Oh! He lives here...! It's a spacious lodge accompanied by a front garden. At the gate stands a stylish girl around Eva's age; she seems to be in charge of this lodge, with wavy hair and a laundry basket in her hand... She welcomed us and introduced herself as Rafaela, the daughter of Mr. Gaucho.
Well, just a few steps into the garden were enough for me to hear a strange sound coming from one of the closed rooms.
"Splats... splats..." the sound of paint splattering.
Rafaela headed toward her father's room while we waited a little distance away, standing at the threshold without doing anything, which made me understand that she was waiting for the splattering sound to stop...
Alright, this is the right moment. She called out, "Dad," then opened the door... Unfortunately for her, paint splattered all over her face.
"Dad... you have guests," she said, clearly showing her anger.
The room was relatively empty, with only a medium-sized wooden piece hanging on the wall, carved with a sharp tool and painted in vibrant colors...
The room looked like a laboratory for experimenting with paint, mixing it to achieve certain shades. Paint was everywhere—on the walls, the floor, the door, the ceiling—different colors in various shades...
Gaucho is a Mobanga artist, specializing in painting and wood printing...
"I'll be there in a moment, my daughter... This isn't the color I want. I mixed red with a bit of black and then a small touch of purple to get a more realistic hue—damn it!"
...
...
Whoa! What a strange painter. I see a sword in his hand, with a paintbrush tied to its end, dripping with paint...
It seems he's in conversation with his daughter, who is wiping the paint off her face with a towel. She must be tired of having such a messy father.
"I've said this before, can't you just sit and paint quietly like the others, Dad? I mean, you've mastered creating that wooden piece by now... And I'm the only one who has to clean up after this mess and apologize to the innkeeper who provided us with this place... If it happens that we get kicked out of here, neither of us has anywhere else to go..."
"Alright, I understand. I'm sorry, Rafaela."
"I've heard that many times from you, Dad, and nothing has changed."
We weren't far from them, in the garden... Here he comes toward us, thin, with an innocent face, in his fifties, with short gray hair and a small earring in his ear. I have no fond memories of those who wear earrings...
A distinctive robe that no one else would wear, I mean, perhaps because he's an artist, he chose something to set himself apart from others...
"Mr. Gaucho," Eva stepped forward and addressed him, while he remained transfixed, his eyes downcast, staring at her, trying to remember...
He placed his finger on his lips. "Ah! Don't tell me you're... that little Eva?"
"I know, I know, it's been a while since you last saw me."
"Wow!... Is that really you?... Wow!... You've really grown. How long has it been? Four years... that's amazing! How have you been? What have you done during those years that have passed?!"
Eva began to chatter about things that didn't interest me regarding what she had done over the past years until I heard something that made me intervene. It was a decision she made without consulting me, as if she had hired a servant whose opinion didn't matter!!!
Oh! What kind of foolishness is this? You want me to stay here for a whole week... It seems to me like we're wasting our time... Another lunatic you're taking me to, just a mad painter.
She turned her face to me as if she wanted to say, "Just shut up!"
I know what you want to say; let me spare you the words and say it for you... This is the great swordsman who will tell us where Karl is...
We dragged our behinds for two whole days in this damned city just to get what you wanted? What did we find? A senile painter... What are you staring at! Am I not right?
"Where did you find this reckless monkey, Eva? On Mount Taco?"
I couldn't accept that insult, raising my sword in his face... while Eva held my arm, trying to stop me from approaching him...
"Wait! Stop! Calm down... Mr. Gaucho, this person... umm, is my personal guard, and also my travel companion."
"Umm, you said personal guard!"
I am not your personal guard, you little brat! I calmed myself and stepped back a bit, lying down in the middle of the garden, gazing at the blue sky, while Eva recounted the story of her father's murder to the crazy painter...
With a sigh, Gaucho placed his hand on his head, affected by the death of his friend. "So, he was my childhood friend. Even when I was training with that weaponsmith, your father and grandfather were among my most important clients...
Your father wasn't the type of person to create hostility and tension with others. Thinking of him being killed in such a heinous way over an old grudge that has lingered for so many years... that's just too much."
"I'm sorry, Mr. Gaucho, I should have told you sooner. I didn't know where you settled after leaving the city. Also... I still needed time to gather myself and regain my balance."
"It's alright. Thank you, Eva, for telling me this. I owe you an apology for not attending your father's funeral."
"Don't worry about it, Mr. Gaucho. My father's funeral was just the beginning!"
Well, I felt a bit bored listening to their gloomy conversation. I wandered around the lodge, peering at the mess created by the senile painter. But what caught my attention was the number of swords he owned, most of which had a paintbrush tied to their hilts.
I returned to lie on the grass near them... Gaucho leaning against a pole while Eva knelt, trying to convince him of something...
"Revenge! For a little girl like you...?"
"Didn't I tell you that, Mr. Gaucho? The anger inside me hasn't subsided yet. My father and mother did nothing wrong... I've trained until my hands were torn and bloodied over the years. I even hired a personal guard; all that's left is just one more step."
The fool still calls me her personal guard; I don't accept that title... You could say I hired a killer or a mercenary, even though I'm not that...
"A foolish dream, Eva. I cannot let the daughter of my closest friend walk to her death willingly. You need to know your limits, child!"
"I'm not dreaming!"
"Hey! I've heard some rumors about a boy named Karl! After the king disbanded his squad, the Golden Hawks, he established a radical sword club, with the same name—the Golden Hawks...
He has brought most of the sword schools under his leadership, schools that face issues with the ruling system due to a mass exodus of their top fighters. Many of them have joined him...
Do you really think you stand a chance against them, Eva? Do you think you can overcome them with a reckless personal guard?"
The senile old man is getting to me again!
"Mr. Gaucho, perhaps I agree with you... maybe you're right about what you said!!!"
Whoa! Wait a minute! Agreeing about what?
"But there is still a way to make the impossible possible!"
"Look... this kind of thing... there's nothing I can do, Eva!"
Ha ha ha, don't tell me we traveled all this distance for nothing...
Damn! What is that strange tree overlooking the lodge, you painter? Why are its branches moving... Strange things have been happening since I met this girl!
"I know I'm asking a lot of questions, Mr. Gaucho! But I also know that you can help me."
"And what do you think you're asking of me, little one? I'm just a painter who loves Mobanga art."
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