Chapter 12. A Strong Little Guy

"Huh? Who are you? And how can I help you?"

A curious voice piped up as a young boy, no older than ten, peeked out from behind the open door. His dark hair framed bright brown eyes and a cute, inquisitive face.

"My name is Ash, and I have some business with your grandma. Could you please call her out for me?" Ash put on a gentle smile and made a polite request.

"Um, sure, wait a minute. I'll call her out." Although the little boy hesitated for a moment, curiosity battling politeness. Though he wondered why Ash sought his grandmother, the stranger's friendly request disarmed him. Closing the door gently, he dashed towards the kitchen.

"Do I look so dangerous that he had to lock the door? It's as if I'm here to invade his house," Ash couldn't help but let a wry smile tug at his lips.

"Ah, dear, it's you. Hehe, I didn't expect that you would come to my door so soon. Seems like you didn't manage to find a job, did you?" After spotting Ash at her doorstep beaming an awkward smile, the kind-hearted grandma, greeted him with a warm smile, while joking lightly, and invited him inside her house. Behind her, the little boy from before curiously stared at them, trying to figure out the entire matter.

"No need to be shy, young man," The kind-hearted grandma said with a gentle smile, offering him a glass of water. "You've just arrived in our town, and likely haven't met more than a handful of folks yet. It's normal to not find a job so quickly. Worry not, try again tomorrow, and I'm sure you'll land something just fine."

"Actually," Ash hesitantly admitted, rubbing the back of his head, "I managed to find not one, but two jobs! It's just that I can only start working from tomorrow onward, and I don't even have enough money to rent a room at the tavern or to buy food. So after thinking for a while, I decided to trouble you. Please forgive me for my rudeness."

"Goodness, dear, no need for apologies at all! It was I who extended the invitation," The kind-hearted grandma chuckled, her eyes twinkling. "Now, come along, let me show you your room. It's upstairs... oh, how silly of me! In my excitement to show you the house, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Linda Nocturne, and this adorable imp trailing behind me is my grandson, James."

As they ascended the stairs, Grandma Linda, eagerly introduced herself and James, clearly not treating him like an outsider. Ash, feeling warmly welcomed, didn't hesitate to reciprocate.

"And I'm Ash."

"Just Ash? No surname?" Linda paused for some reason and asked calmly, but a mysterious glint flickered in her eyes, unseen by Ash behind her.

"Yes, just Ash. I am an orphan; I don't have any surname." Ash, who didn't find anything wrong with Linda's behavior confirmed calmly, that since it's a known fact that people in the old times cared a lot about surnames, he decided to let it be. Anyway, he didn't have any memories of the original owner, so he chose not to worry about having a surname, anyway, it is not like he has made an identity card.

"I see, you have a lovely name, Ash," Linda, returned to normalcy with a smile on her face compliment while leading the way.

Soon, Ash climbed the ten-step staircase and reached the first floor, where he saw two rooms facing each other.

"Come, Ash, this is your room. Everything you need should be here, but if you think something is missing, just inform me. I will get it for you. Now, check your room while I prepare dinner for everyone," Linda said, gently patting the head of James, who had curiously trailed behind them. With a warm smile, she began descending the stairs.

"Thank you for your help, Grandma Linda," Ash sincerely thanked the departing old lady, who only waved in response before opening the door to the right-hand room.

The room wasn't extravagant, a typical ten-by-ten square with basic furnishings. A single wooden bed draped in white linens stood against the wall, accompanied by a small wooden table with two drawers, a simple cushioned chair, a compact wardrobe for clothes, and a plain rug adorning the floor. A lone window opposite the door provided natural light, and two single candle stands for lighting. Clearly, in a medieval time period world setting, you couldn't hope for an electric bulb, right?

"What a beautiful and comfortable space," Ash remarked subconsciously, nodding with a satisfied expression. He approached the bed and promptly sat down, testing the quality and comfort level of the mattress, which proved unsurprisingly firm yet pleasant.

"Otherwise, what did you expect? This entire house is single-handedly made by my father. How can it not be beautiful?"

Just as Ash was checking the bed mattress, a small but proud voice suddenly piped up from the doorway.

Surprised, Ash looked toward the voice and saw James, Linda's young grandson, peeking in with curious eyes.

"Oh, so this house was made by your father? That's great. But if that's the case, then were you also like me, living somewhere else before coming to this town?" Ash inquired, already aware of James's covert tailing the entire time. He asked the question with a curious tilt of his head, sensing an opportunity to connect with the boy.

Seeing that Ash is an easygoing person, James's confidence grows. He swiftly settled himself on the chair and began recounting his family history. "Of course, before coming here, my grandpa and grandma lived in a mountain village with my father. But after my father earned a lot of money from the war, he built this house in this town and married my mother who lived here. Then, they sold their old house, traveled here, and started living together. By the way, you know my father was a war hero. He single-handedly killed a goblin king," he said proudly, his grin stretching ear to ear and his chest puffed out with admiration for his father.

Weren't those soldiers who died in the war called war heroes? Although Ash's thoughts were wandering down the wrong path, he didn't change his expression and spoke in an amazed tone. After all, increasing favorability with the people you live with is also one way to make life easy; no one dislikes a good and understandable person, except psychopaths and villains, of course.

"Ohh! Really?! So cool! I also wanted to go to war, but alas, by the time I became an adult, the war was already finished. I abandoned this dream of mine and decided to become an adventurer. Anyway, let's not talk about me. So where is your father now? Is he still in the military, fighting against those evil goblins?!" Ash exclaimed with fake excitement, trying to gather all the family details from this naive, easy-to-fooled little guy. Not for any ulterior motive, just for caution, after all, his grandma's kindness is too much for him to digest without any worry.

James' bright, excited demeanor dimmed at the mention of his father. His smile faded, replaced by a shadow of sadness.

"He died in the previous war," James said, his voice barely a whisper. "He killed the Goblin King, but hundreds surrounded him. He was too far from the others... by the time they came to help him, he had already lost his breath.

Just as I thought, in this world, the meaning of war hero is still the same. But what was that guy thinking when he jumped in the middle of hundreds of goblins just to kill a single goblin? Did he think he lived too long and should sacrifice himself for the greater good? At least have thought about his family, idiot, Although Ash was criticizing James's father, but he couldn't destroy an already dead person's image in his son's heart, no matter how much of an idiot he was. So, he softly apologized to James.

"I am sorry for asking you about it. I shouldn't have started this topic."

"It's okay," James replied, a hint of resilience creeping back into his voice. "I'm already used to it. Everyone knows about it, so there is no need to be sorry... Anyway, so where are you from? Did you come from the city? I heard that the city is very far from here, and the road is also extremely dangerous unless travelers hire guards or are very strong, no one can reach there. Are you strong?" James, obviously a strong kid, soon put aside his sadness and became a cheerful and curious child, his eyes sparkling with excitement as he asked that.