Capítulo 16: A Touching Promise
As I awoke the next morning, Cathy sat at the table, looking at various drawings I completed. When I stood up, she immediately closed the sketchbooks and acted as if she did nothing wrong.
"Haha! Cathy, it's alright!" I beamed a smile at her. "I know you've been curious about my drawings, so don't feel guilty if you want to take a closer peek at them."
Cathy shrunk back, but I noticed a mischievous smile on her face. "Hehe! I'm just so fascinated with all the sights you've seen. I hope I can see more of the world with you!"
"Well…" I wanted to agree with her declaration, but I hesitated, unsure if we were heading towards the same destination. Since we still had the whole day ahead of us, I figured I could push the matter aside. "Let's talk about that later. Give me a little bit of time to freshen up, and we can head out on our tour of the town."
"Sure!" Cathy started to pull a magic book out of her bag, but her eyes kept glancing at my sketchbooks.
"Cathy… I just said you can look at my drawings anytime you want. So, you don't have to act like you're trying to steal something from me!"
"Okay! Thanks so much, Haru!" Cathy continued to giggle, even as I left the room.
As I groomed myself inside the bathhouse shack, I couldn't stop thinking about Cathy. The first days away from Kolm weren't terrible in the slightest, but were somewhat lonesome, especially without Akane.
The trip brightened up so much after I rescued Cathy, and her spirit continued to shine intensely as she opened up more of herself. I didn't know where exactly she was heading with the group she got separated from, but I resolved myself to ask her about it during the day.
Is this what's it like to know people and make friends in the outside world? Cathy has undoubtedly made this journey so worthwhile already…
After I returned to the room and finished preparing, Cathy joined me as we left the inn. She was still wearing her torn robe, so we decided to visit the clothes shop first to purchase a new one.
As we entered the shop, the seamstress addressed us from the counter. "Oh, hello there! Welcome to…! Oh my! Look at you, young miss! Your robe is all torn up! And his clothes are perfectly fine? Your boyfriend there must not be doing his job, is he?!" The seamstress then snickered at me.
I was taken aback by her remarks, so I hesitated before responding back. "W-w-wait a minute! It's not like that! She was in a bit of trouble before we met, and unfortunately, you can see the results before I was able to save her."
Cathy nodded at my remarks and said, "Yes, that's right. I have this man to thank for saving me. And yes, my robe could not be saved before he arrived. So, I need a new magic robe, and in purple, if you have one available."
The seamstress sized up Cathy and went to the backroom to check if she might have one in stock. Cathy and I walked around to pass the time, looking at the variety of shirts, pants, robes, undergarments, and boots around the shop.
After ten minutes of perusing, the seamstress came back out to the front with a sample robe. She handed the garment to Cathy, who immediately beamed at its beauty. The gown was a dark purple with traces of black here and there. Cathy seemed to love the robe at first sight.
But when the seamstress told us the price, Cathy's shoulders immediately sank. "I don't have that much money on me… I was hoping to buy a new staff too, so I can't buy both of these…"
Cathy sounded quite dejected, and it tore me up inside to see her in such a depressed state. I quickly made some mental calculations and discovered I had quite an abundance of funds for my journey, even if I were to help Cathy out with the robe. I planned to get a job at Waturia, so it was okay for me to be a little extravagant.
"Hey Cathy, let me help you with that. Save your money for the new staff, and I'll pay for the robe."
"Oh no, I couldn't burden you like that! I'll just look for another one…"
"Don't worry about it, it's fine. I'm planning to find some work in the next city, so I'll get back the money soon enough."
"Well… if you're fine with it, thank you so much! Now I really need to find out how to repay you for all your kindness!"
That adorable smile coming from Cathy again… It's just so hard to resist, and I feel compelled to do whatever I can to see it over and over…
The seamstress's patience seemed to waver as she coughed to get our attention. "Ahem! I assume from your little discussion you'll be purchasing this robe. This was just a sample, so I'll need to make some alterations to fit the young miss. If you return during the evening after dinner time, I should be finished. Is that alright with you?"
"Sure, that's perfectly fine," I answered. "I'll pay for the robe and tailoring when we return later tonight."
As we left the clothes shop, Cathy tugged on my shirt. "You really didn't have to do that… I would've been fine with another robe…"
"That's what you're saying now… but your eyes told a different story back in the shop."
"I guess you're starting to figure me out, huh? I'm happy, though… to bump into such a nice guy like you…"
I was about to blush in embarrassment at that moment, but I quickly turned my head away from her. "Umm… let's head to the weapons shop to get you that new staff, alright?"
Cathy also seemed a little nervous and murmured in response, "Oh… right. That's a good idea."
We walked down to the weapon shop, side-by-side to each other. But there was a sense of awkwardness during the 10-minute walk, as we waited for the tension to dissipate.
All the fretfulness burned away immediately when Cathy entered the shop. She quickly dashed to the section filled with staves, gazing in awe at each and every one. Because I was an archer, I was unable to tell which one was best, so I left it to Cathy's best judgment to choose the right staff.
I figured out Cathy had an excellent eye for quality back at the clothes shop, and my suspicions were further confirmed when she selected the most expensive staff. Because I was paying for the robe, she had more than enough to cover the weapon's cost on her own.
As we left the weapon shop, Cathy kept caressing and hugging her new staff. Did this girl know no boundaries in trying to stir up my emotions?
We continued to walk around the shopping district, visiting stores filled with antiques, souvenirs, and handmade crafts. Many of the items were so foreign, filling me with intrigue. Cathy also seemed to be as curious as I was about what these shops offered.
Once it was around noontime, we decided to stop at a small restaurant for lunch. After we placed our orders, I was about to bring up the subject of Cathy's destination after Manchuren, but she spoke first.
"Hey, Haru… I hope you don't mind me asking, but where do you plan to travel to next?"
"There's someone I need to see at Waturia. So, I'll be heading south after I leave this town."
"Oh, really?" Cathy gazed intently at me. "I was supposed to go to Waturia too! Would it be alright if I went with you there?"
"I don't see a problem with that, but what about the group you got separated from? Shouldn't you try to get back together with them?"
"You're right, I probably should, but… when we got separated, I tried for a long time to find the others but failed miserably. I don't know where they could have gone, so I was filled with hope when you picked me up. So please, let me stay with you until Waturia!"
There was no way I could possibly reject Cathy's plea, so I agreed without complaint. "I'd be more than happy if you came along. Besides, it's more enjoyable to travel with someone than on your own."
"Yay! Thanks, Haru!"
Having come to an agreement to travel to the next city together, we ate our lunch with much pleasure.
We continued to stroll around the town and approached a school on the outskirts thirty minutes later. We were about to walk past until we heard a cry for help from a young boy. When we reached closer to the source of the scream, a group of six elementary school kids was kicking the boy.
I hurried to the group, bellowing in frustration. "Hey, stop that! You're hurting him! That's no way to treat someone!"
Once I arrived, the group quickly dispersed, throwing insults to the boy as the kids disappeared into town. I knelt down to check on the young boy. Fortunately, the boy had no bruises, so he was fortunate to come out of the situation somewhat unscathed.
I picked up the boy and said, "It's alright now. You're safe. No one's going to hurt you. Can you tell me your name?"
"I-i-it's Shinji… Thank you for saving me. They always pick on me, but I just wanted to play."
I patted Shinji on the head, and he seemed to calm down quite a bit. When he looked off into the distance, he pointed towards Cathy, who had been standing a noticeable distance away from us.
"Hey!" Shinji shouted. "I know you. You're that pretty lady from before!"
"W-w-what?!" Cathy stepped back in surprise. "What are you talking about? I've never seen you before."
"But aren't you that nice lady who played with me?"
"I don't know who you're talking about, and I've only been here since yesterday."
"Oh… really? But you look like that nice pretty lady… Oh, well!" Shinju then jumped up and dashed towards Cathy, clinging onto her leg. "Do you want to play with me then, new nice pretty lady?!"
"Oh, wow…" Cathy responded while blushing. "You sure have good taste. Sure, why not? We can play."
"Yay!" Shinju shouted with joy. "Come back home with me, and let's play there."
Cathy and I nodded together, so Shinju led both of us away from the school. We walked another twenty minutes towards the southern outskirts of town when we finally reached a single moderately-sized house. We could see Shinji's mother sitting on a bench outside reading a book.
"Hi, Mom!" Shinji yelled. "I brought back some nice people with me! They saved me from the bullies, and this nice pretty lady wants to play with me!"
"That's wonderful, sweetie," Shinji's mother said. "Why don't you and the young lady play by the pond out back?"
"Okay!" Shinji then took Cathy by her hand and led her towards the pond.
Shinji's mother then turned to me. "Thank you so much for helping my son. I'm glad there are still some nice people even with all the trouble we've been having in town lately. Oh, where are my manners? My name is Ruriko."
"No, no, it's alright. We were just walking by, and we couldn't just let those bullies keep hurting him. And I'm Haru, and the girl with Shinji is Cathy."
After we finished our introductions, Ruriko welcomed me into her house. She directed me to sit at the table in the kitchen, where she served some tea. Ruriko then shared many stories about Shinji and herself: how Shinji's father left town for work one day... how he hadn't returned for six years and was now presumed for dead... how the kids continued to tease Shinji for not having his father around anymore... how Shinji had tried unsuccessfully to make friends...
And yet, throughout all these burdens, Ruriko tried her best to remain positive and be a guiding light for Shinji. She expressed gratitude towards his teachers at the school, who remained supportive of the family.
Even though I was saddened by the stories I heard, I also felt encouraged there were people who still wanted to be kind and helpful to others. It made it all the more worthwhile to be there for others, and, in my case, for Cathy.
As Ruriko and I each shared a third cup of tea, we heard a deafening cry from outside. "Noooo! Shinjiiii!"
We rushed out of the house and saw Cathy kneeling on the ground. When I stood in front of her, I shook her a couple times to get her attention. "Cathy! Cathy! What happened?!"
Cathy trembled while replying, "… Shinji wanted to show me something and told me to stand where I was… All of a sudden, two wolves came out of nowhere…. One of them grabbed Shinji, and then they ran off… I'm so sorry… I'm so sorry…"
I wanted to take some time to think, but I knew we couldn't just stand around and do nothing. "Which way did the wolves go?"
"… They went that way, towards the east…"
After I pressed harder on Cathy's shoulders to try to calm her down, I stood up and turned towards the direction she pointed to. I started to pull her up, but she remained on the ground.
"Haru… wait… those wolves… they're the same ones from before… when you saved me…"
It all suddenly made sense to me. Cathy was still traumatized from that day, and seeing those same wolves obviously made the situation worse for her.
"Cathy… stay here with Ruriko. I'll chase after those wolves and get Shinji back."
"But you don't have your bow and arrows with you!"
"I still have my knives and hatchet, so I'll be fine. Ruriko, take care of Cathy while I'm gone."
"But Haru! Haruuu!" Cathy cried as I started to run.
The sun started to set, so I quickened my pace in pursuit of the same wolves that still tortured Cathy's spirit.
REFLEXIONES DE LOS CREADORES 
TosataFujinami
TosataFujinami Haru and Cathy's first day in town. Cathy continues to show her charms, but new trouble is afoot!
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