After Rona explained to her brother what had happened, Mira began thanking Lioran. He turned to the twins and his sister and said:
"What are you doing? Why aren't you thanking the one who saved your lives?"
The three of them quickly bowed their heads toward Lioran and said,
"Thank you for helping us, sir."
Lioran replied, "It's nothing," then asked how they had ended up in such a situation.
Rona explained: their people had once lived near the city of Orestal. But fifty years ago, their village was attacked by the Duke of Orestal. Many were killed, some were captured and enslaved, and the few who escaped now lived in misery, surviving on only one meal a day—if they were lucky—and with nothing but a muddy stream as their source of water. Since today was her seventh birthday, she had only wished for a taste of fresh, clean water.
After hearing this, Lioran said, "Alright, then let's go."
"Go? Where, sir?" Rona asked in surprise.
"You wanted fresh water, didn't you? There's a lake not far from here. You can drink as much as you like there."
Rona's eyes lit up. "Really? Can we come with you?"
Before Lioran could answer, Mira interrupted, turning to his sister.
"We shouldn't trouble him any further. We'll return to the village."
Rona and the twins lowered their heads sadly, kicking at the stones in front of them. Lioran said to Mira,
"It's fine. I need to wash my clothes anyway. You can all come."
At once, Rona and the twins leapt for joy. They joined hands, spun in a circle, and sang together:
We're going to the lake,
To drink sweet water!"
Sweet water, sweet water, we are coming.
Mira thanked Lioran for his kindness, and Lioran, watching their joy, thought to himself:
"Just minutes ago they endured one of the worst experiences of their lives… and now, for a little sweet water, they sing and dance. I envy them."
He said aloud, "Go on, get into the cart."
The children laughed and hurried into the cart. Inside, they saw Zubi lying unconscious and Goba holding the reins. Mischievous smiles spread across their faces; all four of them began kicking Zubi in the face and body.
Goba, watching their cruelty, thought: Better to scare them quickly, or they'll cause me endless trouble. He glared at them.
"Hey, you filthy little—"
But before he could finish, Mira leapt up and kicked him in the face, knocking him from the cart.
Furious, Goba shouted, "How dare you strike the face of a great merchant like me? You clearly lack proper manners!" He drew out his whip—only to meet Lioran's cold stare. Immediately his voice softened.
"My dear, that's not how you treat your elders."
He forced a smile, placed a hand on Mira's head, and said sweetly, "I could be your grandfather, child."
Mira smiled back.
"Then, grandfather… can I borrow your whip?"
"Of course, my dear. Just don't hurt yourself," Goba replied nervously.
"Don't worry," Mira said, grinning. "I'm not going to hurt myself—
I'm going to hurt you, grandfather."
With that, he struck Goba across the head with the whip. Goba screamed.
"How dare—!"
Another strike across his back silenced him.
"Please… stop! That's enough!" he begged.
Mira only smirked.
"I'm just getting started."
For ten minutes the children beat both Goba and Zubi until they were gasping for breath. At last, Lioran said calmly, "That's enough. Let's go."
Obediently, the children climbed into the cart. Goba crawled, bloodied, toward Lioran.
"Sir, please… heal me. I can't even stand from the pain."
"Would you like me to call the children back to finish the job?" Lioran asked.
Goba looked at the cart and saw the four of them rolling up their sleeves, grinning wickedly. In panic, he leapt into the driver's seat.
"I'm ready to move, sir!"
Lioran boarded the cart. He noticed the children pressing their feet on Zubi's face, but when they saw him watching, they quickly pulled back, whistling innocently as if nothing had happened.
"Take us to the lake," Lioran ordered.
"Yes, sir!" Goba shouted, and they set off.
After an hour, they reached the lakeshore. The children's eyes sparkled. "It's beautiful!" They plunged into the lake with eager joy, drinking the water as if it were the sweetest thing they had ever tasted.
Tears ran down Rona's cheeks as she drank.
"What's wrong? Why are you crying?" Mira and the twins asked.
"It's the first time I've ever tasted clean and so sweet water… I'm so happy!" she sobbed. Then she shouted, "This is the best birthday ever!"
Lioran entered the lake as well, removing his shirt to wash it. One of the twins, Toncha, gasped to himself: What a strong, well-built body…!
"Sir, you're amazing," Toncha blurted out. "You've got an incredible body, you don't smile too much, and you don't talk a lot either. If Sister Lory were here, she'd definitely fall in love with you—you're exactly her type."
Lioran asked: "Really?"
"Of course!" Toncha nodded. "She hates weak, talkative men."
Rona and Goncha agreed eagerly. "It's true. No one in the village even dares approach her."
At the mention of Lory, their excitement faltered. They remembered that if she found out they had snuck outside the village, punishment was certain. Their bodies began to tremble.
Lioran washed and put his shirt back on. With a spell of wind, he dried it instantly, then he began fishing with his bare hands. He told Goba to gather firewood, for he would cook fish for lunch.
Lioran busied himself with catching fish, while the children played and laughed together in the water. After about fifteen minutes had passed, Lioran had caught enough fish for everyone, and Goba had gathered firewood. They began roasting the fish.
When the smell of the fish reached the children's noses, they all rushed toward it, gazing at the roasting fish with mouths watering and saying how delicious it looked.
Lioran said, "Just wait a few more minutes; once it's cooked properly, you can eat."
Hearing this, their eyes lit up, and together they exclaimed, "Really? We can eat with you?"
Lioran answered, "Yes; I made these for you."
All four of them quickly sat down in front of the fish, pulling their knees up to their chests. As they stared at the fish with watering mouths, they loudly thanked Lioran and waited impatiently to eat.
Mira told his sister and the twins, "Four years ago, when I came here with my father and Lory, I ate fish too. That time it was a really big one."
All three of them exclaimed in surprise, "Really?"
The twins told him, "You're so cool, Mira!"
Mira stuck his finger under his nose, lifted it proudly, and said, "I know I am!"
A few minutes passed. Lioran said, "Now you can eat; but be careful, it's hot."
The moment Lioran said, "You can eat," all four of them—without hearing the part about it being hot—each grabbed a skewer of fish and took a quick bite. Together they screamed, "It's hot! It's hot! But it's delicious!" Then all four of them laughed, even as tears welled up from eating such delicious food.
Lioran said, "Anyone who cries, I'll take their food away!"
They all sniffled and said, "Nobody's crying! You must have seen it wrong," and laughed as they kept eating.
Lioran himself picked up a skewer of fish to eat. When Goba reached for one, Lioran told him, "You have to ask permission before taking."
Goba said, "Forgive me, master… may I take one skewer?"
Lioran replied, "Today is Rona's birthday; she has to give you permission."
Rona looked at Lioran in surprise. Goba's stomach growled, but he knew that after what he had done to the children, no food would come his way. Rona picked up a skewer, went to Goba, and with a smile said, "Here, take it. My mom always says if you have food, share it with someone who's hungry."
Goba, looking regretful, took the food from her and said, "Thank you."
Seeing Rona's kindness, Lioran placed his hand on her head and said, "Your mother would be proud of you." Then he turned to the other three and added, "The same goes for you, children."
Goba and the children were busy eating when Lioran picked up a skewer of fish and walked toward the cart. Near the cart, he sat down on a large rock and said, "Come down."
Zubi replied, "How did you know I was awake?" and came toward Lioran.
Lioran said, "Sit." And he sat down on the ground beside him.
He handed him the skewer of fish and said, "You had a strong will; is there a particular reason you want to stay alive?"
Zubi turned toward the lake and said, "There's someone I want to kill… someone who took everything from me."
Lioran said, "And do you think kidnapping little children and selling them will bring you that revenge?"
Zubi gave no answer. Instead, he asked, "Weren't you there before that merchant beat those kids so badly? Why didn't you do anything? You could've stopped that child from passing out from the pain. You could've helped them faster."
Hearing his question, Lioran asked him in return, "In your opinion, who hurts a person the most?"
Zubi thought for a moment and answered, "Well, obviously, someone who's your enemy."
Lioran looked out at the lake before him and said, "No. It's the one who takes your hardships away, who doesn't let you face struggles in life—that person hurts you the most. And most often, the people who do this are the ones who love us deeply. They don't want their loved ones to be bloodied, broken, or humiliated. Their intentions are good, but they don't realize that by doing this, they hold back their loved ones' potential for growth. That's why I didn't take this painful experience away from them—so it could become a cause for their growth, so next time, if such a thing happens, they'll be prepared for it."
Zubi fell silent, gave no reply, and then asked, "Why did you keep me alive? Why didn't you kill me?"
Lioran lifted his head, his cold gaze fixed on the sky, and said, "If you kill everyone who does something you think is wrong, there won't be a single person left alive on this earth." Then he turned to him and added, "Besides, I needed a few loyal dogs."
Zubi was looking at Lioran, expecting a discouraging answer from him, but when he heard, "Not everyone who does something wrong has to die," tears welled up in his eyes. He lowered his head; the tears dripped onto his skewer of fish.
He said, "I've really done so many wrong things, but still… I don't want to die. If I go to my wife in the next world with everything I've done, I know I won't even be able to look her in the face… I keep asking myself— is it too late? Can I ever make up for the mistakes I've made?"
Lioran replied, "Whether you can make up for them or not is something only you can answer. But I can tell you this—it's never too late to start."
Zubi gave a quiet laugh, stood up, and said, "Not only are your powers godlike, but your words are too." He went and knelt before Lioran, saying, "Thank you for giving me another chance to make amends for my mistakes; I'm ready to do whatever you command."
Lioran stood and activated the spell of enslavement, asking, "Are you willing to surrender your life to me?"
Zubi shouted loudly, "Yes, master!" The writings of the spell rose up, binding his arms and legs, then pierced into his chest and entered his heart. A black skull mark appeared over his heart.
As all this happened, Zubi kept his head bowed and asked no questions.
Lioran said, "Do you know what will happen if you act against me?"
Zubi raised his head and answered, "Yes." At that moment, his stomach began to growl.
Lioran said, "Now, eat your food."
Zubi thought to himself, "Damn it, I wanted to look cool, but then my stomach had to make noise!"
He said aloud, "Yes, master," and sat down to eat his meal.
After everyone had finished their meal, Lioran told them it was time to leave. He took a few waterskins from inside the cart and told the children to fill them with water and take them along. He also caught a few more fish and gave them to the children to bring with them. Then he told Zubi to drop the children off near their home. All four of the children thanked Lioran deeply and climbed into the cart to set off.
Zubi walked up to the cart, lowered his head, and said to the children, "I know what we did to you is unforgivable, and an apology won't change anything… but still, I want to say I'm sorry, and I promise I'll make it up to you."
After a few seconds of silence, Toncha shouted, "If you bring me fish, I'll forgive you!"
Goncha looked at him and said, "Idiot! Fish is tasty, sure, but sweets are even better!"
Rona shouted, "He's right, he's right! Even though I've never eaten any, everyone says sweets are the most delicious food in the world! They say it's so sweet, you can never get enough!"
Mira said to Zubi, "You heard them—bring sweets and fish, and they'll forgive you."
Zubi laughed and said, "Of course." Then the cart began to move.
All four children started waving their hands toward Lioran, saying goodbye. Lioran waved back for a few seconds, then said to Zubi, "That was a good start."
Zubi replied happily, "Thank you, master."