Spark in Darkness: Unworldy encounter/Prototype

Spark 33: A town's mystery

By night time, Haruki and Rinya had stumbled into a town, bustling with life.

They had thought it seemed strange, since there were the Nayshards lurking around in the dark, and yet the townspeople looked like they did not had any care for the world outside, much less the Nayshards. Even though it was at night, the people were still lively, the streets lit brightly, and street vendors continued to shout loudly to attract customers.

"What's going on here?" Rinya whispered, as confused as Haruki.

"I have no idea myself. I guess we have to find out ourselves." Haruki clenched his fists, bracing himself for some sort of trickery to appear.

When they entered the town, the people around them noticed them and waved.

"You guys must be travellers!"

"Welcome to our town!"

"Are you guys a couple? You two look great together!"

"W-what?" Haruki and Rinya exclaimed in unison.

They peeked at each other, both their faces turning red, before turning back and rejecting that sentence. "We're just friends!" They said hastily.

"Really? No matter! You must be hungry after such a long trip! We're having a festival at the moment, so do feel free to enjoy the food!"

Warning bells were ringing in Haruki's mind. How did the townspeople know they have had a long trip? Why were they so friendly to strangers? But his empty stomach was telling his brain to push the warnings aside and just get the food.

"What do you think, Rinya?" Haruki leaned towards Rinya and whispered in her ear.

"Something's definitely off here, but if we reject their offer, I'm not sure what they can do, so let's just go along with them first. If there's anything wrong we'll bail immediately." Rinya whispered back.

From all the dramas Haruki watched, this was bound to lead them to some trouble. But once again his stomach was arguing with his brain, and in the end his stomach won.

"Alright," Haruki agreed, albeit reluctant. "I'm hungry too."

So they accepted the townspeople's offer and went with them as they offered snacks and food. Haruki only made sure to eat the food prepared and served on the spot, together with some other townspeople who bought the food from the vendors. He felt bad for getting others to pay for him, but the vendors were willing to prepare more food for the duo, and the excited tour guides were not at all concerned about spending more for strangers. If they were, they did a good job hiding it.

Haruki was too tense that he did not get the words of the townspeople in his head as the handful of them explained about their signature snacks, nor how the festival came about, giving short replies to show his respect.

He looked at Rinya, who was equally tensed. She looked back and gave a small smile, to encourage Haruki to keep his act going.

Finally, one of their guides commented,"Ah, you must be tired from all the walking. We'll be bringing you to the inn down that street for you to stay."

You don't say. Haruki rolled his eyes internally. The food they provided was delicious, and had made him forget about the fatigue in his legs temporarily, and he was glad he could get the rest he needed. And it also meant no noisy chatter.

"I'm just curious, but can I ask why are you people so kind to strangers? I feel bad to impose this on you." Haruki asked politely.

To this question, one of the oldest-looking man, whom Haruki remembered as something like David, walking with them beamed. "Oh, no worries. Travelers seldom come to this town, so we always take the extra effort to make sure they enjoy their stay before going on with their journey. Of course, they're more than welcome to stay here for as long as they like!"