Chapter 119
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The youth with a vaguely familiar face stepped off the barrel after he successfully stopped the horde of children. He stood quite a bit taller than the rest of the children that were present, even slightly taller than Altair, at 143 cm. He seemed to have a perpetual grin on his face that, with his rust colored hair, made him appear welcoming and scheming at the same time.
The gang of children moved out of his way as he started to approach Altair.
Altair didn't let her guard down as she still had hold of a child's head in one hand. She didn't know there were so many street urchins in this area. She also didn't know that they had some kind of alarm setup that allowed them to just mob an area without warning. Even Altair couldn't tell that they were nearby when she was approaching and she thought of herself as a very perceptive person.
He didn't approach too close as Altair was openly hostile towards him while she still held the child in her hand. He then spoke with his still maturing voice, "I didn't expect a nobleman's child to be this strong even when they're so young." He cast a look over the children nearby, "Still, I would appreciate it if you let this matter go as most of my friends here didn't know about your identity."
Altair frowned. 'What identity? You kids don't know squat.' She roughly shoved the child she was holding away to show that she didn't mean them any harm before saying, "Your friends tried to rob me a second time after I came to them with a job."
A slightly wounded look crossed his face before it disappeared quickly. He then smiled at her and said, "Well, how about I take up that job in place of the person who failed then?"
Several of the kids around him didn't like this idea as they quickly complained about it, but he held up his hand to stop them while adding, "Look, Allie's interested in her. How bad could she be?"
"Then," Altair interrupted their conversation impatiently, "Continue to lead me to the wells around the market."
He gave her an odd look before asking, "Why are you looking for the wells?" The only response he got was a blank stare. This caused him to sigh lightly before he said, "Alright, I'll do it." He turned to the gathered children and said, "Go back to what you were doing. I'll see you all at home tonight."
The children cleared out of the pathway far slower than they came in. Altair waited until they were all gone before she dropped her bag back down to her. The sound of her catching the bag caused the youth to turn around.
When he saw that Altair suddenly had a bag in her hands he couldn't hide his shock. She was completely unarmed just a moment ago.
Altair didn't care about his surprise and swung the bag over her shoulder before she flatly stated, "Lead on. No tricks this time. I already wasted enough time here." She looked up at the sky briefly and saw that it was becoming late afternoon at this point. She still had to get another room tonight as she only paid for one night so far. She had also missed the lunch that was included in what she paid for as well.
The youth turned and walked down a side pathway after she spoke, which Altair followed right after. They walked in relative silence for a short time before the youth asked, "So, you know Brother Sief?"
Altair narrowed her eyes at the back of his head before lying, "No. Who is that?"
The youths voice was suddenly filled with smiles, "Brother Sief is a great man. He visits the orphanage we stay at a lot and helps out with all sorts of things. Even his wife Lily brings out snacks when they can afford it! They're really great people."
'So brother's wife is someone named Lily,' she thought to herself. 'I don't remember anyone by that name in our village though. What happened to that one girl he was courting?'
He glanced over his shoulder as he continued, "This one time, Jim got stuck in a tree while we were playing, and Sief caught him when he couldn't hold on anymore. He's like a hero to us."
Altair felt proud of her brother after he said that. However, just because she wanted to hear more about her brother didn't mean that she could. The more she found out the harder it would be for her to just leave again. What she saw was enough for her. Thus, she said, "What's the point in telling me about this person?"
He stopped walking and turned to her with a big smile on his face and said, "Don't hold it against him for confusing you with his dead sister. He just really misses her so if you look like she did then it's understandable." His expression suddenly turned serious as he said, "Please don't take him from us."
Altair smiled in her mind at the thought of her brother taking care of others. It was very fitting in her mind. He was always the one who looked after her and her little sister when they were children. But, an act is an act, so Altair frowned at the boy and asked, "Are we going or not?"
The boy gave her a pained smile before he turned back around and continued to walk through the pathway. They walked in silence for a while before he started, "Sief told us a lot of stories about his childhood. That there was a time when both of his sisters once fought over who was going to do the laundry and who would go out and play…"
He continued the story, but to Altair, who had lived it, the memories that surged forth in her mind. 'I remember that,' she thought to herself. 'Brother wound up telling us both to split the work to get it done faster.' She remembered being completely shocked by such an obvious thing back then.
She shook her head and sighed lightly. 'I've come a long way since then. We all have.'
"There was another time when his little sister Altair got in a fight with Lily," he started. As soon as he spoke those words, Altair's mind shook.
She didn't remember that happening at all. She didn't even remember anyone named Lily from her childhood. 'Eh…?' She tilted her head as the boy finished that story and started another one she didn't remember about how she once got into an argument with him over some piece of clothing.
'Did he make these up?' Altair couldn't think of another reason at that moment. But she quickly discarded the very idea of it. The Sief she remembered wasn't a liar. He was very honest, to the point that it got her in trouble several times because he wouldn't cover for her with their parents.
Then, Liam's face flashed through her mind with his words, ""You had damage to the part of your brain that stores memories. While your memories cannot be recovered…"
And it all made sense to her immediately. 'Ah, I almost forgot about that.'
From when Joshua had beaten her the first time they met, it was just now surfacing in her mind. She clenched her fists tightly in her hands, 'That little brat… I'll make you pay for this.' Her knuckles turned white as her heart ached over her loss. Hearing about the memories she had taken from her from another person only made it hurt more. It didn't seem that she could find out what parts of her past she couldn't remember either.
It felt like she just forgot things and, even after being reminded of them, it only told her that it might have happened. The only reason she believed the stories at all was because the boy claimed that Sief told them. If it was anyone else, she probably wouldn't have believed it.
Still, she didn't want to hear anymore because of the ache in her chest, "You can stop telling me about someone I don't care about anytime now."
The boy sighed audibly but didn't continue speaking. It was obvious he was trying to influence her in his own way and he knew he had been caught.
They continued on in silence for a while until the boy led Altair to a familiar clearing. It was the same one that she ran into Sief at before, just from a different alley. It was slightly difficult to identify it as the same place just by looking at it.
By now, the women around the well weren't there anymore. There was only a few children still running around, one of them being the girl that Altair had stared at briefly. They didn't seem to notice Altair and the boy at the entrance to the pathway they came out of as they acted out some kind of story together.
The boy said, "Just think about what I said at least." Then he turned around and walked back into the alley that they came from. It was obvious that he had predicted where Altair wanted to go from the moment he heard her request and was worried he would lose someone important to everyone in the orphanage.
However, the boy had chosen to try and appease her so that she wouldn't harm anyone from the orphanage instead of trying to protect everyone. He made a sensible decision, if she was really a noble.
But Altair wasn't a noble. She had no intention of doing anything harmful to her brother.
Right now, she just wanted to leave them a gift. Since she had returned here, the next step would be to find out which house was Sief's.
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The youth with a vaguely familiar face stepped off the barrel after he successfully stopped the horde of children. He stood quite a bit taller than the rest of the children that were present, even slightly taller than Altair, at 143 cm. He seemed to have a perpetual grin on his face that, with his rust colored hair, made him appear welcoming and scheming at the same time.
The gang of children moved out of his way as he started to approach Altair.
Altair didn't let her guard down as she still had hold of a child's head in one hand. She didn't know there were so many street urchins in this area. She also didn't know that they had some kind of alarm setup that allowed them to just mob an area without warning. Even Altair couldn't tell that they were nearby when she was approaching and she thought of herself as a very perceptive person.
He didn't approach too close as Altair was openly hostile towards him while she still held the child in her hand. He then spoke with his still maturing voice, "I didn't expect a nobleman's child to be this strong even when they're so young." He cast a look over the children nearby, "Still, I would appreciate it if you let this matter go as most of my friends here didn't know about your identity."
Altair frowned. 'What identity? You kids don't know squat.' She roughly shoved the child she was holding away to show that she didn't mean them any harm before saying, "Your friends tried to rob me a second time after I came to them with a job."
A slightly wounded look crossed his face before it disappeared quickly. He then smiled at her and said, "Well, how about I take up that job in place of the person who failed then?"
Several of the kids around him didn't like this idea as they quickly complained about it, but he held up his hand to stop them while adding, "Look, Allie's interested in her. How bad could she be?"
"Then," Altair interrupted their conversation impatiently, "Continue to lead me to the wells around the market."
He gave her an odd look before asking, "Why are you looking for the wells?" The only response he got was a blank stare. This caused him to sigh lightly before he said, "Alright, I'll do it." He turned to the gathered children and said, "Go back to what you were doing. I'll see you all at home tonight."
The children cleared out of the pathway far slower than they came in. Altair waited until they were all gone before she dropped her bag back down to her. The sound of her catching the bag caused the youth to turn around.
When he saw that Altair suddenly had a bag in her hands he couldn't hide his shock. She was completely unarmed just a moment ago.
Altair didn't care about his surprise and swung the bag over her shoulder before she flatly stated, "Lead on. No tricks this time. I already wasted enough time here." She looked up at the sky briefly and saw that it was becoming late afternoon at this point. She still had to get another room tonight as she only paid for one night so far. She had also missed the lunch that was included in what she paid for as well.
The youth turned and walked down a side pathway after she spoke, which Altair followed right after. They walked in relative silence for a short time before the youth asked, "So, you know Brother Sief?"
Altair narrowed her eyes at the back of his head before lying, "No. Who is that?"
The youths voice was suddenly filled with smiles, "Brother Sief is a great man. He visits the orphanage we stay at a lot and helps out with all sorts of things. Even his wife Lily brings out snacks when they can afford it! They're really great people."
'So brother's wife is someone named Lily,' she thought to herself. 'I don't remember anyone by that name in our village though. What happened to that one girl he was courting?'
He glanced over his shoulder as he continued, "This one time, Jim got stuck in a tree while we were playing, and Sief caught him when he couldn't hold on anymore. He's like a hero to us."
Altair felt proud of her brother after he said that. However, just because she wanted to hear more about her brother didn't mean that she could. The more she found out the harder it would be for her to just leave again. What she saw was enough for her. Thus, she said, "What's the point in telling me about this person?"
He stopped walking and turned to her with a big smile on his face and said, "Don't hold it against him for confusing you with his dead sister. He just really misses her so if you look like she did then it's understandable." His expression suddenly turned serious as he said, "Please don't take him from us."
Altair smiled in her mind at the thought of her brother taking care of others. It was very fitting in her mind. He was always the one who looked after her and her little sister when they were children. But, an act is an act, so Altair frowned at the boy and asked, "Are we going or not?"
The boy gave her a pained smile before he turned back around and continued to walk through the pathway. They walked in silence for a while before he started, "Sief told us a lot of stories about his childhood. That there was a time when both of his sisters once fought over who was going to do the laundry and who would go out and play…"
He continued the story, but to Altair, who had lived it, the memories that surged forth in her mind. 'I remember that,' she thought to herself. 'Brother wound up telling us both to split the work to get it done faster.' She remembered being completely shocked by such an obvious thing back then.
She shook her head and sighed lightly. 'I've come a long way since then. We all have.'
"There was another time when his little sister Altair got in a fight with Lily," he started. As soon as he spoke those words, Altair's mind shook.
She didn't remember that happening at all. She didn't even remember anyone named Lily from her childhood. 'Eh…?' She tilted her head as the boy finished that story and started another one she didn't remember about how she once got into an argument with him over some piece of clothing.
'Did he make these up?' Altair couldn't think of another reason at that moment. But she quickly discarded the very idea of it. The Sief she remembered wasn't a liar. He was very honest, to the point that it got her in trouble several times because he wouldn't cover for her with their parents.
Then, Liam's face flashed through her mind with his words, ""You had damage to the part of your brain that stores memories. While your memories cannot be recovered…"
And it all made sense to her immediately. 'Ah, I almost forgot about that.'
From when Joshua had beaten her the first time they met, it was just now surfacing in her mind. She clenched her fists tightly in her hands, 'That little brat… I'll make you pay for this.' Her knuckles turned white as her heart ached over her loss. Hearing about the memories she had taken from her from another person only made it hurt more. It didn't seem that she could find out what parts of her past she couldn't remember either.
It felt like she just forgot things and, even after being reminded of them, it only told her that it might have happened. The only reason she believed the stories at all was because the boy claimed that Sief told them. If it was anyone else, she probably wouldn't have believed it.
Still, she didn't want to hear anymore because of the ache in her chest, "You can stop telling me about someone I don't care about anytime now."
The boy sighed audibly but didn't continue speaking. It was obvious he was trying to influence her in his own way and he knew he had been caught.
They continued on in silence for a while until the boy led Altair to a familiar clearing. It was the same one that she ran into Sief at before, just from a different alley. It was slightly difficult to identify it as the same place just by looking at it.
By now, the women around the well weren't there anymore. There was only a few children still running around, one of them being the girl that Altair had stared at briefly. They didn't seem to notice Altair and the boy at the entrance to the pathway they came out of as they acted out some kind of story together.
The boy said, "Just think about what I said at least." Then he turned around and walked back into the alley that they came from. It was obvious that he had predicted where Altair wanted to go from the moment he heard her request and was worried he would lose someone important to everyone in the orphanage.
However, the boy had chosen to try and appease her so that she wouldn't harm anyone from the orphanage instead of trying to protect everyone. He made a sensible decision, if she was really a noble.
But Altair wasn't a noble. She had no intention of doing anything harmful to her brother.
Right now, she just wanted to leave them a gift. Since she had returned here, the next step would be to find out which house was Sief's.
The youth with a vaguely familiar face stepped off the barrel after he successfully stopped the horde of children. He stood quite a bit taller than the rest of the children that were present, even slightly taller than Altair, at 143 cm. He seemed to have a perpetual grin on his face that, with his rust colored hair, made him appear welcoming and scheming at the same time.The gang of children moved out of his way as he started to approach Altair.Altair didn't let her guard down as she still had hold of a child's head in one hand. She didn't know there were so many street urchins in this area. She also didn't know that they had some kind of alarm setup that allowed them to just mob an area without warning. Even Altair couldn't tell that they were nearby when she was approaching and she thought of herself as a very perceptive person.He didn't approach too close as Altair was openly hostile towards him while she still held the child in her hand. He then spoke with his still maturing voice, "I didn't expect a nobleman's child to be this strong even when they're so young." He cast a look over the children nearby, "Still, I would appreciate it if you let this matter go as most of my friends here didn't know about your identity."Altair frowned. 'What identity? You kids don't know squat.' She roughly shoved the child she was holding away to show that she didn't mean them any harm before saying, "Your friends tried to rob me a second time after I came to them with a job."A slightly wounded look crossed his face before it disappeared quickly. He then smiled at her and said, "Well, how about I take up that job in place of the person who failed then?"Several of the kids around him didn't like this idea as they quickly complained about it, but he held up his hand to stop them while adding, "Look, Allie's interested in her. How bad could she be?""Then," Altair interrupted their conversation impatiently, "Continue to lead me to the wells around the market."He gave her an odd look before asking, "Why are you looking for the wells?" The only response he got was a blank stare. This caused him to sigh lightly before he said, "Alright, I'll do it." He turned to the gathered children and said, "Go back to what you were doing. I'll see you all at home tonight."The children cleared out of the pathway far slower than they came in. Altair waited until they were all gone before she dropped her bag back down to her. The sound of her catching the bag caused the youth to turn around.When he saw that Altair suddenly had a bag in her hands he couldn't hide his shock. She was completely unarmed just a moment ago.Altair didn't care about his surprise and swung the bag over her shoulder before she flatly stated, "Lead on. No tricks this time. I already wasted enough time here." She looked up at the sky briefly and saw that it was becoming late afternoon at this point. She still had to get another room tonight as she only paid for one night so far. She had also missed the lunch that was included in what she paid for as well.The youth turned and walked down a side pathway after she spoke, which Altair followed right after. They walked in relative silence for a short time before the youth asked, "So, you know Brother Sief?"Altair narrowed her eyes at the back of his head before lying, "No. Who is that?"The youths voice was suddenly filled with smiles, "Brother Sief is a great man. He visits the orphanage we stay at a lot and helps out with all sorts of things. Even his wife Lily brings out snacks when they can afford it! They're really great people."'So brother's wife is someone named Lily,' she thought to herself. 'I don't remember anyone by that name in our village though. What happened to that one girl he was courting?'He glanced over his shoulder as he continued, "This one time, Jim got stuck in a tree while we were playing, and Sief caught him when he couldn't hold on anymore. He's like a hero to us."Altair felt proud of her brother after he said that. However, just because she wanted to hear more about her brother didn't mean that she could. The more she found out the harder it would be for her to just leave again. What she saw was enough for her. Thus, she said, "What's the point in telling me about this person?"He stopped walking and turned to her with a big smile on his face and said, "Don't hold it against him for confusing you with his dead sister. He just really misses her so if you look like she did then it's understandable." His expression suddenly turned serious as he said, "Please don't take him from us."Altair smiled in her mind at the thought of her brother taking care of others. It was very fitting in her mind. He was always the one who looked after her and her little sister when they were children. But, an act is an act, so Altair frowned at the boy and asked, "Are we going or not?"The boy gave her a pained smile before he turned back around and continued to walk through the pathway. They walked in silence for a while before he started, "Sief told us a lot of stories about his childhood. That there was a time when both of his sisters once fought over who was going to do the laundry and who would go out and play"He continued the story, but to Altair, who had lived it, the memories that surged forth in her mind. 'I remember that,' she thought to herself. 'Brother wound up telling us both to split the work to get it done faster.' She remembered being completely shocked by such an obvious thing back then.She shook her head and sighed lightly. 'I've come a long way since then. We all have.'"There was another time when his little sister Altair got in a fight with Lily," he started. As soon as he spoke those words, Altair's mind shook.She didn't remember that happening at all. She didn't even remember anyone named Lily from her childhood. 'Eh?' She tilted her head as the boy finished that story and started another one she didn't remember about how she once got into an argument with him over some piece of clothing.'Did he make these up?' Altair couldn't think of another reason at that moment. But she quickly discarded the very idea of it. The Sief she remembered wasn't a liar. He was very honest, to the point that it got her in trouble several times because he wouldn't cover for her with their parents.Then, Liam's face flashed through her mind with his words, ""You had damage to the part of your brain that stores memories. While your memories cannot be recovered"And it all made sense to her immediately. 'Ah, I almost forgot about that.'From when Joshua had beaten her the first time they met, it was just now surfacing in her mind. She clenched her fists tightly in her hands, 'That little brat I'll make you pay for this.' Her knuckles turned white as her heart ached over her loss. Hearing about the memories she had taken from her from another person only made it hurt more. It didn't seem that she could find out what parts of her past she couldn't remember either.It felt like she just forgot things and, even after being reminded of them, it only told her that it might have happened. The only reason she believed the stories at all was because the boy claimed that Sief told them. If it was anyone else, she probably wouldn't have believed it.Still, she didn't want to hear anymore because of the ache in her chest, "You can stop telling me about someone I don't care about anytime now."The boy sighed audibly but didn't continue speaking. It was obvious he was trying to influence her in his own way and he knew he had been caught.They continued on in silence for a while until the boy led Altair to a familiar clearing. It was the same one that she ran into Sief at before, just from a different alley. It was slightly difficult to identify it as the same place just by looking at it.By now, the women around the well weren't there anymore. There was only a few children still running around, one of them being the girl that Altair had stared at briefly. They didn't seem to notice Altair and the boy at the entrance to the pathway they came out of as they acted out some kind of story together.The boy said, "Just think about what I said at least." Then he turned around and walked back into the alley that they came from. It was obvious that he had predicted where Altair wanted to go from the moment he heard her request and was worried he would lose someone important to everyone in the orphanage.However, the boy had chosen to try and appease her so that she wouldn't harm anyone from the orphanage instead of trying to protect everyone. He made a sensible decision, if she was really a noble.But Altair wasn't a noble. She had no intention of doing anything harmful to her brother.Right now, she just wanted to leave them a gift. Since she had returned here, the next step would be to find out which house was Sief's.
