A Short Breaks

I sit on the grounds with Ivanna to rest my sore feets after walking for 5 hours. This trading trips itself wasn't as bad as i imagine. The atmosphere are good and we all just chatting happily as we move plus the scenary is beautiful.

Except for the more than 20 kg burden that i have to carry on my body, this trips turned out really enjoyable.

" Here Mr.Jeff and Miss.Ivanna, your bowl for the tea. I will call you when the tea it's ready." A girl voices called us as she hands the bowl to us before he leave to hand over bowl to the others.

Her name is Tifa, She is Mr.Bird granddaughter. She joined this caravans with her grandfather and her father Mr.Tora.

She is a very short girl probably around 150cm with small stature and slender body. She has a facial feature like those turks and asian mixed peoples.

Her hair is long and brown. she braided it as long as her back. her cheerful personalities and short strature make her look cute.

She will be 17 years old next summer said Mr.Tora before. He told me that he is starting to look for her husband candidates when we drink together just 2 days ago. he seems to really love her daughter and has very high standart for her husband candidates.

In this worlds appearantly the marriagable ages are as young as 13 years olds. The parent are are starting to look for their sons or daughters fiancee candidates when they're still as young as 10 years olds.

Mr.Tora even said that his husband hunting is a little bit late but he wouldn't mind because he want his daughter to have a husband that can provides the best living environment for her.

It's a very weirds customs for someone like me who live in 22 centuries.

"She is beautiful isn't it Mr.Jeff...? She is already in perfect marriageable ages." Said ingmar that sits next to us.

"I definitely will ask my fathers to be wed with her if he isn't promised me to be his friends daughters husband a years ago. Well my wife are just as beautiful so i am not complaining." He adds with a little bragging tones.

"Oh you had a beatiful wife huh, how old are you actually...?" i ask curiously because ingmar looks like he is still in his teens.

"I am turning 17 last winters, it's a perfect ages to had a wife dont you think Mr.Jeff....?" he said.

"Oh yeah, it's a perfect age to had a wife." I answered with cheerful tone. Ivanna who sits beside me just frown her eyebrows as she look at me.

"How about you Mr.Jeff..? you're a mercenary leaders that are rich, huge, and strongs. How many wife did you have...?" he ask innocently.

"Well, more than what you had." i lied my way by answered vanguely.

Let alone having a wife,i dont even have enough time for a girlfriends or enjoying my hard earned house and car.

But his statement about me being huge, strong and rich are kinda true actually. Being 186cm 95 kg and looks like your typical buff guys that you find in a gym, I look huge by this villages standart.

I also earn more than averages persons as a trucks drivers and i also earn more than 45 silver coins in a single night in this worlds.

But in our worlds i still get towered and look much smaller if you compare to those strongman that usually come to the gym. And my salary are just enough for me to buy a humble house and a sports car in the suburbs.

so his statement are right and wrong at the same times.

"Pfft...more than one huh, what did your beloved wife do when you're gone in a long time like this..?" ask Ivanna with mocking tone knowing that i am single. She said it in english so Ingmar wouldn't understand.

"Oh shut up, it would look weirds if 26 years old like me doesn't have a wife in this worlds. Heck even you are past your marriagable age in this worlds." I said to return her banter.

"Pfft, who needs a husband anyways, they are just possesive and complaining creatures that only good for arguing." Said Ivanna with belittle tone.

"Oh so you're already married once...?" i ask Ivanna with surprised face.

"Never!!!" she answered curtly.

"Then you dont have the right to said that. And just calm down a little, no need to get so worked up." I said while noticing her snappy tone.

Before she uttered her replies, we heard Tifa voices that are calling everyones interupting us.

"The Tea Is Ready, bring your bowl here anyone that want a hot tea."

Tifa calls ended our conversations right away. We all headed to the hot pot that are filled with tea as she calls everyone.

Tifa called at the right time if i say so myself. Our conversations are gonna get a little heat up but thanks to her calls, it's get cut off before reaching that point.

I decides to not touch that subject again as i wait for my tea. After getting my tea, I decides to spend the afternoon break times to have a chat with the other villagers.

I decides to aproach Mr.Bird and have a chat with him to have more informations about this trips. i see him lean his back in one of the caravan wheels while enjoying his tea with a couple of boiled tuber.

" Oh sits here Mr.Jeff, let's enjoy our tea together." He said when he see me walked toward him with his usual warm smiles.

" Help yourself with some of this 'Pohong'. We just harvested some yesterday." He said while holding the wooden box that contain the white colored boiled tuber as i sits beside him.

"Thank you,Hmm...it's delicious." I said as i grab one of the Pohong and put it in my mouth.

"Isn't it hahaha...." he laugh happily when he heard my praise.

This tuber called Pohong are bland and has a little harder textures than potatoes. It taste bland with a little bitterness and chewy. It's not delicious as it is but definitely had the potential with it's original bland taste.

" It's rare for you to be alone like this." I said to opens a conversations.

"yeah the young ones are probably hanging out with each other or just bugging Tifa and your girl hehehe." He said as he turn his head toward the campfire.

I can see Tifa and Ivanna talking with each other while tending the pot. Near them are where most of the villagers gathers.

Even the mans in this worlds are just like mans in our worlds. They flocks together near a beautiful girl. Even though most are married, they are just a guys in their 20 after all.

"So what did you to talk to me right now Mr.mercenary leader...?" he said as he sips his tea.

"It's nothing serious, i just want to know our routes, terrains, and places that we crosses. It will be a valuable informations for me. Can i grab another one....?" I said while asking for another pieces of Pohong.

"Ah sure,sure help yourself Mr.Jeff. This pohong are the ones that i plant on my own garden so i am glad if you enjoyed this." He said with cheerfull tone as he hand me the box again.

I grabbed one and started munching it.

"So you notice huh, about why we need this many peoples to guards our caravans." He talk with serious tone.

"Have Aihan told you that we're actually a part of Burschef kingdom and the kingdoms decides to abandon this area...?" he ask. I nodded my head one time and ask him to go on.

"three years ago, you will see 5 or 6 kingdom soldiers mounted on horse patroling this roads and asking every villages if there is a trouble every 3 days." he started to speaks.

"But now, since the kingdom decides to abandoned this lands there are no sort of things like that anymore." He said as he take another sips from the bowl.

"It's all good at first, we dont need to pays our tributes and can spent our moneys to builds our villages." His tone started to get heavy when he said that.

"It's all peaceful until summers 2 years ago we heard a bad news from our nearest neighbours the Sobran villages that their caravan are attacked by bandits and all the peoples that join the caravan are killed." His voices trembles a little as he said that.

"There are 8 people that joins the poor caravans at that times. 2 of them are people that are close to me. One is Uri who are my 30 years long friends, and the other is Loh....he is.....Tora little brother." His expression look pained when he said that.

" My the gods grant them peaces." I said to him and express my symphaty. I can feel how hurt he is as he said that he lost his friends and sons in that bandits attack

He started talking again after some silences. His eyes look a bit watery.

"..... After the news reaches our villages, we had a big discussions and decides to reinforcing more both our defences in the villages and our trading caravans."

"But as the days gone by the situations didn't get any better. Every 20 days or so we get attacked by monster or get report by Sobran villages by the same news.

Season after seasons some of us decides to leave the villages to seeks a better places and our populations keeps dwindling."

"Be it green skins that try to steals our crops and ignore us first or Uufs who will straightly eat us and without touching the vegetable first." His facial expression change from sad to annoyed.

" And the worst are those hordes of Ogum that come last weeks, i though that is the end for all of us until you come with your mighty 'Toruk'. We all very grateful for what you did and will definitely reward you properly." He said as he smiles to me. It's a sincere smiles but there is still a heavy uneasiness in it.

"So just like i thought, the area around here looks safer than it actually was." I said. I pretends that i notices the situations even thought i dont.

"Oh right, you want to talks about the areas on our routes." Said Mr.Bird.

"You know Mr.Bird, you might though that all mercenaries cares are silver coins. But there are also mercenaries who want informations more than their payment." I began to speaks to him.

"I will actually paying you for the informations that i will get right now." i said to catch his interest more.