125 A caring elder (1/2)
Inside Ronta, there was a crowd rarely seen in the entire kingdom. Many merchants and peddlers came, attracted by the massive influx of soldiers heading that way.Families sometimes just took their offsprings to see how those newcomers looked like. In that regard, many young boys were attracted by the shiny armors that were blinding them with the sunlight. Of course, some couldn't help but feel scared by this.
After all, there wouldn't be so many armed men and women in the surroundings if it wasn't for something threatening. Similar to their counterpart beyond the Wild Mountains, the excuses of launching an assault against their neighbor was advanced. To the eyes of some that were in the secret, it was funny to use war to appease the common people. When the prospect of thousands of their friends and fellow citizens was less scary than the truth.
”Grandpa, do you know why there are so many soldiers? You said that we shouldn't have seen them again, you promised! They were scary when they entered our house.” A cute little girl was walking side by side with an old man. He was not decrepit or frail but was not strong anymore. If one had to guess his age, he would be given seventy years, more or less. With his white hair disappearing slowly and letting place to a bald head, he began to mess up the hair of the little girl.
”I know, I know, little bunny. But I also promised you that we would travel to the South one day. And here we are, it was not my fault that those brats in armors are here too!” The girl did not look convinced at all by that.Even when the old man tried to appear as kind and sincere as he could, she was clearly not fooled. ”But, you said that no one could force you to walk out of home...”
Causing her to be puzzled, the old man chuckled and looked above him. The sun was very high in the sky, and soon after, he heard the sound of an empty stomach shouting for help. Grabbing her hand, they both headed to the nearest inn. Inside, they found a huge amount of adventurers that were leisurely waiting. With so many soldiers, they had been rendered useless and were almost forced to rest.
Bypassing a group of seven men that were laughing and drinking, his dear granddaughter almost fell because of one of them. The probable leader, a mass of flesh and muscle hit the back of the knight that was clearly too drunk. After some apologies, the duo finally reached an empty table and waited for a bit. There, the tenant of the inn, a jovial woman quickly took their orders.
”Are you sure about what you heard? Does he no longer dislike staying outside? Is he not restrained anymore?” Barely a meter away, two adventurers were murmuring something. Even if he was old, he was not senile nor deaf. Extending his ears, he could understand most of that discussion.
”Yes, the General Darkwater should be in charge of that offensive. That's why so many soldiers are here.”
”But, why now? It has been ten years since that battle, that turned the general into a full-fledged noble. That's a lot, ten years.”
”Oh, what do I know? I am just telling you what I learned.”
”Who are you talking about?” Both men were surprised by the tiny human in front of them. Without noticing it, she had slipped from his vision and had directly confronted the two adventurers. Before he could even react, one had already grabbed the girl and put her in the empty chair next to him.
”What are you doing here? Where are your parents?” She immediately pointed at the elder, that was trying his best to not be ashamed. He swore that he would teach her a lesson tonight, for selling her old grandfather so quickly. ”Sorry, sorry, we were right behind you and she disappeared in less than a second. You know, child.”
Looking at each other, the two adventurers relaxed. After all, it was only a family taking a meal. Even if the inn was mainly providing food and drinks for adventurers, it did not prevent normal citizens to enter it, once in a while. But after that, they saw that the girl was still looking at them, her stare unmoving.
”Eh... girl?” She did not even blink, while one of the strangers was questioning her. ”You did not answer my question, who are you talking about?” Faced with such a serious inquiry, from such a cute little face, the youngest of the two began to talk. After all, they were bored and had nothing to do, so why not amuse her for a moment.
”The most intelligent human of this world, the defender of the North, the ...” ”We can cut all the titles, do you see how much she cared?” His companion cut the crap he was spouting because the girl was clearly not understanding everything. She was barely six years old, so it made sense for the adventurers to skip directly to the interesting part.
”Ok, fine. Where was I? Ah, yes, Lord Darkwater, or the General Darkwater. He had another nickname previously, but it would not be very respectful to say it loudly. So ...”
”But I want to know! Bwahahaha” The now almost wailing child was looking more and more like a monster to the two fighters. Her skill at changing her emotions in less than a second was even faster than a wolf leaping on its prey. But with her guardian nearby that was only smiling, they understood it was normal.
”Yes, yes, I will say it. Stop crying, please.” They then saw her tears vanishing in the blink of an eye and her mouth turning into a smile. Wiping the sweat on his forehead, the youngster began to regret inviting this demon.
”He was previously known as the General Rat. Because unlike other generals or even officers, he was not battling with honor. Anything was allowed, as long as he could achieve victory. That's also why the emblem of the now noble Darkwater is a rat.”