章 9: The Chief's Fear
At night, or precisely when the residents were already fast asleep in their homes, Xavier still kept a lot of energy and stamina. Usually, at this hour he makes preparations to serve as the guard of the village. Sharpened the sword to maintain sharpness, stretched his muscles with a short workout, and did not forget the thick clothes just in case the air was cold due to the rain while the hut on the edge of the village was too narrow and the walls were thin.
But tonight did not do it all and instead peeked at the condition of the village from the window of the house. He watched and waited until no one was around his house to carry out his plan. Although he said yesterday he would see them at night, Xavier himself broke his promise and made Cytherea and Emil wait too long inside his house.
In fact, they came to Xavier's house and no one could see anything from the outside when he deliberately extinguished all the lanterns to blind their vision. Xavier had planned this to escape from the village secretly. Although he seems less polite after what he got in Cliffside Village, selfishness blinds him and the only option is to escape from Cytherea's orders.
Xavier decided to escape from the back window, trying to open it slowly so as not to make the slightest noise when the village was very quiet. When the window was wide enough, he began to raise his legs and landed quite quietly, not forgetting to carry the bag he had filled with clothes and a little provision during the trip.
Closing the windows of the house again, Xavier was startled by the presence of a figure beside him that was scalding his left shoulder.
"Where are you going, Xavier?" said the figure behind the darkness, the face invisible.
She accidentally screamed and then shook off the hand. In fact, he slammed the person to the ground and planned to hit him so shocked, his heart almost stopped beating. But when the man lit his lantern, Xavier could see and realize that he shouldn't have slammed a village leader. "Mr Emil? What are you doing behind my house?"
"Before that, can you step aside and help me up?" then they both stood up and Xavier helped him with guilt. "During your stay here, it was only this time that I was slammed by you. It turned out to be quite painful too, huh." Emil felt some of his bones broken but it was just a joke he often joked about.
"I'm sorry, Mr Emil. I guess there are thieves or criminals trying to stalk my house. Lately, I do feel like my instincts are starting to decline."
Emil patted him on the shoulder again. "You're not mistaken. It was me who surprised you and waited here for two hours. By the way, why are you out of the window? You don't plan to run away for the first time, right?"
Xavier chuckled as he scratched his head. He couldn't hide anything from Emil who had already recognized him deeply. "How about we just talk inside? I'll make a hot drink for you."
***
Putting the cup on the table, Xavier sighed and then sat down opposite the village leader. He remained silent, waiting for Emil to finish sipping his drink and let him open the conversation first. After breaking his promise to them, it was Emil came to his house and invited him to talk. Meanwhile, Cytherea, a figure who claims to be the Goddess of Beauty, is now asleep in her room peacefully. But Xavier tried to get used to his nature which seemed to have been mixed with human habits.
"So, can you explain your reason first?" Emil asked.
Xavier began to take a deep breath, his hunch telling if this conversation would be a little time-consuming and annoying. "I don't care about her orders, Mr Emil. Nor am I afraid of the punishment or curse imposed on the deity for the appointed death. After all for two days in I've been fighting with my own mind and looking for the best possibilities for myself, of course."
"Well, after hours I decided not to still help her and the gods. Maybe the rewards are quite tempting but I love my current life as an ordinary human being, both in this village and elsewhere where I will live. Even my silliness these days is clear proof that I have lost half of my ability."
"Even if what Cytherea says about 'a definite death' is a truth, then I don't mind if my life is uprooted. I plan to hide elsewhere until the goddess leaves this village. That way I can die as I wish, breathe my last in this village and be buried underground."
Xavier had already explained all his reasons wholeheartedly, even to the point that his breathing was ragged and a little exhausted when a few minutes ago his body was in great shape. He didn't care about getting laughter or insults from Emil who had been silent and listened to him since just now. After all, he was just an 'ex-soldier' and cited his silliness and weaknesses as evidence that he was not interested in violence or warfare.
Internalized and a little touched by Xavier's reasoning, Emil began to speak. "You're not Xavier. Can the consciousness that I am not familiar with leave the body of this young man?"
Xavier raised his eyebrows, then his eyes began to thin out. "Sorry, Mr Emil. But I don't understand what you mean."
"I want you to get away from Xavier's body and don't take over his body!" the village leader shouted, startling Xavier to the point of accidentally kicking the table.
His face looked both anxious and confused. In the end, he didn't understand the meaning of Emil's words, he did not accept the fact of a sudden change after locking himself up for two days.
"Xavier I know really likes to help people. He doesn't care if that person has a bad background or is even a former criminal, while they need help then he doesn't hesitate to help them. He even knew that the father of this village leader was a former bandit who had hunted this village. But Xavier did not kill at all and gave him the opportunity to change his personality even though he has now left this village and rested in peace. Xavier also let the son of the former bandit be the leader of the village and respected him very much. Where did all his kindness disappear during these two days?"
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