When he woke up, his face was turned up toward the sky. The sky was full of tiny stars. The boy felt like he was lying on something wooden. He licked his gums, and when he did, he placed his hand on his forehead and looked at his burned arm.
"Ah. Ouch. I was hoping it was just a really bad dream."
Henryk rose from his lying position and realized he was lying on a wooden carriage, with two horses as black as night spun behind it. He stared at them for a moment, but the sound of sizzling wood beside the carriage drew his attention.
The young man looked up and saw a perfectly ordinary bonfire, and right next to it sat...
"Is that you?!"
A man with auburn hair tied in a ponytail, dressed in a simple white button-down shirt and long brown pants, sat by the bonfire.
"Oh, you're awake, kid," the man said, seeing Henryk leaning out of the wagon. "I was beginning to think you died back there."
The young man carefully climbed down from the wagon and sat down in front of the man by the bonfire, as he had some questions for him.
"Where are we?" he began, looking around, seeing they were on a hill. "So what exactly happened?"
"We're near the village where we met." He explained, pointing towards the small houses with lights shining from them in the distance. "And as for your second question, I helped you not die in the grass a few steps from the mana nest so you could help me with something. Looking at you now, you did a pretty good job there."
Henryk's eyes lit up, remembering what had happened.
"Where's Someryn?" he asked sharply.
"You mean that white-haired guy. He's over there." He pointed to the body covered in white cloth.
Henryk glared at the man by the fire.
Over the past three weeks in captivity, and perhaps one week in the mana nest, his appearance had changed significantly. Not only was he quite emaciated, but his brown hair was now disheveled, and you could barely see his green eyes, which were now seething with murder.
"Hey, hey, kid. Calm down, or you'll burst a vein," the man warned with a mocking smile.
"Don't call me 'kid'." The young man stood up, his face set in stone. He didn't know this man. The only interaction he'd had with him was quite brief, right after entering the village of Aivir, when he'd been transporting the Count's other slaves in his carriage. Sure, the man had saved him now, but Henryk wasn't an idiot to think he'd done it out of the kindness of his heart. After all, the man himself had told him he expected help with something. Putting that aside for a moment, the young man looked at the man meaningfully. "Changing the subject..." Although he didn't want to, he continued his series of questions anyway. "Okay master... Why did you save me in the first place? You said I had to help with something, right?"
"Yes, but let's start by asking you to stop calling me master. You're not my slave, nor am I important enough to be called that. My name is Philip, so don't be so stiff, okay."
"O-okay," the boy replied, surprised by Philip's attitude.
"Well, since I introduced myself, don't you think it's appropriate to do the same, young man?"
"...Uh, yes, excuse me. My name is Henryk Zielczyk. Nice to meet you."
Philip smiled pleasantly at the boy, pleased with his attitude.
"Okay, Henryk," Filip began, still smiling like a child. "What I need you for is my business."
"Business?"
"Yes, let's start with what you meant when you said I was selling some junk a month ago? Like why did you call my vase a window cleaner container?"
Henryk pondered his answer for a few moments. He'd think he was crazy if he said he was from another world, which he thought he was. Besides, even if he believed him, she could use it against him in the future, which would leave the young man even deeper in trouble.
"...Er... Because this... Uh, I have exceptionally extensive knowledge of things from another world and understand their true value." He explained.
Philip just nodded to show he understood and got up to fetch something from the carriage. He pulled out the same box he'd found when they first met and took out the window cleaner container.
"So, maybe you could explain to me what this is if it's not a vase?"
Henryk calmly and slowly explained that it's used for cleaning windows.
"I see..." Philip said, holding his beard. "That actually makes more sense. Good thing I found you. Ha! That ignorant count doesn't know what a goldmine he was torturing!"
At the sound of those words, Henryk's face fell slightly, reminded of his experience there. He looked dejectedly at Someryn's covered body. Philip noticed, and his own face fell as well.
"I'm sorry," he began awkwardly. "I shouldn't have mentioned it."
"It's nothing," the boy replied, his face looking even grimmer than before. "That shitty count... He's the one who started it all," he drawled. "Do you happen to know who he is?"
"All I know is that Count Jarrett Korin is quite the sadist, judging by the way you look now. Anyway, when I was doing business with him, I learned he made his fortune killing monsters."
"You mean to tell me that this walking meatball killed monsters." the boy asked, surprised.
"He used rings imbued with magic." He explained.
Remembering the ring with which Count Henryk had knocked him out, he finally understood what had happened there.
"I see. Thanks for explaining that... So, if I understand correctly, I'm supposed to help you sell things from another world, right?"
"Yes. But not me, but us."
"Us?"
At that moment, something that had been covered under the blanket next to Philip turned over.
"Is anyone sleeping there?" the young man asked.
Philip confirmed and pulled back part of the blanket so Henryk could see what lay there.
It was a young girl, younger than Henryk and shorter. She had long, thick hair the same color as Philip and the young man.
"Who is that?" Zielczyk asked, looking at the sleeping girl.
"This is Irin. My niece," Philip said, stroking the girl's hair.
Henryk watched and wondered if the girl was actually asleep or just pretending. Hardly anyone sleeps so soundly that they don't wake up when someone touches their head.
"Helps you with your business, Philip?"
"Yeah. From time to time."
They sat in silence for a few minutes, looking at the sleeping Irin. When suddenly Philip slapped his forehead, remembering something.
"I almost forgot!" Philip began, taking a small yellow thing out of his pocket and smearing it with some clear goo. "Open your mouth, kid."
With that, he walked toward Henryk with a confident step, opened his mouth, and quickly shoved what he was holding into the space where the young man had no tooth.
"OUCH! What are you doing!?" Zielczyk screamed, trying to push Philip away.
"Consider this an advance payment, kid. The beginning of our beautiful partnership."
Henryk glared at Philip for a moment, but finally realized what he had done. He placed an artificial tooth where there was no tooth.
"What's that made of?" the young man asked, probing his new incisor with his tongue.
"Gold," Philip replied immediately.
"Gold? Where did you get it?"
"Never mind. And what fits?"
The truth was, it fit like a glove. Henryk gave a thumbs up. He felt a bit like one of those gangsters from TV shows who just happened to have gold teeth.
[I've already forgotten that I lost a tooth a month ago.] Henryk thought, not hiding his joy.
"I'll take that as 'that tooth suits me so well.'" Philip said, yawning. "Okay, now go to sleep. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."
[[Reference Art for Philip in comment.]]