Anthur entered the house, rubbing his nose in pain.
The man handed him a bandage for it.
Anthur took it.
"Thank you…"
He glanced around.
"By the way, nice-looking house."
"Hey… old man, do you live here alone?"
The man smiled.
"No… I'm not living here alone."
"My wife and I live here."
"Ahn… okay."
Ren silently snapped at Anthur.
"Is that really important to you? Asking how many people live here?"
Anthur replied calmly,
"For me, yes."
Ren grew annoyed.
The man then called them to eat.
"Come to the dining room."
They both followed him and sat at the table. A middle-aged woman brought freshly cooked food for them.
There was fried fish, rice, and curry served before them.
Anthur inhaled deeply.
"Ahh… the smell alone tells how good this food will be."
"Thank you, aunt."
She smiled.
"Alright, let's dig in."
They started eating.
Both Anthur and Ren reacted in surprise.
"Haa… it's so good!"
"Yes, every dish here is excellent."
"We didn't expect food like this at all."
The man and woman smiled as they watched them eat.
But when the couple looked at each other, their smiles suddenly faded. They turned their heads away.
While Anthur focused entirely on the food, Ren noticed something was wrong between them.
After finishing the meal, they went to wash their hands.
"Hey, Anthur, I think we should leave soon," Ren said quietly.
Anthur looked confused.
"Why are you saying that all of a sudden?"
"You idiot," Ren muttered.
"I think they already have problems. We'll just disturb them."
Anthur frowned.
"I think we can rest here for a while."
Ren snapped,
"Hey idiot, we came here to eat, not to stay!"
After washing up, they went to inform the couple.
Ren spoke politely,
"Thank you for the food. We should take our leave now."
The woman stopped him and spoke gently,
"Please, stay here tonight. At night, many mana beasts roam around. It will be dangerous for both of you."
Ren hesitated.
"No… we can handle mana beasts. They're nothing to us."
The old man added,
"Yes, please stay one night. You two remind us of our son."
Before Ren could respond, Anthur stepped forward.
"Okay, we'll stay here tonight."
The woman's face lit up with happiness.
"Thank you! I'll prepare a special dinner tonight."
Anthur smiled.
"We'll be looking forward to it."
"Hey, Ren."
He gave Ren a thumbs-up with a grin.
Then Anthur went outside and hugged Tota and Kira.
"Hey, you two, we're staying here tonight. Get some rest."
The horses sniffed softly.
Anthur returned to the man.
"Hey, old man, do you have some grass or hay?"
The man replied,
"Hmm… I think there's some hay at the back of the house. But why do you need it?"
"I need to feed the horses. Could you let me use some?"
"Of course, feel free."
Anthur smiled.
"Thank you very much."
He went to the back, took some hay, and began feeding the horses.
Ren came outside and saw him.
"Hmmm… good. That's one good thing you've done today."
"By the way, where did you get the hay?"
"I asked the old man. He gave it to me."
Ren's expression turned blank.
"What did you say?"
"I asked him for hay, and he gave it."
Suddenly, Ren grabbed Anthur by the collar.
"Do you even realize what you're doing?"
"We have nothing to give them in return for the food and shelter—and now you're asking for more?"
"How are we going to repay them?"
Just then, the man approached them.
"Hey, kids, why are you fighting?"
Ren released Anthur's collar.
The man continued,
"Do you want to freshen up?"
Anthur nodded.
"There's a bath in your house, but I'd prefer to bathe in a pond."
"Would you like to bathe here or at the pond?"
Both answered at the same time,
"Pond."
The man laughed.
"Haha… alright, let's go."
He led the way while they followed, bringing their horses along.
After a moment, Ren spoke.
"Hey, old man… sorry for asking this. It just feels a bit awkward."
"Why are you both doing so much for us?"
"And you said you had a son—where is he?"
The man replied calmly as they walked.
"I understand why you feel that way."
"Yes, we do have a son."
"But two years ago, just like you, he decided to go on a journey with a group."
"At that time, I yelled at him."
"We fought… and suddenly, he left."
"He left a letter saying he was going on a journey, apologizing for the fight, and promising to return one day."
"Because of that… she fought with me too."
His voice grew heavy.
"You see… because we are different types of mana users, we couldn't have a child."
"So we adopted him."
"His happiness was our happiness."
"He only asked for one thing—to go on a journey."
"But I argued with him… and he left."
"We couldn't even see his smile before he went."
Tears formed in his eyes, and he quickly wiped them away.
They reached the pond.
"Haha… sorry for making things heavy," he said, turning back to them.
"We're here. Go freshen up."
He walked away.
Ren stared at the ground, feeling guilty. Anthur lowered his head, thinking deeply.
After a moment, Anthur spoke,
"Hey, Ren… I've decided our first mission."
Ren frowned.
"What mission?"
"We're going to help the old man and his wife."
Ren sighed.
"What are you talking about? Are you an idiot?"
"Don't make things worse in the name of helping."
Anthur replied calmly,
"I've decided. Before we leave, I'm going to help them."
"Do whatever you want," Ren muttered,
"But don't make things worse."
Suddenly, they heard the man's voice screaming.
"Run! You two, run!"
They looked at each other in shock.
The horses sensed something too—they raised their heads, eyes wide with fear.
"Run!!"
Without hesitation, both of them grabbed their swords and ran toward the direction of the man's voice.