Chapter 27: The Old Mayor’s Concerns
“Young Lady, what do you want? You can have anything you like, our little town will do its best to satisfy you. Our men are out hunting! But for you to suddenly say you want to go outside… that won’t do!”
Old Man Robert rushed over upon hearing the news, dragging his granddaughter with him. The little girl timidly placed a plate of unknown meat in front of me, folding her arms behind her back, too scared to say a word.
Meanwhile, the old man stood by, flapping his hands nervously, his face a canvas of concern: “There are knights outside, there definitely are! Those church folks have found their way here! Their camp might be nearby! If you just waltz out there, and run into them… oh boy, that would be a disaster!”
I sat at the dining table, giving a glance at the food in front of me. Smelling heavenly, I picked up a piece and casually popped it in my mouth, chewing slowly before finally looking up at him.
“What’s so disastrous about it?”
Clearly playing dumb, I swallowed the piece with a loud gulp: “…I just want to visit the nearby lizard nest. I won’t be gone long. The desert is huge; those knights might not even cross my path. Honestly… even if I do run into them, they might not even recognize me…”
…What is this meat anyway?
It tastes pretty decent… but it’s not cooked enough, a bit tough to chew… hmm…
I grabbed another chunk from the plate, as Old Man Robert paced nearby, his wrinkled face scrunching up with despair: “You can’t think of it like that! You’re not from around here… you have black hair and black eyes! You’re not one of the Eastern Continent people! You’ll easily attract the church’s attention! We need to be careful… and there’s sandstorm outside too! You must be cautious!”
“Just cover my hair with a scarf and mask my face, and I’ll be good… ah, yum.”
I tossed the meat into my mouth.
“That’s not the point! Oh, Young Lady! You can’t just leave the town like that!”
“Umm… why not?”
“Miss Ailna… she’s coming back today, maybe even this very day…”
“Is that so? Where is she then?”
“Well… we might have to wait until afternoon or…”
“I need food.”
I interrupted the old man, who had already used that excuse to dodge me for three days. I wasn’t going to sit around and listen to him say that woman would be back soon, only to wait around all day, accomplishing nothing.
Time is super precious for me right now…
The old man quickly added: “For food, we can—”
“No. You can’t.”
As I talked, I kept stuffing my face with meat, finding it so tough to chew that I nearly gulped it down whole, figuring I didn’t have to worry about indigestion.
“I need a lot of food. More than this…”
Old Man Robert opened his mouth as if to protest but I waved him off, again pointing at the dwindling pile of meat on the plate: “What kind of meat is this anyway?”
“Oh, that’s… beast of burden meat…”
“See? You’ve already started slaughtering beasts of burden to feed me!”
I wiped the grease off my mouth with the back of my hand and shook my finger at him: “And I’m still not full. So clearly, you can’t afford to keep me around.”
Uh, maybe that was a bit… excessive…
Oh well, as long as he gets what I mean.
“Old Man.”
“Y-yes…”
“You don’t want me going outside because you’re worried that if I leave, I won’t come back?”
“No, no, absolutely not…”
He quickly shook his head. I stood up from the table and looked him dead in the eye: “Or are you worried about that dancer? Miss Ailna… if she comes back and doesn’t find me, what will happen?”
“……”
The old man hung his head, silent.
Hmph…
“I will leave. You and the whole town together can’t stop me.”
I finally had enough confidence to say that.
Although my chaotic powers had only slightly recovered, and order and infernal fire were still practically snoozing, if they’re just ordinary folks, a little dead smoke would be more than enough to handle them.
And if they turn out to be powerful secretive types, wielding infernal fire or even greater powers…
Then I’m not worried.
I still have the big guy on my side…
Upon hearing my sudden declaration, Old Man Robert’s face turned pale, he bent over, unable to speak, and the little girl behind him shrank even further.
“Rest easy.”
Seeing them like this made me quite satisfied. I nodded: “I just need to step out for a bit. I won’t cause trouble and I won’t harm you… as long as no one tries to stop me from eating.”
Pausing, I fixed my gaze on him, my tone leaving no room for debate: “As for Ailna. If she comes back, just tell her I’m hungry and looking for food. She’ll understand.”
With that, I patted Old Man Robert on the shoulder: “Go get someone to prepare my gear.”
Hmm…
I seem to be getting the hang of this Victoria-style conversation.
“Young Lady…”
The old man stood there, hesitating, clearly reluctant to budge.
I knew he still had concerns.
“If, by chance, you really encounter a knight, can you tell me who would be the worse off, no need for me to state the obvious.”
If you really want me to say it, I might just not have an answer…
After all, my powers have only partially recovered and, under bad luck, it could be just as I previously suspected—a Pope Knight.
If Angel has caught wind of my existence this year and sent a Pope Knight to grab me, well, I could estimate that with Big White backing me up, taking one wouldn’t be a problem; two… against ordinary Pope Knights, I’d have a decent chance, but three or four…
Uh, I definitely wouldn’t feel confident, at least not in my current condition.
And if it really was Angel going after me, he knows my background and my powers, so there’s no way he’d send an ordinary Pope Knight after me…
Old Man Robert is right; there are significant risks in me going out.
But I can’t let that stop me.
I can’t just sit in the cellar fearing potential risks and do nothing. If so, trying to regain my powers means I’d have to exhaust the townsfolk or wait months… which I can’t afford.
Leaving the town for the desert, eating whatever I can find, gobbling up all living things…
Let’s set that as my little goal for now.
I turned my back to the old man who was still stuck in his thoughts and walked toward the wooden cellar door. A few steps in, I could hear him mumbling behind me.
“The one in trouble is this town…”
I suddenly froze.
…That’s right.
If I run into the church, I might win easily or end up bolting embarrassingly, but regardless, I’m sure I could take care of myself, thanks to the branches of the white tree; I could hide in the Land of Dragons, where no one could reach me. That’s what gives me the guts to go out and stir up some chaos.
But my actions could very well bring trouble to the town…
Why hadn’t I considered that…
Is it because…
Have I unconsciously viewed these people as allies of the Gate of Truth…?
Or…
My steps faltered for a moment, and there was a flicker of hesitation in my heart, but that little hesitation vanished just as quickly.
“Come on, Old Man, I’m in a hurry.”
I quickened my pace toward the door: “Wrap up my scarf, mask, gear, all prepared. I’ll be back before dusk.”
Pausing again, I added: “And I won’t stir up trouble.”
Creeeak—
Bang.
The wooden door opened and slammed shut, leaving the cellar in silence.
