Wait! Does this mean he is withdrawing?
Takeshi froze in place without saying a word. He never expected this to happen; in fact, no one in the hall expected Kursh's move, except for one person: Seishi.
The deputy had considered the possibility, though it seemed nearly impossible. Following Kursh's words, Seishi waited for the right moment to ask his leader why he had chosen to retreat—and now was certainly not that moment.
The villagers lowered their hands, still gripping their farming tools, shocked by what they had heard. The slave traders did the same.
"So, is it all over this quickly?"
Sota said after the spearman pointed at him moved away. Despite the relief, his legs were still shaking violently; he had expected things to escalate much further between the two sides.
At the front, once Takeshi processed what had happened, he dropped his clenched fist and spoke.
"What do you mean? Are you withdrawing—"
He didn't get the chance to finish. Seishi interrupted him with his cheap, noble-like tone as soon as Kursh was far enough away to speak freely.
"The Leader is a cunning and brilliant man. He surely has another plan, which is why he decided to withdraw. Besides, he doesn't want to lose a single follower or have his merchandise damaged..."
The green scales vanished from Seishi's body as he returned to his normal human form. He quickly followed the leader, giving Takeshi a swift, wicked grin.
Takeshi remained frozen, consumed by confusion. He realized that trying to stop Kursh and force him to return was a foolish move reserved only for children in fairy tales devoid of logic. Thus, he remained silent, staring at the backs of Kursh and Seishi as they exited the crowded hall.
Soon, all the traders left the hall with pale faces, announcing the return of the villagers' freedom.
The villagers gathered outside the hall alongside Takeshi and Sota, who received countless expressions of gratitude. Just when they thought the villagers had exhausted their excessive thanks, the Village Elder stepped forward, holding a small, tattered pouch no larger than a palm.
"Thank you, brave ones."
He directed his gaze toward Takeshi, then Sota.
"I believe your name is Takeshi. And what about you?"
Sota bowed slightly, showing some respect, and said:
"I am Sota, a novice merchant who sells hay."
The Village Elder smiled and held out the pouch toward them.
"Please, accept this reward from me. It contains 30 silver coins and 5 gold ones."
Just as Takeshi was about to refuse the pouch, Sota stepped forward and shouted:
"Thank you! We will certainly accept this reward!"
Takeshi was surprised by Sota's exaggerated reaction. Although such a sum would make anyone happy, Sota's joyful expression was fake—a detail Takeshi noticed, maintaining his own cold demeanor.
One reason for Sota's hidden gloom and sadness was the fact that he was being rewarded despite having done nothing but scream, unlike Takeshi, who had fought and delivered heavy words that moved the villagers. Both of them were lost in negative thoughts.
Sota grabbed the pouch from the old man's hand with a quick smile and shoved it into his pocket, thinking about splitting the amount later.
Takeshi wasn't interested in that. He had a small amount of money in a bag hidden under his tattered robe earlier that morning, which he had since hidden under the pile of hay in the cart.
What occupied his mind was the slave leader's next plan. He realized Kursh would likely commit an even more heinous act for a larger sum than what he would have gained from selling the people of Eldra.
But his thoughts were soon interrupted by the voice of a cheerful girl from behind the Village Elder.
"They are the heroes!!"
The little girl, Eve, shouted with joy and a wide smile, perched on the shoulder of her father, Aaron, who was carrying a large sack.
Sota raised his hand and closed his eyes, smiling as he said:
"One of the brave heroes has arrived!"
Eve's father laughed softly, then pulled at the sack he was carrying.
"Thank you for protecting my daughter and liberating the village. I want to do at least something small, so please take this sack. It has enough food for two days. Please, take it."
Well, since it involved food this time, Takeshi wouldn't try to refuse.
"I think we should leave,"
Takeshi said. All eyes turned toward him. Before anyone could ask why, he added:
"The truth is, we are very late, so we must go immediately."
At first, Takeshi expected Sota to reject his opinion, but he was surprised to find him agreeing.
The Village Elder scratched his long beard and asked:
"Where are you headed, young men?"
Sota shook his head.
"To the city of Galion."
The Elder's eyes widened, and shock took hold of him, along with everyone who heard Sota.
"So you work there, young merchant. I have visited that city before, and what a wretched experience it was. It was full of criminals and gangs. True, it is beautiful, but the internal beauty of cities lies in their people, not their buildings."
Takeshi realized the difficulty of reaching the Royal Skull Gang, as the city of Galion was vast and crawling with gangs and lone criminals.
He had visited Galion once years ago, and his experience matched the Elder's—in fact, he would bet his was worse.
Wherever he went, he would encounter either a thief wanting to rob him, a criminal wanting to kill him for no good reason, or a policeman wanting to arrest him out of suspicion.
'I wish I could erase that from my memory...'
***
A few minutes passed quickly.
Takeshi and Sota headed to the cart, and the villagers gradually returned to their homes, including Eve and her father, Aaron.
Eve was cheerful the whole way, telling her father about his bravery and how Takeshi and Sota had intervened at the last moment.
But Aaron was gripped by a sense of dread concerning his wife, and that anxiety was well-placed...
As soon as they approached the house, Aaron noticed a massive hole in the wall. He knew the cause from what Eve had told him, but the giant man Takeshi had fought was gone; he had likely been taken away by his comrades.
Aaron advanced with rapid strides, leaving his daughter behind. As soon as he reached the massive hole in the wall, he saw what he had feared.
He saw the body of his wife, covered in wounds and blood, leaning against the opposite wall. Her face showed no sign of life, and the foul stench of death emanated from her.
Aaron froze in place as soon as his daughter arrived at his side.
Eve saw the scene but didn't understand her father's strange reaction; she hadn't yet realized what had happened to her mother.
She looked at the lifeless body, then at her father's face and his eyes, which had begun to well with tears.
"What's wrong, Papa?"
Aaron knelt and embraced his daughter without warning, his tears falling over her like a flowing waterfall. He spoke in a broken tone:
"Eve... your mother has passed away..."
It took Eve some time to understand this new term. Her sweet smile vanished, and in place of her joy, streaming tears took hold as she realized the bitterness of life.