Chapter 6 - Year 1632, Day 2

The sound startled me. I glanced at the top of the sheet and looked back at the door which opened with a frustrating sound of unoiled hinges.

'If I let her see me like this, I won't be able to meet her eyes with my pride intact.' I reasoned, lying down with my face towards the wall, pretending to sleep.

The woman entered the room cheerfully with big steps, then she walked more carefully noticing me with my back towards her. She stopped. I could tell that she was staring intensively, not saying anything. Her breath was easily distinguished. It seemed as if she had run before coming here.

'What are you doing? Just go. Don't you see I'm sleeping?!' I murmured in my head, trying to keep my breath even and not blow the cover

She stayed like that for a couple more seconds, then walked closer.

"Hm… S-sir? I'm very sorry!" she said while dropping on her knees near my bed, and in the process dropping something else on the wooden floor which sounded like 'Something heavy with a liquid inside... and, cloth?' I tried to guess

'Did she find out I'm not sleeping? No, it can't be. I was careful not to move.'

She continued talking in her language which I couldn't understand. Her voice was starting to tremble softly but became more prominent the more words she said. "Sir... please forgive me for feeding you s-such foul food! I swear it won't happen again!" she said while her tears started falling, wetting the clothes and the floor.

I was feeling terrible. Every cell in my body told me that I should not ignore this woman, no matter the consequences. That I should drop any remaining manly pride I have and look her in the eyes.

'What am I doing? She has fed me and gave me a place to sleep, and I ignore her while she cries by my bed?' I think while feeling disgusted by myself. I was disgusted that I had to think about it to motivate myself instead of reacting. I was disgusted because it reminded me of how I was treated back home by my father.

But then another thought came to my mind. It came so fast and unnoticed that it made me jolt for a moment.

'Is she... perhaps, thinking that I died in my sleep? Is that why she's crying? No, no one can die from a pota-' and I stopped the phrase before thinking any more stupid things.

Right then, I made my decision: 'I'm determined to leave my pride and face her.' I say as I sit on the edge of the bed, covering my lap with the sheet. She was on her knees; her head lowered to the floor and rested on her hands.

I was surprised to see her act that way. She certainly didn't think I was dead, she was asking for forgiveness. That was the first time anyone asked me for forgiveness, but it seemed strange since I couldn't think of one reason why she would be at fault for.

Not trying to prolong the young woman's pleading, I tried to find a gentle way to make her understand I wasn't angry for whatever reason she might think, or at least to stop her from crying.

'What's the correct approach in this situation?' I thought deeply.

The woman was still crying. Noticing that I woke up, she lowered her mumbling cries and waited for me to do something. 'But what?'

I tried to think about my experiences... Did something similar happen in my past that I could take an example from? 'The only memory, at least vaguely close to this, was when I had met Fenrir. He was a challenge to get close to and bit me frequently. He didn't understand my speech, but every time he bit me, I petted him gently. After many bites, he realised that I didn't mean any harm and that I cared for him... Just like a parent.

Yes, that's perfect!' I said as I extended a hand and petted the woman gently.

She became quiet, then raised her head and looked into my eyes while still holding tears. Instantly, her face became worried, much more so than before. Her view was of a man who almost choked to death with a potato, whose face is still red as a tomato one hour after the incident. She was 100% sure that my condition was due to the side effects.

What she didn't know was that I had never heard a woman moan in pleasure, and neither saw one so close and from this specific angle which offered a rare view that glued itself deep into the back of my mind where a monkey in prehistorical attire stood. The monkey's only role was... to press a button.

'No, please no...' I thought as I felt the sheet in my lap struggling to raise. I covered the spot fast with my left hand while the right one was supporting my body against the bed. Trying to take my eyes from the two melons, I turned my head towards the window, but I could still see her within my peripheral vision so I closed my eyes.

The woman looked perplexed.

"Are you saying you do not forgive me?" the woman asked, and I couldn't understand her.

She then grabbed my hand from my lap. Being taken by surprise, I jolted and the sheets fell. My immediate reaction was to cover again, but the deed was already done. As she dragged herself back two meters, she blushed and looked to her right at the floor. I grind my teeth and lower my head in shame.

Somewhere close to the market district, in a room on the first floor of a popular tavern, two people realized that they had read the atmosphere wrong.

After we came to our senses, she jumped to her feet and offered me a mug of water from the water container she carried inside. We didn't look in each other's eyes. None of us could. Indicating towards the clothes on the floor, she said something:

"These clothes are for you. I hope I guessed the measures right. I'm sorry once again for the incident downstairs, and for...

Y-you know..." her voice shrank while saying the last words.

Hearing her voice, made me smile... Then trying to control an involuntary laugh, I forcefully held my mouth close, but the pressure was uncontrollable. She stared at me, dumbfounded. Her timid and benevolent attitude morphed into frustration. The frustration caused her to forget she was asking for forgiveness on her knees just moments ago; she picked up the clothes from the floor and threw them at me.

"Auch! What is this for?" I said, letting the clothes drop to my feet

"You get changed! I'll come back in a few minutes... S-sir." she turned her back, walked to the door with some mechanical movements as if her legs were dislocated, and then shut the door hard. I stared at the door in silence. A light illuminated the hallway on the other side and protruded through the small gap under, letting me know she was still there.

'What is she waiting for?' I think, then I look at the clothes 'I think I know the answer to that.'

As I put on the new clothes, which were better than anything I had ever worn in my life, I was reminded that even the citizens of this place wear similar clothes, although they are not as elegant.

The attire consisted of a brown shirt with long sleeves. The bottom of the shirt was long enough that it covered a bit of my manly part. Below the belly, a strap made of animal skin was tied around.

The pants were a type of leg bag of a darker colour. From the knees toward the bottom of the feet, a similar animal strap, but much thinner, was tightly tied to the legs and crossed diagonally over them.

"Not bad!" I said while checking my look for the last time

At the door, 3 soft knocks announced to me that the woman wanted to enter. She opened the door easily and looked at me with interest. I glanced back at her bow as a sign of appreciation. She understood my intention.

Entering, she pulled out a piece of paper from her pocket. There were a couple of bad illustrations on the paper. She passed it on to me.

"Take it! Do you need a job? I can help you." she tried to say in an elongated way as if I could understand what she was saying if she did so

Looking at the paper, the first illustration was of some round coins. From there, an arrow pointed at a house. 'Or maybe a big building.. but how can some people draw so badly? Even a child can draw better houses. Is it someone else's drawing?' I glance for a second at my paper to her.

She smiled broadly, seemingly very proud. She kept her hand behind her back and her chest up high, rotating slightly from right to left and vice-versa as if she was hearing her favourite song in the background.

'No, it's her drawings.' I smiled back and returned my focus to the illustrations

The house had a name under it with strange letters. From the house, multiple arrows were drawn. The first arrow showed two stick figures with shields protecting a person in the middle. 'So I can get money if I guard someone?' I pondered.

The second arrow split in two. One pointed at a single stick figure fighting another stick figure which was, for sure, taller and ticker; the other arrow pointed at a group of 4 stick figures fighting more enemies. 'I have no real fight experience... Father trained us in case we were attacked by bandits, but I could only practice with my brothers. We were told to not use force, so I don't know how different is a real fight is.'

There was the last arrow. It pointed toward a stick figure gathering plants. 'I could definitely do that. I'm very skilled at finding my way in wild places as I spent most of my days in the woods and I recognise a lot of wild plants.' I look back at her and nod showing her what I'd like to do by pointing at the last illustration.

She nodded in understanding. I fold the paper and stick it in my pants pocket and said: "I am Rob." pointing at me and looking towards her, expectingly

She giggled amused and bowed respectfully by grabbing her dress from the sides with her hands and lifting it as she lowered her body.

"Rachel!" she replied

"Nice to meet you, Rachel!" I extended a hand to shake hers. She returned to her original stance and glared at my hand, then at me, giggling softly in the process. Then we shacked hands.

A few awkward moments later, we leave towards the house she illustrated. I stopped in my tracks to look for Fenrir, who was waiting for me outside the tavern, discreetly in the back to not disturb the public order.

When we arrived at the tavern a few hours ago, I planned to eat something fast and return to him. This is because he hadn't had a snack for a long time. But the unexpected happened and I had to stay inside for more than 2 hours. Thinking about what would happen if during this time he ate the people's livestock, or worse, the people themselves... made me panic.

'What happened to him? Don't tell me he attacked someone and ran?' I think with a puzzled look