The fear from before was replaced by confusion and doubt.
-"...You're Sile, aren't you? But I seem to remember you were younger yesterday..." His gaze bore into her.
- "Oh, you're very direct. I'm flattered that a handsome young man like you would tell me I look young, but I'm already married." She held out her hand, displaying a modest but elegant wedding ring.
- "Ma-Married, you say... To whom...?"
- "Ho, ho. That would be me, young Kael. I've been fortunate enough to be married to this wonderful woman for 20 years. Oh, I still remember how beautiful you looked in that dress..." Seamus took Sile's hand, looking at her affectionately.
- "Boss, you'll make me blush. I don't look like I used to..."
- "Nonsense! To me, you'll always be as beautiful as the day I met you!"
- "Boss..."
- "Sile..."
- "Umm... Hello...?"
Completely ignoring Kael's existence, they both created their own world, you could almost see the hearts floating around them.
The other customers whistled in mockery, shouting things like:
- "Go somewhere else! Don't eat in front of the poor!"
- "It's good to see you still love each other after all these years!"
- "Waaaah, I miss my wife!"
In just a few moments, the atmosphere became livelier and the drunks drank even more, while the sober ones began to get drunk. Not knowing what to do, Kael slowly stood up and walked out of the bar, sitting down in front of the entrance.
-Haaa... I don't understand anything. Sile is... Alive? But yesterday she was a young girl around my age and now she's an old lady. Even more confusing, twenty twenty years married to Mr. Seamus? Fuck, it seems like all I do is ask questions and never get answers."
- "Mr. Kael! Good morning!" With her usual squeaky voice and little hops, Ciara greeted Kael with a hug.
- "Good morning, Ciara. Did you rest well?" He stroked her head a little, feeling his mind and soul recover again thanks to her innocence.
- "Yep, I went to bed early and woke up as soon as the sun came up." She released Kael, striking a proud pose with both hands on her hips and a smile on her face.
- "I see. Sounds like a good thing to me, but won't your parents worry if you leave the house so early?"
- "Ciara doesn't have parents, so no problem!"
- "Ahh, I understand, sorry I asked." Kael felt a small prick in his heart.
- "Mmm? Don't worry! I never knew my father, and I promised my mother I wouldn't be sad when she went away. In fact, this basket belonged to my mother, she used it to sell pretty flowers and gave them to those who looked sad to make them smile. - She pulled the basket close to her chest, hugging it tightly. - That's why Ciara gets up early, It's so everyone can smile again thanks to my flowers!"
- "You really are a very good girl, I hope you can make the whole village smile." Kael stroked her head, as a way of congratulating her. Well, he really didn't know any other way to congratulate a child.
- "Heh, heh... Ah! Ciara is not a child!"
- "Sorry, sorry. I meant miss. Let's go in, shall we?" Holding back a laugh, Kael stood up and gestured Ciara to the entrance of the bar.
Although she looked somewhat dissatisfied, the little girl complied.
-"... It's okay, Ciara's already hungry anyway."
Inside the bar, the atmosphere seemed to have finally calmed down, as if the chaos of a few moments ago was a lie. Like the day before, they took a seat at the bar, where Seamus greeted them.
- "Welcome, Ciara, you're just in time. We've already got your lunch ready."
- "Yay! Thank you Grandpa Seamus!"
- "Jo, Jo. No problem, little one. Now be a good little lady and wait quietly."
- "Okay! Mhmm♪ Mhmm♪" Swaying her feet, she began to hum a little tune. Both Seamus and Kael smiled at the sight of her.
- "Oh, right, sorry about just now, Kael. Sometimes we get lost in our own world and it's hard to get out."
- "Easy, sir, good to see you two are still getting along." Kael forced a nonchalant smile, as if to indicate there was no problem.
-(Still... I know nothing, both as to why Sile's change, nor the cause of the state of the village. I don't think it's simply due to the lack of merchants... Wait, the carriage I found on my way here, from its size and the driver's papers, seemed to be carrying some kind of merchandise, but I didn't find anything. And the bandits didn't have anything on them either, there were only corpses-).
-"!!" As if completing a puzzle, the pieces were slowly coming together in Kael's mind.
Seamus, seeing him with a complicated expression, asked him:
- "What's wrong, are you all right?"
-"...Mr. Seamus, can I ask you something?"
Though confused by Kael's sudden serious tone, he nodded.
- "You commented to me about the merchants not coming through here a while back, remember? - Seamus nodded again- "By any chance... Those 'commodities' you were talking about... were they people?"
A clear expression of surprise was reflected on Seamus' face, that question caught him off guard.
Silence.
Neither of them spoke, they just looked at each other, until....
-Yes, it's just as you say. We were expecting people... No, slaves, to use the men for labor and the women for the young ones to relieve some 'stress'."
Kael's fists clenched, his breathing became harsh and sweat began to trickle down his forehead- But before he could do anything, an incredible headache stopped him. That didn't last two seconds, but Kael's mind was calm and his whole body relaxed.
Having seen this, Seamus looked at him with pity and said:
-"...So i was right."
-"..."
- "You... you're not from here, are you?"
- "What do you mean?"
- "Your way of talking, and the fact that you are in 'this' village make me think that you are not from this kingdom. Also, when I mentioned that the goods were slaves, you looked like you were about to jump on me."
-"...I apologize, I didn't mean to attack you. But how can you talk so calmly about people as merchandise? That's not right!"
- "That's not right, eh... Tell me, boy Are you by any chance from the Kingdom of Celestora? Only someone from that place would think ill of slavery."
- "Wherever i am from has nothing to do with it! That sort of thing doesn't-"
- "Young man," Seamus' voice, so warm and familiar moments ago, was now as cold as the cruelest winter, "Anyone who grew up here, in the Kingdom of Ealiar, would know that slavery is an everyday thing. So, either you're from another kingdom, or you come here with a purpose-"
Silence descended in the bar after he said those words, and the men who were enjoying their drink a moment ago, looked warily at Kael, with their hands near their weapons.
- "If it's the latter... What purpose?"