Chapter 14:

The morning was beautiful. The small ray of sunlight that came from the curtains hit Eleanor's face.

Eleanor slowly woke up from her slumber. It had been a while since she had slept so well. The last time she slept without any worries was almost a year ago when her family was doing well, before the bad business ventures, before the death of her father and mother; it had been a good night's sleep.

Maybe it was due to the tiredness from the battle against the lesser demon or maybe it was because of Francis...Eleanor went to bed with heavy lids and seemed to have overslept a bit.

Eleanor made her way to the window and saw her brother practicing the sword. Alex was trying his best. It hurt Eleanor a bit when she thought how Alex might just forego his childhood for better swordsmanship. She needed to find a way for Alex to not do that, she needed to find a friend for him.

The problem was how...The news about Elin and the traveling merchant had spread throughout the district town and most people seem to know about their residence in the Russel estate. Eleanor had dug herself into a hole that would affect her brother.

"Haaaaah~", a small sigh came out of Eleanor's mouth as she worried about her brother's future.

Eleanor readied herself and went towards the gate of the estate where she found a few packages. Eleanor looked into them to find enough food and drinks for 4 people. Although it seemed one of the drinks was alcoholic. A letter inside one of the packages was addressed to the traveling merchant.

"...Oh right! The contractors..." Eleanor remembered that she hadn't spoken to her contractors yet, it seemed today would be the day that she would be making some connections within the district.

Eleanor stashed the alcoholic drink somewhere in her room and called her brother to eat breakfast. After breakfast, Eleanor trained a bit and prepared some letters to the contractors to look for 'Elin' as his envoy before heading to the town. She made her way out of the gate where Alex dropped her off. Eleanor continued walking for quite some distance but, as soon as she was sure Alex wasn't watching she immediately ran back and got the stashed outfit, which had been bloodied and torn.

Then she got herself some makeup and a wig. The wig blonde, and she tied her hair and wore the wig. She needed this as a safety net; after all there might be someone else who could remove her armor in the town. Although she still looked very young even with the makeup, at least she would be less recognizable then.

She then chanted the spell and the silver armor wrapped around her body, and made her way off-road, and buried them. Elin also removed his tracks. Then only did he make his way into town. It seemed he had to do this rigorous process a few more times...by few, he meant many more.

***

Brookshire town square.

Elin wore his signature cloak and silver armor as he made his way towards the bakery, The Morning Morsels. The shop was in quite a good spot near the town square. Children were playing their games. Elin looked at them running around, and then he looked at the nearest clock. It was about 9 o'clock.

Elin looked at the children.

***

With burnt red hair and green eyes, Rebecca was running around with her friends at the town square. She was laughing energetically, as she and her friends seemed to be pointing at each other rhyming some song in a circle. The pointing stopped at Rebecca as her friends began 'woo'-ing and laughing.

"Rebecca! Rebecca! You're tagged! You're a monster now! So, run away!" a small girl shouted at her as she began running towards Rebecca with all her might.

"What? You can't catch me!" Rebecca shouted at her again as she ran furiously away from her chaser.

On her way, a few more children tried to tackle Rebecca as she evaded all of them. A few grazed her but; since they hadn't caught her for 5 seconds she only began running.

"Why is everyone only targeting me?! This is unfair!" Rebecca rebuked the other children.

"A monster dares to speak? I will end you!" a small boy ran with all his might as he held out his hand.

"HUH?! You wish!" Rebecca dodged to her left as the boy came her way. "TOO SLOW!", Rebecca said with a smug smile as she began laughing when the boy tripped and fell beside her.

"Oh, he's not alone you know!" the small girl charged at her running with some other 'knights'.

Rebecca began running once more as she passed Elin. Elin reflexively turned his head around.

The town was now burning. The children were gone. No one else was there. He was alone in the flames. He saw his childhood friends, engulfed in the burning flames. The debris of houses fell on them, never seen again. Those friends he had made as Rebecca, those who never became adults stuck in adolescence.

Elin turned his body around to face them. Elin...no Rebecca could only stare at them. She couldn't save any of them.

Through the debris came a being, a being shrouded in darkness. A demon, Beelzebub. The one who started the beginning of the end. He was fixing his cuffs and along with his clean suit, he could've fooled anyone as a rich man. But, his real form was much more disgusting as his shadow became larger from the fire in the form of a disgusting worm thing. He smiled ear to ear as if beckoning Elin to come at him. His face was covered in darkness and his eyes began to glow a faint red color amidst the fire and smoke.

Elin reflexively put his hand on the hilt and the spear handle, when suddenly-

Thud!

Something, rather someone had struck him on the knee. He looked at the reason for the sound.

***

The world returned to normal. The small boy who had just struck Elin had fallen on his butt. The boy looked scared as he looked at Elin's hand placement. Elin quickly removed his hand from the hilt, he didn't want to look scary so he crouched down and turned towards the boy.

Elin raised his hand and ruffled the boy's hair. He turned around and saw the girl. The girl had light brown hair and she definitely wasn't Rebecca. Elin smiled at the girl, and the girl began blushing.

"Be careful. You might hurt yourself." Elin said as his blue eyes could be seen through the mask.

"Y-Yes!" the boy said energetically.

Elin helped the boy up and looked at the clock. It was 10 minutes past 9 o'clock. Elin turned towards the direction of the bakery and made his way there when he felt a light tug on his cloak.

"Hmm? Is there something you need?" Elin asked as he looked at the small hands of the children tugged on his cloak.

"A-AH! Mister, are y-you the hunter that hunted the dark mage?" One child spoke up in an awkward voice.

"H-Hey his name is 'Elin', you know!!! How could you forget!?" Another child shouted at the first one as he hit the first one on the back.

"I-I did not!!! I just wasn't sure. Mom said 'Elin' was someone who came from outside the town and wore a cloak! She saw him herself. I-I wasn't sure he was Elin, so I-", the first child said as he rubbed his back.

"Excuses is all I hear!", another third child said as she laughed at the child.

Elin, on the other hand, was confused. He had spoken to the Inn owner, Francis, yesterday but had never asked or even talked about taking all the reputation for killing the dark mage. He had earnestly thought Francis would hog all the glory, or keep quiet about it since he didn't want 'unwanted' attention but, what is this? Elin felt that Francis might've done this to help Elin with his plans, but it somehow backfired because Elin, for now at least, wanted to make up a plan to make sure his brother would not waste his childhood away. This sudden spike in his popularity was going to make that part difficult.

Elin crouched down in front of the children. The first child was being teased by his friends when suddenly Elin spoke to them-

"Yes, I am Elin, the one who scared the dark mage away from the town..." Elin refrained from using harsh words in front of the children as he spoke with a smile.

Seeing his smile, the girl began to grow red.

"Oh? Are you alright? You seem quite red.", Elin remarked.

"I'm f-fine", the girl replied hiding her face.

Elin found this behavior quite cute as he turned his head to see the second boy look at him with insurmountable respect.

"Mister Elin, Was the dark mage hard to fight?" the boy asked.

"Well for others it could've been but, for me.", Elin drew out his sentence for dramatic effect as the children's eyes began to glitter and sparkle waiting for the end of the sentence.

"For me, well. I could've won with my eyes closed." Elin said puffing his chest.

The children were flabbergasted as they began asking him more and more questions. Questions about the dark mage, the spells they used, the fight, and many more. Elin was a good storyteller as he recited the story dramatically, which made the children wow and excited at every word Elin spoke.

This small storytelling session seemed to have caught the adults' ears too as they began to sit nearby acting like they were minding their own business while eavesdropping.

Soon, Elin finished his story and the children began cheering for him, while some adults clapped at his excellent story-telling skills. It seemed like having to recite stories to Alex for the last few months improved Elin's dramatization.

Elin who had unknowingly sat down while story-telling stood up indicating that this was his time to go, when he was suddenly stopped by the first boy.

"Um...Mister Elin, I have a question."

"...yes?"

"Is it true that you're living in the baron's manor?"

"Yes, I am. Why do you ask?"

"I-I heard that the Baron's family have f-for-sak-den(forsaken) this district and left. I also heard that they were mean, mean people. Is that true?"

Elin's heart thumped as he heard the slander against his family. He was hurt by these words, but he did not show it on his face. The adults who had almost gone back to their own business stopped waiting for Elin's answer.

"No, of course not. If they were mean people then I would beat them myself. They care very much about this town that is why they let me and my friend stay there."

"Ah-ah, I see. So, Mommy and Daddy were wrong! I knew it!" the boy said with certain confidence as he puffed energetically.

Elin put his hand on the boy's hair and ruffled it.

"Ok children, I will get going. It is getting late for me."

"Ok!", the children said in unison as they went back to playing their games.

***

Soon, Elin found himself in front of a beautiful shop that had colorful decorations near it. The shop had an outside section, where some seats were placed near flower beds and had shade from an umbrella attached to the table. A sign in front of the door read, "The Morning Morsels", in beautiful handwriting. The shop was a place where one could spend the entire day and feel relaxed and comfortable.

Elin opened the door and was immediately greeted by a sweet mature voice.

"You're quite the storyteller, y'know? Those children can never sit around for even a second, but you managed to make them listen."

"Well, it's not every day a stranger helps out the locals, is it?"

The woman seemed to be someone in their mid-thirties. She had bright brown hair, with a small beauty mark near her lip. She stood behind the counter as she smiled at Elin. Elin was a bit shorter than her.

The shop owner, Elmyra; had already poured out some tea for Elin. Elmyra pointed towards a chair and beckoned Elin to sit there.

Elin did as instructed and Elmyra came and placed the tea on the table. She sat across from Elin. Elin who had a helmet on, took off the mouth piece and began drinking the tea. The tea had a minty taste which was not very sweet. It was a flavor that Elin liked as he felt the tea calm down his mind.

"I assume you're here instead of the traveling merchant?" Elmyra's sweet voice started the conversation.

"Yes...for reasons he can't move his body around much. So I am here in his stead. Today I am just here to make acquaintance myself with the contractors and discuss the profits cuts and distributions." Elin made up a lie.

"Before that, how are the children?"

"Hm?" Elin tilted his head before suddenly jerking his head straight again.

"AH! They're wonderful, Young lord Alexander is very talented with the sword as he strives to be better each day. Young Miss Eleanor is kind and polite, she is learning some tricks of the trade from my colleague, and he said that soon she was going to surpass him in terms of knowledge. They're both very wonderful. Miss Eleanor wants to host some event for the Tara festival too; she was very excited about it today when she spoke to me..."

Elin made another lie, but at least this one had some truths to it...right?

"I see. I see. But is that all? What about their health, their living standards, what about their appetite?" Elmyra asked again hoping for some more.

Elmyra was smiling but, Elin felt a great pressure from her.

"A-ah yes. The food in the storage seemed to be running low. Thankfully, some contractors sent some food, desserts, and drinks today. Miss Eleanor was very delighted to find them and asked me to send her regards. So, I thank you on her behalf and for me too. Thank you."

"Hm...I see, so now we can get to business. I can give you for-"

"Thirty percent."

"Huh?"

"Thirty percent. That is all that my companion has asked for. He told me to ask for that much, not more not less.", Elin said with a straight face as he placed 3 gold on the table, "And, this is for insurance for the legitimacy of the contract. Please accept it."

"B-But...", Elmyra made a hesitant face

"Please, do not worry about us. My companion says that this is just a small price for a big, big haul for later." Elin assured Elmyra as she tried to reject the offer.

"Instead, please send more red berry cream puffs and syrup balls next time. Master Alexander seemed to like them a lot."

Elin made a clause as it seemed Elmyra was still hesitating on the offer.

Elmyra was focused on the letter and the gold on the table. Elin was leisurely drinking the tea as he finished up his business. He stood up, put his mouth piece back on, and began to make his way to the door.

"Please do not look so hesitant, my companion said so. I will make sure Miss Eleanor and Master Alexander will be safe at all times.", Elin assured Elmyra, "Do not worry, I wouldn't even think about hurting them even if they were mean people."

"Huh? Ah...", Elmyra made some sound in confusion as she looked at Elin.

Elin seemed to be grinning under his helmet as he turned towards the door and made his way out.

Elmyra was now alone in the shop. She was confused by the ridiculous offer which was quite low for any real profits considering the current state of business within the district. She stared blankly at the door and sighed.

It seemed the days of darkness within the district town were finally going away.

She took the three gold coins from the table and placed them somewhere in a special corner. She read through the letter and just continued with her day. She prepared extra cream puffs and syrup balls for Alex.

It was peaceful.

***

The next stop was the restaurant, the midday bistro. It was close by towards the town hall. Since it was midday, many 'adventurers' and 'hunters' were making their way towards the town hall.

Last time many of them ignored Elin, it didn't seem to be the case today. Most of them looked at him with scorn and disbelief. Elin just went along the path toward the restaurant. He, of course, knew of these stares but he couldn't be bothered to deal with them. He had work to do, unlike these people.

Elin crossed the town square where he had previously talked with the children. He was just going past the big water fountain which had a big statue at its center. The statue was of course of the hero, Alexander Von Russel, Elin's ancestor. Elin took a glance at the statue. Elin didn't feel much, to him, this statue did not exactly excite it, rather it was better to say he was more scornful towards it. It did not invoke any pride in him, to Elin it was just another statue.

Elin walked passed the fountain.

"HEEEEY~", a loud sound stopped Elin.

Elin stopped to look at the source of the sound. It was a pretty big man, who wore minimal armor and had a giant round shield on his back. On his waist was a long sword that had many engravings on them to make it look more fancy and extravagant, like a decorative sword for show only. His chest had a few big scars, which seemed to be drawn on. His face looked a bit intimidating as the children hid behind some flower beds or just went inside their homes when they saw him.

"...What?" Elin answered back as he looked straight into the man's eyes.

The man was shocked; he didn't expect to be confronted like this. It seemed the man genuinely expected Elin to get scared once he saw him, but since things did not occur like he planned he was taken aback. He took a step back.

"What? You're scared of me? Say something." Elin said in a smug voice provoking the man.

"Y-YOU!", The man was angry, very angry. But, he managed to hold off his anger which surprised Elin.

"You're Elin, right? That famous bloke who killed a dark mage yesterday." The man asked.

"Yes, so what of it?" Elin tilted his head slightly, maintaining eye contact.

The man furrowed his eyebrows.

"Quit doing that! Why are you bullying him?! You, good for nothing buffoon.", an old man's voice came from behind the man.

"What did you say, Old man?!", the man said as he turned around.

The man in question was a short old man in his fifties. He was just a bit shorter than Elin; he held his stature high as he clasped his hands behind his back. The old man met Elin's eyes, and then he looked straight into the big bully's eyes. The old man was tough, he knew his way around a fight, and he probably was someone who had been through many fights in his time.

"I'll make you take those words back, old man!" the bully said in a condescending voice.

The bully reached his hand out towards the man's neck. It was then, Elin saw it, and he felt it. For the split of a second killing intent flowed through the air, strong enough to give him goosebumps. The man released a bit of his killing intent, he did not move as the hand closed their distance towards the man.

Elin quickly made his move, he appeared right in front of the man, stopping the bully but more importantly, stopping the old man. Elin caught the man's wrist with minimal effort.

"H-HUH?!", the bully was surprised at Elin's sudden appearance, but he did not break his face, he still had a cocky face, "Not that this matters! You can't stop me with that frail body!"

The arm muscles of the bully twitched as he put more force on them. Elin seemed unfazed, the man had great muscle distribution but he lacked any semblance of experience to use them.

Elin looked at the wrist and deciding what to do next, he decided to make his move.

"Is that all?" a sarcastic voice came from under the helmet.

"H-Huh? O-Of course not!" the bully lied as he pulled his hand away from Elin...he attempted to, but couldn't.

"W-What!", the bully exclaimed in surprise.

Elin looked at the man pitifully, as he suddenly let go of the bully. The bully did not expect this as he fell on his behind. Some people began snickering in the background as they saw the embarrassing situation for the bully.

"WHAT ARE YOU LAUGHING AT?!", the bully shouted at the crowd of people, as he quickly stood up, turning his head towards the source of the laugh and all of them stopped laughing and did not dare make eye contact with the bully.

"Still bullying when you're the embarrassment?" the old man provoked the bully.

"What did you say, old man"

"Ugh! This disappointment of a human being!" the man sighed.

"You're the one who's hiding behind this ugly son of a bitch! Why else would he hide his face?! He must be ugly because he's a 'Nullborn', yes, that's right a Nullborn", the bully used the word 'Nullborn' in a very derogatory fashion as he emphasized and repeated it.

The man put on a show; he raised his arms sideways, catching the attention of the crowd. His voice increased as more and more people took his attention.

The old man behind Elin seemed to open his mouth ready to shout some more vulgarity and shut the bully up. However, Elin put his hand aside, stopping the man.

"Ugly? The only one ugly here is you." Elin said as he lifted his helmet.

It seemed wearing the wig and makeup was a great idea.

"What did you say? I don't hear ugly people, you see-", the man was stunned.

"Yea? And, what else?"