### Chapter 18: The Town in the Desert (Part II)
Turning back, I noticed the women were gradually walking away down the road, definitely headed west towards the town. They had jars balanced on their heads—probably to collect water. I guessed they were off to that oasis and then to the Red River to fetch some water back.
That’s probably the only water source around here…
This town must have been sustained for generations by the water from the Red River; the townsfolk’s entire way of life depended on that river. The oasis was crucial for survival, or else in a desolate place like this, ordinary people wouldn’t stand a chance…
In Eastern Continent terms, this area had to be considered extremely remote and poor… Surrounded by endless stretches of yellow sandy desert, war chariots could probably never make it in here. The nearest town might take days of walking to reach, not to mention that the harsh environment made the flow of goods nearly impossible.
This is a town cut off from the world…
No wonder Ailna wanted to hide away in a place like this! With no satellite GPS, it would be like searching for a needle in a haystack for the Church folks to find such a tiny town in the vast desert…
I shook my head gently to settle my feelings and stopped looking at those women who were now far away. I figured there was no need to get riled up about them and turned back in the direction I came from.
Not long after, I saw five or six children darting out from behind a mud hut. Two of them were swinging purple vines at each other, caught somewhere between an intense duel and just goofing around. They were really getting into it! The onlookers cheered them on, but when they spotted me, they halted mid-action and slyly began following me.
“Black hair, black hair…”
The kids sang as they bounced and clapped their hands, clearly excited. The older ones would occasionally dash ahead, stopping to check me out as I walked by, like I was some rare creature. One kid suddenly shouted, “Wow!” from behind, trying to scare me.
Bold little brats…
I didn’t want to deal with them at first, but after a few rounds of this, it became annoying. So I spun around, clawing my hands like a monster, and let out a scream right back at them. The sudden move sent their faces pale, and they bolted away.
“Ha-ha…”
I felt quite pleased and couldn’t help but chuckle.
Those kids reminded me of Ryan and his little minions…
But compared to Ryan back then, these kids seemed a lot younger. Maybe they had heard about my “successor” status because they sure seemed freaked out, running off and not returning. I welcomed the peace as I strolled back to the mud hut, spotting an old, scraggly man huddled at the entrance, puffing away at his pipe.
Ah.
It was that elder, Robert…
I approached slowly, and when he noticed me, he knocked the ashes from his pipe onto the ground, hastily stood up at attention, “Uh, Miss… Young Lady!”
What kind of weird title was that?
Why call me that? I was so confused.
It felt so awkward…
I rolled my eyes but didn’t say anything, walking straight up to him.
Time to correct him…
I might as well let him call me Queen.
“I heard you went out, so I came to check on you… Uh, cough cough… Huh!”
The old man spat a hefty glob on the ground and wiped his nose on his robe, giving me a nervous smile, “Well, um, are you looking for something? Just say the word and whatever the town has, I’ll send someone to get it for you.”
“Food.”
I scrunched my little nose and stated matter-of-factly.
What was I trying to correct again?
Oh well, forgot…
“Right, right, no problem! I already have someone preparing it. Just wait in the cellar; it’ll be delivered to you soon!”
This old guy seemed to have just been waiting for me to return; once he saw me, he visibly relaxed. He waved his hands as if to usher me away, “Miss Young Lady, please stay in the cellar and don’t wander off. It’s dangerous, I promise I’m not lying. Just… stay put!”
He wobbled down the steps and took a few paces away when suddenly I called out, “Wait!”
“…Hmm?”
Elder Robert turned back.
I asked him with a straight face, “You said there were knights… from the Church?”
“Ah… yes, yes.”
His bony, weathered face turned serious, “About two weeks ago, two knights came through here—one was a woman with red hair, and the other was a very thin old man… They claimed to be knights from the Church.”
Red-haired woman? An old man?
Knights?
What a strange feeling…
“I checked their knight insignias, but I couldn’t tell if they were genuine or not. Just saw their outfits looked legit. At their request, I showed them around the town… they said they were checking the population and wanted a list of the townsfolk.”
Checking the population?
Population, my foot; they were probably on a manhunt.
“Then they asked if I had plans to relocate since living conditions are tough in the desert… After I declined, they left soon after. But I still felt something was off… Young Lady, those knights might come back. You should stay in the cellar; it’s safer.”
“…Okay.”
I frowned deeply.
Two knights…
A woman was one thing, but an old man too…
Not to mention how this weird duo managed to traverse the desert and find their way here—only two people daring to be so reckless. They couldn’t possibly be Pope Knights, could they…
Ugh, what a hassle…
Anyway, Elder Robert’s warning was wise.
Given my current situation, I definitely needed to be cautious… The priority was to avoid any Church-affiliated forces discovering me until I regained my strength and could head back to the Western Continent.
“Hey…”
The old man definitely had more to hide about the knights; he just didn’t want to say. It would be tough to pry more info out of him now, but I could at least poke around for a bit more with a casual question.
So, I thought for a moment and jumped to another topic, “Ailna, what’s her… relationship with you all?”
I already had some notes about Ailna’s relationship with the townsfolk. I wasn’t sure if this old guy had seen that booklet, but I just wanted to hear his version and to see if he’d lie to me.
Most importantly, I wanted to sidestep and figure out what the people in this town were really up to.
“Miss Ailna…”
I watched as the old man paused to think, then put on a sheepish grin, “Well, she may not have been born here, but her mother, Elena, is a native… Just like Miss Ailna, Elena was the most beautiful girl in town at her time. Then she got married… oh, to Ailna’s father, a man as strict as they come… Elena followed him out of town. Sadly, many years later, only Miss Ailna returned…”
As he continued, Elder Robert’s smile faded.
“We regard her as part of our town; I watched her mother grow up. This is their hometown. The house behind you was once Elena’s, and Miss Ailna lived there for a few years… Her grandma died early, and her grandpa vanished when he was young. Now the house is left to her! Cough cough…”
The old mayor bent over to cough a few times, then continued, “Young Lady, I’m not entirely sure what you want to understand regarding your past with Miss Ailna. I can’t decipher much from the past… Miss Ailna has been through some rough patches—she might be a bit fiery, but she has her reasons… She’s not a bad kid; it’s just the way the world is—”
He stopped short, leaving the last words unspoken.
