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“Why did Rick let his nieces stay at such a place for so long?” Lirzod's frustratingly asked. “Why didn’t he just escape with them sooner?” “It’s not easy when you’re dealing with women,” the old man replied in a modulated tone. “You, you got some enmity towards women, don’t you?” Lirzod stared at the old man, narrowing his eyes. He wasn’t aware that he hadn’t taken a breath during the past few seconds. “The situation asked for it, so I spoke about women,” The old man said in a casual tone. “Both men and women deserve blame in unique ways, not by birth but through life.” While Lirzod’s eyes were half-closed, his brows raised a little. “You talk like there’s no good person in this world.”

“Rick was the new worker,” the old man’s voice slapped Lirzod like gently lapping waves. “What?” Lirzod was nonplussed but felt equally thrilled. “When did he get in?”  The old man materialized behind Lirzod and lightly hit the head with his staff. “I told you to just watch.” “Y-Yeah,” Lirzod rubbed the top of his head twice and then sneakily tried to snatch the staff out of the old man’s hands, but he miserably failed to even touch it. “You are a thousand years too young to be touching my staff, child,” the old man disappeared and appeared at Lirzod’s back and hit with his staff, again on Lirzod’s head.

Lirzod was on his bed. He had been rolling around for hours, but he couldn't sleep. Emptying packets of nuts didn’t help either. He didn’t know how much time had passed, probably half a day, but he failed to rest his senses. Every time he closed his eyes, he remembered Duera. She was the one who always made him sleep, either by telling him stories or by patting on his chest. When she wasn’t there, Primera took care of that job, though she mostly scared him to sleep with her one-of-a-kind horror stories. It hadn’t even been a day since he departed, and his heart which had pumped at normal speeds when he’s at the shore, now pumped in strange rhythms. From as far in his past as he could remember, there was never a day he spent away from either of those two. But at the moment, both of them weren’t by his side. He missed their company more than he had expected. Silently, tears soaked the pillow as he cried in a subdued way. After a few minutes, his eyes no longer produced tears, but...

It had been only a few minutes since the four men of the Egg Diggers guild got charred in a similar fashion, yet the information spread faster than wildfire, and with each gossip, the rumors just distanced themselves from what happened in effect. "Someone attacked the Egg Diggers and roasted them alive?” “How did he defeat them? Using fire?" "Given that they were roasted, he must have had some Buzzy Good [1] with him, or else, we have ourselves another serious fellow that stepped foot on the ship."

"I can forget that they threw eggs at me," Lirzod clenched his fist, breaking the raw egg in his hand. "But, throwing at a baby horse for fun is something hard to overlook." He stepped forward in their direction. “I don’t know where its mother is at, but if they are thinking it’s alone, then it’s not.” “Don’t fall for their trap,” 777 warned out of worry. “They probably hurt that horse to get to you. If you go now, you’ll be giving them just what they want.” “Then let’s give them something special that they’ll never forget,” Lirzod said and grinned as he glanced at 777, puzzling him. The egg—thrown at the foal before—rolled on the floor and now ended up stopping at Lirzod's feet. He glanced down. "Don't even think about it," 777 let go of the luggage cart. "Want to throw that at us?" one of the four men stood. "Dare it if you can."

Never did his heart pump blood in such a feverous manner. I-Is she coming for a kiss? T-This is too sudden. I'm not fully prepared yet. He was suddenly shocked. What if my cheeks taste bad? Wait, I haven't brushed either! His feet instantly stepped back twice and made the distance. "I'm sorry. I can't do this now!" he quickly walked past Sariyu, leaving her in puzzlement. He came and stood behind her. "Why are you hiding behind me?" Sariyu stepped aside, but he did as well. "Stop being so shy. It doesn't suit you." Her scent—it's more potent than Primera's.  Lirzod firmly stared at the floor. There's something unusual mixed in it. If I go near her again, I might not be able to control myself anymore.

As the sunlight gorgeously kissed the day, the three children of the Faceless clan spiritedly climbed up the especial staircase, with the steps behind them disappearing at the pace that matched their speed. As they got closer, it gave them the impression that the ship had swelled so well in semblance and size.

"Stop," Kwame's deep voice managed to reach the ears of those running away and made most of their feet come to a rest. "We number in the hundreds, yet why are you all showing your back to four creatures? Isn't this enough reason to justify why we hollows get looked down upon?"

Two distinct voices, caught in an argument, allowed little room for silence inside the kitchen of a clan head’s house. Utilized chiefly as a comfort center for serving food and drinks, the primary kitchen was a resplendent room with separate storage space in the backside and a scullery connected to both. House sparrows sang and sprang on the windowsills just as warm celestial light streaked through the windows and graced the insides and emblazoned the wooden bodies and the vessels of clay, copper, brass, and silver with colorful light. The leaden storage room was packed with sacks mostly stuffed with either fruits or nuts, which wafted a profound yet pleasant aroma capable of madly stirring any—full or empty—stomach into grumbling for a meal. As if to affirm, the rabbits in the hutches set next to the backdoor couldn’t stay put, let alone ensconced themselves.