The Regression Of A Grand Mercenary - 15 - We Meet Again.

As we slowly made our way to the village, I noticed that by my side, the old man was quiet.

“Do you have something to say?” I asked.

“I do…I’m curious about what you did to the storm, but I do appreciate the fact that you saved us. So if you don’t want to say a word, I can understand why.” he said.

“Thank you, but you don’t have to worry about anything about me. I don’t intend on harming anyone who doesn’t intend on harming me or my family.” I said as I looked to him with honest eyes.

“You must be quite powerful to say such words.” he said.

“Powerful only in the sense when I move to protect.”

“Then are you a good man?”

“…I can’t say that I am.” with ho  much weight is behind all the sins I’ve gathered in my past life, I can’t ever say to myself that I am a good man.

“I see…”

The old man remained quiet for a moment, his eyes focused on the path ahead. I could feel the weight of his silence, as if he was contemplating his next words carefully.

“Does that trouble you?” he finally asked, his voice softer now, almost hesitant.

I glanced at him, surprised by the question. “Trouble me?”

“Not being able to say you’re a good man. Does it weigh on your heart?”

I looked away, the distant sound of the village drawing nearer. “No,” I said after a pause. “What weighs on me is not whether I’m good or not. It’s whether I’ve done enough.”

He nodded, the creases in his face deepening with thought. “We all wonder that, don’t we? Whether we could have done more, should have done more.”

“It’s a burden we carry,” I muttered. “But I try not to let it control me.”

The old man glanced at me, his gaze sharp now. “What is it that drives you? If not the desire to be good, then what?”

I considered his question for a moment, the air around us growing still. “I think… I just want to be better than I was yesterday. To make sure that those I protect don’t regret placing their trust in me.”

“That’s an honorable goal,” he said quietly. “And sometimes, it’s all one can do in this world.”

I gave him a slight nod, but the conversation lingered in the air like unfinished business. There was more he wanted to say, but the village was now in sight.

As we approached, the old man stopped, his hand resting gently on my shoulders. I turned to face him, and for the first time, I saw a hint of something deeper in his eyes. Worry. Maybe even fear.

“Be careful,” he said in a low voice. “There are many in this world who will seek out the strength you carry. Not all of them will be as grateful as I am.”

I studied him, wondering what had driven him to say those words, but he offered no further explanation. Instead, he simply smiled and gave me a nod, as though the conversation had ended, and we stepped into the village together.

This old man was good in every sense…

His loyalty to the Amber family must have been quite high to say the least.

***

Even as we arrived, the storm still continues on with it’s raging winds and thunderous roars in the sky.

And with how the storm never wavers, it was decided that our guest would stay in until they could finally settle for tomorrow.

As I lead the coachman to the back of our house where the stables were found, he had the horses put into rest and then we finally made it back inside.

“Get yourselves dry.” I said as I lead them inside my home using the backdoor.

“Thank you.” said the coachman.

One by one, they entered and settled themselves in the warm fireplace. My brothers and sisters helped out by giving clean towels to help dry off ourselves from the rain.

“Where’s Theresa?” I asked as I noticed she wasn’t around.

“She’s in the shop with the lady…” said Theodore hesitantly.

“I see. Well, I’ll go and change clothes. Old man, help yourself to some tea or coffee, it’s going to be a cold day from here on out.” I said.

“Thank you.”

As I went upstairs to change my clothes soon after, I finally was able to dry myself.

In that time in my room, I rested on my bed and looked to my hand as I felt the power of the twister swirling itself like a wild animal.

With this newly recovered power, I can surely protect my family more in the future.

As I was resting, all of a sudden, I felt prying eyes on the corner of the door by my room.

“Who’s there?” I asked.

And to my question, a lady with blonde hair and blue eye showed up with a smile on her face.

“?…You must be the lady of the amber family.” I said.

“…?!” but as I said this, for some reason, she pouted.

“…What is it?” I asked

“You don’t remember me?” she asked.

“…Hmm, blonde hair and blue eyes…you do seem familiar, have we meet before?” I asked.

“You seriously forgot!?” she said as she looked mad.

“.…” having looked to her with no reaction at all, I simply stared in question.

“Should I remind you about a few days ago when you went and killed a few bandits in the forest. Didn’t you saved a few women as well?”

And then it hits me. It was her.

“…Oh, it’s you.” I said as I looked indifferent from my reaction.

“Really?! Is that all the reaction I get from you?” she asked expressively.

“I mean I’m glad that you look fine and it seems that you were from a great family, so I’m sorry if I didn’t expect you to arrive here of all places.” I said.

“…Y-yeah, I didn’t expect to meet you as well.” she said as she looked away all nervously.

“What about the others? What happened to them?” I asked as I was wondering about the other women who were captured by the bandits.

“Well there were no problems in that area. They were sent back to their homes after we settled them in our territory for a while.”

“I see, that’s also good to hear.” I said.

“…”

“…”

On the awkward silence that came upon our exchange, she walked in closer and sat on my bed.

“Hmm?”

“Although they didn’t had a chance to thank you in person, they really were grateful that you saved them…that you saved me. And I’m very grateful to you.” she said as she held her hands together and rested them on her chest as if showing her nervous gratitude.

“I appreciate it but I did what was needed to be done. It was just a coincidence that I came upon you and the others.”

“But either way, we thank you nonetheless.”

“Okay…”

“I haven’t introduced myself yet, but my name is Evelyn Amber…and I thank you with all my heart and soul. Because you saved my life, I am truly indebted to you.” she said as she stood up from the bed and bowed to me as she lifted her dress in a proper manner.

“Hmm, and I’m Thill…Thill Cicial. I thank you for your kind words, but I already told you that you don’t owe me anything.”

“Nonetheless, I owe you for saving my life.”

‘Evelyn Amber…from what I remembered, I heard from the recent reports inside the guild that she died at an early age. The family didn’t disclose the information on how she died, but to my guess now, she must have lost her life to the bandits, otherwise, she wouldn’t be alive right now.’

After she bowed at me, she gave a soft smile and decided to sit back to my bed.

“I took a look at your shop earlier, I didn’t know you were a blacksmith.” she said.

“…”

“I thought you were more of a knight or a mercenary with how you dealt with those bandits.”

“Well, it’s not like I had the opportunity to reveal myself to you. From what I remembered, didn’t I asked you to forget about me?”

“Hm- it sounds like you find my visit a bother. Am I being a bother to you?” she asked as she looked annoyed.

“No, it’s not like that. You’re from a wealthy family, so the usual reaction you should have taken should have been to act as a prideful noble.”

“Don’t worry, we may be rich, but we aren’t nobles…well, not yet at least.” she said as a smirk appeared on her face.

“So you plan to become a noble?” I asked.

“Someday in the future, but for now, we plan to grow our business as usual.” she said.

“I see, I heard from the old man about your plans for our village.”

“Hmm, I’m glad he told you. Because of our plans of building a base here in the Fether Village, I plan to hire your hands in assisting the making of it. It would surely be handy if you, a craftsman, could accept our offer.”

“That would be great, but I’m not a craftsman, I’m more of a blacksmith. I don’t help in building buildings, that’s not where I shine.” I said.

“Really? But from what I heard from your sister, you are open to many forms of crafts. It wouldn’t  hurt to see what’s open for your hands to make in the process of building our base here.” she said.

“…You’re pretty pushy with your words.” I said.

“Thank you. I may not seem like it, but I am quite impatient with my wishes and desires. Being able to repay you is one of them.” she said as she came closer to me as she sat on my bed. It was as if she was acting too familiar.

The way she was showing her red cheeks, how her heavy breathes were clear to my hearing and how she remained looking straight into my eyes even with such a way with words.

The way she negotiated with me all for the efforts of gaining my attention. I’m not blind to it…

She has a feisty and greedy spirit, one that I’m quite fond of in the past.

“…Fine, I’ll think about your offer.” I said.

***

As the sun settled, the storm in turn started to decapitate. By morning, it will no longer be there to trap us in our own houses. But for now, we were preparing to have dinner with what we have for the guest.

“Tell me, where were you supposed to settle in once you arrive at the village?” I asked as I was helping setting up the plates on our table.

“Oh, along with the equipment brought about by the other carriage, the mercenaries are going to camp for the next few days while I settle in inside the village Inn. But from what I heard, the inn in your village is still close.” said Evelyn as she was sipping her tea.

“I see, so you couldn’t go straight to the inn on this storm? Well, you’re welcome here for the night.” I said.

“Thank you.” said Evelyn as she smiled my way.

“Speaking of the mercenaries? Let me ask, why are you hiring the mercenaries if you’re going to build a base here? Wouldn’t it be more easier if you hired labor men and an architect?” said Theresa as she was stirring the stew.

“Well, from what I know, the lot we’re planning on clearing is a forest that is commonly situated with monsters. The best way to handle it early is to have the mercenaries deal with the monsters while also clearing out the trees.” she said as

“That also makes sense. Mercenaries do almost about any job out there as long as it pays well.” I said.

“Yes, it was a bargain to hire a dozen mercenaries to clear trees in just a week or so while also dealing with wild monsters in the area.” said the old man as he was helping out with the cooking.

“And after the mercenaries deal with clearing out the trees, that’s when we start calling in the architect and the foreman.” she said.

“I see, and how long do you think it’ll take ot build your home here?” I asked.

“Five to six months at most. I intend to oversee everything that happens from the start of the construction to its end.”

“That long huh…”

“Right, so if you can be so kind, I hope we can both work together side by side.” she said as she smiled to me in a rather devious manner.

“R-right…” feeling a bit uneasy by her expressions, I stuttered a bit.

Despite their background, the old man didn’t seem to mind mingling with a few commoners and the same went with Evelyn who was relaxing on the couch.

“The Roast Beef is done, come let us eat.” said the butler as he pulled out a main course from the oven.

And from their, we started dining together.