Bustling with people purchasing and selling goods, Han enjoyed watching the market during midday. It was a very nice change of pace, from all the fighting they had done. Compared to the usual store locations, this place was set up only during certain times during the day and week. Idrenis had explained that this location was useful for giving people the chance to expose them to new goods coming in and out of the city. After some time had passed, people enjoyed experiencing the new items so much that they made it into a tradition. Now those living and those passing through would set this place up to honor the exchange of cultural diversity the city encouraged.
"Yi! What do you think of this?" Selestra appeared in front of him and shoved something into his mouth.
"Wah-ar-u--!" He garbled with food placed inside. There was a cool sensation that pervaded his taste buds, soon replaced by a sweet taste.
Seeing his expression change, Selestra grinned. "Does it not taste amazing?! I have never tasted anything sweet like that before!"
"Master, the taste is quite delicious, though nothing compared to what is served inside Felicitas." Though her words sounded harsh, the expression on Brittany's face was the complete opposite.
"Master! Master! Please, try this!" Anacolis approached him holding some kind of meat that was dripping with sauce. She placed the item close so he could take a bite out of it, and watched his face to see what he thought.
"This is really good," Han told her, which caused Anacolis to look joyful.
"I told you that Master would like this!" Anacolis nudged her sister while laughing loudly.
"Sister knows Master so well." Aracia smiled at how her sister was reacting.
Han looked around to see where Queen was located and saw that she was looking at some jewelry. Leaving the girls to explore more of the market, Han approached Queen quietly. "What do you have there?" He whispered, seeing the various jewelry in front of her.
Queen jumped and quickly turned around to face Han. "I-I w-w-was just curious about all the d-different things they sold here." She blushed while her eyes tried to look for a way out. Seeing Han approach the stall, Queen stammered, "M-Master, w-we should catch up with the o-others!"
Brushing her aside, Han looked at the jewelry in front of him. There were bracelets, necklaces, earrings, and a wide variety of items that were placed in pairs.
The man that was behind the stall saw Han looking and chuckled, "Are you looking for something to get this beautiful young lady? These items of mine are great for young couples. Considering all the people who purchased my goods and married soon after, I'm confident that your lady will greatly enjoy this item."
Looking at Queen and seeing her reaction, Han grinned by how deeply red her face was. With how serious Queen always appeared, Han enjoyed seeing her act all girly. His eyes wandered down her face and landed on the diamond necklace he purchased for her in that town near the Elven Kingdom. Seeing that she still kept it around her neck and seeing how clean it looked made Han happy deep down.
Turning his head back to the items, he noticed a gray colored gem attached to a ring. Next to the ring was a matching ring but likely for the male. Smiling at the rings, he picked them up and looked at the store owner. "How much for these rings?"
------
After purchasing the rings, the two of them walked to a nearby fountain with a statue of a man and woman standing next to one another. The man was holding up a shield and stood in front of the woman, as she held up a staff and appeared to be conjuring a magic spell.
Even though it was just around meal time, the area was relatively clear of people though some couples sat watching the fountain.
Han stopped in front of the fountain and pulled out the ring he purchased and reached out to grab Queen's hand. As he gently placed the ring on her finger, he looked at her face and saw the complex emotions that were running across her face. "Queen, though this ring is not enough to express how I feel towards you, I hope that you will be able to accept it. Though we have only known one another for a short time, I hope that you will continue to stay by my side."
Seeing the ring on her finger, she smiled while tears began to form. "M-Master, being with you is the happiest I have ever felt. Even though you are the one that created me, I know that if I were to be born like a human, I would have eventually arrived at your side." She laughed happily, the sound like chimes ringing in the wind.
They gave one another a hug and stayed like that, both of them thinking how lucky they were.
"Queen, no fair!! Stealing Master all to yourself!" Brittany's voice could be heard along with the other girls heading towards them.
Hearing the others heading towards them, Han and Queen separated and faced the others. Queen looked bashful in front of the others. The girls noticed the mood and looks of suspicion crossed their faces.
"Look at that pretty ring on Queen's finger!" Selestra pointed out.
"Let me see!" The others crowded around Queen, trying to get a better view.
Han enjoyed how they tried to look jealous, but each of them looked happy at seeing Queen's new ring.
"Master, we are going to steal Queen and find out how she got you to get her this!" Brittany yelled out at Han. Queen looked back at him, her eyes pleading for his help as she was dragged away.
Han waved his hand at her, watching her disappear into the market. He chuckled at how they reacted to seeing his gift to Queen. "If this was Earth, the girls would be actually jealous of the other and plot their demise." He thought to himself, his mood slightly ruined by imagery going through his mind.
"It looks like you are very popular?" An amused voice commented on the scene.
Looking towards the voice, Han saw Idrenis standing off to the side leaning against a wall. She smirked at seeing his surprised expression.
"They are very important people to me," Han confessed.
"I figured, considering how you put that ring on the woman's finger. She looked very happy, especially compared to other women I have seen. The other women in your group seemed to be close to her, so I am assuming there is no jealousy between them?" She prodded, as she walked up to him.
Turning back to where he last saw Queen and the others, "I am also amazed at how they can remain so close to one another. Women do have a habit of ripping the throat of another woman they think is in their way."
Idrenis chuckled in agreement at his assessment. "At least you have a very realistic view of women."
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
"So is there anything I could help you with?" Han asked her, letting her know that he figured she had a reason for talking to him.
Walking away from him, she stopped to look back at him before continuing. Sighing and shrugging his shoulders, he followed after her. "There must be some point to all this nonsense," Han thought to himself as he caught up to her.
Not wanting to be the first one to break the silence, the two of them continued walking without saying a word. It had a feeling of whoever talked first lost the game. They walked through the city, seemingly without any plan, passing by businesses and homes. There were people greeting one another and children playing in the streets.
The city felt very modern, though the material used were ones seen during the middle ages of Europe. Han glanced at the drainage system they utilized and how the streets were not just bare dirt. This world felt more advanced in some areas while staying primitive in others.
In front of him appeared the wall of the city, which seemed to block his entire field of vision. It was built out of slabs of stone and fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. Seeing such a thing was fairly impressive, especially without the use of modern machinery. Along the wall, soldiers marched in formation.
Idrenis walked along the wall, following the soldiers in front of them. There was an occasional soldier who would greet Idrenis, before running ahead of them likely with some important mission. If one didn't know about the arrival of the Overflow, there would definitely be a sense that something was about to occur. The air seemed to hold a feeling of apprehension, elevating the stress of all the soldiers.
They walked in silence for what seemed like a significant period, until they approached the entrance into the city. Compared to the entrances of other cities he had seen, this one was a little different. The doors used to enter the city were taller and wider than most. It likely demonstrated how much trade flowed into the city. A sight which surprised him was a massive block of stone that seemed to be held up above the door.
"That block of stone has probably saved this city more times than I have," Idrenis spoke after seeing Han's eyes land on it. "We will be lowering that stone once the Overflow begins, and along with other lines of defense of the entrance that stone will successfully block the entrance into the city."
"Also means that you can not get out if things go south," Han mentioned in response.
Idrenis laughed upon hearing his response. "Escape into an ocean of opened mouths? This entire city will be in the center of a flood of monsters all trying to devour each of us. You think that escape is something possible?" She continued laughing. Soldiers near them were staring at the two of them with wide eyes, trying to understand what was happening. While everyone was stressed and scared of things to come, the two of them were talking about something that led to the Commander of the Guards laughing.
Han merely glanced at her reaction, indifferent of her opinion.
"No. This place is where we will all die if things go differently than planned." She brushed the tears forming in her eyes from all the laughter.
"This wall looks very impressive. I doubt that there will be any worries about whether this city will survive the event?" Han casually mentioned.
Instead of looking optimistic, Idrenis's face darkened. "Yes. This wall will surely hold off those beasts." Her voice didn't express the confidence that was in her words.
"Do you expect something going wrong?" He asked her, catching the shift in mood.
Idrenis looked at him and stared into his eyes. It appeared as if she was going to say something before she began walking away again.
"She is a dramatic person," Han sighed to himself.
Idrenis headed towards a series of stairs, which led to the top of the wall. Han stood at the foot of the stairways and looked up at the numerous steps leading towards the heavens. "Good thing I am in better shape, or this would be a real bitch." He chuckled before following Idrenis.
-----
After reaching the top of the series of stairs, Han headed over to where Idrenis was standing. Her figure looked different from the one at the base of the wall. Before it looked confident and able to stand against anything, but now there was a sense of acceptance.
Standing next to her, they overlooked the forest that surrounded the city. There was a certain sense of majesty as if they were looking at the world from the height of a mountain.
"You do not think you are going to be able to hold them off, huh?" He asked her, as he watched birds flying by.
Instead of answering him, Idrenis continued to stay silent.
"You could always evacuate everyone while you still have time." He casually mentioned.
"Where would you have us go. And how do you expect to move an entire city when the Overflow could be happening any moment. Do you think there would be another place that would accept us when they are barely prepared? Whether they are towns, villages, or cities, they only gather and store enough for their own people, let along the thousands of people here." She spat out at his naive thinking.
"Does the priestess know?" He watched the trees sway after a gentle breeze blew by.
"She probably thinks the same thing," Idrenis admitted.
"What is different about this time?" Han probed.
"How much do you know about the gods?" A random question was asked to him.
"Not much." He answered her.
"Did you know that there are some people who emit a strange presence around them?" She paused and waited for Han to digest this information. "These people do not appear different from anyone else and are usually the most innocent looking people. They could be your neighbor, friend, parent, anyone... Our city back then was tiny. It was a traditional looking city, where we hunted what was in the forest and would trade with merchants." Idrenis continued half rambling. "It was not until the Priestess arrived with her family. They were forced out of their village and traveled with some merchants. Initially, they were doing poorly, but over time they started to thrive."
"Interesting to learn that the Priestess was some normal village girl." He commented, waiting to hear more.
"Yes, though she was far from normal." Idrenis agreed with him. "I was a knight in training back then, and would often pass by their shop. They owned a restaurant serving a variety of foods. On my way to train, I would stop by and grab food to eat. The stuff they sold was delicious, completely different from what others served." She chuckled as she thought back to that period. "I became familiar with the Priestess and befriended her. She was several years younger than me and was very shy and reserved. It took several months for her to become more outspoken with me. I remember playing with her one day and asking how her parents were able to cook such delicious foods."
"Did they have some kind of cooking technique?" He asked, curious about where this was heading.
Idrenis shook her head, saying, "the Priestess looked worried at that moment, and only after reassuring her that nothing would happen did she tell me her family's secret. They gained the ability to discern the truth in things. This allowed them to pick out superior ingredients and to understand the best way to go about cooking. It sounded like some fantastical thing." She voice reflected the amazement she had towards the Priestess, but it later changed. "I found out that the other villagers learned of this ability and cast them out."
"Considering that there is magic, I do not see why they would do such a thing." Han was confused trying to understand what was being said.
"You would think that," Idrenis agreed. "It was not until later that I started to connect things happening in the city with how the Priestess was acting. There were times when she would become frightened by a harmless appearing individual. This reaction was strange due to how much she had opened up to others. Kids would often come around and play with her. It was only certain times where she would shy away from certain people. When I asked why she was scared, the Priestess told me that those people looked strange."
"Was she able to sense something about them?" He was focused on what Idrenis was telling him now.
"Yes. Now we know these people as those touched by the gods, like the one in your group. Believing in what the Priestess was telling me, I went to my commander, and after many months I was able to convince the commander to have soldiers spy on these people. We later learned that these people would often be up to mischief, causing important things to crumble. An experiment to help improve the city would suddenly fail. Each of these events was caused by them. After surveilling them, we were able to remove them from the city slowly. As the number of them decreased, the city began to improve. It was first very minor things, like the food quality improving and stores becoming more successful." She explained.
"Sounds like everything turned out well for the city?" He said, though he sensed that things didn't work out well in the end.
"The city did improve, but those touched by the gods realized who was responsible for outing them. We did not expect them to go after the Priestess and her family, so there were no guards placed to protect them." Idrenis's voice became thick with emotions. "They burned down the house they were living in. I just happen to be on my way to give the Priestess a gift I purchased, when I saw the smoke rising in the distance."
Han remained silent, watching tears flow down Idrenis's face.
"In front of the burning house, I called out to her to warn her that the house was on fire. I worried that they could not hear me, so I crashed through the front door and raced up the stairs. Going up those steps felt like an eternity, thinking that she had already perished. Reaching the Priestess's room, I quickly opened the door and was faced with the image of her laying on the bed. She looked like a Princess in a deep sleep, like in those stories. As everything around us was on fire and my throat felt hot, I rushed to her side and tried to wake her up. I begged her to open her eyes, as I shook her. Not wanting to face my fear, I picked her up and ran towards the window in her room and jumped out of the house. Though the fall hurt, I made sure to keep her safe. There were people outside, watching the house burn down. I cried out for a healer and luckily there was one in the crowd. Seeing that she was being taken care of, I tried to rush back in to save her parents. Before I could take a few steps towards the house, I was tackled by those around me who saw what I was about to do." Her voice became angry as she snarled, "I watched as her house burned down! I let her parents die! I could have made it in there and saved them!"
Listening to Idrenis's story, Han understood what had happened and also why this city was going to fall. The gods had likely decided which locations would thrive and would send their minions to make sure that their decisions were followed. Seeing that the Priestess and her family could be a threat to their mission, the followers of the gods decided to eliminate them.
"With the Priestess's help, we were able to remove all of them from the city. We even began research into weapons to fight off the Overflow, with the assistance from our sister city." Her voice became bitter. "If it were not for this Overflow, our weapons and defenses would have been completed. It seems like the gods discovered what we were up to. What they did not count on was the Priestess's ability to sense when the Overflow would occur. I initially thought that we would have a chance, considering how much we were able to prepare compared to the previous times but it looks like this time is different. We always suspected that the gods used the Overflow as a weapon against us, but we never had proof. It looks like our suspicions were correct."
"What about the weapons and defenses?" He asked her. "Surely you were able to complete a few of them?"
"Yes. There are a few that were completed, but they will likely not be enough. The visions the Priestess have been having have become progressively worse. This means not only is the Overflow close, but also that the severity is beyond what we expected." She grinned at the idea of how petty the gods were.
"Sounds like you guys are giving up?" He mocked her.
One of her hands flashed towards the front of his shirt and pulled him up towards her. "Give up! You do not know what you are even saying!" She spat at him. "Of course we are not giving up! Do you know what she had to go through! The suffering those pieces of shits who call themselves gods put her through!!?? I am going to make sure that each one of those monsters understands what they are facing!"
"At least you are not crying anymore." He grinned at her.
Idrenis sighed as she let go of his shirt. "I also feel bad for your group who have arrived at this location, only to be devoured."
"The least we can do is help defend this place from those creatures, right?" He laughed.
She shook her head, trying to understand what was going through his mind. "How can you be so cheerful?"
"I have learned that not all things are what they seem when you first look at them. Even if you do get overwhelmed, I am confident that the battle will be to such a degree that future civilizations will talk about it." Han looked at Idrenis with complete seriousness in his voice.
"Though I have only known you for a short time, I am glad to have met you, Yi." Idrenis slapped him on his back as the two laughed on top of the wall.
"So which one of them is yours?" Idrenis asked, trying to change the mood to one much lighter.
"What do you mean?" Han replied.
Idrenis stared up towards the sky in frustration. "I mean about the women in your group!"
"What makes you think any of them are interested in me?" He asked coyly.
"I am guessing you want me to ignore how happy they all looked when approaching you?" She teased.
Han turned his back towards the scene in front of the wall and took a seat on the edge of the wall. "I guess you could say all of them." He said simply.
"I do not know whether it is the fact you are claiming as all those girls as yours or the cocky look on your face, but I have this desire to punch that face of yours." She joked with him.
"I feel the same way sometimes. I often think of how lucky I am to be surrounded by women who feel that way towards me." He grinned, as he thought about what the girls were up to.
"You better not break any of their hearts." She warned him, casually.
Han nodded his head, thinking about them all. For a moment, he thought about Ha-Yoon and that night where she cried. He didn't understand why he was thinking of her at this moment.
------
Screams could be heard, waking up Ha-Yoon from her slumber. Being woken up so suddenly left her feeling disoriented, trying to understand what was happening. The last thing she remembered was walking around the city taking in the sights, enjoying the casual and cheerful feeling.
Hearing more screaming, Ha-Yoon quickly put on her clothes and weapon holders. Making sure that all of her weapons were secured, she rushed down the hallway. All the doors were already opened where Selestra, Han, and his servants were staying in the various rooms. The doors to the other students were still closed. Wanting to figure out what was happening first, before alerting her students, she rushed down the stairs.
Exciting the Inn, people were running and screaming. It took her a few moments to realize that something was wrong. Ignoring the people, Ha-Yoon looked around her at the different buildings trying to figure at what was different. As she was looking around, she was getting a sense of dread building up.
Like a thunderclap, Ha-Yoon looked up at the sky and saw that it looked blood red, as if the sky was bleeding.