"Oy, come back!"
The beggar shouted and pleaded. He used every word he could use, but everything was futile. Leo left to find the village and didn't look back. He was hungry and didn't want to waste even a second. The apple he found in the backpack was way too small, and the bread was inedible, to say the least.
The beggar died a few hours later due to blood loss and several infections as the rats found him a few minutes after Leo left.
Leo walked in a straight line as he was instructed by his rookie robber friend. It took him a while, but he finally found smoke, which he assumed originated from a chimney. Soon afterward, Leo stumbled upon a sign and the beginning of a dirty road.
Have a safe journey!
Apparently, it was the end of the road and not the beginning. Leo looked ahead and found a couple of wooden houses in the distance. It was guarded by a high wooden fence. There was a small gate, barely enough for two people to fit through side by side.
Leo walked there, and a tall man clad in a mixture of leather clothes and armor stopped him.
"Stop right there. I'm going to have to search your backpack before allowing you inside. Please understand that this is a safety measure to defend Farna against the bandits. Everyone who comes out of the forest is to be checked."
"You will be fine as long as you don't have a weapon or anything suspicious in your backpack. I'm talking about scrolls, potions, or unusual contraptions."
Leo gave him the backpack, knowing there was nothing inside. Luckily, he didn't bring the rusty dagger with him; otherwise, getting inside the village would have been problematic.
Fighting with the village guard was out of the question. Everyone had a magical ability in this world, and Leo was not ready to experiment with his life on the line, even if he was confident in himself.
He wanted that dagger. It was good to have a weapon when wandering in unknown places, but the desire to stab the beggar was too strong. The guard returned the stolen backpack after a few seconds, as there was nothing to see.
"It looks like you don't have anything dangerous with you. I wish you a peaceful time in Farna."
The guard opened the reinforced wooden gate, and Leo nodded in appreciation. What greeted him as he entered the somewhat populated village was a scene straight out of a fantasy book.
Detailed wooden houses constructed with great care. They were separated by stone paths. On these paths were horses and humans alike. The smell of rotting flesh was mixed with a pleasant smell of cooked meat.
The latter reminded Leo of his current situation. He was starving but had no money to buy anything. Thus, his only choice was getting someone to give him money or finding work.
'Okay, the next person I find will have to help me no matter what.'
Leo looked around, and a small smile formed when he found a kid playing with his parents not far from his current location. He walked up to them slowly, and his steps were wobbly and uncertain.
Leo concentrated on the ground and stumbled into the kid. Tripping him in the process. He pretended not to notice and continued on his way. However, the parents of the kid didn't let him walk away just like that.
The mother helped the little kid stand up while the father walked after Leo.
"Hey, young man. Don't you have anything to say after walking across my child? He is not an object!"
Leo slowly lifted his gaze from the ground. He was unfocused and shaky.
"I'm sorry."
Leo collapsed on the ground as he apologized and tried to stand up but collapsed in the process. Of course, it was all a fake play to get some food, but the family didn't notice it. The father caught Leo as he was about to hit the ground.
"Are you alright?"
"I'm fine just a bit hungry. Don't mind me."
"You're not fine. Can you walk? Do you need help?"
"I'm fine. I'll manage somehow."
Leo shook off the help and tried to walk by himself but again collapsed.
"You're not fine at all! Hold onto my shoulder. There is a good place nearby. They serve cheap and delicious food. I'll pay for it. Just let me help."
Thus, Leo accompanied the family to a nearby inn. The father bought him a big bowl of vegetable soup and an even bigger fish. It took him a good while to finish it.
"That was truly a lifesaver. I'm so sorry for what happened previously. I wasn't in my right mind."
Leo apologized to the family while concealing what happened as an accident.
"Don't mind it. It wasn't your fault, but how did you end up in this situation? I'll be honest with you. You don't look like a beggar. Your clothes are thorn and shabby, but your face and clear skin are telling me you're the son of a noble."
"Also, that orange-colored flame tattoo on your face. You must be strong."
Leo was surprised to hear him compliment his looks. There was even a tattoo on his face he didn't know about up until now. His features were not bad even back on earth, but certainly not enough to get strangers to compliment him.
He didn't have the chance to see his own face so far. There was not a single drop of water or a piece of shattered glass on the ground where he could observe his reflection.
"I'm a traveler from far away. Everything was fine on the majority of my journey, but I ended up getting robbed in the forest just behind this village. I lost all my food and money. They even took my clothes."
The young couple looked at each other briefly as they listened to Leo and silently decided to help him.
"We don't have too much money, and our clothes don't fit you, but we can give you a place for a short time. You can easily get a job and earn money in this village."