"When I regained consciousness, I discovered that I was in an enclosed space. Only after I heard the noise and felt the motion did I realize that I was in a carriage.
I tried to move, but the slightest movement caused me pain. I guessed it must have been due to the turbulent waves that battered my body after we jumped down that waterfall.
I wanted to go outside and search if the person driving was Uncle Benny. But I was having trouble gathering strength, so I kept resting till I fell asleep. I had also made an effort to use the tiny bit of energy I had felt earlier to assist me get through the discomfort before going to sleep.
The next time I opened my eyes, it was already morning. Although my body continued to feel frail, the ache was gone.
The moment I considered leaving, the carriage stopped. Soon, I heard some footsteps coming closer, as the door to the carriage opened amidst my anticipation.
A young man entered my vision. It was Bolance. He was surprised to see me awake, while I was disappointed to find the person not being Uncle Benny.
Finally, I asked him about how I came there, to which he simply replied that an injured person had handed me over to him before leaving.
There was nothing wrong with his answer, but his inexperienced face made it clear to me that he was hiding something. But I was weak and vulnerable at that moment, so I clearly knew better than arguing with the person who was supposedly my benefactor.
In addition, he informed me that he was going to Nulis City, and that I could decide to leave after reaching there. Nevertheless, he also informed me that the person who had brought me to him had requested that he take care of me, allowing me to rest in his home for however long I desired.
My impression of him improved with that, as I was also somewhat assured about my future.
We travelled like that for a few days before the city walls appeared in our sights.
Even though our interactions were limited to mealtimes, I had learned that he belonged to the Safaira family, a prominent merchant family in the city. He was actually returning from his trip to adjacent towns and cities when he ran across Uncle Benny and me.
I was startled that he was travelling by himself, to which he embarrassedly answered that all of his fellow merchants had abandoned him before they departed. Actually, it was a gathering of young merchants from various large and small families belonging to the adjacent towns.
A minor conflict between him and a young master of a merchant house that was relatively well-known caused him to be chased out of the group. Even the guards he had hired were attracted by them using money.
He had no other option except to deviate from the path the others were taking, and he eventually got lost and ran into Uncle Benny.
I could see that he was a stubborn person. But he was not very witty when it came to social interactions.
He was already lucky enough to survive on the way back without encountering any danger.
Soon, we arrived at the city. He then told me that he would make arrangements for me to stay at his store. He said he wasn't sure how his family would react if he took me home.
I could tell that the real reason was him being apprehensive of something or someone. He probably didn't want to invite any kind of trouble back home.
Not that I minded. Since I likewise didn't want to deal with a group of random strangers, I was more than ready to comply.
Just like that, I spent a few weeks in a shop belonging to the Safaira family.
Throughout that time, I never left the building, and the only people I spoke to were the staff employed to look after the shop.
At that time, the city was in a tense state. Even without leaving the store, I could feel the tension. It was not bad enough to affect the whole city, but the area covered by the Safaira family seemed to be in the range of its influence.
Bolance hadn't shown his face for a while. He had kept visiting me initially, or more like, he did it out of convenience, since he was visiting the store anyway. He was clearly not the type to pay much attention to others' moods.
That day was a bit different though. Most of the servants had left and only a few who resided within the store besides me were left.
It was just past midnight. I was having trouble sleeping, as my anxiety to confirm Lady Faustina and Uncle Benny's safety hadn't lessened one bit. I didn't know where to go, though. In fact, I didn't even know how to get back to our village, or even my former town. Even the best maps around here provided no indication of the location of the waterfall we had leapt off of. It was a wonder how far Uncle Benny had swum down the river. Not finding any further clues, all I could think of was to follow the river upstream and start my search from the spot where Bolance and Uncle Benny first met.
I heard some noise outside my room as I was deciding whether or not to leave the city.
I was a bit worried as I had heard about the conflict between the two families from the servants. Considering how hostile they were to each other's existence, breaking into a store to commit theft and arson was not out of the picture.
Nonetheless, I was aware that I could not stand by while whatever was taking place continued, because the servants there were just ordinary people. They wouldn't be able to handle whoever the intruder was, if the person turned out to be an energy practitioner.
So, gathering my courage, I made my way out.
The noise I had heard earlier was coming from the vacant guest room next to mine.
The door was left open, but it was dark inside. I could smell some alcohol. The odor grew dense as I walked in.
I finally entered the room but found it empty. But just to be safe, I moved towards the switchboard.
But before I could reach it, I stumbled into someone.
I panicked a bit, believing that it was the intruder. I didn't shout, though. In the event that something did go wrong, I knew there was no one else who could save me, besides myself.
My body moved by instinct, as my leg had already shot forward with all the strength I had.
I heard a groan. Before I could take further action, my legs paused as I found the voice to be a little familiar.
I seized the opportunity and swiftly turned on the lights, only to discover Bolance sitting on the floor and clutching his stomach in pain. His appearance was disheveled. Normally, he would try his best to look like an honest merchant. It was my first time seeing him in such a ruffled state.
Realizing my mistake, I hurriedly apologized. Trying to help him to stand up, I finally realized where that smell of alcohol was coming from.
While he was a bit drunk, he was at least able to stand on his feet.
In response to my apology, he only waved his hand and hurried over to the couch. He took something out of his storage bag right away after taking a seat. It was a bottle of liquor. Then he took out another, and another, till I was certain that it was going to be a troublesome night.
I hurriedly stepped forward to stop him, as the last thing I wanted was for him to get even drunk and make trouble for us.
But each of my attempts was unsuccessful. He appeared to want to move past something, and it was obvious that he was trying to drown his sorrows in alcohol.
I could only sit beside him helplessly, in case he decided to drink himself to death. I couldn't just turn a blind eye to my benefactor's plight, could I?
That's how I sat for a few minutes until he suddenly began speaking. He wasn't talking to me; he was talking to himself.
As I pieced together his disjointed words, I realized he was blabbering about some woman causing him to suffer some kind of loss; asking how she could do that to him; and that he was doing it for them.
Having heard similar things before, my mind went towards the case of a man having his heart broken by a woman.
Developing some sympathy for the poor man. I also wanted him to stop drinking because he didn't appear to be doing so anytime soon.
It was as if he had only discovered my presence just then. He began by apologizing with his trademark merchant smile. Too bad his drunk state made it look uglier than crying.
He then invited me to join him for a drink. Obviously, I refused.
But he became depressed as he grabbed the bottle and began to chug it down. He only stopped after a long swig, then began muttering something about how that day was probably his worst day; no one seemed to agree with his ideas at all. Overall, he appeared to be prepared to get drunk in order to forget his troubles.
I was taken aback by his actions and had no idea what to do. Then a thought occurred to me. I reasoned that accompanying him to drink might help me calm him down. Then I will talk him out of his sorrow and make him sleep. "Good plan!" was what I had thought as I considered the idea.
I didn't realize how much trouble I'd gotten myself into; one that would deprive me of any chance of leaving this city."
Loreana then paused, staring at nothing. "Perhaps it was a mistake," she speculated.
Turning to look at Crystal, she said, "Perhaps it wasn't."
Crystal gave her a puzzled look. Meanwhile, Anom's lips curled as he realized where this conversation was headed.
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Shoutout to Phillip Wallace for becoming the first Chaos Controller on my Patreon!
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