Point of View

Vir frowned. "So, you saw me shoot down that wyvern last night, huh?"

But the little girl seemed to be ignoring the question, and this made Vir a little annoyed with her.

"Tch!" Vir snorted. "Get out of my way, I'm getting out of here. And you," he pointed with one hand, the other on his waist. "Go wherever you like, just don't follow me again!"

Vir wasn't at all afraid that the little girl would open her mouth about his action of shooting down a wyvern, even killing its rider.

For one reason or another, Vir didn't think the girl would reveal his little secret to the others.

The little girl closed her thick book, put the book into the bundle she always carried around, stood up, and took three steps away from the cart.

Vir looked at the little girl, then his gaze fell on the yellow fruit that the little girl had eaten last night, near the campfire.

"I have no other food to give you at this time," Vir said, "not even for myself. That fruit, just for you."

"Flavirum fruit has an unpleasant taste," replied the little girl. "It's tasteless."

"Whatever!" Vir snorted. "It's better than you starving to death. Besides, flavirum contains a lot of water. You'll be full and not thirsty by eating that fruit."

The little girl ignored Vir's words, she remained silent while standing like a person who could not express anything. The big, thick book in the bundle on her back looked quite heavy.

"Don't follow me!"

Vir then passed by to the south with his cart. The two ends of the cart were held together with a hemp rope that he slung over his shoulders, and he walked while dragging the cart.

The nine-year-old girl stood still as she watched the 30-year-old man walk away. She let out a long, soft sigh.

"He's not gentle at all," muttered the little girl half inaudibly. "Is that the kind of person I should be with?"

***

Vir returned to the same village to sell the firewood he had collected along the way back.

He pulled his cart among the people with a thousand and one interests. After all, Vir knew well enough that among the six villages in the South Country, this was the only one that was more crowded. Of course, it could not be compared to Kingstown which was the center of government - in any country.

But it seemed to be much more crowded than the past days. Several times soldiers were seen going back and forth around the village center.

Vir just grinned with more of his head down as he pushed his cart. After all, he knew exactly the cause of the crowd.

It was all about the riders and their wyverns that Vir had killed, not just the last night's rider and wyvern, but also the victims of the previous days.

People gathered near the bulletin board, their voices buzzing like a swarm of bees swarming around a nectar-laden flower.

They exchanged opinions about the leaflets containing the details of the missing riders. As if they knew more than the soldiers themselves.

Vir didn't care about any of that, he continued to pull his cart until he arrived in front of a shop.

The old man who owned the shop grunted when he saw Vir approaching him. The fan of woven leaves in his hand twitched slowly, fanning his body on this hot afternoon.

He was a merchant who bought and sold a variety of goods, the product of someone's labor, like the firewood Vir had collected.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Merchant," Vir greeted as he moved three bundles of firewood from his cart to the front of the shop.

"Tch!" the old man shook his head with a less-than-friendly look at Vir. "You're young and healthy, your body is also quite muscular. Then why are you only able to collect three bundles of firewood, hmm?"

Vir grinned, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and put two hands on his waist. He chuckled as he gave a small nod.

"I think," he replied, "this kind of thing will be enough for me, old man."

"Nonsense!" said the merchant, pulling six coins from his shirt pocket. "This less money—" he said, handing the six coins to Vir.

"Thank you," Vir accepted the coins.

"—It's not enough for a young person like you. You're just too lazy to try harder!"

"Is that what you think of me, old man?"

"Come on!" retorted the old merchant. "How long have I known you, huh?"

"In that case," Vir smiled broadly, "how about you add two or three more coins for me?"

"Yuck!" the merchant looked away. "What a lazy man!"

Vir just laughed quietly as he straightened his cart, covering his hunting equipment inside so that no one else could see it.

"Let me tell you," said the merchant, "the Chief Fisherman of the neighboring village is looking for a husband for his eldest daughter. I see you're the perfect candidate. Why not put yourself forward?"

Vir laughed again and shook his head. "No, I won't be that lucky."

"Fool!" the merchant snorted and fanned his thin body again. "Even if you die, you'll still be poor like this, you lazy bastard!"

"Thank you for your concern, Mr. Merchant," Vir said. "By the way, what's the crowd doing over there?"

He deliberately diverted their conversation by glancing at the people gathered near the bulletin board.

"A lot of riders have been going missing lately," the merchant replied, then sighed deeply. "Also, their mounts. I think it's only the central empire that hasn't experienced this."

"You think so?"

"I don't know!" the merchant shrugged his shoulders. "From what I hear, the other four lands are experiencing the same thing too. I mean, many riders from the four regions have also mysteriously disappeared."

"Ahh... I see, huh?" Vir nodded and folded his arms across his chest as he thought of a thing or two.

No, no, no! Entering the Central Imperial Land is not an easy thing. I won't be tempted to go there, he thought.

Unless...

"What are you thinking about?" the merchant frowned and snorted again. "You idiot!"

"No, I just—"

"You think I don't know?"

"Is that so?"

"You must be planning to find those missing riders, don't you?" the merchant said. "Am I wrong?"