My hands were freezing.
I drew them out of the water, and breathed into them, but it hardly helped.
They were still wet and freezing.
I stuck them back in the tub we rented and began scrubbing.
The soap bubbled, washing away the red.
At least it was coming out.
The blood… I shook my head and inspected my work.
Almost done… I looked up to see the sky turning from early dawn to day.
After rolling the body away, we packed up camp, and waited outside the gate until it opened with the first rays of light.
Then we came straight to the plaza.
I was able to borrow a washing tub from a family staying here for a few coppers.
And I was washing all our clothes now.
Except what I was wearing.
It… was also splattered with blood.
I would have to wash it after my other clothes dry.
Better than Rey’s clothes at least.
He was the one who looked like he murdered someone… Right now, he was waiting for a spot to open up, by the guards.
The moment it did, he would snatch it up.
Then we’ll set up our tent and the heater.
We’ll probably be cleaning all day.
And we should go to the bath house too, really get clean.
I just… I wanted to wash it all away.
“Kat!” I jumped a little at the address but turned to see Rey running up to me.
“A pair of adventurers just left.
Is the tent ready?” Oh.
I turned to the wash bin and pulled the tent out.
Mmm… “What do you think?” He nodded.
“It looks good to me.
I’ll get it set up and start the heater to dry it out.” It still looked… a little brown to me.
But I began pulling it out, and he helped me wring out the excess water before taking it away.
I looked at the clothes I’ve yet to do and sighed.
First, I poured the dirty water down the drain.
Then I filled up the bin with fresh water from the fountain.
Then I added soap.
And now… I stuck our bedrolls in.
The water immediately turned red.
I began lathering the soap, trying to wash it all away as quickly as possible.
It took about an hour to finish up the washing.
Another hour for everything to dry in the tent, the heater turned up all the way.
But once our clothes were dry, we headed to the bath house.
The lady at the desk gave Rey a strange look for his bloodiness but didn’t question it.
We went for the cheapest option, the communal bath.
Luckily, there was a partition to keep boys and girls separate.
It looked like I was the only one here so early in the morning.
I sank into the water, letting it cover my head, before coming up for air.
I took the soap and washed every inch of me.
The warm water felt heavenly compared to this morning… But my skin still felt sticky.
No matter how much I scrubbed it.
It turned pink as I kept scrubbing with the soap, and soon I was choking back sobs.
“Uh… are you okay?” Ack!
I jolted as I realized I wasn’t alone anymore, almost fumbling the soap.
I turned to see a young lady, just entering the bath.
She gave me a look of concern.
“I-I’m fine.” I began heading for the exit.
I was clean.
And embarrassed, still unable to stop the tears from rolling down my cheeks.
She was silent for a moment.
“Okay.
I heard something bad happened outside the walls last night.
Two kids were almost kidnapped.
But… I’m glad they got away safe.” Huh?
I turned back and she locked eyes with me.
It felt like… understanding.
I sniffled and nodded.
“Thank you.” “It’s a rough world out there kid.
Take care of yourself.” I nodded, grabbing a towel and draping it around me.
I wiped off in the changing room and changed into my clean clothes.
I still felt sticky.
I… might feel sticky for a long time.
But I had to remember.
I’m not sticky.
I’m clean.
Or else I’d think I’d rub my skin off.
A nudge.
I looked up to see Rey, excited.
He pointed in the distance.
Walls.
Very tall stone walls, that surrounded a huge city.
“Kat, look!
It’s the capital!
We made it!” The capital… a large shanty town surrounded the walls, making my stomach tighten.
The wagon we were on trundled along the road as we passed a few farms on our way in.
This wagon going from the last town we were in to the capital saved us nearly three days of walking, for only a silver and a bit of work each.
My parents always talked about the capital.
Like it was a dream city, filled with extravagance and fantastic people.
But all I saw was the shanty town as we neared the eastern gate.
“Yeah…” My unenthused reaction made him pause.
I looked back down at the wooden floor of the wagon, and we bumped along.
He’s been doing this.
Trying to cheer me up.
I know I haven’t been the same since… Well, he’s been trying to cheer me up.
And I did appreciate it.
Even if sometimes I just couldn’t be cheered.
He shuffled closer and put an arm around me.
I sighed, and closed my eyes, leaning onto his shoulder.
He comforted me as we waited in line to enter the city.
All we had to do was show our guild cards to get in with the kindly merchant and his wife.
Then we accompanied them to a warehouse and helped him unload his goods, as part of the deal for us to ride with him.
Once it was finished, he gave the two of us a little advice.
“There are several different plazas adventurers can stay at here in the city.
I recommend the two of you go to the southern plaza.
The weakest dungeons are in the south, and it’s the closest to an adventuring guild.” Rey nodded.
“Thank you sir.
And thank you for giving us a ride!” The older man chuckled.
“No, thank you for your help.
My back isn’t what it used to be…” We parted from him, and headed south, buying a map of the city from a general store.
Rey held it open as we walked down the street.
“Okay, the first thing we’ll do is nab a spot at the adventuring plaza.
There’s sure to be at least one.
Then we’ll pay for the entire winter, that way no one else can try and take it before we can pay for the day.
After that, we can head to the guild, and check on the quests, ask for information on the dungeons… Kat?
Are you listening?” Huh?
Oh, uh… I nodded.
“Yeah.
Plaza.
Then guild.” He watched me for another moment before sighing and folding up the map.
“Um… Kat.
I know things haven’t exactly been… or um…” He fumbled with his words for another minute before finally finishing his thought.
“If you want… we can… talk about it.
Or not.
Whatever you want to do!” Oh.
I glanced up at him before my eyes returned to my feet.
“… I killed someone.” The somber sentence brought him down too.
“Yeah.
But you know you had to, right?
And you saved my life.” “I know.
But… I killed someone.” We walked in silence for another moment before his hand found mine.
I squeezed his hand back, thankful for his support.
“I know.
But even if you’re never the same, I’m still here for you.
No matter what.
We… protect each other.” I smiled.
I still felt tired.
Frustrated.
Angry.
Sad.
But… “Thanks Rey.
I just… need a little more time.
Two weeks is hardly enough to process.” “I get that.
We have all the time in the world.
Tomorrow, we’ll be back to training.
We’ll be F-rank adventurers in no time.” Staying busy would probably help.
Keep me from… thinking about it too much.
I took a deep breath and made a conscious effort to pull up my head and take in my surroundings.
The capital… it was a nice place.
The streets were cobbled.
The stores looked cozy.
Chimneys had curls of smoke that puffed into the air.
People bustled to and fro, all bundled up against the cold like we were.
Newsboys proffered pamphlets, bookstores, equipment, tailors.
Every kind of store I could imagine.
Inns too, with travelers going in and out.
We even saw lots of adventurers, their weapons on display as they laughed with their party, cavorting around town.
We stuck to the main streets, and as we reached the southern quarter, I even saw a noble.
An older gentleman hopping into a carriage before speeding away, towards the castle in the center of the city.
According to the map, this city was divided into four quadrants and three districts.
The outer ring of the city, outside the walls, was the Third District.
It was where the poor stayed, and it was barely policed, like most tent cities outside of towns.
The dungeons and farms were also out there, keeping the city fed and supplied.
Inside the walls, and taking up more space than the Third District, was the Second District.
Commoners, tradespeople, and merchants lived here.
They weren’t as poor as the people outside the city, and the law was much stricter, guards on every corner to keep the peace.
Compared to both the Third and the First District, it was bigger than the two put together… And the final district was the First District.
There wasn’t a definite distinction between the Second District and the First District.
Just streets that became nicer and nicer until you reached the castle in the center of the city.
I guess it was the First District when you started seeing knights guarding the streets rather than guards.
It was where the nobles lived, and there were high-end stores, parks, and even an academy for nobles that taught magic.
I felt a pang of jealousy at that.
I wish I could learn magic in school… it just wasn’t meant to be.
I would have to keep on studying on my own.
At least this place should have everything we need to become proper adventurers.
I mentally tallied up all our money.
About… one gold in total.
Of course, that was a mix of coppers and silvers… Still.
A whole gold.
It wasn’t much considering we haven’t been hunting slimes or completing quests.
Honestly, if we had been able to stay in one place and focus on adventuring, we would have much more by now.
But we had to go on the run.
And train.
Hunt.
Forage.
Learn.
These past four months have been jam-packed with learning how to support ourselves.
But now we could finally focus on our goal of becoming adventurers.