"What?! How dare you give me orders, you little runt! You want to…"
BAAAMM!!!
The sound, like an explosion, was the result of a powerful kick from Nate, which sent Ganna flying to the ground in one blow. After this, Nate tried to calm himself, hiding the traces of anger on his face. He crouched in front of the girl and covered her with the large piece of cloth he had worn to protect himself from the rain. Finally, he asked with a reassuring smile:
"Are you okay? You're not hurt, are you?"
"N-no, I'm fine. I'm not hurt."
"That's good then…"
Then…
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!! You just signed your death warrant, you little brat!"
Ganna rushed at Nate, who took a defensive stance, ready to fight back. But before the fight could start, a voice rang out.
"Gannaaa… that's enough!"
Hearing the command, Ganna came to a sudden stop. He looked toward the owner of the voice and said:
"But Captain, I…"
The captain, who had now approached, interrupted his subordinate in a completely authoritative manner.
"Are you deaf? I said, let it go!!!"
...GLOUPSE...
Completely intimidated, Ganna swallowed the dry lump in his throat and backed off. The captain, a tall and rather handsome man, standing around 1.90 meters, approached Nate and said:
"Good evening, my friend. Pleased to meet you. My name is Misset, and I'm the leader of those two."
"What?!!! They're both your subordinates, and you let this kind of thing happen without saying anything???"
"Hahahahah… Come on, it's just a little quarrel between friends; no need to make a big deal out of it."
"A little quarrel?!!"
"Whoa, easy there, hotshot; calm down. I think you've misunderstood the situation, so let me clarify. That girl you're protecting is actually a real monster, you know. In fact, she's an Elementalist."
For a brief moment, Nate was shocked by this revelation. But he quickly regained his composure and replied:
"So what?!"
"Heeiiiiiiiiinnnnnnn… So you're not afraid of Elementalists, huh? You've really got guts, don't you?"
In reality, Misset had only said this to test the young boy and see if he was telling the truth. When he saw that Nate's gaze didn't waver and that he was still standing firmly in front of the girl, determined to protect her, a devilish and vicious grin flickered across Misset's lips for a split second. But he quickly resumed his cheerful demeanor and said to Nate:
"Well, I think tonight has been quite eventful. How about you escort our dear friend back to her room? We can continue this charming discussion another time… Besides, I have an offer for you that you won't be able to refuse."
Nate simply helped the girl to her feet, then, taking her hand, led her away. As they walked off, he responded to the captain:
"Whatever your offer is, you can keep it; I'm not interested."
And with that, they parted ways, Nate escorting his charge and Misset returning to drink with his men.
During the walk to the girl's room, a long silence settled between the two Elementalists. The silence was eventually broken when the girl said:
"We've arrived, this is my room."
She opened the door, entered first, and didn't oppose Nate joining her. Once inside, Nate immediately shut the door behind him and asked the girl:
"Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine, thanks to you."
"Alright. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Nate, I'm 12 years old; I think we're about the same age."
"Nice to meet you, Nate, but actually, I think you're older than me."
"(That means she's younger than 12?!!!)"
Shocked by this revelation, Nate continued.
"Tell me, is what that guy said true? Are you comrades?"
"Y-yes, it's true."
"Then wh..."
"I'm sorry, and thank you for the help you gave me, but I'm fine now, so you don't need to worry anymore."
She smiled warmly at him, trying to reassure him, but it had the opposite effect.
"H-how can you say that with a smile after what just happened…?"
"Oh, I'm sorry; you must think I'm crazy, but I assure you, it's nothing. Things like that happen all the time here."
"If what you're saying is true, then why is your whole body trembling…?"
Realizing she had been found out, the girl responded:
"You wouldn't understand…"
"Maybe, but what I do know is that you need help; I don't need to understand anything else. Please, take this hand I'm offering you and let me help you out of this nightmare."
Overwhelmed by these words, the girl felt an unexpected wave of emotions. How could a complete stranger care about her so much?
As she looked at the hand extended toward her, she was strongly tempted to take it, to the point where her hand began to slowly move toward Nate. But suddenly, a thought came to crush this small glimmer of hope she had found.
"(No, this is too good to be true. And even if it were, a monster like me doesn't deserve it.)"
She retracted the hand she had barely raised toward Nate and said:
"I'm sorry, but I can't. These people are very dangerous, in ways you can't even imagine, and I'd hate for something to happen to you because of me. But thank you, really. Because of you, I felt, for a brief moment, what it's like to have someone care about me again; and that's already more than I could've hoped for…"
"But I…"
Then, the girl, desperately holding back her tears, interrupted him in a trembling voice.
sniff sniff
"Please, don't make this harder. I beg you, just leave me; I want to be alone…"
Faced with such determination, Nate could only leave the room, gritting his teeth, frustrated at being unable to help. The sobs he now heard from behind the door he had just closed only made things worse. Completely dejected, he returned to his own room, where he threw himself on the bed, hoping to sleep and forget. He spent a long time tossing and turning, waiting for sleep, but it never came. Finally, he decided:
"Instead of lying here doing nothing, I'll go for a run. The rain has calmed down, after all."
So he went out for a run under the light rain, trying to clear his mind. After some time running, he returned to the inn with a clearer head. The first thing he did when he got back was head to the girl's door and knock.
Knock knock; knock knock knock
But there was no response. Worried, he decided to enter the room, but found no one there. He went down to the reception desk and spoke to the bartender, who also served as the receptionist.
"Good morning…"
"Yes, good morning, sir. I hope you had a pleasant night…"
"Let's just say I've had worse."
"I understand, sir. So, how can I help you?"
"I was wondering if you knew where the young girl I was with last night went."
"Oh, I see… It seems she and her companions went hunting."
"What?!!! Where did they go?!"
"The only hunting area is to the north, around..."
But before he could finish, the young boy had already bolted toward the exit, running north as fast as he could. Soon, he left the town and entered what looked like a forest of dead trees. As he moved through it with the agility and speed of a cheetah, one thought consumed him.
"(Please, let nothing happen to her; let me just be overreacting…)"
But at that very moment, he heard a piercing scream in the distance.
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!"
Nate instantly recognized the voice and immediately knew his worst fears had come true. He was seized by an overwhelming rage, and with gritted teeth, he swore:
"This time, I'm definatly gonna kill someone!"