*Tsuki Shizukana*
"Do you not fear that he might betray you and give our possible pursuers information?" I asked Niam.
"I don't fear anything. I even want Nikolas to talk."
Niam hid the real reason behind his action. It was not because he didn't trust me, it was because of these unknown pursuers.
After getting to know Niam better, I was able to guess why he did certain things. In this case, he might've suspected that the more they knew about us, the faster they would show themselves and reveal their true intentions.
"Not long until we arrive at old Lebanon. We need to find someone who speaks English and have them help us find my grandfather or uncle."
***
We walked through the last forest that separated us from reaching our destination. It was midday and the sun shined through the tree-crowns. The plants radiated their healthy-green color, something that wasn't quite a usual sight before the impact. After the 3rd World War, technology caused a drastic decline in nature's health. But now that technology couldn't work anymore, and energy sources such as petrol weren't of any use, nature flourished again in all its colors.
Once we stepped out of the forest, our eyes met the capital of old Lebanon. The buildings that didn't survive the impact were excavated and supported from within to create a retail row for stores that sold all kinds of things. There were hundreds of people on the streets, many looked happy.
'They adapted to their new lives, but aren't many of them still grieving?' I wondered.
When we approached the busy streets of old Lebanon's capital, the residents didn't look at us with indifference. They didn't care if we were strangers, they went along with their days unless they were spoken to.
Niam approached a young man in our age, his skin was as dark as Niam's and he looked lean even through his work-clothes. His black hair was combed up and stood out.
"Do you speak English?" Niam asked the stranger.
"A little. I know who can properly." He answered and signaled us to follow him.
He guided us through the retail row. Strong earth pillars supported the collapsed building's weight and candles illuminated the inside of the collapsed building. The appearance of this place was unworldly, nothing I'd seen in my life looked as close to this. Instead of making it look like a typical street full of stores, the people here created a new infrastructure using what was available.
The young man stopped in front of a greengrocer. The greengrocer was surrounded by many plants and all the water that was used to water them flowed down a self-made drain.
["Brother, there are strangers that speak English."] The young man voiced in his language.
["Say you swear!"] A voice called bak.
["I swear!"]
Not long after, an older looking version of the young man that led us here appeared.
"Hello, I'm Ram. This is my younger brother, Hafe." He introduced himself and his brother.
"Nice to meet you, Ram, Hafe. I'm Niam and this is my companion. I am on a journey to find my grandpa and uncle, they live here in old Lebanon." Niam revealed his intentions.
"I see. Your clothes tell me you came from afar. Why not relax here for a bit. I'm sure your relatives would like to see you squeaky-clean." Ram responded.
"Where might we do that?" Niam asked.
"Here, of course. Come in! This is my greengrocer. But there is also a small apartment for daily use. [Hafe, take care of the store.]"
The earthy interior became wooden once we walked long enough through Ram's greengrocer. Every corner was filled with buckets, tools and plants. Ram and Hafe seemed to dedicate a lot of their energy into this greengrocer.
'I want to ask Niam if he thinks that Ram might've hidden intentions. I can't while Ram is here though.'
As if reading my mind, Niam, who walked closely behind Ram, turned his head and nodded. If I were to put his gesture into words, it would come out like this: Someone dedicated to nature has pure intentions. 'I hung too much around Niam, I'm starting to think just like him, uugh.' I complained. I found it a bit funny also.
"There is the bathroom. There, the kitchen, and at the end of the dark hallway, an empty room to reorganize. I'm going to go back. I need to take care of the store." Ram explained and walked away.
I was surprised by his hospitality. It was different than Nikolas'.
"Simple and true hospitality. No intentions, no worries, no fear. He saw my ripped clothes and the dry blood on my pants. His faith is the reason for this."
***
We washed up, cleaned our clothes and ate. It became late, the dark retail row became even darker.
"Is it too late to ask around?" I asked Ram.
"For Niam's family? No, of course not. The night is the time this city truly wakes up. Tell Niam to come, we'll go to a cafe were the elders of this city gather at."
After Niam and I walked out the greengrocer, Ram asked for information.
"What is your family name, Niam?"
"Noor."
"Oh..." Ram's face lost color.
*Niam Henka*
'I can't have a normal family, can I? Ram is scared shitless after I told him my father's family name.'
Ram still walked us to the cafe. It looked like the Inn we stayed at after crossing Siran Bridge, minus the alcohol, the music and the female waitress. Only middle-aged to old men sat in the cafe and drank tea and smoke cigarettes.
["Uncle, is Marik available?"]
Ram spoke with a waiter.
["He might be. Why?"]
["This kid is a Noor."]
"Oh..."
Ram signaled us to follow him. 'These brothers are so alike. Unlike my brother and I. They have the same walk and same gestures.'
["Uncle Marik, this is really important."]
Ram spoke to a white-haired old man who had bulging muscles on every inch of his body. 'Age must've not affected him.'
The men that sat at the same table as the muscular, old man stood up and left after being told to do so.
"Niam, he asks you to sit. He is our elder, uncle Marik."
After Ram introduced Marik. Me and him exchanged a firm handshake. We all sat at the table after.
["He is looking for his family."] Ram spoke.
["I can already guess, son. Vicious look, but calm. Noor?"]
["Yes."]
["Translate."]
"My father's name is Nahdi Noor. I'm looking for his father and brother."
["He is the traitor's son."] Ram translated.
["First, let's talk about you. Who are you and where did you start your journey?"]
"He wants you to talk about yourselves first. He wants names and where you come from."
'Is he really trying to waste my time? They all seem to know who my relatives are. Why hesitate if their reputation causes fear in their hearts?'
"Niam Henka, I come from Central Superio. My family is dead and I want to make sure there is still someone alive. You aren't going to get any information from her. This is a guarantee."
Ram looked even more worried at this point.
["Niam Henka is from Central Superio. He hides his companion's identity and guaranteed that we won't know anything about her."]
["Ask him if he has ever heard about his family's history. He carries a sword, a foreign one, he might not follow their tradition. Even his family name, 'Henka', was not passed onto him."]
"What do you know about your father's family?"
"Why can't you just tell me where they are? I know you know."
["He wants to know their whereabouts."]
["Only if he tells us what he knows, he might be a fake. Tell him exactly that."]
Ram hesitated to translate for a moment, but my and Marik's sharp gaze made him speak.
"Ugh... Ugh.. He won't tell you unless you tell us about the Noor family, fact-check to see if you're a fake."
'A fake? Really? I will just-'
I imbued Mana into Ram and Marik's chairs and created a gravitation point on the edge of the table with Independent-Control. Then, I let the chairs gravitate towards the table, trapping them both in the process.
The had trouble breathing, even a commotion started around us after the men saw what was happening.
"Tell them if they don't walk out of this cafe, I will kill you and as many of them as possible." I placed a Shoto on Ram's neck.