Dawn- An age of Darkness

Chapter 9 - Tranquility

Milai brought the main dish. It was a soup with some meat and wild mushrooms. Just from the smell, I could say that it was beyond any dishes you would find on typical fancy restaurants.

And I was certainly hungry. I didn't know how long I was out, but my stomach was rumbling rather rudely.

"I see. It is a pleasure to meet you three. And thank you for having me here." I tried to talk with a smile. I had to be sincere. These people saved me and I had nothing to repay them with. So the least I could do was to show my gratitude.

"Stop wasting time. Eat your fill and leave by morning. We don't need another mouth to feed!" the old man stated in a straightforward way.

I already knew all that. I knew I was being a burden on these people. But did he really need to say it like that? Or maybe he did. Maybe I was the one being unfair here. But his way of talking did relieve me a little.

"Grandpa!" Milai shot a dejected look at the man.

Honestly, I was relieved to hear that! At least he was upfront. I for once wouldn't want to leech on a family that saved my life. And besides, when someone starts behaving all nice and benevolent without any reason at all, isn't that too suspicious? I'm all healed so maybe it's okay for me to leave. I made up my mind that I'd leave the next day. Maybe I was making a rash decision or coming to a conclusion too soon, but I had to at least do something.

"Don't mind that jerk lad. You're welcome to stay as long as you like," The old women broke my chain of thoughts. She was good with words and seemed rather understanding. I could understand how she could put up with such a brusque old man.

"What are you saying? He's a… freeloader!" The old man wasn't going down easy. He almost made me chuckle though.

"Please stay quite dad. Or you might end up having another attack," Dune's aunt looked at me, "Don't worry dear, take a seat and enjoy your meal. He's always like that." It was clear that this family was genuinely kind. And I appreciated that. But they did seem to have some sort of motivation for saving me and I could at least, guess that much. "How did you do it?"

Her question caught me off guard. I couldn't understand what she meant. I had tons of questions but when she asked me something, I was just lost. "Excuse me?"

"I mean what where you doing out there and how did you survive such wounds? And how it that your body's healing is so remarkable?"

I didn't want to spill all the beans without knowing more about this world, so I answered as best as I could without giving too much detail. It would be stupid to tell them everything, even if they are my saviors. "You see… I don't have much memory… I was travelling…"

I only gave them facts such as I was a traveller who lost his memories and was attacked my goblins outside. I could tell them about me not being from that world but I had yet to decide whether that was something I should tell someone. After all, I'd be hard-pressed if they suddenly kicked me out because someone in the past was a crazy maniac from another world. And I wasn't going to take any chances.

Though I tried to keep the facts the same, I lied to them without a second thought. But somehow they seemed to become even more compassionate toward me. Deep down, I felt guilty. Is this really alright? Should I really take advantage of them like this? But there was no helping it. I didn't know anything about this world and I needed all the help I could get.

"Five goblins in total!? And you even survived that forest! You must be one heck of an adventurer, huh?" Dune said. He looked at me wide with eyes, almost like he found some rough diamonds. I was suddenly getting the feeling that he probably saved me for a different reason other than just kindness.

I was just lucky though. I didn't tell them about the angel. They didn't ask anything about it either. They were a little shocked when I told them about how I was saved by stray arrows, and they did have some ideas. Adventures occasionally travel around and kill monsters in the field- at least that's what they told me.

"But I almost did die though," I said. I wasn't exaggerating anything; if anything I was probably downplaying my events. I didn't want them to find me all boastful, after all.

"Yeah, you were rather lucky. Fortunately, my sister right here is a priestess. I'm a guard of the wall. When I heard your scream and saw you covered in blood, I informed her," Dune said.

That did make sense. So you did hear? Talk about a heart attack! "I see. You have my gratitude." I tried to remain calm but the moment I remembered things about that night, my heart started pounding.

Dune forced me down. "Don't worry about it. And sit down already!" I was standing all this time like an idiot.

"Right!"

I couldn't ask any questions. I sat down and enjoyed the meal with the family. It was nice to get something to eat after all that. As I ate I got a lot of eyeballing from the old man. He might have really hated me. Well, I am a freeloader after all… So I couldn't fault him.

Despite all that, I ate almost three times more than normal. They weren't surprised. During dinner, it was rude to talk. Even so, they indulged with me quite mercifully. Nevertheless, I'd never forget their debt.

"Looks like you were quite hungry, huh?" Dune asked, sneering a little.

"Yeah, I felt a little too hungry. How long was I out?" I just asked casually. I was probably out for a day at most.

"Three days."

My eyes twitched. I couldn't believe it but I had to say something. "I see." Say what? I was seriously out for three days?

After finishing dinner I was told to spend the night in the room I woke up in. The people of this house were really nice. And I didn't want to trouble them with my problems. But perhaps they were too nice.

I was now back in the room. Lying down I surveyed the room again. There really wasn't much. I should leave tomorrow.. Does this world have a library? Did this world even have books to begin with? Racking up my brain wasn't doing any good, so I just slept.