That night, the town's people cooked the meat, set up a big campfire, and had a blast. Using this, Hisashi sneaks back to the quarters and took a bag. He also managed to get out of the town without any more of Mai's stubbornness.
He also restocked his apples in the bag but the thing that makes him wonder was why some people are still following him. Given their presence, they're not much stronger than others. Even their mana was pitiful in quantity and quality.
Curious about what they want, he pours more mana than usual on his hand and two familiar dolls were summoned. It was the same dolls Jihu used before. The two ran quickly to where Hisashi ought them to, but unlike Jihu, he didn't even need to use his fingers nor divide his thinking. It was as if his connection with them was a lot more natural than the original.
Not even thirty seconds later, the two came back with four teenagers in their hands. The four also looked at him with fear on their faces.
"You! Are you going to kill us? Do it and get out of here! We don't need you here!" One of the teens said.
"Yeah! Do what you want already and leave this town alone!" Another lashes out at him.
"And never look at Sis Mai again!" The third one said and the previous two looked at him. Meanwhile, the last one simply had a sad expression as if he was ready to die.
"Sis Mai? You mean Mai? Why… Why would I even care about her?" Hisashi said and the two gave an angry look at the third one. He commands the dolls to let them go and immediately as they were freed, the first two rushes and takes out a knife.
Hisashi simply catches it and a third one follows. He simply scoops some dirt with his sandals and flicks it to the third one's face, making him fall back. As they saw this and have their arms held by Hisashi, the first two look at the timid one kneeling on the ground.
"Cho! Do it!" "No. I would hit you."
"Just do it! We can end this man's life and keep Sis Mai safe!" With more pressure, the timid teen named Cho strugglingly gathered his chi in his hands. Then, a huge fireball appears aimed at Hisashi.
"You guys are idiots like Mai, aren't you?" "What did you say?" Hisashi insults them as he inhales, and shoots out a strong wind blast from his mouth, blowing away the fireball. Seeing this, Cho conjures an even bigger fireball, blocking his vision but engulfing his target in flames.
Just when he thought that he has taken the enemy out and congratulates himself, he hears a shout.
"Cho! Watch out!" Rushing in from the big ball of flames is Hisashi without even any evidence or shred of burning in his clothes or skin. He grabs the teen by his face, lifts him, and Cho looks at him with fear. Even with this, Cho aims his hands at Hisashi, firing once again another fireball point blank.
As it hits Hisashi in the face, Cho was let go to the ground. He crawls backward, away from Hisashi but then was shocked once again when he sees Hisashi unscathed.
"Never announce your next move to your opponent. And never use the same thing twice… especially if didn't even do anything." Hisashi simply said as he walks away and the dolls followed suit.
The teens watch as he walks away. They looked at each other and immediately run back to the town. Meanwhile, on Hisashi's side, he felt the teens get away far enough. That's just when he remembers that he could've done something more.
'I could've asked them about any dungeons… or to let Mai know to never look for me again. Well, it's not like I'll see her again or what.' He simply thought as he retracts the spell, making the dolls vanish.
With the newfound peace of mind, Hisashi takes out an apple to snack on and went through his journey looking for even more dungeons and anything that interests him.
…
A week later, in Qu Feng, a town east of the country, Hisashi was simply drinking in a pub. Contrary to the town in Yalu Mountains, this wasn't in as much danger. However, just like Koshu, the town isn't in the best state due to the war. It was given much help from the capital, but the residents weren't as lively.
It wasn't because of a lack of food or jobs or anything, it's just that this town is where the previous Qin left to go to Koshu. They docked their boats, enlisted men to be soldiers, and waged war on another country.
These same men are also the first to die when the latter defended their land. The ones left behind… are the housewives and children of these men to fend for themselves. After drinking the local alcohol, Hisashi left the pub and was greeted by women.
"Hey, handsome. You look alone. I can accompany you, you know?" A woman said, clutching his left arm.
"Your sword looks big and hard. Want to have some fun with me using that?" Another said, while slowly moving his hand toward his body.
Meanwhile, Hisashi ignored the two and continued walking, almost making them fall out of balance and displease and disappointment can be seen in their eyes.
'There's one ruin here according to some people. However, I'm not hopeful about anything. If the information is correct, then, it's also an old one. *Sigh, it's not like I have a choice. The last 5 towns didn't even have one. No rumors, irregularities in mana, nor anything unusual.' Hisashi thought to himself, ignoring everything around him.
"If worse comes to worst, I'll just go to the capital and look for the Qin or that lass's master. They sound experienced enough to know more about this than normal people. It's not like the scroll would run away from me when I'm not on time for the Blessing Ceremony." He mumbles to himself as he remembers Ryuya's reminder about it. After all, such a thing is their growing up ceremony.