The villagers paid me well for my troubles. A bit too well in fact, as I felt the sack of coins jangling in my travel pack. My inn’s innkeeper—a mute old woman—greeted me with a smile as I walked up to her. Like the first time we met, she took out a small, wooden board and set it out before me. On it was a list of questions on one side and a list of requests on the other. I tapped at the request for paying my staying fees and for a good breakfast. She nodded, then held out a hand towards me.

  One, two, then three silver coins, as well as four bronze coins, fell to her grasp. A bit pricey, I thought as I walked away and took the table closest to the exit. But I’m starving for an actual meal right now. As I waited, a chime rang as a girl entered the inn. She looked around and our eyes met once. She had striking blue eyes and the beginnings of a smile on her face. Then she went back to walking and headed straight towards the innkeeper, who was now a soft-spoken old man.

  With not much to do while waiting, I decided to have a closer look at the newcomer. She was small, not much taller than the old woman from before. Her dress was a faded blue, with some patches of brighter fabric here and there. Her hair braided into a knot of some kind, or something to that effect. Save for her eyes, she appeared quite ordinary. A typical village girl in a typical village.

  While I patted myself on the back for my marvelous observation skills, my lunch came. The smell alone melted my previous grievances against the inn’s pricing. I thanked the server, who turned out to be the old woman from before. She said nothing and left soon enough, leaving me with the meal of the day. It was a creamy, filling soup with the usual vegetables and meat one would expect, but delicious. I had to restrain myself from gulping it all down in one go, and settled on a spoonful per couple minutes or so.

  “Is it good?” A voice interrupted my bubble of bliss. I looked up from my soup to find the girl looking back. She had sat on the chair opposite mine, with soup in hand.

  “Mhmm,” I grunted. “I don’t think I asked for more.”

  “Everyone ends up asking for more of Grandma’s soup. Everyone.” The girl stirred her soup. “I’m Sabine. What’s your name?”

  “I’m-” I drank another spoonful of soup before continuing. “-Knight.”

  "Knight what?" Sabine inquired. "Is that it? Just Knight?"

  "Just Knight." I nodded. "Short, simple, and easy to remember."

  “That’s…an interesting name choice,” Sabine said with a sympathetic look.

  “My parents wanted me to be a knight. I did too until I found out you have to be a noble first.” I smiled bitterly as I recalled my childhood days. “Haven’t heard of them since.”

  “Wow, and here I thought being the village chief’s daughter was hard.” Sabine scooped a spoonful of soup and brought it to her mouth. “I have to deal with my mother nagging me about marriage.”

  “That’s-”

  Without warning, the old woman innkeeper placed two empty cups and a kettle on the table.

  “What’s this?” I asked her.

  “It’s tea.” The old woman replied, leaving soon after. Having only heard of “tea” before, I looked at the kettle with some trepidation. I then realized Sabine staring at me with wide eyes. “Grandma spoke! She spoke to you!” Sabine said, excited. “And she offered you tea! Wait, why are you offered tea?”

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  “I paid good money for good service.” I shrugged whilst looking from the kettle to the cups with a question hanging overhead. “The cups seem way too small for the kettle.”

  “It’s because you’re meant to sip it one at a time,” Sabine said as she filled her cup. “Want me to pour it for you?” I thought for a minute before replying, “Alright, but let me finish my soup first.” I cast my gaze at my meal, only to discover an empty bowl staring back at me. "Told you it was delicious,” Sabine said whilst pouring tea to my cup.

  The water was dark brown, but clear, which made it look as though it was another layer of its wooden container.  I took the cup and drank it in one gulp. The taste was…how do I put exactly. Like flavored nothingness, with an aftertaste of bitterness. It was not water with some color in it, like I thought. I poured myself another cupful, drank it, and repeated it several more times to see if the taste changed. It didn’t, but I did feel calmer than before.

  “You like it?” Sabine asked.

  “I can live without it,” I said whilst refilling my cup. “How did you get tea this far out?”

  “Only my grandma knows, and she doesn’t talk.” Sabine looked afar for a moment before snapping back. “Hey, are you going to leave the village soon?”

  “As soon as I get out of this inn, yeah.” I took another sip of tea. “Why are you asking?”

  “Well, would you stay for another request?”

  “Depends on the request and the pay.” I paused from my tea-drinking and stood up straight. “I could also outright refuse requests if it is too unreasonable and insane.”

  “This isn’t anything of the sort!” Sabine said with more volume than intended, as she soon put a hand over her mouth. “I need an escort to help me get to the village’s shrine located deep inside the forest.”

  “A shrine? To whom?”

  “An old forest deity that no one knows the name to anymore,” Sabine said with a sad face. “It’s getting more and more disused every time I come and visit. People don’t care anymore about it.”

  “If you’ve been there so many times already, why do you need an escort now?” I asked, studying her face for an answer. 

  “I saw a monster lurking about when I tried to visit the shrine last time. It was big and terrible and-”

  “I’m going to stop you right there. That is not an escort request at all. It’s extermination, and I’m quite fed up with monsters for the time being.” I sighed as I remembered my most recent encounter.

  “I don’t want you to kill the monster!” Sabine said, “I only need someone to look out if it is around while I try to save the shrine token. It’s the only thing that’s left untouched.”

  I gazed into my teacup as I considered the request. Having more money is always good, but dying before I can spend it is not. Does she even have the money? I looked at the patches on Sabine’s dress with doubt. Then my gaze traced upward to her face, and back to those eyes. Eyes that seemed to hold back a hidden maelstrom.

  “You have intense eyes.” I blurted out of nowhere.

“Oh, yeah,” Sabine said whilst averting her eyes from mine. “Thanks.”

  An awkward silence reigned before I put things back on track.

  “I’ll do the request.”

  “You will?!” Sabine almost leaped out of her seat towards me. “I mean, thank you, thank you so much!”

  “Don’t thank me yet.” I filled my cup once more and took a sip. “I’m going to consider this as an extermination request, and I’ll want double the usual fee.”

  “Double?!” Sabine exclaimed. “But I don’t have that much money…”

  “Then good day to you, Madam.” I wiped my mouth clean and proceeded to get up, but not before Sabine grabbed my wrist.

  “I can pay you back in another way.” For the first time since I met her, she looked nervous. “I-” 

  “Please get your hand off me, Madam, or I'll have to do something regretful.” I steeled my tone a bit, which worked as Sabine took her hand back. Her face seemed a mess of emotions, with one coming and going like the wind. Mercy crept in like a guilty child, but I chased it off with a hearty session of apathy.

  Nothing is worth a fool’s death. I reminded myself as I walked out of the inn.