Chapter 4: Unforeseen Consequences
“So— which one of you is a Hawthorn?”
We were all stunned by the sudden appearance of this person. Who— is this guy that appeared out of nowhere behind us? There were no sounds to his footsteps, almost like an assassin. Worst of all, I can feel the hair at the back of my neck and forearms standing. Whoever this person is, he is emitting a terrifying presence.
I turned my head slowly to get a good look at this individual. He had blond hair combed backwards and a couple of scars all across his body. But there was one thing that stood out and it looked like some kind of visor on top of his head. It was translucent and spectral in nature, almost as if the object was not supposed to be there but yet you can see it. It was shaped like a triangle or pyramid which I was sure that he uses it to cover his eyes for some unknown reason.
“I am not going to repeat myself. Who is a Hawthorn here?! The three of you were talking pretty loudly about it that anyone could hear it within a mile,” said the stranger as he lifted his disgusting right eye.
All of us prepared ourselves for combat against this weirdo. Lily stood behind us while John and I took point and unsheathed our blades. This annoyed him and he was clearly losing even more patience.
“You think this is a joke? You think this is some fucking joke? You really think the three of you can stand up against me? You better start talking before I murder the three of you,” said the stranger as he started emitting some sort of black aura that enveloped us.
I saw a vision of all three of us getting massacred by this weirdo in a span of a second. What— is this? He is strong. Stupidly strong as a matter of fact. Neither of the three of us are going to make it out alive; even if we ran with all our might.
We started shaking at the knees. The vision we saw earlier was horrifying and we knew full well that we are about to die. Still, I won’t go down without a fight!
I held Inazuma steadfast and pointed it towards the stranger. I took a few deep breath and thought about going on the offence but as I blinked, he was gone. He had completely disappeared from my sight. Where did he go?
I heard John shouting “BEHIND!” and I instinctively tried my best to turn my head as fast as I could. The stranger was already swinging his dagger towards Lily. No wait, he was swinging it to cut all three of us with one swing! Inazuma may be extremely light but my reaction speed is just not fast enough to keep up with this stranger. We are all definitely going to die.
But before I kiss dirt and touch grass, let us turn back time for a couple of minutes before this all these happened, shall we?
***
“So— what is it about me being a Hawthorn? Is there something I should know about?” I asked the both of them.
“Hmm, from where I was from, there was an announcement that all Hawthorns were declared as traitor nobles. Any information regarding them must be informed to the security of City Of Pines immediately. At least, that was last I heard about it like— ages ago,” said John as he scratched his head trying to recall.
He told us that he was from a small town south of the forbidden forest. His route to the city had him pass by the forest where he happened to meet Lily midway. She was staring at the signpost trying to understand which way was pointing towards the city.
“You looked as thought you were about to cry having lost your way, didn’t cha, Lily?” teased John.
“I did not! I just had difficulty understanding human language. That is all. I would had figured it out eventually,” pouted Lily as she folded her arms.
She can be quite adorable despite being a century old. Cute some might say.
“Oh yeah? Then let us part ways and see whether you can make it on your own,” laughed John.
Lily ignored him and turned her head away from him. She noticed I was staring at her and she quickly turned to look at the ground immediately. What was that about? Am I imagining things? I thought I saw her cheeks going red. Who am I kidding, I am not handsome whatsoever. Just a short ass skinny boy that doesn't gain weight no matter how much I ate.
‘So Lily, did the elves heard of anything about the Hawthorns? You were surprised as well when you heard my name,” I asked her.
“Well— news about humans barely makes it inside the elven forest. But there were quite some gossips about your bloodline a couple of years ago. From what I recall, all Hawthorns were to be executed or captured despite a Hawthorn being a war-hero after the Demon War. We were quite surprised for such a renowned hero to have his name desecrated so quickly right after the war,” she recalled the gossip while pushing her bottom lip up with her index finger.
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Why is she trying to act cute in front of me? I maybe I am too sensitive about her right now that I am noticing these small things. And I told grandfather that I will not be thinking about girls!
“I guess I should keep my Hawthorn name a secret from now on then,” I smiled at her.
Her face flushed red to the brim. Alright, that is most certainly a blush, no two ways about it. I swore I even saw steams coming out of her head. I guess I’ll ask her about it if I get the chance. What in the world got her thinking about me this way? In the meantime, I’ll just pretend that I did not see her reaction. Yet my heart is also pumping faster whenever I look at her. Gah, did I seriously have a crush on her?
“So um.. Lily? I’m sorry if I am stereotyping but don’t elves generally uses bow for combat? Are you perhaps looking to be a merchant or something?” I asked her curiously.
Elves are generally known for their extreme marksmanship and pinpoint accuracy. While this world favours melee combat more so than ranged, that does not mean that elves did not find a way to utilise it in combat. Sadly, this world has monsters and creatures that is coated with thick hides, making it difficult for normal arrows to pierce through. You will have to use the creature’s bones or teeth to craft stronger arrows which you either have to farm or purchase them from a vendor or merchant. But spending money on craftables are not economical for an adventurer mainly due to the high buying rate as opposed to selling them which is about 4 to 1. Even so, it should be fairly common for a starting adventurer to have at least some sort of weapon before heading to the city.
“Ah, my bow broke during the earlier commotion. I only have a short dagger with me now but I am not proficient in using it. I am not physically strong either to use it in combat effectively,” she showed a sad smile.
How insensitive of me to ask her in the first place. Sadly I do not have any other spare weapon with me currently to give her. I doubt the sword or axe from the thugs would served Lily any better than the dagger that she currently has. Alright, I’ll bring her to a merchant to buy a weapon before we head our separate ways. That is assuming we ended up choosing different guilds.
It was not until she walked in front of me that I noticed her quiver hidden behind her cloak. What a fool you are, Zen. If only you had noticed it earlier before I asked her that question. I certainly need to increase my perception in order to start noticing things.
“I have one more curious question if you don’t mind. What is that— thing that you are wearing in front of your eyes?” I asked her with utmost curiosity.
“Oh, this? These are glasses. My eyesight is a bit off so I have to wear them. These are elven made, mind you,” she puffed up her chest.
Does it really matter who made it? I guess she wanted to show off her elven pride to me.
“I thought elves have excellent eyesights in general,” I shrugged.
“Not everyone is born perfect, Zen. This applies to elves too. Sorry that I am not some perfect elf in your imaginative world,” she pouted.
“I did not say that. Sorry if I offended you in some way. Allow me to treat you to a meal later as an apology,” I bowed slightly to her.
“Y— you’re awfully nice to me,” said Lily as she trailed off. I could not hear what she mumbled later on.
It was late evening when we could finally see city walls. By my estimation, possibly another kilometre or so when the stranger decided to appear behind us. And I am sure you know the rest of the story.
***
Whoosh pak!
A hand reached out to grab the stranger’s wrist. The dagger was just an inch away from Lily’s neck. Things happened really fast but I quickly regained my senses and pulled Lily away by grabbing her cloak. I immediately recognised whose hand it was as I had been seeing it for the past 11 years. His wrinkled hand gave a clear sign that he was really old but I knew full well that he was still powerful.
“Now why would you want to attack these adorable children, might I ask you?” asked grandfather as he stroke his beard.
I can feel that he was getting serious as his aura pressuring the air around us. Not even a green dragon got him this pumped.
“Ho, not bad old man. Your reaction speed is actually fast enough to keep up with me,” said the stranger.
I can see both of them struggling to overcome one another. The stranger was trying to push his wrist forward to cut grandfather while the other was resisting. Grandfather increased the pressure on the grip which made the stranger broke the grip and leaped backwards with a “Tch”.
Damn it, now he is standing in the direction of the city. If only we can knock him out cold or something then we can rush towards the city. Even this assassin won't be foolish enough to pick a fight with all the city guards and adventurers. But grandfather held out a hand to prevent us from doing anything foolish.
“Stay behind me, kids. Do not do any rash unless l tell you to,” he whispered to us.
Damn it, I am really nervous right now. Grandfather should be able to handle this stranger, right? He can beat a dragon all by himself. With the both of us, we stand a chance at beating him!
The stranger leaped forward towards grandfather with the dagger in his hand. Grandfather held out both of his hands steadfast. It would seemed that he had not decided to use his katana just yet. The stranger swiped his dagger sideways in an attempt to cut grandfather’s arm. No wait, it was a feint! He is going for a stab instead!
Grandfather countered the stab by grabbing the stranger’s wrist and pulling him forward. He then performed an under-leg sweep which usually causes his opponent to fall directly to the ground. The stranger noticed this and immediately released his dagger. His left hand grabbed the falling dagger and immediately tried to stab grandfather even though he was falling head first onto the ground. Grandfather reacted quickly and leaped backwards. Seeing that he missed, the stranger used both hands to balance himself onto a backflip.
What is with these people? Those are not a typical human reaction!
“Seems like I had severely underestimated you, old man!” shouted the stranger.
I finally understood what grandfather was doing, by dragging him over to our side, we now have our backs towards the city. We can make a run for it if we can somehow disable his mobility.
“You three, run towards the city and don’t look back. When I give the signal, run with all your might,” whispered grandfather to all of us.
“But Oj…,” I muttered but he immediately shouted at me with a “Quiet!”
“Do not say anything and ready yourselves,” he said.
“Oi oi.. you are not planning to make a run for it, are ya? Now you are severely underestimating me. I ain’t just a normal bounty hunter!” shouted the weirdo.
“GO! NOW!” he shouted as he placed his right hand on his katana.
I hesitated. I could not move. How can I abandon my grandfather for my own safety? I want to fight beside him. If the both of us were to perish then so be it. I have nothing else to lose in this world except him.
Someone grabbed me from behind. I looked back and John was pulling me by my dougi. He was dragging me one-handed with me floating in the air. What in the? I am not as light as Inazuma! How is he doing this?!
“Put me down! I can run on my own!” I shouted to John.
He released his grip and I ran alongside him while Lily took the lead in front of us. But I disobeyed grandfather’s order. I turned my head and looked back. I needed to know. I need to know that he is going to be safe.
"You’re not getting away, Hawthorn!” yelled the stranger as he began to chase after us.
Grandfather retaliated and unsheathed his katana, raising it above his head.
"YOU, SHALL NOT, PASS!" yelled grandfather. Okay grandfather, that was badass. If only you were facing a Balrog now.
I face my head forward knowing full well what was coming. Even as I ran forward, I could see the god rays flashing in front of my vision.
Damn it! Please be safe grandfather. Please find me in the city.
The three of us ran towards the city as fast as our tiny legs could carry us with every step filled with shame and regret. Could I have changed the past if I stubbornly refused and decided to fight the stranger alongside grandfather? I know the past is the past, but you can't shake the feeling of possibilities that I could had done instead of running. But I knew deep down that nothing would had changed. After all, I was just a scrawny brat at that point in time.
***
Ah, it would seemed that my daughter had fell asleep. I shall resume my story some other time. Moving forward, I shall focus more of the story rather than my daily life as I doubt any of you are interested in such mundane tasks. However, I do have a quest that was assigned to me recently which I will need to carry out soon. I guess you can look forward to that instead.