Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!
The sound of metal hitting a piece of wood was familiar, coming from the training arena in the Markash family's guard barracks. Unlike those near the gates, this building serves as the guards' intelligence center and the exclusive protection of the mansion's inhabitants. Between the mansion and the barracks is a courtyard where the guards and soldiers train.
Thunk! Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!
Early in the morning, this sound has become part of the daily life of the people living in the surrounding area. Every morning, Elzen Rockrul uses his favorite sword to train with the training dummies. He hit several blows for hours before starting his patrol through the city. There was not a day that he did not dedicate himself to his training; his expression was always serious, and regardless of the weather, he was there.
Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!
Manila's face appeared every time he hit the training dummy; his guilt for not being able to protect her when she needed it was immense. With each blow, thoughts tormented him.
Thunk!
"I accepted Woltur's suggestion to go to that place at the festival. If I hadn't chosen that place, she would be fine."
Thunk!
"I let my guard down, I always knew about that damn Luccio's obsession, but I didn't expect it to come to this, I failed her."
Thunk!
"If I hadn't invited her, I wouldn't have given her such a good opportunity to attack her."
Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!
"For the love of Raianna and Yallanmya! Can you give us a break, Elzen!" Vivelle approached with a sour face, her hair messy and still in her nightclothes.
"Every morning you stay here, making all this noise! I would love to sleep a little longer, but thanks to you, that is impossible!"
"I'm sorry, Vivelle..." He wipes the sweat from his face with a small towel. "But I need to do this, I need to be more prepared..."
"Yes, yes, yes, more prepared and blah blah blah, I lost the love of my life and now I'm making everyone's life around me, a living hell hell." She said with a mocking tone.
"We all know what happened, how you feel, and we care about your well-being, but this is going too far!" She approaches and puts a finger on his chest.
"Have you looked in the mirror these past few days!? Your hair is all messed up, and the circles under your eyes are so dark it looks like you've been poisoned. If it weren't for the rules, I'm sure your room would be an even bigger mess than it already is!"
"What do you want from me, Vivelle?" Elzen's tired and discouraged voice saddened Vivelle.
"I want you to do something! Stop complaining about something you weren't able to stop! No one imagined that Woltur would be capable of doing something like that. I don't think even Yallanmya in her vast wisdom would have predicted something like that. Stop being so hard on yourself. If Manila came back today, do you think she would be happy with you being like this?"
Her words hit him like strong punches to the stomach. Manila wasn't a person who showed much emotion to others, but he knew she would be sad to see him like that; however, he couldn't smile as he had before. The guilt consumed him in a way that drained all his energy, and the morning training was the only thing that kept him going. Vivelle's hand gently rested on his shoulder.
"You need to rest, you need to relax, and try to live your life a little, even if it's without her. The others and I want to visit the tavern inside the adventurers' guild. They say it's a really nice place and great for finding out what's going on around the kingdom. I want you to go with us after the patrol."
"A tavern? I don't think that would be a good idea..."
"Oh, come on! You haven't gone out with us since before the harvest festival mission; you used to love going! Come on, do this for us."
Vivelle continued to insist for ten long minutes before Elzen agreed to the visit to the tavern. She happily arranged a place for them to meet and go together. She said goodbye with a victorious look, while Elzen could not express any excitement.
The bell at the top of the guard building rang nine times; it was time to get ready for patrol. Today's patrol route for him involved block D of the residential area. For him, this was a blessing; After all, due to the low presence of people during the day in that area, problems were almost impossible. Elzen needed a quiet patrol like this; his head was a huge mess. Vivelle was right; the way he was acting wasn't doing him any good, and Manila would undoubtedly be sad to see him in this state. However, there was nothing he could do; his feelings were in chaos, and he couldn't control them.
A light tug on his shirt transports him to reality, a small girl with shiny hair in a mix of black and copper, a Halven. Halvens are a unique and extraordinary race not created by the gods, but through relationships between different mortal races. Their most striking characteristic is that their hair emits an ethereal glow, something magical that attracts the attention of all who observe it, both for good and evil. Halvens in the kingdom of Orlos were greatly persecuted in the golden age of Arbooria. The cults of Kylasys condemned the harmony between the races, and the fruit of the union between two different races was considered heresy to them. Since the end of the age of blood, this stigma and persecution have diminished considerably, but they still happen.
"How can I help you, little girl?" He said in a calm voice with a sincere smile.
"I don't know where my home is..." She carries two loaves of bread wrapped in paper and a large piece of cured ham.
"Are you alone? What did you go to do? Do you remember the house number?" The girl shrugs shyly; he notices this and smiles more broadly, trying to calm her down.
"Sorry, sweetie. It's my habit to ask so many questions. I didn't mean to scare or pressure you, okay? Here's what we'll do: I will carry the bread, and you're gonna hold my hand, and we'll walk around the area looking for your house, okay?" The girl nods and holds his hand. He grabs the bread to help her, and they leave, looking for the house.
The two talked while searching together for the house. Her name is Aimel and she came to this city a few days ago. Impatient, the girl didn't want to wait for her father or mother to be home so she could spend her coins as she wanted. She knew where to go to the small grocery store they had visited before, but she forgot the house number and was confused by the very similar appearance of the houses. The poor girl didn't know where to go. A woman's slightly hoarse voice echoes through the streets, catching Eizel and Aimel's attention.
"Aimel! Aimel!" The worried and slightly irritated tone indicates that she had been looking for her for quite some time.
"Milla!! Milla!" Aimel lets go of Elzen's hand and runs towards her.
"Where have you been, you little rascal!" Milla hugged her tightly and gave her a light slap on the head. "Do you want to give me a heart attack?! I told you to wait for your father and mother!"
"I wanted to go to the store..." The girl says with her head down, her eyes full of tears.
"You barely know this city, you silly girl. It's a good thing you found a guard. Imagine if it were someone bad?" Elzen approaches the two with a smile.
"Good afternoon, miss. It looks like you know this little girl, right? She was a few meters away from here. She just got lost..." When Milla stood up to thank Elzen, he was speechless.
Her silver hair was tied in a single braid, and her tight clothes perfectly showed off her shapely, muscular body and tanned brown skin. But the detail that left him most astonished was her light brown eyes, like the color of the sweetest wild honey, like Manila's eyes.
"Thank you for helping her, sir. She used to go out alone to buy snacks in the city where we lived before, but she's still not used to the uniform appearance of the houses." Milla smiled and gave him a slight bow in thanks.
"N-no need to thank you, miss. T-that's the guard's duty, and I'm glad she returned without any problems." He was perplexed by Milla's beauty. It had been a long time since he had been amazed by a woman other than Manila; he noticed every detail of her as if he wanted to create an engraving in his mind. She was a little taller than he; if he were to make an estimate, he would say she was about eight centimeters taller. Wearing a tight cotton and leather outfit, typical of hunters or leatherworkers, with no sleeves. Revealing her strong arms.
"Is something wrong, sir?" Milla asked in a serious tone.
"Oh...no...nothing, I'm sorry." He shook his head as he realized he had been watching her silently for too long. "I didn't have a good night's sleep. I think that made me a little dizzy. I apologize if I caused you any inconvenience."
"It's okay. I wish you a speedy recovery and thank you again." She carried the girl in her arms, and Elzen handed the bread to the little girl to hold. "Thank the kind guard, Aimel."
"Thank you, sir!" She waved shyly before the two left.
Elzen remained in the same place for a few minutes; he didn't know how to react to the moment. Her eyes and voice were very similar to Manila's, but everything else was different, and this caused confusion in his heart. Enchanted by her beauty, he felt that this attraction was disrespectful to the memory of the person he loved.
He slaps himself lightly in the face. There's no time to think about it now. He needs to finish his patrol and meet with the others at the tavern. Soon, night fell, and Vivelle and the others were waiting in front of the tavern.
"Finally! Let's go in before you change your mind!"
Vivelle leads the group to enter the adventurers' guild. The building is large and spacious inside. In addition to the administrative functions, there is also an inn for members, the tavern, and necessary services such as a blacksmith, a team of appraisers to determine the value of rare products and materials found during adventures, a tavern open to everyone in the city with special discounts for members, and a battle arena for training and special events.
The tavern was the guild's jewel. Equipped with luxurious furniture that brought great comfort to all its customers, several waiters and waitresses, a kitchen worthy of a royal palace to provide quality food, and an impressive wine cellar with drinks from various regions of the world. Most of the products are brought by the guild members themselves, who travel all over the place and end up making extra income from selling their goods.
The group sits around a circular table and orders a round of the house beer, accompanied by toasted bread with many types of meat and sausages. The beers are served in mugs that are almost one liter in size. Caristo, with a smile on his face, raises one of the mugs.
"For the return of our friend Elzen! May more visits to places like this happen, and may he finally smile again!" Everyone raises their mugs, laughing at the mocking toast; even Elzen gives an awkward smile.
"Yes, I get the message." Elzen said after taking a good sip of the beer. It had been a while since he had done that, and it washed away some of his emotions.
The group chatted about the day's events as they ate and drank. When the first round of drinks was finished, a waitress brought another. It was Milla, dressed in the tavern's uniform for waitresses, a dark green dress with a knee-length skirt decorated with red ruffles, long cotton socks, and black leather shoes with a small two-inch platform.
"Oh, hello!" She said upon seeing Elzen. "Welcome, sir. I see you've come to enjoy the evening."
"Y-yes, h-hi, it's unexpected to see you here." He was all awkward, which drew a few laughs from his colleagues.
"I hope you have a good evening. If you need anything, just call me." She smiled amiably and left the table. Elzen was in shock, like a teenager who had just discovered what love was.
"I see your day was quite productive, huh?" Julienne, with her cheeks already a little red, made fun of him, making the others at the table laugh.
Everyone at the table laughed as they saw him looking even more embarrassed, but at that moment, Elzen was overcome by a whirlwind of emotions, and for the rest of the night, he kept his eyes on her.
Milla noticed this.