A few minutes ago

Ban finally had enough of the fistfight between Ogre and Dave and decided to roam around, trying to find Slav, or at least trying her best to do so. She had no skills regarding lost and found, she had always left it to Dit. Ban was just a person roaming around in a village burning.

“What happened to me back then?”, she asked herself while gripping her own hands.

“If Dit wasn’t there...”, she gripped her hands even harder, before finding herself hearing someone screaming at the top of their lungs. A voice she had heard before.

“NOOOOO....”

“Elder...”

“You! It’s your fault! If you hadn’t opened, your mouth!", he screamed towards the blacksmith who was trying to comfort him.

“I-”

“What’s going on over here?”, laughed Ban, while walking towards the commotion. She saw the elder and the blacksmith tied up, with houses burning around them.

“The fire spread this far huh?”, she asked and smiled. “It looks beautiful.”, she added.

“Beautiful?”, asked the village elder, losing any emotion he had in his face before this, going into shock.

“Just look around you!”, Ban laughed again. She went near the elder’s face before adding, “Isn’t it beautiful?”

Tears almost rolled out of the elder’s eyes.

“Tch. They do say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”, she laughed before fixing her sight on the blacksmith, who was doing her best to avert her eyes. Hoping that Ban would forget all about her.

Ban smiled, “Why did you give It away?”, she asked as she took out one of her many knives.

“Was it money?”, she added as she threw the knife in such a way that it barely scratched the blacksmith’s face.

“How...How did you know that I gave it up?”

Ban laughed, “Who else? These... fools would never do it. But you...”, she walked over to her. “My dear outsider who loves money more than she loves her principles...”

“I had my reasons...”

“I’m sure you had your sad backstory about why you needed money, but I don’t care about that.”, she waved her hands with disdain.

“Just tell me. How much did they pay you?”, she added.

The blacksmith stayed silent.

“Was it double? Triple? More?”, she laughed.

The blacksmith did not reply.

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“Not money....”, Ban thought it all over.

“Wait! Is it Dave?”, she added.

The blacksmith looked at her, “I-”

“So, it is Dave!”, she walked around from one side to another, “I saw how you were looking at him when I first met him! But... but the world’s full of surprised my dear outsider.”

“I never thought you’d be brave enough to do this!”, she smiled and laughed. She laughed hard enough to make the blacksmith fear for her life. The blacksmith tried her best to move behind, but the ropes she was tied with made it harder for her to do so. Instead of being able to run away, she just fell down, backwards.

“Serves you right!”, said the elder. Smiling, while making a face that screamed as if the blacksmith was going to receive divine punishment for the act of betraying him and his village.

He looked at Ban, “What are you waiting for! Do it! Kill her!”, he smiled.

“Why? Let’s just savour the moment!”, Ban hummed. She danced like she was in a ballroom and she laughed like she usually did. “Where’s the hurry?”, she asked.

The elder couldn’t speak up, he had a feeling that if he did. It wouldn’t end well for him.

“Oh!”, she stopped suddenly and clasped both of her hands. “You should look for new caretakers...”, she started to jump again.

“What?”, asked the Elder, confused about what was going on.

“We’re leaving.”, as she spun around.

“As soon as we save Slav. Which I’m sure we will soon, considering Dit is on the case.”, she smiled and looked above the smoky sky while still spinning around. While spinning around, she saw a young person trying his best to water down the fire. She laughed. “Oh?”, she stopped dancing and looked behind her, towards the Elder and blacksmith. “Both of you, don’t go anywhere. I will be riiight back.”, she laughed before going towards Orph, leaving behind an elder shedding tears and a blacksmith afraid of what is to come.

‘Hey! You! Child trying his best!”, Ban screamed while waving her hands as a greeting.

Orph looked at her for a moment before continuing to what he was doing, “Why are your hands free?”, he asked.

“My hands...?”, Orph laughed.

“Yes!”, he looked at her with disbelief. “You’re a villager, right? Go grab a bucket of water, we’ll need all the hands we can get...”

“Oh! You’re right! I am a villager. That is true!”, she laughed and picked up a bucket of water from the well nearby. She came near Orph and poured all the water on him.

“Oops... silly clumsy me!”, she took her tongue out and made a silly expression.

Orph sighed and used his abilities to make himself dry, free from being wet.

“What are you doing?”, he asked while making eyes that could pierce a soul.

“Oh? Did I make you angry little boy?”, teased Ban while dropping down to Orph’s height.

She laughed, “But this is interesting. I thought I’d play with you for some time and then stab you in the back while you’ll never see it coming and then laugh and maybe dance...”, she took out her daggers, “...If I felt like it.”

“But but but! I never thought I’d see an ability user here... I thought Dave was one, but he was just mostly disappointing. Strong, don’t get me wrong but just disappointing in the ability to have an ability...”, she shrugged.

“You’ve fought Dave?”

“Yes! Try to keep up...”, Ban sighed.

Orph sighed in return, getting annoyed with the whole ordeal, “You’re a slave trader, aren’t you?”

Ban smiled, “What gave it away?”

“It’s written on your face.”

Ban laughed, “Oh, is that so?”, and smiled.

She took a breath and looked up at the sky again, “You don’t know how much I’ve wanted an ability.”, and then looked Orph straight into his eyes. “Putting the village on fire was worth it!”

“You just can’t help but list away your crimes...”, replied Orph as they heard a tree falling on the ground from the distance.

“Oh! The fire’s spreading!”, exclaimed Ban in glee, as Orph looked over at the direction of the sound with a worried look on his face.

“Please pay attention here!”, Ban pointed her daggers towards Orph, “I’ve wanted to do this for a long time!”, she smiled.

Orph looked back at her and smiled, “As have I!”, he dashed towards Ban, as their weapons clashed.