Chapter 27
1003 Words
"Oh you must be tired then. Don't worry, we'll finish this as soon as possible so you could still get some long rest. Your wound might not have fully healed." Scarlet said with concern.
"Thanks, so, who are we trading with? Do you know some people in this town?"
"Yes, actually, but I only know one of 'em here. She's a close friend of mine, so don't worry."
We approached a small hut beside the lake at the end of the market. I wonder who could this friend be. I hope he's not some handsome, big dude that would seem like Scarlet's ideal type.
Scarlet started knocking on the door. There was no response. She knocked again a few more times but there was still no one answering the door.
"Maybe he's not home." I said to her. I can see the disappointment in her face.
"Well, she has her windows open and I just know she's inside. You see, we got in an argument last time we saw each other and I think she might still be mad at me." Scarlet sadly stated.
Oh, it's a she! Thank goodness! Oh wait, Scarlet's sad! I should focus on that more right now....
"Perhaps, she just forgot to close the window on her way out. I think if she's really your friend, she won't stay mad at you for so long." I said to her, trying to comfort her.
"I hope so, she's someone dear to me, a family, and I don't want to lose that." Scarlet replied.
As she spoke, somewhere in my peripheral vision, I saw someone inside the hut. But as I look, it seems like no one was there. What I'm wondering right now is who could this person be and what did they argue about that she might be hiding inside her house, not wanting to show her face to Scarlet.
"I guess we just have to think of something else. We could knock at the doors of that rich neighborhood and just ask where the village head lives." I tried to suggest.
"Yeah, if only it was just that easy but it isn't. No one really answers doors in this town unless they're expecting a visitor or they know who was knocking. It's for safety purposes I guess, considering there are many bandits here."
"I mean, a bandit or a burglar rather, wouldn't knock if they're trying to steal from a house, they'll do it secretly, isn't??"
Am I not right? Who in their right mind would knock politely in someone's house if they're gonna steal something from them?
"It's all trickery and deception. The people here are clever in deceiving people, so it's better to be safe than sorry."
"But how will the village head know that I was the one doing the quest? He doesn't even know me at all. What if he won't let us in his home because we're strangers?"
"Didn't your master gave you some type of bracelet? It's the secret code of adventurers to their clients so they'll know that you're the right person they're waiting for. That is for quests like this only, I think."
"Varan did gave me this thick, deep blue bracelet before I go but he never told me its purpose. I thought it's just a gift from him."
"Well, that could be it. Your master wanted you to figure that out yourself at some point, I think that's what they mostly intend to." Scarlet implied.
I mean, I wouldn't have figured that out myself, I think.
"We still need to think of something that will make us less suspicious because even if they won't answer to our calls, they might call the authorities on us." Scarlet pointed out.
We were surprised when the door of the hut suddenly opened and yet we see no one. Then out of the blue, a woman slowly stepped in the light of the day and showed her masked face to us.
"I know where the village chief's house is. Come and follow me." The woman said without looking at either of us.
"Hi, I'm Finley by the way." I greeted awkwardly to the girl as we walk.
She didn't even responded and just continued walking at a fast pace. How rude was that.
The girl looks younger that me and Scarlet and yet she looks so fierce and very mature. I think my peripheral view was on point. I really caught a glimpse of someone inside the hut and Scarlet was also right. This girl is still mad obviously but she also really cares for Scarlet which is what is important here. We'll just ignore the fact that she was eavesdropping my conversation with Scarlet.
There was awkward silence throughout the entire walk.
"Wait, Raha. This is not the route going to those wealthy houses from the west side of town."
"What are you talking about, why would we go there?" Raha replied, finally looking at Scarlet but with one of her eyebrows raised.
"Finley here has a sketch of the village chief's house and it looked like those identical houses of the rich people from West side of Draco. So we figured, one of those was the chief's house, is it not?" Scarlet asked her.
"It's not, why don't you trust me when I know this place better than the both of you." Raha irritatedly uttered.
"I'm sorry, it's not that I don't trust you but I...we just thought that it was there because they all looked exactly like the one in the sketch." Scarlet answered.
"Well, I already told you that it's not one of them, so why don't you just follow me??" Raha said with annoyance. We then followed her and stayed quiet all the way. After a few miles, we finally reached a house that looks exactly like the sketch but this time, it was built solo near the huge lake. It's even far more isolated than every other house we've seen so far in this town.
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