"I knew that red hair was familiar," a deceitful smile was given to Grisia and an odd grin to Kairo. "Who is this?" the petite, brown-haired girl rudely pointed at Kairo.
As Kairo was about to respond for himself, Grisia answered in monotone, "This is Kairo. Now, give it back to him."
"Aww, how did you see? You got an eye behind your head or something?" she put her hand over her mouth to show her surprise, but Grisia knew she was hiding a mocking smile instead.
Her face was getting cheekier by the second.
"An eye behind his head?! That would make a lot of sense..." Kairo responded.
"No, I didn't see. I simply know you," Grisia replied.
"You know me so well, how sweet!" the girl cheerfully said.
"Not a compliment," Grisia retorted.
"Wait, did he genuinely believe me about the eye comment? This Kairo kid is hilarious," the girl snickered.
"Stop stalling and give it back to him already," Grisia was disgruntled, his hand finding its way on his forehead.
But Kairo couldn't let her little comment pass by him. "Kid? I'm older than you, missy," Kairo was starting to understand that this Sia person was going to be hard to deal with. Her bratty nature was challenging, it's the first time he met such a character.
"Really? I'm actually fifteen years old, heh!" Kairo was taken aback by this information. Noticing this, the girl smirked proudly.
"But... you're so small..." Kairo tactlessly commented with disbelief.
"Hey!" the girl barked back.
"Her name is Aisia and she's only nine," Grisia nonchalantly blurted out.
"Pops!" the girl yelled.
"Nine?! Why would you lie about your age?" Kairo's face showed the sincere betrayal he felt.
"Doesn't matter, you believed it, that means you do think that I'm more mature than you! Hah!"
"Curses, she's right," Kairo turned his eyes to the ground as he held his face in defeat, seriously considering that Aisia had a point.
Amused by his honest nature, Aisia made an off-handed remark, "I really like this schmuck. Where'd you find him?"
"Doesn't matter. Also, give it back to him."
"Aww, shucks. I thought you'd forget eventually."
"Give me back what?" Kairo was confused about what the two had been referring to all this time.
"Ugh, here," Aisia grumpily handed Kairo's pouch back. It was the pouch that contained the coins he salvaged from the village.
"Ah," the pouch was crudely dropped onto Kairo's joined hands.
He proceeded to sound like he got the wind knocked out of him as he realized what just happened. That was all his money, stolen without him even noticing. If it wasn't for Grisia, he would be penniless in such a large city. Once he was back to his senses, he put down his container in a panic and hurried to check what else was stolen from him.
"Your skills need polishing since I still saw through you, but as someone who has yet to live for a decade, you are already beyond my expectations, Sia," Grisia ruffled her hair, her ponytail becoming slightly undone. "You do not need to prove yourself any more."
"Hrr...! Hey, watch the hair, pops!" Aisia exclaimed, slapping away the leather gloves Grisia wore on his hands.
"You know, you call me 'pops', but I'm not that old, I'm only thirty-five... oh god, I am old—" Grisia thought to himself as he stood frozen, but he snapped out of it immediately and continued on with what he was saying, "Don't get too cocky and get yourself into trouble where I won't be able to save you."
"Zip it! I'm not trying to prove anything! I'm stealing because I want to!" she yelled to his face. "Okay, actually, forget about that last part, I realized what I said after I said it," she said calmly, but still loud enough so that the passersby who heard her yelling would be able to hear her clarification.
Grisia was left speechless. "I know that she has been behaving like a brat lately, but is this what they call a daughter's rebellious phase?" he thought to himself.
Kairo was finally done with his inventory check and returned his container on his back.
"What an interesting contraption..." Aisia mumbled under her breath, crossing her arms and puckering up her lips in interest as she observed Kairo equip his wooden container on his back.
"Come, let us head to my residence. You can think about what to do next from there, Kairo," Grisia suggested, to which Kairo silently nodded in agreement.
Aisia was a bit surprised by Grisia's suggestion but kept her thoughts to herself. Grisia didn't usually like visitors as he tended to keep to himself.
They marched together on a narrow road, quite unlike the main road of the slums. The air was stuffier somehow and the streets were quieter, even though there were more people compared to the main road earlier.
The lurkers' eyes pierce not the trio's own eyes but their belongings. Grisia and Aisia were experienced with those gazes each on their way and were unbothered. Meanwhile, Kairo's uneasiness was easily showing from his shifty eyes.
Kairo knew their intentions from their gaze, but he found himself lost in thought focusing on another element of their demeanor, the cause.
He slightly felt like he was like them in a sort of a twisted way.
Just as his life was stolen from him by mysterious robed figures, their shot at life were stolen from them by the greedy. People who thought more about themselves and were self-aggrandizing to the point of leaving nothing but scraps as leftovers for the remaining populace.
Kairo read the few books they had back home, many of them were tales about the clash between classes, the struggles of the poor, and the foolishness of the wealthy, as well as eavesdropping on his father and his friends' drunken conversations where they complain about the higher class.
Thinking about this, Kairo knew he didn't have time to worry about other people. He had his own problems that he needed to work on. The attack on the village, his survival, figuring out his next step in the city— He chose to worry about himself first, he was not in any spot to help anyone he didn't know anyway. He found it a pathetic excuse, but it wasn't like it was true compassion to act under the pretense of guilt instead anyway.
His parents always told him to help when he could, but he didn't know how he would be able to help these people in a way that mattered, in a way that would last.
He could give them all the measly coins he had, but that would be like throwing grains of sand at a bottomless well. That might help them for a day, but what about the next day, and the next? There were deep-rooted issues he couldn't even fathom.
For now, he had his own goals to reach.
Kairo closed his eyes for a moment before steeling himself in his stride. His eyes were now following the backs of Grisia and Aisia with minimal regard for the ones that were all over him. Because of this self-assurance, fewer people were continuing to leer at him as he looked less self-conscious, less vulnerable.
One thing he thought he could do was study these people, the kingdom, and how those two things functioned in tandem.
If he did that, he would know if he could do something about it or give himself peace of mind that he wouldn't be able to do anything. That way, he would never have to feel like this whenever he treads upon these poverty-stricken alleyways.
He hated this feeling, this feeling of wanting to help but not being able to or know how to.
Grisia noticed Kairo so deep in thought that Kairo didn't even notice his glance.
They made multiple turns in the slums until finally, they were nearing the marketplace, an area which Kairo was familiar with. Afterwards, they must go through the residential area, then finally, the gates to the lands where nobles live.
While they were traveling on a less foul alleyway, Kairo started, "I know that our original deal was only until we reached the kingdom, but I don't really know much about the city yet, or any cities for that matter. May I trouble you to follow you on your stay here?" he pleaded to Grisia.
Aisia pondered to herself, crossing her arms in disbelief at the idea. But then she silently shrugged.
"Heh, that's impossible," she thought to herself, bearing a smug smirk with her eyes closed, fully confident in her years together with Grisia. "Grisia would never easily agree to something as selfish as that. Either he owes you big time or he's off his rockers! Besides, he's got ME to worry about and take care of. Now, begone, little boy!" she then made a shooing gesture.
"Sure," Grisia replied to Kairo.
"Ah."
"A thousand gratitude. I am grateful for all that you've done for me since we met!" Kairo placed his hand on his own chest as he slightly bowed his head.
Dumbfounded, Aisia simply stood there witnessing Grisia get closer to a stranger she had never met before.
There was a sense of defeat and competitiveness clashing inside of her, both growing like flames trying to overcome each other. "What is this feeling?" she thought. Watching them interact together like this and without her felt like something was rising from within her. It was like something precious was being stolen right in front of her eyes, until finally, reaching a critical state, she noticed something that made her forget about those infantile feelings for now.
And so she sniffed him.
"Uwah—!" an unspeakable discomfort sprung up from within Kairo. He tried to avoid Aisia but it seemed she was relentless in sussing something out. "Is this... a common behavior in kingdoms that we from the sticks don't know about?" Kairo asked Grisia.
"No. I also think she is being strange."
"I smell... dirty money on you that isn't yours," she said after she finally stopped sniffing Kairo. "You're a thief too, aren't you?" she made a mischievous grin.
"Uhh..." Kairo started to sweat like a criminal that had been caught red-handed.
He was trying to keep his emergency coin stash a secret. He started to think back to when his stash was stolen, trying to figure out if she ever got a glimpse of it. At the time, it didn't seem like she did. But even if she did, why was she only bringing it up now? These thoughts raced in Kairo's mind.
"Hooo? You don't seem to be looking too good, Kairo boy," one of her eyebrows raised in amusement. She looked pleased with herself.
Her lips creased outward as she bent forward with crossed arms to examine Kairo further. "Well? Speak up! Cat got your tongue?"
"That cheeky grin of hers is starting to creep up again," Grisia thought to himself.
Seeing Kairo having trouble with Aisia, Grisia interjected, "Sia, I know you have a gifted sense of smell, but this is a bit too much, even for me."
"That's beyond having a good sense of smell! She can smell the dried blood of my neighbors on some coins inside a pouch, for crying out loud!" Kairo screamed in his thoughts.
"And you still haven't answered my question! Where did you find this kid?!" she turned to Grisia.
"I'll tell you later," Grisia's tone was the same as it usually was, but both Kairo and Aisia somehow found it grim this time.
"Alright, fine." she said, backing down. "But at least tell me why you're back so soon?! Didn't you tell me it might take a week for you to come back from a quest?"
"Umm, maybe I should stay out of this," Kairo uttered, backing away from the two.
"Sia, we'll talk later. Not right now," the gravity in Grisia's words kept getting stronger, but Aisia still kept at it.
"I asked the lady in the guild what quest you took, and she said something about saving some remote villages from being annihilated?" as Aisia turned to Kairo's unassuming face, she saw signs of past anguish that she recognized from some of the hardened mercenaries that she talked to sometimes.
Her nine year old brain suddenly got to turning and realized that she should have heeded Grisia's warnings and kept her mouth shut. "Oh. Oh no," Grisia sighed as he knew that Aisia realized the answer to her questions.
"Is he...?"
Hearing all of this, remembering how earlier, Grisia might've known about his situation, and seeing both of their reactions now, Kairo was also able to piece it together.
"I'm sorry," Grisia started. "I am partly to blame. If only I had arrived there sooner. I could have prevented or at least mitigated your suffering."
"No," Kairo uttered. Grisia met with Kairo's eyes. He finally saw Kairo look at him without complete deference. "It's not your fault," out of nowhere, Grisia felt a drive from within Kairo's eyes.
A drive that had a hint of malice.
"This is..." Grisia realized something about Kairo, but his thoughts were cut off by Kairo's speech.
"You were only trying to help. I am thankful that at least help was going to come eventually," suddenly, Grisia felt Kairo's aura turn more sinister.
A handful of passersby felt something was off in Kairo's general direction. The hair in their arms rose and shivers went down their spines.
"The fault lies in those who chose to steal the lives of my friends and family," Kairo's resolute expression slowly turned into a malicious glare full of hatred.
"I'll never forgive them. I'll butcher them all."
Aisia witnessed Kairo's face and got intimidated. It was worse than the usual mercenary mug she was used to.
To her, the feeling Kairo gave off at this certain time felt foul, unnerving. Like there was something deeply wrong with him. Somehow, she could also smell this feeling in the air.
Grisia thought that there was something off about Kairo as well. It seemed to him as if Kairo had felt this for so long, as if this animosity had been tempered for years and years.
"Geez, you've got issues, man," Aisia commented, trying to play off the anxiety she was feeling.
Kairo may have been looking at Grisia while they were talking, but as he was blinded by hatred, he failed to realize the glint behind Grisia's eyes. Was it pity, or was it something else? Regardless of Kairo's consolation for Grisia in his rant, Grisia still felt responsible for the fate that befell upon Kairo.
He decided to train Kairo for the hunt for his offenders.
"Your feelings do not match up to your capabilities," Grisia told Kairo bluntly, to which Kairo looked down in anger. Though, he knew that Grisia was right, but he didn't know what else to do but to simply find a weapon and throw himself against one of those red robed figures.
"So, I'll train you."
Kairo's eyes widened as he looked up to Grisia.
For a moment, Kairo perceived time as if it was slower, he felt his world open up and broaden. At the same time, he felt his left eye twitch. It felt heavy for a second, as if something lost was somehow present there once again.
He felt it up with his hand momentarily but then the sensation went away.
"Are you okay, Kairo?" asked Grisia.
"Y...Yes, sir. Huh, well that was odd," Kairo said, dismissing it. "Thank you, sir. I will try to keep up with you!"
Grisia raised an eyebrow at Kairo's sudden change in behavior. That misty aura of his also vanished along with it.
Aisia noticed this too but didn't think too much of it because she was too keen to say, "Hey, before you go on chasing MY Grisia, you will have to keep up with me first," she pointed towards herself with pride.
"I've been meaning to ask, sir. Is she your daughter or...? Who is this sassy, lost child?"
"Lost child—? NO! Also, I'm not this guy's daughter," she rolled her eyes towards Grisia, her thumb following her eyes, gesturing that he should explain further.
"We're not at all related by blood. I simply found her and took care of her. But I do consider her my own daughter."
"Don't say embarrassing stuff like that! But... well, I DO don't thank you enough for what you do for me, and hearing this Kairo boy be grateful to you... just— thank you! Okay?" she turned away from them as she crossed her arms, closing her eyes, hoping that she wasn't blushing, but alas, her reddening ears betray her.
She could feel her ears warming up.
Amidst all the spunk and mischievous attitude, Kairo thought that deep inside her lay an adorable, tolerable creature after all.
She then turned to Kairo and spoke, "Remember, Kairo, Grisia is MY pops, you can't steal him away from me!"
"Madame. I just lost my family," Kairo replied.
Grisia grimaced a bit from this exchange. Aisia's eyes widened and her jaw dropped after receiving that critical hit. He started to feel sorry for her and where she had steered the conversation. He couldn't really blame Aisia though, she merely got caught in the moment, and Kairo's response wasn't exactly perfect either.
In any case, he was simply elated that he heard Aisia's feelings towards him. It made him smile, even if it was only for a little bit. He hoped that Kairo could see that his daughter may have some problems with her demeanor, but she is not a bad person.
"Oh... w-well, Grisia here is very reliable!" she chuckled nervously. "So, actually, it's fine if we share him! Yeah," for the first time since their meeting, Aisia did not feel in control of the conversation.
"Oi, oi. Hold your horses, little missy. You're grounded."
"WHAT."
"I told you— twice— in my serious voice that we will talk later, but you kept yappering. Look at what happened. I was planning to tell him some time in the future," Grisia sighed. "Not that I was good at keeping it hidden either."
"What serious voice?! You always sound the same! I wasn't sure if it was serious or not! Kairo, did you notice?"
"Kind of. I wasn't sure as well, but sometimes even if he sounds the same, he somehow... doesn't?"
"Right?!"
"Hey, stop agreeing— or, well, it's good that you two agree on something, but can it not be against me?"
"Catch up to us with your people-talking skills first, old man!"
"Old man..."
"Um, sir, I don't think you're an old man. I think if you shave, you would look really young! That's how my father can look young even if he's already quite old!" Kairo smiled.
"Kairo..." Grisia's face almost softened. Almost. He thought to himself, "You still implied that I'm old, but I appreciate your sincere effort in consoling me."
Grisia then told Kairo, "From now on, no more 'sir' or 'mister'. Call me Grisia."
"Oh, yes, sir— I mean... Grisia."