35 – A Woman's Secrets

"Not again." Gina sighed as she massaged her forehead.

The other guards who came from various jobs were just whispering. Elise was surprised to see Checo's expression so fierce. When she first met the man, Elise didn't feel a scary impression from him.

"I told you, didn't I!? I felt something in the forest!" A slender but muscular man replied in an equally fierce tone. The voice of the man with reddish hair was somewhat muffled because he was wearing a black mask that covered his mouth. "And I had the right feeling, didn't I!? It turns out that flying scorpions appeared from there!"

"If you really knew they were coming, so what!? In the end, you couldn't do anything to exterminate those monsters!"

"Guys, enough!" Gina interrupted before the two of them shouted at each other again. "Didn't you see the situation!?"

Elise held her breath when she realized that the big fire in the middle wasn't a bonfire. Inside the flames, wooden frames serve as a place to put human bodies.

The man wearing the mask snorted, then just walked away from the place.

"I just want you and Gina to be safe, Dani!" Checo shouted again, causing Gina to glare at him.

The roar of the great footsteps made the guards gasp. They retreated as the silhouette of a gigantic dragon appeared and grew bigger, a sign that the creature was getting closer.

"I've warned you many times, haven't I? To destroy one plant in that field is a big mistake, let alone so many." A man with gray hair and a thick beard came from near the dragon. "Look what happened! Since all of you are incompetent, I have to bring out my dragon. If I bring out the dragon, then fire in the fields would be inevitable."

A knight in full armor stepped forward and spit, "Hey, you should have brought out that dragon earlier! Our lives can't be compared to plants! It's obvious we're not prepared for air attacks…."

As soon as the man with the bushy beard moved his hand, the dragon brought its face closer to the knight, who immediately froze with a look full of terror.

"You dare to argue with me, Jorge the dragon tamer?" The long-bearded man hissed, approaching the knight. "I paid you guys to look after this plantation, but you weren't good at it. Isn't it natural for me to complain? It's still a good thing I didn't burn all of you, even though I've already lost a lot of money."

Jorge gave a hand signal to the dragon, which immediately retracted its head, looking at the other guards with intimidating yellow eyes.

Feeling frightened, Elise could only remain silent and watch Jorge. The man did look old, with wrinkles on his face. But with his massive, muscular build, thick eyebrows, stern expression, and menacing aura, Jorge was like a monster, and Elise didn't want to be near him.

"You guys won't get dinner!!!" Jorge shouted in a booming voice. "You should be grateful that your punishment is just like this!!!"

After saying that, Jorge left the place. The guards dispersed with disappointed faces. After a fierce fight, they should fill their stomachs to recover their energy.

Gina went to Elise and put a smile as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. "Come on, I'll walk you to your room."

***

As soon as she entered one of the buildings, Elise got a questioning look from the occupants. They hadn't gone into their rooms yet and were chatting in the hallway.

"Don't be surprised by her appearance, ladies. She is a new member who just came today." Gina responded to those people. "Well, she dresses like this because that's what she wears in her home country."

Eventually, the women chatted again, although some were still staring at Elise.

"The first time I came here, I and a few who looked like me also got that look." Gina shrugged. "But when you get to know them, they are very friendly."

The two women stopped at the wooden door at the very end of the building. As soon as Gina opened it, Elise found a dull-colored room with two leather sleeping bags on a clay floor.

Gina entered the room and lit a candle with her index finger, making the room dimly lit.

"This sleeping bag belongs to my roommate." Gina pointed to one of those things. "We didn't really get along because she was quiet, but it still feels weird to me. I saw her this morning, but now she's gone."

Elise rubbed the back of her neck that felt like it had been struck by a cold wind. Meanwhile, Gina was silent and looked like she was about to cry.

"Well, I hope you don't mind using that." Gina laughed bitterly after a few seconds. "You're new here, and things just happen to be very chaotic. Not many people will question your whereabouts. So, it's better if you mingle with the others. They'll get used to you in no time."

"Why do you want to help me like this?" Elise asked, at her master's orders again. "You did my laundry, and now this? You haven't known me that long."

Gina grinned, then sat cross-legged in her sleeping bag. "That's because you caught my eye so much, Elise."

"What do you mean?" Elise scratched her hair in a stiff motion

"Besides being a magic user, I also like history and legends," Gina answered. "Do you know? Those type of metal and fabric you used was mentioned in the existing manuscripts hundreds of years ago?"

Elise's body instantly froze. She didn't know how to respond.

Raymund hastily gave Elise an instruction. The god of hope had a bad feeling about all of this.

"So, what if the clothes I'm wearing are in an ancient manuscript?" Instead of asking with a stern expression, Elise grimaced.

"The manuscript describes people claiming to be from the place of god." Gina narrowed her eyes. Her smile is so mysterious now. "So, are you also from that place, Elise?"

Those words at slow intervals were enough to make Elise's body tremble.

"Be careful, Elise. You can't change rooms because that will make the others suspicious of you even more." Actually, Raymund wasn't sure Elise could ask the other residents for that. "If you're going to sleep, it's better not to take off your outfit. She's clearly interested in that."

Raymund certainly didn't want Elise's armor to be stolen by someone else. At the same time, the god also felt that Gina was looking for something more than that.

"Oh, you want to sleep in that outfit?" Gina chuckled as Elise slipped into the sleeping bag. "You really don't want me to find any clues about you? Well, it's okay. Everyone has secrets."