I Don't Need Alms, Silver Blood

Ryzen and Raya were so used to a rural area that they felt overwhelmed by the drastic changes in the scenery. After passing the wall, Ryzen failed to take a glimpse of the captain of the holy knights that everyone in Raxes knew. Shrugging his disappointment, a red blood soldier gave them a pamphlet about the details of the annual coming-of-age ceremony. It said that after the bell of Korendell rang, the ceremony started, but the official selection or the main event would be held an hour before midnight. 

'So we have four hours left as a free individuals before being proclaimed as a slave to some arrogant red blood noble,' he bitterly thought. 

He glanced at Raya, who was happily walking beside him while she linked their arms together. Her gaze never stayed put, and it was twinkling with happiness.

'Happiness that would be gone long after midnight.'

If this was his last drop of freedom, then he might as well enjoy it. Doing what Raya was doing, he looked awed as Raxians from different races strode at the city's busy street. Street lamps lightened the whole town. 

The city's mood was very festive. 

Banners for the ceremony were on full display from every nook and cranny of the city. Flags were dropped freely in every corner. Merchants, who sold various goods from the smallest to the biggest things, stood proudly beside their stores' stand near the road. Ladies and lords were inside the fancy-looking food houses that could be seen from the glass walls of the food houses. Girls around Raya's were giggling when they passed on them, eyes fixated on him. Children were chasing faces and laughing freely as their parents chased after them. A variety of carriages occupied the road.

Drunks sang a sailor or merchant's song while ladies with bouncing breasts sat on the drunks' laps. The city of Elixion was nothing like her old home. This city spoke everything that the system had deprived them of. Sighing silently, he shook his head.

"Are you okay, Ryzen?" Raya's voice was laced with worry. 

'So my dumb of a sister noticed my ill comfort.' He grinned, which earned him a glare from Raya.

"Seems like you're okay," she rumbled. 

Ryzen smiled slightly as he messed with Raya's hair. 

"Hey, watch it!" She tried to shake his hands off her hair. Ryzen could not suppress his laughter anymore as he dodged her hands and pushed his earnestness to annoy her.

'I'll miss this.'

When a chain would be connected around their necks, it was not guaranteed that they would have proximity to each other. By then, it would be a matter of luck.

Ryzen stopped making fun of Raya when his attention was taken by something. It smelled heavenly; indeed, it was not from the food house. He followed his stomach's instinct. 

"Where are you going, Ryzen?" Raya asked him when he walked away from her grasp. 

Hot in his heels, Raya bumped into his back when he suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Before them, food vendors were selling delicacies they had never seen before. 

'All my life, rabbits and beavers are the only luxurious food I ever tasted, but now I want to eat those round bouncy foods.'

"Do you want that?" His sister's look showed pity, and he knew the reason why. 

They could not afford it. They could not afford anything from this city at all. Their mother could only give them a small portion of their wheat stock. They did not have any Teran.

"No, just curious," he lied, but he felt Raya knew the truth. Hardening himself and not wallowing in self-pity, Ryzen strode away from the vendor's stall. 

When he was about to hide deep within his heart's wall again, a pair of soft yet firm hands spun him around, stopping his intention to leave.

"Hey!" Raya's startled voice knocked his senses out as instinct kicked in. 

Ryzen twisted his body and connected his elbows to the culprit's ribs. 

A pained sound came out from the culprit. Very eager to look at his opponent's face, Ryzen looked up only to be greeted by a silver-haired woman. Her body was clad in armor that sensualized her curves and standing in the hierarchy.

Ryzen was left in awe.

'She is a Silver Blood!' The siblings realized.

The blue-eyed culprit knew that realization dawned on him, and Raya, who also grew silent behind him, had spoken. "Here." She softly said, handing them a pouch. 

Looking down on it… it was a small pouch of Teran.

 

'What can I expect from the highest of the chain?' Ryzen mockingly asked himself as he glared at the small pouch of Teran in his hand. 

Raya nudged his side to earn a response from him. Indeed, the people were looking at them. 

A Silver Blood offering help to a red blood peasant? That was a sight to behold!

Ryzen knew he could not lash out and risk his sister. So before he might regret his action, he gave back the pouch of Teran, crossed the distance between them, and whispered, which she surely heard. "I am not asking for alms, Silver Blood."