“That’s all we know; the famine came out of nowhere. In and out of the kingdom, quiet chaos sprang and ran amok.”

  Hearing his words, Kael’s expression slowly shifted. His lips parted slightly, words slowly flowing out. “How long did it take for your group to notice everything happening in the kingdom and fleeing in desperation?”

  The man with long hair responded. “Only after breakfast, lunch, and supper became breakfast and supper. A meal cut is a meal lost, a stomach left empty for a longer period of time.”

  Kael made a ‘pfft’ sound with his lips, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he scoffed lightly. “Skipping a mid-day lunch is nothing too serious; it appears you might as well be overreacting to an extent."

  Suddenly, a voice emanated from the crowd, accompanied by another figure. She was a woman with medium-length red hair, deep eyes, and clad in farmer's attire. In her hands, she held an infant wrapped in loose and shabby gingham cloth.

  “My little one needs nutrients, don’t you see that?”

  She held the baby up to Kael, allowing him to get a clear look at the features it bore. The baby's skin was much paler than what one would usually see from an infant—a pale color almost reminiscent of the icy-white snow which they were standing on. Dark circles framed the baby's eyes like macabre frames, a tell-tale sign of either its exhaustion or lack of sleep up until that moment.

  I fell silent as I observed the state of the infant, a small pit forming in my stomach. Without thinking much, I stepped forward and slowly took the baby from the woman's arms. Now, me and Kael both held an individual in our arms.

  My gaze drifted up to the red-haired woman, noticing her hesitant expression. Seeing it, I smiled softly to silently reassure her I posed no threat to the life in my arms.

  “We can help you get the food you want.”

  I turned to look at Kael. “But my friend here insists you return the cattle and livestock you stole.”

  “Are you siding with them now by letting them keep what they stole?” Kael spat, palpably taken aback.

  I shook my head, sighing under my breath. “I wouldn’t just betray you like that, you know that damn well. We can just bring them back to Clifton and the people wouldn’t think twice before helping them.”

  Kael slowly extended a hand, placing it on my shoulder. “These people stole their livestock, if we were to bring them back to them, violence would ensue in less than a coin-flip.”

  “What exactly makes you think that? You’ve shown me time and time again how kind the people of this village can be, how kind they are in general.” I objected, my grip habitually tightening around the infant.

  At the same time, I slowly patted it on the back with light, almost maternal taps. I never took myself as one who’d care for a newborn, but something like that just comes to one willing to protect.

  “When we returned to the village, they armed themselves with pitchforks, wanting nothing more than to bring an end to whoever stole their belongings.” Kael recalled the state of the people when he and I returned to the village following the rabbit session.

  “We will return your livestock if what you’re saying is true,” the man abruptly interrupted.

  “Really now.” Kael clicked his tongue and turned back to look at him.

  “But if these people you claim will shelter us are indeed the savages you’ve painted them as…”

  The air suddenly grew a little colder as the long-haired man reached down to his side, adjusting his rifle which now sat within its hollister.

  “We won’t hesitate to fire a few warning shots.”

  At that moment, Kael chuckled under his breath. “It’s not everyday I’ve seen someone from Seraphis Kingdom of all places willing to commit such… rash acts of violence before.”

  The man raised his head and laughed out loud, a sound almost like a wrinkled candy wrapper from my home world.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  “You’d be surprised at some people in that place.”

  He took a step back, the crowd parting to make way for him. The man turned around to face them, pointing beyond them and into the forest of evergreens.

  “Bring back the horses and cattle for our friends.”

  Within a matter of moments, me and Kael saw the animals being pulled with thick ropes. The ropes were tied to parts of wooden wagons that honestly dwarfed anything I’d seen in Seraphis Kingdom. If I were all the lesser, one would assume Seraphis Kingdom was a staple in war rather than politics, economic operations and wealth.

  There were three horses and fifteen cattle all tied down, slowly walking beside the wagons as they moved. None of them made a single sound, their heads all unanimously hung in defeat as if the works of machinery they were tied to emitted some pheromone of perpetual despair and dread.

  Upon seeing the animals once again, Kael adjusted the old man hanging on his back and smiled. Following that, he unexpectedly handed him off for someone to tend to, pointing out his injuries and the particular spots that required tending to.

  He then turned to me and smiled softly in an almost teasing manner. “I didn’t burn, kill, or stab. Aren’t you proud of me Mr. Agency?”

  “Don’t call me that,” I scoffed, looking down at the small baby in my arms.

  I met a pair of amber eyes that reflected the sun that barely shone through the clouds. The baby had woken up from all the noise, but it didn’t cry; it didn’t do anything to make noise. The only thing it did was look up at me with its amber-colored eyes, which slowly widened as a small smile formed on its chubby, clear face.

  “That’s the first time he’s done that in… I forgot.” The baby's mother approached me, her expression softening as she looked down at her own flesh and blood looking up at me.

  It then looked in her direction, and upon seeing her face, it let out a wheezy laugh and extended both of its small, meaty hands, clenching and unchenching them in the air.

  “He needs a name, y’know?” Her voice lowered as she looked back at me.

  Just then, she leaned in and asked me a question. “What’s your name, young man?”

  For a moment, I looked back at Kael. For once, he wasn’t looking at me. He was helping tend to the cattle and horses restrained to the tall wagons nearby. Around him, there was already a crowd of the Seraphis citizens.

  My lips twitched up as I replied with a smile. “M-my name’s Isaac… Isaac.”

  “Isaac…” She looked down at her baby. “Maybe that’s his new name, yeah?”

  Hearing the proposition, I felt my face heat a lot. My breath hitched and I didn’t know what to say for a few seconds.

  “No one’s ever named anything after me,” I replied, feeling a little giddy.

  “Well, there’s a first time for everything, isn’t there?”

  I cleared my throat, taking a clear-cut approach to the interaction. “W-what’s… your name?”

  “Elizabeth.”

  “Well… Elizabeth, it’s nice to meet you.” I slowly extended my hand, offering for her to shake it. My other hand tightened around her son's small form wrapped in the blanket.

  Elizabeth’s smile widened as she took my hand, shaking it without an ounce of hesitance. “You’re very well mannered for someone living in the country of all places.”

  “I’m… actually from Seraphis Kingdom.”

  Elizabeth’s eyes widened as she stepped back. “Your attire…”

  I looked down at my dirty and neutral-colored garments. “I know, I know. I had to move out of the kingdom for different reasons, which is why I was unaware of what was exactly happening back home and how… extreme everything got.”

  She nodded. “We all have a reason for our actions. Anyways, your friend seems to be very… sociable.”

  Elizabeth’s gaze drifted to Kael, who had already begun small talk amongst the people of her group. She remained in this state of observation for a moment or two before speaking once more.

  “He even managed to break Paxton’s defenses.”

  “Paxton?” I inquired.

  “He tried to kill you back there with those bullets.”

  …

  “Damien must be possessed by something… the kid ate what I gave him in just a few minutes.” Olivia could only gawk at what she had seen as she left the dimly-lit apartment room housing Damien.

  Leaning against the wall, Aizawa nodded without saying a word.

  Olivia’s expression suddenly turned a little pitiful as she looked back at the door which had been left slightly ajar.

  “Damien’s been sleeping in Isaac’s bed. He claims he can see his ghost at night, and he can hear his laughter… his crying… the boy’s either processing everything or he’s actually psychic.”

  Aizawa arched an eyebrow. “A few weeks ago we beat in zombies and fought off mystical spirits. If that boy can see ghosts, I’d believe it.”

  “I mean… didn’t he come from the asylum downtown?” Olivia’s tone lowered as she asked the question, suspecting the topic of Damien’s previous homestead would trigger an unwanted reaction from the young boy.

  “Isaac sat in there for like a week, and nothing happened to him aside from getting a new friend. And from what I could tell, that Demon Maggot Disease he contracted from that tremebrus-thingy either naturally spat itself out or him getting a new pair of wings removed it entirely.”

  “Well… Damien can’t rot in his room forever. Due to Mr. Ryujin’s current state, I’ll have Catherine and Carter watch over him.”

  Aizawa didn’t object, only moving down the hallway. Before he could enter his room, he paused and looked back. “Have you seen Shinso or Ayumi anywhere?”

  Olivia—who was about to enter Damien’s room—froze and looked at Aizawa. “No, I haven’t. You don’t assume they’re in danger, right?"

  Aizawa took a deep breath and began moving down the hallway, walking past Olivia and approaching the stairs.

  “I’ve worked with students for as long as I can remember, I know damn well when something’s happening to one of them.”

  Before he left, Aizawa told Olivia one more thing. “Ask Damien about what he’s been seeing about… Isaac.”