The chief came back, of course. He didn’t seem happy at all, but at the very least, he didn’t spit out any insults. No, the chief had not calmed down one bit, but he had decided to not make any more dramatics occur and simply brought the requested items. A bow and a quiver stocked with sixteen arrows were held in the man’s hands, though he had one hell of a death stare.
“Here.”
With that, he shoved them right in the Crusader’s face. He stared at the chief for such rude behavior, before taking the offered weapons.
The bow was made with the blackened trees from outside, which seemed to be strong and tough. The object itself had some good flexibility, with the green vine string being tight yet pliable. What caught his eye were the carvings on the surface, which seemed to be made up of symbols that he could not necessarily describe. All he knew was that looking at all the scratches made his head hurt and that was enough for him.
The arrows themselves were once more made of the same material. However, the head and the tail were made of materials that he was quite surprised by. Rather than having a stone or iron head, the point was made with some kind of bone. The person clearly had put a lot more time into trying to grind down and shape the bone to become a usable arrowhead, but the fact that it wasn’t uniform in shape and had several cracks indicated that the attempt wasn’t necessarily successful. The weirdest part of this was the fletching itself. They didn’t use feathers but several green squishy squares that he genuinely could not identify. He had never seen something like this before, nor could he tell where they would originate from.
However, what caught his eye the most was the quiver itself. The container was built in a rather simple shape, with the material made of the same black vegetation, though it was wrapped in some sort of gray leaf. No, what was interesting with this quiver was the emblem that was burned right into the side. The image was that of a tower that seemed to have been cracked open in the middle, with a large circle that seemed to be crashing down through the line made.
He raised his eyebrow at that. Was this some form of emblem that displayed the Empire the chief had mentioned earlier? Could this be some kind of house symbol, one that showcased just how impressive the nobles were that had such a container?
Or was this merely an artistic choice made by the people after the usurper took reign? But who would spend the time and effort to do such a thing, especially when almost no one bothered customizing their own home?
“Pray tell, who did this belong to?” The Crusader asked, “This is far too personalized to have been laying around in the armory, collecting dust. This had to belong to someone, no?”
The chief blinked at that question, before chuckling darkly.
“So, you noticed huh? Yeah, that all belonged to someone beforehand. An old friend of mine.”
“An old friend?”
“Indeed,” The chief sighed, his eyes seemingly staring at nothing, “He’s no longer with us.”
“My apologies.”
“Why apologize? It’s not like you murdered him,” The chief snapped, “By all accounts, if you truly feel sorry, make sure you murder several monsters for him.”
“I will endeavor to do my best to achieve that.” The Crusader smiled, before he went ahead and got the new equipment sorted. The quiver went over his shoulder, the bow went on the other side of his waist, and last but not least, all the arrows went into the container.
With that, he hefted his body around. There was no discomfort at all moving around nor were there any disproportionate weight distribution that made moving around difficult. No, it was as all of this was meant for him to have, almost eerily so.
“Just to let you know there aren’t any other spare arrows. That’s all you’ll be receiving, period,” the chief said. “If you want more, go and negotiate with the guards. Understood?”
“I understand.” The Crusader nodded. The chief himself simply scowled as he shook his head once more before moving to leave. Just before he fully exited, he paused and turned around.
“By the way, the food's almost ready. You should definitely head over now if you plan to get any of the good cuts, or if you plan to eat at all.”
“Pardon?” The Crusader couldn’t help but be confused, “I had thought the food had been allocated as necessary, with everyone getting a designated amount of bites, no?”
“Peh.” The chief shook his head. “That’s not how this works. True, everyone gets a specific number of bites, but that doesn’t mean you get a specific cut of beef. No, that is merely how much food you get. That doesn’t necessarily mean there’ll be enough food to go around, all of that depends on how generous the butcher feels with his slices.”
“Is that how it works for every other village?”
“Why are you asking me? How would I know how others run their food distribution?” He scowled. “I don’t know and I don’t care. All that matters to me right now is making sure that my people are safe and not starving. So, are there any other questions you need to ask me, or am I free to go and line up to get my dinner?”
“I will come with you.” The Crusader stood up, which made the chief take on a bitter look. “After all, you would know more about how to get to the serving area and I have no desire to get lost, not when you mention how there will be a long line.”
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“Hmph. Fine.” Without a single beat, the chief turned around and stormed out, with the Crusader simply shrugging and following right behind.
He could not necessarily understand why the chief was so hostile. After all, the most he had done was simply ask for bow and arrows. There was truly no reason for such hatred.
Was this perhaps because he was an outsider? No, if that were the case, then he would have rejected him at the door, refused to take in any refugees, and provided no sustenance or assistance to the downtrodden. So, that was not the case.
Had he levied some form of disrespect to the chief previously? He couldn’t recall anything that could be the case, but at the same time, he wasn’t exactly a native of these lands. For all he knew, he could have done something to insult the chief quite immensely, enough to result in this hateful attitude.
The Crusader thought on that topic, before shaking his head. No, if that were truly the case, then he would have been more vague regarding the food and he certainly would not have tolerated his decision to follow behind to the serving area.
So what was it? Why was he so harsh with him specifically?
He thought about the fact for quite a while. Then, he reached a possible epiphany.
The bow and arrows. The old friend. That was the catalyst for all of this.
The chief was upset because he had to give up a memento of his lost friend. He had to give up something that reminded him of a man he respected quite a lot to some random stranger that pushed him to do such a thing. Granted, that had not been the Crusader’s intent, he had been meaning to simply obtain a spare bow and arrow. He had never meant to infringe as such.
He knew that he didn’t need to apologize. After all, this was the decision of the village chief. Yet, at the same time, he did hold some responsibility for pushing the man to do such a thing. Besides, he didn't wish to have others hold needless grudges, that was something the Lord had consistently preached against.
Was it not the Lord that said to love thy neighbor? Was it not God’s will for him to come and save others?
The Crusader wouldn’t be able to do such a thing if he kept making enemies all over the place.
“Sir.”
The chief stopped abruptly, before turning around with wide eyes. He shook his head, before giving a glare right back.
“What is it?”
“I’d like to take the time to apologize to you.”
“Apologize for what?” The chief scoffed. “What do you need forgiveness for?”
“I didn’t mean for you to give up that memento.” The Crusader explained, “I merely wanted a spare bow and arrow. I had not meant to force your hand and make you give me something so precious to you.”
The chief didn’t respond for a while. His face went through an array of emotions, from confusion to a flash of anger and finally resignation. A single sigh broke the silence, before he turned around and trudged onwards.
“Hah.” He gave out an ugly laugh as he kept walking forward. “And here I expected you to do something like demand an apology.”
“I don’t think I’m so petty and cruel to do such a thing.”
“No, you aren’t.” The chief spoke softly. “Truth is, I shouldn’t be the one receiving an apology. I should be the one giving it, after all. I was unnecessarily rude to you for no good reason at all.”
“To be fair, I did push you to that point.”
“No, you really didn’t,” he shook his head, “I really should have known better. How were you supposed to know that the last bow belonged to my old friend? There was no reason for that, no reason at all. And for that, I truly do apologize.”
“... For you to act like that, this old friend of yours must have been someone, eh?”
“Like you wouldn’t believe,” the chief sighed, “He was a great man, better than me. He was the one that coordinated the village when everything went to hell. Despite the fact he only had one leg, despite the fact that he wasn’t fit for battle anymore, he rushed forward. He did everything in his power to make sure we would be prepared for the hell that would come.”
“He sounds like a great leader.”
“He was.” The chief stared out into the horizon for a while. “He put his life on the line for anyone, no matter how much of a bastard they were before. Despite the fact I was a coward and did many things before to make his life horrible, he still sacrificed his life to save me from one of the giant monsters that patrolled the area. Something I regret to this day.”
“I’m sure he has forgiven you by now.”
“I’m not so sure about that.” He sighed. “Even now, I feel like it should have been him, not me. I’m doing everything in my power to emulate him, but I keep falling short from time to time.”
“It’s all a matter of time and effort.” The Crusader put a hand on the chief’s shoulder. “You’re doing much better than most people in your place. You’re being generous to those less fortunate and doing all you can to help those in your village. I’m sure he’d be proud of you now.”
The chief didn’t say a thing. He merely nodded at that and kept looking forward.
The rest of their trek was in silence, before they came to the serving area. The Crusader couldn’t help but marvel at the long line already present. There were far more people than he expected to live in this village, something that still amazed him at this time. He could see the monster’s corpse being cooked up and served, with people leaving with satisfied looks on their faces.
The chief sighed at the sight, before turning around and providing a small smile.
“I have to thank you for your words and your assistance for bringing in the creature. Were it not for you, we might have all starved.”
“Worry not. I only did what was right.”
The chief couldn’t help but chuckle at that, before putting a hand on the Crusader’s shoulder.
“Well, I’m afraid you’ll have to get in line just like everyone else. Don’t worry about telling the butcher how much you owe, they’re already aware of the amount. Though, if you did spend your bites somewhere else, you’ll have to let them know when you get there. There’s a whole system, but you’ll get the explanation once you come face to face with them.”
“I see.” The Crusader nodded, before moving forward. “My thanks to you.”
And with that, the Crusader found himself in the long line. It was finally time to eat and he was honestly looking forward to getting a nice warm meal.
He was quite famished, after all.