Following Mr. Paul's voice, the unexpected sight of a human settlement sparsely spread out and situated close to the base of a mountainous region slowly began to unravel ahead.
Due to the nature of the winding road, the village seemed to be sloped upwards against a hill not too far in the distance from their direction.
Cid crawled on his knees like a child with anticipation to take a better look off the edge of the moving wagon, Pip flapping just above his head. His black eyes widened slightly, then gleamed under the sunlight.
"It's so small…"
Paul coughed with embarrassment from his position upon hearing that.
"Ah, yes… I believe I've emphasized that a few times before already?"
Misunderstood by Paul, Cid's careless utterance wasn't intentional or meant to sound like mockery or the like. He was genuinely curious and interested in the village.
And for someone who had spent the last couple of decades of his life—former life—ruling vast regions from the cold, ancient, and sinister comfort of an indomitable fortress, the small village was almost like a whole different world.
But of course, Cid wasn't necessarily expecting something large and grandiose. He knew as well that the village was a small, managing settlement.
Fortunately, Mr. Paul took no direct offense, and neither did Cleo.
In fact, the suburban young girl with wavy blonde hair observed Cid's close reaction curiously.
"…You've never seen a village before… Mr. Cid?" she said after a pause.
Cid's gaze lingered unreadably on the gradually approaching village. The closer they got, the clearer its structure and appearance became.
Then Cid said,
"That's not really the case… I knew a village like this once," he vaguely revealed and looked at Cleo from the side. "Also… just Cid is fine."
Cleo had heard briefly from Mr. Paul about Cid's job as a mercenary in the final battle. But since they had only known each other for a short while, she wasn't aware of his story of also being homeless and an orphan.
She even assumed Cid might have been some member of a noble family turned mercenary or the like, judging from his almost innocent-like curiosity and excitement in even the smallest of things. Plus, she had never met someone with a Familiar before—subconsciously regarding it as a privilege the likes of blue-blood nobles could have.
Hence, without knowing the depths of her words, she asked curiously.
"Oh? And what about this village?"
"Oh. Actually, it got wiped out. A long time ago," Cid said casually and spun back to his original place to sit, like he hadn't just dropped something deep and heavy.
Cleo stared with wide eyes, and Mr. Paul's shoulders couldn't help but tremble.
It was the nonchalance and noncommitment in Cid's voice—like what he had said was the most natural thing—that made hearing it even more chilling.
"E-excuse me?" Cleo stuttered, lost for words.
If Paul could, and didn't have to control the horses, he would have turned and gaped at Cid as well.
Villages or settlements getting wiped out was a big deal. It had even become something close and akin to a recurring nightmare in Estan'te, which had a heavy history bathed in war and bloodshed.
As tragic as it was, it wasn't uncommon to wake up one morning to the news that a neighbouring village or town had been destroyed overnight. Yet the weight of the lives lost was still heavy.
Cid couldn't immediately relate to the shared thoughts of Mr. Paul and Cleo at that moment. He almost couldn't even tell anything was wrong with their reactions if it wasn't for Pip sighing quietly behind him.
"My hometown… It was long ago."
Then the words clicked into place as he said that.
Paul already roughly knew about Cid's unfortunate and sad past, without the details, so the revelation didn't come as just shocking, but almost humbling.
Cleo, on the other hand, was more confused. Had she been wrong about him being of blue-blood…?
Alas, Cid didn't even hesitate or linger on the topic, and his expression changed as if he were having a light and casual conversation.
"Ohh, the village is coming up."
In a couple of minutes more, they finally arrived at the village. Paul's horse-drawn wagon rolled through the front gates, bringing them into the settlement at once.
Finally, it seemed like their unexpectedly long and tedious journey had come to an end…
"This is…" Paul's voice quaked.
"What happened here?" Cid's eyes coolly scanned the surroundings. This close to the village, he could clearly see and take in the appearance of the settlement from the very front seat.
The already sparse houses, made of wood, mud, and stone, were old and badly deteriorated. The streets and roads were heavily scarred and roughly dug up in some areas, and the walls of various structures were shattered and brutally destroyed.
The clouds seemed to hang low here, covering a vast portion of the village in a thin, gloomy screen of mist, and the air was heavy with a haunted atmosphere.
At a glance, the whole place was quiet and empty—unsettlingly so. It was hard to imagine people actually lived in a place like this. The village was like an abandoned settlement left to crumble with time.
Cid would have thought so too if he were incapable of feeling the presence of various life forms.
"There are people."
And all around them.
It seemed they were hiding. For whatever reason, the villagers looked on warily from within their collapsing houses and homes.
Cid couldn't see the expression on Paul's face since he was facing ahead, but judging from his earlier incredulous voice, he guessed the merchant had no idea about this either.
Then Cid turned to the only other person who was a resident of this so-called settlement.
Cleo looked into the thin mist with a reserved, but crestfallen expression on her pretty face. He could see her tightly clenching the hem of her gown in her fingers.
Slowly—oh so deliberately this time—Paul's carriage continued to move down the main street, rattling over the rough road.
"Cleo, what happened here?" Paul was the one who asked directly, while Cid remained silent, gazing quietly at the girl.
But before she could speak, Cid's dark eyes flickered forward to the road ahead of them.
"There are people on the way," he alerted.
And up ahead, rising from the mist, vague humanoid silhouettes could be seen.
[A/N: Vote and comment!]