covered my eyes and I descended to the land of dream, leaving the two girls alone with their thought.

“This will be where we part way, lad.”

“I am grateful to you, sir. I’ll pay it someday.”

“No worry, lad. To help others in trouble is a must.” The man let out wide smile as he said that. “Ain’t that right, darling?”

“Yes, that’s right. We’ll be seeing you later then, young man.” The woman next to her also flashed him a wide smile. “Take care of your sister and be careful next time.”

After that exchange, we part way near the entrance as they said that they will go to the marketplace. I don’t want to go there together with Lin and Ris in fear of their identity being discovered by the slaver.

“So…where are we going now?” Ris who stood near Lin asked me.

“Before we look for any kind of clue whatsoever, it’s to the clothing stall.” I looked at them and then at me. “A pair of girl in thin clothing and a boy with a blood-stained shirt is a sight that will attract too much attention. Especially since the two of you are still sharing a single overcoat.”

“But…we don’t have any money.”

“Check the left pocket in the overcoat. Throw what’s inside to me.” Ris reached into it and pulled out the pouch and threw in to me. I undo the string and looked inside it. I guess…it is enough. It will be reduced a lot but it is a necessity. “I’ll pay it. And don’t even thinking of rejecting it. I know a cheap place too. Come on, it’s this way.”

Not wanting to waste any more time, I walked to the direction a bit away from the center of the town. I didn’t bother looking back as I already heard their slow footsteps following me. I looked at the sky and noticed that we will still have time before that stall close. After that, it will probably information gathering regarding the slaver. I hope that I can get some without hurting myself.

“How long did you think it will be closed down, buddy?”

“Probably for quite some time. A month or so. The incident is a terrible one.”

“Geh! That’s bad. And I was hoping to get some slaves for the shop.”

W-Wait a minute!? What did I just hear? I looked back and saw that I was not the only person surprised by what I’ve heard from a pair of passerby. The twin looked at me as if asking me for the next action I will do. I then walked toward them and called them.

“E-Excuse me, sir!”

“Hmm? What is it?” The two men stopped and turned around toward me.

“I’m sorry for bothering you, but I couldn’t help but heard the two of you talking about some incident, is that right?”

“Oh, yes, that’s right.”

“May I know the place of that incident is?”

“Oh, you don’t know? It is the slave fair.” W-What!? “They said a big fire struck a tent or two, burning most of the place down to ashes.”

Are you kidding me!?

Author Note:

Please give me comment and opinion for this story, or even critique so that I can improve my writing. Do tell me if you find something strange or wrong with the chapter. Thank you for reading!