CHAPTER 22

HAKKEN HURRIEDLY drew his war blade when he saw the beast's mouth about to devour his lower body and tightened his hold on his lady, but before he could swing his blade, Xeke's dagger appeared below him. And in a matter of seconds, the dagger disappeared and was replaced by Xeke, whose leg kicked the alligarean's jaw, knocking it back. Then a series of fireballs came from Zassia, hitting the alligarean ferociously, followed by Cira's arrow hitting the its eyes. It was finished by Sollel's ball of flame.

Hakken safely landed on the log, and then he jumped again to land on the other side of the river.

"Thank you for not dropping me," said Sollel as her feet touched the ground, her arm still wrapped around Hakken's neck.

"What would I drop my lady?" Hakken asked with a charming smile.

Sollel chuckled a little. "Well, you'd been sulking."

"I was just scolding myself, 's all."

Sollel unwrapped her arm around Hakken's neck. "Scolding yourself?"

Hakken nodded but didn't elaborate and silently let Sollel go. Then he went to the front to guide everyone to Castetava while Sollel stared at Hakken's back.

When Sollel learned that Hakken was not human, she let her guard down a little when she's around Hakken. She even let him touch her hand. She wouldn't deny that she had become dependent on him. He was an amazing warrior, and his strength never disappoints, but she shouldn't let her relationship with Hakken deepen. She had a mission to do; she couldn't afford distractions.

Sollel nodded to herself before following Hakken and the others.

From the river, it didn't take long for everyone to arrive at Castetava. From the outside, everyone could see that it was a destitute town. The walls around the town and their gate, unlike in Belrac, had already crumbled and could not be used to defend the town.

Castetava looked old and run-down except for the houses on the hill. The houses there were big and exquisite, eye-catching even from afar. Compared to the houses down below, the houses on the hill were striking and hard to miss. It was as if the houses on the hill were a part of a different town, but it was indeed a part of Castetava.

"It's called the noble's hill," Zassia, who knew a lot of Azitera, explained to everyone who had a confused look on their faces. "Only nobles get to live there and have an abundant life. They have their own farms and livestock."

Everyone's face hardened seeing the estate of the town. More than half of the houses were run-down. Children were crying, asking for food; adults and children alike were malnourished. There were no demi-humans nor halflings around, only humans—thin and pale-looking humans.

"Why are they still here if there were no lands to farm? How are they still alive?" Zassia asked, worried and wondering.

"They have no choice," Hakken answered. "The neighboring town, Sarnau, is not in a good estate either, and the forest that the people of Castetava depended on has been swallowed and became a barren land. For normal humans, crossing the barren land to get to Belrac means death, so they stayed here, waiting for the nobles on the hill to sell their excess food."

"How do they make a living?" Grath asked.

"There are still some lands here that wasn't devoured by the dead soil," Zassia informed everyone. "Nobody really knows why some lands are still okay for farming, but there are some left. But as far as I know, those lands are controlled by landlords, and they were all working for the nobles on the hill."

Sollel's eyes narrowed. Impossible! No land could escape Gatria's resentment.

Cira looked around. "Are there inns here? I'm hungry."

"I believe there is," Hakken answered. "It's on the other side of the town. Let's go there."

Everyone followed Hakken while looking around. And as they advanced toward the other side of the town, the houses started becoming decent and sturdy. They saw stalls of fruits, meat, and vegetables.

Seeing a fruit stall, Cira immediately ran to buy some pears to calm her hungry stomach. "Six pieces of pears, please."

The owner of the stall was all smiles as she answered Cira, "Six gold coins."

Cira's eyes widened. "What? One gold for one pear? That's too much! I can buy two dozen pears in Belrac for one gold coin!"

The woman behind the stall immediately lost her smile. "Go away if you're not buying. You're wasting my time and energy!"

Cira was about to snap back at the rude woman when an old man passing by, carrying a small piece of bread, who heard the whole conversation stopped to speak to the Cira. "Miss, this is not Belrac. This is Castetava. The food here is scarce, so it's sold at a high price. You're not a local, aren't you?"

Cira faced the old man after controlling herself not to snap at the woman behind the fruit stall. "We're travelers. We're just passing by," Cira told the old man.

"Has the price for food always been that high?" Xeke asked. "I passed Castetava before, but I didn't stop to eat."

The old man nodded. "Yes, young man. These fruits are actually from the noble's hill farms. They sell it to fruit stall owners for a high price. No one could grow such fruits here in Castetava anymore. We already lost most of our lands to the dead soil, and the remaining ones are all controlled by the landlords."

"If your land was devoured by the dead soil, then"—Xeke pointed her finger at the noble's hill—"why is it not happening to them? That hill is part of Castetava too, right?"

The old man sighed and shook his head. "Outsiders like you would never understand." The old man started walking again. If you do not want to spend a lot of money, you should leave immediately."

Everyone looked at the old man's retreating back, while Cira was forced to buy one piece of pear to quench her hunger. She didn't bother buying a pear for everyone since they didn't seem interested.

"Something is going on in this town," Grath muttered under his breath.

"We're just passing by," said Sollel in a cold voice. "It's not our problem."

What Sollel said made Hakken stilled. Then he looked at Sollel over his shoulder, his gaze sharp and penetrating, that it got Sollel's attention.

"What is it?" Sollel asked Hakken.

"Do you really mean that, my lady?" Hakken asked coldly. Sollel was not used to that tone. "I would bet my life that if the one suffering now are the demi-humans and halflings, you would risk your life to save theirs—"

"Of course. Humans had been terrorizing them," Sollel answered Hakken, cutting him off. "What's wrong with that? I don't care about humans. They can die for all I care." Sollel passed Hakken and called Cira, Zassia, and Grath. "Come on, let's look for a tavern."

Hakken clenched his fist at Sollel's nonchalance about human life. "Not all humans are bad, my lady. Same as not all demi-humans and halflings are good. Just give them a chance."

Sollel stopped on her tracks, her face darkening. Give them a chance? Hah! When it came to humans, Sollel could only tolerate so little. "Hakken, we're paying you to accompany us to Ager, not to give your unsolicited opinion about humans and other races. If you liked humans, I have no problem with that, but you have no right to dictate what I should feel about them. I hate them and they could all burn in hell for all I care." Then Sollel left with Cira, Zassia, and Grath, leaving Hakken and Xeke behind.

Xeke exhaled a long breath. "That was intense. Her anger toward humans...it's too deep."

Hakken didn't say anything and just followed Sollel.

"Hey, wait!" Xeke grabbed Hakken's shoulder to stop him. "After what she just said, you're still going to accompany her?"

"It's my job," Hakken answered with a straight face, no emotion whatsoever.

Xeke sighed. "And once you reached Ager, do you have the strength to let her go?"

Hakken didn't answer Xeke and just pulled his arm away from Xeke's hold and followed Sollel. Xeke, seeing Hakken's face, thought, Nope. He didn't have the strength. His face says it clearly.

Sighing deeply, Xeke followed Hakken.

♕♕♕

HAKKEN AND SOLLEL DIDN'T SPEAK the whole time they were eating; it was affecting the others who couldn't speak freely because of the tension surrounding them. Well, except for Cira who was eating heartily, not minding the two.

After their meal, the group went to their separate ways to explore the town. Cira went to rent an inn so she could start analyzing the moonrite stone, and Xeke rented the room beside her. Grath was tasked by Cira to look for suitable food for their travel to Sarnau, while Zassia shopped for clothes. Sollel, on the other hand, went to rent a different inn to not get affected by the moonrite stone, and Hakken followed behind her.

"Two rooms, please."

"Sorry, miss, but we only have one room left," said the receptionist in front of Sollel while glancing at Hakken behind her.

"Don't bother then." Sollel started to leave. "We will look for another inn."

"Castetava only has two inns, miss," the receptionist informed Sollel. "The other one is two blocks away from here."

That made Sollel stop on her tracks and turned to face the receptionist again. "We'll get the room."

The receptionist glanced at Hakken and smiled maliciously at Sollel. "Ten gold coins for one night."

Sollel placed ten gold coins on the counter. Good thing Cira gave her a pouch with gold coins, knowing how expensive things and services were in Castetava.

The receptionist smiled as she picked up the gold coins and handed the key to the room. "Enjoy your stay."

Sollel accepted the key, and not liking the woman's suggestive smile, she said, "We're husband and wife."

Sollel felt satisfied seeing how her statement wiped off the malicious smile on the receptionist's face. And she did not feel an ounce of awkwardness even though Hakken heard that. He had been using that lie...why couldn't she?

♕♕♕

ON THE MARKET, Grath was earning scrutinizing stares from the humans, but when the humans saw him wearing a slave collar, they immediately discarded their gazes. Unconsciously, Grath touched his slave collar. It was a good idea to keep wearing it even though I can easily take it off. I don't want to inconvenience the queen.

Until that very moment, Grath still didn't know which race the queen belonged to. It couldn't be humans since she hated them to the core. Not a demi-human either since no demi-human could wield elements; they're known for their sharp claws and brute strength. Not a beastman either since a beastman becomes a beast at night and a human at day. The queen couldn't be a halfling either since Lady Cira, a full-blooded elf, was serving her.

Could she be an elf? No. She couldn't be. Elves were known for their gentle nature, vast knowledge, agility, and healing abilities. The queen was smart indeed, but she was not gentle at all. Though saying elves were known for their gentle nature, Grath couldn't help asking himself what happened to Lady Cira.

Shaking his head, Grath arrived at the conclusion of his thoughts about the queen. She must be from the demon race. Demons resembled humans in a way, except for their horns and black-golden eyes, though most of them could only wield the power of darkness; in rare cases, some can wield an element. Maybe that's why the queen wears a cloak and a hood to hide herself from the prying eyes.

Because same with demi-humans, halflings, and beastmen, humans hated demons even though the demons would seldom leave their territory to venture outside. Demons liked to keep to themselves; that's why Grath couldn't understand why the human kingdoms were waging war against the demons. The queen's anger is understandable.

Nodding to himself, Grath continued buying provisions for their travel to Sarnau, putting all the food in the sack he was carrying.

"How much for one piece of dried meat?" Grath asked the man behind the stall.

The man behind the stall had a disdainful look at the demi-human, but when he saw the slave collar, his disdainful look vanished. "Two golds coins each."

That's too much! Grath wanted to complain about the price when he remembered what Lady Cira told her after giving her money: Don't complain about the price; just pay them and secure the food.

"Okay. I'll take twelve pieces of dried meat."

The man immediately packed twelve pieces of dried meat. "That's twenty-four gold coins."

Grath nodded and pulled out the pouch Lady Cira gave him from his secured pocket. While he counted the gold coins, his ear picked up a commotion.

"Get out of the way! Get out! Or we will trample you!"

Grath didn't heed it any attention and just paid the dried meat.

Receiving the meat and putting it in the sack, Grath went back looking for the food Lady Cira requested him to find.

"Get out of the way!"

Grath heard the same shout and didn't mind it since he was walking on the side of the street. But what Grath didn't realize was that the wagon pulled by four horses was big enough to occupy the whole street and the soldiers controlling the horses had no plan to stop for anyone. When it passed Grath, the side of the wagon hit the sack Grath was carrying, ripping it off. When Grath realized this, he immediately kicked the wagon off, causing it to swerve, and some of its important goods slipped out and broke.

Grath couldn't care less about the wagon and its important goods. He was more concerned about their food that was scattered on the ground. I must secure all this. I can't waste Lady Cira's money!

Grath was about to pick up the food when a whip wrapped around Grath's neck, too fast for him to hear and react.

"Do you know how important the contents of the vials that you broke?!" the soldier holding the whip sneered as he pulled it to suffocate the Grath. "You filthy demi-human! Even your life is not enough to pay for what you did! Die!"

Grath sneered and angrily gripped the whip around his neck and pulled to him. With Grath's strength, the soldier holding the whip stumbled and was easily dragged toward Grath. And when the soldier fell into the ground, face first, Grath sharpened his claws and slashed the soldier.

Everyone who saw that gasped, not because nobody would dare lay their hands on the soldier but because the demi-human's claw slash burned the soldier. No demi-human could wield an element, and that was a fact to everyone.

But now they just saw a demi-human attacked with flame.

Even Grath was shocked as he stepped back, his eyes wide.

My claw slash... he thought. Instead of creating sharp pressure blades when released, Grath's claw slash created five clawlike flames, wounding the soldier fatally like sharp blades would and burning the soldier alive...like a fiery flame would.

Grath looked at his hands in shock. What...just...happened?



CECELIB | C.C.