TBATE: Shadows Of The Past

Chapter 14 - Future Bonds

[1st POV - Arthur Leywin]

It felt like a good hour before the little elf girl finally settled down. I couldn't blame her; being forcibly kidnapped would cause trauma even for adults, let alone someone just a bit older than me.

As I sat next to her, comforting her, I realized how bizarre the scene was. A four-year-old boy tenderly patting the head of an elven girl in the back of a carriage while four bloody corpses were being devoured by beasts nearby.

"W-What happened to those bad guys?" she sniffled, her voice coming out a bit nasally.

Not knowing if it was appropriate to tell a seven-year-old about killing, I dismissed it by saying, "Er... they ran into a very unfortunate accident."

She studied my hesitant expression, raising a brow, then looked back down and whispered, "Serves them right." Observing her closely now, I couldn't help but notice that she possessed all the necessary features to blossom into quite a beauty in the future.

Her long gunmetal gray hair, which I mistook for silver in the sunlight, couldn't hide the innate beauty that seemed to radiate from her. She had gleaming teal eyes, perfectly rounded like almonds, quivering with emotion. Her perky nose was red from crying, matching the color of her rosy lips. While all her facial features appeared as carefully molded gems, the fair creamy skin of her face acted as the canvas, creating a surreal, almost phantasmal work of art.

Of course, as a gentleman and someone who appreciates beauty in the world, I was merely observing her speculatively. I wouldn't go so far as to say I was "checking her out."

I helped her to her feet before speaking again.

"The people who tried to kidnap you won't chase you anymore. Can you make it home by yourself?"

Instantly, fear filled her eyes, and a panicked expression covered her face. Tears welled up as she tightly clenched both hands onto my shirt. Even an infant would be able to understand her answer through her actions.

"Look, I need to get home too. Aren't elves generally safe in this forest?" I let out a sigh, attempting to pry her fingers-rather, claws-from my shirt.

She violently shook her head, resembling a dog drying itself, and countered, "Beasts are only scared of adults... My parents warned me that children will get eaten by hounds or tree golems."

Normally, something like a tree golem would amaze me, but it was becoming increasingly difficult to be surprised after witnessing a demon king metamorphose into a dragon.

Rubbing the bridge of my nose, I tried to come up with a solution to this predicament.

"How long does it take to get to where you live from here?"

"..."

Still clutching my shabby shirt, she looked down and admitted, "... I don't know."

I resisted the temptation to sigh again, as the poor girl already looked on the verge of tears, and agreed to take her back home.

The Kingdom of Elenoir was quite far north, so my only hope was that there would be a teleportation gate there that could take me back to somewhere, anywhere, in Sapin.

I instructed the elf girl to wait inside the carriage while I gathered some necessities. The main reason was that I didn't want her to see the mangled carcasses of the slave traders, which even I found hard to stomach. After finally finding a backpack small enough for me to wear without it dragging on the ground, I carefully folded and stuffed a small tent inside. I also packed a leather water bag, some dried rations, and Pinky's knife, which I had picked up from the ground where I fought Danton and George, and strapped it to the front of my waist to balance the awkwardly large equipment on my back. Before heading back into the carriage, I freed the forest hounds, realizing that while they could pull a carriage, they couldn't be ridden.