Enmie pulled her hand back and turned around toward the camp gate, resting her hands behind her head as she strolled away, swaying her body from side to side.
Ersak turned his head to follow Enmie with his eyes, her voice drifting back to him, “If you don’t want to, it’s fine,” “But I think if you agree, it’s gonna benefit you.” Enmie glanced back over her shoulder at Ersak, and the teenager’s voice rang out sharp and steel-hard, “Where’s Tenzin right now?!” Enmie turned completely around, stopping right at the entrance of the camp, her shoulder shifting into a shrug as she spoke in a relaxed tone, “Basically, the kid’s perfectly fine.” Ersak stepped closer behind Enmie, prompting her to turn and face him directly.
Their eyes locked on each other.
Ersak bowed his head slightly, shifting his focus downward as a thought crossed the boy’s mind, “Basically, there’s nothing harmful to me in this, but still…” His eyes closed for a brief moment, then snapped open to stare straight back into Enmie’s eyes, “I wanna know why you’re helping me.” Enmie smiled, closing her eyes with a nod as she crossed her arms triumphantly, “So that means you’re accepting the proposal, right?” “The reason’s simple, because I figure you probably couldn’t pull off anything criminal anyway, right?” Ersak narrowed his gaze at Enmie, who was smiling at him with a judging expression, “What’re you trying to say?” Enmie watched Ersak step closer, then placed her hand right on his head, patting it roughly while laughing, “Looking like this, who could you even hurt!” Ersak broke out in beads of cold sweat, his voice dropping low with deep annoyance, “Take your HAND off me!…” Enmie removed her hand from his head and walked right past him.
Ersak’s vision tracked her movement.
Enmie’s voice called out just as a sudden gust of wind blew through, making the trees rustle loudly, “That’s enough for now.
Let’s count it as you agreeing, alright?
See ya tomorrow morning.” Ersak kept his focus on Enmie’s back as she walked into the house, the door shutting behind her.
Watching her leave, Ersak’s face briefly tightened as a small twitch creased his expression, “Ugh!…” “She still hasn’t told me where Tenzin is, has she?…” Ersak stood in place, keeping silent as the wind died down, leaving his hair and clothes completely still.
The teenager slowly walked back over to where the bandits were lying.
He sat down on the ground, leaning his body back to lie down, letting out a heavy breath into the night sky.
…
“CHIRP-!” “CHIRP-!!” Birdsong echoed continuously across the sky.
Bright sunlight hit his face, making his features show up so clearly that they seemed to glow, causing his eyes to squeeze shut before slowly blinking open.
The deep blue color of his eyes shone under the sunlight as shadows flickered across Ersak’s face.
His sluggish gaze snapped wide open as his breathing caught.
Startled, he sat up quickly and scanned the area.
The bandits walked forward, turning around to stretch their arms out behind the soldiers as iron chains were locked around their wrists.
Behind them, a long, elegant head of hair was swept back, making everything seem to pause as the strands shimmered beautifully under the sun.
Lusia’s face looked up toward the sun, her hand shielding her eyes.
Ersak sat on the ground dazed, staring around in utter confusion, when a cloaked soldier suddenly stepped right in front of him and barked out, “HEY, HEY!
Hurry it up, why’re you all being so slow?!” Ersak looked over at him, then shifted his gaze back to the bandits, thinking to himself, “Maybe after what happened yesterday, it looks like none of these bandits actually died.” Ersak’s focus drifted over to the side, “Why’s there blood over there, though?” A large figure blocked the light in front of him.
Ersak looked ahead, surprised to see Enmie leaning her body right over him, hands on her hips as she bent down.
“Hey, why’re you still sitting here?
Stand up!” Enmie turned around and walked away.
Ersak stared after her with a blank, expressionless face, then closed his eyes and stood up.
He moved forward.
The cloaked soldier watched the teenager approach and pulled a pair of iron chains out from the pouch right next to his sword.
Ersak stopped right in front of him and held out his hands.
The cloaked soldier stared at the boy’s wrists, then looked up at his completely emotionless face.
The air went dead silent.
Ersak narrowed his eyes, but the cloaked soldier suddenly walked right past him, stepping behind his back.
Ersak blinked, “Huh?…” The teenager stood there dazed, not understanding what was happening as his vision tracked the soldier, who was now tying up a bandit further back.
Ersak’s eyes widened in total confusion.
Suddenly, someone appeared right behind him.
The person grabbed his hands out of nowhere.
Ersak flinched and whipped his head around instantly, his pupils shrinking in sudden shock, “Hm?!” His wrists were bound, but with two separate, detached bands.
Ersak brought his arms up in front of his face to inspect the two rings on his wrists.
Hawen crossed his arms, looking down at Ersak, “Basically, I figured using these locking bands is much better.
At least you’re still within controllable range.” Ersak turned to look at Hawen with deep confusion.
He raised his arm, lifting the band up to head level as his dazed eyes focused on it, “What’s this?” A cheerful smile broke across Hawen’s face.
He reached out and patted the teenager’s shoulder, “Haha, basically I don’t trust you all that much, so at least using this keeps things safe!” Ersak broke out in beads of cold sweat, “What’s wrong with this guy?…” The bands were small and thin, each sleek ring embedded with a single green crystal.
Enmie’s shout echoed from a distance, drawing the attention of both Ersak and Hawen toward the gate.
Lusia stood there with her arms crossed while Enmie waved her hand, calling out, “Hurry up!
What’re you taking so long for?!” Hawen turned on his heel and walked toward the two girls.
Ersak kept his eyes on him, following right behind Hawen toward the group.
…
The sharp crack of a whip hitting the horses rang out, and the animals let out a loud neigh, starting to move down the road.
Inside the carriage, Hawen, Lusia, and Enmie sat quietly on the benches without saying a word.
Hawen read a book in his hands, Lusia sat perfectly still, and Enmie looked around.
Down below, Ersak sat curled up on the floor, his gaze drifting up at the three people sitting on the benches.
The carriage jolted, making his body sway and bounce with the movement.
Staring straight ahead, a thought crossed Ersak’s mind, “Why do I have to sit down here?…” A memory from right before they boarded the carriage flashed through his mind.
Ersak had walked toward the transport carriage holding the prisoners.
Suddenly, a hand grabbed his wrist.
Enmie’s voice rang out as she pointed toward the front, “You’re coming with us.” Ersak opened his mouth, preparing to speak, when Lusia’s voice suddenly screamed, “WILL YOU HURRY UP?!” Ersak narrowed his eyes and followed Enmie up into the lead carriage.
Returning to the present, a voice drifted in from outside, causing Ersak to look out the window, “Hey kids, you’re back!” The three of them replied in unison, “Yes.” A farmer waved his hand, flashing a warm, friendly smile.
Ersak looked around at the farming fields and the open lands filled with livestock, thinking to himself, “Now that I look closely…” “This world isn’t really any different from my old one, is it?” Ersak closed his eyes, lowering his head.
Hawen’s gaze flicked down toward the teenager before returning to his book.
His eyes scanned the pages slowly, a thought forming in Hawen’s mind, “I definitely need to question him thoroughly later.
The information on this guy is still way too vague.” The carriage turned down a different path, and a majestic kingdom appeared right in front of them.
It looked like the massive kingdom from yesterday.
A giant crystal floated gently above the central tower of the kingdom, shifting slightly as soft beams of light reflected off its surface.
The carriage drew closer to the entrance, where young kids ran around playing, laughing and chasing each other, while guards stood talking back and forth in front of the gates.
The carriage rolled inside the city streets, bringing everything into view as the lively atmosphere filled the air with cheerful laughter and chatter.