Niles

The night was lively around the lake.

Many visitors were busy with their respective dates, enjoying the sound of rippling water illuminated by the moonlight, along with colorful lights that warmed the atmosphere.

Crisp laughter could be heard here and there, creating a scene as if it were not nighttime at all.

In addition to the couples in love, there were also several workers checking the cleanliness of the water and guards on alert for any criminal activity.

Amidst it all, in a corner where a merchant displayed his weapons, there was only one elderly person who seemed interested in visiting.

Sitting on a mat in front of the merchant, the old man looked at his wares seriously.

The merchant, Cien, failed to capture the interest of other visitors to see his wares. Only the old man paid serious attention to his weapons.

A few moments later, the sound of small feet running could be heard approaching.

A boy of about seven or eight years old arrived in front of Cien's stall. He stood next to the old man named Niles and handed him two small water jugs.

"Hohoho~ here's your water, Little C!" exclaimed Niles, tossing one small jug to Cien.

Cien caught it, immediately opened the lid, and drank from it with delight.

The jug contained plain water, but the clarity of the water felt like it quenched all the thirst within him.

In front of him, Niles also drank from the water while chuckling softly. He then patted the shoulder of the young boy beside him.

"Darius. Do you remember this uncle?" Niles asked the boy named Darius.

Darius glanced at the person his grandfather was pointing to.

Seeing Cien's face, which was now visible as his scarf had been lowered, he shook his head, feeling like he had never met the peddler in front of him.

Niles laughed even harder. He said that his grandson might not remember because he was still very young. He then immediately shifted the question to Cien.

"What about you, Little C? Do you remember my grandson?"

Cien, still drunk on his drink, looked at Niles with a puzzled look. Wondering to himself, is Niles crazy? Or senile?

From Darius' age alone, it was certain that Cien had never met his grandson. He had been presumed dead for the past ten years! How old was his grandson?

"How old are you now?" Cien asked Darius.

"Seven years old!"

Cien nodded, "You're out of your mind, Old Man."

Niles only responded with a hearty laugh as he listened to that. He then instructed his grandson to go home.

Cien watched the small, fast steps of the child, then turned to Niles, who had a melancholic expression on his face.

"Is he Ray's child?"

Niles nodded with a faint smile, "Two years ago, he was sent to the Abyss border."

"Is that so... his wife?"

"She's doing fine. She's taking good care of Darius."

Cien didn't pursue his question. He simply drank from the water jug, savoring the brief silence.

Niles, satisfied with his memories, glanced at Cien. "What about you? Where have you been? Have you met them yet?"

Cien knew this question was coming. He proceeded to explain the current situation he was facing, describing how he had become trapped in Death Valley.

He couldn't leave that place and could only go to Ashur for a few days.

"Death Valley... You're living in madness, Little C."

"Yeah, I know."

"So... you made all this yourself, from the materials in that cursed forest?"

"Yes, I did it with my own hands. But not all the materials are from Death Valley. I bought most of them in Wynteria, like iron and other things."

Niles nodded, examining each weapon that Cien had made more closely.

Niles was quite impressed because all the weapons had excellent quality, even surpassing what he usually saw in the market.

Among the various weapons, his eyes fixated on one object: a spear that appeared to be made of wood. However, when he tapped it, Niles felt that the wood was as hard as iron.

"What material did you use for this?" Niles asked.

Cien smiled, "Hellteak wood. It's a wood that can only be found in Death Valley. You won't find a spear with wood like this from anyone else, Old Man. So, are you willing to buy them all?"

Niles laughed happily upon hearing Cien's offer. Originally, as a reunion gift, he was going to buy some items from Cien.

But after seeing the quality and uniqueness of some of the weapons, even if Cien didn't offer them, he would buy them all.

Profit is important for a businessman. The items sold by Cien have the potential to make a big profit.

According to Niles, Cien is just unlucky not to have customers at the moment.

Why? Because of his suspicious appearance! It makes people avoid him. But what can be done? Niles understands the reason why Cien has to hide his face.

Although not as good as C-Owl, Millard's eyes are still there, watching over Ashur.

"Thank you, Old Man. Sigh... with this, I just have to wait for the auction to finish before I have to go back to that cursed place."

"Won't you meet Ethel first?"

"I would love to if I could. But unfortunately, it's impossible. There are circumstances that prevent me from staying long in the outside world."

"What a pity. I think Ethel and Kirana would be happy to meet you. They've been through tough days after you left."

Silence returned. They both seemed to reminisce about the past when Cien was still part of Millard and worked together with Niles to deliver water to villages on the border that had difficulty getting water.

Those days are gone now.

Niles refused to work with Raphel because he would only sell his water at high prices to the nobles in Westya.

It was far different from what the father of Cien and Cien himself did, which prioritized the common people.

"Old Man..."

"Hmm… what?"

"What happened to Duke Bahman?"

"..."

Niles remained silent. Not because he didn't want to speak, but because he himself didn't know what had happened to Duke Bahman.

The Lord of Ashur had suddenly collapsed three years ago.

Well, he was already old, but a month before the Duke's collapse, Niles had met him and saw that he was perfectly fine.

Even his son at the time, Dion, was still a well-behaved and polite child.

But after the day Duke lay in his bed, everything changed.

Although Dion, as Duke's replacement, continued to carry out his duties well, he never made any new regulations that would harm the people of Ashur.

Yet behind it all, something was happening within the Bahman family. He just didn't know what it was.

The decision to choose Millard's daughter as Dion's fiancée was also very surprising.

Strangely enough, Niles had never seen the face of the betrothed. All he saw was the audacious behavior of the Millard family every time they came to Ashur.

"So, I can't say anything about this, Little C."

"Sigh... even though strange things are happening within the Bahman family, it doesn't have a negative impact on Ashur. But Old Man, you should still be cautious. I have an uneasy feeling about the current situation. I can't stay here for long, and I just hope that when we meet again in the future, you'll still be alive."

Niles laughed again. Cien felt relieved to see every hearty laugh coming from the elderly man in front of him.

"Thank you, Little C. Just like you, I also feel uneasy about the current situation. That's why... that child, I hope you can do something if something bad happens."

"I know. I will look for Darius if that happens."

Niles smiled widely, "Little C, maybe it's better if you visit Duke Bahman directly."

Cien was taken aback, "Can I do that? Isn't the security tight?"

"It's tight. But I think the Old Bahman will be willing if you visit him. Miss Halima is also there. Dion himself is currently away at the King's Palace, entertaining His Majesty. So, this is the right time if you want to meet him."

"Hmmm... alright then."

The suggestion given by Niles was not bad. He himself was curious about the illness that kept Duke Bahman confined to his bed.

Upon hearing that, Niles immediately instructed his workers to come and transport all the weapons that Cien had sold.

Giving Cien the money, Niles then told him to stop by his place before leaving. Niles wanted to introduce Cien to his daughter-in-law.

Cien understood the intention behind the introduction desired by Niles. The Old Man wanted to inform his daughter-in-law to seek Cien's help if something unwanted happened.

Honestly, Cien himself still doubted whether he could help. But with the presence of C-Owl, maybe he could ask them for assistance.

Cien accepted Niles' request. After that, he ordered several items from Niles.

Items that might be useful for the inhabitants of Death Valley. Such as vegetable and fruit seeds. Thread and needles. Books and everyday tools like a pencil, paper, etcetera.

Niles, upon hearing Cien's purpose for buying those items, was surprised.

"Are you building a village in Death Valley?"

"I'm not sure if it can be called a village. The population is no more than thirty people."

"That's a village! You're truly doing something absurd, Little C!"

They both laughed, and Cien bid farewell to go to the next location, Duke Bahman's mansion.

The mansion was located in the northern part of the city. It took him about half an hour to reach the front gate of the house.

In front of the gate, there stood a line of personal guards always ready to handle any threats that might arise.

There were about twenty guards stationed at the gate, making Cien hesitate to approach.

"Isn't this too tight?"

Cien wondered, unaware that the heightened security was a result of his own actions.

Cien's attack on Millard's residence had made the nobles in Ashur tighten their security, including Duke Bahman.

Cien swallowed nervously. Then he walked closer. He could see the disdainful gazes of the guards directed at him.

Who wouldn't? Cien's appearance was too suspicious for the guards.

They began gripping their spears and swords tightly, ready to charge at Cien at any moment.

Cien stopped when the distance between him and the line of guards was about five meters. Cien remained silent, waiting for the question that the guards usually asked.

"Who are you? What is your purpose here?!"

However, a minute later, both parties remained silent without uttering a single word.

The guards still focused on Cien. They were ready to attack the man in the cloak with the coffin in front of them.

As for Cien himself...

'This is awkward…'

"Umm..."

"!!!!"

"No, no, no. Wait! I'm not an enemy. I just want to meet Duke Bahman. I'm an old friend."

"..."

All the guards fell silent and exchanged glances. Then, one guard started to ask back.

"Who are you? Duke Bahman is not receiving guests for the time being!"

"Can you please tell him that Little C wants to meet him? Please."