After an unknown period of ti, the red-haired woman slowly started to gain consciousness. She gradually opened her eyes, her vision initially blurry.
The first thing that she saw was a ceiling made of dried straw supported by wooden beams. The walls were made of wattle, and their surface was uneven. The floor was simply packed earth.
"Where am I?" She muttered under her breath.
The last thing she rembered was being chased by her pursuers. She had managed to fight them off, but in that process, she had gotten grievously injured. Then, she was ambushed by a group of mortal bandits who had managed to injure her even further.
She couldn't even begin to believe that a Magus of her caliber would be done in by a band of asly bandits who didn't know a thing about mana.
But it couldn't be helped. Her pursuers were a very formidable group of people. She nearly died trying to escape from them. Thus, she had been severely weakened.
The woman looked around the interior of the hut. The bed she was lying down on had a simple wooden fra and a mattress stuffed with dried grass.
"No wonder my back is itching..." she grumbled.
In one corner of the hut, there were a couple of clay pots and baskets for storing grain and food. In the adjacent corner was the cooking area - a small hearth with soot-stained stones forming its base.
She instantly realized that she was inside the hut she had earlier seen before she fell unconscious. The one by the oak tree. The hut was cozy but very cramped.
"Could the person living here have brought inside?" She wondered as she tried to sit up on the bed.
"Ugh!" But she instantly grimaced. The wound on her stomach had still not healed.
"Huh?" She lifted her robe and saw that the wound had been wrapped in a cloth bandage. Although it was ssy, it still did the job of stopping the blood loss.
Moreover, even the injuries on both her legs and left arm had been taken care of.
Just as she was observing the state of her injuries, the door to the hut suddenly opened, catching her by surprise. A young raven-haired boy entered, holding onto two dead rabbits by the ears stepped inside.
"Oh?" Adam was pleasantly surprised. "You're finally awake! Great, are you hungry? You must be. Anyway, I got lucky today and managed to catch two rabbits. Wait a little while I cook us so dinner."
Without waiting for her response, he went to the cooking area of the hut and began preparing for the al.
Seeing how carefree the boy was, the red-haired woman was dumbfounded. She thought to herself incredulously, How can he be so friendly to strangers? What a simpleton!
No! He could be plotting... I can't let my guard down.
The last few months had taught her to remain vigilant at all tis. She glanced at the boy squatting before the iron pot and asked, "Who else lives here?"
"Just ," said the boy without turning around.
Is he lying? Thought the woman. Yes, he must be lying. There's no way a boy so young can manage to live on his own.
She decided to probe further. She had to make sure there was no imminent danger to her life now that she was utterly defenseless.
"How do you make a living then?" She asked. "Surely there must be soone that's taking care of you, right?"
"Nope, nothing like that," said Adam as he began skinning the rabbits. A pungent sll traveled across the hut, causing the woman to involuntarily cover her nose.
"I work the field outside, you know," Adam continued. "But it isn't very profitable because most of the produce goes to the Baron. He's a very greedy man, sigh. Everyone in town already knows that but there's nothing we can do about it.
"Apart from that I do all sorts of work for the people in the town. But sotis it gets difficult to get a job, you know, 'cause people think a kid like is incapable of doing work. But I'll have you know, I'm a very dependable man, hehe."
He kept on rambling about the odd jobs he did in the nearby town, causing the woman to beco speechless.
Yes, he's definitely an idiot, she thought. She chose to silently observe the boy for a while, to see if he was actually stupid or pretending to be one to lower her guard.
But the more she observed him, the more she realized how simple-minded he was. The boy had absolutely no qualms about having a stranger like her in his ho and even cooking a al for her.
She could already tell that the boy wasn't doing so well financially, yet he was taking care of her and even cooking for her. According to her, the boy was surely planning sothing. Soon the al was ready. Adam brought two bowls of at stew and gave one to the woman. "You're very lucky, you know. Usually, I only get to eat at once a month."
Is this poisoned? The woman thought, glancing at the steaming bowl of food in her hands. Although she had seen the whole process of Adam preparing the food, she was still slightly suspicious.
She didn't eat until she saw Adam take a couple of bites from the bowl. The at stew was surprisingly not bad.
"By the way, what's your na?" Adam asked curiously.
The woman deeply looked at the boy. She could see the wonder in his black eyes. Apart from that, there was sothing else as well - happiness.
"...Anna."
"Ohh, Anna!" Adam giggled. "My na is Adam! Adam Constantine! What's your surna?"
Anna's eyes narrowed. She ignored his question, resuming eating. Adam didn't mind it, instead, he began telling her about how his day had been. He went on and on, causing her to beco irritated.
Just as she was about to snap at him and tell him to shut up, Adam changed the topic, "Oh, I
forgot."
"What?" Anna asked, seeing the devious glint in the boy's eyes.
Adam pointed at the bandage around her stomach, and the ones around her limbs. "That's going to cost you, you know? I had to buy clean clothes from town because I didn't have any at ho. I also bought a special herb paste from the apothecary. It's supposed to dry your wounds."
He then pointed at the bowl of at stew in her hands. "That's going to cost you as well. Do you even have any idea how long I had to wait for the bunny to get caught in the trap? 4 hours! Oh, I also bought so herbs and spices from the market for seasoning."
In the end, everything has a price, Anna thought to herself bitterly. For so reason, she felt a hint of lancholy in her heart.
For the first ti, she felt as if soone had done sothing for her without wanting anything in return. But it seed that she was wrong. Even if it was a clueless child, he still wanted sothing from her just like most of the other people in her life.
"How much-" She asked even though she had no money on her. But before she could finish her question, she was interrupted.
"Of course, there's a way you don't have to pay for all these," said Adam, lowering his head. His cheeks turned slightly red and he added, "You just have to promise sothing." Seeing his expression, Anna was inwardly furious. She gritted her teeth so hard that her gums hurt. She couldn't believe that such a young boy would have such foul intentions.
Despite having an idea about what the boy wanted, she still asked, "What?"
Adam fidgeted with his fingers, feeling greatly embarrassed. He looked at the beautiful red- haired Anna and ekly asked, "Can you promise... to be my friend?"
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