A Place to Call Home

"Huuhh? You're already leaving?"

I glanced over to my right, noticing the same young woman who took care of me while I was unconscious, her eyebrows raised in confusion.

"Yes," I answered, turning back to face the exit. "Thank you for everything."

"What about your injuries? Can you walk properly?"

"I can manage."

She gave me a concerned look but shrugged and gestured for me to go ahead. She waved goodbye as I stepped out of the hospital building and into the busy streets of the city.

People bustled around me, rushing towards their destinations, while others simply stopped in place to observe the commotion. Their vibrant smiles, the sound of their laughter, and the smell of freshly baked bread wafting through the air—I couldn't help but imagine my powers awakening again, causing havoc throughout the entire city. Their expressions—identical to the villagers when death stalked around the corner. Their cries. Oh God! Their cries!

I hated that thought.

But these people. They didn't mind my presence at all. None of them batted an eye, and none of them screamed in fear when they saw me. Instead, they simply continued on with their daily lives. Even Joacim couldn't notice anything strange about me earlier.

Maybe they don't even believe it's possible to cause such devastation, or maybe the monster within me has calmed down. That dragon thing.

"The Empyrean Spirit," I muttered under my breath, recalling Reinhardt's last words.

*Grumble...*

Oh, that's right. I still hadn't eaten yet, and the gnawing hunger within me was becoming impossible to ignore.

There were a couple of stalls nearby selling fruits and vegetables near the lesser crowded areas, so I decided to check those out first. Staring at the apples, oranges, bananas, pears, and peaches, my mouth watered, and I could almost taste their sweet flavors, even though I'd only heard them in stories.

"Hey, are you gonna buy them or not?" grunted the man standing behind the stall, scratching his face impatiently. "You're taking up space for other customers! Hurry up!"

"I don't have any money," I replied, shaking my head.

"Then go! Move away! I don't have time for brats like you today!" he barked.

"Please, just anything."

"Listen here kid: nothing in this world is free. Now move aside."

I glanced over the cluttered space, and my eyes fell upon a small wooden bucket ticket away in the corner. It was filled with a pile of fruits, mottled and bruised with decay, sending off a putrid scent.

"Can I at least have that?" I pleaded, pointing at the rotting fruit.

"This?" he snorted derisively. "What are you gonna use that for?"

"I want it."

"...Tsk, just take whatever you want from it. I wouldn't care."

Ignoring him, I picked out a few of the fresher ones. The rotten stuff went straight inside my mouth and washed over my tongue, mushy and soggy against my palate. Even through the disgusting flavor and texture, my lingering hunger eventually settled down, grateful for anything half-edible.

"Thanks," I muttered to the vendor. "Bye."

Without another glance, I scoured through the market, hoping to find leftovers to eat. My eyes darted from stall to stall, searching for any scraps of food that had been overlooked or discarded.

Most of the vendors were all too busy haggling with paying customers to pay attention to me, but there was one who noticed my desperation and offered me something.

"Here ya go. Take it."

An old woman approached me with a large basket full of fresh produce. With a hesitant shake of my head, I refused.

"Are you sure? These aren't very good anymore."

"I don't deserve them."

"Take it then! No one else wants them anyways."

"But, I—"

"No, buts!" she interrupted, sighing. "Geez, when I was young, we would snatch food from the wealthy, but these days, kids are scared of a generous offer. I guess you can blame this generation's knights for that. No thief dares to even touch a single coin nowadays, much less steal anything. And now everyone thinks they're entitled to every little thing. If you're hungry, fine, take it! Just leave some for someone else. Don't act like you're owed something."

My gaze remained fixed on the basket while my hands felt weighed down by the overwhelming guilt that consumed me. They hung limply at my sides, refusing to budge even an inch.

She looked up at me, noticing my lifeless expression. Her wrinkly face crinkled with concern and sympathy.

"Look at you, girl. Kids aren't supposed to be this depressed," she said, gently placing a hand on my shoulder. "And your clothes... They're completely ruined. Don't you perhaps not have a place you can call home?"

"My... my home... i-it..." I stuttered. "Is gone."

Her eyes widened, and her lips pursed tightly together. A tear formed in the corner of each eye as she reached out with both arms and pulled me close into a tight embrace. "I've heard about it. You must be from that village, right? The village that was caught in flames and..."

Her voice continued to spew words, but my mind couldn't register anything she was saying. Instead, my thoughts were racing, begging for her to release me from her embrace. It felt wrong for someone as kind as her to be holding onto a monster like me—the culprit responsible for the village's annihilation.

But I couldn't pull away because the truth was, I needed that hug more than ever. I needed comfort after what happened to me.

"You can stay at my place until you find yourself a home," she whispered to me, squeezing me tighter. "We've got plenty of space, so there's no reason why you shouldn't come live with us."

I didn't answer immediately. I wanted to refuse, but my heart yearned for her kindness, and my stomach craved the food she offered. I didn't have anywhere else to go anyway.

"How can I repay you?" I asked instead, letting out a heavy sigh.

"Easy. It's tiring for an old lady like myself to do specific chores all day long. This will be our little deal, then!" she declared proudly. "Every day, you help me out a bit, and you can live at my house as long as you wish! How does that sound?"

"I'm not sure."

I feared that my powers would reawaken suddenly, killing her too. What if I burned down her home? Or worse, caused harm to the rest of the residents?

"It'll work out alright, trust me!" she reassured me. "I don't have all day, you know. We gotta clean you up, and then we can find some clothes for you. So, let's hurry!"

With that, she pushed me forward, dragging me along the city's main path. Forcing me to follow her without protest, she marched me toward a residential district where most of the homes were built next to one another. The sky had begun to set, the blue shades fading away, replaced by darker oranges and reds.

Despite the later hour, people continued to stream through the streets, heading towards the marketplace for dinner. Many of them glanced in our direction curiously, but none seemed worried enough to approach us.

When we arrived at the residence, I noticed its exterior walls were made of wood planks, which contrasted sharply with the brick buildings surrounding it. There was also a wooden porch extending across the front entrance and a pair of windows facing the street. The door itself was fashioned with iron hinges decorated with intricate designs etched into the surface.

She rapped her knuckles against the door, three quick beats. "I'm back," she called out, waiting patiently for an answer.

After a moment passed, the latch clicked open, and the door opened slowly, revealing a rock golem almost twice my height. He stared down at me, his dull gray eyes scanning over my body. His facial features appeared emotionless, lacking any trace of humanity.

"Welcome back," he greeted in a monotone voice.