The large town named Zirakib had a population of an average of four thousand heads. Commoners, nobles, and adventurers mixed in with one another in this settlement situated just a small distance away from the forest of shadows.
High stone walls surrounded the town and offered safety and peace of mind to those living or currently staying here. Guards patrolled the town walls and stationed themselves around the entrances. Their firm determined expressions wavered not despite it the night chilling their bodies due to the cold and the armor worn by them.
Grant gazed at the walls that caged the town. They were at least five meters in height and gave off a sturdy and imposing aura. Each stone brick looked to be finely made without any faults from the cementing process.
"You can get off now." Grant mentioned all of a sudden, Stella was surprised at what he said before she turned to look at Grant who was giving Beatry a piggyback ride.
The red-headed girl's expression was clear and comfortable as if she was really asleep on the tall man's back. But her slightly trembling curved lips and eyelids betrayed her.
"Mnhm~" Beatry let out a soft moan and her body trembled. She snuggled in deeper on Grant's back, making Stella speechless. It wasn't that cold from where they were standing which was just outside the town's walls.
"Get off..." Grant sighed before repeating himself once more.
"Mmh... Five more minutes..." Beatry's response was shameless. Grant's lips trembled slightly and he felt the girl breathe on his neck before tightening her hold on him.
He looked at the hands and feet that was clinging onto him and Grant outright pried them off. Causing Beatry to fall to the ground in surprise.
Thud!
"Hey!" Beatry cried up and stood. She dusted herself off before seeing Stella who looked at her situation in amusement. Grant shook his head. He decided to grab Beatry's arm, making her freeze before dragging her into the town entrance.
"Halt! State your busi-"
"I'm an adventurer, so is she and the other woman right there. Now let me in." Grant cut the guards off with a monotone voice before showing his copper rank plate. The two burly men coated in a mix of leather and iron armor nodded and let the three in.
Grant entered, dragging a frozen Beatry with him and Stella who followed shortly after them. Her attention wasn't as focused as before, looking like she was in deep thought.
Grrr~ Grant's stomach growled. He snorted before hurrying his pace and soon, the three had reached their desired establishment. The Hero's Flagon. The inn run by Beatry's father.
The girl in question paled and trembled to see the familiar-looking place. She squirmed and tried to yank her arm out of Grant's grasp but sadly, Grant's grip was as strong as iron. His fingers didn't even budge the slightest from her efforts.
"Ummm.. Grant could you be a dear and please let me go? Please~" Beatry pleaded and fluttered her eyelashes, shooting Grant a begging expression. Her attempt at convincing him was answered by a pair of narrowed eyes.
"Hado. Your daughter is now home!" Grant shouted and Beatry nearly fainted from his action. She knew that she was doomed and all hope of escape was gone. Reduced to nothing.
Loud stomps came from the building and the sound of someone grumbling incoherently made its way to the three's ears. Grant closed his eyes and waited, Stella breathed a sigh of relief seeing that their little task of bringing Beatry back had now come to a conclusion.
And Beatry went eerily silent.
"Welcome home you little wench~" Hado greeted Beatry and nodded contently at Grant and Stella. He looked jovial and extremely happy but that bulging vein adorning the upper left part of his face told of another story.
Grant let go of Beatry who bleakly looked at him. Her energy went away and she walked gloomily towards Hado who stood on the tips of his toes, reaching up and he grabbed her ear. Pulling it with great force.
"OW OWOOWWOW!" Hisses of pain came from the gloomy-looking girl and Hado's irritated laughter drowned the place of noise.
"Thanks to you I had to close shop for what? A whole day! Simply fantastic!" Hado started berating his daughter before telling Stella and Grant to come inside and treat themselves to a free hearty feast that his daughter would soon prepare.
Grant followed silently. Stella, on the other hand, looked at Beatry who was getting an earful with pity evident from her eyes. They sat down on a long table made from two tables being put close to one another.
"Three servings of everything that you have..." Grant ordered and Hado chuckled at his appetite. Stella shook her head and made her order which paled in comparison to Grant's.
Seeing Grant sit down and make his order. Beatry's eyes livened up and she disappeared into the kitchen. Sounds of flame, cutting and mixing came from the kitchen while Grant, Stella, and Hado were left behind.
"Ai... My apologies for the trouble my little girl had caused all of you." Hado apologized and bowed to Stella and Grant. He stood at the side of their table.
"It was nothing. Everything was alright." Grant answered. Stella looked at him worriedly.
She had healed all of Grant's wounds but deep down she knew that Grant was greatly affected by what happened. He had to face a whole small scale monster horde and a juvenile Green dragon.
She could imagine a lone person, fighting his all to survive against a creature that coldly looked at everything as if it was an entertainment. How every blow and cut scarred Grant's body, tearing it more and more by the second.
How strong should a man be physically and mentally to hold out against such an unfair ordeal? Stella had now truly understood why otherworlders were either enslaved or killed upon being discovered. And she felt guilty as his master.
If she wasn't there in time, Grant might've no longer been in this world for any longer. It was her sole duty to fully guide and orient Grant before he thrust himself into the world. But she wasn't able to do that before he delved into the forest.
"Grant... I apologize for not being able to have reached you earlier." Stella apologized to Grant who nodded. He then closed his eyes and started patiently waiting for the food.
Seeing this, Stella felt guilt eat her heart even more.
Cough! Cough!
Hado had coughed out loudly to gather everyone's attention once he saw the air turn cold and awkward between the two.
"Anyways... Please forgive my daughter's impulsiveness and lack of rational decisions. She had her reasons as to why she acts like that."
"It is alright... Beatry is a good girl and no doubt she would learn of her mistake from now." Stella reassured Hado but Grant rose an eyebrow in response.
He was curious. He wanted to know the reason why Beatry had been acting wildly on her own. From Hado's words, Grant could already tell that this wasn't a one-time thing for the redhead.
"It may be rude of me to ask but... I couldn't help but see that Beatry has great magical talent as a human. Yet why did she chose to become a rogue? Well versed in stealth, theft, and trickery. When she could've become a mage?" Stella worded out her question that bothered her since seeing Beatry's race as a half-fey and the attributes that leaned towards magic.
She didn't mention anything about seeing Beatry's race being half-fey. She thought that Hado would be jumpy about such a subject. Feys were hard to differentiate from normal humans. They looked exactly the same but different when it came to magic talent.
Feys had long since become nearly extinct. The demons had captured most of them to use as excellent partners to produce magical geniuses. And there was also that mysterious event.
Where in one night, the whole fey race had suffered. All around the globe, almost all feys succumbed to a never before heard of disease that rotted the flesh away and slowly but surely, caused their life force to be eaten out and in turn, they died.
Those that survived became extremely ugly looking bags of skin. Magical talent which was their forte had been reduced drastically, making them just a little more talented than a normal human.
Luckily, the next Fey generation was left unaffected. But the memory of such a thing still haunted the old feys that were still alive today.
'Only the old fossils know what really happened...' The blonde woman thought of asking the last few surviving feys of that incident but she soon rejected it. Those people had hidden themselves well after all.
As if they wanted to hide from the world itself. Away from any eyes that would look at their now hideous forms.
"I cannot tell you the reason behind Beatry's decision but I do share the same thoughts with you." Hado let out a disappointed sigh before looking at the kitchen which had a redheaded girl cooking food with passion in her eyes. She stole some glances of Grant every now and then, making Hado chuckle.
'You are so much like your mother little one...' Hado reminisced of his wife's memory before shaking himself awake and continued to talk to Stella more.
"I didn't want her to become a rogue, a warrior or any class that requires upfront physical endangerment. A magus was something I had envisioned for her but she shot me down every time I gave her magic spell books and a trainee's casting wand. Saying things such as "Magi suck at killing silently! Rogues do it better!"" Hado ended his words with a downcast expression and Grant listened in to this with eagerness despite his calm and cold appearance, having his eyes closed.
Stella went silent. She didn't press Hado for any answer anymore as she knew it would be rude to do so. The table of three went silent.
Grant glanced at the kitchen's direction. He then thought of the little girl.
'Interesting...' He said to himself inwardly. He was a curious fellow. Hearing of more words from Hado about Beatry had made him more interested in the girl's past.