Since there was nothing left to do in the port town, Rain, Chi, and Hana decided to head back to the Barren Wasteland.
For some reason, Rain missed the two giant rocks that had now turned into shuttered stones. It was better there than here, where he always felt like an outsider.
His excitement before coming here had completely turned into disappointment. He had hoped his problems would finally be addressed by coming here, only to be brushed aside by everyone.
~Chi?~
"Ah, you're wondering why I'm uncomfortable?" Rain asked, glancing nervously from left to right as they walked. "In novels, moments like this — when you're walking down the sidewalk like this — are when enemies usually appear. The protagonist encounters a high-ranking noble or some powerful adversary, leading to inevitable drama and conflict . . . or something along those lines."
Chi laughed. ~Chi~
"Ah, you're probably right. It only happens in novels, so there's no way––oofgh!"
Rain stepped back after colliding with someone. Despite being careful and watching his steps, the moment his gaze lingered on Chi for just a brief instant, things like this happened.
"Ah, sorry," Rain apologized quickly.
Looking over, he saw a tall figure with long crab-like legs. Its face was red with anger — or perhaps that was its natural skin color.
It was none other than a Zuwai!
But unlike the image Rain had seen on his screen, this one had a youthful face, though the same angry eyes, big nose, and tentacles at the sides of its mouth.
"You idiot! Why aren't you watching where you're walking? Don't you know who you just bumped into?!" snapped an orc. He was short and fat for an orc, with a pig-like face, but he was garbed in the finest clothes Rain had seen so far.
"I'm sorry. I didn't really see him," Rain apologized, though he had to admit that the Zuwai was hard to miss because of his height.
In his defense, he was looking at Chi and the Zuwai was rather slim, so . . .
Wait . . . why did that Orc's line feel familiar?
Could this be . . . a scene straight out of a novel?!
"Give it a rest, Lyncon. No one was hurt," Hana said, stepping forward in front of Rain to protect hmi.
"Get away from him, Hana. He will not go unpunished for bumping against Lord Izu!"
Lord Izu? Rain thought. Even the name sounded familiar.
Upon laying eyes on Hana, Izu's expression softened a little. "Hana . . ." He then shifted his gaze at Rain, his eyes narrowing. "What are you doing with a player?"
Hana dropped to her knees, surprising Rain and Chi.
"Lord Izu, I'm merely guiding this player around the town. He is new and just arrived today. He doesn't know any better, so please forgive him."
Rain glanced between Hana's serious face and the man they called Izu. It must be his imagination, but the guy seemed to like her, which confused him.
No offense to Hana, but she wasn't exactly beautiful from a human perspective. She was . . . strange. But maybe in a yokai perspective, she was very pretty?
Rain wanted to slap himself. They were in a serious situation here and he couldn't afford to mess up or antagonize some young master right now. He knew what Hana was trying to do and simply followed her lead. He lowered his head and bowed while Chi was about to protest, but he placed his hand over her head and pushed it down slightly.
This was no time nor place to make enemies.
'Sorry, Chi, but we have to pick our enemies wisely right now. If it were only Hobgoblins and Quillwolves, I'd have no problem facing them. But this is a town led by a notorious lord with a battalion of soldiers and two warships!'
While him . . . he only have five troops, some traps, and shattered shelter.
Izu looked down at Rain and even brushed off his robe where he had been bumped, a gesture that Rain found annoyingly dismissive.
"Is that so?" Izu said, barely glancing at Rain before ignoring him entirely. His whole attention was on Hana. "I heard that you ventured out into the Barren Wasteland with some others."
Hana bit her lip and glared at Lyncon. It was probably his doing. The expedition was supposed to be a secret, but the orc had ways of hearing everything that happened in town.
"We don't forbid you to go out, but . . . what were you doing outside, Hana?" Izu's eyes narrowed.
"We were merely trying to find food, Lord Izu, or something to take back and sell here," Hana replied immediately, her eyes fixed on the ground.
Izu chuckled. He bent down and raised Hana's chin. "If you agree to become my woman, then you will live like a princess and no longer have to suffer such insignificant problems like this."
Hana remained silent, clenching her fists and enduring her anger. Hunger was a serious problem for them, but to this young master, it was merely an insignificant issue.
But what could she do? One wrong move or word, and she could easily lose her life.
"Uhm . . . excuse me?" Rain interjected.
All eyes turned to him.
"Can we leave now?" Rain asked, his tone polite but firm.
Izu's face darkened and Hana immediately interjected.
"I'm sorry, Lord Izu," she said frantically while giving Rain a look to shut his mouth. "Like I said, he is new and doesn't know the rules here."
Izu glared at Rain. "Since he is new, I will let it slide. After all, it's a rare sight to see a player in this wasteland." Though he disliked players, his father specifically forbade harming them.
They were a troublesome bunch with their troops. If one player was killed, others might come after them in retaliation. To maintain the current 'peace' in the town, he had to tolerate some incidents like this.
Hana sighed in relief. "Thank you, Lord Izu."
"However, he still needs to pay for ruining my robe and talking back to me. And since you're responsible for him, you will spend your day with me, Hana."
Hana's face paled, and Rain stepped forward to intervene, momentarily forgetting his plan to avoid aggravating any young masters.