“What is it, Mom?” Donny asked.
As soon as Martha heard him, she pointed toward Issho and said, “Take Issho with you and help him choose some clothes for himself, alright?”
Hearing this, Donny immediately nodded.
He did not dare reject his mother’s words.
Technically, it was not even a request.
It was an order.
And Donny knew very well what would happen if he ignored it.
Among everyone in the house, the person he feared the most was unquestionably his mother.
So without arguing, he obediently turned toward Issho.
The moment his eyes landed on Issho’s face, however, his expression paused slightly.
Issho sat calmly with his eyes closed as always, while the scars around both of his eyes and across part of his face remained clearly visible under the restaurant lights.
The marks looked old, but they were severe enough for Donny to immediately understand something was wrong.
A realization flashed across his face.
Instead of blurting it out loudly, Donny instinctively turned toward his mother as if silently asking for confirmation.
Martha immediately understood what he wanted to know.
Is he blind?
She quietly nodded her head once.
Donny’s expression softened slightly after receiving the answer.
The earlier curiosity in his eyes turned into sympathy almost immediately.
Then he said politely, “Please follow me.”
As he spoke, Donny even stepped closer to Issho and extended his hand, intending to help support him while walking.
Issho could clearly sense the boy’s intentions through his Observation Haki.
The small shift in movement, the hesitation in breathing, and the hand reaching toward him were all obvious to him.
A faint smile appeared on Issho’s face.
“You do not need to support me while walking,” he said calmly.
“I can clearly hear everything around me, so moving around is not difficult for me.”
Then Issho slowly stood up from his seat while holding his wooden stick lightly in his hand.
“You can simply walk ahead,” he continued.
“I will follow behind you without any issue.”
Donny blinked slightly after hearing that.
Even though Issho’s eyes remained closed, the calm confidence in his voice strangely made it difficult to doubt him.
Before he could say anything else, Alex spoke from the side.
“Yes, Donny, you do not need to show excessive sympathy toward Issho,” Alex said calmly while crossing his arms near the counter.
“That would honestly be somewhat disrespectful.
Even though he cannot see, his other senses are clearly extremely sharp.
Otherwise, there is no way he could have hunted a wild boar by himself.”
The moment Donny heard that, his eyes widened in shock.
He subconsciously looked toward Issho once again.
From Issho’s build and appearance, he looked around the same age as Donny himself.
Yet despite that, Issho had managed to hunt a wild boar alone—something Donny could not even imagine doing right now.
Wild boars were dangerous creatures even for grown hunters.
How strong is he exactly…?
Donny wondered silently.
Soon, Donny turned around and started walking toward the exit.
“Follow me,” he said.
Issho calmly followed behind him with steady footsteps, moving so naturally that it almost looked as though he could actually see.
His wooden stick lightly tapped against the ground every now and then, but his movements carried no hesitation.
Donny occasionally glanced back in surprise while walking.
Even with the crowded evening streets outside the restaurant, Issho easily adjusted himself according to the sounds around him—the footsteps of pedestrians, the creaking of carts, distant conversations, and even the movement of animals passing nearby.
The two of them soon left Martha’s restaurant behind.
The moment they disappeared outside, Alex walked toward the counter where Martha had returned to organizing things.
Lowering his voice slightly so the nearby customers would not overhear, he asked,
“What were you thinking, Martha?”
Martha turned toward him.
Alex continued, “Why did you invite him to stay here and rent him a room?
He is still a completely unknown person to us.”
After listening to him, Martha simply smiled faintly while wiping her hands with a cloth.
“You do not have to worry so much,” she replied calmly.
“Yes, we do not know where he came from, but didn’t you notice?
He is blind.
No matter how capable he is, there will still be many daily things where he may require assistance.”
Her expression softened slightly as she continued.
“And honestly, he does not seem like a bad person to me.
He feels very honest.”
The restaurant lights flickered slightly as the fire from the kitchen crackled in the background.
“So I do not see any issue in giving him a place to stay.”
Alex frowned slightly after hearing her words.
“We still do not know his origins,” he said.
“And those scars around his eyes…” His voice lowered a little further.
“They clearly look like some sort of punishment.
Who knows what happened to him?
Maybe he committed some crime in another county or even another kingdom.”
Martha quietly listened before letting out a small sigh.
“Do not worry so much,” she replied.
“If he really is some kind of criminal or villain, then we will find out soon enough.
There would eventually be bounty posters or some message from the guards.”
She then added calmly, “And if the county guards ever search for him, then that means he would already be wanted before arriving here.
We did not know any of that beforehand, right?
So there is no reason for us to panic.”
Alex remained silent for a few moments after hearing her reasoning.
In the end, he simply sighed helplessly.
He knew very well that this was Martha’s motherly nature at work again.
Whenever she saw someone in genuine need, especially someone young, she found it difficult to ignore them.
And honestly…
Alex himself also agreed with one thing.
Issho did not seem like a bad person.
The blind young man had remained polite, calm, and straightforward from the beginning.
There was no greed or arrogance in the way he spoke, and he carried himself with a strange sense of honesty.
Still, Alex could only hope that nothing troublesome would happen later—like Issho suddenly turning out to be some wanted criminal or fugitive.
Shaking those thoughts away for now, Alex finally returned toward the kitchen area.
After all, worrying would not cook the food for the customers.
As the head chef of the restaurant, he still had plenty of work left to do.
…
Soon, after around half an hour or so, Issho returned to Martha’s restaurant together with Donny.
The evening had grown darker by now, and warm light spilled out from the restaurant windows onto the street outside.
The sounds of diners chatting and utensils clinking against plates continued endlessly from inside the building.
As soon as both of them entered, Martha walked toward Issho and asked warmly, “How did it go?
Did you buy all the clothes you needed for yourself?”
Issho gave a small nod.
“Yes,” he replied calmly.
“I bought all the necessary clothes for myself.
I think these clothes should last me for quite a long time.”
Martha smiled lightly after hearing that, but before she could say anything else, Donny suddenly spoke from the side.
“Mother, Issho spent two silver coins just on clothes,” he said with obvious surprise still lingering in his voice.
“He bought two sets of pure black linen clothes, and similarly, he also bought two sets of cotton outfits.”
Hearing that amount, even Martha became slightly surprised for a moment.
After all, one silver coin was equal to fifty copper coins.
A normal simple meal—like a loaf of bread with vegetable porridge—generally cost only eight to ten copper coins.
Yet Issho had casually spent two entire silver coins just on clothing.
Still, Martha did not think much further about it.
Everyone had different standards of spending depending on their own circumstances.
If Issho chose to buy those clothes for himself, then clearly he believed he could afford them.
That was his personal matter.
However, Martha still turned toward Donny and glared at him lightly.
“Why are you paying attention to how others spend their money?” she scolded him.
“Issho spent that money because he believes he can manage it.
That is his choice.”
The moment Donny heard his mother’s tone, he immediately shrank his neck slightly and stopped talking further.
“Alright…” he muttered quietly.
Martha then said to him, “Now go and help Issho settle into the room properly.
Show him the bathroom area and help him take a proper bath first.
Also check whether the room is clean.
I already cleaned it earlier today, but still make sure everything is fine.”
After listening to her, Donny quickly nodded obediently.
“Come with me,” he said to Issho.
Issho followed him once again while carrying the bag containing his newly bought clothes.
Soon, Donny guided Issho toward the courtyard area behind the restaurant and house.
The atmosphere there was much quieter compared to the noisy restaurant inside.
Cool evening air drifted through the backyard, carrying the faint earthy smell of water and soil.
Near the center of the courtyard stood a stone well.
Donny explained the surroundings to Issho properly before helping him arrange the water bucket nearby.
After that, he stepped away to give Issho privacy.
Standing beside the well, Issho slowly exhaled.
The faint sound of water shifting below echoed softly in his ears.
Then, drawing up a bucket of cold water, Issho finally began taking a bath.
The cool water poured over his body, washing away dried blood, dirt, sweat, and the lingering smell of the hunt.
Some old wounds still stung faintly under the cold water, but Issho ignored the discomfort quietly.
This was his first proper bath after transmigrating into this world.
From the moment he had arrived here, most of his time had been spent imprisoned, tortured, or barely surviving before eventually being dumped near Sidian County like a discarded object.
He had not even been given the chance to properly clean himself during all that time.
As the cold water ran across his face and body once again, Issho slowly felt the heaviness clinging to him lessen little by little.
For the first time since arriving in this world, he genuinely felt somewhat human again.
Issho took a long and proper bath, thoroughly washing away the dirt, dried blood, sweat, and exhaustion clinging to his body.
By the time he finished, he felt considerably more refreshed and rejuvenated than before.
The cool night air brushed lightly against his skin as he changed into one of the new cotton outfits he had purchased earlier.
All of the clothes he bought were deep black in color.
Not exactly because black was his favorite color—although yes, he did like black.
The irony of a blind man liking black was not lost on him either.
Well… whatever.
The main reason Issho bought black clothes was because they were practical.
Most of the time, he would either wear them around the house or while hunting in the forest.
Dark clothes were far better at hiding blood stains after hunts.
If he bought light-colored clothing instead, then the dark red stains would become immediately noticeable and honestly look somewhat eerie.
Not to mention blood stains were notoriously difficult to clean from fabric properly.
Taking all those things into consideration, Issho decided that deep black clothes suited him the best.
The soft cotton fabric rested comfortably against his body as he finished adjusting the outfit.
Compared to the rough woollen prison clothing he had worn before, these clothes felt significantly better.
Afterward, Issho slowly walked toward the small spare room Martha had given him.