“I am impressed by your work.” The Crusader told Martha as he inspected his armor and longsword. He couldn’t help but be amazed at how beautiful his armaments looked, almost as though he hadn’t gone through some battles previously. Each dent and scratch that were previously present had all but disappeared. Each of the stains were removed, which left a polished metal surface that seemed to shine in the light.
“I didn’t get to where I was by being inadequate!” She chuckled, “Besides, my husband would have never married me if I wasn’t active in life!”
“Heh. Your husband sounds like he was truly a great man. Once more, I give my condolences for your loss.”
“If you truly feel sorry, perhaps you should let me have four bites instead of the original two.” Martha teased, which caused the Crusader to laugh.
“Ah, the spirit of a merchant exists within you as well! No, I’m afraid you’ll only be able to keep the two bites. After all, I will need to have all of that energy for the upcoming trip to the tower to take down the usurper. Apologies, Martha.”
“Well, I tried.” Martha shrugged. “In any case, you still probably need a place to stay. No, more than that, you probably will need to truly determine how many bites you truly have after that hunt. I’d say you should go to the chief’s home to get all of that information, though make sure you keep your promise, understand?”
“I will.” The Crusader smiled and moved on to leave, before stopping and turning back. “Say, for the payment… Is there something that I have to leave behind as collateral? Some kind of notice that I owe you those bites, or?”
“Well, normally I’d have you give me something to hold onto to ensure you give me the promised payment… But for some reason, I feel that I can trust you without fail.” Martha smiled. “Don’t make me regret this decision, sir. That’s all I have to say.”
“Then I bid you farewell for now, Martha. I look forward to meeting you when the meal provisions go out.” With that, the Crusader got himself dressed in the armor and headed out into the streets once more, on a quest to meet with the chief for temporary lodgings and to get information about the food as Martha had suggested.
He didn’t have to walk around for long. The place was tall and quite easy to find, which led him to knock on the door to gain entrance. He had to wait for a bit, but the inhabitant answered and the door was thrown open to reveal a young man with a giant beard and a brown robe akin to that of the typical monk he had seen throughout the church.
“Ah.” The chief blinked as he looked at the Crusader, before furrowing his brow. “Pray tell, do you happen to be one of the remnants of the Empire’s army?”
“Empire?” The Crusader raised an eyebrow at that question. “I do not know what Empire you speak of, but I hail from the land of Espana. What exactly are you speaking of when you talk about this Empire?”
“... Ah. So you are a foreigner to these lands then.” The chief sighed, before shaking his head. “I do not feel the desire to give a story as of this moment of our history. I assume you came here to get some temporary lodgings before we have to get you a more permanent shelter?”
“Actually, all I needed was the temporary lodgings and the amount of bites that I would receive for bringing in today’s hunt.”
The chief blinked at those words. He looked at the Crusader for a while, before groaning.
“Great. So the hunters weren’t even able to bring in something on their own, they had to get help from a foreigner? Every day I think they can’t disappoint me further, they do something like this.” The chief grumbled, before opening the door fully and gesturing inside. “Come on in. I’ll go ahead and show you your temporary lodgings. Then, we can go ahead and discuss the bites allocated to you as well.”
The Crusader nodded, before following right behind the chief. The two of them went through the building, climbing up some stairs and past some open rooms that had occupants within. The people were groaning, crying, and some of them seemed completely out of it, curled up and rocking back and forth.
The Crusader couldn’t help but grit his teeth at such a sight. He couldn’t understand these people, why they would act like this without trying to do anything to change their situation. Truly, something that was far beyond his purview. Though, there was one thing he was a bit curious about.
“You mentioned before that I would get temporary lodgings until I were to get a permanent home, no?”
“It’s a bit too late to ask for that now, seeing as how you denied such a benefit.” The chief grumbled as the two kept walking.
The Crusader shook his head. “No, that is not what I meant. I was curious why there are so many people here, are there no more homes available?”
“No. There are plenty of homes, but that is something those that are active and put in the work can obtain. Most of the people here have simply given up on life, whether they be the original villagers or strangers that found their way here. These people are given some time to prove themselves worthy of a home to live in. If not, well…”
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
The chief shrugged. “We already have too many mouths to feed. We can’t keep on providing free service without anything in return, that’s just how things are. Especially with the way our hunters have been unsuccessful, with a lot of them complaining about how things are getting more and more dangerous out there.”
“Would it not be helpful to provide bows and arrows? I noticed some guards wielding such weapons and–”
“Hrm…” The chief seemed to think on that for a while, before shaking his head. “No. That wouldn’t work. True, I could get these worthless vagabonds to go out and chop down some of those black trees to get some materials to create the bows, but the issue is the string and the arrows.”
“The string and the arrows?”
“We have been lacking in resources for quite a while.” The chief explained, “The strings are typically made of a rope that is created from a special vine that is present near the river banks. Plants that we cannot collect due to the build-up of beasts all around. Nor can we create more arrows, due to the lack of flint and stones to create the heads.”
“So that would explain the spears being nothing more than sharpened sticks, then.”
“Indeed.” The chief nodded as he stopped in front of a room. “Those spear heads had to be reused for something more important, but we still need as many weapons as possible. Thus, we have to improvise. But in any case, that is not something you should be overly concerned about. Here, your temporary room.”
With that, the two of them went inside. The Crusader went ahead and sat down on the mat. He stretched out his back, before looking up to the chief.
“So, what would my allocation of bites be for the hunt?”
“Typically, hunters would get twenty bites.” The chief started, “But you are in a special situation, you see. You are an outsider and you were the one to get the beast all by yourself. Therefore, I would say that it would be more than fair to say you have earned thirty bites.”
“... Thirty bites?” The Crusader raised an eyebrow at that. While yes, without context, that seemed more than fair. However, he had done the lion’s share of the work. He had saved the hunters, he had brought the beast to heel, and more importantly, he had done a lot more of the work to transport the beast.
Thirty bites seemed a bit too little for that.
“You would have earned more, I will admit.” The chief nodded, before grimacing. “However, the problem comes from the fact that you are an unknown. A foreigner to these lands. I can’t in good faith have you be given such a high amount, especially when others here are barely getting much food. I’m sorry, but I hope you can understand.”
“Hrm.” The Crusader didn’t know how to feel about that. Granted, he did understand the reasoning behind this decision, but that didn’t mean he necessarily agreed with that. Even then, he debuted he could get full with a few bites of meat. No doubt that this wasn’t enough to fill up his energy reserves.
But… he wasn’t here to start a fight. Besides, he could simply exchange that lost food for something else instead.
“Fine. I’ll take the current bite amount. However, in exchange, I would like something else”
“Hrm.” The chief proceeded to cup his chin as he considered the request. He seemed to think quite a bit on this point. “Alright. I guess we can do that instead of providing you the bites. What exactly were you hoping to get?”
“I would like to get a bow and some arrows.” The Crusader said plainly. He watched as the chief grimaced at the request, but this was one thing he was going to absolutely fight tooth and nail for.
He needed the ranged option, he truly did. These last few fights proved that rushing in with only his sword wasn’t going to pan out in the end, considering how fatigued he was after a few brawls. Not to mention the fact that he did need something to help fend for himself with that distance if he were to come face to face with bandits or god forbid, more intelligent monsters.
He had to get that safety net by any means necessary.
“No, that’s far too much of a request.” The chief started, but the Crusader cut him off there.
“You do understand that had I not intervened today, you would have three dead men and no food at all, correct?” The chief puckered his lips at the interjection, but the Crusader wasn’t finished. “I’m not asking for much. I merely want a bow and some arrows. That shouldn’t be something that could ruin your village. You can always make a spear or have an expedition sent out to collect resources to make more, no?”
“It’s dangerous out there. I think I’ve made that point clear.”
“Yet you sent three men to go out hunting while a large group of guards stayed back.”
“That’s not the same thing. Things have gotten dangerous recently, we need all these people to keep defending. If we lose a bow, that could be the line between life or death for this settlement. Hell, I’m doing a lot to give you those bites. I could have simply told you to leave right here and now, don’t push your luck.”
The two men glared at each other. None of them faltered in their gaze, though the Crusader spoke up once more.
“If I am to restore things back to normal around here, then I need every edge I can get. A bow and arrow may mean life or death for your settlement, but that single armament could apply to killing the usurper and returning things back to normal. Would you really want to risk being stuck like this for the rest of all time? Or would you rather take a small risk and try to get things fixed?”
Silence.
With that, the chief scowled and looked away first. “Fine. You’ll get your bow and arrows. However, I’ll be cutting your bite allocation from thirty to twenty. Understood?”
“I’m glad we could come to a compromise.”
With those words, the chief stormed out of the room. The Crusader couldn’t help but sigh as he laid down on the thin mat, grimacing as he felt each little contour of the floor. He hadn’t wanted to fight like this, but he truly did need the bow and arrows to continue onwards.
He just hoped that dinnertime wouldn’t be as dramatic.