Chapter 8: The Slave.
"Who knows if you're telling the truth or lying? How can I trust you?" Aiko questioned again.
"If we were slave traders, we wouldn't be here arguing with you."
"We know you must have been through a lot of terrible things, and it's hard for you to trust anyone again. Haruki, throw your sword down."
Hearing that, Haruki tossed his sword onto the ground in front of them to show good faith.
"If you're willing, please come with us. It's possible I can help you escape this situation."
The girl in front of them slowly lowered her guard, her voice softening.
"Are you really good people?"
Haruki spoke up, simultaneously presenting an emblem right in front of her face. The emblem had two crossed swords with a sun above them.
"I am the Vice Captain of the 14th Platoon, under the command of General Raiden Orochi."
"I pledge my knight's oath to you that we will not harm a single hair on your head."
Aiko spoke with a serious tone, dropping a few silver coins onto the ground, and turned to leave.
"If you trust us and wish to change your current life, then follow me. I guess you just escaped, but it'll be hard to hide if they send out their hunting birds."
The girl bit her lip, her face crumpled, and tears streamed out of frustration. She decided to place her trust in someone again, hoping to change her life.
A moment later, a joyous shout echoed through Aiko's house.
"Awesome, here it is! I thought I lost it!" Kazuka happily ran around the house. At the table, two people were engrossed in eating, devouring their food as if they hadn't eaten for days, which was the truth.
Aiko sat across from them. "Slow down, or you'll choke!"
Kazuka then spoke up, "Hey, where did you find it? Can you tell me?"
Aiko immediately chastised Kazuka. "Kazuka, let them finish eating, and we also need to introduce ourselves first. You don't have to rush."
After a while of eating, the two let out a long burp. The boy sitting next to the girl kept looking at Kazuka from the moment he started eating until he finished. Kazuka pointed a finger at the boy.
"Hey, why do you keep looking at me? Don't you want to part with my flute?"
The boy had great difficulty speaking. "That... That has a very... very strange and... and terrifying sound."
"Haha, you wouldn't understand."
The girl sitting next to him spoke up. "My name is Kuroha, and this is Tsuyu. We escaped together from a slave trade post in the city of Enjaku."
"He's an ordinary human, and I'm an Elf."
Kazuka exclaimed in surprise. "Woahh, I just noticed your ears are really long!"
Kazuka's face became excited, his eyes shining as he moved closer. He pushed Tsuyu's head aside, got even closer, and fired off a series of questions.
"Hey, do you know how to use energy? I hear Elves are very good at it. Can you use elements? Will you teach me? And did you live in a cave or a forest?"
Faced with the barrage of questions, Kuroha became flustered, unsure of what to do. Aiko intervened. "Alright, Kazuka, sit still or go to sleep."
As he walked out the door, Kazuka tried to call back. "Then you'll answer me tomorrow morning, okay? You have to teach me how to use energy too!"
"Alright, go to sleep now."
Kuroha gave Aiko an awkward smile. "Please forgive him, he's just like that."
Kuroha scratched her head and replied. "It's okay, it's okay. He's quite cute."
Aiko's face turned serious. "So, shall we get down to business?"
"The first issue we need to solve is the slave brand on your back. Next, I'll find you a new identity so you can live here. How does that sound?"
Kuroha and Tsuyu stood up, their faces etched with disbelief.
"Is that true? Will we be allowed to live? To live like human beings?"
"Of course, you will."
Tsuyu looked down, tears streaming onto his feet. Kuroha looked over at Tsuyu, then turned back to Aiko.
"Yes, we agree. But may I ask you one question?"
"Go ahead."
Kuroha clenched her fists, her teeth biting her lip. "Why... why are you helping us? We... we don't know each other at all. So why?"
Aiko took a deep breath and smiled warmly.
"Listen, I'm saving you because I can't bear to see people like you suffering. I've also had difficult times in some stages of my life, though different from yours."
"And I don't know how to explain my actions. I just know that I have to do this; everything inside me won't let me ignore you two."
"Although I can't explain it clearly, please trust me. I will definitely help you two live and be recognized like everyone else."
What Aiko said deeply touched Kuroha and Tsuyu, piercing through the cold layer of ice within them, warming and melting that ice. The layer of ice that had sworn never to trust anyone again.
Deep down, Aiko also knew she needed to assert that she was trustworthy and would help them. Otherwise, they might have been ready to run outside then and there.
Tsuyu cried out loud, as if tearing down the wall of trust with humanity. Kuroha did the same, shedding tears as she embraced Tsuyu. Aiko merely smiled at the sight.
Afterward, they walked up to Aiko and knelt, repeatedly bowing their heads to show their gratitude.
"Thank you, thank you..."
"Thank you..."
Aiko was startled and quickly rushed over to where they were kneeling. She grabbed their shoulders, trying to lift them up.
"Hey... Hey, what... what are you doing? You don't have to do that."
"No, we must do this to thank you. You are our saintess."
"Please, I'm not that great."
"No, you are wonderful, truly wonderful."
A moment later, in Aiko's backyard, the night still enveloped the area. The moon had reached its peak, indicating it was the Hour of the Rat (midnight).
Haruki handed Kuroha and Tsuyu two towels rolled up into cylinders. Next to Aiko were many bottles of medicine.
"Here, take these and bite down on them. Otherwise, you'll bite your tongues when I cut off the part with the slave brand on your backs."
Haruki held the knife over a fiercely hot flame until the blade turned red.
"Alright, I'm going to start now. I'll start with Kuroha first. Remember to close your eyes and don't look, okay? If you look, it will hurt even more, especially you, Tsuyu."
A continuous sizzling sound emanated. It was the sound of the hot knife touching their flesh. This pain would be the beginning of their new lives. Although painful, behind the painful eyes was a sense of hope and the will to live.
After a while, Haruki had dealt with their slave brands. Aiko also gave them healing pills to help them recover quickly.
"Here, take this."
Haruki also spoke up, cleaning the knife as he spoke. "That's the first step done. I'll take care of the second step. All of you just wait for me."
Kuroha and Tsuyu looked at Aiko, who seemed to understand what they were thinking. "It's alright, don't worry. He'll take care of the rest."
At night, Haruki arrived at the gate of a house, which was the home of Himura Seiji, the Captain of the Guard Platoon. Haruki knocked, and after a moment, a man with a sleepy face stepped out, yawning. The man had a rather young face and surprising gray hair, and he asked:
"Huh, Haruki? What are you doing here at this hour? Is something very important?"
Haruki smiled faintly. "Of course, I wouldn't come looking for you at this hour unless I needed a favor. Let's go inside to talk, it's not convenient out here."
"Oh, alright, please come in. And don't call me 'Sir,' my rank is smaller than yours."
"Let's forget about that."
Inside Himura's house, he poured tea for Haruki. After setting the teacup down, he spoke up, "So, what do you need my help with, Haruki?"
Haruki looked at Himura seriously. "Come on, just tell me. You don't need to put on that serious face. We've been friends since childhood."
Haruki coughed. "Alright, you have to keep this a secret for me."
Himura immediately raised his hand in front of Haruki, as if to make him stop talking. "Hey, why do you call me 'old man'? I'm only 27! Call me what you did when we were kids."
Haruki looked annoyed and sighed. "Fine. Now, I need you to help me with something."
Himura looked surprised. "What is it?"
"I need you to help me create identities for two people."
"Huh? That's really hard. And who do you want to create them for?"
"I want to create them for two slaves."
Himura's shocked expression was evident, his eyes widened, and he wanted to object, but seeing Haruki's serious face, Himura remained silent for a long moment.
"The hardest problem right now is the librarian. In recent years, the King hasn't trusted us. He's sent librarians to the cities to make control easier."
"If there are any mistakes or irregularities, they'll report it to their superiors immediately. I'll lose my job, and so will you."
Haruki's face grew thoughtful, lost in thought. "Is the problem that difficult? Then try drugging that person and fixing the records."
Himura flinched, his face panicked as he replied. "Huh? Are you kidding me? You think it's easy? If it were easy, I would have helped you already."
Haruki changed to a mischievous face, flashing a wicked smile. "Ah, I seem to remember you still owe me a favor, don't you?"
Himura looked as if he wanted to refuse and backed away. "Hey, are you crazy? We can't do this."
Haruki's face became more dangerous.
"You're the village chief's son-in-law, what are you worried about? If you keep acting like this, I'll tell Aya that you sold the necklace she gave you to bet on a sword fight and lost. Then you had to borrow money from me to buy it back."
"And speaking of which, you still owe me money."
Himura's face turned red, and he pointed at Haruki. Haruki was smiling smugly with an arrogant expression.
"You... You're unbelievable."
Himura reminisced about his childhood. He saw young Haruki and Aiko holding hands. Himura stood in front of them, his face filled with smugness and disdain.
"What's this? Are these two in love? Already in love at such a young age? That's ridiculous."