• 133 •

Background color
Font
Font size
Line height

The four of them headed into the dangerous district to eat the food recommended by the guide. Despite being sent to them as a spy and informant, the guide did not lie about the food. 

It was superb. 

When it was close to midnight, the four of them approached the stairs and Cecil recalled Yun’s words he had uttered earlier today. 

“Wait at the stairs at midnight, you wouldn’t be able to simply walk in.” 

However, there was no one around except the shops beside them with their interior still lit up even though it was close to midnight. Cecil did not see any guards or anyone guarding the entrance to the stairs. 

One could just simply walk up. 

“Cecil?” Hana blinked curiously. "Where are you going?"

"Just need to check something."

She did not know anything about this district from the novel. Hence, she did not know what Yun meant. 

Are there guards?

But I do not see anyone.

Cecil took a few steps forward on the stairs, before she felt a hand on her shoulder, stopping her. She turned to see K'xug silently gesturing to something above. 

K'xug withdrew his hand just as Cecil looked up.

Xue was already standing at Cecil's side with his spear out, narrowing his eyes at something ahead. 

The stairs led to the area with taller buildings, and the buildings had balconies. However, the balconies weren't just there for leisure. With the light from the decorative lanterns, one could see people standing on the balconies, aiming a bow in Cecil's direction. 

They had already loaded their arrows, preparing to make a shot. 

Cecil withdrew abruptly upon the sight of archers focused on her. Xue withdrew along with her, casting a dubious glance back. 

The archers had retreated into the shadows. 

"So that's what he meant by we could not simply walk in," Cecil mused out. "They would kill any unauthorized person on sight."

Just then, a figure was seen walking down from the top of the stairs. He passed by a stone lantern, and everyone could see the distinctive caramel brown hair tied into a ponytail and his round glasses. 

He descended the stairs in an elegant and swift manner.

"I did warn you, that you simply wouldn't be able to walk in," Yun stated, adjusting his glasses. "And you still tried to."

He maintained his composed and gentleman-like mein, still dressed in the black kimono with a purple waistband. 

"Do you really shoot down anyone who wanders into this area unauthorized?" Cecil questioned with a frown.

"We give warning shots." Yun answered.

Cecil maintained her frown. "And if they persist?"

"You should hurry, they are waiting for all of you." Yun did not answer, only gesturing to them to follow him. 

Cecil was speechless by the blatant disregard at her question.

She knew the answer anyway. 

They'll still shoot people down either way. 

She watched Yun ascend the stairs, before following behind like the rest.

Hana skipped beside Cecil, holding onto her hand.  

"Cecil, Cecil! You kept that box of sweets for those children, right?"

Cecil chuckled. 

"Of course I did, you insisted."

Hana giggled. "They loved the mochi, they'll love these sweets too!"

The two men just trailed behind the two ladies quietly. 

***

The area past the stairs was a different vibe compared to the entrance of this particular part of the street. Everyone was dressed in a similar manner, where it was either yukata or kimono of darker colours. 

Despite it being close to midnight, it seemed as if it was evening hours where everyone was having their dinner. The stone lanterns along the cobblestone path, and the lanterns hanging from the roof of the shops were still brightly lit. 

People recognised Yun as he strolled languidly down the streets, some of them bowing to him. A few curious eyes glanced towards the four of them, noting their dressing with disapproval or intrigue. 

“Master Yun.” 

“Master Yun! Please come by some time to try our clothing!” 

“Welcome back, Master Yun.” 

Cecil observed her surroundings, tapping her fingers on her chin. 

The way the guide told us about this street, it was as if everything inside here would be dangerous and out to harm us. 

I guess he really was someone sent to spy on us...and whoever sent him, clearly does not like this part of the streets or the people associated with it. 

All of a sudden, Yun halted abruptly. 

The four of them stopped to prevent themselves from colliding into one another, and Cecil glanced up curiously at Yun. 

Just then, the doors of the store beside them burst open. Someone had been kicked out as he tried to sit up with a groan, hiccuping at the same time. The man was unstable on his feet, it was obvious to anyone the man was completely drunk. His nondescript appearance with a beer belly easily lost the attention of everyone wandering the streets. 

It was as if it was a daily occurrence for something like that to happen. 

“Yooooou dare kiiiick me out?” He was slurring in his words, hiccuping. “I’ll calllll the officers on yeee!” 

Two brawny men revealed themselves from the shop, one of them scoffing as the other one dusted off his hands. They went back into the store, not before glancing back at the man as if daring for him to come back in once more. 

Some of the people witnessing the scene clicked their tongue in disapproval. 

“He is completely drunk.” 

“Aye, he should know the officers will never come here.” 

Yun did not say a word, moving on after the two brawny men disappeared back into the store. 

The four of them continued following behind him, Hana looking curiously at the drunkard stumbling his way, grumbling under his breath. 

Cecil furrowed her eyebrows. 

So, this part of the street has its own rules and law. 

There was no one here to enforce the law unlike the officers we saw earlier today.

In the original novel, Hana and Xue were not accompanied by Yun, nor did they meet him. Hana encountered some troubles within this street, and Xue did not bother about the rules or laws, only forcing his way into here to help Hana. 

Fortunately for Xue, there were no archers to shoot him down that day. Though, recalling this information, Cecil was confused as to why there were archers standing guard this time. 

Cecil could only guess there had been another change due to the butterfly effect. 

***

The walk was only a few minutes. 

They traversed across a wooden bridge to arrive at a stone arch leading to the entrance of a huge building with multiple floors. Two people situated outside the doors in yukata-like uniforms bowed politely, sliding the doors open with amiable smiles on their faces. The surrounding area around the building was a beautiful zen garden, its atmosphere serene unlike the busy streets behind them.

“Welcome back, Master Yun.” 

“Good to see you again, Master Yun.”

The group walked into the building, and they were instantly greeted by the warm and cozy interior, followed by the smile of a receptionist at the counter. She was dressed in a yukata-like uniform as well. 

“Hello, welcome to the Haruki Inn!” 

The receptionist noticed Yun instantly, and her smile grew wider.

“Ah, Master Yun! Welcome back!” She greeted warmly, gesturing to the sliding wooden doors to her left. “The children and Master Ryo have been waiting for you, please head in!” 

“Thanks,” Yun nodded. “They are with me.” 

“Very well, Master Yun.” 

“The children are here?” Xue questioned in askance. 

No matter how one looked at it, the inn was covered in riches. The design of the interior was warm and cozy, but one could see how it was furnished with furniture of great quality. 

“They are,” Yun reassured. “I wouldn’t be so stupid to lead all of you into such an obvious trap.” 

Yun slid the doors open, and it led to a spacious lounge area. It was furnished with furniture of great quality as well. In the centre of the lounge area, the two ladies could clearly see the children from earlier today playing around together with toys. 

“Are all of you really pirates?” Cecil asked, bewildered. “From what I have seen, it would be hard to call you...pirates.” 

“Our captain wants us to be called that,” Yun adjusted his glasses. “If you want an answer, ask him.” 

The children noticed the new presence in the lounge, noticing the two ladies. A few of them immediately dropped their toys, rushing to Hana and Cecil as they greeted the two ladies cheerily. 

Hana responded to them with the same amount of enthusiasm. Without a word, Cecil handed Hana the sweets that she had bought for the children. The children instantly flocked towards Hana with gleeful smiles. 

One of the children hid behind Hana’s leg, peeking at K’xug. 

K’xug realised the child’s curious and awed gaze on him. He bent down, meeting the girl’s round eyes. She hid behind Hana once again, before slowly peeking out and waving shyly at him. 

K’xug waved back, his face indifferent. 

The little girl squealed and her twintails bouncing to her movement, to receive her share of the sweets. 

Hana had observed the scene, giving the sweets to the little girl. 

“He is handsome, isn’t he?” 

“Yes, like a--like a prince!” The little girl squealed happily. 

“Mhmm! Mmmm!” Hana nodded back at the little girl. “Like a handsome prince!” 

K’xug felt embarrassed for an inexplicable reason, scratching his face. He looked at Hana and the little girl, giving them a tiny nod. 

“He’s saying thank you!” 

“A polite, handsome prince!” 

“Mmm! A polite, handsome prince!” 

K’xug grew even more embarrassed, rubbing at his neck. 

Yun observed the children flocking towards Hana and K’xug, bright smiles on their faces. His expression softened, realising it was worth the trouble to bring the children all the way to this inn. 

Xue was narrowing his eyes, watching out for any suspicious activities when he heard Cecil laughing breathily beside him. 

“Look at that,” Cecil pointed at the far end of the lounge area, still laughing. “It’s amazing he can continue to sleep. He reminds me of Sid.”

The children were disturbing Ryo snoring away quietly on the couch, poking him and scuttling away. One of them balanced the candy on the tip of his nose, and it rolled off and somehow ended up in his mouth. 

The children gasped in amazement. 

“Big brother Ryo is amazing!” 

“Amazing!” 

“So amazing!” 

“What? What?” Ryo was startled awake, grimacing at the sweet taste in his mouth. “What’s this? So sweet.” 

“It’s candy!” 

“Oh...candy.” 

Ryo fell asleep after that.

“He went back to sleep again!” 

“Again and again!” 

The soul fragments inside Xue who witnessed the same scene started snickering. They looked at Sid snoring away on the couch in the same manner as Ryo, however, compared to Ryo, he would not wake up no matter what. 

Kai: “I would say Sid is worse.”

Zasiok: “Definitely.” 

Alric: “I think...the couch should just be his bed now…” 

Leonaut: “...should I kick him off?” 

Isleif was sulking in a corner, not participating in the conversation or looking at the scene at all. 

Cecil watched the entire scene of the children enjoying themselves, feeling relieved. “It’s nice to see them like this, despite what happened to them.” 

Xue observed in silence, his expression contemplative. 

Yun only showed a light smile, agreeing with Cecil before finally deciding to assemble the children together. 

“Like I have promised you, I brought them here,” Yun gestured to the four people standing beside him. “Go ahead and tell them what you want.” 

The children all started speaking at once, and everything came out incoherent. They instantly stopped, looking at one another. 

“We need to tell them one by one!” 

“You speak then!” 

“Why not you?” 

“Uhmm...” 

The children became indecisive as to who would become their spokesperson. Eventually, one of them stepped out and it was the oldest child among them. Cecil recognised the child in an instant, since he acted as the leader of the group earlier in the day. 

“I’ll do it.” 

The older child was clearly nervous to take the lead, inhaling deeply. 

“It’s okay,” Cecil said gently. “Take your time to explain, we’ll be here to listen the entire time.” 

The child nodded. 

“Our parents were taken away by someone. All of us are here for the same reason,” the child explained. “Our parents told us the same thing, they would be visiting someone and would be back in a day, to earn more money so we wouldn’t be poor anymore.” 

The cheery atmosphere gradually dampened. 

“They never came back, and we never...heard from any of our parents again,” the child glanced down. “We talked to the officers, we posted requests on the board, but we are always ignored and our requests are always torn down.” 

Cecil furrowed her eyebrows. 

No matter how one looked at this situation, there was something happening behind the scenes. 

Moreover, it did not happen to just one child, but to all of the children here. If Cecil could count the children here, it would amount to twenty. 

“Are there...more of you?” 

The child nodded. “They are all at the orphanage.” 

“Orphanage?” Cecil asked, her eyes widening as she turned to Yun. “How many of these children have lost their parents...in the exact same way?” 

“In this area,” Yun adjusted his glasses, remaining composed. “An estimated amount would be about a hundred.” 

“Wh-what?” Cecil gasped in disbelief. “Hundreds of their parents are missing and no one is doing anything about it? Not even the lords?” 

“Some of us are,” Yun adjusted his glasses, extending his hand out. “So we require some help to aid these children, and the four of you would prove to be a big helping hand.” 

Cecil glanced down at Yun’s hand extended out to her, before looking back at Xue, K’xug and Hana. 

The three of them were looking at Cecil, allowing her to take the lead. 

“But...how can we trust all of you? Not too long ago, your pirate crew tried to--” 

“Big brother Yun and the others saved us, and brought us to the orphanage,” one of the children spoke up. “Big brother Yun is good!” 

“Big brother Ryo too!” 

“Big sister Kiyae too!” 

“And big brother Haru too!” 

Cecil was even more confused now. 

These pirates...don’t seem like pirates anymore. 

Who exactly are they?

The doors slid open, and a short grayish brown-haired woman stepped in. Her prominent, fierce eyebrows were raised and she raised her arms into the air. 

“Hiya, kids!” 

“Big sister Kiyae!” 

The children started tackling her, and Kiyae grinned widely as she laughed.

“Big sister, big sister! You have to try this!” One of the children jumped happily, holding a piece of candy given by Hana in his hand. “Those pretty big sisters brought them over, it’s delicious!” 

Kiyae popped the candy into her mouth, glancing over and noticing the group. She patted the children on the head, sauntering her way over. 

“Oh, Yun!” Kiyae lifted her hand, smacking Yun on the back as she threw her arm over his shoulder. “It really worked, huh? You managed to bring them here over after all!” 

Yun turned to look at Kiyae, his expression a deadpan. “Kiyae, you--” 

“As expected of our strategist!” 

This time, Yun only closed his eyes, sighing. 

From these few words, anyone would be smart enough to deduce that Yun had planned to bring them over from the start. 

It was all a ploy. 

“You deceived us,” Xue stated. “To get the children in our sights, and to get them to bring us here, you planned it.” 

“Ah…” Kiyae winced. “You have not fully gained their trust and their assistance yet, didn’t you?” 

“Every single time, Kiyae,” Yun sighed in frustration, resting his forehead on his palm. “You have the most inappropriate timing.” 

Kiyae laughed loudly. “Sorry, sorry! It’s not intentional!” 

The four of them were now wary, and Yun looked at them, maintaining his composure. 

“From the very start when you have introduced yourself as the queen’s guests, you were already dragged into this, even if you did not want to,” Yun explained, adjusting his glasses. “And from the ship, we have seen your strength, especially from your training sessions in the training hall, according to Haru.” 

Yun extended his hand out. 

“We need your strength to help these children.” 

***

Pt. 1

《 start 》

These children…

They can still manage to smile like that after losing their parents.

They can still manage to smile in this broken down state. 

I am...envious. 

I wish I could smile like that one day. 

《 stop 》

***

Pt. 2

《 start 》

It’s not like I have not been called handsome before. 

I have even been called handsome by you on a few occasions. 

...but now, when it’s from you…

Somehow, I feel embarrassed. 

《 stop 》





You are reading the story above: TeenFic.Net