After the fireworks show was over, we wandered a bit more and went to a few more food stalls. It was already late, the crowd was starting to thin out, so we decided to call it a day.
"I am tired," I muttered with a stretch.
"But it was fun, " Zei said softly, "I enjoyed tonight."
"I'm glad to hear that." A faint smile tugged at my lips.
"Leave him alone." Suddenly, a loud voice erupted from behind. I turned my head towards the commotion. A frail-looking woman stood definitely in front of three men, behind her, a little boy cowered in fear, terrified. It was the same boy selling the accessories at the stall earlier.
"Touch me if you dare," The woman growled. "The next day, your heads will be delivered to your family. "
The men laughed in unison, suddenly one of them unsheathed a sword, stepping forward with a menace. The crowd simply watched in uneasy silence, but no one moved.
The man lunged forward towards the frail woman, however, suddenly, a hand caught him mid-strike. It was Zei. She had slipped away from my side without me even noticing.
"You should stop now," she said calmly.
"Who the fuck are you? " The man barked, however, before he could continue, she threw him onto the ground effortlessly. A knife whistled through the air, aimed at her, but she ducked downwards just in time, avoiding it.
I stared at her in disbelief. Of course, she jumped in again.
"What a pain." I moved to help, however, just then the woman raised her cane forward as runes flared to life on its surface, she bolted towards the remaining two thugs, striking one from behind with a lightning impact and knocking him down.
"You bitch!!" The remaining guy spat, he took out his great sword as runes illuminated on its blade, he dashed forward towards the woman, but Zei emerged from behind, crimson flames dancing in her hand.
Not good," I grimaced, rushing towards them.
But before the clash could happen, a figure landed between them with effortless grace.
"Can't I enjoy even one festival in peace?" Gerald muttered, sighing deeply.
He turned towards the woman. "Didn't I tell you not to cause any trouble, Alina?"
"They were threatening a little kid and even attempted to harm me, was I supposed to just watch?" She replied, her voice steady.
"These mercenaries think they can act with impunity, people are too afraid to act against them, so someone has to remind them of their place."
Gerald turned his head towards the man, whose face was pale, his hands trembling with fear, as he retracted his greatsword.
"P-please forgive me," He stammered.
"I didn't know she was related to you, Lieutenant Gerald."
"Wether she is related to me or not doesn't change the fact that you were trying to harm a lady and even a kid—on such a sacred day no less" He sighed "The council will punish you for your sins appropriately, for now take your companions and get lost from my sight before I severe your limbs for trying to harm my sister"
The man took the bodies of his fallen companions and left the scene.
"Idiots," she murmured, before turning her head towards Zei, a kind smile on her face. "Thank you for helping me, it would have been a pain to deal with all four of them at once."
"No, it's fine," She replied, "Though I think you would have been fine without my help."
The woman chuckled, "You're probably right, however, I still appreciate it. I'm Alina"
"Zeilona," she replied with a small nod.
"Let's leave, we have already caused enough commotion for today," I whispered from behind. However, just as we were about to flee, Gerald caught us, blocking our path.
"Ahh, I didn't expect to meet you guys here," He said, clearly amused.
"W-we apologize for causing a scene, Sir," I muttered. "We will leave now to avoid further commotion."
He placed his hand on my shoulder. "Oh, don't worry about that, I am grateful to you for protecting my sister."
"Do you know them?" Alina asked her brother.
"Yeah, they're guests of Kristen and Asher."
"We only did what was necessary, " I said quickly. "Now if you'll excuse us—"
"Why don't you guys stay at our house today?" He offered, "It's already pretty late, and our house is pretty close, so why don't you stay there tonight?"
"That's…I am afraid Sir Asher would be worried about us, so we should return for now," I replied, but Gerald kept persisting with us.
"I am sure he wouldn't mind you spending a night with us, and I am sure Alina would also love"
Before I could reply, a cane jabbed sharply into Gerald's ribs.
Alina shot him a glare. "I apologize for my older brother's behavior." She gave us a small bow, "It's already really late, it would be better for you guys to head home. Please forgive my brother's persistent attitude."
"It's fine," I said with a short laugh.
With that, we finally parted ways. As we walked back, I couldn't help but sigh.
"You really couldn't help yourself, could you?"
"They were threatening a child."
"Of course. But maybe next time, give me a warning before causing a huge commotion on the streets."
She simply grinned as we walked in silence.
And with that, our outing came to a close.