Going to Town

As we made our way to the town called Desvey, Marquess Toral was always infatuated by the sight of my horse. His eyes were shining in awe as he continued to admire the form and magnanimity of the stead.

Sure, I can see that someone might be amazed to find such a sizeable horse, but from Serena's perspective as well as Shirley's, they weren't really all that into the stead. Only know when Marquess Toral spoke of its name did it caught their interest.

"May I ask, Where did you find such a companion?" His question was very endearing and soft spoken, showing how much he had such admiration for the horse and its history.

"..Oh, I just found one by the river." I said.

"A river? Hmm, I see. Oh, and pardon me but I haven't learned your name yet." as he was suddenly brought to his own thought, he asked me what my name was.

"Its Shay Winston." Having introduced myself, his eyes softened and lost its killing intent.

"Shay, how were you able to tame such an animal? You must've have some sort of secret to be able to control this stead. Tell me." as he asked for an answer, he looked to me with a somewhat similar look that I too was again familiar with. The look of a greedy man.

Knowing how dangerous greed was at its core, I stared and smiled as if ready to tell him an answer…but I knew that telling this answer was going to put me back to where I was yet again trying to escape from. a life where I was placed in an area full of greedy men.

So to leave…I answered.

"...We all have secrets to keep Lord Toral, but simply put, I was just lucky that I came to tame such a beast." I said as I didn't give him an ounce of the secret to taming the beast. It was clear to him on what I was implying…

I wont tell or involve myself in this greed.

Although it may seem greedy that I am not telling the truth, I know from experience that this one simple act of greed will put me on the path of a simple man. I'm an expert in keeping valuable information for the safety of what's to come on an endless void of greed. Not telling him the answer was one way to go out of my way to avoid such void of greed.

And also because sharing information with a man like him is just bad in every way possible. One look in his eye and already I can tell that I should do so much to avoid his presence.

After telling him my answer, I noticed that Serena was smirking from ear to ear. As if she was quite happy with what I came to deliver.

"I see. Well as a man, I won't pry on another man's secret." said Marquess Toral as he gazed forward to the streets leading to the Desvey Town. He still hasn't lost that spark of greed in his eyes but in this moment, I can tell that he will probably not bring up the topic again for a while.

Looking at the relation between Lady Serena and Lord Toral's identity, it seems as though a bit of conflict was visible to notice. Mostly from Serena's side who clearly wants no sense of reason to want to spend her distance near Lord Toral, but by her position as a noble, it seems as though her being called out for question was a necessary thing to abide.

From here on out, she might have to answer and tell Marquess Toral about the situation regarding the princess who was captured by a demon on the opposite side of the kingdom.

I don't have to involve myself in this, so its probably best that I have to transfer her to marquess Toral and let them handle the situation by themselves. Meaning that she doesn't have to ride with me to the Dragon Empire and I simply have to follow them as they go to the Dragon Empire.

But if I do find some of the materials in Desvey Town, I don't think I have to fully go to the Dragon Empire just to buy some materials. If I'm lucky, the town in front of me might just have everything that I need.

I might even have the chance to sell the plants if I'm lucky.

"..." Looking at how easy it might go for me for not having to go to the Dragon Empire, I was unconsciously smiling from ear to ear like an idiot.

"...Shay?" suddenly Serena noticed me and called out to my weird reactions.

"Ah, by the way Ms. Serena, since Marquess Toral is already here to assist you , I think it might be best to transfer you to his carriage. You know, something that fits your status." I said as I look to her with a smile on my face.

"T-that…you might be right…" said Serena, but her reaction was a bit desolate than I had expected.

"Hmm, we can talk about me giving my assistance after we arrive at the town." said Marquess Toral as he overheard our conversation.

"Y-yes sir." having replied to his words, we continued our way to the town. And after moments of riding, we finally arrived.

"...Whoa." looking at the very town before me, I was shocked to see the scenery. It was something you would find at a children's story book about the medieval times of princesses and knights…mainly this location was a village.

And being in front of the territory of Marquess Toral and the Dragon Empire, I immediately saw its symbol from a flag. By its name alone, a Dragon breathing its fiery breath was seen on its centre. Just like the Flag of Wales, back in my old world except the flag here was more detailed on the dragon aspect.

"Welcome to Desvey, known for its plentiful resource towards the Iron and Copper mining business, and as well as for its population under the Dragon Empire. The people here are very kind and welcoming to all that may visit. And the people do visit because of the famous Great Eden Wall as a tourist site. You can see that even from where we stand, we can still see the great wall standing between the Great Bioma and this town right here. Safety is but this town's virtue." said Lord Toral.

"Oh…so the Great Eden wall is a tourist attraction?" I asked.

"Indeed it is." said Toral.

"And what about the Dragon Empire, where is it located?" I asked

"The Dragon Empire is just a half a day of travel down west. If you follow the road, you can see the great castle of our empire." Marquess Toral said this with such pride and honor.

"The information is nice and all, but I don't have the time to go sightseeing. Marquess Toral, I have something important to report…its regarding the Princess."

"The Princess!?" Toral was shocked and completely changed the second the title of the princess was spoken out. His eyes were full of focus and sharpness.

"Tell me the details." he said in his sharp voice.

"Not here, we need a private space."

"Very well, we'll go to my villa." we rushed our way with Lord Toral leading the path.

After a while, we came upon the sight of a mansion on the corner of the town of Desvey. There, Marquess Toral's Villa was located.

While Serena, Shirler and Lord Toral entered the Villa, I decided to stay outside. I feel like it was rude to enter the house of a noble without permission. And seeing as how Marquess Toral acted very serious the moment the name of the princess was called out, I don't think I had to gain permission to enter.

I simply had to wait for them until they would come out.

After ten minutes, they finally came out of the Villa with Marquess Toral showing his cold-blooded gaze and Lady Serena who was showing this dejected look on her face. It seems as though they came to a decision.

Shirley however wasn't with them.

But moments later, a horse came out of the back of the villa and rushed to the roads. Riding on that horse was none other than Shirley herself.

"..." Looking at the horse, it seems as though it was fast.

"Mr. Shay, I thank you for your cooperation for lending us a hand when we needed it the most. I would like to give you a proper reward, but because of our situation, I must rush to the Dragon Empire to say my reports to the King himself. I wont have the time to properly thank you…"

"It's alright." I said as it didn't really bothered that much. As long as she gave her thanks, it was enough for me.

"...That is why I will give you this necklace that contains the emblem of the Modelva Family."

"...W-why?"

"When you come to visit the Dragon Empire, please visit the Modelva Home and give this to the guards who watches over the gates…and only then will I give you my proper thanks." as she gave me the necklace, she smiled and got on the horse that Shirley was riding on as well.

"...Okay." I could only ever reply to her request with a confirmed answer.

"Mr. Shay, I wont be able to watch over the process of having you close the gate, but please do commit to my words and close them as tight as you could. No one else has the capability to close them as you do…not even my knight." said Marquess Toral as he came close with his horse to the side of my wagon.

From the looks of it, it seems like Marquess Toral will be attending to ride with Lady Serena to the Dragon Empire. It seems like the urgency of the problem was dire…

"I promise."

"Good, when we'll come to meet again, I hope to have a deep conversation with you along with my family… your existence after all is a precious and mysterious one." as he said this, he rode on with his horse.

Shirley followed by him with the same speed. And as they left, Lady Serena looked back at me one last time and waved her hands goodbye.

"..." I waved back and simply sat on the wagon…

To see her leave, it made me think of the past times when I was with a few people who left me simply because of the reasons I had no control over…some of them, I liked and missed…some I didn't care for when leaving…and others, I wondered if they were still alive till this day, knowing how dangerous it was being a thief…how dangerous it was being a criminal. I feel bad that some didn't get to have the second chance that I did today.

"..." now, she was one of the many who I liked despite the fact that she wasn't someone who I relate to Job-wise, but because she was simply just a person who was good in nature. I don't meet that many good people in my life…and she's only the few who came and went just like that.

Now that she's gone, I'm on my own just as it used to be…

My heart softened and it felt heavy…

This was the emotion of missing someone.

"*…Sigh* Now then, what should I do?"

[Character Profile:]

Name: Shay Winston

Job: Farmer

Mana: 16/100

Health:100/100

Strength:28 [E+]

Speed:25 [E+]

Dexterity:30 [D]

Intelligence:12 [F+]

Endurance:22 [E-]

Skill:

l Craftsmanship [Level 1]

-Blessing of the Craft [Grade A]

l In-Training Shadow Warrior [Level 15]

-Sneak [Grade A]

-Lock-picking [Grade B]

-Stab [Grade B]

l Cultivating Farmer [Level 1]

-Blessing of the Soil [Grade A]

And looking at my profile, it seems like my mana is still charging. It made some progress but at this rate, it'll probably be completely recharged at about midday.

"...Hmm, maybe I can look around while I wait for my mana to recharge." I said as I made my way back to the centre of the town.

I tried looking for a place to tie my horse, and good enough it wouldn't really be a problem for me to simply leave the horse on its own. So with that in mind, I had him tied to a tree near the entrance of the Desvey town.

Today starts the day where I get to look around the town for the first time and meet some new people.