Without thinking twice, Shaan imdiately pushed his cargo cart out of the long line. Everyone standing behind him could only stare in stunned silence, watching a move completely beyond their expectations. They all surely thought Shaan had gone mad for daring to choose a different route, yet none of them dared to confront him directly.
’Co on, Shaan. You can do it.’
With all his strength, he slowly pushed his cart down the stairs in front of him, one by one. He managed to get down one step, then two, and so on, until he had successfully descended half of the stairs.
’See? This thod actually works.’ Shaan smiled in satisfaction. ’Now I just need to get down the rest of these steps, and I’ll reach the town square faster than everyone else.’
However, as he tried to go down the remaining stairs, he didn’t pay attention to his surroundings. His feet didn’t land properly on the steps, causing him to lose his balance and fall.
’Thud!’
"Ow!" Shaan groaned in pain. "I never expected that to—"
Shaan’s face imdiately turned pale when he saw his cart tilted toward the ground. All the goods spilled across the floor, and worse still, one stack of boxes rolled rapidly down the stairs.
"This is bad. I have to get that box as quickly as possible."
Shaan forced himself to stand, but pain shot through his twisted ankle. He kept pushing his body to move, yet the pain only grew sharper with every second until it sent him crashing down for the second ti. Damn it. Choosing this route turned out to be a terrible mistake.
"Argh! I have to do this," Shaan muttered in frustration. "I have to—hey, watch out!"
Shaan shouted, trying to warn a woman standing below. Thankfully, she heard his voice, but it already felt too late. The box had closed the distance, and she had almost no chance to escape its path.
’Crash!’
The wooden box slamd into the ground and shattered into pieces. Decorative ornants spilled everywhere, turning the scene into complete chaos.
"Oh, damn it. Damn it." Shaan grumbled irritably. "What about the woman who—"
Shaan fell silent. Goosebumps rose across his skin, and his face drained of color as if he had seen a ghost. The woman had vanished. Strange. No Daemonist should have escaped from such close range—especially not a woman, who would normally struggle against a sudden attack like that.
’Strange. Where did the woman —’
The mont soone called his na, Shaan’s entire body froze. He felt certain—certain—that he had not seen anyone behind him while he made his way down the stairs. And yet... a voice now ca from behind him.
’Who exactly is—’
When Shaan turned around, his mouth fell open. His whole body went limp when he saw that the figure was the woman who had been in front of him earlier.
"B-but, how is that possible..."
"Yo, calm down. I’m not a ghost." The woman smiled, revealing her dimples. "Wait a second... I think I’ve t you before."
Hearing the woman’s words, Shaan imdiately furrowed his brow. To be honest, during his ti here, he had never seen a woman (perhaps around the sa age as Dr. Marshal) with short brown hair and an eye patch over one eye that made her look like a pirate.
’Strange, who is this woman actually?’
"Yo, I rember now." The woman patted Shaan’s shoulder enthusiastically. "Shaan. Your na is Shaan, right?"
’Huh?’ Shaan was silent for a mont, hearing the woman’s words. ’B-but how could she know that?’
"Hello? Are you listening to ?" The woman snapped her fingers repeatedly in front of his face. "I need an answer."
"Ah—y-yes. I hear you. Sorry about that." Shaan nodded his head. "That’s right. My na is Shaan, but how did you know my na?"
"The trial. I was there and saw your heroic actions," said the woman. "Oh, yes, my na is Jeshina."
"Yashina?"
Jeshina shook her head quickly. "Nope. Jeshina is not Yashina. The nas sound similar, but they’re not the sa."
"W-wait a second." Shaan scratched his head, trying to process her words. "I still don’t understand. If you were really at the trial, why didn’t I see you there at all?"
"That just ans you didn’t pay much attention to your surroundings." Jeshina laughed freely. "Well, whatever. The lighting in that place was terrible anyway."
’Agreed. I totally agree with her.’ Shaan nodded to himself. ’The courtroom lighting really was awful.’
"Yo, what are you doing here?"
"I tried to find a shortcut to the town square." Shaan let out a long sigh. "But my guess turned out wrong, and I almost got you hurt. I’m sorry."
"Ah, no, no, kiddo. You’re wrong." Jeshina smiled. "Your voice actually saved . I’m the one who should be thanking you."
"Oh... okay." Shaan scratched his head, his face still confused. "B-but how did you manage to avoid that box?"
"Well, I just moved my body a little." She shrugged. "That’s all."
’She only moved her body a little?’ Shaan shook his head. ’That doesn’t make any sense. How could she move just a bit and suddenly end up behind that fast?’
"Kiddo, it seems you’re having trouble," Jeshina said slowly, reaching out her hand. "Let help you."
"Ah, thank you." Shaan took her hand and slowly got to his feet. "You’re really helping a lot."
"You’re welco, kiddo. I’m glad I can help." Jeshina smiled. "Oh, it looks like everything from your cart has spilled everywhere. I’ll help you gather them, too."
"Ah, no—no. That’s not necessary." Shaan tried to stop Jeshina as she moved forward. "I can still—ow!"
"Your foot is badly sprained, kiddo." Jeshina patted Shaan on the shoulder. "Just sit there, and I’ll collect these boxes."
"Bu-but..."
"Never mind, just sit quietly and don’t bother , kiddo."
Shaan was silent for a mont. "O-okay. I understand."
While Jeshina placed the boxes back into the cart, Shaan could only sit there in a daze. He felt deeply awkward. He had just t Jeshina, yet she had already helped him so much by gathering the scattered boxes around his cart.
’I have to repay Miss Jeshina’s kindness soday. I promise.’
"Yo, kiddo. All the boxes are back in the cart," Jeshina said. "How do you feel now?"
"Much better. Thank you very much, Miss Jeshina."
"Good. Now we should hurry to the town square. Everyone must be waiting for these boxes," she said as she gently pushed the cart forward. Co on, Shaan. Ti to move.
They pushed the cart together down the remaining steps until they reached the bottom of the stairs. After that, they carefully picked up the remaining accessories scattered across the ground, then continued pushing the cart toward the town square.
"Hey, we’re here." Jeshina smiled contentedly. "Pretty good teamwork—"
"Miss. Jeshina!" shouted a man in uniform, running towards them. "Miss Jeshina, what are you doing here? The faction leaders are about to start their second eting, and you’re the only one who hasn’t arrived yet."
"Huh?" Shaan rounded his eyes, his face tensing up. ’So, Miss Jeshina is the faction leader?’ Shaan slapped his forehead. ’This is crazy. This is crazy. I had no idea about that.’
"Yeah, yeah, I know." Madam Jeshina nodded calmly. "Alright then, Shaan. Goodbye. I hope we et again soti."
Jeshina walked away with the officer and soon disappeared from Shaan’s sight. Shaan stood frozen in place. His lips pressed tightly together, as if words refused to co out, after he realized that Madam Jeshina led one of the factions. No wonder she possessed such sharp reflexes and agile movents.
’I can’t help but wonder just how strong Miss Jeshina really is.’
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