"Ow! ow! ow! ow! ow! ow! ow!"
"Would you shut up?!"
Grant asked as he gave a particularly hard yank on the kid's ear.
"OW! Why would you go ahead and ask me to shut up if you were only going to give me a bigger reason to make noise than the one I had in the first place?!"
"Why are you so articulate? Aren't you seven?!"
Grant said as he continued to drag Trap along by the ear.
"I'm twelve!"
"Really? Cause I've met twelve-year-olds and you're the only one I've met that can screw over a nobleman in a debate."
"That's because they're a bunch of scrubs!"
Wanda's ears perked at the familiar use of language.
'I thought they didn't have technology over here.'
"What have I told you about using that kind of language in public?! Do you want to get found out?!"
"But Rascal was the one saying it!"
"Oh, really."
Grant said in a sarcastic tone.
"Well, the both of you can bring it up with Nana when I tell her."
Trap's face paled, but Wanda joined in before he could reply.
"Who's Nana?"
She asked, too tired from using her innate energy to carry the massive pile of items to care about keeping her guard up.
"She's Trap's Mom, er boss, er guardian."
Grant said as if unsure of what to call her.
"I thought you ran Trap's orphanage?"
"I do, but in the... skeletal sense."
"I run the place as in, keeping the money flowing, providing a suitable education, and taking care of whatnot needed to make the place run."
"I'm a... supplier. Most of the day to day running is done by certain Directors and caretakers, like Nana."
"So, you've never visited the kids to see how they're doing?"
Nana asked curiously as she saved the pile from a particularly nasty wobble.
"That's quite the sentiment. You come from a higher tier country? Maybe from one of the portals?"
"Yeah, I came a few years ago. You would know since you apparently were at my grand opening."
"Yeah, but there's a difference between coming here, and setting up a shop like yours. It must have taken a lot of work. That's impressive."
He said while ignoring the irony being summoned by his rich man aura.
"Thanks."
"Your welcome."
"..."
"..."
For a while, they just walked through the town in silence. As they passed through the streets and allies, they saw a gradual change.
A little less filth, a little more integrity.
Slowly the scenery changed and they were walking in one of the more upscale parts of town.
The people were better dressed, the buildings were shinier, even the filth that ran through the gutters of the medieval town looked as if it was turning up its nose at people.
"How much longer?"
Wanda asked as she strained against the pile.
Grant turned to look at her and took some of the bags off without letting go of Trap.
"Not much longer. Sorry about that, I forgot that not everyone has my stamina."
"It's alright."
She said as Grant took off half the load with one hand.
'What the f*** has he been doing? I thought mages were supposed to be weak without magic.'
"Let's go, you little trouble maker."
Grant said before continuing to drag Trap by the ear despite his protests and many ow's.