Inside the bustling tavern, a voice echoed, carrying a mix of fear and urgency that even those outside could hear. “All of you, you have to believe me. I-I SAW HIM with my own eyes!” The man's voice shook with desperation. “The crimes we've committed, and what we’ve done, YOU ALL NEED TO CHANGE!” His pleas fell on the indifferent crowd, his fear a stark contrast to their apathy.

Mira sat quietly at one of the tables, watching the scene unfold. Next to her, Bintang was voraciously devouring the meat she had bought, his sharp teeth tearing through the food with ease. Mira herself didn’t eat; instead, she simply observed, letting Bintang have his fill. The man’s frantic cries for attention momentarily distracted her from Bintang’s feasting. “THE END OF THE WORLD IS NEAR, YOU ALL HEAR ME?!” he shouted, his voice rising to a fevered pitch.

A group of adventurers, irritated by the disturbance, stood up and approached the frantic man. Mira watched them closely, her eyes narrowing as the leader of the group, a burly figure with a sneer on his face, confronted the man. “Yo old man, you better leave. You’re annoying everyone in here,” the adventurer leader said with a dismissive wave.

Desperation shining in his eyes, the man grabbed the adventurer's shoulder. “Please, I’m trying to warn everyone about what’s coming. I saw everything! Please, you have to believe me!” The adventurer pulled a knife from his belt, aiming it at the man's chest. Startled, the man stumbled back, fear written all over his face as the rest of the adventurers glared at him.

Suddenly, a magic circle formed beneath the old man’s feet. Slime-like tentacles shot up, wrapping around him. With a quick motion, they hurled him out of the tavern, sending him crashing into the ground outside. The crowd erupted into applause, cheering the adventurer for his display of power. Mira watched silently, her expression unreadable, as memories flickered in her mind.

Bintang’s hand grasped Mira’s, pulling her from her thoughts. She glanced down to see Bintang holding out a plate, his eyes wide with anticipation for more food. Mira couldn't help but chuckle softly at his eagerness. She stood up, making her way to the counter to order more food.

---

A few hours later, Mira and Bintang stepped out of the tavern. Bintang looked satisfied, a faint trace of a smile on his face after the meal, while Mira’s thoughts were elsewhere, still lingering on the man’s words. They hadn’t gone far when Mira spotted the same man from earlier, now lying near the door, looking exhausted and hungry.

A clink of metal broke the silence as Mira dropped a bag of gold in front of him. The man, startled, sat up quickly, looking up at Mira with gratitude shining in his eyes. “Tha-thank you, young one,” he stammered, his voice still carrying a trace of his earlier fear. Mira, her curiosity piqued, leaned down slightly. “About what you said earlier,” she asked, her voice calm but probing, “would you like to tell me more about what you were talking about?”

The old man hesitated, guilt and regret battling within him. After a pause, he began to speak, his voice trembling. “I want you to know something crazy, young lady,” he said, fear creeping into his tone. “I’m not from this world. I remember it clearly... I was tortured by a pirate, and then this pirate threw me to his brother. Her brother’s eyes were full of... Concer.... but the her eyes... A female pirates she looked at me with... A terrfiying smile as if she wanted to do more to me. And then his brother... he blasted me with something so fast I couldn’t even see it. And then... when I woke up, I was here, stranded in this world.” He looked down, trying to recall the details, his mind struggling to piece together the fragments of his memory. “The last thing... he said to me before blasting me away...”

He paused, the memory coming back to him like a wave. “Make sure to give everyone a warning, and if I somehow meet someone he knows, tell her everything... slowly flowing like a... river...” His eyes widened, the words lingering in the air.

Mira listened attentively, while Bintang watched the old man with confusion. “So the end is near?” Mira mused aloud, her voice soft. “I already thought about that before.” She gently patted the old man’s shoulder. “You shouldn’t waste your time here. Maybe try to change your life around here,” she suggested. The old man remained silent for a moment, then nodded slowly. “Thank you,” he whispered, bowing his head.

“Come on, Bin, we have work to do,” Mira said, turning to leave. Bintang, surprised by the casual nickname she had given him, quickly chased after her, leaving the old man deep in thought.

As they walked, Bintang began ripping off pieces of his bandages to write something. Catching up to Mira, he handed her a piece. Mira took it and read the hastily scribbled message: “Are you believing what that man said?”

Mira glanced at Bintang and responded, “Sometimes, you need to be prepared for what might happen.” She heard more bandages being ripped and quickly shouted, “Could you please stop ripping off the bandages covering your body? Let’s just find a place to get you some clothes and a book to use.” Picking up her pace, she led the way, Bintang following close behind.

Bintang rushed forward and handed her another strip of bandage with writing on it. This one simply read, “Sorry.”

Mira smiled faintly. “Apology accepted,” she replied.

After some time walking around the city, they came across a draper's shop. Both of them entered the place without hesitation. Inside the shop, Mira looked normal, browsing through some ready-made clothes to buy. Meanwhile, Bintang was nervous, noticing other customers starting to stare at him and silently discussing his appearance. Even though it wasn't his first time in such a place, it brought back bad memories for him. He kept following Mira, bowing his head to ignore everyone looking at him.

Mira then met the shopkeeper, an old man with a warm, welcoming smile on his face, which was covered by a beard. “Welcome to my shop. How can I help you today?” he greeted them. The shopkeeper glanced at Bintang, feeling sorry for his condition. He quickly snapped back with a look of shock and slight panic when Mira called for his attention repeatedly.

The old man quickly turned his eyes toward her. Mira, now having his attention, asked nervously, “Uhm... we’re looking for clothes that might... cover his whole body, simple but nice?” She looked at the shopkeeper with nervousness on her shoulders.

The shopkeeper glanced at Bintang, observing the bandages covering him from head to toe. He pondered for a moment, considering what type of clothes would be suitable for Bintang.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

“Follow me, you two,” he said, turning to walk deeper into the shop. “I think I’ve got something for ya, little buddy.” Mira followed behind him while Bintang, feeling confused and curious, wondered what kind of clothes he would get.

The shopkeeper walked towards a nearby rack and began searching through the clothes he had mentioned. Mira remained silent, waiting patiently, while Bintang felt a flicker of excitement.

Finally, the shopkeeper pulled out a nice set of clothing from the rack: a dark tunic and matching trousers, both made of soft, durable fabric. “These should fit over the bandages without causing discomfort, aye? Would you like to put this on?” he said with a bright smile, handing the clothes to Bintang. Bintang’s eyes glowed with excitement as he looked at his new attire. He happily took the clothes and quickly slipped them on over his bandages. The tunic and trousers fit loosely but covered him well, making his appearance slightly more conventional while still accommodating his bandaged form. He felt comfortable and excited by this fitting his dark long pants color

Mira looked at Bintang, satisfied. She then turned to the shopkeeper. “Uhm, so how much?”

The shopkeeper laughed before replying, “For him, I’ll give you a discount. Ten silver coins should do the job.”

Mira quickly took out her wallet, counting the coins. As she was doing so, something came to her mind, and she quickly asked the shopkeeper, “Oh, I forgot. Do you have, like, unused cloth? If you have any, can we take it since you don't need it?”

The shopkeeper looked confused and asked, “Unused cloth? What do you want to do with that?”

Mira explained, “You see, my friend here can’t talk. So the only way he communicates with others is through, well, writing.”

The shopkeeper was shocked upon hearing more about Bintang’s condition. “Ah, no wonder our friend can’t talk. I don’t have much, but if you want some... Also, if you’re looking for a store that sells books, there’s one near my shop, a few meters away on the left side. You could buy some books he can use for writing.” He started walking away. “Now, you two stand here for a moment. I’ll get the unused cloth. I was planning to throw them away; it’s quite surprising someone’s asking for them.”

After a few minutes, the shopkeeper came back with a bag full of unused cloth in his hand. Mira took it and paid for the clothes she bought for Bintang, while Bintang amused himself by striking cool poses.

They then left the store, with Bintang happily wearing his new clothes while Mira faced a small dilemma. “Now, where is left..." She look left and right trying to figuring out what is left and what is right, with a dissapointed tone she tell herself "After all these years, I still can’t tell what’s left and what’s right,” she muttered. Bintang stepped in front of her and pointed with his finger to the left. Mira quickly noticed and, still unsure, asked, “Are you sure it’s left?” Bintang nodded, his eyes gleaming with happiness. “Alright then, here we go,” Mira said, before continuing to walk, with Bintang leading the way in front of her.

As they walked toward their destination, a voice filled with anger spoke to Mira, “Ugh, please tell me after buying him a fancy book we can finally get to the main objective of WHY we’re here?” A calm voice responded, reminding the angry voice, “I wouldn’t be surprised if this is going to take a while.” The angry voice laughed for a moment before voicing his frustration. “Ha, right. You and Father always play the patience game, but me, I hate waiting.”

The calm voice starting to wondering about something, expressing her thought to the other “Now this makes me wonder if he’s seen some event that we might encounter in the future.” The angry voice then called out to Mira, “Hey Mira, are you listening?” He noticed how Mira seemed to be ignoring both of them. “Ugh, that face. The face of someone having fun taking her little brother shopping.”

The soft voice noticed Mira’s mood and interjected, “Huh, this is going to take a long time. Time to play my favorite game.” The angry voice could only express his disgust at this, “Ugh.”

Mira had been hearing their conversation the entire time, so much so that she walked right past Bintang, who had stopped his step and was looking at a building. Lost in her thoughts, Mira didn’t notice she was leaving him behind, preoccupied with the ongoing exchange between the angry and calm voices.

Noticing they had just passed Bintang, the angry voice was about to shouted in frustration toward Mira. Before she could let out her frustation toward Mira, Bintang grabbed her robe, quickly bringing her to a halt. Mira turned to look at Bintang, who was pointing at the store they were looking for. She was shocked for a moment, realizing she had been so listening by their conversation that she hadn't noticed where they were going. Bintang released his grip on her robe and gazed at Mira in confusion.

Mira brushed off what had just happened, with Bintang following her from behind as they headed into the store.

After sometimes looking around, buying what they needed they get out of the store as soon as they get everything they need for their adventure.

Bintang looking at his new book while mira looking at her wallet with only few silver coin left inside, Mira doesn't bother by the situation she had, she look at bintang happly writing in his new book. Mira smile as she see a happy boy infront of her, Bintang then look at mira while turning his new book around telling something from what he write in the book " Thank you so much, I never thought i will had this so much fun in one day " Mira laugh a little " Ha, I guess i have alot to show you to keep that smile on " She intructed Bintang with his hand to follow her " Come on, lets get everything finish and we can finally going to . . . " She slightly forget what she wanted to say, before then continue while remembering what it is " a demon king castle, right . . . How i forget about that hehe " she then starting to walking following by bintang from behind as the sun slowly going down as night approaching.

While walking holding her wallet, Her wallet suddenly shine for a moment before then faded away, Mira notices it but don't as if she knew whats going on while Bintang was fascinated by the scene.

As they continued walking through the night, curiosity about Mira's behavior toward him started to stir in Bintang’s mind. Without hesitation, he quickly scribbled something down in his book. Once he was finished writing, he sped up his pace to catch up with Mira, holding out the book to show her what he had written.

Mira carefully read the question Bintang posed:

“You were too kind to me, even though I don’t know if the Demon King will agree with my request or not. Is there something you might like to say?”

She looked at Bintang with a smile and began explaining, “Well, I have two reasons for being so kind to you today and maybe in the future.” She raised her hand, lifting her first finger. “One, the way you act always reminds me of how my brother and sister act. Joy fills their eyes every time I come home and bring them a gift.” Bintang listened attentively beside Mira as she raised her second finger. “The second reason is that I was planning to adopt you.” Bintang was shocked by Mira’s words. “Since you have no place to call home, what if I give you one? I’m sure my brother and sister would be happy to meet you.” She turned around, walking backward so she could look directly at Bintang, who was still in disbelief. “Sure, this is surprising, but trust me, everything will be alright. I’m older than you, so you should call me ‘Big Sis,’ but that depends on whether you accept my invitation or refuse it. So, what do you say?” A big smile spread across her face as she waited for his response.

Bintang’s eyes filled with tears, unable to hold back his emotions. He quickly wrote something in his book, the tears falling onto the pages. Turning the book around, he showed it to Mira.

“Yes, YES I WOULD LOVE TO.”

Overjoyed by Bintang’s decision, Mira hugged him tightly, saying, “From now on, call me Big Sis, okay?” Bintang could only cry and return her embrace.

After a moment, Mira let go and spoke to Bintang with excitement, “You must be hungry, right?” Bintang wiped away his tears and nodded. Mira laughed, “Ha, I already knew it. Come on, I visited this place once, so I know my way around.” She picked up her pace, with Bintang chasing after her from behind.