Village Tavern

There is a hallway on the second floor. On either side of it are bedrooms.

"Is this an inn?" I ask.

"Yeah, but as you can imagine, we don't get a lot of visitors here in Alventyr," Tiasha says and walks into the first room on the left.

I follow her in. It's a quaint little room. There are two beds in white sheets and a drawer table in between them with unlit candles on it. Other than that, there isn't really anything else here. The wall with the window looking out into the village is made of stone, adding a nice touch to the antique decor. Well, I guess it's not antique for them.

"How much for this room?" I ask and open up the pouch of coins I collected from the knights.

Tiasha chuckles and says, "Look at you city folks, all about money. Seeing you are Faye's friends, I can lend it to you for free. These rooms are just collecting dust anyway."

"Really?"

I am a businessman. Free is not in my dictionary.

"Of course. I will let you guys settle down. I will be downstairs getting ready for the dinner rush. Since I am the only one else here, you don't need to worry about the noise. Have fun," Tiasha says and leaves the room.

"Wait, what was that last part?" I call out, but she is already gone.

I look over to Lohikaarmi. She just stares at me with a blank face.

"Um… you can set her down on the bed, Lohikaarmi," I say.

"Yes, Master," she says and carefully wraps the little girl in the bedsheets.

I sit down on the other bed. Even though it has only been one night, I already miss the feeling of the soft mattress.

"Kris," Cisca speaks into her camera, "You want to know something?"

"What?"

"That whole time you were talking to Faye, your heartbeat was beating 20% faster."

Why is she bringing this up?

"The boar scared me, that's all," I say.

"Oh, right. You didn't think twice before jumping off a cliff to fight a fire-breathing dragon, but a wild pig is what got you?"

"What's your point, Cisca?"

She grins.

"My point is, maybe the Kris Kaplan who's a loner against all odds might have been left behind on Earth," Cisca says.

"That's ridiculous."

"Say what you will, I am only reporting the evidence."

Is Cisca right? I did feel something that I have never felt before when I gazed into Faye's eyes. No, that can't be. It was just because she is an elf. How can I, Kris Kaplan, need such a cardinal desire to complete myself?

I suddenly don't want to sit here and brew in my own thoughts any longer.

"Lohikaarmi," I say as I sit up from the bed, "Come with me. I will go ask Tiasha some questions."

"Yes, Master, and the girl…"

"Leave her here. She will be fine."

Lohikaarmi nods, and we walk out of the bedroom and down the stairs. Tiasha is wiping the tables with a piece of cloth.

"Finished already?" She asks.

"Yeah," I say and grab a seat in front of the counter. Lohikaarmi sits down beside me.

"Do you guys want something to eat?" Tiasha asks.

"No, it's fine. I just want to ask some questions, if that's okay with you."

Tiasha jolts. She stops what she was doing and looks up at me. Her smile disappears.

"Faye is a good girl," she says with almost pleading eyes.

"I am sorry?"

"Faye is so selfless. She loves everyone and helps out to the best she can, but she can't stand up for herself. Please, spare her."

What the hell is going on?

Tiasha continues, "Also, I know that we elves aren't the most devout people, but Faye is different. Her father was an archbishop, and her mother was blessed. She has devoted her entire life to the Goddess, shouldn't that be enough?"

"Wait, what do you think I am going to do with her?" I ask.

"Weren't you going to take her away?"

"To where?"

"With you. She is the prettiest one in our village."

"What? No! Why would I do that?"

Tiasha puts her hand over her chest and sighs out of relief. The smile on her face is back.

"Oh, thank the Goddess. I knew you were different from the other soldiers from the Holy Capital."

Who are these soldiers from this Holy Capital? Were they the ones fighting Lohikaarmi? From the way Tiasha acts, I am not liking these guys.

"Plus, you already have a beauty with you, right? She is more than enough," Tiasha says.

I see Lohikaarmi nodding beside me. I was going to correct Tiasha, but then I realize that it's not worth the time.

"Y-Yeah… Anyways, can you tell me about the Holy Capital?" I ask.

Tiasha tilts her head and asks, "Are you not from there?"

"No, we came from a remote village far… south," I say.

"Far south…" Tiasha puts her hand on her chin, trying to think of the village I just made up.

"Uh, it doesn't matter. What's the Holy Capital?"

"Oh, you must be really remote to not have heard of the Holy Capital," Tiasha says.

"Y-Yeah, that's right."

Tiasha goes back to cleaning the table and says, "It's the capital of Terradivina. It's also where the Pope lives. You have heard of the Pope, right?"

"…Yep."

"Of course, it would be strange to not know who you are serving."

"Theocracy… Interesting…" Cisca says while jotting down notes.

So, the Holy Capital is what Faye must have had been referring to when she said the "big city people".

"How far is the Holy Capital from here?" I ask.

"About a couple of days on horse," Tiasha says.

"Okay, and uh… these soldiers from the Holy Capital, do they just take girls from the village?"

"Oh, most of them don't. It's the bishops and archbishops like you who don't see us elves as people. They will do all sorts of heinous things, but clearly, you are different."

I am a bishop? Where did Tiasha get that? I look over to Lohikaarmi, and I notice that the engraving on my chest plate looks more decorated than the one on hers. I can't exactly make out what they are, but it's probably from these symbols that she thought I am a bishop.

"Racial discrimination in the upper echelon… interesting…" Cisca mumbles again.

How does this scientist find everything interesting? I am pretty pissed at these bishops who just show up and kidnap girls from their village, and Cisca is acting like she is in a history class.

"Uh, thank you, Tiasha. I'm sorry for frightening you. I won't impose on you any longer."

"Oh, no worries," Tiasha says, "We rarely get nice human guests. You came at a good time, actually. There will be an Inferno Dragon Festival held tonight."