"What the hell is going on here, Lad?"
I feel relieved when I hear Sarfak's voice, then give him a brief explanation as fast as possible.
"You really cannot help but keep getting into trouble aren't you?" He muttered sarcastically. I want to protest because it is really not my fault that trouble keeps coming to me, but decided to shut my mouth and wait for him
"I don't really know anything about healing, but I know someone that mastered dryad healing magic in my village. She will know what to do about them."
"How far is your village from here?" I asked seriously. He glanced at the little girl who is looking at us nervously and the unconscious boy and replied,
"If we move fast like when we first met and didn't meet any trouble, one hour is enough to get there." I know from his subtle glance what he really wants to say. If we move like when we chase down by the gorilla for the first time, we will arrive at Sarfak's village in one hour. But we can't do that with the girl with us.
"If we go slowly, how long it will be for us to arrive at your village?" He thinks for a moment before answering,
"If we choose the shortest route, it will be 2-3 hours, give or take. But there is a big chance that we meet another wild animal like the gorilla before, so I don't recommend this one." I winced at the mention of gorillas. He ignored me and continues, "I know the safer route, but it will take probably 5 hours of walking if you are okay." I think for a while before turning my attention to the little girl.
"What do you think?" The little girl seems surprised that I asked her opinion.
"Well, this boy is your acquaintance, so you have the right to decide what to do about him. Do you want to wait until you can heal it by yourself? Or do you trust us enough and follow us to this guy's village?" I pointed at Sarfak. The little girl just lowered her head and whispered softly,
"W-w-will you l-leave?" Sarfak and I looked at each other for a moment before he shrugged, leaving this matter to me. I sighed and kneeled down to face the girl's face, giving her a soft smile.
"Little girl, I don't know why the two of you are in the middle of the forest. However, the moment I saved you from the tiger, I decided that I cannot leave you like this. So until your and the boy's condition are better, I will try to help you. But if you don't trust me enough, it's okay. You and this boy can stay with us for a night before you heal this boy by yourself and leave this forest. So, do you want us to leave?"
Her eyes widened for a bit before she shook her head rapidly. I smile at her reaction, remembering how the twins are.
"Good girl.." She mumbled something quietly that I cannot hear her, so I decided to ask,
"Do you want to say something?"
"A-a-aliyya.."
I was stunned and quickly examined her face carefully. She has a lot of resemblance with Sara, from her red hair to her round chin and the dimple on the corner of her mouth, so I cannot help but ask,
"Are you by any chance Sara's sister?" She gasped,
"Yes! Do you know where is she?"
"Well, she is the one who asks me to look after you. So I think we will stick together for a while, okay?" She smiled, the first smile she ever gives me this day. Ah.. What a good child.. She needs to learn not to trust someone easily though, I thought. Then Sarfak's voice suddenly snapped my thought.
"*Cough* I don't know what is happening between you and this little girl, but if we don't decide what will we do, this boy," He pointed to this boy, "Will not be able to survive." Then, me and Aliyya suddenly remembered our situation right now.
"So, do you want to join us?" This time, she nodded without hesitation.
"Good. Have you already eaten?" Sarfak asked, offering roasted meat from I don't know where. I grimaced, remembering what meat is that, and quickly shakes my head. But before I said anything, Aliyya has already grabbed the meat from Sarfak's hand and eat it starvedly. I was stunned for a moment before asking,
"When did the last time the two of you eat something?" She blushed as if she had just realized her childish manner before replying,
"Maybe…. Two days ago?"
She looked unsure. I sighed at her answer, expecting something like this. I expected something worse than this though, considering Sara was getting tortured for almost three days without eating anything. However, the same cannot be said for Sarfak. He looked stupefied before yelling,
"TWO DAYS WITHOUT FOOD?! How the hell did you survive that, Lass? Here, eat more meat!"
He offered more meats that came from out of nowhere. Aliyya who is hiding behind me the moment Sarfak yelled looked at me, unsure about Sarfak.
"Don't worry about him. He may be loud and annoying, but he is a good guy." I assured her. This seems enough for her to grab another meat from Sarfak's hand.
"How in the world could you pull the meat out of nothing?" I asked curiously. He smirked and replied, "Pocket dimension, a magus trick."
So I just nodded at him, accepting the answer. After five minutes of waiting, Aliyya finally finished eating. She turned her head to Sarfak and said shyly,
"Thank you for the meat, brother." Sarfak burst out a loud laugh at her,
"Hahahaha! No problem, Lass! And just call me Sarfak. You are too thin! If you want more meat, just say it, okay?"
"And call me Devin," I added, just realizing that I haven't introduced myself.
"Um!" Aliyya nodded with shining eyes. Sarfak turned his attention to me and ask,
"Do you need help with your bag?" I think for a second and nod,
"Yes, please. I need to carry this boy, so it will be a help." I throw my bag to him who caught it easily, and within a second, my bag vanished.
"How convenience," I muttered. He just grinned smugly at me.
"You got it right, Lad! Hahaha!" I ignored his laugh and asked Aliyya,
"Can you walk, or do you need me to carry you?" She shakes his head quickly.
"No, I can do it myself."
-- One hour later --
We have already walked for an hour, and fortunately enough, we managed to avoid any dangerous beast. Even though we walked for one hour non-stop, Sarfak and I are still in good condition. Well, I am not surprised, considering Sarfak is in the middle of a warrior test, if he cannot handle this little walk, it would be too strange.
However, the same cannot be said for Aliyya. Her pace is already decreased, and her breath started getting heavy. But she keeps refusing our help to carry her. After looking at Aliyya for a moment, I shared a glance with Sarfak who probably thought the same, then suddenly, I handed the boy's body to him and raised Aliyya to my back.
"KYAAAH!!" She let out a cute squeak. "Devin! I can walk myself!" She protested. I just ignored her and keep walking. It is Sarfak who replied to her protest,
"Just let it be, Lass. We need to go faster than this or this boy's condition will get worse."
She slumped after hearing what Sarfak said but didn't make any more protests. After walking for a while, she muttered softly, "I am a burden, am I?"
Sarfak is clearly hearing what she said, but he decided to ignore it and walk away from us. I huffed in annoyance before letting out a tired sigh,
"Aliyya, how old are you?"
"Eight." She replied with a confused tone.
"And do you know any other 8 years old girl who managed to survive in the forest for two days without any food and after being chased by a tiger?"
Well, except the twins did similar things before they arrived at the orphanage, I added inwardly. Aliyya shook her head at my question.
"Then, that is your answer. You are just a child, Aya. Can I call you Aya though?" She just nods subtly. "Okay, Aya. You are just a child, and no child should have experienced what you suffered. So it is not your fault that you got tired after all of the things you suffered. You don't have to be strong all the time. You are a child for god's sake! You are supposed to rely on adults. So, don't you ever think you are a burden, okay?"
"But that is what Father and the elders in the family said. I am a burden, a freak. Only Sara and Theo did something nice to me, and that is why Father sent us to the mean people." She started to sob. I guess Theo is the name of the boy. However, I got alarmed by what she said.
"What do you mean? And who are the mean people?"
"I don't know who the mean people is, but I sneaked around the elder meeting and heard father and the elders discussing that.... They said they would send me to Ama.. Ama.." She tried to remember something, but I can guess what she wanted to remember,
"Amasia?"
"Yeah, that's right! Apparently, Father wanted to send a book to Amasia, saying the book is the key to something. But after I told Sara and Theo about it, they seemed to know what the book father talked about and told me to not worry about it. Then two days later, we got kidnapped. I don't really know what happened after that, but I know Theo managed to rescue me. I know I keep getting everyone into trouble. I am a burden to everyone, am I?" Her eyes moistened once again.
"You might be wrong, Aya. You jumped to the worst conclusion too quickly. You have to talk to your brother or sister about it later, okay?" I tried to assure her.
She nodded silently on my back. We keep walking in silence, but I can see from the corner of my eyes that Sarfak was getting tensed when Aliyya explained her condition.
After several hundred meters of walking, -or so I guess- I heard a light snore from my back.
'She falls asleep, huh? No wonder. If she didn't eat for two days, what is the chance she got asleep?' I thought. Sarfak also noticed her condition, and after confirming that she has really fallen asleep, he confronted me,
"Do you know anything about what the girl said?" The hint of nonchalance is missing in him, leaving only a serious tone in his question.
"I don't really know anything, but I and my brother saved her sister, Sara, a few days ago. We made an agreement to save her sister." I told him carefully, not completely answering his question.
"Then, do you know anything about the book that she said?" This time, I stopped walking and stared at him intently before replying, "I have a guess. Why?"
"Care to share it?"
I keep my mouth shut, thinking about how to answer his question. But before I could answer, he dropped his guess to me.
"She is also a manipulator, isn't she?"