1 Act I: Like Oil and Water (Part 1)

It was a sunny morning in one of the villages near the western borders of the Third Kingdom. A young traveler about 16 years old was observing the surroundings as he walked through the streets made of stone.

"Wow... It's bigger than I thought!"

The young man wore a sword sheath on his back and his clothing was like any other common local villager. He had an average build, wavy brown hair, and red eyes that gave him a fearsome and untrustworthy air.

People around avoided looking at him because of this, but that didn't bother him because he was used to it.

"Hey, come here!"

"Hm?!"

Suddenly, a golden-haired young girl wearing a gray robe passed by him as she tried to catch a hen running down the street.

"Got you." —the girl said holding the hen— "You shouldn't run away like that."

"Wow..."

"Mm? What are you looking at?"

The young man was stunned by the girl's beauty.

Her wavy golden hair, her slender body highlighted by the clothes under her robe, her green eyes, everything. He couldn't move and he could also see a kind of glow coming from her, although it was probably his imagination.

"Hello? Is anyone there? You weren't walking?"

The girl tapped the young man on the head and he regained consciousness. Immediately, his face turned red with embarrassment and he began to sweat buckets.

"I... I... I... I... eh... ah... Good chickens!"

"Huh?"

"I mean... Good morning!!! I... uh... gotta go! Sorry!!"

Catching him off guard, the young man responded in a strange way which made him feel very embarrassed. He quickly ran away from the place, leaving both the girl and the hen confused.

After a few minutes of running and having gone far enough away, he leaned against the wall of a house to catch his breath for a while.

"Oh, Gods..." —he said shaken and finding it difficult to breathe— "Have girls always been that beautiful?"

His body temperature wouldn't go down, so he hit his face to concentrate, but every time he thought about her, his face temperature rose again.

"Come on... calm down... remember why you came here..."

He took a breath and went to one of the taverns in the village, where he sat down to eat for a while. After lunch, he left the tavern with a full stomach and a clearer mind.

"Ah... that was good... I haven't eaten like that since I left home." —he sighed contentedly.

"Watch out!"

"Huh?"

The young man looked up at the warning and dodged a brick that was about to fall on his face; he wanted to see who had shouted, but he couldn't see anything because the sun was in his eyes.

"Hey! You should be more careful!" —he shouted.

"Sorry... it's just that fixing the roof is a bit difficult..."

"In that case, let me help you."

"That would be great."

Hearing the cheerful response from the person on the roof, the young man picked up the brick that had fallen on the floor and climbed up the ladder at the back of the house to return the brick to the stranger with a feminine voice.

"So, tell me, what can I do to help yo-"

The young man was speechless as he realized it was the same golden-haired girl, he had run into earlier but this time she was wearing a light blue apron over her clothes and her face was smeared with dust and dirt.

"You... y-you-you are..."

"Thank you." —the girl said taking the brick from his hand— "You are very kind."

The young man's face turned completely red again because he touched her hand and after she picked up the brick, he threw himself to the ground with ladder included.

"Ouch!"

"Hey! Wait!"—shouted the girl when she saw how he had fallen.

"I'm sorry, I have other business!" —the young man exclaimed in despair as he got up.

"Wait!"

The girl peeked over the roof as she called out to him, but he had already quickly fled again.

"At least put the ladder back in place! How am I supposed to get down?!"

The young traveler could hear how the girl shouted at him to claim something, but he didn't pay attention and continued running aimlessly until he reached the forest outside the limits of the village. Then, he leaned against the first tree he could see.

"Haa... haa... Dang it." —he said being out of breath for the second time that day— "Why do I keep running into her? What's wrong with me? Why do I get so nervous in front of her?"

With so many doubts in his mind, he looked up and stared at the clouds as his eyes slowly narrowed from the fatigue of having eaten and run in such a short time.

"If I see her again... then maybe... it... is... fate..."—he muttered before falling deeply asleep.

Hours passed and the young man woke up with a huge pain in his back due to the bad position in which he had laid down.

"Agh... What time is it?"

When he looked up, he realized that it was already night and the whole town was already almost dark because of the large number of clouds in the sky.

"Damn it... I still don't have a place to sleep!"

Nervously, he went to the first inn he found and hurried inside, as it was just then starting to rain.

"Excuse me... May I ask for a room?"

"Sure... a pleasure... It's that all?"

The young man went to the reception desk, where a middle-aged woman with a snake tattoo on her left shoulder attended him. This startled the young man a little, but he calmed down when he saw the lady welcoming him with a smile.

"Thanks. I'd like to stay one night. How much would it be?"

"Mmm... 3 silver coins will be enough."

"What?! Isn't that too cheap?"

"Don't worry." —the woman said as she leaned close to his ear— "Trust me, this is the lowest price you'll find in this village. I suggest you take advantage of it, boy."

The young man saw how the woman smiled at him and gratefully handed her the established payment. He was given a set of keys, which were marked with the room's number 416, and prepared to go.

"Thank you very much."

"You're welcome, boy. Oh, by the way, could you do me a favor?"

"What's the matter?"

"There's someone who lives in the room in front of yours, you'd be doing me a big favor if you give her this book. It just arrived for her."

"It will be my pleasure."

Answering with a smile, the young man took his things, the book, and went to his room. He left his things on the bed and took the book to deliver to its respective owner.

"This book is quite big." —he said as he looked at the contents trying to remember where he had seen it.

He knocked on the door of the room across from his but received no answer. Finding it strange, he decided to knock again.

"Excuse me! This book just has come! The housekeeper asked me to give it to you!"

"I'm coming right away!"

Immediately, the door opened and the young man simply could not believe his eyes. Was this some kind of joke? Could anyone have such good or bad luck?

In front of him stood the same golden-haired girl he had already met twice that day.

"You!" —the girl said annoyed when she noticed the young man.

"M-m-me?" —he answered as he felt the air running out of him.

The girl, who was wearing a white pajama-like dress, immediately grabbed the young man by the collar of his shirt, making him drop the book he wanted to give her.

"This time you won't get away from me!"

"I... mm... well..."

"And don't even think about running or else... I swear I'll kill you!"

"W-W-W-WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?!?!"

"Get in!"

"HUHHHHHHHHHHHHH?"

The girl dragged the young man into her room with a forceful and furious attitude while he was sweating all over his body, but he managed to grab the book that he had dropped just at the last second.