The dining area of the rusty inn was small and comfortable, peppered with mismatched, old, and worn-out furniture. Mae could smell the tasty aroma brought out from the small kitchen by Katie.
"Piping hot stew is coming out now!" Katie cooed with a singsong voice and walked out of the earthen bowl that was charred at the bottom.
The off-white porcelain plates were filled with round, toasted flatbread.
"What is this?" Leona inspected it as she picked it up with her hand, looking back at Katie for some information.
"Ohh, that," Katie responded, setting down the bowl on the table and removing the lid. "That's called a 'chapatti'. It's toasted flat bread made from wheat."
"Cha-patty?" Esther questioned, with a very curious look, "How do you eat this?" Esther also picked it up with her hand, rotating it around and looking at it closely. "It smells like wheat."
"You're correct! Chapatti is made of a mixture of dried wheat flour and water. It's more finely ground than regular bread, and it results in this soft and fluffy flatbread."Katie explained with excitement.
"Wowf, loofks lifke somefone did fhteir..." Leona mumbled with a mouthful, bits of flatbread escaping as she spoke.
Esther gently nudged Leona on her elbow with her hand and gestured to her "manners."Eat before you speak." She said it with a stern voice, similar to a parent reprimanding their child.
Esther also tore off a piece of the flatbread as Katie placed a bit of stew on Esther's plate. "Eat it with this!" She said, her eyes gleaming with excitement.
Mae absentmindedly twirled a lock of her hair while her eyes wandered around the room.
"Mae, you're not eating?" Leona asked, a slight shade of concern lining her voice.
Mae's mind was just blank. "What?" Mae asked Leona, finally clicking back into reality.
"Maybe come back to reality?" Leona joked, talking in between mouthfuls of chapathi.
As Mae shifted in her seat, the card slipped out and fluttered to the floor. She reached down to pick it up, and as she did, her eyes caught the faint glow emanating from the quest section.
Mae's face went pale, and her fingers trembled as she read and re-read the quest details.
Esther, who was stuffing her mouth with food, turned and looked over at Mae. "Wey Wae, why farn't fuu eaafing?"
The identity card had a quest that was lit up, and it read:
Mission:
{ELIMINATION OF EDMUND REINHART FOR TREASON.}
BOUNTY: 20,000,000
"Mae?" Esther called out to Mae again in vain.
Edmund Reinhart was Mae's father.
Mae snapped back to the present, tucking the card back into her pocket. "Oh yeah, I just got lost in thought for a moment," she mumbled, attempting a reassuring smile.
Esther, engrossed in the conversation, didn't notice Mae's subtle actions. Leona, however, picked up on Mae's subdued demeanor. "Don't want to eat?"
Mae forced a chuckle, her eyes darting between Leona and Esther. "Just not feeling too hungry today, that's all. I'll catch up later."
"But you didn't even touch anything."
Leona was instantly cut off by the sound of the wooden chair scraping on the floor and Mae getting up. "I'm really sorry, but I have to go to the toilet now. Please excuse me!" Mae said, and she disappeared into the side entrance leading to the toilet.
"What is up with her today?" Esther asked, her eyes showing a hint of concern. "I don't really know, but she's been iffy ever since the confrontation with Mirai." She said it in a not very pleased tone.
Mae quickly ran across the room and hurled herself through a corner to turn to the bathroom, which was down the far left of the hallway. The Rusty Inn, despite looking small in its face, was deceptively long.
After running for what felt like an eternity, Mae finally turned left into the bathroom and quickly shut the door.
As the lever on the door clicked, tears started to roll down Mae's face.
"Why? Why my dad? Is it because of me?" Mae started to ask herself as her legs gave way and collapsed to the floor, and Mae held her face in her arms, trying to stop herself from bawling and making too much noise, but it was futile.
Mae didn't even know what to think of next; the bounty on her dad's head was more confusing than anything.
The dim light flickered, casting shadows on the worn-out tiles as Mae wrestled with the overwhelming mix of sorrow, confusion, and self-blame.
"The problem is me, right?" Mae got up from the cold bathroom floor, her legs still shaky.
As the feelings slowly started to wear out, she looked at herself in the mirror opposite the toilet, her eyes red and puffy, and something changed in her gaze.
"Mae, are you okay in there?" A muffled voice from outside the door beckoned to her. It was Leona.
Mae quickly wiped the tears off her face, took out the wooden ladle from the bucket underneath, and washed her face.
"Yeah, just a little bit of time, please; I will come out." Mae responded, her voice still quivering.
Now, only one thought was running through her mind.
"They should not know. They won't know. I pray they don't take out their quest card to see what's happening," Mae thought to herself as she opened the door again.
"What's taking you so long? The food's getting cold; go eat it." Leona said, pointing in the direction of the food table with her left hand.
Mae just nodded and hurried out.
As she got out of the pretty long hallway and turned back into the dining area, it was empty, and no one was there outside Katie. Mae's heart dropped as she feared the worst.
"Katie, where's Esther?" Mae asked her with a sickeningly sweet tone that was almost unnatural.
Katie shifted uncomfortably, sensing an unusual tension in the air. "Uh, Lady Esther told me that she's going to go to sleep and that she's tired."
"Great." Mae's response was curt.
Mae quickly walked over to her Kaluar Rifle, which was sitting on the countertop nearby, and picked it up.
"Katie, if Esther or Leona ask about me, tell them that I've gone to settle an old score." Mae said, a look of determination finally replacing the despair on her face.
"O-okay!" Katie said as Mae swung the gun over her shoulder with the sling and walked out of the inn. Only one thing was running through Mae's mind.
"I've got to save my father. If I don't, I'm just another damn killer."