[Chapter 08] - Hooded - Part 1

Year 952, day 260, Elfen territory , Border town with Mercy , 07h.

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In the lighted stone house of the Nevin family , Kalui , Whiger and Kahyu sleep in the same room, each on one of the three mattresses together. The tiger boy's leg rests on the belly of his sister and friend.

The sunlight through the round window slowly rises until it reaches the faces of the three children.

It has been almost a month since the last sword training. As usual, Kalui sleeps at his friends' house whenever their parents intend to make delicious food.

With almost absolute silence, only the birds singing, Laruel opens the door to the children's room, speaking very loudly:

— Breakfast! You don't even wake up with the sun on your face !?

Frightened, Kalui and Kahyu agree with the call of Laruel but Whiger only mutters softly:

— Just one more hour ... Ok ?

— Children ... Until Whiger wakes up, nobody eats.

The moment Laruel utters those words, the two rise from the mattress and begin to tickle Whiger and shake him until he wakes up.

Later that day, after lunch, someone knocks on the door and Bend runs to answer it. Upon opening, he is surprised to see his savior, the lord merchant.

— Come on, how long, Mr. Eliot!

— Hello, Bend! Your kids gave me a hard time!

The elderly gentleman is dressed in a light colored cloak and a summer outfit underneath, in addition to a light brown beret.

Bend opens the door to his home.

— Come in, come in. I will prepare tea for you.

— Oh! Thank you very much. — Eliot says, walking next to Bend to the living room. — How's your wife's beast? Is it in the garden?

— She is fine! It must be ending now in the vegetable garden. My children and their little friend are helping.

— I understood. But going straight to the point, I managed to sell the eggs. It was pretty easy actually.

— I'd forgotten about those eggs. The kids were so excited about it. It was really cute! — Scratching his head, he asks. — But then ... How many pennies did the two giant eggs give?

Eliot looks at his old friend with a suspicious look. When he raises his finger and opens his mouth to start talking, Bend interrupts him by saying:

— Wait a second, I'll get the tea first.

— All right.

"Didn't these kids ... tell their parents?"

A few minutes later, Laruel's husband returns with the tea.

— Before we drink, dear Bend, please call your family.

He puts the tea on the table and says:

— Sure, I'll go right now.

With everyone in the room sitting at the table, the two children can barely contain their excitement.

— So, kids. You clearly didn't tell your parents about the eggs. I believe that the shock will be great for them, you little pests.

He looks at his parents in distress and places a small cloth bag on the table, closed by a rope.

— Is that the payment? — Bend says anxiously. — Really, it seems to have a lot more copper than I imagined! Hahaha ...

The old merchant shakes his head.

— Mr. Bend, Mrs. Laruel , open the bag and please don't be scared.

Carefree, the children's mother takes the bag. When opening, pallor takes over your face. She turns the cloth bag upside down, tossing the coins on the table. The sibling couple begins to laugh softly while their father's skin also whitens.

"I don't understand ... What is it about these golden coins? Roldi has a lot too." , thinks Kalui .

Stammering, Laruel asks:

— Mister Merchant ... Is that for real?

Before Eliot could explain, Whiger jumps out of his chair, saying:

— Each egg was worth 8 gold coins!

— Roldi will kill you ... — Kalui says, shaking his head. — He forbade us to sell or show it to anyone, remember?

Totally ignoring his friend, Kahyu comments:

— They are happy? Now our life will change forever!

The parents remain silent, pale, staring at the gold coins thrown at their table.

— Give your parents time, young people. — Eliot says, getting up. — I will withdraw now.

The couple of brothers bow to the merchant and say:

— Thank you very much, sir!

Kalui does not take his eyes off his friends, with a serrated look.

Still bewildered, Bend wakes up from his crisis of astonishment to open the door.

— Mr. Eliot ... Is this money really legal and ours?

— Calm down, young Bend. Don't lose your trust in me. The eggs that their children brought were sold legally in the Elfen Guild . Keep calm.

Bend takes a deep breath. Clearly calmer, he replies:

— All right. I don't know when the plug will fall! Hahaha ... I will talk to my wife now. Thank you very much for coming.

In farewell, the merchant takes off his beret, bows slightly and leaves.

A few minutes later, everyone is still facing the coins thrown on the table. Kahyu and Whiger keep smiling, excited about what their parents will say. Kalui remains seated, bored and restless, swinging his legs and the children's parents gradually come to their senses .

— Bend ... Husband ... This is real, isn't it?

— Yes. — He answers, slowly getting excited. — It's real, honey!

Laruel and Bend get up from the chair, and his wife throws herself into his arms, emotional and hysterical.

— My god, love! — She says with her face glued to her husband's. — What will we do!

He spins his body, dancing with her on his lap.

— I can't imagine what you can do! But one thing is certain. — Bend says while dancing.

— Uhum ! Uhum ! — She says shaking her head.

— Let's go to capital, my wife! Buying land outside the walls, but very close, where we can cultivate at will. A lot of ground! To buy many animals too.

— What for an empty land, love? We are going to buy a house with land soon. We no longer need Kahyu to build anything for us!

— That's a great idea, rich lady Laruel .

— Thank you very much, Mr. Rich Bend!

— We will also pay for Elfen's citizenship , so that children have access to the prestigious schools there!

Kalui raises his arm, saying:

— No need for me, thank you very much.

Again, Kalui is totally ignored and the parents continue to dream:

— Husband, when are we going ?!

— Calm calm. We will talk to the children and also ask if Roldi wants to go along. He's already part of the family.

— Truth. Children, what do you think !?

That was everything the sibling couple expected. Shouting, Kahyu replies:

— Can you be a princess ?!

Parents laugh at their daughter's cuteness.

Impatient and concerned, Whiger asks:

— Could you tell Roldi this yourself when he comes to get Kalui ? He's going to be a beast with us ...

— We talk to him. Leave it to me. — Bend says, stroking his son's head. — I'm proud of you two. They have completely changed our lives, even though you are so young ... Daddy loves you very much!

— Mom too!

The father claps a palm and says:

— Well, tomorrow I will start looking for people to talk about buying the land. The sooner the better! The furniture and tools we will buy all new. We can give this house here to your little friend who lives in a barn with his family.

— That's it, husband!

— That's it, Dad! — Says Kahyu , excited. — Let's go!

— You're welcome! I was the one who had the idea to sell ... Hehehe ! Let's go to the capital! — Celebrates Whiger .

Calming down a little, Laruel asks:

— Kalui , when is Roldi coming for you?

— He said he's taking the time alone to relax. You must come and pick me up in two or three days.

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Year 952, day 249, Elfen territory , Sewers in the city of Elfen , 13h.

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Somewhere in the sewer network, underground in the capital of Elfen , eight large tunnels of dirty water connect, forming a large hall. In the tunnels, there is a small part above the water level, designed for two people to be able to walk smoothly. The dimly lit room, on the other hand, is all elevated, allowing dozens of people to get together without getting dirty. Like the vast majority of constructions in the world, the sewer network was also made by stone elementals and therefore, the construction is smooth and compact, without bricks or the like.

Forty hooded people, dressed in black, with only their hands and feet exposed, line up for the announcement of a single man, who wears a luxurious suit.

— Most should imagine, since you were the ones who discovered the information, but anyway ... — The advertiser raises his arm. — New request! This time it's from a very fat nobleman. The mission is to find two children.

One of the people in the first row of the alignment lifts his hand to his chest and says:

— Sir, could I stay out of this ?!

The man in charge replies:

— Calm down, Natu . I know you don't do missions involving children, rest assured. Any more comments? — He raises his voice and opens his eyes wide. — I will not allow another interruption. Any more comments?

— No sir! — Respond to forty people.

— Coming back ... The mission is to find two children. According to the conversation you heard from the merchant with the guild attendant, these two children were able to get two very rare eggs, impossible to find normally, on their own. The idea is to convince them to come with us, if they are alone. Buy them if your parent allows or hijack them at any cost. — He snaps his fingers pointing at one of the men in the crowd and then a stone bench emerges from the floor. As he sits down, he continues. — You will arrive at the border town, you will find the children and act immediately. Other groups may be after them too, so you need to be quick. In the worst case, if the guardian does not want to sell the child, kill him by surprise. Imagining that children are powerful, there's a chance that they inherited it from the family, so don't take any chances. Bring them alive at any cost.

He gets up and points to certain people. Those selected are three people with a thin red band on the edge of the hood.

— You three, choose two men each and go now! The rest is excused.

— Yes sir! — Shout the squad.