The Normal Farmer - Completed

Chapter 6.1 – Duza Sonanji’s Party – part 1.1

Ronald slapped Ma Yangfa’s back and went near Mira. “Miss Mira, I wish to open an account.”

“A what? What…”

“Oh, I mean, I talked with Ma Yangfa, and because of my misunderstanding and as an apology, we agreed that I would pay one drink for every meal he takes here for one week. Can you take care of that? I would pay on the same day or the day after, if possible.”

Mira blinked a few times, and she looked at Ma Yangfa and back to Ronald again. “Did… Did he force you to do that?”

“No, of course not! It was I who made a mess again. He may not look like it, but he is very friendly. And that powerful laughter of his is amazing.”

Mira nodded, turning completely red. “Yes… I always liked to hear him laugh. He is also very strong, and he never denies help to a member of our Guild.”

Ronald lowered his voice, “It would be better if you made him realize how you feel about him, or one of these days he may find another woman, and you will regret it. “

Mira was even redder, and she stuttered, “I… don’t know what you mean…”

Ronald smiled and looked at Woof. “What do you say, Woof? Shall we go to our Party members? Or it would be better to make Miss Duza wait for a little while longer?”

Riattus laughed from his side, “Ahahah! Yeah, let’s make her sweat a little more! What does she think, that you are her pet or what?”

“No, Woof, let’s go; she may think that I am being rude. Or the others... Not a good way to start, right? Miss Mira, Woof and I would like to eat here. It’s possible?”

“Sure, our kitchen is already preparing dinner for anyone that would want to eat. Normally, every Adventurer, when he can, eats here. It’s cheap, you know?”

“Okay, I think Miss Duza will allow me to join them for dinner, but if not, I can ask Ma Yangfa if I can join him.”

Mira smiled. “Yes, I am sure that either one of them, won’t mind having you.”

Ronald made a slight bow and went towards Duza’s table. He smiled at them as he seated.

Ini was the first to speak: “You really like to search for trouble, don’t you? What was that about, with Ma Yangfa?”

“Just a way to warn everyone. It was that or killing half the people in here so that the others realized that it’s not a good idea to attack me when I am sleeping.”

Reylom turned to him with a very concerned look in his eyes. “That… wouldn’t be a good way to keep you on God Seya’s path…”

Ronald smiled. “If I am not mistaken, God Seya was known for never leaving alive an enemy that would kill him by surprise. Before he became a Deity, I mean…”

“Where did you hear such blasphemy? God Seya is kind and merciful; he would never do such a thing!”

Ronald frowned. “Really? What about the two armies he killed with Fire Magic, and the two Castles with the Royal Families still inside?”

“That… That was divine punishment!”

“I see… I need to learn more about your points of view concerning God Seya. Don’t judge me if my beliefs are different from yours.

Reylom agreed, but he was still upset. “I… will make sure to put you on the right path, young man. I swear!”

“There is no need to swear, Mister Reylom. Just you willing to speak to me about such a sensitive subject would be enough.”

Ovaidel leaned forward over the table. “You know, hearing you refer to everyone as Mister or Miss is starting to annoy me. Do you have to address everyone you meet in this manner?”

“No, but I prefer to be polite than to be mistaken by a rude Dwarf…”

Ovaidel started to snort, but before he could say anything, Ronald smiled and explained, “What? Votkir, my childhood friend and the most annoying Half-Breed Dwarf you would ever meet, always laughed when someone compared me with a Dwarf, considering he was always polite, and I was a total menace while growing up! I miss that guy… He named his first son Ronald, just to laugh at my expense by saying he now knows a Ronald Dwarf!”

Ini was curious. “What happened to him? Did he… die?”

“No, he moved to a different City. But he never stays put; he really likes to travel. I never met a Dwarf that liked the outdoors so much!”

While Ovaidel was calming down, Ini smiled at Ronald. “Maybe you meet him again, on one of our journeys.”

Ronald gave a small smile. “Yeah… that would be amazing… Or Vola… My dangerous and crazy Elfian friend… The most amazing Elfian I ever met in my life. She used to punch me every time she saw me, just because fifteen years ago I said she looked like a dried-up bush. She is an amazing hunter, able to track and hunt any animal or criminal she sets her mind to.”

Ini raised one eyebrow. “You have an unusual set of friends…”

“Yeah… That’s what normally happens when a person grows up in an Orphanage… He tends to see people differently, willing to see the best in people even if no one else does. Votkir was always in trouble, trying to keep Vola out of problems. Eventually, I joined the gang when I had a minor disagreement with her that ended with Votkir knocking us out to stop us from killing each other. We became inseparable. I learned a lot from them, including about their ancient heritage. And it seems I also picked up the politeness of Votkir and the bad temper of Vola.”

Duza bit her lip. “It seems you have powerful feelings about her…”

“Yeah… I was in love with her, and Votkir too. The problem was that Vola was also in love with him. In the end, they became a couple. But we remained friends for all these years.”

Duza was a little restless; she couldn’t stay still in her chair. “And… what about your wife?”

Ronald went silent. A family was something that he never had, and that cover story that Riattus thought up for him made him depressed every time that subject came up.

Duza and the others thought his silence and serious look towards his crossed fingers over the table were a display of someone who was grieving the loss of loved ones. They didn’t continue speaking about that matter.

Fortunately for them, before the silence became awkward, Mira and a servant came with the dinner. “Hello, everyone. Place for one more?”

Ronald got up and, with a smile, pulled a chair for her after looking at the others. “It would be great if you could join us, Miss Mira.”

Mira smiled and seated. She then looked down because Woof was sniffing her left leg. “He… Is he smelling me to see if I am eatable?”

Ronald glanced at Woof, who was seated on the floor and wagging his tail. “He seems to like you. But he can also be hungry…”

The servant placed a small dish full of meat and a bowl of water on the floor, a little hesitantly.

Mira was watching while Woof sniffed the meat and started to eat. “Yeah, he was hungry. For a moment I thought the worse!”

Ronald laughed while tapping Woof’s back. “No, he only tries to eat someone when I tell him to. Most of the time, he is very well-behaved. More than some Humans, for sure.”

“But where did you find him? And what did you do for him to follow you around? I never saw or heard of a wolf doing that!”

“We found each other, actually. At first, he was a little curious about me, but it seems I conquered him. Lucky for me, because travelling all alone would be too dangerous.”

Mira started to eat while waiting for a full story. Since he didn’t say anything, Duza told her what she heard from him in the back office. Mira was munching some meat while thinking.

After a cup of water, she asked him, “So, you came from Terbik… It’s a long walk from there to here. Did you cross Thetria to come here? And Breidan? And you came out of there unscathed?”

Ronald shook his head while eating. “No, Pigliapo and Breidan by night, and also by night, the forest that serves as a border. I was looking for a peaceful place to live, not trying to get myself killed. I had more trouble in the forest than in all my journey, but I still managed to get here.”

Mira looked at Duza from the corner of her eye, and she saw she was hiding a smile. So, she continued, “And your family? May I ask what happened?”

Ronald became silent for a while. He then answered, after making sure that Woof had finished eating, “Goblins, while I was in the field. The screams… Well, if you will excuse me, I need to go to sleep. I haven’t had a proper night of sleep for quite some time. Tomorrow morning, I want to take a tour around town. But… I don’t know if it’s safe to take this guy with me… Maybe it would be better if I postponed my visit. Well, I will see about that tomorrow. He needs to sleep too.”

Mira was caressing Woof’s right ear. “If you want, he can stay with me behind my desk while you go for a walk. If he doesn’t try to eat me, I mean.”

Ronald looked at her, surprised by the offer, but he shook his head. “Better not. And he prefers cooked meat, by the way. But if someone tries to threaten you, he may well kill the one who would be stupid enough to do such a thing in front of him. Maybe that’s not a good idea…”

Mira smiled while still caressing Woof. “That sounds just perfect for me. Many of these guys always try to annoy me. It would be great to have a wolf next to me, one that I could order to snatch a piece of someone that thought it would be funny to see me mad.”

“You know what? It really sounds like a good idea. So, let me just teach you some orders he knows and obeys. You need to say his name and then the order. Like this. Woof, stay! See, he sits and looks at me, waiting to see if he can be at ease next or if he must stay like that for hours. Woof, lay down! Good boy… See, if you say that he is a good boy and you rub his ear, he knows he can relax. Let me see what else… You can order him to get ready, and like that, he will be alert to any sudden movement and attack anyone that makes a move towards you, even if it’s just your father who suddenly hugs you. And in an extreme case, if you order him to kill, he will aim for vital points and will only stop when his target is dead, unless you order him to stop or if he dies.”

Mira had her eyes wide open. “Did you teach him all that? How?”

Ronald shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know if he will obey you if you order him, but it should work… let me see… Woof! Look at her, see? She is Miss Mira, a friend. Tomorrow you will stay with her to keep her safe, okay? Speak once if you understand me.”

Woof!

“Okay… you really understood me?”

Woof!

Ronald frowned. “Yeah… seems he knows what I mean… Sometimes he surprises me and makes me forget he has four paws and a mouth full of teeth… Well, thanks everyone, but we must leave. See you all tomorrow.”

Mira looked at Duza from the corner of her eye, and she had an idea. “Maybe it would be better if Duza went with you tomorrow because you might get lost or lose the opportunity to visit some of the City’s most beautiful places.”

Duza coughed and choked on her water. Mira kicked her leg from under the table to quiet her down and made a signal with her head.

Duza cleaned her chin from the spilt water and said, “Yeah… I can do that if you want. It would be better for you not to do anything stupid that might get you killed or arrested.”

Ronald made a small bow. “It would be my honour, Miss Duza. See you tomorrow, then.”

Ronald left with Woof at his side, held by the rope. Duza tapped Mira’s back. “Way to go, Mira! We were wondering how we could ask him about his voyage to see if we could trust what he said in the back office, and you just made him open up. But that idea of yours, for me to accompany him… From where did that come?”

Mira made a weird smile and winked with one eye. “What? Are you sure you want such a good-looking man walks through this City all alone? With so many single women looking for a husband? Duza, Duza, sometimes you worry me… It’s not possible that I was the only one to notice the way you were looking at him since he entered the Guild’s front door!”

Duza turned bright red, but before she could say anything, Ini and Mira cautioned her, “We both noticed… But either way, be careful; But it’s rather amusing to see the stubborn Duza getting so flustered by a man, like a normal young lady.”

Duza punched his chest with a powerful forward hit that made Ini gasp for air. “Are you saying I am not a normal young lady, you piece of ‘shilum’?”

Ini winked one eye at Reylom, who was laughing. “See… Really funny, right? Ouch, my chest hurts…”

…

At the Inn, a young servant boy guided Ronald to his room. In there, he sat on the edge of the bed with Woof laying on the floor next to him.

Riattus was near the window, looking out. “Well, we are on the first floor with a view of the backstreet. It seems to be a suitable room with a quiet and safe location. There’s a rooftop under this window, so, if necessary, this window can become an emergency exit. You managed that interrogation from Mira very well. Fortunately for us, we practiced a lot your cover story. But why do you almost cry every time you talk about your phoney family?”

Ronald shrugged his shoulders. “Yeah… A family is something I never had. My two childhood friends were the closest I had to family. And every time I remember the way that woman tied to the pole was screaming, I get sad, thinking about her own family.”

“You know, her family was already dead when we arrived at that Goblin Village. I saw the bodies of four children in that pile. Maybe one of the men who was also on that pile was her husband. There was nothing we could do differently; we arrived there too late.”

“I know… Well, I need to sleep. What about you?”

Riattus pointed to the left wall, where the Guild’s building was located. “I will have a look in there and in the City to see if you can be safe tonight. After that crazy stunt of you against those three Adventurers and then to that Ma Yangfa, someone could try to surprise you late this evening. Or maybe not. Better safe than sorry, right?”

Ronald frowned. “What did you want me to do? They were threatening Mira.”

“You could just stay put. That Ma Yangfa guy was getting near; he would stop them. You blew his chance of impressing his love interest. But you managed to shake them both afterwards with that friendly talk. Maybe they will develop those awkward looks they were giving each other after you talked with Mira. But you need to learn to keep a low profile; you can’t attract too much attention to yourself; you are still very weak.”

Ronald was taking off his clothes, and he was already in bed while Riattus was speaking. “Go away, you talkative old man! I need to sleep!”

Riattus smiled and vanished, leaving them alone. Ronald blew on the candle and covered himself.