The Other [4]

As the battle came to a serene conclusion after a brutal hour of bloodshed, the number of men alive on the caravan side was a measly five.

That's how brutal and intense the battle had been.

Just as Zero had informed him, Sunyoung's survival chances were only 50/50 and that proved to be the case when his life had nearly been claimed a few times.

If push came to shove, he would use his cloning ability to kill the rest of the bandits and then kill the caravan to keep his ability a secret. 

Luckily, he didn't have to do that as he survived by the skin of his teeth in those few deadly instances.

As a result of the battle, he had a few wounds which he wasn't worried about since Zero was capable of returning his body to its original state.

The way Zero was able to do this was a little complicated but essentially, the alien had Sunyoung's genetic structure, DNA, genomes, etc., saved onto something it referred to as a "file" and could use that file to revert Sunyoung's body to return to before the wounds.

Sunyoung just chose not to do so at the moment because he wanted to keep this ability a secret.

The largest of these wounds he acquired was a cut that traveled across his chest. A few centimeters deeper and the cut could've been fatal.

Treating this cut of his was one of the bodyguards, Guk Jiwoo, who had experience with medicine and first-aid from his time in the imperial army.

Sunyoung had declined his offer but the old man who only had one hand insisted.

'He's chatty,' he thought as he listened to Guk Jiwoo rambling about his life story while wrapping a bandage around his chest using one hand and one meaty stub.

"I wasn't that great of a soldier but I continued to survive each time. I thought that luck was on my side until one day, someone had sliced off my left hand," he said while showing off his stub.

Even though Sunyoung wasn't responding with anything more than a few nods here and there, Guk Jiwoo continued speaking as if the two of them were going back and forth.

"Obviously what's the point of keeping a one-handed soldier who can't earn his keep anymore so they kicked me out with the excuse of an honorable discharge. After that, I was lost with my life for a while before eventually choosing to become a bodyguard."

"Why a bodyguard?" Sunyoung asked.

As this was Sunyoung's first words in a while, Guk Jiwoo's eyes lit up.

"Why else? Money. I know it sounds like a shitty reason to pick up the job but I don't have any honorable reason such as fulfilling a childhood dream or some bullshit like that."

Sunyoung shook his head. "No. I don't think money being your main reason to become a bodyguard is a bad thing. It's a perfectly sound reason."

"...Thank you," Guk Jiwoo smiled as he finished with the wrapping. Then as if he suddenly remembered something, he said, "Oh yeah, thank you as well for helping us out. I don't think I've properly expressed my gratitude. If it wasn't for you... none of us would still be alive."

Sunyoung responded, "You're welcome. Though, I won't claim to have assisted your caravan for no reason."

"As expected," Guk Jiwoo responded, his heart lighter than before.

Truthfully, he would've been uncomfortable with a stranger claiming to have helped them out of the goodness in their heart. It was not only unrealistic but it would've also felt like a burden to him.

He would've wanted to pay back the stranger for their help but would not have known how to do so since the stranger didn't want anything.

"What do you want? Money?" 

"No," Sunyoung answered.

Guk Jiwoo didn't like that answer but didn't show it as the boy in front of him was ultimately the savior of their caravan.

Money was the easier form of payment which was why he hoped that would be what Sunyoung wanted in return for his assistance but since it wasn't, he would just have to try his best to pay the child back in the form of payment he desired.

"I want to know which direction I need to head in to reach the Southern Badlands," Sunyoung answered. "I know it's south... obviously, but I'd like a little more accurate direction instead of the vague one I've been following."

There was a brief moment of silence.

"...Is that all?" Guk Jiwoo asked, confused if he had misheard.

If it wasn't how rude it would be, he would've even dug his finger into his ears and pluck out the earwax that might be in there so that he could hear more clearly.

"Yep. That's all."

"So let me get this straight; just to find out the exact location of the Southern Badlands, you helped us fight against all those bandits? Even getting extremely injured in the process?"

"Yep," Sunyoung nodded.

"But what if none of us knew where that was?"

Sunyoung shrugged, "It would be a shame but that'd just be my bad luck."

'Despite not knowing for certain if the people here could be of help to him, he still helped out.' 

On one hand, it sounded like an excuse that Sunyoung was giving to ease their guilt and sense of gratitude.

But on the other hand, Guk Jiwoo couldn't help but feel that the boy was being truthful about his answer.

"Ha... haha... hahaha," he began to laugh; in all his years on the planet, never before had he met someone as eccentric as the boy in front of him.

"What's so funny?" asked Sunyoung who had begun cleaning and sharpening his sword.

The sword wasn't his original one which he brought into battle but as that one was too chipped and bent to use any further, he had picked out the best one from the ground which belonged to one of the many bodyguards who had died.

"Nothing," Guk Jiwoo responded while shaking his hand.

He didn't want it to seem like his laughter was meant to offend or mock the boy.

"I do know where the Southern Badlands is but I think I could do you one better. Could you perhaps give me a second?"

"Sure."

Watching as the bodyguard headed into one of the two carriages, Sunyoung focused his senses in order to eavesdrop.

A while ago, he had noticed the sounds of someone moving around in the carriage and Guk Jiwoo had likely entered the carriage to discuss something with that person.

'It's a girl. She doesn't sound that old. "Boss"? Is she the one who hired the bodyguards and the merchants?'

Sunyoung was picking up bits and pieces of information and was using it to fill in the pieces of the puzzle that was missing.

'Does this girl have something of value that those bandits wanted? Or maybe... she herself is valuable.'

The conversation between Guk Jiwoo and his employer was primarily about including Sunyoung in their trip to the Southern Badlands. 

'It seems all of us here were heading in the same direction.'

What did they want with the Southern Badlands?

It wasn't a place that people who weren't born there would head for vacation especially as it required them to travel across the scorching Konairi Desert. 

His thoughts were interrupted as Guk Jiwoo came out of the carriage and asked him, "Hey kid, would you like to ride to your destination with us? Coincidentally, the six of us are also heading there."

'It seems like he doesn't have any more intentions of hiding that there's someone in the caravan.'

It made sense to do so since it would only do them more harm than good as it was likely that Sunyoung would eventually find out if he were to travel with them.

Better to tell the truth now than to keep it a secret and make the trip awkward.

His invitation sounded like a generous offer with good intentions but Sunyoung could tell that without a doubt there was selfishness involved.

With the inclusion of Sunyoung, who had become even stronger after the battle with the bandits, the chances of the caravan surviving the rest of the desert would increase by a significant amount especially since they had been reduced to a small portion of their original size.

For most people who realized that they were going to be used, their obvious response would be to decline the offer.

They would rather head out on their journey alone.

But for Sunyoung who didn't mind the trouble — even inviting it to an extent, he answered, "Sure. Why not."

As Sunyoung rested and watched two of the five men loot the bodies of their fallen enemies and allies alike, tossing them into the second carriage, he was simultaneously listening to an interrogation that was happening some distance away.

One of the bandits had been kept alive by the caravan for interrogation.

He had been tied up and the two men questioning him were furious about the loss of their friends and allies so they didn't hold back with their torture methods.

Occasionally, Sunyoung could hear a scream that reverberated throughout the desert, shaking the grains of sand.

"I'll ask you again, how did you learn of our group?" the fake merchant asked.

"W-We were informed by one of your members that you guys were hired by a rich girl to escort her across the desert. That's all."

"That doesn't explain why you'd bring that many people with you."

The bodyguard grabbed his finger and bent it until—

Snap!

 "Arghhh! Stop! S-Stop, please! I'm telling you the truth! Our boss thought that since she could afford to hire this many men for a single trip, she must be from a rich family. If we capture her, we could use her as a bargaining chip to extort money from her family."

"Lies."

Snap!

These two men interrogating the bandit weren't obligated to find out the truth of the situation but it was only right that they knew what led to the death of their friends.

"F-Fine!" the bandit yelled, unable to handle the pain of the torture anymore. 

"Good. You should've been more compliant earlier. Why did you waste both my time and yours in the first place?" the fake merchant shook his head.

"Because you're going to kill me regardless if I tell you the truth or not. I just wanted to delay my death by a few seconds."

"...True."

"...Our boss was hired by someone to retrieve that girl you're escorting dead or alive. They paid us a hundred gold coins and promised to pay us another two hundred once the job was complete."

"A hundred gold coins? Why would they do that?"

"I don't know. I really don't know!" he screamed as another one of his fingers was grabbed.

"Seems like he's telling the truth," the bodyguard told his partner.

"Fuck," the fake merchant muttered to himself as he slit the bandit's throat.

Thud.

'Three hundred gold coins for that girl in the carriage. And her value is likely higher than that but since the bandits don't know her identity, the client was able to keep the price that low,' Sunyoung thought. 

When the two interrogators returned, the caravan began moving once more.

Riding on Kiara who had returned seemingly out of nowhere just mere moments before they were about to head out, Sunyoung kept his senses sharp so he could listen in on the conversations occurring around him.

Down to only five members, there wasn't a need for anyone to walk on foot so three men were seated on the carriage box of the carriage that Sulli was in while the other two were riding on the other one.

With everyone either on a horse or riding on a carriage, the caravan was able to travel at a speed much faster than the one they had been traveling at previously.

It was a silver lining that resulted from the death of most members. 

The conversation between the two was kept at a whisper but Sunyoung was able to catch what was being discussed between the girl inside the carriage and Guk Jiwoo.

"I'm sorry for the trouble I've caused your group," Sulli apologized, feeling responsible for what had happened. "I did inform you that this job would invite trouble but I didn't expect—"

"Boss, don't apologize to us for something like that. That's the nature of the job and when people like myself sign up for it, we understand the danger we are putting ourselves in," he told her.

"I... I... if you guys want to leave in case there's more danger ahead, I won't blame any of you or ask you to return the payment."

"Boss, please don't insult us even if you're doing it unintentionally. Although we're only your subordinates for this single trip, why do you think we stuck around and fought those bandits despite being outnumbered when we could've made the sensible choice of running away?"

"..."

"My people, all of us have our own sense of pride and beliefs that we'll keep even if it means we have to die for them," Guk Jiwoo said.

'That's a beautiful way to live your life but also a foolish one,' Sunyoung thought. 

As a survivor of a clan genocide, he knew more than anyone the value of life.

"...Thank you," Sulli said.

"Hahaha," Guk Jiwoo laughed. "Don't worry about it, boss. The only form of thanks we need is money and the five of us have received plenty for the job."

There was silence after that as the conversation had come to an end.

Then Sulli suddenly asked, "If it's not an issue, could I ask you for a favor?"

"Go ahead."

"That boy who is traveling with us... could you ask him to enter the carriage? There are a few questions I'd like to ask him."

In the corner of his eye, Sunyoung could see him turning to look at him.

"Sure, I could do that."

He hadn't been expecting to be brought up in the conversation between the employer and employee so soon so Sunyoung was a little surprised but he didn't show it, keeping complete composure and acting oblivious to everything.

Moving from the right side of the carriage box to the left where Sunyoung and Kiara were, Guk Jiwoo grabbed his attention with, "Hey kid."

Turning his head, Sunyoung responded, "Yeah. Something wrong?"

"No. Nothing's wrong. As uhm... as you can probably tell by now, there's someone in this carriage. She's our employer and she was wondering if you could meet her inside."

Pretending to ponder the request for a second, Sunyoung accepted it with a nod.

Both carriages came to a stop and only resumed when Sunyoung entered the one in front. 

Immediately, what stuck out to Sunyoung was the color of her eyes, her hair, and the strange sensation of coldness that surrounded the girl.

'Zero, do you recognize these characteristics of hers?' he asked his alien companion.

His first theory was that she belonged to a clan with an affinity for ice.

[Yes. Although it's rare, it seems this girl is a descendant of a frost giant.]

His assumption was wrong. 'A frost giant? What's that?' he asked, having never heard of that creature before.

[A frost giant is a race of giants, beings that live in the northern dark continent. You can tell by the nature of her eyes but more importantly, the ki that is circulating in her unawakened dantian.]

Sunyoung held back from gulping nervously at the mention of one of the two dark continents.

Moving closer, he stopped his advance at a distance that was both close enough to hold a comfortable conversation and far enough that he wouldn't be intruding on the private vicinity of the white-haired girl who he could tell was a cautious person by the way her eyes were scanning him.

"Nice to meet you. First of all, I'd like to thank you for helping us out," Sulli bowed her head.

He had heard it in the form of whispers but now that she was speaking out loud, he noticed her voice which was clear and smooth, like a fresh cup of iced water.

"You're welcome. But please don't feel too indebted to me because I had my reasons for helping out," he informed her.

Sunyoung could see gears in her head turning.

"...I'm Sulli and as you could probably guess by now, the caravan you're riding along with is nothing more than a disguise. I hired them to help escort me across the desert."

His only response to that sudden revelation was nodding his head.

He had already deduced the information she was giving out and had his deductions confirmed by the five men who didn't realize he could hear them.

Sulli didn't interpret his reaction that way.

Rather than a lack of reaction from already being aware, she had assumed he simply didn't care.

This was a first.

When people learn that over forty men, which had been reduced to thirty when Sunyoung first arrived, are escorting a single person, their first instinct is to wonder what about that person was so special that it required that much protection — or what object did they possess which they needed to protect so badly that they were willing to spend a lot of money.

There were many questions she wanted to throw in his direction but firstly, "Could I ask for your name?"

"I'm Moonjin," Sunyoung answered.