15 Dismantling square: Galana

Galana left Tiberius's shop to find Emp staring blankly at the passersby. what was he thinking about now? Probably something crazy again. She strapped the dagger on her waist while she approached him.

There was no way she would ever borrow money from that idiot noble. Not a chance, she had learned from her parents mistake, she would not do the same. Just thinking about it made her even angrier.

Shedecided to interrupt him in his thoughts since she wanted the day to end eventually and she didn't like standing around doing nothing.

"Where do you wish to go now?"

"I need a lot of small things, travel supplies and rope. I need to buy food as well."

"Food? But we just ate!"

He laughed at her but was still able to quickly answer.

"Food to bring on my travel, not to eat right now."

"I see. Then how about the general market, if we go through the dismantling square we should get there in no time."

"All right, lead the way."

Galana easily remembered the way to the dismantling square from here, she had been there often. It was one of the places death seekers loved to hang out at. She had barely made ten steps with the noble behind her that he asked her something else.

"I was able to buy a lot of good equipment without even using a complete red dragon, what do you think I can buy with a crystal plate?"

Why was it that idiot who had crystal plates and not her! With so much money, she could get rid of the debt, find herself a magic teacher and use her new powers to find out once and for all what had happened to her parents. She couldn't answer his question with that though.

"I have no idea, it's way too much money for only one person. Maybe it's enough to have an entire castle built for yourself."

That was a good answer, nobles were keen on manors and castles. they loved to fill the rooms with treasures and works of art stolen from other people.

As they approached the square, she wondered if she would meet someone she knew there. She didn't really want to. She was ashamed of her current situation and also, she did not want a repeat of the conversation she just had with Palonia.

"What is happening over there? They seem like they are having a lot of fun." Said the idiot.

"That's the dismantling square. We're almost there. They must have caught something big. It's easier to explain once you've seen it."

She could smell the cooking meat from here. It had been so long since the last time she had some. She forced herself to not think about it. She was not that hungry, she told herself, plus, she had no money to spare on this.

Shortly after, they stepped foot into the everlasting festival of the dismantling square. Galana did her best to explain it all to Emp as she scanned the crowd to find a possible acquaintance. Fortunatly, she did not recognize the death-seekers who had brought back that huge catch and no one she knew seemed to be working here that day.

Said death-seekers were retelling how their group had found and dispatched that huge beast. Their tale starting with how their scout had been instantly pummelled to death in a surprise attack and ending with how their leader had put an axe into its neck after a long and arduous fight. The crowd cheered at every good hit and despaired at every death, enraptured by the tale of blood, profit and glory.

On the other side of the square, on top of a smaller stage, a group of five women sang alongside the musicians and their jolly tune. They wore the long red skirts usually associated with songstresses of the lake and charming bodices adorned with many long ribbons. They sang of past glory and horrendous creatures of old, defeated by heroes, nobles and common folk alike. It was only fitting for such festivities.

The favorite of the crowd was the song about the battle between the founder of Red-water and the bloody-lynx who gave its name to the lake. A giant black lynx had fused with a ancient ooze with the color and consistency of blood. The new creature, result of the combination of those two already powerful monster, had forbidden the access to this side of the lake since the creation of the kingdom itself. He had been thought to be undefeatable. The song brought this historic battle to the crowds, from the fateful encounter to how the corpse of the legendary creature dyed the waters around the city in red forever.

Galana had read the detailed version in a book and preferred it to the song but most disagreed with her and found the song was the most entertaining version.

After she finished scanning the crowd, she noticed she was now standing in the waiting line of a skewer stall. Had her stomach taken over the control of her feet?

"I do not know what that is but I hope it is tasty."

Of course, it was because of the idiot. She felt somewhat relieved that she hadn't done it by herself but now, she would have to endure watching him eat one of her favorite things right in front of her. Maybe she could change his mind.

"Also, I thought you said you didn't want to eat now."

"But it looked so good, I could not resist. It is not even a full meal. How much do they ask for it?"

She definitely would not be able to change his mind. She let out a weak sigh and answered his question.

"A copper leaf for a skewer."

He proceeded to buy three and tried to give her one. What was his deal with giving out food? It wasn't less strange now than it had been earlier. She was sure now he was trying to get something from her, she just couldn't understand what it was.

"I thought I told you I don't want you to buy me food!"

"I did it by reflex and I will not keep all three for myself, if you do not take it I am just going to give it to someone else, like the girls over there."

"Don't!"

Damned stomach, betraying her at the last moment! She had to find a good excuse quickly. Good thing he pointed at a group of hero fishers.

"I mean, not to them, those are hero fishers."

They wore make-up, extravagant haircuts and not so decent clothes, probably designed by them for the sole purpose of catching the eyes of their target. The hero fishers stood in front of the crowd there to listen to the story of the successful hunt, applying all the charms in their possession to hook a potential husband.

"What is a hero fisher?"

At least he could have given her some time to taste the meat before he asked random things again! The taste, It was just like in her memory, that incredible saltiness combined with how filling that meat was. She loved it. It was never the same meat but the way they cooked it was always so satisfying, always the best. If only she could eat this every day. Wait, when did she pick it up? Damned stomach.

"They come here looking for a husband from the group of victorious death-seekers. Now, they are just waiting to see if any of them are interested."

"Can they not just go ask them? I thought women were the ones to choose who they wanted to be married with."

"Of course they can't just go there! If they just go ask and get denied, not only would they have failed but finding another one would be much harder because the rest would feel like they are just a replacement. Instead, they go for the safest way, they make themselves as pretty as possible and wait to see who they can catch before they reel him in to ask. That's why they are called hero fishers."

"I see. This whole marriage thing is getting harder and harder to understand."

It was not hard at all, it was just common sense. No one wanted to look like an idiot in front of everyone else. Better be sure of the result before you did anything unless you wanted to be badly burnt.

At some point she had thought of doing something similar herself to find someone who would be able to pay her debt. She had quickly changed her mind. If she was to share the rest of her life with a man, she wanted someone smart and someone willing to marry her despite her debt wasn't fitting that description at all. Also, she disliked the idea of escaping a guy by throwing herself at another. She didn't want the help of a random idiot, she had to escape her fate by herself.

"I understand what they are doing here now but not why I can't give them a skewer."

"Idiot! Isn't that obvious? If you bring them one, everyone will think you are interested in them but since you aren't one the intended targets, they won't know what to do with you. Not only will you look ridiculous but you will probably also anger a lot of people."

"I don't get how bringing them food makes me interested in them. I do not even know them."

He was the worst! He had done it twice with her already and he didn't understand such a basic concept.

"That's what I've been telling you since this morning! Stop buying food to strangers! It's weird! People only buy things to those they care about or those they want something from!"

She had the urge to slap him but since her hand was busy holding the remains of what had been a skewer, she threw that at him instead. It bounced off his chest and he seemed to not mind at all. This was truly an unsatisfying release, once again.

They both left the square soon after and Galana led him to the marketplace. He continued to act like a madmen as she helped him find what he wanted. For example, he bought out the entire stock of fruits from a stall, forcing the merchant now out of stock to close for the day.

He bought rope for who knew what, a large quantities of matches, a pot and a bunch of random unusefull things but ran away from a stall selling cushions as if it was a plague.

Then, he stopped in front of a stall where a small girl was selling dozens of different belt buckles. Was it because she had said the one he wore was too big for him? Why did it even matter? It was a waste of money.

"You're really going to buy a new buckle? Do you even know how to replace it?"

"No I don't, but next, I need to buy a lot of new clothes so I will ask there." He said.

He was going to ask them how to replace a belt buckle? Was it not easier to just buy a new belt at this point? They would end up telling him he needed to take the leather band apart and sew it back together after. It was a huge waste of time and she was pretty sure he did not know how to sew.

She just gave up and decided to go along with whatever crazy thing he wanted to do. There was no point in arguing with him. She just needed to know what kind of clothes he wanted.

"What kind of clothes are we talking about?"

"I need clothes for the school and new travel clothes because mine are badly damaged."

Yes they were indeed, at least those he wore the day before were definitely badly damaged. It made sense that he wanted to buy both those kinds of clothes but it didn't make things easy for her.

"Alright but we won't find those things in the same shop so could you tell me what other things you need right now so that I can take the most efficient route? If we continue like that, we're never going to be finished before night."

He thought for a moment and gave her a vague answer.

"I need to see someone who can fix an injury and I need books about languages. Maybe I should also get a new pair of boots? After all that, you bring me to the north gate and we will be done."

"What kind of injury?" He seemed fine to her, it should not be that bad.

"I hurt my leg fighting the woodland horror and it still has not fixed itself."

That wasn't what she meant! She wanted to know what kind of injury as in what kind of treatment he requested.

"You want magic heal or an apothecary?"

"Which is faster?"

For the love of all gods! Did he not even know that?

"Magic of course, but it's going to cost you a lot more than the other way."

"It's fine, I do not mind, I just want to be done with it."

"Alright, follow me, we'll start with that, I think there's a healing mage on the west road over there."

She knew a great shortcut to get there too. They just needed to go through a bunch of back alleys and small roads almost no one used beside those living there. They would be there in no time and the best clothing store in the city wouldn't be that far from where the mage lived.

She knew the way through by heart because it was so close to the dismantling square. She took turns after turns until they came across a bunch of dirty looking men. She wanted to turn back and go through from elsewhere but they noticed them before she could move and called out to her.

"Heyyyy. If it isn't the foul mouthed lass again with the dickless bitch! How lucky of us."

"A beautiful girl like you doesn't need to stay with him. See, you're still angry at him. Just let us help you out."

Where they the same guys that were at the inn before? She didn't expect to meet them again. She would have preferred it did not happen either.

"You can rely on us, trust me, we're death-seekers."

They looked like a bunch of lowlife bandits more than death-seekers. She didn't believe them at all. What did they want from them?

"What kind of help?"

The five men all retrieved weapons and answered with a creepy smile.

"We could just get rid of him for you. Dead men can collect no debt."

"Ya hear that boy, we'll cut you down for the pretty lass, she will certainly praise us for it."

What were they even thinking? This was one of the stupidest thing she had ever heard. Why her? Go bother someone else. Was she perhaps born with a moron magnet embedded in her flesh? There were so many other girls, why must it always be her that attracted the most idiotic of them? Were they really stupid enough to attack a noble? At that moment, a second thought came to her mind. They had no idea that the man at her side wasn't a random thug like them but a high noble instead.

All she had to do to get rid of them was to tell them his name, they would freak out and run away. There was another possibility though.

Maybe all those dumb idiots would kill each other if she just said the right thing. Not only would there be one less idiot noble in the world but she could use the unjust amount of money he had on him to be free of all the rest of her troubles too.

"What is happening?" Asked the clueless idiot at her side.

What should she do? what was the right answer here? If you excluded all the idiotic things he pulled off out of cluelessness, Emp had done nothing wrong, 'yet'. But, as he had so vehemently put it himself earlier, that she was never soaked by the rain before did not mean she would never be in the future.

Those other dirty men weren't trustworthy at all but they could easily be discarded afterwards. She even had a dagger to help her now, conveniently given by him.

Still, it seemed unfair. He was more like a random idiot with a noble title than a noble who happened to be an idiot. After all, she did knew nobles that happened to be idiots and they were much more vicious. he somehow did not fit her usual description of nobles.

Fuck! Why was this such a hard choice! It should have been easy, freedom was dangled in front of her eyes and she was hesitating to take it. She moistened her lips, gulped out of nervousness and gave her answer.

"They are threatening you."