I woke up and stared up at the wooden ceiling of my room. I tried to breathe, gasping for air as if I had just drowned. With every breath, my chest hurt.
Looking down, I saw that my naked body, almost completely wrapped in dirty bandages with patterns identical to those on the sword, was trembling and covered in sweat.
My hand was stretched out of the bed, gripping the sword so tightly that my knuckles turned white.
Damn... Damn it!
I let go of the sword and ran my hand over my face, trying to calm down... but I was still shaking violently.
I felt a slight movement toward the door. When I looked up, on the other side of the room, Lina was watching me silently, holding a breakfast tray in her hands.
"You were taking a while, so... I thought I'd bring you..."
She looked scared when she saw me like that. I hope I hadn't talked in my sleep... or screamed. Her eyes moved from my sword to my eyes, which must have been red with power. Then she looked away, visibly embarrassed when she realized I was naked.
"Oh... I'm sorry, I..."
"It's okay, thank you, Lina. Leave it on the table. I'll have breakfast with you guys.
She nodded and quickly closed the door.
I stood there for a few seconds staring at the door she had left through... then I looked at my calloused hands. I clenched them tightly, to the point that my nails dug into my flesh, making them bleed, hoping to make the pain in my chest go away.
I opened them again only to see the wound already healed. I laughed bitterly.
I got up with difficulty, as I was still a little shaky, and headed for the small bathroom inside the bedroom.
A room consisting of nothing more than a cloth curtain attached to hooks running along the ceiling, a wooden tub for toiletries, and a metal basin, with a small broken mirror attached to the wall.
I relieved myself in the wooden tub and turned to the metal basin.
I looked at my tired reflection.
Damn, I need to shave.
The irises of my eyes were still a little crimson, but they were almost completely returning to normal, giving way to an ordinary black.
My dark brown hair was a messy tangle that reached my nose. A very standard appearance for a typical NPC in a shitty game, with a shitty life.
I conjured a little water in the metal tub, washed my face, and wet my hair a little.
I can shave later.
I ran my fingers through my hair and tied it back in a ponytail. I put on a worn brown button-down shirt and my slightly wrinkled black leather pants and went to the kitchen, still half asleep.
I yawned all the way to the breakfast table.
As soon as I opened the kitchen door, the aroma of fresh bread, cheese, and hot coffee hit me like a slap in the face, with an almost cruel comfort. Lina was drying her hands when she stopped to see that I had arrived. I threw myself into my chair as if I had just unloaded a cart full of flour sacks.
"Good morning,"
She said with a smile on her face as she placed the plates on the table, and right behind her, an almost identical figure carried the glasses.
Gineviv.
She was an older version of Lina, changing only in proportions, as her beagle ears were slightly larger due to the age. Even though her beige dress was modest, it was almost impossible not to notice her generous breasts. She turned, and her green eyes stared at me as if to condemn me and throw me in the gutter.
"Duncan, dear, the next time you walk into my inn with dirty boots, you'll clean the floor with your tongue."
She gave a smile that didn't match the sentence she had just uttered.
I gave her a wry smile and crossed my arms behind my head.
"Talking like that doesn't suit you, Gineviv."
She sniffed and turned back to the kitchen counter to cut the cheese.
"Zannen will be joining us soon. He arrived last night, tired from his journey, but you hadn't arrived yet. So I asked him to go and rest."
I reached out to grab a slice of bread. If there was anything in this world that reminded me of what peace was and made my mind rest, even for a few brief moments, it was this family.
"...there's no hope..."
My hand stopped midway. A slight buzzing began in my head, but I slapped my temple twice, which made the noise stop and Lina look at me suspiciously.
I gave an awkward smile and took the bread.
"Yesterday's rain," I took a bite, "must have gotten into my ear."
Suddenly, the door to the inner rooms opened.