After waiting a few minutes, Amukelo finally saw the guard reappear from the mansion.
"Lord Berthold is occupied at the moment," the guard informed him, "but he has instructed for you to come tomorrow in the early afternoon. He also mentioned he'll notify others to be present."
Amukelo nodded. "Understood," he replied. He gave the guards a quick nod of gratitude, then turned and began making his way back dto the inn.
As Amukelo reached the inn, he paused on the steps, frowning slightly as he remembered something. "Right… Eliss," he muttered to himself, realizing he had to pick her up once he's done with his matters.
He turned and headed back toward the pub. From down the road, he could already hear the distant roar of laughter and cheers from inside. He raised an eyebrow, wondering what on earth could be causing such commotion at this hour.
"Did someone start a fight?" he muttered, letting out a weary sigh. He could only hope Eliss hadn't somehow found herself in trouble. Reaching the entrance, he took a deep breath, bracing himself as he pushed open the doors and stepped inside.
Inside, a crowd of patrons was gathered around one of the tables near the center of the pub. Amukelo's eyes narrowed as he pushed his way through the throng of bodies. He finally broke through to the front of the crowd and froze, his eyes widening in surprise.
In the middle of the room sat Eliss, her face lit up with a wide, triumphant grin, a stack of empty plates towering beside her. Across from her sat a hulking, broad-shouldered man. The man's face was red, beads of sweat dripping down his forehead as he held his stomach, visibly struggling. Beside him sat a half-finished plate of stew, the remnants of which looked dangerously close to making a reappearance.
Amukelo blinked, staring at the scene in utter disbelief. Eliss and the man appeared to be in the midst of some sort of eating contest, and judging by the tower of plates beside her, Eliss was winning by a landslide.
The pub patrons cheered loudly as the big man across from her placed his spoon down, his face contorted in defeat. "I'm do—" he began, but before he could finish, he clamped a hand over his mouth, his face turning an alarming shade of green as he stood up, stumbling away from the table as quickly as he could manage.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" the waiter called out, raising his voice over the laughter and applause. "The winner is… Eliss!"
The room erupted into cheers, people clapping and raising their mugs in celebration. Eliss beamed, her face flushed with pride as she basked in the crowd's admiration. She looked around with a triumphant smile, giving a small bow of acknowledgment to her 'fans' as they clapped and shouted her name.
Amukelo, standing at the edge of the crowd, rubbed his temples, trying to make sense of what he was witnessing. He half-expected her to do something stupid, but this...
He rubbed his eyes, wondering if he was perhaps more exhausted than he realized, but when he opened them, Eliss was still there, grinning at the crowd, victorious.
After a few moments, as the crowd's enthusiasm began to fade, Amukelo made his way over to her, with a mixture of exasperation and reluctant amusement.
"Eliss," he said, his voice cutting through the noise, "it's time."
Eliss looked up, blinking in surprise before her face lit up with recognition. "Ah, yes, yes," she said, pushing herself up from the table with a satisfied grin. But as she stood, her expression shifted, and she suddenly clutched her stomach, her face paling as she let out a small groan.
Amukelo's eyes widened slightly. "You are… going to be sick." he said, ready to step back if necessary.
Eliss shook her head, waving a hand dismissively as she steadied herself. "No, no," she insisted, though her face still looked a bit green around the edges. After a deep breath, she straightened, offering him a defiant grin. "Ha! I'm fine!"
Amukelo sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Let's go," he muttered, already turning toward the door. He could feel the eyes of the pub patrons on them, some of them still clapping or chuckling as Eliss made her way after him, her steps a bit unsteady but her smile undiminished.
As they exited the pub, Amukelo cast one last glance back at the crowd, shaking his head in disbelief.
As they made their way back to the inn, Amukelo cast a sidelong glance at Eliss, who was walking with a bounce in her step despite looking a bit pale. She held her stomach now and then, as if the meal's true weight had only hit her now that the excitement of the contest had faded.
After a moment of silence, he raised an eyebrow and asked, "Did you really eat all of that?"
Eliss didn't respond with words but gave him a satisfied smile, as if she'd just accomplished something grand. Her eyes sparkled with a mix of pride and mischief, and Amukelo felt a tired sigh escape him.
"Eliss," he said with a hint of reproach, "if you want to avoid doing quests too soon to cover travel costs, you'll need to start being more mindful of your spending."
Eliss's face broke into a grin, and she laughed. "Hahaha… you don't have to worry about that!" she replied, her voice filled with triumphant satisfaction. "I won the contest, so that big guy had to pay for it all."
Amukelo stopped in his tracks, turning to look at her with disbelief. "So… you ate all that just to get it for free?"
Eliss smiled wider, her eyes alight with pride at her cleverness. But as she began to reply, her eyes widened, and her hand flew to her mouth. Without a word, she turned and sprinted toward an alleyway between two buildings. Moments later, the unmistakable sound of retching filled the quiet air.
Amukelo stood at the edge of the alley, watching as she threw away. He sighed deeply, his hands on his hips as he called out, "Where is your nobility?"
Eliss, who was still heaving, managed to catch her breath for a moment. She glanced back at him, her expression somewhere between humor and misery. "On this journey, I don't…" Her sentence broke off as she heaved again, but after a moment, she straightened, her face looking drained. "I don't have to act like some perfect, noble lady, like… like when I lived in those stupid noble walls."
Another wave hit her, and she turned back to the wall, retching again. Amukelo watched her, as he leaned against the wall, waiting for her to finish, his arms crossed as he glanced up at the stars, as though asking what he'd done to deserve this kind of traveling companion.
Once her retching subsided, Eliss turned back around, her face pale and exhausted, and she said as if it was her last request, "Water…"
Amukelo sighed, shaking his head slightly. "Wait here," he said, disappearing around the corner for a moment. He returned shortly after with a small bag of water, holding it out to her. She took it gratefully, her hands trembling slightly as she drank, her breaths gradually steadying as the cool liquid soothed her.
When she finally lowered the water, she looked up at him with a drained expression. "Never again," she murmured.
"Good," he replied dryly. "Best you keep away from anything like this, or there will be nothing from your adventure."
They began walking again. Eliss moved more slowly now, clearly worn out from the ordeal, but she managed a faint smile.
After a few moments, he shook his head and muttered, "Is every youngster this reckless? Or are you just exceptional in your foolishness?"
Eliss rolled her eyes, though her steps still wavered. "Okay, old man, you're not that much older than me," she replied, her voice laced with a weak attempt at sass. "You can't be older than twenty, and I'm sixteen."
At the mention of her age, Amukelo's expression shifted. A faint, almost imperceptible sadness clouded his gaze, and his tone softened, as if her words had stirred a memory buried deep within him. "Sixteen," he murmured quietly, his voice trailing off as he gazed into the distance. "When I was sixteen…"
He paused, his face growing pensive as he seemed to drift into another world. Eliss glanced over at him. She hadn't often seen him like this, thoughtful, reflective, as though some part of him was reliving a piece of the past.
"What were you like at sixteen?" she asked softly, her voice gentle.
Amukelo opened his mouth to respond, a flicker of something nostalgic crossing his face. But as he tried to pull forth the memory, a sudden, sharp pain shot through his head. His vision blurred, and he staggered, clutching his head as a splitting headache tore through him. A strangled gasp escaped his lips as he fell to his knees, his hands pressing against his temples, his breath ragged and uneven.
The pain was excruciating, a wave of agony that felt as if it were ripping through his mind, clawing at memories that refused to come. Images flickered at the edge of his consciousness—flashes of faces, moments of laughter, fragments of something that felt achingly familiar but remained just out of reach.
Eliss's eyes widened in alarm, and she knelt beside him, her hand hovering over his shoulder as she cast a healing spell, green light flickering around her fingers. "Amukelo! Are you okay?" she asked, her voice thick with worry. The healing magic pulsed softly, but it did nothing to ease his pain.
But after a few agonizing moments, the pain began to fade, leaving him drained and disoriented, his vision slowly clearing as he released his grip on his head.
He lowered his hands, his face pale, beads of sweat dotting his brow as he tried to steady his breathing. Eliss watched him anxiously, her hand resting on his arm as she studied his face with concern.
"What happened?" she asked softly, her voice filled with worry. "Are you okay?"
Amukelo took a deep breath, nodding slightly as he tried to gather his thoughts. "I… I'm fine," he said. He hesitated, glancing away as if embarrassed by his own vulnerability. "It's like… like I was trying to remember something, but the moment I tried to reach it, it created this pain."
After a moment, Amukelo shook his head, as he pushed himself back to his feet. "It doesn't matter," he said, his voice steadying as he brushed off her concern. "Let's keep going."
With a quiet nod, she followed him as they resumed their path back to the inn.