Punishment

Rhea and Falko walked side by side, their steps slow and heavy as they headed toward the village head's house. The news of the fight had spread quickly, and now they had been summoned. Rhea glanced over at Falko, her face scrunched up with worry.

"You know things aren't looking good, right?" she whispered, her voice trembling. "Samantha won't let this go, and with everything happening... Mother's not here to help us either."

Falko said nothing, his eyes scanning the village around them. Women bustled about, carrying heavy sacks of grain, tending to the fields, and shouting orders. Some of them were even topless with their sagging breasts hanging while they carried out these works, which surprised Tyrant and Gamer but not Falko who is used to it.

The men, much shorter and smaller in comparison, worked quietly, tending to the laundry lines and preparing food by the fire pits. Falko also had the same situation, as he was lot smaller than lot of women, but he knew it was not a problem for him, since he promised himself that he would build enough muscle to wrestle a woman.

"Falko, are you even listening?" Rhea asked, a hint of frustration in her voice.

"I'm listening," Falko replied, but his mind wandered, observing the village dynamics. Since he was a from a palace, where the servants always treated him, when dropped into this harsh reality he started to realize things he knew he wouldn't even be able to see if he was still there.

In his mind, the two voices spoke up while he was still thinking about everything.

[What a weird world!] 

said Tyrant, his voice stern. 

[This world operates on strange morals. The women are strong, the men weak. Weird yet fascinating. I'm eager to learn about the history of this world whether it was always like this or something caused this to happen...Also the village head of this village, a rather peculiar woman!]

Gamer's voice chimed in next, more relaxed. 

[Yeah, but she's a hypocrite. Probably thinks she's invincible, but she's just looking for ways to push people around. Like a mini-boss with no actual fight in her. Just avoid her if you can.]

Falko kept his thoughts to himself, nodding slightly as Rhea continued to talk. After a few more minutes, they reached the village head's house. It was slightly bigger than the other houses, but it still looked small and worn down.

As they arrived, they spotted Samantha talking to a tall woman dressed in fine clothes—a tax collecting officer. Falko's sharp eyes quickly picked up on something different about the woman: she was an elf, her ears pointed and her features sharp and elegant. Samantha's demeanor had changed completely, as if she were ready to lick the officer's boots.

"Of course, we've gathered everything for the collection," Samantha said in a sickly sweet voice, handing over a small pouch of coins. "Our village always pays on time. We know how important it is."

The elf officer barely glanced at Samantha, her expression indifferent as she accepted the money. But just as she turned to leave, her gaze briefly landed on Falko, her eyes narrowing for a moment before she walked away without a word.

Falko held the elf's gaze for the split second they made eye contact, something about it felt… off. But before he could dwell on it, Samantha spun around, quickly resuming her proud village head persona.

"Well, well, look who's here," she said, eyeing the group of children that had gathered. "Tell me, what happened?"

The older girls from the fight quickly spoke up, each one eager to twist the story to make themselves seem like the victims. They painted Rhea and her friends as troublemakers, exaggerating their side of the events.

Rhea and her friends tried to defend themselves, their voices trembling as they recounted how the older girls had taken their hopscotch spot and started the fight. Falko remained silent, listening without adding anything.

Samantha folded her arms, listening for several minutes without saying a word. Finally, she sighed dramatically and shook her head. "Fighting over a hopscotch spot. Children, really. You're all going to work extra hours in the fields to make up for this."

She waved her hand, dismissing them, and Rhea and her friends began to leave. But when Falko turned to follow, Samantha's voice stopped him cold.

"Not you, Falko."

Rhea looked confused and turned back. "But… why?"

Samantha's eyes narrowed as she looked at Falko. "He did the most dangerous thing in all of this. Using a weapon, attacking those girls. That's no small thing. He'll be working here in my house until Brina comes back from treating her patients. I need to teach him how to behave in this village."

Rhea's eyes widened, and she quickly objected. "No! You can't—"

"I'm the village head," Samantha snapped, her voice hard. "I make the decisions here."

Rhea fell silent, clearly upset, but Falko placed a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay," he said quietly. "I'll do it."

Rhea hesitated, clearly torn, but after a moment, she nodded reluctantly and left with the others.

Samantha smirked slightly, watching Rhea leave. "Now then, Falko, come inside. I've got some work for you."

As Falko entered the house, he could feel Samantha's gaze burning into him, making him uncomfortable. He could tell this wasn't about punishment—there was something else she wanted. Something more.

[Keep your guard up,]

Tyrant warned in his head. 

[This woman is scheming, no doubt about it.]

[Yeah, she's a real piece of shit, I can feel it. She is like the obvious horny and evil NPC.]

Gamer added. 

[You should just run. This isn't worth it. Harming her or making a scene means you won't be able to stay here.]

But Tyrant disagreed. 

[No. Wait. Watch. She won't act directly. She's too cunning for that. She'll try to manipulate you, but you can turn this to your advantage. We don't know anything outside this village. Brina knows, but Samantha knows better about the outside world, after all, she is the village head of this village, which means she has connections with officials from the capital.]

Falko listened to both voices but decided against running. No, he thought to himself. Running away isn't an option. I need to know what this woman is up to and get to know about outside world.

The day dragged on as Samantha had him doing several tasks around the house—cleaning, moving furniture, scrubbing floors. It wasn't physically exhausting, but all the while, Falko could feel her watching him. Her gaze never left him, and it made his skin crawl.

[She's definitely going to do something weird,] 

Gamer muttered in his head. 

[What's with her staring? She's not even subtle about it.]

As the sun began to set and night approached, Samantha called Falko into her room.

"Come here," she said, reclining on a chair with her legs stretched out. "Massage my legs."

Falko tensed up but didn't see a way to refuse. or need to. Normally, he would have felt disgust when he was told to massage leg of a woman he didn't know, but right now, influenced by the minds of Tyrant and Gamer, he also started to look at opposite gender in a more relaxed way.

He had to go along with it for now—he needed to gather information, find out more about places he could go once he left this village. So, without a word, he knelt down and began massaging her legs, trying to ignore the awkwardness of the situation.

Samantha's voice broke the silence. "Where did you come from, Falko? I don't recall seeing you around here before Brina took you in."

Falko kept his responses short. "I don't come from anywhere special."

"And Brina… she's not your mother, is she?"

"No."

Samantha smiled faintly, her eyes gleaming. "You shouldn't be rotting away in a place like that. Someone with your looks… your talents… you could do much better than staying in a house with a bunch of no good people. I could make your life better."

Falko ignored her words, focusing on his task. He wasn't interested in whatever strange ideas she was trying to plant in his head. The Tyrant in his mind scoffed at her attempts. 

[She thinks she can manipulate you with sweet words? Pathetic. Falko try to question her and get information.]

While he was massaging Falko managed to squeeze out some information from her, which were useful, as he got to know that the capital was close this village and he could visit it, but knew it was not possible yet because he lacked a reason to go there and the money.

As he finished the massage, Samantha leaned forward slightly, her voice dropping to a strange, soft tone. "Have you eaten yet, Falko?"

He glanced up at her, her expression oddly intense. "Yes, I have."

Samantha leaned back, looking satisfied. "Good. Then all is well."

Her eyes lingered on him for a moment longer before she dismissed him. Falko left the room, his mind churning with thoughts. Something's wrong with her, he thought. 

"What is she planning?"