Kaela's grip was tight, her thin arms locked around him. Lucan stood still for a moment.
"Now, would you stop hugging me, Kaela?" he said, his voice calm.
He gently pried her arms away. Her eyes, wide and shimmering, looked up at him as if he were the only prince in the entire world.
"Kaela, we need to go. I came here with my companions and because there's still some time left. Why don't we go and meet your family and then take them with us? " Lucan said and waited for her to reply.
Kaela's eyes, which had been fixed on him with unwavering devotion, widened even more. A tremor of pure hope passed through her.
She nodded rapidly, her words coming out in a rush. "Yes, Master! I will take you there, follow me! They are this way."
Kaela didn't wait for a reply, turning and going down a side alley so narrow that Lucan's shoulders almost brushed against the crumbling walls on both sides.
The sounds of the main street market faded, replaced by a tense silence broken only by their footsteps.
After a few turns, left and right, she stopped before a building that seemed to be dying under its own weight.
The door was a collection of warped planks, tightly bound. There was no lock, only a simple latch. Kaela's thin, long hand lifted the latch and pushed the door inward.
The door opened, revealing a single room and a hall shrouded in darkness. The light from the open door flowed in like a sharp beam, illuminating the cramped space.
The floor was covered by a single, large, dirty mattress, and the smell was not a good one.
As Lucan's eyes adjusted to the dim light, the sound of footsteps came from the corner. Five figures were huddled together in front of Lucan and Kaela, their forms thin and wrapped in ragged blankets.
The oldest, a boy who looked to be around eighteen, instantly shot to his feet. His body was tense as he positioned himself defensively in front of the others—two younger boys and one girl, their faces pale.
"Kaela, sis!" the oldest boy hissed, his voice a mixture of relief and anxiety. His eyes looked past his sister and landed on Lucan, taking in his fine clothes and clean appearance.
The oldest boy, still in a defensive stance, instantly said, "Who is that person? Why did you bring someone here?"
The other siblings shrank back, pulling their thin blankets up to their chins. A young girl, perhaps the third oldest, looked up at Lucan.
"Shhh, it's okay, Leo! It's all right, everyone!" Kaela rushed forward, her voice softening into a gentle, soothing tone Lucan hadn't heard from her before.
She gestured toward Lucan and said, "This is my master. His name is Lucan, and my master is also a lord of a state called Elysian. You don't need to be cautious. He's a good man, and he's here to help us. Master is going to take us to a new home! A really good home, with delicious food and sweet water!"
The siblings stared. The fear in their eyes didn't vanish, but it was now mixed with a fragile hope.
They looked from Kaela's earnest face to Lucan, who stood silently in the doorway. He was an outsider in their world of poverty and despair.
Lucan took a single, careful step into the room. He kept his hands visible. His gaze swept over the room—the dirty mattress, the pathetic bundle of possessions in the corner, and the scared look in the siblings' eyes.
He looked at the oldest boy, Leo, who was still standing guard, his fists clenched at his sides. "What Kaela is saying is the truth," Lucan said, his voice calm and low, carrying a tone of authority. "I don't have much time to stay here. Kaela said I'm her master, so with that in mind, I will not harm you in any way. If you trust your sister, then you will come with us. Because your sister wants to learn something new, and that can't be achieved if you hold her back here. So, for your sister, come with me to my state where I can let you achieve your dreams in the future. For now, I can't do that, but in the future, it will not be like that."
It was a statement of fact. If their sister chose something she wanted for herself, it would be for their benefit. It wouldn't be good for them to hold her back from growing because of their childish behavior.
For a long moment, nobody moved. Then, Leo's shoulders slumped, the defensive tension bleeding away to be replaced by exhaustion. He gave a single nod.
That was all the confirmation the others needed. The silence broke into a flurry of quiet, efficient movement.
Everyone was about to say something, but Kaela stopped them and said, "Master, he is my younger brother, Leo," pointing to the tallest person in the room, but not taller than Kaela.
Then her hand moved to a girl. "She is my younger sister, the second one. Her name is Alicia."
Then her hand pointed to the two others left who were not older than Alicia. "On the left is Jack, and on the right is Johney."
These two were so skinny it looked like their rags would be lowered by their own weight. Lucan looked at all of them, then he said, "Now that you all are coming, if you want to take anything, you can take it and come outside so we can go where my companions are, okay?"
Saying this, Lucan walked out of the building. Kaela didn't say anything; she just helped her siblings. Lucan waited outside for a few seconds, but no one came.
After a few more seconds, everyone came out. Leo had a sword in his hand, Alicia had a teddy bear, and the other two had books in their hands.
Kaela didn't have anything on her. She just walked to Lucan and said to him, "Master, let's go now. We only have this much with us."
"Okay, let's go," Lucan said these few words and started walking. The others followed behind him.
The dark area they were leaving would be left behind. There would be no more darkness for them. They slowly walked, leaving behind despair and poverty to reach a new world, or Elysian. Kaela was excited.
The others were also excited, but they were also somewhat scared. They were leaving this place, but would that new place be any better?
In a few minutes, Lucan reached the main street, where the crowd was immense.
The noises came from everywhere. The siblings got scared and held hands, their hands holding onto one another. Lucan, who was walking in front of them, and Kaela, who was holding Leo's hand, walked on.
Everyone's eyes were on all of them. They were all curious, but because the man in front was too handsome, they didn't dare to get in his way. Or so they thought.
Lucan, not caring a bit, slowly walked. His eyes landed on a flour shop. There wasn't anyone there. Kenny did say he would be here, or near it, but looking at it, Kenny wasn't there.
That meant Kenny had gone where the carriage would probably be. Ronan and Marcus had probably helped him.
Thinking like this, Lucan, not waiting any further, took Kaela's hand and walked faster. The others who were holding onto one another's hands also got faster.
The crowd that looked at them just looked, not having the courage or thought to cross them, because of how dirty the siblings were and how handsome the young man was. Many voices came from the crowd, like:
"Sir, leave them be; they are just tarnishing your image!"
"Sir, if they are slaves, then just leave them here! There is no need to dirty your hands!"
"Why don't you sell me these children?"
Every type of voice came, but Lucan did not look at them all.
The siblings had many different thoughts running through their minds—how this person would react, what he would do, and many more.
But with their sister with the person, they just calmed down and followed them.
In a few minutes of walking, Lucan was now outside the main market. Now there was a crowd, but not much compared to before.
Lucan walked and soon saw a carriage that was attached to a black horse. The horse was just too dashing. A person was in the front; it was Marcus.
As Lucan came closer, he could see the whole carriage. He saw that there was a bag big enough to hold things, and there were also some traps for hunting and the tools that would be used in the smithy, like a forge and anvil.
They were too big, just enough to run a smithy. Then Lucan saw that there was a bottle in a person's hand.
He was a young man with good clothes on him; it was Kenny. And by his side was a great-built person who was cleaning the forge with a cloth; it was Ronan.
Lucan, with Kaela and the others behind him, soon reached the carriage. Marcus had seen Lucan coming but didn't clearly see that there were five more people in the back.
As Lucan came near, Marcus saw that it was Lord Lucan. He said, "Lord, you have come. We didn't know when you would be coming, so we were going to find you, but you came just in time. But Lord, who are these people behind you?"
Kenny and Ronan heard that Lucan had come, and they instantly came in front of Lucan, also saying, "Lord, I purchased this wine bottle and I also got glasses for free," Kenny said.
"Lord, now I can make better tools and weapons with my wife's help. This is the greatest day of my life," Ronan said this and now waited for Lucan to say something.
But when their eyes landed on the people behind him, they rubbed their eyes. Then, opening and closing them, they looked at them again, and what they were seeing was true—there really were five people behind him.
Lucan, getting the stares from them, obviously because of Kaela and her siblings, walked a step to the left, then, pointing to a tall girl with a great figure and beauty, he said, "This here is my disciple, her name is Kaela, and these children in the back are her siblings. You can get their names after we reach Elysian. For now, just have space for them in the carriage."
As Lucan was saying this, his eyes landed on the system prompt in front of him.
[Side Quest - Travel and Buy Items]
[Objective Complete]
[Reward: Smithy Blueprint & Materials to build Smithy]
[For completing in time: 25 LP, 250 CP]
Lucan, who was seeing it, got too excited that now he could build a smithy. Then he cleared his thoughts. The smithy would be built in Elysian for now. Lucan looked at them.
They were shocked for a second, then soon composed themselves.
Kenny was the first to speak. "Lord, a disciple? I didn't know that you would be getting a disciple here. Congratulations, Lord." Kenny just congratulated him, not wanting to get in the way of Lucan's way of living.
What Lucan wanted to do, he could do. Who was he to say anything? He just wanted to be helpful to Lucan in more ways than one and nothing more.
Then Ronan said, "Lord, it's a good thing for you that you have a disciple, but where will they sit? If they all were to sit in the carriage, there isn't any space for us to sit comfortably."
Marcus also nodded to this and said, "Yes, Lord, there is this problem here."
"Master, my siblings and I will walk. You can sit in the carriage, but don't leave us alone now," Kaela said with a pleading voice.
Her siblings just stayed quiet, not saying anything. Then Lucan, hearing it, thought for a second, looked at the carriage and her siblings, then he waved his hand in front of the carriage.