In a new city, Himura!...
Our next destination began with the drawing of a plan that would allow us to move, but before that, I needed to repair my torn yellow blouse, which had been snagged by a thorny tree, as well as sharpen my weapons to make them more effective.
Eva was eager to take on this task, not wanting to be seen together in a place we knew nothing about, while I stayed in one of the rooms we had rented, waiting for her return.
Eva arrived at the blacksmith's to have the weapons sharpened, after leaving the blouse with one of the market women for mending, of course, while being bombarded with questions from the worker like, "Whose blood is this? Whose blouse is it? Where is it from?"
Like a bundle of herbs, Eva embraced the sharp weapons in both hands, covering them with a piece of cloth, dressed in a long robe that concealed her face entirely.
"Good, good, good, look what we have here," said the blacksmith as he laid the sharp weapons out on the table.
"Um, excuse me, sir, I'd like to pick them up in an hour. Can you hurry and work on them?"
"Don't worry, madam, they don't call me the sword polisher for nothing; it's just curiosity. Whose collection of heavy swords is this?! I mean…! Look at this blood-red sword! I've never seen anything like it before! Is it your father's or your husband's?"
"Oh, uh… no, really, umm, I mean…" Eva hesitated to respond to him.
"Hmmm… what I feel inside… no one, whether strong or weak, could bear such gear. It's been twenty years since I started this craft, and it's very rare for me to see a sword reeking of blood and entrails in such a horrific manner.
There's no upright swordsman… I mean, no swordsman of morals who would take this path! Perhaps a highwayman or maybe a serial killer? Isn't that right?"
Eva paid no heed to the blacksmith's words or his persistent attempts to find out to whom the weapons belonged. She remained silent, waiting for the bill, wondering how many silver coins it would cost her…!
"Ha ha ha ha, hey hey hey, don't mind my words, dear; I won't bombard you with questions any longer. You're supposed to answer like this: It's normal to smell blood and entrails, for swords are made for killing! Isn't that right! Ha ha ha, I'm quite convincing, aren't I?"
"Ooooh!" a sound she made while lifting something heavy.
Eva retrieved her blouse after it had been mended and made her way to the blacksmith to collect Brando's swords before returning to him, as he awaited her arrival...
She reached the workshop where the blacksmith worked to pick up Brando's swords. While waiting for him to wrap up what she had come for, she began scanning her eyes over the work he had done...
Quickly, something caught her attention— a medal on the wall. She was astonished to find it in that place: the Medal of the Rising Sun, engraved with the symbol of a dragon, hanging from a silver chain...!
The medal she had lost on the day her father was murdered, a gift from him to her, originally belonging to her grandfather who had received it from the emperor for his service to the nation and participation in one of the major military battles...
"And now, miss, the cost for polishing these swords is one silver coin."
"Hey, miss, I'm done with my work; you can take them!"
There was no reaction from Eva towards the blacksmith… it was all because of that medal, which she couldn't take her eyes off! She even extended her hand to grasp the medal...
"Hey! Wait! I see you've fallen in love with this medal! Just take a look at it; its owner is supposed to arrive any moment now! You can wait if you want to meet him; he'll be here soon."
"Owner of… this medal!" Eva said without taking her eyes off it.
"What's wrong? Ah, I see! He's someone from a group belonging to the Sword Gangs; everyone's talking about them… Do you know about them?"
Silence.
"Come on! Who doesn't know them these days! You should be aware; he's part of the Golden Hawk Squad."
"Oh! Oh! Here you are, finally… I've been waiting for you, and so has the girl!" said the blacksmith as the man from the gang arrived...
The man stood tall, with a commanding presence that drew attention. He wore black armor and a wide cloak that draped from his shoulders, topped with a broad, round hat. His hands were covered with black gloves.
His skin was a medium shade of dark, with black eyes, lips tinted black, and long blonde hair cascading from beneath his hat...
With sharp eyes fixed on Eva, he said, "You there, woman! What do you think you're doing? Haven't you learned since childhood not to reach for things that don't belong to you?"
"And you let her do that!" he directed his sword toward the blacksmith.
The blacksmith took the medal from Eva's hand and hurried towards the gentleman to return it to him. "Ah! Well…! I apologize for that, sir. It seems this young girl here is intrigued by medals and old battles; it was a trivial incident, and she picked up your medal, sir…" Out of fear, the blacksmith knelt down.
"Hmmm, I see. Very well then," the man examined the medal in his hands and added, "Excellent work; you did well repairing it."
"Thank you, sir. I only engaged in the craft of blacksmithing and polishing to preserve rare pieces like the one you hold from damage and loss. The labor for this brings a good feeling and a desire for more."
"You're a man who knows how to live," he shot him a terrifying glance before leaving.
The blacksmith wiped his forehead from sweat, saying, "Ooooh, you nearly caused my death, miss."
He turned his gaze toward Eva only to find that she had grabbed her swords and rushed outside.
"Hey! Sir fighter, I… this… please sell me that medal," Eva panted as she addressed the warrior from the Golden Hawk Squad. "I'll pay for it… I can offer 29 silver coins… I beg you! Please!"
"What's with all this interest!?"
After a moment of silence from Eva, the fighter added, "Miss! That medal is not for sale, as it does not belong to me… I will return it to its owner as soon as he appears."
Eva couldn't say anything; she didn't dare to claim… that the medal was hers, inherited from her father…
She preferred to wait and not reveal herself, especially in front of a member of the group that had killed her father. Who knows what he might do to her!
Empty-handed, she returned, hoping that she might have another chance to meet him again…
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In the rented room...
"Hey, little girl, is that true? You offered everything you own! How much is 29 silver coins worth? Do you have any idea about that? I don't mind facing difficulties; I'm used to it. But I don't know if you can handle your empty stomach and sleeping out in the open…"
"Brando… I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize; it's your loss anyway. But tell me, why the hell do you want to buy a piece of metal for everything you own?"
"That medal belongs to my grandfather; my father told me so. He earned it after fighting in a battle in defense of the Empire. My grandfather served as a captain of the cavalry within the army."
"And now, what do you want to do? Search for this man? If you want to retrieve it by force, I'll help you with that…"
Eva broke down in tears. "I'm sorry, Brando. This will be the last time I talk about it. I can't help myself when it comes to speaking about my father and mother… it's pitiful."
"It's time for me to forget everything and throw it behind me, even that medal."
"I don't think you believe that talk. That man! The leader of the Golden Hawk Squad, don't you hate him?"
"Of course I do, but what comes after that? We barely killed one of them, Schiller… that old pervert… I want to meet Karl himself as soon as possible."
After her words, Eva fell asleep, while I remained by the window, gazing at the stars that illuminated the sky… It seemed that Eva couldn't sleep, and instead, I began to hear her sobs. Her talk about throwing things behind her and forgetting what happened was nothing but empty words…
I didn't want to stay in the room amid this sad atmosphere; I went outside.
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