Chapter 3

Wilhelm walks into the town, the clouds are blocking the sun and the weather is warm. There were fewer people than usual, some guards were on patrol.

As he walked past the stalls, he went and bought fruits, he then went inside a small restaurant a few walks across the stalls, he saw his old friend Tepht, a man with a solid large, and slightly chubby build, height about six-five foot, and had deep blonde hair.

"The customers today are fewer than usual."

"You could say that. There's an event happening in Aliuden territory. People all over the territory started flocking there."

"Event?" Wilhelm asked.

He was not aware of the events that are happening in the human territory ever since he went out to explore. He had been traveling unpopulated lands of Reolona for quite a while now.

"It's the Marquis, he came showing the summoned heroes around the area. They plan to visit every territory in Reolona. They said that the Marquis himself personally toured them" Tepht said.

"Hero summoning? Why would Reolona do that?"

"It's not just Reolona, almost every kingdom in the human territory summoned heroes."

"Really?"

"You haven't heard the news? There was a gathering of royals and nobles in Krofder. The elves joined in and they had big news about the monster invasion."

"Also, they said that the monsters were being controlled by the reborn monster king. Those monsters are now trying to increase their territories and the funny thing is, they all originated from the mountains of Rizz. It was supposed to be just a small dungeon on top of a tall and wide mountain but they somehow gathered quite a large number."

"If they were increasing in number wouldn't the adventurers inform the guilds know about it? Then the guild masters would make a report about that situation to the nobles. They could have minimized the increase of numbers and casualties if they'd acted before the numbers grew"

"That should be the case but the monsters became intelligent because of the influence of their king. They hid themselves underground, kidnapping from nearby villages, eating men, and impregnating women to produce more offspring."

"That's certainly a rare case. Is that why they've concluded that a monster king was born?"

"Yes, otherwise they can't explain how things are. The elves also told them in the gathering that not only did the monsters have increased in numbers, they've also occupied some parts of the Muze forest. Not only that, there were traces of them all over the continent. It smells like another large-scale war."

"That's some news you got there. Doesn't that mean that Krofder is the front line considering that they are near Muze? I guess it won't be long before we experience some invasions."

Tepht nodded, "It's as you say, that's why they've performed hero summoning, they plan to train the heroes as early as possible to protect their kingdom"

"Did Gressaia summon heroes as well?"

Wilhelm was curious about his birth kingdom. Tepht nodded. Wilhelm gave out a big sigh.

"Are you worried that you'd be sent out to battle? You do hold a pretty high rank in Gressaia. I wouldn't be surprised if you received a letter asking for your return."

"As if they could force me to come back. They would only ask for my assistance but only to that extent. I was granted freedom because of my achievements and support in the kingdom"

"Well you've got a point but what if---"

"What if they use my parents to force me to work for them?"

Tepht chuckled, Wilhelm hit the marks.

"Well? What would you do?" A curious question from Tepht.

"I met the king and nobles of Gressaia and I do know that the king is a reasonable man. Although, I could smell corruption in some nobles in the kingdom. Maybe a majority of them may plot against my family."

"They can be as dirty as an uncleaned sewer you know. But, just in case... What will you do about it?"

"You pretty much know it already, I've already prepared countermeasures. My parents are protected by my magic. In a life-threatening situation, they would be teleported instantly to a safe place."

"And in case there's an interference in magic circles I've already used some other methods similar to teleportation magic. If you want to know the details then it's about--"

"Stop, stop, stop. I'm not knowledgeable about magic kinds of stuff but at least I get the idea that you're fully prepared for what could happen. Your relatives are blackmail materials that's what I would like to remind you. Even if that kingdom treated you kindly. It doesn't mean that they won't take advantage of you."

"You're still a worry rat, my fatty friend~"

"Hah! It runs in our genes looking CHUBBY not FAT, at least I ain't scrawny looking like you HAHA!"

"Oh? Want me to flex my muscles?"

"HAHAHA as if you have muscles!"

"You underestimated me... I trained my body from time to time you know"

"Oh really?"

Since there were few people inside the shop Wilhelm took his upper clothes off and flexed. There weren't that many muscles in him but his body was physically trained to create a well-built lean body.

On the other hand, Tepht didn't allow him to be the only one to flex, he also flexed his muscles but with clothes on. His body was solid but had a layer of fat that hid his muscles.

But his biceps were the size of Wilhelms's head and were getting bigger the more he applied strength to his muscles. Wilhelm used magic as his final resort.

A magic that relates to body manipulation. He used it with his very own body. Forcing it to its full potential and he made himself look more shredded and slightly bulked. Tepht scoffed and both of them laughed. It was a silly idea to use his magic for that kind of thing and both of them finds it funny.

Tepht and Wilhem were born in the same area. They would sometimes have dinner together back in their hometown in Gressaia. But, Tepht's family went to Reolona while Wilhelm's family remained. It was related to his father's job as a knight in a foreign kingdom.

His friend Tepht was also the reason why Wilhelm decided to stay in Reolona during his explorations. When he informed his dear friend that he was looking for a house in Reolona, Tepht was overjoyed to have some opportunity to spend time with Wilhelm. He used his very own money and bought a house Tepht recommended.

After their talk, Tepht's wife Rachel asked if her husband could lend them a hand for a while. The store suddenly went busy. A group of adventurers arrived to have a meal before they started to explore some dungeons or ruins. Wilhelm who didn't want to bother his friend left, with that said he received a free meal from the married couple on his way home...

Wilhelm saw Runa cleaning diligently through the large window of his house upstairs. The place was sparkly clean the moment he entered. Aside from the study and the research area that was left untouched, everything was well arranged.

The windows were all open except for the study and research room. It was an afternoon at that time. Runa hadn't eaten since morning but she still had plenty of energy to burn. He headed to the dining area and prepared lunch. Wilhelm climbed upstairs approaching Runa while she was brushing the floor.

"Runa, let's eat. I already prepared the table downstairs" He called her as he showed himself.

Runa wiped her sweat, "W-welcome back Master.."

"Come now, let's eat"

He was inviting her for lunch, he went ahead of her, she left the broom leaning on the wall and then followed Wilhem downstairs.

She saw him waiting for her.

"Let me just cool you off" A soft cool breeze of air circulated Runa's body, her sweat dried up and a sweet scent of flowers remained in her clothes.

"There we go, Do you feel cool now?"

"Y-yes, t-thank you." His kindness was making Runa feel uneasy.

The food on the table was fish meat skewers and a whole roasted chicken. Runa stood watch, Wilhelm invited her to join him and surprisingly, she was easy to convince.

Runa was subconsciously glad the moment she picked up her utensils. She didn't have any discomfort and started eating. Wilhelm after seeing her enjoy the food made him feel enjoyed his meal as well, she ate slowly and timidly it was cute.

Runa still had this hesitant feeling, it had been a while since she shared a warm meal with someone. She would sometimes look at Wilhelm in the eyes as if she wanted to ask something.

He did notice them but since she didn't ask for anything he let it slide. As long as Runa is inside the house then everything else could flow according to its path, there was no need for him to worry about it.

"Runa--" she jolted "--my friend told me about the heroes, they are currently inside Aliuden"

Wilhelm brings that topic up, hoping that they could have a conversation. Almost everyone knows about heroes, they were the chosen humans who fended off the wicked king of monsters five centuries ago.

Runa is a little bit interested in it, she recalled the storybook that she used to read when she was a child. She was curious,

"L-like the one described in b-books?" She asked.

Wilhelm was starting to get interested in them having a conversation. Aside from Tepht, he doesn't communicate with other people casually.

"I didn't get the chance to see them in person. My friend told me about them visiting the Marquis, I went back after I talked with Tepht."

"Tepht?"

"Tepht is my dear good friend who owns a small restaurant, well technically it was his wife Rachel's restaurant. He works as a knight who serves the queen of Reolona."

Now that his friend was bought up Wilhelm couldn't help but to tell Runa about how the two of them met.

Ever since they were young he would always ask Wilhelm to fight him. Not that he bears a grudge against young Wilhelm and most people misunderstood him for bullying Wilhelm because of the difference in their physiques. The misunderstanding was resolved by Wilhelm by assuring that the two of them were friends.

Each time they had a mock battle, Young Wilhelm would use magic and Tepht would use a wooden sword. Like pretending that the two of them are grown-up and had the job they dreamed about.

Wilhelm would shoot his magic at him and Tepht would go against him as he welcomes all of Wilhelm's attacks. He called it training but in reality, Wilhelm was just playing with magic and Tepht used it as a training method to make himself stronger.

Wilhelm still can't forget the time Tepht threw his sword at him, it caught him off guard with such an unexpected attack. The sword hit really hard and made him faint for a minute. Since then, he never allowed himself to get hit for the second time. It was a one-time victory for Tepht but he was proud of it.

"Also, Tepht is currently in charge of an assault team that exterminates monster invasions. His main post is in the capital city of Reolona. The reason why he is here in a remote town is to have a short vacation in his wife's town. I would use teleportation magic to transport him here so that he could visit his wife more often."

Wilhelm remembered another interesting memory he recalled and shared it with Runa. There was this big statue of a man near their area and they both competed with each other by throwing rocks, aiming for the nose part of the statue. The first one to shoot the rock inside the nose gets to be the winner.

The nose flew off after Wilhelm used magic to increase the firepower and improve the accuracy but in the end, Tepht was the one who got scolded the most.

"Y-you guys act m-more like brothers than friends..."

Wilhelm smiled lightly, "I guess you could say that."

Runa likes the fact that he keeps sharing his memories, whenever he smiles it makes Runa feel happy. She likes to hear more about his stories, she's like a child listening to her parent's bedtime stories.

"You could also tell me some of your stories." he suggested. Wilhelm wanted her to open up with him somehow.

Runa's face was slightly saddened. She didn't want to tell him about herself, there were only a few happy memories she had, and what good story would come out of her agony? There were none.

One of the good memories she had was when she used to read fairytale books and bedtime stories with her mother. She found it unfair that he was the only one to talk about himself therefore she tried to open up as well, the only good memory she had.

"I don't have g-great memories about my p-past."

"You don't have to tell me about it if you don't want to. Also, I'm sorry for asking something about your past, it was insensitive of me."

She didn't want him to apologize for it. All the man ever did to her was to be considerate. He did not do anything against her will and was kind enough to heal her right after she was bought out of the hellish slave market she came from. Clearly, she could tell that Wilhelm wanted her to open up with him.

"M-my mother used to read books for me."

Wilhelm was all ears as she began telling him her part of the story. Runa couldn't make long-term eye contact with his serious gaze. Therefore, she found herself glancing around as she told him something about her memory.

"It was about t-the knight who really loves his empress. The empress was beautiful, strong-willed, and kind. She was loved by her people. S-she was admirable."

"T-the way she ruled a large kingdom and the v-very first lady to ever rule has inspired a lot of women to do more than just stay at home and do household chores. That's why my mom idolized her, it was b-because of her that she's the breadwinner of our family"

"She sounds like a very good mother." a random comment from Wilhelm, it made Runa smile a little, followed by a longing expression.

"Yes, s-she was the best mother for me but she passed away..."

The mood suddenly got heavy, Runa didn't want to share it but for some reason, she felt like expressing herself just for once,

"M-my father killed her... They had an argument about my father's gambling and alcohol and things escalated. My mom got angry because his addiction turned out to be a huge debt for us to pay, my father suddenly got violent, and mom--"

Runa's tear dripped as her voice became shaky.

"-- was stabbed, then my father sold me to pay his debt."

"I was only fifteen... when a noble bought me... He was horrible, horrifying, he used me as he wanted, he abused me... Always hitting me whenever he's not in the mood... H-he violated me... he kept abusing me even if I begged him to stop... I was shouting for help but no one would help me..."

"Then he sold me saying I was no longer entertaining because he found new slaves to play with... Then I was bought, and I was abused and sold again repeatedly... they treated me like a toy... It was painful... I was scared... And it kept going like that for three years..."

"I got used to it and my senses numbed, and then they stopped abusing me... I was glad that they stopped the assaults but the beating didn't stop. It was still hell for me... I wanted to kill myself but I can't end my life because of the slave's curse placed on me---"

Runa had finally expressed her grief and it was extremely heavy. Wilhelm comforted Runa, she wailed and was crying her heart out because she was finally being able to share the scar inside her heart. Wilhelm gently patted her head. The strangest thing is when someone listens to your cries makes you cry even more.

Wilhelm didn't know what he was feeling at that moment, he got mixed emotions but he knew that he should offer her his shoulder. That was something he instantly decided. He thought to it himself and imagined himself in her shoes, he would want someone to comfort him. He empathized with her as much as he could.

The curse placed on slaves makes them unable to disobey their master's commands. Killing yourself can't be done unless your master permits it, she had no way of escape from the curse of being a slave.

"You've done enough. You did well for enduring it. You can rest assured. I'll protect you from now on, I swear to you."

Runa hugged him as tight as she could and cried even more. Her arm was thin but it was exerting strength, enough for Wilhelm to feel a strong grip. They stayed like that until Runa couldn't shed any of her tears anymore.