In the outskirts of the city, where the lower class resides. The houses felt more dilapidated than usual, the streets looked damaged and smelled because of last night. There was a lot of damage and holes in every building wall. It was undeniable that all of this happened because of yesterday's incident. In just one night, everything changed.
Lidya and Elia walked side by side, observing and watching the place. Their arrival was greeted with sharp stares full of hatred mixed with confusion. 'Why are well-dressed people coming here?' was clearly the main question. It was unusual for people like them to visit this place. At most, they would only come during events or services directly watched by the duke and his outsider guests.
Just by looking at the condition of this place, Lidya knew how poor, neglected, and malnourished they were. Their bodies were emaciated, their ribs visible. Diseases were everywhere, evident from how they walked, looked, and moved their hands.
"Is this really the place?" asked Lidya while observing the malnourished residents.
"From Foldor's information, we can be sure that person is here!" answered Elia confidently.
The person they were looking for was not someone important or anything, he might have important information about the truth of this country, but his priority was not significant because there were many ways to get information besides from him. Since he was nearby, they chose him.
"I can't believe he got here safely. The previous battle should have slowly killed him."
The man's injuries were quite severe, and with the eruplion bites, the bleeding on his skin should have been more intense. Surviving was a miracle.
"He is the city captain, he clearly has been in situations like this before, even worse," Elia refuted.
"From his manner, I'm not so sure about that (laughing cynically)."
They were now in front of a door believed to be the residence of the captain.
As they were about to knock, the door opened, revealing a bald figure with tan skin and claw marks staring out from the crack in the door. It was as if he had already sensed their arrival.
"Go away!" he asserted.
"Stop your whining, Captain Lyke!" said Lidya firmly, standing with her hands on her hips, looking at the man hiding in the shadows with disdain.
"What is your plan in coming here? Go away before I get angry!" Lyke asserted again, his voice now louder.
But instead of being scared, Lidya widened her sly smile and looked at Lyke with even more disdain than before. "You ask me to leave? Can you make it?"
Thinking about Lidya's words, Lyke realized that even calling the surrounding residents would be useless. The person in front of him now was not only strong in power but also in status. He didn't want the people around him to die in vain just because he lost his temper.
*Nodding resignedly.
"Come in! But don't make a mess!" the bald man finally agreed.
Lidya and Elia entered the dilapidated house. Inside, there were only three rooms, the main room, the kitchen, and one bedroom. The bedroom door was tightly locked. Whatever the captain was hiding from them, it must have been significant, whether it was something sinister or someone important, it was certainly a secret.
"Sit down!"
Lidya and Elia sat at the dining table provided. Meanwhile, Lyke took some cups and poured water into them. He then served the cups to his two guests.
"Sorry, yesterday's incident burned everything. Including our tea supplies."
Lyke also sat down in front of them.
"It-It's okay!" said Elia hesitantly, while Lidya drank without hesitation. *Slurrp! After all, this was not their main reason for coming here.
"What your reasons by coming here?" Lyke leaned closer to them. He whispered as if avoiding noise. It was as if he didn't want to wake anyone from their sweet dreams.
*Tak!
Lidya placed her cup back on the tray.
"I did what you asked, I got rid of that 'eye.'"
"Got rid of? After what you did? You threw it away?!" although angry, Lyke's voice was still a whisper.
"He was a bastard! So I stabbed him in the back. Stabbing from behind doesn't mean I..."
"Yes, yes, I understand." Lyke nodded. His face turned despondent, accompanied by a sense of sadness and disappointment. There was no anger or resentment. "But why, why did you have to kill so many innocent residents?"
"Kill? I didn't do that."
"You (pointing at Lidya) did it! The fire happened because of your crazy magic!"
"That was because of the battle!"
The situation immediately became tense. Elia, who was between them, didn't know how to calm it down. She could only watch the two angry people with a panicked expression.
"The battle against my subordinate, but many missed targets and hit civilians?!"
"That means your soldiers are incompetent!"
"You...!" Lyke's expression was entirely different from before. The burst of emotion had completely taken over him. His hand gripped the tablecloth tightly.
"Please, can you two stop blaming each other?!" Elia spoke up, though accompanied by fear and trembling all over her body. She mustered her courage. "This is not the time to determine who's at fault! Remember, you were enemies yesterday because you were on different sides, now that wall is gone! Can you both turn a blind eye to yesterday?! This is not about selfishness or anything! But this is the real face of war!"
"You dare speak like that to a captain? How bold of you!"
"Sorry, but the most despicable captain I know would not deny this reality. This is war."
The grip on the tablecloth loosened. The bald man looked at his reflection in the water in his cup. He tilted his head left and right like someone warming up. His breath was controlled, showing that he had managed to calm his emotions.
"Okay, fine... What do you want?" Lyke asked straightforwardly. This time his voice was back to being soft as before.
"I want you to be the captain of this city!" Lidya said flatly and seriously.
That clearly left Lyke immediately confused. "Huh? Be the captain of this city? After what you did?!"
Unconsciously, his voice rose again.
Suddenly, the door to the tightly closed bedroom opened. An old man with glasses came out, his hair was white and he was holding his head because of dizziness, the wrinkles on his face were clear. He walked unsteadily, trying to leave the room, and ended up leaning against the door.
"Son... What was that noise? Why are you so angry?"
Lyke turned to the old man who called him 'son.' He was surprised to see his presence.
"Father...? Father should stay in the room! If Lyke is noisy, Lyke can ask the guests to lower their voices, and if they insist, I can kick them out!" said Lyke softly to the man he called father.
"Uhmm (his eyes slowly closing)... Okay, whatever. Father wants to lie down again." the old man turned and went back into his room. The door was gently closed by the old man.
He looked too old to handle such matters. So possibly, he was just avoiding such issues rather than facing them. That was what Lidya thought seeing the situation earlier.
There was another thought, like the old man didn't want his son to be disturbed, so he just obeyed him. After all, they were father and son.
"Where have we been??" Lyke continued.
"Join me!" Lidya immediately slammed the table gently. The sound of *brak! was soft but very intimidating to the listener.
"Are you forcing me?"
"No, but I'm sure you need money, right?"
Lyke widened his eyes at the girl in front of him. He no longer knew how strange the person in front of him was. This girl was too straightforward about such things.
"How much is your pay in rohn?"
Lidya raised the corner of her lips. "Rohn, huh? So that's what it's called here..."
Lyke gave Lidya a strange look, as did Elia beside her. The woman didn't expect that Lidya still didn't know the name of this country's currency.
*Looking at Elia.
The girl signaled to the person next to her to help. At first, Elia didn't understand, but from how Lidya put on a whining face, she immediately knew where the conversation was going.
"Huh... (sighing)"
*Elia looked at Lyke.
"How much do you want?"
Elia realized that this was the first time Lidya had heard the name of the currency. She clearly didn't know the average amount for someone like a captain. Maybe and even she didn't know the price of food in the city bar.
"How much? You guys are trying to recruit me, but you don't know the standard." answered the bald man mockingly, chuckling.
"After all, this is our first time being at such a high level."
"I understand... You guys are weird, especially you (looking at Lidya)." he clearly meant the girl's status. Even Lidya immediately knew what Lyke meant by the strangeness in her and her friends. The man's Sense Satusus was active.
Thinking critically, Lyke began scratching his head. He looked back at the place where his father was sleeping. He put all his trust in that room.
"Whatever it is, as long as it is double enough for my father's needs, then I'm okay." enough meant the cost of care and treatment for his father.
"Understood..."
"So, we have an agreement? From now on, Lyke is the captain of this city. I leave everything to you." Lidya spoke again.
In the girl's mind, 'how much is that?' She really didn't understand the direction of the conversation. But she didn't lose her composure and continued her cool attitude.
"Yes, I understand." answered the man, nodding. The cup in his hand was empty, and he took it to the back, along with the two guests' cups.
"In that case, we will take our leave. I hope you are ready tomorrow..." saying that, Lidya walked out.
Lyke didn't answer with words, he just waved his hand lazily, not even looking at the girl and instead turning his back on her.
Lidya didn't care about that, she nodded and then left the house, walking away. And finally, together with Elia, she returned to the front of the castle.
***
"What?"
As she arrived, she saw a perung landing right in front of her.
From atop the creature, four familiar figures were descending and walking towards her.
"Rudi? Where's Micah?"
"He's having fun! Forget about him for now, Doris is in a bad condition."
Lidya was extremely shocked to see Doris in such a critical state. Coupled with the black aura emanating from his wound, the anxiety increased.
"If that's the case, don't come to me! Let's go to the hospital!"
Lidya ran, showing them the way.
Followed by the four people behind her, Rudi, Sherry, Floria, and Elia. They hurried to the place Lidya was heading to.