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Condemned To Death
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17th September, 1507
"Hey, push harder!"
A merchant adorned in gold ornaments and luxurious accessories bellowed at a group of frail-looking men, their clothes tattered and feet bare, as they struggled to push a cart laden with goods out of a muddy puddle on the side of the street. The merchant's face contorted with impatience, his eyes narrowing into slits of fury.
In his anger, he stormed to the front of the wagon, yanking a whip from one of its compartments.
With a menacing glare, he marched back to where the men were straining against the cart.
*Snap Snap
The whip cracked through the air with a sharp snap.
"Do it faster, or I'll starve you useless shits for three days and three nights!" he roared, his voice dripping with venom as he lashed at the men.
The street was bustling with activity, yet none of the passersby paid any heed to the merchant's outburst. They continued with their day, their faces a mix of indifference and preoccupation. Children playing nearby paused to watch the spectacle. Some giggled at the sight, while others remained indifferent. A few of the younger ones clung to their mothers, their eyes wide with fear.
The previous night's rain had caused traffic on the streets of Chimera Vale, causing chaos for the merchants transporting goods between the lower and upper villages. The air was thick with the scent of wet earth and the distant hum of morning activity.
Meanwhile, at 80 Ruinside Road, inside a modest two-story building, Seren slept soundly. The first rays of the morning sun filtered through the window, casting a warm glow across the room.
Seren stirred, slowly opening his eyes. He pulled the blanket off his body and sat up, his movements sluggish and his eyes shadowed with fatigue. He yawned lightly, then stretched, feeling the tension ease from his muscles.
He glanced towards the other corner of the room, expecting to see Susie still asleep. But the corner was empty, and the blanket he had given her was gone.
'...Did she leave to go see her family already?'
He wondered, his thoughts still sluggish. Seren had returned from Glowhaven extremely late the previous night and had only managed a few hours of sleep.
As he looked down at the blanket covering him, he realized it was the one he had given to Susie. It seemed that before leaving, Susie had thoughtfully covered him with the blanket.
Seren didn't dwell on it for long. He stretched his body once more, feeling the last remnants of sleep slip away. With a deep breath, he rose to start his day.
...
The classroom buzzed with the low murmur of students settling in for the day, but the atmosphere around Lorien's desk was charged with an undercurrent of tension. Kai leaned forward, his brow furrowed with concern as he studied Lorien's face.
"Lorien, what's wrong with your face?" Kai asked, his eyes fixed on the bruise marring Lorien's cheek.
Lorien turned to Kai, forcing an awkward smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.
"It's nothing," he said, his voice carefully casual. "I just had a small accident during training."
Finn, seated next to Lorien, let out a derisive snort. A smirk played on his lips as he interjected.
"Stop bullshitting. I bet it's because you brought Emma to the academy without letting your grandfather know, and your grandmother probably forgot to tell him as well."
Lorien's jaw tightened imperceptibly. His day had already started poorly, and Finn's presence was like salt in an open wound. But instead of lashing out, Lorien turned to Finn with an unsettling calm.
"Oh, and I forgot to mention," Lorien said, his voice dripping with sweetness, "Emma told me to ask you to be her training dummy for the day."
Finn's smug expression faltered, replaced by a look of surprise and then horror.
"Wha-? Why me? You be her trainer. I'm not doing this shit," he sputtered, his earlier confidence evaporating.
Suddenly, Lorien clutched his chest, letting out a pained "Argh!"
Kai immediately leaned closer, his face etched with worry. "What's wrong? Is everything alright?"
Lorien held up a palm towards Kai, signalling he was fine. "It's just some injury from last night," he explained, his voice strained. "I'll be fine after a day or two." As he spoke, he sneaked a glance at Finn, his heart swelling with satisfaction at the sight of Finn's disgusted and annoyed expression.
Unlike the gullible Kai, Finn saw right through Lorien's act.
The message was clear: 'Hey, don't you see I'm hurt? What kind of person would you be if you let an injured person like me do something as dangerous as training Emma?'
Finn's mind raced with the implications. Despite Emma's childlike demeanor in public, she was a demon incarnate during training. She liked to use various types of bizarre martial arts techniques that she picked up from the depths of some martial arts hell. Her status as a child meant her training partners couldn't use excessive force or relics against her. They could only defend pitifully against her onslaught.
Emma was an unparalleled genius in hand-to-hand combat, which meant that sooner or later, she always broke through their defences. And when she did, a harsh beating was the only outcome at the end of the day.
Finn really wanted to curse out Lorien but in the end, he had no choice but to become Emma’s punching bag for the day. Suddenly, the door opened, and Seren walked in. Finn saw him and his eyes lit up with hope, a brilliant idea forming in his mind.
He quickly got up from his seat and rushed towards Seren, grabbing his hands and holding them to his chest. With sparkling eyes, Finn exclaimed, "Seren! How about a deal with me?"
Seren was a bit startled by the sudden approach. He observed Finn’s desperation in his voice as he took a moment to process the situation before inquiring about the deal.
"I'll give you 10 soul stones if you go to Lorien's house for the day and help train Emma. It's not a bad deal for a few hours of work, right?" Finn proposed, his voice brimming with enthusiasm.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
Elise, who had been eavesdropping on Lorien's group out of boredom, felt her heart leap with joy at Finn's proposal. She silently hoped Seren would accept, seeing it as the perfect excuse to avoid bringing him to her house.
Seren contemplated for a few seconds before responding with an apologetic look, "Sorry, I can't. I have some stuff I need to deal with today."
Finn's surprise was palpable. Everyone knew Seren didn't have a Lexarch family to rely on for soul stones, making this opportunity seem perfect for him.
Desperate, Finn tried to raise the offer to 15 soul stones, but Seren remained firm in his refusal before walking to his desk. As Seren walked away, Finn caught sight of Lorien's smug smirk from the corner of his eye.
'God, I want to punch him so bad right now,' Finn thought in frustration.
Seren approached his desk next to Elise, offering her a slight wave. She returned it awkwardly, feeling slightly dejected at his rejection of Finn's offer.
Noticing Susie's absence, Elise asked, "Where's Susie?"
"She said she's visiting her family at the lower village today," Seren replied. He then leaned in close, whispering in her ear, "I have a total of 8 batches of material for the gunpowder. We will skip the second half of the class and go to your place at 1 pm."
Elise's eyes widened in surprise. She looked at Seren skeptically for a few seconds before nodding lightly without comment.
'How did he get that much potassium nitrate when it's hard even for the average person to get that much back on Earth?' she wondered silently.
Elise's curiosity about Seren's ability to procure materials like potassium nitrate grew stronger. Her mind began to wander, and soon, her imagination took over. 'Wait, does he have a special ability like those protagonists from isekai animes?' she thought, her eyes widening in shock.
The more she pondered, the more convinced she became that this had to be the case. It didn't make any logical sense for Lexarchs to need such materials unless Seren had stumbled upon a relic that allowed him to create them out of thin air. Her delusional brain spun elaborate scenarios, each more ridiculous than the last.
Meanwhile, Seren pushed his chair back to his desk, completely oblivious to the wild ideas running through Elise's head.
...
Arthur opened the front door to a house, revealing a spacious hallway with a hardwood floor. A closet beside the entrance held various coats and other clothes hanging on hangers. The air inside was warm and inviting, a stark contrast to the cool morning outside.
Mia pushed past Arthur, stepping into the house and taking a deep breath.
"Coming to your house never gets old. I just love the scent of your home," she said with a satisfied sigh.
Arthur didn't reply. He methodically took off his shoes and coat, hanging them up in the closet. Mia followed suit, removing her coat to reveal her curvy figure. Her mature, pretty face, short light golden hair, and light blue eyes made her a striking presence. Her coat had barely concealed her ample chest, and now it stood out even more.
Arthur, however, didn't spare her a glance. He walked into the home with a bland expression. Mia didn't mind, she was used to Arthur's cold behaviour.
They had been partners for the last ten years, and he had always been distant, focused solely on the work assigned by the Enforcer headquarters. That was until a certain child showed up a few days ago.
As Arthur and Mia walked down the hallway, passing several rooms, Mia noticed a small child peeking from one of the rooms, watching them with a wary gaze. Mia's heart softened. She smiled warmly as they approached the child.
When she reached the child, she crouched down and reached into her back pocket, pulling out a candy wrapped in shiny paper. She held it out to the child, who seemed anxious and slightly hid behind the wall frame.
"Do you like candy?" she asked gently, her smile never wavering.
The child didn't say anything for a while as he looked at the candy warily, his small fingers fidgeting with the hem of his worn shirt.
The child lifted his head, his eyes meeting Arthur's stoic gaze. Arthur stood like a statue, his tall frame casting a long shadow over Mia and the child. His face remained impassive, not a flicker of emotion crossing his features as he returned the child's look.
Sensing the tension, the child quickly looked back at Mia and gave a light nod. Mia's smile brightened, her eyes crinkling at the corners with genuine warmth.
She gently placed the candy in the child’s small, hesitant hand.
The child examined the treat, his eyes widening with desire. The candy's wrapper crinkled softly as he carefully unwrapped it, revealing a glossy red sphere. He didn’t eat the candy right away as he looked at it with some skepticism before sniffing it lightly.
Satisfied with his inspection, He popped the candy into his mouth. The effect was instantaneous. His eyes lit up, sparkling with delight as the sweetness spread across his tongue. His cheeks puffed out slightly as he chewed faster, savoring every bit of flavor. A smile, small but genuine, spread across his face.
"My name is Mia. What's your name?" Mia asked gently in the quiet hallway.
The child's happy expression faltered, replaced by hesitation. His eyes darted around, as if searching for an escape.
Mia, noticing his discomfort, was about to offer another candy when the child’s whisper, broke the silence. "Tommy," he said.
Mia's face softened further. "Tommy," she repeated, committing the name to memory. "Can I be your friend?"
This time, Tommy's response came quicker. He nodded, still chewing happily on his candy. A small dribble of red-tinted saliva escaped the corner of his mouth, which he quickly wiped away with the back of his hand.
Mia's smile grew even wider. She reached into her back pocket and produced another candy, holding it out to Tommy.
"Thank you, here you can have another candy as a celebration gift for our new friendship," she said.
Tommy's eyes lit up at the sight of the second candy, but then something changed. The joy in his eyes dimmed, replaced by a look of uncertainty. He swallowed the remnants of the first candy.
"But I don't have any gifts to give you," he said, his voice small and meek, filled with a hint of shame.
Mia blinked, taken aback by Tommy's unexpected concern.
"Oh, don't worry," she quickly reassured him. "I don't need anything from you."
Despite her words, Tommy didn't reach for the candy. His small brow furrowed, creating little creases on his forehead. He stared at the offered treat, clearly torn between desire and some inner sense of obligation.
Seeing this, Mia said, “Okay fine. How about you give me a little peck on the cheek and that would be enough for me”.
Mia's suggestion of a peck on the cheek as payment for the candy brought a spark of joy to Tommy's eyes.
He leaned in, closed his eyes, and quickly planted a soft peck on Mia's cheek. The innocent gesture was over in a flash, and Tommy swiftly claimed his prize, popping the candy into his mouth with a look of triumph.
Mia then stood up and promised in a warm voice, "Okay, bye Tommy. I'll be back soon, and then we can play some games together".
Tommy nodded enthusiastically, his cheeks bulging with the candy. He turned and scampered away, his footsteps echoing through the house as he tiptoed happily, disappearing around a corner.
As Tommy's footsteps faded, Mia's expression changed. The joy melted away, replaced by a sadness that seemed to age her. She turned to Arthur, who remained stoic behind her.
"That child, Tommy, must have had a rough life in Glowhaven," Mia said, her voice low and tinged with concern. "Most children at that age would take whatever's given to them without a second thought, but he was being careful with everything he did."
Arthur's voice, when he spoke, was as cold and flat as ever. "Will you take care of him while I investigate the Ravens?"
Mia sighed, her shoulders sagging slightly. "Yes, I can take care of him during the day, but I can't do it all the time. You know my job requires me to be active in the Raven's territory during the night."
"...Thank you," Arthur replied, his attempt at sincerity falling flat, his voice still cold and indifferent.
Mia smiled knowingly, used to Arthur's weird behavior. "But you should really do something about your face. Tommy was clearly scared of you back there."
Arthur paused, considering her words, but ultimately said nothing and walked away, his footsteps echoing in the now-quiet hallway.
...
Elise stood in front of her house as a mix of emotions swirled within her. Seren stood beside her, his eyes taking in every detail of the building.
"Are we going in?" Seren asked, his voice cutting through Elise's thoughts.
Elise took a secret breath to steady herself, her hand hovering over the doorknob.
'God, please don't let my brother or mother be at home today,' she prayed silently.
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Condemned To Death
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