Upon leaving the building, my eyes were met with the illusion of a sparkly night sky given to us by the tree. Despite how late it looked, there were still large groups of people walking around and socializing, almost as if they had no idea about the dangers that lurked just outside the town.
"The elder's house is just over there." The cleric pointed towards the large building located at the center of the town.
Just by looking at the building, I could tell it played a significant role in the town. From what I could see, the building had two floors which made it bigger than any of the other houses I had gone by so far. The walls to the first floor were made of stone bricks. As for the second floor, the wooden walls seemed to pop out a little, supported by wooden beams which were located near the corners of the house.
"So what's this town elder guy like?" I asked, looking away from the building and towards the cleric who still hasn't given me his name yet.
"Well as his name suggests, he's pretty old. He also taught me everything I know about healing magic. I suggest you hide Bea until I get everything cleared up with him." The cleric looked over at Bea and signaled her to hind behind me and Steven.
The cleric signaled us to stay back as he walked ahead of us and knocked on the door three times. We stood there for a couple seconds and were only met with crickets chirping.
"Hey, Pops! I've brought some outsiders!"
Pops?
The door suddenly flung open, catching everyone off guard. Standing inside the door frame was an old man with a long grey beard. On his face, he wore round glasses. As for the old man's outfit, he wore a white robe along with a golden necklace that held onto a religious symbol.
"What's this about you finding some outsiders, Theo?" The old man looked over the cleric's shoulders and saw me and Steven standing there quietly.
The old man's eyes widened, "well I'll be… I can't remember the last time I've seen an outsider actually make it to the town!"
The old man had a big grin on his face as he was about to step towards us but suddenly stopped. The smile on his face soon faded and was replaced with an expression which filled me with dread.
"Wait a second, will you?!" The cleric rushed over to the old man and placed his hand atop his shoulder.
"The weapons that boy carries are the same ones used to strike down my child and your brother. There's also a monster disguised like a human standing right behind him. I expect a good explanation and I want it now."
"They're the ones who killed that monster!"
The old man looked over at Theo, "what did you say?"
I took a step forward, "I defeated Takamori and he gave me these two swords as a reward along with all of his treasure. As for the "monster" behind me, that's Bea and she most definitely isn't a monster."
"You're lying. She gives off the same aura as those wild beasts."
"Okay, yes, she was born as a monster but she's nothing like them. Steven and I wouldn't have even made it this far if it weren't for her."
Steven quickly began nodding his head as a way to back me up.
The elder took a deep breath before relaxing himself, causing all the tension in the air to vanish. He gave Bea an apologetic look before focusing his attention on me.
"No no… you're right. Even though I can tell this girl isn't a human, she definitely has the heart of one. I apologize for jumping to conclusions so quickly." The town elder lowered his head as a way to apologize.
"No no, it's fine. You said earlier that these blades were used to strike down your own son so I'd probably react the same if I were in your own shoes." I said, frantically trying to get the elder to raise his head back up.
"Please, do come in and explain to me you and your friend's situations." The elder said, gesturing us to enter the house.