SSS-Ranked Evolution: Worlds Unbound-Chapter 25: Ren And Kiyomi
"Thank you for bringing me in." His voice has a steady rhythm to the chief’s ears. She only let out a small laugh as she led him to her abode. Luna was beside Ren and often times, the chief would turn back to look at the wolf with a glint of amusement in her eyes. Which Ren noticed.
They finally reached her house, and it was an exact replica of her demeanour. Calm and slow, steady and peaceful. At first, Ren thought it was a temple with how serene it was, but it was an open Minka with multiple wind chimes hanging around each corner. The atmosphere put Luna at ease and there was a bit more bounce in her steps.
"Please make yourself comfortable. If you are thirsty, I will bring you water, if you are hungry, I will feed you." At the mention of feed, Luna howled, casting a side eye to Ren. With an exasperated sigh, he bowed slightly.
"Food and water will be very appreciated." all for his partner and when he agreed, she licked his lips, out of the corner, a well-built man came into view and locked eyes with him, Ren knew it was the chief archer he had encountered when he entered the town. He was in loose pants and without a shirt, showing his hardened battle-scarred body. Not saying a word to Ren or even acknowledging him, he moved to the chief to whisper something into her ears.
From her body language, they seemed to be very close. Before their conversation ended, the maiden came to take Ren to his room. However, she was terrified of Luna and the moment Ren was in his room, she bolted. He could understand her fear, Luna was huge and with a smile from her, you could see all the sharp teeth that could end a human life, but she was not violent. He had a feeling the fear ran deeper.
His room was very simple, almost like the one he had back at home but bigger, he appreciated the hospitality and the food that was brought to him later. Luna hoarded most of it and only left a little portion, if he had known she would treat him like this, he would have forced her to stay back. After hours of rest, a shadow emerged at his door and soon later, a knock followed.
"Come in." he gave her permission, the door slid and the gentle image of the chief in her sleepwear became visible. She had a warm smile, but her being was more drawn to Luna who was battling sleep when she came in.
"I hope you are comfortable. I do apologize for the behaviour of my men towards you. You have a...follower...so it was normal they would be alarmed." follower? Was she talking about Luna?
"I am deeply grateful..." Ren paused for a minute. Despite the treatment, Ren noticed the town in a bad shape. The roads, the buildings, the people, he wanted to talk about it, "what happened to Eblan?"
A soft sigh escaped the woman’s lips, and she closed the door behind her, sitting not too far away from Ren, "abandoned by the empire after multiple attacks from the wolves. They refused to help us, we lost so many to the rampages in the past few years. It has been hard rebuilding, but we seem to be getting back on our feet." explaining to him, her eyes held a solemn sadness, "I am Kiyomi Nashida, the last of the Nashida house. And you are?" 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎
"Ren Kobayashi. And this is Luna." bowing a little out of respect, he introduced himself and his partner who mimicked him by placing her head on the floor. Kiyomi smiled at the wolf, feeling a deep connection to the canine, "you said something about wolves attacking." he brought her attention back to their previous conversation.
"Yes. You see, many of us are hunters and warriors. We were well known for our skills on the battlefield and in the forest, the wolves were our partners. They were part of our family. Until a period of time came, and they changed." her eyes dulled, remembering what happened to her own partner when she was younger, "they became dark, corrupted with evil. They no longer listened to our commands, and they wrecked havoc. Killed many children and many adults. They never stopped attacking. I wondered for years what went wrong. I have never been able to solve the piece of the puzzle. But Luna..." slowly Kiyomi stretched her palm to Luna, placed in the middle was a small piece of fish with Luna gently scooped into her mouth and continuously licked her hand to say thank you.
"She wasn’t always like this. She was once how you described the others. But i...saved her." his fingers found her head and gave her a nice head rub, "the wolves are corrupted. A great evil spread across the land, changing the nature of beasts to that of evil. The wolves were not exceptions. The only way to stop them is to cleanse them."
"You are young, yet so wise. Tell me, where does your journey lead?" Kiyomi’s grey hair almost glowed in the moonlight, long and without a single tangle.
"To a forgotten town, north of Eblan." he told her.
"You mean Karnak? The place is deserted, and dangerous monsters roam the streets..." many thoughts raced through her mind, "and the road to Karnak has been destroyed. However...there is another route but—"
"Anyway I can get there, I will appreciate it." Ren was desperate to fulfil his promise to Reina, he wanted to take them back to their land and he wasn’t returning without being successful. However, Kiyomi was very uncomfortable with his urge to go to Karnak, nobody had been there in years and she didn’t believe he would survive if he went there. She didn’t ask any more questions regardless.
"I can help you, but I am also in need of your service. The last attack we had was brutal, but we are in no condition to face the wolves ourselves. You were able to free Luna from her evil state. If you can restore peace to our town, I will help you get to Karnak." she offered him. Ren thought for a while, but it was a no-brainer.
"I will help you." he gave her his word and automatically gained a side quest.
