Honkai Impact 3rd: Don't Die For Me/ Book 1: Promise

Chapter 50 Scars

<Lanshau>

The city of Lanshau was blanketed in soft snow that covered the sound of light footsteps of children playing about. Bustling streets, caravans of merchandise, and wooden/stone Chinese buildings alike contributed to an earthly atmosphere. The shadows of the walls that surrounded the city loomed over unhindered citizens, who chatted the morning away. Lanshau felt secure, unlike the small towns and villages that lay scattered across the empire, a perfect place to rest.

"Hold up. To enter the city one must pay the toll."

A short, stubby gate guard held out his hand motioning for the two foreigners to come to a stop. They shared a set of coats and wore the northern tunics of the country, yet their facial features and hair color singled them out.

"How much?"

The gate guard held up three fingers. Three fingers raised fingers prompted Kallen to reach into her pouch to gather the coins necessary. Otto stopped her, his gaze shook with assertion, he had been observing another set of travelers enter without paying a fee. An explanation was required, he would never let anyone take advantage of Kallen.

"The pair over there. The two men why didn't they pay?" Otto said. His tone was unhurried and calm but a glint of steel he had been honing shadowed his question.

Sensing his edge, Kallen turned to calm Otto down. Her hand that reached for her bag changed its target and gently tugged at Otto's tunic. She didn't want to start trouble at the gate, she was too tired to uphold this little bit of justice. Inwardly she felt strange, Otto hadn't lost his cool but he was normally far from confrontational. In fact, it was Otto who was supposed to hold her back and stop her from making rash decisions.

"Let's just pay. It's only a little bit of money. We need to rest in the city." She whispered to him.

Otto didn't listen to her and Kallen's gaze shifted towards his expression. It had stopped snowing just earlier and now through the bright sunlight of the early morning, Kallen could see a bit of murkiness in his eyes. Now that they were standing still she also realized that Otto was shaky. Otto was suffering from the early stages of moderate Hypothermia.

Otto was losing heat faster than his body could regain it. A phenomenon that perplexed Kallen. She was sharing her own body heat with Otto, they were wrapped together in two coats. Their clothing was dry and the snowshoes they wore protected their feet from the snow. She didn't feel cold either, she actually felt acutely warm.

Kallen quickly made another attempt for the fee. If her attempt earlier was made out of reluctance, her attempt now was fueled by her worry for Otto's well-being. But before she could grab the money the short guard stepped for and spat at Otto's face.

"Unlike them, you two are foreign white devils. You got to pay the toll to get into our city."

The cocky guard was seemingly spurred by hate. Kallen's blood boiled and her emotions got the better of her. Otto on the other hand remained as stoic as ever. He took out a napkin and calmly wiped off the filth from his face. A thin friendly smile sprouted from his lips after he was finished. A smile that froze the cocky guard in his place. His core had suddenly become abyssal arctic, and the cold air that stung him all morning turned incomparably pleasant. The guard felt as though he made a life-threatening mistake. He took a few steps back, his throat had become impossibly dry.

"What's the problem here?"

Another guard walked over, he had a more distinguished air around him. He was clearly educated but he wasn't much taller than the short guard that blocked the pair. His eyes flashed as he distinguished the pair to be foreigners.