The appearance of the five burly men at the entrance of the inn caused a sudden silent to be swept throughout the dining area. Even Lucia became quiet and stopped what she was eating to watch the five men like everyone else as they entered the inn and walked to take a seat near the front.
Alex too noticed these men, but he only paused for a brief moment before resuming in eating his food. Luna completely was oblivious to the silence as she went about eating her food with great delight. It was not until that Alex noticed the untouched food on his teacher’s plate that he realised she had stopped eating.
“What’s the matter, miss?” He asked her curiously, looking at her and noticing that she was staring at the burly men. “Are you curious about them?”
She shook her head and replied, “Nothing of the sort. It’s just that… I feel they’re… unpleasant.”
“Anyone can tell just from the way they conduct themselves,” he commented, glancing at the men as shoved food down their throats and kept asking for more.
They were complete strangers to him, but for Alex, it felt as though he had come across such a behaviour in the past. He noticed that some of his past memories were slowly fading away with time, but the feeling of knowing something or being aware of it was still evident in him. So, he was unsurprised about these men and was already expecting something bad to come out from them.
Sighing, he turned back to his teacher and smiled while advising, “Come on, miss. Ignore them and eat otherwise it’ll get cold and won’t taste as good as before.”
She blinked in surprise and turned to look at her student, who was looking serenely at her. Being told about such a thing by her student made her chuckle at her silly behaviour and glanced at Luna. Seeing the younger girl chowing down the food with an air of obliviousness made her chuckle once more before resuming in eating her food.
It took a few minutes for Luna to finish eating and place her spoon down contentedly with a grin of happiness on her face.
“That was great!” She exclaimed happily.
Just then, she finally took notice of the silence and that they were no longer the main attention of the people at the dining area.
“What’s going on? Why’s everyone so silent?” She asked her childhood love with a look of amazement.
“Over there,” he told her and nodded towards the centre of attention.
Following his indicated direction, Luna looked over at the men and widened her eyes in amazement. She quickly turned towards her childhood friend with a doubtful look on her face.
“Al, are they people or monsters?”
Alex spit out air in alarm and looked at her in shock because he had not expected such a question from her. Lucia, on hearing her question, immediately burst into a laughter that she smothered with her mouth.
“M-Monsters? No. They’re human… I think,” replied Alex, suddenly feeling unsure of the facts. “They’re most definitely human but… why the sudden doubt, Luna?”
“Oh,” she said, reacting with amazement, “I just thought they looked strange for human. Like, they got mishappen bodies with fat all over the place. Not to mention, their faces are so swollen. Don’t they eat healthy food or something?” Suddenly, she became scared and asked, “Oh no! Is it some kind of disease? Could it be contagious? Should we let them be near us? What should we do, Al?!”
Alex blinked in surprise because he could not believe what he just heard coming from her mouth. He guessed that the fat she was referring to was the bulging muscles the men have with each having his own six packed abbs to speak. Yet, from the way she described it, one would think those men have a health issue and need to seek a doctor.
Lucia bent over the table while clutching her stomach as she struggled hard to contain her laughter. Alex stared at his teacher’s shaking body from laughter before looking back at the cute expression filled with confusion that Luna made before sighing wearily.
“I think we should get you up to speed on what those things are, Luna,” he said with a small smile.
“Um… okay?” She asked, blinking in confusion and looking cute as ever.
At that moment, the burly men rose to their feet roughly while making burping sounds without any care. Then, lacking any sort of grace, they began leaving the inn when the person from the counter called them back.
They watched as the smaller man hurried to them and began requesting as politely as he could for them to pay. When they refused, he insisted that they must because they have not paid for any of the meals, they had for over a week, and that he was facing financial troubles because of it.
“How’s it our problem?” One of the men asked back arrogantly. “You should feel proud that members of the esteemed mercenary group, The Black Hawk, dine here. You even get fame because of us for this worthless place and yet, you dare to disrespect us and demand money from us?!”
“The Black Hawk,” muttered Lucia with narrowed eyes, which caught the attention of her student.
“You familiar with them, miss?” He asked curiously.
“No. A notorious gang that bully others for money and are willing to get their hands dirty to get any job done,” she described the group with a look of loathing on her face.
Alex looked troubled at that and asked, “Don’t the law enforcers try to bring them in?”
She shook her head and stated, “They can’t. Rumour is that their leader has some kind of connection with one the council.”
“No way. That’s so… unjust!” Expressed Alex with irritation.
“It is,” she agreed with a nod of her head while watching the scene in front escalate from an argument into a fight.
“You dare to ask us for money when you use our fame as you please! I don’t like it!” One of them, a hot-tempered person, said looking very irritated. “Guys, let’s smash this place up, and I’ll speak to the boss about this!”
“Yeah!” The others said, following his orders and beginning the systematic destruction of the inn with crazed laughter.
“Please stop! Please! I beg of you!” The manager cried out, falling to the knees of the man who had barked the orders with tears forming in his eyes. “Please stop this. This inn is our home and it supports my family! Please! I beg of you!”
The leader looked down at him with a smirk and then looked towards the counter, where the staff were looking petrified. This included the manager’s wife and daughter, who were also working there to support the inn that they worked hard to establish.
“Wait a bit, guys,” he told his men, which made them stop and turn to face him. Then he looked down at the man and said with a smirk, “Since you’re begging so much, I wouldn’t mind letting this go,” and for a moment, relief came over the person’s face before it was filled with dread when the man finished the sentence with, “if you entertain us of course.”
Everyone in the dining area winced at his words and could easily guess what he meant. He was suggesting to the manger to let the women of his workplace tend to him and his men’s needs and entertain them as a favour for letting them off.
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The manager looked distraught at the man’s suggestion, causing him to immediately let go of his clothes. Then he began looking around at the others as if seeking their help, but no one was willing as they averted their gazes. They felt bad, all of them did, but they wanted to avoid trouble, especially when the other side was related to The Black Hawks mercenary group.
The villain of this trouble was smiling proudly at what he achieved and at the resignation the manager had come to. However, things began to not go according to his plan when they heard the sound of clapping and look in the direction it came from.
“Bravo for such a great spectacle,” said Lucia, who had decided to intervene in this matter. She walking towards them and clapped her hands to get their attention before saying, “Honestly, if this was a drama show, I’d enjoy it while having my meal but seeing this kind of act makes my food go bad.”
Two of the burly men whistled when they were awed by her beauty and one even said, “Wow! Check it! This chick is smoking hot!”
Lucia smirked at the comment and replied, “Thank you. I suppose I should roast you like the dirt bag that you are.”
Her calm and smooth retort surprised the man, causing him to become lost for words. But he did not need to reply because his leader took charge of the situation and spoke to her while trying to appear kind.
“Woman, I don’t recall seeing you around so I’ll let those words go, but I advise you to watch your tongue unless, of course… hehe… you want to entertain me too since you’re quite cute.”
He and the men snickered behind while she remained silent. This lasted for only a brief moment before she smiled in return and spoke in a manner befitting of the insolence of which the man spoke with.
“It’s cute that it’s coming from a man who’s face only a mother could love.”
Her words were followed by a moment of stunned silence as everyone stared at her in shock and disbelief. They could not believe that she was so brazenly speaking arrogantly him, who was from the notorious mercenary group called The Black Haws.
“You… wench!” He cursed, glaring angrily at her. “I’m warning you now! Grovel beneath me and beg for mercy or else!”
“Else what? What makes you think a weakling, such as yourself, would be able to do to me?” She asked in a challenging manner.
He gritted his teeth with seething rage and exclaimed, “You appear to be trained, but don’t overestimate yourself! I won’t go easy on you just because you’re a woman!”
This caused her to raise an eyebrow in amusement and ask, “Who ever said I’d be fighting you?”
“What?”
“All of you are no match for me so it’d be a waste of my skills and strength to use on weaklings such as yourselves.”
“Damn you!” He exclaimed, looking very angry and furious along with his men who were flanking him from behind in support. “Who do you think can fight me from this place?”
For a moment, she folded her arms and appeared to be deep in thought before relaxing and looking towards where the two youngsters were sitting at. At the same time, Alex had a feeling that things were going to escalate to a point that he did not feel liking at all.
“She’s more than a match for you lot,” said Lucia, indicating Luna.
The men turned to look towards the table the two youngsters sat at and assumed that she was referring to the boy. They all burst into hilarious laughter and turned back to look at her.
“You got a screw lose or something, woman! You think that he could fight us? You’ve got to the joking!”
Lucia relaxed her shoulders and sighed wearily while saying, “It’s not your attitude that’s broken but is your ear malfunctioning as well? I meant her, not him.”
“Her?” The man asked back, blinking in surprise and looking towards Luna. “Her?” He repeated, not believing what he just heard. “That… small… child?!”
“Yes. Her,” said Lucia firmly, and she walked back to where Luna and Alex sat watching her.
“Miss, what are you planning?” Alex asked her immediately upon reaching their table.
“I’m not planning anything,” she replied with a smile, but he saw through her façade and sighed.
She sat down to speak to Luna and said, “Luna, they are bad people and are hurting that poor man and causing his family trouble.”
“Oh,” reacted Luna weakly, looking towards the manager with sadness in her eyes.
“I want you to fight and defeat him,” announced Lucia much to the younger girl’s surprise.
“Me? Fight those people with health issues?” The younger girl asked worriedly. “Maybe it’s contagious, miss. Mother always told me to stay away as far as possible from such people.”
“Can’t you just beat the, miss?” Alex asked, trying to keep his childhood friend from entering a fight.
Lucia laughed and said, “Alex, trust me on this. I know what I’m doing.”
He looked worried as she turned to Luna and said, “They are not contagious and the only health problem they have is a rotten brain. Anyway, don’t you want to uphold justice and save these people from trouble?”
“I do but…” said Luna but faltered when she saw the burly looking men, who were eying her coldly.
Seeing her reluctant to do battle, Lucia wondered for a moment of what to do when she suddenly got an idea and leaned in to whisper it to her.
“Do you still not want to fight them when they bad mouthed Alex?”
It was a simple question, but to Luna, it had the impact of being hit by a log of wood. Luna quickly turned to the older girl and widened her eyes in alarm.
“They… They spoke badly about Alex?!” She demanded, and Lucia nodded with a sad look.
Luna looked shocked and turned to look towards the men, who were glaring at her with fierce eyes. For the first time since her arrival in that inn, she felt anger and all of it was currently being directed at these men who appeared to have bad mouthed her childhood love. The reluctance of her fighting them due to her fear because of their strange looking bodies was gone and was replaced with the intent of wanting to beat them up.
Lucia saw the change on her face and sensed her fighting spirit rising, so she finally asked, “Don’t you want to bring them to justice?”
“Yes!” Luna replied firmly and rose to her feet at the same time. She was about to leave but paused and turned to ask Alex, “Aren’t you going to wish me luck?”
He was surprised at her question, but he remained cool as he replied with a serene smile, “Do I need to?”
His smile told her all she needed, and with a smile, she turned and headed towards the men. As she passed, the surrounding people were whispering and murmuring with looks of shock, worry, fear and concern for the youngster that was about to fight a giant compared to her height.
“You’re kidding me! I’m going to have to fight this pipsqueak?!” The arrogant man blustered angrily. “I take back my words from earlier. There isn’t something wrong with you. You’re nuts!”
To that, Lucia smiled serene and replied, “Says the man with a stupid face,” much to his ire.
He snorted and looked down at Luna, who was quite short comparatively and asked, “You ready, midget?”
Luna faced him and bowed a little respectfully to her opponent and politely asked, “Sir, my father told me to give my opponent a chance to surrender before the battle. So, I wish you to surrender and apologise to end this peacefully.”
For a moment, the man’s vein looked like it was about to explode with his hot temper, but it remained. Instead, he cooled down and decided to act as if he could not hear her in order to make a fool out of her.
“Ah? What did you say? I couldn’t hear you properly from down there,” he said, placing a hand near his ear as if to try and hear her properly while being very arrogant about it.
“Sir, I said that I wish you to—!”
“What’s that? Speak up, midget! I can’t hear you from down there!” He said, louder than before with the same arrogant voice.
Luna blinked in confusion and was about to open her mouth to speak louder when suddenly, a thought struck her. Looking at him and his behaviour made her realise that he was playing with her and decided forgo the opportunity to give him a chance and defeat him. It was then that Lucia knelt down beside her and whispered something very simple and basic.
“Luna. Break his face.”
“I should do that?” Luna asked back uncertainly.
“Yes. He hurt innocent people. Plus, he also spoke badly about Alex. He deserves it,” said Lucia with a wink and double thumps-up gesture, which made Luna take one glance at the man before turning back and nodding in agreement with Lucia’s suggestion.
Luna clenched her fists as her temper rose once again at the mention of the badmouthing of Alex, her childhood love. It made her more determined than ever to defeat him right there and then.
So, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes to calm herself and clear her mind. In the meanwhile, he kept speaking bad words to her and belittling her. However, all of it was filtered out and she focused only on what must be done.
“Hey, midget, don’t go crying to mommy when you get hurt. It pains me to see it,” the man said as he made fun of her.
Alex, who was sitting back at his table calmly, clenched his fists tightly as he had the sudden urge to put a hole through that man’s mouth. However, he restrained himself and focused on Luna, who was preparing herself for this fight.
A moment later, she opened her slowly and moved into taking a fighting stance as she was ready to fight him. He did not take her seriously and merely continued to use words to try and get her down. But he quickly noticed that none of it was working, so he decided to get serious.
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” he said with a sigh before taking up his fighting stance. Then he chuckled and said, “Who am I kidding? This isn’t even going to be much of a fight.”
His words held true because the moment he finished speaking, Luna kicked off the ground and rocketed towards him at high speed. Before he knew it, she was in front of him and had pulled her fist back as far as she could before delivering it firmly against the man’s face.
There was a momentary pause on impact with fist against face. Then a powerful shock wave occurred as her opponent was blasted off his feet and sent flying backwards. He flew so hard and fast that he collided against one of his men and continued flying back while taking him along.
The arrogant man and his comrade blasted out of the inn and flew onto the street. People became startled and dived out of the way as the two men tumbled end over end for several meters, smashing through several buildings before finally coming to a crashing stop just as Luna landed gently on the ground inside the inn.
“Take that for being rude to Al,” she said while looking at the hole her opponent made on his way out.