“Well, if it isn’t the main man himself,” A loud voice boomed as soon as Gaspard entered the shop. The man behind the counter put down his meat cleaver and turned to face the front. Even at first glance, he was obviously young. His hair was black and cut short. A mustache was starting to grow on his face, while his beard was nothing more than stubble.

The shop was small, and the decoration was simple. Nothing stood out much except for the door behind the counter. Behind that heavy-looking door was where all the meat was stored.

Tapping the counter, the man said, “What brings you ‘round here—oh, and the little lady is here too?”

As they made it to the counter, Za’Lia peeked her head over the wooden surface. Even at the age of nine, she was much smaller than most kids her age, so she had to be on the tip of her toes to look over.

“Wait up, I’ll get you something,” the man said before going to the backroom. He came out with a small dish in hand, and he placed it on the counter. On it was a thin slab of meat, crispy brown, and dressed in spices. “I’m trying something new out. Tell me what you think. You have some too Gaspard.”

The piece of meat was sliced in two, one for each of them. Za’Lia quickly took the piece of meat and stuffed it in her mouth. Gaspard followed after.

“Hm, this is pretty good, Ryan. I see that you followed my recommendation,” Gaspard smiled.

The butcher, Ryan, beamed a smile back as he put both hands on his waist, “Of course! I’ve been looking over those notes you wrote for me every day. You really have a knack for cooking, you know?”

“It’s all stuff I learned from others so I can’t take all the credit,” he laughed.

“You’re way too humble,” Ryan shook his head, before turning to the girl still chewing on the meat. “So, what about it Lia? How’s it taste?”

After a few seconds of suspense, Za’Lia finally swallowed. She pensively pointed her head to the sky. “Tough…but tasty,” she said in a soft voice.

Ryan let out a sigh, “Better reception than last time—but still not good enough. Guess I’ll have to keep practicing.” He tapped the counter with his fingers.

Za’Lia, stretching as far as she could, reassuringly pat his hand, making him break out in a smile.

Ryan was one of the few people who Gaspard considered trustworthy. He was the reason they were able to have food on their table the first year Gaspard took in the girls, before Za’Lia began hunting, that is. At the time, his father was running the butchery so he couldn’t just hand them free food, but he did give it to them at a substantial discount behind his old man’s back.

While fishing, and fish in general, was the town’s main source of food due to the town being next to the ocean, every other type of meat was handled here, at one of the farthest points of the town. Fish was cheaper, but the amount that he’d need to feed the three of them would’ve added up to money that Gaspard simply didn’t have. Instead, Ryan’s deals were cheaper than what the fish would’ve been, which was ludicrous every way you saw it.

After his father retired, Ryan took over the family business and Gaspard thanked his generosity by selling him discounted boars whenever he could.

“Lia’s a harsh critic about these things,” Gaspard ruffled her hair, “as the fairer of us, I give you a six out of ten.”

Ryan’s eyes lit up for a moment before the score sunk in. Once it did, his shoulders slumped. “I don’t think that makes me feel better…”

Gaspard laughed as Za’Lia silently giggled next to him.

After their playful jabs, they finally got to the matter at hand.

“You got some boars out there?!”

“Yep. At a low price too,” Gaspard nodded.

Even Za’Lia gave a few enthusiastic nods.

“Well, aren’t you a lifesaver,” Ryan quickly took off the apron that hung from his neck, tossed it on the counter, and jumped over it with ease.

As they brought the boars to the back, Ryan explained that the merchant that came every month had upped the prices of boars and other goods they couldn’t get anywhere else. Supposedly, as the merchant said, the prices came from his higher-ups, so he couldn’t do anything about that.

“A whole lot of bullshit, that’s what that is!” Ryan yelled. “That guy knows damn well that I wasn’t going to buy that explanation! He just knows that he’s our only source for boars, that’s why he increased the prices. No matter what, he knows I’ll have to buy them,” he finished in a murmur.

They’d finished bringing everything in, and Ryan had paid them what was practically nothing compared to what he’d supposedly paid the merchant.

“Are you really sure that you’re willing to sell these boars for that cheap?” Ryan asked. “I’m willing to pay you two—no, three times more.”

“It’s fine, really,” Gaspard reassured him for what was probably the fifth time. “You did the same for us when we were in a rough time. Now it’s our turn to return the favor.”

Za’Lia next to him nodded.

With a chuckle, Ryan shrugged his shoulders. “Well, in that case, may Goddess Arra bless you for your kindness,” he bowed.

“The same to you.”

With the transaction out of the way, Ryan’s smile began to slip. With a deep sigh, he said, “By the way…” Tapping his foot, he gave a slight pause before continuing. “The people from yesterday—they were from The Rings of Eternity, right?”

The image of the waves of sloppily armored people came rushing back. With that question alone, Gaspard knew where this was going. Biting his lip, Gaspard simply answered, “Yeah.”

A dark cloud almost visibly formed over Ryan. He rhythmically tapped at the counter. “I see. You think they might be coming back…at any point?”

“They could,” Gaspard answered honestly. “But there’s no real way of knowing for sure.”

Ryan nodded. Slapping the counter once, he forced a smile, “Maybe I’ll do some training of my own…just in case, you know?”

“Definitely. It never hurts to be prepared,” Gaspard agreed.

While he and the girls had some history with The Rings of Eternity, there were plenty of others across the country who had similar stories.

Ryan was one of those people.

He’d shared his story with Gaspard about a year after they met. The reason why they were in this town at all was because they lost everything in the village they originally came from. There they had their own small family shop where they lived happily. They were a pillar of the village. A cornerstone to the everyday lives of the people. Only to lose it all in one faithful night…

“Don’t go around doing anything reckless either,” Gaspard added.

Flinching, Ryan smiled, “Of course not. I have people in this town that need me!” He bumped his chest confidently. “Plus…I know mom wouldn’t have wanted me to be blind-sighted like that…” He finished in practically a whisper.

As they exited the shop, Gaspard stared at the sky. The strong brightness was slowly dwindling, but there was plenty of light left for the day. He took in a deep breath, letting the slight scent of the sea waft into his nostrils.

Stretching, he said, “It’s been a long day.”

“Mh-hm,” Za’Lia let out.

The town was still lively with not only repairs but with people living their day-to-day life. A few people shot glances at them while others stared hard at Za’Lia.

He’d never asked her before, but he was certain she could feel those glares on her skin. Maybe it was good she couldn’t see their faces, but it could also be that Za’Lia’s imagination made it worse than they truly were.

Gaspard didn’t blame the townspeople for their bias. They’d been thought to feel a certain way towards the Terranyx since they were young, so it was only natural they acted the way they did. He wanted to hopefully change that, but he still hadn’t figured out how.

Maybe…

“Elie is probably missing us right about now,” Gaspard suddenly said. “How about we get going?”

Za’Lia, turning to him, nodded.

…there might be a way…