He gestured with his head toward the nearby roads. ''Augustine came to practice medicine here, and Olin became something of an errand boy. I sent him to know the community and help out with physical tasks. The women took a quick shine to him, and after two weeks, he earned himself a nickname: The Squire. He was mighty proud of it.'' A melancholic laugh escaped him, and for a moment, Aryel lost himself by looking toward a pair of Mamonos moving a hand-drawn cart.

''I remember him asking me about martial arts,'' Shigeko said fondly. ''I showed him a few things about how to keep a good stance and throw a punch without hurting himself. The women in the village liked the little guy. It was so odd to see a boy his age asking about doing chores... and he even became a good help to Seyraphal when her disease worsened.''

''Yeah...'' The handsome young man rubbed his eyes. ''...sorry, words decided to flow out of my mouth.''
''It’s alright.'' There was a noticeable ache in your heart; a cloak of grief shadowed your emotions. You’d never met the little man, but the more you got to know him—his circumstances and the people who did spend time with that boy—the more you started to feel like you’d lost a friend. ''You mentioned troubles?''
''Nothing concrete. I have my suspicions about potential culprits, but I won’t besmirch my honor with groundless accusations.'' His hand fiddled with the handle of his sword, playing with pushing out a centimeter and sliding the iron back.

''Olin was having trouble outside his home. I noticed worrying bruises on his body. A handful of times during training, he grew particularly enraged when he couldn’t break my defenses, and during our discussions, I’d sometimes overhear little comments about people he disliked.'' Aryel moistened his lips while turning half-around, looking at his hand. ''Little hints like these made me grow suspicious, but... I didn’t try to find out. He was my pupil, and I kept trying to maintain a distance. Augustine was far too busy expanding her knowledge of herbalism into proper medicine. Me?'' You heard the creasing of leather as he balled his hand into a fist. ''I was too lazy to look out for a troubled kid, and now he’s dead.''

What could you say here? That it wasn’t his fault? Of course, it was true, but the intense guilt and anger wrapped around him would make that remark sound hollow, if not insulting.

''My family and I will be looking into Olin’s circumstances, Aryel. I—''

Sudden movements inside your bags interrupted your talking. Muffled grunts and frustrated complaints quickly followed as the little guest you brought along—and completely forgot about—decided that now was the perfect time to get hungry. The outline in the leather of your bag almost followed Usha’s movement as you began fiddling with it to the shared bemusement of Aryel and Shigeko.