Chapter 18 – The Child of the Streets
The tavern closed before sunset.
It was the first time since I had arrived in Ashfall City that Master Borin had closed early.
He bolted the wooden doors.
Covered every window.
Even extinguished half the lanterns.
The lively tavern suddenly felt strangely empty.
“…Are the Imperial Inspectors really that frightening?”
Master Borin silently poured himself a cup of tea.
“They don’t frighten honest people.”
He took a slow sip.
“They frighten people with secrets.”
His eyes briefly drifted toward the staircase.
Toward my room.
Toward the Black Devil.
He quickly looked away.
⸻
The city itself had changed overnight.
The next morning…
Soldiers patrolled every street.
Not city guards.
Imperial soldiers.
Their crimson cloaks stood out against Ashfall’s gray stone roads.
Every merchant had to present identification.
Every traveler was questioned before entering or leaving the gates.
Even the atmosphere felt tense.
People whispered instead of speaking openly.
Children no longer played in the streets.
Fear…
Spread faster than disease.
⸻
“Boy.”
Master Borin handed me a basket.
“We’re low on vegetables.”
“I’ll go.”
“And don’t wander.”
“I never do.”
He looked at me.
“You absolutely do.”
“…Fair point.”
⸻
The market was unusually quiet.
Many stalls hadn’t even opened.
The vegetable seller smiled weakly as she handed me fresh greens.
“Business is terrible.”
“Because of the Inspectors?”
She nodded.
“No one spends money when they’re afraid.”
As I paid…
A sudden scream echoed through the square.
“Catch him!”
A small figure darted between the crowd.
Barefoot.
Thin.
No older than ten.
He clutched a loaf of bread against his chest.
Behind him…
A furious baker chased him with a rolling pin.
“You little rat!”
“I’ll break your legs!”
The boy ran desperately.
People stepped aside.
No one helped.
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No one stopped him.
They simply watched.
⸻
Without thinking…
I stepped into his path.
The boy tried to change direction.
Too late.
He crashed into me and both of us fell onto the ground.
The loaf rolled across the street.
The baker finally caught up.
“You filthy thief!”
He raised the rolling pin high.
Instinctively…
I grabbed his wrist.
“Wait.”
The baker glared at me.
“Move.”
“He’s just a child.”
“Then he should learn.”
“He stole because he was hungry.”
“He stole.”
The baker’s voice carried years of frustration.
“If I forgive one…”
“Ten more will come tomorrow.”
I couldn’t answer.
Because…
He wasn’t entirely wrong.
⸻
The boy trembled violently.
His face was covered with dirt.
One eye was swollen.
Old bruises marked his arms.
This wasn’t the first time life had beaten him.
The baker sighed.
“Fine.”
“You feed him.”
He folded his arms.
“And pay for the bread.”
He named the price.
Three bronze coins.
Almost all the money Master Borin had given me.
I looked at the bread.
Then at the frightened child.
Then…
I handed over the coins.
The baker grumbled but accepted them.
“Next time…”
He pointed at the boy.
“I won’t be this kind.”
⸻
The crowd slowly dispersed.
The boy remained sitting on the ground.
“…Why?”
His voice was barely audible.
“Why what?”
“Why help me?”
I smiled awkwardly.
“I don’t know.”
He looked suspicious.
“Nobody helps.”
“They usually don’t.”
Silence.
Then…
I picked up the loaf and placed it in his hands.
“Eat before it gets cold.”
He stared at the bread as though it were treasure.
Without another word…
He devoured it.
Not chewing.
Almost swallowing whole.
It reminded me of myself…
The day the gate guard had thrown me a piece of dry bread.
Perhaps…
We weren’t so different.
⸻
“What is your name?”
The boy wiped crumbs from his face.
“Kai.”
“I’m Aarav.”
He repeated it awkwardly.
“A…rav.”
“It’s strange.”
“So is yours.”
For the first time…
The boy laughed.
A genuine laugh.
It sounded unfamiliar.
As though he hadn’t laughed in years.
⸻
“Do you have parents?”
His smile disappeared.
“I had.”
“…I’m sorry.”
He shrugged.
“The plague.”
“They died last winter.”
“I sleep wherever I can.”
“The guards chase me away.”
“I steal when I’m hungry.”
He spoke without emotion.
Not because he wasn’t sad.
Because he’d already cried too much.
⸻
“Aarav.”
A familiar voice called from behind.
Master Borin.
He stood a short distance away carrying another basket.
His eyes moved between me and the boy.
“You bought bread.”
“Yes.”
“With my money.”
“…Yes.”
“And vegetables?”
I looked down.
“I forgot.”
The old man sighed so deeply that even the nearby pigeons flew away.
“You truly are hopeless.”
“I know.”
He walked toward us.
The little boy immediately hid behind me.
Master Borin crouched until they were eye level.
“Hungry?”
Kai nodded cautiously.
The old man stood.
“Come.”
The boy looked confused.
“…Where?”
“The tavern.”
“You’ll wash dishes.”
Kai’s eyes widened.
“…For food?”
“For food.”
“And if you break anything…”
Master Borin looked at both of us.
“I’ll make both of you pay.”
I couldn’t help laughing.
“So now there are two strays?”
Master Borin adjusted the basket on his shoulder.
Without turning around, he replied,
“No.”
“There are now two idiots.”
⸻
That evening…
The tavern became noisier than it had been in days.
Kai eagerly carried bowls twice his size.
Sometimes he dropped spoons.
Sometimes he forgot which table had ordered what.
Yet every customer smiled.
Even the grumpiest hunter secretly slipped him extra meat.
Master Borin pretended not to notice.
I smiled quietly.
Perhaps…
Home wasn’t a place.
Perhaps…
It was simply the people who let you stay.
⸻
Late that night…
After everyone had gone to sleep…
Kai quietly approached my room.
“…Aarav.”
“Hm?”
He hesitated.
Then asked softly,
“Can I really stay here?”
I looked toward the room that had once belonged to Master Borin’s son.
Then back at Kai.
“I think…”
“We both already have.”
Outside, the moon hung peacefully over Ashfall City.
None of us noticed the figure watching from the rooftop across the street.
The mysterious traveler with golden eyes wasn’t watching me this time.
He was watching Kai.
“A second thread…”
he murmured.
“So fate has begun weaving companions.”
He smiled faintly before vanishing into the darkness.
Some journeys create heroes.
Others create the people who walk beside them.
And sometimes…
Those companions change history just as much as the hero himself.
End of Chapter 18