A man with a dark blue buttoned shirt and a buff build stood before them, a design on his clothing that seemed alien to this nation. His dark brown trousers outlined his thighs, while his pinkish hair rustled with the recoil of his action.
"Those mines aren't going to work themselves now, are they?" He cracked his whip in the air.
SNAP---0SMACK!
"Ahh!"
The whip seared across a boy's back, sending him face down into the mud. His face was swollen and caked with black char, now mixed with the grime of the earth.
The boy on the horse watched it all with a judgmental expression.
Serves him right, actually…
Probably didn't obey orders given by his superior…
Especially in his condition…
The horse trudged on, its tail flickering. The man's gaze, having lingered on the laborers, now shifted onto the boy. His eyes, slightly squinted, held a dismissive glint, framed by a hairy but thin mustache.
The edges around his mouth were wrinkled, and the tips of his brows pointed downwards. The man then spat into the mud on the path the boy's horse was riding on.
What the?
How dare he?!
That damn bastard!
The veins on the boy's hand became more visible as his mouth twitched in indignation, but he quickly dismissed it, looking away as he rode by.
He sighed, a frustrated puff of air.
I can't even demote myself to his level.
I just want to do what father sent me to do and go back to the estate…
*Sniff…* *Sniff…*
The boy trudged along the muddy path, his ears picking up on the soft sounds of tears and sniveling. He turned his head slightly over his shoulder.
Could it be that boy?
Even if it is…
What concerns me?
He gripped the reins more tightly, pushing forward.
"Now…Where's the Kumigara?" The boy's eyes scanned across the town, searching for even a faint indication of the person he sought.
But his gaze was met only by the reeking, shit-covered mud roads, the almost-ruined buildings, and a group of people in white clothes, packed together like the three dots on their own garments.
Those three dots, though…
They look familiar…
Oh wait…
Followers of Charitas, perhaps?
He'd passed some on his way to Slov.
Hmm…
Ughn…
Where could he possibly be?!
The boy breathed out loudly, his left eyebrow twitching with impatience.
I don't have time for this!
Having been on the road for a while, he glared, teeth clenched, a lone vein throbbing on his temple.
And he expects me to just find him?
…Next time I'm telling father to just send a messenger…
"Now back to the mines! All of you!" The man with the whip shouted, his voice as loud as the crack of his whip in the air.
SHAWCK!
The man whipped his whip again, this time with such energy that the air itself seemed to pop at its tip. The people it targeted cried out, clutching their soot-covered bodies closer together.
The boy who had been whipped before, his dirt-covered black cloth torn away, revealed a vivid red mark on his skin beneath as he sobbed, supported under the arms by those around him.
Well, such happens when the order is broken----that's just the rules of the world.
Could've been prevented if they just didn't defy him.
"Now quickly, get along now." The man chuckled, a rough, guttural sound.
The way he has order over those people… Could he be a retainer of someone?
Probably the Kumigara?
Tch!
And I wanted to avoid him though…
Can't believe I'm doing this.
He let out a sigh of frustration. He removed the cloth he had held over his nose and tucked it back into his satchel.
Then, with a decisive tug, he pulled the reins in the opposite direction, attempting to guide his horse back towards the man with the whip.
*Nnyeeihhh!*
This damn disobedient horse!
It nodded its head brashly, its mane reacting violently in the air.
---The end of chapter 8---