Kyran entered Hanaan without any problems. He did not even bother to wear the hood of his windbreaker and just made his way to the town’s market area.
Upon arriving at the busy street, he recalled the path leading back to the inn where he left Cyneah. As he walked along the street, he looked at the side stalls and came across some fresh fruits.
Remembering how skinny Cyneah was, Kyran bought some and placed it into his pouch. It was only then that he realized that though he still had some food in his pouch, he did not have fruits. While his food stock was good enough to replenish his stamina, it was always good to have fruits now and then.
With this in mind, Kyran bought more for additional stocks. Since the pouch could preserve food, he was not worried it would go bad.
After a few minutes, he finally arrived at the inn.
The person at the reception was not the owner Kyran had spoken to previously. But since he had the spare key and apparently the owner gave instructions to whoever was manning the reception, he did not need to introduce himself again. After confirming that they had already sent breakfast to the ‘special room’ as the person at the reception called it, Kyran did not dally and only paid an additional fee and told him they would check out today.
When Kyran left the reception, a young woman came out from the back and went to the man at the reception at once.
“That’s him?” She asked.
The man only nodded his head and looked at the young woman.
The young woman was the one who had been delivering and tending to the needs of the guest in the ‘special room’, and she had always wondered who the man that left such a pitiful girl alone was.
Seeing the disdainful look on the young woman, the man only shook his head, “The boss already said that young man has reasons for leaving her here alone. Why are you getting worked up? Besides, she is just a passing guest. Why are you getting attached?”
“But he left her all alone! He did not even allow her to go outside. I only saw her whenever I cleaned the room, but every single time, I would see her sitting quietly by the window…” The young woman voice trailed off as she clutched her chest dramatically before adding, “Her view as she looked out the window as if waiting for her beloved’s return, it was so heartbreaking!”
“Hush,” the man glowered at her. “Don’t go around imagining things on your own. That miss in the special room is that young man’s sister.”
The young woman almost choked in disbelief.
“No way! That man was too ugly! They can’t possibly be related!” She protested.
The man looked at her incredulously, “And you’re okay if they are not related?”
“Of course not! She is too beautiful for him.”
The man gave her a dull look before deciding to ignore her. He really could not understand why most youngsters only looked at a person’s physical appearance.
While the two were conversing, Kyran actually heard everything and could not help but scowl. He expected the people working in the inn would be interested in Cyneah because of the ‘special arrangement’ he requested with the owner. But he did not expect people would start thinking of weird ideas because of it.
‘Forget it. We’re leaving anyway,’ he thought while shaking his head.
Still, Kyran could not help but remember the young woman’s words. About him not allowing Cyneah to go outside. It was not as if she could walk around by herself. She was blind, after all. Why was that young woman condemning him?
Kyran felt wronged.
‘Well, once godmother teaches her how to use magic sense, she might be able to go out by herself,’ he thought.
When Kyran arrived in front of Cyneah’s room, he stopped short after hearing a faint melodious sound coming from the inside.
Cyneah was humming a very soothing melody.
Immediately, Kyran felt his body become lighter. And somehow, the numbing pain he felt in his core seemed to lessen.
‘This…’ Kyran could not help but frown. He did not realize how potent her singing was.
Was she singing like this every day? That would be troublesome! What if other people found her singing could inflict a healing effect.
Kyran opened the door, and the humming instantly stopped.
“Who—?”
“Oi, stop doing—,” Kyran abruptly stopped what he was about to say as he froze by the door.
He looked at the ‘lady’ sitting by the window, who was looking back at him in fright.
The girl with light brown hair, and mesmerizing eyes that appeared to change color within the light, dressed in a white dress, looked very beautiful and somewhat ethereal.
“Uh… Sorry, I think I got the wrong—.”
“Nar!” The ‘lady’ sitting on the chair by the window suddenly beamed, making her look even more beautiful.
She stood up while looking at the door unblinkingly, “You’re back.”
Kyran’s brow furrowed at once.
‘No way. She’s…’ He suddenly felt his brain short-circuited as he studied the ‘lady’ in front of her.
Height-wise, she had the same one with Cyneah. But the ‘lady’ in front of him was definitely not a skinny little girl…
There was no way that skinny little girl could change in just three days, right? No matter how much the inn gave her food, she could not have filled all those skinny body parts…
Shaking his head to stop it from getting ahead of him, Kyran cautiously entered the room and closed the door.
“You… looked well,” he greeted.
“Mr. Owner and Ms. Vivie have been really good to me,” Cyneah replied. Then she added, “Oh, right. What were you going to say just now?”
“I… J-Just wanted to say we’re leaving,” Kyran replied, not wondering why he was suddenly feeling a little tongue-tied.
“Okay,” Cyneah replied with a nod. “Then I will go prepare my things.”
“No need, I’ll do that.”
Cyneah’s face turned red as she moved toward the drawer beside the bed. Her movement was so smooth that anyone who did not know she was blind would think she could see.
“I-It’s fine. Ms. Vivie gave me a small bag t-to use for my things.”
Kyran, who remained standing by the door, watched in silence as she took out a small white bag from inside the drawer and started filling it with all of her things.
With a slight frown, Kyran did not recall seeing that drawer when they arrived.
It seemed the owner really did take care of her while he was away.
‘At least I did not waste all that money for nothing,’ Kyran thought.
Taking a deep breath, he finally moved and walked over to the bed near the door. He sat at the side while he waited for Cyneah to finish packing.
He belatedly realized that the small bag Cyneah had in her hand was also a space storage. Not to mention, she suddenly had so many things with her. He did buy a few changes of clothes for her, but he did not recall buying that much.
“Where did you get the money to buy the bag?” Kyran asked, trying to fill the silence.
Cyneah paused and looked in his direction.
“I… didn’t. Ms. Vivie said it’s a bag she no longer uses, so she gave it to me,” she replied.
Kyran smiled faintly as he looked at the bag. He knew how expensive space storage items were that anyone who had it would not leisurely give it away just because they were no longer using it. Besides, the bag looked new.
Remembering the young woman who was complaining about him downstairs, Kyran wondered if she was Ms. Vivie that Cyneah was talking about.
Kyran already paid an additional tip, but he made a mental note to add more before leaving for that young woman. Although she said terrible things behind his back, she did take care of Cyneah well.
“I see,” Kyran replied.
Cyneah closed the drawer and straightened while still looking in his direction.
“I’m ready.”
“Good,” Kyran replied with a short nod. He got up and was about to turn toward the door when he remembered something.
He looked back at Cyneah and asked, “You once told me that you can see ‘lights’.”
Cyneah’s smile slowly disappear as her expression turned solemn, “Y-Yes.”
Kyran tilted his head to the side.
‘Stuttering again,’ he thought and knew she was feeling nervous again.
“Do you only see ‘lights’ in beasts?” Kyran asked.
“N-No,” Cyneah replied sounding a little hesitant. “H-Humans as well.”
Kyran frowned after hearing that.
“Then why did you not see mine when we first met at the cave?”
“T-That’s…” Cyneah tightened her grip on her bag before replying, “I-It’s because I d-didn’t see… one on you…”
Her voice trailed off.
Kyran’s frown deepened. He recalled how she asked him why he did not ‘have it’ after the incident with the mutated Basilisks. That time, he already guessed she was talking about his ‘light’, and now that he heard her confirmation, he was not sure how to feel about it. After all, the lights she sees might be souls.
“What do you see then?”
Cyneah did not reply immediately. She appeared to ‘stare’ at him for a few seconds, before she said, “Nothing.”
For some reason, the way she said nothing reminded Kyran of how Zephyr referred to his Void magic as the power of nothingness.
‘Could the ‘lights’ she sees refer to ‘magic’ then? Instead of souls?’
As soon as Kyran thought of it, he rejected it at once. He was a person who had two magic. So if Cyneah could see ‘magic’, if she could not see his ‘void’ she should have seen his ‘draconic’ one.
Taking a deep breath, Kyran decided to push this thought at the back of his mind. It was better to discuss this when they returned to the cottage. At least his godmother would be there to provide her insights.
“Okay,” Kyran finally replied after a short pause. He then walked over to Cyneah and hesitated for a few seconds before taking her wrist, “If that’s the case, you will have to stick close to me. I bet the lights you see differ from person to person, but since you can’t see mine you might lose ‘sight’ of me.”
Cyneah looked up.
Kyran was at least a foot and a half taller than her so when she looked up, she was only looking at his chin.
“Thank you,” Cyneah said softly.
Kyran was unsure, but when she said thank you, it sounded as if she was not thanking him for his consideration because she was ‘blind’ but because he did not react much about what she said regarding the ‘lights’.
“I found someone who’s willing to take you in,” Kyran started. “She can also see things, and she can help you learn to ‘see’.”
Kyran decided to say this so Cyneah would not have other ideas. Like he was a generous or understanding person because he was not. He also wanted to remind her that he was not going to keep her around.
A slight sadness flashed in Cyneah’s eyes, but she nodded with a smile and said, “Thank you.”
“Let’s go.”
Kyran guided her hand at the sleeves of his windbreaker, before leading the way out the room.
Right at this moment, three people in black coats were standing in the middle of the busy street of Hanaa’s market area.
The three were the people from the Royal Army’s Special Ops.
The leader looked at the surroundings as if searching for something before his gaze landed on a two-story wooden building.
“Found it,” he said as a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
Above the building’s entrance, the word ‘Country Side Inn’ was written on the signboard.