Chapter 650 - Teacher

Upon leaving the forest, Shiro could see the river flowing through a bridge and some water wheels.

Raising her eyebrows, she walked up the side of the river bank and made her way into the town where people would glance towards her with curiosity and disgust but Shiro ignored them.

Her goal here was to A, find some clothing and B, find some information on which trials are where.

Looking around for a little while, she managed to spot a few clothes that were hung out to dry.

Narrowing her eyes, she made herself unseen through the alleys and nabbed a pair of shirts and pants. They were a little large but it would do for now.

Quickly dashing away from the scene before they could spot her. Changing into the still damp clothes, Shiro looked at her feet and wondered if she should find herself some footwear as it was rather uncomfortable to be walking around in barefoot. Especially in a town like this.

Furrowing her brows, Shiro grabbed her old fruit knife that she had kept since it was the sharpest thing on her and started to cut some pieces of her hide cloak. Now that she had some clothes underneath, she could actually start using some of the hide to make shoes.

Using some of the tendons that she had used to wrap the meat, she tied the hide around her feet so that they acted as shoes. It wasn't exactly the nicest looking but it will do for now.

With her clothes sorted out, Shiro wanted to look for some alcohol so that she could save it as disinfectant but stealing alcohol was definitely much harder than stealing clothes since they would be stored in secure locations.

Giving up on the alcohol, she looked around for the stables.

Seeing an elderly man brushing the horses, Shiro walked up.

"Excuse me." She called out.

"Yes? What can I do for you?" The elderly man glanced back and frowned but allowed her to ask her question.

"Do you know what kind of trials are near here?"

"You're looking for the trials? Do you have any money to pay for this information?" He asked while narrowing his eyes.

"Money? No I don't." Shiro shook her head.

"Then don't bother me." He waved his hand and ushered her away.

Furrowing her brows, Shiro was a little annoyed but there wasn't much she could do.

"So if I come back with some money, you'll tell me right?" Shiro asked.

"Yes yes, I'll tell you if you bring me some money." The elderly man waved his hand and dismissed her without looking back.

Narrowing her eyes, Shiro glanced at his body and spotted a small pouch peeking out from his shirt.

Estimating its weight, she figured that she could probably do a quick switch and run away if things get bad.

"Please sir, it's only some information. If you tell me I'll leave." Shiro asked as she grabbed his arm.

Acting as though she was desperate, the man was clearly annoyed.

Punching her across the face, he pushed Shiro off his arm and walked inside, ignoring her completely.

Spitting some blood on the ground, Shiro clicked her tongue in annoyance and walked away. While she wasn't able to switch the money pouch completely, she managed to loosen it up and grab a few coins the moment he tried to punch her.

Even though she could have dodged it with ease, she needed to get some money for her troubles.

'At least I got money now.' Shiro sighed while glancing down at the few pieces of copper coins that she had managed to secure for herself.

'To think I actually took a hit just for some coins.'

*Sigh…

Sighing softly, Shiro looked around for someone else so that she could get some information. The best place would probably be a school.

Asking around for a little bit, there were some folk who were nice enough to tell her and she managed to arrive without any problems.

Glancing through one of the windows, Shiro could see an a.d.u.l.t teaching some children and decided to wait until the lesson was over.

Feeling some hunger once more, Shiro frowned and figured that she probably needed to hunt something either tonight or tomorrow to keep herself in fighting form.

After a few hours, the class was over and Shiro waited for the teacher to leave the building.

"Excuse me." Shiro called out.

"Yes?" Looking towards Shiro, the teacher was a little curious as to what this stranger wanted from him.

"Are you able to tell me where the god trials are and what god they belong to?" Shiro asked.

"I can but… it's getting a little late." The teacher said while glancing up at the sky.

"How about this, the school doesn't need money so you can come tomorrow and I'll tell you during the lesson." He smiled.

"It doesn't need money?" Shiro tilted her head.

"If it did, parents wouldn't send their children to school to learn about the other cities and the places around the world." The teacher shook his head and left the area.

'Hm, I suppose it makes sense since there's probably a high chance that the people living here will continue the family job such as being a farmer rather than venturing out into the wild.'

With a goal in mind for tomorrow, Shiro started to walk towards the forest once more so that she could hunt down a monster for some food and shelter for the night.

Looking at the copper coins, she figured that she could probably pay the father and son duo for some of the meat if she saw them. That way, she could avoid being wounded in another fight since the wounds still hadn't healed up properly yet.

Arriving at the same spot that she had seen the father son duo, she could spot a drag mark with dried blood meaning that they were dragging the monster away.

Thinking about it for a moment, she eventually decided to follow the tracks and found herself in front of a cabin located in the forest. There was a warm glow coming from the cabin as Shiro figured that they were inside.

Knocking on the door, Shiro waited patiently.

*Creak~

"Ah it's you from earlier." The father looked at Shiro with surprise.

"Mn. Can I pay you for some food and shelter tonight?" Shiro asked.

"We don't really have a spare room but if you don't mind, you can sleep in an empty space. Think of it as an apology for earlier. As for food, since we have just hunted the monster, we've got plenty of meat for a little while." The father smiled kindly.

"What about the payment?" Shiro asked.

"It's only for a night. Come on in." The father gestured for her to enter as Shiro nodded her head.

Seeing the son sitting on a wooden chair while looking at her with curiosity, Shiro stood around awkwardly.

"Sit down, we're just eating now so I'll grab a bowl for you. If you don't mind, can I ask you for your name?" The father asked.

"Shiro. What about you and your son?"

"I'm Nam and my son is called Ras. So how come you were travelling through the forest?" Nam asked while placing a bowl in front of her.

"To get to this town." Shiro replied simply.

"I see. Are you here because of Mr Tarih?" Nam asked.

"Who?"

"He's a warrior that came from one of the larger towns further east and he teaches people how to fight and keep themselves alive. People from other villages come here to get lessons from him." Nam explained.

"No it's not him. All I want is information on the god trials." Shiro shook her head.

"Ah so you've come of age. You'll probably find some information from the school then. The teacher there is said to have completed a small trial from Athena and received the divinity of knowledge. If you want information, he's the one to go to." Nam smiled.

"Athena huh?" Shiro smiled, hearing a familiar name.

Since he was the one who received her divinity, then her choice of looking for the school was right.

Talking to the father and son duo for a little bit, Shiro eventually found herself a spot next to the window and huddled up carefully so that she didn't reopen her wounds.

Closing her eyes, she made sure to keep her guard up just in case the Nam was more than what he seemed. After all, she was a stranger here.