As Winona leaned in to have a more intimate conversation with Freida, she beamed at her. "Yes, of course. Yet when we were apart, you caused me a great deal of anxiety. Where did everything go wrong on your end?" Winona finally decided to inquire about it.
However, Freida looked at Winona with such bewilderment that she chose to stand there rather than respond. Seeing her and Hrod again, much less being reunited with them, was an unbelievable possibility.
She thought for sure Winona wouldn't survive the final explosion. She didn't believe it at first, but then she recalled Hrod's words that Winona had a bantao incantacion that would shield her from harm, and she realized that an explosive of that kind wouldn't even scratch her.
"Hello? Freida? Are you deaf?" Winona repeated her inquiry to Freida. With her hands resting on her waist, Winona stared at her expectantly.
On the other hand, Hrod was now assisting with reinstalling the barrels.
As Freida's mind was still in the state of daydream, Winona walked closer to her and finally answered, "I understand why you're reacting that way. No, I didn't pass away. Now, get hold of your senses."
When Freida finally responded, she did her best to hide the tears that were welling up in her eyes.
"You had me worrying a lot."
For a split second, Winona's eyes widened. When Freida, whom they had only just met, told them that she was worried about them, Freida acted as if they were close friends, and she was stunned.
Fascinated, she considered how someone she barely knew could care so much about her well-being.
Winona encircled Freida with open arms before the latter could even begin sobbing in her presence. After that, Winona felt a subtle tremor go through her. It was then that she realized Freida was just trying to appear tough.
She had been putting on a brave front, but she was actually quite scared and vulnerable on the inside. Winona understood how she felt and didn't blame her. This sort of emotion was certainly possible, even for a human being like her.
"Did you travel this far to elongate the drama? This morning's show was all I could take." Yajel, who had grown tired of watching the unfolding drama between Freida and Winona, cut off their emotional reunion.
They both gave him looks that said he shouldn't have interrupted their conversation. Winona was the one to take the initiative and question Yajel on the spot, saying, "Should I be thanking you then? I suppose if it wasn't for what I did, then you wouldn't be able to escape the army back there."
"I could get out of here without any help from you." In a boastful tone, Yajel declared.
Winona laughed devilishly and asked, "What gives you the idea that you can do it all by yourself? If we hadn't intervened, you'd be spending all day in jail ranting about how terrible the world is." She wasn't going to be held back by Yajel or anyone else of his ilk.
Hrod successfully interceded between them as Yajel was about to double down on what Winona had told him. "Enough with the two of you. When will the two of you ever reconcile?" he asked.
And both Yajel and Winona answered, "Never!" in unison. Their heated discussion eventually resumed. And the calm that prevailed for a while has given way to a fresh round of bickering.
After that, Hrod could only sigh. It appears that he won't be able to act as a go-between for them. Whenever the two of them are together, he has to play peacemaker, and that has become a source of stress for him.
He couldn't keep track of how many times he had to mediate between his wife and his longtime friend Yajel to prevent them from killing each other. However, a duel would be inevitable if he continued in this manner. Hrod would let them fight a losing battle until they were completely spent.
The reasoning behind their disagreements was usually absurd or unfounded. Since it was the two of them bickering, however, it quickly escalated into a fight to the death.
Hrod, having given up hope of reconciling their differences, took Freida outside to wait for them to settle their differences on their own.
With Yajel staying behind, Freida was concerned about leaving Winona. She wondered if Winona would be okay if she went out on her own. She may have possessed one of the bantao powers, but with Yajel's offensive abilities, she would be in danger.
You must be thinking that you made a mistake by leaving Winona behind. Hrod broke the uncomfortable silence that had been lingering between them. Not to mention the fact that Freida's mind was currently somewhere else, probably with Winona back at the ship's hatch.
Until now, Freida was still getting used to Hrod's presence, so all she could do was nod in response. It wasn't like every day she had to encounter such a creature until she arrived in Paradexia.
After a while, she eventually asked Hrod, "Are they always like this?"
"Exactly what do you mean? Arguing?"
"Yes."
"They rarely have an argument like this before."
"What were they before? Lovers?"
An awkward silence followed Freida's last questions. She could feel it. But then, he was trying to contain his laughter so as not to ruin the moment.
He gathered his composure before answering and said, "They weren't lovers. That was just something I often teased Winona about because her attention had been more focused on him than me whenever the three of us met."
Suddenly, Freida felt guilty for even bringing it up. Hrod must have been keeping his true feelings to himself, and now she felt bad that he had to admit it.
"I'm sorry for asking. I didn't mean to–"
"It's fine. Not that it mattered or anything."
Hrod opened his mouth wide again after another moment of stillness, accompanied by the gentle breeze of sea wind that kissed their skin. "The two of them used to be comrades that should have participated in the Paladin tournament."
After hearing this unexpected detail about Yajel and Winona, Freida's focus shifted to Hrod. She wondered what could have happened between the two of them to make them argue so frequently.
However, if Hrod had not offered to tell her about it, Freida would have preferred that he not. Yet, despite her not prompting him to do so, he started chatting away anyway.
"A few years ago, at the beginning of the Paladin tournament. I couldn't even begin to guess how many years had passed, but the memory was seared into both of our minds like fresh wounds."
"What happened during that time, if you don't mind my asking?"
Once again, Hrod cast his gaze upon Freida. He snorted and it looked like mist was coming out of his nose, as if he was trying to throw her off the scent that he was against her asking.
"Yajel was responsible for the death of Winona's older brother, Trauss. It occurred right as the Paladin Tournament got underway. Being the fierce competitors that they were, Yajel and Trauss breezed through the first round.
Both Yajel and Trauss inherited their father's proficiency with blades, so they were both exceptionally adept at using them. And it was Winona's father who taught Yajel how to fight like a pro. You could say that Yajel grew up with Winona and Trauss back then."
"Didn't Yajel have a family?"
"As far as I can recall, Winona mentioned to me that he had been abandoned as a young child. Winona's father kept him as a runner in his small blacksmith shop until he liked him and put him through swordsmanship training with his son, Trauss."
The two proceeded to stroll further across Yajel's massive wooden ship's deck. It was a huge, top-notch sailing ship. One can only assume that with all the smuggled weapons and explosives on board, this ship was indeed ready to start a naval war at any moment.
As they continue with their walk, Hrod continues to elaborate on the situation for Freida. " After making it to the quarterfinals, however, things changed. As the tournament progressed, the Commandos made a hasty decision to alter the rules. They're looking for a larger volume of blood to spill throughout the arena. As a result, they would be forced into a final, fatal showdown. A battle to the death."
"Battle to the death? You mean, one must die so that the other can be declared the winner?" Inquired Freida.
"Exactly. And nobody from the qualifiers were allowed to withdraw from the competition. The worst part, however, was yet to come." Hrod paused abruptly in the middle of his story.
Soon after, Freida halted her stroll to look back at Hrod, who had turned to face the ocean. She walked over to where he was standing and asked, "Why? What happened after that?"
Hrod turned his head in Freida's direction, and she felt a chill run down her spine at the sound of his reply…