The Supremacy of Peculiar Dolls

Chapter 4: The Villagers

As how Kouki has suggested them to do, the three of them paced along the riverside according to the direction where the river flowed to. From where they rested to eat, Yeomso let the twins led him. He, as a newcomer of The Earth, chose not to be snobbish over his finite survival knowledge. The twins might have immature exposure, but they knew what they were doing – Such as why there was fire when one rubbed a stick against a tree bark, or how a fish could die after being taken out from the water.

            Deep inside, Yeomso was astounded by the intelligence of the twins. He might be exaggerating, but to him Kouki and Hiroki were clever as five-years-old kids. Not only they could converse with him without fear, they could also teach him several things. In comparison to the experience, Yeomso could be winning, yet it did not mean victory if he did anything recklessly. He should be grateful to Kouki and Hiroki for introducing him edible food on The Earth.

            Those ten Humans…

            Yeomso tried memorizing the names of each of the men in the photo. Their names were utterly puzzling, complicating him to recall and recognise which name was whose. Thing worsened when he figured out none of the twins could read Earthling’s writing, let alone deciphering the document which stored together with the photo.

            While their feet brought them to an unknown destination, from afar Yeomso has been able to see rooftops of houses. He could mark them as houses since the design was almost similar to houses at The Capricorn Valley. Agriculture was the main activity of his clan, hence they would live near to forest, lands, and river. However, the next invention shocked him.

            “What’s that?” Yeomso could not hide his inquisitiveness, pointing straight towards a rotating machine installed on the surface of the river. It seemed floating, but it was not actually.

            Kouki trailed to where Yeomso pointed to, “That is water wheel. It can be used as electricity generator. The wheel rotates from the flowing river. The kinetic energy produced by the rotation is converted into electricity by that box,” He referred to a few boxed-lookalike out of the river, but they were connected to the water wheel by pipes of wires.

            Yeomso could not mask his amazement. The water wheel was quite big, hence it produced quite a lot energy, predictably enough to cover a village.

            “So this means we’re getting near to a village!” As if Yeomso’s mind was readable, Hiroki concluded, “Let’s hurry up! We can get some rest, eat much proper food and obtain better sleep!”

            “Don’t forget about our mission, Hiroki,” Kouki crossed his arms, “We come to find someone to teach us how to read.”

            Hiroki pulled a pout. From the spot they perceived the sight of water wheel, they hurried to the direction. They followed the cleared path into the forest, believably leading them to the anticipated village.

            The assumption was indeed right. From inside of The Forest of Eve, they could see a market. Wooden stalls were built up, and villagers were becoming whether sellers or purchasers. No one of the crowds noticed their presence hidden behind a bush, but they could not immediately jump to the villagers.

            “Let’s slowly enter the market,” Hiroki whispered to Yeomso.

            That was what I was about to say, little kid. Yeomso smiled a little, adoring the smoothness of their journey despite his lack of survival ability in an unfamiliar forest.

            “But Father said we cannot appear in front of people, or something bad may happen,” Kouki propped his chin while thinking.

            They have been wandering without anything covering them from the moment they left the hut. Yeomso had his robe, but not the kids. He pursed his lips, contemplating on suggesting his suggestion.

            “Let’s see what I have under my robe,” Yeomso inserted his hand into his robe – the pitch black part.

            Kouki and Hiroki earnestly waited for the surprise from Yeomso. Yeomso looked like scribbling into his robe, and seconds after that he fished out two smaller robes with hood. They basically copies of his own robes which fitted the twins perfectly. Hiroki even swirled around with his robe, and Kouki remained silent while donning his. However, Yeomso could notice the happiness displayed on Kouki’s facial. As if they were granted new clothes, their exhilaration somehow amused him.

            “Stay close to me okay. I don’t want to lose any of you,” Yeomso insisted.

            “All right, Mister Yeomso,” Kouki thumbed up, reassuring his faithfulness.

            “Are you afraid of getting lost, Mister Yeomso?” Hiroki did not seem like it, but he was literally teasing Yeomso, triggering his insecurity.

            “You sure have sharp senses.”

            They sneaked into the flooding folks in the market. Most of the villagers covered their heads, so the appearance of Yeomso, Kouki and Hiroki did not diverge much. They carefully walked along the terrace of wooden stalls selling variety of dry and wet food. Even though agriculture was originally his cup of tea, Yeomso had no idea regarding the names of the Earthy fruits he saw there. The dokong he ate with Kouki and Hiroki was not the only weird fruit he found on The Earth.

            “Why are the apples here red in colour? What is with the spiky fruit? It smells strong too. What is that bunch of purplish fruits?”

            Yeomso kept on mumbling this and that over whatever he witnessed in the market. He was entirely clueless about all the fruits and vegetables sold. Kouki and Hiroki did not seem to have any problem regarding the products, yet they were being extra prudent since it was their very first time coming to a market full of people.

            The trio sneaked out of the crowd and rested by a wall. Huffing and puffing, even Yeomso had dilemma to blend himself into the community. It was not that easy to adapt to The Earth, including the Earthlings.

            Then, one thing came to his mind.

            “Are these people able to see me, Kouki, Hiroki?”

            Kouki and Hiroki exchanged perplexed looks. “For sure they can,” they replied simultaneously undoubtedly.

            Yeomso pursed his lip. How could it be like that? Humans were not supposed to perceive him. He was hesitating when Kouki grabbed onto his robe.

            “Isn’t it good? That means you can depend on Humans.”

            Yeomso unconsciously stared at the innocent Kouki. “What do you mean?”

            “If you can’t be seen by people, how can you ask for their help when you are in need? Aren’t we going to learn how to read?” Hiroki added, strengthening the point Kouki was saying.

            The Capricorn was taken aback. It was a simple theory, yet his insecurity hindered him from thinking wisely. Luckily these twins were easily catching up situations, thus their logic was acceptable. Yeomso patted Kouki and Hiroki’s heads, complimenting their calmness.

            “Hide your face, and hold on my hands tightly,” Yeomso reminded them for the nth time.

            After ensuring their energy was preserved, they continued wandering through the market. Kouki and Hiroki listened to Yeomso to not let go of his hands no matter what happened. It was proved when some hooded kids played tag and accidentally knocked over Kouki, but Kouki just budged a little without falling. His small hand gripped tightly on Yeomso’s robe, thankfully preventing him from falling onto his knees. Hiroki helped checking on his big brother whether he has been injured something due to the collision, and fortunately Kouki was fine.

            “Say, Mister Yeomso,” Hiroki tugged Yeomso’s robe a little, “What do you want to eat?”

            Analysing from the stalls available, Yeomso could not make up his mind. None of the food was familiar to him, however he was fully aware that he could not be picky since he was the one recently coming to The Earth. Kouki, Hiroki, and the villagers were already living there since they were born, hence they already adjusted themselves to The Earth.

            “I- I don’t know,” Nothing could be done but to admit his weakness. He really had no idea what those fruits were, let alone distinguishing them. “Can you choose some eatable fruits for me?”

            “All of the fruits are edible, Mister Yeomso,” Hiroki skimmed over the nearest stall to them, “Let’s go buy from this one.”

            “Wait, Hiroki,” Kouki pulled Hiroki by the forearm, “Don’t you think we need money?”

            Kouki and Hiroki looked at the flustered Yeomso. So The Earth also used money, he thought. He scribbled again in his robe, then fished out a few Cash notes. “Is this enough?”

            The twins frowned at the money Yeomso gave to them. It was far different than the regular money they have seen all these while. Yeomso blinked in confusion as Kouki and Hiroki exchanging signals over the money.

            “Mister Yeomso, this is unacceptable in here,” Kouki finally spoke, “We use Ringgit, with six different colours resembling six amount.”

            “What git?” Yeomso heard another alien word. But he was dissatisfied to Kouki’s rejection. His money was unacceptable on The Earth? “I’m The King of Capricorn Valley. Do you want to tell me my money is unworthy?”

            “It’s not like that, Mister Yeomso,” Hiroki shook, denying Yeomso’s hypothesis, “Your money is not in the currency used here. We used Ringgit, and when you go to other country, we need to change the currency such as Dollar, Yen or Rupee.”

            The more Yeomso inquired, the more alien words Kouki and Hiroki divulged to him. He pressed his temples with his thumbs, reluctantly receiving the new information. “Then, do you have your money? How much git?”

            “It’s Ringgit, Mister Yeomso,” Kouki slipped his hand into his pants. He was groping in a pocket probably to look for some money, “I have only five Ringgit.”

            Hiroki also scribbled in his pants. “Well, guess we can buy a large portion of rice and eat together.”

            Totalling up the money they found in their hidden pocket, they had only seven Ringgit altogether. The perplexed Yeomso fell into deep silence as the twins discussed among themselves against, finalizing what they should buy using seven Ringgit.

            “Then, let’s buy fried rice,” Hiroki pointed to one of the stalls.

            Kouki and Hiroki drove Yeomso out of the crowd. Yeomso waited for them at the roadside, watching them from afar while trying to keep his mind at ease. He was still new on The Earth. The lifestyle, the residents, the flora and fauna – everything on The Earth was far contrasting than The Dimension. He ought to attempt more to make himself cosy, or his initial mission coming to The Earth would be in vain.

            “Mister Yeomso!” The twins cried from the middle of the market.

            Yeomso startled at the sudden cry. He waved at them, notating his location to them. He never moved an inch, setting in his mind that Kouki and Hiroki would get worried if he did so, therefore he opted to stay. He did not mind, as long as he did not lose the sight of those small kids.

            “We bought fried rice!” Hiroki happily announced.

            The twins were half running to Yeomso when Kouki accidentally stepped onto his own robe, sticking the end of the frontal robe beneath his shoe. The hood slid down as the result, revealing Kouki’s entire face to the commoners. Both Hiroki and Yeomso gaped as their secret would be disclosed in no time if there was no action taken.

            Yeomso dashed to the scene. Kouki has already frozen himself while standing still – predictably he panicked because they have been meticulously careful since they joined the crowd, but he was unexpectedly reckless. Hiroki quickly put on the hood back on Kouki’s head, yet Kouki still shivered in fright. Yeomso swept the twins into his large arms.

            “Who are you?”

            Out of the blue, a man accosted them from behind. Obviously he was one of the villagers – He was physically different to Yeomso, especially his body structure. At one glance, everyone could say he was only a normal Human who lived in the village those three have found. As for Yeomso, other than possessing large body stature with outrageous height over two meters, his clothes has already displayed his un-Earthy trait.

            The twins looked up. They just realized one thing. Yeomso’s hood has also fallen off his head, unveiling two horns grown from his scalp. Kouki, with his mouth gaped widely, slowly tugged Yeomso’s arm sleeves with his trembling hand, meanwhile Hiroki has stiffened himself for overly shocked.

            One thing came to their mind – Something bad might happen.

            Yeomso figured out about his hood, and he was also alarmed. His view became blurry and he could not hear Kouki and Hiroki calling his name. However, his expression did not really portrayed how troubled he was. Right after composing his shaking breath and jumbled mind, he got his senses back. There were already people surrounding him and the twins.

            “My name is Yeomso,” Yeomso’s unstable voice cracked, indirectly telling Kouki and Hiroki that he was anxious.

            The twins gripped firmly onto Yeomso’s robe. Both seemed frowning and lowering their eyes. In a short time, almost every one of the market encircled them, trapping them in a sea of people. Yeomso lacked of strategies to even talk, let alone to flee.

            “Who- I mean, what are you?” The man asked again. “How can you have a pair of horns?”

            “He must be The Witch’s rumoured assistants!” another man among the crowd yelled. “Only The Witch’s subordinates have horns, and he is one of them!”

            The crowd shouted agreeing to the untrue proposition. Kouki and Hiroki were about to veil their face wholly in their respective hoods as one of the villagers (Yeomso could hardly differentiate all those people at one glance) seized them away from Yeomso.

            “Kouki! Hiroki!”

            “Don’t you dare to lay your filthy hands on these kids!” the man angrily shouted, “How many children do you need? How many children will you kill? How many children should you eat?”

            “They’re my sons and I will never eat my sons!” Yeomso reached out, trying to grab back Kouki and Hiroki from the man.

            Kai Stewart has entrusted me Kouki and Hiroki to take care of. Kai Stewart believed in me!

            Two buffy men pounced at Yeomso and held him on the wrists, pinning him down. Yeomso grappled to free himself from the Humans. They were Humans, but Yeomso could not fight against their grip, unknowing what the reason was.

            “Let me go! Let me go!”

            “Why should we? Just by capturing you won’t really torture The Witch!”

            “What Witch are you talking about?” Yeomso was practically helpless. He yelped as he saw the other men abducted Kouki and Hiroki, further from him. “Kouki! Hiroki!”

            “Uncle Yeomso! Help us!” both the twins reacted to Yeomso’s shouting.

            Yeomso could not struggle more as a sharp jolted pain struck him on the nape, replacing his consciousness with vague memory recording and losing strength to fight back.