BXBX NOVEL Chapter 65: Unexpected Sighting
Ty chuckled and finished wiping himself down from the blood. "Yeah, she\'s just a straightforward girl, that\'s all."
Mattison nodded and observed the field, taking in the gruesome sight of the bulky man with his head exploded open in eight gruesome pieces, and his hammer lying beside him. He then turned his attention to the skinny fellow who had his face half burnt and crushed.
"I guess I was right to think you could handle yourself, but I wasn\'t expecting you to be so messy," Mattison remarked.
Ty chuckled lightly. "Well, I did mention I\'m a more hands-on person. Where I come from, we don\'t use weapons too much, but I still know my way around a sword if I have to swing one," he said with a warm smile.
"I stopped by the INN to check on you all this morning, but you had already left," Mattison began, recounting his morning.
"The old INN keeper had that orc of yours in an apron, cleaning the fans and dusting all the high-to-reach places."
He continued, "Can\'t say I ever expected to see that, especially from such a bloodthirsty race."
Nana burst into laughter, and Ty merely shrugged.
"I told you we aren\'t from these lands, so he probably isn\'t related to any green-skinned creatures you\'re thinking of," Ty explained.
"But was there anything we could do for you? We were going to check out the local church before resting up a bit more and heading toward the capital."
Mattison, still a bit perplexed, continued to dig further, asking, "Why go to the church? Wouldn\'t it just make more sense to rush the young lady back to her family right away?"
Ty, taking a moment to think, responded, "Yes, but she has been hearing about the process of getting a weapon and wants to go see how it is."
He explained, "She said how amazing it would be if she returned home being blessed with a weapon from one of the goddesses."
Mattison raised an eyebrow and commented, "Yes, I suppose that does seem like something a noble lady would do, but she\'s like 5 or 6?"
Nana couldn\'t help but shout at him, "I am not that young! I am ---" She stopped abruptly, realizing she couldn\'t reveal her true age. "I can\'t let him know I\'m 21, just stuck with this curse right now."
Gathering her composure, she continued, "I\'m not that young. I am just turning 11. I\'m just short for my age. And I heard this church is one of the holy churches that gives weapons at my age. So, I just wanted to inspect it a bit if this is such one."
Mattison\'s stern expression remained unwavering as he addressed Nana\'s misconception. He emphasized, "Well then, you are mistaken. There are only five places in this country that grant weapons. This church is simply for prayer to the goddesses that bless them to us and do repairs on them."
He continued, his tone firm, "For being almost 11 years old, you should already know this and have been taught by your royal family."
The man gave a slight bow, his tone polite as he addressed Nana. "I guess it doesn\'t help that your escort is new to our lands. What country do you come from, anyways?" he inquired.
Ty took a moment to remember the notes he had read, specifying that the Kingdom of Silver Stretch was a big ally of this Kingdom.
"Honestly, I\'m trying to figure out where I come from," Ty began, "but I awoke a long time ago in the Kingdom of Silver Stretch and have been trying to find my way for a few years before I ran into Nana lying at the border nearly drowning."
The man seemed intrigued, turning his attention to Nana. "Oh wow, Nana, how did this happen to you?"
Thinking on the fly, Nana quickly asserted that she was in her family\'s flower garden one evening and had suddenly blacked out, with the rest of the events unclear to her.
A worried expression covered the man\'s face as he stated, "Well, it is of utmost importance we get you back home, young lady. Please, both of you, come with me to the established outpost here, and I will give you a map."
Ty expressed his gratitude with a hopeful nod, acknowledging Mattison\'s help.
As they made their way back toward the town, Ty discreetly nudged Nana on her shoulder and whispered to her about the need for a map, given that it might contain more updated information compared to what they already had in the folder of items.
Nana agreed, noting that the information they had was already a year outdated, and having an updated map could be useful.
Upon arriving at a large rectangular building with a diamond-shaped symbol and the letters "POP" in the center of it, they noticed the blue metal doors.
Mattison pushed the doors aside, guiding them into the building and explaining that they would find assistance in an office located downstairs.
The hallway they walked through was adorned with unusual lights that seemed to have an electric nature but also possessed a magical quality.
These lights emitted a mesmerizing wrapping motion, creating swirling circles that gave the impression of a magical element being at play in their illumination.
As they continued through the building, Ty couldn\'t help but think to himself. He recalled the notes he had read about the kingdom having some technological advancements, but for the most part, everything seemed to resemble a standard fantasy kingdom from the pages of a storybook.
However, their exploration took an unexpected turn when Mattison directed them into a room filled with papers and, to Ty\'s shock, a wanted poster prominently displayed on one of the walls.
The poster depicted a face labeled as "Mystery guy," featuring orange hair and a stocky beard, and Ty couldn\'t help but notice the striking resemblance to Erebos, albeit with a different hairstyle.
Mattison noticed Ty\'s shocked expression and inquired, "You know this person?"
Caught off guard, Ty hesitated but ultimately chose to answer honestly, saying, "Yes, he\'s someone who severely injured and almost killed me before.
Well, maybe he did kill me, but somehow I woke back up. It\'s the only memory I really have of the events." He knew this was the closest he could get to the truth without revealing too much.
Mattison nodded, taking in Ty\'s response, and then handed him an image of the kingdom\'s capital. He began removing his armor plates with a tired sigh, as if the situation had taken a toll on him.