our hero enters a tavern on a mountain filled with the worst of humanity. Covered in blood that doesn't seem to be his, and carrying two daggers on his back, no one is surprised by his state; it seems they are all used to it. Everyone has their weapon, and it appears to be the nature of this world. Our hero sits in front of the bartender, throws three bronze coins on the counter, and orders some meat. After a while, the bartender brings him what he ordered and says, "It looks like today's catch is good." Our hero looks at him but doesn't respond and starts eating, ignoring him. The bartender sighs and says, "As usual, you don't talk to anyone. I don't know what you've been through, but it's all written on your face." Our hero finishes his meal, leaves the tavern, and goes on his way to eliminate the remnants of the storm.
He sits alone in the forest, staring at the fire and remembering his past. Suddenly, he hears a scream. He grabs his weapon and runs towards the sound to find some ghouls gnawing on a woman's corpse. He draws his weapon and starts killing them. There were only seven ghouls, not a big problem. When he finishes, he sits by a tree and looks at the corpse, then hears a baby crying. He rushes to the corpse to find a girl clinging to a small child. He doesn't know what to do, as all he knows is killing and assassination. He picks her up, and she starts laughing. He feels something awaken inside him that he had long forgotten. He holds her in his arms to protect her from the cold weather, worried about her. The child falls asleep in his arms, and he smiles; it was the first time he had smiled in a very long time. His heart races as he asks himself, "What is this feeling? Why do I care? Why did I save her? Death would be better for her." He takes his dagger, intending to kill her but trembles violently. He looks at her, and his trembling increases, and he gives up and throws his weapon away.
He smiles and says, "Who am I to decide for her? Let her choose for herself. Although death was the better option for me, I still fight. Is it revenge or a goal? I don't know. All I know is that I must live and fight. When she grows up, she can choose, but for now, it is not yet time for a choice."
He returned to the tavern, where he heard noise a few meters away. Our hero entered through the door, and everyone looked at him in surprise and silence, then they all started laughing. One woman shouted, "What the hell? Are you a mother now?"
Everyone laughed at him, but he didn't care. He moved forward and sat in front of the bartender and asked him to prepare a room. The bartender looked at him and shouted, "Are you ready to take responsibility for her? What do you think you're doing bringing a child to this desolate place? Are you crazy? Death is more merciful than living here. How will you handle it? Are you capable of it? Will you feed her alcohol or some drugs? This is madness! And why are you all laughing? Tell me, what is funny about your lives, all of you? What we do is drink and fight every day, losing one of you each day. Damn this annoying place, and damn me for opening a tavern here."
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[A terrifying silence fell]
Our hero looked at the bartender with his usual gaze and shouted, "What's wrong with you? What's wrong with any of you? Will I take responsibility for her? Of course not. Do you expect me to let her die? What's wrong with you?"
The bartender calmly replied, "Room nine is empty, you can take it for free, but you must take responsibility for her from the moment you decided to raise her."
Our hero said nothing, took the room key from the table, and headed to the room. He didn't know what to do. He had never held a child in his hands before, and now he had to raise her. The whole situation was strange. He entered the room, took a shower, and looked at the baby, pondering what he had gotten himself into.
After a while, he heard a knock on the door. He went to see what happened. When he opened the door, he found no one, just a cup of milk and some torn clothes. He brought them inside and looked at the child, thinking about what the bartender had said. His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the baby's crying. He rushed to her, grabbed the cup of milk, and began feeding her. The baby stopped crying as soon as she finished the milk, but he smelled a foul odor from her. He understood the situation and washed the baby and changed her clothes. Our hero realized that taking care of a child was more difficult than hunting monsters. When he finished, he held the baby in his arms, looked at her, and noticed a strange mark on her back. He didn't dwell on it much as many people mark their identity in case of death, leaving some remains.
The baby fell asleep, and he put her on the bed, then went down to the tavern downstairs. He sat in front of the bartender who was washing the dishes and asked for some food. The bartender looked at him and said, "We are closed."
Our hero sighed, looked at the bartender, and said, "It's been four years since you came here. Every time I look into your eyes, I see deep sorrow as if you carry everyone's pain on your shoulders. I don't know your background, and I'm not interested; I just want to tell you to take care of that girl, she seems like a blessing to you, but you should know that the more you love her, the greater the pain of separation will be."
The bartender turned to pour two glasses of beer, sat in front of our hero, and continued, "You need to know how much to give and how much to take to avoid losing everything again."
Our hero drank his glass in one gulp, his face taking on the appearance of a predator, exuding a deadly aura, and said to the bartender, "I won't lose anything again, and if I do, I'll make everyone regret it."
The bartender smiled and replied, "You will lose. That's life. Don't worry, I'll take care of her in your absence. I'm sure you have work to do."
Our hero donned his armor, left the tavern, and headed to the forest to eliminate the remnants of the hurricane.
(to be continued)