~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~A kingdom's disease,Greed and avarice,
What will the enraged soul do once he sees?
Never without uneaseUnlike the glamorousWhat can the forlorn soul do but seek peace?~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~Morning arrived and Kairo woke up to Grisia swinging his sword, topless. The glossy, dark, rugged blade of the sword he swung gleamed in the sunlight."You...! What are you doing?!" with both an enraged and shocked face, he yelled at the sweating Grisia who was not fazed from exhaustion but rather was confused by Kairo's loud reaction."I'm... exercising. Training in the morning?""Are you going to kill me?!" he exclaimed, his adrenaline pumping as he scoured the ground for something to fend for himself with, the air getting tenser by the second."Relax, kid," Grisia slowly sheathed his sword, raised his arms, and gradually backed away from Kairo. Feeling safer from this gesture, Kairo started to pant as he finally mellowed down. "Sorry, kid.""No, I... I apologize... for freaking out like that," Kairo replied. Grisia's naturally stern look somewhat expressed pity for Kairo. "Aren't you going to ask me why I freaked out?"Grisia replied, "Do you want me to ask you?"Kairo turned to the ground with a conflicted face. Grisia sighed and said, "Well, since you're awake, we should prepare to resume our trek."Grisia wore his shirt and cloak, helping Kairo pack their stuff once he was fully clothed.Kairo felt bad about his reaction. He apologized again, but Grisia ensured that it was fine with him. Though, if Kairo still wanted to feel forgiven, Grisia suggested that Kairo should improve his situational awareness and composure if it ever happens next time. He could consider that the compensation."Yes, sir... I'll go to the river to wake up. Wash my face and gargle.""Hmm?" Grisia was seemingly surprised by something."What?""Nothing, I'm just... feeling nostalgic.""Uhh...huh..." and so, Kairo went to the river.Once Kairo came back refreshed and awake, Grisia handed him the boar skin he worked on yesterday. It was dry and neatly folded, Kairo could carry it in his container."My apology and show of no harm.""Oh, no, no, it's fine. You skinned it, it's yours.""Take it, I prepared it for you. You can sell it to a leatherworker or such to earn some coins. I'm well off myself, I don't need it."Thinking that Grisia's logic was sound, Kairo decided to take it with gratitude. "If you truly do not need it, then I'll be accepting your gracious offer. Thank you, sir!" his beamy smile was brighter than the sunrise, Grisia thought."Let us go," Grisia said without a change in his expression, as usual."Certainly!" Kairo exclaimed, still with a smile.They continued their travel while occasionally talking to each other. With Grisia as company, they were able to take the shortest path which Kairo wouldn't have considered due to the danger that came along with it. Whenever they encountered a ferocious beast, Grisia would volunteer to take care of it.The third time it happened, Grisia suggested that they should start defeating the beasts by stunning them. Kairo asked why and Grisia replied that if they continued to slay every beast they encountered, it would reduce the number of predators too much and have undesirable effects in the long run. Kairo was not sure what he meant, but he chalked it off as the same principle as his father telling him not to overharvest the resources of nature.Days later, as they walked up a hill, they finally saw the massive kingdom of Jamais. Though, there was an unfamiliar settlement surrounding a part of the kingdom's walls near its gates. It was a lake of tents that almost drowned the sight of the cold, gray, stone brick walls. In the middle was an aisle that led towards the wall gates. Kairo followed Grisia march at the aisle as they headed straight towards the gates where there was a short line of people and carriages.Kairo looked around as they were walking and saw bleak faces. Children who were supposed to be only thinking about themselves and playing with each other at their age were sitting on the dirt, lifelessly staring at the ground. There was no laughter, only the clanking of cookware and the crackling of embers from the campfires amidst the silence.The gloomy atmosphere was almost familiar to him."Who are these people? I don't remember them the last time I came here," Kairo asked Grisia."They're people like you," Grisia replied. Kairo slowed down as the thought hit him.Kairo started to wonder, "Were there truly other villages that got attacked by those robed figures like I thought? Or maybe a different group attacked them? Or maybe they're here for a different reason altogether? People like me... does Grisia know about my situation?" noticing that he was falling behind, he dashed right behind Grisia to catch up."I'll have to ask him later."The two joined the queue. It wasn't a very long wait, once it was their turn, one of the guards saw Grisia and flinched. He then turned to Grisia's company and examined Kairo."I don't think this is your kin, adventurer. Is that another homeless brat?" the guard asked Grisia while giving a condescending look to Kairo."No, sir. I'm a travelling merchant," Kairo answered for himself."Where's your identification?""Err... identification?" hearing this, the guard raised an eyebrow. Kairo saw this and continued, "I-I was hoping to get one from the kingdom!" the guard squinted at Kairo doubtfully. Kairo could only smile uncomfortably as the guard's inspection slowly intensified."He's with me," Grisia spoke. The guard's sights turned to Grisia, whose eyes were firmly locked on to the guard's. A few moments passed and the guard breaks and sighs. Kairo thought that the kingdom would be stricter when dealing with new faces such as himself. Maybe this leniency had something to do with Grisia, he thought, but it sure is convenient for him."Fine. But you cannot enter from here," the guard started to murmur to the two. "Enter the other way."Kairo and Grisia both heeded the guard's instructions. Grisia led the way while Kairo followed suit. Grisia seemed to know where he was going as he led Kairo around the walls.They entered through a gloomy sector of the kingdom. A residential area— if you could even call it that— of the lowest class, the slums.Kairo had heard about this when his father and his father's friends were talking while drinking booze around a bonfire. It was not uncommon for kingdoms to have such a devastating gap in wealth and living conditions. It was almost an inevitability even for any great rulers of this time.As they entered, Kairo saw a row of old houses and dirty people in tattered clothing walking around or hanging out. It was sort of a similar sight to the refugee settlement outside. He thought that maybe some of the loiterers here were homeless too.In the middle of it all was an undeveloped road with the occasional stalls of vegetables and other merchandise. The buildings looked crooked and in rough shape, so did its inhabitants when minding their own business. Grisia immediately went for the alleys."Why don't we head straight using the road?""You must not be familiar with these types of places," he said as they walked in the narrow alley. "Only a fool would wander so cluelessly in such a crime-ridden, open area. Your belongings will get swiped sooner than you can even begin to think about calling the guards. That is, if the guards even care.""Oh," Kairo uttered as he followed behind Grisia.The alleyway was narrow, dark, and filthy. There were some questionable people loitering around their path. They looked suspicious, their eyes followed the two of them as they passed through.Kairo could feel their intentions, but he decided to just look down to where he was stepping or at Grisia's back. He could see them in his peripherals though, scheming, whispering to each other, fidgeting.From behind him, someone ran into him as if he got smacked wildly. "Oh, whoopsie-daisy," the small, hooded figure exclaimed with a calm undertone as if it was a planned delivery.It was a little girl's voice.Grisia halted as the girl walked past the two of them shadily. Kairo thought that that was strange, but he shrugged it off as he was just thankful he didn't get attacked by the thuggish-looking characters in the alleyway instead.Kairo continued walking but was blocked by Grisia who remained still."Sia. It's me," Grisia uttered.The figure in front of them who Kairo could only guess was "Sia", stood still. After a short pause, the figure turned around, revealing a petite, young girl with a cheerful aura about her.Her brown ponytail shined in the sunlight as she was just outside the alleyway."Oh, fancy seeing you here, pops!" she said with a cheeky grin, hiding her bright hazel eyes.Kairo started to think to himself, "It seems Grisia has met with a fellow of his. But a little girl? Just who is this person?"