Blaze: The Hero

Chapter 16

*THIRD PERSON's POV*

As soon as Blaze and his companions stepped inside the public market's entrance, the first thing that they noticed were the wooden stands where different kinds of goods and products were being sold at. Blaze looked at both sides of the entrance as if searching for something that might catch his attention.

"Sir, should we split up and buy for ourselves?" Zoleta suggested to Blaze while making sure that no one would hear her voice except from him. Then, Blaze checked the area again before facing Zoleta.

"This place...it is still not occupied by the demons?" Blaze questioned in a low volume because he did not want any strangers to hear his question and make the people around them panic.

"I don't think so, Sir Blaze. From what I have heard from the Chief before, places that have been conquered by demons are mostly covered in dark clouds since there are demons who could not walk under the sun," Henson answered on behalf of Zoleta. Upon hearing Henson's answer, Blaze nodded his head and looked around again.

"Then, I guess this place is still safe," Blaze murmured, but Zoleta and Henson heard him, which made Zoleta smile in excitement.

Yes, Sir Blaze, this place is not dangerous yet, so will you please let me buy my own supplies? Zoleta thought to herself while waiting for Blaze's next command. Then, Zoleta saw Blaze nod his head and look at Henson, then at her.

"Buy the things that you needed the most, but don't separate from each other," Blaze commanded and faced Havie.

"You. Go with them," Blaze said and motioned his head towards Henson, and as a reply, Havie simply nodded her head.

"Woman, get a grip. We'll buy our own supplies. Take your money with you," Blaze spoke again, but this time, he's already looking at Scarlette, who has been in silence ever since they stepped into the public market.

What is her problem? Blaze thought to himself while looking at Scarlette, who simply nodded her head at him.

Tch. I have no time for cry babies. Blaze thought again and stopped his horse. Then, he stepped down from his steed and pulled his horse towards the right side of the entrance, where several wooden poles are sturdily standing. Blaze grabbed the reigns of his horse and tied it around the pole, and his companions followed him and tied their horses near the pole as well.

As they all got off of their horses, they quickly grabbed their bags and pulled out the cloaks that would help them hide their faces just in case someone might recognize them, especially Scarlette since her village is just a few minutes from the public market.

"How about the other supplies here?" Havie asked and pointed at the carriage where Scarlette was stepping out from with the help of Blaze.

Oh, that's right. We can't just leave the supplies here without anyone guarding the carriage. Blaze thought to himself.

"I'll stay here," Havie volunteered, which caught Blaze's attention.

"Hey Vie-Vie, don't you want to buy some supplies for yourself?" Zoleta asked her best friend while looking at Havie.

"I do have some things to buy, but it is not that urgent, so it is fine if I stay here and guard our things," Havie answered to her best friend, and Zoleta nodded her head at her.

"Then, just tell us what you want to buy, and we'll buy it for you," Henson said while looking at Havie.

"Alright. Just a minute, I will write it down," Havie answered and grabbed her bag from the carriage, and after a few seconds of rummaging inside her bag, she pulled out a brown paper, a quill, and a small jar of black ink. Then, Havie started writing down in her paper the things that she would like to purchase in the market. After a few minutes, Havie handed the brown paper to Henson and gave him a handful of her money.

"I will pay you back if this is not enough," Havie said, and Henson simply nodded his head at her as he placed the money inside his chest pocket.

"Oh, right. I almost forgot. Scarlette, do you have any money with you?" Zoleta asked Scarlette, and the latter shook her head as a no, which made Zoleta sigh and grabbed her bag from the carriage. Then, she pulled out a small black money bag and gave it to Scarlette.

"Here. You can use these to buy your own supplies," Zoleta said to Scarlette while smiling genuinely at her and placing the money bag on Scarlette's palms.

"A-Are you sure? This is your money, and I can't just spend it," Scarlette said shyly, but Zoleta just smiled at her.

"It's fine. I still have some of those here," Zoleta answered and showed Scarlette a bigger money bag hanging at her side as she used it as a sling bag.

"T-Thank you, Zoleta," Scarlette smiled at Zoleta as she clutched the money bag in her hands.

"Then, we'll go ahead," Henson said.

"Be back here after two hours," Blaze reminded his groupmates, who just nodded their heads at him before wearing their cloaks and walking inside the public market. Blaze and Scarlette also wore the hoods of their cloaks.

"Let's go," Blaze uttered and started walking away from their carriage, so Scarlette quickly followed him while holding the bag of money that Zoleta gave to her.

While walking around the public market, Scarlette remained silent while looking at the products hanging and displayed at every wooden stand inside the market. Then, she secretly glanced at Blaze and saw him looking straight in front of them, showing no care for the products being sold around them.

"U-Uhm, Sir Blaze, aren't you going to buy some supplies for yourself?" Scarlette asked Blaze, which caught the attention of the man.

"I am not in need of anything," Blaze shortly replied to Scarlette while holding the handle of his katana.

Oh, that's right. He does not need any weapons since he already has the most potent weapon against the demons. Scarlette thought to herself as she looked down at the handle of Blaze's katana that is also hidden inside his cloak, and only the handle was visible to her.

"Then, why did you come here with me?" Scarlette asked in curiosity.

"You want to buy some supplies for yourself, don't you?" Blaze responded in return without looking at Scarlette.

D-Does that mean...you came here just to accompany me in my shopping? Scarlette thought to herself as she looked down at the ground, making sure that Blaze would not notice her blushing face. However, Blaze still noticed her fidgeting hands while she was looking down at her feet, so Blaze raised his right eyebrow and shook his head in disbelief.

"Don't get the wrong idea. I only accompanied you so I could ensure your safety, which is a part of our contract. Also, I need a halfling to guide me towards the tree of life," Blaze spoke to Scarlette while making sure no one around them heard what he just said.

Ah, right. How stupid of me to assume things instantly. Scarlette thought to herself and nodded her head at Blaze without looking at him.

"So, what exactly do you want to buy?" Blaze asked Scarlette while looking at the stores ahead of them.

"Honestly speaking, I do not have any idea what I should be buying now," Scarlette shyly answered to Blaze, which made the man crease his forehead.

"Tsk!" Blaze hissed, but Scarlette did not hear him at all since she was busy thinking of something that she would like to purchase as they walked around the market.

Hmm...what should I buy? How about some clothes? A dress? But, I won't be able to run properly if I have to wear another dress. Scarlette thought to herself, and as she raised her head to look around the shops around them, she saw a pair of clothing that was being displayed in front of a particular shop.

Upon seeing the clothes, Scarlette increased the pace of her walks until she reached the store, and Blaze quickly followed behind her. Then, Blaze noticed how Scarlette carefully checked the clothes in front of her. With curiosity, Blaze also studied the clothes that caught Scarlette's attention.

The clothing is being worn by a wooden mannequin that is about the same size as Scarlette's body. The upper garments consist of a long-sleeved brown blouse with a ruffled collar and a black vest with a silver flower pattern as its lining. The lower garments are consist of white fitted pants, brown leather short that reaches to the mid-thigh, and knee-high leather boots with silver flower patterns on their linings.

"Hello there, Madam and Sir. Have you found anything that caught your eyes? If not, I can help you with your styles in clothing," suddenly, a woman in her thirties approached Scarlette and Blaze while she was standing inside the shop.

She's probably the owner of this store. Blaze thought to himself while looking at the woman who was still smiling at them.

"Oh, uhm, hi. Uh, if I may ask, h-how much is this?" Scarlette asked and pointed at the clothes that were displayed in front of her. The saleslady smiled at Scarlette and placed both palms together.

"My, my, the total cost of this beautiful set is five hundred gozos," the saleslady answered with a huge smile on her lips.

"F-Five hundred?" Scarlette asked as if she could not believe what she had just heard from the saleslady.

"Yes, Ma'am. Don't worry. I can assure you that this is the finest clothing set that you can see around this place," the woman said to Scarlette while covering the side of her lips as if she's trying to hide her face from another sales personnel beside her shop. The words that the saleslady spoke of made Scarlette wonder if the woman is lying or not, so she decided to check the clothes displayed in other shops nearby secretly.

Oh! She's right! I don't find any other clothes here that are pleasing to my taste. Scarlette thought to herself and looked back at the saleslady in front of them.

"Uhm, is it really five hundred gozos?" Scarlette asked for confirmation, and the woman nodded her head as an answer.

"Wait, let me check," Scarlette whispered and grabbed the small money bag hanging from her side. She opened the bag and checked the amount of money inside.

Hmm...it looks like the amount reaches eight hundred gozos or more. Wait...should I really spend this money? I mean, these are Zoleta's. Scarlette asked herself as she recalled that the money in her hands was not from her own hard work. While thinking to herself, Scarlette did not notice that Blaze was starting to lose his patience as he stood beside her.

What's taking her so long? Did she really have to count all the money inside that small bag? Blaze thought to himself as he looked at Scarlette with furrowed forehead. Another minute had passed, and Blaze could no longer wait, so he raised his hood, revealing his face to the saleslady and Scarlette.

"Hey, hurry up, will you?" Blaze suddenly spoke, which caught the attention of the saleslady. The woman saw Blaze's handsome face, which made the saleslady stunned and swoon over at Blaze. Blaze noticed the stares from the saleslady, so he quickly took a glance at her, and when he saw her heart-shaped eyes looking at him, he immediately grabbed his hood and put it back on.

"Aww," the saleslady muttered as she pouted while looking at Blaze.

"Uhm, is it alright if I spend these?" Scarlette asked Blaze as she turned to face her.

"Why bother asking me? Just buy the d*mn clothes already and pay that woman back if you still feel guilty, tsk!" Blaze replied in a harsh tone of voice, but Scarlette was not bothered at all since she already knew that the man standing beside her was not the typical gentleman that she knew.

"Y-You're right," Scarlette uttered and smiled at Blaze before facing the saleslady again.

"I'll take it, please," Scarlette said to the saleslady with a smile and took the five hundred gozos from the money bag and gave it to the saleslady.

"Great! Just wait a minute, I will just pack this," the saleslady replied to Scarlette and took the clothes that Scarlette chose to the packaging area of her shop.

After a few minutes of waiting, the saleslady came back with a medium-sized brown paper bag and a long box in both hands.

"Here you go, Ma'am," the saleslady said as she handed the paper bag and the box to Scarlette.

"And here is your receipt," the saleslady spoke again and gave Scarlette a small piece of paper where the number of items, the name of the products, the prices, and the total amount of their purchases is written.

"And here is your change," the saleslady said, which made Scarlette and Blaze confused.

"Huh? Uhm, I gave you an exact amount of five hundred gozos, so, uhm, I think you made some mistake in counting Miss," Scarlette replied to the saleslady. Still, the woman simply shook her head and smiled at Scarlette before taking a glance at Blaze, who was also looking at her emotionless.

"I gave you a discount since you're with a handsome hunk," the saleslady whispered to Scarlette and winked at her.

"Is he your lover? Ah, what a lucky woman you are," the saleslady added, which made Scarlette blush.

"W-What? L-Lo-Lover? O-Of course not!" Scarlette answered with a flustered face, but the saleslady did not believe her and simply laughed at her reaction.

"Hahaha! Don't worry, Miss. You two look good together," the woman whispered at Scarlette again, which made Scarlette blush even more.

"Tsk! If you're done buying here, then, let's go already," Blaze uttered and started walking away from the shop, so Scarlette quickly grabbed the things she bought and followed Blaze.

"Thank you, and please come again," the saleslady said and smiled genuinely while waving her right hand at Scarlette and Blaze.

While following Blaze, Scarlette holds the paper bag in her left hand while she's also holding the box in her right hand. With her slender figure, she's having a hard time carrying both in her hands, plus the fact that she must walk a bit faster so she will not get separated from Blaze, who is walking in front of her without a care in the world or even to his companion.

Blaze noticed that Scarlette was having a hard time walking with those things in her hands, which made him sigh, and without saying anything, he took the box from Scarlette's right hand and the paper bag from her left hand.

"Walk faster, or I'll leave you behind," Blaze coldly spoke to Scarlette without looking back at her. However, in Scarlette's point of view, what Blaze did to her really moved her, and she felt like the man was starting to become a gentleman in his own way.