We made it to the city walls, somehow, with no sight of the stranger behind our tails, nor my grandfather. John and Lily were rubbing their thighs or squatting down from exhaustion, but I felt fine. I had faced worse situations during my harsh training, so I could still stand properly from all the running. A little bit of aching, but I'm still fine, still fine~ *flips imaginary long hair
Anyway, now that I'm up close to the city walls, saying that the City Of Pines is big is a huge understatement. It's a gigantic city spanning about ten kilometres, enclosed by circular walls that are 50 metres tall, fully protecting the entire city from the outside world. This city can certainly withstand a war from all angles easily. There were four main entrances that you could enter into the city, and all of them were guarded by soldiers. And when I said soldiers, I meant a lot of them. You would think the common number of soldiers for each entrance would be about two or four at most, but there are at least ten in this entrance alone. Are they expecting a war to erupt in a moment's notice? Or did they make a grudge with other neighbouring cities?
I gestured for John and Lily to follow after me as we headed into the entrance, all the while still worrying about Grandfather's safety, who might still be fighting right about now. I'm literally fighting against my will to head back there, just to ensure that he's fine, but I know that's a foolish action to undertake. I'll be running into a trap or worse, ending up dead, which defeats the purpose of what Grandfather did for us.
I need reinforcements or bodyguards to escort me back there. I'm dying to get some answers from the aftermath of the battle.
We approached closer to the entrance where the soldiers were standing guard. Upon reaching closer, I turned my head upwards and "wow", the walls are certainly imposing to look at, almost like they're gonna fall on me. The walls are straight and steep, making it difficult to look at without causing some form of vertigo. I doubt any assassins would be foolish enough to climb this wall without some sort of rope, tools, or skills.
"You three, come quickly. We're about to close the gates for the day!" shouted one of the soldiers as he gestured for us to come over.
We quickly rushed towards the entrance. It was getting late now, and the sky was already darkening. This means I can only head out to check on Grandfather tomorrow. Sigh.
"Take it you three are here to join the guilds, right? Head on inside. You might wanna hit one of the taverns for a meal and rest up. Big day for you three tomorrow, best to take your time in choosing your guild. The closest tavern is straight ahead to your left. Look for the sign 'Sleeping Daisies' up front, you won't miss it," chatted one of the soldiers.
We just nodded to him and gave our thanks. He must be bored having to stand guard the whole day, and we three are his best opportunity to talk to someone.
"Before that… none of you is a Hawthorn, right?" glared one of the soldiers as we walked by.
The three of us shuddered. Is John or Lily gonna rat me out? Am I gonna face another problem right after the other? What's wrong with today?! Why can't anything seem to go right? The stars must be so misaligned today that all these bad things occurred to me on the very same day that I'm forced to travel to the city, save these two kids, almost getting killed by a stranger. Yet now these soldiers are questioning me out of the blue?! All because I have Hawthorn in my name?! Bloody hell, I should change my name and erase Hawthorn from my ID. Wait, what's an ID?
"Aww, c'mon Earl, stop scaring the kids like that. There hasn't been a Hawthorn for years now, and why would they evenwanna come here? Chill out, man," spoke the soldier next to Earl.
Earl, eh? I'll remember you. Mark my words.
"Just doing my job. You know our duties are to question strangers coming into the city. Queen's orders, y'know?" answered Earl with a shrug.
We walked away from them as quickly as we could. Oh Lord, please, I want this day to end quickly. All I want right now is a bed for me to get some shut-eye from all of today's excitements. But before that, I'll need to find some mercenary or adventurer to escort me tomorrow. I just— I need to know; otherwise, I'll never be able to get on with my life.
As we were walking towards the direction given by the soldier, a pinkish-haired man suddenly appeared out of an alleyway and asked us a question.
"Hey, do you want to know… da wae?" asked the stranger. He was wearing a knuckle-duster on one of his hands.
"No, thanks, sir! We know where we're going!" I said and rushed quickly ahead to where both of them were. Did they seriously just leave me alone?
"Who were you talking to?" asked Lily.
"Huh? Some weird guy was asking whether we needed some directions earlier. Didn't you see him in the alleyway?" I asked her.
The two of them looked at each other in a confused manner. Was I having a delusion earlier? Wow, I'm certainly going crazy with all that had happened today.
***
We finally made it to the recommended tavern without any other noteworthy events. I let out a loud sigh upon seeing the sign 'Sleeping Daisies' located on top of an entrance. Lily ran ahead and slammed the door open, running to the counter and asking for something from the female innkeeper. The lady quickly pointed in a direction where she followed. John and I looked at each other with a puzzled look. Was there somewhere urgent that she needed to go? Shrugging off Lily's odd behaviour, the two of us approached the counter where the lady had pointed the direction earlier.
"Ara ara, are you with the silver-haired elf? Did you three just reach the city today? Onee-san has some information for newcomers regarding the guilds around here, but it might cost you," she winked at us.
Onee-san? She looked as though she was in her mid-thirties or so. But something tells me that I shouldn't call her Oba-san should I wish to see another day.
Seemingly reading my mind, John decided to defy all odds and wing it.
"Oba-san, what's on the menu today? I'm starving and I want meat!" asked John as he sat on the counter's chair and smiled.
Uhh… does he not sense the impending doom that's approaching us?
"Oh my, we have roasted purkette or boofette served with fresh vegetables and fruits along with some bread and soup," said the innkeeper as she held up her kitchen knife.
There was a death glare she was giving to John, with a dark aura emitting from her. Her knife glimmered with a shiny *Twink!
Goosebumps appeared on my neck, and I can literally feel the hairs on my forearms standing up. Lily came back to the counter area, oblivious to the situation that was about to occur.
"What's going on?" she asked with an upbeat tone.
"RUN!" shouted John as he rushed for the exit.
Lily, who was seemingly calmer now, yanked on John's shirt, halting him in place as he tried to run away.
"I've had enough of running for today. Can we just sit and eat, please? I'm tired and my legs are sore," asked Lily. She seemed to be in a better mood now.
"Where did you go earlier, Lily? It seems you're in a rush," I asked her.
She made a surprised expression and hesitated. She then placed her two index fingers together as though she was trying to think of something. Alright, I think I knew where she went. Forgive me for my insensitive question once again.
"She probably went to the loo. It's been a crazy day for all of us with the thugs and strangers trying to kill us. Talk about an eventful day," spoke John casually.
THUNK!
Lily gave John a punch to the head. I chuckled at the interaction of these two. The compatibility of their chemistry is probably the reason why they agreed to travel together in the first place. Will they end up together in the future? If things take their course, I'll step back. Now is not the time for me to be thinking about girls anyway. No more fooling around; I have a task to fulfil before the end of the day, and I sure hope I can find someone that is willing to tag along tomorrow. I turned to the innkeeper and asked her.
"Onee-chan, may I know where I can hire some mercenaries?" I asked her bluntly.
She was taken aback. She must had thought I would be asking her information about the guilds, but instead, here I am asking her about mercenaries. She seemed hesitant in telling me, placing her index finger on her lips and thought carefully for some time.
"How about… you order something and I'll tell you? Deal? I'm certain you three have some coins for a meal, right?" asked the innkeeper cheerfully.
The three of us reached into our pockets and took out a coin. John took out a copper coin, while Lily took out a silver one. John was shocked at seeing Lily's silver coin in her hand. It would appear the innkeeper was impressed as well. Lily raised up her head and placed both of her hands at her hips to show some form of superiority over John. 'Fu fu' was the sneering remark she made. I reached into my coin pouch, took out a coin, and placed it on the counter table.
"Is this enough for a meal?" I asked honestly.
I don't know why, but it felt as though time had stopped. None of them made any movements whatsoever as they stared at the coin I placed on the table. A couple of seconds later, the innkeeper broke the silence.
"G—g..g—Gold coin?!" she shouted while placing both hands on her cheeks.
What's the matter with a gold coin? I turned to look at John and Lily, who were baffled, impressed, confused, and stunned at the same time.
"Umm… Zen? I don't think a tavern can afford to provide enough change for you if you're gonna pay with a gold coin. A meal usually costs about a copper to five, depending on what you order," explained Lily.
I gave her a confused look as I had no idea about the value and currency of this world.
"Alright, never mind. Innkeep, food, and drinks are on me for the three of us," announced Lily as she handed the silver coin to the innkeeper.
The innkeeper proceeded to take her silver coin and returned about 44 copper coins. Ah, it seems that a meal here costs about two coppers; maybe cheaper options would be a copper at most. The innkeeper smiled and headed into the kitchen to prepare our meals.
"Zen, you seemed to be deeply confused about the value of your gold coin. Do you really have no idea about the truevalue of it?" she asked me, and I shook my head. Any financial-related topics are completely unknown to me right now.
"I never left my house in the forbidden forest before, nor did I experience trading before. Would you be willing to teach me?" I asked her.
Alright, ting ting ting, education time by Lily sensei. Listen up, let us put the value of a copper coin to be equivalent to one USD. To convert a silver coin, you will need 50 copper coins. Everything clear so far? Now, to convert a gold coin, how many silver coins do you need? Twenty-five to be exact. So a gold coin is equivalent to 1,250 copper coins. And I have twelve gold coins with me. That would sum up to 15,000 copper coins. That's 15,000 USD, baby!
GRANDFATHER! Why did you give me so much money?!!
I immediately kept the gold coin back into my pouch and made a mental note to keep it extra safe inside my dougi. I will never ever let go of this pouch, even if it kills me.
The innkeeper came back to the counter area with our meal. It was roast purkette that she mentioned earlier. I'll admit, that certainly looked appetising and smelled good too. We began devouring our meals as our hunger kicked in. We literally ate at the counter table as we were too hungry to bother finding another table to eat at. Within minutes, our plates were squeaky clean. Wait, hang on, I take that back. Only mine were clean. Both John and Lily still had some leftovers.
"Lily, why didn't you eat the bread crust? It's bad manners to leave some leftovers on your plate," I explained to her.
"Oh, but the crust is too hard to chew and it's pretty tasteless anyway. I find it pointless to eat it when it takes so much energy just to chew," she explained her reasoning.
"Then why did you not dip it in the soup then? Wouldn't that make it softer?" I questioned her.
"But that would ruin the essence of the soup. Why would I ruin a perfectly good soup?" she questioned me back.
"D—don't be a Garnt!" I yelled at her, and she retaliated with a "Who is Garnt?!"
"Sigh, you'll never understand the life of just eating soups and stews. What about you, John? Aren't you going to eat your fruits?" I sighed.
"Hmm? Oh, I don't like these fruits, especially when there are oranges. Oranges are hard to peel. I prefer bananas, to be honest," he replied.
I covered my face with both hands. How did I get stuck with these two pampered lords and their horrible trash taste? Oh dear Lord, if your everyday diet consisted of either stew or soups, you would be eating just about anything else that tasted good. I tried to hold myself back from my disappointment with these two, but I just snapped.
"Eat your freaking watermelon, damn it!!" I shouted at John.
Both of them were stunned by my sudden outburst. Realising my mistake, I immediately went back to normal and sat quietly at my seat. Both of them began laughing at my sudden outburst. The innkeeper, who was looking at us, started chuckling too. She probably found us to be some adorable younglings that had just arrived in the city, waiting to discover the harsh reality of the world that awaited us.
"Rick? Do you mind coming here for a sec?" she called out to a man who was seated at one of the tables nearby.
He approached the counter, brimming with confidence. He seemed strong, and I could sense that he had combat experience under his belt. But I wondered, if I were to fight him, would I stand a chance at defeating him despite our size difference?
"Now, how can I serve our lovely innkeeper lady? Finally asking me out? Please don't tell me I have to babysit these three kids tomorrow," asked Rick with a horrified face.
"This boy over here is looking for mercenaries. I was wondering whether you're interested in his offer?" asked the innkeeper.
"Oh ho, mercenary work requires payment. Are you able to afford it in the first place, little man?" asked Rick.
There was no malice in his tone, but I guess this is how he rolls. And I understand that nothing comes free in this world. I'm certainly willing to pay if he is willing to escort me tomorrow.
"Is this enough for your service?" I flicked my gold coin and grabbed it, gripping it by my thumb and index finger for him to see.
I did not care whether I was overpaying for his service. I just needed to secure someone to escort me. That's all I care about right now.
"G— gold coin?!" uttered Rick. He was taken aback. Perhaps I am overpaying him.
"W— what are you asking of us for you to be paying us with a gold coin? Hunting dragons? Or demons?" he shivered.
Wow. Wasn't expecting a gold coin to be enough to hire mercenaries to hunt dragons. Not too sure about what demons are though. The power of a gold coin is really shaping me to be some rich bastard ordering people around. But the value of the coin is not important to me right now. I just needed him to say yes.
"I just need you to escort me to a location outside of the city. Think of it as bodyguard work. Protect me from any dangers that might entail, and you'll earn this coin. It's about a kilometre from here, heading towards the forbidden forest. A round-way trip, if you don't mind. Deal?" I asked him.
"T— that's it? Just an escort mission?" he was puzzled by my request and glanced at the innkeeper, who shrugged in response.
I could see that he was baffled. Not only am I overpaying him for a simple escort mission, the journey itself would most likely take half a day at most. He scratched his cheek with his index finger and called over a female member who was seated at the same table. They whispered to each other, and she peeked over his shoulder to glance at me. Ah, I think I heard some form of agreement.
"Alright—we'll do it. Meet me at the southern entrance in the morning, and we'll depart from there," nodded Rick.
I gave a sigh of relief. Finally, some good news today. We shook on it as a pact of agreement.
"Name's Zen. See you in the morning then," I smiled at him.
"Rick's the name. And don't you worry, our party's motto is 'never gonna give you up,' so you can bet your ass that you can count on us," he smiled with a thumbs up.
I swear I saw a sparkle from one of his front teeth. The female member that he was talking to rushed over and gave him a smack on the head.
"You mean 'we will never give up'! Stop changing our party's motto at your own convenience!" yelled the female member as she continued to beat him up.
Rick was beaten till he had swollen cheeks as he was being dragged away by the female member, waving farewell to me with a cheeky smile on his face. I definitely don't want a gung-ho female in my party. Lily is not like this, right? I wonder if Mum and Dad interacted in a similar manner.
Alright, now that that's settled, all we need is a place to rest our heads for the night. I headed back to the counter table where John and Lily were busy talking to the innkeeper.
"Hope I didn't miss anything?" I asked them.
"Oh, don't worry, I just secured our rooms and learned some information about the guilds. The rooms have been paid. We can spend the night upstairs," explained Lily.
What? She had already paid? Is she some angel in disguise or something? Why would she even do that when we literally just met today?
"Y… you paid for everything? I even told you that I'll buy you a meal as an apology. I'll pay you back after I've gotten change for my coins, I swear," I promised her.
"It's fine, Zen. The both of you helped me out a lot today, and you did save my life after all. This is nothing really," she blushed a little.
This is not nothing to me. It just feels weird to have her pay for everything without anyone chipping in; you would think that John would perhaps help to pay a little.
"John, you alright there? You seemed quiet right after dinner," I asked him, who appeared to be sweating profusely. Is he holding back his poop or something?
"Oh, erm, I'm okay, really. Just…" he trailed off.
Something is definitely wrong here. Lily and I glanced at each other when he was acting weird, trying to gauge whether either of us knew what was wrong with him. He suddenly turned to face Lily while placing his hands together.
"T— thank you so much for paying for my meal and room. I don't have enough money to even last a few days inside the city. I'm really grateful for this and will repay you anyway I can!" John bowed to Lily.
"How much do you even have with you?" asked Lily.
Woah, how can you ask someone so directly about how much money they have?
"I have—about ten copper coins?" answered John as he smiled awkwardly.
"Wow… you can perhaps survive about three days, then you'll be sleeping outside later on," smirked Lily with her "fu fu" remark.
Her sense of pride is off the charts. I can see that John wanted to retaliate, but he gave up quickly, knowing full well that she paid for his room. I just chuckled at their funny interactions and chemistry.
Alright, time to head up to our rooms. Lily passed a key to each of us as we headed upstairs. We went up two levels and were met with a row of rooms on either side. And there were about two more levels right above the level that we're staying. Wow, I guess taverns really do earn their money through lodging and accommodations.
"We'll head out together tomorrow. Don't you dare leave without us, Zen. You won't be going alone," warned Lily as we opened the door to our room.
I just nodded to her since I doubt Lily's sensitive ears missed out on my conversation with Rick earlier.
I headed into the room, and wow, a proper bed, a cupboard, and oh, a small wooden circular bathtub on the right side of the room. Now that's convenient. At least we can freshen up in our room peacefully. Sadly though, I will need to leave the room to find the restroom, which is located outside of each floor.
I removed Inazuma and placed it at the side of my bed. The bed was really comfy compared to the futon that I slept on for the past 11 years. I can definitely get some sleep with this.
Some rustling sounds could be heard, and I instinctively sat up. It turns out that Q was looking for me, and he somehowmanaged to find me in this very room. Why is he looking for me this late into the night? I rushed over to pick him up, and I noticed he had tears in his eyes. Ah, he must have missed his nightly belly rub that Grandfather used to massage him with. Q must have been waiting at our hut for hours only to realise that Grandfather wasn't coming back. Damn it, now I'm even more worried about him when Q came to find me.
"Q, I will look for Grandfather tomorrow. I'll let you know when I find him. I promise you," I told him as I rubbed his belly. He seems to be enjoying the rub, and I knew that he understood what I told him. I placed him back on the floor, and he burrowed away, once again leaving no evidence that he was ever here.
As I sat back on my bed, three knocks on my door signalled someone outside. I proceeded to open it and saw John and Lily outside with a rather serious expression on their faces. Guess I better let them in.
"Is something wrong?" I asked both of them.
"First things first, we swear to never leak your—H name to anyone. We're friends now, and neither of us will rat out a friend that has saved our lives," said John.
"That was your grandfather who saved us, right? We will forever be indebted to him. I pray to the Goddess that he's still alive," said Lily.
Both of them were concerned about me. I guess they did notice the change in my tone when I was speaking to Rick. I know very well that deep down, I'm frustrated, angry, and helpless. But I need to keep that in check as those emotions will not help me.
"Thank you—for keeping it a secret. I really appreciate it. And thanks for checking up on me. I'm fine; you don't need to worry," I gave a bitter smile to assure them that I was indeed alright.
John gave me a bro hug in an attempt to comfort me. We both gave each other a few pats on the back before breaking the hug. He then proceeded to head out the door and left the room. Lily came and hugged me after John had left. I too gave her a few pats, but there was no sign of her breaking it. Perhaps I was tired or not thinking straight, but I spoke to her unintentionally.
"Lily, do you—like me?" I asked her without even realising that I had spoken those words.
It took me a couple of seconds before I registered what I had just said to her. I got flustered and broke the hug by grabbing her shoulders.
"S—sorry, I shouldn't have said that," I spoke while looking away, not daring to look her in the eyes.
What was I thinking in asking such a question? What's wrong with me?
Silence engulfed both of us. Ugh, now things are so awkward.
"I—it's probably because of what happened today. I mean, you looked really cool when you saved me. Not to mention, you were quite far away yet you were still able to save me in time," she explained.
"Wait, you knew I was hiding? Then how did you not hear the stranger creep up on us?" I asked her curiously.
"Strangely though, the stranger made no noise whatsoever. I was surprised as well when he managed to creep up behind us. Very few things in this world can sneak up on elves without them noticing," she confessed.
And I bet that's true. Their long ears are not just for show and tell.
"I'll get over these feelings, Zen. Don't worry about it. It is probably due to some saviour complex that I'm feeling this way. It'll go away eventually," she smiled.
That was probably the saddest smile I ever gazed upon. But I'm in no position to reciprocate her feelings when I have not accomplished anything in life. Not to mention, I'm still worried about Grandfather right now.
***
"Wait, is this Mommy? I don't remember…" asked my daughter, but I shushed her before she could finish her sentence.
"Shhhh… don't spoil the story," I told her.
***
Lily headed out the door but told me something before she left.
"Oh, did you realise you had a letter behind your back? I'm surprised you left it there," she said.
W— what letter? How did it even get there?
She left the room, and I quickly stripped my dougi to find the letter in question. When did it even get there, and how? I got my answer after reading its contents. It was from Grandfather.