Tota slowed down, clearly exhausted after being pushed to run so fast.
Because of that, Ren had also pushed Kira to keep up.
Now both horses—and Anthur—were completely worn out. Anthur had fallen asleep on Tota's back.
Ren looked at him, annoyed.
"Hey, you idiot! Because of you, both of them are exhausted!"
"If they're tired, that makes sense—but why do you look like the one who ran while carrying Tota?!"
Anthur didn't respond. He was lost in a daydream, smiling to himself.
Ren's irritation grew.
Without warning, he kicked Anthur off Tota.
Anthur fell and rolled across the ground.
He woke up instantly and shouted:
"Hey, you freak! Why the hell did you kick me?!"
Ren glared at him.
"Huh? Why did I kick you?"
"They're exhausted because of you—and you were sleeping peacefully on Tota!"
Anthur stood up and brushed the dust off his clothes.
"I was the one giving commands, so I got tired."
"What were you doing? Just sitting on Kira and following me."
Ren clenched his teeth, then stepped down from Kira.
He walked up to Anthur and grabbed his collar.
"Watch your words."
"I know exactly what you're trying to do."
Anthur smirked, clearly trying to provoke him.
"You want to fight me, don't you?"
"Don't forget the rule—no unnecessary fights during the journey."
"If you annoy me one more time, I'll beat you up."
Suddenly—
Grrr…
Ren's stomach growled loudly.
He froze.
Anthur burst into laughter and point his finger to ren.
Ren, embarrassed, grabbed him and tried to shake him.
"Stop laughing!"
But Anthur couldn't stop.
Ren let go of his collar.
Still laughing, Anthur teased him:
"You haven't changed at all, Ren."
"I really wanted to fight you earlier, but this—"
He laughed harder.
"This is way more fun."
"It's actually fun traveling with you."
Ren ignored him and climbed back onto Kira.
Anthur also got onto Tota, still chuckling.
"Shut up, idiot."
Anthur wiped his eyes.
"Alright, alright… sorry."
"I think we'll find a house somewhere along the way."
"Can you hold on until then?"
Ren didn't even look at him.
"Come on, Kira. Let's move."
Anthur patted Tota.
"Let's go, Tota. I know you're hungry too."
"But you aren't hungry as ren right."
Ren stare at Anthur.
"Ok… OK"
"I hope we find a house—or at least a village."
They continued forward.
An hour passed.
They hadn't reached any village. There wasn't even a single house in sight.
Suddenly, Anthur sniffed the air.
"Hey, Ren… do you smell that?"
Ren paused and inhaled.
"Yeah…"
"If we go a bit further, we might find someone."
They see each other and Anthur smiled at Ren, then Both of them regained a bit of energy and moved ahead.
Soon—They found a house.
The smell of food grew stronger.
They quickly got down from their horses.
Anthur walked toward the house eagerly.
Both of them reached the door.
He knocked.
No response.
He knocked again, harder.
From inside, someone unlocked the door.
It opened.
Anthur began with a smile covered face.
"Hello, si—"
BAM!
A fist shot out and punched him straight in the nose.
"AHHH! My nose!"
Anthur fell and rolled on the ground in pain.
Ren just stood there, watching calmly like he was nothing to with it.
A middle-aged man stepped out of the house.
"How many times do I have to warn you bas—"
He stopped.
"…Kids?"
"Who are you?"
Ren spoke politely:
"Hello, sir. My name is Ren."
"And that idiot rolling on the ground is Anthur."
"We're travellers. We just came here to ask for some food."
"We can pay for it, sir."
The man listened carefully.
"Oh…"
"I'm really sorry, that I misunderstood you guys."
"This morning, six men came here and threatened me for food."
"I beat them and sent them away."
"I thought they had come back with backup."
He looked at Anthur, who was still holding his nose.
"Is your friend alright?"
Ren smiled slightly.
"He's fine, sir."
"He's strong—one punch won't affect him."
"If you want, you can punch him again."
The man burst out laughing.
"HAHAHA! Alright, alright."
"Help him up and come inside."
He went back into the house.
Ren walked over to Anthur.
"Hey… stop acting. Get up."
Anthur stood up, still annoyed.
"You think I'm acting you bastard?"
"You'd know the pain if you got hit like that."
Ren laughed and said:
"Alright… alright, go and get the coins from your bag."
Anthur blinked.
"What coins?"
Ren frowned.
"Don't joke around. The coins we brought from the village."
Anthur looked confused.
Ren's tone sharpened.
"Don't act dumb. I gave you the money bag at the start of the journey, remember?"
Anthur paused—
Then recalled the moment.
Before they started their journey…
Ren had handed him the coins.
"Anthur, keep this. My bag is full. Put it in yours."
Anthur nodded and took the coins and kept them on the side of him, and then he checked the things he packed.
"Hmm, alright, everything is ready." -Then he stretched his body
"Now... the only thing remaining is to get ready to depart."
But he left the money bag that Ren gave him to keep with him.
And forgot them.
Back to the present—
Anthur smiled awkwardly and rubbed the back of his head.
"Hehe… I forgot the coins."
Ren's face darkened.
"I gave you one simple job… and you forgot?"
Anthur shrugged.
"Relax. Everyone forgets things."
At that moment, the man came back outside.
"Why are you still standing out here?"
Ren replied:
"Sorry, sir. We're leaving."
"We don't have money to pay for the food."
The man laughed.
"Hahaha!"
"Who asked you for money?"
"You two remind me of my son."
"And if you still feel guilty, think of it as repayment."
Ren tilted his head.
"Repayment?"
The man smiled.
"I punched your friend, didn't I?"
"That's the payment."
Ren smiled slightly.
"Thank you, sir."
"Alright, alright—come inside."
Anthur grinned.
"See? Everything worked out."
Ren glared at him.
"Just shut up."
They both entered the house.