Youth Knight

The Past III

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I raised my arm looking at the piece of paper Mr. Dery gave me, equalizing the flag he meant. I looked one by one at the ocean, it didn't take long until I found it. I approached the person in charge of the ship and talked. Giving a piece of paper for the sale and purchase agreement as evidence, and showing the gold coins.

The merchant then called some of his crew to begin packing and preparing all his merchandise along with the shopkeeper to be moved on the horse carriage.

Finally after some preparation, all the items were ready and safely packed into the horse carriage vehicle. I thanked the merchant and gave him the money and went back to the store.

On the way as the horse-drawn carriage walked I tried to ask and get acquainted with the three guards because of the awkward atmosphere. "What's your name anyway?" The brunette man who pointed his blade at me this morning responded, "I'm paid not to talk to you, shut up." The atmosphere is getting awkward because of my stupid questions.

Until one of the guards came along to talk and melt the atmosphere. "Don't do that, Carnell." Then he pointed at the brunette. "He's Carnell, I'm sorry he's like that." Then he pointed at the other man with sharp eyes. "He is Alix." Then he pointed at himself proudly, the most burly man among them. "My name's Alister!"

It was unexpected that the man I thought was the scariest was the most cheerful person among the three of them, "I am Arezha, you can call me as you like. It's good to meet you!"

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Arriving at the store I was called by Mr. Dery who was busy taking care of customers. "Come to Reza." I approached Mr. Dery while the others transported all the box baskets to the store's basement.

"I've brought everything Mr. Dery, I'm ready for my next assignment."

"Reza, I didn't mean to insult you, but when was the last time you took a shower?"

I can't remember. "Maybe about 5 days ago?"

"You can't serve customers with such a pungent smell. There's no time to go to the bath, use the well water where you did the dishes yesterday. Cleanse your body and come back here soon."

I opened the back door of the store to the well, saw Grandpa Izwar also who was bathing just by using his cloth pants, Grandpa Saw me and greeted me, "Oh Nak Arezha come here, take a bath with me. Please wash my back, I can't reach it. Dery told me to clean myself up haha."

"It just so happened that Mr. Dery also told me to clean up before serving customers" I said.

I cleaned myself up and helped Grandpa Izwar wash his back using soap, then asked Grandpa Izwar, "Grandfather, was it last night when we told him, you purposely asked me like that?"

"Come," Grandpa Izwar answered.

I said what I felt, "After hearing your story my view changed to my past, in a good sense of course.

I was just a kid in general, always cheerful and playful. My late mother who provided warmth when I was at home, and my father who owned a wheat field in Poze City, you could say I was prosperous at that time. As a child, I had no idea what had happened to my family at the time, My father and mother had a fight over something.

I saw my father playing with other women, my mother found out and slowly my father left my mother and myself for other women. When I was 13 we lived together in poverty.

My mom's getting sick. I became a beggar in Poze City for the least money I could get to cure my mother's illness in the pharmacy, but my father, who had a reputation for not wanting his son to do that. He gave me a few gold pieces, enough for my mother to go for treatment.

My father, who knew it, covered up the death of his own family. If he wanted to protect the reputation, he shouldn't have done such a thing from the start. He took me somewhere, dumped me in Maren Village.

Every year he sent someone to give me money until I was about 17 years old and he stopped sending me money. 3 years in the future so I could survive, I went around the village asking for something to eat, he said, sometimes I earn money from my small job, but it's only enough for a few days. That's how I lived for 3 years, until I was finally expelled from the village and ended up in Sernia. Thank you for what you said, Grandma, it means so much to me." I washed Grandpa Izwar's back and rubbed it.

"I'm sorry if I'm talking too much, Cake, it's the first time I've told someone this story."

Grandpa Izwar looked smiling. "It's okay, everyone has their own story, keep being a good human Nak Arezha." I took a shower too long, I should be right back. "Looks like I'm done Cake, I'm going back to work."

When I looked at the back door of the store, I saw Adry wearing armor holding an iron helmet in his right hand and something in his left hand. It seemed like he had stood up for a long time listening to my entire story, I approached him and asked, "Adry? what are you doing here, are you hearing everything?" It's so embarrassing.

"I overheard Reza, I'm sorry." He's not even trying to cover it up, he's an honest man.

"Ah it's okay, I'm the one who just kind of told you, I hope you're not bothered with my story earlier."

Adry thrust a tunic suit that looked luxurious to me. "Dad told me to give you these clothes." Those luxurious looking clothes were a white tunic and a black waistcoat.

"I have to wear it?" I asked, holding the shirt in both palms of my hands.

"Yes, this is a maid outfit that will make you look handsome. I'm sure your late mother is proud of you now Reza!"

Is that so? I miss my mother. "Thank you Adry."

"Then I'll go to work, until Reza!"

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I put the shirt on in an empty room in the tavern, when I finished looking for Mr. Dery to the place where he served his customers. "I've cleaned myself up, sir." Mr. Dery took a strange little bottle off his shelf. "Don't move, I'll put this perfume on you." Mr. Dery put something called perfume on me. "What's this?" A very charming smell, I have never felt this before.

Mr. Dery who saw my reaction said, "Great isn't it? this is an invention of the eastern people. They're good at making things, even the soap you used in the shower was one of their inventions.

They even use glandular oils from animals to create a musky scent. Herbs and spices used in perfumes include rosemary, turmeric, and cloves.

Be proud that this is something expensive, you can buy it for 2 big gold coins in Xiris City." I must have misheard it, as expensive as it was just for a bottle as small as this!?

When finished, I became more charismatic because of the luxurious clothes and charming fragrances, "Now you are ready to work, serve and bring the entire order to the customers understand?", said Mr. Dery

"Okay sir, I'll start working." I walked around the tavern, serving customers who called me, received and delivered what they ordered.

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