134 -) Homecoming (3)
In the morning, just about dawn, they were woken up by guards and had a simple breakfast. They left the preparation of the caravan to Silas and left briefly to visit the branch. Their master ordered them to take a look at the progress of the construction.
The building had five floors, including an underground basement, making it look like a four-story building from the outside. The basement was to store items of the guild. The entrance floor was to accept commissions and give new quests to questers. The first and second floors were for the lodging of employees and guests. And the third floor was for management and document management.
Of course, only the skeleton of the main building and the small practice hall adjacent to it were finished. The construction should be fully completed, the inner design should be finished, and then furniture and items should be placed. Only then can the branch start to operate and advertise to hire new questers and attract new quest givers.
Since there was not much to check, they just confirmed what to build and how to divide the rooms and floors based on Han’s instructions. Noting things that Han might ask and finishing the task, they went to the caravan with the branch manager.
When they arrived, the caravan and all the personnel were ready, and Silas was waiting at the forefront of the caravan. They joined him, and the branch manager exchanged a few words with him before they said goodbye to him and left the town.
The hometown of Wyn and Woya was named Lupinkel. It was located south of Yargan, slightly eastward. It was around a two-day journey from Yargan, populated mostly by beastkin, especially wolfkin.
The caravan took more than half of the distance on the first day, and since they rested well, they arrived at Lupinkel while it was still afternoon, although the sun was quite low. While they were entering the town, the people around started to gather on the road as if watching a parade. They must not have seen a big caravan coming to the town frequently, aside from slave traders.
Wyn and Woya were sitting inside the carriage that was at the forefront. They stood up and parted the cover at the front of the carriage and saw the town from the side where the coachman was sitting. There, they could see the view they hadn’t seen for over a year.
Elaris also slowly followed behind them and looked toward the town. It was a town that was built inside a forest. Aside from the trees cut for roads and houses, there were trees and greenery everywhere. The only reason they could see around was that the forest was not that dense.
Elaris loved the town at first sight. As an elf, how could she not? Everywhere there are trees. The houses are built between trees, the shops’ entrances are made by intersecting trees, and even the town square is made of trees planted in circular order.
After watching the town for a minute, Elaris turned toward the twins. What she saw was that both girls were making expressions of longing, happiness, sadness, and a few complex emotions, too. It was hard to predict what was going on inside their heads.
The caravan moved toward the town square, and they were lined up in pairs, one after the other, after seeing a suitable spot. When the caravan came to a complete halt, Wyn made a slight smile and urged the girls to get out of the carriage.
Everyone left their respective carriages except the carriages at the front and back of the carriages with goods. Wyn selected them to guard the carriage until they found a place for lodging and for their goods, while Silas appointed some staff in charge of those goods.
They paired every one of the staff with two guards and divided the total groups into three. One of the divisions was assigned to protect and take care of the goods. The second one was assigned to collect intel about the town and intel related to the goods they carried. In addition, finding a stableman for horses was also assigned to them. The third group was assigned to Silas to accompany him for his negotiations. Some of the guards remained as it was since the guards’ count far outweighed the staff, so they asked them to guard goods as well.
While the division of labor was in progress, most of the people crowded around the caravan. They were clearly curious about them. When the assignment was finished, Silas hurried them, and they began chatting with the local people.
They either asked the nearby stableman, lodging, what the specialty of the town is, what goods are of low and high price, who is the leader of the town, the wealth status of the town, etc.
As for the people watching, they showed great hospitality toward the visitors. They showed the way by themselves and asked every question with enthusiasm. Of course, they also bombarded them with every question they were curious about: like where did you come from, where will you go from there, how many days you will stay, what do you intend to buy, sell, etc.
Some of the crowd started to dissipate, and staff and guards started to chat with them and ask them to bring them to the places they had asked. The remaining one either started to gather around Silas or continued the watch from afar.
“Wait. Please don’t get close anymore!” While the situation gradually settled, one of the guards who was assigned to protect the caravan shouted to someone who was getting closer to the caravan as if he had something to ask.
“I-I just wanted to ask something.” The man said nervously. He looked restless as his tail and ears drooped for some reason. It was clear that he was nervous for some reason, as if he was feeling guilty.
“Then, go ask Sir Silas.” The guards said and pointed toward Silas, who was chatting with the crowd that surrounded him. “He is over there. He is the one who is responsible for the caravan.”
“... I understand. But he is not the one I was looking for.” The man looked reluctant to leave and said.
“Huh? Why would you want to speak with another person?” The guard became suspicious and asked. “As I said, you should speak with-”
“I know them!” The man said with a bit of a loud voice as he cut the guard’s sentence. “I-I know those two girls. Please allow me to meet them.” He pointed toward the three girls, two werewolf girls with brown hair and one elf with blonde hair.
“... Huh?!” The guard looked in the direction the man pointed and let out a strange sound of surprise.
That discourse between the guard and the man also attracted the attention of the people nearby. They wondered what was going on. “Hey, Wark, what is going on? You act weird.” Another wolfkin approached the man named Wark and asked.
“... Wyn, Woya.” Wark turned to the side to look at who was speaking to him, turned to the girls again, and pointed at them again while calling some names. “Here…”
“Huh? Wyn? Woya? Come on, Wark, it has been a long time since they left.” The man grimaced as he started to reprimand him, then looked in the direction he pointed. “How can they be- Huh?” He continued to speak, but as soon as he saw who Wark pointed at, he stopped speaking as his mouth stood agape. “N-no way…” He was shocked.
The attention had already started to shift to them, but new people gathering made it more eye-catching. As soon as the man beside Wark noticed the girls, the girls were already aware that the man was talking about them.
Of course, the girls were Wyn and Woya. Elaris also noticed, but naturally, she could not understand what was going on. As for Wyn and Woya, they just stood there, speechless. A few moments later, Elaris understood what that meant.
Wyn was the first to move, slowly stepping forward. Just a moment later, Woya also started to move toward Wark. Then Woya's pace quickened until she broke into a run, throwing her arms around the man.
The man looked desperate at first, but he was a bit skeptical, as he might have been wrong. However, as soon as he saw the look on the girls' faces and when they started to come toward him, he was sure. He also clumsily started to move toward them, completely forgetting the guard’s warning.
As soon as Woya met and hugged Wark, the man looked relieved. Then, a second later, he also put his other arm around Wyn, who also reached the man. The three of them hugged each other tightly, so tightly that Wark’s face started to redden, then it turned slowly purple.
“F-father!” Woya was the first to call him. “Sniff, sniff!” She cried as if a dam was broken. “Father! I missed you so much!” She kept calling for him.
“I-I too.” Wark was also crying. Despite the girls squeezing him with their strength, he did not complain at all. “I missed both of you so much… It was all my fault. I am sorry, I am so sorry.” He kept apologizing.
“F-father… It is okay.” Wyn tried to calm him down, although she was also shaking while tears were flowing from both of her eyes. “It was not your fault. We are okay.” She continued to say words that might calm him down.
The atmosphere shifted as soon as the father and his daughters united. Everyone in the vicinity stopped doing what they were doing and watched them. Even Silas and the crowd around him stopped chatting and moved toward the scene, and watched them.
After a minute or two, they finally parted, and Wark looked at their tear-smeared faces in turns. His face was not much different. However, despite the tear-wretched face he wore right now, he looked much healthier than normal. A happy smile that kept deepening was etched on his face.
Then, people who knew either Wark or the twins came closer as they understood the situation. No one could dream of seeing them again, not to mention in much better shape than before. In the end, they were sold as slaves. There was a very low possibility for them to have a lucky encounter.
“Whoa! Aren’t you Wyn and Woya?” A paunchy wolfkin approached and shouted.
“Who would have thought? It is a miracle by Lord Wulkan.” The man beside Wark said.
“You two look much better than when you left.” A man added from the side.
“I am glad you made it back, girls.” A woman said with teary eyes.
Most of them were people they knew. Since Wark had a shop in the town square, he was well known among merchants and other shopkeepers. The girls were also known for the times that they visited their father, and their friendship with many people present here.
They chatted a while, asked questions, and answered questions. They felt relieved longing with each other. Silas and Elaris stood out of this to not interrupt their union. When Woya and Wyn noticed them, they snapped out of the situation.
“Anyway, I am happy to see all of you again,” Wyn said to close the issue. “We have things to do, as you can see the caravan beside us. So let’s reunite again. We will be here for a while.” She said and gestured to Silas as if saying to continue what he was supposed to do, and made a hand gesture to Elaris as if to ask her to get closer.
“Father! Look, this is Elaris. She is our companion.” Woya took Elaris’ hand as soon as she got close enough and introduced her to Wark. “We live in Yargan together. We have a nice house. Wyn, Elaris, I, and the master all live together.” She said cheerfully.
“...” Wark listened with a smile and looked toward Elaris with affection until he heard the end of Woya’s sentence. “Y-your master?” He panicked, and he looked as if he were suffocating.
“Hmm?” Wyn looked toward her father as if he should not act this way. “Yes, our master.” She added to confirm. “We are sold as slaves after all.” She uttered the truth.