Chapter 10

"Oh you're right, there was this cursed village, as they call it. Twenty-four years ago, it was cut off from the kingdom as it was believed that there were witches there and they worshipped the devil, and nine years later which was fifteen years ago, it was burned down, and there were no survivors."

"The village I was talking about, the place where the woman I mentioned was born, it was called Dark Forest Village. As for how long it has been sheltering witches, I'm not sure though I believe it isn't recent."

Caesar explained further, "The woman I believed was my one and only, she was a witch as well. As soon as I found out, the love that I felt for her was gone."

The traveler didn't let him continue as he was curious, "There was a theory that normally witches start to learn about witchcraft and they begin to worship the devil when they are still young. How old is the woman you were pursuing?"

Caesar thought for a while before responding, "Not sure about her age but she did look a bit young. Possibly seventeen to nineteen but not younger than sixteen and not older than twenty-five."

The traveler nodded, "Alright, thank you for the information, that's all I needed to know."

The smile on Caesar's face faded, "Wait don't you wanna know my story?"

"Maybe later," The traveler stopped Caesar from walking and pointed at the building next to them. A sign on the second floor said, 'Augustus's Blacksmith shop', "Is this the blacksmith you were talking about?"

"Ah yes! This one!"

The two entered the shop, the moment they did, they caught sight of shelves and racks filled with a variety of tools and weapons. Behind the wooden counter at the right corner of the room, sat a bald old man with a beard sixty-five centimeters long.

"Welcome dear customers, looking for the best tool that can help you in your everyday life? You've come to the right place! Or if you're looking for the best weapons in town, Augustus's shop is the place for you! We offer items of high quality but at affordable prices! Welcome!" Said the old man in a monotone voice.

"Good morning sir, I'm here to have my sword checked." The traveler asked, approaching the counter, "Do you also do repairs?"

"Repairs? Augustus's smithy is the best at that, let me see your sword." The traveler removed the sword from his back and handed it over to the blacksmith, the man pulled it out of its sheath and said, "The quality is good, I praise the man who produced this claymore but its durability... Not so good."

The man explained further, "The Claymore looks fine but the blade is a bit blunt, meaning it has been used for a long time. Though this sword still looks outstanding, in my eyes, it's not gonna last long."

The blacksmith put it back in its sheath and said, "Come back here in three days and I'll give this sword back to you in its best condition."

"How much?"

"I'll tell you and ask you to pay the time you pick this sword up, that's how I do business. If you don't come or if you can't pay, this Claymore of yours will be presented and sold to my other customers." The man took a notebook out and asked, "The name of your sword and your name?"

"...It doesn't have a name. Claymore is fine."

"What kind of swordsman are you if you don't even value your sword? I'm disappointed, you know, they say you must give your sword a name and treat it as your partner." The blacksmith looked straight at his eye and said, "Come up with a name now, customer."

The traveler thought for a while before responding, "Gilmore, is that okay? My name's Cassius Tarquin."

"Naming your Claymore as Gilmore, how creative."

"-Alright done, come back in three days. Go! Go!"

The traveler didn't say anything as he turned his back and headed towards the door. He couldn't tell if the man was being sarcastic or not. Before leaving, he said, "The name of your shop is very creative as well."

"Wow, someone finally noticed my talent in naming, I thought about the name for almost a week, you know?" The blacksmith responded loudly.

The traveler frowned at his words and left. He looked at the sign on the second floor and said out loud, "Augustus's blacksmith shop?" He sighed, "He thought about this for almost a week?"

"So, you wanna hear my story now?" Caesar said as he popped out of nowhere.

"Hm? I didn't see you around back there in the shop, I was sure you came in with me. Where did you go?"

"Uh," Caesar was visibly nervous, "Haha... What are you talking about? I-I was there."

The traveler didn't ask any further as he walked around the city with Caesar. Though he didn't ask, the young man continued his story about his first love.

The traveler wandered aimlessly, getting used to the bustling city and enjoying his time to appreciate its beauty. There wasn't any greenery around apart from the potted plants and one or two trees in someone's front yard.

As time passed, the sky had changed from blue to indigo. Caesar had already left his side and went back to his home, many residents also returned to their houses to rest. The once lively and noisy city turned quiet and peaceful.

The moon on the sky shone along with the bright stars as they watched the world from far away.

The traveler continued to walk despite it being so dark. As he did, he remembered a distant memory from the past. Back when he was merely a child... He used to walk around his hometown at night, looking up and gazing at the stars.

It would be great to walk leisurely back in his hometown again, he thought, but he knew he can no longer do so.

Time passed again, the clear sky was suddenly surrounded by dense clouds. Soon, raindrops fell. The droplets kept falling, it was fast, so fast that a normal person would only see it for a mere moment.

However, in the traveler's eyes, everything seemed to be in slow motion. Just as it did back on a rainy day when he was a child. It was raining heavily on that day but the water was dyed red. The only option he had was to run... Run and never look back.

The traveler was submerged in his thoughts when a fierce lighting crashed through the dark clouds like a tiger heading in for a kill. The sky was illuminated for a single second before it turned dark once more.

The traveler was snapped back to reality as realization hit him. His black cloak which covered his torso up to his head was drenched and he was simply walking in the middle of the street.

He thought about how he ended up there before turning back and returning to the inn. For a moment, his memory seemed to have gotten better as he remembered the directions he needed to take to return.

Time passed again like seconds and he stood in front of the inn. Surprisingly, the lights were still open and guests, travelers, and mercenaries were still active. The traveler entered, countless sounds and conversations also entered his ears.

Water was dripping from his cloak as he approached the woman behind the counter. He had missed his dinner, he had forgotten about it. He didn't notice anything wrong, however, it was clear that he was not feeling okay for some reason.

He asked for some food and paid sixty alvas. Instead of feeling upset about having to pay a lot for a bowl of chicken soup and water, he strangely felt nothing but emptiness.

When he went to the closest table, he placed his food in front of him and sat on the chair. As he was about to take the spoon and eat, someone came towards him and flipped the table. The soup was splattered on the floor.

"Oops, sorry, my hand slipped!" The man was more than six feet tall, he was not young but not old either. The man had dark brown hair and a beard. He was a bit masculine too but a smell of strong alcohol reached the traveler's nose. The man was drunk.

The traveler was already in a bad mood and he did not like disrespectful people. He considered himself polite, he was a gentleman, and he respected everyone he came across. He's done this since he was a child because he had hoped that people will give him the same respect he had given.

The man did not just disrespect him, he disrespected the guests who were staying in the inn, he disrespected the owner and the worker who would have to clean up the mess he had made. Not only that but he disrespected the food.

"Did you ever... Have to starve?" The traveler asked in a low voice but it sounded like a whisper and inside such a noisy inn, his voice was not heard.

If there's one thing he hated the most, it would be wasting food.

"What'd you say? I couldn't hear you, speak a little louder, runt."

The traveler failed to understand why some people would be so bored of their lives to the point they'd waste it and start fights with everyone else. If they have no use of it, it would be better to give it away instead.

The man approached him and placed a hand on his right shoulder, "I'm sorry, alright? Didn't do it on purpose, why do you look so mad? Just buy another one."

The inn turned quiet, everyone's eyes landed on the two. The traveler honestly didn't care about their opinions which do not even matter. Since the man had disrespected him, he did not deserve respect.

"You flipped the table, my food was wasted."

The man laughed, the hand on the traveler's shoulder tightened, "So? Are you asking me to pay?"

"No, I'm asking you to apologize properly. I don't want an insincere apology." The traveler stood up, "Apologize to me, the guests for interrupting them, the cook who made effort to serve good food, and to the worker who would clean up the mess you've made."

"I'm also a guest here, I paid for the food that was served and my money will be used to pay the cook and the worker."

"Is that so? Does that mean you won't apologize?"

"What do you think it means?" The man smirked, "You don't deserve my apology."

The traveler raised his left hand, placed it on the man's wrist that was on his shoulder, and said, "Alright, then... Don't blame me for doing this. I'm going to discipline you on your parent's behalf."

"???"

"AHHHHH!" The man screamed, attracting the attention of everyone. The traveler had twisted his wrist.

"Have you thought about it? Are you going to apologize?"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" The man shouted in despair, tears were forming in his eyes. He didn't expect that the traveler would fight back. In truth, he had been observing the traveler the moment he stepped into the inn with his drenched cloak. He saw him take out a pouch filled with alvas and assumed he was a wealthy person and an easy target.

The traveler, after hearing the man's apology, let go of his wrist and went to the counter. The woman was stunned and a bit scared, "I'm sorry for the trouble."

The traveler felt bad that he caused a commotion that interrupted everyone's conversations and dinner so he turned around, faced the guests, and apologized to them as well.

The woman behind the counter, after mustering enough courage, asked, "Sir, are you going to order another bowl of soup?"

The traveler shook his head, "It's alright, I've lost my appetite. Besides, my food has been wasted, I don't deserve to eat dinner for wasting food."

"???"