"Tch!" Vir snorted. "You always answer my questions with more questions. How annoying!"
"Isn't this something very obvious to you?"
"What are you trying to say, huh?" Vir showed a sullen face. "Jeez! Can you not go around in circles? If you want to say something, just get to the point! Tch, you girls. I don't like convoluted things, it's a headache!"
The nine-year-old girl stifled her laughter.
"I mean," Aira said, "a person can be very cruel when it comes to three things in this world."
Vir frowned at the little girl.
"Treasure, throne, and women!"
"Who are you, huh?" said Vir. "I wonder where you got those words from?"
But Aira did not respond to Vir's words. She was more engrossed in the pages of the thick book on her lap.
The man took a deep breath, then looked up at the ceiling of the room as if he was looking for something there.
Wherever she got those words of wisdom from just now, Vir did not want to know. However, he did not deny the little girl's words.
And also, it seems that the three things Aira mentioned earlier are indeed a curse for humans in this world, he thought. Ever since human civilization was first established on this Earth.
Yeah, she's right!
A person will appear greedy or turn into a glutton when it comes to wealth.
One would become very arrogant in the position they have, the position they hold. Even more so, for those who feel they are descendants of royalty or kings.
And the third person in the third curse is a woman. Or it could be the opposite, a man. The point is, in order to get the person you like, the person you care about, then you might turn into a terrifying monster or demon.
"What about you?"
Vir was a little surprised at Aira's sudden question. He frowned and looked at the little girl.
"What do you mean?"
"About those three things," Aira said. "Do you also have a curse from one of them?"
"You're reading my mind again?" Vir snorted. "How annoying! Humans have freedom. Don't you do it again, I don't like it!"
"Who said I read your mind?" Aira retorted. And she still looked calm and indifferent towards Vir.
"You—"
"I think anyone else would be able to find the same thing in your wrinkled face easily."
"Tch!" Vir snorted again and returned to staring at the ceiling of the room. "You talk as if you've gained a hundred years of life experience. What an arrogant ass!"
"I'm just asking," Aira said. "If you don't want to answer, then let it slide. It's that simple, right?"
Vir was silent again for a moment.
However, Aira's question was exactly what he had been thinking about for a moment.
Which one of these curses do I have? He asked himself.
Wealth? I guess not because I prefer to eat what I get from the forest, the river, the sea... Mother Nature.
Throne? Well, everyone who knows me knows that I'm just a firewood seeker. Not a son of nobility, nor a descendant of a king. There is no title or position I have that I can boast about in front of others.
What about women? Oh, God... that damn little girl would definitely laugh at me if she knew that I was a virgin until now. What an annoying bastard!
"Are you really going to go to that forest again tomorrow morning?"
Vir let out a deep breath. "That's just to trick Daisy."
"I see, huh?" Aira sighed softly. "So, you're actually going to hunt the rider again?"
"Do you have a problem with that?" Vir said without taking his eyes off the ceiling.
"You know, all life is precious before God."
"Oh, please!" Vir grinned subtly. "Don't lecture me because you'll just waste your time."
"Where is it?"
"Oh, no, Aira, you're not coming with me!" said Vir as he looked at the little girl. "You stay here!"
"How was I supposed to know you wouldn't leave me here alone?"
"What do you expect, huh?" asked Vir. "I'm a poacher and you know it. If you insist on coming with me, then you'll only make things harder for me. Are you stupid enough to realize this simple thing?"
"I just want to make sure."
"Tch!" Vir snorted again. "Besides, why do I have to carry you around everywhere, huh? You think I'm a babysitter, is that it?"
For now, the little girl could not tell the man the real reason.
After all, fate can change. At least, this was what the Asurry believed, as well as Aira herself as the last descendant of the race.
Vir looked at the little girl briefly before saying, "You just wait here, maybe you can do something for Daisy. I'll be back here by midnight at the latest."
Well, basically, Vir didn't have the heart to make the little girl sad. It was as simple as that.
"Can I ask you something?"
"What else do you want?" asked Vir.
"Can you not kill?" said Aira. And then looked at the man with a sad gaze. "Those riders or their dragon mounts?"
"I thought you knew me so well!"
"I'm just asking," Aira retorted. "And, and it could be that by doing so, you end up getting something even better, right?"
"I don't know!" Vir let out a long sigh and looked back up at the ceiling. "I'm not sure about that. I'm not a saint, Aira. You're following the wrong man."
"That's just your ego saying."
Vir snorted again with a smirk at the corner of his lips.
"That's enough!" he said as he got off the bed. "You'd better get some sleep, it's getting late."
***
"Where's Vir?" asked Aira when she found only Daisy in the kitchen.
"Hey," greeted Daisy with a smile. "You just woke up? Why don't you take a shower first, I'll prepare breakfast for you."
But the little girl was sitting on one of the benches near the long table.
"He already left, huh?"
Daisy glanced at the little girl, took a deep breath, and smiled.
"Don't worry," she said, rubbing the little girl's head. "He just went hunting and collecting firewood."
But Aira knew better than that. She was just worried that something bad had happened to the man. There is no perfect evil in this world, and Vir should have considered this, she thought.
Meanwhile, in the wilderness north of the big village, Vir strolled leisurely as he pulled his cart.
He had been out of Daisy's house since early in the morning, his destination an area of hills that stretched from west to east.
It had always been an alternate route for riders with their dragon mounts to move from this Eastern country to another in the West.
You could say that the area was a good field for Vir to hunt down riders.
When the sun had almost reached its highest point, Vir finally arrived at the edge of the forest facing north.
Before him lay the mighty hills, stretching straight as far as the eye could see. What was unusual was the condition of these hills.
The spot where Vir stood was very green with lush forest, while in front of him, there was only an orange hue as if to shout the aridity of the hills themselves.
Vir chose the perfect spot for him to prepare his giant crossbow, then covered the weapon with twigs and leaves.
He even built a campfire there to roast the dried meat he had brought as provisions. Then he sat quietly and savored his favorite redbrew.
Occasionally, Vir used his short telescope to monitor his surroundings.
"Do they never take this route anymore?" he muttered as he savored the grilled meat. "Or have the rumors of the butcher's ghost scared them away?"