Chapter 26: The Final Countdown

"Sir Rigen!" - A voice called me, that voice was Reimi's voice

I opened my eyes as the time I heard her voice, Reimi has now already stood before me, it was still a bit dark out there. What was her purpose for calling me to wake up so soon, I wonder.

"Sir Rigen! I think I will go now, I know that is very sudden but I think I need to return to Her Highness's as soon as possible!" - Reimi said to me, seemed like she was very in rush

"You don't want to say any goodbye to Milch or Eris?"

Then Reimi went silent to think about what I said to her, then a few minutes later, she finally spoke:

"I will go say goodbye to them, Sir Rigen! But I wonder if Milch is still awake or not."

"Follow me, I'll lead you to her room."

Then we walked downstairs to find Milch, I was a bit surprised to see Milch, she was still awake, she was counting the money that I gave her while standing at the stall with a serious face. I wonder why she did that.

"Milch."

Milch's face suddenly turned to see me.

"Oh, Sir Rigen, Miss Reimi! Why do you two awake so soon?"

"What are you doing, Milch?"

"Oh, this...I want to make sure that Eris will have a chance to get to the best school in Warsaw Kingdom, that school located in the capital city. Though the money you gave me is very much, Sir Rigen, I wonder if the cost of living there is higher than here or not." - Milch said to me while expressing her tired face

"Don't worry, Milch! Our King is a very good person, he always cares about the people, the immigrants like you won't have to pay taxes in a month since you newly got there!" - Reimi said to Milch

"Miss! You came from Warsaw Kingdom?"

"Yes, I'm a ro-" - I stopped Reimi to talk

"She's just a citizen there, that all!"

"But she seems very like a noble, why did you hide it from me, Sir Rigen?" - Milch seemed a little bit frustrated

"I just, just, don't want to make things complicated!"

"Um um um um um um um!" - Reimi was trying to talk but I have covered her mouth so she can't

"I'm very sorry if I was so curious about you two personal lives, but anyway, why did you two come here so soon?" - Milch asked me

Then I stopped covering Reimi's mouth, the girl seemed a little bit suffocated, maybe I have done that a little rough. After catching her breath, Reimi spoke to Milch about her intention.

"Madam Milch, I will return to my homeland right away, thank you very much for caring for me these days, I hope you will also send my thank to your daughter, Eris!"

"You leave so soon?"

"I have my own busy, madam Milch! I will go now!"

"Hey, Reimi!" - I threw to her my dog tag

Reimi immediately caught my dog tag, her face looked a bit curious as if to wonder why I gave her this thing.

"Sir Rigen! Isn't this your medal? Why did you give it to me? I think you should keep it!" - Reimi insisted I keep back my dog tag

"The story I told you about was just bullshit!"

"Bull..shit?" - Reimi seemed confused at what I told her, Milch expression also felt the same

"Bullshit, I mean, that word is similar to the fake story!"

"Oh! That's so? I understood, Sir Rigen! I will surely bring this silver plate to He-, I mean to lady Shera, then Sir Rigen, I will go now!" - Reimi said to me then fastly walked away from the inn

Then I watched Reimi walking away until she disappeared from my sight, I think I have to concentrate on learning swordsmanship with Mentor, to get to Warsaw Kingdom sooner.

"Hey Milch, what about Eris? Is she alright?"

"Eris is fine, Sir Rigen! Don't worry, she always has that kind of sad every time Rer left her, don't worry! I will comfort my daughter!" - Milch said to me

I didn't know if I was a heartless person or not but I got into bed then slept right away after hearing Milch say that. Maybe the way she talked about Erissen made my mind feel better so I didn't have too much stress about that.

Then that morning, I woke and saw Erissen, she was now better than yesterday, then I have breakfast with those two mother and daughter, Erissen was talking a little bit now. She wanted to forget the bad things, she wanted to look forward to the future.

After seeing Erissen was still okay, maybe I won't need to worry about her that too much so I headed to the Adventurer's Guild right away. I have come to the Guild, I looked around, I just only saw the adventurers, there were also 5 guild girls standing at the stall, I didn't see Cily.

Then I walked forward to a Guild girl who stood in the middle of the stall to ask her.

"Hey, miss! Do you know where is the slim guild girl who works here now?"

That guild girl seemed a little bit surprised after hearing what I said.

"Hey, everyone, hand to the mister here the letter!" - That guild girl ordered the other guild girls

Then everyone hand to hand a letter that they took out from below their desk, until that letter came to the guild girl who I stood before her, she took the letter then handed it to me.

"Cily said to us that she feels a little sick today so she took a day off, before she go away, she wrote this letter and told us to give it to you, mister!" - That guild girl explained to me

Then I took the letter, maybe I will read it at the time I get back to the inn, but was it okay for it? Going to a place near here and then going back to your home is quite odd, maybe I will go to Mentor's house to learn swordsmanship.

Then I got to Mentor's house while reading the letter that Cily wrote. Seemed like the girl was very jealous when she saw me walking alongside Reimi, I will explain to her that was just a misunderstanding.

Here was the details of the letter:

Sir Rigen! I'm very sorry if I have disturbed your happiness, I don't know you already have a fiancee, but the thing that I hate the most is, why you have a fiancee but you didn't tell me about that!

Do you know you broke my heart? I don't hate you but...I have to admit that, I have a little bit of feeling for you, Sir Rigen! At first, I just wanted to have a date with you to thank you for saving my little sister, Sala.

But I suddenly have feelings for you, I'm sorry! I should not let my personal feelings ruin the reason why I sent you this letter.

Please get to the address named Street 26, Lieve apartment, it's very near the inn you are staying, Sir Rigen! Get there at the hour of 18, evening.

The thing I am about to talk to you about, Sir Rigen is very serious, I hope you will get there to my place tonight.

Cily

What did Cily want to tell me exactly?

"Hey John, seems like another one has joined your harem!" - Advisor said to me

I have turned it on this morning, but why do I feel so annoyed every time it talks?

Just ignore it, I don't need to waste my time with Advisor, maybe I will head back to the inn first to announce to Milch and Erissen. I may not be able to eat dinner with them tonight, maybe I will eat in some tavern here...or in Cily's apartment.

Then I walked back to the inn, when I got back, I saw Erissen and Milch were talking to each other, seemed like Erissen had gotten back some mood.

"Oh, mister! You got back here so soon!" - Erissen asked me, she seemed happy again now

"Hey Milch, Eris! I have a bit busy today so maybe I won't be able to eat dinner tonight, I will eat somewhere else."

"What?" - Erissen seemed a little bit sad

"You cannot force Sir Rigen to stay here with you, sweetheart! He has his busy things!"

"Sir Rigen, I will take care of my daughter when you are away so you don't need to be so worried about this, you still have your things to do, right? I think you should go now!" - Milch said to me

Then I threw Advisor to Erissen's hands, the little girl seemed a bit curious when holding it. I have already turned Advisor on, and also turned off special conversation.

"Play with it if you feel bored, I won't need it this time!"

"Thank you very much, mister! My mom always tells me not to disturb your personal life so I won't be able to ask your permission to play with this magic tool, I will surely play with it this time!" - Eris said to me with a happy face

"John! You see me as nothing but a toy?" - Advisor yelled at me

"Yeah! If you behave more good to me then I will treat you better!"

"Hey! Hey! Get back here, John! Hey! Hey!" - Advisor kept yelling at me but I ran away before it could say anything else

When I got out of the inn, I saw Mentor, he was standing near the door, I wonder what was his purpose for doing that.

"Mentor, what the hell are you doing here?"

"Oh, John! You have done learning swordsmanship though I didn't teach you much, I'm very regretful about this, I should have taught you more seriously."

"I just want to say farewell to my wife and my child last time, and maybe also you!" - Mentor said to me he wanted to farewell, I wonder what he means

"What do you mean about that, Mentor?"

"You seem a little bit busy, get back to the inn when you have done your work, I have a thing to talk to you about!"

"What do you mean exactly?"

"Just go, my life won't last to tomorrow! It's very serious, go do your things then get back here immediately!" - Mentor said to me as what he wanted to tell is very serious

Then I immediately ran to the address that Cily told me to go to, it was a bit earlier than the hour she wants me to go but I don't have much time left. I was very in rush right now.

Then I managed to find Cily's apartment after a short run, it was quite old, I got up there in a hurry and checked all the floors to find her room. I finally found a room that had a sign named "Cily", which might be her room.

"Knock! Knock!" - I knocked on her room's door, waiting for her response

Then after a few seconds, the door has been opened, Cily, who was now wearing a Guild girl's uniform walked out and had a bit of surprise on her face after seeing me.

"Over here, Sir Rigen!" - Cily suddenly grabbed my hand and then pulled me to her room

Then Cily suddenly shut her door, and locked it, then she stared at me a little bit, seemed like still jealous of what she had through the date with me yesterday.

"You came here sooner than I expected, Sir Rigen! Cough! Cough! Sorry, I have to do this thing quick!" - Cily said to me then rushed toward her locker

Cily later grabbed out a thing that looked like a quest paper, then she showed me everything about that paper. I saw a figure that seemed to be drawn by a professional artist, that figure showed a man's face that looked similar to my face.

Under that face was a line written most wanted target's name "John Rigen" with the bounty of about 400.000 Attas.

"What's this, Cily?"

"I stole this quest paper when I got inside the Guild during the dawn, this quest will be posted tomorrow, until that, all the Adventurers over the place will hunt your life, Sir Rigen!"

"How?"

"Prince Hoster Sonne of Warsaw Kingdom was the one who was behind this quest, he wanted to kill you, Sir Rigen! I think you should go now before tomorrow."

Goddammit! You Hoster, I will kill you by the time I get to Warsaw Kingdom!

"About your fiancee.................No! Please don't mind the thing I said earlier, you must get out of this place now, Sir Rigen! Before too late!" - Cily said to me with a serious voice

"Thank you for letting me know, Cily! You saved my life, but about the fiancee you said to me, it was just a misunderstanding, I'm still single!"

"I will go now as you told me to, I'm a little bit rush, goodbye Cily!"

"Please wait!" - Cily tapped my shoulder, as if to say to me something

Then I turned around to see Cily, her face was now a bit red.

"Sir Rigen!"

"Yes?"

"May I kiss you?" - Cily begged me

"Yes, of course."

Then Cily suddenly gave me a sweet kiss, we held each other, trying to last our kiss, trying to feel the pleasure of it.

"Haah! Haah! May I kiss you again, Sir Rigen?"

"As long as you like!"

Then we kissed more than 4 times, those were very sweet, I could feel the feeling Cily had for me, she hugged me tight, didn't want to leave me.

"Though it was just kissing but I feel a lot better now, Sir Rigen! This may be the last time we can see each other, thank you very much for letting me give you those kisses. Those are my presents for the farewell!" - Cily said to me while feeling shy after the kisses

"That won't be the farewell, we may have a chance to meet again someday, goodbye Cily!"

"Goodbye, Sir Rigen!" - Cily said goodbye to me while I was running away from her room

That farewell was so sudden, I should have paid more time with Cily, I hope that girl will be okay, hope she won't be fired if someone found out she stole the quest paper.

Then I rushed myself back to the inn, when I got back there, I noticed that the inn's front door has now opened up, a few people were standing a bit far away from it for some reason.

"What the hell happened?" - I asked a man standing nearby

"We heard noises inside the inn like there were fighting inside but we were so scared so we stood there a bit far away to see. I saw some men armed with weapons got inside there a few minutes ago!" - That man said to me

Then I ran inside the inn after hearing what that man said, I was shocked. There were about 4 to 5 corpses of people wearing leather armors died on the floor downstairs. What happened here, what about Milch and Erissen, also Mentor?

Then I heard some noises like swords colliding with each other coming out from upstairs, I ran up there and saw Mentor, who was now fighting against six men with leather armors.

I immediately drew my sword out then managed to stab a man from behind then sliced the other standing next to him to his throat, the four others were shocked at my appearance. They were about to attack me but Mentor sliced the other one while he was not cautious.

"Rarrh!" - Mentor pointed his left hand then roared at three other men

Then a strong wind appeared and shooked me to the wall, the others also the same, Mentor then stabbed three others who were falling on the floor to death with only one stab.

Then Mentor grabbed my right hand, pulled me up, I was wondering where are Milch and Erissen.

"Mentor!"

"Don't worry, John! Milch and my daughter are safe now, I told them to pack up their stuff earlier, I have used up all of my money to hire them a fine carriage to Warsaw Kingdom."

"They may now outside the border, they are all safe!" - Mentor said to me

"Who were these people?"

"They were the Adventurers, also some hunters who came to hunt me, I was considered as the man who behind the coup of my homeland 10 years old."

"I managed to hide my identity that long thanks to growing too much my beard and my hair but Eris has cut them off so I was exposed."

"I was chased until this time, though His Majesty, my older brother was really want to close my wanted but my nephew, Hoster kept the wanted till now!"

"Great, your nephew also wants to take my head too!"

"Hoster is a good person, John! He is just very cautious at the things he considers danger, I hope you won't hate him!" - Mentor said to me

"Who are you exactly, Mentor?"

"John, did you know why I insist to teach you swordsmanship?" - Mentor asked me, I didn't know his purpose in teaching me

"No!"

"My real name is Lerer Sonne, I'm the second son of King Yalta, the previous ruler of Warsaw Kingdom, I had competed with my older brother, Konig Sonne to take the throne when my father die."

"I admit that I cannot succeed on the throne but I don't have anything against my brother, when I was about to move out to live with Milch for the rest of my life then the coup suddenly occurred."

"I was accused to be the leader of the rebels by Prime Minister Alt Toten, I know that man was the one behind the coup but no one believes my word so I escaped." - Mentor explain to me

"Why did you know that Prime Minister is the betrayal of your homeland?"

"He was the best friend of my late father, my father always believed him, Alt made him rule the country like his puppet, that's why my homeland is always in good relation with other Kingdoms because we are humble before them!"

"We give many of our lands to Attenta Kingdom, my country is now nothing but a puppet country under Prime Minister's hand!"

"But my brother Konig is a good monarch, he wants to regain our Kingdom's power against Attenta Kingdom so that's why the earlier coup happened!"

"The reason why I taught you swordsmanship, John Rigen! I want you to send my words to His Majesty, I know you may feel annoyed because you got involved in my homeland's matter, but do it or not is up to you!"

Then Mentor pulled out about 5 envelopes that looked like letters, I saw only one of them looked new, the other letters seemed a bit old, as if they were written a long time ago.

"Please, Sir Rigen! I know you may don't want to be involved in my homeland's matter but please at least send these letters to my brother, also to my niece, nephew and my adopted daughter!" - Mentor showed his respect to me by begging me

"I'll do that for you, Mentor! But don't count on me too much." - Then I took all 5 letters

"Thank you, Sir Rigen!"

"Oh, I almost forgot!" - Mentor then grabbed Advisor out then returned it to me, also handed me a thing like a map

Then I took Advisor then wore it back in my right hand, Mentor must have taken it from Erissen, about the map I took, I saw the area from this town to Veta, a border town of Warsaw Kingdom which located on the west. I also saw a long line of dark-colored, called No Man Zone.

"What's with the map, Mentor?"

"You see that black line? That zone called No Man Zone, if you from this town to Warsaw Kingdom, it might take you 8 - 9 days to go on foot, 2 - 4 days by horses!" - Mentor explained to me

"Thank you a lot, Mentor!"

Then suddenly I heard many footsteps coming from below, seemed like a lot of people under there.

"John! There are about 20 to 30 men inside the inn, they may looking for Lerer!" - Advisor talked to me

"This is our farewell, John! Go to Warsaw Kingdom like the way the map guides you." - Mentor said to me like that while picking another sword from one of the corpses

"Mentor!"

"I have packed up all of your stuff inside your bag, your money, your clothes, everything!"

"After examing a lot of your belongings, I think you are not coming from this world, John! Who the hell are you?"

But I don't have time to ask you right now, I will ask you next time if I survive this!"

"Why don't we go together?"

"I won't die easily like that! We may have a chance to meet again. Go, John Rigen!"

"Stay safe, Mentor!"

Then I immediately grabbed my military bag then jumped out of the window, I ran fast like the wind. I looked back at the inn a little bit to make sure Mentor was still alive then kept running.

He was not my teacher, just a stranger to me but now I have considered him my friend. I didn't cry but my feeling seemed very sad and shocked when I have to farewell him.

I must go now, for Mentor's sake, I don't know where to go, but just keep running, keep going to the route that map guided me. My mind was now full of anger, sad, I cannot cry, I don't have time to show those expressions, I kept going, going and going.