Lieren covered his mouth with his hand in embarrassment, a look of utter shock etched on his face.
He could not believe what he had just heard.
Everybody else, however, just treated Kafa's words as nothing more than the passing wind, invisible yet still present.
'Why are they just standing there like its nothing? That's one thousand five hundred shells! Enough to buy a house, for god's sake. How are they not surprised about this?'
Lieren thought back to how the adventurer handled the pouch of treasure. If only the contents of the leather sack had been known, even he would have jumped at the chance to take it, no matter how desperate or haggard he looked doing it. Dignity be damned when faced with overwhelming wealth.
Even the group of people lined up beside them jumped when they heard the value that the small pouch contained, glancing greedily every now and then. Some people, with a more brazen disposition or bare-faced attitude openly glared at the sack of treasure, as if to devour it.
…And yet, the people in front of him just treated the treasure as a paltry sum to be thrown around carelessly in a bag of leather. Lieren could barely comprehend the matter with his budding mindset.
"You shouldn't be so surprised by everything, Lieren. There are things far more valuable and attainable than shells."
Harita eyed him curiously, taking the pouch of money and pocketing it.
Lieren glanced, upturned.
"…Really?"
His Aegis smiled wide for the first time since leaving the forest.
"Nope. Fell for it didn't ya'?"
"Wha—"
Lireren fumed in anger, hitting the lean man with his fists like the child that he was. It made him feel a sense of serenity and compliance, as if he had just done something right for a long time.
Kafa rubbed his hands together as he watched the scuffle with an… unusual smile.
"Good, good. I see that you two are… uh… getting along. That is very good. W-well shall I have my rightful possession now, my friend? I have fulfilled the end of our deal… right?"
Harita glanced aside, his eyes scanning the man surreptitiously. His gaze held a steel-like quality to it. He scoffed and held his palm up:
"Yeah, I guess we have… my friend."
The very next second, the sound of glass shattering filled the air. Lieren could just about make out the reflective motes of a shattered barrier floating down and dissipating into nothing.
'Curious.'
The potbelly man, Kafa, nodded furiously, ordering his… men to take over the carriage. This time, they followed willingly, not a single person saying a single complaint or making any obvious conflictive intent. They were obedient… too obedient, in fact.
It was as if they were being manipulated.
The group took the carriage, with Kafa sitting inside of it. He smiled and waved joyously as one of his guards closed the door, and for a second, Lieren could just about make out the man's face turning cold as ice and calculative as great schemer.
The sight sent chilling shivers down his spine and made his hair stood. It was as if the man had seen through him completely, and he was at the palm of his hands.
"W… what was that?"
Harita patted the boy's shoulder, easing him somewhat.
"That's what you call an Accomplice, Lieren. A very powerful one, at that."
Lieren watched the carriage rattle off, passing through the gate without even a little bit of resistance.
"Is that so? What a scary man."
You really cant judge a book by its cover.
◇◆◇◆◇
After that weird encounter with the unexpected man, they had to wait in line for a couple of hours, standing idly as the two of them stood like dry roots on the trodden dirt road walked on by many since time immemorial. The chattering and buzzing of the line didn't let up for even a second.
Lieren clung close to Harita, his eyes darting from person to person suspiciously. Ever since his encounter with the Accomplice, he had been on edge in the face of other people, glaring at them if they get too close or hissing like some kind of wild animal.
His Aegis had grown tired of it. A vein popped on his forehead.
"Look, kid. I get why you're wary and all. I really do, believe me, but I think you're going a little overboard, don't you think?"
He grimaced.
"I know this is mos… scarcely my fault for telling you about Accomplices. But this just too much, bud. Even for me."
Lieren glared at him, his eyes seemingly burning with rage and determination.
"Yeah, I know. And I'm thankful for that… I guess. It just never hurts to be wary, you know? Prevention is better than cure after all. And that's a fact! Also, this is entirely your fault. So do not blame me. You're the entire cause of this."
Haruta narrowed his eyes for a second and sighed, glancing aside.
The line began moving again, and they were so close to entering the city that they can get a proper look of the place through the barred gate. The most noticeable part about it was the wide road that connected directly to the noble mansion miles ahead. It was so egregious and blatant that it was a challenge in itself not to notice the conspicuous building, elevated by the small hill on which it stood.
It was extremely… official, somehow. Almost like it was proving something to someone.
…They very well could have been.
Lieren had only met one nobleman in his entire life, but he was certain of the noisy necessity of nobles to desire attention, as if sustained by it. It was a very real possibility, according to the boy, having pieced it all together.
Seeking attention does not fill the body. It fills the soul, corrupting it like vile blank ink, staining it for eternity, like a corrupted blemish forever.
Harita sighed and began walking forward, prompting Lieren to do the same hurriedly, eyeing everybody else beside his Aegis disturbingly. His will stayed strong.
Just then, a dark thought fell upon the lean man, and it took a moment for him to collect himself and finally voice the intrusive thought aloud. His voice was extremely casual:
"You know, Accomplices can manipulate living beings if they stare at them long enough. That's a fact."
Lieren's eyes widened.
"Eh?!"
Harita chuckled, amused and entertained.
"Haha. Good stuff."
The boy began hitting him again, his cheeks puffed up in frustration.
"Somebody's having some fun."
A couple behind them noticed the scuffle they were making and walked over, prompting Harita to put his arm between the two of them. His eyes narrowed into slits.
The woman of the couple put her hands up as the man narrowed his eyes as well.
"Now, now. We don't want any trouble. Just a little envious is all."
The man furrowed his brows and grabbed the woman's shoulder. He looked frustrated… and humiliated.
"Millie! I've told you multiple times, don't just start blabbering about our life to complete strangers."
The woman, Mille, just knit her brows and held the man's hand. Her forehead smoothed out and she showed a serene smile. Though Harita knew otherwise.
Lieren perked up. A seed of curiosity was born within him.
"Envious? What do you mean by that?"
Millie noticed the young boy and kneeled down to be eye level with him. She gave a polite smile and spoke calmly:
"Well… how do I explain this…"
She looked at her partner, who crossed his arms in return and scoffed, looking aside.
"It's just so nice to see a happy parent-and-child couple, something we can't have no matter how much we tried, in a place such as this one."
Lieren tilted his head, confused.
"This place? Are you talking about that great city behind the large walls? What could be so bad about it? I don't think there's anything wrong with it at all."
Harita narrowed his eyes and gazed at the woman with cold, green eyes.
Not minding the suspicious gaze Harita gave her, Millie merely smiled and explained:
"This place, or rather this land, is one of terrible character."
Harita narrowed his eyes further.
And again, Millie merely ignored her.
'That's the second time now.'
The woman knitted her brows and leaned closer and said in a whispery voice:
"Inhuman dealings, interspecies trafficking, illegal substances and heavy reinforcement of noble and higher status through fear, corruption, and hunger. It's a devious place that I'm afraid you're unlucky enough to be directed to."
She backed away and said in her normal voice that everybody can hear:
"I advise you to leave this place for as long as you have the chance to. If it weren't for my… disadvantage, then I wouldn't even think in going to this kind of place."
Her eyes narrowed and she reached for Lieren's face with her pale hand.
"That's why—"
Before she could touch him, however, Harita quickly intercepted. His hands were a blur as he clutched the woman's wrist like a pair of pale handcuffs.
Her partner, the man who has not yet told his name, hesitated for a second, then dashed forth and snatched Harita's hand swatted it away, pulling Millie close to him.
His eyes narrowed as he glared at the lean man, his gaze burning like a pair of fiery wisps. There was something within those eyes that Harita noticed and Lieren didn't.
"W-what's wrong Harita? Why are you so jumpy all of a sudden?"
Harita placed Lieren beside him, within his immediate reach, and gave the woman a cold glare. He switched his target to man as he said before getting suddenly interrupted:
"Hey, you, what's your na—"
"Next!"
Harita whipped his head around to find that they were within the front of the line, with everybody else staring daggers at him, silently urging him to go into the city.
The boy clutched his Aegis shirt and looked at him, upturned.
"…Harita?"
He was silent for a moment, then he sighed wand walked over to the front gate, giving all the essential credentials that they still had, and went inside.
The lean man lingered beforr throwing one final look at the woman, Millie, and her nameless partner.