Ian Virigo, Chief of the Village, and a retired warrior of the Beastly Aris, the chosen of the Beast God, set to carry his will throughout all the lands. Ian was a powerhouse that Ethan was somewhat afraid of, simply because it would be hard to beat him.
Ian Virigo was stronger than Ethan. Ethan was at the level of a standard Knight, even if he hadn't been knighted due to his kidnapping, but Ian was a few levels above him. He had an abundance of Ki, which easily outclassed him in both weight and height, as well as raw strength. He wielded his monster of a halberd with as much speed as Ethan wielded his sword, and honestly, that was terrifying.
The strong and swift type, capable of incredible flexibility as well, was Ethan's arch-nemesis. It wasn't as if he couldn't beat Ian, but it would be difficult. Seven times out of ten, Ethan would lose.
Well, that was if they ever did fight each other. Right now, Ethan had no idea why he was here, and he couldn't even converse with the man.
The language of Alapur was still a mystery to him, and Igimo hadn't given him the artifact that could at least help him understand the language yet. Ethan looked at the beast of a man, and he looked back.
His black eyes locked onto him, just like a predator's. Ethan stepped back slightly, sweat forming on his forehead.
'Why is he looking at me like that...?'
He was aware Ian wasn't as welcoming as Igimo... but he shouldn't be this suspicious of him? Ethan had done nothing yet...? Ethan stepped back, cautious.
However, at the very end, he noticed another shadow behind Ian, a smaller shadow, and then he noticed the little girl behind him, carrying a bowl of what appeared to be porridge. Ian stepped aside and encouraged her to move forward, offering a slight push with his hand.
The girl had brown hair, brown eyes, surprisingly clean clothes for a village girl, and short, brown ears that arose from the top of her head. They were very tiny, though, and Ethan almost didn't notice them. She was barely as tall as Ethan's hips.
'... Those ears...'
Ravu, he had seen those kinds of ears before; they were very similar to Ravu's. Perhaps his savior's daughter? Or a member of the same species. The girl hesitatingly approached Ethan, but couldn't manage to approach him fully, opting to leave the porridge at a table close to him.
She ran behind Ian immediately after, clutching onto his trousers. The man didn't say anything; all that time, his eyes had been glued to Ethan, watching his every move.
Ethan looked at the porridge on the table and approached it. It was clear the girl was waiting for a response; unfortunately, all Ethan could do at the moment was pick up the bowl, offer a smile, and bow his head in gratitude.
'Well, I was hungry...'
The girl had a smile on her face after this and ran away. Ian followed soon after; the entire time, he had said nothing. Well, even if he had, Ethan had no way of understanding it. Ethan sighed and sat down, and ate a bite of the porridge.
His face turned to stone the moment it touched the tip of his tongue. He was grateful for the food, but at the same time, he wasn't expecting it to be a delicacy. He was expecting the porridge to be... neutral, mild, with a nutty taste, heavy on the tongue... starchy?
But damn it all... the last thing he was expecting was it to be salty. TOO SALTY. Had the little girl mistaken sugar and salt and switched them? Or was this a brutal prank on the new guy in the village? Reluctantly, Ethan swallowed it and continued to eat more.
'A knight... does not complain over food. A good knight needs his nutrition.'
A knight truly did need his nutrition, especially if he was in this situation.
But damn it, a Knight with a sweet tooth does cry a little as he consumes his food loaded with salt.