"Are you alright?" Leon squatted beside the old man, who was currently on the ground.
"Sigh." The old man rolled over and sat on the ground while looking in the direction of the fleeing Phoebe.
"You know, she's your sister..."
The old man spoke timidly, trying his best not to look Leon in the eye. He was aware of everything that they had done to Leon over the years, and even though he tried to stop them, they were too persistent. Plus, he was not at home all the time.
He felt ashamed, but what could he do? He was old and frail. He could only ask Leon for help.
"Just look out for her when you can."
The old man stood up and began walking away, leaving Leon staring from behind.
Back at the carriage, Caroline and Phoebe stood outside in well-made dresses, as if they were heading somewhere.
"Ahhh, my beautiful husband, welcome back."
Seeing the old man's arrival, Caroline ran forward and greeted him as a noblewoman would greet her noble husband. This caused him to frown.
"What's wrong?"
Caroline had mostly been snobbish ever since Leon gained the ability to move, but now she was greeting him so politely, clearly she wanted something.
"Ah? Does there have to be something wrong before I greet my lovely husband?"
A wronged expression briefly appeared on her face as she looked at the old man, did a wife really need a reason to be polite to her husband? No, but for Carloline, it really did seem out of place.
"Sigh. Since you brought it up, there's the matter of food; we're running out. Luckily, there's a small underground market being held by some elders. I wanted to see if we can get anything."
Caroline spoke without a trace of shame.
"Hmmm, has Phoebe told you what happened today?" The old man asked. He had caught their daughter being inappropriately touched by a guy. This was a very serious matter they needed to handle.
"No, but the market doesn't stay open for long. Let's talk about it later..."
Caroline shut down the old man immediately. She didn't seem to care that her daughter was behaving improperly. In fact, it seemed like she was supportive of Phoebe's actions.
"Sigh, here."
Sighing in disappointment, the old man handed over a bag of coins to Caroline, which she accepted with glee. Following this, she and Phoebe chose a direction and began walking off.
"You want to go along with them?"
As they both walked away, the old man turned to Leon and asked if he would like to go with them.
"You can get whatever you need from the market; just keep an eye out." Tossing a bag of coins toward Leon, the old man spoke.
He was basically bribing Leon to keep an eye on them.
"Hmmm, who am I to refuse?" He needed to go shopping anyway; his clothes had worn out, and there was a particular event he had to prepare for.
Leon then began to follow Caroline and Phoebe as they made their way down the line of carriages.
At this point, the carriages had been connected like the cabins of a train, bound by wood, metal plates, and ropes. Most of all, they had a magical feel to them that made them imposing. This was the World-Traversing Serpent, which would facilitate their movement from here to Blood Rock, the homeland of the Blood Serpent Warlocks. It was magnificent.
Soon enough, they entered the market area, where a low-key congregation of several people stood around with their wares on the ground.
Even though the matriarch had sent a clear warning that no one was allowed to exploit the current situation to make money, people still went ahead and did so, including the elders. They were all money hungry, even the poor families.
—Knock, knock.
Upon reaching a particular carriage, Caroline and Phoebe stopped and knocked on the door. A few seconds later, the door opened, revealing Byand, the guy they had caught Phoebe with earlier.
It seemed like Phoebe had come to apologize alongside her mother. Apparently, she didn't care for the old man's opinion, and wanted to continue their relationship with Byand
"Oh well, that's none of my business." Seated atop a small hill a hundred meters away from the carriage, Leon shook his head. They weren't his real family; if they could go against their own blood, who was he?
"Hey, you there, you want some wares?"
While Leon was gazing into the distant grassland, a voice resounded from behind him, causing him to quickly turn back. A kid around 16 stood looking at him with shady eyes.
"You are?" Leon asked. The young man had been hiding on the hillside even before he got there, so Leon had noticed him. It was quite out of place, but there was no other hill with a better view than this, so Leon decided to stay.
"It doesn't matter who I am; what matters is what I've got. Check it out."
While looking over his shoulder, the young man opened his coat, revealing an arsenal of weapons and other items.
"I've got machetes, daggers, leather armor... if you have any special requests, I can check my other shop. What do you need?"
This guy was a businessman. In a situation like this, where they were in danger, he chose to deal in the sale of weapons and armor. Profiting off of people's fears, Other than a shrewd businessman, what else could he be called?
"Look at this one... compact and narrow, looks like one short sword, right?"
The young man pulled out a short sword with an elegantly designed hilt and dangled it in front of Leon. Then he proceeded to pull at one part of the hilt, and it suddenly split apart, revealing that it was, in fact, two swords.
"Awesome, right? I've got things like these and many more... for example."
The young man continued talking about his wares, attempting to lure Leon into buying one.
Meanwhile, inside the carriage...
Caroline and Phoebe sat at a round table filled with various drinks. Surrounding them were burly men and some elderly individuals in luxurious clothing.
"Elder Taiyun is such a jester. How could I be in love with that weak man? Look at him laboring around the camp with his frail body. How could he handle someone like me?"
Caroline said happily while downing a bottle of booze. She was intoxicated at this point.
"Hehe, don't worry, my beautiful mistress. When I've solidified my position as the law handler, I will throw him and his good-for-nothing son off."
Beside her, an old man with white hair said casually while rubbing his hand all over her waist and backside.