706 Value (1/2)
Morning had just arrived.
In the bustling region of midtown Avalon, the apartment district, a few pedestrians going to work in the morning walked along the streets. The bakery had opened for the day. The awnings, as well as the tables and chairs outside, had been set up, and a sign advertising half-priced set meals and coffee was hung outside.
A carriage quietly stopped at the door of the six-story apartment. Several men in black uniform climbed up and down the stairs, carrying boxes of luggage down, and put them in the trailer. Their movements were consistent, but their uniform had no logo on it. Also, unlike trained soldiers, they didn't look burly. Although they were thin, they carried the heavy luggage effortlessly. Whenever someone looked their way, they would look back, as if they could sense the gaze, sizing the people around them up with a cold look in their eyes.
In the carriage, the man named Richard opened the curtains and looked at a window on the fifth floor. ”Is our guest done packing up?”
The assistant outside the carriage shook his head. ”There's still a bit left. The good sir refused our help, and it seems that he resents it quite a bit.”
”It's the same,” Richard said calmly. ”After studying hard for five years, just before graduation, he was given a notice to pack his luggage up in two days and be escorted out of the country. Surely, anyone would feel upset. Plus, no one is at fault for such a predicament, who can he blame?”
The assistant said nothing. He just sighed and looked down at his pocket watch to tell the time.
”Don't look at it, just wait.” Richard leaned back on the seat of the carriage. ”At least leave him some time to say goodbye.”
…
On the fifth floor, the room was already empty.
Although it was one of the best apartments in midtown Avalon, the interior was still simple, and there wasn't much furniture of bigger size, to the extent that only a few chairs and a bed were left after all the luggage had been taken away.
A huge easel was also among the things left. The unfinished painting on it was still covered with a damp cloth, and many completed portraits were put at a corner. Unfortunately, the Royal Hounds were rather rough when carrying the luggage, and many paintings had fallen onto the ground, stained with dust.
And their creator couldn't be bothered about them anymore.
”Thaler, aren't you bringing these along?” the girl who lived next door said. She came to Avalon to study just like him. Having been classmates for four years, she came to help him move out.
”Forget it, I can't bring them along, just leave them here.” The thin young man cast a final look at the products of his hard work and withdrew his gaze. ”If I get a chance, I'll come back and pack them up.” Thaler lifted the last suitcase, got up, and looked at the girl next to him, forcing out a smile.
”Time to leave?” she asked.
”Yeah.” Thaler nodded, wanting to say something, but no words came out.
”It's a pity, you are just one year short of finishing your studies.” The girl smiled, a complicated look on her face. She reached out and hugged him gently. ”I won't be sending you off then.”
”Mhmm.” Thaler nodded, looked at her one last time, and walked towards the door. But after walking to the door, he turned back and opened the suitcase. He took out a wrapped painting and handed it to her. ”This is for you.”
It was a portrait that looked just like her.
”I always wanted to give it to you.” Thaler smiled regretfully. ”If I don't give you now, I'll have no chance to do so.” Having said so, he lifted the suitcase and left, as if he was running away from something.
Only the girl was left standing in the room, looking at the emptiness.
It wasn't until the carriage started moving that Thaler heard the shouts from behind him. He poked his head out of the window of the carriage and saw the girl shouting at him from the window on the fifth floor.
But Thaler could not make out what she was saying.
The carriage didn't stop, and as the driver whipped the horse, the carriage gradually went further and further away from the apartment, until it turned onto Queen's Road, and he couldn't see where she was anymore. She had been swallowed up by the city.
Thaler sat back in the carriage, collapsing on the seat, his eyes somewhat red.
”I'm sorry.” Richard handed him a handkerchief. ”I know that the decision is cruel to you, but I hope you can understand that you going back to Asgard is the best for everyone.”
Thaler said nothing, nor did he look up at Richard.
”If you really miss her, come back here after the war.” Richard took back the handkerchief that was ignored, and said calmly, ”Waiting is always pleasant as compared to separating, isn't it?”
After a silence, Thaler looked up, took a deep breath, and shook his head. ”No, I probably won't come back.”
”That's a pity.” Richard said calmly, ”When the war is over, I do welcome people like you to visit Avalon, be it for traveling or studying. Avalon is a good place, I've grown up here since I was young. Sometimes it throws a fit, making it difficult for outsiders to like it, but in the end, I believe that outsiders will all find their own place here.”
Thaler shook his head, his expression complicated. He didn't look like an Asgardian, as he was neither burly nor boorish. His face was handsome, and he was very different from his father and several brothers.
He was feeble and quiet.
He seemed like he couldn't even kill a mouse.
Having been in Avalon for a few years, no one knew that he was the son of the patriarch of the Fire River Clan, and he never told anyone about his hometown.
”After returning to Asgard, will you set foot on the battlefield?” Richard asked.
”Only father's successor is qualified to go on the battlefield, and it will never be my turn. I have been considered a lost cause from the moment I left Asgard.” Thaler said coldly, ”In Asgard, glorious deaths are never for weaklings like me.”