Chapter 09

(A/N: Got stuck in answering two modules that were as thick as an average book and was given ten days to answer it all. I answered it all and passed it last week and was now stuck with three modules again which were much thicker than the other two modules... the irritating part was we only have ten days to answer it all(doesn't include weekdays.) I got frustrated and throw it all, so here I am now trying to update my book, enjoy~)

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Escanor left the basement with the girl in his arms. She was sickly pale and dirty and was currently unconcious.

Escanor went to an open place and put the unconcious girl to the ground. Seeing the skinny, dirty and pale girl, Escanor frowned.

'Was she stuck in that basement ever since this village was destroyed? But it's been 5 days already after the 'incident' here'. Escanor's eyebrows tightened it's frown, he hate seeing this scene as it reminded him of himself back then.

After a while, Escanor sighed as went to find some water and food nearby. After that, he came back to the girl while carrying a basin full of water in his left hand and fruits in the other.

Escanor found the basin and a towel in the basement and found the fruits to the nearby trees. After that, Escanor proceeded to clean the dirty little girl so that she could atleast feel more comfortable.

...

Later that afternoon, the girl woke up weakly and seemingly in a daze. Escanor seeing that, quickly took a cup of water and helped her drink it.

The girl didn't respond at all even when she drank the water and was still in a daze. Escanor, not knowing what to do, end up waiting patiently till the girl get her bearings back.

After a while, Escanor saw some despair, sadness and fear showing in the little girls eyes as she then cried in a helpless manner.

Escanor, seeing the tragic crying girl, couldn't help but move closer to her and hug her close to his body. He keep on stroking her back as he whispered some comforting words onto her ears.

The girl keep crying in escanor's chest and tighten her hug on his waist. When she calmed down a little, he then carefully try to fed her some fruits and a simple soup for her.

After that, the girl totally calmed down and was now looking at her saviour. Seeing her calmed down, escanor then tried to ask her some simple questions like what's her name and stuff, he doesn't want to push the girl on remembering what happened to her just so he can get some information and complete his mission.

The girl's name was Praesia, currently 10 years old, she has a blonde hair and blue eyes just like escanor, she has a small figure befitting of her age but was very thin as her body looks like it lack nutrients. Even though she have calmed down a bit, there was still obvious sadness deep in her eyes as she looked at escanor a bit warily. Though she was thankful deep inside her heart that he saved her, she was still a bit scared on what he might do to her.

Escanor seeing the fear in the girl's eye that he was so familiar with as he also has that same fear in his eyes back then, albeit a much stronger fear, just sighed as he put his hand on her head and said in a gentle tone. "Don't worry, I am not going to hurt you. That I can atleast promise you".

Hearing his gentle voice and seeing the kind look on his face, the girl let her guard down a bit as she looked down and muttered. "Sorry". Escanor smiled gently as he stroke the girl on her head and asked. "Would you like to go with me? Acalypha town is quite close here, there you can be much more safer". The girl looked up at him and shook her head slowly.

Escanor was confused and was about to ask why when the girl spoke. "...Mother...and sister are still alive, as well as my friends, aunties and uncles in the village... it's just..*sob..*sob... father was...Uuuwaaaaaaa!!!!" Praesia cried loudly as she remembered her father who were killed trying to protect them.

Escanor sighed yet again as he comforted the girl, he hugged her little body and stroked her back slowly as he comforted the little girl. While Escanor was comforting the crying praesia, his eyes turned cold as he swear to kil those bastards.

Escanor was no hero, that he was sure of. But he won't stand idly by seeing this young girl crying helplessly, He empathize with her as he also had a bad childhood, while he was indeed alone through all those years, at least he has some power to protect himself, but this girl has no stregth to speak of and was robbed of her happiness.

Yes he can just ignore it, but why would he? when has the power to do so? So escanor got his resolve as he then slowly and gently asked what happened. Though he don't want her to recall that tragedy, but it's still needed to find her missing mother and sister as well as the other people in the village.

Praesia also know this as she then clenched the hem of her dress that escanor found around and was surprisingly not damaged so he let her wear it instead of the dirty dress she wore previously. She clenched her teeth as she tried to recall what happened and told escanor everything while trying to hold her tears back.

Escanor keep on stroking her back as this was the only way he know how to comfort someone like what that woman did to him when he was alone in the forest back then. Escanor was pulled out of his stupor when praesia started recalling everything.

Praesia has a happy family, kind mother, cheerful little sister as well as a very good father. Her father was a retired average mage that can control wind, but her mother cannot do magic and was only a normal villager. They were living yet another peaceful day that time at the village and was about to eat their breakfast like others when they suddenly heard some explosions accompanied by some loud screaming of help from other people in the village.

Praesia's father immediately stood up from their table as he grabbed a weapon and enhance it with his wind magic as he told his family to stay there. Praesia's mother immediately cradled her daughters to her bosom and covered their ears as she watched the back of her husband with apparent worry in her eyes.

Moments later, the noises outside intensified as the explosion did too. Praesia, even though her ears were covered by her mother, she can still hear the noise outside as her small body tremble in fear hearing the cry of help and maniacal laughter mix on those noises. She hugged her mother's body tightly with her sister as they both cried in fear silently.

Suddenly, they heard some various footsteps closing on their place. Praesia's mother, who was waiting for her husband, braced hereself as she stood up and put her daughters behind her back as she stared at the entrance of their house where various hurried footsteps were closing in.

The noise got closed to their door as they then heard the sound of the door being knocked out with a kick. The mother and her daughters got scared by the kick, but they then calmed seeing who it was. They sighed in relief but their expression then slowly changed into that of a horror as they saw praesia's father that has several holes into his body with a bunch of arrows on his back. Though he was gravely injured but his eyes were still glowing with life as he went in their house and said.

"Hurry!... Ella... go hide in the basement with our daughters...*puke*". He puked some blood while he was trying to speak.

"Dear!"

""Papa!""

They yelled, but the man raised his hand as he yelled. "HURRY! *Cough *cough".

Praesia's mother gritted her teeth as she then took her daughters to the secret passage despite her daughters unwillingness. She opened the door leading to the basement and hurriedly let praesia in, there are a bunch of food and water there so they would be ok. When preasia got inside, her mother was about to let her youngest daughter in, when she was suddenly shot by an arrow on her shoulder and accidentally bumped into a shelf and knocked it, which blocked the passage to the basement and prevented praesia's sister from going inside.

Praesia, who was inside the passage heard her mothers voice and told her. "Baby, stay there ok? Mama and Papa will take you back after this... just be silent there...ok?" Praesia was about to call her mother again when she suddenly heard the cry of her mother and sister while calling the name of her father, it was followed by various footsteps and the sound of her sisters cry for help and some foreign voiced mixed within. Then she heared a loud thud and heard the foreign voices speaking about capturing the mother and daugter alive while they kill the man which is praesia's father. Praesia just blanked out as she then stepped back only to stumble on the stair as she rolled over until she reached the bottom and reached the basement.

Miraculously, she did not break a bone and only sustained some light injuries as she covered her head but still passed out after. When she woke up, she did not hear any noise anymore as it looks like the situation above calmed down. But no matter how long she waited, her parents still did not appear and took her back like what her mother said and she only survived using the stocked foods in the basement but she has no appetite resulting on her thin figure now.

Escanor keep on comforting the girl on his arms as his eyes grew colder. He remembered what happened on the village, where the orphanage he lived in, in the past were being ransacked and raided when he went back there. A cold sensation suddenly spread within his mind making him calmer, but the intent to kill the bastards that did this inhumane thing in village grew.