Chapter 105: Chapter 105
Ko took a minute of silence before raising his head, looking up towards the sky, “He is strong, stronger than me and the Village Chief. But, I think what we rescued is not human”, Ica tilted her head as Ko paused, “But a monster.” Ica blinked innocently at her brother, “A monster? How come? Is that because he had power? Brother, I thought you were better than this”, Ica released her hug as she clicked her tongue in disappointment. “W-what?” Ko flinched back. “Humph, I hate you, brother”, Ica pouted, leaving her brother dumfounded, alone inside the house.
Meanwhile, Eru was sitting cross-legged inside the burly Village Chief house. Right opposite of him was the burly Village Chief, sipping and enjoying a hot tea. “As I said once again”, the burly Village Chief put down the tea gently, “Thank you for saving this village”, he bowed forty-five degrees towards Eru. Eru cusped his hands, “It’s nothing much, Village Chief. I just repay the village a favour”, Eru humbly said. The burly Village Chief let out a hearty laugh, “Hahaha, Ica and Ko are a blessing to our village. Who knew that a simple act of kindness from both of them would save us in the long run.”
Eru nodded, “Indeed, fate worked in a mysterious way after all”, he added. The burly Village Chief’s impression of Eru grew even more, “Good, good. So young, yet already so strong. So strong yet so humble, you will get far in life”, he praised while sipping the hot tea once more. Then, the burly Village Chief’s eyes got serious, “So, who are you? And what are your intentions to be here?” he prodded. Although Eru was the one that saved his village, the burly Village Chief was a man of many experiences. The burly Village Chief wanted to know if Eru had a purpose coming so close to his village. As the village chief, he needed to ensure the safety of his people. And if that would irk the young man before him, then so be it.
Eru was startled; he did not expect that the burly Village Chief in front of him to ask a question like that. “Quite a rude question, don’t you think? Suddenly asking that I mean”, Eru quipped, not angry at the slightest. The burly Village Chief continued his deep frown, “Even so, I need to ask. If you had any bad intention, I would use all of my power to expel you. I, no, we might be not your match, but you’ll be surprised on what we could do”, the burly Village Chief said with conviction. Eru and the burly Village Chief had a staring contest for a while before the former sighed. “Fine, I’ll bite”, Eru grabbed the cup of tea in front of him gently, drinking it slowly before opening his mouth, “My name is Eru. As for my purpose here…. Well, let just say that something went wrong, and I managed to arrive here.”
The burly Village Chief scrutinized the raven-haired young man before him, “Hmm, is that so…”, he rubbed his chin. Then, the burly Village Chief’s expression softened, “Nevertheless, you help us save this village. For that, we shall thank you for your effort, and I’m sorry for my earlier behaviour. I hope you understand.” The burly Village Chief cupped his hands, bowing forty-five degrees towards Eru. Eru was taken aback by how the burly Village Chief before him could change his face so fast. After that, the burly Village Chief asked a lot of things to Eru about the outside world.
Unknowingly to them, the sun had already set and night came creeping out. “Is it night already?” the burly Village Chief looked outside. “Then, it is time for me to excuse myself” Eru bowed slightly. “Hmm”, the burly Village Chief rubbed his chin, “Do you have anywhere to stay the night?” the burly Village Chief asked. Realization dawned on Eru. ‘That’s right, I don’t have anywhere to go,’ Eru thought, ‘I can’t very well stay together inside of the house with a young girl, am I?’ he shook his head. “Unfortunately, no, I don’t”, Eru said.
The burly Village Chief chuckled, “Why don’t you stay the night over? My house is the biggest in the village. There’s plenty of space to stay”, he suggested. Eru felt the burly Village Chief’s suggestion wasn’t bad. He was about to nod his head in agreement before he and the burly Village Chief heard a door was barged in. “Village Chief, you meanie”, a young girl with blue hair and green eyes said with a pout. “Oh, good evening Ica”, the burly Village Chief smiled; he did not seem to mind Ica barged into his house.
“Why am I a meanie, Ica?” The burly Village Chief grinned. Ica looked towards Eru, blushing before lowering her head, “Uh, I mean… Good night!” she stood awkwardly before quickly leaving in a flash. “What was that?” Eru’s eyes widened. The burly Village Chief scrutinized the young man in front of him as he grinned, “Just a young girl doing girly things. You can sleep on the second floor tonight. Come, I’ll show you the way.”
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While Eru was chatting with the burly Village Chief in the Snow Slide Village, Ling and Long were sitting beside a campfire. They had set up camp earlier, waiting for Eru to come back. Ling grumbled; she picked up the skewed meat on the campfire, chomping the meat down, “That bastard! When is he going to come back!?” she complained. Long softly smiled; he bit down the skewed meat slowly. “And you”, Ling turned her nasty stared at Eru, “Why are you so calm?”
Long finished the meat in his mouth, “Try not to think about it much. Just live your lives minute by minute, and you’ll be as calm as me”, he flashed a smile at Ling. The latter scoffed, then she finished up another skewed meat before standing abruptly, “I’m going to sleep. You go night watch”, Ling said. She did not give Long a chance to reply as she entered the camp swiftly. Long shook his head in exasperation while slowly finishing his skewed meat.
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“Hah!”
Eru gasped; he woke up with sweat all over his body. He massaged his glabella, ‘Why the hell am I dreaming that thing again?’ Eru shook his head. Eru took off his sweaty shirt, revealing his well-chiselled body. Eru picked up the new clothes by the table, putting them on before swiftly leaving the room. He climbed down the stairs, finding that the entire house was empty. “Where is everybody?” Eru asked himself. “I’m right here”, the burly Village Chief’s voice replied to Eru.
Eru saw that the burly Village Chief was in the kitchen, wearing an apron; he was cooking something inside the cooking pot. “What are you doing?” Eru asked. “I’m cooking something for breakfast. You staying?” the burly Village Chief looked back at Eru. “Sure, I’ll stay for breakfast, but after that, I’m leaving” Eru walked back to the dinner table before grabbing a chair and sitting on it. “So, what you’re cooking?” Eru leaned back. “Wolf stew”, the burly Village Chief replied while tasting his own cooking. Suddenly, the burly Village Chief let out a chuckle, “Haha, this reminded me of when I was young when my wife was still alive. We’re like a newly married couple.”
Eru shivered, frowning; he opened his mouth, “I’m sorry, but I don’t swing that way”, he anxiously said. The burly Village Chief laughed heartily, “Hahaha, don’t worry, I don’t swing that way either”, he declared, “Just wait a couple of seconds; the wolf stew will be finished soon.” After waiting for a couple of minutes, the burly Village Chief finally was finished cooking the wolf stew. The burly Village Chief presented his cooking to Eru in a simple, humble, wooden bowl, “Dig in”, he said.
Eru ate together alongside the burly Village Chief. Eru took a spoon full of the wolf stew, and he was surprised. “Good, isn’t it?” the burly Village Chief bragged, “I used to cook all the time when my wife was still alive. Believe it or not, she was way stronger than me, and I became the village chief because of her death.”
“I see” Eru nodded in understanding, “Off-topic, but can you tell me the road to Tailwind City? I was about to go back, but I did not know where I was supposed to go,” Eru asked. “Once you go down, just go south-east, that should bring you to a wide road that leads into Tailwind City”, the burly Village Chief answered. Eru resumed eating, and both the burly Village Chief and Eru chatted until they finished the wolf stew. The burly Village Chief gave Eru a pack full of supplies, “Here, for the road.” Eru strapped the pack on his back, “Thanks,” before leaving the burly Village Chief house.
Outside in the village, all the villagers kept staring at Eru as the latter walked towards the south exit of Snow Slide Village. On there waited a young girl alongside her big brother. The young girl was precisely Ica, the one that saved Eru before. “You’re going already, brother Eru?” Ica tilted her head. Eru nodded, “Yup. I got people waiting for me.” Ica thought about something for a second before approaching Eru. Once Ica was near Eru, her hands glowed as she put them on Eru’s stomach.
“Huh, what’s this?” Eru asked. Not long after, the glow vanished from Ica’s hands, “A little something on the way. It should slow down on whatever was eating you inside”, she said cryptically. “Eating me inside? What are you talking about?” Eru frowned. Ica then shook her head, “You will know at a later date”, she said. “Okay”, Eru said, shrugging his shoulders. “Bye, bye, brother!” Ica then waved her hands, which Eru response by waving his own hands.
Thus, end the short visit Eru had in Snow Slide Village. What Eru did not know was that this young girl’s gift would someday help him in an unfortunate situation.
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